JPH09237820A - Moving device and transport device using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a carrying device which cakes linear transport possible and whose transport attitude does not vary while generation of dust and sticking of the dust on a work are prevented as possible. SOLUTION: On a transport path T, a transfer device 38 and a delivery mechanism 40 are alternately assigned with a specified interval. The transfer mechanism comprises a pair of parallel links 44 and 46, a driving device 45 oscillating the one parallel link 44 and an expansion angle propagation device 47 which propagates the oscillation operation of the one parallel link 44 to the other parallel link 46. And, the delivery mechanism 40 comprises a rising/ lowering board 54 on which a work W is mounted and a driving means 56 which so raises/lowers the rising/lowering board as to cross a movement route of a holder of the transfer mechanism in the vertical direction.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a carrier device, and more particularly to a carrier device suitable for carrying a workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer, a liquid crystal substrate, an electronic circuit board or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a transfer device for transferring a work such as a semiconductor wafer, a liquid crystal substrate, and an electronic circuit board between various processing devices, for example, a transfer device having a structure shown in FIG. 11 is known. In this drawing, a conveying device indicated by reference numeral 2 has a plurality of rollers 6 rotatably mounted on a base 4 forming a conveying path T, and a work W is placed on these rollers 6, and at the same time, these rollers are arranged. The work W is moved in a predetermined direction by rotationally driving the work 6.

Further, as another conventional transfer device, FIG.
The structure shown in FIG. This transport device has 4
The link pieces 10, 12, 14, 16 of the book are constituted by a plurality of pantograph-shaped transfer devices 18 which are connected to each other in a rhombic shape so as to be rotatable relative to each other. A clamp mechanism 20 for gripping the work W is provided at the connecting portion of the link pieces 10 and 12,
In addition, a pair of link pieces 10, 1 of the other pair of adjacent link pieces 14, 16 provided with the clamp mechanism 20.
A first drive for rotatably attaching a connection part opposite to the connection part with 2 to the rotary substrate 22 and rotating the other link pieces 14 and 16 relative to the rotary substrate 22 with respect to the rotary substrate 22. Means (not shown) are provided, and further, the rotary board 22 is connected to the rotary board 22.
Second drive means (not shown) for rotating together with 16 and the clamp mechanism 20 is provided.

A plurality of the transfer devices 18 are provided in the transfer path at intervals in the transfer direction to form a transfer device.
2 and FIG. 13, the clamp mechanism 20 is positioned toward the upstream side, and the link piece 14 (16) is rotated by the first drive means,
The clamp mechanism 20 is moved in a direction away from the rotary substrate 22, and the work W is supplied to and gripped by the clamp mechanism 20 at this position.

Then, the first driving means is driven in the reverse direction, so that the clamp mechanism 20 is brought close to the rotary substrate 22 together with the work W, and then the rotary substrate 22 is moved by the second driving means. , The work W is rotated 180 degrees and moved to the downstream side by being rotated as shown by the arrow (a) in FIG. As a result, when the first driving means is driven again, the clamp mechanism 20 is moved in the direction away from the rotating substrate 22 as shown in FIG. 13, so that the work W is moved to the downstream side. It is moved and delivered to another transfer device 18 installed on the downstream side. The work W is transported by sequentially repeating the above operations.

[0006]

By the way, in the above-described conventional conveying device 2 using the roller 6, the workpiece W to be conveyed comes into contact with the roller 6, so that the dust attached to the roller 6 adheres to the workpiece W. There is a possibility that the work W may be damaged due to adhesion or contact between the work W and the roller 6. There is also a problem that the work W cannot be positioned with high accuracy due to slippage between the work W and the roller 6 or the like.

On the other hand, in the transfer device using the latter transfer device 18, since the expansion and contraction operation of the link pieces 10 to 16 and the rotation operation of the rotary substrate 22 are required, the speedup is limited and each transfer operation is performed. Since the device 18 requires two drive systems, the cost is high, and the posture of the work W conveyed by the above-described rotation operation is reversed.
For example, in the case where various processing devices installed side by side in the transfer path are provided, when the work W is transferred to each processing device in the same posture, the installation position of the processing device with respect to the transfer device is limited, The freedom of layout is narrowed. The present invention has been made in view of the conventional problems described above, the generation of dust, and enables the linear conveyance while preventing the dust from adhering to the work as much as possible,
Moreover, it is an object to be solved to provide a transfer device in which the transfer posture does not change.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention conveys a work, along which a work is conveyed, and the work is provided at a predetermined interval in the lengthwise direction of the work. A plurality of transfer devices for transferring along the path, and a transfer mechanism arranged between the transfer devices for receiving the work from the upstream transfer device and mounting the work on the downstream transfer device. The transfer device comprises
It is provided between a pair of parallel links, a drive means for swinging one parallel link, and one parallel link and the other parallel link, and transmits the swinging motion of one parallel link to the other parallel link. And a rotation transmission means for
The delivery mechanism is configured by an elevating plate on which the work is placed and a driving unit that elevates the elevating plate so as to vertically traverse the transfer path of the transfer device.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the above-mentioned conveying path is formed in a tunnel shape and is isolated from the outside. Further, the present invention is characterized in that the conveying path is provided with an air cleaning means. Further, the present invention is characterized in that the transport path is provided with a vacuum generating means. Further, the present invention is characterized in that a plurality of work processing devices are consecutively provided on the above-mentioned transfer path at intervals in the transfer direction. Further, according to the present invention, the transfer device is arranged to face a continuous portion of the transfer path and the work processing device, and the transfer device is rotated in its entirety to transfer the transfer device. It is characterized in that a turning means for changing the direction is provided.

According to the transfer apparatus of the present invention, the pair of parallel links of the transfer apparatus are operated in conjunction with each other to linearly move the work while keeping the work posture constant.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. Reference numeral 30 in FIG.
Shows a processing system to which the present embodiment is applied. The processing system 30 includes a carrier device 32 according to the present embodiment installed linearly, and a carrier device 32 on the side of the carrier device 32. The transfer device 32 is roughly configured by a plurality of processing devices S installed at intervals in the transfer direction and a transfer device 34 installed between the processing devices S and the transfer device 32. Is a transfer chamber 36 that forms a tunnel-shaped transfer path T.
6, a plurality of transfer devices 38, which will be described later, and a delivery device 40, and a filter unit 42 as an air cleaning means mounted outside the transfer chamber 36.

Next, the transfer device 32 according to the present embodiment.
2, the transfer device 38 installed in the transfer chamber 36 has a predetermined interval in the length direction of the transfer chamber 36 at the bottom of the transfer chamber 36, as shown in FIG. A plurality of them are provided. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 9, and particularly FIG. 5, the transfer device 38 includes a pair of parallel links 44 and 46 forming an extendable arm and a drive device 50 (FIG. 8) for swinging one parallel link 44. )
And the parallel link 44 on one side and the parallel link 46 on the other side.
The expansion / contraction angle transmission device 4 provided between the parallel link 44 and the parallel link 44 for transmitting the swinging motion of the parallel link 44 to the other parallel link 46.
7 (FIG. 9).

More specifically, the one parallel link 44 has two parallel link pieces 4402 and 4404.
Attached to the bottom of the transfer chamber 36,
The link piece 4402, 4404 is configured by a substrate 48 in which one end of the link piece 4402, 4404 is rotatably supported by the structure described later, and a telescopic angle transmission device 47 in which the other end of the link piece 4402, 4404 is pivotally attached. And both the link pieces 440
2, 4404 are connected to a rotary shaft 4502 of the drive unit 45, and the stepping motor 45 of the drive unit 45 is connected to the rotary shaft 4502.
Under the control of 01, it can rotate in a predetermined direction by a predetermined rotation angle.

Further, the other parallel link 46 is arranged so as to overlap with the upper part of the one parallel link 44, and two parallel link pieces 4602 and 4604 are pivotally attached to one end thereof. And the holder 52 on which the conveyed work W is placed.
The other ends of 02 and 4604 are pivotally attached to the expansion / contraction angle transmission device 47 that constitutes the one parallel link 44, thereby constituting a parallel link.

Next, the connecting structure between the base ends of the link pieces 4402 and 4404 and the drive unit 50 will be described with reference to FIG. The two fixed shafts 4504 and 4505 are arranged close to both sides of the rotary shaft 4502 of the stepping motor 4501 fixed on the lower surface of the substrate 48 at a predetermined interval.
The three lines are planted on the upper surface of the substrate 48 in parallel with each other and in parallel with the line 502. Rotatable bearings 4506 and 4507 are fixed to their upper ends, respectively.
6, 4507 on the link pieces 4402, 4404, respectively.
The base end of is fixed.

As shown in FIG. 8B, a metal belt 4508 is wound around the peripheral surfaces of these bearings 4506 and 4507 and the peripheral surface of the pulley 4503 on the side opposite to these peripheral surfaces. This metal belt 4508 is pulley 4
503 and bearings 4506 and 4507 are fixed on the respective peripheral surfaces in contact with each other. The angular range over which the metal belt 4508 is wound around the peripheral surface of the pulley 4503 is 90 ° or less.

With this structure, when the stepping motor 4501 operates and the pulley 4503 rotates in the clockwise direction, the bearings 4506 and 4507 rotate in the counterclockwise direction, so that the link pieces 4402 and 4404 move. Centering around their base ends, keeping them parallel to each other, the arrow R
When the pulley 4503 rotates counterclockwise, the bearings 4506 and 4507 rotate clockwise, and therefore the link pieces 4402 and 44 are rotated.
0 can be rotated in the clockwise direction indicated by the arrow Rb while keeping their parallel sides with their base ends as the centers.

Next, referring to FIG. 9, the connecting structure of the expansion / contraction angle transmitting device 47 will be described. Strip-shaped support plate 4
701 through four bearings 470
2, 4703, 4704 and 4705 are linearly mounted in close proximity to each other at a predetermined interval and vertically rotatably mounted on the support plate 4701. Below the support plate 4701, the pulleys 4706, 4707, 4708, 47 are respectively attached to the lower ends of the rotary shafts 4702, 4703, 4704, 4705.
09 is fixed, and further, the rotation axis 4702,
The link pieces 4402, 4404 are provided at the lowermost end of 4705.
The tip of is fixed. Furthermore, the rotating shaft 470
Link pieces 4602 and 4604 are provided on the upper end portions of the 3 and 4704.
The base end of is fixed.

A metal belt 4710 is wound around the pulleys 4706 and 4707 from the front peripheral surface of the pulley 4706 to the rear peripheral surface of the pulley 4707, and both end portions of the metal belt 4710 are 90 ° or less. It is wound and fixed over the angular range of. The metal belt 47 is attached to the pulleys 4708 and 4709.
Pulley 49 so that it can be hung in the opposite direction of 10
The metal belt 47 from the front peripheral surface of the pulley to the rear peripheral surface of the pulley 48.
11 are stretched around, and both ends of the metal belt 4711 are wound and fixed over an angular range of 90 ° or less.

Therefore, by configuring in this way, FIG.
In B, the link pieces 4402 and 4404 are both indicated by the arrow R.
When rotated clockwise as indicated by a, the pulleys 4706, 4
In the set of 707, the pulley 4706 is clockwise and the pulley 4706 is
707 rotates counterclockwise, and the pulleys 4708 and 470 rotate.
In the set of 9, the pulley 4709 is clockwise and the pulley 470 is
8 rotates counterclockwise, so that the link piece 4602,
4604 rotates in the counterclockwise direction indicated by arrow Rb while maintaining their parallelism with their base ends as centers.

On the contrary, link pieces 4402, 4404
Rotate counterclockwise as indicated by arrow Rb, the pulley 4706 rotates counterclockwise in the set of pulleys 4706 and 4707, the pulley 4707 rotates clockwise, and the combination of the pulleys 4708 and 4709. Then, the pulley 4709 rotates counterclockwise, the pulley 4708 rotates clockwise,
Therefore, the link pieces 4602 and 4604 can be rotated in the clockwise direction indicated by the arrow Ra with the base end portions of the link pieces 4602 and 4604 kept in parallel with each other.

As described above, when one parallel link 44 is swung in the clockwise direction, the other parallel link 46 is swung relative to the one parallel link 44 in the counterclockwise direction. To be made. The swing angles of the parallel links 44 and 46 can be made the same by making the diameter of each pulley and the length of the belt match.

Next, the operation of the transfer device 38 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. Since the transfer device 38 is configured as described above, now in FIG. 3, the stepping motor 4501 operates under a predetermined control to cause the pulley 4503 to operate.
Is rotated counterclockwise as indicated by arrow Rb, the link piece 440
2, 440 rotate clockwise in the direction of arrow Ra, and in accordance with this movement, the link pieces 4602, 4604 rotate counterclockwise in the direction of arrow Rb, and both parallel links 44, 46 are shown in FIG. As shown in FIG.
Extend to

When the extended parallel links 44 and 46 hold the work W by the holder 52 attached to the tip ends thereof, the stepping motor 4501 is rotated in the reverse direction.
Then, the two parallel links 44 and 46 that have been extended contract in the opposite movement of the above-described extension operation, and the parallel links 46.
Folded over the parallel link 44 and the holder 52
Is folded on the pulley 4503 which is the center of rotation.

When the entire folded parallel links 44 and 46 are folded on the pulley 4503 at the center of rotation and the pulley 4503 is further rotated with one passing point as shown in FIG. The parallel links 44 and 46 extend and proceed in a straight line to a position C existing on the opposite side of the position A. Therefore, the work W placed on the holder 52 can be transferred to the position C.

Further, the holder 52 is formed with a notch 5202 which opens to the swing end side at an intermediate position along the above-mentioned movement direction so that a part of the delivery device 40 described later can be passed therethrough. It has become.

Next, the configuration and structure of the delivery device 40 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the transfer device 40 moves up and down so that the work W is placed on the elevator plate 54, and the elevator plate 54 is moved up and down so as to traverse the movement path of the holder 52 of the transfer device 38 in the vertical direction. And driving means 56 for driving. Further, the elevating plate 54 has a base portion 5402 along the movement direction of the holder 52 and a protruding portion 540 continuously provided at an intermediate portion in the length direction of the base portion 5402.
4 and a T-shape, and the base portion 540
2 is located on the side of the movement path of the holder 52 to prevent interference with the holder 52, and the projecting portion 5404 is superposed on the movement path of the holder 52 to drive the driving means. By the vertical movement by 56,
The notch 5202 formed in the holder 52 can be passed through.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, a communication chamber 58 for connecting the transfer chamber 36 and the processing apparatus S is provided, and the communication chamber 58 also has the transfer device 40. The transfer device 38 provided with the stepping motor 4501 and the parallel link 44, 46 is connected to the communication chamber 58 at a 90 degree angle. It is controlled so as to rotate only within the range, and both parallel links 44 and 46 are expanded and contracted at both control angular positions. Therefore, the transfer device 3
The transfer direction of the eight holders 52 can be changed from the length direction of the transfer chamber 36 to the length direction of the communication chamber 58.

Next, the operation of the carrying device 32 of this embodiment having the above-mentioned structure will be described. First, by driving one parallel link 44 to the upstream side by the drive device 45 of the transfer device 38 located at the upstream end of the transfer chamber 36, expansion and contraction with this one parallel link 44 is performed. The holder 52 attached to the other parallel link 46 that is oscillated in conjunction with the angle transmission device 47 is positioned at the upstream end of the transfer chamber 36, and the work W is placed on the holder 52. Placed.

As a result, the drive device 45 is operated in the reverse direction, so that the holder 52 is moved to the downstream side of the transfer chamber 36 while holding the work W, as shown in FIG. It is positioned above the lifting plate 54 of the delivery device 40 in the lowered state.

Then, as the elevating plate 54 is raised by the driving means 56, the base portion 5402 of the raising and lowering plate 54 is moved to the upper side of the holder 52 through the side portion of the holder 52, and the projecting portion 5404 is moved to the holder portion. 5
It is moved upwards through the two cutouts 5202. The work W is transferred from the holder 52 to the elevating plate 54 by such raising of the elevating plate 54. When the work W is completely received by the elevating plate 54, the upstream transfer device 38 is The workpiece W is returned to the initial position and is in the posture for receiving the next work W.

Then, while the above-mentioned upstream side transfer device is returned to the initial position, the downstream side transfer device 38 is operated, and its holder 52 is positioned below the lifting plate 54 in the raised state. Then, the elevating plate 54 is lowered and then descends so as to traverse the holder 52, whereby the work W is moved from the elevating plate 54 to the holder 5.
The work W is moved to the downstream side, and the transfer device 38 on the downstream side is operated toward the downstream side, whereby the work W is moved to the downstream side. The work W is transported by sequentially performing such a transfer operation by the transfer devices 38 and the transfer devices 40 on the downstream side.

During such a transfer operation, the transfer device 3
By operating the pair of parallel links 44 and 46 of 8 in cooperation with each other, the holder 52 provided at the swinging end portion is linearly moved, and as a result, the workpiece W is linearly conveyed. Therefore, the conveyance path of the work W is set to the shortest distance, and the ascending / descending distance of the transfer device 40 is short enough to lift the work W from the holder 52, so that the conveyance speed can be increased.

Further, since the holder 52 is moved linearly in parallel and has a constant posture during movement, and the workpiece W in the delivery device 40 has a constant posture, the workpiece W has a constant posture. As it is transported to the end, all the operations become a straight line, and the transport device 3
The configuration of No. 2 can be simplified and the cost can be gradually reduced.

Moreover, since there is no relative movement such as slippage between the work W and the transfer device 38 or the transfer device 40,
The dust is unlikely to be generated, the work W is prevented from being damaged, and the work W is not displaced, so that the work W is accurately positioned.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, when the work W is conveyed to the position corresponding to the processing apparatus S, as shown in FIG. 4, the movement direction of the holder 52 of the transfer device 38 which has received the work W is changed. , The length of the communication chamber 58 is changed. Then, in this communication chamber 58, after the work W is transferred from the holder 52 to the delivery device 40 provided in the communication chamber 58, the work W is provided corresponding to the processing device S. The transfer device 34 is drawn into the processing device S to perform various processes.

The work W, which has been processed in the processing apparatus S, is transferred from the processing apparatus S to the delivery apparatus 40 by the transfer apparatus 34, and thereafter, the transfer apparatus 38.
After being transferred to the transport chamber, the transport chamber 36 is again transported to the transport chamber 36.

Further, in the present embodiment, since the transfer chamber 36 is provided with the filter unit 4702, the invasion of dust into the transfer chamber 36 is suppressed, and from this point as well, the dust on the work W is dusted. The effect of is suppressed.

The shapes, sizes, etc. of the respective constituent members shown in the above embodiment are examples, and can be variously changed based on design requirements. For example, the transfer chamber 3
Although an example in which 6 is formed in a tunnel shape is shown, it may be an open type depending on the type of work to be transferred and the type of processing, and a vacuum generator may be attached to the transfer chamber 36. Therefore, it can be sufficiently applied to a system that performs processing in a vacuum state. And
Even when such other functions are added, it is possible to easily cope with them with a small design change.

[0040]

As described above, according to the transfer device of the present invention, the work to be placed can be linearly moved by operating the pair of parallel links of the transfer device in conjunction with each other. . Therefore, the work transfer path is set to the shortest distance, and the lifting / lowering distance of the transfer device is short enough to lift the work from the transfer device. Therefore, the transfer speed can be increased.

Further, since the work is linearly translated by the transfer device and the posture during movement is constant,
Moreover, the work transfer posture in the transfer device can be made constant, and all the motions of the moving parts are made to be simple linear motions. From this point as well, the speed of the transfer device can be increased and the configuration can be improved. The cost can be reduced by simplifying.

Further, relative movement such as sliding can be eliminated between the work and the transfer device or the transfer device to prevent generation of dust and prevent damage to the work. The displacement can be prevented and the positioning can be performed with high accuracy. And since only the metal belt and pulley are used to transmit the expansion and contraction angle of the pair of parallel links, not only can the position accuracy of the conveyance be improved in this device, but less dust is generated and oil is used. Since it does not, it is possible to obtain a number of excellent effects such that it can be used even in a vacuum.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of essential parts showing a processing system to which a carrying device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view with a part omitted, showing a main part of a carrying device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view for explaining the operation of the transport device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view for explaining the operation of the transport device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an external perspective view showing a main part of the transfer device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the transfer device according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG.

7 is a side view seen from the direction of the arrow Y in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 4, showing the structure of the drive device portion of the transfer device of the present invention.

9 shows a structure of an expansion / contraction angle transmission device portion of a transfer device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9A is a partial cross-sectional side view seen from a direction of an arrow X in FIG. FIG. B is a bottom view of FIG.

FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory view of the transfer device of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic plan view showing an example of a conventional transport device.

FIG. 12 is a schematic plan view showing another example of a conventional transfer device.

FIG. 13 is a schematic plan view showing another example of a conventional transport device.

[Explanation of symbols]

30 ... Processing system, 32 ... Transfer device, 34 ... Transfer device, 36 ... Transfer chamber, 38 ... Transfer device, 40 ... Transfer device, 42 ... Filter unit, 44 ... Parallel link, 4402, 4404 ... Link piece, 45 … Drive,
4501 ... Stepping motor, 4502 ... Rotation axis, 4
503 ... pulley, 4504, 4505 ... fixed shaft, 450
6, 4507 ... Bearing, 4508 ... Metal belt, 4
6 ... Parallel link, 4602, 4604 ... Link piece, 47
... Expansion / contraction angle transmission device, 4701 ... Support plate, 4702, 4
703, 4704, 4705 ... Rotating shaft, 4706, 47
07, 4708, 4709 ... Pulleys, 4710, 471
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Metal belt, 48 ... Substrate, 52 ... Holder, 54 ... Elevating plate, 56 ... Driving means, 58 ... Communication chamber, T ... Transport path, S ... Processing device, W ... Work

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A pair of parallel links, a drive device for swinging one of the pair of parallel links, and a drive device provided between the one parallel link and the other parallel link, A transfer device comprising an expansion / contraction angle transmission device for transmitting the swinging motion of the one parallel link to the other parallel link. 2. A transfer path along which a work is transferred, and a plurality of transfer devices installed along the transfer path at predetermined intervals along the transfer path to transfer the work along the transfer path. The transfer device is disposed between the transfer devices, receives the work from the upstream transfer device, and places the work on the downstream transfer device. The transfer device includes a pair of parallel links. And a drive device for swinging one parallel link, and an expansion / contraction angle transmission provided between one parallel link and the other parallel link for transmitting the swing motion of one parallel link to the other parallel link. The transfer device is composed of an elevating plate on which the work is placed and a driving device for elevating the elevating plate so as to vertically traverse the transfer path of the transfer device. Conveying apparatus characterized by. 3. The transport path is formed in a tunnel shape,
The carrier device according to claim 2, wherein the carrier device is isolated from the outside. 4. The transfer device according to claim 3, wherein the transfer path is provided with air cleaning means. 5. The transfer device according to claim 3, wherein the transfer path is provided with a vacuum generating means. 6. The transport according to claim 2, wherein the transport path is provided with a plurality of work processing devices in series at intervals in the transport direction. apparatus. 7. The transfer device is arranged opposite to a continuous portion of the transfer path and the work processing device, and the transfer device is rotated in its entirety in the transfer direction. 7. The transport device according to claim 6, further comprising a rotating means for changing the.