JPH10181882A - Automatic guided vehicle for clean room - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent external particle from entering a process device by turning on a fan by a switch to suck air from a grill for suction when an automatic guided vehicle arrives at the receiving place for goods of the process device. SOLUTION: When an automatic guided vehicle 1 is brought to a process device and a water, etc., is transferred by a transfer robot 2, a switch is turned on by a program, a fan 6 for suction starts to move and suction air is started from a grill 5 for suction provided on the upper surface of a receiving part 4 for goods. Sucked air is passed the fan 6 for suction through a duct 9, air is made clean air from which garbage and dust are filtered by a filter 7 and air is exhausted from an exhaust hole 8 under the floor. The grill 5 for suction is provided on each of the left and right sides on the receiving part 4 for goods in the advancing direction of the automatic guide vehicle 1. By constituting the automatic guided vehicle 1 in this way, a case where the process devices exist on both the sides of the advancing direction of the automatic guided vehicle 1 can be coped.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a clean room in which air is constantly circulated in a room and a filter is used to purify air. The clean room travels along a route defined by a computer program and stops at a defined position. The present invention relates to an automatic guided vehicle for a clean room equipped with a robot capable of transferring a package to and from a process device defined by a computer program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a clean room, there is generally an air outlet at the ceiling and an air inlet at the floor. In addition, process equipment such as IC wafers installed inside the clean room also purifies air with a filter while circulating air inside its own equipment, and dust and dust in the space Is not scattered.

An unmanned carrier for transporting IC wafers and the like can move and stop in a clean room according to a program previously input to a computer.
In an automatic guided vehicle equipped with a robot, it is possible to transfer a wafer or the like when a program arrives at a receiving place of a process device such as an IC wafer by inputting a program.

[0004] When moving the power part of the automatic guided vehicle or the movable part of the robot, fine dust and dust particles are generated. Therefore, in the automatic guided vehicle, the gap between the robot and the unmanned vehicle is kept so that these particles do not always scatter outside. The fan is turned so that air is taken in from the air inlet of the carrier.

[0005]

When the conventional automatic guided vehicle 21 shown in FIG. 5 is mounted on the process apparatus 10 to transfer a wafer or the like, as shown in FIG. Due to the negative pressure, the downflow 11 of the clean room is changed in direction by the receiving unit 4 of the automatic guided vehicle 21 and becomes turbulent, flows into the process device 10, and particles that remain on the receiving unit 4 Transfer robot 2
The particles generated by the movement of the device are entrained and enter the process device 10, and the process device 1
There is a problem that it adheres to the wafer etc.

Next, in the case of FIG. 7, since the inside of the process device 10 has a positive pressure, the particles generated inside the process device 10 flow out together with the airflow from the process device 10 and are on the receiving section 4 of the automatic guided vehicle 21. There is a problem that the particles that have accumulated in the unmanned carrier 21 are wound up, collide with the wafer on the receiving unit 4 of the automatic guided vehicle 21 and cause turbulence to adhere to the wafer.

[0007]

According to the present invention, as described in the claims, in an automatic guided vehicle for a clean room, which is controlled by a computer program and is equipped with a robot capable of transferring a load, a load on a receiving section is provided. A suction grill provided on the process device side, a suction fan for sucking air from the suction grill, a switch for turning on / off the suction fan, and a filter for removing dust and dust from the sucked air. A discharge port for discharging air that has been cleaned by a filter, and a structure in which the suction fan and the filter are inserted by connecting a duct from the suction grill to the discharge hole with a duct. When the vehicle arrives at the cargo receiving place, the fan is turned on by the switch in order to suck air from the suction grill. When the airflow flowing out of the process device becomes turbulent and winds up the particles on the automatic guided vehicle and adheres to the wafer, or when the down flow of the clean room hits the automatic guided vehicle and becomes turbulent and flows into the process device. External particles can be prevented from entering the process device.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention. The automatic guided vehicle 1 is loaded with a rechargeable secondary battery (not shown) and can be moved in a clean room by using a built-in DC motor (not shown) as power. Further, the transfer robot 2 mounted on the upper part makes it possible to transfer wafers and the like between the automatic guided vehicle 1 and the process apparatus by using the secondary battery as a power source.

When the power for traveling or powering the robot can be obtained from the track by the contact power supply method or the contactless power supply method in the automatic guided vehicle traveling on the track, the secondary battery is transferred to the automatic guided vehicle 1. Loading is not required.

The automatic guided vehicle 1 operates in accordance with the contents programmed in a built-in computer or an external computer, and travels to a process device programmed to transfer a wafer or the like. Is used to carry out delivery between the receiving unit 4 and the process device.

When a wafer or the like is received from the process device, the wafer or the like taken out of the process device by the hand 3 of the transfer robot 2 is placed on the load receiving section 4 of the automatic guided vehicle 1 and the next. It is transported to the process device of the delivery process, and at the next process device, the receiving unit 4 is transferred into the process device by the hand 3 of the transfer robot 2.
Transfer wafers and so on.

As described above, the automatic guided vehicle 1 is placed beside the process apparatus, and when a transfer robot 2 transfers a wafer or the like, a switch (not shown) is turned on by a program and the suction fan 6 starts to move. Intake from the intake grill 5 provided on the upper surface of the load receiving portion 4 starts. The sucked air passes through the duct 9, passes through the suction fan 6, becomes clean air filtered by dust and dirt by the filter 7, and is exhausted from the exhaust hole 8 to the floor below.

In FIG. 1, suction grills 5 are provided on the left and right sides of the load receiving portion 4 in the traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle 1, respectively. It is possible to cope with the case where there is a process device, and it is possible to transfer wafers and the like from the side that is suitable for the place of the process device, so that the moving distance of the automatic guided vehicle 1 can be reduced and the program and the like can be simplified.

It is not advisable to locate the discharge hole 8 in FIG. 1 on the lower surface of the automatic guided vehicle 1 and exhaust the gas under the floor at other positions, since this would disturb the downflow airflow in the clean room. In the exhaust to the lower surface, even if the particles accumulated on the floor surface are wound up, the rise is suppressed by the down flow 11 of the clean room, and the particles are easily sucked into the exhaust port of the clean room installed on the floor surface. Less to do.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing how the down flow 11 of the clean room and the flow of the air flow in the process device 10 according to the present invention when the inside of the process device 10 performing the transfer is negative pressure. As compared with FIG. 6 of the technology, the downflow 11 does not flow into the process device 10, the downflow 11 is sucked from the suction grill 5, and the airflow inside the process device 10 maintains the original flow, It can be understood that the turbulence prevents external particles from entering the process apparatus 10. In this case, the suction fan 6 prevents the downflow 11 from flowing into the process device 10 by the load receiving unit 4.
The flow is controlled so as to guide the down flow 11 falling down to the suction grill 5 best.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing how the downflow 11 of the clean room according to the present invention and the flow of the airflow flowing out of the process device 10 flow when the inside of the process device 10 performing the transfer is a positive pressure. According to the comparison with FIG. 7 of the related art, the airflow flowing out of the process device 10 is sucked from the suction grill 5 together with the download 11, and the particles are wound up by the turbulent flow on the automatic guided vehicle 1 and placed on the load receiving unit 4. It can be understood that it does not adhere to the placed wafer or the like. In this case, the suction fan 6 is connected to the downflow 11
Not only the air flow but also the air flow out of the process device is controlled to such a level as to guide the air to the suction grill 5 best.

FIG. 4 shows a case where the suction grille 5 is moved from the upper surface to the side surface of the automatic guided vehicle 1. The downflow 11 of the clean room when the inside of the process device 10 is at a positive pressure and the airflow flowing out of the process device 10 are shown. FIG. 4 is a view showing how the flow is formed. The opening area of the grill is relatively narrower than that in FIG. 1 in which the suction grille 5 is provided on the upper surface of the automatic guided vehicle 1, and it becomes difficult to flow airflow. It can be understood that the problem can be solved by increasing the inflow speed of the air taken in from the grill. Further, the suction grille 5 is connected to the automatic guided vehicle 1 in this manner.
The present invention can be applied to a case where it is not possible to secure a sufficient space for the suction grille 5 on the upper surface due to the configuration of the automatic guided vehicle 1 by providing it at the position where it can be installed closest to the cargo receiving location on the side surface.

When the suction fan 6 of the present invention is of a variable speed type, the wind speed of the air flow between the process device 10 and the load receiving unit 4 is detected by an anemometer, a pressure sensor or the like. The process device 10 obtained by its trajectory or, in the case of the trackless type, from control values of a computer program
By calculating the theoretically optimal suction wind speed value at the distance between the gap and the load receiving unit 4 and controlling the amount of suction wind from the suction grill 5 so that the detected wind speed approaches the calculated wind speed value, The turbulent flow can be reduced.

Generally, the process apparatus 10 and the receiving section 4
If the distance of the gap is short, the resistance of the air flow increases, the flowing wind speed decreases, and the detected wind speed decreases. Therefore, the suction fan 6 must be operated strongly. When the distance of the gap between the process device 10 and the load receiving unit 4 increases, the resistance of the air flow decreases and the downflow 11 easily flows. However, as the gap widens, the amount of air flowing relatively increases. In order to guide the increased air volume to the suction grille 5, the suction fan 6 must be operated with a certain strength, and cannot be reduced too much. When the distance between the process device 10 and the receiving unit 4 is extremely large, the effect of suction by the suction fan 6 is lost. However, the distance until the effect is lost is controlled in a stepwise manner to achieve the present invention. The effect can be obtained.

When a plurality of suction grilles 5 of the present invention are provided, usually the same number of suction fans 6 and filters 7 are required. Can be switched by providing a flap, a valve mechanism, etc. at the confluence of a plurality of intake paths, and by making the suction fan 6 and the filter 7 as one set, weight reduction and cost reduction can be achieved. Become.

Further, the suction fan 6 of the present invention is used in common with the suction fan originally provided in the automatic guided vehicle 1, and a valve means for guiding the intake air from the suction grill 5 to the original intake path. When the automatic guided vehicle 1 arrives at the load receiving place of the process apparatus 10, the valve means is operated so that the air from the suction grille 5 is also sucked into the suction path, so that the suction fan 6 is newly provided. The present invention can be practiced without installation.

Further, by controlling the automatic fan 1 to turn off the suction fan 6 by a switch when the automatic guided vehicle 1 finishes receiving the goods in the process device 10 and moves away from the receiving place by a computer program, so that the suction can be performed until it is not necessary. By moving the fan 6 for use, it is possible to avoid generating unnecessary particles or to wind up the accumulated particles, and in the case of a secondary battery drive, it is possible to avoid unnecessary power consumption. The operating time until charging can be extended.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, even when an automatic guided vehicle is laid sideways on a process device in a clean room, turbulence does not occur on the automatic guided vehicle due to downflow in the clean room or airflow flowing out of the process device. Therefore, if the inside of the process apparatus is at a positive pressure, particles can be prevented from adhering to a wafer or the like placed on an unmanned carrier, and if the process apparatus is at a negative pressure, the particles enter the process apparatus. Particles can be prevented from entering.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a first diagram showing an air flow according to the first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG.

FIG. 3 is a second diagram showing the flow of air according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional technique.

FIG. 6 is a first diagram illustrating the flow of air according to the related art.

FIG. 7 is a second diagram showing the flow of air in the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 21 Unmanned guided vehicle 2 Transfer robot 3 Hand 4 Receiving part 5 Suction grille 6 Suction fan 7 Filter 8 Exhaust hole 9 Duct 10 Process device 11 Clean room down flow

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. controlled by a computer program,
In an automatic guided vehicle for a clean room equipped with a robot capable of transferring luggage, a suction grill provided on a process device side of a load receiving unit,
A suction fan that sucks air from the suction grill,
A switch for turning on / off the suction fan, a filter for removing dust and dirt from the sucked air,
A discharge hole for discharging air that has been cleaned by a filter is provided, and the suction grill and the discharge hole are connected by a duct so that the suction fan and the filter are inserted therein. When you arrive at the receiving point,
An automatic guided vehicle for a clean room, wherein the fan is turned on by the switch to suck air from the suction grill. 2. The automatic guided vehicle for a clean room according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of suction grills are provided on right and left sides of a load receiving portion in a traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle. 3. The automatic guided vehicle for a clean room according to claim 1, wherein the discharge hole is located on a lower surface of the automatic guided vehicle and exhausts the air below the floor. 4. The fan is of a variable speed type, and the switch is provided with a means for changing the fan, and a flow rate of air sucked from the suction grille in accordance with a wind speed of an air flow between a process device and a load receiving portion. 2. The automatic guided vehicle for a clean room according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle is variably controlled. 5. The suction grill, wherein when the automatic guided vehicle arrives at a receiving location of a process device, the suction grill is provided at a position that can be installed closest to the receiving location on a side surface of the automatic guided vehicle. The automatic guided vehicle for a clean room according to claim 1. 6. The automatic guided vehicle for a clean room according to claim 2, further comprising an intake path switching means for switching a grill to which the plurality of suction grills are sucked. 7. The suction fan is used in common with a suction fan originally provided in the automatic guided vehicle for sucking dust and dust from power means and movable means of a robot. A valve means for guiding the intake air from the suction grille is provided in the path, and when the automatic guided vehicle arrives at the load receiving portion of the process device, the valve means is operated instead of the switch to move the suction grille from the suction grille to the intake path. 2. The automatic guided vehicle for a clean room according to claim 1, wherein air is also sucked. 8. The automatic guided vehicle for a clean room according to claim 1, wherein the switch turns off the fan when the automatic guided vehicle moves away from a receiving place of the process device.