JPS6022015Y2 - Conveyance device - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] This invention relates to a non-contact conveying device that is particularly effective for conveying thin plate-like parts.

For example, a conveyor-type transport device is generally used to move lightweight thin-plate semiconductor wafers between manufacturing processes.

This is an apparatus in which a semiconductor wafer is placed on two horizontally parallel silicon rubber belts and transported, but this apparatus is not preferable because the belt may damage or contaminate the semiconductor wafer.

Further, as a semiconductor wafer conveying apparatus which is an improvement on this belt method, a non-contact conveying apparatus using an air blower type as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 has been proposed.

That is, in FIGS. 1 to 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as a weber), which is an object to be conveyed, and 2 denotes a conveyance path that holds the wafer 1 horizontally and conveys it horizontally in one direction.

This conveying path 2 has a conveying groove 3 having a width slightly larger than the diameter of the weber 1 formed on its upper surface, and a large number of air outlets 4 that are inclined at an angle θ in the conveying direction P of the weber 1 are arranged in the bottom surface of this conveying groove 3. It is formed as follows.

Further, both side surfaces of the conveyance groove 3 are used as guide surfaces 5, 5.

In other words, this device blows air up into the conveying groove 3 from the air outlet 4 at a constant speed and angle θ, and by this air blow, the weber 1 supplied to the conveying groove 3 is floated above the bottom surface of the conveying groove 3, and is then flowed from below. It is transported in the air in a progressive manner using air.

In such a non-contact conveying device, the end face of the webber that is not used as a product only touches the guide surfaces 5, 5 appropriately, and the rest is conveyed completely without contact with the outside, so there is no worry about damage or contamination. do not have.

However, in this device, the feeding speed of the weber is controlled by the speed of the air blown out from the air outlet 4, but this control is extremely difficult and the weber 1 inevitably accelerates. It became difficult to take the webber out from the path 2, and the weber 1 was sometimes damaged at this time.

In view of these problems, the present invention improves and eliminates them, and provides a non-contact conveyance device using one type of air blower that allows easy adjustment of the feed speed of the conveyed object and is accurate.

An example in which the present invention is applied to the conveyance of the weber 1 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6.

In Figs. 4 to 6, 6 and 7 are two air pipes of the same diameter arranged in parallel along the horizontal conveyance line of the weber 1, 8 is an air vibro, and 7 is arranged in the middle. The partition plates 9 and 10 are each air vibro, and the air vibro is on the outside of 7.

7, this guide plate 9.1
The upper inner surface of 0 protrudes above the air vibro 7 and is used as a guide surface 11, 12 for the Ueno\1 to be conveyed.

Each air vibro, 7 has many air outlets 13 on the circumference.
．． 14 in a spiral shape, and each air vibro, 7
are arranged to freely rotate about their respective center lines.

Now, assuming that the conveyance direction P of the weber 1 is in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 4 (right direction), the air outlet 1 of one air vibro
3 are arranged in a spiral shape in the direction m of the left-hand screw facing right,
This air vibro then rotates in the left-handed screw direction m.

Conversely, the air outlets 14 of the other air pipe 7 are arranged in a spiral in the right-handed screw direction n, and this air pipe 7 rotates in the right-handed screw direction n.

The rotational speeds of the air vibros 7 in opposite directions are equal, and along with this rotation, the air vibros 7 rotate all the air outlets 13.13..., 14.14...
Clean air at a constant pressure is blown out at the same time from...

Then, the weber 1 is transported in the air in the following manner.

That is, when Ueno\1 is supplied above each air vibro, 7, the air outlet 13 of each air vibro, 7
．． The weber 1 is blown up by the air blow from 14, and the weber 1 is in a floating state at a predetermined height determined by the balance between the weight of the weber 1 and the blowing force of the air.

This weber 1 is floated by the spiral air blown out from the spiral air outlets 13 and 14, and this spiral air touches both sides of the lower surface of the weber 1 by the rotation of each air vibrator 7 in the opposite direction. The weber 1 blows outward, and at this time, the weber 1 receives a propulsion force in the same direction, that is, in the predetermined transport direction P, in the manner of left-hand screw feeding and right-hand screw feeding via the air, and therefore the weber 1 is transported in the air while floating. Ru.

The feeding speed of the weber 1 can be arbitrarily and accurately adjusted by the rotational speed of each air vibro 7, similar to the screw feeding method.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the transportation of semiconductor wafers; any wafer that can be easily floated by air may be used, and depending on the shape of the object to be transported, it is possible to use only one air pipe. , it is also possible to combine two or more.

As explained above, according to the present invention, the air transport speed of the transported object can be arbitrarily and accurately controlled by the rotation speed of the air pipe, so there is no need to worry about acceleration of the transported object, and a stable A non-contact transfer device for operation can be provided.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a partial plan view of a conventional conveyance device, Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in Fig. 2. 5 is a sectional view taken along line C--C in FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line DD in FIG. 5. 1... Object to be transported (semiconductor weber), 6, 7.
... Air pipe, 11.12 ... Guide surface, 13.14 ... Air outlet.

Claims (1)

[Claims of Utility Model Registration] An air pipe having a plurality of air outlets continuously formed in a spiral manner on its circumferential surface is rotatable about an axis along a conveyance line having a guide surface on the side. 1. A conveyance device, characterized in that the object is floated on the air pipe by air blow from an air outlet of the rotating air pipe and conveyed.