JPS60236931A - Dust-proof unloader - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve dust-proof performance by lowering a seal member for blocking up the edge of a dust-proof box opening with an unloading mechanism through an unloading port when a truck stops at the unloading port corresponding to an unloading position of a tunnel forming a transport path. CONSTITUTION:When a truck 14 with wheels 12 is moved and stopped at an unloading port 27 position in a tunnel 11, a screw rod 38 of an unloading mechanism 26 is rotated to lower adsorption means 30, and the lower surface of the adsorption means is made closely adhere to the upper surface of a lid 21a of a dust-proof box 21. Whereupon, the lid 21a is adsorbed to the adsorption means 30 by vacuum force. Simultaneously, a seal member 28 is pushed down to make the lower surface of a flange 28d adhere to the edge 21c of an opening of the dust-proof box 21. In such a condition, the adsorption means 30 is lifted up, so that the lids 21a, 22a and a carrier box 22 are taken out in a body to the outside. At this time, the seal member 28 is retained at a position closely adhering to the edge 21c of the opening by a hook 33 to intercept the interior of the tunnel 11 from the outside.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a dust-proof loading/unloading device that loads and unloads Tux in a dust-free state from a loading/unloading port provided in a tunnel as a conveyance path.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

Since the processing chamber for semiconductor parts is a so-called clean room, raw materials are transported to the clean room by storing them in a dust-proof box. For example, cut and washed wafers are stored in a dust-proof box in a separate room, and then loaded onto a traveling vehicle and transported through a tunnel that serves as a transport route to a loading/unloading port. The materials are unloaded from the mouth by a dust-proof loading/unloading device and transported to a processing chamber for the next process, and the conventional dust-proof loading/unloading device has the structure shown in FIG. That is, the tunnel 1 is divided into two stages, upper and lower, by a partition wall 2, and a traveling vehicle 3 is provided in the lower stage.
At the upper stage, a dust-proof iftx 4 is supported by a support member 5 passing through the partition wall 2, and is transported through the tunnel 1 together with the traveling vehicle 3. The dustproof box 4 is provided with a lid 4a, and a wafer (not shown) is housed inside.

Further, the upper and lower compartments are each provided with a duct 6.6 that communicates with an air supply chamber equipped with a filter (not shown), and a dustproof plate made of a sheet-like elastic body covers both sides of the support member 5. 7, 7 are provided so as to come into contact with rotatable discs 8, 8. Therefore, running vehicle 3
The dust generated by the running of the vehicle is absorbed through the duct 6.6f, and the dustproof plates 7, 7 prevent the dust from the lower stage from entering the upper stage where the dustproof box 4 is provided. Since the gap in the front and back direction of the support member 5 is not covered, when the traveling vehicle 3 stops at the loading/unloading stage 100 and the dustproofing device loads/unloads the TUX 4, the loading/unloading work space and the traveling vehicle 3 are covered. There was a drawback that the cleanliness inside the processing chamber was impaired because it was directly connected to the space at the bottom of the processing chamber. Also,
As mentioned above, the tunnel 1 is divided into two levels, upper and lower, and the height of the tunnel 1 above the floor is 70 meters, making it impossible for workers to cross the entire length.
This had the disadvantage that the work flow was slow because the work area was divided into two parts.

[Purpose of the invention]

This invention was made in consideration of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to separate the transport path space and the loading/unloading work space when loading and unloading objects from a traveling vehicle at a loading/unloading station. The purpose is to provide a dust-proof loading/unloading device that can be reliably shut off.

[Summary of the invention]

In this invention, when the traveling vehicle stops at the loading/unloading port provided corresponding to the loading/unloading station, the loading/unloading mechanism descends toward the loading/unloading port, is housed inside the traveling vehicle, and is placed in the upper part of the loading/unloading mechanism. The sealing member is configured to be forcibly pushed down by the loading/unloading mechanism so that the dustproof lid body that engages with the transported object comes into close contact with the lip of the bag, and the sealing member is configured to be forcibly pushed down by the loading/unloading mechanism. The reason is that the space is separated from the work space.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 8. In the figure, reference numeral 11 denotes a tunnel forming a conveyance path, and inside this tunnel 11, a traveling vehicle 14 equipped with two pairs of wheel axles 13 and 13 having wheels 12 is provided as shown in FIGS. It is being This traveling vehicle 14 is driven by a motor 15. Electric power to the motor 15 is supplied from a power source outside the tunnel 11 via a collector 16 and a contactor 17. The wheels 12... are separated by a dustproof partition wall 20.20 provided with a duct 19.19f having a suction port 18.18f at the top, and the wheels 12...
The dust generated by the rotation of the ducts 19, 19' or the friction between the collector 16 and the contactor 17 flows into the ducts 19, 19'! It is designed to be discharged from the tunnel 11 through f-.

A position sensor llh is provided on the inner wall of the tunnel 11 for positioning the loading/unloading station run. on the other hand,
An arm 14a is mounted on the outside of the vehicle 14 to detect the position sensor 1laf. and,
In this attachment, a sensor target 14b is fixed to the arm 14h so as to face the position sensor lia. Five dust-proof decks 21 are stored in the traveling vehicle 14. The dust-proof P-nox 21 has an opening at the top, and the opening is covered by a lid 21a. Inside the dustproof box 21, a carrier 22 as an object to be transported is housed. Further, inside the carrier 22, a wafer carrier 24 is arranged to accommodate several wafers 23.

The carrier socks 22 are provided with a lid 22a that engages with the lid 21a.

That is, the protrusion 22b has engaging claws 21b, 21b provided on both sides of the lower surface of the lid 21a facing each other, and protrudes from both sides of the upper part of the lid 22m.

By engaging with 22b, the lid body 21a and the lid body 22h
It is designed to be combined with the

In addition, the lid body 22h is used for transporting an object such as a carrier box 2.
2, so the lid body 21
When the lid 22a and the lid 22a are engaged, the lid 21& and the carrier are integrally connected to the box 22.

As shown in FIG. 5, a loading/unloading port 27 is provided on the upper surface of the tunnel 1 in correspondence with a loading/unloading mechanism 26 provided at a loading/unloading station 25. This loading/unloading port 27 has a plurality of seal members 28 (in the embodiment, four seal members 28).
This is supported by guide bins 29 so that they can move up and down. The upper M self-sealing member has openings 28h on both the upper and lower sides,
It has a rectangular cross section in which 28b is formed, and the upper opening 2
A flange 2B is formed on the outer periphery of 8h, and a flange 28d is formed on the inner periphery of the lower opening 28b.

The lower surface of this flange 28d is brought into contact with the mouth edge 21c of the dustproof box 21. Further, a Nonokyu type suction tool 3 which is supported by the loading/unloading mechanism 26 and moves up and down is fitted into the lower opening 28b of the sealing member 28, and a lid 21hf of the dustproof box 21 is fitted therein.
It is designed to absorb. Further, the suction tool 30 and the flange 28d are arranged to overlap each other, and as the suction tool 30 descends, the sealing member 28 is forcibly pushed down. A flail spring 31 is attached to the upper part of the seal member 28. Also,
A bellows 32 is attached between the flange 28c and the tunnel 11 in an airtight manner and surrounding the side wall 28e. In addition, a hook 33 that engages the upper flange 28cf of the seal member 28 is rotatably provided in correspondence with the loading/unloading port 27, and when the upper suction tool 30 is lowered, for example, a solenoid 34 is activated. The hook 33 locks the seal member 28 in that position.

The loading/unloading mechanism 26 is provided corresponding to the loading/unloading port 27 of the tunnel 1, and this mechanism consists of two guide columns protruding from a mounting plate 36 fixed to the floor 35. 37.3
7 and a screw rod 38 which is rotated by a motor (not shown) and which is provided between these guide columns 37.
A nut 39 is screwed into the hole 8 and moves down -F along the guide columns 37, 37, and is fixed to this nut 39 via a groove 40.

The suction tool 30 is configured as follows.

And A? A hose 41 is connected to the upper part of the tube 40 and communicates with a vacuum source (not shown). And the above screw rod 3
The nut 39 can be moved up and down by changing the rotational direction of the nut 39. At the lower part of the suction tool 30, the lid 21a1 of the dustproof lid 21 and the lid 22h of the carrier box 22 which engage with the lid 22 and the carrier 22 are attracted.

A stand 42 is provided on the opposite side of the tunnel 11. Carrier box stands 43 and 43 are provided on both sides of the front surface of this stand 42, respectively. Further, on the front surface of the stand 42, the carriers sucked by the suction tool 30 are placed on the lid 21a of the dustproof box 21.
Remove it from the carrier rack 2 and place it on the stand 43.
．． A conveying device 44 that conveys to the upper part of any one of 43.
is provided. As shown in FIG. 6, this conveying device 44 has a screw rod 45 and a bearing 46 46 which pivotally supports both ends of the screw rod 45. A motor 47, a nut 48 that is screwed into the screw rod 45 and moves to the left or right as the screw rod 45 rotates, and a hand 49. The hand opening/closing mechanism 50 is configured to open and close the carrier box 22 between the hands 49 and 49.

In addition, rodets 51.5 and 51.5 are provided on both sides of the stand 42 respectively.
1 is provided, and the lid body 21 of the dustproof box 21 is
The carrier box 22 extracted from a is transferred to a transport device (not shown) that reaches a processing chamber.

Next, the operation of the dust-proof loading/unloading device of the present invention will be explained.

The traveling vehicle 14 reaches the loading/unloading port 27, and the position sensor Ilh
is the tartat 14bf for seven sensors provided on the traveling vehicle 14.
When detected, the driving vehicle 14 is activated in response to a signal from the position sensor 11m, and the marching force 14 is stopped. Then, the screw rod 38 of the loading/unloading mechanism 26 begins to rotate, the suction tool 30 descends, and the lower surface of the suction tool 30 is exposed to the lid 21 of the dustproof Tux 21.
It comes into close contact with the top surface of &. At this time, an on-off valve (not shown) provided in the middle of the hose 41 communicating with the pipe 40 is opened and communicated with the vacuum source, and the suction tool 30 is connected to the lid 211.
Carrier box 2 that attracts L and engages with the lid body 21m
The second lid body 22a and the carrier box 22 fixed to this lid body 22h are also integrally removed with the suction tool 30. As the suction tool 30 descends, the p-seal member 28 is also forcibly pushed down, and the lower surface of its flange 28d comes into close contact with the mouth edge 21c of the dustproof tube 21. At this time, the solenoid 34 is activated, the hook 33 is engaged with the upper surface of the flange 28c of the sealing member 28, and the lower surface of the flange 28d of the sealing member 28 is in the state shown in FIG. Retained. Next, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 8, when the loading/unloading mechanism 26 operates, the Q1 suction tool 30 has a lid 21a of the dust-proof rx 2 and a lid 22a of the carrier gear 22 on its lower surface. And the carrier adsorbs the Tux 22 and rises. At this time, since the sealing member 28 is locked to the twisting hook 33, the lower surface of the flange 28d of the sealing member 28 is in close contact with the mouth edge 21c of the dustproof box 21, and the lower surface of the flange 28e and the tunnel 1
Since the bellows 32 is airtightly installed between the upper surface of the tunnel 11 and the upper surface of the seal member 28 so as to surround the side wall 286 of the seal member 28, the space inside the tunnel 11 and the loading/unloading work space at the loading/unloading station 25 are completely separated. It appears to be in a state where it is blocked. Then, when the suction tool 30 rises to a predetermined position, the hand opening/closing mechanism 50 operates the hands 49 and 49f to approach and clamp the carrier box 22 from both sides. Next, the screw rod 45 rotates, and the carrier transports the Tux 22 to the carrier box stand 43 on the right or left side, and the suction tool 3
0 is lowered, the hands 49 and 49 are released, and the carrier box 22 is transferred onto the carrier box stand 43. Next, is carrier box 22 a mouth? It is transferred to a transport device (not shown) by a cutter 51 and transported to a processing chamber.

As in the above embodiment, since the tunnel forming the conveyance path is not divided into two stages, upper and lower, as in the conventional case, the floor surface 35 of the upper surface
The height from the top is as low as 30 (7), compared to the conventional 70 tyn, so it can be straddled freely and has the effect of improving the working environment.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, in this invention, when the traveling vehicle stops at the loading/unloading port provided corresponding to the loading/unloading station, the loading/unloading mechanism descends toward the loading/unloading port, and the loading/unloading mechanism is lowered toward the loading/unloading port. A dustproof device that is stored in a dustproof container and has a lid on the top that engages with the transported object. Since the sealing member is configured to be forcibly pushed down by the loading/unloading mechanism described above so as to come into close contact with the opening edge of the box, when taking out the transported items from the loading/unloading port, there is no need to worry about the space between the transport path and the loading/unloading port. This has the effect of being able to block the work space and prevent the air in the processing chamber from becoming contaminated.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a sectional view showing a conventional dust-proof loading/unloading device, Figures 2~
Fig. 8 shows an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a longitudinal side view, Fig. 3 is a front view of the traveling vehicle, Fig. 4 is a side view of Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 is a loading/unloading station. FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view showing the conveyance device provided on the stand, and FIGS. 7 and 8 are vertical sectional side views illustrating the present invention in detail. 11...Tunnel, 14...Traveling vehicle, 21°°°dustproof Tuxus, 21a...dustproof Tuxus lid body, 22.
°・Carrier box (object to be transported), 25... Loading/unloading station, 26... Loading/unloading mechanism, 27... Loading/unloading port, 28゛... Seal member. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue 14- Figure 2') 21- Figure 3 3 Figure 4-232- Figure 8

Claims (1)

[Claims] A loading/unloading port is provided at a position corresponding to the loading/unloading station run of the tunnel that forms the transport path, and a traveling vehicle is provided in the transport path to load the transported object and run. In a device that is loaded and unloaded from an unloading port, the traveling vehicle stores the transported objects and has a lid body on the top that engages with the transported objects. A sealing member is provided at the loading/unloading port, which is pressed down when the loading/unloading mechanism is lowered and comes into close contact with the lip of the dust-proof deck to isolate the transport path space from the loading/unloading work space. Dust-proof loading and unloading equipment features.