JPS62136364A - Work delivery and discharge device in polisher - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To expedite work without dismounting a carrier between surface plates in the workpiece delivery and discharge device of a polisher for polishing both surfaces of a silicon wafer by providing an index table, a mounting and takeout means and the like. CONSTITUTION:In the operation of the subject device, a workpiece 12 is delivered to and retained by each workpiece support part 14 of an index table 14 through the function of a workpiece delivery mechanism 16. Then, each workpiece 12 is taken out as it is, by a workpiece mounting and takeout means 18, carried over for mounting to each workpiece retaining part 11a of a carrier 11 and subjected to a polishing process. Thereafter, each workpiece 12 is taken out by the workpiece mounting and takeout means 18, carried over to each workpiece retaining part 15a of the index table 15 and further discharged to a stowing part 20 through a discharge mechanism 17. The subject device can deliver and discharge the workpiece 12 quickly without dismantling the carrier 11 and with a sun gear and an internal gear 10 geared with each other.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a workpiece loading/unloading device for loading and unloading a workpiece such as a silicon wafer into a polisher for polishing both sides of the workpiece.

[Technical background of the invention and points of interest]

The double-sided polisher that polishes both sides of a workpiece such as a wafer has a carrier that meshes with a sun gear and an internal gear interposed between upper and lower surface plates that can be opened and closed. Workpieces are loaded and held one by one, and in this state, the upper and lower surface plates are closed (the upper surface plate is lowered), and the carrier is rotated and revolved by the rotational drive of the sun gear and internal gear. The upper and lower surface plates polish both upper and lower surfaces of the workpiece held in each workpiece holding portion of the carrier.

As a workpiece unloading device for a polisher having such a configuration, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-215031 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-15
6665 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-156666, there is a method in which a workpiece is loaded into a workpiece holding portion of a carrier and then the carrier is slid sideways onto a mount and transported between an upper and lower surface plate. There is also a loading device such as JP-A-59-156665 and JP-A-59-15665.
As shown in Japanese Patent No. 156666, there is a method in which a workpiece is loaded into each workpiece holding portion of a carrier, and the carrier is picked up and carried between upper and lower surface plates.

However, in the case of the former method in which the workpiece is carried out by sliding it along with the carrier laterally, there is a disadvantage that the workpiece may be scratched, especially when being taken out after polishing. In addition, it takes time and effort to remove the workpieces one by one from each workpiece holding part of the carrier that has been pulled out of the machine and load the next workpiece to be processed. When resetting, the carrier may not mesh smoothly with the sun gear and the internal gear, resulting in poor efficiency in loading and unloading workpieces, which in turn makes it impossible to improve productivity in the polisher. .

In addition, in the case of the latter method, in which the workpiece is picked up and carried along with the carrier, it takes time to load the workpiece into each workpiece holding part of the carrier outside the machine, and the carrier loaded with the workpiece is moved between the upper and lower surface plates. When setting the sun gear to the internal gear, the meshing between the sun gear and the internal gear cannot be achieved smoothly, and similarly to the former case, there is a problem in that workpiece loading and unloading work is inefficient and productivity cannot be improved.

[Purpose of the invention]

This invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and the workpiece is quickly moved to each workpiece holding part of the carrier while the carrier between the upper and lower surface plates is not removed and remains meshed with the sun gear and the internal gear. In addition, it is possible to automatically load and unload workpieces reliably and without damaging them, which simplifies loading and unloading work and greatly increases efficiency.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a work loading/unloading device for a polisher that can be of great help in improving productivity.

[Summary of the invention]

In order to achieve the above object, the workpiece loading/unloading device in the polisher of the present invention has the same number and the same arrangement as the plurality of workpiece holding parts of the carrier provided between the upper and lower surface plates in mesh with the sun gear and the internal gear. An index table having a workpiece support part is installed at a location near the outside of the machine, and a plurality of workpieces are simultaneously carried between the workpiece loading/unloading means for each workpiece support part of the index table and the index table and the carrier. The structure is equipped with a workpiece loading/unloading means for loading and unloading the index table, and one or more workpieces are carried in and supported by the workpiece loading/unloading means to each workpiece support part of the index table, and each workpiece on the index table is loaded and unloaded. All or part of the workpieces supported on the supporting parts are taken out and transferred at the same time by the workpiece loading/unloading means in their arranged state, and loaded into each workpiece holding part of the carrier in the machine, and then the polishing process is carried out after polishing. All or part of each workpiece is simultaneously taken out from each workpiece holding part of the carrier in the machine by the workpiece loading/unloading means and conveyed to each workpiece support part of the index table, and from there the workpieces are carried out to a storage part etc. by the loading/unloading means. It was designed to do so.

[Embodiments of the invention]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, in FIGS. 1 and 2, numeral 1 indicates a polisher for double-sided processing, and numeral 2 indicates a work loading/unloading device for the polisher 1. As shown in FIG.

Here, to briefly explain the configuration of the polisher 1, a vertical motor and an arm 4a of a support 4 installed above the machine base 3 are attached.
A disk-shaped upper surface plate 5 is provided so as to be suspended vertically by a mechanism 4b, and a disk-shaped lower surface plate 6 is provided on the upper surface of the machine base 3 directly below this. This upper and lower surface plate 5,
6, the surfaces facing each other at the top and bottom are polishing surfaces 5a, 6a.
As a result, the upper surface plate 5 is lowered by the vertical movement mechanism 4b from a state where it is largely separated (opened) above the lower surface plate 6, and is rotationally driven in a state where it approaches the lower surface plate 6 (opened). A workpiece, which will be described later, is sandwiched between the polishing surfaces 5a and 6a of the two and polished.

That is, the lower surface plate 6 is provided so as to be rotationally driven by a rotational drive mechanism 7, and a sun gear 8 that is separately rotationally driven is protruded from the center of the lower surface plate 6. A separately driven joint 9 is provided, and the upper surface plate 5 is engaged with and rotated by lowering the joint 9. Further, a large-diameter internal gear 10 is provided on the upper surface of the machine base 3 so as to surround the outer periphery of the lower surface plate 6. A thin plate-shaped carrier 11 such as a planetary gear that meshes with the sun gear 8 and the internal gear 10 and revolves around its axis is provided on the lower surface plate 6, and each carrier 11 has a circular hole-shaped opening. A plurality of (for example, six) workpiece holding parts 11a are formed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, and workpieces 12 such as silicon wafers are loaded therein by the carrying-in device 2. With a workpiece held one by one in each of the workpiece holding parts 11a, the carrier 11 rotates and revolves between the upper and lower surface plates 5 and 6 due to the rotation of the sun gear 8 by the rotational drive mechanism 7. Both upper and lower surfaces of each workpiece 12 are polished by polishing surfaces 5a, 5a of upper and lower surface plates 5.6.

The work loading/unloading device 2 for the polisher 1 is as follows:
A work loading/unloading machine table 13 is installed next to the front side of the polisher 1, and two index tables 14 are installed on the left and right sides of the polisher 1 for loading and unloading sides.
．． 15, and a workpiece carrying-in mechanism 16 exclusively for carrying in and a workpiece carrying-out mechanism exclusively for carrying out provided on the upper part of the machine stand 13 as means for carrying in and out of the respective workpiece supports 14a and 15a, which will be described later, formed on this index table 14.15. 17, and the machine stand 1 as means for loading and unloading a plurality of works 12 by simultaneously carrying them between the index table 14 and the carrier 11 in the polisher 1.
3, and a workpiece loading/unloading mechanism 18 installed in the middle of the upper part.

Note that on the left and right sides of the machine base 13 on the side opposite to the polisher, there are provided a carry-in side work storage section 19 and a carry-out side work storage section 20, each of which has cassettes 21 and 22 capable of storing a large number of works 12 in a multistage manner. It can be set and placed.

To explain these in detail, the carry-in index table 14 is a disc-shaped one having a smaller diameter than the carrier 11, and is provided so as to be able to rotate intermittently like a turntable. Workpiece support parts 14a are formed in the same number and in the same arrangement as the holding parts 11a. In other words, the carry-in index table 14 has a disk shape as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, and is attached and supported by two ends of a rotary shaft cylinder 24 fitted on the outer periphery of the fixed shaft 23. 24 and is intermittently rotated by a motor 27 via gears 25 and 26 at the lower end. Workpiece support portions 14a are formed in a substantially semicircular concave stepped shape at six locations around the upper surface of the carry-in index table 14 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, and one workpiece 12 is placed on each of the workpiece support portions 14a. It is gradually gaining support. At this time, the workpiece 12 is accommodated with a little more than half of the area resting on the workpiece support part 14a,
The remaining part is exposed to the outside. Further, an arcuate vacuum suction groove 1 is formed on the inner surface of each workpiece support portion 14a.
4b are formed, each of which is connected to a lower suction tube 28 through a suction hole 14c penetrating the index table 14, and each of the suction tubes 28 is connected to a fixed shaft from a suction hole 24a penetrating the rotary shaft cylinder 24. The workpiece support 1 is connected to a vacuum suction mechanism (not shown) through the outer circumferential suction groove 23a and the internal suction hole 23b formed in the workpiece support part 23.
The workpieces 12 housed in 4a are individually suctioned and held.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the carry-out index table 15 has exactly the same configuration as the carry-in index table 14, and has a disk shape with a plurality of workpiece support parts 15a around the upper surface. 29, and is provided to be driven to rotate intermittently by a motor 32 via gears 30, 31.

Next, the workpiece loading mechanism 16 as the workpiece loading/unloading means
As shown in FIG. 4, it is a type of belt conveyor, and includes a guide roller 33 adjacent to the index table 14 on the carry-in side, and an arm 34 provided at the tip of the arm 34 protruding toward the work storage section 19 on the carry-in side. It is composed of a guide roller 35, an intermediate guide roller 36, a pair of left and right endless conveyor belts 37 hooked thereon, and a motor 39 that rotationally drives the guide roller 33 via a drive belt 38. . Then, the conveyor belt 3 is driven by the motor.
7, the work 12 on the shelf 21a in the cassette 21 of the carry-in work storage section 19 is scooped up and taken out from below, and the work 12 is taken out from the bottom of the carry-in side index table 1.
The work is carried into the No. 4 work support section 14a.

Further, the guide roller 33 and the motor 39 below the guide roller 33 are supported by a vertical movement mechanism such as a cylinder (not shown). When the index table 14 stops, the workpiece 12 is lowered so that it does not touch the workpiece 12.
can be transported to the workpiece support section 14a.

Here, 39a and 39b are limit switches for detecting the vertical movement positions of the motor 39 and the guide roller 33.

The cassette 21 of the work storage section 19 on the carry-in side has each internal column 21a cut out leaving the periphery so that the conveyor belt 37 can pick up the work 12 from below, and the entire cassette 21 is Lifting mechanism (not shown)
is initially lifted upward by the conveyor belt 3.
Each time a workpiece is taken out by 7, the conveyor belt 37 is lowered one stage at a time, so that the conveyor belt 37 can gradually take out the workpieces on the upper shelf 21a from the workpiece 12 on the lowest shelf 21a.

Further, the workpiece unloading machine t+' as the workpiece loading/unloading means
As shown in FIG.
5, a guide roller 43 provided at the tip of an arm 42 that protrudes by a cylinder 41 so that it can be driven forward and backward toward the workpiece storage section 20 on the unloading side, an intermediate guide roller 44, and an intermediate guide roller 44 disposed below it. A pair of detour rollers 45 , a tension roller 47 disposed below the detour rollers 45 so as to be movable up and down via a guide 46 , a pair of left and right endless conveyor belts 48 hooked around them, and the guide roller 40 . The tension roller 47 is composed of a motor 50 that rotates the tension roller 47 via a drive belt 49, and a weight 51 that constantly pulls the tension roller 47 downward. Then, by advancing the arm 42 toward the workpiece storage section 20 on the carryout side by the cylinder 41 and rotating the conveyor belt 37 by driving the motor, the workpieces 12 on the workpiece support section 15a of the index table 15 on the carryout side are moved from below. It is carried out in a scooping manner and is fed onto the shelf 22a in the cassette 22 of the carry-out side work storage section 20. Further, the guide roller 40 and the motor 50 below the guide roller 40 are supported by the side of a vertical motor such as a cylinder (not shown), and when the carry-out index table 15 is rotated, the workpiece supporting portion 1
The conveyor belt 48 descends so as not to touch the workpiece 12 supported by the workpiece 5a, and rises so that the conveyor belt 48 can transport the workpiece 12 from the workpiece support section 15a when the index table 15 stops. There is. Here, 52a and 52b are limit switches for detecting forward and backward positions, and 52c and 52d are limit switches for detecting vertical movement positions.

The cassette 22 of the carry-out side workpiece storage section 20 has each internal column 22a cut out leaving the periphery so that the conveyor belt 48 can advance and feed the workpiece 12 onto the shelf 22a. At the same time, the entire cassette 22 is initially located at a lower position by the cassette lifting mechanism 53, and is raised one step at a time each time the workpiece is fed by the conveyor belt 48, and the conveyor belt 48 gradually moves from above the uppermost shelf 22a to the lower shelf. Workpieces can be sent to 22a. Further, the work storage section 20 on the carry-out side has a tank 54 which is large enough to store a plurality of the cassettes 22 stacked vertically.
An anti-drying liquid 55 such as pure water is supplied into the tank 54 so as to constantly overflow, and the polished work 12 carried into the cassette 22 is stored together with the cassette 22 to prevent it from drying out. It can be stored while keeping in mind. The cassette lifting mechanism 53 is provided at the bottom of the tank 54.

That is, there is a female ball screw feed screw 58 that is rotationally driven by a motor 56 fixed to the lower side of the tank 54 via a gear 57, and a long feed screw 59 that is screwed into this female screw. A plurality of guide rods 60 arranged around the tank 54 pass upward through the bottom of the tank 54 and are connected to a cassette holder 61, and the feed screw 59 is connected to the guide rod 60 by rotation of the female screw 58 driven by the motor 56. It moves up and down together with the cassette pedestal 61 to raise and lower the cassette 22. Note that 62 is a bellows-shaped waterproof cover that can be expanded and contracted in the vertical direction.

Next, the workpiece loading/unloading mechanism 18 is a kind of industrial robot, as shown in FIGS. The chuck head 65 is composed of an arm 64 that moves up and down and swings by a ram 63, an extendable ram 64a, and a chuck head 65 rotatably held downward at the tip of the ram 64a. has a disk shape with approximately the same diameter and size as the index table 14, 15, and has a plurality of work chuck portions (not shown) on the bottom surface having the same shape and corresponding arrangement as each work support portion 14a of the index table 14. There is. The chuck head 65 moves between the index table 14, 15 and the carrier 11 in the polisher 1 due to the vertical movement and swing of the arm 64, and the expansion and contraction of the ram 64a, and the chuck head 65 moves between the index table 14 and the carrier 11 in the polisher 1, and the chuck head 65 moves between the index table 14 and the carrier 11 in the polisher 1, and the chuck head 65 moves between the index table 14, 15 and the carrier 11 in the polisher 1. The workpieces 12 on each workpiece support section 14a of the side index tape 14 are simultaneously chucked and conveyed in whole or in part, such as half, to the workpiece holding section 11 of the carrier 11.
a, or vice versa, each work holding part 1 of the carrier 11.
The polished workpiece 12 of 1a is simultaneously chucked and taken out in its entirety or, in some cases, a half thereof, and conveyed to each workpiece support portion 15a of the output index tape 15.

In the work loading/unloading device 2 of the polisher configured as described above, if the cassette 21 containing a large number of unprocessed works 12 is set in the loading side work storage section 19, the cassette 21 is lowered step by step. While doing so, the workpiece loading mechanism 16 takes out the workpieces 12 on each shelf 21a one by one from the lower stage, and carries them one after another into the workpiece support section 14a of the loading side index 14 which rotates intermittently. The workpiece 12 is held by the workpiece support part 14a under vacuum.

When the workpieces 12 are carried in and held one by one in all the workpiece support parts 14a of the carry-in index table 14, the chuck head 65 of the workpiece loading/unloading mechanism 18 moves directly above the workpieces and descends. The vacuum suction force on the carry-in index table 14 side is released, and instead, the workpieces 12 are usually all chucked at the same time by the workpiece chuck portions on the lower surface of the chuck head 65, and then lifted up by the arm 64 and placed near the carry-in position in advance. By swinging the arm 64, the carrier 11 is conveyed to a position directly above the carrier 11, which is stopped. At this time, the upper surface plate 5 of the polisher 1 is pulled up high and placed in an open state. Then, the chuck head 65 descends together with the arm 64 directly above the carrier 11, and further swings the arm 64 and ram 64a.
The center of the chuck head 65 is moved to the carrier 1 by the expansion and contraction of
The workpiece 12 is aligned with the center of the workpiece 12 and chucked to the chuck part by rotation of the chuck head 65.
The workpieces on the carrier 11 are aligned with each other, and each workpiece 12 that has been chucked on the lower surface of the chuck head 65 is
are loaded into each work holding portion 11a of the carrier 11 at once. After this carrying-in operation is performed for each carrier 11, the arm 64 of the workpiece loading/unloading mechanism 18 rises and rotates, and the workpiece loading/unloading mechanism 18 is retracted out of the polisher 1 together with the chuck head 65. The upper surface plate 5 of the polisher 1 is lowered, and the carrier 1 is rotated between the upper and lower surface plates 5 and 6.
The carrier 11 is rotated and revolved to polish the upper and lower surfaces of the work 12 held by each work holding part 11a of the carrier 11.

When the polishing by the polisher 1 is finished and the upper surface plate 5 is raised to the open state, the chuck head 65 of the workpiece loading/unloading mechanism 18 is again moved to the carrier that has been previously stopped near the unloading position in the same manner as described above. 11 and descends, the position and rotation angle of the chuck head 65 relative to the carrier 11 are determined in the same way as when carrying it in, and the polished workpieces 12 in each workpiece holder 11a of the carrier 11 are usually held as they are. The chuck head 6 all at the same time
5 Chuck the workpiece using each chuck section on the bottom surface. Then, by swinging upward, the chuck head 65 picks up each workpiece 12 and transports it directly above the carry-out index table 15, and descends therefrom to store each workpiece 12 in each workpiece support portion 15a of the index table 15.

While the carry-out index table 15 containing the polished workpieces 12 is driven to rotate intermittently, the workpiece carry-out mechanism 17 takes out the works 12 one by one from each work support part 15a of the index table 15, and stores the workpieces on the carry-out side. The cassette 2 of the section 20 is raised step by step.
2, and are stored on each shelf 22a in order from the upper shelf.

This unloading operation is performed for each carrier 11, and the cassette 22 containing one batch of polished works 12 is
The workpiece 12 is stored without being dried by being buried in the anti-drying liquid 55 in the tank 54 of the workpiece storage section 20 on the carry-out side, thereby preventing corrosion of the workpiece 12 by the abrasive and dirt during subsequent cleaning. In addition, the operation of embedding the cassette 22 in the tank 54 may be performed each time the work 12 of each carrier 11 is stored.

Further, when the unprocessed work 12 is carried in after the polished work 12 is carried out, the above-described carrying-out and carrying-in may be repeated for each carrier 11.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments; for example, the workpiece loading mechanism 16 is configured to load the workpieces 12 one by one to the index table 14; It is also possible to load the workpieces 12 into the plurality of workpiece support sections 14a of the index table 15 at the same time, and similarly, the workpiece unloading mechanism 17 can simultaneously load the workpieces 12 into the plurality of workpiece support sections 15a of the index table 15 on the carryout side. 12 may also be carried out. On the other hand, the workpiece loading mechanism 16 and the workpiece loading mechanism 17 may be combined into one unit, and the same mechanism can carry out both loading and unloading of the workpiece. In addition, as shown in 14.15, two index tables were installed, one on the loading side and one on the loading side, but it is also possible to use only one table for loading and unloading, or vice versa. Two or more units may be provided, and the number of workpiece carry-in mechanisms 16 and workpiece carry-out mechanisms 17 may be increased or decreased accordingly. Furthermore, the workpiece loading/unloading mechanism 18 may be configured not only by one unit, but also by two or more units, one for loading a workpiece into a carrier and the other for taking out a workpiece from the carrier. Also, the workpiece support portion 14a of the index table 14.15.

15a is set lower than the conveyor belt 37.48, and the conveyor belt 37.48 side is a high slope so that the workpiece 12 is separated from the conveyor belt 37.48 during vacuum suction, the vertical movement of the conveyor belt 37.48 can be prevented. No mechanism is required. Various other changes may be made without departing from the gist of the vehicle invention.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, this invention uses an index table having workpiece support parts in the same number and in the same arrangement as the plurality of workpiece holding parts of the carrier provided between the upper and lower surface plates in mesh with the sun gear and the internal gear. A workpiece loading/unloading means installed at a nearby location outside, etc., for each workpiece support portion of the index tape, and a workpiece loading/unloading means for simultaneously carrying, loading and unloading a plurality of works between the index table and the carrier. Because of the structure, the workpiece can be quickly and reliably moved to each workpiece holding part of the carrier without removing the carrier between the upper and lower surface plates, while remaining meshed with the sun gear and internal gear. Furthermore, it is possible to automatically load and unload workpieces without damaging them, which simplifies loading and unloading work and greatly increases efficiency.
This is a workpiece loading/unloading device for polishers that can greatly help improve productivity.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a plan view of the whole with a part cut away, FIG. 2 is a side view of the whole with a part cut away, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of the index table alone. FIG. 4 is a partially sectional side view showing the storage section, carry-in mechanism, and index table on the workpiece carry-in side, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the index table, carry-out mechanism, and workpiece storage section on the workpiece carry-out side. 1...Polisher, 2...Work loading/unloading device, 5.
...Upper surface plate, 6...Lower surface plate, 8...Sun gear, 10
... Internal gear, 11... Carrier, lla... Work holding part, 12... Work, 14.15... Index table, 14a, 15a... Work supporting part, 16.17. ... Workpiece loading/unloading means (16... Workpiece loading mechanism, 17... Workpiece loading/unloading mechanism), 18...
Workpiece loading/unloading means. Applicant's representative Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue Procedural amendments 1936, 2013, Director General of the Patent Office, II Department, 1, Indication of the case, Patent application No. 1983-273065, 2, Name of the invention: Polisher 3.Relationship between the person making the amendment and the case Patent applicant (345) Toshiba Machine Co., Ltd. 4 Agent No. 17a Hill, 1-26-5 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo 1
05 Telephone 03 (502) 3181 (main representative) (
5847) Patent attorney Hikokori Suzue,
'・Specification ``k+,・7, Contents of amendment (1) The sentences from page 4, line 1 in the specification Yamanaka to page 5, line 12 are corrected as follows. As an unloading device, JP-A-58-215031 and JP-A-59-15 are used.
As shown in No. 6665 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-156666, the workpiece is loaded into the workpiece holding part of the carrier, and the carrier and the workpiece are cleaned horizontally on the mounting table and carried out between the upper and lower surface plates. There is a method of loading, and as a loading device, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-156665 and
As shown in Publication No. 9-156666@, there is a method in which a workpiece is loaded into each workpiece holding portion of a carrier, and the carrier is picked up and carried between upper and lower surface plates. However, in the case of the above-mentioned method in which the work is cleaned horizontally with the carrier and carried out, there is an inconvenience that the polished work may be scratched. -It is necessary to remove the details. In addition, if this unloading method is applied to loading, it takes time and effort to load the next work to be machined into each work holding part of the carrier outside the machine, and the carrier loaded with the work must be returned between the upper and lower surface plates to be reloaded. When setting, it is difficult to smoothly mesh the carrier between the sun gear and the internal gear, making loading and unloading work inefficient.
Furthermore, there is a problem that productivity cannot be improved in the polisher. In addition, in the case of the above-mentioned method in which the workpiece is picked up and carried along with the carrier, it takes time to place the workpiece into each workpiece holding part of the carrier outside the machine, and the carrier loaded with the workpiece is set between the upper and lower surface plates. When doing so, the sun gear and the internal gear cannot mesh smoothly, and similarly to the above, the efficiency of loading and unloading work is poor, resulting in the problem that productivity cannot be improved. (2) “Protruding” written on page 8, line 8 of the middle cylinder of the specification is corrected as “protruding, zarani”. (3) “Listed on the 7th line from the bottom of page 14 of the Mei rakusen” [ Belt 37J is corrected as ``Bell i~381.'' (4) ``In the same shape'' written in Akira@Seinaka, page 17, line 10 is deleted. (5) "Half-nazo-no" written in the second line of page 18 of Yamanaka specification is corrected to "half-and-so-no". (6) Written in the 8th line from the bottom of page 19 of Meizaku 4th Middle School:
Correct "Hajibu" to "Holding part". (7) Delete "as is" written in the 8th line from the bottom of page 20 of Mei II & I. (8) “Cassette 2 containing polished workpiece 12” described in Mei fIiI publication, page 21, lines 9-10
2," is corrected to "Once the polished workpiece 12 is stored in the cassette 22, the idle roller 43 is moved back by the cylinder 4, and then the cassette 22 is removed." (9) Mei'4 Yamanaka, page 22, line 1 to page 13
The sentence up to J in the line ``It is also possible. On the other hand, the structure is such that the workpieces 12 are carried in one by one, or the workpieces are carried in the same way as the workpiece carrying mechanism 16 (a plurality of workpieces are arranged radially with respect to the index table 14, and two pieces of workpieces are carried in. It is also possible to load the workpieces 12 into the supporting parts 14a at the same time, and the workpiece unloading mechanism 17 can also be configured to simultaneously transport the workpieces 12 from the plurality of workpiece support parts 15a of the unloading index table 15. On the other hand, it is also possible to combine the workpiece alignment mechanism 16 and the workpiece output 1744M 17 into one unit and use the same device to carry in and take out the workpieces.

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) A carrier is provided between the upper and lower surface plates that meshes with a sun gear and an internal gear and revolves around its own axis, and the workpieces loaded in each of the plurality of workpiece holders formed on the carrier are moved by the upper and lower surface plates. In a workpiece loading/unloading device for a polisher for polishing, a workpiece is loaded into an index table having workpiece support parts in the same number and in the same arrangement as the plurality of workpiece holding parts of the carrier, and each workpiece support part of the index tape. A workpiece loading/unloading means for loading and unloading the workpieces, and a means for simultaneously transporting all or some of the workpieces in each workpiece support section of the index table and loading them into the workpiece holding section of the carrier, or vice versa. 1. A workpiece loading/unloading device for a polisher, comprising a workpiece loading/unloading means for simultaneously taking out all or some of the workpieces and transporting them to each workpiece support portion of an index table. (2) The index table is configured such that the workpieces are carried in and out of the workpiece supporting section one by one or a plurality of pieces at a time by a workpiece carrying-in/out means while being rotated intermittently. A workpiece loading/unloading device for the polisher described. (3) A patent claim characterized in that two index tables are provided, one each on the carry-in side and one on the carry-out side, and the workpiece carry-in/out means is also provided separately for carry-in and carry-out only. A workpiece loading/unloading device for a polisher according to scope 1 or 2. (4) A workpiece loading/unloading device for a polisher according to claim 3, wherein one workpiece loading/unloading means is installed between two index tables. (5) Each work support part of the index table is configured to store the work in such a manner that a part of the back surface thereof is exposed.
A workpiece loading/unloading device for the polisher according to any one of the items.