JPS63150932A - Handling device for wafer cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To remove the generation of dust from a drive section approximately, to miniaturize and lighten the whole transfer robot and to prevent the generation of vibration by juxtaposing a spring material and a shape memory alloy having a spring shape as a drive means for separation, contact and movement regulation of a pair of handling arms in a transfer robot for manufacturing a semiconductor. CONSTITUTION:Shape memory alloys 17 are supplied with a current and heated, and elongated to a shape memorized first. The shape memory alloys 17 push open handling arms 13 to the outside against the force of springs 16, and release a holding wafer cassette 12 at a predetermined position on a production unit. When the arms 13 are extended up to prescribed positions, the nose sections of engagement members 18b are engaged with engagement grooves 13d in the arms. Consequently, the shifting of the arms 13 is stopped. The shape memory alloys 19 are conducted and heated, and shrunk to a shape memorized first, and the engagement members 18b are turned until they are abutted against stoppers 21 against the shrinkage force of springs 20. The engagement members 18b are slipped off from the engagement grooves 13d in the arms, the arms 13 are brought near mutually by the shrinkage force of the spring materials 16, and the wafer cassette 12 is held from both sides by nose sections 13a.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention "Industrial Application Field" This invention is a method for installing wafer cassettes on semiconductor manufacturing equipment in a process in a partially laminar flow clean room used in the manufacturing field of VLSI, IC, etc. This invention relates to a handling device for a transfer robot that automatically loads and unloads.

``Prior Art'' As is well known, vibrations of manufacturing equipment during the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices, especially during the formation of circuit elements on semiconductor wafers and the preceding process, as well as dust adhering to the wafers, are unavoidable and Maintaining cleanliness in the atmosphere and preventing vibrations from occurring in semiconductor manufacturing equipment are directly linked to product yield. The semiconductor manufacturing equipment is installed in a partially laminar flow clean room so as to satisfy the above conditions.

Here, a partially laminar flow type clean room will be briefly explained using FIG. 4.

In the figure, the symbol indicates a partially laminar flow type clean room (hereinafter simply referred to as "clean room"), and the clean room includes a ceiling part I of a passage area T and an equipment area S.
An air supply chamber 3 which is an air supply section is installed in the ceiling part 2 of the
, 4 are arranged in a straight line in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface. Further, below the air supply chamber 3.4, there are ULPA filters (or HEPA filters) 6, 6 for purifying the air supplied into the room. ... is installed. On the other hand, the floor section 7 is a fixed floor made of concrete in the equipment area S, and has a perforated floor in the passage area T, so that it communicates with the underfloor free access floor 8. . On the floor of the equipment area S, semiconductor manufacturing equipment (hereinafter referred to as "manufacturing equipment") 9 is installed linearly in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper, and the equipment area S is separated by a partition plate -IO. It is divided into a utility area U.

Along the boundary between the ULPA filter 6 on the device area S and the ULPA filter 6 on the passage area T, a traveling duct 11 is provided that extends in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing. A transfer device I is disposed inside this traveling duct, and this transfer device I is equipped with a ceiling mount that attaches and detaches (loads and unloads) the wafer cassette 12 to and from the manufacturing device 9 while traveling along the transfer device I. A type transfer robot M is suspended.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the transfer robot M includes a handling device M1 that clamps the wafer cassette I2, and an arm M2 that extends and retracts the handling device M1 horizontally to the top of the manufacturing device 9. The main components are a robot body M3 that extends and contracts the arm part M2 in the vertical direction and rotates it in the horizontal direction, and a connecting member Mr for attaching the robot body M3 to the transfer device (2). It is known that a motor (not shown) is used as a drive device for the handling arm 13 in the handling device Ml, and the drive portion thereof is covered by a frame 14 having a sealed structure.

"Problems to be Solved by the Invention" However, in the conventional handling device Ml for the wafer cassette 12, a motor is used to drive the handling arm 13, and the frame 1
4 has a sealed structure to prevent dust from being generated from the drive section, and is large and heavy. As a result, the transfer robot M, which has a heavy handling device Ml attached to its tip, has a large and sturdy overall shape and structure.Furthermore, the transfer device that it supports has to be large-scale, resulting in a high cost. There was a problem in that it caused an increase in the amount of noise and vibration.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and eliminates dust generation from the driving part of the handling device, and also reduces the weight of the handling device, thereby reducing the weight of the entire transfer robot and suppressing the generation of vibration. The present invention also aims to provide a wafer cassette handling device that can reduce costs.

"Means for Solving the Problems" In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has a distal end that is formed to be able to hold a wafer cassette from both sides, and a base end that is attached to a frame of a handling device. a pair of handling arms slidably attached to both sides of the handler; a first drive means provided for moving the base ends of the pair of handling arms toward and away from each other; and a base of the pair of handling arms. an engaging groove formed at each end, a locking means for regulating the amount of movement of the handling arm by engaging with the engaging groove, and a second locking means for attaching and detaching the locking means to the engaging groove. The first driving means includes a first spring member having one end attached to the base end of the handling arm, and a first shape memory alloy formed in a spring shape. The locking means has an engaging member rotatably attached to a support member fixed inside the frame, and the second driving means has a locking member rotatably attached to a support member fixed inside the frame. A second shape memory alloy formed in a spring shape is attached between one end and the inside of the frame, and a second spring material is attached between the other end of the engagement member and the inside of the frame. It is characterized by

"Embodiment" An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. 1 to 3 are enlarged views of the handling device of the transfer robot.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional plan view of a wafer cassette handling device (hereinafter simply referred to as "handling device") of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are side sectional views of FIG. 1.

Note that in FIGS. 1 to 3, the same elements as those shown in the prior art are designated by the same reference numerals, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

In the figure, the symbol M1 indicates that a wafer cassette 1 is automatically transferred to a manufacturing equipment 9 installed in a partially laminar flow clean room.
This is a handling device equipped on a transfer robot M that attaches and detaches items. This handling device Ml has a pair of handling arms 13.degree. 13 symmetrically attached to both sides of a frame 14 formed in the shape of a cubic box. Each of the handling arms 13 is L.
The wafer cassette 12 is held between one side forming the tip end 13a, and the other side forming the base end 13b is formed in a letter shape, and one side forming the base end 13b is connected to both sides 14a, 1 of the frame 14.
4a in a slidable manner.

The base end 13b of this handling arm 13,
13b and a plate-shaped fixing member 15 fixed to the center of the frame 14, a first driving means is provided for moving the base ends 13b of the pair of handling arms toward and away from each other. ing. This first driving means has a first spring member 16 attached between the base end 13b of the handling arm 13 and the fixing member 15 to draw them together, and a spring shaped member attached to the outside so as to cover the spring member 16. The first shape memory alloy 17 formed in the first shape memory alloy 17 is arranged in parallel. Further, the base end portions 13b of the pair of handling arms
An engagement groove 13d is formed at a position spaced a certain length from the end surface 13c of each of the engagement grooves 13d.
includes a locking means 1 for regulating the amount of movement of the handling arm.
8 are arranged side by side. This locking means 18'
consists of a support member 18a fixed to the inside of the frame, and an engagement member 18b rotatably attached to the distal end of the support member approximately at the center. The engaging member 18b of the locking means is provided with a second driving means for attaching and detaching it to the engaging groove 13d, and this second driving means is connected to the upper end of the engaging member 18b and the frame. a second engagement memory alloy 19 formed in a spring shape attached between the inside of the
It consists of a second spring member attached between the lower end of the engagement member I8b and the inside of the frame. And the locking means 1
A stopper 21 that comes into contact with the tip of the engaging member 18b when the engaging member 18b rotates to a predetermined position is fixed to the inside of the frame I4 above the frame I4.

The first shape memory alloy 17 is a unidirectional alloy whose shape is memorized so that it stretches into a predetermined shape when heated, and the second shape memory alloy 19 is unidirectional. It is a material whose shape is memorized so that it contracts into a predetermined shape when heated. The first and second shape memory alloys 17.19 are provided with heating means (for example, wiring for generating heat by directly applying electricity to the shape memory alloys 17.19). It has a set configuration.

Next, the operation of the handling device Ml of the present invention will be explained.

First, when loading the wafer cassette 12 into the manufacturing apparatus 9, the transfer robot M, which is holding the wafer cassette 12 between the tips 13a of the handling arm 13, is moved to a predetermined location in the manufacturing apparatus 9, and then the arm The wafer cassette 12 is placed at a predetermined position on the manufacturing apparatus 9 by extending the portion M2.

Then, by energizing the first shape memory alloy 17° 17 shown in FIG. 1, the shape memory alloy 17 is heated and stretched into the initially memorized shape. By doing so, the shape memory alloy 1'7.17 gradually pushes the handling arm 13.13 outward against the force of the spring 16.16.
The held wafer cassette 12 is released to a predetermined position on the manufacturing apparatus 9.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the second shape memory alloy 19 is in a state where it can be freely deformed because it is at about room temperature, and the tip of the engaging member 18b is deformed by the tensile force of the second spring material 20. is in contact with the base end 13b of the handling arm, and when the handling arm 13 expands outward and reaches a predetermined position, the tip of the engagement member 18b enters the engagement groove 13d of the handling arm. This causes the handling arm 13 to stop moving and to be fixed in that position.

Next, when the wafer cassette 12 containing the wafers that have been processed in the manufacturing apparatus 9 is to be transferred to another location, the second shape memory alloy 19 is heated by being energized to form a shape memory alloy. By contracting the alloy 19 to the originally memorized shape, the engaging member 18b is rotated against the contracting force of the second spring 20 until it comes into contact with the stopper 21, and the engaging member 18b is rotated vertically as shown in FIG. state. By doing this, the engaging member tab is disengaged from the engaging groove 13d of the handling arm, and the handling arms 13 are brought close to each other by the contraction force of the first spring member 16, and the wafer cassette is attached to the wafer cassette by the tip portion 13a. 12 will be held from both sides. In addition, at this time,
The first shape memory alloy 17 is at about room temperature and is in a freely deformable state.

After the wafer cassette 12 is clamped by the handling device Ml, the wafer cassette 12 is moved by moving the transfer robot M.

Therefore, the handling device Ml of the present invention includes a first driving means for driving the handling arm 13;
An engaging groove for locking the handling arm, a locking means that engages with the groove, and a second locking means that drives the engaging means.
Because it is equipped with a drive means of The structure can be made lighter and smaller. As a result, the shape and structure of the entire transfer robot M1 equipped with the lightweight handling device M1 at its tip can be made lightweight and compact, and furthermore, the support device that supports it can be simplified. This can reduce costs and prevent vibrations.

Furthermore, the handling device combines a first spring material and a first shape memory alloy, and a second spring material and a second shape memory alloy, so that the handling arm can be expanded and the engagement member can be engaged. It is only necessary to heat the shape memory alloy when removing it from the groove, which makes it possible to shorten the energization time, which is economical, and prevents heat from accumulating in the handling device.

In this embodiment, the present invention was used for a ceiling-suspended transfer robot, but it can of course be used for a transfer robot that runs on the floor.

"Effects of the Invention" As explained above, the handling device of the present invention includes a pair of handling arms whose base ends are slidably attached to both sides of the frame of the handling device, and a pair of handling arms whose base ends are slidably attached to both sides of the frame of the handling device. The first driving means includes a first driving means and an engaging groove provided, a locking means for regulating the amount of movement of the handling arm, and a second driving means for attaching and detaching the locking means to and from the engaging groove. The driving means includes a first spring member, one end of which is attached to the base end of the handling arm, and a first shape memory alloy formed in a spring shape, and the locking means is a frame. The engaging member is rotatably attached to a support member fixed inside the body, and the second driving means is formed in a spring shape between one end of the engaging member and the inside of the frame. At the same time as attaching a second shape memory alloy,
Since the second spring material is attached between the other end of the engaging member and the inside of the frame, the driving part can be significantly reduced in size and weight, and dust generation from the driving part can be reduced. It is possible to eliminate most of them, the frame can be made of a simple structure, and the entire handling device can be made lighter and smaller.

As a result, a transfer robot with a lightweight handling device attached to its tip can have a lightweight and compact shape and structure, which reduces the size and weight of the entire transfer robot and suppresses the generation of vibration. This also has the effect of reducing costs.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 3 show a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a partially sectional plan view of the handling device, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are the frames of FIG. 1. A cross-sectional side view of the inside of the body, Figures 4 to 6 are diagrams showing conventional technology, Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of a partially laminar flow clean room,
FIG. 5 is a side view of the transfer robot, and FIG. 6 is a plan view of the handling device shown in FIG. K...partial laminar flow clean room (clean room), M...transfer robot, Ml...wafer cassette handling device (handling device),
9... Semiconductor manufacturing equipment (manufacturing equipment), 12...
... Wafer cassette, 13... Handling arm, 13a... Tip of the handling arm, 13b... Base end 1' of the handling arm, 13c... ...End face of handling arm, 13d...Engagement groove, I4...Frame body,
14a...Both sides of the frame body, I6...First spring material, 17...First shape memory alloy, 1
8...Locking means, 18a...Supporting member, 18b...Engaging member, 19...Second
shape memory alloy, 2o...second spring material.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A wafer cassette handling device installed on a transfer robot that automatically attaches and detaches wafer cassettes to and from semiconductor manufacturing equipment installed in a clean room, the tip portion being formed so as to be able to grip the wafer cassette from both sides. a pair of handling arms, the base ends of which are slidably attached to both sides of the frame of the handling device; 1 driving means, engagement grooves formed in the base ends of the pair of handling arms, locking means for regulating the amount of movement of the handling arms by engaging with the engagement grooves, and a second drive means for attaching and detaching the locking means to the engagement groove, and the first drive means includes a first drive means having one end attached to the base end of the handling arm.
A spring material and a first shape memory alloy formed in a spring shape are arranged side by side, and the locking means rotatably attaches an engaging member to a support member fixed inside the frame. The second drive means attaches a second shape memory alloy formed in a spring shape between one end of the engagement member and the inside of the frame, and also attaches a second shape memory alloy formed in the shape of a spring between one end of the engagement member and the inside of the frame. A wafer cassette handling device, characterized in that a second spring member is attached between the section and the inside of the frame.