JPS63185704A - Handling device for conveyance - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify a constitution and improve the cleanness of a handling device for conveyance of a semiconductor wear by providing an arm having a retainer on its end and ascenting and descenting freely on a vertical shaft which is constituted to move horizontally. CONSTITUTION:A handling mechanism 1 is contrived to move towards a target position in the horizontal direction parallel to a horizontal guide mechanism 2, 2 and a ascenting-descenting mechanism 3 is contrived to ascent and descent to the lower and closer side of a target position in the vertical direction parallel to a ball screw shaft 6. Next, a carry-in and carry-out actions of a conveying object are done by turning an arm member 5 clockwise with a rotation axis 4 in the center and moving retainers 12 in fixed luci. In this case, the external shape of the arm member 5 is formed in a smooth winglike shape that will not disturb the laminar flow. The constitution can be simplified and the cleanness can be improved by this constitution.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a handling device for use in transporting a carrier containing a plurality of semiconductor wafers or other objects to be transported.

(Prior Art and its Problems) Generally, a handling device is used when a carrier containing a plurality of semiconductor wafers is stored in a stocker or taken out from a stocker.

This type of handling device is comprised of a hand mechanism for loading and unloading with the stocker, a vertical movement mechanism, and a horizontal transfer mechanism.

However, the conventional handling device described above has a large number of axes, which not only complicates the structure but also increases cost.Also, the hand mechanism is located above the carrier, which disturbs the laminar flow of clean air. However, there are problems such as a decrease in cleanliness.

The present invention was developed to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and its purpose is to simplify the structure by minimizing the number of axes of the handling device, and to connect the arm member to a carrier, etc. The object is to position the arm member below the object to be conveyed, and to configure the arm member in a shape that does not disturb the laminar flow, thereby significantly improving the cleanliness.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a handling mechanism having a vertical axis so as to be movable in the horizontal direction along a horizontal guide mechanism, and raises and lowers the handling mechanism along the vertical axis. An arm member is provided in the elevating mechanism via the rotating shaft, and the arm member is
The arm member is configured to rotate in a plane orthogonal to the horizontal movement direction, and a holding part for holding an object to be transported such as a carrier is provided at the tip of the arm member. In addition, the handling mechanism has a streamlined outer shape, and the arm member has a smooth wing-like outer shape, making it difficult to disturb laminar flow. .

(Function) Therefore, according to the present invention, when taking out a transported object such as a carrier stored in a stocker or the like, the handling mechanism is moved toward the horizontal target position along the horizontal guide mechanism, and The lifting mechanism is raised and lowered along the vertical axis towards the vertical target position below and in front of it, and then, while raising the lifting mechanism, the arm member is rotated around the rotation axis to move the holding part while drawing a predetermined trajectory. When the object is placed on the underside of the carrier or other object, the object is slightly lifted using the vertical axis, and then the arm member is rotated in the opposite direction while lowering the object, tracing a predetermined trajectory. Take out the transported object. Thereafter, the object to be transported is moved to a predetermined delivery location. In this case, since the handling mechanism has a streamlined outer shape and the arm member has a smooth wing-like outer shape, it is possible to maintain a clean laminar flow without disturbing the laminar flow.

(Example) An example of an embodiment in which the transport handling device of the present invention is applied to transport a carrier storing a semiconductor wafer will be described with reference to the drawings.

A handling mechanism 1 is provided so as to be movable in the horizontal direction along a horizontal guide mechanism 2, and an arm member 5 provided via a rotating shaft 4 is attached to an elevating mechanism 3 that moves up and down along the handling mechanism 1 in the horizontal direction. It is characterized by being configured to rotate in a plane perpendicular to the direction of movement, and specifically, as follows.

In the eleventh part, the handling mechanism 1 includes a belt pulley 6a provided at the lower part of a ball screw shaft 6 (vertical shaft) provided in the vertical direction, and a belt pulley 6a and a motor 7 connected via a deceleration belt 6b. A screw nut 8 screwed into the screw shaft 6 is provided so that it can be raised and lowered by rotation of the screw shaft 6, and an arm member 5 is raised and lowered along the handling mechanism 1 by a lifting mechanism 3 fixed to the screw nut 8.

Furthermore, a linear guide 3a provided on this elevating mechanism 3 via a bearing is provided so as to guide the elevating mechanism 3 along a linear guide rail 3b provided on the handling mechanism 1. In addition, the cover 1 of the above-mentioned handling mechanism 1
The outer shape of a is formed into a streamlined shape to make it difficult to disturb the laminar flow.

Further, the arm member 5 is rotatably provided by a rotating shaft 4 provided on the lifting mechanism 3, and this rotating shaft 4 is rotationally driven by a belt pulley 10a via a deceleration belt 10b provided on the motor 9. In addition, the outer shape of the arm member 5 is formed into a smooth wing shape to make it difficult to disturb the laminar flow, and a carrier holding part 12 is formed on the upper part of the arm member 5 to transfer the transported object 11 such as a carrier. This carrier holding part 12 has a sensor 1 for preventing contact with other equipment.
3 will be provided. This sensor 13 uses a sensor such as an optical sensor to prevent the carrier holding part 12 from coming into contact with other equipment.

The horizontal movement mechanism 2 is installed on one or both sides of the stocker 14 or on an appropriate surface, and in FIG.

In addition, drive gears 16a, 1 are provided at the upper and lower ends of the frames 15a, 15b provided at the upper and lower parts of the handling mechanism 1.
A drive shaft 17 provided with a shaft 6b is attached, and a reduction gear 18 provided in the middle of this drive shaft 17 is engaged with a reduction gear 20 provided on the motor 19, and the drive gear 16a is engaged with an upper rack 21a,
A drive gear 16b is engaged with a lower rack 21b, so that the handling mechanism 1 is movable in the horizontal direction.

This horizontal movement mechanism 2 includes linear guide rails 22a and
, 22b and linear guides 23a, 23b are provided.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are examples in which the transport handling device of the present invention is applied to a stocker 14 that stores a carrier 11 that stores a plurality of semiconductor wafers lla,
This stocker 14 has an opening 25 formed in the center of storage shelves 24 provided in multiple stages, and a fan 26 sends air from below to the opening 25, and the purified air is passed through a high-performance air filter to each of the openings 25. The storage W 24 is rotatably provided, and a rectangular frame 27 is provided on the storage shelf 24, and a conveyor is provided on an appropriate side of the rectangular frame 27. It is equipped with a handling device.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example applied to the case of loading and unloading from the above-described cylindrical stocker 14 to the inlet/outlet port P, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example applied to the bookshelf type stocker 14a. In both examples, as shown in FIG. 8, the relationship between the carrier 11 and the laminar flow is parallel to the wafer lla from the wafer inlet/outlet 11b side, so there are few vortices generated and the cleanliness is always maintained. It is possible to hold it.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained.

When taking out an object such as a carrier 11 stored in a stocker 14 or the like, the handling mechanism 1 is moved toward a target position in the horizontal direction along horizontal guide mechanisms 2.2 provided at the upper and lower parts, and the handling mechanism 1 is moved up and down. The mechanism 3 is raised and lowered along the ball screw shaft 6 toward the lower part of the target position in the vertical direction, and then, as shown in FIG. The holding part 12 is moved while drawing a predetermined trajectory by rotating in the clockwise direction, and when it is positioned on the lower surface of the object to be transported such as the carrier 11, the object to be transported 11 is slightly lifted using the ball screw shaft 6. Subsequently, as shown in the same figure, the arm member 5 is rotated in the direction of the half-hour mark and lowered to take out the object to be transported while drawing a predetermined trajectory. Thereafter, the transported object 11 is moved to a predetermined delivery location.

In this case, since the handling mechanism 1 has a streamlined outer shape and the arm member 5 has a smooth wing-like outer shape, it is possible to maintain a clean laminar flow without disturbing the laminar flow. .

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the conveyance handling device according to the present invention, in which a drive shaft 33a and an auxiliary wheel 3, which are driven via a motor 32, are provided at the bottom of the handling mechanism 31.
3b is provided, and the drive shaft 33a rolls on the guide rail 34 to move the handling mechanism 31 in the horizontal direction. Further, a ball screw shaft 36 is rotatably provided via a motor 35, and a ball screw nut 38 fixed to the lifting mechanism 37 is screwed onto the ball screw shaft 36 to raise and lower the lifting mechanism 37. An arm member 40 is attached to this elevating mechanism 37 via a rotating shaft 39, and the arm member 40 is rotationally driven by a motor 41 to transfer objects to a storage device 42 or the like. In addition,
A linear guide 43 provided in the elevating mechanism 37 and a paired linear guide rail 44 are provided on one or both sides.

(Effects of the Invention) As is clear from the above, according to the present invention, the number of axes of the handling device is minimized to simplify the structure,
In addition, the holding part of the arm member is located below the conveyed object such as a carrier, and the outer shape of the arm member and handling mechanism is configured to not disturb the laminar flow, making it cleaner than before. can significantly improve the degree of
Moreover, it is possible to reduce costs, and furthermore, the stroke in the horizontal direction can be expanded very easily.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the handling device for conveyance according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the handling device placed in the stocker with covers removed, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the handling device placed in the stocker. Fig. 3 is a partially cutaway side view showing the state in which it is placed.
The figure is a perspective view of another embodiment of the handling device installed in the storage device, Figure 5 is a trajectory diagram showing the loading and unloading trajectory of the arm mechanism and carrier, and Figure 6 is a cylindrical stocker. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of application to a bookshelf type stocker, FIG. 8A is a perspective view showing the storage state of a carrier storing wafers, and FIG. 8B is FIG. 8A is a perspective view showing the attitude of the carrier during movement, and FIG. 8C is a perspective view showing the attitude of the carrier on the loading/unloading boat. 1.31... Handling mechanism 2.34... Horizontal guide mechanism 3.37... Lifting mechanism 4.39... Rotating shaft 5.40... Arm member 6.36... Vertical shaft 11 . . . Objects to be transported such as carriers 12 . . . Carrier holding section 13 .

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) A handling mechanism having a vertical axis is provided so as to be movable in the horizontal direction along a horizontal guide mechanism, and an arm member is provided via a rotating shaft to the elevating mechanism that moves up and down along the vertical axis, and the arm member is A handling device for conveyance, characterized in that the arm member is configured to rotate in a plane perpendicular to the horizontal movement direction, and a holding portion for holding an object to be conveyed is provided at the tip of the arm member. (2) The transport handling device according to claim 1, wherein the holding portion is provided with a sensor for preventing contact with other equipment. (3) Claim 1 or 2, in which the outer shape of the handling mechanism is formed into a streamlined shape to make it difficult to disturb laminar flow.
The transportation handling device described in Section 1. (4) Claims 1 to 3 in which the outer shape of the arm member is formed into a smooth wing shape to make it difficult to disturb laminar flow.
The transportation handling device described in Section 1.