JPWO2012066613A1 - Breathable transfer table - Google Patents

Abstract

A porous sheet 12 made of a flexible polyurethane resin having a large number of air holes 12a is provided. A large number of through holes 14a are provided, and a metal plate 14 is provided to which the porous sheet 12 is attached so as to cover the through holes 14a. A pair of side walls 26 are erected on the bottom plate 24, and the metal plate 14 is attached to the tip of the side wall 26, the opening is closed, and a chamber member 20 that forms chamber spaces 18 a and 18 b is provided inside. In the chamber member 20, ribs 32 are erected on the surface on the chamber space 18 b side, and the metal plate 14 contacts and is fixed to the tip portion of the rib 32 and the tip portion of the side wall 26.

Description

  The present invention relates to a breathable transfer table used for a conveyor device or the like that transfers a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate, a flat panel display, or the like by air levitation or suction fixation.

  Conventionally, as an air levitation type conveying device, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, an air ejection hole for ejecting air that levitates a plate-like object such as a semiconductor wafer is provided along a transfer path. 2. Description of the Related Art There is a plate-shaped object transfer device that includes guide means for guiding the transfer of a shape-shaped object and a dust-proof cover member that covers the plate-shaped object and the like. This plate-shaped material transfer device is provided with a transfer path on the upper surface of the bottom plate of the apparatus main body, and penetrates a plurality of air ejection holes at predetermined intervals from the air supply path passing through the inside of the bottom plate toward the transfer path on the upper surface of the bottom plate. And formed.

  Further, as disclosed in Patent Document 2, the surface is provided with a porous plate that is a porous body used as a work path surface of a workpiece, and is made negative pressure by an ejector, and is provided at a predetermined position of the porous plate. Consists of a suction chamber that sucks air from the suction holes, a jet chamber that receives air supply from the ejector and sends pressurized air to the back surface of the porous plate, and a partition that partitions the suction chamber and the jet chamber In addition, there is a levitation unit provided with a cooling unit that further includes cooling means for cooling the air in the chamber. In this levitation unit, pressurized air sent from the ejection chamber is ejected from the porous plate to float the workpiece, and the workpiece such as a glass substrate is corrected to a flat shape by air suction into the suction chamber. The heat is efficiently removed. The levitation unit has a structure in which the inside of the chamber is partitioned by two barrier portions, and the ceiling wall of the chamber is integrated with the bottom wall via the two barrier portions. The porous plate is bonded to a flat surface excluding the lattice grooves formed on the surface of the chamber ceiling wall. Therefore, the air sent out from the ejection chamber enters the porous plate from the back surface of the porous plate exposed in the lattice grooves and escapes to the surface.

  In addition, as disclosed in Patent Document 3, an air blowing structure of an air levitation transport device that transports a thin plate such as a glass substrate by levitating with air, and is a woven material disposed at the uppermost portion below the thin plate. A porous reinforcing member through a through-hole such as a punching metal joined to the lower part of the metal mesh and the woven metal mesh, and a pair of side walls standing on the bottom, and the ceiling is closed by the woven metal mesh and the reinforcing member There is a conveyance device that includes a chamber to be formed and floats a thin plate by air blown from a woven wire mesh.

JP 61-86311 A JP 2008-273729 A JP 2009-73660 A

  However, the plate-like object transfer device of Patent Document 1 has a problem that it is not easy to float and stably convey the workpiece (plate-like object) while keeping it horizontal. In order to keep the workpiece horizontal, it is necessary to blow air uniformly over a wide area on the lower surface of the workpiece, and it is preferable to provide a large number of small diameter air ejection holes at high density. However, in the case of this plate-shaped transfer device, the air ejection holes on the bottom plate of the apparatus body are provided with through holes by machining, and minute air ejection holes cannot be provided at high density. Therefore, unevenness such as air pressures differing depending on the position of the air ejection holes and air flow rates are likely to occur. Furthermore, the bottom plate with the air ejection port is not a smooth flat surface due to the air ejection holes, and it is impossible to apply a uniform flying pressure over the entire surface, which is particularly unsuitable for applications in which a small workpiece is transported horizontally.

  In the levitation unit of Patent Document 2, the air sent from the ejection chamber of the chamber flows into the porous plate from the lattice-like groove on the surface of the ceiling wall, and when air is ejected from the surface of the porous plate, There is a possibility that a part with a low jet pressure may occur. Furthermore, the porosity of the porous carbon or porous resin is not specified, and if the porosity is too low, a high air pressure is required, and a lot of energy is required to transport the workpiece. Further, when the porosity is too high, there is a problem that the strength and surface smoothness are inferior.

  Further, the air blowing structure of Patent Document 3 is a porous material having a woven wire mesh on the surface, and has a low surface smoothness. If the object to be conveyed is softer than the metal of the wire mesh, there is a risk of being damaged by the woven wire mesh. In addition, when bonding a reinforcing material such as punching metal and a woven wire mesh, the flatness of the back surface of the woven wire mesh is low, so even if it is bonded to the surface of the reinforcing material, there is a slight amount of adhesion between the adhesive and the woven wire mesh and the reinforcing material. Due to the difference in the gap, the air pressure sent to the woven wire mesh and the air pressure ejected tend to be uneven. Therefore, in the case of this structure, similarly to Patent Document 1, it is impossible to apply a uniform flying pressure over the entire surface of the woven wire mesh. Furthermore, as described above, the surface is low in smoothness and may damage the workpiece, so that it is not suitable for suction fixation.

  The present invention has been made in view of the background art described above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a breathable transfer table that realizes a flat and wide ventilation surface and can apply a uniform pressure to a workpiece. And

  The present invention provides a porous sheet made of a porous soft polyurethane resin having a large number of air holes communicating with each other, and a metal plate provided with a large number of through holes, the porous sheet covering the through holes. A chamber in which a pair of side walls are erected on the bottom plate, the metal plate is attached to the tip of the side wall, the opening is closed, and a chamber space is formed inside A rib is extended from an inner wall surrounding the chamber space to the chamber member, and the metal plate is in contact with and fixed to the leading end portion of the rib and the leading end portion of the side wall. It is a table for.

  The porous sheet is formed with conductivity, the chamber member is formed of metal, the metal plate and the porous sheet are bonded through a conductive adhesive, and the metal plate and the chamber member are bonded to each other. Fixing is also hermetically bonded and fixed via a conductive adhesive. Furthermore, the Asker C hardness of the said porous sheet is 10-80 degrees, Preferably it is 30-60 degrees. Furthermore, the porosity of the porous sheet is 60 to 90%, preferably 70 to 80%.

The chamber member is provided with a partition plate that divides the chamber space into a first chamber space on the bottom surface side and a second chamber space on the metal plate side,
Air pressure is applied to the first chamber space from an air supply device, and the air pressure is applied to the second chamber space through an air passage hole formed in the partition plate.

  The pair of side walls of the chamber member are provided with a pair of stepped portions for supporting and fixing the end portions of the metal plate on the inner sides of the tip portions facing each other, and the porous sheet is formed on the pair of stepped portions. With the metal plate attached, the ends of the pair of side walls are fixed so as not to protrude from the surface of the porous sheet.

  The breathable transfer table of the present invention can apply a uniform air pressure from almost the entire surface of the porous sheet, and the surface of the porous sheet is soft, so that damage to the workpiece is not likely to occur.

  In addition, the porous sheet and the metal plate as the reinforcing material are uniformly bonded, and it is possible to apply a uniform air pressure to the air holes on almost the entire surface of the porous sheet without unevenness.

  Furthermore, since the metal plate is fixed to the tip of the rib of the chamber member, the metal plate and the porous sheet are not easily bent even when subjected to air pressure, and the air blowing surface or the intake surface is wide in a highly flat surface. Can be formed.

It is a disassembled perspective view which shows one Embodiment of the table for air permeable conveyance of this invention. It is sectional drawing explaining the internal structure of the air-permeable conveyance table of this embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the outline of the air floating type conveyor apparatus which uses the air-permeable conveyance table of this embodiment. It is a schematic diagram of the air suction type conveyor apparatus which is other embodiment of the air-permeable conveyance table of this invention. It is a schematic diagram of the air suction type conveyor apparatus of further another embodiment of the table for air permeability conveyance of this invention.

  Hereinafter, a breathable transfer table 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. This breathable transfer table 10 is a device that blows air toward the workpiece W and floats it when transferring a thin plate-like workpiece W such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal panel, and conversely the position is fixed. It is used in an apparatus for sucking and transporting a necessary work W to the table 10 side.

  A breathable transfer table 10 includes a porous sheet 12 having a large number of vent holes 12a shown in FIG. 1, a metal plate 14 having a plurality of through holes 14a, and a chamber that is supplied with pressurized air from the outside. A chamber member 20 that forms the space 18 and an air supply device 22 that supplies air to the chamber space 18 are provided.

  The porous sheet 12 is a substantially rectangular sheet formed of a flexible polyurethane resin, and a plurality of air holes 12a communicating with each other are formed inside. This porous sheet 12 has a hardness (measured by a polymer meter, manufactured by Asker C-type hardness meter) of 10 to 80 °, preferably 30 to 60 °. If too much, the grip of the work is inferior. The porous sheet 12 has a porosity of 60 to 90%, preferably 70 to 80%. This is because if the porosity is too low, a high air pressure is required and a lot of energy is required, and if the porosity is too high, the strength and surface smoothness are poor. Therefore, by setting the porosity, it is possible to provide a breathable transfer table without using a compression air. The porous body has an average pore diameter of the air holes 12a of 0.5 to 500 μm, preferably 10 to 50 μm. The porous sheet 12 is formed by mixing a conductivity-imparting agent in order to impart certain conductivity. Soft polyurethane resin is advantageous in terms of reducing the weight of the apparatus because it is cheaper and more readily available than porous carbon, and is a material that can achieve a high porosity. Further, even when the workpiece W contacts the porous sheet 12 during use, the impact is softly absorbed and the workpiece W is prevented from being damaged. Other than other porous resins such as polyethylene resin and polypropylene resin, it has high tensile strength, excellent wear resistance and ozone resistance, excellent adhesion to various materials, hardness and strength by blending formulation There is an advantage that specific gravity and the like can be easily controlled. In addition, it has an advantage that it is excellent in gripping work as compared with other hard porous resins, and that precision processing such as cutting, punching and polishing is easy.

  The metal plate 14 is preferably an aluminum punching metal, for example. The outer shape is substantially the same as that of the porous sheet 12, and the porous sheets 12 are attached in a stacked manner, and all the through holes 14 a are covered with the porous sheet 12. The hole diameter of the through holes 14a is set to 0.5 to 1.0 mm, for example, and the pitch is set to 1 to 5 mm uniformly.

  The chamber member 20 has a pair of side walls 26 erected on the bottom plate 24. As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of stepped portions 28 by notches are provided on the inner sides of the front end portions of the side walls 26 facing each other. Yes. The metal plate 14 and the porous sheet 12 are supported and fixed to the stepped portion 28, and the inside where the ceiling is closed serves as a chamber space 18 for storing pressurized air. Here, the chamber member 20 is an extruded material made of aluminum, and the extrusion direction is the conveyance direction of the workpiece W. Accordingly, the bottom surface 24 and the side wall 26 are long and continuous in the conveying direction of the workpiece W.

  A partition plate 30 that crosses the chamber space 18 is integrally provided between the pair of facing side walls 26. The partition plate 30 extends from the pair of side walls 26, and divides the chamber space 18 into a first chamber space 18a on the bottom plate 24 side and a second chamber space 18b on the metal plate 14 side. On the surface of the partition plate 30 on the second chamber space 18b side, two ribs 32 that support the metal plate 14 at the tip end 32a are provided upright. The two ribs 32 divide the second chamber space 18b into three equal parts in the width direction. The first chamber space 18 a and the three second chamber spaces 18 b can be ventilated through an air passage hole 30 a provided in the partition plate 30.

  Further, a T-groove slot 34 is provided on the outer surface of the bottom plate 24 of the chamber member 20. The T-groove slot 34 is used when the chamber member 20 is fixed to a mating frame member or the like, and a coupling nut or a coupling bolt is engaged with the T-groove slot 34 to be fastened and fixed to the mating frame member. .

  The air supply device 22 is, for example, an air compressor, and applies air pressure to the first chamber space 18 a through an air supply port 24 a provided in the bottom plate 24 of the chamber member 20.

  The porous sheet 12 and the metal plate 14 are bonded and fixed via a conductive adhesive (not shown). For the bonding, for example, a roll coater is preferably used to apply a wide range of adhesive on the surface of the metal plate 14, and the porous sheet 12 is bonded thereto and cured. In addition, spraying, silk screen printing, and other methods may be used, and an excessive adhesive does not block the through hole 14a, and an appropriate thin film adhesive layer is formed between the porous sheet 12 and the metal plate 14. As long as it adheres like this.

  The metal plate 14 and the chamber member 20 are also bonded and fixed via a conductive adhesive 36 as shown in FIG. For bonding, an adhesive 36 is applied to the stepped portion 28 of the chamber member 20 and the tip 32a of the rib 32, and then the end of the metal plate 14 to which the porous sheet 12 is bonded and fixed is fitted between the stepped portions 28. Then, the metal plate 14 and the chamber member 20 are joined in an airtight state by bringing the surface of the metal plate 14 into contact with the tip 32a of the rib 32 and curing the adhesive 36. As shown in FIG. 2, the depth of the stepped portion 28 is set so that the tip of the side wall 28 does not protrude from the surface of the porous sheet 12, so that the workpiece W contacts the tip of the stepped portion 28 during use. And can be prevented from being damaged.

  The breathable transfer table 10 uses conductive members for the porous sheet 12, the metal plate 14, and the chamber member 20, which the workpiece W is likely to approach in use, and joins them with a conductive adhesive. Short circuit. Therefore, when a workpiece W such as a semiconductor wafer that is sensitive to static electricity is transported, it is possible to easily take countermeasures against static electricity by simply connecting any of the shorted members to the ground.

  Next, the air floating conveyor device 40 using the above-described air-permeable conveying table 10 will be described with reference to FIG. The air levitation conveyor device 40 is a device that conveys a large workpiece W such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal panel, and blows air toward the lower surface of the workpiece W to convey the floated workpiece W (in the direction of the thick arrow in the drawing). The horizontal movement is performed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the air-floating conveyor device 40 includes a plurality of porous sheets in which a plurality of air-permeable conveying tables 10 are arranged on a base 42 with the porous sheet 12 facing upward and are continuously arranged in the conveying direction. 12 form a row of air blowing surfaces 44, and the blowing surfaces 44 are provided in three rows in parallel.

  Each breathable transfer table 10 forming a row of blow-out surfaces 44 is integrally formed as a long chamber member 20 in which each chamber member 20 is an extruded material, and a plurality of chamber members 20 are integrated with each other. A porous sheet 12 and a metal plate 14 are attached. Therefore, there are advantages that the assembly is easy and the flatness of the blow-out surface 44 is easy to be obtained. A terminal lid member 46 is attached to the opening of the chamber member 20 at the end of the blowout surface 44, and each of the first and second chamber spaces 18a and 18b is airtightly closed. In addition, the air supply device 22 is provided in common for the chamber members 20 integrated.

  The air levitation conveyor device 40 of this embodiment operates as follows. First, positive air pressure is generated by the air supply device 22, and air is supplied to the first chamber space 18 a through the air supply port 24 a of the chamber member 10. The positive pressure air collides with the partition plate 30 to disperse the local momentum of the air, passes through the air passage holes 30a provided in the partition plate 30 at appropriate intervals, and a plurality of second chamber spaces 18b. Divide into

  The positive pressure air in the second chamber space 18 b passes through the through hole 14 a provided in the metal plate 14 and reaches the lower surface of the porous sheet 12. At this time, the positive pressure air passes through the through-holes 14a, so that it acts uniformly on almost the entire back surface of each porous sheet 12.

  The positive pressure air that has reached the lower surface of the porous sheet 12 passes through a large number of air holes 12 a communicating with each other, and blows out from the blowing surface 44 that is the upper surface of the porous sheet 12. At this time, air with a sufficiently uniform pressure blows out from the blowing surface 44 regardless of the blowing position. Here, when pressurized air is supplied to the chamber space 18, strong air pressure acts outwardly on the porous sheet 12 and the metal plate 14, but the metal plate 14 is ribbed. The metal plate 14 reinforces the porous sheet 12 and suppresses deformation, and the flatness of the blow-out surface 44 is kept high.

  By supplying the air, the work W receives the uniform air blown from the flat blowing surface 44 on the lower surface and floats horizontally. The floating workpiece W is transferred in the transfer direction by a horizontal transfer device (not shown). This horizontal movement device is, for example, a device that grips and transfers the end portion of the workpiece W with a robot arm or the like, or sucks and transfers the workpiece W with a suction cup.

  As described above, the air-permeable conveying table 10 used in the air-floating conveyor device 40 blows out air with uniform pressure from the surface of the porous sheet 12 and can stably convey the workpiece W. To. Furthermore, by forming the porous sheet 12 with a soft polyurethane resin that realizes a high porosity and a small vent hole diameter, a more uniform air pressure can be supplied with less energy.

  Next, an air suction type conveyor device 50, which is another embodiment using the above-described breathable transfer table 10, will be described with reference to FIG. The air suction type conveyor device 50 is a device used for an inspection device that observes the state of the lower surface of the workpiece W, for example, and performs an operation of sucking the upper surface of the workpiece W and moving it in the transport direction (horizontal direction). Here, the same components as those of the above-described air floating conveyor device 40 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  In the air suction type conveyor device 50, a plurality of breathable transfer tables 10 with the porous sheet 12 facing downward are arranged on the lower surface of the ceiling-side base 52, and the porous sheet 12 continuously arranged in the transfer direction has the intake surface 54. Forming.

  Each breathable transfer table 10 forming the intake surface 54 is integrally formed as a long chamber member 20 in which each chamber member 20 is an extruded material, and a plurality of porous members are formed in the integrated chamber member 20. A sheet 12 and a metal plate 14 are attached. One air supply device 22 is connected to each intake surface 54 and each integrated chamber member 20.

  A breathable conveyor belt 56 is disposed below the intake surface 54 that is continuous in the transport direction, at a position facing the intake surface 54. The conveyor belt 56 is driven by a driving device (not shown) and can move in the transport direction (horizontal direction). Further, a camera 58 for observing the lower surface of the workpiece W is installed below the conveyor belt 56.

  The air suction type conveyor device 50 of this embodiment operates as follows. Air is sucked from the intake surface 54 by making the inside of the chamber space 18 negative pressure by the air supply device 22. When the air is sucked through the conveyor belt 56, the upper surface of the workpiece W is attracted to the lower surface of the conveyor belt 56, and the workpiece W is conveyed by moving the conveyor belt 56 in this state.

  In the case of the air suction type conveyor device 50, the air supply device 22 supplies a negative pressure contrary to the above air floating conveyor device 40, so the inside of the chamber member 20, the metal plate 14 and the porous sheet 12 is reversed. Although air flows in the direction, even in the air suction type conveyor device 50, a uniform negative pressure acts on almost the entire surface of the porous sheet 12, and the upper surface of the work W is evenly sucked and applied to the lower surface of the conveyor belt 56. Adsorb stably.

  In addition to the above-described embodiment in which the workpiece W is suspended, the air suction type conveyor device 50 may transport the workpiece W while sucking and positioning the workpiece W placed on the upper surface of the conveyor belt. This configuration is effective when the workpiece W needs to be accurately fixed on the conveyor belt.

  Further, an air suction type conveyor device 60, which is still another embodiment using the breathable transfer table 10, will be described with reference to FIG. The air suction type conveyor device 60 is a conveyor device in which the porous sheet 12 and the workpiece W are conveyed in direct contact. In this case, the porous sheet 12, the metal plate, and the chamber member are provided on the conveying member 62 of the conveyor device, and an unstable work W or the like having a height is adsorbed on the surface of the porous sheet 12, thereby the conveyor device. It can be moved up and transported to a predetermined position. In particular, the porous sheet 12 made of a flexible polyurethane resin does not damage the workpiece W even when it comes into contact with the workpiece W, has a good adsorptivity, shows a high holding force even with a weak suction force, and ensures that the workpiece is reliable. Fixing is possible. In this case, in addition to the work W being placed and transported, a conveyor device may be used in which the work W is attracted to the surface of the porous sheet 12 and is suspended and transported.

  The breathable transfer table of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the structure of the partition plates and ribs that divide the chamber space is not limited as long as the mounting state of the porous sheet and the metal plate can be kept flat and the air pressure acting from the porous sheet toward the workpiece can be made uniform. The structure can be changed. For example, the number of partition plates and ribs can be increased or decreased, and the shape and formation position of the air passage hole communicating with each chamber space can be changed as appropriate.

  In addition, regarding the shape of the porous sheet and metal plate (outer shape, plate thickness, vent hole diameter and porosity, through hole diameter), the shape and weight of the workpiece, the size and shape of the chamber member, and the ability of the air supply device In view of the above, it can be appropriately changed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Breathable conveyance table 12 Porous sheet 12a Vent hole 14 Metal plate 14a Through hole 18 Chamber space 18a First chamber space 18b Second chamber space 20 Chamber member 22 Air supply device 24 Bottom plate 26 Side wall 28 Stepped portion 30 Partition plate 30a Air passage hole 32 Rib 32a Tip 36 Adhesive 40 Air floating conveyor device 44 Outlet surface 50 Air suction type conveyor device 54 Air intake surface

The present invention relates to a breathable transfer table used for a conveyor device or the like for transferring a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate, a flat panel display and the like by air levitation.

  Conventionally, as an air levitation type conveying device, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, an air ejection hole for ejecting air that levitates a plate-like object such as a semiconductor wafer is provided along a transfer path. 2. Description of the Related Art There is a plate-shaped object transfer device that includes guide means for guiding the transfer of a shape-shaped object and a dust-proof cover member that covers the plate-shaped object and the like. This plate-shaped material transfer device is provided with a transfer path on the upper surface of the bottom plate of the apparatus main body, and penetrates a plurality of air ejection holes at predetermined intervals from the air supply path passing through the inside of the bottom plate toward the transfer path on the upper surface of the bottom plate. And formed.

  Further, as disclosed in Patent Document 2, the surface is provided with a porous plate that is a porous body used as a work path surface of a workpiece, and is made negative pressure by an ejector, and is provided at a predetermined position of the porous plate. Consists of a suction chamber that sucks air from the suction holes, a jet chamber that receives air supply from the ejector and sends pressurized air to the back surface of the porous plate, and a partition that partitions the suction chamber and the jet chamber In addition, there is a levitation unit provided with a cooling unit that further includes cooling means for cooling the air in the chamber. In this levitation unit, pressurized air sent from the ejection chamber is ejected from the porous plate to float the workpiece, and the workpiece such as a glass substrate is corrected to a flat shape by air suction into the suction chamber. The heat is efficiently removed. The levitation unit has a structure in which the inside of the chamber is partitioned by two barrier portions, and the ceiling wall of the chamber is integrated with the bottom wall via the two barrier portions. The porous plate is bonded to a flat surface excluding the lattice grooves formed on the surface of the chamber ceiling wall. Therefore, the air sent out from the ejection chamber enters the porous plate from the back surface of the porous plate exposed in the lattice grooves and escapes to the surface.

  In addition, as disclosed in Patent Document 3, an air blowing structure of an air levitation transport device that transports a thin plate such as a glass substrate by levitating with air, and is a woven material disposed at the uppermost portion below the thin plate. A porous reinforcing member through a through-hole such as a punching metal joined to the lower part of the metal mesh and the woven metal mesh, and a pair of side walls standing on the bottom, and the ceiling is closed by the woven metal mesh and the reinforcing member There is a conveyance device that includes a chamber to be formed and floats a thin plate by air blown from a woven wire mesh.

JP 61-86311 A JP 2008-273729 A JP 2009-73660 A

  However, the plate-like object transfer device of Patent Document 1 has a problem that it is not easy to float and stably convey the workpiece (plate-like object) while keeping it horizontal. In order to keep the workpiece horizontal, it is necessary to blow air uniformly over a wide area on the lower surface of the workpiece, and it is preferable to provide a large number of small diameter air ejection holes at high density. However, in the case of this plate-shaped transfer device, the air ejection holes on the bottom plate of the apparatus body are provided with through holes by machining, and minute air ejection holes cannot be provided at high density. Therefore, unevenness such as air pressures differing depending on the position of the air ejection holes and air flow rates are likely to occur. Furthermore, the bottom plate with the air ejection port is not a smooth flat surface due to the air ejection holes, and it is impossible to apply a uniform flying pressure over the entire surface, which is particularly unsuitable for applications in which a small workpiece is transported horizontally.

  In the levitation unit of Patent Document 2, the air sent from the ejection chamber of the chamber flows into the porous plate from the lattice-like groove on the surface of the ceiling wall, and when air is ejected from the surface of the porous plate, There is a possibility that a part with a low jet pressure may occur. Furthermore, the porosity of the porous carbon or porous resin is not specified, and if the porosity is too low, a high air pressure is required, and a lot of energy is required to transport the workpiece. Further, when the porosity is too high, there is a problem that the strength and surface smoothness are inferior.

  Further, the air blowing structure of Patent Document 3 is a porous material having a woven wire mesh on the surface, and has a low surface smoothness. If the object to be conveyed is softer than the metal of the wire mesh, there is a risk of being damaged by the woven wire mesh. In addition, when bonding a reinforcing material such as punching metal and a woven wire mesh, the flatness of the back surface of the woven wire mesh is low, so even if it is bonded to the surface of the reinforcing material, there is a slight amount of adhesion between the adhesive and the woven wire mesh and the reinforcing material. Due to the difference in the gap, the air pressure sent to the woven wire mesh and the air pressure ejected tend to be uneven. Therefore, in the case of this structure, similarly to Patent Document 1, it is impossible to apply a uniform flying pressure over the entire surface of the woven wire mesh. Furthermore, as described above, the surface is low in smoothness and may damage the workpiece, so that it is not suitable for suction fixation.

  The present invention has been made in view of the background art described above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a breathable transfer table that realizes a flat and wide ventilation surface and can apply a uniform pressure to a workpiece. And

  The present invention provides a porous sheet made of a porous soft polyurethane resin having a large number of air holes communicating with each other, and a metal plate provided with a large number of through holes, the porous sheet covering the through holes. A chamber in which a pair of side walls are erected on the bottom plate, the metal plate is attached to the tip of the side wall, the opening is closed, and a chamber space is formed inside A rib is extended from an inner wall surrounding the chamber space to the chamber member, and the metal plate is in contact with and fixed to the leading end portion of the rib and the leading end portion of the side wall. It is a table for.

  The porous sheet is formed with conductivity, the chamber member is formed of metal, the metal plate and the porous sheet are bonded through a conductive adhesive, and the metal plate and the chamber member are bonded to each other. Fixing is also hermetically bonded and fixed via a conductive adhesive. Furthermore, the Asker C hardness of the said porous sheet is 10-80 degrees, Preferably it is 30-60 degrees. Furthermore, the porosity of the porous sheet is 60 to 90%, preferably 70 to 80%.

The chamber member is provided with a partition plate that divides the chamber space into a first chamber space on the bottom surface side and a second chamber space on the metal plate side,
Air pressure is applied to the first chamber space from an air supply device, and the air pressure is applied to the second chamber space through an air passage hole formed in the partition plate.

  The pair of side walls of the chamber member are provided with a pair of stepped portions for supporting and fixing the end portions of the metal plate on the inner sides of the tip portions facing each other, and the porous sheet is formed on the pair of stepped portions. With the metal plate attached, the ends of the pair of side walls are fixed so as not to protrude from the surface of the porous sheet.

  The breathable transfer table of the present invention can apply a uniform air pressure from almost the entire surface of the porous sheet, and the surface of the porous sheet is soft, so that damage to the workpiece is not likely to occur.

  In addition, the porous sheet and the metal plate as the reinforcing material are uniformly bonded, and it is possible to apply a uniform air pressure to the air holes on almost the entire surface of the porous sheet without unevenness.

  Furthermore, since the metal plate is fixed to the tip of the rib of the chamber member, the metal plate and the porous sheet are not easily bent even when subjected to air pressure, and the air blowing surface or the intake surface is wide in a highly flat surface. Can be formed.

It is a disassembled perspective view which shows one Embodiment of the table for air permeable conveyance of this invention. It is sectional drawing explaining the internal structure of the air-permeable conveyance table of this embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the outline of the air floating type conveyor apparatus which uses the air-permeable conveyance table of this embodiment. It is a schematic view of an air suction type conveyor, which is an embodiment of another breathable conveying table. Further is a schematic view of an air suction conveyor device of another embodiment.

  Hereinafter, a breathable transfer table 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. This breathable transfer table 10 is a device that blows air toward the workpiece W and floats it when transferring a thin plate-like workpiece W such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal panel, and conversely the position is fixed. It is used in an apparatus for sucking and transporting a necessary work W to the table 10 side.

  A breathable transfer table 10 includes a porous sheet 12 having a large number of vent holes 12a shown in FIG. 1, a metal plate 14 having a plurality of through holes 14a, and a chamber that is supplied with pressurized air from the outside. A chamber member 20 that forms the space 18 and an air supply device 22 that supplies air to the chamber space 18 are provided.

  The porous sheet 12 is a substantially rectangular sheet formed of a flexible polyurethane resin, and a plurality of air holes 12a communicating with each other are formed inside. This porous sheet 12 has a hardness (measured by a polymer meter, manufactured by Asker C-type hardness meter) of 10 to 80 °, preferably 30 to 60 °. If too much, the grip of the work is inferior. The porous sheet 12 has a porosity of 60 to 90%, preferably 70 to 80%. This is because if the porosity is too low, a high air pressure is required and a lot of energy is required, and if the porosity is too high, the strength and surface smoothness are poor. Therefore, by setting the porosity, it is possible to provide a breathable transfer table without using compressed air. The porous body has an average pore diameter of the air holes 12a of 0.5 to 500 μm, preferably 10 to 50 μm. The porous sheet 12 is formed by mixing a conductivity-imparting agent in order to impart certain conductivity. Soft polyurethane resin is advantageous in terms of reducing the weight of the apparatus because it is cheaper and more readily available than porous carbon, and is a material that can achieve a high porosity. Further, even when the workpiece W contacts the porous sheet 12 during use, the impact is softly absorbed and the workpiece W is prevented from being damaged. Other than other porous resins such as polyethylene resin and polypropylene resin, it has high tensile strength, excellent wear resistance and ozone resistance, excellent adhesion to various materials, hardness and strength by blending formulation There is an advantage that specific gravity and the like can be easily controlled. In addition, it has an advantage that it is excellent in gripping work as compared with other hard porous resins, and that precision processing such as cutting, punching and polishing is easy.

  The metal plate 14 is preferably an aluminum punching metal, for example. The outer shape is substantially the same as that of the porous sheet 12, and the porous sheets 12 are attached in a stacked manner, and all the through holes 14 a are covered with the porous sheet 12. The hole diameter of the through holes 14a is set to 0.5 to 1.0 mm, for example, and the pitch is set to 1 to 5 mm uniformly.

  The chamber member 20 has a pair of side walls 26 erected on the bottom plate 24. As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of stepped portions 28 by notches are provided on the inner sides of the front end portions of the side walls 26 facing each other. Yes. The metal plate 14 and the porous sheet 12 are supported and fixed to the stepped portion 28, and the inside where the ceiling is closed serves as a chamber space 18 for storing pressurized air. Here, the chamber member 20 is an extruded material made of aluminum, and the extrusion direction is the conveyance direction of the workpiece W. Accordingly, the bottom surface 24 and the side wall 26 are long and continuous in the conveying direction of the workpiece W.

  A partition plate 30 that crosses the chamber space 18 is integrally provided between the pair of facing side walls 26. The partition plate 30 extends from the pair of side walls 26, and divides the chamber space 18 into a first chamber space 18a on the bottom plate 24 side and a second chamber space 18b on the metal plate 14 side. On the surface of the partition plate 30 on the second chamber space 18b side, two ribs 32 that support the metal plate 14 at the tip end 32a are provided upright. The two ribs 32 divide the second chamber space 18b into three equal parts in the width direction. The first chamber space 18 a and the three second chamber spaces 18 b can be ventilated through an air passage hole 30 a provided in the partition plate 30.

  Further, a T-groove slot 34 is provided on the outer surface of the bottom plate 24 of the chamber member 20. The T-groove slot 34 is used when the chamber member 20 is fixed to a mating frame member or the like, and a coupling nut or a coupling bolt is engaged with the T-groove slot 34 to be fastened and fixed to the mating frame member. .

  The air supply device 22 is, for example, an air compressor, and applies air pressure to the first chamber space 18 a through an air supply port 24 a provided in the bottom plate 24 of the chamber member 20.

  The porous sheet 12 and the metal plate 14 are bonded and fixed via a conductive adhesive (not shown). For the bonding, for example, a roll coater is preferably used to apply a wide range of adhesive on the surface of the metal plate 14, and the porous sheet 12 is bonded thereto and cured. In addition, spraying, silk screen printing, and other methods may be used, and an excessive adhesive does not block the through hole 14a, and an appropriate thin film adhesive layer is formed between the porous sheet 12 and the metal plate 14. As long as it adheres like this.

  The metal plate 14 and the chamber member 20 are also bonded and fixed via a conductive adhesive 36 as shown in FIG. For bonding, an adhesive 36 is applied to the stepped portion 28 of the chamber member 20 and the tip 32a of the rib 32, and then the end of the metal plate 14 to which the porous sheet 12 is bonded and fixed is fitted between the stepped portions 28. Then, the metal plate 14 and the chamber member 20 are joined in an airtight state by bringing the surface of the metal plate 14 into contact with the tip 32a of the rib 32 and curing the adhesive 36. As shown in FIG. 2, the depth of the stepped portion 28 is set so that the tip of the side wall 28 does not protrude from the surface of the porous sheet 12, so that the workpiece W contacts the tip of the stepped portion 28 during use. And can be prevented from being damaged.

  The breathable transfer table 10 uses conductive members for the porous sheet 12, the metal plate 14, and the chamber member 20, which the workpiece W is likely to approach in use, and joins them with a conductive adhesive. Short circuit. Therefore, when a workpiece W such as a semiconductor wafer that is sensitive to static electricity is transported, it is possible to easily take countermeasures against static electricity by simply connecting any of the shorted members to the ground.

  Next, the air floating conveyor device 40 using the above-described air-permeable conveying table 10 will be described with reference to FIG. The air levitation conveyor device 40 is a device that conveys a large workpiece W such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal panel, and blows air toward the lower surface of the workpiece W to convey the floated workpiece W (in the direction of the thick arrow in the drawing). The horizontal movement is performed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the air-floating conveyor device 40 includes a plurality of porous sheets in which a plurality of air-permeable conveying tables 10 are arranged on a base 42 with the porous sheet 12 facing upward and are continuously arranged in the conveying direction. 12 form a row of air blowing surfaces 44, and the blowing surfaces 44 are provided in three rows in parallel.

  Each breathable transfer table 10 forming a row of blow-out surfaces 44 is integrally formed as a long chamber member 20 in which each chamber member 20 is an extruded material, and a plurality of chamber members 20 are integrated with each other. A porous sheet 12 and a metal plate 14 are attached. Therefore, there are advantages that the assembly is easy and the flatness of the blow-out surface 44 is easy to be obtained. A terminal lid member 46 is attached to the opening of the chamber member 20 at the end of the blowout surface 44, and each of the first and second chamber spaces 18a and 18b is airtightly closed. In addition, the air supply device 22 is provided in common for the chamber members 20 integrated.

  The air levitation conveyor device 40 of this embodiment operates as follows. First, positive air pressure is generated by the air supply device 22, and air is supplied to the first chamber space 18 a through the air supply port 24 a of the chamber member 10. The positive pressure air collides with the partition plate 30 to disperse the local momentum of the air, passes through the air passage holes 30a provided in the partition plate 30 at appropriate intervals, and a plurality of second chamber spaces 18b. Divide into

  The positive pressure air in the second chamber space 18 b passes through the through hole 14 a provided in the metal plate 14 and reaches the lower surface of the porous sheet 12. At this time, the positive pressure air passes through the through-holes 14a, so that it acts uniformly on almost the entire back surface of each porous sheet 12.

  The positive pressure air that has reached the lower surface of the porous sheet 12 passes through a large number of air holes 12 a communicating with each other, and blows out from the blowing surface 44 that is the upper surface of the porous sheet 12. At this time, air with a sufficiently uniform pressure blows out from the blowing surface 44 regardless of the blowing position. Here, when pressurized air is supplied to the chamber space 18, strong air pressure acts outwardly on the porous sheet 12 and the metal plate 14, but the metal plate 14 is ribbed. The metal plate 14 reinforces the porous sheet 12 and suppresses deformation, and the flatness of the blow-out surface 44 is kept high.

  By supplying the air, the work W receives the uniform air blown from the flat blowing surface 44 on the lower surface and floats horizontally. The floating workpiece W is transferred in the transfer direction by a horizontal transfer device (not shown). This horizontal movement device is, for example, a device that grips and transfers the end portion of the workpiece W with a robot arm or the like, or sucks and transfers the workpiece W with a suction cup.

  As described above, the air-permeable conveying table 10 used in the air-floating conveyor device 40 blows out air with uniform pressure from the surface of the porous sheet 12 and can stably convey the workpiece W. To. Furthermore, by forming the porous sheet 12 with a soft polyurethane resin that realizes a high porosity and a small vent hole diameter, a more uniform air pressure can be supplied with less energy.

  Next, an air suction type conveyor device 50, which is another embodiment using the above-described breathable transfer table 10, will be described with reference to FIG. The air suction type conveyor device 50 is a device used for an inspection device that observes the state of the lower surface of the workpiece W, for example, and performs an operation of sucking the upper surface of the workpiece W and moving it in the transport direction (horizontal direction). Here, the same components as those of the above-described air floating conveyor device 40 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  In the air suction type conveyor device 50, a plurality of breathable transfer tables 10 with the porous sheet 12 facing downward are arranged on the lower surface of the ceiling-side base 52, and the porous sheet 12 continuously arranged in the transfer direction has the intake surface 54. Forming.

  Each breathable transfer table 10 forming the intake surface 54 is integrally formed as a long chamber member 20 in which each chamber member 20 is an extruded material, and a plurality of porous members are formed in the integrated chamber member 20. A sheet 12 and a metal plate 14 are attached. One air supply device 22 is connected to each intake surface 54 and each integrated chamber member 20.

  A breathable conveyor belt 56 is disposed below the intake surface 54 that is continuous in the transport direction, at a position facing the intake surface 54. The conveyor belt 56 is driven by a driving device (not shown) and can move in the transport direction (horizontal direction). Further, a camera 58 for observing the lower surface of the workpiece W is installed below the conveyor belt 56.

  The air suction type conveyor device 50 of this embodiment operates as follows. Air is sucked from the intake surface 54 by making the inside of the chamber space 18 negative pressure by the air supply device 22. When the air is sucked through the conveyor belt 56, the upper surface of the workpiece W is attracted to the lower surface of the conveyor belt 56, and the workpiece W is conveyed by moving the conveyor belt 56 in this state.

  In the case of the air suction type conveyor device 50, the air supply device 22 supplies a negative pressure contrary to the above air floating conveyor device 40, so the inside of the chamber member 20, the metal plate 14 and the porous sheet 12 is reversed. Although air flows in the direction, even in the air suction type conveyor device 50, a uniform negative pressure acts on almost the entire surface of the porous sheet 12, and the upper surface of the work W is evenly sucked and applied to the lower surface of the conveyor belt 56. Adsorb stably.

  In addition to the above-described embodiment in which the workpiece W is suspended, the air suction type conveyor device 50 may transport the workpiece W while sucking and positioning the workpiece W placed on the upper surface of the conveyor belt. This configuration is effective when the workpiece W needs to be accurately fixed on the conveyor belt.

  Further, an air suction type conveyor device 60, which is still another embodiment using the breathable transfer table 10, will be described with reference to FIG. The air suction type conveyor device 60 is a conveyor device in which the porous sheet 12 and the workpiece W are conveyed in direct contact. In this case, the porous sheet 12, the metal plate, and the chamber member are provided on the conveying member 62 of the conveyor device, and an unstable work W or the like having a height is adsorbed on the surface of the porous sheet 12, thereby the conveyor device. It can be moved up and transported to a predetermined position. In particular, the porous sheet 12 made of a flexible polyurethane resin does not damage the workpiece W even when it comes into contact with the workpiece W, has a good adsorptivity, shows a high holding force even with a weak suction force, and ensures that the workpiece is reliable. Fixing is possible. In this case, in addition to the work W being placed and transported, a conveyor device may be used in which the work W is attracted to the surface of the porous sheet 12 and is suspended and transported.

  The breathable transfer table of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the structure of the partition plates and ribs that divide the chamber space is not limited as long as the mounting state of the porous sheet and the metal plate can be kept flat and the air pressure acting from the porous sheet toward the workpiece can be made uniform. The structure can be changed. For example, the number of partition plates and ribs can be increased or decreased, and the shape and formation position of the air passage hole communicating with each chamber space can be changed as appropriate.

  In addition, regarding the shape of the porous sheet and metal plate (outer shape, plate thickness, vent hole diameter and porosity, through hole diameter), the shape and weight of the workpiece, the size and shape of the chamber member, and the ability of the air supply device In view of the above, it can be appropriately changed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Breathable conveyance table 12 Porous sheet 12a Vent hole 14 Metal plate 14a Through hole 18 Chamber space 18a First chamber space 18b Second chamber space 20 Chamber member 22 Air supply device 24 Bottom plate 26 Side wall 28 Stepped portion 30 Partition plate 30a Air passage hole 32 Rib 32a Tip 36 Adhesive 40 Air floating conveyor device 44 Outlet surface

Claims (6)

A porous sheet made of a porous soft polyurethane resin having a large number of air holes communicating with each other;
A metal plate provided with a large number of through holes, and a metal plate on which the porous sheet is laminated and pasted so as to cover the through holes;
A pair of side walls is erected on the bottom plate, the metal plate is attached to a tip portion of the side wall and the opening is closed, and a chamber member that forms a chamber space inside is provided,
The chamber member has a rib extending from an inner wall surrounding the chamber space, and the metal plate is in contact with and fixed to a leading end portion of the rib and a leading end portion of the side wall. For table.   The porous sheet is formed with conductivity, the chamber member is formed of metal, the metal plate and the porous sheet are bonded through a conductive adhesive, and the metal plate and the chamber member are bonded to each other. The breathable conveyance table according to claim 1, wherein the fixing is also hermetically bonded and fixed via a conductive adhesive.   The breathable conveyance table according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the porous sheet has an Asker C hardness of 10 to 80 °.   The breathable conveyance table according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a porosity of the porous sheet is 60 to 90%. The chamber member is provided with a partition plate that divides the chamber space into a first chamber space on the bottom surface side and a second chamber space on the metal plate side,
The air pressure is applied to the first chamber space from an air supply device, and the air pressure is applied to the second chamber space through an air passage hole formed in the partition plate. The breathable transfer table as described. The pair of side walls of the chamber member are provided with a pair of stepped portions for supporting and fixing the end portions of the metal plate on the inner sides of the tip portions facing each other, and the porous sheet is formed on the pair of stepped portions. The breathable conveyance table according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a tip of the pair of side walls is fixed so as not to protrude from a surface of the porous sheet in a state where a metal plate is attached.

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