KR101014748B1 - Apparatus for transferring substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

A conveying apparatus is disclosed. The conveying apparatus of the present invention includes a profile forming a vertical axis; A car assembly provided in the profile or the car assembly to support the workpiece, the car assembly being moved up / down relative to the profile along a vertical axis of the profile; And a locking / unlocking unit provided in at least one of the profile and the car assembly to selectively lock / unlock the car assembly with respect to the profile. According to the present invention, the car assembly can be more stably fixed in the non-contact vertical conveying device, thereby improving work productivity and helping to prevent safety accidents.

Conveyers, Profiles, Locking / Unlocking, Magnetic Levitation

Description

Transport device {APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING SUBSTRATE}

The present invention relates to a conveying apparatus, and more particularly, to a conveying apparatus in which a car assembly is mechanically contacted to a support frame in a non-contact vertical conveying apparatus to thereby more stably fix the car assembly.

The conveying device is a device for conveying a conveyed object. Here, the object to be transported includes a substrate including a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP) and organic light emitting diodes (OLED), a wafer for semiconductors, a tray for receiving and supporting a substrate or a wafer. Or a cassette. In addition, it can be a variety of logistics, including a general box (box). However, for convenience of explanation, hereinafter, the object to be conveyed will be described in detail with respect to the cassette accommodating the LCD substrate.

Recently, as the electronic display industry has developed rapidly among the semiconductor industries, flat panel displays (FPDs) have started to appear. A flat panel display is a thinner and lighter image display device than a cathode ray tube (CRT), which is mainly used as a display for a TV or a computer monitor. Such flat panel displays include substrates such as LCD, PDP, and OLED. Among them, LCD is currently used in electronic clocks, electronic calculators, TVs, notebook PCs, electronic products such as automobiles, aircraft speed displays, and driving systems. It is used widely.

Cassettes loaded with such LCDs need to be sequentially or individually transferred to each process during the LCD manufacturing process. For this purpose, a horizontal conveying apparatus such as a belt conveyor is used, or a vertical conveying apparatus such as a lifting elevator is used.

Among these, the vertical conveying apparatus generally includes a support frame, an up / down frame on which a cassette is loaded, and a driving unit for providing power to up / down the up / down frame. The up / down method of the up / down frame mechanically connects the up / down frame and the driving unit by using a gear or a belt, and raises and lowers the up / down frame by the power of the driving unit. The power transmission method is mainly applied up / down drive through mechanical contact such as gear or belt.

However, the contact type vertical transfer device has a high possibility of generating particles in the contact area between the up / down frame and the support frame, such as a clean room required for a process such as a semiconductor substrate or an LCD substrate. There is a problem that is difficult to apply to the facility. In addition, the contact type up / down structure inevitably causes noise in the contact area, and also has a problem that the durability of the device is degraded due to the contact structure. In addition, it is difficult to keep the up / down frame rate stable.

In order to solve this problem, a conveying apparatus for forming a contact area between the support frame and the up / down frame in a non-contact manner is introduced. Since the transfer device has no friction or mechanical contact, particle generation can be prevented. In addition, the generation of noise can be reduced, the durability of the device can be improved, and external disturbance factors such as heat and friction can be eliminated, which enables more stable control of the speed of the up / down frame.

However, such a non-contact up / down frame is not easy to fix the up / down frame because it is not directly contacted or coupled to the support frame. This is because the up / down frame is floated with a predetermined distance away from the support frame without any mechanical contact between the frames. In addition, there is a fear that a phenomenon of shaking or twisting the up / down frame due to various external factors may occur when the object is drawn in and taken out on the up / down frame. If the up / down frame is shaken or unstable in the process of entering or taking out the transfer object, productivity of work such as damage of the transfer object may be impaired and the safety of the operator may be a problem due to the arbitrary fall. .

It is an object of the present invention to provide a transport apparatus that can more stably fix a car assembly in a non-contact vertical transport apparatus, thereby improving work productivity and helping to prevent a worker's safety accident.

The object is, in accordance with the invention, a profile forming a vertical axis; A car assembly provided in the profile or the car assembly to support a workpiece, the car assembly being moved up / down relative to the profile along a vertical axis of the profile; And a locking / unlocking unit provided in at least one of the profile and the car assembly to selectively lock / unlock the car assembly with respect to the profile. do.

The locking / unlocking unit may include: a rocker provided in any one of the car assembly and the profile to approach and space away from one another; And a rocker driver connected to the rocker and driving the rocker so that the rocker is driven in the approaching and separating directions.

The rocker and the rocker driving unit may be provided in the car assembly.

The rocker driving unit, the rocker housing for supporting the rocker; An actuator connected to one side of the rocker housing to drive the rocker housing along a direction in which the car assembly is moved up / down; A dummy block connected to the car assembly within a range that does not interfere with the rocker housing; And arms at both ends freely rotatable to the dummy block and the rocker.

The rocker may be a non-powered free rotating roller.

The rocker may have a jang shape.

The side of the profile adjacent to the rocker may form an elongated protrusion that is shaped with an elongated groove formed in the side of the rocker.

The rocker housing may be further formed with a guide hole for guiding the movement of the roller shaft so that the roller shaft coupled to the roller can be moved in a direction approaching and spaced relative to the profile.

The guide hole may be provided as a long hole formed on the side of the rocker housing along the direction in which the roller shaft is approached and spaced apart from the profile.

A frame supporting the profile; And an up / down driving part partially coupled to the frame to up / down drive the car assembly.

It may further include a plurality of fall prevention springs provided in the lower portion of the frame to elastically resist against any fall of the car assembly.

Further comprising at least one air inlet / discharge unit provided on any one side of the frame or the car assembly for the smooth flow of the air flow formed in and out of the frame when the car assembly moves up / down, The water may be a cassette on which a liquid crystal display (LCD) substrate is loaded.

According to the present invention, the car assembly can be more stably fixed in the non-contact vertical conveying apparatus, thereby improving work productivity and helping to prevent worker safety accidents.

In order to fully understand the present invention, the operational advantages of the present invention, and the objects achieved by the practice of the present invention, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention and the contents described in the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail by explaining preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like reference numerals in the drawings denote like elements.

Prior to the description of the drawings, the object to be described below is a substrate including a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP) and organic light emitting diodes (OLED), a wafer for a semiconductor, a substrate, and the like. In addition, it can be a tray or a cassette for receiving and supporting a wafer, as well as various logistic products including a general box. However, for convenience of description, the following examples will be described as a cassette.

1 is a front view of a transfer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a top view of FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a side view of a car assembly of the transfer apparatus, and FIG. 5 is 3 is a schematic enlarged view of area A of FIG. 3, and FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a main part of the locking / unlocking unit shown in FIG. 3, and FIGS. 7A and 7B are locking / showing unlocking and locking operations of the locker. Side view of the unlocking unit.

As shown in these figures, the conveying apparatus according to the present embodiment supports the conveyed object (not shown) substantially supporting the conveyed object (not shown) which forms the vertical axis up / down in the vertical direction. Car assembly 200 which is up / down together with the car assembly 200 includes locking / unlocking units 260 and 270 for preventing movement of the car assembly 200.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the frame 100 is a part forming the appearance of the conveying apparatus of the present embodiment, including the profiles 110, 112, the conveying drive unit 300 and the air inlet / bottom of the frame 100 Support the discharge unit 400. As shown in FIG. 1, it may be manufactured in the form of a box structure. In the present embodiment, the frame 100 is fabricated by assembling the metal frame horizontally and vertically with each other and most of the side walls are open. When it is necessary to transfer the object to be transported (not shown) between the multilayers, a plurality of frames may be individually manufactured and stacked to manufacture the frame 100.

Since both sides are symmetrical with respect to the center of the frame 100, the following description will be described only for the structure of one side.

On both side portions of the frame 100, a pair of profiles 110 are formed in the vertical direction. 3 and 5, the profile 110 has a substantially triangular cross-sectional structure having two inclined surfaces that are symmetrical to each other, and the two inclined surfaces of the profile 110 are each contactless up / down guide unit 220. 230, maglev up / down guide units) are arranged correspondingly. The profile 110 interacts with the non-contact up / down guide units 220 and 230 to form a moving path of the car assembly 200 in a non-contact state, for which the non-contact up / down guide units 220 and 230 are connected. It will be described later in detail in the description.

Profiles 110 and 112 are manufactured by extrusion molding. The profiles 110 and 112 are provided in a hollow type in which empty spaces are formed along the longitudinal direction. Through this internal space, steel blocks 111 and 113 are bolted onto the inclined surface of the profile 110 as shown in detail in FIG. 5.

One end of the profile 110, that is, the shape near the vertex of the triangular shape, as shown in Figure 4, is produced in a protruding shape. This is a part corresponding to the locker 261 of the locking / unlocking unit 260 and will be described in detail in the description of the locking / unlocking unit 260.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the car assembly 200 is provided inside the frame 100 so as to be movable relative to the frame 100, and substantially has a cassette (not shown). It serves to transfer vertically by contact with. 4, the car assembly 200 includes a support frame 201 and a non-contact up / down guide provided on the support frame 201 to follow two inclined surfaces of the profile 110 to form a movement path. Units 220, 230, 240, 250 and adjacent to and positioned locking / unlocking units 260, 270 for locking and unlocking the car assembly 200.

As shown in FIG. 4, the support frame 201 includes a vertical support frame 202 and a horizontal support frame 203. The vertical support frame 202 has a rectangular shape and is formed in a substantially 'ㅁ' shape. do. A pair of non-contact up / down guide units 220 and 230 are provided in the upper region of the side portion of the vertical support frame 202, and a pair of non-contact up / down guide units 240 and 250 are provided in the lower region of the vertical support frame 202. do.

The horizontal support frame 203 is disposed on the inner through space of the vertical support frame 202 and is coupled to the horizontal support frame 203. The central region of the horizontal support frame 203 is seated on the rectangular through-hole. To be combined.

In addition, the reinforcement support frame 204 is coupled between the horizontal support frame 203 and the vertical support frame 202. This is to reinforce the coupling between the vertical support frame 202 and the horizontal support frame 203. In addition, the outer frame 207 is formed in a rectangular shape to form the outline of the car assembly 200. An air inlet / outlet 400 is provided in an upper region of the outer frame 207. As such, by forming the reinforcing support frame 204 and the outer frame 207 in the horizontal support frame 203 and the vertical support frame 202, the fastening force between the vertical support frame 202 and the horizontal support frame 203 can be secured. It can be, and can more stably support the load of the cassette being held on the horizontal support frame 203.

The horizontal support frame 203 includes a pair of feed rollers 204 and a drive motor 205 to facilitate loading and unloading of the cassette.

The transfer roller 204 is a portion that substantially contacts the cassette. Since the cassette on which the substrate is loaded has a property that is very vulnerable to the impact applied from the outside, the material of the transfer roller 204 may be buffered so that the impact applied to the cassette is buffered during the cassette being contacted and transferred by the transfer roller 204. Silver can be made of urethane, silicone or rubber.

These feed rollers 204 are arranged in a row on both sides on the horizontal support frame 203, and are connected to a pair of rotation shafts 206 disposed adjacent to each other. In addition, a driving motor 205 disposed adjacent to the rotating shaft 206 is connected to each of the rotating shafts 206, so that the transfer rollers connected to the rotating shaft 206 may be driven. The drive motors 205 provided on both sides may be synchronously controlled.

In this embodiment, the bevel gear (not shown) is connected between the drive motor 205 and the rotating shaft 206, and the rotating shaft 206 and the respective feed rollers 204 are also connected by the bevel gear (not shown) to drive the motor. Each feed roller 204 is rotated as the) is operated. Since the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, the number of feed rollers coupled to one rotary shaft and the driving method between the drive motor and the feed rollers may be appropriately changed. In addition, the number of rotating shafts provided in the horizontal support frame may also be appropriately changed.

Alternatively, individual drive motors (not shown) may be used for each transfer roller. In this case, a pair of rotation shafts perpendicular to the rotation axes of the transfer rollers may be omitted, and may further include a controller (not shown) for controlling the operation of the plurality of individual driving motors (not shown). By allowing the operation of the individual driving motors (not shown) to be individually controlled by the controller (not shown), there may be an advantage of increasing the operational efficiency, structure and power efficiency associated with the transfer of the cassette.

Compared to the conventional car assembly of the contact type is driven in a non-contact manner, the car assembly is provided with a non-contact up / down guide unit (220, 230), the non-contact up / down guide unit (220, 230) will be described in detail later do.

Since the car assembly 200 as in the present embodiment is connected to the frame 100 in a non-contact manner, the car assembly 200 is connected to the frame 100 with a predetermined interval spaced between the car assembly 200 and the frame 100. ) Is provided. Therefore, there is a possibility that the fastening force between the car assembly 200 and the frame 100 is relatively weak. Accordingly, there is a problem that the car assembly 200 may not be stably fixed in the process of loading and taking out the cassette from the car assembly 200. If the car assembly 200 is shaken or unstable in the process of loading or ejecting the cassette, not only productivity may be impaired, but also the cassette may be damaged, and a worker may fall due to the fall of the car assembly 200. This is a serious hazard to your safety.

To prevent this, the conveying apparatus of the present embodiment is provided with locking / unlocking units 260 and 270. The locking / unlocking units 260 and 270 are provided between the non-contact up / down guide units 220, 230, 240 and 250 at both sides of the car assembly 200, as shown in FIG. 4, to up / down the car assembly 200. When the vehicle assembly 200 is stopped, the position of the car assembly 200 is fixed so that the car assembly 200 can be stably maintained in response to disturbance caused by external factors.

One locking / unlocking unit 260, 270 is provided between a pair of up / down guide units 220 and 230 disposed adjacent to each other and between a pair of up / down guide units 240 and 250, respectively. Accordingly, one locking / unlocking unit 260, 270 is provided at one side of each of the vertical support frame 202 at the top and the bottom, and the locking / unlocking units 260, 270 perform the same structure and function. Only the locking / unlocking unit 260 provided in one upper region of the support frame 202 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 6, the locking / unlocking unit 260 is provided adjacent to a pair of non-contact up / down guide units 220 and 230 provided at one end of the car assembly 200. The locking / unlocking unit 260 is provided in the car assembly 200 and includes a rocker 261 that is approached and spaced toward the profile 110, and a rocker driver 263 connected to the rocker 261 to drive the rocker 261. ).

The rocker 261 is a portion that substantially contacts the one end of the profile 110, and the rocker 261 in this embodiment is provided with a free rotating roller. The side of the rocker 261 has a long shape, the long side groove portion 263 is formed on the side of the rocker 261 so that the locker 261 can be matched with the long projection 115 formed on the side of the profile (110). . This serves to increase friction by increasing the contact area between the tip of the profile 110 and the side of the rocker 261. Due to this, the locking operation can be kept stable. In addition, the shape of the rocker 261 in direct contact with the front end of the profile 110 is provided with a free-rolling roller 261, there is an advantage that the impact that can occur during the contact support process and the process of the release contact is minimized. .

As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the rocker driving unit 263 may perform a locking operation in which the rocker 261 and the profile 110 are in contact support and an unlocking operation in which the contact support is released. In particular, the structure of the locking driver 263 needs to be manufactured reliably so that the locking operation is not released by unexpected disturbance.

The rocker driver 263 changes the position of the rocker 261 in the direction (hereinafter referred to as the X direction) approaching and away from the profile 110. The rocker driving unit 263 supports the rocker 261 and the rocker housing 264 and the rocker which can be rotated about the pivot axis 268 on one side so that the rocker 261 can be approached and spaced apart from the car assembly 200. The actuator 265 is disposed around the housing 264 to rotate the rocker housing 264 while approaching and spaced toward the rocker housing 264.

The rocker housing 264 is formed between a pair of sidewall parts that are symmetrical to each other and a support portion that interconnects the sidewall parts. In one region of the side wall portion of the rocker housing 264, a rotation shaft to which the rocker 261 can freely rotate is formed. In addition, a pivot shaft 268 is formed at an upper portion of the rocker housing 264 so that the rocker housing 264 is connected to the car assembly 200, and the rocker housing 264 is formed around the pivot shaft 268. It is possible to rotate relative to the assembly 200. That is, the position of the rocker 261 in the X direction with respect to the profile 110 is changed. The other end of the rocker housing 264 has a flange portion 264b protruding upward, and a restoring spring 269 is inserted and coupled between the flange portion 264b and the car assembly 200. One end of the restoring spring 269 is coupled to the car assembly 200 and the other end is coupled to the side of the flange portion 264b so that the rocker housing 264 rotates counterclockwise about the pivot shaft 268. Allow for clockwise resilience to be applied.

A contact sliding block 264a is provided in the lower region of the rocker housing 264. The contact sliding block 264a slides in direct contact with the end of the transfer block 267. The contact sliding block 264a is formed to have an inclined surface corresponding to an upper portion of the transfer block 267. As a result, as the transfer block 267 moves upward, the inclined surfaces of the contact sliding block 264a and the transfer block 267 slide to each other, thereby gradually transferring the transfer block 267 to the rocker housing 264 and the car assembly. As a result, the rocker housing 264 is rotated counterclockwise. This substantially changes the X-axis position of the rocker 261 in a direction approaching and spaced apart from the profile 110 (hereinafter referred to as the X direction). When the displacement of the rocker in the x-axis direction increases, eventually locking is performed by conforming to the tip portion of the profile 110.

The locking / unlocking unit having such a structure is configured to lock the locker 261 by the force in the X direction when the locking force is relatively weak while the locker 261 is shaped and locked to the front end of the profile 110. It is possible to block the possibility of being released from the tip of the profile 110. In other words, when the disturbance is applied on the car assembly 200, the force applied to the rocker 261 is properly applied by arranging the operating direction of the actuator 265 perpendicular to the direction of action of the disturbance acting when the disturbance is applied. It can be distributed. This can prevent the release operation of the rocker 261.

The actuator 265 in the present embodiment is provided with a cylinder 265, the driving method of the cylinder 265 may be hydraulic or pneumatic. The actuator 265 has a cylinder body 266 coupled to the cylinder body and the length and shrinkage of the cylinder body.

The transfer block 267 is coupled to the end of the cylinder rod 266 to transfer the linear movement of the cylinder rod 266 to the rotational movement of the rocker housing 264. The transfer block 267 is formed in an 'L' shape, and the inclined surface sliding in contact with the inclined surface of the contact sliding block 264a at the bottom of the rocker housing 264 is formed at the upper portion of the transfer block 267. The lower portion of the transfer block 267 is integrally coupled with the rod of the actuator 265 so that the transfer block 267 moves in the Z direction by the length of the rod that is extended or reduced as the rod of the actuator 265 extends or contracts. Done.

When the locking drive unit having such a configuration is manufactured, damage to the actuator 265 of the locking drive unit 263, for example, the cylinder 265, can be prevented. That is, the actuator 265 and the transfer block 267 and the rocker housing 264 can be formed as a separate module without a direct structural connection, the rocker when the disturbance in the X-axis direction is applied The disturbance applied to the housing 264 may be minimized to the transmission block 267 and the actuator 265 designed as separate modules to prevent malfunction and breakage of the actuator 265.

The locking / unlocking operation process of the locking / unlocking unit 260 will be described briefly. As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the transfer block 267 coupled to the rod when the cylinder 265 rod is extended in length is illustrated. ) Moves in the Z direction. Then, as the inclined surface of the upper portion of the transfer block 267 and the inclined surface of the contact sliding block 264a at the bottom of the rocker housing 264 are in contact with each other and these inclined surfaces are in a surface contact state as the transfer block 267 moves in the Z direction. Sliding at. As the sliding sliding block 264a slides, the rocker housing 264 rotates in a counterclockwise direction. The counterclockwise rotation angle of the rocker housing 264 is increased in response to the depth in which the transfer block 267 is inserted upward in the contact sliding block 264a. Eventually, the long side groove portion 262 of the rocker 261 is formed in the profile 110 while the side portion of the rocker 261 is in contact with one end of the profile 110 and the pressing force in the X-axis direction of the rocker housing 264 is maintained. The locking operation is completed by conforming to the jangular projection 115.

On the contrary, when the rod of the cylinder 265 is contracted in length, the unlocking operation is performed in the reverse order of the above-described operation so that the side portion of the rocker 261 is spaced apart from the one end of the profile 110. At this time, as the transfer block 267 moves downward, the restoring spring 268 provided at the upper end of the rocker housing 264 rotates clockwise by the elastic restoring force to restore the original position.

As such, the locking / unlocking unit 260 may require a stopped state of the car assembly 200 such as, for example, a cassette insertion and withdrawal process when the car assembly 200 is stopped up / down. In this case it serves to block the vertical movement of the car assembly 200. In addition, the car assembly 200 may be prevented from shaking to allow the car assembly 200 to be stably fixed in response to disturbance caused by external factors.

As a result, the workpiece can be more stably transported, thereby improving work productivity, and preventing any fall of the car assembly 200, thereby ensuring safety for the operator.

In addition, the locker 261 of the locking / unlocking unit 260 serves to protect the magnets 223 and 233 of the contactless up / down guide units 220 and 230 while the car assembly 200 is in operation. In the unlocked state in which the rod of the cylinder 265 is fully retracted, a predetermined interval (section A in FIG. 7A) is maintained in the X-axis direction between the rocker 261 and one end of the profile 110. This spacing is relatively smaller than the spacing between the magnets 223 and 233 and the steel blocks 111 and 113 of the profile 110. That is, even if the position of the car assembly 200 is broken due to an external factor, the rocker 261 first contacts the elongated protrusion 115 of the profile 110 before the magnets 223 and 233 collide with the steel blocks 111 and 113. By contacting, the collision between the magnets 223 and 233 and the steel blocks 111 and 113 is prevented to protect the magnets 223 and 233.

In more detail, in the case where an abnormal cause occurs in the magnets 223 and 233 or an external disturbance such as vibration occurs, the center of gravity of the car assembly 200 is moved and the magnet of the non-contact up / down guide unit 220 moves. The gap between 223 and 233 and the profile 110 is changed, so that the magnets 223 and 233 directly collide with the steel blocks 111 and 113, and the magnets 223 and 233 may be damaged. In this case, the rocker 261 first contacts the tip of the profile 110 to prevent movement of the car assembly 200 in the x-axis direction, thereby allowing the magnets 223 and 233 to contact the steel blocks 111 and 113 of the profile 110. Block the possibility of direct contact.

Meanwhile, the non-contact up / down guide units 220 and 230 are provided on the car assembly 200, as shown in FIG. 5, when the car assembly 200 moves relative to the frame 100. ) Is prevented from contacting the profile 110 and the car assembly 200 slides on the profile 110.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the non-contact up / down guide units 220, 230, 240, and 250 provided on one side of the car assembly 200 may have upper and lower regions of the vertical support frame 202. In each of the same number and the same position is installed so as to be able to slide stably with respect to the profile (110). Therefore, in the following description, only the non-contact up / down guide units 220 and 230 provided in the upper region of the vertical support frame 202 will be described.

The non-contact up / down guide units 220 and 230 include steel blocks 111 and 113 provided on the inclined surface of the profile 110, unit bodies 222 and 232, and end portions of the unit bodies 222 and 232. The magnets 223 and 233 provided in the steel blocks 111 and 113 to generate floating force therebetween, and the gaps between the magnets 223 and 233 and the steel blocks 111 and 113 provided in the unit bodies 222 and 232. And magnet assemblies 221 and 231 having gap sensors 224 and 234 for sensing them.

The steel blocks 111 and 113 are formed along two inclined surfaces of the triangle 110 of the profile 110. The steel blocks 111 and 113 interact with the magnet assemblies 221 and 231 disposed adjacent to the steel blocks 111 and 113 to serve to magnetically injure the car assembly 200 through a magnetic field generated in the magnet.

The unit bodies 222 and 232 are disposed to correspond to the shape of the two inclined surfaces of the profile 110 on the upper and lower regions of the vertical support frame 202. To this end, the unit bodies 222 and 232 are provided to correspond to the shape of the profile 110 on the frame 100 while forming a predetermined angle.

The magnets 223 and 233 are provided at the front ends of the unit bodies 222 and 232 to directly interact with the steel blocks 111 and 113 to form a magnetic field. The magnets 223 and 233 are electrically connected to each other, thereby inducing a change in the magnetic field according to the increase and decrease of the current, thereby adjusting the floating force. In the present exemplary embodiment, two magnets 223 and 233 are disposed adjacent to each other on the inclined surface of the profile 110 in the vertical direction to facilitate the formation of the magnetic field.

The non-contact up / down guide units 220 and 230 and the steel blocks 111 and 113 provided in the car assembly 200 may float while forming a predetermined gap. The non-contact up / down guide units 220 and 230 are provided at both ends of the car assembly 200 starting from the center of the car assembly 200 and are inclined symmetrically with each other, so that the lift force cancels each other and the X-axis direction and Y Alignment is done in the axial direction.

As such, the non-contact up / down guide units 220 and 230 may non-contact and follow the inclined surface of the profile 110, thereby allowing the car assembly 200 to be non-contact with the frame 100 and up / down.

The gap sensors 224 and 234 measure the gap between the non-contact up / down guide units 220 and 230 and the profile 110. The controller may further include a controller (not shown) for adjusting the amount of current directed to the magnets 223 and 233 in consideration of such an error signal. The error signals measured by the gap sensors 224 and 234 are fed back, and the controller (not shown) corrects the errors between the actual gap and the reference gap. This error correction is made by increasing or decreasing the current. As a result, the balance of the car assembly 200 can be maintained in the state of maintaining the reference gap as a result of correcting the error.

Two non-contact up / down guide units 220 and 230 are provided at the top and bottom of each profile 110, respectively, so that following the profile 110 of the car assembly 200 can be more stably implemented. .

In the present invention, the magnets 223, 233, 243, and 253 installed in the non-contact up / down guide units 220 and 230 are magnetically injured by interaction with the steel blocks 111 and 113 provided on the profile 110. Although described as being made, the magnetic levitation method of the non-contact up / down guide unit (220, 230) can be used a variety of floating methods such as suction, permanent magnet repulsion, phase conduction suction control, inductive repulsion, etc. .

Referring back to FIG. 1 or 2 together, the transfer driving unit 300 is provided in the lower region of the frame 100. The transfer driving part 300 includes a plurality of rotary motors 301 and a balance bar 304 provided on the opposite side of the rotary motor 301 with respect to the wire 302 and the fixed pulley 303.

The rotary motors 301 are disposed adjacent to both sides of the frame 100, and the rotary motors 301 are provided adjacent to the profiles 110 and 120 of the frame 100, and four of them are provided. Therefore, the four rotary motors 301 need to be synchronously controlled to prevent the car assembly 200 from tilting and twisting, and a controller (not shown) for controlling the car assembly 200 may be separately provided.

One end of the wire 302 is connected to the rotary motor 301 and wound and the other end is connected to the car assembly 200. In the meantime, the fixed pulley 303 is provided at both ends.

A balance bar 304 is installed in one section on the wire 302 to relatively move the car assembly 200 with less power.

As described above, the transfer apparatus according to the present embodiment generates the driving force in the Z-axis direction by the rotary motor 301 provided on the frame 100, the wire 302 and the fixed pulley 303 connected thereto. The magnetic levitation effect is operated between the non-contact up / down guide unit 220 provided in the car assembly 200 and the steel blocks 111 and 113 on the frame 100 so that the car assembly 200 is not in contact with the frame 100. Then, the transfer driving unit 300 performs a substantial vertical up / down.

As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of fall preventing springs 130 may be further provided near the central area of the lower portion of the frame to elastically resist any fall of the car assembly 200.

In this embodiment, a total of four springs 130 are arranged to be symmetrically spaced apart from each other based on the center of the frame 100. The car assembly 200 may be elastically resisted in any fall of the car assembly 200 to protect the car assembly 200 and the loaded cassette.

The upper, lower and side portions of the frame 100 and the upper portion of the car assembly 200 further include an air inlet / outlet 400 for smoothly flowing the flow generated when the car assembly 200 moves up and down. It may include.

As such, according to the present embodiment, the car assembly can be vertically up / down while maintaining a predetermined distance between the frame and the car assembly, thereby preventing the generation of particles during the transfer process of the cassette. Noise can be reduced.

Referring to the lifting operation of the transfer device having such a configuration as follows.

As shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 4, the car assembly 200 is aligned on the ground floor and is in the locked state by the locking / unlocking units 260, 270. When the cassette (not shown) is moved toward the transfer device by a separate horizontal transfer device (not shown, for example, a conveyor, etc.), first, the control unit (not shown) is configured to control the driving motor 206 of the car assembly 200. Turn on the operation. When the rotating shaft is rotated in one direction by the operation of the drive motor 206, the feed rollers 204 coupled thereto rotate so that the cassette is brought into contact with the feed rollers 204 in the A direction.

After the cassette is completely received in the car assembly 200, the unlocking operation of the locking / unlocking unit 260 is performed. Referring to FIGS. 7A and 7B, the rod of the cylinder 265 is completely contracted so that a predetermined gap is formed between the rocker 261 and the profile 110.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2, the car assembly 200 is elevated in the B direction. This causes the rotary motor 301 provided on both sides of the frame 100 to rotate the fixed pulley 303 connected to the rotary motor 301 and to move the car assembly 200 connected to the wire 302 in the B direction. .

When the second floor height, that is, the car assembly 200 reaches its highest point, the locking / unlocking unit 260 is locked to fix the car assembly 200 on the frame 100. Thereafter, the feed roller 206 (see FIG. 4) is operated through the drive motor 205 (see FIG. 4) of the car assembly 200 to take out the cassette in the C direction.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, by power transmission between the frame and the car assembly in a non-contact manner, particles can be prevented from occurring during the transfer process of the cassette, and the transfer efficiency of the transfer device is prevented from being lowered. It is possible to control the feed speed stably.

In addition, since there is no direct mechanical friction or contact between the car assembly and the frame, there is an advantage that can reduce the generation of noise during the transfer process, and the durability of the transfer device can be improved, thereby ensuring the reliability of the transfer device. .

As described above, the present invention is not limited to the described embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, which will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, such modifications or variations will have to be belong to the claims of the present invention.

1 is a front view of a transport apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a side view of FIG. 1.

3 is a partially enlarged plan view of FIG. 1.

4 is a side view of the car assembly provided in the transfer apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a state in which the locking / unlocking unit is removed in region A of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a state in which the locking / unlocking unit is highlighted in the area A of FIG. 3.

7A and 7B are side views of the locking / unlocking unit showing the unlocking and locking operation of the locker.

* Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

100: frame 110, 120: profile

111, 113: Steel block 115: Long-angled protrusion

200: Car assembly 220, 230: Non-contact up / down guide unit

260: locking / unlocking unit 261: rocker

300: transfer drive 400: air inlet / outlet

Claims (12)

A profile forming a vertical axis; A car assembly provided in the profile to support the object to be conveyed, the car assembly being moved up / down relative to the profile along a vertical axis of the profile; And A locking / unlocking unit provided in the car assembly to selectively lock / unlock the car assembly with respect to the profile, The locking / unlocking unit, A rocker provided in the car assembly that is approached and spaced towards the profile; And A rocker driver connected to the rocker and driving the rocker to drive the rocker in the approaching and separating directions; The rocker drive unit, A rocker housing supporting the rocker and rotatable about a pivot axis on one side such that the rocker is accessible and spaced from the car assembly; And An actuator arranged around the rocker housing to rotate and move the rocker housing while approaching and spaced toward the rocker housing, The actuator is, A cylinder having a cylinder body and a cylinder rod coupled to the cylinder body to extend and contract with respect to the cylinder body; And It is coupled to the end of the cylinder rod includes a transfer block for transmitting a linear movement of the cylinder rod to the rotational movement of the rocker housing, One side of the rocker housing is further formed with a contact sliding block in contact with the end of the transfer block, And an inclined surface is formed in the contact area between the contact sliding block and the transfer block. delete delete delete delete delete The method of claim 1, The rocker driving unit further comprises a restoring spring connected to the other end of the rocker housing to apply restoring force when the rocker housing is rotated. The method of claim 1, The rocker is a non-powered free-rotating roller having a janggu shape, Transfer device, characterized in that the side of the rocker is formed with a recessed inward groove. The method of claim 1, One side surface of the profile is characterized in that the conveying device is characterized in that it is formed with an elongate projection that is shape-fitted with the elongate groove formed on the side of the rocker. The method of claim 1, A frame supporting the profile; And And an up / down driving part partially coupled to the frame to up / down drive the car assembly. The method of claim 10, And a plurality of fall prevention springs provided below the frame and elastically resistant to any fall of the car assembly. The method of claim 10, Further comprising at least one air inlet / discharge portion provided on any one side of the frame or the car assembly for the smooth flow of the air flow formed in and out of the frame when the car assembly moves up / down, The transfer object is a transfer apparatus, characterized in that the cassette is loaded with a liquid crystal display (LCD) substrate.

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