TW202010700A - Smart pallet capable of detecting the weight status carried by the pallet base or remotely monitoring and positioning the position information of the pallet at real-time - Google Patents

Abstract

This invention relates to a smart pallet, comprising a pallet base and a sensing device, wherein the sensing device includes at least a sensor disposed on the pallet base. The sensing device disposed on the pallet base can detect the weight status carried by the pallet base or remotely monitor and position the position information of the pallet at real-time.

Description

Wisdom pallet

The invention relates to a carrier, in particular to a smart pallet capable of transporting objects.

Today's technology products are becoming more sophisticated, so the protection requirements during the transportation process are also increasing. For example, when the wafers used in the semiconductor manufacturing process are transported in the external environment outside the semiconductor factory, the wafers are generally placed in a clean substrate container, such as a front opening shipping box , FOSB), and when transporting a plurality of clean substrate containers, the clean substrate containers are usually carried through a pallet.

However, the conventional pallets do not have a protection or buffer structure, and monitoring/monitoring functions, cannot provide sufficient protection, or allow the handling/delivery personnel to confirm the status of the wafers being carried, and carrying the pallets through the pallets During the transportation of clean substrate containers, the quality of the wafer is often affected by collisions and other factors. Therefore, it is necessary to detect and control the state of the pallet carrying the clean substrate containers during the transportation process at any time.

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a smart pallet.

Therefore, the novel smart pallet is suitable for carrying at least one object, and includes a pallet holder and a sensing device.

The sensing device includes at least one sensor disposed on the pallet base.

The effect of the present invention is that by setting the sensing device on the pallet base, the weight state of the pallet base can be detected in real time or through the remote end during the transportation process of the smart pallet carrying the object Monitor and locate the position information of the pallet base.

Before the present invention is described in detail, it should be noted that in the following description, similar elements are denoted by the same numbers.

1 and 2, an embodiment of the smart pallet of the present invention is suitable for carrying multiple objects. The smart pallet includes a pallet holder 2 and a sensing device 3 provided on the pallet holder 2, and An identification means 4 and a transmission device 5 provided on the pallet base 2. The objects may be, for example, clean substrate containers, which may be closed-type clean containers commonly used in various semiconductor, solar, or photovoltaic industries, such as photomask boxes, wafer boxes, etc. In this embodiment, the former open wafer transport box (FOSB) is used as an example.

The sensing device 3 includes a plurality of sensors disposed on the pallet holder 2 and can be used to sense the state of the pallet holder 2. The type of the sensor is not particularly limited, and for example, a photo inductor may be installed according to requirements Sensor, pressure sensor, or position sensor. Preferably, in this embodiment, the sensing device 3 includes a pressure sensor 31 disposed on the pallet base 2, and a weight indicator 32 and a position sensor disposed on the pallet base 2测器33.

Specifically, the pressure sensor 31 is disposed at a bottom of the pallet base 2, and the weight indicator 32 and the position sensor 33 are disposed around the side of the pallet base 2. The pressure sensor 31 is electrically connected to the weight indicator 32 and used to sense the loading state of the pallet holder 2 carrying the objects, and can be displayed through the light indicator of the weight indicator 32 to prevent the packaging material Abnormal conditions such as shortage or lack of wafers. In addition, the position sensor 33 can also be used for remote connection with an external portable device for remotely receiving position information and positioning tracking of the smart pallet.

The smart pallet of this embodiment is further provided with the identification means 4 for identifying the electronic information of the smart pallet. The identification means 4 may use bar codes, including one-dimensional bar codes or QR codes such as quick response matrix codes (QR code), or a two-dimensional bar code, or a radio frequency identification tag (RFID tag), for operators or automated equipment to easily identify or manage. In addition, the transmission device 5 is electrically connected to the sensing device 3 for receiving and outputting the data sensed by the sensing device 3. The transmission device 5 may be a wired electronic device port or a wireless transmission device, which is not limited in this embodiment. The transmission device 5 is electrically connected to the sensing device 3 to receive the data it senses, and then outputs the data to the outside for monitoring or recording purposes.

It should be noted that the smart pallet can also include a battery unit (not shown) for supplying the power required by the sensing device 3 and the transmission device 5, in addition to the detachably installed dry battery In addition, a solar charging module electrically connected to the sensing device 3 and the transmission device 5 may be additionally provided to generate electricity by itself to provide power required by the sensors.

With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the pallet base 2 includes a base 21 having a rectangular outline, a plurality of grooves 22 recessed from an upper surface of the base 21, and a plurality of grooves 22 respectively disposed in the grooves 22 The shock-proof member 23 and a support module 25 provided on the base 21 are used to support the support module 25 through the shock-proof members 23.

The anti-vibration pieces 23 are used to support the bearing module 25 and isolate the vibration transmitted from the pallet base 2. The anti-vibration parts 23 can be made of various materials or structures, for example, they can be made of natural rubber, silicon rubber, etc. anti-vibration rubber blocks 231, or spiral anti-vibration made of metal, plastic or composite materials器232. This embodiment does not limit this, as long as it can achieve the functions of support and shockproof.

Preferably, the grooves 22 are respectively arranged on the base 21 in an array and equally divided. In this embodiment, nine grooves 22 are taken as an example for illustration, and the nine grooves 22 are respectively The base 21 is formed at the center, four corners, and between the corners, and the anti-vibration members 23 are a plurality of anti-vibration rubber blocks 231 and a plurality of spiral anti-vibration devices 232, respectively. In detail, let the anti-vibration rubber blocks 231 be arranged in the grooves 22 at four corners, and the spiral anti-vibration devices 232 are arranged between the anti-vibration rubber blocks 231, that is, let the The anti-vibration element 23 and the spiral anti-vibration elements 232 are alternately arranged on the outer periphery of the base 21.

Among them, the anti-vibration rubber block 231 is mainly provided to isolate the vertical ground vibration; when the smart pallet is used to carry objects such as a clean substrate container, the spiral anti-vibration device 232 is directed to the wafer in the clean substrate container The stacking direction is set in the same direction to provide the isolation effect against shaking or vibration along this direction. With these two different structures of the shock-proof member 23, a better shock-proof effect is provided.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the supporting module 25 includes two anti-vibration sheets 251 spaced apart, and a plurality of anti-vibration blocks 255 arranged between the anti-vibration sheets 251. Each anti-vibration sheet 251 has an inner layer 252, an outer layer 253, and a porous structure 254 between the inner layer 252 and the outer layer 253. Preferably, the porous structure 254 may be a honeycomb structure. In this way, the weight of the anti-vibration sheet 251 can be greatly reduced under the premise of having extremely high structural strength, and the effect of saving transportation costs can be achieved. It should be noted that the shock-absorbing blocks 255 are made of shock-absorbing materials, which can be made of materials such as natural rubber, silicone rubber, etc. In this embodiment, the shock-absorbing material is explained by taking silicone rubber as an example. In addition, the support The module 25 is not limited to the use of two anti-vibration sheets 251, and only a single anti-vibration sheet 251 having a porous structure 254 may be used.

The material suitable for the anti-vibration sheet 251 is selected from polypropylene (PP). By using polypropylene (PP) with a porous (honeycomb) structure, the support module 25 has light weight, high bearing capacity and high durability, waterproof, Dustproof, good thermal insulation and other advantages; the body 21 of the pallet base 2 is manufactured by gas-assisted injection molding, blow molding, or double-layer plastic molding technology to make the pallet base 2 hollow and light Quantitative design to avoid dents, shrinkage, warpage at thick dimensions, shorten molding cycle, and improve overall strength.

By arranging the supporting module 25, the anti-vibration rubber blocks 231, and the spiral anti-vibration devices 232 on the pallet base 2, the anti-vibration effect when the objects are carried is enhanced.

In summary, the smart pallet of the present invention can detect the pallet base 2 in real time during the transportation of the smart pallet carrying the objects by providing the sensing device 3 on the pallet base 2 The weight status or the position information of the pallet base 2 is located through remote monitoring. In addition, the support module 25 is provided on the base 21 and the anti-vibration rubber blocks 231 and the spiral anti-vibration devices 232 Together, in addition to increasing the load-bearing gravity, the objects carried on it can also be shock-absorbed and buffered, so it can indeed achieve the purpose of the invention.

However, the above are only examples of the present invention, and the scope of implementation of the present invention cannot be limited by this, any simple equivalent changes and modifications made according to the scope of the patent application of the present invention and the content of the patent specification are still classified as Within the scope of the invention patent.

2: Pallet base 253: Outer layer 21: Substrate 254: Porous structure 22: Groove 255: Shockproof block 23: Shockproof piece 3: Sensing device 231: Shockproof rubber block 31: Pressure sensor 232: Spiral shockproof device 32 : Weight reminder 25: Support module 33: Position sensor 251: Shockproof sheet 4: Identification means 252: Inner layer 5: Transmission device

Other features and functions of the present invention will be clearly presented in the embodiment with reference to the drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of the smart pallet of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the implementation Example of the sensing device; FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view illustrating a shockproof rubber block of the pallet base; FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial view illustrating a spiral shock absorber of the pallet base; FIG. 5 is A side view illustrating a support module of this embodiment; and FIG. 6 is a side view illustrating the structure of two shock-absorbing sheets of the support module.

2: Pallet holder

21: substrate

22: groove

231: Shockproof rubber block

232: Spiral shock absorber

25: Support module

255: Shockproof block

3: Sensing device

32: Weight indicator

33: Position sensor

4: Identification method

5: Transmission device

Claims (23)

A smart pallet includes: a pallet base; and a sensing device, including at least one sensor disposed on the pallet base. The smart pallet according to claim 1, wherein the sensing device includes a plurality of sensors. The smart pallet according to claim 1, wherein the sensor includes a pressure sensor. The smart pallet according to claim 1, wherein the sensor includes a position sensor. The smart pallet according to claim 1, wherein the sensor includes a photoelectric sensor. The smart pallet according to claim 3, wherein the sensing device further includes a weight reminder provided on the pallet base, the pressure sensor is provided on a bottom of the pallet base and is electrically connected to the The weight reminder is used for sensing and displaying or prompting the weight state of the pallet base. The intelligent pallet according to claim 1, wherein the pallet base includes a base body, and a support module provided on the base body. The smart pallet according to claim 7, wherein the support module includes a shockproof sheet. The smart pallet according to claim 7, wherein the support module includes two anti-vibration sheets arranged at intervals, and a plurality of anti-vibration blocks arranged between the anti-vibration sheets. The smart pallet according to claim 7 or 8, wherein each shockproof sheet has an inner layer, an outer layer, and a porous structure between the inner layer and the outer layer. The smart pallet according to claim 7, wherein the pallet base further includes a plurality of grooves recessed from an upper surface of the base body, and a plurality of anti-vibration pieces respectively disposed in the grooves, Support the support module. The smart pallet according to claim 11, wherein any one of the shock-proof parts is a shock-proof rubber block. The smart pallet according to claim 11, wherein any one of the anti-vibration parts is a spiral anti-vibration device. The smart pallet according to claim 11, wherein the anti-vibration parts are alternately arranged in the grooves by a plurality of anti-vibration rubber blocks and a plurality of spiral anti-vibration devices. The smart pallet according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the spiral shock absorbers are arranged in the same direction. The smart pallet according to claim 9, wherein the anti-vibration blocks are made of shock-absorbing materials. The smart pallet according to claim 16, wherein the shock absorbing material is silicone rubber. The smart pallet according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the shockproof sheet is made of polypropylene. The smart pallet as described in claim 1 further includes an identification method. The smart pallet according to claim 19, wherein the identification means is a bar code or a radio frequency identification tag. The smart pallet according to claim 1, further comprising a transmission device for outputting the data sensed by the sensing device, the transmission device is electrically connected to the sensing device. The smart pallet according to claim 21, wherein the transmission device is a wireless transmission device. The smart pallet according to claim 1, further comprising a solar charging module disposed on the pallet base, and the solar charging module is electrically connected to the sensing device.

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