WO2001022069A1

WO2001022069A1 - Parallel mechanism and test apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2001022069A1
Application number: PCT/JP2000/006476
Authority: WO
Inventors: Naobumi Okada; Naohisa Nakahara; Hajime Takahashi; Hiroyuki Kiba; Kazuya Hirose
Original assignee: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.; Hephaist Seiko Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 1999-09-22
Filing date: 2000-09-21
Publication date: 2001-03-29
Also published as: CN1376265A; TW455684B; KR100432359B1; JP3635572B2; KR20020035875A; CN1288434C

Abstract

A parallel mechanism includes three expandable linear actuators (5,12,13); drive means for supporting the proximity ends of the linear actuators (5,12,13) so that they can move along guide rails (2,6,7), at least one of the guide rails including slopes (102, 103) on which the actuators (12, 13) run with their levels varying; a stage support (23) held by the distal ends of the linear actuators (5, 12, 13); and a wafer holder (24) attached to a moving member for holding a workpiece.

Description

Specification

Para realme cannism and inspection equipment

Technical field

The present invention relates to a parallel mechanism and an inspection device having a plurality of links and controlling the attitude of a movable plate.

Background art

The upper movable plate and the lower fixed plate are connected to each other by a plurality of links that have been expanded and contracted by an actuator such as a hydraulic cylinder, and each of the actuators is expanded and contracted. The length of the link can be changed as needed, and the posture of the movable plate can be controlled so that it can be held at various angles (horizontal or inclined). ■ A black-form parallelism mechanism It has been known.

Such a thing ,. In the barrel mechanism, the position of each hydraulic cylinder is fixed, and the position of the movable plate is adjusted by adjusting the length of each link by expanding and contracting these hydraulic cylinders. I have decided.

The parallel mechanism is applied to, for example, a substrate inspection apparatus for a mac, and by mounting the substrate to be inspected on a movable plate, defects such as film thickness irregularities and scratches on the surface of the substrate to be inspected are reduced. It can be observed visually.

However, the following problems have been encountered with the conventional opening inspection apparatus using a parallel mechanism. That is, since the position of the movable plate is determined only within the range of the extension and contraction adjustment of the link length in each actuator, the operation range of the movable plate is narrow with respect to the volume of the device. For this reason, the board to be inspected is thoroughly inspected. W

The two could not approach each other, and the board inspection was performed while looking into the board to be inspected, forcing the user to work in an unreasonable posture.

On the other hand, the posture of the movable plate that can be set by adjusting each link length is limited to the horizontal direction and the inclined direction, so it is difficult to see depending on the direction in which the surface of the board to be inspected has been scratched. There is also a laser problem, and high-accuracy inspection cannot be performed.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention achieves high efficiency and high accuracy by using the nora renoreme canism, which is capable of realizing a wide range of motion by increasing the degree of freedom, and by using this parallelism mechanism. It is an object of the present invention to provide an inspection apparatus capable of performing a high-level board inspection.

Disclosure of the invention

According to the present invention, at least three linear actuators, each of which includes a telescopic actuator, and a base end of each of the linear actuators are supported so as to be linearly movable along a traveling path. In addition, traveling drive means having at least one of these traveling paths having an inclined portion whose height changes together with the movement of the direct acting actuator, and a driving means of the linear acting actuator. And a movable member supported at the distal end. The linear actuator is moved along the inclined portion, and the expansion and contraction control of each linear actuator is coordinated. Thus, the movable member can be variously moved in the front, rear, left, and right directions.

According to the present invention, at least three linear actuators, each having a telescopic unit, and a base end of each linear actuator are supported so as to be linearly movable along a traveling path. At the same time, the movement of the direct acting actuator is at least high in at least one of these paths. Traveling drive means having an inclined portion that changes the height, a movable member supported at the tip of the linear actuator, and a subject provided on the movable member and rotatably holding the subject. It is characterized by having a holding means and.

As a result, according to the present invention, the subject holding means holding the subject can be moved close to the eyes of the examiner, and the subject holding means can be moved forward, backward, left and right in various ways. Since it can be moved to change the angle of reflection of the lighting, it is easy to find defects and it is possible to perform high-precision macro inspection.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

1A and 1B are views showing a substrate inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 1A is a perspective view showing the whole, and FIG. 1B is a plan view showing a substrate holder.

Fig. 2 is a front view showing a moving table for actuators incorporated in the board inspection apparatus.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a direct acting actuator incorporated in the board inspection apparatus.

Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the board inspection device.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the board inspection apparatus.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the board inspection apparatus.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment)

FIG. 1A is a perspective view showing a substrate inspection apparatus using a parallel mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is an object. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a substrate holder 24 that holds a substrate W to be inspected. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a base made of a rectangular frame, and the base 1 has a recess 10 of a predetermined length in the center of a side la corresponding to the front surface of the apparatus where the inspector is located. In addition, slopes 102 and 103 are formed at sides lb corresponding to both side surfaces of the device so as to gradually increase in height toward the front of the device.

Then, a guide rail 2 forming a running path is arranged along the recess 101 of the base 1, and the actuator carriage 3 is moved along the guide rail 2. The actuator 3 is provided so as to be movable, and a base end of a direct-acting actuator 5 is provided on the actuator moving table 3 via a swing unit 4.

Similarly, guide rails 6 and 7 forming a running path are arranged along the upper surface of the inclined portions 102 and 103 of the base 1, and the actuators are arranged along the guide rails 6 and 7. Movable bases 8 and 9 are provided so as to be movable, and these movable bases 8 and 9 are connected to the linear actuators 12 and 13 via swinging parts 10 and 11 respectively. A base end is provided.

The oscillating parts 4, 10, 0, 11 are free rotation joints having one degree of freedom around the rotation axes 4a, 10a, 11a, respectively. The rotation axis 4 a of the swing part 4 is parallel to the axial direction of the guide rail 2. The rotation axes 10a and 11a of the oscillating parts 10 and 11 are parallel to the horizontal plane and inclined inward by an angle Θ with respect to an imaginary line that projects the axes of the guide rails 6 and 7 on the horizontal plane. ing. In the present embodiment, Θ is set to about 15 degrees, but this value can be changed in design according to a required operation range and the like. In this case, the actuator carriage 3 is movably supported along the guide rails 2 as shown in FIG. 2 and is arranged along the guide rails 2. The guide rail is connected to the screw shaft 14 via the fixing screw part 15 and is rotated by the motor 16 to rotate the screw shaft 14 via the fixing screw part 15. It is reciprocated along the line 2 and is ready.

Such a configuration is the same for the actuator mobilities 8 and 9, and a description thereof will be omitted with reference to FIG. 2 described above.

As shown in FIG. 3, the direct acting actuator 5 has a guide 18 and a screw shaft 19 arranged side by side along the hollow portion of the fixed cylindrical body 17, and a screw shaft 19. An operating shaft 21 is provided via a fixing screw portion 20 on the shaft, and a screw shaft 19 is rotated by a motor 22 via a gear 231, and along the guide 18 By moving the fixed screw part 20 back and forth, the operating shaft 21 moves linearly.

Such a configuration is the same for the direct acting actuators 12 and 13, and a description thereof will be omitted with reference to FIG. 3 described above.

The distal end of the operating shaft 21 of such a direct acting actuator 5, 12, 13 is connected to a free connecting means 21a such as a ball joint. In addition, a stage supporting portion 23 made of a rectangular frame as a movable member is connected.

In this case, the stage support 23 is connected to the operating shaft 21 of the direct acting actuator 5 at the center of the side 23a corresponding to the front of the device. In addition, the protrusions 23a1 and 23b1 vertically projecting from the side 23b corresponding to the side of the device are formed so as to face each other, and these protrusions are formed. A linear actuator is connected to 23a1 and 23b1]. The operating shaft 21 of 2 and 13 is connected. Further, the substrate holder 24 is rotatably supported between the protrusions 23a1 and 23b1. In this case, the protruding portions 23 a 1 and 23 b 1 are provided with a rotation drive portion 25. The rotation drive section 25 supports and rotates the substrate holder 24.

The substrate holder 24 mounts the substrate to be inspected W thereon, and includes a frame 24 a facing the periphery of the substrate W to be inspected, and a plurality of suction ports 2 provided in the frame 24 a. 4 b. A vacuum suction force is applied to each suction port 24b by a vacuum pump (not shown) so as to suck and hold the substrate W to be inspected. In the figure, 24c indicates the opening.

Next, the operation of the embodiment configured as described above will be described. First, when the substrate to be inspected W is delivered, as shown in FIG. 4, the movable units 8 and 9 of the direct acting actuators 12 and 13 are moved to the inclined sections 10 and 9 respectively. At the same time as being positioned at the lowest part of 2, 103, the rotation driving part 25 is driven to hold the substrate holder 24 in a horizontal state.

Then, the stage supporting section 23 is moved to the loading standby position for the substrate to be inspected W (not shown) by cooperatively controlling the expansion and contraction state of the linear actuators 5, 12, and 13 to wait in the horizontal state. The substrate to be inspected W to the existing substrate holder 24.

The board holder 24 aligns the received board to be inspected W to the normal position. At the same time, the substrate W to be inspected is suction-held by vacuum suction at the suction port 24b.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the actuator stages 8 and 9 of the linear actuators 12 and 13 are moved along the inclined portions 102 and 103, respectively. In this case, the actuator carriages 8 and 9 are moved along the guide rails 6 and 7 toward the front of the apparatus.

Then, as shown in FIG. 6, when the actuator carriages 8, 9 have been moved to the predetermined height positions of the inclined portions 102, 103, the linear motion keys are again moved. The expansion and contraction of the cutters 5, 12, and 13 are controlled in a coordinated manner, and the substrate holder 24 is sx x to β] S which is optimal for visual observation of the substrate W to be inspected.

In this state, the surface of the substrate W to be inspected on the substrate holder 24 is irradiated with illumination light. Then, the rotary drive unit 25 is driven to incline the substrate holder 24 from a horizontal state to a predetermined angle optimal for visual observation, and the reflected light from the surface of the substrate W to be inspected is used. Inspection of the external appearance is performed by visually observing the thickness unevenness and scratches on the surface of the substrate W to be inspected macroscopically.

In addition, the force S that does not move the linear actuators 12 and 13 along the inclined portions 102 and 103 cooperates with the expansion and contraction of the linear actuators 5, 12 and 13. When controlled, the substrate holder 24 can be swung back and forth, left and right, so that the macro inspection can be performed while visually observing the substrate holder 24 from various directions. .

In addition, recently, the inspection of the back surface of the substrate to be inspected W has also been emphasized. This is because dust and moisture adhere to the back surface of the substrate W to be inspected. If this is the case, cracks will occur in the cross section during dicing, and poor bonding will occur when the chip after dicing is bonded to the substrate, resulting in an increase in the product failure rate. It is. In response to such a request, the substrate holder 24 is rotated 180 ° by the rotation drive unit 25 while the substrate to be inspected W is held by suction on the substrate holder 24, and the substrate By directing the rear surface of the inspection substrate W toward the front of the apparatus, the mask opening inspection can be performed by visual inspection of the rear surface of the inspection substrate W in the same manner as described above.

Therefore, in this case, the linear actuators 12 and 13 can be moved along the inclined portions 102 and 103 formed on the side 1 b of the base 1. This makes it possible to move the substrate holder 24 holding the substrate to be inspected W close to the eyes of the inspector, and at the same time, to move each of the linear actuators 5, 12, 13. By coordinating the expansion and contraction control, the board holder 24 together with the stage support 23 can be moved in various directions from front to back and left and right. , And the subsequent visual inspection can be performed with high accuracy.

In order to make it easier for the inspector to inspect the substrate W to be inspected, it is desirable that the substrate holder 24 be as high as possible and as high as possible. For this reason, there is a recording method in which the extendable stroke of the linear actuators 12 and 13 can be extended, but the rigidity of the device is reduced and the device is also reduced. The center of gravity of the whole becomes higher, and the stability decreases.

In this board inspection apparatus, since the inclined portions 102 and 103 are inclined so as to become higher toward the front, the linear motion mechanism is used. When the base ends of the actuators 12 and 13 are moved to the front, the board holder 24 can be positioned at a higher position without lengthening the telescopic stroke, and stable. Can be secured.

On the other hand, since the inspector observes the substrate to be inspected W from the front side of the apparatus, it is inconvenient if there is a member obstructing the observation, for example, a direct acting actuator. In this substrate apparatus, the fulcrum of the linear actuator 5 in the foreground is attached near the bottom of the stage support portion 23, so that it does not disturb the observation. In addition, since the direct acting actuators 12 and 13 of both sides are arranged at the rear, they do not obstruct the observation.

In addition, by rotating the substrate holder 24 holding the substrate to be inspected W by the rotation drive unit 25, the substrate to be inspected W is tilted at an angle that is easy for the observer to observe. Mouth inspection can be performed. Further, by rotating the substrate holder 24 further, the rear surface of the substrate W to be inspected can be directed to the front of the apparatus. You can do it.

That is, since the substrate holder 24 is rotated by operating the rotation drive unit 25 on the stage support unit 23, the substrate W to be inspected is formed only by the parallel mechanism. As compared with the case where the unit is turned over, there is no need to lengthen the telescopic storage ports of the linear actuators 5, 12, and 13 and the device can be compact and simply configured. .

Industrial applicability

The present invention is intended to realize a wide range of motion at a high speed with a high degree of freedom. This is useful in the technical field of parallel mechanism that is useful in the field of inspection equipment that is useful in efficiently performing high-precision board inspections and the like using this mechanism.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. At least three extensible linear actuators and the bases of these linear actuators are supported so that they can move linearly along the travel path. Traveling drive means having at least one of the traveling paths having an inclined portion whose height changes together with the movement of the direct acting actuator;

And a movable member supported at the tip of the linear actuator.

2. The travel drive means supports the guide rail and the linear actuator through a self-contained joint, and is provided for movement of the actuator provided along the guide rail. A screw shaft arranged along the guide rail and the guide rail, and the screw shaft is driven to rotate so that the actuator transfer table travels along the guide rail. The parallelism mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that the mechanism is made to work.

3. At least three extensible linear actuators and the base ends of these linear actuators are supported so that they can move linearly along the travel path. Traveling drive means having, at least in one of these traveling paths, an inclined portion whose height changes together with the movement of the linear actuator;

An inspection apparatus, comprising: a movable member supported at a distal end of the linear motion actuator; and a subject holding means provided on the movable member for holding a subject.

4. The inspection apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the movable member rotatably holds the subject.