JPH026006Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Industrial application field The present invention relates to equipment for transporting semiconductors, etc. that do not want to generate dust. The present invention relates to a gas levitation type conveyance equipment in which a body is driven by a propulsion force from a linear motor mechanism, and the injected gas is sucked and collected so as not to touch an object to be conveyed, such as a semiconductor, placed on the conveyor.

BACKGROUND TECHNOLOGY A conveyance table on which an object to be transported is placed is levitated by compressed air, and the conveyance table is conveyed by the propulsive force of a linear motor mechanism, while compressed air injected toward the conveyance table is sucked. The constructed conveying equipment is known from Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 59-95028. The conveyance equipment disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 59-95028 uses a high-pressure air duct to levitate the conveyance table, and is provided with a low-pressure duct to suck in the air sent out from the high-pressure air duct.

Problems to be solved by the invention In the conveying equipment disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 59-95028, a low-pressure duct is used to suck and recover the injected air. As is clear from the flow, it has the following three drawbacks. First, the injected high-pressure air usually contains dust, and it is not possible to completely prevent this high-pressure air from reaching and coming into contact with the object being transported on the transport platform. Dust protection against conveyed items is insufficient. Second, since high-pressure air flows in the direction of the transported object, when used in a clean room, it disturbs the laminar flow of clean air flowing from the ceiling to the floor, impeding the cleaning effect. Thirdly, since air injected at high pressure is sucked in at low pressure, suction and recovery of the injected air cannot be performed sufficiently in an open space, and as in the embodiment shown in FIG. The entire system must be installed in a narrow closed space, and various operations such as maintenance and inspection and loading and unloading objects on the transport platform become complicated.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a gas floating type conveyance equipment using a conveyor which eliminates such drawbacks.

Means for Solving the Problems The carrier is constituted by a floating section that receives gas injection, and a mounting section that is connected to the floating section and places the object to be transported above the floating section. In addition to the injection duct for injecting gas from the conveyance path,
In order to suck the gas injected from the injection duct so that it does not reach the transported object, the injection duct and the floating part of the carrier are covered, and the connection part between the floating part of the carrier and the mounting part is It is equipped with a suction duct provided with a penetrating portion.

Function The gas injected from the injection duct is injected towards the floating part of the conveyor and floats it, then it is sucked and collected by the suction duct without reaching the conveyed object placed on the loading part. be done.

Embodiments Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional front view showing the conveyance state of the conveyor, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view.

The conveyance path is composed of an injection duct 1 having a square cross section. A plurality of rows of air injection holes 2 are transparently provided on the upper surface of the injection duct 1 except for the central part in the width direction. Further, one end of air supply pipes 3 (only one is shown) is fixed to the lower surface of the injection duct 1 at a predetermined interval so as to communicate with the lower surface of the injection duct 1.
The other end communicates with a turbo blower (not shown), which is a gas delivery device.

The carrier 4 placed on the injection duct 1 is made of a magnetic material and has a U-shaped cross section, and has a floating section 5 that receives air injected from the air injection hole 2 at its horizontal portion.
A loading section 8 is connected to the floating section 5 by a connecting rod 6 to be located above the floating section 5, and is made of a non-magnetic material such as plastic and is plate-shaped and on which an object to be transported 7 such as a semiconductor is placed. It consists of The hanging portions of both sides of the floating portion 5 are located opposite to both side surfaces of the injection duct 1 at a slightly equal distance.

A linear motor mechanism that applies a propulsion force to the carrier 4 is composed of a stator 9 arranged at a predetermined interval within the injection duct 1, and a floating portion 5 of the carrier 4, which is a movable element.

A suction duct 10 is provided to cover the injection duct 1 and the floating section 5, and this suction duct 10 has the following features:
It is connected to a suction blower (not shown), which is a gas suction device, through air suction pipes 11 arranged at predetermined intervals on its lower surface. Further, in the upper surface of the suction duct 10, an opening 1 serving as a penetration portion through which the connecting rod 6 passes, in order to enable the conveyor 4 to travel.
2 is formed. And the suction duct 1
0 is inclined upward from the opening 12 toward the side surface. Note that the suction pressure by the suction blower is set higher than the injection pressure of air from the injection duct 1.

Since the present embodiment is configured as described above, when the conveyed object 7 is placed on the placing portion 8 of the conveying body 4 and the turbo blower (not shown) is operated, the conveying body 4
Air is injected from the air injection holes 2 to the floating part 5 of the floating part 5, and the floating part 5 floats from the injection duct 1 and becomes in a non-contact state, and when a propulsive force is applied by the linear motor mechanism, the carrier body 4 runs in a non-contact state and does not generate dust. At this time, if a suction blower (not shown) is activated,
Most of the air injected from the air injection holes 2 collides with the upper surface of the suction duct 10, heads downward, and is sucked and recovered from the air suction pipe 11. Also, since the suction pressure acting on the suction duct 10 is set higher than the injection pressure from the air injection hole 2, some of the injection air directed toward the opening 12
The air is sucked and collected from the air suction pipe 11 together with the air outside the suction duct 10 that is suctioned from the opening 12 without being ejected from the air in the direction of the conveyed object 7 from the air suction pipe 11 .

Therefore, when this conveyance equipment is installed in a clean room, clean air will flow into the suction duct 10 from the opening 12, and the injection air will not go out of the suction duct 10, so the injection air This will not disturb the laminar flow in the clean room or impair the cleanliness.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and the movable element may be formed from a part of the floating section 5. Further, the gas to be injected is not limited to air.

Effects As is clear from the detailed explanation above,
According to the present invention, the injected air is suctioned and collected so that it does not reach the conveyed object, so even if the injected air contains dust, there is no risk of adversely affecting the conveyed object, and the dust-proofing effect is further improved. When used in a clean room, the laminar flow of clean air is not disturbed and the cleaning effect is not impaired.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The figures show a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional front view showing the conveyance state of the conveyor, and
The figure is also a cross-sectional side view. 1...Injection duct, 2...Air injection hole, 4...
...Carrier, 5...Floating section, 6...Connecting section, 8...
Placement section, 9... Stator, 10... Suction duct, 1
2...Opening.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] Gas is injected from the conveyance path towards the conveyor for conveying the object to levitate the conveyor, while a linear motor mechanism applies a propulsive force to the conveyor. In a gas levitation type conveyance equipment using the above-mentioned conveyance body for conveying the conveyed object, the conveyance body has a floating section that receives gas injection, and the conveyed object connected to the floating section so as to be located above the floating section. It consists of an injection duct that communicates with the gas delivery device for injecting gas from the conveyance path, and a gas ejected from the injection duct that is placed on the object placed on the placement section. Covering the injection duct and the floating part of the conveyance body in order to attract suction so as not to reach the conveyed object, and
Gas levitation type conveyance using a carrier, characterized in that the suction duct is connected to a gas suction device and has a penetration part through which a connecting part between the floating part and the mounting part of the carrier passes through. Facility.