JPH0329083Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Technical Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transfer device for automatically supplying or discharging a workpiece such as a wafer to or from a working device such as a wrapping device.

Prior Art This type of wrapping apparatus is used to mirror-finish the surface of a wafer. In this processing step, the wafer is supplied from a supply position to a processing position of the wrapping device, and after the processing is completed, the wafer is sent from the processing position to a discharge position.

As a means for transporting wafers to such a wrapping device, an invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 187447/1983 has already been disclosed.

In this invention, the wafer on the carrier is picked up by a vacuum chuck, carried onto the carrier, the rotating body is stopped while the position is detected, and the wafer is fed to the fixed position of the rotating body. . Further, the ejecting operation is performed in the opposite manner to the above case, in which the position of the wafer is detected, the wafer is grabbed, and the wafer is sent to a predetermined position.

In the above-mentioned apparatus, it is difficult to grasp only the wafers and place them on the mounting table at once, and manual labor is required to take the wafers in and out of the mounting table.

Purpose of the invention Accordingly, the purpose of the present invention is to simultaneously transport a plurality of workpieces such as wafers in a predetermined positional relationship, and to completely automate the transport process.

Summary of the invention Therefore, the present invention uses an articulated robot to
The carrier and the plurality of works on it are automatically transported between a rotary table for loading and unloading and a working device such as a wrapping device. Here, the above-mentioned articulated robot is equipped with a means for detecting the center position of the carrier in its head portion, and after the position is detected by the means, the robot is simultaneously grasped by a means such as a vacuum chuck. , so that the work above it can be grasped at the same time.

On the other hand, a swing arm is provided near the rotary table, and by the swinging movement of the swing arm, the workpiece is fed from the feeding means onto the carrier on the rotary table, and after the workpiece has been processed as required. , the workpiece is automatically sent out from the carrier on the rotary table to the discharge position by the swinging movement of the swing arm.

The carrier is prepared for each type of work, has a plurality of holes on its upper surface that are sized to fit the work, and stores the work in a stationary state inside the carrier. When the type of workpiece changes, the operating position of the swing arm on the carrier table changes, so the fulcrum position of the swing arm is attached above the means for moving the carrier table in the diametrical direction.

1. Configuration of Embodiment FIGS. 1 and 2 show the overall configuration of a transfer device 1 for wafers, etc. of the present invention. This transport device 1 includes an articulated robot 2 and a swing arm 3 as parts directly related to the transport operation.
It is equipped with

This articulated robot 2 is installed near a wrapping device 4 as a working device and a rotary table 5 for loading and unloading. This multi-joint robot 2 is equipped with a first arm 6 and a second arm 7 that are rotatable around a vertical axis as robot arms, and a grip portion is located at a head 8 at the tip of the second arm 7. A vertically moving shaft 9 is rotatably supported as a rotating means. This vertical movement shaft 9 is driven by a motor or the like within the robot body, and a lower disc-shaped plate 10 moves the carrier 16.
Vacuum chucks 11a and 11b as gripping parts for the workpiece 17 are provided in a downward position by a floating spring 12 and a rod 13. In addition, the vertical movement axis 9 is connected to the plate 1
A sensor 14 corresponding to the center hole 16a and a sensor 15 corresponding to the positioning hole 16b are provided at the center position of 0. These sensors 14,1
5 constitute carrier position detection means and workpiece position detection means, respectively. The range of motion of the articulated robot 2 is indicated by a dashed line in FIG. Among these plural vacuum chucks 11a, 11b, the three in the center correspond to the upper surface of the carrier 16, as shown in FIG. , corresponds to a workpiece 17 such as a wafer held on a carrier 16.

This carrier 16 is prepared for each type according to the size of the work 17. The 5-inch carrier 16 has eight holes 18 along its circumference that open on the top and bottom surfaces, and the 6-inch carrier 16 similarly has five holes that open on the top and bottom surfaces. A hole 18 is formed. 8 of the above outer circumference
Eight of the vacuum chucks 11b are commonly compatible with 5-inch and 6-inch workpieces 17, but the other three are compatible only with 5-inch workpieces 17. .

Next, the above-mentioned wrapping device 4 is already known as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Application No. 59-109447. As a result, a polishing operation is performed with a plurality of, for example, five carriers 16 being rotatably held and the workpiece 17 being sandwiched between the lower surface plate 19 and the upper surface plate 20. During this polishing operation, the rotation of the lower surface plate 19 gives the carrier 16 an autorotational motion about its center and a revolving motion about the center of the lower surface plate 19. This rotation of the carrier 16 is provided by the meshing of a gear 33 on its outer periphery with an internal gear 34 on the machine base 21 side. Note that the lower surface plate 19 is rotatably provided at a fixed position on the machine base 21, while the upper surface plate 20 is supported above the lower surface plate 19 in a non-rotating state and is movable up and down.

Further, the rotary table 5 is rotatably supported in a horizontal state relative to a vertical drive shaft 23 such as a mounting base 22 in the movement range of the multi-jointed robot 2. This drive shaft 23 is equipped with an angle determining means, and can rotate the rotary table 5 while indexing it by a predetermined angle. Note that the gear 33 and the protrusion 5a fit into the carrier 16 for positioning.

Further, as shown in FIG.
It is rotatably supported by a fulcrum shaft 25 in a direction perpendicular to the main body, and a downwardly directed vacuum chuck 32 is held at the tip in a floating state by a coil spring 36. Further, this fulcrum shaft 25 is attached to a slider 28.
This slider 28 can be moved in the diametrical direction of the rotary table 5 by a piston rod 27 of a cylinder 26 as a moving means.

A work supply means 29 and a work discharge means 30 such as a belt conveyor are provided on both sides of the swing arm 3, and a cassette 31 for storing the work 17 is movable up and down at the end of these means. It is provided.

Effects of the Embodiment At the preparatory stage, as shown in FIG. 1, a supply cassette 31 is installed at the position of the workpiece supply means 29, and a storage cassette 31 is installed near the workpiece discharge means 30. In this state, the swing arm 3 moves the workpiece 17 taken out from the cassette 31 by the workpiece supply means 29 by a combination of rotational movement about the fulcrum shaft 25 and vertical movement of the vacuum chuck 32 at the tip. It is inserted into the hole 18 of the carrier 16 on the rotary table 5. On the other hand, this rotary table 5 rotates the carrier 16 by a predetermined rotation angle every time it receives a workpiece 17.
An empty hole 18 is kept waiting at the receiving position of the workpiece 17.

In this way, when the workpieces 17 are supplied into all the holes 18, the articulated robot 2
The three vacuum chucks 11a at the center position are moved by moving the head 8 above the carrier 16 and lowering the vertical movement shaft 9 at that position by operating according to a previously taught movement program.
This holds approximately the center of the carrier 16, and the upper surface of each workpiece 17 is held at the same time by the vacuum chuck 11b on the outside. Therefore, each workpiece 17 does not fall out from the hole 18. The carrier 16 is placed on the rotary table 5 with its rotation angle regulated in advance, and the rotation angle of the plate 10 is set at a corresponding position.
All vacuum chucks 11a, 11b correspond exactly to the parts to be held. If these vacuum chucks 11a and 11b are not present in the process of suctioning the carrier 16 and the workpiece 17 by vacuum, the vacuum chuck 11
Since the vacuum switch installed in a and 11b works, carrier 1 depends on the status of the vacuum switch.
The presence or absence of work 6 or work 17 can be confirmed. This vacuum switch includes vacuum chucks 11a and 11.
b, and generates a signal unique to the corresponding workpiece 17. However, after the vacuum switches of the three vacuum chucks on the center side are subjected to AND conditions, they are sent as one signal to the control device side.

In this state, the articulated robot 2 moves around the vertical movement axis 9.
is raised, and then the first arm 6 and second arm 7 are rotated to transport the carrier 16 and workpiece 17 that are being held to a predetermined position on the lower surface plate 19.
Each time the lower surface plate 19 receives a carrier 16 and a workpiece 17, it rotates by a predetermined angle and prepares to receive a new carrier 16 and workpiece 17 at the next predetermined position.

When the carrier 16 and the workpiece 17 are being supplied to the lower surface plate 19 in this way, the upper surface plate 20 is in the raised position as shown in FIG.
The transfer operation of the articulated robot 2 is permitted. When the carrier 16 is transported to a predetermined position on the lower surface plate 19, the gear 33 on its outer periphery must mesh with the internal gear 34 of the wrapping device 4. In order to improve this meshing, the side surfaces of these gears 33 are tapered as necessary. All carriers 16 on the lower surface plate 19
When the upper surface plate 20 is supplied with the carrier 16, the lower surface plate 19 moves downward.
is inserted and touches the upper surface of the workpiece 17. In this state, by rotating the lower surface plate 19, the respective carriers 16 are simultaneously given orbital motion and rotational motion, and the upper and lower surfaces of the workpiece 17 are polished.

When such polishing work is completed, the upper surface plate 20 automatically rises, and the lower surface plate 19 automatically stops. At this time, the stop position (rotation position in the rotation direction) of the carrier 16 is not accurately determined.

First, the articulated robot 2 rotates the first arm 6 to detect the center hole 16a of the carrier 16 using the sensor 14 at its tip, and stops the head 8 at that position. In this way, the vertical movement shaft 9 is indexed to the center position of the carrier 16.

Next, by rotating the vertical movement shaft 9,
The sensor 15 detects the position of the workpiece 17 on the carrier 16, that is, the positioning hole 16b. The signal from this sensor 15 is transmitted to the workpiece 17.
In addition to determining the rotational position of the object, it is also used as a signal to determine its size and number.

After such a detection process, the plate 10 is indexed to a predetermined rotational position, and as the vertical movement shaft 9 descends in this state, the central vacuum chuck 11a attracts the upper surface of the carrier 16. , this is brought into a state where it can be held, and the vacuum chucks 11b at other outer circumferential positions are brought into a state where they can be held by adsorbing onto the upper surface of the corresponding workpiece 17.

Since the vacuum switches 11a and 11b are provided with vacuum switches, it is possible to confirm the presence or absence of the carrier 16 and the presence or absence of the workpiece 17 depending on the state of the vacuum switches. The output of the vacuum switch of the central vacuum chuck 11a is sent to the determination section after an AND condition is established between these three.

In this way, the vacuum chuck 11a,
11b holds the carrier 16 and the workpiece 17, the multi-joint robot 2 drives the first arm 6 and the second arm 7 to move them above the rotary table 5. As described above, the motion of the multi-joint robot 2 is taught in advance and stored within the controller, so that the motion of the multi-joint robot 2 is sequentially advanced while checking the motion.

During this conveyance process, the carrier 16 is placed on the rotary table 5 while the rotation direction is regulated, so one workpiece 17 on the carrier 16 is placed on the rotary table 5.
is in a position where it can be taken out by the movement of the swing arm 3. That is, when the carrier 16 is supplied to the upper surface of the rotary table 5, the outer gear 33 is
For example, it can be accurately positioned by fitting into three equally spaced protrusions 5a. Therefore, the swing arm 3 moves one workpiece 17 from the carrier 16 by repeating vertical movement and rotational movement.
is adsorbed by the vacuum chuck 32, and moved to a predetermined position of the workpiece discharging means 30,
Therefore, it is released. Thereafter, the work discharge means 30 sequentially supplies the sent works 17 into the discharge cassette 31. Each time the cassette 31 receives a workpiece 17, it is sequentially raised or lowered, and the workpieces 17 are sequentially stored inside the stacked cassette 31.

As one workpiece 17 is taken out from above the carrier 16, the rotary table 5 indexes the carrier 16 by a predetermined angle and automatically indexes a new workpiece 17 to a position corresponding to the swing arm 3. Such an indexing angle is set in advance.

Such operations are performed continuously for all carriers 16.

Modified Example of the Invention In the above embodiment, the work 17 is a wafer as an example, but the work 17 is not limited to this, and may be anything that is stored in the hole 18 of the carrier 16, for example, a glass product. The shape may also be circular or rectangular. Therefore, the working device is the wrapping device 4.
However, other processing equipment may be used.

Effects of the invention In this invention, the articulated robot holds the carrier and at the same time holds the workpiece inside the carrier's hole integrally, so that the positional relationship between the carrier and the workpiece does not shift, and it is easy to carry in and out. Movements can be automated in conjunction with precise movements of articulated robots.

In addition, in the process of the articulated robot transporting carriers and workpieces from the rotary table to the work equipment side, or conversely from the work equipment to the rotary table side, the positioning movement of the work equipment side, the positioning movement of the rotary table side, and the swing arm Since the loading and unloading operations are performed in parallel, the operation time required for a series of conveyance operations can be shortened, and the series of conveyance operations can be carried out efficiently.

In particular, a carrier position detection means and a workpiece position detection means are provided at the tip of the robot arm, and these detect the position of the carrier and the position of the workpiece to determine the relative positional relationship between the gripping part and the working device. Further, since the workpiece is supplied in a predetermined position and positioned by the rotation means of the gripping portion, positioning is ensured during the conveyance and supply process of the carrier and the workpiece, and unstable supply or discharge operations are eliminated.

Further, if the fulcrum shaft of the swing arm is provided in a movable state by a moving means as in the embodiment, the swing arm can be used in common for different types of workpieces and carriers.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the device for transporting wafers, etc. of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a side view of the device, Fig. 3 is a plan view showing the positional relationship between the vacuum chuck and the wafer, and Fig. 4 is a plan view of the transfer device for wafers, etc. of the present invention. Fig. 5 is a partially cutaway side view of the rotary table, Fig. 6 is a partial plan view showing the positioning part of the rotary table and carrier, and Fig. 7 is the tip of the swing arm. It is a side view of a part. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Transfer device for wafers, etc., 2... Multi-joint robot, 3... Swing arm, 4... Wrapping device, 5... Rotary table, 9... Vertical movement axis, 11a, 11b... Vacuum chuck ,1
4, 15...sensor, 16...carrier, 17
... Workpiece, 18 ... Hole, 25 ... Fulcrum shaft, 26
... Cylinder, 28 ... Slider, 29 ... Work supply means, 30 ... Work discharge means, 32 ...
Bakiyumuchyatsuk.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] (1) A carrier having a plurality of holes in the circumferential direction into which workpieces such as wafers are fitted, and an articulated robot that simultaneously grips and transports the carrier and the workpiece with respective gripping portions at the tip of the robot arm; A carrier position detection means provided at the tip of the robot arm, a workpiece position detection means provided at the tip of the robot arm, and a rotation means for a grip part incorporated in the multi-joint robot;
a working position located within the movement range of the robot arm of the multi-joint robot and on which the carrier is removably mounted; a rotary table located within the movement range of the robot arm on which the carrier is removably mounted; It is characterized by consisting of a swing arm that grips and rotates the work of the carrier and performs supply and discharge operations, a work supply means located in the movement range of the swing arm, and a work discharge means located in the movement range of the swing arm. Transfer equipment for wafers, etc. (2) The device for transporting wafers, etc. according to claim 1 of the utility model registration claim, characterized in that the fulcrum position of the swing arm is attached to a moving means.