JPH04316329A - Conveying mechanism for wafer processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To convey a carrier containing a plurality of sheets of wafers stably without causing deformation regardless of the size of the carrier. CONSTITUTION:The conveying mechanism comprises an arm 2a fixed to a guide bar 8 having one end secured to a holding part 5a, a supporting rod 4a movable through a motor 11 in the direction of an arrow while being guided by a hole in the guide bar 8, and an arm 2b for regulating the interval fixed at the and of the supporting rod 4a. The interval between the arms can be regulated by grasping a carrier 1.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a transport mechanism (hereinafter simply referred to as transport mechanism) for a wafer processing apparatus that transports a carrier containing a plurality of wafers in a wafer processing apparatus that processes wafers that are semiconductor substrates in semiconductor integrated circuit devices. concerning).

0002

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional transport mechanism, and FIG. 4 is a partial front view of the transport mechanism shown in FIG. Conventionally,
As shown in FIG. 3, this type of transfer mechanism includes a pair of Teflon arms 2 that sandwich a carrier 1 containing a plurality of wafers, holds one end of the arms 2, suspends the arms 2, and A fixture 3 having a sliding hole perpendicular to the arm 2, a support rod 4 penetrating through the sliding hole of the fixture 3, a holding part 5 holding one end of this support rod 4, and a holding part 5 for holding one end of this support rod 4. It is composed of a support 6 that supports the part 5, and a rail 7 that guides the support 6 when the holding part 5 moves.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, when the support rod 4 rotates in the direction of the arrow, the pair of arms 2 are opened and closed in the direction of the arrow to grasp or release the carrier 1. Further, by vertically moving the support 6, it can be immersed in the processing tank 10 shown in FIG. 3 or pulled up. On the other hand, a moving mechanism (not shown) is provided below the support 6 to transport the carrier 4 to an adjacent processing tank.

[0004] Using such a transfer mechanism, wafers are processed and cleaned by immersing them in each processing bath.

[0005]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the conventional transport mechanism described above, the distance between the two support rods that fix the Teflon arm is fixed, so that only carriers of a specific size can be transported. could not. For this reason, there is a problem in that one transport mechanism can only transport wafers of a certain size. Further, although a carrier larger than a certain size can be held between the arms, there is a problem in that the arms are deformed during long-term use and the carrier is likely to fall off.

An object of the present invention is to solve this problem and provide a highly versatile transport mechanism that can transport a carrier even if the outer dimensions of the carrier change.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] A transfer mechanism for a wafer processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a pair of arms that sandwich and grip the outer surface of a carrier in which a plurality of wafers are stored, and one end of one arm of this pair of arms. A support rod that is held and suspended, a holding section that holds one end of this support rod and rotates this support rod by a predetermined angle, a support that supports this holding section and moves it up and down, and a support that guides the movement of this support. A transport mechanism for a wafer processing apparatus, the guide tube being fixed to the holding part and having a hole through which the support rod is guided in the axial direction, and to which a fixing arm is attached, and the support rod. and a mechanism for varying the distance between the arm and the fixing arm.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1(a) is a partially cutaway perspective view of a conveying mechanism showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1(b) is an enlarged front view of the holding portion of FIG. 1(a). This transport mechanism is shown in Figure 1.
As shown in (a), an arm 2b that grips the carrier 1 is attached to a support bar 4a, and another arm 2a is attached to a guide bar 8 that can be rotated by a holding part and guides the support bar 4a in the y direction, The holding part 5a is provided with a mechanism that can vary the distance between the arms 2a and 2b. That is, by changing this interval, the carrier 1 can be attached and detached regardless of its size.

Further, the mechanism added to the holding portion 5a includes a guide bar 8 for guiding the movement of the support rod 4, and a nut portion inside which is fitted into a threaded portion 12 formed at one end of the support rod 4. It has a gear 9a and a motor 11 that rotates a gear 9b that meshes with the gear 9a.

By providing a mechanism with such a structure, the distance between the arms 2a and 2b can be easily changed by rotating the motor 11. Therefore, by changing the distance between the arms 2, it is possible to change from a large carrier to a small carrier. I can grasp it.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a conveying mechanism showing another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, this conveyance mechanism has a pair of arms for gripping the carrier 1 in the previously described embodiment, but is provided with another pair of arms.

That is, the support rod 4 moves in the direction of the arrow.
Extend the tip of a to form an extension 15, and
5, an arm 2c is attached to the extension part 15, a support rod 4b is guided through the hole of the extension part 15, and a rack is formed on the shaft thereof, and an arm 2d is attached to the support rod 4b. . Moreover, this support rod 4b is
Pinion 14 of motor 13 attached to extension 15
The rack part is driven and moved. If such a structure is provided with multiple stages of mechanisms like a swinging rod, it is possible to have a plurality of arm pairs for attaching and detaching the carrier.

[0014]

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the present invention is capable of transporting carriers of various sizes by providing a mechanism that changes the distance between the two arms that sandwich and grip the carrier, and also allows the arms to be deformed. This has the effect of providing a transport mechanism that can transport stably without any problems.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1(a) is a partially cutaway perspective view of a conveyance mechanism showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1(b) is an enlarged front view showing a holding portion in FIG. 1(a).

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a transport mechanism showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a conventional transport mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a partial front view of the transport mechanism of FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Carrier 2, 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d Arm 3
Fixtures 4, 4a, 4b Support rods 5, 5a Holding section 6 Support 7 Rail 8 Guide bars 9a, 9b Gear 10 Processing tanks 11, 13 Motor 12 Thread section 14 Pinion 15 Extension section

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim 1: A pair of arms that pinch and grip the outer surface of a carrier in which a plurality of wafers are stored, a support rod that holds and suspends one end of one arm of the pair of arms, and one end of the support rod. A transfer mechanism for a wafer processing apparatus, comprising a holding part that holds the support rod and rotates the support rod by a predetermined angle, a support that supports the holding part and moves it up and down, and a rail that guides movement of the support. a guide tube fixed to the section, having a hole through which the support rod is guided in the axial direction, and to which a fixing arm is attached; and a distance between the arm of the support rod and the fixing arm being varied. 1. A transport mechanism for a wafer processing apparatus, characterized by having a mechanism.