JPH0969476A - Item identification device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] Providing an article identification device that can control the occupied area, tact time, and price. A wafer delivery device 21 is arranged in a reading area 47 of a wafer identification code reading device 40, and has a first arm 25 which is swung by a swivel shaft 24 and a second arm 26 which is pivotally supported by the first arm and is rotated. A hand 29 that is pivotally supported by the second arm and is rotated; a positioning projection 30 that projects from one end of the hand; a projection 29 that projects from the other end of the hand and moves toward the projection. Alignment pin 32. [Effect] The wafer is received by the hand, is pressed against the convex portion by the pin, and is aligned with the hand.
When the arm is shortened, the hand is aligned with the rotation axis, the rotation axis and the wafer are aligned, and when the wafer is rotated on the rotation axis, the identification code is matched with the reading position of the reading device. That is, since the delivery device itself constitutes the alignment stage, the alignment station can be omitted.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to article identification technology, and more particularly to
The present invention relates to a technique for identifying an item by reading an identification code attached to the item, for example, a technique effectively used for identifying a semiconductor wafer in a semiconductor manufacturing process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a semiconductor manufacturing process, a plurality of semiconductor wafers (hereinafter referred to as "wafers") as works are organized into one lot and handled. For example, for a product for mass production of a small variety of products such as a RAM (random access memory), there is almost no need to reorganize the lot after the lot organization is performed at the time of loading the wafer into the line. However, mask ROM (Read Only Memory) and ASIC
For products that require high-mix low-volume production such as (custom-ordered semiconductor integrated circuit devices), productivity may decrease if the lots organized when the wafers are loaded into the line are maintained. appear. Therefore, it is necessary to reorganize the lot after the wafer is loaded.

When the lots are organized after the wafers are loaded in this way, a unique mark (hereinafter referred to as an identification code) is attached to each wafer in advance, the identification code of each wafer is read, and the identification code is assigned. By utilizing it, a desired knitting will be carried out. Therefore,
The wafer lot organization device needs to include a wafer identification device for reading the identification code of the wafer to identify each wafer.

A conventional wafer identification device of this type includes a reading device for reading an identification code attached to a wafer and a delivery device for delivering the wafer to a reading stage of the reading device. After being transferred to the reading stage of the reading device by the delivery device, the position of the identification code is aligned with the reading area of the reading device by the alignment device provided on the reading stage.

As an example in which the wafer lot organization technique is described, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-273115 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-311515 are cited.
There are JP-A-239152 and JP-A-4-260318.

[0006]

However, in the conventional wafer identification device, the delivery device and the reading device are arranged in different places, and the reading stage is provided with the alignment device. There is a problem that not only the occupied floor area becomes large, but also the tact time becomes long and the price of the entire apparatus becomes high.

An object of the present invention is to provide an article identifying device which can suppress the occupied floor area, tact time and price.

The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

[0009]

The outline of a typical invention among the inventions disclosed in the present application is as follows.

That is, a reading device for optically reading an identification code attached to an article and a delivery device for delivering the article to a reading stage of the reading device are provided, and the article is read by reading the identification code of each article. In the article identification device for identifying the article, the delivery device is arranged on the reading stage of the reading device, and the position where the identification code of the article is attached is matched with the reading area of the reading device. It is characterized by

[0011]

In the above-mentioned means, the article to be identified is transferred to the reading stage of the reading device by the delivery device. The delivery device that has received the article matches the position of the article with the identification code with the reading area of the reading device on the reading stage on which it is arranged. That is, the delivery device itself also serves as the alignment device. When the identification code matches the reading area, the reading device reads the identification code. When the identification code is read, the delivery device transfers the article from the reading stage to another location and delivers it.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a partially omitted perspective view showing a wafer sorting apparatus equipped with a wafer identification apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same. 3A and 3B show the wafer identifying apparatus, wherein FIG. 3A is a front view and FIG. 3B is a plan view taken along the line bb of FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory view for explaining the operation of the alignment. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the holding action.

In the present embodiment, the article identifying apparatus according to the present invention is configured as a wafer identifying apparatus that identifies individual wafers by reading an identification code unique to each wafer, and is installed in the wafer classifying apparatus. . That is, the wafer identification device is configured to sequentially identify individual wafers by reading the identification code attached to each wafer as an identification target article in advance by optical means. Further, the wafer classifying device is configured to classify the wafers sequentially identified by the wafer identifying device as specified in advance.

The wafer 1 is formed of a semiconductor such as silicon into a circular thin plate shape, and an orientation flat (hereinafter referred to as an orientation flat) 3 is linearly cut in a part of the circumference. An identification code 4 for identifying a wafer as an identification target article is provided at a position opposite to the orientation flat 3 on a main surface 2 of the wafer 1 on which a semiconductor element is formed (hereinafter referred to as a first main surface) 2. It is attached to each wafer uniquely. The identification code 4 is drawn by numbers and English letters by using means such as an etching method and a laser engraving method. The identification code 4 for identifying each wafer is composed of a lot code indicating the lot number of the wafer 1 and a wafer code indicating each wafer number in the lot.

A plurality of wafers 1 (for example, 25 wafers for one lot) as works of the wafer sorting apparatus are
It is stored in the cassette 5. That is, the cassette 5 has a large number of holding grooves (hereinafter referred to as slots) (typically 25 slots).
A plurality of wafers are housed in a regularly aligned state by inserting the wafers into the slots.

The wafer sorter 11 according to the present embodiment is provided with a machine base (not shown) formed in a substantially box shape, and a loading station, an unloading station, and wafers are mounted on the machine base. And an identification device. The loading station 12 and the unloading station 13 are arranged symmetrically in the front-rear direction on one side (hereinafter, left side) of the machine base. The loading station 12 and the unloading station 13 include elevators 14 and 15 controlled by a controller (not shown), respectively. The elevators 14 and 15 are configured to raise or lower the cassette 5 placed thereon by one pitch at a time.

The wafer identification device 20 includes a delivery device 21 for delivering a wafer as an article, and the delivery device 2
1 is arranged at the central position of the right side portion on the machine base. The delivery device 21 includes an elevator 22, and a rotary actuator 23 is mounted on the elevator 22 in a vertically upward direction. A swivel shaft 24 is fixed vertically upward to the output shaft of the rotary actuator 23, and the swivel shaft 24 is swung 360 degrees or more in a horizontal plane. One end of a horizontally arranged first arm 25 is fixed to the upper end of the turning shaft 24 so as to rotate integrally. One end of a second arm 26 arranged in parallel is rotatably supported by the free end of the first arm 25, and the second arm 26 is rotationally driven by a belt transmission device 27 incorporated therein. It has become. One end of a horizontally arranged hand 29 is rotatably supported by the other end of the second arm 26.
9 is rotationally driven by a built-in belt transmission device 28.

The hand 29 is formed into a flat plate shape having a substantially rectangular shape in plan view, and its longitudinal dimension is larger than the diameter of the wafer 1, and its lateral dimension is the diameter of the wafer 1. It is set to be smaller than.
A positioning convex portion 30 as a fixed-side positioning portion is projected from an end portion of the upper surface of the hand 29 on the rotation center side, and a side surface of the positioning convex portion 30 facing the front end side is the outer periphery of the wafer 1. Is formed on a circumferential surface capable of abutting a part of. The free end of the hand 29 has a pair of guide grooves 31, 3
1 is laid in parallel to the normal line of the circumferential surface of the positioning convex portion 30, and the respective positioning pins 32 as movable side positioning portions are slidable in both guide grooves 31, 31. Has been inserted. Both alignment pins 32, 3
2 is reciprocated by a built-in motion conversion transmission device 33. The delivery device 21 configured as described above uses the upper surface of the hand 29 to read the reading stage 34.
And an alignment device for aligning the identification code 4 of the wafer 1 with a reading area of a reading device described later.

A temporary wafer placing device 35 is disposed above the delivery device 20 coaxially with the turning shaft 24, and is supported by a stand (not shown) provided upright at the right end portion on the machine base. . That is, the temporary wafer placing device 35 is provided with a pair of support plates 36, 36 symmetrically arranged on an extension line of the center of the turning shaft 24. The support plates 36, 36 have pins 37, 37
Is configured to be rotationally driven by the rotary actuators 38, 38. The distance between the inner ends of the support plates 36, 36 is smaller than the diameter of the wafer 1 when the support plates 36, 36 are stopped close to each other. It is configured to be larger than the diameter.

In order to reduce the contact area with the wafer 1 as much as possible to prevent foreign matters from adhering and metal contamination, the positioning projection 30 and the positioning pin 32 of the hand 29,
Further, it is desirable that the support plate 36 of the temporary wafer placement device 35 be configured to support the wafer 1 in a floating state.

An identification code reading device (hereinafter referred to as a reading device) 40 is supported above the temporary wafer placing device 35 of the identification device 20 by a stand (not shown) provided upright at the right end portion of the machine base. Has been and is equipped. That is, the reading device 40 includes a lighting device and a television camera as an image capturing device. The illumination device 41 is supported vertically downward on a stand and is configured to illuminate a reading area 47 set on a part of the reading stage 34 of the delivery device 21 with parallel visible light. The television camera 42 is supported vertically downward on the stand, and is configured to capture the identification code 4 in the reading area 47 on the reading stage 34 illuminated by the illumination device 41.

An identification code recognizing device (hereinafter referred to as a recognizing device) 43 is electrically connected to the television camera 42, and the recognizing device 43 is composed of an image processing device and the like, and an image pickup signal from the television camera 42. The identification code 4 attached to the wafer 1 can be recognized based on the above. A monitor 44 is connected to the recognition device 43, and the monitor 44 monitors the shooting condition of the television camera 42. Further, a memory 45 as a recording means for sequentially recording the identification code is connected to the recognition device 43, and the memory 45 is configured to sequentially record the identification code 4 recognized by the recognition device 43. There is. The memory 45 is connected to a data processing device 46 constructed from a computer or the like, and the data processing device 46 is configured to create data for wafer classification by calling out the data recorded in the memory 45 as needed. Has been done. The memory 45 may be equipped on the data processing device 46 side.

Next, the operation will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 2, an actual cassette 5A in which a plurality of wafers 1 are stored is set on the elevator 14 of the loading station 12, and an actual cassette 5A is placed on the elevator 15 of the unloading station 13. An empty cassette 5 is set. First arm 25 and second of delivery device 21
The arm 26 is extended by the rotary actuator 23 and the belt transmission devices 27 and 28, and the hand 29 is inserted into the actual cassette 5A. At this time, the elevator 14 of the loading station 12 is pitch-operated so that the wafer 1 designated by the controller faces directly above the hand 29.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 4 (a), in a state in which the hand 29 is opposed directly below the wafer 1, in a state in which the eccentric with the center O ₁ of the center O ₂₉ and the wafer 1 of the hand 29 ing. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the alignment pins 32, 32 are translated by the motion conversion transmission device 33 in the direction of approaching the alignment protrusion 30, the wafer 1 is aligned. It is pushed by the pins 32, 32 and abuts on the circumferential surface of the alignment projection 30. Together with the wafer 1 is positioned on the hand 29 by the abutment by the alignment pins 32 and alignment protrusions 30, in a state where the center O ₁ is centered with the center O ₂₉ of the hand 29. In this state, the wafer 1 is held by the alignment pins 32, 32 and the alignment protrusion 30 while the bottom surface of the wafer 1 is floated from the top surface of the hand 29.

When the hand 29 holds the wafer 1, the first arm 25 and the second arm 26 of the delivery device 21 are rotated by the rotary actuator 23 and the belt transmission device 2.
Wafer 1 is shortened by 7, 28 and hand 2
9 is pulled out from the actual cassette 5A by the reference numeral 9 in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the transfer device 21 is transferred to a position right above the turning shaft 24. At this time, the center O _{29 of the} hand 29 is aligned with the center O ₂₄ of the turning shaft 24, so that the wafer 1
The center O _{1 of the} is aligned with the center O ₂₄ of the pivot 24.

The center O _{1 of the} wafer 1 is the center O of the rotary shaft 24.
_When matched with ₂₄ , as shown in FIG. 4 (c),
The outer peripheral edge of the wafer 1 is included in the reading area 47 as the reading position of the reading device 40. That is, the wafer 1 is transferred to the reading stage 34 set on the hand 29 of the delivery device 21. However, the identification code 4 attached to the wafer 1 is out of the reading area 47. That is, the image of the reading area 47 taken by the television camera 42 of the reading device 40 is in a state where the identification code 4 is not displayed, as shown in FIG.

Then, as shown in FIG. 4D, the rotary shaft 23 of the transfer device 21 is rotated in one direction by the rotary actuator 23, so that the wafer 1 is rotated around the center O _1. Then, the identification code 4 of the wafer 1 is moved to the reading area 47. That is, as shown in FIG. 4 (f), when the identification code 4 is properly displayed in the image of the reading area 47 taken by the television camera 42 of the reading device 40, the rotation axis 24 of the turning shaft 24 is changed. The turning is stopped. At this time, after the orientation flat 3 of the wafer 1 is recognized by the recognition device 43, the rotary shaft 2 is rotated.
4 is rotated 180 degrees so that the identification code 4 of the wafer 1 is placed in the reading area 47.
1 may be controlled.

By the above operation, the display position of the identification code 4 of the wafer 1 on the reading stage 34 set on the hand 29 is aligned with the reading area 47 of the reading device 40. In this state, the reading operation of the identification code 4 on the wafer 1 is executed by the reading device 40. That is, the image signal of the identification code 4 captured by the television camera 42 is transmitted to the recognition device 43, and the recognition device 4
The identification code 4 is read by performing image processing by 3.

The read identification code 4 is recognized by the recognition device 43.
It is recorded in the memory 45 connected to. And
The data processing device 46 calls the recorded identification code 4 to specify the position of the slot to be unloaded in the empty cassette 5, and sends a predetermined command signal to the controller of the delivery device 21. By the way, since the image captured by the television camera 42 can be appropriately displayed on the monitor 44, the operator can monitor the identification code 4 as necessary.

Next, the wafer 1 from which the identification code 4 is read is transferred to the unloading station 13 by the delivery device 21 and is unloaded into the designated slot of the empty cassette 5. Here, when the wafer 1 is unloaded into the empty cassette 5, it is desirable to store the wafer 1 in the empty cassette 5 with the orientation of the orientation flat 3 aligned for the convenience of the subsequent work. However, since the identification code 4 of the wafer 1 is aligned with the reading area 47 by the turning of the turning shaft 24 of the delivery device 21, the positional relationship between the orientation flat 3 of the wafer 1 and the hand 29 is not constant.

Therefore, when it is necessary to unload the wafer 1 in the empty cassette 5 with the orientation of the orientation flat 3 aligned, as shown in FIG.
The holding operation of the wafer 1 is performed using the. First of all, the orientation flat 3 is moved to the designated holding position by turning the turning shaft 24 by 90 degrees. Then, the delivery device 21 is lifted by the elevator 22 and the wafer 1 is lifted above the temporary placement device 35. continue,
After the support plates 36, 36 of the temporary placement device 35 are rotated 180 degrees about the pins 37, 37 by the rotary actuators 38, 38, the elevator 22 is lowered. By this operation, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the wafer 1 of the delivery device 21 is transferred to the temporary placement device 35 with the orientation flat 3 placed at the holding position.

Next, as the turning shaft 24 is turned, both the positioning pins 32, 32 of the hand 29 are moved to the holding position. Next, the delivery device 21 is raised by the elevator 22, and the hand 29 lifts and receives the wafer 1 from both the support plates 36, 36. When the wafer 1 is received by the hand 29, the support plates 36, 36 of the temporary placement device 35 are moved by the rotary actuators 38, 38 about the pins 37, 37 as a center.
After being rotated 80 degrees, the elevator 22 is lowered.
Next, when both the alignment pins 32, 32 are translated in the direction of approaching the alignment protrusion 30, the wafer 1 moves toward the orientation flat 3 as shown in FIGS. 5C and 5D.
Is pressed by both alignment pins 32, 32 and abutted on the alignment protrusion 30. By this operation, the wafer 1 is held by the hand 29 of the delivery device 21 in a state where the orientation flat 3 is aligned with the alignment pins 32, 32.

When the wafer 1 is held by the hand 29 in the predetermined direction as described above, the wafer 1 held by the hand 29 is transferred to the first arm 25 and the second arm 25.
When the arm 26 is extended, it is transferred to the unloading station 13 and is unloaded into the designated slot of the empty cassette 5. At this time, since the wafer 1 is held by the hand 29 in a predetermined direction,
The wafer 1 is transferred to the slot of the empty cassette 5 in a predetermined direction.

Now, for example, the wafer code number of the identification code 4 read by the reading device 40 is "N0.
If it is 1 ”, the unloading station 13
In response to a command from the controller, the elevator 15 is fed by one pitch and the first slot in the empty cassette 5 is set to the insertion operation position. Then, when the first slot is set to the insertion operation position, the NO. One wafer 1 is inserted into this first slot.

The wafer code number of the identification code 4 read by the next wafer 1 reading device 40 is "N0.
In the case of "3", the elevator 15 is further fed by two pitches according to a command from the controller of the unloading station 13, and the third slot in the empty cassette 5 is set to the insertion operation position. Then, the N0.3 wafer 1 carried by the delivery device 21 is inserted into the third slot.

Further, when the wafer code number of the next wafer 1 is "NO. 2", the elevator 1 is instructed by the controller of the unloading station 13.
5 is sent back by 1 pitch and empty cassette 5
The second slot at is set to the insertion actuated position.
Then, N0.2 conveyed by the delivery device 21.
Wafer 1 is inserted into this second slot.

By repeating the above operation, the group of wafers 1 is accommodated in the empty cassette 5 of the unloading station 13 arranged in the slot numbers according to the order of each wafer code. In this case, a wafer with wafer code N0.1 is in the first slot, a wafer with wafer code N0.2 is in the second slot, and a wafer code N0. That is, n wafers have been inserted. Moreover, the wafers 1 housed in the respective slots are in a state in which the orientations thereof are aligned, that is, the orientation flats 3 are all aligned.

With the above operation, the identification code reading work and the wafer sorting work are carried out. At the same time as these works, the processing of each wafer and the wafer history in the memory 45 are performed based on the read data of the reading device 40. You can create files etc.

According to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. (1) By setting the reading stage in the delivery device itself for delivering the wafer to the reading stage of the wafer identification code reading device and providing an alignment function for matching the identification code display position of the wafer with the reading area of the reading stage, Since it is not necessary to attach a reading stage and an alignment device separately from the reading device and the delivery device, it is possible to suppress the occupied floor area, takt time and price of the entire wafer identification device.

(2) The first arm rotated by the turning shaft, the second arm pivotally supported by the free end of the first arm, and the second arm pivotally supported at a position away from the center of rotation of the second arm. And a rotating device, and a delivery device that is configured to include a hand that is rotated and a positioning unit that is disposed at a position facing each other apart from the center of the hand and that positions the members by contacting mutually facing portions of the article. As a result, the part that moves linearly can be omitted, so that the occupied floor area, takt time and price of the entire wafer identifying apparatus can be further suppressed.

(3) By providing a temporary placement device for temporarily placing an article above the delivery device, the delivery device can hold the wafer, so that the wafers can be unloaded in the same direction.

(4) Since the loaded wafer identification code can be read and unloaded into the wafer cassette, the wafer group sorting operation, rearrangement operation, lot organization operation, wafer extraction operation, and wafer identification code can be performed. Confirmation work can be performed.

(5) By storing the wafer identification code in the memory, it is possible to perform a special work such as re-division / re-synthesis of lots, and to create the history of each wafer using the identification code as an index. You can

6A and 6B show a wafer identifying apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 6A is a front view and FIG. 6B is FIG. 6A.
It is a top view which follows the bb line of.

The difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment is that
Straight advance arm (hereinafter referred to as a straight advance arm) 26A
And a vacuum suction type hand (hereinafter referred to as a suction hand)
29A is used. That is, when the suction portion 30A of the suction hand 29A is applied to the center O _{1 of the} wafer 1 by the extension operation of the rectilinear arm 26A as the second arm, the suction hand 29A holds the wafer 1 by vacuum suction by the suction portion 30A. Next, straight arm 2
6A is shortened so that the center O ₁ of the wafer ₁
Is aligned with the center O ₂₄ of the pivot 24. After that, as in the first embodiment, the identification code 4 of the wafer 1 is aligned with the reading area 47 of the reading device 40 by the turning of the turning shaft 24, and the identification code 4 is read. Identification code 4
The wafer 1 that has been read is unloaded at a predetermined position by the turning operation of the turning shaft 24 and the extension operation of the rectilinear arm 26A.

Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Needless to say.

For example, the elevators of the loading station and the unloading station in the wafer sorting apparatus may be omitted, and the delivery apparatus of the wafer identification apparatus may be provided with elevators for loading work and unloading work in addition to elevators for holding work. Good. Further, the elevator for the holding work may be configured to serve as the elevator for the loading work and the unloading work.

Further, the loading station and the unloading station in the wafer sorting apparatus may each be constituted by a table on which a wafer is placed.
Further, the loading station and the unloading station in the wafer sorter are each 1
It is not limited to install each group, but two or more groups may be installed respectively.

The wafer identifying device can be used not only for the wafer classifying device but also for the lot forming device, the wafer extracting device, the wafer rearranging device, the wafer identification code confirming device, and the like. There is no limitation on the handling of the wafer.

In the above description, the case where the invention made by the present inventor is mainly applied to the wafer identification technology which is the background field of application has been described. However, the invention is not limited to this, and a floppy disk or a hard disk. The present invention can be applied to a data storage medium such as a compact disc, or other identification technology for general articles on which an identification code is displayed.

[0051]

The effects obtained by typical aspects of the invention disclosed in the present application will be briefly described as follows.

By setting the reading stage in the delivery device itself for delivering the article to the reading stage of the identification code reading apparatus and providing an alignment function for matching the identification code display position of the article with the reading area of the reading stage, the reading apparatus Further, since it is not necessary to attach a reading stage and an alignment device separately from the delivery device, it is possible to suppress the occupied floor area, takt time and price of the entire article identification device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially omitted perspective view showing a wafer sorter including a wafer identification device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof.

3A and 3B show the wafer identification device, wherein FIG. 3A is a front view and FIG. 3B is a plan view taken along the line bb of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a reading operation,
(A), (b), (c) and (d) are partial plan views,
(E) and (f) are screen diagrams.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a holding operation.
(A), (c) is each partial front view, (b), (d) is each partial top view.

6A and 6B show a wafer identifying apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 6A is a front view and FIG. 6B is a plan view taken along the line bb of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Wafer (article, work), 2 ... 1st main surface, 3 ... Orientation flat (orientation flat), 4 ... Identification code, 5 ... Cassette, 5A ... Actual cassette, 11 ... Wafer sorter, 12 ... Loading station, 13 … Unloading stations, 14, 15… elevators,
20 ... Wafer identification device (article identification device), 21 ... Delivery device, 22 ... Elevator, 23 ... Rotary actuator, 24 ... Rotating shaft, 25 ... First arm, 26 ... Second arm, 27, 28 ... Belt transmission device, 29 ... hand, 3
0 ... Positioning convex part (positioning part), 31 ... Guide groove, 32 ... Positioning pin (positioning part), 33 ... Motion conversion transmission device, 34 ... Read stage, 35 ... Wafer temporary placement device, 36 ... Support Plate, 37 ... pin, 38 ... rotary actuator, 40 ... identification code reader,
41 ... Illumination device, 42 ... Television camera, 43 ... Identification code recognition device, 44 ... Monitor, 45 ... Memory, 46 ... Data processing device, 47 ... Read area, 26A ... Straight arm, 29A ... Vacuum adsorption type hand , 30A ... Adsorption part.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Seiichiro Kobayashi, 3-3 Fujibashi, Ome, Tokyo 2-3 Hitachi Tokyo Electronics Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Haruo Iizuka 3-3, 2 Fujibashi, Ome, Tokyo Hitachi Higashi Inside Kyo Electronics Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A reading device that optically reads an identification code attached to an article, and a delivery device that delivers the article to a reading stage of the reading device. The article is read by reading the identification code of each article. In the article identification device for identifying the article, the delivery device is arranged on the reading stage of the reading device, and is configured to match the position of the article identification code with the reading area of the reading device. An article identification device characterized by the above. 2. The delivery device includes a first arm that is swung by a swivel shaft, a second arm that is pivotally supported by a free end portion of the first arm, and that is separated from a rotation center of the second arm. A hand that is pivotally supported at a position and is rotated; and a positioning unit that is arranged at mutually opposing positions apart from the center of the hand and that aligns by abutting the mutually opposing portions of the article. The article identification device according to claim 1, wherein 3. The delivery device includes a first arm which is swung by a swivel shaft, a second arm which is slidably supported by the first arm and reciprocates, and a hand which is supported by the second arm. The article identification device according to claim 1, further comprising: a suction section that is disposed on the hand and that is suctioned to one main surface of the article. 4. The article identifying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a temporary placing device for temporarily placing an article above the delivery device.