JPH1092902A - Carrier elevator device having wafer pop-out prevention mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract: Provided is a carrier elevator apparatus that can effectively prevent a wafer housed in a carrier from jumping out. The carrier elevator apparatus includes a reference base 9a, a carrier reference base 10a provided to be movable in a vertical direction with respect to the reference base 9a, a driving mechanism 20 for moving the carrier reference base 10a in a vertical direction,
It has a carrier support 3 rotatably mounted on a carrier reference base, an inclined stopper 6 for holding the carrier support 3 in an inclined position, and a horizontal stopper 7 for holding the carrier support in a horizontal position. . First, the carrier 1 is placed on the carrier support 3 and set at the inclined position. Next, the carrier reference base 10a rises, and with this rise, the carrier support 3 rotates while being supported by the inclination stopper 6, and shifts to a horizontal state.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a carrier elevator apparatus which is a part of a loading apparatus for loading a wafer stored in a carrier into a processing apparatus, and more particularly to a mechanism for preventing a wafer from jumping out of a carrier. The present invention relates to a carrier elevator device provided.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a semiconductor manufacturing line, a plurality of wafers 2 are transported between processing steps in a state where a plurality of wafers 2 are housed in a carrier 1 made of a box made of polypropylene or the like. A loading device is provided at a processing device entrance of each processing step (e.g., a vapor deposition step, an etching step, and the like), and the wafer 2 is loaded into the processing device for each process by the loading device. Usually, a carrier elevator device as shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 5, or FIG. 6 is provided on the entrance side of the loading device. The carrier elevator apparatus has a drive mechanism 120 composed of a motor and a ball screw. The carrier 1 is set on the carrier support 103 by the drive mechanism 120 so that the outlet 1c faces right beside, and a carrier module (not shown). ) Is transported upward to a position where the wafer stored in the carrier can be taken out.

[0003] By the way, the carrier 1 is
In the case of setting to 3, the protrusion (position shift) of the wafer 2 from the carrier 1 has conventionally been a problem. When the wafer 2 jumps out, a center shift occurs when the wafer 2 is transferred to the next processing module, for example, the transfer module 12, and when the orientation flat is aligned, which causes a trouble.

FIG. 4 shows a carrier elevator apparatus having the most general structure. In the carrier elevator apparatus shown in FIG. 4, the user supports the carrier 1 in which the wafer 2 is accommodated so that the outlet 1c faces the direction of the transfer module (not shown) (right side in FIG. 4), that is, the side. It is placed on the body 103. However, in the carrier elevator apparatus shown in FIG. 5, when the carrier 1 is placed on the carrier support 103 and then rotated so that the carrier support 103 is directed sideways, the rotation operation is slightly complicated. Then, the wafer 2 jumps out.

The carrier elevator apparatus shown in FIG. 5 has an L-shaped carrier support 103 and is rotatable by a rotating mechanism 105. When this carrier elevator apparatus is used, the user is required to perform the operation shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), the carrier 1 is placed on the L-shaped carrier support 103 so that the outlet 1c faces directly above,
Thereafter, the user manually rotates the carrier support 103 as shown in FIG.
Is facing sideways. With this configuration, when the carrier 1 is placed on the carrier support 103, the wafer 2 is supported by the bottom surface 1b of the carrier 1 due to gravity, so that there is no possibility that the wafer 2 jumps out. But,
If the carrier support 110 is slightly rotated, the wafer 2 may jump out when the outlet 1c of the carrier 1 is directed to the side.

In order to solve this problem, there is a type in which the carrier support 103 is rotated by a dedicated motor. However, if a dedicated motor is provided, it is difficult to make the entire carrier elevator apparatus compact, and the structure becomes complicated. Further, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost of the carrier elevator apparatus also increases.

The carrier elevator apparatus shown in FIG. 6 has a carrier reference base 110 and a carrier support 10.
And 3. The carrier support 103 can be swung by a rotation mechanism 105 provided between the carrier reference base 110 and the carrier support 103. In this carrier elevator apparatus, first, as shown in FIG. 6A, the carrier support 103 is inclined by the inclination stopper 106 so that the user can take the outlet 1c of the carrier 1 obliquely upward. Then, the carrier 1 is placed on the carrier support 103. Next, as shown in FIG.
0 is once lowered, whereby the carrier support 103 is oriented in the horizontal direction, and the outlet 1c of the carrier 1 placed on the carrier support 103 is oriented right beside. After that, the inclination stopper 106 is moved to the carrier reference base 110.
And the carrier support 103 is retracted to a position where it does not hinder the lifting of the carrier support 103. If you do this,
The carrier support 103 can be shifted smoothly from the inclined state to the horizontal direction, and the outlet 1c of the carrier 1 can be taken out.
When the wafers face right beside, there is no possibility that the wafer 2 jumps out.

However, in this case, a means for moving the inclined stopper 106 in the horizontal direction is required, and there is a problem that the structure of the entire carrier elevator apparatus is complicated and large. Further, since the inclined stopper 106 comes into contact with the upper surface of the carrier support 103, if dust is generated at the time of contact, the dust may adhere to the wafer 2.

[0009]

As described above, the carrier elevator apparatus capable of effectively preventing the wafer 2 from jumping out of the carrier 1 without problems such as the complexity and enlargement of the structure of the entire apparatus and the adhesion of dust. Has not been obtained yet.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and it is possible to prevent the wafer contained in the carrier from being displaced and jumping out, and to prevent dust from adhering to the wafer. It is an object of the present invention to provide a carrier elevator apparatus having a simple structure capable of easily carrying and removing a carrier.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, a first means is to provide a carrier elevator apparatus,
A reference base, a carrier reference base provided movably in the vertical direction with respect to the reference base, a driving mechanism provided in the reference base, and moving the carrier reference base in the vertical direction, and A first support portion and a second support portion extending in a direction perpendicular to the first support portion, the second support portion being rotatable, and at least a horizontal position in which the first support portion is oriented in a horizontal direction; A carrier supporting member that pivots between a vertical position in which one supporting portion faces a vertical direction, and the carrier supporting member is provided on the reference base, and when the carrier reference base is at a lowered position, the carrier supporting member is moved to the horizontal position. An inclination stopper means for holding the carrier at an inclined position between a vertical position and the carrier when the carrier reference base is raised and the carrier support is separated from the inclination stopper means; It is characterized in that a horizontal stopper means for holding the A support in a horizontal position.

According to the first means, first, after the carrier is placed on the carrier support at the vertical position of the carrier support, the carrier support is set to the inclined position by the rotation operation. Next, the carrier reference base is raised, and with this rise, the carrier support rotates while being in contact with the inclination stopper means, and moves to the horizontal position. At the same time as the carrier support moves to the horizontal position, the horizontal stopper means comes into contact with the carrier support. Further, after the carrier reference base is raised and the carrier support is separated from the inclination stopper, the horizontal stopper holds the carrier support.

The second means is that the inclination stopper means is:
When the carrier support is in the inclined position, the carrier support is in contact with the bottom surface of the first support.

According to the second means, even if the inclined stopper means comes into contact with the bottom surface of the carrier support and generates dust, the wafer contained in the carrier 1 is not affected.

The third means is characterized in that the center of rotation of the carrier support is located near the joint between the first support and the second support of the carrier support. It is.

According to the third means, when the carrier support is in the vertical position as compared with the case where the carrier support is in the horizontal position, the carrier support can be brought much closer to the user. Therefore, the operation of placing and removing the carrier on the carrier support can be easily performed.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 are views showing an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the carrier elevator apparatus comprises a reference base 9a, and a carrier reference base 10a movably provided in a direction perpendicular to the reference base 9a.
A drive mechanism 20 for vertically moving the carrier reference base 10a, a carrier support 3 rotatably mounted on the carrier reference base 10a, and a carrier support 3
Is provided with a tilt stopper 6 (tilt stopper means) for holding the carrier support 3 at a tilt position, and a horizontal stopper 7 (horizontal stopper means) for holding the carrier support 3 at a horizontal position.

As shown in FIG. 2, the reference base 9a forms a top plate of the reference frame 9, and is fixed to the frame 8 of the carrier elevator apparatus. Further, the top plate of the reference frame 9, that is, the reference base 9 a, and the bottom plate 9 of the reference frame 9
b, a pair of cylindrical guide rails 9c extending in parallel with each other and in the vertical direction are provided. Both ends of these guide rails 9c are fixed to the reference base 9a and the bottom plate 9b, respectively.

Further, a plate-shaped carrier reference base 10a is provided above the reference base 9a, and the carrier reference base 10a forms a top plate of the lifting frame 10. A guide rail 9c is provided on the bottom surface 10b of the lifting frame 10.
Guide member 10c movably provided along each of
The lifting frame 10 is vertically movable along the guide rail 9c, so that the carrier reference base 10a is vertically movable.

Next, the drive mechanism 20 for moving the carrier reference base 10a in the vertical direction will be described in detail. The drive mechanism 20 includes a cylindrical male screw member 21 extending in a vertical direction.
A cylindrical female screw member 22 having a female screw engaged with the male screw member 21 formed on an inner peripheral surface thereof;
And a stepping motor 23 for driving the motor. The male screw member 21 is rotatably mounted at both ends thereof at the center of the top plate (reference base 9a) and the bottom plate 9b of the reference frame 9 via ball bearings 24, respectively. The female screw member 22 is attached to the center of the carrier reference base 10a and the bottom surface 10b of the lifting frame 10. Further, the stepping motor 23 is mounted on the bottom plate 9b of the reference frame 9, and a pulley 25 is fixed to a rotating shaft of the stepping motor 23. Male screw member 2
A pulley 26 is fixed to the lowermost end of the pulley 1, and a timing belt 27 is provided between the pulley 26 and the pulley 25.
Has been passed over. This allows the stepping motor 2
By driving the carrier 3, the carrier reference base 10a can be moved in the vertical direction.

As described above, the carrier support 3 is rotatably mounted on the upper surface of the carrier reference base 10a via the rotation mechanism 5. The carrier support 3 is for mounting the carrier 1 in which the wafer 2 is accommodated, and has a substantially L-shaped cross section. When the carrier 1 is placed on the carrier support 3, the carrier support 3 includes a first support portion 3 a that contacts a side surface 1 a of the carrier 1 parallel to the upper and lower surfaces of the accommodated wafer 2 and the first support portion 3 a. A second support portion 3b extending in a direction perpendicular to the support portion 3a and contacting the bottom surface 1b of the carrier 1;

Further, a pair of bearing holders 5a are fixed to the upper surface of the carrier reference base 10a on the left side in FIG. 1 (on the side where the operator places the carrier 1). A ball bearing 5b is mounted on each of these bearing holders 5a. On the other hand, the bottom surface 3c of the first support portion 3a of the carrier support 3 on the second support portion 3b side (the left side in FIG. 1), that is, the connecting portion between the first support portion 3a and the second support portion 3b of the carrier support 3 , A pair of shaft holders 5c are fixed, and a rotary shaft 5d is fixed to these shaft holders 5c. The rotating shaft 5c is inserted into the inner race of the ball bearing 5b described above. The above-described rotation mechanism 5 is constituted by the bearing holder 5a, the ball bearing 5b, the shaft holder 5c, and the rotation shaft 5d.

The carrier support 3 is rotatable with respect to a carrier reference base 10a about a rotation shaft 5d of the rotation mechanism 5 as a center of rotation. Horizontal position (Fig. 3 (d)
(See FIG. 3 (e)) and a vertical position (see FIGS. 3 (b) and 3 (g)) in which the first support portion 3a faces in the vertical direction.

An inclined stopper 6 is provided on the upper surface of the reference base 9 on the right side in FIG. The inclination stopper means 6 includes a support portion 6b fixed to the upper surface of the reference base 9a and a roller 6a rotatably mounted on the upper end of the support portion 6b. In addition, the carrier standard base 10
A through hole 10c is formed at a position corresponding to the inclined stopper 6, and the support portion 6a of the inclined stopper 6 extends through the through hole 10c. When the carrier reference base 10a is at the lowered position, the inclined stopper 6 holds the first support portion 3a of the carrier support 3 in an inclined state, that is, holds the carrier support 3 at the inclined position (FIG. 1). And FIG. 3 (a) (c) (f)).

A plate-like horizontal stopper 7 (horizontal stopper means) is attached to the right end of FIG. 1 of the carrier reference base 10a. The upper surface of the horizontal stopper 7 comes into contact with the bottom surface of the first support portion 3a when the first support portion 3a of the carrier support 3 faces in the horizontal direction (see FIGS. 3D and 3E). The carrier support 3 is held at a horizontal position so that the carrier support 3 does not rotate beyond the horizontal position. This horizontal stopper 7
May be provided on the free end side (the right end in FIG. 1) of the bottom surface 3c of the first support portion 3a of the carrier support 3.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment having such a configuration will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 3A shows a state where the carrier elevator apparatus is at rest, and the carrier reference base 10 is shown.
a is at the lowered position, and the carrier support 3 is stationary with the bottom surface of the first support portion 3 a of the carrier support 3 abutting the roller 6 a of the inclined stopper 6. In this state, the center of gravity of the carrier support 3 is located on the right side of the rotation shaft 5 a of the rotation mechanism 5, and the carrier support 3 leans against the inclination stopper 6.

When using a carrier elevator device,
As shown in FIG. 3B, the carrier support 3 is rotated by a user's manual operation toward a vertical position in which the first support portion 3a is oriented vertically. The carrier support 3 at the vertical position is held at the vertical position by the bottom surface of the first support portion 3a abutting on the left side surface 10d of the carrier reference base 10a (see the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1).

Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, the carrier 1 accommodating a plurality of wafers 2 is placed on the bottom surface 1 of the carrier 1.
b is in contact with the second support 3b of the carrier support 3, and the side surface 1a of the carrier 1 is in contact with the first support 3a of the carrier support 3.
Is placed on the carrier support 3 so as to come into contact with the carrier support 3. In this case, the outlet 1c of the carrier 1 faces directly above, and the wafer 2 faces the vertical direction.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3C, the carrier support 3 is moved until the bottom surface of the first support portion 3a comes into contact with the roller 6a of the inclined stopper 6 by a manual operation of the user. It turns around the turning shaft 5a. That is, the carrier support 3 is at an inclined position intermediate between the vertical position and the horizontal position. When the carrier support 3 is in the inclined position as described above, the position of the center of gravity of the carrier 1, the wafer 2 and the entire carrier support 3 is located closer to the inclined stopper 6 than the rotation shaft 5a of the rotation mechanism 5, Carrier support 3
Stand still while leaning against the inclination stopper 6. In this case, the wafer 2 accommodated in the carrier 1 is held at a predetermined position in the carrier 1 while being supported by the bottom surface 1b of the carrier 1 by its own weight. Therefore, there is no occurrence of displacement of the wafer 2 in the carrier 1. Further, since the carrier support 3 comes into contact with the roller 6a of the inclination stopper 6 on the bottom surface 3c of the first support portion 3a, the carrier support 3 and the inclination stopper 6 should come into contact with each other to generate dust. Even in this case, the wafer 2 accommodated in the carrier 1 is not affected by dust.

Next, the drive mechanism 20 operates, and the carrier reference base 10a moves upward. With the upward movement of the carrier reference base 10a, only the rotation mechanism 5 side (left side in the figure) rises while the first support portion 3a of the carrier support 3 is supported by the roller 6a of the inclination stopper 6, and
The carrier support 3 rotates toward a horizontal position in which the first support 3a faces in the horizontal direction. Then, as shown in FIG. 3D, when the carrier support 3 is in the horizontal position,
The bottom surface of the first support portion 3a contacts the horizontal stopper 7. When the carrier support 3 is at the horizontal position, the outlet 1c of the carrier 1 faces in the horizontal direction, and the wafer 2 accommodated in the carrier 1 faces in the horizontal direction. In this case, the carrier support 3 rotates around a rotation mechanism 5 having a ball bearing 5b and a rotation shaft 5a, and the first support portion 3a of the carrier support 3 rotates around the roller 6a of the inclined stopper 6 as a fulcrum. And the drive mechanism 20 is composed of a motor and a ball screw and operates extremely smoothly, so that the rotation of the carrier support 3 is performed extremely smoothly. For this reason, in the process of rotating the carrier support 3 from the inclined position to the horizontal position, in particular, at the moment of the horizontal position, the wafer 2 stored in the carrier 1 placed on the carrier support 3 jumps out of the carrier 1. No displacement occurs in the carrier 1.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3E, when the carrier reference base 10a is further moved upward, the first support portion 3a of the carrier support 3 is separated from the roller 6a of the inclined stopper 6. Then, it rises together with the carrier reference base 10a while being supported in the horizontal direction by the horizontal stopper 7. That is, in this case, the horizontal stopper 7 functions as means for preventing the carrier support 3 from rotating beyond the horizontal position. When the carrier reference base 10a is further moved upward, the outlet 1c of the carrier 1 placed on the carrier support 3 faces the transport module 12. Then, the transfer module 12 extracts the wafer 2 in the carrier 1 and delivers it to a processing device (not shown). Further, the carrier reference base 10a is stepwise raised by the drive mechanism 20, and the transport module 12 extracts the wafers 2 in the carrier 1 one by one each time.
It is delivered to a processing device (not shown).

When the wafer 2 in the carrier 1 becomes empty, the carrier reference base 10a descends, and as shown in FIG. 3F, when the carrier reference base 10a reaches the descending position, the carrier support 3 The first support portion 3a contacts the roller 6a of the inclination stopper 6, and the carrier support 3 is in the inclined position.

Next, the carrier support 3 is rotated to a vertical position by a manual operation of the user. As shown in FIG. 3G, when the carrier support 3 is in the vertical position, the user removes an empty carrier placed on the carrier support 3. This state is the same as that in FIG. 3B, and thereafter, the steps shown in FIGS. 3B to 3G are repeated as necessary.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the carrier support 3 is temporarily stopped at the inclined position, and then the carrier support 3 is smoothly and horizontally moved by the drive mechanism 20 including the motor and the ball screw. Since the transfer is performed, it is possible to prevent the wafer 2 housed in the carrier 1 from jumping out (position shift).

The transition of the carrier support from the inclined position to the horizontal position and the transition from the horizontal position to the inclined position are as follows.
Since the operation is performed in conjunction with the elevating operation of the carrier reference base 10a, it is not necessary to provide a special driving device for rotating the carrier support 3.

The rotation shaft 5a of the rotation mechanism 5, which is the center of rotation of the carrier support 3, is connected to the second support 3b side of the bottom surface 3c of the first support 3a of the carrier support 3 and to the carrier reference base 10a. Is positioned on the left side (the side on which the operator carries out the mounting operation of the carrier 1), the carrier support 3 is rotated from the state shown in FIG. 3A to the state shown in FIG. In this case, the carrier support 3 moves largely toward the user (the left side in FIG. 3B). For this reason, even when a plurality of carrier elevator devices are arranged close to each other in the depth direction in FIG. 3, the carrier 1 can be placed on the carrier support 3 regardless of the operating state of the adjacent carrier elevator device. The operation of removing the carrier 1 from the carrier support 3 can be easily performed. In particular, when a heavy 8-inch carrier is placed on the carrier support 3, the user uses both hands to perform the work. However, even in such a case, the carrier support 3 is large and the user has to work. , So that the placing operation and the removing operation can be easily performed.

[0039]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A carrier elevator apparatus capable of easily carrying and removing a carrier and preventing displacement and jumping of a wafer accommodated in the carrier can be obtained with a simple structure.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a configuration of a carrier elevator apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an AA cross section in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the operation of the carrier elevator apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration and operation of a conventional carrier elevator apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration and operation of a conventional carrier elevator apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration and operation of a conventional carrier elevator apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 Carrier support 3a 1st support part 3b 2nd support part 5 Rotation mechanism 6 Incline stopper 7 Horizontal stopper 9a Reference base 10a Carrier reference base

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A reference base, a carrier reference base movably provided in a vertical direction with respect to the reference base, and a drive mechanism provided on the reference base and moving the carrier reference base in a vertical direction; The first base is rotatably mounted on the carrier reference base.
A second portion extending in a direction perpendicular to the support portion and the first support portion;
A carrier support having a support portion, wherein the carrier support pivots between at least a horizontal position where the first support portion is oriented horizontally and a vertical position where the first support portion is oriented vertically; Tilt stopper means for holding the carrier support at an inclined position between the horizontal position and the vertical position when the carrier reference base is at the lowered position; and A carrier elevator apparatus comprising: horizontal stopper means for holding the carrier support in a horizontal position when the support is separated from the inclined stopper means. 2. The carrier elevator apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said inclination stopper means is in contact with a bottom surface of said first support portion when said carrier support is in an inclined position. 3. The carrier support according to claim 1, wherein the center of rotation of the carrier support is located near a joint between the first support and the second support of the carrier support. Carrier elevator device.