Loading and unloading equipment and its cover circulation mechanism

Abstract

The present invention discloses a loading and unloading equipment and a cover plate circulation mechanism thereof. The cover plate circulation mechanism comprises a cover plate taking mechanism, a transfer mechanism and a cover plate covering mechanism which are sequentially arranged along the transmission direction of a carrier. The carrier comprises a base and a cover plate covered on the base. The cover plate taking mechanism is used to take the cover plate from the base and place the cover plate on the transfer mechanism when the carrier moves to a first preset position. The transfer mechanism is used to transfer the cover plate to a position corresponding to the cover plate covering mechanism. The cover plate covering mechanism is used to take the cover plate from the transfer mechanism and cover the cover plate on the base when the base moves to a second preset position. By setting the cover plate circulation mechanism, the cover plate is taken when the carrier arrives at the first preset position, and the taken cover plate is transported to the second preset position. After the loading and unloading of the carrier is completed, the cover plate is covered on the base of the carrier again, thereby improving the utilization rate of the cover plate and also making the loading and unloading equipment compact in structure and small in size.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of battery automation equipment, and in particular to a loading and unloading device and a cover plate circulation mechanism thereof. Background Art

[0002] When unloading silicon wafers, the cover of the silicon wafer carrier needs to be removed to facilitate unloading and loading; after loading, the cover needs to be accurately covered on the carrier base. The common method is to set up a separate cover removal mechanism to remove the cover when the carrier full of prepared silicon wafers moves to the cover removal mechanism, and set up a cover cover mechanism to cover the base before the carrier full of new silicon wafers enters the main machine. This method is not only inefficient, but also requires a large number of cover plates to avoid insufficient cover plates. Summary of the invention

[0003] The invention provides a loading and unloading device and a cover plate circulation mechanism thereof, so as to solve the technical problem of low utilization rate of the cover plates.

[0004] In order to solve the above technical problems, a technical solution adopted by the present invention is: to provide a cover plate circulation mechanism, the cover plate circulation mechanism includes a cover plate removing mechanism, a transfer mechanism and a cover plate covering mechanism which are arranged in sequence along the transmission direction of the carrier, the carrier includes a base and a cover plate covered on the base, the cover plate removing mechanism is used for removing the cover plate from the base and placing the cover plate on the transfer mechanism when the carrier moves to a first preset position, the transfer mechanism is used for transmitting the cover plate to a position corresponding to the cover plate covering mechanism, and the cover plate covering mechanism is used for removing the cover plate from the transfer mechanism and covering the cover plate on the base when the base moves to a second preset position.

[0005] Optionally, the cover plate taking mechanism includes a first extraction member, a first driving assembly and a second driving assembly, the first driving assembly is connected to and drives the first extraction member to approach or move away from a first preset position, so that the first extraction member approaches the carrier at the first preset position and extracts the cover plate away from the first preset position, and the second driving assembly is connected to and drives the first extraction member to approach or move away from the transfer mechanism, so as to transfer the cover plate to the transfer mechanism.

[0006] Optionally, there are two groups of first drive components, the two groups of first drive components are arranged at intervals, the carrier passes between the two groups of first drive components, the cover plate removal mechanism also includes a first bridge, the first bridge is bridged between the two groups of first drive components, the first extraction member is arranged on the first bridge, and the two groups of first drive components synchronously drive the first bridge to drive the first extraction member to approach or move away from the first preset position.

[0007] Optionally, the second driving component is disposed on the first bridge, the output end of the second driving component is connected to the first extracting member, and the second driving component can drive the first extracting member to move closer to or away from the transfer mechanism.

[0008] Optionally, the cover plate mechanism includes a second extraction member, a third drive assembly and a fourth drive assembly, the third drive assembly is connected to and drives the second extraction member to approach or move away from the second preset position, and the fourth drive assembly is connected to and drives the second extraction member to approach or move away from the transfer mechanism.

[0009] Optionally, there are two groups of third drive assemblies, the two groups of third drive assemblies are arranged at intervals, the vehicle passes between the two groups of third drive assemblies, the cover plate mechanism also includes a second second bridge, the second second bridge is bridged between the two groups of third drive assemblies, the second extraction member is arranged on the second second bridge, and the two groups of third drive assemblies synchronously drive the second second bridge to drive the second extraction member to approach or move away from the second preset position.

[0010] Optionally, the third drive component is connected to and drives the second extraction member to move along the first direction, the fourth drive component is connected to and drives the second extraction member to move along the second direction, and the cover plate mechanism also includes a fifth drive component and a sixth drive component, the fifth drive component is connected to and drives the second extraction member to move along the third direction, and the sixth drive component is connected to and drives the second extraction member to rotate in a horizontal plane, wherein the first direction, the second direction and the third direction are perpendicular to each other.

[0011] Optionally, the cover plate mechanism further comprises a detection component, and the detection component is used to detect the relative position of the cover plate and the base at the second preset position.

[0012] Optionally, the transfer mechanism includes a first rotating drive member, a first connecting shaft and multiple groups of first transmission members, each of the first transmission members includes a driving wheel, a driven wheel and a conveyor belt mounted on the driving wheel and the driven wheel, the first rotating drive member is connected to one of the driving wheels and drives the driving wheel to rotate, the multiple groups of first transmission members are arranged in parallel and at intervals along the axial direction of the driving wheel to jointly support the carrier, and the first connecting shaft is connected in series to the driving wheel.

[0013] In order to solve the above technical problems, another technical solution adopted by the present invention is: to provide a loading and unloading equipment, the loading and unloading equipment includes a carrier circulation mechanism, a unloading mechanism, a loading mechanism and a cover plate circulation mechanism as described above, the unloading mechanism and the loading mechanism are arranged on the conveying path of the carrier circulation mechanism along the transmission direction of the carrier, the carrier circulation mechanism conveys the base through the unloading mechanism and the loading mechanism in turn to carry out unloading and loading respectively, the cover plate circulation mechanism is used to extract the cover plate before the carrier moves to the unloading mechanism, and to cover the cover plate on the base after the base passes through the loading mechanism, and the carrier circulation mechanism is further used to convey the loaded carrier to the main machine.

[0014] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: the embodiment of the present invention sets up a cover plate circulation mechanism, takes out the cover plate when the carrier reaches the first preset position, and transports the taken cover plate to the second preset position; after the carrier is loaded and unloaded, the cover plate is put back on the base of the carrier to improve the utilization rate of the cover plate, and also make the loading and unloading equipment compact and small in size. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for describing the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work, among which:

[0016] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the main structure of the loading and unloading equipment in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a top view structure of a vehicle in FIG.

[0018] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 A right side structural diagram of the cover taking mechanism in FIG.

[0019] Figure 4 yes Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the top view of the cover plate removal mechanism;

[0020] Figure 5 yes Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the top view of the transfer mechanism in FIG.

[0021] Figure 6 yes Figure 1 A left-side structural schematic diagram of the cover plate mechanism in FIG.

[0022] Figure 7 yes Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the top view of the cover plate mechanism in FIG.

[0023] Figure 8 yes Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the main structure of the carrier circulation mechanism;

[0024] Fig. 9 yes Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the top view of the carrier circulation mechanism after hiding the translation mechanism;

[0025] Fig.10 yes Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the main structure of the blanking mechanism;

[0026] Fig.11 yes Fig.10 The left view structural diagram of the blanking mechanism in FIG.

[0027] Fig.12 yes Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the main structure of the feeding mechanism. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0029] See also Figure 1 , Figure 1 The present invention provides a loading and unloading device, which includes a carrier 100, a cover plate circulation mechanism 200, a carrier circulation mechanism 300, a loading mechanism 400 and a unloading mechanism 500.

[0030] Among them, Figure 2 As shown, Figure 2 yes Figure 1 The carrier 100 includes a base 110 and a cover plate 120 disposed on the base 110. The carrier 100 is placed on a carrier circulation mechanism 300. The carrier circulation mechanism 300 receives the carrier 100 from an upstream device (not shown) and transfers it to the downstream. The carrier 100 is conveyed downstream via the carrier circulation mechanism 300, and the unloading mechanism 500 and the loading mechanism 400 are arranged on the conveying path of the carrier circulation mechanism 300 along the conveying direction of the carrier circulation mechanism 300. When the carrier circulation mechanism 300 conveys the carrier 100 to move to the first preset position, the cover circulation mechanism 200 is used to extract the cover 120 from the base 110, and the carrier circulation mechanism 300 continues to convey the base 110 through the unloading mechanism 500 and the loading mechanism 400 in turn to unload and load respectively. When the carrier circulation mechanism 300 conveys the base 110 to move to the second preset position, the cover circulation mechanism 200 is used to cover the cover 120 on the base 110.

[0031] It should be noted that the “first preset position” and “second preset position” described in the present application are specifically two workstations where the cover plate circulation mechanism 200 and the carrier circulation mechanism 300 are docked. These two workstations are on the transmission path of the carrier circulation mechanism 300, and the second preset position is arranged downstream of the first preset position along the transmission direction of the carrier 100. The “along the transmission direction of the carrier 100” mentioned here specifically refers to the direction in which the carrier circulation mechanism 300 moves forward and transports the carrier 100 to the cover plate circulation mechanism 200, the unloading mechanism 500 and the loading mechanism 400, and does not include the reverse movement of the carrier circulation mechanism 300 to transport the carrier 100 back to the upstream device. In this embodiment, the direction of the forward movement of the carrier circulation mechanism 300 is set to Figure 1 Horizontal left direction as shown in .

[0032] Specifically, in this embodiment, the loading and unloading equipment is used in a production line for preparing silicon wafers, and the carrier 100 is used to carry silicon wafers. Figure 2 As shown, the base 110 has a plurality of silicon wafer accommodating cavities 113 arranged at intervals for receiving silicon wafers. Each silicon wafer accommodating cavity 113 can hold a silicon wafer, and the cover plate 120 is covered on the bottom plate 110 to fix each silicon wafer. In order to facilitate the processing and cooling of the silicon wafer, a groove 121 is provided at a position corresponding to each silicon wafer accommodating cavity 113 on the cover plate 120, and most of the silicon wafer is exposed through the groove 121, so that the host can process the exposed silicon wafer portion. By providing a plurality of silicon wafer accommodating cavities 113 on the base 110, it is possible to load and unload materials at one time to realize the processing of multiple silicon wafers, thereby improving the processing efficiency of the silicon wafers and avoiding the frequent entry and exit of the carrier 100 in the upstream equipment.

[0033] More specifically, the slot 121 on the cover plate 120 is smaller than the silicon wafer, so that the cover plate 120 partially covers the silicon wafer to fix the silicon wafer in the silicon wafer accommodating cavity 113. Preferably, since the silicon wafer is a regular quadrilateral, the positions of the four corners of the quadrilateral slot 121 formed by the cover plate 120 are convex inwards, so that the cover plate 120 can cover the four corners of the silicon wafer, stably fix the silicon wafer, and ensure that most of the silicon wafer is exposed in the slot 121.

[0034] Furthermore, in order to ensure that the cover plate 120 accurately covers the base 110 and each silicon wafer, mutually matching positioning holes 111 and positioning pins 112 are provided on the base 110 and the cover plate 120. When the cover plate 120 covers the base 110, the positioning pins 112 are inserted into the corresponding positioning holes 111 to achieve relative fixation of the base 110 and the cover plate 120. Furthermore, since the carrier 100 carries multiple silicon wafers, in order to better fix each silicon wafer in the carrier 100, the carrier 100 is provided with multiple groups of positioning holes 111 and positioning pins 112, which are distributed around each silicon wafer accommodating cavity 113 and the corresponding slot 121. It should be noted that the base 110 may be provided with a positioning hole 111 and the cover plate 120 may be provided with a corresponding positioning pin 112; the cover plate 120 may be provided with a positioning hole 111 and the base 110 may be provided with a corresponding positioning pin 112; the base 110 may be provided with a positioning hole 111 and a positioning pin 112, the cover plate 120 may be provided with a positioning pin 112 opposite to the positioning hole 111 on the base 110, and the positioning hole 111 opposite to the positioning pin 112 on the base 110.

[0035] Furthermore, in order to ensure the service life of the carrier 100 , the cover plate 120 is usually made of metal. Therefore, a magnet can be arranged in the base 110 to better fix the cover plate 120 on the base 110 .

[0036] The working principle of the loading and unloading equipment in this embodiment is: the carrier 100 carries the silicon wafers processed by the upstream equipment, and is transported forward by the carrier circulation mechanism 300 to the position corresponding to the cover plate circulation mechanism 200. The cover plate circulation mechanism 200 takes away the cover plate 120 of the carrier 100, so that the unloading mechanism 500 can take away the processed silicon wafers in the base 110, and the loading mechanism 400 puts new silicon wafers into the empty base 110; after the base 110 is full of new silicon wafers, the cover plate circulation mechanism 200 puts the cover plate 120 back on the base 110, and the carrier circulation mechanism 300 sends the carrier 100 back into the upstream equipment, thereby realizing the loading and unloading of the upstream equipment. By integrating the carrier circulation mechanism 300, the cover plate circulation mechanism 200, the loading mechanism 400 and the unloading mechanism 500 into one, the loading and unloading equipment can be made more integrated, smaller in size, and the processing efficiency of silicon wafers can be improved.

[0037] Among them, Figure 1As shown, in this embodiment, the cover plate circulation mechanism 200 includes a cover plate taking mechanism 210, a transfer mechanism 220, and a cover plate covering mechanism 230 which are sequentially arranged along the transmission direction of the carrier 100. The cover plate taking mechanism 210 is used to take the cover plate 120 from the base 110 and place the cover plate 120 on the transfer mechanism 220 when the carrier 100 moves to the first preset position, the transfer mechanism 220 is used to transfer the cover plate 120 to a position corresponding to the cover plate covering mechanism 230, and the cover plate covering mechanism 230 is used to take the cover plate 120 from the transfer mechanism 220 and cover the cover plate 120 on the base 110 when the base 110 moves to the second preset position.

[0038] In this embodiment, the first preset position is the position before the carrier 100 reaches the unloading mechanism 500, and the second preset position is the position after the base 110 passes through the loading mechanism 400. It can be flexibly set as needed to remove the cover 120 before the unloading mechanism 500 unloads the material, and cover the cover 120 on the base 110 after the loading mechanism 400 completes the loading.

[0039] Optionally, see Figure 3 and Figure 4 , Figure 3 yes Figure 1 The right view of the cover taking mechanism in FIG. Figure 4 yes Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the top structure of the cover taking mechanism in the figure. The cover taking mechanism 210 includes a first extraction member 211, a first drive assembly 212 and a second drive assembly 213. The first drive assembly 212 is connected to and drives the first extraction member 211 to approach or move away from the first preset position, thereby making the first extraction member 211 approach the carrier 100 at the first preset position and extract the cover 120 away from the first preset position. The second drive assembly 213 is connected to and drives the first extraction member 211 to approach or move away from the transfer mechanism 220, thereby transferring the cover 120 to the transfer mechanism 220. The first extraction member 211 may be arranged at the output end of the first drive assembly 212, and the first drive assembly 212 may be arranged at the output end of the second drive assembly 213; or the first extraction member 211 may be arranged at the output end of the second drive assembly 213, and the second drive assembly 213 may be arranged at the output end of the first drive assembly 212.

[0040] In order to optimize the spatial layout and reduce the adjustment complexity of the cover taking mechanism 210, it is preferred to set the first extraction member 211 to move along the first direction X under the drive of the first driving assembly 212, that is, along Figure 1 The vertical direction shown in FIG. 2 is close to or away from the carrier circulation mechanism 300. The first extraction member 211 is driven by the second driving assembly 213 to move along the second direction Y, that is, along Figure 1The horizontal direction shown in FIG is close to or away from the transfer mechanism 220. By providing a second driving assembly 213 for driving the first extractor 211 to move along the second direction Y, the cover taking mechanism 210 can be prevented from interfering with the transfer mechanism 220 when moving along the first direction X (i.e., the vertical direction).

[0041] Optionally, in this embodiment, the first extraction member 211 includes a plurality of suction nozzles 2112 arranged at intervals, and the suction nozzles 2112 are arranged corresponding to the non-grooved portion of the cover plate 120, so as to suck the cover plate 120 and drive the cover plate 120 to move. Of course, in other embodiments, other types of structures (such as clamps, manipulators, etc.) can also be provided to grasp the cover plate 120, and the present invention does not specifically limit this.

[0042] Since the volume of the carrier 100 is relatively large, the size of the cover plate 120 used to cover the carrier 100 is also relatively large. In order to make the cover plate 120 bear force evenly, the size of the first extraction member 211 used to extract the cover plate 120 is also relatively large. In order to stably extract the cover plate 120, in this embodiment, Figure 1 and Figure 3 As shown, there are two groups of first drive components 212, and the two groups of first drive components 212 are arranged at intervals, and the carrier 100 passes between the two groups of first drive components 212. The cover plate taking mechanism 210 also includes a first bridge 214, and the first bridge 214 is bridged between the two groups of first drive components 212, and the first extraction member 211 is arranged on the first bridge 214. The two groups of first drive components 212 synchronously drive the first bridge 214 to drive the first extraction member 211 to approach or move away from the first preset position.

[0043] In this embodiment, the two sets of first driving components 212 are spaced apart along the third direction Z, and the third direction Z is the width direction of the carrier circulation mechanism 300, that is, Figure 1 The two groups of first driving assemblies 212 are arranged on both sides of the carrier circulation mechanism 300 along the width direction of the carrier circulation mechanism 300. The first bridge 214 is bridged between the two groups of first driving assemblies 212, and the first extraction member 211 and the second driving assembly 213 are arranged on the first bridge 214. By arranging two groups of first driving assemblies 212 to drive the first bridge 214, the first bridge 214 can be evenly stressed to avoid tilting, thereby making the movement of the second driving assembly 213 and the first extraction member 211 arranged on the first bridge 214 more stable.

[0044] Specifically, in this embodiment, Figure 3As shown, the first driving assembly 212 includes a first guide member 2122 and a first driving member 2124. The first guide member 2122 is arranged along the first direction X. The opposite ends of the first bridge 214 are respectively slidably connected to the two first guide members 2122, and the two first driving members 2124 are connected to the first bridge 214. Through the guiding effect of the first guide member 2122, the movement of the first extracting member 211 along the first direction X can be made more precise, so that the suction nozzle 2112 is accurately attached to the non-grooved area of ​​the cover plate 120, thereby sucking the cover plate 120.

[0045] Further, in this embodiment, the second driving assembly 213 includes a second guide member 2132 and a second driving member 2134, the second guide member 2132 is arranged on the first bridge 214 along the second direction Y, the first extracting member 211 is slidably connected to the second guide member 2132, and the second driving member 2134 is connected to the first extracting member 211 and drives the first extracting member 211 to move along the second direction Y. Through the guiding effect of the second guide member 2132, the movement of the first extracting member 211 along the second direction Y can be made more stable, so that the first extracting member 211 carries the cover plate 120 to the top of the transfer mechanism 220, and releases the cover plate 120 onto the transfer mechanism 220.

[0046] Optionally, in this embodiment, if Figure 3 As shown, the first guide member 2122 is a guide rail, and the first driving member 2124 includes a motor and a screw connected to the output shaft of the motor, and the screw is arranged parallel to the guide rail. The first bridge 214 is threadedly connected to the screw through a nut on the one hand, and is slidably connected to the guide rail on the other hand. As a result, the motor drives the screw to rotate, and the screw connection between the screw and the nut drives the first bridge 214 to move along the guide rail to approach the carrier circulation mechanism 300, extract the cover plate 120 covered on the base 110, and carry the cover plate 120 away from the carrier circulation mechanism 300.

[0047] Furthermore, if Figure 4 As shown, the second guide member 2132 is a guide rail, and the second driving member 2134 includes a motor and a screw connected to the output shaft of the motor, and the screw is arranged parallel to the guide rail. The first extraction member 211 is threadedly connected to the screw through a nut on the one hand, and is slidably connected to the guide rail on the other hand. Thus, the motor drives the screw to rotate, and the screw connection between the screw and the nut drives the first extraction member 211 to move along the guide rail to approach the transfer mechanism 220, and place the cover plate 120 on the transfer mechanism 220.

[0048] The transfer mechanism 220 is used to receive the cover plate 120 from the cover plate taking mechanism 210, and then send the received cover plate 120 to the cover plate covering mechanism 230. In order to realize the transfer of the cover plate 120, the transfer mechanism 220 can use a conveying mechanism such as a conveyor belt, a conveying roller, a module-driven conveying platform, and a transport crane.

[0049] In this embodiment, if Figure 5 As shown, Figure 5 yes Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the top view of the transfer mechanism in the figure. The transfer mechanism 220 includes a first rotating drive member 221, a first connecting shaft 222 and a plurality of first transmission members 223. Each first transmission member 223 includes a driving wheel, a driven wheel and a conveyor belt sleeved on the driving wheel and the driven wheel. The first rotating drive member 221 is connected to one of the driving wheels and drives the driving wheel to rotate. The plurality of first transmission members 223 are arranged in parallel and spaced along the axis direction of the driving wheel to jointly support the carrier 100. The first connecting shaft 222 connects these driving wheels in series, and then through the transmission of the first connecting shaft 222, all the driving wheels are linked, so that the driving wheels drive the transmission belt and the driven wheel to rotate. By setting a plurality of first transmission members 223, it can be used to carry a larger-sized carrier 100, so that the carrier 100 runs more smoothly.

[0050] In other embodiments, only one set of first conveying members 223 may be provided. In this case, the conveyor belt width of the first conveying members 223 for receiving the carrier 100 is wider to stably support the carrier 100 ; and the first rotating driving member 221 directly drives the first conveying members 223 to transport the carrier 100 forward.

[0051] Furthermore, in order to facilitate the cover plate 120 to be re-covered on the base 110 after the cover plate cover mechanism 230 obtains the cover plate 120, it is preferably set that the conveying direction of the transfer mechanism 220 is the same as the conveying direction of the carrier 100. Therefore, after the cover plate taking mechanism 210 takes away the cover plate 120, the base 110 continues to move forward along the conveying direction of the carrier 100 until unloading and loading are completed. At the same time, the cover plate 120 moves forward along the conveying direction of the transfer mechanism 220 through the transfer mechanism 220 until it is received by the cover plate cover mechanism 230. In other words, the cover plate cover mechanism 230 is set on the conveying path of the transfer mechanism 220 along the conveying direction of the transfer mechanism 220. At the same time, the cover plate cover mechanism 230 is also on the conveying path of the base 110. When the base 110 appears below the cover plate cover mechanism 230, the cover plate cover mechanism 230 can cover the cover plate 120 on the base 110. At this time, the conveying distance of the transfer mechanism 220 is short, which can ensure the stability of the transmission of the cover plate 120.

[0052] like Figure 1 and Figure 6 As shown, Figure 6 yes Figure 1The left view structural diagram of the cover plate mechanism in FIG. The cover plate mechanism 230 includes a second extraction member 231, a third drive assembly 232 and a fourth drive assembly 233. The third drive assembly 232 is connected to and drives the second extraction member 231 to approach or move away from the second preset position, and the fourth drive assembly 233 is connected to and drives the second extraction member 231 to approach or move away from the transfer mechanism 220. The second extraction member 231 may be arranged at the output end of the third drive assembly 232, and the third drive assembly 232 may be arranged at the output end of the fourth drive assembly 233; or the second extraction member 231 may be arranged at the output end of the fourth drive assembly 233, and the fourth drive assembly 233 may be arranged at the output end of the third drive assembly 232.

[0053] In order to optimize the spatial layout and reduce the adjustment complexity of the cover plate mechanism 230, it is preferred to set the second extraction member 231 to move along the first direction X under the drive of the third driving assembly 232, that is, along Figure 1 The fourth driving assembly 233 is used to drive the second extracting member 231 to move along the second direction Y, that is, along Figure 1 The horizontal direction shown in is close to or away from the transfer mechanism 220.

[0054] Among them, in this embodiment, if Figure 6 As shown, there are two groups of third drive assemblies 232, and the two groups of third drive assemblies 232 are arranged at intervals, and the carrier 100 passes between the two groups of third drive assemblies 232. The cover plate mechanism 230 also includes a second bridge 234, which is bridged between the two groups of third drive assemblies 232. The second extraction member 231 and the fourth drive assembly 233 are arranged on the second bridge 234. The two groups of third drive assemblies 232 synchronously drive the second bridge 234 to drive the second extraction member 231 to approach or move away from the second preset position. By arranging two groups of third drive assemblies 232 to drive the second bridge 234, the second bridge 234 can be evenly stressed to avoid tilting, thereby making the movement of the fourth drive assembly 233 and the second extraction member 231 arranged on the second bridge 234 more stable.

[0055] Among them, in this embodiment, the structure of the third driving component 232 is the same as that of the first driving component 212, and the structure of the fourth driving component 233 is the same as that of the second driving component 213. Please refer to the description in the above embodiment and no further details will be given here.

[0056] Furthermore, since the base 110 and the cover plate 120 are provided with mutually matching positioning holes 111 and positioning pins 112, when the cover plate 120 is placed on the base 110, it is necessary to ensure that each positioning hole 111 is aligned with each positioning pin 112. Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown, Figure 7 yes Figure 6 FIG. 2 is a top view of the structure of the cover plate mechanism in FIG. The cover plate mechanism 230 also includes a fifth drive assembly 235 and a sixth drive assembly 236. The fifth drive assembly 235 is used to drive the second extraction member 231 to move along the third direction Z. Through the cooperation of the third drive assembly 232, the fourth drive assembly 233 and the fifth drive assembly 235, the second extraction member 231 can be freely moved in the three directions of XYZ, so as to facilitate the adjustment of the position of the cover plate 120 relative to the base 110. The sixth drive assembly 236 is used to drive the rotation of the second extraction member 231 in the YOZ plane to adjust the angle of the cover plate 120 relative to the base 110.

[0057] In this embodiment, the fifth drive component 235 connects and drives the fourth drive component 233 to move along the third direction Z, the fourth drive component 233 connects and drives the sixth drive component 236 to move along the second direction Y, and the sixth drive component 236 connects and drives the second extraction member 231 to rotate in a horizontal plane.

[0058] Specifically, Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown, the fifth drive assembly 235 is arranged on the second bridge 234. The fifth drive assembly 235 includes a drive member and a guide member, wherein the guide member can be a guide rail arranged on the second bridge 234, and the guide rail is extended along the third direction Z; the drive member can include a motor and a screw rod, the main body of the motor is arranged on the second bridge 234, and its output end is connected to the screw rod, and the screw rod is arranged parallel to the guide rail, and the fourth drive assembly 233 is installed at the output end of the fifth drive assembly 235 through a mounting plate. Specifically, the mounting plate is screwed with the screw rod through a nut and is slidably connected with the guide rail, thereby, the motor drives the screw rod to rotate, and further drives the mounting plate and the fourth drive assembly 233 to move along the guide rail in the Z direction. The sixth drive assembly 236 is arranged at the output end of the fourth drive assembly 233. The sixth drive assembly 236 is preferably a motor, and the second extraction member 231 is arranged at the output end of the sixth drive assembly 236. The third driving assembly 232, the fourth driving assembly 233 and the fifth driving assembly 235 are respectively used to drive the second extraction member 231 to move in three directions perpendicular to each other. The sixth driving assembly 236 can drive the second extraction member 231 to rotate in a horizontal plane, thereby adjusting the position of the cover plate 120 extracted by the second extraction member 231 so that the cover plate 120 is aligned with the base 110.

[0059] Of course, in other embodiments, the connection methods of the third drive component 232, the fourth drive component 233, the fifth drive component 235 and the sixth drive component 236 can be arbitrarily combined as long as the second extraction member 231 can be moved in the three directions of XYZ and rotated in the YOZ plane.

[0060] Furthermore, the cover plate mechanism 230 also includes a detection component and a control component (not shown in the figure), the detection component is used to detect the relative position of the cover plate 120 and the base 110 in the second preset position, and feed back the result to the control component, and the control component controls the stroke of the third drive component 232, the fourth drive component 233, the fifth drive component 235 and the sixth drive component 236 according to the relative position relationship, so that the cover plate 120 is opposite to the base 110.

[0061] Among them, in this embodiment, if Figure 1 As shown, the detection component includes a first detection member 2371 and a second detection member 2372. The second detection member 2372 is used to detect the position of the cover plate 120 on the transfer mechanism 220, so that the second extraction member 231 can accurately extract the cover plate 120. The first detection member 2371 is used to detect the position of the base 110 on the carrier circulation mechanism 300, and cooperates with the position state of the cover plate 120 detected by the first detection member 2371, so that the control component drives the cover plate mechanism 230 to accurately cover the cover plate 120 on the base 110. In this embodiment, the first detection member 2371 and the second detection member 2372 can be set to a CCD (Charge Coupled Device)) camera. Of course, in other embodiments, other types of position detection mechanisms can also be set, and the present invention is not specifically limited. In addition, in other embodiments, only the first detection member 2371 can be set, and at this time, the first detection member 2371 simultaneously detects the position state of the cover plate 120 and the base 110.

[0062] The following is combined with Figure 1-7 The working process of the cover plate circulation mechanism 200 in the embodiment of the present invention is described as follows:

[0063] The carrier 100 loaded with processed silicon wafers is transferred to the bottom of the cover plate removal mechanism 210 (first preset position) via the carrier circulation mechanism 300 ; the carrier circulation mechanism 300 stops transferring, and the first driving component 212 drives the first extraction member 211 to descend to approach the carrier 100 until the first extraction member 211 absorbs the cover plate 120 .

[0064] After the first extraction member 211 sucks the cover plate 120, the first driving assembly 212 drives the first extraction member 211 to rise, away from the base 110, until the cover plate 120 sucked by the first extraction member 211 is higher than the conveying surface of the transfer mechanism 220; the carrier circulation mechanism 300 continues to convey the base 110 forward until the base 110 reaches the working station corresponding to the loading mechanism 400 and the unloading mechanism 500 for unloading and loading of silicon wafers.

[0065] The second driving component 213 drives the first extracting member 211 and the cover plate 120 sucked by it to move toward the transfer mechanism 220, until the cover plate 120 is at least partially facing the conveying surface of the transfer mechanism 220; the first driving component 212 drives the first extracting member 211 to descend, so that the cover plate 120 falls on the conveying surface of the transfer mechanism 220; the first extracting member 211 releases the cover plate 120, and the cover plate 120 falls on the conveying surface of the transfer mechanism 220; the first driving component 212 and the second driving component 213 drive the first extracting member 211 away from the transfer mechanism 220, ready to extract the cover plate 120 of the next group of carriers 100.

[0066] The transfer mechanism 220 is activated to transport the cover plate 120 toward the cover plate covering mechanism 230 .

[0067] The second extraction member 231 extracts the cover plate 120 on the transfer mechanism 220, and the third driving component 232 drives the second extraction member 231 and the sucked cover plate 120 to rise and move away from the transfer mechanism 220; the fourth driving component 233 drives the second extraction member 231 and the sucked cover plate 120 to move horizontally away from the transfer mechanism 220.

[0068] The detection component takes pictures of the base 110 and the cover 120 and transmits the information to the control component, which calculates the position difference between the cover 120 and the base 110 according to the position of the base 110, and controls the third drive component 232, the fourth drive component 233, the fifth drive component 235 and the sixth drive component 236 to drive the second extraction component 231 to drive the cover 120 to adjust the X, Y, Z directions and angles until the cover 120 is opposite to the base 110 and each positioning hole 111 and the positioning pin 112 are opposite to each other; the third drive component 232 drives the second extraction component 231 to descend, so that the cover 120 covers the base 110, and the positioning pins 112 are embedded in the corresponding positioning holes 111, so as to cover the cover 120.

[0069] Since the carrier 100 in the loading and unloading equipment needs to both remove the prepared silicon wafers and load new silicon wafers, that is to say, the carrier 100 is circulated in the loading and unloading equipment. After the carrier 100 loaded with prepared silicon wafers enters the loading and unloading equipment to unload the wafers, it will be reloaded and loaded with new silicon wafers before being moved out of the loading and unloading equipment.

[0070] In one embodiment, the carrier circulation mechanism 300 may include only one set of conveying components, which can convey the carrier 100 forward along the conveying direction of the carrier 100, and convey the carrier 100 out in the reverse direction after loading and unloading. However, in such a configuration, the carrier circulation mechanism 300 must send away one set of carriers 100 before receiving the next set of carriers 100, which has low working efficiency.

[0071] Therefore, in this embodiment, if Figure 1 and Figure 8 As shown, Figure 8 yes Figure 1 The present invention also provides a carrier circulation mechanism 300, which includes a first conveying assembly 310, a second conveying assembly 320, a third conveying assembly 330 and a translation assembly 340. The first conveying assembly 310 and the third conveying assembly 330 are arranged side by side with each other and in opposite conveying directions, and the translation assembly 340 drives the second conveying assembly 320 to move so that the second conveying assembly 320 docks with the first conveying assembly 310 or the third conveying assembly 330. Specifically, when the translation component 340 drives the second conveying component 320 to move so as to dock with the first conveying component 310, the first conveying component 310 transfers the carrier 100 into the second conveying component 320, and the second conveying component 320 receives the carrier 100. When the translation component 340 drives the second conveying component 320 to move so as to dock with the third conveying component 330, the second conveying component 320 reverses and transfers the carrier 100 to the third conveying component 330. The third conveying component 330 transfers the loaded carrier 100 to the upstream equipment.

[0072] In the embodiment of the present invention, a second conveying component 320 is provided that can be translated between the first conveying component 310 and the third conveying component 330. When the carrier 100 moves to the end of the first conveying component 310, the carrier 100 continues to move under the drive of the first conveying component 310 to be carried on the second conveying component 320. The translation component 340 drives the second conveying component 320 to move so that the second conveying component 320 and the third conveying component 330 are docked. The carrier 100 moves in the opposite direction under the drive of the second conveying component 320 to be carried on the third conveying component 330. The third conveying component 330 continues to drive the carrier 100 to move so as to deliver the carrier 100 loaded with new silicon wafers into the upstream equipment, thereby realizing the circular transmission of the carrier 100 and improving the work efficiency.

[0073] In one embodiment, the first conveyor assembly 310 and the third conveyor assembly 330 are arranged side by side, which means that the conveying surface of the first conveyor assembly 310 and the conveying surface of the second conveyor assembly 330 are arranged in parallel and spaced apart. The first conveyor assembly 310, the second conveyor assembly 320 and the third conveyor assembly 330 can be arranged in the same horizontal plane, and the translation assembly 340 is connected to the second conveyor assembly 320 and drives the second conveyor assembly 320 to translate in the horizontal plane to connect the first conveyor assembly 310 and the third conveyor assembly 330. At this time, the first conveyor assembly 310 receives the carrier 100 carrying the processed silicon wafers from the upstream equipment, and after unloading the processed silicon wafers and loading new silicon wafers, the carrier 100 is transferred to the second conveyor assembly 320; and the third conveyor assembly 330 receives the carrier 100 carrying the new silicon wafers from the second conveyor assembly 320 and transfers it back to the upstream equipment. That is, the conveying directions of the first conveying assembly 310 and the third conveying assembly 330 are opposite, thereby realizing the circulation of the carrier 100 relative to the upstream equipment, thereby realizing the fully automatic preparation of silicon wafers and improving production efficiency.

[0074] The docking of the second conveyor assembly 320 and the first conveyor assembly 310 means that the conveying surface of the second conveyor assembly 320 and the conveying surface of the first conveyor assembly 310 are located in the same horizontal plane, so that the carrier 100 located on the conveying surface of the first conveyor assembly 310 can be translated to the second conveyor assembly 320 under the drive of the first conveyor assembly 310. The docking of the second conveyor assembly 320 and the third conveyor assembly 330 means that the conveying surface of the second conveyor assembly 320 and the conveying surface of the third conveyor assembly 330 are located in the same horizontal plane, so that the carrier 100 located on the conveying surface of the second conveyor assembly 320 can be translated to the third conveyor assembly 330 under the drive of the second conveyor assembly 320.

[0075] In another embodiment, if Figure 8 As shown, the conveying surface of the first conveying assembly 310 and the conveying surface of the third conveying assembly 330 are arranged parallel and spaced in the vertical direction. The second conveying assembly 320 is arranged on the same side of the first conveying assembly 310 and the third conveying assembly 330, and the translation assembly 340 is connected to the second conveying assembly 320 and drives the second conveying assembly 320 to translate in the vertical direction, so that the second conveying assembly 320 connects the first conveying assembly 310 and the third conveying assembly 330. By arranging the first conveying assembly 310 and the third conveying assembly 330 in the vertical direction, the floor space of the carrier circulation mechanism 300 can be reduced, thereby saving space.

[0076] Specifically, Figure 1As shown, in this embodiment, the cover plate circulation mechanism 200, the loading mechanism 400 and the unloading mechanism 500 are arranged on the conveying path of the first conveying component 310. The first conveying component 310 is connected to the upstream equipment (not shown in the figure) and the second conveying component 320, and is used to receive the carrier 100 loaded with prepared silicon wafers, and transfer it to the work station corresponding to the cover plate circulation mechanism 200, the loading mechanism 400 and the unloading mechanism 500, so that the cover plate circulation mechanism 200 can take away the cover plate 120, the unloading mechanism 500 can take away the prepared silicon wafer, and the loading mechanism 400 can place a new silicon wafer, and then the carrier 100 can be sent to the second conveying component 320.

[0077] The second conveyor assembly 320 connects the first conveyor assembly 310 and the third conveyor assembly 330 to receive the carrier 100 loaded with new silicon wafers sent by the first conveyor assembly 310 and is driven by the translation assembly 340 to move to dock with the third conveyor assembly 330 .

[0078] The third conveying assembly 330 connects the second conveying assembly 320 and the upstream equipment to receive the carrier 100 from the second conveying assembly 320 and transport the carrier 100 to the upstream equipment.

[0079] Furthermore, if Figure 8 As shown, the translation assembly 340 includes a lifting drive member 342 and a lifting guide member 344, the lifting guide member 344 is arranged in the vertical direction, the second conveying assembly 320 is slidably connected to the lifting guide member 344, and the lifting drive member 342 is connected to and drives the second conveying assembly 320 to move along the lifting guide member 344. By providing the lifting guide member 344 slidably connected to the second conveying assembly 320, the movement of the second conveying assembly 320 can be made smoother.

[0080] Optionally, the lifting guide member 344 may be a guide rail or a guide rod, etc., and the lifting drive member 342 may be a cylinder or a motor, etc., which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0081] Among them, Fig. 9 As shown, Fig. 9 yes Figure 8The schematic diagram of the top view of the carrier circulation mechanism after the translation mechanism is hidden. In this embodiment, the first transmission assembly 310, the second transmission assembly 320 and / or the third transmission assembly (not shown in the figure) all include a second rotating drive member 311, a second connecting shaft 312 and a plurality of second transmission members 313, each of which includes a driving wheel, a driven wheel and a conveyor belt sleeved on the driving wheel and the driven wheel, the second rotating drive member 311 is connected to one of the driving wheels and drives the driving wheel to rotate, and the plurality of second transmission members 313 are arranged in parallel and spaced along the axis direction of the driving wheel (the third direction Z shown in the figure) to jointly support the carrier 100. The second connecting shaft 312 connects these driving wheels in series, and then through the transmission of the second connecting shaft 312, all the driving wheels are linked, so that the driving wheels drive the transmission belt and the driven wheel to rotate. By setting a plurality of second transmission members 313, it can be used to carry a larger-sized carrier 100, so that the carrier 100 runs more smoothly.

[0082] In other embodiments, only one set of second conveying members 313 may be provided. In this case, the conveyor belt width of the second conveying members 313 for receiving the carrier 100 is wider to stably support the carrier 100 ; and the second rotating driving member 311 directly drives the second conveying members 313 to transport the carrier 100 forward.

[0083] It should be added that the cover plate mechanism 230 can be set on the conveying path of the first conveying assembly 310; after the base 110 is loaded and leaves the loading mechanism 400, the cover plate 120 is covered on the base 110; after the cover plate 120 is covered, the first conveying assembly 310 drives the carrier 100 to enter the second conveying assembly 320. The cover plate mechanism 230 can also be set on the conveying path of the second conveying assembly 320; at this time, after the base 110 is loaded and leaves the loading mechanism 400, the first conveying assembly 310 will send the base 110 to the second conveying assembly 320; after the second conveying assembly 320 receives the base 110, the cover plate mechanism 230 will cover the cover plate 120 on the base 110; this can shorten the conveying distance of the first conveying assembly 310 and reduce the equipment footprint.

[0084] Furthermore, in order to ensure that the carrier 100 accurately stays at the working position of the loading mechanism 400 and the unloading mechanism 500, it is convenient for the loading mechanism 400 and the unloading mechanism 500 to load and unload silicon wafers on the carrier 100. Figure 8 and Fig. 9As shown, the carrier circulation mechanism 300 also includes a stop assembly 350, and the stop assembly 350 includes a stop member 351 and a stop driving member 352. In the non-stop state, the stop member 351 is away from the conveying surface of the first conveying assembly 310 that receives the carrier 100; when the carrier 100 needs to be stopped, the stop driving member 352 drives the stop member 351 to move toward the conveying surface to prevent the carrier 100 from continuing to move forward, so that the carrier 100 can stop at a fixed position. The stop assembly 350 can be set at any position where the carrier 100 or the base 110 needs to stop moving, and the embodiment of the present invention does not make specific limitations. By setting the stop assembly 350, the position of the carrier 100 can be fixed during the process of taking the cover plate, loading and unloading materials, and covering the cover plate, so as to facilitate the operations of taking the cover plate, loading and unloading materials, and covering the cover plate.

[0085] The stopping driving member 352 can drive the stopping member 351 to move in the vertical direction.

[0086] Specifically, in this embodiment, the blocking component 350 is arranged below the first conveying component 310 to facilitate the forward conveyance of the carrier 100. When it is necessary to block the product, the blocking driving member 352 drives the blocking member 351 to move vertically upward, so that the blocking member 351 is at least partially higher than the conveying surface of the first conveying component 310, thereby blocking the carrier 100 or the base 110 located on the first conveying component 310, so that the carrier 100 or the base 110 stays at the current station. After the processing of the current station is completed, the blocking driving member 352 drives the blocking member 351 to move vertically downward, so that the blocking member 351 returns to the bottom of the first conveying component 310, and the carrier 100 or the base 110 continues to be transported on the first conveying component 310.

[0087] In another embodiment, the blocking component 350 is disposed above the first conveying component 310 to facilitate the forward conveyance of the carrier 100. When it is necessary to block the product, the blocking driving member 352 drives the blocking member 351 to move vertically downward so that the minimum distance between the blocking member 351 and the conveying surface of the first conveying component 310 is less than the height of the base 110 in the vertical direction, thereby blocking the carrier 100 or the base 110 located on the first conveying component 310, so that the carrier 100 or the base 110 stays at the current station. After the processing of the current station is completed, the blocking driving member 352 drives the blocking member 351 to move vertically upward so that the blocking member 351 returns to the top of the first conveying component 310, and the carrier 100 or the base 110 continues to be transported on the first conveying component 310.

[0088] In another embodiment, the blocking driving member 352 can also drive the blocking member 351 to move along the third direction Z. Specifically, the blocking assembly 350 is disposed on at least one side of the first conveying assembly 310 along the third direction Z, and the blocking driving member 352 is connected to the blocking member 351 to drive the blocking member 351 to move along the third direction Z to above the conveying surface of the first conveying assembly 310, and at least partially block the carrier 100 or the base 110 located on the first conveying assembly 310.

[0089] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, at a workstation where the carrier 100 or the base 110 needs to be stopped, a plurality of stop components 350 are arranged along the width direction of the carrier 100 (i.e., the third direction Z), and the plurality of stop components 350 can resist a plurality of positions at the front end of the movement path of the carrier 100 or the base 110 to ensure that the base 110 or the carrier 100 is subjected to uniform force.

[0090] Furthermore, multiple groups of stop components 350 are arranged at intervals along the conveying direction of the first conveying component 310. For example, the stop components 350 can be arranged at the first preset position, the position of the unloading mechanism 500, the position of the loading mechanism 400, and the second preset position to stop the carrier 100 or the base 110 at the current station, so as to facilitate the corresponding mechanism to process.

[0091] Specifically, the stopping assembly 350 can stop the carrier 100 when the carrier 100 moves to the first preset position, so that the cover plate removing mechanism 210 can extract the cover plate 120 from the base 110; it can also stop the base 110 when the unloading mechanism 500 is unloading, so that the unloading mechanism 500 can extract the silicon wafer from the base 110; it can also stop the base 110 when the loading mechanism 400 is loading, so that the loading mechanism 400 can load new silicon wafers into the base 110; it can also stop the carrier 100 when the carrier 100 loaded with silicon wafers moves to the second preset position, so that the cover plate covering mechanism 230 can cover the cover plate 120 on the base 110.

[0092] In this embodiment, the stopper 351 is a roller, and the stopper driving member 352 is a cylinder. By setting the stopper 351 as a roller, the contact area between the carrier 100 and the stopper 351 can be reduced, preventing the friction force between the stopper 351 and the carrier 100 from damaging the carrier 100.

[0093] Of course, in other embodiments, the stopping member 351 may also be configured as a baffle, etc., and the stopping driving member 352 may also be configured as a motor and a screw rod, etc., which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0094] Optionally, the unloading mechanism 500 unloads the silicon wafers and the loading mechanism 400 loads the silicon wafers simultaneously. Specifically, when loading and unloading silicon wafers on the base 110, the unloading mechanism 500 takes away the "frontmost" row of silicon wafers along the conveying direction of the first conveying assembly 310, and then the loading mechanism 400 can place new silicon wafers in the row. Thus, multiple rows of stop assemblies 350 are arranged at intervals along the conveying direction of the first conveying assembly 310. After the loading mechanism 400 places new silicon wafers in a row of silicon wafer accommodating cavities 113, the first conveying assembly 310 transports the carrier 100 forward to a new row of silicon wafer accommodating cavities 113 facing the loading mechanism 400. At this time, the carrier 100 has moved forward one row, and the stop assemblies 350 at the original workstation are recovered to the bottom of the conveying surface. The previous group of stop assemblies 350 are raised to limit the position of the carrier 100 for easy loading and unloading.

[0095] Furthermore, if Figure 8 and Fig. 9 As shown, the carrier circulation mechanism 300 also includes a limit assembly 360, and the number of the limit assembly 360 is at least two groups, and at least two groups of limit assemblies 360 are arranged on opposite sides of the width direction (third direction Z) of the first conveying assembly 310. Each limit assembly 360 includes a limit member 361 and a first limit driving member 362. The two limit members 361 in the two groups of first limit assemblies 360 arranged oppositely are arranged oppositely along the third direction Z. The two first limit driving members 362 are connected and drive the corresponding limit members 361 to approach each other to limit the position of the carrier 100 in the third direction Z. By adjusting the position of the carrier 100 in the current station in the Z direction, the position state of the carrier 100 stopped by the stop assembly 350 at the current station remains relatively consistent, so that the fixed loading mechanism 400 and the unloading mechanism 500 can load and unload silicon wafers on the base 110.

[0096] Specifically, when the stop assembly 350 stops the carrier 100 at the current workstation, the two first limit driving members 362 respectively drive the corresponding limit members 361, so that the two limit members 361 approach each other along the third direction Z, and then respectively abut against two opposite surfaces of the carrier 100. Thus, the forward direction of the carrier 100 is abutted by the stop assembly 350, and the two opposite sides along the Z direction are positioned by the limit members 361. Thus, each time the carrier 100 arrives at the current workstation, it can be limited to the same position and maintained in the same state, which is convenient for loading and unloading.

[0097] Optionally, multiple groups of limit assemblies 360 are arranged at intervals along the conveying direction of the first conveying assembly 310. When the carrier 100 is transported forward, only the limit assemblies 360 corresponding to the workstation where the carrier 100 is located work, and the limit assemblies 360 of the remaining workstations no longer operate. It can be understood that when the carrier 100 is performing the processes of taking the cover plate, loading and unloading, and covering the cover plate on the first conveying assembly 310, the carrier 100 or the base 110 needs to be paused at the current workstation to facilitate the corresponding mechanism to process. In other words, after the first conveying assembly 310 is paused and the stop assembly 350 stops the carrier 100 or the base 110, the limit assembly 360 further pushes the carrier 100 or the base 110 to adjust the carrier 100 or the base 110 to a fixed state at the current workstation, thereby facilitating the corresponding mechanism to process.

[0098] Furthermore, if Figure 8 As shown, the limiting assembly 360 further includes a second limiting driving member 363, which is connected to and drives the limiting member 361 to approach or move away from the conveying surface of the first conveying assembly 310. At this time, in the non-limiting state, the limiting member 361 is lower than the conveying surface of the first conveying assembly 310, which facilitates the transmission of the carrier 100. By providing the second limiting driving member 363, the movement stroke of the first limiting driving member 362 can be reduced. After the carrier 100 or the base 110 is in place, the second limit driving member 363 drives the limit member 361 to move toward the conveying surface of the first conveying component 310 until the limit member 361 at least partially protrudes from the conveying surface of the first conveying component 310 and is opposite to the carrier 100 or the base 110; and the first limit driving member 362 drives the limit member 361 to move toward the carrier 100 or the base 110 until the limit member 361 abuts against the carrier 100 or the base 110, further pushing the carrier 100 or the base 110 to adjust its position.

[0099] In one embodiment, the limit member 361 is disposed at the output end of the first limit driver 362, and the first limit driver 362 is disposed at the output end of the second limit driver 363. After the carrier 100 is stopped at the current workstation, the second limit driver 363 drives the first limit driver 362 and the limit member 361 to rise to face the carrier 100, and the first limit driver 362 continues to drive the limit member 361 to move toward the carrier 100 to adjust the position of the carrier 100 on the first conveying assembly 310.

[0100] In another embodiment, the limit member 361 is disposed at the output end of the second limit driver 363, and the second limit driver 363 is disposed at the output end of the first limit driver 362. Specifically, in the non-limiting state, the limit member 361 is lower than the conveying surface of the first conveying assembly 310, which facilitates the transmission of the carrier 100. After the carrier 100 is stopped at the current station, the second limit driver 363 drives the limit member 361 to rise to face the carrier 100, and the first limit driver 362 drives the second limit driver 363 and the limit member 361 to move toward the first conveying assembly 310 to adjust the position of the carrier 100 on the first conveying assembly 310.

[0101] In this embodiment, the position limiting member 361 is a roller, and the first position limiting driving member 362 and the second position limiting driving member 363 are cylinders. By setting the position limiting member 361 as a roller, the contact area between the carrier 100 and the position limiting member 361 can be reduced, so as to prevent the position limiting member 361 from squeezing and damaging the carrier 100. Of course, in other embodiments, the position limiting member 361 can also be set as a baffle, etc., and the first position limiting driving member 362 and the second position limiting driving member 363 can also be set as a motor and a screw rod, etc.

[0102] The following is combined with Figure 1 and Figure 8-9 The working process of the carrier circulation mechanism 300 in the embodiment of the present invention is described as follows:

[0103] The first conveying component 310 receives the carrier 100 loaded with prepared silicon wafers delivered from the upstream equipment, and conveys the carrier 100 to the first preset position (the position corresponding to the cover plate mechanism 210); the stopping driving member 352 drives the stopping member 351 to extend to stop the carrier 100. At the same time, the first conveying component 310 stops conveying, so that the carrier 100 stops at the current workstation.

[0104] The second limit driving member 363 drives the first limit driving member 362 and the limit member 361 to approach the first conveying component 310, and the first limit driving member 362 drives the limit member 361 to approach the carrier 100, so that the conveying direction Y of the carrier 100 is blocked by the stopping component 350, and the two opposite sides of the carrier 100 along the third direction Z are abutted by the two limit members 361 to be limited to the first preset position.

[0105] The cover plate taking mechanism 210 takes out the cover plate 120 located on the base 110 .

[0106] The stopping component 350 and the limiting component 360 are recovered, and the first conveying component 310 continues to convey the base 110 forward until the base 110 reaches the position corresponding to the unloading mechanism 500; the stopping component 350 corresponding to the current position stops the carrier 100, the first conveying component 310 stops conveying, and the limiting component 360 corresponding to the current position cooperates to push the base 110, so that the base 110 reaches the limited position.

[0107] The unloading mechanism 500 takes away the silicon wafer in the base 110 facing the current work station.

[0108] The stopping assembly 350 and the limiting assembly 360 are recovered, and the first conveying assembly 310 continues to convey the base 110 forward until the position of the silicon wafer accommodating cavity 113 above the base 110 reaches the working station directly facing the loading mechanism 400.

[0109] The stopping component 350 corresponding to the current position stops the base 110, the first conveying component 310 stops conveying, and the limiting component 360 corresponding to the current position cooperates to push the base 110 so that the base 110 reaches the limited position, and the loading mechanism 400 places the new silicon wafer into the silicon wafer accommodating cavity 113 above the base 110.

[0110] The base 110 moves intermittently until all the processed silicon wafers are taken out and are loaded with new silicon wafers. The first conveying component 310 continues to convey the base 110 forward, and the stopping driving component 352 corresponding to the current position drives the stopping component 351 to extend to stop the base 110. The first conveying component 310 stops conveying, and the limiting component 360 corresponding to the current position cooperates to push the base 110, so that the base 110 remains at the second preset position (the position corresponding to the cover plate mechanism 230).

[0111] The cover plate covering mechanism 230 extracts the cover plate 120 located on the transfer mechanism 220 and covers the cover plate 120 on the base 110 .

[0112] The stop assembly 350 and the limit assembly 360 are recovered, and the first conveying assembly 310 continues to convey the carrier 100 forward and sends the carrier 100 into the second conveying assembly 320; at the same time, the next new carrier 100 loaded with prepared silicon wafers can be loaded and unloaded by the first conveying assembly 310.

[0113] The second conveying component 320 first receives the carrier 100 along the transmission direction of the carrier 100. After the carrier 100 loaded with new silicon wafers is completely placed in the second conveying component 320, the second conveying component 320 stops moving, and the second conveying component 320 is driven by the translation component 340 to dock with the third conveying component 330. The second conveying component 320 then moves in the opposite direction to send the carrier 100 into the third conveying component 330.

[0114] The third conveying assembly 330 delivers the carrier 100 loaded with new silicon wafers to the upstream equipment; at the same time, the translation assembly 340 drives the second conveying assembly 320 to return, so that the second conveying assembly 320 docks with the first conveying assembly 310 to prepare for the transfer of new carriers 100.

[0115] For further information, see Figure 1 and Figure 10-11 , Fig.10 yes Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the main structure of the unloading mechanism. Fig.11 yes Fig.10 The left view of the unloading mechanism in FIG. The unloading mechanism 500 includes a first extraction drive member 510, a second extraction drive member 520, and a third extraction member 530. The first extraction drive member 510 is connected to and drives the third extraction member 530 to approach or move away from the base 110, thereby making the third extraction member 530 approach the base 110 and extract the silicon wafer located in the silicon wafer accommodating cavity 113 away from the base 110. The second extraction drive member 520 is connected to and drives the third extraction member 530 to move toward the material receiving device 540, thereby placing the extracted silicon wafer on the material receiving device 540.

[0116] The third extracting member 530 may be arranged at the output end of the first extracting driving member 510, and the first extracting driving member 510 may be arranged at the output end of the second extracting driving member 520; or the third extracting member 530 may be arranged at the output end of the second extracting driving member 520, and the second extracting driving member 520 may be arranged at the output end of the first extracting driving member 510. Optionally, the first extracting driving member 510 includes a motor and a guide rail arranged along the first direction X; the second extracting driving member 520 includes a motor, a linkage motor and a synchronous belt assembly of the third extracting member 530 / the first extracting driving member 510, and a guide rail arranged along the second direction Y.

[0117] Optionally, the receiving device 540 is a conveyor belt assembly, so that after the third extractor 530 carries the processed silicon wafers to the receiving device 540, the receiving device 540 directly delivers the processed silicon wafers downstream.

[0118] Optionally, in order to ensure that the third extraction member 530 accurately extracts the silicon wafer, a third detection member 550 is further provided on one side of the third extraction member 530 to detect whether the third extraction member 530 extracts the silicon wafer. The third detection member 550 is preferably a photoelectric sensor. Of course, the third detection member 550 can also be other types of sensors, which are not specifically limited in the present invention.

[0119] Furthermore, there are multiple third extracting members 530 , and the multiple third extracting members 530 are spaced apart along the third direction Z. When the unloading mechanism 500 extracts silicon wafers, it can extract a row of silicon wafers along the Z direction at one time to improve unloading efficiency.

[0120] See also Figure 1 and Fig.12 , Fig.12 yes Figure 1 The main structural diagram of the loading mechanism in FIG. The loading mechanism 400 includes a third extraction drive member 410 and a fourth extraction member 420. The third extraction drive member 410 is connected to and drives the fourth extraction member 420 to move between the feeding device 430 and the base 110, so as to drive the fourth extraction member 420 to absorb new silicon wafers from the feeding device 430 and transfer them to the silicon wafer accommodating cavity 113 above the base 110. The feeding device 430 is used to store and deliver new silicon wafers to the fourth extraction member 420.

[0121] Furthermore, in order to ensure that each new silicon wafer is accurately placed in the silicon wafer accommodating cavity 113, a fourth detection member 2373 is also provided on the loading mechanism 400. The fourth detection member 2373 is used to detect the relative position of the silicon wafer accommodating cavity 113 and the new silicon wafer, and transmit the information to the control system. The control system calculates the position difference between the silicon wafer accommodating cavity 113 and the new silicon wafer, and then feeds back to the third extraction drive member 410, so that the third extraction drive member 410 adjusts the position of the silicon wafer extracted by the fourth extraction member 420 so that it is opposite to the silicon wafer accommodating cavity 113, and finally the silicon wafer is accurately placed in the silicon wafer accommodating cavity 113.

[0122] The fourth extraction member 420 is preferably a suction cup, the third extraction drive member 410 is preferably a robot, and the fourth detection member 2373 is preferably a CCD camera. Of course, in other embodiments, the third extraction drive member 410 can also be a three-axis linear module, etc., which is not limited by the embodiment of the present invention.

[0123] Optionally, the feeding device 430 is a conveyor belt assembly to continuously deliver new silicon wafers to the fourth extraction member 420 .

[0124] Furthermore, there may be multiple groups of feeding mechanisms 400, and multiple groups of feeding mechanisms 400 may increase the feeding efficiency.

[0125] The above descriptions are merely embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the patent scope of the present invention. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made using the contents of the present invention specification and drawings, or directly or indirectly applied in other related technical fields, are also included in the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A cover plate circulation mechanism, characterized in that: The cover plate circulation mechanism comprises a cover plate taking mechanism, a transfer mechanism and a cover plate covering mechanism which are sequentially arranged along the transmission direction of the carrier, the carrier comprises a base and a cover plate covered on the base, the cover plate taking mechanism is used to take the cover plate from the base and place the cover plate on the transfer mechanism when the carrier moves to a first preset position, the transfer mechanism is used to transfer the cover plate to a position corresponding to the cover plate covering mechanism, and the cover plate covering mechanism is used to take the cover plate from the transfer mechanism and cover the cover plate on the base when the base moves to a second preset position; The cover plate removal mechanism comprises two first drive assemblies spaced apart, a first bridge and a second drive assembly; Each of the first driving assemblies comprises a first guide member and a first driving member, the opposite ends of the first overpass are respectively slidably connected to the two first guide members, the two first driving members are connected to the first overpass, and the first overpass is perpendicular to the first guide member; The second driving assembly comprises a second guide member and a second driving member, wherein the second guide member is arranged on the first overpass in a direction perpendicular to both the first overpass and the first guide member; The cover plate taking mechanism also includes a first extracting member, which is arranged on the first overpass and moves along the first guide member or the second guide member under the drive of the first driving member and the second driving member respectively.

2. The cover plate circulation mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first driving component is connected to and drives the first extractor to approach or move away from the first preset position, thereby making the first extractor approach the carrier at the first preset position and extract the cover plate away from the first preset position, and the second driving component is connected to and drives the first extractor to approach or move away from the transfer mechanism, thereby transferring the cover plate to the transfer mechanism.

3. The cover plate circulation mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that: The carrier passes between two groups of the first driving components, the first skybridge is bridged between the two groups of the first driving components, and the two groups of the first driving components synchronously drive the first skybridge to drive the first extractor to approach or move away from the first preset position.

4. The cover plate circulation mechanism according to claim 3, characterized in that: The second driving component is disposed on the first overpass, and an output end of the second driving component is connected to the first extracting member. The second driving component can drive the first extracting member to approach or move away from the transfer mechanism.

5. The cover plate circulation mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cover plate mechanism includes a second extraction member, a third drive assembly and a fourth drive assembly. The third drive assembly is connected to and drives the second extraction member to approach or move away from the second preset position. The fourth drive assembly is connected to and drives the second extraction member to approach or move away from the transfer mechanism.

6. The cover plate circulation mechanism according to claim 5, characterized in that: There are two groups of the third drive components, and the two groups of the third drive components are arranged at intervals. The carrier passes between the two groups of the third drive components. The cover plate mechanism also includes a second second bridge, which is bridged between the two groups of the third drive components. The second extraction member is arranged on the second second bridge, and the two groups of the third drive components synchronously drive the second second bridge to drive the second extraction member to approach or move away from the second preset position.

7. The cover plate circulation mechanism according to claim 5, characterized in that: The third driving assembly is connected to and drives the second extractor to move in a first direction, the fourth driving assembly is connected to and drives the second extractor to move in a second direction, the cover plate mechanism also includes a fifth driving assembly and a sixth driving assembly, the fifth driving assembly is connected to and drives the second extractor to move in a third direction, the sixth driving assembly is connected to and drives the second extractor to rotate in a horizontal plane, wherein the first direction, the second direction and the third direction are perpendicular to each other.

8. The cover plate circulation mechanism according to claim 7, characterized in that: The cover plate mechanism further comprises a detection component, and the detection component is used to detect the relative position of the cover plate and the base at the second preset position.

9. The cover plate circulation mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The transfer mechanism includes a first rotating drive member, a first connecting shaft and multiple groups of first transmission members, each of the first transmission members includes a driving wheel, a driven wheel and a conveyor belt mounted on the driving wheel and the driven wheel, the first rotating drive member is connected to one of the driving wheels and drives the driving wheel to rotate, multiple groups of the first transmission members are arranged in parallel and spaced apart along the axial direction of the driving wheel to jointly support the carrier, and the first connecting shaft is connected in series to the driving wheel.

10. A loading and unloading equipment, characterized in that: The loading and unloading equipment includes a carrier circulation mechanism, a unloading mechanism, a loading mechanism and a cover plate circulation mechanism as described in any one of claims 1 to 9, the unloading mechanism and the loading mechanism are arranged on the conveying path of the carrier circulation mechanism along the conveying direction of the carrier, the carrier circulation mechanism conveys the base through the unloading mechanism and the loading mechanism in sequence for unloading and loading respectively, and the cover plate circulation mechanism is used to extract the cover plate before the carrier moves to the unloading mechanism, and to cover the cover plate on the base after the base passes through the loading mechanism.

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