A wafer box synchronous lifting and grabbing device

Abstract

The present invention relates to a synchronous lifting and grabbing device for a wafer box, comprising an aerial track walking mechanism, wherein the bottom of the aerial track walking mechanism is connected to a four-belt lifting mechanism through a connecting column, and a wafer box grabbing mechanism is suspended below the four-belt lifting mechanism; the wafer box grabbing mechanism comprises a grabbing cover shell and a grabbing bottom shell, which are assembled together, and a main gear and three planetary gears are arranged in the grabbing bottom shell, wherein the main gear is driven to operate by a servo motor, and the three planetary gears are distributed around the main gear and meshed with the main gear, and the axle of each planetary gear passes downward through the grabbing bottom shell, and the lower end of the axle of each planetary wheel is provided with a claw, and the three claws are used to jointly grab the wafer box to form a three-point clamp; the device of the present invention ensures the stability of the lifted object, protects the integrity of the wafer, and ensures the running stability of the entire track trolley at the same time.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of semiconductor integrated circuit material conveying equipment, and in particular to a wafer box synchronous lifting and grabbing device. Background Art

[0002] As one of the strategic emerging industries, the semiconductor industry has shown strong development momentum in recent years. With the rapid development of the semiconductor industry, the demand for wafer handling equipment has also increased, especially the automatic wafer handling system, namely AMHS. This system can quickly and accurately transport wafers to their destination in a clean manner, which can greatly improve efficiency, shorten time, increase production capacity, and enhance stability. It is a key handling equipment that meets the requirements of semiconductor miniaturization and liquid crystal display processing.

[0003] Therefore, it is necessary to independently explore and develop a semiconductor aerial handling system. Through preliminary investigations and preliminary independent research, it was found that the existing lifting devices and grasping devices have the following main shortcomings: First, the lifting device is driven by a single drive or a dual drive, and one drive is responsible for two or four belts. Due to the difference in the amount of belt expansion and contraction and the thickness of the belts, it is difficult to synchronize the belts during the lifting process; second, the lifting mechanism adopts a purely mechanical mechanism, which makes it difficult to make timely and dynamic adjustments to the lifting process; third, the grasping mechanism is complex and the overall structure is large, which leads to an increase in the overall required motor power and spatial layout. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a wafer box synchronous lifting and grasping device in view of the above situation, which ensures the stability of the lifted object, protects the integrity of the wafer, and ensures the operating stability of the entire rail trolley.

[0005] The specific scheme of the present invention is: a wafer box synchronous lifting and grasping device, including an aerial track walking mechanism, the bottom of the aerial track walking mechanism is connected to a four-belt lifting mechanism through a connecting column, and a wafer box grasping mechanism is suspended below the four-belt lifting mechanism; the four-belt lifting mechanism includes a lifting cover, a lifting mechanism mounting plate and four groups of lifting belt assemblies, the lifting mechanism mounting plate is fixedly installed in the lifting cover, the bottom of the lifting cover is a hollow window, the connecting column passes through the lifting cover from top to bottom and is fixedly connected to the center of the lifting machine mounting plate, each group of the lifting belt assemblies includes a wheel driver, a belt reel, a guide wheel and a lifting belt, the wheel driver, the belt The reel and guide wheel are placed on the lifting mechanism mounting plate, and the wheel driver drives the corresponding belt reel to operate. One end of the lifting belt is wound around the belt reel, and the other end of the lifting belt is lifted downward through the guide wheel and connected to the wafer box grasping mechanism; the wafer box grasping mechanism includes a grasping cover shell and a grasping bottom shell, which are assembled together. The grasping bottom shell is equipped with a main gear and three planetary gears. The main gear is driven to operate by a servo motor. The three planetary gears are distributed around the main gear and meshed with the main gear. The axle of each planetary gear passes downward through the grasping bottom shell, and the lower end of each planetary wheel axle is provided with a claw. The three claws are used to jointly grasp the wafer box to form a three-point clamp.

[0006] Furthermore, the wheel drive in the present invention is composed of a wheel drive motor and a controller, and four wheel drive motors are staggered and non-center symmetrically arranged around the connecting column, and each wheel drive motor drives a corresponding belt reel.

[0007] Furthermore, three of the four lifting belts in the present invention are belts containing steel wires, and the other lifting belt is hollow inside and has a power line and a signal line embedded therein.

[0008] Furthermore, the grabbing cover in the present invention is also provided with a parallelism sensor and a Hall switch position sensor.

[0009] Furthermore, the aerial rail travel mechanism described in the present invention includes a rail trolley, which is respectively provided with a front drive wheel and a rear drive wheel at the front and rear, and the front drive wheel and the rear drive wheel are each driven by an independent drive unit; the middle of the bottom of the rail trolley is fixedly connected to the connecting column, and tensioning guide wheels are installed on both sides of the front and rear of the rail trolley, and a balance limit rod is also provided at the front and rear ends of the rail trolley, and the balance limit rod is connected to the side limit of the lifting cover.

[0010] Furthermore, in the present invention, the three planetary gears are arranged in an annular manner and are evenly spaced around the main gear; and the claws are all arranged horizontally and laterally toward the inside.

[0011] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0012] 1. The wheel driver in the present invention can adjust the rotation speed in real time, thereby realizing the synchronous movement of the four lifting belts, ensuring the stability of the lifted object, protecting the integrity of the wafer, and ensuring the stability of the entire trolley.

[0013] 2. The wafer box grabbing mechanism of the present invention adopts planetary gear transmission and has a compact structure. Three planetary gears are evenly distributed around three points of the main gear. The claws coaxially arranged under the planetary gears can clamp the wafer box. The claws are provided with hooks to prevent objects from falling. The clamping of the three claws can ensure the stability of the wafer box during the lifting process.

[0014] 3. The lifting and grabbing mechanism of the present invention cooperates with the rail trolley to realize the aerial transportation of wafers, filling the gap in the domestic aerial transportation of semiconductors. At the same time, the transportation equipment is arranged in the air, which saves the space for laying ground tracks and improves space utilization. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention;

[0016] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the four-belt lifting mechanism in the present invention when viewed from above;

[0017] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the four-belt lifting mechanism in the present invention in the main viewing direction;

[0018] Figure 4 It is a structural schematic diagram of the lifting cover and the lifting belt assembly in the four-belt lifting mechanism of the present invention in a separated state;

[0019] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the wafer box grabbing mechanism in the present invention when viewed from above;

[0020] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the wafer box grabbing mechanism in the present invention when it explodes from top to bottom.

[0021] In the figure: 1—tensioning guide wheel, 2—rear drive wheel, 3—drive unit, 4—connecting column, 5—lifting belt assembly, 6—wafer box grabbing mechanism, 7—track trolley, 8—balance limit rod, 9—front drive wheel, 10—lifting cover, 11—wheel drive motor, 12—controller, 13—guide wheel, 14—lifting belt, 15—belt reel, 16—lifting mechanism mounting plate, 17—planetary gear, 18—main gear, 19—grabbing bottom shell, 20—lifting belt connection point, 21—parallelism sensor, 22—Hall switch position sensor, 23—grabbing cover, 24—planetary wheel shaft, 25—claw, 26—wafer box. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The following will be combined with the accompanying drawings of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solution of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work belong to the protection scope of the present invention.

[0023] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the terms "upper", "lower", "inside", "outside" and the like indicating directions or positional relationships are based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, or are the directions or positional relationships in which the inventive product is usually placed when in use. They are only for the convenience of describing the present invention or simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific direction, be constructed or operate in a specific direction, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0024] In the description of the present invention, it is also necessary to explain that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "setting", "installation" and "connection" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two components. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0025] See also Figures 1 to 6The present invention is a wafer box synchronous lifting and grabbing device, which includes an aerial track walking mechanism, the bottom of which is connected to a four-belt lifting mechanism through a connecting column 4, and a wafer box grabbing mechanism 6 is suspended below the four-belt lifting mechanism; the four-belt lifting mechanism includes a lifting cover 10, a lifting mechanism mounting plate 16 and four groups of lifting belt assemblies 5, the lifting mechanism mounting plate is fixedly installed in the lifting cover, and the bottom of the lifting cover is a hollow window, the connecting column passes through the lifting cover from top to bottom and is fixedly connected to the center of the lifting machine mounting plate, each group of the lifting belt assemblies includes a wheel driver, a belt reel 15, a guide wheel 13 and a lifting belt 14, the wheel driver, the belt reel and The guide wheel is placed on the lifting mechanism mounting plate, and the wheel driver drives the corresponding belt reel to operate. One end of the lifting belt is wound around the belt reel, and the other end of the lifting belt is lifted downward through the guide wheel and connected to the wafer box grasping mechanism; the wafer box grasping mechanism includes a grasping cover 23 and a grasping bottom shell 19, which are assembled together. The grasping bottom shell is equipped with a main gear 18 and three planetary gears 17. The main gear is driven by a servo motor. The three planetary gears are distributed around the main gear and meshed with the main gear. The axle of each planetary gear passes downward through the grasping bottom shell, and the lower end of each planetary wheel axle 24 is provided with a claw 25. The three claws are used to jointly grasp the wafer box 26 to form a three-point clamp.

[0026] Furthermore, the wheel drive in this embodiment is composed of a wheel drive motor 11 and a controller 12. The four wheel drive motors are staggered and non-center symmetrically arranged around the connecting column, and each wheel drive motor drives a corresponding belt reel.

[0027] Furthermore, three of the four lifting belts in this embodiment are belts containing steel wires, and the other lifting belt is hollow inside and has embedded power cords and signal cords. In this way, the power cables and related signal cords in the grabbing mechanism below can be raised and lowered synchronously with the lifting belt in the lifting belt assembly, avoiding the entanglement or clutter of wires.

[0028] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a parallelism sensor 21 and a Hall switch position sensor 22 are also provided on the grabbing cover.

[0029] Parallelism sensor: When the parallelism of the grabbing mechanism exceeds the allowable range, the controller will adjust the speed of the wheel drive motor of the lifting belt, and then adjust the lifting speed of the four lifting belts to ensure the smoothness of the wafer box lifting process.

[0030] Hall switch position sensor: When the bottom position of the wafer box grabbing mechanism and the four-belt lifting mechanism is less than 20mm, the sensor will send a signal to the controller, and the controller will control the wheel drive motor to stop working.

[0031] Furthermore, the aerial rail travel mechanism described in this embodiment includes a rail trolley 7, and the front and rear of the rail trolley are respectively equipped with a front drive wheel 9 and a rear drive wheel 2, and the front drive wheel and the rear drive wheel are each driven by an independent drive unit 3; the middle of the bottom of the rail trolley is fixedly connected to the connecting column, and the front and rear sides of the rail trolley are both equipped with tensioning guide wheels 1, and the front and rear ends of the rail trolley are also respectively provided with a balance limit rod 8, and the balance limit rod is connected to the side limit of the lifting cover.

[0032] A balance limit rod is arranged downward on the rail trolley, which can well ensure the stability of the lifting cover in the air.

[0033] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the three planetary gears are arranged in an annular manner and are evenly spaced around the main gear; and the claws are all arranged horizontally and laterally toward the inside.

[0034] In the present invention, a wafer box grabbing mechanism is hoisted below the four-belt lifting mechanism. When working, the rail trolley first hoists the four-belt lifting mechanism and the wafer box grabbing mechanism below as a whole to the set position in the air, and the four-belt lifting mechanism drives the lifting belt to descend. After the wafer box grabbing mechanism descends to the right position, the main gear drives the three planetary wheels to rotate, and the planetary wheel axles drive the claws to open and then reverse the action to close, so that the three claws can clamp the lifting plate on the top of the wafer box to form a three-point clamp, and then the lifting belt rises, the rail trolley continues to run, and the wafer box together with the wafers inside can be transported to the required position in the air.

[0035] The wheel driver in the present invention can adjust the rotation speed in real time, thereby realizing the synchronous movement of four lifting belts, ensuring the stability of the lifted object, protecting the integrity of the wafer, and ensuring the stability of the entire trolley.

[0036] The wafer box grabbing mechanism of the present invention adopts planetary gear transmission and has a compact structure. Three planetary gears are evenly distributed around three points of the main gear. The claws coaxially arranged under the planetary gears can clamp the wafer box. The claws are provided with hooks to prevent objects from falling. The clamping of the three claws can ensure the stability of the wafer box during the lifting process.

[0037] The lifting and grabbing mechanism of the present invention cooperates with the rail trolley to realize the aerial transportation of wafers, filling the gap in the domestic aerial transportation of semiconductors. At the same time, the transportation equipment is arranged in the air, which saves the space for laying ground tracks and improves space utilization.

Claims

1. A wafer box synchronous lifting and grabbing device, including an aerial track walking mechanism, characterized in that: The bottom of the aerial track walking mechanism is connected to a four-belt lifting mechanism through a connecting column, and a wafer box grabbing mechanism is suspended below the four-belt lifting mechanism; the four-belt lifting mechanism includes a lifting cover, a lifting mechanism mounting plate and four groups of lifting belt assemblies, the lifting mechanism mounting plate is fixedly installed in the lifting cover, and the bottom of the lifting cover is a hollow window, and the connecting column passes through the lifting cover from top to bottom and is fixedly connected to the center of the elevator mounting plate, and each group of the lifting belt assemblies includes a wheel driver, a belt reel, a guide wheel and a lifting belt, and the wheel driver, belt reel and guide wheel are arranged on the lifting mechanism mounting plate, and the wheel driver drives the corresponding belt reel to operate, and one end of the lifting belt is wound around the belt reel, and the other end of the lifting belt is suspended downward through the guide wheel and connected to the wafer box grabbing mechanism; the wafer box grabbing mechanism includes There are a grabbing cover shell and a grabbing bottom shell, which are assembled together. A main gear and three planetary gears are installed in the grabbing bottom shell. The main gear is driven by a servo motor. The three planetary gears are distributed around the main gear and meshed with the main gear. The axle of each planetary gear passes downward through the grabbing bottom shell, and the lower end of each planetary wheel axle is provided with a claw. The three claws are used to jointly grab the wafer box to form a three-point clamp; the aerial track walking mechanism includes a track trolley, and the front and rear of the track trolley are respectively provided with a front drive wheel and a rear drive wheel, and the front drive wheel and the rear drive wheel are each driven by an independent drive unit; the middle of the bottom of the track trolley is fixedly connected with the connecting column, and the front and rear sides of the track trolley are provided with tensioning guide wheels. The head and tail ends of the track trolley are also respectively provided with a balance limit rod, and the balance limit rod is connected to the side limit of the lifting cover.

2. The wafer box synchronous lifting and grabbing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wheel drive is composed of a wheel drive motor and a controller. Four wheel drive motors are staggered and non-centrally symmetrically arranged around the connecting column, and each wheel drive motor drives a corresponding belt reel.

3. The wafer box synchronous lifting and grabbing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Three of the four lifting belts are belts containing steel wires, and the other lifting belt is hollow inside and has a power cord and a signal cord embedded in it.

4. The wafer box synchronous lifting and grabbing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The grabbing cover is also provided with a parallelism sensor and a Hall switch position sensor.

5. The wafer box synchronous lifting and grabbing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The three planetary gears are evenly arranged around the main gear in an annular manner; and the claws are all arranged horizontally and laterally toward the inside.

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