A silicon wafer inserter and a silicon wafer inserting method

Abstract

The present invention belongs to the technical field of semiconductor processing, and discloses a wafer inserter and a wafer inserting method. The wafer inserter includes a conveying mechanism and a cassette switching mechanism. The conveying mechanism includes a conveying line body and a conveyor belt wound around the conveying line body. The conveyor belt conveys wafers. The cassette switching mechanism includes two cassette carrier plates, and both of the two cassette carrier plates can be lifted and lowered in the vertical direction, so that multiple placement layers of the cassette carried on the cassette carrier plate can be docked with the conveyor belt one by one. When the cassette on the cassette carrier plate located on the side close to the upstream of the conveyor belt descends below the conveying line body or the cassette carrier plate located on the side close to the upstream of the conveyor belt rises above the conveying line body, the end of the conveyor belt located downstream can move towards the cassette carrier plate located on the side far from the upstream of the conveyor belt and dock with the cassette on the cassette carrier plate located on the side far from the upstream of the conveyor belt, so as to improve the working efficiency of the wafer inserter and further improve the production capacity of wafers.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of semiconductor processing, and in particular to a silicon wafer inserting machine and a silicon wafer inserting method. Background Art

[0002] As the main consumable material in the semiconductor industry, silicon wafers need to go through multiple steps such as production, processing and testing during the manufacturing process. In order to facilitate the transportation of silicon wafers between various workstations, the existing technology usually uses baskets to place silicon wafers, that is, during the manufacturing process of silicon wafers, the baskets carrying silicon wafers are moved from one workstation to another.

[0003] In order to collect silicon wafers into the flower basket, each workstation is equipped with a silicon wafer inserter. The silicon wafer inserter in the prior art is usually equipped with a conveyor line and two flower basket carrier plates. The conveyor line is used to convey silicon wafers. The two flower basket carrier plates are arranged at intervals along a horizontal plane perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveyor line. Both flower basket carrier plates can carry flower baskets and can move along their arrangement direction, so that the two flower baskets carried on the two flower basket carrier plates are alternately docked with the conveyor line, thereby realizing the switching of flower baskets. However, it takes a long time to switch the flower baskets in the above manner, resulting in low working efficiency of the silicon wafer inserter in the prior art, and thus low production capacity of silicon wafers.

[0004] Therefore, the above problems need to be solved urgently. Summary of the invention

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide a silicon wafer inserting machine and a silicon wafer inserting method to improve work efficiency and further improve the production capacity of silicon wafers.

[0006] To achieve this object, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0007] In one aspect, the present invention provides a silicon wafer inserter, comprising:

[0008] A conveying mechanism, comprising a conveying line body and a conveying belt wound around the conveying line body, wherein the conveying belt is configured to convey silicon wafers; and

[0009] The flower basket switching mechanism includes two flower basket carrying plates, both of which can be lifted and lowered in the vertical direction so that the multiple placement layers of the flower baskets carried on the flower basket carrying plates can be docked one by one with the downstream end of the conveyor belt. When the flower basket carried on the flower basket carrying plate located on the side close to the upstream of the conveyor belt descends to the bottom of the conveyor line body or the flower basket carrying plate located on the side close to the upstream of the conveyor belt rises to the top of the conveyor line body, the downstream end of the conveyor belt can move toward the flower basket carrying plate located on the side away from the upstream of the conveyor belt and dock with the placement layer of the flower basket on the flower basket carrying plate located on the side away from the upstream of the conveyor belt.

[0010] Preferably, the silicon wafer inserting machine further comprises a flower basket loading and unloading mechanism, the conveyor belt docks with the placement layer of the flower basket at the inserting station, and the flower basket loading and unloading mechanism can drive any one of the flower basket carrying plates to move between the inserting station and the flower basket loading and unloading station.

[0011] Preferably, the flower basket loading and unloading mechanism includes two first driving members and two second driving members, the two first driving members are connected to the two flower basket supporting plates one by one, and are configured to respectively drive the two flower basket supporting plates to move in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveyor belt, and the two second driving members are configured to respectively drive the two flower basket supporting plates to move in the conveying direction of the conveyor belt.

[0012] Preferably, the flower basket loading and unloading mechanism further comprises two flipping assemblies, the two flipping assemblies are arranged in one-to-one correspondence with the two flower basket bearing plates, and the two flipping assemblies each comprise:

[0013] a support plate capable of carrying the empty flower basket; and

[0014] The third driving member is configured to drive the supporting plate to flip so as to transfer the empty flower basket from the supporting plate to the flower basket carrying plate.

[0015] Preferably, the support plate is fixedly connected to the rotating shaft, the third driving member is configured to drive the rotating shaft to rotate, and the flip assembly further includes a position detecting member, which is configured to detect the rotation angle of the rotating shaft.

[0016] Preferably, the conveying line body includes a first line body portion and a second line body portion, the conveyor belt is wound around the first line body portion and the second line body portion, and the second line body portion can move relative to the first line body portion along the conveying direction of the conveyor belt.

[0017] Preferably, the flower basket switching mechanism further comprises a conveyor belt compensation component, and the conveyor belt compensation component is configured to keep the conveyor belt in a tensioned state.

[0018] Preferably, a first roller and a second roller are respectively provided at one end of the first wire body portion away from the second wire body portion and an end of the second wire body portion away from the first wire body portion, the second wire body portion is slidably connected to the base, and the conveyor belt compensation component includes a third roller and a fourth roller, the third roller is provided at one end of the second wire body portion away from the second roller, and the fourth roller is provided at one end of the base away from the first wire body portion, the conveyor belt is wound around the first roller, the second roller, the third roller and the fourth roller, and when the downstream end of the conveyor belt moves toward the flower basket carrying plate located on the side away from the upstream of the conveyor belt, the increased length of the conveyor belt between the first roller and the second roller is equal to the reduced length of the conveyor belt between the third roller and the fourth roller.

[0019] Another aspect of the present invention further provides a silicon wafer inserting method based on the above silicon wafer inserting machine, the silicon wafer inserting method comprising:

[0020] The conveyor belt wound around the conveyor line body conveys the silicon wafers, the basket carrier plate located on the upstream side of the conveyor belt rises or falls in the vertical direction, and the multiple placement layers of the baskets carried on the basket carrier plate are docked with the downstream end of the conveyor belt one by one;

[0021] When the flower basket carried on the flower basket carrying plate located on the upstream side of the conveyor belt descends to the bottom of the conveyor line body or the flower basket carrying plate located on the upstream side of the conveyor belt rises to the top of the conveyor line body, the downstream end of the conveyor belt moves toward the flower basket carrying plate located on the side away from the upstream of the conveyor belt;

[0022] The flower basket carrying plate located at a side away from the upstream of the conveyor belt rises or falls in the vertical direction, and the multiple placement layers of the flower baskets carried on the flower basket carrying plate are docked with the end of the conveyor belt located downstream one by one.

[0023] Preferably, the silicon wafer inserting method further comprises:

[0024] When the flower basket carried on the flower basket carrying plate located on the side close to the upstream of the conveyor belt descends to the bottom of the conveyor line body or the flower basket carrying plate located on the side close to the upstream of the conveyor belt rises to the top of the conveyor line body, the flower basket carrying plate moves to the flower basket loading and unloading station;

[0025] Performing unloading operation on the flower basket carried on the flower basket carrying plate moved to the flower basket unloading and loading station, and placing the empty flower basket on the flower basket carrying plate;

[0026] The end of the conveyor belt located at the downstream is reset, and the basket carrier plate on the side away from the upstream side of the conveyor belt is synchronously moved with the conveyor belt to the side close to the upstream side of the conveyor belt;

[0027] The flower basket carrying plate located at the flower basket loading and unloading station moves to a side away from the upstream of the conveyor belt.

[0028] Another aspect of the present invention also provides

[0029] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: In the present invention, two flower basket supporting plates can be arranged at intervals along the conveying direction of the conveyor belt, and the conveyor belt can be connected with the placement layers of the two flower baskets respectively carried on the two flower basket supporting plates in sequence. When the flower basket carried on the flower basket supporting plate located on the side close to the upstream of the conveyor belt is fully loaded with silicon wafers, the downstream end of the conveyor belt can move toward the flower basket supporting plate located on the side away from the upstream of the conveyor belt, and connect with the placement layer of the flower basket on the flower basket supporting plate located on the side away from the upstream of the conveyor belt, so as to drive the silicon wafers to move directly to the flower basket carried on the flower basket supporting plate located on the side away from the upstream of the conveyor belt, and the flower basket carried on the flower basket supporting plate located on the side away from the upstream of the conveyor belt directly collects the silicon wafers, thereby reducing the time spent on switching flower baskets, so as to improve the working efficiency of the silicon wafer inserter, and further improve the production capacity of silicon wafers. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a silicon wafer inserter in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A partial enlarged view of the middle A;

[0032] Figure 3 is a top view of a silicon wafer inserter in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 4 It is a structural schematic diagram of a conveying mechanism and a conveyor belt compensation assembly in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 5 It is a flow chart of the silicon wafer inserting method in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] In the figure:

[0036] 100. Flower basket;

[0037] 210, conveying mechanism; 211, conveying line body; 2111, first line body portion; 21111, first roller; 2112, second line body portion; 21121, second roller; 212, conveyor belt; 213, base; 221, flower basket supporting plate; 2221, third roller; 2222, fourth roller; 230, flower basket loading and unloading mechanism; 231, first driving member; 232, second driving member; 233, flip assembly; 2331, support plate; 2332, third driving member; 2333, rotating shaft; 2334, position detection member; 23341, shading sheet; 23342, slot-type photoelectric switch; 240, fourth driving member. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] The present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It is to be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention, rather than to limit the present invention. It should also be noted that, for ease of description, only parts related to the present invention, rather than all structures, are shown in the accompanying drawings.

[0039] In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "connected", "connected", and "fixed" 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, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0040] In the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, a first feature being "above" or "below" a second feature may include that the first and second features are in direct contact, or may include that the first and second features are not in direct contact but are in contact through another feature between them. Moreover, a first feature being "above", "above" and "above" a second feature includes that the first feature is directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. A first feature being "below", "below" and "below" a second feature includes that the first feature is directly below and obliquely below the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

[0041] In the description of this embodiment, the terms "upper", "lower", "right", etc., directions or positional relationships are based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of description and simplification of operation, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific direction, be constructed and operated in a specific direction, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present invention. In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are only used to distinguish in the description and have no special meaning.

[0042] Based on the foregoing, the two flower basket carrier plates of the silicon wafer inserter in the prior art are arranged at intervals in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the silicon wafer conveyor line, and the two flower basket carrier plates can move along their arrangement direction and dock with the silicon wafer conveyor line in turn, thereby completing the switching of the flower basket. In the process of switching the flower basket, the silicon wafer conveyor line needs to stop working. When the flower basket is switched, the silicon wafer conveyor line restarts working, or the silicon wafer inserter needs to be additionally provided with a silicon wafer cache mechanism to first cache the silicon wafers to the silicon wafer cache mechanism. When the flower basket is switched, the silicon wafers cached in the silicon wafer cache mechanism are re-conveyed to the silicon wafer conveyor line. In combination with the above, it can be seen that the time spent switching the flower basket in this way is relatively long. Therefore, the working efficiency of the silicon wafer inserter in the prior art is low, and the manufacturing cost of the silicon wafer inserter with an additional silicon wafer cache mechanism is high.

[0043] To solve the above problems, this embodiment provides a silicon wafer inserter. Figures 1 to 4 The silicon wafer inserting machine includes a conveying mechanism 210 and a basket switching mechanism. The conveying mechanism 210 includes a conveying line body 211 and a conveying belt 212 wound on the conveying line body 211. The conveying belt 212 is configured to convey silicon wafers. The basket switching mechanism includes two basket carrying plates 221. Both of the basket carrying plates 221 can be lifted and lowered in the vertical direction so that multiple placement layers of the basket 100 carried on the basket carrying plates 221 can be docked with the downstream end of the conveying belt 212 one by one. When the flower basket 100 on the flower basket supporting plate 221 located on the side close to the upstream of the conveyor belt 212 descends to the bottom of the conveyor line body 211 or the flower basket supporting plate 221 located on the side close to the upstream of the conveyor belt 212 rises to the top of the conveyor line body 211, the downstream end of the conveyor belt 212 can move toward the flower basket supporting plate 221 located on the side away from the upstream of the conveyor belt 212, and dock with the placement layer of the flower basket 100 on the flower basket supporting plate 221 located on the side away from the upstream of the conveyor belt 212.

[0044] In this embodiment, two flower basket supporting plates 221 can be arranged at intervals along the conveying direction of the conveyor belt 212, and the conveyor belt 212 can be connected with the placement layers of the two flower baskets 100 respectively carried on the two flower basket supporting plates 221 in sequence. When the flower basket 100 carried on the flower basket supporting plate 221 located on the side close to the upstream of the conveyor belt 212 is fully loaded with silicon wafers, the downstream end of the conveyor belt 212 can move toward the flower basket supporting plate 221 located on the side away from the upstream of the conveyor belt 212, and connect with the flower basket 100 located on the downstream end of the conveyor belt 212. The placement layer of the flower basket 100 on the flower basket supporting plate 221 on the side away from the upstream of the conveyor belt 212 is docked to drive the silicon wafers to move directly to the flower basket 100 carried on the flower basket supporting plate 221 on the side away from the upstream of the conveyor belt 212. The flower basket 100 carried on the flower basket supporting plate 221 on the side away from the upstream of the conveyor belt 212 directly collects the silicon wafers, thereby reducing the time spent on switching the flower basket 100, so as to improve the working efficiency of the silicon wafer inserter and further improve the production capacity of silicon wafers.

[0045] Based on the above silicon wafer inserting machine, this embodiment also provides a silicon wafer inserting method, such as Figure 5 As shown, the silicon wafer insertion method includes:

[0046] The conveyor belt 212 wound around the conveyor line body 211 conveys the silicon wafers, and the flower basket carrying plate 221 located on the upstream side of the conveyor belt 212 rises or falls in the vertical direction, and the multiple placement layers of the flower baskets 100 carried on the flower basket carrying plate 221 are connected to the downstream end of the conveyor belt 212 one by one;

[0047] When the flower basket 100 carried on the flower basket carrying plate 221 located on the upstream side of the conveyor belt 212 drops below the conveyor line 211 or the flower basket carrying plate 221 located on the upstream side of the conveyor belt 212 rises above the conveyor line 211, the downstream end of the conveyor belt 212 moves toward the flower basket carrying plate 221 located away from the upstream side of the conveyor belt 212;

[0048] The flower basket carrying plate 221 located on the upstream side away from the conveyor belt 212 rises or falls in the vertical direction, and multiple layers of flower baskets 100 carried on the flower basket carrying plate 221 are docked with the downstream end of the conveyor belt 212 one by one.

[0049] Specifically, the silicon wafer inserting machine in this embodiment is provided with an inserting station, which includes a first position and a second position, which are arranged at intervals along the conveying direction of the conveyor belt 212, the first position is located on the side close to the upstream of the conveyor belt 212, and the second position is located on the side away from the upstream of the conveyor belt 212. The flower basket supporting plate 221 located at the first position can rise in the vertical direction, and the placement layer of the flower basket 100 carried on the flower basket supporting plate 221 located at the first position can be connected with the conveyor belt 212 in turn, and the flower basket 100 carried on the flower basket supporting plate 221 located at the first position can perform insertion on the silicon wafer. Material collection: when the flower basket 100 carried on the flower basket supporting plate 221 is fully loaded with silicon wafers, the flower basket supporting plate 221 located at the first position continues to rise in the vertical direction until it rises above the conveyor line body 211, and the downstream end of the conveyor belt 212 moves toward the flower basket supporting plate 221 located at the second position, and the flower basket supporting plate 221 located at the second position rises in the vertical direction. The placement layer of the flower basket 100 carried on the flower basket supporting plate 221 located at the second position can be connected with the conveyor belt 212 in turn, and the flower basket 100 carried on the flower basket supporting plate 221 located at the second position collects the silicon wafers.

[0050] Of course, in other optional embodiments, the two flower basket supporting plates 221 respectively located at the first position and the second position can also be set to both descend in the vertical direction. Accordingly, when the flower basket 100 carried on the flower basket supporting plate 221 located at the first position is fully loaded with silicon wafers, the flower basket supporting plate 221 located at the first position continues to descend in the vertical direction until it descends to the bottom of the conveyor line body 211. This embodiment does not impose any specific restrictions on this.

[0051] Furthermore, the above silicon wafer insertion method further includes:

[0052] When the flower basket 100 carried on the flower basket carrying plate 221 located on the upstream side of the conveyor belt 212 drops below the conveyor line 211 or the flower basket carrying plate 221 located on the upstream side of the conveyor belt 212 rises above the conveyor line 211, the flower basket carrying plate 221 moves to the flower basket loading and unloading station;

[0053] Perform unloading operation on the flower basket 100 carried on the flower basket carrying plate 221 moved to the flower basket unloading and unloading station, and place the empty flower basket 100 on the flower basket carrying plate 221;

[0054] The end of the conveyor belt 212 at the downstream is reset, and the basket carrier plate 221 at the side away from the upstream of the conveyor belt 212 is synchronously moved with the conveyor belt 212 to the side close to the upstream of the conveyor belt 212;

[0055] The flower basket carrying plate 221 located at the flower basket loading and unloading station moves to a side away from the upstream of the conveyor belt 212 .

[0056] That is, when the flower basket supporting plate 221 located at the first position continues to rise in the vertical direction to above the conveyor line body 211, the flower basket supporting plate 221 can be moved from the first position to the flower basket loading and unloading station, so as to unload the flower basket 100 fully loaded with silicon wafers, and place the empty flower basket 100 on the flower basket supporting plate 221. At the same time, the downstream end of the conveyor belt 212 is reset, and the flower basket supporting plate 221 located at the second position can move synchronously with the conveyor belt 212 to avoid affecting the material collection operation. The flower basket supporting plate 221 located at the second position can move synchronously with the conveyor belt 212 to the first position, and the flower basket supporting plate 221 carrying the empty flower basket 100 moves from the flower basket loading and unloading station to the second position. The above operations are repeated to achieve uninterrupted material collection of silicon wafers, thereby further improving the production capacity of silicon wafers.

[0057] The conveying line body 211 in this embodiment includes a first line body portion 2111 and a second line body portion 2112. The conveyor belt 212 is wound around the first line body portion 2111 and the second line body portion 2112. The second line body portion 2112 can move relative to the first line body portion 2111 along the conveying direction of the conveyor belt 212 so that the downstream end of the conveyor belt 212 moves toward or resets the flower basket supporting plate 221 located at the second position.

[0058] Furthermore, a first roller 21111 and a second roller 21121 are respectively provided at one end of the first wire body 2111 away from the second wire body 2112 and at one end of the second wire body 2112 away from the first wire body 2111. The second wire body 2112 is slidably connected to the base 213. When the downstream end of the conveyor belt 212 moves or resets toward the flower basket supporting plate 221 located at the second position, the length of the conveyor belt 212 between the first roller 21111 and the second roller 21121 will extend or shorten. To ensure that the conveyor belt 212 can effectively transport silicon wafers when the length of the conveyor belt 212 between the first roller 21111 and the second roller 21121 extends or shortens, the flower basket switching mechanism in this embodiment also includes a conveyor belt compensation component, which is configured to keep the conveyor belt 212 in a tensioned state.

[0059] Preferably, the conveyor belt compensation assembly includes a third roller 2221 and a fourth roller 2222, the third roller 2221 is arranged on the end of the second line body 2112 away from the second roller 21121, the fourth roller 2222 is arranged on the end of the base 213 away from the first line body 2111, the conveyor belt 212 is wound between the first roller 21111, the second roller 21121, the third roller 2221 and the fourth roller 2222, when the end of the conveyor belt 212 located downstream is directed toward the end located away from the conveyor belt When the flower basket carrying plate 221 on the upstream side of the conveyor belt 212 moves, the increased length of the conveyor belt 212 between the first roller 21111 and the second roller 21121 is equal to the reduced length of the conveyor belt 212 between the third roller 2221 and the fourth roller 2222. When the length of the conveyor belt 212 between the first roller 21111 and the second roller 21121 is extended or shortened, the conveyor belt 212 can always be kept in a tensioned state, thereby ensuring that the conveyor belt 212 can operate continuously.

[0060] Furthermore, the silicon wafer inserting machine in this embodiment also includes a flower basket loading and unloading mechanism 230, and the conveyor belt 212 is connected to the placement layer of the flower basket 100 at the inserting station. The flower basket loading and unloading mechanism 230 can drive any flower basket supporting plate 221 to move between the inserting station and the flower basket loading and unloading station to unload the flower basket 100 fully loaded with silicon wafers, and move the flower basket supporting plate 221 carrying the empty flower basket 100 from the flower basket loading and unloading station to the second position.

[0061] Preferably, the flower basket loading and unloading mechanism 230 in this embodiment includes two first driving members 231 and two second driving members 232. The two first driving members 231 are connected to the two flower basket supporting plates 221 one by one, and are configured to respectively drive the two flower basket supporting plates 221 to move in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveyor belt 212. The two second driving members 232 are configured to respectively drive the two flower basket supporting plates 221 to move in the conveying direction of the conveyor belt 212. The second driving member 232 is connected to a fourth driving member 240, and the fourth driving member 240 is connected to the first driving member 231. The second driving member 232 can drive the fourth driving member 240 to move in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveyor belt 212. The fourth driving member 240 moves in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveyor belt 212 to drive the flower basket supporting plate 221 to move. The fourth driving member 240 can drive the flower basket supporting plate 221 to rise and fall in the vertical direction by driving the first driving member 231 to rise and fall in the vertical direction. When the flower basket supporting plate 221 located in the first position continues to rise in the vertical direction to the top of the conveyor line body 211, the first driving member 231 can drive the flower basket supporting plate 221 to move in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveyor belt 212 to move the flower basket supporting plate 221 away from the first position. The second driving member 232 drives the flower basket supporting plate 221 to move toward the flower basket loading and unloading station.

[0062] It is understandable that the second driving member 232 can drive the flower basket supporting plate 221 to move synchronously with the conveyor belt 212 .

[0063] In order to place the empty flower basket 100 on the flower basket supporting plate 221, the flower basket loading and unloading mechanism 230 in this embodiment further includes two flipping assemblies 233. The two flipping assemblies 233 are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence with the two flower basket supporting plates 221. The two flipping assemblies 233 both include a support plate 2331 and a third driving member 2332. The support plate 2331 can carry the empty flower basket 100. The third driving member 2332 is configured to drive the support plate 2331 to flip, so as to transfer the empty flower basket 100 from the support plate 2331 to the flower basket supporting plate 221.

[0064] Preferably, the support plate 2331 is fixedly connected to the rotating shaft 2333, the third driving member 2332 is configured to drive the rotating shaft 2333 to rotate, and the flip assembly 233 also includes a position detection member 2334, and the position detection member 2334 is configured to detect the rotation angle of the rotating shaft 2333. Specifically, the position detection member 2334 includes a shading sheet 23341 and at least two slot-type photoelectric switches 23342. The shading sheet 23341 is fixedly connected to the rotating shaft 2333, and the at least two slot-type photoelectric switches 23342 are arranged at intervals around the circumference of the rotating shaft 2333. When the rotating shaft 2333 rotates, the shading sheet 23341 can pass through the detection slots of at least two slot-type photoelectric switches 23342 in sequence, thereby detecting the rotation angle of the rotating shaft 2333 to ensure that the empty flower basket 100 can be accurately placed on the flower basket supporting plate 221.

[0065] It can be understood that in this embodiment, a robot (not shown in the figure) is provided at the flower basket loading and unloading station, and the robot can carry the flower basket 100 fully loaded with silicon wafers. Of course, other optional embodiments can also remove the flower basket 100 fully loaded with silicon wafers from the flower basket supporting plate 221 through other carrying structures, and this is not specifically limited in this embodiment.

[0066] Obviously, the above embodiments of the present invention are merely examples for clearly illustrating the present invention, and are not intended to limit the embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, various obvious changes, readjustments and substitutions can be made without departing from the protection scope of the present invention. It is not necessary and impossible to list all the embodiments here. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A silicon wafer inserter, characterized in that, it includes: a conveying mechanism (210), including a conveying line body (211) and a conveyor belt (212) wound around the conveying line body (211), the conveyor belt (212) being configured to convey silicon wafers; and a carrier basket switching mechanism, including two carrier basket bearing plates (221), the two carrier basket bearing plates (221) being arranged at intervals along the conveying direction of the conveyor belt (212), both of the two carrier basket bearing plates (221) being capable of lifting and lowering in the vertical direction, so that multiple placement layers of the carrier basket (100) carried on the carrier basket bearing plates (221) can be docked with the end portion of the conveyor belt (212) located downstream one by one. When the carrier basket (100) carried on the carrier basket bearing plate (221) located on the upstream side close to the conveyor belt (212) descends below the conveying line body (211) or the carrier basket bearing plate (221) located on the upstream side close to the conveyor belt (212) ascends above the conveying line body (211), the end portion of the conveyor belt (212) located downstream can move towards the carrier basket bearing plate (221) located on the side far from the upstream of the conveyor belt (212) and be docked with the placement layer of the carrier basket (100) on the carrier basket bearing plate (221) located on the side far from the upstream of the conveyor belt (212), thereby reducing the time spent on switching the carrier basket (100).

2. The silicon wafer inserter according to claim 1, characterized in that, the silicon wafer inserter further includes a carrier basket loading and unloading mechanism (230), the conveyor belt (212) is docked with the placement layer of the carrier basket (100) at the inserting station, and the carrier basket loading and unloading mechanism (230) can drive any one of the carrier basket bearing plates (221) to move between the inserting station and the carrier basket loading and unloading station.

3. The silicon wafer inserter according to claim 2, characterized in that, the carrier basket loading and unloading mechanism (230) includes two first driving members (231) and two second driving members (232), the two first driving members (231) are respectively connected to the two carrier basket bearing plates (221) in one-to-one correspondence and are configured to respectively drive the two carrier basket bearing plates (221) to move in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveyor belt (212), and the two second driving members (232) are configured to respectively drive the two carrier basket bearing plates (221) to move along the conveying direction of the conveyor belt (212).

4. The silicon wafer inserter according to claim 2, characterized in that, the carrier basket loading and unloading mechanism (230) further includes two flipping assemblies (233), the two flipping assemblies (233) are arranged in one-to-one correspondence with the two carrier basket bearing plates (221), and both of the two flipping assemblies (233) include: a support plate (2331), the support plate (2331) being capable of carrying the empty carrier basket (100); and A third driving member (2332), the third driving member (2332) being configured to drive the pallet (2331) to flip, so as to transfer the empty flower basket (100) from the pallet (2331) to the flower basket bearing plate (221).

5. The silicon wafer inserter according to claim 4, wherein, the pallet (2331) is fixedly connected to a rotating shaft (2333), the third driving member (2332) is configured to drive the rotating shaft (2333) to rotate, and the flipping assembly (233) further includes a position detecting member (2334), the position detecting member (2334) being configured to detect the rotation angle of the rotating shaft (2333).

6. The silicon wafer inserter according to claim 1, wherein, the conveying line body (211) includes a first line body part (2111) and a second line body part (2112), the conveyor belt (212) is wound around the first line body part (2111) and the second line body part (2112), and the second line body part (2112) can move relative to the first line body part (2111) along the conveying direction of the conveyor belt (212).

7. The silicon wafer inserter according to claim 6, wherein, the flower basket switching mechanism further includes a conveyor belt compensation assembly, the conveyor belt compensation assembly being configured to keep the conveyor belt (212) in a tensioned state.

8. The silicon wafer inserter according to claim 7, wherein, a first roller (21111) and a second roller (21121) are respectively arranged at one end of the first line body part (2111) away from the second line body part (2112) and one end of the second line body part (2112) away from the first line body part (2111), the second line body part (2112) is slidably connected to the base (213), the conveyor belt compensation assembly includes a third roller (2221) and a fourth roller (2222), the third roller (2221) is arranged at one end of the second line body part (2112) away from the second roller (21121), the fourth roller (2222) is arranged at one end of the base (213) away from the first line body part (2111), the conveyor belt (212) is wound between the first roller (21111), the second roller (21121), the third roller (2221) and the fourth roller (2222), and when the end of the conveyor belt (212) located downstream moves towards the flower basket bearing plate (221) located on the side away from the upstream of the conveyor belt (212), the increased length of the conveyor belt (212) between the first roller (21111) and the second roller (21121) is equal to the decreased length of the conveyor belt (212) between the third roller (2221) and the fourth roller (2222).

9. A silicon wafer inserting method for the silicon wafer inserter according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein, the silicon wafer inserting method includes: The conveyor belt (212) wound around the conveyor line body (211) conveys the silicon wafers. The carrier plate (221) of the wafer cassette located on the side close to the upstream of the conveyor belt (212) moves up or down in the vertical direction, and the multiple placement layers of the wafer cassette (100) carried on the carrier plate (221) are successively docked with the downstream end of the conveyor belt (212). When the wafer cassette (100) carried on the carrier plate (221) on the side close to the upstream of the conveyor belt (212) descends below the conveyor line body (211) or the carrier plate (221) on the side close to the upstream of the conveyor belt (212) ascends above the conveyor line body (211), the downstream end of the conveyor belt (212) moves towards the carrier plate (221) on the side far from the upstream of the conveyor belt (212). The carrier plate (221) on the side far from the upstream of the conveyor belt (212) moves up or down in the vertical direction, and the multiple placement layers of the wafer cassette (100) carried on the carrier plate (221) are successively docked with the downstream end of the conveyor belt (212).

10. The silicon wafer inserting method according to claim 9, wherein, the silicon wafer inserting method further includes: when the wafer cassette (100) carried on the carrier plate (221) on the side close to the upstream of the conveyor belt (212) descends below the conveyor line body (211) or the carrier plate (221) on the side close to the upstream of the conveyor belt (212) ascends above the conveyor line body (211), the carrier plate (221) moves to the wafer cassette loading and unloading station; performing an unloading operation on the wafer cassette (100) carried on the carrier plate (221) that has moved to the wafer cassette loading and unloading station, and placing the empty wafer cassette (100) on the carrier plate (221); the downstream end of the conveyor belt (212) resets, and the carrier plate (221) on the side far from the upstream of the conveyor belt (212) moves synchronously with the conveyor belt (212) to the side close to the upstream of the conveyor belt (212); the carrier plate (221) at the wafer cassette loading and unloading station moves to the side far from the upstream of the conveyor belt (212).

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