A method for cutting head and tail materials of a silicon rod

Abstract

The application relates to a silicon rod head and tail material cutting method, which comprises a cutting tool and a conveying platform located below the cutting tool, the conveying platform is provided with a positioning clamp jaw and a floating support structure, the floating support structure comprises a lifting mechanism, after the lifting mechanism and the positioning clamp jaw of a supporting table clamp a silicon rod, a receiving box for receiving head and tail materials on the conveying platform is arranged above the floating support structure; the supporting table of the floating support structure can pass through the bottom of the receiving box and make the upper side thereof contact the position below the silicon rod to be cut; the cutting tool cuts the excess material of the end of the silicon rod, the excess material of the silicon rod cutting falls on the supporting table of the floating support; the lifting mechanism of the floating support lowers to retain the excess material in the receiving box; the receiving box and the floating support mechanism can avoid the damage caused by the direct falling of the excess material of the silicon rod cutting from a high place, and the receiving and falling of the excess material of the silicon rod are stably realized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of cutting machine equipment technology, and in particular to a method for cutting silicon rod head and tail materials. Background Technology

[0002] After the monocrystalline silicon rod is cut to the required thickness by the cutting equipment, it is output. Before forming the silicon wafer, the ends of the silicon rod need to be cut off in advance. Then the remaining material is picked up by a robotic arm and transferred to the side of the cutting equipment, or the silicon wafer and the remaining silicon rod are moved away by manual operation.

[0003] Existing designs, such as patent CN216914422U, entitled "A cutting machine lifting and wafer picking mechanism", design a crystal holder device for a single crystal silicon cutting machine. Since the end of the silicon rod is a combination of conical and cylindrical material, the crystal holder device described above cannot stably hold the end of the silicon rod.

[0004] For example, in the patent application number CN201620055183.1, entitled "A crystal support device for a single crystal silicon cutting machine", the receiving box is installed on both sides of the crystal support frame and is used to hold the edge of the crystal rod that falls after cutting. During the material acquisition process, the silicon rod residue falling from a height can easily cause damage to the surface of the residue or the receiving box. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the issue that the ends of existing silicon rods are not cylindrical, making them difficult to clamp, and that the cut material falling directly into the receiving box can easily cause damage.

[0006] The technical solution of the present invention is as follows: a method for cutting and transferring silicon rod head and tail materials, including a cutting tool and a conveying platform located below the cutting tool, the conveying platform having positioning grippers for clamping silicon rods; the conveying platform is also provided with a floating support structure, the floating support structure including a lifting mechanism;

[0007] Specifically, the steps include:

[0008] (1) The positioning gripper holds the silicon rod below the cutting tool, and the floating support structure is located below both ends of the silicon rod to be cut on the conveying platform;

[0009] (2) A receiving box for receiving head and tail materials is placed on the conveying platform above the floating support structure;

[0010] (3) The support platform of the floating support structure can pass through the bottom of the receiving box and make its upper edge contact the position below the silicon rod to be cut. The cutting tool cuts the excess material at the end of the silicon rod, and the excess material from the silicon rod cutting falls on the support platform of the floating support.

[0011] (4) The lifting mechanism of the floating support descends and retains the excess material in the receiving box.

[0012] Preferably, the receiving box has an opening in the middle for the support platform to pass through, and the upper surface of the support platform has a lifting surface that slopes downward from both sides toward the center.

[0013] Preferably, a transfer platform is provided next to the conveying platform, and the gripping device can hold the receiving box and place it between the transfer platform and the conveying platform. The gripping device is provided above the conveying platform and the transfer platform. The gripping device includes a support frame and a gripper jaw located below the support frame. The gripper jaw is driven to lift and move laterally by a gripper drive mechanism.

[0014] Preferably, in step (1), the receiving box is transferred from the transfer platform to the floating support structure by the gripping device, and in step (4), after the remaining material is retained in the receiving box, the receiving box carrying the silicon rod residue is transferred to the transfer platform by the gripping device.

[0015] Preferably, the transfer platform is also provided with a mobile trolley that can move along the transfer platform. The mobile trolley has two or more silicon rod feeding plates fixed on it. The silicon rod feeding plates have a recessed receiving groove in the middle. In step (1), the silicon rods are pre-placed on the silicon rod feeding plates and then placed into the positioning jaws of the conveying platform by the gripping device.

[0016] Preferably, the positioning gripper includes a bracket and a pair of clamps located on the bracket and driven by a drive mechanism to open and close. The clamps are recessed in the middle and fixed at the lower part on the clamp slider. The clamp slider is slidably engaged with the bracket and is driven by a cylinder, hydraulic cylinder or electric cylinder to clamp the silicon rod.

[0017] Preferably, the gripper jaws include a pair of clamping plates, which are respectively fixed on a gripper slider. The middle part of the gripper slider is slidably engaged with a gripper guide rail. The gripper slider is driven by a cylinder or a lead screw and nut mechanism to move along the gripper guide rail, thereby causing the pair of clamping plates to move towards or away from each other to achieve clamping of the docking box or silicon rod.

[0018] Preferably, the gripper drive mechanism includes a translation electric cylinder fixed to the upper part of the support frame, and a lifting gripper cylinder fixedly connected to the movable end of the translation electric cylinder, wherein the movable end of the lifting gripper cylinder fixes the gripper guide rail.

[0019] Preferably, the bottom of the positioning gripper and the floating support structure are both fixed with a moving component to drive the positioning gripper and the floating support to move along the length direction of the conveying platform. The moving component includes a moving plate, a moving motor is fixed at the lower part of the moving plate, a gear is fixed at the output end of the moving motor, and a rack that meshes with the gear is fixed on the conveying platform.

[0020] Preferably, the receiving box has a retaining edge fixed on one side to prevent the cut material from falling, and the receiving box has a groove on one side to avoid the cut material.

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0022] (1) The present invention utilizes a receiving box and a floating support mechanism to avoid damage caused by the direct fall of the silicon rod cutting waste from a high place, and to stably realize the receiving and dropping of the silicon rod waste.

[0023] (2) In this embodiment of the invention, the receiving box and the support mechanism are detachable and have an opening for the tray to pass through, which can satisfy the separation and combination of the receiving box and the support structure, making it easy for the receiving box to transport materials and improving the compactness of the structure.

[0024] (3) In the embodiments of the invention, a mobile trolley is also designed. After the mobile trolley moves, the finished product and the leftover material can be easily taken away from the cutting work area. It can also feed silicon rods, which improves the efficiency and safety of material transfer.

[0025] (4) In the embodiments of the present invention, the floating support structure adopts a slide rail to drive the platform to rise and fall, and uses the linear guide rail pair composed of the slide rail and the slider to drive the platform to rise and fall, without the need to design an anti-rotation structure.

[0026] (5) The gripping device can be used to transfer the horizontal receiving box and silicon rod, thereby improving the silicon rod cutting efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0027] Figure 1 Overall schematic diagram of an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the positioning gripper in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the clamp structure;

[0030] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram showing the connection between the receiving box and the floating support structure.

[0031] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of a floating support structure;

[0032] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the receiving trolley located on the mobile trolley.

[0033] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the positioning gripper of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the interior of the floating support structure;

[0035] Figure 9This is a schematic diagram of the gripping device structure;

[0036] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the gripping device.

[0037] In the diagram: 100-Conveying platform, 200-Transfer platform, 101-Silicon rod, 102-Cutting tool, 10-Positioning gripper, 110-Bracket, 120-Clamping clamp, 130-Clamping slider, 20-Floating support structure, 210-Lifting cylinder, 211-Slide rail, 220-Platform, 230-T-shaped support block, 30-Receiving box, 310-Opening, 320-Groove, 330-Side guard, 40-Gripping device, 410-Support frame, 411-Transfer electric cylinder, 412-Lifting gripper cylinder, 420-Gripper, 421-Clamping plate, 422-Clamping slider, 423-Clamping guide rail, 50-Moving component, 510-Moving plate, 520-Moving motor, 530-Gear, 540-Rack, 60-Moving trolley, 610-Silicon rod feeding plate. Detailed Implementation

[0038] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0039] See Figure 1-3 A method for cutting and transferring silicon rod head and tail materials includes a cutting tool and a conveying platform 100 located below the cutting tool. The conveying platform has positioning grippers 10 for clamping silicon rods. The conveying platform is also provided with a floating support structure 20, which includes a lifting mechanism.

[0040] Specifically, the following steps are included:

[0041] (1) The positioning gripper 10 holds the silicon rod below the cutting tool 102, and the floating support structure is located below both ends of the silicon rod to be cut on the conveying platform;

[0042] (2) A receiving box 30 for receiving head and tail materials is placed on the conveying platform above the floating support structure;

[0043] (3) The support platform of the floating support structure can pass through the bottom of the receiving box 30 and make its upper edge contact the position below the silicon rod to be cut. The cutting tool cuts the end of the silicon rod and the end of the silicon rod falls on the support platform 220 of the floating support.

[0044] (4) The lifting mechanism of the floating support descends to retain the silicon rod residue in the receiving box 30.

[0045] In this embodiment, during operation, the silicon material in its initial state is conical at both ends. Before cutting it into silicon wafers, the conical parts at the beginning and end need to be removed. In order to prevent the cut silicon rod from falling directly into the receiving box 30 and causing damage, the receiving box 30 has an opening 310 in the middle for the support platform to pass through. The receiving box 30 is set on a floating support.

[0046] In this embodiment, the cutting tool 102 is a conventional wire cutting tool, which uses a diamond wire saw to cut the silicon rod at high speed.

[0047] In this embodiment, the movable end of the lifting mechanism is fixedly connected to a support platform 220 via a slide rail 211.

[0048] The support mechanism is located below the opening 310. When the material is ready to be cut, the support mechanism extends from below the receiving box through the opening 310, thereby extending into the part supporting the silicon rod to be cut.

[0049] like Figure 5 As shown in the above embodiment, the support mechanism also includes a T-shaped support block 230 for auxiliary support of the box body. When the box is placed on the support mechanism 20, the T-shaped support block 230 can support the bottom of the box body.

[0050] In the above embodiments, the lifting device is driven by a hydraulic cylinder, a pneumatic cylinder, or an electric cylinder. In this embodiment, the lifting device is a lifting pneumatic cylinder 210. The lifting pneumatic cylinder 210 is vertically arranged, and its movable end is fixedly connected to the support platform 220.

[0051] In one embodiment of the invention, the upper surface of the support platform has a support surface that slopes downward from both sides toward the center to facilitate support of the bottom of the cylindrical silicon rod. When the receiving box 30 is not placed, it can be used to support the rod material, helping to support the rod body after the silicon rod head is cut, and then cut.

[0052] In one embodiment of the present invention, a transfer platform 200 is provided on the side of the conveying platform 100. The gripping device can hold the receiving box and place it between the transfer platform and the conveying platform. A gripping device 40 is provided above the conveying platform and the transfer platform 200. The gripping device includes a support frame 410 and a gripper 420 located below the support frame. The gripper is driven to lift and move laterally by a gripper drive mechanism.

[0053] In step (1) above, the receiving box is transferred from the transfer platform to the floating support structure by the gripping device. In step (4), after the remaining material is retained in the receiving box, the receiving box carrying the silicon rod residue is transferred to the transfer platform 200 by the gripping device.

[0054] like Figure 6As shown, in one embodiment of the present invention, the transfer platform is further provided with a mobile trolley 60, and two or more silicon rod feeding plates 610 are fixed on the mobile trolley 60. The silicon rod feeding plate has a recessed receiving groove in the middle. In step (1), the silicon rod is pre-placed on the silicon rod feeding plate and then placed into the positioning gripper of the conveying platform by the gripping device.

[0055] The mobile trolley can move along the transfer platform by means of its own wheels or chains.

[0056] The positioning gripper 10 includes a bracket 110 and a pair of clamps 120 located on the bracket and driven by a drive mechanism to open and close. The clamps are concave in the middle and fixed at the lower part to a clamp slider 130. The clamp slider 130 is slidably engaged with the bracket 110 and is driven by a cylinder, hydraulic cylinder, electric cylinder, or lead screw and nut mechanism to clamp the silicon rod. In this embodiment, each clamp slider 130 has a thread in the middle, and the pair of clamp sliders 120 are threaded onto a lead screw. The lead screw rotates in the opposite direction to the two clamp sliders 130, so that the pair of clamps 120 can close or separate during rotation.

[0057] like Figure 2 and Figure 7 As shown, during operation, the positioning gripper 10 can be designed in multiple ways to accommodate different silicon rod lengths. The clamp 120 and the bracket 110 are in sliding engagement. The opening and closing size of the clamp 120 can accommodate silicon rods of different diameters. In addition to the clamp slider 130 described in this embodiment being driven by an independent cylinder, the clamp can also be opened and closed by means of a finger cylinder, a lead screw and nut pair, etc.

[0058] like Figure 9 and Figure 10 As shown, similar to the positioning gripper structure, the gripper gripper 420 includes a pair of clamping plates. The pair of clamping plates 421 are respectively fixed on a gripper slider 422. The middle part of the gripper slider is slidably engaged with a gripper guide rail. The gripper slider 422 is driven by a cylinder or a lead screw and nut mechanism to move along the gripper guide rail 423, thereby causing the pair of clamping plates to move towards or away from each other to achieve the clamping of the docking box or silicon rod.

[0059] In this embodiment, the gripper driving mechanism includes a translation electric cylinder 411 fixed to the upper part of the support frame 410, and a lifting gripper electric cylinder 412 fixedly connected to the movable end of the translation electric cylinder. The gripper gripper is driven to move up and down by the action of the screw and nut mechanism of the gripper electric cylinder 412.

[0060] In the initial state, the receiving box that has not been transferred to silicon rods can be moved across the conveying platform 100 and the transfer platform 200 by the translation electric cylinder 411, and the lifting gripper cylinder 412 can lift the gripper 420 to pick up silicon rods or receiving boxes.

[0061] As shown in the figure, in this invention, a longitudinal rack is fixed to the top of the support frame 410, the translation electric cylinder 411 is fixedly connected to the transfer bracket, a longitudinal motor is fixed on the transfer bracket, and a longitudinal drive gear that meshes with the longitudinal rack is fixed to the output end of the longitudinal motor.

[0062] In actual design, the gripper 420 can be set at the movable end of the three-axis slide to realize the three-axis displacement of the gripper 420 in the Cartesian coordinate system in space.

[0063] like Figure 2 and 7 As shown in Figure 8, in another embodiment of the present invention, in order to enable the positioning gripper and floating support to move along the conveying platform, in step (1), the gripping of the silicon rod or the movement to the position of the silicon rod residue to be cut is adjusted as needed. The bottom of the positioning gripper and floating support structure is fixed with a moving component 50 to drive the positioning gripper and floating support to move along the length direction of the conveying platform.

[0064] In this embodiment, the moving component 50 includes a moving plate 510, a moving motor is fixed to the lower part of the moving plate, a gear 530 is fixed to the output end of the moving motor 520, and a rack 540 that meshes with the gear 530 is fixed to the conveying platform.

[0065] In actual design, the moving component 50 uses gear and rack meshing to realize the movement of the positioning gripper and floating support structure along the conveying platform. In this embodiment, the bracket 110 of the positioning gripper is fixedly connected to or integrated with the moving plate 510, and the lifting mechanism of the floating support structure 20 is fixedly connected to the moving plate 510 via a base.

[0066] Since the residual material ends of the cut silicon rod are a combination of conical and cylindrical shapes, the receiving box has a groove 320 on one side to avoid the cut material. The groove 320 is used to avoid the conical side.

[0067] The cylindrical silicon rod is heavier on one side. A baffle 330 is fixed on the outside of the receiving box to prevent the cut material from falling. The baffle can help support the heavier side of the silicon rod, thereby preventing the remaining silicon rod material from flipping over during the up-and-down movement due to the different weights at both ends.

[0068] The above description is merely an embodiment of the present invention and does not limit the patent scope of the present invention. Any equivalent structural or procedural transformations made based on the content of the present invention's specification and drawings, or direct or indirect applications in other related technical fields, are similarly included within the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for cutting and transferring silicon rod head and tail materials, characterized in that, It includes a cutting tool and a conveying platform located below the cutting tool. The conveying platform has positioning grippers for holding silicon rods. The conveying platform is also provided with a floating support structure, which includes a lifting mechanism. Specifically, the following steps are included: (1) The positioning gripper holds the silicon rod below the cutting tool, and the floating support structure is located below both ends of the silicon rod to be cut on the conveying platform; (2) A receiving box for receiving head and tail materials is placed on the conveying platform above the floating support structure; (3) The support platform of the floating support structure can pass through the bottom of the receiving box and make its upper edge contact the position below the silicon rod to be cut. The cutting tool cuts the excess material at the end of the silicon rod, and the excess material from the silicon rod cutting falls on the support platform of the floating support structure. (4) The lifting mechanism of the floating support structure descends to retain the excess material in the receiving box.

2. The method for cutting and transferring silicon rod head and tail materials according to claim 1, characterized in that, The receiving box has an opening in the middle for the support platform to pass through, and the upper surface of the support platform has a lifting surface that slopes downward from both sides toward the center.

3. A method for cutting and transferring silicon rod head and tail materials according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, A transfer platform is provided next to the conveying platform. The gripping device can hold the receiving box and place it between the transfer platform and the conveying platform. The gripping device is provided above the conveying platform and the transfer platform. The gripping device includes a support frame and a gripper jaw located below the support frame. The gripper jaw is driven to lift and move laterally by a gripper drive mechanism.

4. The method for cutting and transferring silicon rod head and tail materials according to claim 3, characterized in that, In step (1), the receiving box is transferred from the transfer platform to the floating support structure by the gripping device. In step (4), after the remaining material is retained in the receiving box, the receiving box carrying the silicon rod residue is transferred to the transfer platform by the gripping device.

5. The method for cutting and transferring silicon rod head and tail materials according to claim 3, characterized in that, The transfer platform is also equipped with a mobile trolley that can move along the transfer platform. The mobile trolley has two or more silicon rod feeding plates fixed on it. The silicon rod feeding plate has a recessed receiving groove in the middle. In step (1), the silicon rod is placed on the silicon rod feeding plate in advance and then placed on the positioning claw of the conveying platform by the gripping device.

6. The method for cutting and transferring silicon rod head and tail materials according to claim 3, characterized in that, The positioning gripper includes a bracket and a pair of clamps located on the bracket and driven by a drive mechanism to open and close. The clamps are recessed in the middle and fixed at the lower part on the clamp slider. The clamp slider is slidably engaged with the bracket and is driven by a cylinder, hydraulic cylinder or electric cylinder to clamp the silicon rod.

7. The method for cutting and transferring silicon rod head and tail materials according to claim 3, characterized in that, The gripper includes a pair of clamping plates, which are respectively fixed on a gripper slider. The middle part of the gripper slider is slidably engaged with a gripper guide rail. The gripper slider is driven by a cylinder or a lead screw and nut mechanism to move along the gripper guide rail, thereby causing the pair of clamping plates to move towards or away from each other to achieve the clamping of the docking box or silicon rod.

8. The method for cutting and transferring silicon rod head and tail materials according to claim 7, characterized in that, The gripper drive mechanism includes a translation electric cylinder fixed to the upper part of the support frame, and a lifting electric cylinder fixedly connected to the movable end of the translation electric cylinder, wherein the movable end of the lifting electric cylinder fixes the gripper guide rail.

9. A method for cutting and transferring silicon rod head and tail materials according to claim 3, characterized in that, The bottom of the positioning gripper and the floating support structure are both fixed with a moving component to drive the positioning gripper and the floating support structure to move along the length direction of the conveying platform. The moving component includes a moving plate, a moving motor is fixed at the lower part of the moving plate, a gear is fixed at the output end of the moving motor, and a rack that meshes with the gear is fixed on the conveying platform.

10. A method for cutting and transferring silicon rod head and tail materials according to claim 3, characterized in that, The receiving box has a retaining edge fixed on one side to prevent the cut material from falling, and the receiving box has a groove on one side to avoid the cut material.

Images