Full-automatic wafer box opening and grabbing equipment

Abstract

A fully automated wafer cassette opening and gripping device includes a mounting frame, a testing chamber, a material inlet, a testing worktable mechanism, and a transmission mechanism. The transmission mechanism includes a transmission lifting assembly, a rotating arm assembly, and a clamping assembly. The clamping assembly includes a clamping bracket, a clamping device, and a rotation drive device. The clamping bracket includes a bracket body, a rotating bracket, and a mounting plate. The clamping device includes a rotating connector, a sliding gripper, a connecting rod, and a clamping drive cylinder. The rotation drive device includes a drive motor, a driving wheel, a driven wheel, a transmission wheel, and a drive rod. When the drive motor drives the driving wheel to rotate, the driving wheel drives the driven wheel to rotate, and the driven wheel drives the drive rod to move, thereby driving the transmission wheel to rotate. This fully automated wafer cassette opening and gripping device has a simple structure, is easy to operate, realizes automatic wafer testing, and improves testing efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of semiconductor processing equipment technology, specifically a fully automatic wafer box opening and gripping device. Background Technology

[0002] A wafer is a silicon wafer used to fabricate silicon semiconductor circuits; its raw material is silicon. High-purity polycrystalline silicon is dissolved, doped with silicon crystal seeds, and then slowly pulled out to form cylindrical single-crystal silicon. After grinding, polishing, and slicing, the silicon ingot forms a silicon wafer. Domestic wafer production lines mainly use 8-inch and 12-inch wafers. The main wafer processing methods are wafer fabrication and batch processing, which involves processing one or more wafers simultaneously. As semiconductor feature sizes shrink and processing and measurement equipment becomes more advanced, new data characteristics have emerged in wafer processing. Simultaneously, the reduction in feature size increases the impact of airborne particles on the quality and reliability of the processed wafer, and with improved cleanliness, new data characteristics regarding particle count have also emerged.

[0003] Currently, during wafer production, wafers need to be inspected to prevent damaged wafers from being transferred to subsequent workstations. For example, Chinese patent CN202310235579.9, titled "Wafer Inspection Mechanism and Wafer Loading Device," describes a wafer inspection mechanism that includes an inspection component for inspecting the condition of individual wafers. This mechanism also includes a lifting component that moves the inspection component up and down. However, in this wafer inspection mechanism, placing or unloading wafer cassettes requires manual operation, increasing the workload of workers and hindering production efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of this, the present invention provides a fully automated wafer cassette opening and gripping device capable of loading and unloading materials to meet industrial needs.

[0005] A fully automated wafer cassette opening and gripping device includes a mounting frame, a testing chamber mounted on the mounting frame, at least one feed port mounted on the testing chamber, a testing worktable mechanism mounted on the mounting frame, a transfer mechanism mounted on the mounting frame, and a dust removal mechanism located on one side of the testing worktable mechanism. The testing worktable mechanism includes a worktable assembly disposed within the testing chamber for placing the wafer cassette, and a worktable lifting assembly mounted on the mounting frame and connected to the worktable assembly. The transfer mechanism includes a transfer lifting assembly mounted on the mounting frame, a rotating arm assembly mounted on the transfer lifting assembly, and a clamping assembly mounted on the rotating arm assembly. The clamping assembly includes a clamping bracket mounted on the rotating arm assembly, a clamping device rotatably connected to the clamping bracket, and a rotation drive device mounted on the clamping bracket and connected to one end of the clamping device. The clamping bracket includes a bracket body mounted on the rotating arm assembly, two rotating brackets rotatably connected to one end of the bracket body, and a mounting plate mounted on the rotating bracket. The clamping device includes a rotating connector rotatably connected to the mounting plate, two sliding jaws slidably connected to the mounting plate, two connecting rods respectively connected between the rotating connector and the sliding jaws, and a clamping drive cylinder disposed on the mounting plate and connected to the sliding jaws. The rotation drive device includes a drive motor disposed on the support body, a driving wheel disposed on the drive motor, a driven wheel disposed on the clamping support, a transmission wheel connected to the rotating support, and a drive rod connected between the driven wheel and the transmission wheel. The dust removal mechanism includes a fan bracket disposed at the bottom of the detection chamber and a fan disposed on the fan bracket. When the drive motor drives the driving wheel to rotate, the driving wheel drives the driven wheel to rotate, the driven wheel drives the drive rod to move, and the drive rod drives the transmission wheel to rotate, thereby realizing the rotation of the mounting plate, that is, realizing the rotation of the clamping device. When the wafer cassette is installed on the inspection workbench mechanism, the workbench lifting assembly lowers the workbench assembly to the bottom of the material inlet of the inspection chamber, and the transfer mechanism places the wafer cassette on the workbench assembly. After the wafer cassette is placed on the workbench assembly in the inspection workbench mechanism, the workbench lifting assembly raises the workbench assembly, raising the wafer cassette to the inspection station to realize the inspection of the wafer cassette. When the transfer mechanism places the wafer cassette to be inspected on the inspection workbench mechanism, the workbench lifting assembly drives the workbench assembly to slide to the side of the dust removal mechanism.

[0006] Furthermore, the workbench assembly includes a workbench body and a locking mechanism disposed on the workbench body.

[0007] Furthermore, the transmission lifting assembly includes a transmission lifting drive device disposed on the mounting frame and a lifting platform disposed on the transmission lifting drive device.

[0008] Furthermore, the rotating arm assembly includes a rotation drive device disposed on the transmission lifting assembly, and a rotating arm unit disposed on the rotation drive device.

[0009] Furthermore, the two sliding grippers are symmetrically arranged, and the two connecting rods are centrally symmetrically connected to both sides of the rotating connector.

[0010] Compared with existing technologies, the fully automated wafer cassette opening and gripping device provided by this invention transmits wafer cassettes to the inspection workbench mechanism via the transmission mechanism, achieving automatic inspection. The transmission mechanism includes a transmission lifting assembly mounted on the mounting frame, a rotating arm assembly mounted on the transmission lifting assembly, and a clamping assembly mounted on the rotating arm assembly. The transmission lifting assembly and the rotating arm assembly drive the clamping assembly to raise and lower its height and adjust its angle. The clamping assembly includes a clamping bracket mounted on the rotating arm assembly, a clamping device rotatably connected to the clamping bracket, and a rotation drive device mounted on the clamping bracket and connected to one end of the clamping device. When the transmission mechanism in the fully automated wafer cassette opening and gripping device transmits the wafer cassette to the inspection workbench mechanism, the clamping assembly in the transmission mechanism clamps the wafer cassette. The transmission lifting assembly and the rotating arm assembly in the transmission mechanism drive the clamping assembly to raise and lower, and adjust the angle of the clamping assembly, placing the wafer cassette on the inspection workbench mechanism for inspection. The clamping device includes a rotating connector rotatably connected to the mounting plate, two sliding jaws slidably connected to the mounting plate, two connecting rods respectively connected between the rotating connector and the sliding jaws, and a clamping drive cylinder disposed on the mounting plate and connected to the sliding jaws. When the clamping drive cylinder drives one of the sliding jaws to slide, the sliding jaw drives the rotating connector to rotate during the sliding process. Since the two connecting rods are centrally symmetrically connected to both sides of the rotating connector, when one sliding jaw slides, the rotating connector drives the other sliding jaw to slide, realizing the opening and closing of the two sliding jaws. It can be seen that this fully automatic wafer cassette opening and gripping equipment has a simple structure, is easy to operate, realizes automatic wafer inspection, and improves inspection efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0011] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the fully automated wafer box opening and gripping device provided by the present invention.

[0012] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the inspection workbench mechanism in a fully automated wafer box opening and gripping device.

[0013] Figure 3 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the transmission mechanism in a fully automated wafer box opening and gripping device.

[0014] Figure 4 for Figure 1 Another structural diagram of the transmission mechanism in a fully automated wafer box opening and gripping device. Detailed Implementation

[0015] The following provides a more detailed description of specific embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood that the description of the embodiments of the present invention herein is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0016] like Figures 1 to 4 The diagram shown is a structural schematic of the fully automated wafer cassette opening and gripping device provided by the present invention. The fully automated wafer cassette opening and gripping device includes a mounting frame 1, a detection chamber 2 disposed on the mounting frame 1, at least one feed port 3 disposed on the detection chamber 2, a detection workbench mechanism 10 disposed on the mounting frame 1, a transmission mechanism 20 disposed on the mounting frame 1, and a dust removal mechanism 30 disposed on one side of the detection workbench mechanism. The fully automated wafer cassette opening and gripping device also includes other functional modules, such as assembly components, detection devices, etc., which should be known to those skilled in the art and will not be described in detail here.

[0017] The mounting frame 1 is used to support the testing chamber 2, the testing workbench mechanism 10, and the transmission mechanism 20. The testing chamber 2 is used to place the wafer cassette 4 to be tested, and the material inlet 3 is used to enter and exit the testing chamber 2. The mounting frame 1 and the testing chamber 2 are existing technologies and will not be described in detail here.

[0018] The testing workbench mechanism 10 includes a workbench assembly 11 disposed in the testing chamber 2 for placing the wafer cassette 4, and a workbench lifting assembly 12 disposed on the mounting frame 1 and connected to the workbench assembly 11.

[0019] The workbench assembly 11 includes a workbench body 111 and a locking mechanism 112 disposed on the workbench body. The workbench body 111 is used to place the wafer cassette 4, and the locking mechanism 112 is used to restrict the position of the wafer cassette 4 on the workbench body 111. The workbench body 111 and the locking mechanism 112 are existing technologies and will not be described in detail here.

[0020] The worktable lifting assembly 12 includes a worktable lifting drive device 121 mounted on the mounting frame 1, and a worktable mounting frame 122 mounted on the worktable lifting drive device 121. The worktable mounting frame 122 is connected to the worktable body 111, so that the worktable lifting drive device 121 can drive the worktable mounting frame 122 to lift and lower, thereby realizing automatic detection of the wafer cassette 4 and loading or unloading of the wafer cassette 4.

[0021] When the wafer cassette 4 is installed on the inspection workbench mechanism 10, the workbench lifting assembly 12 lowers the workbench assembly 11 to the bottom of the material inlet 3 of the inspection chamber 2, and the transfer mechanism 20 places the wafer cassette 4 on the workbench assembly 11. After the wafer cassette 4 is placed on the workbench assembly 11 in the inspection workbench mechanism 10, the workbench lifting assembly 12 raises the workbench assembly 11, raising the wafer cassette 4 to the inspection station to realize the inspection of the wafer cassette 4.

[0022] The transmission mechanism 20 includes a transmission lifting assembly 21 disposed on the mounting frame 1, a rotating arm assembly 22 disposed on the transmission lifting assembly 21, and a clamping assembly 23 disposed on the rotating arm assembly 22.

[0023] The transmission lifting assembly 21 includes a transmission lifting drive device 211 mounted on the mounting frame 1 and a lifting platform 212 mounted on the transmission lifting drive device 211. The transmission lifting drive device 211 drives the lifting platform 212 to rise and fall, and the lifting platform 212 is used to mount the rotating arm assembly 22. The transmission lifting drive device 211 and the lifting platform 212 are existing technologies and will not be described in detail here.

[0024] The rotating arm assembly 22 includes a rotation drive device 221 disposed on the transmission and lifting assembly 21, and a rotating arm unit 222 disposed on the rotation drive device 221. The rotation drive device 221 is disposed on the lifting platform 212, and the rotation drive device 221 is used to drive the rotating arm unit 222 to rotate.

[0025] The rotating arm unit 222 includes a plurality of rotating arms 2221 connected end to end in sequence. The rotation drive device 221 can move all the rotating arms 2221, thereby the rotating arm unit 222 drives the clamping assembly 23 to rotate at multiple angles. The rotating arm unit 222 is a prior art and will not be described in detail here.

[0026] The clamping assembly 23 includes a clamping bracket 231 disposed on the rotating arm assembly 22, a clamping device 232 rotatably connected to the clamping bracket 231, and a rotation drive device 233 disposed on the clamping bracket 231 and connected to one end of the clamping device 232.

[0027] The clamping bracket 231 includes a bracket body 2311 disposed on the rotating arm assembly 22, two rotating brackets 2312 rotatably connected to one end of the bracket body 2311, and a mounting plate 2313 disposed on the rotating brackets. The bracket body 2311 is connected to the rotating arm assembly 22, and the rotating arm assembly 22 drives the clamping bracket 231 to rotate, thereby adjusting the angle of the entire clamping assembly 23. The mounting plate 2313 is used to mount the clamping device 232.

[0028] Each of the rotating brackets 2312 is rotatable on the bracket body 2311. The two ends of the mounting plate 2313 are respectively connected to the two rotating brackets 2312. When the rotating brackets 2312 rotate, the mounting plate 2313 rotates synchronously. The bracket body 2311, the rotating brackets 2312, and the mounting plate 2313 are all existing technologies and will not be described in detail here.

[0029] The clamping device 232 includes a rotating connector 2321 rotatably connected to the mounting plate 2313, two sliding jaws 2322 slidably connected to the mounting plate 2313, two connecting rods 2323 respectively connected between the rotating connector 2321 and the sliding jaws 2322, and a clamping drive cylinder 2324 disposed on the mounting plate 2313 and connected to the sliding jaws.

[0030] Both sliding jaws 2322 are symmetrically arranged, and the two connecting rods 2323 are centrally symmetrically connected to both sides of the rotating connector 2321. When the clamping drive cylinder 2324 drives one of the sliding jaws 2322 to slide, the sliding jaw 2322 drives the rotating connector 2321 to rotate during the sliding process. Since the two connecting rods 2323 are centrally symmetrically connected to both sides of the rotating connector 2321, when one of the sliding jaws 2322 slides, the rotating connector 2321 drives the other sliding jaw 2322 to slide, realizing the opening and closing between the two sliding jaws 2322.

[0031] The rotation drive device 233 includes a drive motor 2331 mounted on the support body 2311, an active drive wheel 2332 mounted on the drive motor, a driven drive wheel 2333 mounted on the clamping bracket 231, a transmission wheel 2334 connected to the rotation bracket 2312, and a drive rod 2335 connected between the driven drive wheel and the transmission wheel.

[0032] The drive motor 2331 is used to provide kinetic energy to the entire rotation drive device 233, so as to realize the rotation of the rotation drive device 233. The drive motor 2331 is a prior art and will not be described in detail here.

[0033] The drive motor 2331 drives the active drive wheel 2332 to rotate, and the active drive wheel 2332 meshes with the driven drive wheel 2333, so that the active drive wheel 2332 can drive the driven drive wheel 2333 to rotate. When the drive motor 2331 drives the active drive wheel 2332 to rotate, the active drive wheel 2332 drives the driven drive wheel 2333 to rotate, and the driven drive wheel 2333 drives the drive rod 2335 to move, so that the drive rod 2335 drives the transmission wheel 2334 to rotate, thereby realizing the rotation of the mounting plate 2313, that is, realizing the rotation of the clamping device 232.

[0034] When the transmission mechanism 20 in the fully automatic wafer cassette opening and gripping device transmits the wafer cassette 4 to the inspection workbench mechanism 10, the clamping component 23 in the transmission mechanism 20 clamps the wafer cassette 4. The transmission lifting component 21 and the rotating arm component 22 in the transmission mechanism 20 drive the clamping component 23 to rise and fall, and adjust the angle of the clamping component 23 to place the wafer cassette 4 on the inspection workbench mechanism 10 for inspection.

[0035] When the fully automatic wafer cassette opening and gripping device removes the wafer cassette 4 from the inspection workbench mechanism 10, the rotation drive device 233 in the clamping assembly 23 adjusts the angle of the clamping device 232, and the clamping device 232 clamps the wafer cassette 4 on the inspection workbench mechanism 10. The transmission lifting assembly 21 and the rotating arm assembly 22 in the transmission mechanism 20 drive the clamping assembly 23 to move the wafer cassette 4 out.

[0036] The dust removal mechanism 30 is located on the bottom wall of the testing chamber 2. When the transmission mechanism 20 places the wafer cassette 4 to be tested on the testing workbench mechanism 10, the workbench lifting assembly 12 drives the workbench assembly 11 to slide to one side of the dust removal mechanism 30 to clean the wafer cassette 4 to be tested, so as to ensure the quality of the product.

[0037] Compared with the prior art, the fully automated wafer cassette opening and gripping device provided by the present invention transmits the wafer cassette 4 to the inspection workbench mechanism 10 through the transmission mechanism 20, thereby achieving automatic inspection. The transmission mechanism 20 includes a transmission lifting assembly 21 mounted on the mounting frame 1, a rotating arm assembly 22 mounted on the transmission lifting assembly 21, and a clamping assembly 23 mounted on the rotating arm assembly 22. The transmission lifting assembly 21 and the rotating arm assembly 22 drive the clamping assembly 23 to rise and fall in height and adjust the angle of the clamping assembly 23. The clamping assembly 23 includes a clamping bracket 231 mounted on the rotating arm assembly 22, a clamping device 232 rotatably connected to the clamping bracket 231, and a rotation drive device 233 mounted on the clamping bracket 231 and connected to one end of the clamping device 232. When the transmission mechanism 20 in the fully automatic wafer cassette opening and gripping device transmits the wafer cassette 4 to the inspection workbench mechanism 10, the clamping component 23 in the transmission mechanism 20 clamps the wafer cassette 4. The transmission lifting component 21 and the rotating arm component 22 in the transmission mechanism 20 drive the clamping component 23 to rise and fall, and adjust the angle of the clamping component 23 to place the wafer cassette 4 on the inspection workbench mechanism 10 for inspection. The clamping device 232 includes a rotating connector 2321 rotatably connected to the mounting plate 2313, two sliding jaws 2322 slidably connected to the mounting plate 2313, two connecting rods 2323 respectively connected between the rotating connector 2321 and the sliding jaws 2322, and a clamping drive cylinder 2324 disposed on the mounting plate 2313 and connected to the sliding jaws. When the clamping drive cylinder 2324 drives one of the sliding jaws 2322 to slide, the sliding jaw 2322 drives the rotating connector 2321 to rotate during the sliding process. Since the two connecting rods 2323 are centrally symmetrically connected to both sides of the rotating connector 2321, when one of the sliding jaws 2322 slides, the rotating connector 2321 drives the other sliding jaw 2322 to slide, realizing the opening and closing between the two sliding jaws 2322. It can be seen that the fully automated wafer box opening and gripping equipment has a simple structure and is easy to operate, realizing automatic wafer detection and improving detection efficiency.

[0038] The above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions or improvements within the spirit of the present invention are covered within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A fully automatic wafer cassette opening and gripping device, comprising a mounting frame, a detection chamber disposed on the mounting frame, and at least one feed port disposed on the detection chamber, characterized in that: The fully automated wafer cassette opening and gripping equipment includes an inspection worktable mechanism mounted on the mounting frame, a transfer mechanism mounted on the mounting frame, and a dust removal mechanism located on one side of the inspection worktable mechanism. The inspection worktable mechanism includes a worktable assembly located within the inspection chamber for placing the wafer cassette, and a worktable lifting assembly mounted on the mounting frame and connected to the worktable assembly. The transfer mechanism includes a transfer lifting assembly mounted on the mounting frame, a rotating arm assembly mounted on the transfer lifting assembly, and a clamping assembly mounted on the rotating arm assembly. The clamping assembly includes a clamping mechanism located on the... The rotating arm assembly includes a clamping bracket, a clamping device rotatably connected to the clamping bracket, and a rotation drive device disposed on the clamping bracket and connected to one end of the clamping device. The clamping bracket includes a bracket body disposed on the rotating arm assembly, two rotating brackets rotatably connected to one end of the bracket body, and a mounting plate disposed on the rotating brackets. The clamping device includes a rotating connector rotatably connected to the mounting plate, two sliding jaws slidably connected to the mounting plate, two connecting rods respectively connected between the rotating connector and the sliding jaws, and a device disposed on the mounting plate and connected to the sliding jaws. The clamping drive cylinder, the rotation drive device includes a drive motor mounted on the support body, a drive wheel mounted on the drive motor, a driven wheel mounted on the clamping support, a transmission wheel connected to the rotation support, and a drive rod connected between the driven wheel and the transmission wheel. The dust removal mechanism includes a fan support mounted at the bottom of the detection chamber, and a fan mounted on the fan support. When the drive motor drives the drive wheel to rotate, the drive wheel drives the driven wheel to rotate, and the driven wheel drives the drive rod to move, thereby the drive rod drives the transmission wheel. The rotating wheel enables the mounting plate to rotate, thus rotating the clamping device. When the wafer cassette is installed on the inspection workbench mechanism, the workbench lifting assembly lowers the workbench assembly to the bottom of the material inlet of the inspection chamber. The transfer mechanism places the wafer cassette on the workbench assembly. After the wafer cassette is placed on the workbench assembly in the inspection workbench mechanism, the workbench lifting assembly raises the workbench assembly, raising the wafer cassette to the inspection station for inspection. When the transfer mechanism places the wafer cassette to be inspected on the inspection workbench mechanism, the workbench lifting assembly drives the workbench assembly to slide to the side of the dust removal mechanism.

2. The fully automated wafer cassette opening and gripping device as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The workbench assembly includes a workbench body and a locking mechanism disposed on the workbench body.

3. The fully automated wafer cassette opening and gripping device as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The transmission lifting assembly includes a transmission lifting drive device mounted on the mounting frame and a lifting platform mounted on the transmission lifting drive device.

4. The fully automated wafer cassette opening and gripping device as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The rotating arm assembly includes a rotation drive device disposed on the transmission and lifting assembly, and a rotating arm unit disposed on the rotation drive device.

5. The fully automated wafer cassette opening and gripping device as described in claim 1, characterized in that: Both sliding jaws are symmetrically arranged, and the two connecting rods are centrally symmetrically connected to both sides of the rotating connector.

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