A chip and carrier pick-and-place robot

Abstract

The present invention relates to the technical field of chip loading and unloading, and specifically to a chip and carrier picking and placing robot, comprising a frame, a carrier loading and unloading mechanism installed on the top inner wall of the frame, a recyclable combined carrier placed inside the carrier loading and unloading mechanism, one side outer wall of the bottom of the frame is fixedly connected to a base, one side outer wall of the top of the base is fixedly connected to a mounting frame, the other side outer wall of the top of the base is fixedly connected to a mounting seat, the top outer wall of the mounting seat is installed with a robot body, and one side outer wall of the top of the mounting frame is provided with a chip loading and unloading platform; the present invention has low maintenance cost, avoids the problem that when the robot arm needs to cover a larger working space, the increase in the length of the arm will lead to a decrease in the accuracy of the end effector, especially when moving at high speed, a small range of movement will reduce the risk of collision with the surrounding environment, ensure the safety of the structure, and improve the use efficiency of the chip picking and placing robot.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of wafer loading and unloading, in particular to a wafer and carrier picking and placing robot. Background Art

[0002] Semiconductor equipment often needs to disassemble tools to load and unload wafers, and requires robots to load and unload wafers. Most wafer-specific robots are used to load and place wafers. Wafer-specific robots play a vital role in semiconductor equipment. They significantly improve the efficiency and quality of wafer loading and unloading by using robotic technology, fast response, low maintenance cost, high efficiency, strong adaptability, high safety and high integration, and are an indispensable part of modern semiconductor manufacturing.

[0003] Most existing chip picking and placing robots operate at a single station. Multiple robots are required in the processes of chip picking, loading, placing, picking, unloading, placing, etc., which will limit production efficiency and flexibility. When the robot arm needs to cover a larger working space, it may encounter stability problems. This is mainly because the increase in arm length will lead to a decrease in the accuracy of the end effector, especially at high-speed movement. Large-scale movements may also increase the risk of collision with the surrounding environment, thereby affecting safety and reducing the efficiency of the chip picking and placing robot. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a chip and carrier picking and placing robot to solve the problems raised in the above background technology. The same robot body can operate in two or more stations, and can realize the processes of chip picking, loading, and placing as well as picking, unloading, and placing.

[0005] The top outer wall of the mounting bracket is fixed with a base, and the top outer wall of the mounting bracket is fixed with a mounting bracket, and the other outer wall of the mounting bracket is fixed with a mounting seat. The top outer wall of the mounting seat is fixed with a mounting seat, and the top outer wall of the mounting seat is fixed with a mounting seat. The manipulator body is installed on the top outer wall of the mounting bracket at one side of the top of the mounting bracket. A wafer unloading platform is provided, and the other outer wall of the top of the mounting bracket is provided with a wafer loading platform. The top outer walls of the wafer loading platform and the wafer unloading platform are both provided with a plurality of guide positioning seats. The head of the manipulator body is installed with a fork arm, and a plurality of vacuum suction cups are installed on the top outer wall of the fork arm. The four corner outer walls of the top of the mounting bracket are installed with a rotating downward pressure cylinder, and a telescopic cylinder is installed on the outer wall of one side of the top of the mounting bracket, and a CCD camera is installed on one end of the piston rod of the telescopic cylinder.

[0006] Preferably, the wafer loading platform and the wafer unloading platform are adapted to the size of the fork arm, the vacuum suction cups are distributed in a linear array, and the vacuum suction cups are made of anti-static silicone material.

[0007] Preferably, the fork arm is made of industrial aluminum alloy, the CCD camera is adapted to the position of the wafer loading platform, and the spacing of the guide positioning seats is adapted to the size of the fork arm.

[0008] Preferably, the outer walls of the bottom ends of the frame and the base are both installed with a plurality of pulleys and supporting feet, and the bottoms of the supporting feet are bonded with anti-slip pads.

[0009] A wafer picked up and placed by any of the above-mentioned wafer picking and placing robots comprises a wafer body, wherein the wafer body is adapted to the sizes of a fork arm, a vacuum suction cup, a wafer loading platform and a wafer unloading platform.

[0010] The present invention provides a wafer and carrier pick-and-place robot through improvements, which has the following improvements and advantages compared to the prior art:

[0011] First, the present invention provides a frame, a carrier loading and unloading mechanism, a combined carrier, a robot body, and a mounting frame. The robot body is more flexible and can realize the operation of multiple workstations. It has a small operating space and low maintenance costs. It avoids the problem that when the robot arm needs to cover a large working space, the increase in arm length will lead to a decrease in the accuracy of the end effector. In particular, during high-speed movement, the small-scale movement will reduce the risk of collision with the surrounding environment, ensure structural safety, and improve the efficiency of the wafer pick-and-place robot.

[0012] Secondly, the present invention is provided with a rotary downward pressure cylinder. Through the correction method of the rotary downward pressure cylinder, the rotary downward pressure cylinder can not only realize the precise placement and correction of the chip, but also because of its compact structure and simple operation, it is very suitable for use in automated production lines, especially in situations where space is limited or high operating accuracy is required, further reducing maintenance costs and improving structural safety performance.

[0013] Third: The present invention is provided with a fork arm and a vacuum suction cup. The robot body raises the fork arm, and the vacuum suction cup sucks the chip body. At the same time, the combined carrier is opened. After the robot body is raised again, the fork arm is controlled to rotate to send the chip body into the combined carrier, and exchanged with the vacuum suction cup of the carrier loading and unloading mechanism. After docking, the vacuum suction cup disconnects and releases the chip body. The loading and unloading mechanism places the chip in the combined carrier. The vacuum suction cup adsorbs the chip body with higher stability, thereby improving the robot's picking and placing efficiency.

[0014] Fourthly: The present invention is provided with a carrier loading and unloading mechanism and a combined carrier. The rotating fork arm of the robot body retracts under the chip body and returns to the origin to wait for the material position. The carrier loading and unloading mechanism closes the combined carrier. The carrier loading and unloading mechanism can achieve long-term stable operation, reduce downtime, and improve production efficiency, thereby playing a key role in the automated production line and increasing the service life of the structure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] The present invention will be further explained below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and examples:

[0016] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 2 This is a front view of the rack connection structure of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 3 The present invention Figure 2 A magnified schematic diagram of the structure in the middle;

[0019] Figure 4 It is an exploded schematic diagram of the combined carrier connection structure of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the base connection structure of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the connection structure of the manipulator body of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of the fork arm connection structure of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of the connection structure of the mounting frame of the present invention.

[0024] Description of reference numerals:

[0025] 1. Frame; 2. Carrier loading and unloading mechanism; 3. Combined carrier; 4. Robot body; 5. Wafer body; 6. Fork arm; 7. Vacuum suction cup; 8. CCD camera; 9. Rotary downward pressure cylinder; 10. Telescopic cylinder; 11. Wafer loading platform; 12. Guide positioning seat; 13. Mounting frame; 14. Base; 15. Pulley; 16. Support foot; 17. Wafer unloading platform; 18. Mounting seat. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The present invention is described in detail below, clearly and completely describing the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the embodiments described are only some embodiments of the present invention, not all embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field based on the embodiments of the present invention without making any creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0027] The present invention provides a wafer and carrier pick-and-place robot through improvement. The technical solution of the present invention is:

[0028] like Figures 1-8 As shown, a wafer pick-and-place robot comprises a frame 1, characterized in that: a carrier loading and unloading mechanism 2 is installed on the top inner wall of the frame 1, a recyclable combined carrier 3 is placed inside the carrier loading and unloading mechanism 2, one side outer wall of the bottom of the frame 1 is fixedly connected to a base 14, one side outer wall of the top of the base 14 is fixedly connected to a mounting frame 13, the other side outer wall of the top of the base 14 is fixedly connected to a mounting seat 18, a robot body 4 is installed on the top outer wall of the mounting seat 18, and a wafer is provided on one side outer wall of the top of the mounting frame 13. The unloading platform 17 and the outer wall on the other side of the top of the mounting frame 13 are provided with a chip loading platform 11, and the outer walls of the top of the chip loading platform 11 and the chip unloading platform 17 are provided with several guide positioning seats 12. The head of the manipulator body 4 is installed with a fork arm 6, and the outer wall of the top of the fork arm 6 is installed with several vacuum suction cups 7. The outer walls of the four corners of the top of the mounting frame 13 are installed with a rotating downward pressure cylinder 9, and the outer wall of one side of the top of the mounting frame 13 is installed with a telescopic cylinder 10, and a CCD camera 8 is installed at one end of the piston rod of the telescopic cylinder 10.

[0029] Furthermore, the chip loading platform 11 and the chip unloading platform 17 are adapted to the size of the fork arm 6, and the vacuum suction cups 7 are distributed in a linear array. The vacuum suction cups 7 are made of anti-static silicone material to ensure that they can fit tightly to the chip surface to prevent damage to the chip during transportation. In order to better adapt to the shape and size of the chip, the vacuum suction cups 7 may be designed to be round, square or other special shapes.

[0030] Furthermore, the fork arm 6 is made of industrial aluminum alloy, the CCD camera 8 is adapted to the position of the chip loading platform 11, the spacing of the guide positioning seat 12 is adapted to the size of the fork arm 6, and the bottom outer walls of the frame 1 and the base 14 are installed with multiple pulleys 15 and support feet 16. The bottom of the support feet 16 is bonded with anti-slip pads. The rotating downward pressure cylinder 9 usually has a precise angle positioning function, which can ensure that the chip reaches the correct direction when placed. The manipulator body 4 has good positioning accuracy and repeatability, ensuring that the fork arm 6 can accurately align the position of the chip so that the vacuum suction cup 7 can accurately adsorb the chip. There are a total of more than a dozen combined carriers 3, which can be recycled and enter and exit the carrier loading and unloading mechanism 2 in sequence.

[0031] A wafer picked up and placed by any of the above-mentioned wafer picking and placing robots comprises a wafer body 5 , the dimensions of which are adapted to those of the fork arm 6 , the vacuum chuck 7 , the wafer loading platform 11 and the wafer unloading platform 17 .

[0032] Working principle: Loading: The chip body 5 is placed on the guide positioning seat 12 of the chip loading platform 11, the rotary downward pressure cylinder 9 retracts to correct and flatten the chip 5, the telescopic cylinder 10 extends, and the CCD camera 8 takes pictures and reads the code on the chip body 5, the telescopic cylinder 10 retracts, and the rotary downward pressure cylinder 9 resets, the robot body 4 controls the fork arm 6 to rotate and extend under the chip body 5, the robot body 4 raises the fork arm 6, the vacuum suction cup 7 sucks the chip body 5, and the combination carrier 3 opens at the same time. After the robot body 4 is raised again, it controls the fork arm 6 to rotate and send the chip body 5 into the combination carrier 3, and exchanges with the carrier loading and unloading mechanism 2. After docking, the vacuum suction cup 7 disconnects and releases the chip body 5, the fork arm 6 descends, and rotates with the robot body 4 to the origin to wait for the material position, and the carrier loading and unloading mechanism 2 places the chip body 5 on the lower plate of the combination carrier 3, and the combination carrier 3 is closed.

[0033] Unloading: The carrier loading and unloading mechanism 2 opens the combined carrier 3 and lifts up the chip body 5. The robot body 4 rotates and extends the fork arm 6 to exchange with the vacuum suction cup on the carrier loading and unloading mechanism 2, raises the fork arm 6, and controls the vacuum suction cup 7 to suck the chip body 5. The robot body 4 rotates the fork arm 6 and retracts it. The robot body 4 rotates and sends the chip body 5 to the chip unloading platform 17. After the vacuum suction cup 7 is disconnected, the fork arm 6 descends. The robot body 4 rotates the fork arm 6 and retracts it under the chip body, returns to the origin and waits for the material position. The carrier loading and unloading mechanism 2 closes the combined carrier 3.

[0034] The technical means disclosed in the solution of the present invention are not limited to the technical means disclosed in the above technical means, but also include technical solutions composed of equivalent replacements of the above technical features. Matters not covered in the present invention belong to the common knowledge of those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A wafer handling robot, comprising a frame (1), characterized in that: The wafer comprises a wafer body (5), a carrier loading and unloading mechanism (2) is installed on the top inner wall of the frame (1), a recyclable combined carrier (3) is placed inside the carrier loading and unloading mechanism (2), a base (14) is fixedly connected to one side outer wall of the bottom of the frame (1), a mounting frame (13) is fixedly connected to one side outer wall of the top of the base (14), a mounting seat (18) is fixedly connected to the other side outer wall of the top of the base (14), a manipulator body (4) is installed on the top outer wall of the mounting frame (13), a wafer unloading platform (17) is provided on one side outer wall of the top of the mounting frame (13), a wafer loading platform (11) is provided on the other side outer wall of the top of the mounting frame (13), a plurality of guide positioning seats (12) are provided on the top outer walls of the wafer loading platform (11) and the wafer unloading platform (17), a fork arm (6) is installed on the head of the manipulator body (4), The top outer wall of the fork arm (6) is equipped with a plurality of vacuum suction cups (7), the four corner outer walls of the top of the mounting frame (13) are equipped with rotating downward pressure cylinders (9), the outer wall of one side of the top of the mounting frame (13) is equipped with a telescopic cylinder (10), one end of the piston rod of the telescopic cylinder (10) is equipped with a CCD camera (8), the chip loading platform (11) and the chip unloading platform (17) are adapted to the size of the fork arm (6), the position of the CCD camera (8) and the chip loading platform (11), the spacing of the guide positioning seat (12) is adapted to the size of the fork arm (6), the chip body (5) is adapted to the size of the fork arm (6), the vacuum suction cup (7), the chip loading platform (11) and the chip unloading platform (17), when loading, the chip body (5) is placed on the guide positioning seat (12) of the chip loading platform (11), and the rotating downward pressure cylinder (9) is retracted to correct and flatten the chip body (5).

2. A wafer handling robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vacuum suction cups (7) are all distributed in a linear array, and the vacuum suction cups (7) are made of anti-static silica gel.

3. The wafer handling robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The fork arm (6) is made of industrial aluminum alloy.

4. The wafer handling robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outer walls of the bottom ends of the frame (1) and the base (14) are both installed with a plurality of pulleys (15) and supporting feet (16), and the bottoms of the supporting feet (16) are bonded with anti-slip pads.

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