A compatible waffle box loading and unloading device and loading and unloading method thereof

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of loading and unloading of waffle boxes, and in particular to a compatible loading and unloading device for waffle boxes. It comprises a casing, a non-stop operating unit arranged on the outside of the casing, a cache component encapsulated inside the casing, and a material inlet and outlet drive component arranged corresponding to the cache component; the non-stop operating unit has a loading bin and a material taking bin respectively located at the loading station and the material taking station, and the waffle boxes fully loaded with materials are sent to the cache component through the loading bin, and the empty waffle boxes are output through the material taking bin; the material inlet and outlet drive component has a clamping claw that can clamp the waffle box, and the clamping claw clamps the waffle box and moves in and out of the casing under the drive of the pick-and-place driver. The present invention can be compatible with waffle boxes of different specifications, and can also prevent the wafers on the waffle boxes from having different spatial positions in the same station due to the different specifications of the waffle boxes, thereby facilitating the subsequent equipment to perform point-to-point material taking operations on the wafers on the waffle boxes.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of loading and unloading of waffle boxes, and in particular to a compatible waffle box loading and unloading device and a loading and unloading method thereof. Background Art

[0002] Waffle boxes are an important carrier in the semiconductor processing process. Waffle boxes usually come in three different sizes: 2 inches, 4 inches, and 6 inches. Loading and unloading waffle boxes has always been a problem in the semiconductor processing process. The wafer-waffle box picker currently on the market usually has a waffle box motion platform with several waffle boxes fixed on a large platform. The disadvantages of this design are that the waffle box motion platform area is very large; secondly, when unloading, the machine needs to be stopped and the waffle box on top needs to be manually removed; finally, for waffle boxes of different sizes, the fixture that carries the waffle box needs to be replaced.

[0003] In addition to the above method, there is another method in which several waffle boxes are arranged on a track, and the push rod mechanism pushes the waffle boxes forward as a whole. Although this method can realize the loading and unloading of the waffle boxes without stopping the machine, this method causes the position of the suction nozzle to be different each time, and cannot be used for point-to-point wafer sorting equipment. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a compatible waffle box loading and unloading device and a loading and unloading method thereof, so as to solve the problem of low compatibility of the waffle box loading and unloading device in the prior art.

[0005] The technical solution of the present invention is: a compatible waffle box loading and unloading device, comprising a housing, a non-stop operating part arranged outside the housing, a buffer component encapsulated inside the housing, and an inlet and outlet driving component arranged corresponding to the buffer component;

[0006] The non-stop operating part has a loading bin and a retrieving bin respectively located at the loading station and the retrieving station. The waffle boxes fully loaded with materials are sent to the buffer assembly through the loading bin, and the empty waffle boxes are output through the retrieving bin; the feeding and discharging drive assembly has a clamping claw that can clamp the waffle box, and the clamping claw clamps the waffle box and moves in and out of the casing under the drive of the pick-and-place driver.

[0007] Preferably, the feed and discharge drive assembly and the buffer assembly both have a pair of connecting ends for accommodating the waffle box, and are respectively provided with a first adjustment mechanism and a second adjustment mechanism, and are respectively used to drive a pair of clamping ends to move synchronously toward or away from a fixed spatial coordinate point.

[0008] Preferably, the connection end of the feed-in and feed-out drive assembly is constructed as a pair of clamps, and a pair of the clamps are slidably arranged on the feed-in and feed-out bottom plate;

[0009] The first adjustment mechanism includes a first variable pitch driver and a first forward and reverse threaded variable pitch lead screw. Both ends of the first forward and reverse threaded variable pitch lead screw are respectively threadedly connected to a pair of clamps, and the first variable pitch driver drives the pair of clamps to move closer to or farther from each other.

[0010] Preferably, any of the clamps includes a pick-and-place drive and a clamp body, the clamp claws are slidably arranged on the clamp body, and a pair of the clamp claws can move along the length direction of the clamp body under the drive of the pick-and-place drive, and the clamp claw driver drives the clamp claws to clamp the waffle box, thereby taking the waffle box out of or putting it into the cache assembly.

[0011] Preferably, a linkage device is connected between the pair of clamping jaws, and the linkage device includes a linkage slider and a pair of linkage guide rails, and one end of the pair of linkage guide rails is respectively fixed to a pair of clamping jaws and then slidably cooperates with the linkage slider along the movement direction of the clamp;

[0012] The pick-and-place driver is connected to any one of the clamping jaws and enables a pair of clamping jaws to move synchronously under the action of the linkage device.

[0013] Preferably, a moving platform is also provided, and the feed and discharge drive assembly is slidably connected to the moving platform and can move along a horizontal plane.

[0014] Preferably, the non-stop operation part further comprises a storage bin bottom plate arranged outside the casing, and the upper bin and the material taking bin are both fixed on the storage bin bottom plate in the vertical direction; the upper bin and the material taking bin are both composed of a plurality of positioning ribs, and the positioning ribs constituting the material taking bin are provided with a non-return device to prevent the waffle boxes contained therein from falling downwards;

[0015] A plurality of pin holes are arranged on the storage bin bottom plate, and any of the positioning ribs is fixed to the storage bin bottom plate via a pin shaft penetrating the pin holes, and the spacing between adjacent positioning ribs is adjusted by cooperating with different pin holes.

[0016] Preferably, the connecting end of the cache assembly is constructed as two groups of cache rails arranged in parallel corresponding to the loading bin and the unloading bin respectively, and the second adjustment mechanism includes a second variable pitch drive and a second positive and negative thread variable pitch screw, and any group of cache rails are threadedly matched with the two ends of the second positive and negative thread variable pitch screw, and are moved closer to or away from each other under the drive of the second variable pitch drive.

[0017] Preferably, the cache component also includes a lifting mechanism arranged corresponding to the loading bin and the retrieving bin, the lifting mechanism has a lifting plate and a lifting drive, and the lifting plate, driven by the lifting drive, enters the corresponding loading bin or the retrieving bin to take out or put in the waffle box.

[0018] A method for loading and unloading a compatible waffle box comprises the following steps:

[0019] Step 1: The operator adjusts the loading bin and the unloading bin located outside the casing, and connects the positioning ribs thereof to the different pin holes on the bottom plate of the storage bin, so that the spacing between adjacent positioning ribs corresponds to the size of the waffle box, and then places the waffle box into the loading bin;

[0020] Step 2: The lifting mechanism on the cache assembly moves to receive the waffle box in the upper bin and put it into the cache track; at the same time, the corresponding cache track is adjusted to a spacing adapted to the size of the waffle box under the drive of the second adjustment mechanism, and the waffle box is loaded;

[0021] Step 3, the first adjustment mechanism adjusts a pair of clamps to a spacing that adapts to the size of the waffle box, the clamping claws on the clamps extend into the cache assembly under the drive of the pick-and-place driver, and the clamping claws are driven by the clamping claw driver to clamp the waffle box on the cache track; then, the pick-and-place driver drives the clamping claws to take the waffle box out of the cache track, so that subsequent equipment can take out the wafers carried in the waffle box for processing;

[0022] Step 4: The motion platform drives the feed and discharge drive assembly to move, so that the clamp corresponds to the cache track of the corresponding material bin, and the clamp continues to put the empty waffle box into the cache track of the corresponding material bin. The lifting mechanism lifts the empty waffle box on the cache track into the material bin for the operator to recover from the outside of the casing.

[0023] Compared with the prior art, the advantages of the present invention are:

[0024] (1) The first adjustment mechanism and the second adjustment mechanism are provided, so that the present invention is compatible with waffle boxes of different specifications without the need to replace different fixtures.

[0025] (2) The first adjustment mechanism and the second adjustment mechanism enable the present invention to be compatible with waffle boxes of different specifications, and also enable the center points of waffle boxes of different specifications to maintain the same running path during the transportation process. That is, the wafers on the waffle boxes will not have different spatial positions in the same workstation due to the different specifications of the waffle boxes, thereby facilitating the subsequent equipment to perform point-to-point material removal operations on the wafers on the waffle boxes.

[0026] (3) The present invention arranges the loading bin and the unloading bin for storing the waffle boxes on the outside of the casing, so that the operator can complete the loading and unloading operations of the waffle boxes while the present invention is working, realizing non-stop operation. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments:

[0028] Figure 1 This is a structural diagram of a compatible waffle box loading and unloading device according to the present invention without the casing;

[0029] Figure 2 It is an assembly diagram of the non-stop operation unit and cache component of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 3 This is a structural diagram of the cache component of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 4 This is a structural diagram of the feed and discharge drive assembly of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 5 This is a structural diagram of a compatible waffle box loading and unloading device according to the present invention;

[0033] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the supporting device of the present invention;

[0034] Among them: 1. housing, 2. non-stop operation unit, 21. loading bin, 22. material taking bin, 23. storage bin bottom plate, 24. supporting device, 3. cache assembly, 31. cache track, 32. second adjustment mechanism, 321. second variable pitch driver, 322. second positive and negative thread variable pitch screw, 33. lifting mechanism, 331. lifting plate, 332. lifting driver, 4. feeding and discharging drive assembly, 41. motion platform, 42. fixture, 421. pick-and-place driver. 422. fixture body, 423. clamping claw, 43. first adjustment mechanism, 431. first variable pitch driver, 432. first positive and negative thread variable pitch screw, 44. linkage device, 441. linkage slider, 442. linkage guide rail. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] The present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with specific embodiments:

[0036] A compatible waffle box loading and unloading device is used to clamp the waffle box so that an external device can accurately take out the wafers in the waffle box, and then recycle and store the empty waffle box.

[0037] like Figure 1 and Figure 5 As shown, it includes a housing 1, a non-stop operating unit 2, a buffer component 3 arranged below the non-stop operating unit 2, and a feed-in and feed-out driving component 4 arranged corresponding to the buffer component 3. Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the waffle boxes full of materials are sent to the buffer assembly 3 through the loading bin 21 in the non-stop operation unit 2, and the empty waffle boxes are output through the taking bin 22. Figure 4 As shown, the material inlet and outlet drive assembly 4 has a clamping claw 423 that can clamp the waffle box. The clamping claw 423 clamps the waffle box and moves in and out of the housing 1 under the drive of the pick-and-place driver 421 .

[0038] Specifically, the non-stop operation unit 2 is arranged outside the housing 1, allowing the operator to operate directly. Figure 2 As shown, both the loading bin 21 and the taking bin 22 are formed by four positioning ribs fixed to the storage bin bottom plate 23. Among them, the four positioning ribs constituting the taking bin 22 are provided with a non-return device, which allows the waffle box to enter from the bottom of the taking bin 22 and move upward, but cannot fall down. The non-return device can be an inverted triangle buckle. And, as Figure 6 As shown, a supporting device 24 is provided at the bottom end of the upper bin 21, and the supporting device 24 has an actuating end that can move in the horizontal direction. There are gaps on both sides of the stacked waffle boxes, and the actuating end of the supporting device 24 can be inserted into the gaps, thereby supporting the waffle box above the actuating end and causing the waffle box below the actuating end to fall. In this embodiment, the supporting device 24 adopts a set of cylinders arranged opposite to each other.

[0039] In order to accommodate waffle boxes of different sizes, the present application provides a plurality of pin holes on the storage bin bottom plate 23, and any positioning ribs are fixed to the storage bin bottom plate 23 by pin shafts passing through the pin holes, and the spacing between adjacent positioning ribs is adjusted by cooperating with different pin holes.

[0040] In addition, if Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the cache component 3 and the feed-in / out drive component 4 are also provided with a first adjustment mechanism 43 and a second adjustment mechanism 32, respectively, for adjusting the distance between the connection ends of the cache component 3 and the feed-in / out drive component 4 that are in contact with the waffle box, respectively, so that the present application can be compatible with waffle boxes of different sizes. Moreover, the spatial position of the midpoint of the connection line between the two connection ends in contact with the waffle box by the feed-in / out drive component 4 still needs to be kept unchanged before and after adjustment, so that subsequent equipment can position the wafers carried in the waffle box. Similarly, the connection end of the cache component 3 must also meet this requirement to facilitate the clamping of the waffle box by the feed-in / out drive component 4.

[0041] To this end, this application adopts the following settings:

[0042] like Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the connection end of the cache assembly 3 is constructed to include four cache rails 31 arranged in parallel corresponding to the upper bin 21 and the take-out bin 22, and the four cache rails 31 are divided into a group in pairs. The cross section of any cache rail 31 perpendicular to the length direction is set to an L-shaped structure, and the L-shaped cross sections of the cache rails 31 in the same group are symmetrically arranged for carrying waffle boxes. A second adjustment mechanism 32 is connected between the cache rails 31 in any group to change the spacing between adjacent cache rails 31, so that the cache rails 31 can carry waffle boxes of different sizes.

[0043] The second adjustment mechanism 32 includes a second variable pitch driver 321 and a second forward and reverse threaded variable pitch screw 322 . Any pair of cache rails 31 are threadedly matched with the second forward and reverse threaded variable pitch screw 322 at both ends, and are driven by the second variable pitch driver 321 to move closer to or farther from each other.

[0044] like Figure 4 As shown, a motion platform 41 is connected to the bottom of the feed-in and feed-out drive assembly 4, and the motion platform 41 can carry the feed-in and feed-out drive assembly 4 to move along a horizontal plane. The connection end of the feed-in and feed-out drive assembly 4 is constructed as a pair of clamps 42, and a pair of the clamps 42 are slidably arranged on the feed-in and feed-out bottom plate. Any clamp 42 includes a pick-and-place driver 421 and a clamp body 422, and a clamp jaw 423 is slidably arranged on the clamp body 422. The pair of clamp jaws 423 can move along the length direction of the clamp body 422 under the drive of the pick-and-place driver 421. The first adjustment mechanism 43 includes a first variable pitch driver 431 and a first forward and reverse threaded variable pitch screw 432. The two ends of the first forward and reverse threaded variable pitch screw 432 are respectively threadedly connected to a pair of clamps 42, and the pair of clamps 42 are driven to move closer or farther from each other under the drive of the first variable pitch driver 431.

[0045] A linkage device 44 is connected between the pair of clamps 423, and the linkage device 44 includes a linkage slider 441 and a pair of linkage guide rails 442. One end of the pair of linkage guide rails 442 is fixed to the pair of clamps 423 respectively, and then slides with the linkage slider 441 along the moving direction of the clamp 42. The pick-and-place driver 421 is connected to any clamp 423, and under the action of the linkage device 44, the pair of clamps 423 move synchronously.

[0046] The driver of the clamp 423 drives the clamp 423 to clamp the waffle box, thereby taking the waffle box out of the cache track 31 set in the corresponding material bin in the cache component 3, and after the external device picks up the wafer in the waffle box, puts it into the cache track 31 set in the corresponding material bin 22.

[0047] like Figure 3 As shown, the cache assembly 3 is provided with a pair of lifting mechanisms 33 corresponding to the upper bin and the material taking bin 22, and the lifting mechanism 33 includes a lifting plate 331 and a lifting driver 332. The lifting plate 331 corresponding to the upper bin is driven by the lifting driver 332 to enter the upper bin, cooperate with the supporting device 24, receive the waffle box at the bottom stored in the upper bin and put it into the cache track 31 below the upper bin. The lifting plate 331 corresponding to the material taking bin 22 is driven by the lifting driver 332 to lift the empty waffle box placed by the feeding and discharging driving assembly 4 on the cache track 31 below the material taking bin 22 into the material taking bin 22.

[0048] When working:

[0049] Step 1: The operator adjusts the loading bin 21 and the unloading bin 22 located outside the housing 1, and connects their positioning ribs to the different pin holes on the storage bin bottom plate 23, so that the spacing between adjacent positioning ribs corresponds to the size of the waffle box, and then puts the waffle box into the loading bin;

[0050] Step 2: The lifting mechanism 33 on the buffer assembly 3 moves, cooperates with the supporting device 24, receives the waffle box at the bottom of the upper bin and puts it into the buffer track 31. At the same time, the corresponding buffer track 31 is driven by the second adjustment mechanism 32 to adjust the spacing to adapt to the size of the waffle box, and the waffle box is loaded.

[0051] Step 3: The first adjustment mechanism 43 adjusts the pair of clamps 42 to a spacing that is adapted to the size of the waffle box. The clamping claws 423 on the clamping claws 42 are extended into the cache assembly 3 by the pick-and-place driver 421, and the clamping claws 423 are driven by the pick-and-place driver 421 to clamp the waffle box on the cache track 31. Subsequently, the pick-and-place driver 421 drives the clamping claws 423 to take the waffle box out of the cache track 31, so that subsequent equipment can take out the wafers carried in the waffle box for processing;

[0052] Step 4: The motion platform 41 drives the feed and discharge drive assembly 4 to move, so that the clamp 423 corresponds to the cache track 31 of the corresponding material bin 22, and the clamp 423 continues to put the empty waffle box into the cache track 31 of the corresponding material bin 22. The lifting mechanism 33 lifts the empty waffle box on the cache track 31 into the material bin 22 for the operator to recover from the outside of the casing 1.

[0053] The above embodiments are only for illustrating the technical concept and features of the present invention, and their purpose is to enable people familiar with this technology to understand the content of the present invention and implement it accordingly, and they cannot be used to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, it is obvious that the present invention is not limited to the details of the above exemplary embodiments, and the present invention can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or basic features of the present invention. Therefore, no matter from which point of view, the embodiments should be regarded as exemplary and non-restrictive. The scope of the present invention is limited by the attached claims rather than the above description, and it is intended to include all changes within the meaning and scope of the equivalent elements of the claims in the present invention.

Claims

1. A compatible waffle box loading and unloading device, characterized in that: It comprises a casing (1), a non-stop operating unit (2) arranged outside the casing (1), a buffer component (3) encapsulated inside the casing (1), and a material inlet and outlet drive component (4) arranged corresponding to the buffer component (3); The non-stop operation part (2) comprises a loading bin (21) and a taking bin (22) respectively located at a loading station and a taking station, wherein a waffle box fully loaded with materials is fed into the buffer assembly (3) via the loading bin (21), and an empty waffle box is output via the taking bin (22); the in-and-out drive assembly (4) comprises a clamping claw (423) capable of clamping a waffle box, wherein the clamping claw (423) clamps the waffle box and moves in and out of the housing (1) under the drive of the taking and placing drive (421); The inlet and outlet drive assembly (4) and the buffer assembly (3) both have a pair of connection ends for accommodating the waffle box, and are respectively provided with a first adjustment mechanism (43) and a second adjustment mechanism (32), and are respectively used to drive a pair of clamping ends to move synchronously towards or away from a fixed spatial coordinate point; The first adjustment mechanism (43) comprises a first variable pitch driver (431) and a first forward and reverse threaded variable pitch screw (432); the first forward and reverse threaded variable pitch screw (432) has two ends respectively threadedly connected to a pair of clamps (42), and driven by the first variable pitch driver (431), the pair of clamps (42) are driven to move closer to or farther from each other; The second adjustment mechanism (32) comprises a second variable pitch driver (321) and a second forward and reverse threaded variable pitch screw (322); the connection end of the cache assembly (3) is constructed as two groups of cache rails (31) arranged in parallel corresponding to the loading bin (21) and the unloading bin (22); the two ends of the second forward and reverse threaded variable pitch screw (322) are threadedly matched with each other in any group of cache rails (31), and are moved closer to or farther away from each other under the drive of the second variable pitch driver (321).

2. A compatible waffle box loading and unloading device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Any of the clamps (42) comprises a pick-and-place driver (421) and a clamp body (422), wherein the clamping claws (423) are slidably arranged on the clamp body (422), and a pair of the clamping claws (423) can move along the length direction of the clamp body (422) under the drive of the pick-and-place driver (421), and the clamping claws (423) driver drives the clamping claws (423) to clamp the waffle box, thereby taking the waffle box out of or putting it in the buffer assembly (3).

3. A compatible waffle box loading and unloading device according to claim 2, characterized in that: A linkage device (44) is connected between the pair of clamping jaws (423), and the linkage device (44) comprises a linkage slider (441) and a pair of linkage guide rails (442). One end of the pair of linkage guide rails (442) is respectively fixed to the pair of clamping jaws (423) and then slides with the linkage slider (441) along the movement direction of the clamp (42); The pick-and-place driver (421) is connected to any one of the clamping jaws (423), and enables a pair of clamping jaws (423) to move synchronously under the action of the linkage device (44).

4. A compatible waffle box loading and unloading device according to claim 3, characterized in that: A moving platform (41) is also provided, and the material inlet and outlet drive assembly (4) is slidably connected to the moving platform (41) and is capable of moving along a horizontal plane.

5. A compatible waffle box loading and unloading device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The non-stop operation part (2) further comprises a storage bin bottom plate (23) arranged outside the casing (1), and the upper bin (21) and the material taking bin (22) are both fixed on the storage bin bottom plate (23) in the vertical direction; the upper bin (21) and the material taking bin (22) are both composed of a plurality of positioning ribs, and the positioning ribs constituting the material taking bin (22) are provided with a non-return device to prevent the waffle boxes contained therein from falling downwards; A plurality of pin holes are provided on the storage bin bottom plate (23); any of the positioning ribs is fixed to the storage bin bottom plate (23) via a pin shaft penetrating the pin hole; and the spacing between adjacent positioning ribs is adjusted by matching different pin holes.

6. A compatible waffle box loading and unloading device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The cache component (3) further comprises a lifting mechanism (33) provided corresponding to the loading bin and the retrieving bin (22), wherein the lifting mechanism (33) comprises a lifting plate (331) and a lifting driver (332), and the lifting plate (331) is driven by the lifting driver (332) to enter the corresponding loading bin or the retrieving bin (22) to take out or put in the waffle box.

7. A method for loading and unloading a compatible waffle box, using a compatible waffle box loading and unloading device as claimed in claim 5 or 6, characterized in that: The steps include: Step 1: The operator adjusts the loading bin (21) and the unloading bin (22) located outside the housing (1), and connects the positioning ribs thereof to the different pin holes on the storage bin bottom plate (23) so that the spacing between adjacent positioning ribs corresponds to the size of the waffle box, and then places the waffle box into the loading bin; Step 2: The lifting mechanism (33) on the buffer assembly (3) moves to receive the waffle box in the upper bin and place it into the buffer track (31); at the same time, the corresponding buffer track (31) is adjusted to a spacing adapted to the size of the waffle box under the drive of the second adjustment mechanism (32), and the waffle box is loaded; Step 3, the first adjustment mechanism (43) adjusts a pair of clamps (42) to a spacing that is adapted to the size of the waffle box, the clamping claw (423) on the clamping claw (42) is driven by the pick-and-place driver (421) to extend into the cache assembly (3), and the clamping claw (423) driver drives the clamping claw (423) to clamp the waffle box on the cache track (31); then, the pick-and-place driver (421) drives the clamping claw (423) to take the waffle box out of the cache track (31), so that subsequent equipment can take out the wafers carried in the waffle box for processing; Step 4: The motion platform (41) drives the feed-in and feed-out drive assembly (4) to move, so that the clamp (423) corresponds to the cache track (31) of the corresponding material bin (22), and the clamp (423) continues to place the empty waffle box on the cache track (31) of the corresponding material bin (22). The lifting mechanism (33) lifts the empty waffle box on the cache track (31) into the material bin (22) for the operator to recover from the outside of the casing (1).

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