Workpiece holding device

Abstract

Provided is a workpiece holding device capable of holding a workpiece with sufficient adhesive force and capable of separating the workpiece without applying a load to the held workpiece. A workpiece holding device using a self-adhesive adhesion holder is provided with: a flexible belt-shaped base material having an adhesion holding part to which the adhesion holder is mounted; a moving roller having a roller surface; and a load receiving plate that supports, from below, at least a portion of the strip-shaped base material on which the workpiece is held by the adhesion holding portion, the strip-shaped base material being wound and hung on the roller surface of the moving roller such that the adhesion holding portion is positioned on the outside, (I) the adhesion holding portion of the strip-shaped base material can be made flat to hold the workpiece, and the adhesion holding portion of the strip-shaped base material can be made flat to hold the workpiece. And (II) the adhesion holding part of the band-shaped base material can be bent along the roller surface of the moving roller to peel the workpiece, and when the workpiece is held by the adhesion holding surface, the bending of the band-shaped base material due to the weight of the workpiece is prevented by the load receiving plate.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a workpiece holding device using a self-adhesive adhesive holding member, and more particularly to a workpiece holding device capable of holding even a relatively heavy workpiece and capable of removing the held workpiece without applying a load thereto. Background Art

[0002] When conveying or picking up various workpieces such as semiconductor wafers and glass substrates, a vacuum chuck that holds the workpiece by vacuum suction force or an electrostatic chuck that holds the workpiece by electrostatic suction force is used.

[0003] However, vacuum chucks cannot be used in decompression devices, and thin and fragile workpieces may leave vacuum marks or damage the workpieces depending on the situation. On the other hand, electrostatic chucks may not be able to adsorb depending on the material of the workpiece or require high voltage to increase the adsorption force. Therefore, various general methods that do not require the type of workpiece to be selected and are not easily restricted by equipment have been studied instead.

[0004] For example, the following device has been proposed: while an adhesive tape having adhesiveness wound on a supply roller is wound up by a winding roller, an unused adhesive tape having strong adhesiveness is constantly supplied, thereby utilizing two adhesive tapes to adhere a workpiece through their adhesive surfaces, thereby holding the workpiece, and then, a pushing pin pushes the gap between the two adhesive tapes from above to push the held workpiece downward, thereby peeling the workpiece (see patent document 1).

[0005] In addition, the following electronic component transfer head is proposed: the electronic component (workpiece) is adhered by pushing the adhesive surface of the adhesive tape from above with a pushing block, and then the pushing block is raised while holding the electronic component. At this time, the peripheral edge of the electronic component is brought into contact with the guide member to prevent the electronic component itself from rising, thereby peeling off the electronic component (see patent document 2).

[0006] In addition, the following picking device is proposed: while supplying adhesive tape between the supply side belt rack and the recovery side belt rack, the workpiece is adsorbed, and after the workpiece is adhered, an exciting rotor located above the adhesion area and having an eccentric cam is moved up and down to shake off the workpiece and peel off the workpiece (refer to patent document 3).

[0007] On the other hand, the following device has been proposed: a holding mechanism having an adhesive coating coated with an adhesive holds a workpiece, and then, when releasing the workpiece, the holding mechanism is bent and the workpiece is separated from the adhesive coating at the same time by inflating a plurality of air cavities located above the holding mechanism and capable of being expanded by air (see patent document 4).

[0008] In addition, a workpiece conveying device has been proposed in which a self-adhesive layer is laminated on the surface of an endless belt and a driving roller and a driven roller are used to form a belt conveyor, thereby conveying a workpiece adhered and held by the adhesive layer (see Patent Document 5).

[0009] Prior art literature

[0010] Patent Literature

[0011] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-190287

[0012] Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-85896

[0013] Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-176289

[0014] Patent Document 4: Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-509953

[0015] Patent Document 5: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2014-162571 Summary of the invention

[0016] Problems to be solved by the invention

[0017] When the workpiece is held by the adhesive tape having adhesiveness as described above, it is necessary to exert a sufficient holding force on the workpiece, but at the same time, how to separate the held workpiece becomes important.

[0018] For example, when using a structure in which an adhesive is applied to a base material such as cellophane as an adhesive tape, if the adhesive surface with respect to the workpiece is ensured as much as possible, the holding force (adhesion force) with respect to the workpiece can be improved.

[0019] However, in order to peel it off, various designs as described in the above-mentioned Patent Documents 1 to 3 are required, and in this case, a large load is applied to the workpiece.

[0020] On the other hand, unlike adhesive tape coated with an adhesive, the force required to peel off the workpiece can be smaller by adhering and holding the workpiece with a self-adhesive layer as described in Patent Document 5, or by using a material such as a partially cross-linked silicone resin listed in Patent Document 4 (paragraph 0033 of the specification).

[0021] However, if the adhesive force is small, the workpieces that can be held are limited accordingly. In particular, depending on the weight of the workpiece, the adhesive holding surface to which the workpiece is attached may bend or twist, causing the workpiece to fall. Therefore, it is a matter of balance between increasing the adhesive holding force of the workpiece and being able to separate the workpiece without applying a load to the workpiece as much as possible.

[0022] Therefore, the inventors have conducted in-depth research on a solution that can reliably hold the workpiece and separate the workpiece without applying a load to the workpiece. As a result, they found the following situation and completed the present invention: a flexible strip substrate equipped with a self-adhesive adhesive retaining member is hung around a movable roller, and when holding the workpiece, the strip substrate is supported by a load receiving plate, and the adhesive retaining portion of the strip substrate equipped with the adhesive retaining member is made into a flat adhesive retaining surface to adhere and hold the workpiece, and when separating the workpiece, the adhesive retaining portion of the strip substrate is bent along the roller surface of the movable roller, thereby solving the above-mentioned problem.

[0023] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a workpiece holding device capable of holding a workpiece with a sufficient adhesive force and capable of separating the workpiece without applying a load to the held workpiece.

[0024] Solutions to Solve Problems

[0025] That is, the present invention is a workpiece holding device using an adhesive holding member having self-adhesiveness, characterized in that:

[0026] The workpiece holding device comprises: a flexible strip-shaped substrate having an adhesive holding portion on which the adhesive holding member is mounted; a moving roller having a roller surface; and a load receiving plate supporting from below at least a portion of the strip-shaped substrate on which the workpiece is held by the adhesive holding portion.

[0027] The strip-shaped substrate is hung on the roller surface of the moving roller in a manner such that the adhesive holding portion is located on the outside. By the movement of the moving roller, (I) the adhesive holding portion of the strip-shaped substrate can be made into a flat adhesive holding surface so that the workpiece can be held, and (II) the adhesive holding portion of the strip-shaped substrate can be bent along the roller surface of the moving roller so that the workpiece can be peeled off.

[0028] Furthermore, when the workpiece is held by the adhesive holding surface, the load receiving plate prevents the belt-shaped base material from being bent due to the weight of the workpiece.

[0029] Furthermore, in the present invention, preferably, in the work holding device, an adhesive member having adhesiveness may be interposed between the load receiving plate and the belt-shaped base material.

[0030] In the present invention, the tape-shaped substrate is wound around the roller surface of the moving roller while the adhesive holding portion is located on the outside, thereby achieving the holding and separation (peeling) of the workpiece. Specifically, by moving the moving roller to change the state (shape) of the tape-shaped substrate, (I) the adhesive holding portion of the tape-shaped substrate can be made into a flat adhesive holding surface to hold the workpiece, and (II) the adhesive holding portion of the tape-shaped substrate can be bent along the roller surface of the moving roller to peel the workpiece.

[0031] The specific structure of the device forming such a workpiece holding device is not particularly limited, but the following embodiments can be preferably exemplified.

[0032] That is, as a first embodiment, the following workpiece holding device can be cited as an example:

[0033] The workpiece holding device comprises:

[0034] a flexible tape-shaped substrate (first tape-shaped substrate) having an adhesive holding portion provided with a self-adhesive adhesive holding member;

[0035] a load receiving plate that supports from below at least a portion of the first strip-shaped substrate on which the workpiece is held by the adhesive holding portion;

[0036] a telescopic device having a telescopic rod, wherein the rod has a movable roller having a roller surface at a front end; and

[0037] The box-shaped frame has a storage chamber for storing the first strip-shaped substrate and the telescopic device, and the lower part is open.

[0038] The first strip-shaped substrate is hung around the roller surface of the moving roller in the telescopic device in such a manner that the adhesion holding portion is located on the outside, and one end of the first strip-shaped substrate is fixed, and the other end of the first strip-shaped substrate is installed to be stretchable via a stretching elastic member, (i-1) the moving roller is pushed out by extending the rod of the telescopic device, so that the adhesion holding portion of the first strip-shaped substrate becomes a flat adhesion holding surface so that the workpiece can be held, (ii-1) the moving roller is pulled back by contracting the rod of the telescopic device, so that the adhesion holding portion of the first strip-shaped substrate is bent along the roller surface of the moving roller, so that the workpiece can be peeled off,

[0039] The load receiving plate includes an opening hole for exposing the adhesive holding material when the workpiece is held by the adhesive holding portion of the first strip-shaped base material, and closes the lower portion of the box-shaped frame.

[0040] In the workpiece holding device of the first embodiment, a telescopic device having a telescopic rod with a moving roller at the front end is used. The above-mentioned first strip-shaped substrate is hung around the moving roller of the telescopic device and stored in the storage chamber of the box-shaped frame, one end of the first strip-shaped substrate is fixed, and the other end is installed to be able to stretch via a stretching elastic member. At this time, the first strip-shaped substrate hung around the moving roller is in a state where the adhesion holding portion is located outside and the adhesion holding portion is bent along the roller surface of the moving roller. In addition, at this time, the rod of the telescopic device remains in a contracted state, and this state becomes a stable position.

[0041] Furthermore, (i-1) the rod of the telescopic device is extended to push out the moving roller, so that the adhesion holding portion of the first strip-shaped substrate becomes a flat adhesion holding surface in a manner parallel to the pushing direction of the moving roller, and the workpiece can be held. At this time, the stretching elastic member installed at one end of the first strip-shaped substrate is in a stretched state. Then, (ii-1) the rod of the telescopic device is contracted to pull back the moving roller, so that the relative position of the first strip-shaped substrate and the moving roller becomes a stable position, and the adhesion holding portion of the first strip-shaped substrate returns to a state of bending along the roller surface of the moving roller, so that the workpiece held by adhesion can be peeled off.

[0042] Here, as the flexible first strip substrate, as long as the adhesion retaining portion of the strip substrate can become an adhesion retaining surface parallel to the pushing direction of the rod or the adhesion retaining portion of the strip substrate can be bent along the roller surface of the moving roller along with the movement of the moving roller as described above (i-1) and (ii-1), the material thereof is not particularly limited, but for example, a resin substrate (resin film) or a metal substrate can be used, and a substrate made of paper or cloth can also be used.

[0043] In addition, the adhesive retainer has self-adhesive properties. Unlike a structure formed by coating an adhesive on a substrate such as cellophane, such as an adhesive tape, the adhesive retainer itself has adhesive properties (self-adhesive properties). Therefore, in the case of an adhesive tape, if it is peeled off from an object (workpiece) after being attached, the adhesive force of the adhesive decreases and it cannot be reused. However, if it is an adhesive retainer with self-adhesive properties, the workpiece can be repeatedly held and peeled off. At this time, further reuse can be achieved by cleaning the surface.

[0044] As such a self-adhesive adhesive retainer, preferably, there can be mentioned silicone rubber, ethylene-propylene-diene rubber (EPDM), butyl rubber, fluorine resin, polyurethane resin, acrylic resin and the like. Among them, preferably, a material capable of exerting van der Waals force, which is a kind of intermolecular force, at the interface with the workpiece to be adhered and retained.

[0045] In addition, there is no particular limitation on the tensile elastic member installed at one end of the first strip-shaped substrate as long as it can withstand the tensile load from the first strip-shaped substrate as the moving roller in (i-1) above moves. Examples include a tensile spring (tensile coil spring) and rubber.

[0046] On the other hand, the telescopic device has a telescopic rod with a moving roller at the front end, and can perform the above-mentioned actions (i-1) and (ii-1). In constituting such a telescopic device, for example, a cylinder device having a piston rod telescopically supported on a cylinder body, or an electric actuator with a ball screw mounted on a stepping motor, etc., can be used. Moreover, the moving roller provided at the front end of these rods such as the piston rod or the ball screw only needs to have a roller surface around which the first strip-shaped substrate is hung, and the moving roller itself can be rotated during the above-mentioned actions (i-1) and (ii-1), or it can be moved in a sliding manner on the first strip-shaped substrate without rotating.

[0047] In addition, the load receiving plate supports the first strip-shaped substrate holding the workpiece through the adhesive holding surface from below. When the workpiece is adhesively held by the adhesive holding surface of the first strip-shaped substrate in the above-mentioned state (i-1), although the degree varies depending on the type and size of the workpiece, the first strip-shaped substrate is bent due to the weight of the workpiece. Therefore, in the workpiece holding device of the first embodiment, when the workpiece is held by the adhesive holding surface of the first strip-shaped substrate, a prescribed opening hole is provided to expose the adhesive holding member, and the lower part of the open box-shaped frame is blocked by the load receiving plate. Thus, the adhesive holding member forming the adhesive holding surface protrudes from the opening hole to adhesively hold the workpiece, and at the same time, the bending of the first strip-shaped substrate is prevented. In addition, in the present invention, the bottom refers to the bottom in the vertical direction relative to the ground in the state where the workpiece holding device is provided, and the top refers to the top in the vertical direction.

[0048] In addition, in the workpiece holding device of the first embodiment, an adhesive member having adhesiveness may be sandwiched between the load receiving plate and the first strip-shaped substrate. Thus, deformations such as deflection or warping of the first strip-shaped substrate when the workpiece is held by the adhesive holding surface can be suppressed. The adhesive member may be arranged on the load receiving plate side or on the first strip-shaped substrate side. In addition, for the same reason, an adhesive substrate may be used as the first strip-shaped substrate instead of arranging an adhesive member between the load receiving plate and the first strip-shaped substrate. In this case, an adhesive holding member is also arranged on the first strip-shaped substrate to form an adhesive holding portion.

[0049] Next, as a second embodiment, the following workpiece holding device can be cited as an example:

[0050] The workpiece holding device comprises:

[0051] a flexible second strip-shaped substrate having at least two adhesive retaining portions provided with adhesive retaining members;

[0052] A moving roller device, comprising two moving rollers, each of which has a roller shaft capable of parallel movement in a frame having a guide rail and a roller surface, each roller shaft being supported at both ends of the frame via a tensile elastic member so that the moving rollers are separated from each other in the frame;

[0053] A lifting device, which is vertically arranged in the moving roller device and has a fixing fixture that can be lifted and lowered along the lifting shaft; and

[0054] a load receiving plate that supports from below at least a portion of the strip-shaped substrate on which the workpiece is held by the adhesive holding portion,

[0055] The second strip-shaped substrate is hung around the roller surfaces of two moving rollers in the moving roller device in such a manner that the adhesive holding portion is located on the outside, and both ends of the second strip-shaped substrate are respectively fixed to the fixing clamps of the lifting device, (i-2) when the two moving rollers of the moving roller device are separated from each other, two adhesive holding surfaces with flush adhesive holding portions are formed so that the workpiece can be held, (ii-2) by raising the fixing clamp of the lifting device along the lifting shaft so that the two moving rollers of the moving roller device are brought closer to each other, the two adhesive holding portions are bent along the roller surfaces of each moving roller, and the workpiece can be peeled off,

[0056] Furthermore, the load receiving plate includes an opening hole for exposing the adhesive holding material when the workpiece is held by the two adhesive holding portions of the second strip-shaped base material, and closes the lower portion of the frame.

[0057] In the workpiece holding device of the second embodiment, a moving roller device having two moving rollers in a frame having a guide rail and a lifting device having a fixing fixture that is erected in the moving roller device and can be lifted and lowered along a lifting shaft are used to hang the second strip-shaped substrate around the two moving rollers of the moving roller device. At this time, the second strip-shaped substrate has at least two adhesion holding portions equipped with adhesion holding members, and these adhesion holding portions are located on the outside, and the two ends of the second strip-shaped substrate are respectively fixed to the fixing fixture of the lifting device. In addition, in the moving roller device, each roller shaft is supported at the two ends of the frame via a tensile elastic member so that the two moving rollers are separated from each other, and the second strip-shaped substrate hung around these moving rollers forms an adhesion holding surface in which the two adhesion holding portions are flush with each other in the area formed by the moving rollers separated from each other, and this state becomes a stable position.

[0058] That is, the above-mentioned stable position corresponds to (i-2) a state in which the two moving rollers of the moving roller device are separated from each other to form two adhesive holding surfaces with flush adhesive holding portions, so that the workpiece can be held. At this time, the fixed fixture of the lifting device is lowered below the lifting shaft. Moreover, (ii-2) by raising the fixed fixture of the lifting device along the lifting shaft, the two moving rollers of the moving roller device approach each other, and the two adhesive holding portions in the second strip-shaped substrate are bent along the roller surfaces of each moving roller, so that the workpiece can be peeled off.

[0059] Here, there is no particular limitation on the tensile elastic member used in the moving roller device as long as it can withstand the tensile load that is stretched when the moving rollers approach each other as the fixing fixture in the lifting device rises, and the same structure as that described in the first embodiment can be cited. In addition, the moving roller can be moved in parallel along the guide rail of the frame as long as it has a roller surface and a roller axis. In this case, the moving roller itself can be rotated in the above-mentioned actions (i-2) and (ii-2), or it can be moved in a sliding manner in the frame without rotating.

[0060] In addition, the lifting device is erected in the moving roller device and has a fixing fixture that can be lifted and lowered along the lifting shaft, and can perform the above-mentioned actions (i-2) and (ii-2). For such a lifting device, the structure described in the telescopic device in the first embodiment is the same. For example, a cylinder device having a piston rod telescopically supported on a cylinder body, or an electric actuator using a ball screw mounted on a stepping motor, etc., which are well-known devices, can be used.

[0061] Furthermore, in the workpiece holding device of the second embodiment, the same structure as that described in the first embodiment can be used for the flexible second belt-shaped base material and the adhesive holding tool.

[0062] In addition, as in the first embodiment, with respect to the load receiving plate, a second strip substrate holding a workpiece via an adhesive holding surface is supported from below, a prescribed opening hole is provided so that when the workpiece is held via the adhesive holding surface of the second strip substrate, an adhesive holding member having at least two adhesive holding portions is exposed, and the opening at the bottom of the frame is blocked by the load receiving plate.

[0063] In addition, in the workpiece holding device of the second embodiment, for the same reason as in the case of the first embodiment, an adhesive member having adhesiveness may be interposed between the load receiving plate and the second strip-shaped substrate, and an adhesive substrate may be used as the second strip-shaped substrate instead of providing an adhesive member between the load receiving plate and the second strip-shaped substrate. In this case, an adhesive holding member is additionally provided on the second strip-shaped substrate to form two adhesive holding portions.

[0064] There is no particular limitation on the workpiece to be adhered and held in the workpiece holding device of the present invention as long as it can be adhered and held by a self-adhesive adhesive holding member. For example, workpieces made of various materials such as metal materials such as aluminum or stainless steel and resin films, such as semiconductor wafers and glass substrates, can be cited. In addition, materials, components (parts), etc. used in the manufacturing process can also be adhered and held as workpieces.

[0065] Effects of the Invention

[0066] According to the present invention, the workpiece can be held with sufficient adhesion, and the workpiece can be separated without applying a load to the held workpiece. Therefore, for example, even a relatively heavy workpiece can be held without causing it to fall, and even a relatively thin and weak workpiece can be separated without causing damage or breaking the workpiece.

[0067] Furthermore, the workpiece holding device of the present invention is a device that uses the van der Waals force on the surface to adhere and hold the workpiece, and therefore has a universal structure regardless of the type or shape of the workpiece, and is not particularly restricted by equipment. Therefore, it can be applied to a wide range of uses, for example, it can be used as a workpiece conveying device for conveying various workpieces or as a part of a robot arm for picking up workpieces. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0068] Figure 1 1 is a diagram showing a workpiece holding device X1 according to a first embodiment. Figure 1 (a) is a three-dimensional illustration from above. Figure 1 (b) is a stereoscopic illustration from below.

[0069] Figure 2 (i-1) is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram of the workpiece holding device X1 in a state where the rod of the telescopic device is extended to push out the movable roller ( Figure 1 A-A section).

[0070] Figure 3 is Figure 2 A top view illustrating the situation inside the storage chamber with the cover of the box-shaped frame removed.

[0071] Figure 4 This figure shows the state when the adhesive holding member in the first strip-shaped base material forms an adhesive holding surface in relation to the opening hole of the load receiving plate.

[0072] Figure 5 (ii-1) is a cross-sectional illustration of the workpiece holding device X1 in a state where the rod of the telescopic device is retracted to pull back the movable roller ( Figure 1 A-A section).

[0073] Figure 6 is Figure 5 A top view illustrating the situation inside the storage chamber with the cover of the box-shaped frame removed.

[0074] Figure 7 (a) is a schematic diagram showing a case where (i-1) the adhesive holding portion of the tape-shaped substrate is made into a flat adhesive holding surface, Figure 7 (b) is a schematic explanatory diagram showing a state in which (ii-1) the adhesion holding portion of the strip-shaped substrate is bent along the roller surface of the moving roller.

[0075] Figure 8 (i-2) This is a front view explanatory diagram of the workpiece holding device X2 in a state where two moving rollers of the moving roller device are separated from each other.

[0076] Fig. 9 yes Figure 8 A longitudinal sectional view illustrating the workpiece holding device X2 in the state.

[0077] Fig.10 This figure shows the state when the adhesive holding member in the second strip-shaped base material forms an adhesive holding surface in relation to the opening hole of the load receiving plate.

[0078] Fig.11 (ii-2) This is a front view explanatory diagram of the workpiece holding device X2 in a state where two moving rollers of the moving roller device are brought close to each other.

[0079] Fig.12 yes Fig.11 A longitudinal sectional view illustrating the workpiece holding device X2 in the state.

[0080] Fig.13 (a) is a schematic diagram showing a situation where two moving rollers of the moving roller device (i-2) are separated from each other. Fig.13 (b) is a schematic explanatory diagram showing a situation in which (ii-2) the fixing fixture of the lifting device is raised to bring the two moving rollers of the moving roller device closer to each other. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0081] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail using the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to these contents.

[0082] [Workpiece holding device X1 according to first embodiment]

[0083] First, regarding the workpiece holding device of the first embodiment, Figure 1 2 shows a workpiece holding device X1 as an example thereof. Figure 1 (a) is a three-dimensional illustration from above. Figure 1(b) is a three-dimensional illustration from below. In the workpiece holding device X1, a telescopic device 1 having a movable roller is housed in a box-shaped frame 4, and the movable roller is hung with a first strip-shaped substrate in a manner that the adhesive holding portion is located on the outside. The box-shaped frame 4 is composed of a frame body 2 with an upper and lower portion open respectively, and a cover body 3 blocking the upper portion thereof, thereby forming a storage chamber for storing the telescopic device 1 and the first strip-shaped substrate. In addition, the lower portion of the frame body 2 is blocked by a load receiving plate 5 made of stainless steel with a thickness of 1 mm, and the load receiving plate 5 has an opening hole 5a so that the adhesive holding member 6 with a thickness of 2 mm and self-adhesive and installed on the first strip-shaped substrate described later is exposed.

[0084] In addition, in the workpiece holding device X1, a support plate 8 is installed at the end of the ball guide (linear guide) 7 that assists the extension and retraction of the rod of the extension and retraction device 1. In addition, a sensor for identifying the origin position of the rod is installed on the box-shaped frame 4 through a mounting fixture 9, and a power supply and signal supply connector for the sensor and the stepping motor described later is installed via a mounting fitting 10.

[0085] Here, if Figure 2 Cross-sectional view ( Figure 1 A-A section) and Figure 3 As shown in the top view (top view with the cover 3 of the box-shaped frame 4 removed), the telescopic device 1 in the workpiece holding device X1 is formed by a screw (rod) 12 installed in a stepping motor 11, and a movable roller 14 is installed at the front end of the screw 12 via a roller mounting fixture 13. The roller mounting fixture 13 has a roller shaft 15, and the movable roller 14 can rotate.

[0086] In addition, the first belt-shaped base material 16 hung on the roller surface 14a of the moving roller 14 is formed of a PET film of width 48mm×length 111mm×thickness 25μm in this example, and one end thereof is fixed to the lower opening side of the frame body 2 via a plate material by a screw 17. On the other hand, a tension spring 19 is connected to the other end via a plate material 18, and the other end of the tension spring 19 is attached to the support plate 8.

[0087] In addition, on the PET film forming the first strip-shaped substrate 16, adhesive retainers 6 with a width of 5 mm × a length of 11 mm × a thickness of 2 mm are adhered by an acrylic adhesive in a manner that 5 × 2 rows, a total of 10 adhesive retainers 6 are arranged at a gap of 4 mm from each other, thereby forming an adhesive retaining portion. In addition, on the load receiving plate 5, corresponding to the adhesive retaining portion, opening holes 5a with a width of 7 mm × a length of 13 mm are provided in 5 × 2 rows. Furthermore, on the load receiving plate 5, an adhesive member 20 with a thickness of 100 μm and a window frame shape of 2 mm in width is adhered by an acrylic adhesive in a manner that surrounds these opening holes 5a. Here, in Figure 4, the state where the adhesion holding member 6 in the first strip-shaped base material 16 forms an adhesion holding surface is shown in relation to the opening hole 5 a of the load receiving plate 5 .

[0088] For the workpiece holding device X1, in the above Figure 2 , Figure 3 In FIG. 1 , (i-1) the screw 12 of the stepping motor 11 constituting the telescopic device is extended to push the moving roller 14 forward. As a result, the first strip-shaped substrate 16 is extended on the lower side of the frame body 2, and the adhesive retaining member 6 forming the adhesive retaining portion of the first strip-shaped substrate 16 parallel to the pushing direction of the moving roller 14 forms a flat adhesive retaining surface. Figure 7 In (a), this state is schematically shown, and the adhesive holder 6 is in a state of protruding from the opening hole 5a of the load receiving plate 5, and is in contact with the workpiece W, so that the upper surface of the workpiece W can be held by the adhesive holder 6 forming the adhesive holding surface. In addition, when the workpiece W is actually held, the first belt-shaped substrate 16 composed of the PET film can be prevented from being bent due to the dead weight of the workpiece W due to the presence of the load receiving plate 5 made of stainless steel. In addition, by sandwiching the adhesive member 20 between the load receiving plate 5 and the first belt-shaped substrate 16, even if the workpiece W is transported in a state where it is held, the movement or deformation of the first belt-shaped substrate 16 can be reliably suppressed. In particular, when the workpiece holding device X1 is tilted from the vertical direction, since a force other than the vertical direction acts on the first belt-shaped substrate 16, the movement or deformation of the first belt-shaped substrate 16 can be reliably suppressed.

[0089] On the other hand, Figure 5 Cross-sectional view (with Figure 2 The same is true for Figure 6 Top view (with Figure 3 ), the situation (ii-1) is shown in which the screw 12 installed in the stepping motor 11 constituting the telescopic device is contracted to pull the moving roller 14 back to the stable position. As a result, the adhesive retainer 6 forming the adhesive retaining portion of the first strip-shaped substrate 16 is bent along the roller surface 14a of the moving roller 14, so that the adhesive retainer 6 no longer protrudes from the opening hole 5a of the load receiving plate 5, and the abutment of the adhesive retainer 6 relative to the workpiece is released, and the workpiece W that is adhered and retained in the state of (i-1) is separated (peeled off) from the adhesive retaining portion. A diagram schematically showing this state is Figure 7 (b). It can be seen from this that when the adhesive retainer 6 is bent along the roller surface 14a of the moving roller 14, the load receiving plate 5 exists between the workpiece W and the workpiece W, so that the workpiece W can be separated without applying force to the workpiece W from the outside, or the workpiece W can be dropped and peeled off (separated) under the action of its own weight. Figure 5 and Figure 6, a state in which the cover 21 is attached to a part of the workpiece holding device X1 is shown.

[0090] [Workpiece holding device X2 according to the second embodiment]

[0091] Next, regarding the workpiece holding device of the second embodiment, Figure 8 and Fig. 9 A workpiece holding device X2 is shown as an example thereof. Figure 8 This is the main view from the front. Fig. 9 The workpiece holding device X2 includes a moving roller device 33 and a lifting device 37. The moving roller device 33 includes two moving rollers 32 in a frame 31, and the lifting device 37 includes a fixing fixture 36 that can be lifted and lowered along a screw (lifting shaft) 35 installed in a stepping motor 34 by contraction. In addition, four metal pillars 38 are erected at the four corners of the frame 31 in the moving roller device 33, and a top plate 39 is installed on the front end side.

[0092] Here, for the moving roller device 33, the frame 31 has a guide rail 40, and the roller shaft 41 of each moving roller 32 can move in parallel along the guide rail 40. In addition, tension springs 42 are respectively installed at both ends of the roller shaft 41 in these moving rollers 32, and the other end of each tension spring 42 is connected to the end of the frame 31. As a result, the two moving rollers 32 are separated from each other in the frame 31. In addition, the lifting device 36 is provided in the center of the moving roller device 33, and two linear guides 43 are provided in parallel with the screw 35, thereby assisting the lifting and lowering of the fixing clamp 36.

[0093] In addition, a flexible second belt-shaped substrate 44 made of PET film with a width of 49 mm × a length of 149 mm × a thickness of 25 μm is hung around the moving roller 32 in the moving roller device 33, and both ends of the second belt-shaped substrate 44 are fixed to the fixing clamp 36 of the lifting device 37 via guide rollers 46. The second belt-shaped substrate 44 made of PET film has two adhesive retaining parts equipped with self-adhesive adhesive retaining parts 45 with a thickness of 2 mm, and the lower part of the frame 31 is blocked by a load receiving plate 47 made of stainless steel with a thickness of 1 mm. The load receiving plate 47 has an opening hole to expose the adhesive retaining parts 45 of the second belt-shaped substrate 44. Figure 8 and Fig. 9 In the embodiment, the fixing clamp 36 of the lifting device 37 is lowered, and the moving rollers 32 are located in a stable position in a state of being separated from each other, so that the adhesion holding members 45 in the two adhesion holding portions form adhesion holding surfaces flush with each other between these moving rollers 32. In addition, the workpiece holding device X2 can be covered by a covering member 48.

[0094] exist Fig.10, the state when the adhesive holding member 45 in the second strip-shaped substrate 44 forms an adhesive holding surface is shown in relation to the opening hole 47a of the load receiving plate 47. That is, two adhesive holding portions are arranged in parallel with a distance of 34 mm from each other on the PET film forming the second strip-shaped substrate 44, and each adhesive holding portion is adhered with an acrylic adhesive in such a manner that five adhesive holding members 45 with a width of 5 mm, a length of 6.5 mm, and a thickness of 2 mm are arranged one above the other with a gap of 5.5 mm. In addition, five opening holes 47a with a width of 7 mm and a length of 8.5 mm are arranged in correspondence with these adhesive holding portions on the load receiving plate 47.

[0095] For the workpiece holding device X2, in the above Figure 8 , Fig. 9 In the (i-2) moving roller device 33, the two moving rollers 32 are separated from each other, and the fixing clamp 36 of the lifting device 37 is lowered, forming an adhesive holding surface in which the two adhesive holding portions in the second strip substrate 44 are flush, which can abut against the workpiece W to hold the workpiece W. Fig.13 In (a), this state is schematically shown, and the upper surface of the workpiece W can be held by the adhesive holding member 45 forming the adhesive holding surface. In addition, when the workpiece W is actually held, the second strip-shaped base material 44 composed of the PET film can be prevented from being bent due to the weight of the workpiece W due to the presence of the load receiving plate 47 made of stainless steel.

[0096] On the other hand, Fig.11 The main view and Fig.12 The longitudinal sectional view of shows the state (ii-2) in which the fixing clamp 36 of the lifting device 37 is raised along the lifting shaft to bring the two moving rollers 32 of the moving roller device 33 closer to each other. As a result, the adhesive retaining members 45 of the two adhesive retaining portions forming the second strip-shaped substrate 44 are bent along the roller surface 32a of the moving roller 32 to release the contact with the workpiece, so that the workpiece W that is adhered and retained in the state (i-2) is separated (peeled off) from the adhesive retaining portion. A diagram schematically showing this state is Fig.13 (b). It can be seen from this that when the adhesive retaining member 45 is bent along the roller surface 32a of the movable roller 32, since there is a load receiving plate 47 between the workpiece W, the workpiece W can be separated without applying force to the workpiece W from the outside, or the workpiece W can be dropped and peeled off (separated) under the action of its own weight.

[0097] [Experimental example]

[0098] The workpiece holding device X1 of the first embodiment described above was installed on a multi-joint robot capable of up and down movement, and the following evaluation experiment was conducted. In addition, the workpiece holding device X1 was in the following state: (i-1) the screw 12 installed in the stepping motor 11 was extended to push the moving roller 14 forward, the adhesion holding portion of the first strip substrate 16 formed a flat adhesion holding surface, and the adhesion holding member 6 protruded from the opening hole 5a of the load receiving plate 5.

[0099] First, place an acrylic block weighing 122g (50mm×130mm×16mm in height: workpiece W1) on the stage, lower the workpiece holding device X1 from the vertical direction, and push the adhesive holding surface onto the workpiece W1. Then, lift the workpiece W1 in the vertical direction and let it stand for 5 minutes in the lifted state to confirm whether the workpiece W1 has fallen. Instead of workpiece W1, a glass plate weighing 174g (70mm×125mm×8mm in height: workpiece W2) and an aluminum block weighing 380g with a polyimide film attached to the surface (97mm×140mm×10mm in height: workpiece W3) were also confirmed to be dropped. In addition, for comparison and reference, the load receiving plate 5 of the workpiece holding device X1 was removed, and the above-mentioned evaluation experiment was performed on workpieces W1 to W3. The results are shown in Table 1.

[0100]

Table 1

[0101]

[0102] As shown in Table 1, in the case of the comparative reference workpiece holding device with the load receiving plate 5 removed, although the lightest workpiece W1 could be adhered and held for 5 minutes, the workpiece W2 fell off during the process, and the workpiece W3 could not be lifted from the mounting table even though it could be adhered to the adhesion holding surface and floated. In contrast, in the case of the workpiece holding device X1 of the present invention, all the workpieces W1 to W3 could be lifted and adhered and held without falling off during the process.

[0103] As described above, according to the present invention, a workpiece can be held with sufficient adhesion, and a workpiece can be separated without applying a load to the held workpiece. Furthermore, the workpiece holding device of the present invention is a device that uses the van der Waals force of the surface to adhere and hold the workpiece, and therefore has a universal structure regardless of the type or shape of the workpiece, and can be applied to a wide range of uses. For example, in addition to being used as a workpiece conveying device for conveying various workpieces, it can also be used as a part of a robot arm for picking up a workpiece or for fixing a workpiece, etc.

[0104] Description of Reference Numerals

[0105] 1: telescopic device, 2: frame body, 3: cover body, 4: box-shaped frame, 5: load receiving plate, 6: adhesive retainer, 7: ball guide, 8: support plate, 9: mounting fixture, 10: mounting accessories, 11: stepping motor, 12: ball screw, 13: roller mounting fixture, 14: moving roller, 15: roller shaft, 16: first strip substrate, 17: screw, 18: plate, 19: tension spring, 20: adhesive member , 21: Covering member, 31: Frame, 32: Moving roller, 33: Moving roller device, 34: Direct acting motor, 35: Ball screw, 36: Fixing fixture, 37: Lifting device, 38: Metal support, 39: Top plate, 40: Guide rail, 41: Roller, 42: Tension spring, 43: Linear guide, 44: Second strip substrate, 45: Adhesion retaining member, 46: Guide roller, 47: Load receiving plate, 48: Covering member.

Claims

1. A workpiece holding device, the workpiece holding device using a self-adhesive adhesive holding member, characterized in that: The workpiece holding device comprises: a flexible strip-shaped substrate having an adhesive holding portion on which the adhesive holding member is mounted; a moving roller having a roller surface; and a load receiving plate supporting from below at least a portion of the strip-shaped substrate on which the workpiece is held by the adhesive holding portion. The strip-shaped substrate is hung on the roller surface of the moving roller in a manner such that the adhesive holding portion is located on the outside. By the movement of the moving roller, (I) the adhesive holding portion of the strip-shaped substrate can be made into a flat adhesive holding surface so that the workpiece can be held, and (II) the adhesive holding portion of the strip-shaped substrate can be bent along the roller surface of the moving roller so that the workpiece can be peeled off. Furthermore, when the workpiece is held by the adhesive holding surface, the load receiving plate prevents the belt-shaped base material from being bent due to the weight of the workpiece.

2. The workpiece holding device according to claim 1, characterized in that: An adhesive member having adhesive properties is interposed between the load receiving plate and the strip-shaped base material.

3. The workpiece holding device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The workpiece holding device comprises: The strip-shaped substrate; The load receiving plate; a telescopic device having a telescopic rod, wherein the rod has a movable roller having a roller surface at a front end; and The box-shaped frame has a storage chamber for storing the strip-shaped substrate and the telescopic device, and the lower part is open. The strip-shaped substrate is hung around the roller surface of the moving roller in the telescopic device in such a manner that the adhesive holding portion is located on the outside, and one end of the strip-shaped substrate is fixed, and the other end of the strip-shaped substrate is installed to be stretchable via a tensile elastic member, (i-1) the moving roller is pushed out by extending the rod of the telescopic device, so that the adhesive holding portion of the strip-shaped substrate becomes a flat adhesive holding surface so that the workpiece can be held, (ii-1) the moving roller is pulled back by contracting the rod of the telescopic device, so that the adhesive holding portion of the strip-shaped substrate is bent along the roller surface of the moving roller, so that the workpiece can be peeled off, The load receiving plate includes an opening hole for exposing the adhesive holding material when the workpiece is held by the adhesive holding portion of the strip-shaped base material, and closes the lower portion of the box-shaped frame.

4. The workpiece holding device according to claim 3, characterized in that: An adhesive member having adhesive properties is interposed between the load receiving plate and the strip-shaped base material.

5. The workpiece holding device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The workpiece holding device comprises: a flexible second strip-shaped substrate having at least two adhesive retaining portions provided with adhesive retaining members; A moving roller device, comprising two moving rollers, each of which has a roller shaft capable of parallel movement in a frame having a guide rail and a roller surface, each roller shaft being supported at both ends of the frame via a tensile elastic member so that the moving rollers are separated from each other in the frame; A lifting device, which is vertically arranged in the moving roller device and has a fixing fixture that can be lifted and lowered along the lifting shaft; and The load receiving plate, The second strip-shaped substrate is hung around the roller surfaces of two moving rollers in the moving roller device in such a manner that the adhesive holding portion is located on the outside, and both ends of the second strip-shaped substrate are respectively fixed to the fixing clamps of the lifting device, (i-2) when the two moving rollers of the moving roller device are separated from each other, two adhesive holding surfaces with flush adhesive holding portions are formed so that the workpiece can be held, (ii-2) by raising the fixing clamp of the lifting device along the lifting shaft so that the two moving rollers of the moving roller device are brought closer to each other, the two adhesive holding portions are bent along the roller surfaces of each moving roller, and the workpiece can be peeled off, Furthermore, the load receiving plate includes an opening hole for exposing the adhesive holding material when the workpiece is held by the two adhesive holding portions of the second strip-shaped base material, and closes the lower portion of the frame.

6. The workpiece holding device according to claim 5, characterized in that: An adhesive member having adhesiveness is interposed between the load receiving plate and the second belt-shaped base material.

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