Automatic carrier for wafer cassette storage system

Abstract

The invention discloses an automatic carrier for a wafer cassette storage system, which comprises a Z-axis assembly, a pick-and-place unit is arranged on the Z-axis assembly, the pick-and-place unit is connected with the Z-axis assembly in an up-and-down sliding manner, and a power part for driving the pick-and-place unit to slide up and down is arranged in the Z-axis assembly; the power part comprises a driven chain wheel and a driving chain wheel which are located at the upper end and the lower end of the Z-axis assembly, a chain is connected to the driven chain wheel and the driving chain wheel in a winding mode, and the two ends of the chain are connected with the taking and placing unit after winding around the driven chain wheel and the driving chain wheel correspondingly. The stability of chain movement is guaranteed through the multiple guide chain wheels, then the taking and placing assembly can be driven to accurately move up and down, meanwhile, the linear guide rails are arranged, vibration can be greatly restrained through guiding and transmission directions of the linear guide rails and the transmission chain wheels, damage to products in the wafer box due to vibration is reduced, and the production efficiency is improved. And the yield of products is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of factory automated transport equipment, in particular to an automatic transport vehicle for a wafer box storage system. Background Art

[0002] In the factory automation system wafer box storage system, when transporting the wafer box, the fork (also called telescopic fork) on the automatic transport vehicle needs to be lifted.

[0003] In existing transport vehicles, the vertical movement of the Fork is mostly driven by a reduction motor to drive the synchronous pulley, which drives the Fork to rise and fall on the linear guide rail through the synchronous belt, where the Fork component and the counterweight component are fixed on both sides of the synchronous belt. In this way, the Fork component and the counterweight component need to move linearly, and the equipment has two vibration sources that will produce large vibrations; in addition, the synchronous belt is made of non-metallic material, and the material itself has a certain degree of elasticity. During the lifting process of the Fork, due to the elasticity of the synchronous belt, the Fork will vibrate, so the products in the wafer box will be displaced and damaged due to the vibration. Summary of the invention

[0004] The object of the present invention is to provide an automatic transport vehicle for a wafer box storage system to solve the problems raised in the above background technology.

[0005] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0006] An automatic transport vehicle for a wafer box storage system, comprising a Z-axis assembly, a pick-and-place unit is provided on the Z-axis assembly, the pick-and-place unit is connected to the Z-axis assembly for sliding up and down, and a power unit for driving the pick-and-place unit to slide up and down is provided in the Z-axis assembly;

[0007] The power unit includes a driven sprocket and a driving sprocket located at the upper and lower ends of the Z-axis assembly, and a chain is wound around the driven sprocket and the driving sprocket. Both ends of the chain are connected to the pick-and-place unit after passing around the driven sprocket and the driving sprocket respectively.

[0008] As a further solution of the present invention: a reduction motor is provided at the bottom of the Z-axis assembly, and the reduction motor is dynamically connected to the driving sprocket.

[0009] As a further solution of the present invention: at least one set of guide sprockets is provided between the driving sprocket and the driven sprocket, and the chain is arranged in coordination with the guide sprockets.

[0010] As a further solution of the present invention: the Z-axis assembly includes two linear guide rails arranged in parallel, the linear guide rails are arranged along the Z-axis direction, and the pick-and-place unit is fixedly connected to the sliders on the linear guide rails.

[0011] As a further solution of the present invention: the pick-up and placement unit is fixedly connected to a mounting backplate at one end close to the chain, and the two ends of the chain are respectively connected to the mounting backplate through an upper chain fixing member and a lower chain fixing member, and a compression spring is provided between the lower chain fixing member and the mounting backplate.

[0012] As a further solution of the present invention: an external cover plate is provided on the outside of the Z-axis assembly, the power unit is located inside the external cover plate, and an avoidance groove is provided on the external cover plate near the pick-and-place unit, and the rear of the pick-and-place unit passes through the avoidance groove and is connected to both ends of the chain.

[0013] As a further solution of the present invention: an upper roller assembly and a lower roller assembly are respectively provided at the upper and lower ends of the Z-axis assembly, and a sealing belt is wrapped around the upper roller assembly and the lower roller assembly. The two ends of the sealing belt respectively pass around the upper roller assembly and the lower roller assembly and are fixedly connected to the pick-up and placement unit, and the sealing belt is located at the front end of the avoidance groove and covers the avoidance groove.

[0014] As a further solution of the present invention: the driving sprocket and the driven sprocket are both double-sprocket structures, and the chain is provided with two and arranged in parallel.

[0015] As a further solution of the present invention: an EFU is fixedly connected to one side of the external cover plate.

[0016] As a further solution of the present invention: an upper walking part and a lower walking part are respectively provided at the upper and lower ends of the Z-axis assembly, and an electric cabinet and a maintenance ladder assembly are respectively provided on both sides of the Z-axis assembly.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0018] 1. The present application uses a transmission chain as a transmission component, and uses a plurality of guide sprockets to ensure the stability of the chain movement, thereby driving the pick-and-place component to move up and down accurately. A linear guide rail is also provided. Through the guidance and transmission direction of the linear guide rail and the transmission sprocket, a compression spring is provided between the chain fixing member at the lower end of the chain and the mounting back plate. This spring can serve as a buffer when the pick-and-place component stops moving; it can greatly suppress the generation of vibration, reduce the damage of the products in the wafer box due to vibration, and improve the product yield;

[0019] 2. The present application places the transmission assembly of the present application in a relatively closed space by setting an external cover and a sealing belt, that is, the transmission assembly and the pick-and-place assembly are in two relatively isolated spaces. In this way, during the chain transmission process, the particulate matter generated by wear and the oil stains generated by the lubricating oil on the chain will not float into the working space where the pick-and-place assembly is located, and will not affect the cleanliness of the equipment. At the same time, by setting a fan filter unit, the dust generated during the operation of the chain transmission assembly can be further filtered, reducing the impact on the transmission assembly and improving the transmission accuracy.

[0020] 3. This application uses chain transmission, which has a large overload capacity and good stability, which can effectively reduce the failure rate of equipment and reduce maintenance costs. At the same time, it has a simple structure and high transmission efficiency, which can effectively reduce customers' energy consumption. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the automatic transport vehicle of this embodiment;

[0022] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the Z-axis assembly of this embodiment;

[0023] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the internal assembly of the Z-axis component of this embodiment;

[0024] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of fixing the chain end plate in this embodiment.

[0025] In the figure: 100-upper travel part, 200-Z axis assembly, 201-reduction motor, 202-driving sprocket, 203-guide sprocket, 204-chain, 205-driven sprocket, 206-pick-and-place unit, 207-linear guide, 208-upper chain fixing, 209-lower chain fixing, 210-sealing belt, 211-upper roller assembly, 212-lower roller assembly, 213-external cover plate, 214-EFU. 215-mounting back plate, 216-compression spring, 300-electric cabinet, 400-lower travel part, 500-maintenance ladder assembly. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0027] See also Figure 1-4In an embodiment of the present invention, an automatic transport vehicle for a wafer box storage system includes a Z-axis assembly 200. An upper walking portion 100 and a lower walking portion 400 are respectively disposed at the upper and lower ends of the Z-axis assembly 200. An electric cabinet 300 and a maintenance ladder assembly 500 are respectively disposed on both sides of the Z-axis assembly 200.

[0028] The Z-axis assembly 200 is provided with a pick-and-place unit 206, which is connected to the Z-axis assembly 200 for sliding up and down. The Z-axis assembly 200 is provided with a power unit for driving the pick-and-place unit 206 to slide up and down. The power unit includes a driven sprocket 205 and a driving sprocket 202 located at the upper and lower ends of the Z-axis assembly 200. The driven sprocket 205 and the driving sprocket 202 are connected with a chain 204. The two ends of the chain 204 are connected to the pick-and-place unit 206 after passing through the driven sprocket 205 and the driving sprocket 202 respectively. A reduction motor 201 is provided at the bottom of the Z-axis assembly 200, and the reduction motor 201 is connected to the driving sprocket 202. The driven sprocket 202 is connected to the driving sprocket 202 by power, and can then drive the driving sprocket 202 to rotate through the reduction motor 201, and the driving sprocket 202 drives the chain 204 to rotate. In the present embodiment, the driving sprocket 202 and the driven sprocket 205 are both double sprocket structures, and the chain 204 is provided with two and arranged in parallel. In addition, at least one set of guide sprockets 203 is provided between the driving sprocket 202 and the driven sprocket 205, and the chain 204 is arranged in coordination with the guide sprocket 203. In the present embodiment, three sets of guide sprockets 203 are provided, thereby ensuring that the chain 204 will not be separated from the sprocket and will not shake during the movement.

[0029] The Z-axis assembly 200 includes two parallel linear guides 207, which are arranged along the Z-axis direction. The pick-and-place unit 206 is fixedly connected to the slider on the linear guide 207. The pick-and-place unit 206 is fixedly connected to the end of the chain 204 that is close to the chain 204 with a mounting back plate 215. The two ends of the chain 204 are respectively connected to the mounting back plate 215 through an upper chain fixing 208 and a lower chain fixing 209. A compression spring 216 is provided between the lower chain fixing 209 and the mounting back plate 215. The lifting and lowering of the pick-and-place unit 206 is buffered by the compression spring to reduce the vibration and impact caused by the high speed change during the lifting process, especially in the starting and stopping stages. At the same time, the chain fixing in the present application adopts a screw fixedly connected to the chain end plate. The screw passes through the connecting base plate of the mounting back plate 215 and is fixedly connected by bolts. The compression spring 216 is adjusted on the connecting screw of the lower chain fixing 209.

[0030] An external cover plate 213 is provided on the outside of the Z-axis assembly 200, and the power unit is located inside the external cover plate 213. An avoidance groove is provided on the external cover plate 213 near the pick-and-place unit 206. The mounting back plate 215 behind the pick-and-place unit 206 passes through the avoidance groove and is connected to both ends of the chain 204. An upper roller assembly 211 and a lower roller assembly 212 are provided at the upper and lower ends of the Z-axis assembly 200, respectively. A sealing belt 210 is wound around the upper roller assembly 211 and the lower roller assembly 212, and both ends of the sealing belt 210 are respectively wound around the upper roller assembly 211 and the lower roller assembly 212 and are fixedly connected to the pick-and-place unit 206. The sealing belt 210 0 is located at the front end of the avoidance groove and covers the avoidance groove, and then a relatively closed space can be formed inside the Z-axis assembly 200 through the external cover plate 213 and the sealing belt 210, and the sprockets, chains, etc. in the power unit are all located in the closed space, so that the power unit can be isolated from the external working environment, and the sprockets and chains are placed to prevent the dust generated by long-term work from polluting the external working environment. In addition, EFU214, that is, the fan filter unit, is fixedly connected to one side of the external cover plate 213 to keep this closed environment in a clean environment, so that the particulate matter generated by the oil stains and wear of the sprockets and chains will not affect the cleanliness of the equipment.

[0031] When the present invention is in use, when it is necessary to pick and place a certain position of the wafer cache box, the upper walking part 100 and the lower walking part 400 are first driven, and the upper walking part 100 and the lower walking part 400 are used to drive the transport vehicle to move horizontally to the required position, that is, the pick and place position, and then the horizontal movement is stopped, and the reduction motor 201 is started, and the driving sprocket 202 is driven to rotate by the reduction motor 201. Since the two chains 204 are wound around the driving sprocket 202 and the driven sprocket 205, and the chain 204 and the mounting back plate 215 form a closed ring through the upper roller assembly 211 and the lower roller assembly 212, when the driving sprocket 202 rotates, it will drive the chain 204 to rotate, and then drive the mounting back plate 215 and The pick-and-place unit 206 fixedly connected to the mounting back plate 215 moves up and down. In this embodiment, the pick-and-place unit 206 is slidably connected to the main frame of the Z-axis assembly 200 by a linear guide 207, so that the accuracy of the up and down movement of the pick-and-place unit can be ensured by the linear guide 207 to prevent deviation. At the moment when the pick-and-place unit 206 starts to move or stops at a specified height position, a large impact will be generated due to the large speed change. The present application arranges a compression spring between the lower end connecting fixing piece 209 and the mounting back plate 215, so as to buffer the instantaneous impact, thereby making the movement of the pick-and-place unit more stable, suppressing the generation of vibration, reducing the damage of the product in the wafer box due to vibration, and improving the product yield.

[0032] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the details of the exemplary embodiments described above and that the invention can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential features of the invention. Therefore, the embodiments should be considered exemplary and non-limiting in all respects, and the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description, and it is intended that all variations falling within the meaning and scope of the equivalent elements of the claims be included in the invention. Any reference numeral in a claim should not be considered as limiting the claim to which it relates.

[0033] In addition, it should be understood that although the present specification is described according to implementation modes, not every implementation mode contains only one independent technical solution. This description of the specification is only for the sake of clarity. Those skilled in the art should regard the specification as a whole. The technical solutions in each embodiment may also be appropriately combined to form other implementation modes that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. An automatic transport vehicle for a wafer box storage system, characterized in that: It comprises a Z-axis assembly (200), wherein a pick-and-place unit (206) is provided on the Z-axis assembly (200), the pick-and-place unit (206) is connected to the Z-axis assembly (200) in an upward and downward sliding manner, and a power unit for driving the pick-and-place unit (206) to slide upward and downward is provided in the Z-axis assembly (200); The power unit comprises a driven sprocket (205) and a driving sprocket (202) located at the upper and lower ends of the Z-axis assembly (200); a chain (204) is wound around the driven sprocket (205) and the driving sprocket (202); and both ends of the chain (204) are connected to the pick-and-place unit (206) after respectively passing around the driven sprocket (205) and the driving sprocket (202).

2. The automatic transport vehicle for a wafer box storage system according to claim 1, characterized in that: A reduction motor (201) is provided at the bottom of the Z-axis assembly (200), and the reduction motor (201) is power-connected to the driving sprocket (202).

3. The automatic transport vehicle for a wafer box storage system according to claim 1, characterized in that: At least one set of guide sprockets (203) is provided between the driving sprocket (202) and the driven sprocket (205), and the chain (204) is arranged in coordination with the guide sprockets (203).

4. The automatic transport vehicle for a wafer box storage system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The Z-axis assembly (200) comprises two linear guide rails (207) arranged in parallel, the linear guide rails (207) being arranged along the Z-axis direction, and the pick-and-place unit (206) being fixedly connected to a slider on the linear guide rails (207).

5. The automatic transport vehicle for a wafer box storage system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The pick-and-place unit (206) is fixedly connected to an installation back plate (215) at one end close to the chain (204); the two ends of the chain (204) are respectively connected to the installation back plate (215) via an upper chain fixing member (208) and a lower chain fixing member (209); a compression spring (216) is provided between the lower chain fixing member (209) and the installation back plate (215).

6. The automatic transport vehicle for a wafer box storage system according to claim 1, characterized in that: An external cover plate (213) is provided on the outside of the Z-axis assembly (200), the power unit is located inside the external cover plate (213), an avoidance groove is provided on the external cover plate (213) near the pick-and-place unit (206), and the rear of the pick-and-place unit (206) passes through the avoidance groove and is connected to both ends of the chain (204).

7. The automatic transport vehicle for a wafer box storage system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The upper and lower ends of the Z-axis assembly (200) are respectively provided with an upper roller assembly (211) and a lower roller assembly (212); a sealing belt (210) is wound around the upper roller assembly (211) and the lower roller assembly (212); two ends of the sealing belt (210) respectively pass around the upper roller assembly (211) and the lower roller assembly (212) and are fixedly connected to the pick-and-place unit (206); the sealing belt (210) is located at the front end of the avoidance groove and covers the avoidance groove.

8. The automatic transport vehicle for a wafer box storage system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving sprocket (202) and the driven sprocket (205) are both double sprocket structures, and the chain (204) is provided with two and arranged in parallel.

9. The automatic transport vehicle for a wafer box storage system according to claim 6, characterized in that: One side of the external cover plate (213) is fixedly connected to an EFU (214).

10. The automatic transport vehicle for a wafer box storage system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper and lower ends of the Z-axis assembly (200) are respectively provided with an upper walking part (100) and a lower walking part (400), and the two sides of the Z-axis assembly (200) are respectively provided with an electric cabinet (300) and a maintenance ladder assembly (500).

Images