Crucible silicon material feeding method

Abstract

The present application relates to a crucible silicon material feeding method, and relates to the field of material transfer technology. The crucible silicon material feeding method includes a crucible, a rail-guided vehicle assembly, a feeding mechanism, a visual module and a controller. The crucible is used to load silicon material. The rail-guided vehicle assembly includes an X-axis moving mechanism, a Z-axis lifting mechanism and a Z-axis rotating mechanism. The Z-axis rotating mechanism is installed on the Z-axis lifting mechanism, and the Z-axis lifting mechanism is installed on the X-axis moving mechanism. The Z-axis rotating mechanism is used to carry the crucible. The silicon material at each horizontal height in the crucible is spread by rotation, so that the silicon material at the first height in the crucible is relatively uniform and flat, and the gap between the silicon materials is smaller than the gap between the silicon materials when the silicon materials are directly poured in. This solves the problem of low crucible loading due to uneven gaps in the silicon materials when the existing device feeds silicon materials, and setting the target value of the drop height will not cause the drop to break, solving the problem of fragile silicon materials.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of material transfer technology, and in particular to a method for feeding silicon material into a crucible. Background Art

[0002] Currently, the transfer of crucible silicon materials adopts a semi-automatic method. Workers place the crucible at the material receiving port, then start the feeding mechanism to put silicon materials into the crucible, and then the crucible and silicon materials are moved to the conveyor belt by workers / AGV (automatic guided vehicle) / RGV (rail-guided vehicle), and then transferred to the next workstation via the conveyor belt.

[0003] However, the existing method has the following problems: when the silicon material is put into the crucible, there is a distance between the silicon material and the bottom of the inner wall of the crucible. When the silicon material falls to the bottom of the inner wall of the crucible, it will collide with the inner wall of the crucible and cause the silicon material to break; and when the material is added, the silicon material naturally accumulates in the crucible. The uneven gaps inside the silicon material cause the crucible to be in a virtual full state after being filled, and the transport volume is less than the crucible load capacity, resulting in low transport efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present invention provides a crucible silicon material feeding method to solve the problems of the existing feeding method that the silicon material is easily broken during feeding and the crucible loading capacity is low.

[0005] The present invention provides a crucible silicon material feeding method, which is applied to a silicon material feeding and transferring device, wherein the silicon material feeding and transferring device comprises: a crucible, a rail-guided vehicle assembly, a feeding mechanism and a controller. The crucible is used to load silicon material. The rail-guided vehicle assembly comprises an X-axis moving mechanism, a Z-axis lifting mechanism and a Z-axis rotating mechanism, wherein the Z-axis rotating mechanism is mounted on the Z-axis lifting mechanism, and the Z-axis lifting mechanism is mounted on the X-axis moving mechanism, wherein the Z-axis rotating mechanism is used to carry the crucible, and the moving path of the X-axis moving mechanism passes through the target position. The feeding mechanism is arranged above the target position. The visual module is used to capture images inside the crucible. The controller is used to output instructions to control the X-axis moving mechanism, the Z-axis lifting mechanism, the Z-axis rotating mechanism, the feeding mechanism and the visual module to perform corresponding actions and receive relevant feedback. The crucible silicon material feeding method includes: a controller outputting a movement instruction to control an X-axis moving mechanism to move and drive a Z-axis lifting mechanism to move to a target position; a controller outputting a lifting instruction to control the Z-axis lifting mechanism to lift the Z-axis rotating mechanism and the crucible until an outlet of the feeding mechanism is at a first height in the crucible; and a controller outputting a feeding instruction to control the feeding mechanism to uniformly feed silicon material into the crucible;

[0006] The controller outputs a rotation instruction to control the Z-axis rotation mechanism to rotate so as to rotate the crucible, and after the Z-axis rotation mechanism rotates one circle, the controller outputs a movement instruction to control the X-axis movement mechanism to move so as to move the outlet of the feeding mechanism at the first height along the radius direction of the crucible until the movement distance of the X-axis movement mechanism reaches the radius length of the crucible;

[0007] The controller outputs a detection instruction to control the visual module to capture an image of the crucible and feed the image back to the controller. The controller determines whether the silicon material at the first height in the crucible is fully covered based on the image.

[0008] If the crucible is full, the controller outputs a descending instruction to control the Z-axis lifting mechanism to lower the crucible until the outlet of the feeding mechanism is at the second height in the crucible. The controller repeats the above steps and outputs corresponding instructions to control the crucible to descend step by step, and controls the feeding mechanism to perform a rotating spreading operation until the feeding mechanism is full of silicon material in the crucible. The controller outputs a moving instruction to control the X-axis moving mechanism to drive the feeding mechanism and the crucible away from the target position.

[0009] If the floor is not fully paved, the controller will output an alarm command to prompt the operator that the equipment has reported an error.

[0010] In some embodiments, the X-axis moving mechanism moves and drives the Z-axis lifting mechanism to move to the target position, including:

[0011] The X-axis moving mechanism moves and drives the Z-axis lifting mechanism to move, and the Z-axis lifting mechanism moves and drives the crucible to move, and the crucible moves to a position where the outlet of the feeding mechanism is aligned with the side of the crucible close to the inner wall of the annular surface.

[0012] In some embodiments, the X-axis moving mechanism moves and drives the Z-axis lifting mechanism to move to the target position, including:

[0013] The X-axis moving mechanism moves and drives the Z-axis lifting mechanism to move, and the Z-axis lifting mechanism moves and drives the crucible to move, and the crucible moves to a position where the outlet of the feeding mechanism is aligned with the center of the crucible.

[0014] In some embodiments, the controller outputs a feeding instruction to control the feeding mechanism to uniformly feed silicon material into the crucible, including:

[0015] When silicon material is fed into the crucible through the feeding mechanism, the Z-axis rotation mechanism controls the crucible to rotate at a uniform speed with the center of the bottom of the crucible as the center. The feeding mechanism does not move, and the discharge port of the feeding mechanism and the crucible keep moving relative to each other to feed the silicon material evenly.

[0016] In some embodiments, the visual module captures an image of the crucible and feeds the image back to the controller for processing and data comparison to determine whether the silicon material at the first height in the crucible is fully covered, including:

[0017] The controller outputs an acquisition instruction to control the high-resolution camera to capture an image of the silicon material at a first height in the crucible. After receiving the image captured by the high-resolution camera, the controller uses denoising software to denoise the captured silicon material image to improve image quality and obtain a denoised silicon material image. The controller uses an image processing system to extract silicon material features from the denoised silicon material image, obtains the silicon material features, and sets full material parameters. The controller re-identifies the silicon material image based on a training model obtained by a machine learning algorithm and in combination with the full material parameters to determine whether it is fully paved.

[0018] In some embodiments, the X-axis moving mechanism includes a track and a track-guided vehicle, wherein the track is laid on the ground, and the track-guided vehicle moves along the track in the X-axis direction.

[0019] In some embodiments, the Z-axis lift mechanism includes a scissor lift and a top base plate, the top base plate being mounted on top of the scissor lift, and the scissor lift being mounted on top of the rail-guided vehicle.

[0020] In some embodiments, the Z-axis rotation mechanism is a rotary mechanical device mounted on top of the top base plate, and the crucible is placed on top of a rotary table of the rotary mechanical device.

[0021] In some embodiments, the silicon material feeding and transferring device further includes an automatic guided vehicle, which can move in 360 degrees, and a lifting platform is installed on the top of the automatic guided vehicle, and the lifting platform is used to lift the crucible.

[0022] In some embodiments, the silicon material feeding and transferring device further includes a cache and lid removal mechanism, which includes a cache rack, a crucible pot lid, a suction cup and a cylinder, wherein the cache rack is placed on the ground, the cylinder is installed on the top of the cache rack with the driving end facing downward, the suction cup is installed at the driving end of the cylinder, and the suction cup is used to adsorb the crucible pot lid;

[0023] The crucible includes a quartz crucible, a sponge tray and a welding frame, wherein the sponge tray is installed on the top of the welding frame and is used to support the quartz crucible, and the crucible pot cover is closed with the quartz crucible;

[0024] The inner side of the cache rack is symmetrically provided with legs for placing the welding frame.

[0025] Compared with the related art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0026] 1. Control the feeding mechanism to evenly feed silicon material into the crucible. The controller outputs a rotation instruction to control the Z-axis rotating mechanism to rotate the crucible. After the Z-axis rotating mechanism rotates one circle, the controller outputs a movement instruction to control the X-axis moving mechanism to move the outlet of the feeding mechanism at the first height along the radius of the crucible. The feeding mechanism performs the feeding operation at the same time to evenly spread the silicon material in the same plane of the crucible, and then moves to the second height to evenly spread the material at the next height, and so on, until the crucible is filled. Since the silicon material at each horizontal height in the crucible is spread by rotation, the silicon material at the first height in the crucible is more uniform and flat, and the gap between the silicon materials is smaller than the gap between the silicon materials when the silicon materials are directly poured in. This solves the problem of low crucible loading capacity due to uneven gaps in the silicon materials when the existing method is used to feed the silicon materials.

[0027] 2. When the present invention feeds silicon material, a first height, a second height and step-by-step heights are set. These heights are heights that have been proven by experiments not to cause the silicon material to break. Therefore, the feeding mechanism performs feeding operations at the same time to evenly spread the silicon material in the same plane of the crucible, and then moves to the second height to evenly spread the material at the next height. In this process, the integrity of the silicon material is guaranteed while ensuring uniform spreading, which greatly reduces the possibility of silicon material breakage caused by the existing feeding method.

[0028] 3. This device's rail-guided vehicle integrates X-axis movement, Z-axis lifting, and Z-axis rotation. All other cooperating mechanisms are fixed, improving the fluidity of the entire process. Scissor forks and a lifting rigid chain are used for lifting. Compared to the large-distance lifting of electric cylinders, this effectively reduces the required installation height of the equipment, simplifies the product structure, and saves costs.

[0029] The details of one or more embodiments of the present application are set forth in the following drawings and description to make other features, objects, and advantages of the present application more readily apparent. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] Figure 1 It is a structural diagram of a better implementation of this device;

[0031] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A top view of the structural diagram;

[0032] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of the middle crucible;

[0033] Figure 4 yes Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the cache cover structure in FIG;

[0034] Figure 5 yes Figure 1A schematic diagram of the front structure of the rail guide vehicle assembly;

[0035] Figure 6 yes Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the side structure of the rail-guided vehicle assembly;. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] In order to more clearly understand the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present application, the present application is described and illustrated below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0037] Unless otherwise defined, the technical terms or scientific terms involved in this application should have the general meaning understood by people with ordinary skills in the technical field to which this application belongs. The words "one", "an", "a", "the", "these" and the like in this application do not indicate quantitative restrictions, and they can be singular or plural. The terms "include", "comprise", "have" and any variants thereof involved in this application are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions; for example, a process, method and system, product or device comprising a series of steps or modules (units) is not limited to the listed steps or modules (units), but may include unlisted steps or modules (units), or may include other steps or modules (units) inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices. The words "connect", "connected", "coupled" and the like involved in this application are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, but may include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect. The "plurality" involved in this application refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. Generally, the character " / " indicates that the related objects are in an "or" relationship. The terms "first," "second," "third," etc. used in this application are only used to distinguish similar objects and do not represent a specific ordering of the objects.

[0038] The present invention provides a crucible silicon material feeding device, please refer to Figures 1 to 6 , which includes a crucible 1, a rail-guided vehicle assembly 4, a feeding mechanism 5, a visual module and a controller.

[0039] The vision module uses a high-resolution camera, and the controller is an integrated controller commonly used in the prior art. The high-resolution camera and the integrated controller are electrically connected and transmit signals. Alternatively, the high-resolution camera can be disconnected from the integrated controller and transmit signals wirelessly. The controller has a built-in image analysis system, and its database is pre-trained using an image training model. Images captured by the high-resolution camera can be directly compared with the controller database to obtain comparison results.

[0040] See also Figure 5 The rail-guided vehicle assembly 4 includes an X-axis moving mechanism 401, a Z-axis lifting mechanism 402, and a Z-axis rotating mechanism 403. The Z-axis rotating mechanism 403 is mounted on the Z-axis lifting mechanism 402, and the Z-axis lifting mechanism 402 is mounted on the X-axis moving mechanism 401. The Z-axis rotating mechanism 403 is used to carry the crucible, and the moving path of the X-axis moving mechanism 401 passes through the target position. The target position refers to the position where the silicon material in the crucible is placed. The feeding mechanism 5 is arranged above the target position. The vision module is used to capture the image inside the crucible 1. The controller is used to output instructions to control the X-axis moving mechanism 401, the Z-axis lifting mechanism 402, the Z-axis rotating mechanism 403, the feeding mechanism 5, and the vision module to perform corresponding actions and receive relevant feedback.

[0041] In some embodiments, the vision module is installed on the feeding mechanism 5 and can capture the image of the silicon material at the viewing angle of the feeding mechanism 5 in real time. The distance is close enough, and the captured image is more focused and clearer.

[0042] In other embodiments, a support frame is placed on one side of the target position, and the end of the support frame extends to a certain height directly above the target position. The vision module is installed at the end of the support frame with the viewing angle facing downward, so that images of the entire crucible and the inside of the crucible can be captured. The range of image capture is wide, which is conducive to detecting the flatness of the overall silicon material paving.

[0043] In some embodiments, the X-axis movement mechanism 401 includes a track and a track-guided vehicle. The track is laid on the ground, and the track-guided vehicle moves along the track in the X-axis direction. The track is similar to a railway track, and the wheels of the track-guided vehicle are mounted on the track. The wheels are driven by a motor in the track-guided vehicle to rotate and achieve movement on the track.

[0044] In some embodiments, the Z-axis lift mechanism 402 includes a scissor lift and a top base plate. The top base plate is mounted on top of the scissor lift, which is mounted on top of the rail-guided vehicle. The scissor lift is a conventional scissor lift, which is lifted by internal hydraulic levers driving connecting rods. The top base plate is a flat plate that rises and falls along with the top of the scissor lift.

[0045] In some embodiments, the Z-axis rotation mechanism 403 is a rotary mechanical device mounted on top of the top base plate, and the crucible 1 is placed on top of the rotary table of the rotary mechanical device. The rotary mechanical device is a common rotary platform in the prior art, comprising a base, to which a placement table is rotatably connected, a gear mounted on the bottom surface of the placement table, and a motor mounted on one side of the base. The motor's drive gear meshes with a gear on the bottom surface of the placement table, and the motor drives the gear to rotate, thereby driving the placement table to rotate.

[0046] In some embodiments, the feeding mechanism 5 is a common welding device, which includes a feeding hopper and a vibrating feeder. The silicon material is fed into the vibrating feeder through the feeding hopper, and then discharged by the vibration of the vibrating feeder.

[0047] In some embodiments, the silicon material feeding and transfer device further includes an automated guided vehicle (AGV) 3, which can move 360 ​​degrees and has a lift mounted on top for raising and lowering the crucible 1. The AGV 3 is a conventional AGV, controlled by an intelligent system and capable of self-guided movement. The lift can be driven by an electric cylinder or a scissor lift, both of which are mounted on top of the housing of the AGV 3.

[0048] See also Figure 4 In some embodiments, the silicon material feeding and transferring device further includes a buffer and lid removal mechanism 2, which includes a buffer rack 201, a crucible lid 202, a suction cup 203, and a cylinder 204. The buffer rack 201 is placed on the ground, the cylinder 204 is installed on the top of the buffer rack 201 with the driving end facing downward, the suction cup 203 is installed at the driving end of the cylinder 204, and the suction cup 203 is used to adsorb the crucible lid 202.

[0049] The inside of the buffer rack 201 is symmetrically provided with feet for placing the welding frame 103. The feet can also be replaced with positioning pins. The positioning pins are used to position the crucible 1 to prevent the crucible 1 from having a large position deviation during movement or rotation.

[0050] The crucible 1 is used to load silicon material.

[0051] In some of these examples, see Figure 3 The crucible 1 includes a quartz crucible 101, a sponge tray 102 and a welding frame 103. The sponge tray 102 is installed on the top of the welding frame 103. The sponge tray 102 is used to carry the quartz crucible 101, and the crucible lid 202 covers the quartz crucible 101. The quartz crucible 101 is a carrier for loading silicon materials, and the quartz crucible 101 is a cylindrical cylinder with an open top. The sponge tray 102 is a frustum. The function of the sponge tray 102 and the welding frame 103 is to reduce the limitations of the quartz crucible 101 caused by its own material and shape during the movement of the crucible, such as eliminating the overturning phenomenon during the transportation of the crucible, and improving the accuracy and stability of the crucible positioning, thereby achieving the effect of controllable motion trajectory.

[0052] During operation, the automated guided vehicle 3 lifts the welding frame 103, moves the quartz crucible 101 and crucible lid 202 to the position directly below the buffer rack 201, and then lowers the welding frame 103 to the footrest of the buffer rack 201. Alternatively, the welding frame 103 can be aligned with the positioning pins, and the cylinder 204 drives the suction cup 203 to lower, allowing the crucible lid 202 to separate from the quartz crucible 101. The cylinder 204 then drives the suction cup 203 to return to its original position. After the rail-guided vehicle moves to the position directly below the buffer rack 201, it lifts the welding frame 103 and moves it to the target position. After the quartz crucible 101 is filled, it is placed on a rail-guided vehicle. A scissor lift is used to lift the welding frame 103. The rail-guided vehicle then moves it directly below the buffer rack 201. The welding frame 103 is then lowered and placed on the legs of the buffer rack 201. The cylinder 204 lowers the suction cup 203, allowing the crucible lid 202 to close over the quartz crucible 101. The cylinder 204 then resets the suction cup 203. The automated guided vehicle 3 moves directly below the buffer rack 201. The lifting platform of the automated guided vehicle 3 lifts the welding frame 103, separating it from the legs. The automated guided vehicle 3 then moves, carrying the welding frame 103 to the next process step.

[0053] The RGV rail-guided vehicle in this device integrates X-axis movement, Z-axis lifting, and Z-axis rotation. All other cooperating mechanisms are fixed, improving the smoothness of the entire process. The use of scissor forks and lifting rigid chains for lifting effectively reduces the required installation height compared to electric cylinders for long-distance lifting, simplifies the product structure, and saves costs.

[0054] The device has a high degree of automation and high efficiency. Even if the weight of a full crucible reaches more than 500kg, it can still be transported normally, solving the problem of difficulty and safety hazards in manual transportation.

[0055] The present invention also provides a silicon material feeding and transporting method, which is applied to the crucible silicon material feeding device provided by the present invention. The method includes: step S100, step S200, step S300, step S400, step S410 and step S420.

[0056] In step S100, the controller outputs a movement instruction to control the X-axis movement mechanism 401 to move and drive the Z-axis lifting mechanism 402 to move to the target position. The target position is the position where the silicon material is dropped into the crucible.

[0057] In some embodiments, the X-axis movement mechanism 401 moves and drives the Z-axis lifting mechanism 402 to move. The movement of the Z-axis lifting mechanism 402 drives the crucible 1 to move until the outlet of the feeding mechanism 5 is aligned with the side of the crucible 1 near the inner wall of the annular surface. The crucible 1 moves so that the outlet of the feeding mechanism 5 is close to the inner wall of the annular surface of the crucible 1.

[0058] In other embodiments, the X-axis moving mechanism 401 moves and drives the Z-axis lifting mechanism 402 to move, and the movement of the Z-axis lifting mechanism 402 drives the crucible 1 to move, and the crucible 1 moves to a position where the outlet of the feeding mechanism 5 is aligned with the center of the crucible 1. This means that the outlet of the feeding mechanism 5 extends into the crucible 1 and coincides with the axis of the crucible 1.

[0059] In step S200, the controller outputs a lifting instruction to control the Z-axis lifting mechanism 402 to lift the Z-axis rotation mechanism 403 and the crucible 1 until the outlet of the feeding mechanism 5 is at a first height within the crucible 1. The first height refers to the vertical distance between the bottom wall of the crucible and the discharge port. The vertical distances between the first height and the second height, as well as the vertical distances between the second height and the third height, are fixed. The controller outputs a feeding instruction to control the feeding mechanism 5 to uniformly feed silicon material into the crucible 1. When the feeding mechanism 5 feeds silicon material into the crucible 1, the Z-axis rotation mechanism 403 controls the crucible 1 to rotate at a constant speed about the center of the bottom circle of the crucible 1. The feeding mechanism 5 does not move, and the discharge port of the feeding mechanism 5 and the crucible 1 maintain relative movement to uniformly feed silicon material.

[0060] In step S300, the controller outputs a rotation command to control the Z-axis rotation mechanism 403 to rotate the crucible 1. After the Z-axis rotation mechanism 403 rotates one revolution, the controller outputs a movement command to control the X-axis movement mechanism 401 to move the outlet of the feeding mechanism 5 at a first height along the radius of the crucible 1. This movement can be from the inner wall of the crucible's annular surface to the center of the crucible, or from the center of the crucible to the inner wall of the crucible's annular surface, until the X-axis movement mechanism 401 moves a distance that reaches the radius of the crucible 1.

[0061] In step S400 , the controller outputs a detection instruction to control the visual module to capture an image of the crucible 1 and feeds the image back to the controller for processing and data comparison to determine whether the silicon material at the first height in the crucible 1 is fully covered.

[0062] In step S410, if the crucible 1 is fully covered, the controller outputs a descending instruction to control the Z-axis lifting mechanism 402 to lower the crucible 1 until the outlet of the feeding mechanism 5 is at a second height within the crucible 1. The controller repeats the above steps and outputs corresponding instructions to control the crucible 1 to descend step by step and to control the feeding mechanism 5 to perform a rotational spreading operation until the feeding mechanism 5 has fully covered the crucible 1 with silicon material. The controller then outputs a movement instruction to control the X-axis movement mechanism 401 to drive the feeding mechanism 5 and the crucible 1 away from the target position. The controller outputs an acquisition instruction to control the high-resolution camera to capture an image of the silicon material at the first height within the crucible 1. After receiving the image captured by the high-resolution camera, the controller uses denoising software to denoise the captured silicon material image to improve image quality and obtain a denoised silicon material image. The controller uses an image processing system to extract silicon material features from the denoised silicon material image, obtains the silicon material features, and sets the full material parameters. The controller re-recognizes the silicon material image based on the training model obtained by the machine learning algorithm and the full material parameters to determine whether the crucible 1 is fully covered. When the present invention feeds silicon material, a first height, a second height and step-by-step heights are set. These heights are heights that have been proven by experiments not to cause the silicon material to break. Therefore, the feeding mechanism performs the feeding operation at the same time to evenly spread the silicon material in the same plane of the crucible, and then moves to the second height to evenly spread the material at the next height. In this process, the integrity of the silicon material is guaranteed while ensuring uniform spreading, which greatly reduces the possibility of silicon material breakage caused by the existing feeding method.

[0063] Step S420: If the floor is not fully paved, the controller outputs an alarm instruction to prompt the operator that the equipment has reported an error.

[0064] The feeding mechanism is controlled to evenly feed silicon material into the crucible. The controller outputs a rotation instruction to control the Z-axis rotation mechanism to rotate the crucible. After the Z-axis rotation mechanism rotates one circle, the controller outputs a movement instruction to control the X-axis movement mechanism to move the outlet of the feeding mechanism at the first height along the radius of the crucible. The feeding mechanism performs the feeding operation at the same time to evenly spread the silicon material in the same plane of the crucible, and then moves to the second height to evenly spread the material at the next height, and so on, until the crucible is filled. Since the silicon material at each horizontal height in the crucible is spread by rotation, the silicon material at the first height in the crucible is more uniform and flat, and the gaps between the silicon materials are smaller than the gaps between the silicon materials when the silicon materials are directly poured in. This solves the problem of low crucible loading capacity due to uneven gaps in the silicon materials when the existing device feeds silicon material.

[0065] As described above, at least one embodiment of each part of the silicon material feeding and transporting method provided by the present invention has been described separately. It should be noted that the various parts of the silicon material feeding and transporting method can be combined using different embodiments to form different embodiments of the silicon material feeding and transporting method.

[0066] The silicon material feeding and transferring device and the corresponding silicon material feeding and transferring method are described below through two embodiments.

[0067] In a specific overall embodiment, the silicon material feeding and transferring device consists of five parts: the first part is the crucible integration mechanism 1; the second part is the cache and lid removal mechanism 2; the third part is the AGV 3; the fourth part is the RGV 4; and the fifth part is the feeding mechanism 5.

[0068] The crucible integrated mechanism 1 is composed of a quartz crucible 101, a sponge tray 102, and a welding frame 103. Its main function is to reduce the limitations of the crucible due to its own material and shape during movement, such as preventing the crucible from overturning during transportation, improving the positioning accuracy of the crucible, and achieving controllable movement trajectory.

[0069] The cache cover removal mechanism 2 is composed of a cache rack 201, a crucible lid 202, a suction cup 203 and a cylinder 204. Its main functions are: 1. to facilitate RGV4 to remove the crucible integrated mechanism 1; 2. through the combined braking of the cylinder 204 and the suction cup 203, the crucible lid 202 can be adsorbed and moved up and down.

[0070] AGV3 can move 360° and can rise a certain distance in the Z-axis direction.

[0071] The RGV4 consists of an X-axis moving mechanism 401, a Z-axis lifting mechanism, and a Z-axis rotating mechanism. The X-axis moving mechanism is a motor assembly that drives the pulleys on the track. The Z-axis lifting mechanism uses a motor to drive the lifting chain up and down. The Z-axis rotating mechanism uses a motor to drive the slewing bearing to rotate. The X-axis moving mechanism 401 uses a power system to control the meshing motion of the gear rack, thereby enabling the RGV4 to move back and forth along the X-axis on the track. The Z-axis lifting mechanism 402 uses a lifting rigid chain to achieve lifting and lowering motion, with a scissor fork assisting in movement, thereby achieving Z-axis lifting and lowering. The Z-axis rotating mechanism uses a power system to control the rotation of the slewing bearing, thereby achieving Z-axis rotation. The rotating mechanism consists of a slewing bearing assembly and a motor assembly.

[0072] The feeding mechanism 5 is a robot that feeds materials into the hopper, and the vibrator vibrates to achieve the material falling at a certain speed. The feeding mechanism is a simple welding product with a vibrator (to vibrate the material and move it slowly). It is not complicated and has a funnel-like shape.

[0073] In a specific overall embodiment, the silicon material feeding and transporting method includes eight steps.

[0074] In the first step, the AGV carries the crucible integration mechanism and moves it to the origin position of the cache lid removal mechanism; then the AGV descends and completes the landing of the crucible integration mechanism on the cache rack. After the AGV separates from the crucible integration mechanism, the AGV drives away from the origin position of the cache lid removal mechanism.

[0075] In the second step, the RGV moves along the X-axis to the origin of the cache cover removal mechanism; the cover removal mechanism cylinder extends, the suction cup works to suck the crucible lid, and then the cylinder retracts (the two actions are performed simultaneously).

[0076] In the third step, the Z-axis lifting mechanism in the RGV rises, lifts the crucible integration mechanism, separates it from the buffer rack, and then the RGV carries the crucible integration mechanism and moves it to the feeding origin.

[0077] In the fourth step, the RGV's Z-axis lift mechanism rises to the first loading height, and the loading mechanism begins discharging material. Vibrators ensure uniform material delivery at a constant speed, and the Z-axis rotation mechanism begins rotating. During this process, the rotation ensures that material is distributed throughout the crucible, preventing it from concentrating in one area and forming a small hillock. The raised projections represent positioning pins, which are used to position the crucible assembly to prevent significant deviation during movement and rotation. Periodically, the RGV moves along the X-axis, adjusting the relative position of the loading port and the crucible along the crucible's horizontal centerline. Visual recognition determines whether the first loading location is full. Visual recognition involves camera recognition, which uses the camera system to assess the crucible's material content and outputs signals to control the RGV's rotation and movement, ensuring that material is distributed throughout the crucible. This also determines whether the crucible is full, prompting the loading mechanism to stop loading.

[0078] In step 5, the first feeding point is full, and the Z-axis lifting mechanism in the RGV descends to the second height. The second height is set to prevent the silicon material from being too high from the lowest surface of the crucible. There is a limit. If it is too high, the silicon material will fall and shatter directly. The silicon material should be kept within a certain weight range. If it is too high, fine powder will appear, which will affect the subsequent silicon material processing. This does not involve subsequent processes. The purpose is to ensure the integrity of the silicon material and reduce the fine powder rate. Repeat step 4. Because the silicon material cannot be too high from the lowest surface of the crucible, there is a limit. If it is too high, the silicon material will fall and shatter directly. The silicon material should be kept within a certain weight range. If it is too high, fine powder will appear, which will affect the subsequent silicon material processing. This does not involve subsequent processes. The purpose is to ensure the integrity of the silicon material and reduce the fine powder rate.

[0079] Step 6: Repeat step 5 until the crucible is full and the feeding mechanism stops.

[0080] In the seventh step, the RGV carries the full crucible integrated mechanism, moves along the X-axis to the origin of the cache cover mechanism, descends, places the full crucible integrated mechanism on the cache rack, and then the RGV drives away.

[0081] In the eighth step, the AGV drives into the origin position of the cache and lid-taking mechanism and starts to rise until the full crucible integrated mechanism is separated from the cache rack, and then carries the full crucible integrated mechanism and moves it to the next process position area.

[0082] At this point, the crucible feeding and transferring process is completed.

[0083] It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain this application and are not used to limit it. Based on the embodiments provided in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0084] Obviously, the accompanying drawings are merely examples or embodiments of the present application. A person skilled in the art can also apply the present application to other similar situations based on these drawings without inventive effort. Furthermore, it is understandable that, although the work involved in this development process may be complex and lengthy, certain design, manufacturing, or production changes based on the technical content disclosed in this application are merely routine technical means for a person skilled in the art and should not be considered to constitute a deficiency in the disclosure of the present application.

Claims

1. A crucible silicon material feeding method, applied to a silicon material feeding and transferring device, characterized in that: The silicon material feeding and transferring device includes: A crucible (1) for loading silicon material; A rail-guided vehicle assembly (4) includes an X-axis moving mechanism (401), a Z-axis lifting mechanism (402), and a Z-axis rotating mechanism (403), wherein the Z-axis rotating mechanism (403) is mounted on the Z-axis lifting mechanism (402), and the Z-axis lifting mechanism (402) is mounted on the X-axis moving mechanism (401), wherein the Z-axis rotating mechanism (403) is used to carry a crucible, and the moving path of the X-axis moving mechanism (401) passes through a target position; a feeding mechanism (5), which is arranged above the target position; A visual module, used for capturing images of the crucible (1); A controller for outputting instructions to control the X-axis moving mechanism (401), the Z-axis lifting mechanism (402), the Z-axis rotating mechanism (403), the feeding mechanism (5) and the visual module to perform corresponding actions and receive relevant feedback; The crucible silicon material feeding method comprises: The controller outputs a movement instruction to control the X-axis moving mechanism (401) to move and drive the Z-axis lifting mechanism (402) to move to a target position, the controller outputs a lifting instruction to control the Z-axis lifting mechanism (402) to lift the Z-axis rotating mechanism (403) and lift the crucible (1) until the outlet of the feeding mechanism (5) is at a first height in the crucible (1), and the controller outputs a feeding instruction to control the feeding mechanism (5) to uniformly feed silicon material into the crucible (1); The controller outputs a rotation instruction to control the Z-axis rotation mechanism (403) to rotate so as to rotate the crucible (1), and after the Z-axis rotation mechanism (403) rotates one circle, the controller outputs a movement instruction to control the X-axis movement mechanism (401) to move so as to move the outlet of the feeding mechanism (5) at the first height along the radius direction of the crucible (1) until the movement distance of the X-axis movement mechanism (401) reaches the radius length of the crucible (1); The controller outputs a detection instruction to control the visual module to capture an image in the crucible (1) and feeds the image back to the controller, and the controller determines whether the silicon material at a first height in the crucible (1) is fully covered based on the image; If the crucible (1) is fully covered, the controller outputs a descending instruction to control the Z-axis lifting mechanism (402) to lower the crucible (1) until the outlet of the feeding mechanism (5) is at a second height in the crucible (1). The controller repeats the above steps and outputs corresponding instructions to control the crucible (1) to descend step by step, and controls the feeding mechanism (5) to perform a rotating material spreading operation until the feeding mechanism (5) is fully covered with silicon material in the crucible (1). The controller outputs a moving instruction to control the X-axis moving mechanism (401) to drive the feeding mechanism (5) and the crucible (1) away from the target position. If the floor is not fully paved, the controller will output an alarm command to prompt the operator that the equipment has reported an error.

2. The crucible silicon material feeding method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The X-axis moving mechanism (401) moves and drives the Z-axis lifting mechanism (402) to move to the target position, including: The X-axis moving mechanism (401) moves and drives the Z-axis lifting mechanism (402) to move, and the Z-axis lifting mechanism (402) moves and drives the crucible (1) to move, and the crucible (1) moves to a position where the outlet of the feeding mechanism (5) is aligned with a side of the crucible (1) close to the inner wall of the annular surface.

3. The crucible silicon material feeding method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The X-axis moving mechanism (401) moves and drives the Z-axis lifting mechanism (402) to move to the target position, including: The X-axis moving mechanism (401) moves and drives the Z-axis lifting mechanism (402) to move, and the Z-axis lifting mechanism (402) moves and drives the crucible (1) to move, and the crucible (1) moves to a position where the outlet of the feeding mechanism (5) is aligned with the center of the crucible (1).

4. The crucible silicon material feeding method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The controller outputs a feeding instruction to control the feeding mechanism (5) to uniformly feed silicon material into the crucible (1), including: When silicon material is fed into the crucible (1) through the feeding mechanism (5), the Z-axis rotation mechanism (403) controls the crucible (1) to rotate at a uniform speed with the center of the bottom of the crucible (1) as the center, the feeding mechanism (5) does not move, and the discharge port of the feeding mechanism (5) and the crucible (1) maintain relative movement to uniformly feed the silicon material.

5. The crucible silicon material feeding method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The visual module captures an image in the crucible (1) and feeds the image back to the controller for processing and data comparison, thereby determining whether the silicon material at a first height in the crucible (1) is fully covered, including: The controller outputs an acquisition instruction to control a high-resolution camera to capture an image of silicon material at a first height in the crucible (1); after receiving the image captured by the high-resolution camera, the controller uses denoising software to denoise the captured silicon material image to improve image quality and obtain a denoised silicon material image; the controller uses an image processing system to extract silicon material features from the denoised silicon material image, obtains the silicon material features and sets a full material parameter; the controller recognizes the silicon material image again based on a training model obtained by a machine learning algorithm and in combination with the full material parameter to determine whether the silicon material is fully paved.

6. The crucible silicon material feeding method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The X-axis moving mechanism (401) comprises a track and a track-guided vehicle, wherein the track is laid on the ground and the track-guided vehicle moves along the track in the X-axis direction.

7. The crucible silicon material feeding method according to claim 6, characterized in that: The Z-axis lifting mechanism (402) includes a scissor lift and a top base plate, wherein the top base plate is mounted on the top of the scissor lift, and the scissor lift is mounted on the top of the rail-guided vehicle.

8. The crucible silicon material feeding method according to claim 7, characterized in that: The Z-axis rotating mechanism (403) is a rotating mechanical device, which is installed on the top of the top substrate, and the crucible (1) is placed on the top of the rotating table of the rotating mechanical device.

9. The crucible silicon material feeding method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The silicon material feeding and transferring device further comprises an automatic guided vehicle (3), which can move in 360-degree directions, and a lifting platform is installed on the top of the automatic guided vehicle (3), which is used to lift the crucible (1).

10. The crucible silicon material feeding method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The silicon material feeding and transporting device further comprises a cache and cover removal mechanism (2), which comprises a cache rack (201), a crucible pot cover (202), a suction cup (203) and a cylinder (204); the cache rack (201) is placed on the ground; the cylinder (204) is mounted on the top of the cache rack (201) with its driving end facing downward; the suction cup (203) is mounted on the driving end of the cylinder (204), and the suction cup (203) is used to adsorb the crucible pot cover (202); The crucible (1) comprises a quartz crucible (101), a sponge tray (102) and a welding frame (103), wherein the sponge tray (102) is mounted on the top of the welding frame (103), the sponge tray (102) is used to support the quartz crucible (101), and the crucible cover (202) covers the quartz crucible (101); The inner side of the cache rack (201) is symmetrically provided with legs for placing the welding frame (103).

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