Automatic carrier, automatic wafer storage system and automatic wafer storage method

Abstract

The automatic carrying vehicle comprises a carrying vehicle body, the carrying vehicle body comprises a vehicle frame, and an upper driving part and a lower driving part are arranged at the upper end and the lower end of the vehicle frame correspondingly; the lower driving part comprises a first gear motor connected with the frame and a bottom driving wheel in power connection with the first gear motor; the upper driving part comprises a second speed reducing motor connected with the frame, the second speed reducing motor is movably connected with a top driving wheel, the top driving wheel is in power connection with a top driven wheel, and the distance between the top driving wheel and the top driven wheel is adjustable; compared with a traditional design scheme that only the bottom of the automatic carrying vehicle is driven to walk, the automatic carrying vehicle which is driven up and down is introduced in the technical scheme to walk, and the structural stability of the automatic carrying vehicle is good through the up-down dual-drive configuration.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of pan-semiconductor equipment manufacturing and automation, and in particular to an automatic transport vehicle, an automatic wafer storage system and an automatic storage method. Background Art

[0002] An automatic transporter is an unmanned transport and storage system that runs between overhead rails and ground rails. It is used for spatial transport and storage of products. The automatic transporter runs on the ground rails. The guide parts of the automatic transporter are distributed on both the overhead rails and the ground rails. The fork of the automatic transporter inserts and removes products by telescoping and lifting up and down. The address is assigned through the network to transport the product to the designated location. This type of equipment is: Wafer box automatic storage system, in which the automatic transporter moves in the horizontal direction, and the front and rear end running wheels at the bottom of the automatic transporter are driven and controlled by two reduction motors to move on the ground rails to achieve the horizontal movement of the automatic transporter. In this way, the lower part of the automatic transporter is driven by two sets of reduction motors to drive the running wheels, so that the automatic transporter moves in the horizontal direction.

[0003] However, this design has some shortcomings, as follows:

[0004] 1. The Z-axis lifting assembly vibrates violently:

[0005] Since the automatic transport vehicle is only driven from the bottom, the upper part of the Z-axis lifting assembly only serves as a guide on the overhead rail, but it is in a free state in the direction of travel. Once the equipment is started, stopped, or accelerated, the Z-axis motion assembly of the equipment will vibrate, affecting the product yield.

[0006] 2. Poor docking accuracy:

[0007] When the automatic transport vehicle stops, the bottom can be driven by the reduction motor to stop relatively accurately at the specified position. However, since the Z-axis lifting component is in a free state at the top, the verticality of the Z-axis lifting component cannot be controlled, which inevitably causes uncontrollable deviation of the Fork position during lifting, resulting in failure or damage to the goods when picking up and placing, affecting the production efficiency of the equipment.

[0008] 3. The automatic storage system has a large dead zone:

[0009] The horizontal travel drive of the original structure is integrated at the bottom of the trolley, which makes the lower body of the trolley larger and the dead zone of the automatic storage system larger. Summary of the invention

[0010] The object of the present invention is to provide an automatic transport vehicle with an upper and lower drive structure to solve the problems raised in the above-mentioned background technology.

[0011] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0012] An automatic transport vehicle comprises a transport vehicle body, wherein the transport vehicle body comprises a frame, and an upper driving part and a lower driving part are respectively arranged at the upper and lower ends of the frame;

[0013] The lower driving part includes a first reduction motor connected to the frame and a bottom driving wheel connected to the power of the first reduction motor;

[0014] The upper driving part comprises a second reduction motor connected to the frame, the second reduction motor is mechanically connected to a top driving wheel, the top driving wheel is mechanically connected to a top driven wheel, and the distance between the top driving wheel and the top driven wheel is adjustable.

[0015] As a further solution of the present invention: a bottom support is provided at the lower end of the frame, the bottom support is arranged along the moving direction of the transport vehicle body, and the first reduction motor is fixedly connected to the frame through the bottom support.

[0016] As a further solution of the present invention: a ground rail is provided under the frame, the bottom driving wheel is dynamically connected to a bottom driven wheel, the bottom driving wheel is located at an end of the bottom support member away from the bottom driving wheel, and the bottom driving wheel and the bottom driven wheel are both located at the upper end of the ground rail.

[0017] As a further solution of the present invention: bottom guide wheels are provided on both sides of the bottom support member, and the bottom guide wheels are located on both sides of the ground rail.

[0018] As a further solution of the present invention: a ceiling rail is provided above the frame, and the top driving wheel and the top driven wheel are located on both sides of the ceiling rail.

[0019] As a further solution of the present invention: a top support member is fixedly connected to the top of the frame, the second reduction motor is connected to the frame through the top support member, a top guide wheel is provided on the side of the top support member away from the top driving wheel, and two top guide wheels are provided and the two top guide wheels are located on both sides of the ceiling rail.

[0020] As a further solution of the present invention: the upper end of the top support member is fixedly connected to a spring tensioning plate and slidably connected to a sliding block, the top driving wheel and the second reduction motor are fixedly connected to the sliding block, the sliding block is fixedly connected to an optical axis, the end of the optical axis away from the sliding block passes through the spring tensioning plate and is threadedly connected to a tensioning bolt, a tensioning spring is sleeved on the optical axis, and the tensioning spring is located between the spring tensioning plate and the sliding block.

[0021] A wafer box automatic storage system comprises a wafer storage cabinet, wherein the wafer storage cabinet comprises a plurality of wafer storage positions arranged in a matrix, wherein two sides of the wafer storage cabinet are respectively a first dead zone and a second dead zone, a transport vehicle body is provided at the front end of the wafer storage cabinet, the transport vehicle body comprises a frame, a maintenance ladder is provided on one side of the frame, and a Fork component is connected to the frame for sliding up and down operation.

[0022] A wafer box automatic storage method comprises the following steps:

[0023] Step 1: The control system issues a wafer box pick-up and placement instruction and gives the coordinates of the target wafer box storage location;

[0024] Step 2: Calculate the motion path of the Fork component from the current position to the target wafer box storage location transport vehicle body according to the current coordinates of the Fork component on the transport vehicle body 300;

[0025] Step 3, the transport vehicle body moves according to the motion path calculated in step 3, and moves the Fork component to the target wafer box storage position;

[0026] Step 4: The wafer box is stored into or taken out from the target wafer box storage position through the Fork component.

[0027] A wafer box automatic storage method, wherein the movement of the transport vehicle body in step 3 comprises the following steps:

[0028] Step 3.1, obtaining the current positions of the upper and lower ends of the frame and calculating the verticality of the frame;

[0029] Step 3.2, if the frame is tilted, the output speed difference between the first reduction motor and the second reduction motor in the starting phase is calculated according to the verticality of the frame and the movement direction of the frame, so that the frame can be restored to verticality during the starting process; if the frame is not tilted, the first reduction motor and the second reduction motor are directly started at the same time and the same output speed is maintained to drive the frame to start smoothly;

[0030] Step 3.3: After starting, keep the first reduction motor and the second reduction motor at the same output speed to drive the frame to move smoothly until it reaches the target position and brakes to stop. At the same time, the Fork component moves along the Z axis according to the calculated moving path until it reaches the target position.

[0031] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0032] 1. The automatic transport vehicle of the present application adopts an upper and lower drive structure: compared with the traditional design scheme that only drives the automatic transport vehicle from the bottom, the present technical scheme introduces an upper and lower drive structure for the automatic transport vehicle to move. This upper and lower dual drive configuration makes the structural stability of the automatic transport vehicle better.

[0033] 2. The upper and lower dual drives of the present application can run synchronously and have automatic calibration function, so that the frame can be in a vertical state: improving the docking accuracy of the equipment and reducing the failure rate of the equipment.

[0034] 3. The present application arranges the driving structure up and down, and two smaller driving structures can be used to achieve the driving purpose, which reduces the problem of excessive volume of the driving structure when the original single bottom driving structure is arranged. The structural optimization reduces the dead zone: the structure of the automatic transport vehicle driven up and down is simpler than the traditional design structure, effectively reduces the dead zone of the equipment, increases the storage space of the automatic storage system, and can effectively improve the production capacity of the semiconductor factory. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the automatic transport vehicle of this embodiment;

[0036] Figure 2 This is the top assembly diagram of the automatic transport vehicle of this embodiment;

[0037] Figure 3 , Figure 4 This is the bottom assembly diagram of the automatic transport vehicle of this embodiment;

[0038] Figure 5 This is an assembly diagram of the wafer box automatic storage system in an embodiment of the present application.

[0039] In the figure:

[0040] 100-first dead zone, 200-wafer box storage, 300-transporter body, 400-second dead zone, 500-wafer box;

[0041] 301-bottom driving wheel, 302-first reduction motor, 303-bottom driven wheel, 304-bottom guide wheel, 305-bottom support, 306-ground rail, 307-frame, 308-maintenance ladder, 309-top driving wheel, 310-second reduction motor, 311-top driven wheel, 312-top guide wheel, 313-top support, 314-ceiling rail, 315-Fork assembly, 316-spring tensioning plate, 317-driving wheel mounting seat, 318-tensioning bolt, 319-tensioning spring, 320-optical axis, 321-sliding block. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] 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.

[0043] See also Figure 1-5 In an embodiment of the present invention, an automatic transport vehicle includes a transport vehicle body 300, the transport vehicle body 300 includes a frame 307, and an upper driving part and a lower driving part are respectively provided at the upper and lower ends of the frame 307.

[0044] The lower driving part includes a first reduction motor 302 connected to the frame 307 and a bottom driving wheel 301 connected to the first reduction motor 302 by power. A bottom support member 305 is provided at the lower end of the frame 307. The bottom support member 305 is arranged along the moving direction of the transport vehicle body 300. The first reduction motor 302 is fixedly connected to the frame 307 through the bottom support member 305. A ground rail 306 is provided under the frame 307. The bottom driving wheel 301 is connected to the bottom driven wheel 303 by power. The bottom driving wheel 301 is located at one end of the bottom support member 305 away from the bottom driving wheel 301. The bottom driving wheel 301 and the bottom driven wheel 303 are both located at the upper end of the ground rail 306. Bottom guide wheels 304 are provided on both sides of the bottom support member 305. The bottom guide wheels 304 are located on both sides of the ground rail 306.

[0045] The upper driving part includes a second reduction motor 310 connected to the frame 307, the second reduction motor 310 is dynamically connected to the top driving wheel 309, the top driving wheel 309 is dynamically connected to the top driven wheel 311, the distance between the top driving wheel 309 and the top driven wheel 311 can be adjusted, a ceiling rail 314 is arranged above the frame 307, the top driving wheel 309 and the top driven wheel 311 are located on both sides of the ceiling rail 314, a top support member 313 is fixedly connected to the top of the frame 307, the second reduction motor 310 is connected to the frame 307 through the top support member 313, a top guide wheel 312 is provided on the side of the top support member 313 away from the top driving wheel 309, two top guide wheels 312 are provided and the two top guide wheels 312 are located on both sides of the ceiling rail 314, the top The upper end of the support 313 is fixedly connected with a spring tensioning plate 316 and slidably connected with a sliding block 321. The top driving wheel 309 and the second reduction motor 310 are fixedly connected with the sliding block 321. The sliding block 321 is fixedly connected with an optical axis 320. The end of the optical axis 320 away from the sliding block 321 passes through the spring tensioning plate 316 and is threadedly connected with a tensioning bolt 318. The optical axis 320 is sleeved with a tensioning spring 319, which is located between the spring tensioning plate 316 and the sliding block 321. Then, by adjusting the tensioning bolt 318, the tensioning spring 319 provides spring pressure to ensure that there is sufficient friction between the top driving wheel 309 and the ceiling rail 314, so that a stable whole is formed between the top driving wheel 309, the ceiling rail 314, and the top driven wheel 311. In addition, the first reduction motor 302 is a motor with a brake, which also has a holding torque when it is not in motion, so that the top and bottom of the frame 307 are fully constrained, forming a stable structure.

[0046] A wafer box automatic storage system includes a wafer storage cabinet, which includes a plurality of wafer storage positions 200 arranged in a matrix. The two sides of the wafer storage cabinet are respectively a first dead zone 100 and a second dead zone 400. A transport vehicle body 300 is provided at the front end of the wafer storage cabinet. The transport vehicle body 300 includes a frame 307. A maintenance ladder 308 is provided on one side of the frame 307. A Fork component 315 is slidably connected to the frame 307.

[0047] A wafer box automatic storage method comprises the following steps:

[0048] Step 1: The control system issues a wafer box 500 pick-up and placement instruction and gives the coordinates of the target wafer box storage location;

[0049] Step 2, calculating the motion path of the Fork component 315 from the current position to the target wafer box storage position of the transport vehicle body 300 according to the current coordinates of the Fork component 315 on the transport vehicle body 300;

[0050] Step 3, the transport vehicle body 300 moves according to the motion path calculated in step 2, and moves the Fork component 315 to the target wafer box storage position;

[0051] The movement of the transport vehicle body 300 in step 3 includes the following steps:

[0052] Step 3.1, obtaining the current positions of the upper end and the lower end of the frame 307 and calculating the verticality of the frame 307;

[0053] Step 3.2: If the frame 307 is tilted, the output speed difference between the first reduction motor 302 and the second reduction motor 310 in the starting phase is calculated according to the verticality of the frame 307 and the movement direction of the frame 307, so that the frame 307 can be restored to verticality during the starting process; if the frame is not tilted, the first reduction motor 302 and the second reduction motor 310 are directly started at the same time and the same output speed is maintained to drive the frame to start smoothly;

[0054] Step 3.3: After starting, the first reduction motor 302 and the second reduction motor 310 are kept at the same output speed to drive the frame to move smoothly until it reaches the target position and brakes to stop. At the same time, the Fork component 315 moves along the Z axis according to the calculated moving path until it reaches the target position.

[0055] Step 4: The wafer box 500 is stored into or taken out from the target wafer box storage position through the Fork component 315 .

[0056] 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.

[0057] 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, comprising a transport vehicle body (300), wherein the transport vehicle body (300) comprises a vehicle frame (307), characterized in that: The upper and lower ends of the vehicle frame (307) are respectively provided with an upper driving part and a lower driving part; The lower driving part comprises a first reduction motor (302) connected to the vehicle frame (307) and a bottom driving wheel (301) connected to the first reduction motor (302) by power; The upper driving part comprises a second reduction motor (310) connected to the frame (307); the second reduction motor (310) is dynamically connected to a top driving wheel (309); the top driving wheel (309) is dynamically connected to a top driven wheel (311); and the distance between the top driving wheel (309) and the top driven wheel (311) is adjustable.

2. The automatic transport vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that: A bottom support member (305) is provided at the lower end of the vehicle frame (307), and the bottom support member (305) is arranged along the moving direction of the transport vehicle body (300), and the first reduction motor (302) is fixedly connected to the vehicle frame (307) via the bottom support member (305).

3. The automatic transport vehicle according to claim 2, characterized in that: A ground rail (306) is provided below the vehicle frame (307); the bottom driving wheel (301) is dynamically connected to a bottom driven wheel (303); the bottom driving wheel (301) is located at one end of the bottom support member (305) away from the bottom driving wheel (301); and the bottom driving wheel (301) and the bottom driven wheel (303) are both located at the upper end of the ground rail (306).

4. The automatic transport vehicle according to claim 3, characterized in that: Bottom guide wheels (304) are provided on both sides of the bottom support member (305), and the bottom guide wheels (304) are located on both sides of the ground rail (306).

5. The automatic transport vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that: A ceiling rail (314) is provided above the vehicle frame (307), and the top driving wheel (309) and the top driven wheel (311) are located on both sides of the ceiling rail (314).

6. The automatic transport vehicle according to claim 5, characterized in that: A top support member (313) is fixedly connected to the top of the vehicle frame (307); the second reduction motor (310) is connected to the vehicle frame (307) via the top support member (313); a top guide wheel (312) is provided on the side of the top support member (313) away from the top driving wheel (309); two top guide wheels (312) are provided and the two top guide wheels (312) are located on both sides of the ceiling rail (314).

7. The automatic transport vehicle according to claim 6, characterized in that: The upper end of the top support member (313) is fixedly connected with a spring tensioning plate (316) and slidably connected with a sliding block (321); the top driving wheel (309) and the second reduction motor (310) are fixedly connected with the sliding block (321); an optical axis (320) is fixedly connected to the sliding block (321); one end of the optical axis (320) away from the sliding block (321) passes through the spring tensioning plate (316) and is threadedly connected with a tensioning bolt (318); a tensioning spring (319) is sleeved on the optical axis (320); and the tensioning spring (319) is located between the spring tensioning plate (316) and the sliding block (321).

8. A wafer box automatic storage system using the automatic transport vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 7, comprising a wafer storage cabinet, characterized in that: The wafer storage cabinet comprises a plurality of wafer storage positions (200) arranged in a matrix, the two sides of the wafer storage cabinet are respectively a first dead zone (100) and a second dead zone (400), a transport vehicle body (300) is provided at the front end of the wafer storage cabinet, the transport vehicle body (300) comprises a frame (307), a maintenance ladder (308) is provided on one side of the frame (307), and a Fork assembly (315) is slidably connected to the frame (307) up and down.

9. A wafer box automatic storage method as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: Step 1, the control system issues a wafer box (500) pick-up and placement instruction, and gives the coordinates of the target wafer box storage location; Step 2, calculating the movement path of the Fork component (315) from the current position to the target wafer box storage position transport vehicle body (300) according to the current coordinates of the Fork component (315) on the transport vehicle body (300); Step 3, the transport vehicle body (300) moves according to the motion path calculated in step (2), and moves the Fork component (315) to the target wafer box storage position; Step 4: The wafer box (500) is stored in a target wafer box storage position or taken out from the target wafer box storage position through the Fork component (315).

10. The automatic storage method for wafer boxes according to claim 9, characterized in that: The movement of the transport vehicle body (300) in step 3 includes the following steps: Step 3.1, obtaining the current positions of the upper end and the lower end of the frame (307) and calculating the verticality of the frame (307); Step 3.2, if the frame (307) is tilted, the output speed difference between the first reduction motor (302) and the second reduction motor (310) during the start-up phase is calculated according to the verticality of the frame (307) and the movement direction of the frame (307), so that the frame (307) can be restored to verticality during the start-up process; if the frame is not tilted, the first reduction motor (302) and the second reduction motor (310) are directly started at the same time and the same output speed is maintained to drive the frame to start smoothly; Step 3.3: After starting, the first reduction motor (302) and the second reduction motor (310) are kept at the same output speed to drive the frame to move smoothly until it reaches the target position and brakes to stop. At the same time, the Fork component (315) moves along the Z axis according to the calculated moving path until it reaches the target position.

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