A flipping mechanism

Abstract

The present invention relates to the technical field of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and specifically relates to a flipping mechanism, which includes a frame. A rotating mechanism is assembled on the frame through an embedded bearing retaining ring and a bearing adjusting ring. The rotating mechanism is driven to flip by a driving mechanism installed on one side of the frame. The rotating mechanism includes a set of rotating discs connected by a transmission shaft; a jaw mechanism, which includes an inner jaw assembly and an outer jaw assembly that are symmetrically arranged on the rotating disc and are staggered in the radial direction; the inner jaw assembly and the outer jaw assembly each include at least one retractable jaw finger, and through their telescopic actions, the substrate is locked and released under the flipping of the rotating mechanism. Through the reciprocating cycle of these two processes, the flipping device can automatically and continuously flip the substrate, reduce the intermediate time interval, improve the flipping efficiency, and at the same time, by using a number of jaw fingers provided on the inner and outer jaws, the flipping mechanism can flip multiple layers of substrates simultaneously, further improving the flipping efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and more particularly to a flipping mechanism. Background Art

[0002] In the semiconductor manufacturing industry, the up-and-down flipping of substrates is a common operation requirement in fully automatic machine tools.

[0003] To meet this requirement, there have been some design solutions for substrate flipping mechanisms.

[0004] The existing invention patent with the publication number CN103811397B discloses a substrate flipping and centering device, which includes a holding part II, a holding part I, a flipping drive part, a translation drive part, a control part I, a control part II, a transmission mechanism I, and a transmission mechanism II. Among them, the holding part II and the holding part I are connected to the translation drive part through the transmission mechanism II and are connected to the flipping drive part through the transmission mechanism I. The holding part II and the holding part I realize the centering and flipping of the substrate through the driving of the translation drive part and the flipping drive part. The translation drive part and the flipping drive part are respectively connected to the control part II and the control part I. The present invention can realize the flipping and centering of wafers without occupying the conveying time of the robotic arm, with a simple structure and flexible control.

[0005] However, the existing substrate flipping mechanisms have the following defects: they adopt a single-layer flipping unit, but due to the excessive height occupied by its up-and-down clamping structure, the overlapping flipping of multiple layers of substrates is restricted, and the clamping integration is not high, and the installation method is limited, making it difficult to be integrally arranged on the wafer transfer path of an automatic robot. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a flipping mechanism to solve the problem of the single-layer flipping unit restricting the overlapping flipping of multiple layers of substrates as mentioned in the above background art.

[0007] To achieve the above purpose, the present invention provides the following technical solution: A flipping mechanism includes a frame, on which a rotating mechanism is assembled through an embedded bearing retaining ring and a bearing adjusting ring. The rotating mechanism is driven to flip by a driving mechanism installed on one side of the frame. The rotating mechanism includes a set of rotating discs connected by a transmission shaft; a jaw mechanism, including an inner jaw assembly and an outer jaw assembly symmetrically arranged on the rotating disc and staggered in the radial direction. Each of the inner jaw assembly and the outer jaw assembly includes at least one retractable jaw finger, and through its telescopic movement, the substrate is locked and released under the flipping of the rotating mechanism.

[0008] As a further description of the above technical solution:

[0009] Both the inner jaw assembly and the outer jaw assembly are equipped with translation cylinders through cylinder mounting parts, and the outer jaw mounting plate connected to the output end of the translation cylinder is longer than the inner jaw mounting plate. One end of the outer jaw mounting plate is fixedly connected with a jaw connecting piece I, and the vertical height of the jaw connecting piece II fixedly connected to one end of the inner jaw mounting plate is lower than that of the jaw connecting piece I.

[0010] As a further description of the above technical solution:

[0011] The driving mechanism includes a bracket installed on the frame and a rotating motor thereon. The power output shaft of the rotating motor is connected to the rotating shaft on the rotating disc through a coupling.

[0012] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0013] In the present invention, the inner and outer jaw assemblies can respectively perform the function of supporting the wafer. The inner jaws extend to support the wafer, and the locking and releasing functions of the substrate are realized by the opening and closing of the outer jaws; after the substrate is rotated 180° by the rotating mechanism, the outer jaws extend to support the wafer, and the locking and releasing functions of the substrate are realized by the opening and closing of the inner jaws. Through the reciprocating cycle of these two processes, the flipping device can automatically and continuously flip the substrate, reduce the intermediate time interval, and improve the flipping efficiency. At the same time, by using a number of jaw fingers provided on the inner and outer jaws, the flipping mechanism can flip multiple layers of substrates simultaneously, further improving the flipping efficiency; in addition, the use of retractable jaws enables the flipping mechanism to be applicable to the flipping of substrates of various sizes, expanding the application range of the flipping mechanism; compared with manual flipping, this mechanism greatly improves the automation level of the flipping operation and reduces the labor cost. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] In order to more clearly illustrate the specific embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for the description of the specific embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the following drawings are some embodiments of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0015] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention;

[0016] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the frame structure of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 3 It is a side view of the overall structure of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the rotating mechanism of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the inner jaw assembly of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the outer jaw assembly of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 7 Of the present invention Figure 1 Enlarged view of part A in the present invention.

[0022] Explanation of reference numerals in the drawings:

[0023] 10. Frame; 11. Bearing retaining ring; 12. Bearing adjusting ring;

[0024] 20. Rotating mechanism; 21. Rotating disc; 22. Rotating shaft; 23. Transmission shaft;

[0025] 30. Driving mechanism; 31. Rotating motor; 32. Coupling; 33. Bracket;

[0026] 40. Jaw mechanism; 41. Inner jaw assembly; 413. Inner side jaw mounting plate; 414. Jaw connecting piece II; 42. Outer jaw assembly; 423. Outer side jaw mounting plate; 424. Jaw connecting piece I; 43. Jaw finger; 44. Cylinder mounting piece; 45. Translating cylinder. Detailed implementation manners

[0027] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0028] Please refer to Figures 1 to 7 , the present invention provides a flipping mechanism, including a frame 10, on which a rotating mechanism 20 is assembled through an embedded bearing retaining ring 11 and a bearing adjusting ring 12. The rotating mechanism 20 is driven to flip by a driving mechanism 30 installed on one side of the frame 10. The rotating mechanism 20 includes a set of rotating discs 21 connected through a transmission shaft 23; the driving mechanism 30 includes a bracket 33 installed on the frame 10 and a rotating motor 31 thereon. The power output shaft of the rotating motor 31 is connected to the rotating shaft 22 on the rotating disc 21 through a coupling 32.

[0029] Among them, the rotating motor 31 is used to drive the flipping of the entire rotating mechanism 20 to achieve a 180° rotation of the substrate; the rotating motor 31 is installed on the bracket 33 through bolts, and the power of the rotating motor 31 is transmitted to the rotating mechanism 20 through the coupling 32, thereby driving the rotation of the jaw mechanism 40 in the rotating mechanism 20.

[0030] In addition, it is worth noting that the bearing pressing ring 11 is one of the core components of the rotating mechanism 20. It bears the weight of the entire rotating structure and realizes the transmission of power through connection with the motor. During the flipping process of the substrate, the bearing pressing ring 11 ensures the smooth and precise rotation of the rotating structure; the bearing adjusting ring 12 is used to adjust the coaxiality between the bearing pressing ring 11 and the motor shaft to ensure precise alignment between the two. This helps to reduce friction, wear and vibration, and improve the operating efficiency and lifespan of the flipping mechanism.

[0031] As Figure 1 、 Figures 4 - 7 shown, the jaw mechanism 40 includes an inner jaw assembly 41 and an outer jaw assembly 42 that are symmetrically arranged on the rotating disk 21 and staggered in the radial direction; the inner jaw assembly 41 and the outer jaw assembly 42 each include at least one retractable jaw finger 43, and through their telescopic actions, the substrate is locked and released under the flipping of the rotating mechanism 20.

[0032] More specifically, both the inner jaw assembly 41 and the outer jaw assembly 42 are equipped with translation cylinders 45 through cylinder mounting parts 44, and the outer jaw mounting plate 423 connected to the output end of the translation cylinder 45 is longer than the inner jaw mounting plate 413. One end of the outer jaw mounting plate 423 is fixedly connected with a jaw connecting part one 424, and the vertical height of the jaw connecting part two 414 fixedly connected to one end of the inner jaw mounting plate 413 is lower than the height of the jaw connecting part one 424. This ensures that the inner jaw assembly 41 and the outer jaw assembly 42 do not interfere with each other during telescoping.

[0033] When the substrate needs to be flipped, the inner jaw assembly 41 is in the extended state and the outer jaw assembly 42 is in the retracted state. At this time, the substrate is placed on the jaw fingers 43 in the inner jaw assembly 41, and then the translation cylinder 45 is used to push the outer jaw assembly 42 to extend. The jaw fingers 43 in the outer jaw assembly 42 and the jaw fingers 43 in the inner jaw assembly 41 form a closed space to lock the substrate; after the rotating motor 31 drives the rotating structure to rotate 180°, the translation cylinder 45 controls the inner jaw assembly 41 to retract. At this time, the jaw fingers 43 in the outer jaw assembly 42 carry the substrate to release it, and the substrate can be taken out.

[0034] For the flipped substrate, the outer jaw assembly 42 is in the extended state and the inner jaw assembly 41 is in the retracted state. At this time, the substrate is placed on the jaw fingers 43 in the outer jaw assembly 42. Then, the inner jaw assembly 41 is extended by using the translation cylinder 45. The jaw fingers 43 in the inner jaw assembly 41 and the jaw fingers 43 in the outer jaw assembly 42 form a closed space to lock the substrate. The substrate is flipped again. After the motor drives the rotating mechanism 20 to rotate 180°, the outer jaw assembly 42 retracts. At this time, the inner jaw assembly 41 holds the wafer, and the substrate is released and can be taken out. Through the reciprocating cycle of these two processes, the flipping device can automatically and continuously flip the substrate, reduce the intermediate time interval, and improve the flipping efficiency.

[0035] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and are not intended to limit them. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or perform equivalent replacements for some or all of the technical features. These modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A turning mechanism, comprising a frame (10), wherein a rotating mechanism (20) is mounted on the frame (10) via an embedded bearing pressure ring (11) and a bearing adjustment ring (12), wherein the rotating mechanism (20) is driven to turn over via a driving mechanism (30) mounted on one side of the frame (10), characterized in that: The rotating mechanism (20) comprises a group of rotating discs (21) connected via a transmission shaft (23); A clamping jaw mechanism (40) comprises an inner clamping jaw assembly (41) and an outer clamping jaw assembly (42) which are symmetrically arranged on a rotating disk (21) and staggered in a radial direction; The inner clamping jaw assembly (41) and the outer clamping jaw assembly (42) each include at least one retractable clamping jaw finger (43), and through the retracting action thereof, the substrate is locked and released when the rotating mechanism (20) is turned over; The inner clamping jaw assembly (41) and the outer clamping jaw assembly (42) are both mounted with a translation cylinder (45) via a cylinder mounting member (44), and the outer clamping jaw mounting plates (423) respectively connected to the output ends of the translation cylinder (45) are longer than the inner clamping jaw mounting plates (413); One end of the outer clamping jaw mounting plate (423) is fixedly connected to a clamping jaw connecting piece 1 (424), and the vertical height of the clamping jaw connecting piece 2 (414) fixedly connected to one end of the inner clamping jaw mounting plate (413) is lower than that of the clamping jaw connecting piece 1 (424).

2. A turning mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving mechanism (30) comprises a bracket (33) mounted on the frame (10) and a rotating motor (31) mounted thereon, wherein a power output shaft of the rotating motor (31) is connected to a rotating shaft (22) on a rotating disc (21) via a coupling (32).

Images