Silicon wafer transmission system

Abstract

The invention provides a silicon wafer conveying system, and relates to the technical field of silicon wafer conveying. The silicon wafer transmission system comprises a first transmission unit which comprises at least two first transmission line bodies; the second transmission unit comprises a second transmission line body and is provided with a detection mechanism; the third transmission unit comprises a plurality of third transmission line bodies; wherein a silicon wafer is transmitted through the first transmission unit, the second transmission unit and the third transmission unit in sequence; a first carrying unit is arranged between the first transmission unit and the second transmission unit, so that the silicon wafers on the at least two first transmission line bodies can be sequentially arranged on the second transmission line body; a second carrying unit is arranged between the second transmission unit and the third transmission units and is provided with a steering mechanism, so that a plurality of silicon wafers on the second transmission line body can be changed in direction together and are respectively transferred to a plurality of third transmission line bodies; in the silicon wafer conveying process, direction conversion can be conveniently carried out, and meanwhile the number of detection devices can be reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of silicon wafer transportation, and particularly to a silicon wafer transmission system. Background Art

[0002] A silicon wafer is a thin slice made of high-purity silicon, which is the basic material for manufacturing semiconductor devices and integrated circuits. In the photovoltaic industry, after cutting a whole silicon wafer into half wafers, it is usually necessary to rearrange and adjust the orientation of the half wafers to adapt to the design of the components and improve the performance. During transportation, the half wafers usually need to be divided into multiple groups for transportation, and it is necessary to detect the quality of the silicon wafers to check for defects such as hidden cracks.

[0003] In the existing automated production line, since the AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) transportation device docked with the silicon wafer transmission system usually has multiple silicon wafer cassette channels, and two placement areas are usually set in the silicon wafer cassette to place two half wafers cut from a complete silicon wafer, the silicon wafer transmission system uses multiple line bodies for transmission, and detection devices are respectively set on each line body for detection. On the one hand, this leads to a large number of detection devices, high failure rate, large error and high cost. On the other hand, multiple line bodies also make it complicated to rearrange and adjust the orientation of the silicon wafers, and a large number of devices such as robotic arms are required to cooperate to complete the operation. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In order to solve the problems in the prior art that the silicon wafer transmission system uses multiple line bodies for transmission, resulting in a relatively large number of detection devices and a relatively large difficulty in converting the orientation of the silicon wafers, the present invention provides a silicon wafer transmission system that can conveniently convert the orientation during the transmission of the silicon wafers and reduce the number of detection devices at the same time.

[0005] The technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows:

[0006] A silicon wafer transmission system, comprising:

[0007] A first transmission unit, including at least two first transmission line bodies;

[0008] A second transmission unit, including a second transmission line body, on which a detection mechanism is provided; and

[0009] A third transmission unit, including multiple third transmission line bodies;

[0010] Among them, the silicon wafers are sequentially transported through the first transport unit, the second transport unit, and the third transport unit; the silicon wafers are transferred between the first transport unit and the second transport unit by the first handling unit, and the first handling unit can arrange the silicon wafers on at least two of the first transport lines on the second transport line in sequence; the silicon wafers are transferred between the second transport unit and the third transport unit by the second handling unit, and the second handling unit has a steering mechanism, which can change the directions of multiple silicon wafers on the second transport line together and transfer them to multiple third transport lines respectively.

[0011] Further, the first transport unit further includes:

[0012] A jacking mechanism, arranged at the bottom of the first transport line, for lifting and lowering the silicon wafer cassette; and

[0013] An air knife, arranged on the side of the first transport line, for blowing off the silicon wafers in the silicon wafer cassette.

[0014] Further, a bottom plate is arranged below the first transport line, and the jacking mechanism includes:

[0015] A push rod, slidably embedded in the bottom plate, with a top piece connected above the push rod and a nut seat connected below;

[0016] A second motor, arranged below the bottom plate; and

[0017] A screw rod, its upper end is threadedly connected to the nut seat, and its lower end is driven by a synchronous belt with the output shaft of the second motor;

[0018] Among them, when the second motor rotates, it can drive the push rod and the top piece to move up and down.

[0019] Further, a return unit is further included, and the return unit includes:

[0020] A lifting mechanism, including two second slide rails vertically arranged at the ends of the two first transport lines, a line body lifting plate is slidably sleeved on the second slide rails, a second lifting cylinder is arranged above the second slide rails, and the telescopic rod of the second lifting cylinder is connected to the line body lifting plate to control its up and down movement, and the line body lifting plate can feed in and out the silicon wafer cassette; and

[0021] Two return lines, arranged below the two first transport lines, can be respectively docked with the line body lifting plate and the AGV transport device.

[0022] Further, the first transmission line body includes a first front - section line body and a first rear - section line body, the return line body includes a return front - section line body and a return rear - section line body, and an orbit adjusting mechanism is jointly provided on the first transmission unit and the return unit; the orbit adjusting mechanism includes:

[0023] A base, arranged below one of the return rear - section line bodies on one side;

[0024] A first adjusting cylinder, arranged on the base;

[0025] A third slide rail, arranged on the base; and

[0026] A sliding frame, slidably arranged on the third slide rail, and the sliding frame is respectively connected to one of the first front - section line bodies and one of the return rear - section line bodies on one side;

[0027] Wherein, the telescopic rod of the first adjusting cylinder is connected to one of the return rear - section line bodies on one side, and can drive the sliding frame and the connected first front - section line body and return rear - section line body to approach or move away from the first front - section line body and return rear - section line body on the other side.

[0028] Further, the first handling unit includes:

[0029] A first linear module, arranged perpendicular to the first transmission line body, a first sliding seat is slidably arranged on the first linear module, and the first sliding seat can move between the two first transmission line bodies and the second transmission line body; and

[0030] A first adsorption mechanism, arranged below the first sliding seat, and having a first lifting cylinder and a variable - pitch suction cup assembly, and the variable - pitch suction cup assembly is arranged below the telescopic rod of the first lifting cylinder.

[0031] Further, the variable - pitch suction cup assembly includes:

[0032] A main rod, connected below the telescopic rod of the first lifting cylinder, a first fixed connecting piece is arranged near one end of the main rod, and multiple fourth slide rails are arranged at intervals along the main rod extending from the first fixed connecting piece to the other end;

[0033] Multiple sliding connecting pieces, respectively slidably arranged on the multiple fourth slide rails; and

[0034] A second adjusting cylinder, arranged on the main rod;

[0035] Wherein, a sliding connection member near the end of the main rod opposite to the first fixed connection member is connected to the telescopic rod of the second adjusting cylinder through a connecting plate; suction cups are arranged at both ends of the first fixed connection member and the sliding connection member, and an abutting portion is arranged between adjacent connection members; when the telescopic rod of the second adjusting cylinder expands and contracts, it can drive a plurality of the sliding connection members to slide together through the abutting portion.

[0036] Further, the second handling unit further includes:

[0037] A second linear module, arranged perpendicular to the second transmission line body, a third sliding seat is slidably arranged on the second linear module, and the third sliding seat can move between the second transmission line body and a plurality of third transmission line bodies; and

[0038] A second adsorption mechanism, arranged below the steering mechanism and having a suction cup assembly with a fixed spacing;

[0039] Wherein, the steering mechanism includes:

[0040] A first motor, arranged above the third sliding seat;

[0041] An adjusting shaft, connected above the second adsorption mechanism and rotatably arranged on the third sliding seat through a bearing; and

[0042] A coupling, with both ends respectively sleeved on the output shaft of the first motor and the adjusting shaft.

[0043] Further, the third transmission unit further includes a rectifying mechanism, and the rectifying mechanism is arranged below the third transmission line body; the rectifying mechanism includes a third motor and a plurality of groups of clamping jaws driven by the third motor; the plurality of groups of clamping jaws can simultaneously clamp and rectify the wafers on a plurality of the third transmission line bodies.

[0044] Further, the plurality of third transmission line bodies include a plurality of odd-numbered line bodies and a plurality of even-numbered line bodies; the wafers on the plurality of odd-numbered line bodies and the plurality of even-numbered line bodies are transmitted with staggered positions, and the plurality of groups of clamping jaws are arranged in a staggered manner so that the plurality of groups of clamping jaws correspond to the positions of the wafers.

[0045] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0046] 1. The present invention transfers wafers through the first handling unit between the first transfer unit and the second transfer unit, and concentrates the wafers from double lines to a single line; meanwhile, the wafers are transferred through the second handling unit between the second transfer unit and the third transfer unit, and the wafers are dispersed from a single line to multiple lines and the direction is changed. Multiple groups of wafers that need to be transported in multiple lines are concentrated on the second transfer line body for transportation, realizing that all wafers can be detected by one detection mechanism, and solving the problems in the prior art that the wafer transfer system uses multiple line bodies for transfer, resulting in a large number of detection devices and great difficulty in changing the direction of wafers.

[0047] 2. The present invention has two first transfer line bodies provided by the first transfer unit. When the first handling unit transfers wafers from one of the first transfer line bodies 110 on one side to the second transfer line body 210, the other first transfer line body on the other side feeds materials. Thus, the first handling unit can continuously transfer wafers from the first transfer line bodies on both sides to the second transfer line body; moreover, when the second handling unit transfers wafers from the second transfer line body to multiple third transfer line bodies, the second transfer line body performs detection and feeding by using the time of its reciprocating translation and rotation; therefore, the wafer transfer system of the present invention can realize uninterrupted wafer loading and transfer, improving work efficiency.

[0048] 3. The present invention sets the upper and lower double-layer first transfer line body 110 and the return line body 710, making full use of the space, reducing the floor area of the equipment, and being conducive to docking with the AGV transportation device at the same time.

[0049] 4. The present invention performs staggered transfer of wafers through the odd-numbered line body and the even-numbered line body, and then cooperates with the alignment mechanism with multiple groups of jaws for clamping and alignment, so that the wafers on multiple third transfer line bodies can be position-corrected simultaneously, and the maximum correctable offset amount is increased. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0050] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can be obtained according to these drawings without creative efforts.

[0051] Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the mounting rack of the embodiment of the present invention;

[0052] Figure 2 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the transfer system of the embodiment of the present invention;

[0053] Figure 3 It is a top view of the transfer system of the embodiment of the present invention;

[0054] Figure 4 Schematic three-dimensional view of the first transmission unit and the return unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0055] Figure 5 Front view of the first transmission unit and the return unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0056] Figure 6 Schematic three-dimensional view of the track adjusting mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0057] Figure 7 Schematic three-dimensional view of the first handling unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0058] Figure 8 Rear view of the first handling unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0059] Figure 9 Schematic three-dimensional view of the second handling unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0060] Figure 10 Schematic view of the second handling unit adsorbing a silicon wafer according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0061] Figure 11 Schematic view of the second handling unit placing a silicon wafer according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0062] Figure 12 Schematic three-dimensional view of the steering mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0063] Figure 13 Schematic three-dimensional view of the alignment mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0064] Figure 14 Schematic three-dimensional view of the odd-numbered line body according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0065] Figure 15 Schematic three-dimensional view of the even-numbered line body according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0066] Figure 16 Schematic structural view of the lifting mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0067] Reference numerals: 100 - first transmission unit, 110 - first transmission line body, 112 - first front-section line body, 114 - first rear-section line body, 115 - bottom plate, 120 - lifting mechanism, 122 - second motor, 124 - synchronous belt, 126 - screw rod, 127 - nut seat, 128 - ejector rod, 129 - ejector piece, 130 - air knife;

[0068] 200 - Second transfer unit, 210 - Second transfer line body, 212 - Second front - section line body, 214 - Second middle - section line body, 216 - Second rear - section line body, 220 - Detection mechanism, 222 - Scanning camera, 224 - Scanning light source, 230 - Wafer recycling box;

[0069] 300 - Third transfer unit, 310 - Third transfer line body, 312 - Odd - numbered line body, 314 - Even - numbered line body, 320 - Alignment mechanism, 322 - Third motor, 324 - Claw;

[0070] 400 - First handling unit, 420 - First linear module, 424 - First sliding seat, 460 - First adsorption mechanism, 461 - Connecting wall, 462 - First slide rail, 464 - Second sliding seat, 466 - First lifting cylinder, 468 - Variable - pitch suction cup assembly, 4681 - Connecting plate, 4682 - Sliding connecting piece, 4683 - Fourth slide rail, 4684 - Abutting part, 4685 - Main rod, 4686 - Synchronous connecting block, 4688 - First fixed connecting piece, 4689 - Second adjusting cylinder;

[0071] 500 - Second handling unit, 520 - Second linear module, 524 - Third sliding seat, 525 - Fixed frame, 540 - Steering mechanism, 542 - First motor, 544 - Coupling, 546 - Adjusting shaft, 548 - Bearing, 560 - Second adsorption mechanism, 564 - Fixed - pitch suction cup assembly, 5645 - Second main rod, 5648 - Second fixed connecting piece;

[0072] 600 - Mounting frame;

[0073] 700 - Return unit, 710 - Lifting mechanism, 712 - Second slide rail, 714 - Line - body lifting plate, 716 - Second lifting cylinder, 720 - Return line body, 722 - Return front - section line body, 724 - Return rear - section line body, 740 - Track adjusting mechanism, 742 - Base, 744 - First adjusting cylinder, 746 - Third slide rail, 748 - Sliding frame. Detailed implementation manners

[0074] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the orientation or positional relationships indicated by the terms "center", "longitudinal", "transverse", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counter - clockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential", etc. are based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the drawings. These are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, it should not be construed as a limitation to the present invention.

[0075] The following disclosure provides many different embodiments or examples for implementing different structures of the present invention. To simplify the disclosure of the present invention, the components and settings of specific examples are described below. Of course, they are only examples and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0076] The embodiments of the invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0077] Embodiment 1

[0078] Please refer to Figures 1-16 , this embodiment provides a silicon wafer transfer system, which can be docked with an AGV transport device for silicon wafer transfer, direction conversion, and quality inspection. The silicon wafer transfer system can conveniently perform direction conversion during the silicon wafer transfer process, and at the same time reduce the number of detection devices. The silicon wafer transfer system mainly includes: a first transfer unit 100, a second transfer unit 200, a third transfer unit 300, and a mounting frame 600, etc.

[0079] The first transfer unit 100 is used to dock with the AGV transport device and transport the silicon wafer cassette, and convey the silicon wafer cassette to the subsequent transfer unit. The transfer object silicon wafer cassette in this embodiment has two parallel placement areas, each placing a stack of silicon wafers. As Figure 4 , Figure 5 shown, the first transfer unit 100 mainly includes two first transfer lines 110, which are respectively docked with two channels on the AGV transport device, and can transfer two groups of silicon wafer cassettes at the same time. It should be noted that in one or more other embodiments, there is also a solution in which multiple first transfer lines 110 are provided to adapt to the AGV transport device with multiple channels. In this embodiment, the first transfer line 110 includes a first front section line 112 and a first rear section line 114. The first rear section line 114 is arranged in the extending direction of the first front section line 112, and the silicon wafer cassette transferred to the end of the first front section line 112 can directly enter the head of the first rear section line 114. At the same time, a lifting mechanism 120 is arranged at the bottom of the first rear section line 114, and an air knife 130 is arranged on the side; the lifting mechanism 120 is used to lift the silicon wafer cassette, so that the silicon wafers in the silicon wafer cassette rise to a height where the air knife 130 can act, and the silicon wafers are blown off by the air knife 130 to be separated from the other silicon wafers below, so that the silicon wafers in the silicon wafer cassette can be taken out and enter the subsequent handling and transfer unit, and since the air knife 130 blows off from the side, the distance between adjacent silicon wafers can be maintained at the distance in the silicon wafer frame.

[0080] The silicon wafers are transferred between the first transfer unit 100 and the second transfer unit 200 through the first handling unit 400. As Figure 7 , Figure 8As shown in the figure, the first handling unit 400 mainly includes: the first linear module 420, the first adsorption mechanism 460, etc. Among them, the first linear module 420 is used to provide displacement in the horizontal direction. The first linear module 420 has a built-in drive circuit, a drive motor is provided at one end, and has a linear slideway. There are three mounting plates at the bottom of the first linear module 420, which are respectively located near its two ends and the middle, and are used to fix the first linear module 420 on the mounting frame 600. The linear slideway of the first linear module 420 is perpendicular to the first transmission line body 110 and is horizontally arranged. At both sides of the position near the top of the first linear module 420, there are communicating chutes. The lower part of the first slide seat 424 is generally in the shape of a sleeve with a rectangular cross-section, and is slidably sleeved above the first linear module 420 through the communicating chutes on both sides. The first linear module 420 can drive the first slide seat 424 to slide along its linear slideway on the first linear module 420, that is, to slide between the two first transmission line bodies 110 and the second transmission line body 210. And, one side of the top of the first slide seat 424 extends outward in the direction perpendicular to the first linear module 420, and the first adsorption mechanism 460 is arranged below the extended part of the first slide seat 424. The first adsorption mechanism 460 mainly includes a connecting wall 461, a first slide rail 462, a second slide seat 464, a first lifting cylinder 466, a variable-spacing suction cup assembly 468, etc. A vertically arranged first slide rail 462 is provided at the lower part of the connecting wall 461, and a first lifting cylinder 466 is provided on the side of the connecting wall 461. The telescopic rod of the first lifting cylinder 466 can extend and retract in the vertical direction. The second slide seat 464 is connected to the bottom of the telescopic rod, and the second slide seat 464 is slidably sleeved on the first slide rail 462 and can move up and down under the control of the first lifting cylinder 466, and drive the variable-spacing suction cup assembly 468 connected below it to lift and lower together, so as to take out and transfer the silicon wafers from the silicon wafer cassette. At the same time, the variable-spacing suction cup assembly 468 is provided with a plurality of suction cups arranged at intervals in the same straight line direction, and can adsorb multiple silicon wafers at one time and adjust the spacing of each suction cup uniformly.

[0081] The second transmission unit 200 is used for transporting silicon wafers, transporting the silicon wafers to the subsequent transmission units, and simultaneously performing quality inspection on the silicon wafers. As Figure 10 、 Figure 11As shown in the figure, the second transfer unit 200 mainly includes a second transfer line body 210, and the second transfer line body 210 is mainly composed of a second front line body 212, a relatively short second middle line body 214, and a second rear line body 216, etc., which are arranged in sequence along a straight line direction. Among them, a detection mechanism 220 is arranged at the interval between the second front line body 212 and the second middle line body 214. The detection mechanism 220 includes a scanning camera 222 arranged above the interval and a scanning light source 224 below the interval. Among them, the scanning camera 222 scans the silicon wafers passing on the second transfer line body 210 below, and the scanning light source 224 irradiates below for auxiliary imaging, so as to detect whether there are quality problems such as hidden cracks on the silicon wafers. At the same time, the second rear line body 216 continues to transport the detected silicon wafers to a suitable position to facilitate the subsequent device to carry them, and a silicon wafer recycling box 230 is arranged at the end of the second rear line body 216 for collecting the silicon wafers with quality problems detected by the detection mechanism 220.

[0082] The silicon wafers are transferred between the second transfer unit 200 and the third transfer unit 300 through the second handling unit 500. Since the silicon wafers transferred in this embodiment are half silicon wafers cut from complete silicon wafers, and the half silicon wafers need to be adjusted in direction to meet the design requirements of the process, equipment and components, the second handling unit 500 is provided with a steering mechanism 540, and the second handling unit 500 also has a second linear module 520 and a second adsorption mechanism 560. Among them, the second linear module 520 is used to provide horizontal displacement. The second linear module 520 has a built-in drive circuit, a drive motor is arranged at one end, and it has a linear slideway. As Figure 9As shown in the figure, three mounting plates are provided at the bottom of the second linear module 520, respectively located at positions near its two ends and the middle, for fixing the second linear module 520 on the mounting rack 600. The linear slideway of the second linear module 520 is perpendicular to the second transmission line body 210 and is horizontally arranged. At positions near the top of the second linear module 520, communicating chutes are provided on both sides. Moreover, the lower part of the third slide block 524 is generally in the shape of a sleeve with a rectangular cross-section, and is slidably sleeved above the second linear module 520 through the communicating chutes on both sides. The second linear module 520 can drive the third slide block 524 to slide along its linear slideway on the second linear module 520, that is, to slide between the second transmission line body 210 and multiple third transmission line bodies 310. And, one side of the top of the third slide block 524 extends outward in a direction perpendicular to the second linear module 520. Above the extended part, a generally rectangular fixing frame 525 is provided. The turning mechanism 540 is arranged at the fixing frame 525 on the extended part of the third slide block 524, and can be driven by the second linear module 520 to move from above the line body of the second transmission unit 200 to above the line body of the third transmission unit 300. The turning mechanism 540 is used to rotate the silicon wafer by 90° during the movement process, converting the transmission direction of the long and short sides of the silicon wafer to meet the design requirements of subsequent processes, equipment, and components. In this embodiment, the turning mechanism 540 mainly includes a first motor 542, a coupling 544, and an adjusting shaft 546, etc. As Figure 12 As shown in the figure, the first motor 542 is arranged above the fixing frame 525 of the third slide block 524, and the output shaft of the first motor 542 passes through the top wall of the fixing frame 525. The coupling 544 is arranged inside the fixing frame 525. The upper end of the coupling 544 is sleeved on the output shaft of the first motor 542 for transmission. At the same time, the lower end of the coupling 544 is sleeved on the upper end of the adjusting shaft 546. The adjusting shaft 546 is rotatably arranged on the extended part of the bottom of the fixing frame 525 of the third slide block 524 through a bearing 548, and the lower end of the adjusting shaft 546 passes through the extended part and is connected to the second adsorption mechanism 560, so as to transmit the torque to the second adsorption mechanism 560, enabling the second adsorption mechanism 560 to be controlled by the first motor 542 to rotate, thereby adjusting the direction. In addition, in this embodiment, the first motor 542 is a servo motor, which is used to accurately control the rotation angle to ensure that the transmission directions of the long and short sides of the semi-silicon wafer meet the requirements of subsequent processes. The second adsorption mechanism 560 is arranged below the extended part of the third slide block 524 and is connected below the adjusting shaft 546 of the turning mechanism 540, and can change the direction under the control of the turning mechanism 540, thereby converting the transmission directions of the long and short sides of the silicon wafer adsorbed by it. The second adsorption mechanism 560 mainly includes a fixed-spacing suction cup assembly 564. Below the fixed-spacing suction cup assembly 564, a plurality of suction cups are arranged at intervals along the same straight line direction, and can adsorb multiple silicon wafers at one time and keep the spacing between the silicon wafers fixed.

[0083] The third transfer unit 300 includes multiple third transfer line bodies 310, which are used to simultaneously transport multiple wafers after the direction conversion. The third transfer line bodies 310 are arranged on the other side of the mounting frame 600. One end of the second linear module 520 is located above the head end of the third transfer line body 310, and the other end of the second linear module 520 is located above the second rear section line body of the second transfer line body 210. Therefore, the second handling unit 500 can move between the second transfer line body 210 and the third transfer line body 310 for handling.

[0084] The mounting frame 600 is used to uniformly set and mount the first transfer unit 100, the second transfer unit 200, the third transfer unit 300, etc. Multiple feet are provided at the bottom of the mounting frame 600 to maintain stability, a top plate is provided at the top for protection, and the middle part is connected by alternately arranging multiple horizontal rods and vertical rods to facilitate the installation of each unit and component. In one or more other embodiments, multiple small support components, such as support frames, can also be set to replace the mounting frame 600, and multiple small support components are respectively used to set and mount each unit and component of the wafer transfer system.

[0085] A specific working mode of this embodiment is as follows: First, the first transfer unit 100 is docked with the AGV transport device, and the wafer cassette is transported from the first front section line body 112 to the first rear section line body 114; then, on the first rear section line body 114, the wafer cassette is lifted by the lifting mechanism 120, and the wafer cassette is blown off layer by layer by the air knife 130. Each layer of blown-off wafers is adsorbed by the suction cups on the first handling unit 400; afterwards, the first handling unit 400 transfers the adsorbed wafers to the second transfer unit 200. Through the horizontal movement of the first handling unit 400, the adsorption and transfer of wafers on both side line bodies can be completed successively; on the second transfer unit 200, the wafers are transported from the second front section line body 212 to the second middle section line body 214, and at the same time, the detection mechanism 220 performs quality inspection, and then transported from the second middle section line body 214 to the second rear section line body 216; then, the suction cups of the second handling unit 500 adsorb multiple semi-wafers and move them to the head end position of multiple third transfer line bodies 310 of the third transfer unit. At the same time, the long and short side directions of multiple wafers are converted. After multiple wafers are placed on the third transfer line bodies 310, they can be transported in a direction rotated by 90°, thus meeting the process and equipment requirements. The semi-wafers detected by the detection mechanism 220 to have quality problems are transported to the wafer recovery box 230 through the second rear section line body 216.

[0086] In summary, in this embodiment, the wafer transfer system transfers wafers through the first transfer unit 400 between the first transfer unit 100 and the second transfer unit 200, and at the same time concentrates the wafers from double lines to a single line; and transfers wafers through the second transfer unit 500 between the second transfer unit 200 and the third transfer unit 300, and at the same time disperses the wafers from a single line to multiple lines and changes the direction, and concentrates multiple groups of wafers that need to be transported in multiple lines onto the second transfer line body 210 for transportation, realizing that all wafers can be detected by one detection mechanism 220, and solving the problems in the prior art that the wafer transfer system uses multiple line bodies for transfer, resulting in a large number of detection devices and great difficulty in changing the direction of wafers.

[0087] At the same time, in this embodiment, through the two first transfer line bodies 110 provided by the first transfer unit 100, when the first transfer unit 400 transfers wafers from one of the first transfer line bodies 110 on one side to the second transfer line body 210, the other first transfer line body 110 on the other side feeds materials, so that the first transfer unit 400 can continuously transfer wafers from the first transfer line bodies 110 on both sides to the second transfer line body 210. And when the second transfer unit 500 transfers wafers from the second transfer line body 210 to multiple third transfer line bodies 310, the second transfer line body 210 performs detection and feeding by using the time of its reciprocating translation and rotation. Therefore, the wafer transfer system of this embodiment can realize uninterrupted wafer loading and transfer, improving work efficiency.

[0088] Such as Figure 4 、 Figure 5As shown, in this embodiment, a return unit 700 is further provided, which is used to convey the empty wafer cassette after the wafers are taken out on the first rear section line body 114 of the first transfer unit 100 to the lower part of the first front section line body 112, so as to facilitate the docking and recovery of the empty wafer cassette by the AGV transport device. The return unit 700 mainly includes a lifting mechanism 710 and two return line bodies 720, etc. The lifting mechanism 710 mainly consists of two symmetrically arranged second slide rails 712, two line body lifting plates 714 and two second lifting cylinders 716. Among them, the second slide rails 712 are vertically arranged behind the end of the first rear section line body 114; the line body lifting plates 714 are slidably arranged on the second slide rails 712 and are horizontally arranged. The line body lifting plates 714 are provided with a line body, and the empty wafer cassette conveyed to the end along the first rear section line body 114 can be fed in and sent out below; the second lifting cylinders 716 are arranged above the second slide rails 712, and the telescopic rods of the second lifting cylinders 716 are connected to the line body lifting plates 714, which can drive the line body lifting plates 714 to lift between the height of docking with the first rear section line body 114 and the height close to the bottom of the mounting frame 600. At the same time, two return line bodies 720 are arranged at the height close to the bottom of the mounting frame 600. The return line bodies 720 include a return front section line body 722 and a return rear section line body 724. The return front section line body 722 is arranged directly below the first rear section line body 114, and the return rear section line body 724 is arranged directly below the first front section line body 112. When in use, the two input channels on the upper layer of the AGV transport device are docked with the first front section line body 112, and the two recovery channels on the lower layer are docked with the return rear section line body 724, so that the input of the wafer cassette containing wafers and the recovery of the empty wafer cassette can be completed respectively.

[0089] The wafer transfer system of this embodiment makes full use of the space by arranging the upper and lower double-layer first transfer line body 110 and the return line body 720, reduces the floor area of the equipment, and is conducive to docking with the AGV transport device at the same time.

[0090] In this embodiment, since the distance between the two channels of the AGV transport device is different from the distance between the two first rear section line bodies 114, in order to enable the first front section line body 112 and the return rear section line body 724 to adapt to different docking distances before and after, a track adjustment mechanism 740 is also provided below one of the first front section line body 112 and the return rear section line body 724 on one side, which is used to adjust the line body distance between the two first front section line bodies 112 and the return rear section line body 724 to respectively adapt to the two first rear section line bodies 114 and the AGV transport device. As Figure 6As shown in the figure, the track adjusting mechanism 740 mainly includes a base 742, a first adjusting cylinder 744, a third slide rail 746, a sliding frame 748, etc. Among them, the base 742 is mainly composed of a substantially rectangular fixed frame, which is used to set and support the adjusting components above, as well as a first front section line body 112 and a return rear section line body 724. The first adjusting cylinder 744 is arranged above the middle of the fixed frame, and its telescopic rod is perpendicular to the transmission directions of the first front section line body 112 and the return rear section line body 724. The other end of the telescopic rod is connected to the return rear section line body 724, so as to control the movement of the return rear section line body 724. At the same time, two third slide rails 746 are respectively arranged along both sides of the fixed frame. The sliding frame 748 is slidably arranged above the third slide rail 746, and the first front section line body 112 and the return rear section line body 724 are connected to the sliding frame 748. Therefore, when the telescopic rod of the first adjusting cylinder 744 expands and contracts, the sliding frame 748 and a first front section line body 112 and a return rear section line body 724 thereon slide together, so as to change the line distance between a first front section line body 112 and a return rear section line body 724 on the sliding frame 748 and another first front section line body 112 and another return rear section line body 724 on the other side, and complete the need for adapting to different distances at the front and rear ends.

[0091] As Figure 16 shown, a horizontal bottom plate 115 is arranged below the first rear section line body 114, and the lifting mechanism 120 is arranged on the bottom plate 115. The lifting mechanism 120 mainly includes a ejector rod 128 movably embedded in the bottom plate 115; a ejector plate 129 is connected above the ejector rod 128, which is used to abut against the bottom of the silicon wafer cassette; a nut seat 127 is connected below the ejector rod 128, a threaded hole is arranged below the nut seat 127, and the upper end of a screw rod 126 is threadedly connected through the threaded hole, and a synchronous pulley is sleeved on the lower end of the screw rod 126. At the same time, a second motor 122 is also arranged below the bottom plate 115, the output end of the second motor 122 faces downward, and a synchronous pulley is also sleeved, and a synchronous belt 124 is arranged between the synchronous pulley below the second motor 122 and the synchronous pulley below the screw rod 126 for transmission. When in use, since the ejector rod 128 can slide up and down relative to the bottom plate 115 but cannot rotate, the rotation of the second motor 122 can be converted into the linear motion of the ejector rod 128 in the vertical direction, so as to control the lifting of the silicon wafer cassette through the ejector plate 129.

[0092] In this embodiment, on the first adsorption mechanism 460 of the first handling unit 400, the first lifting cylinder 466 is used for lifting drive; in the lifting mechanism 710 of the return unit 700, the second lifting cylinder 716 is used for lifting drive, both of which are conventional lifting methods with relatively low costs. In the lifting mechanism 120 of the first transfer unit 100, the second motor 122 is used in cooperation with the screw 126 for lifting drive, in order to utilize the better stability, accuracy and repeatability of the motor-screw linear drive method compared with the cylinder linear drive method, to meet the high accuracy required for lifting the position of the silicon wafers layer by layer to the position where the air knife 130 acts when lifting the silicon wafer cassette, the high repeatability required for continuous feeding, and the high stability required for the silicon wafers to be stably docked and adsorbed on the suction cups.

[0093] At the same time, considering that the distance between two silicon wafers taken out from the silicon wafer cassette is fixed (i.e., the distance between two placement areas in the silicon wafer cassette), but the distance between adjacent silicon wafer cassettes may vary, resulting in unequal distances between two adjacent silicon wafers taken out from different silicon wafer cassettes. In order to adjust and unify the silicon wafer distances in different silicon wafer cassettes so that they can be accurately placed on multiple third transfer lines 310 after changing the direction, a second adjustment cylinder 4689 is provided on the side of the variable pitch suction cup assembly 468 of the first handling unit 400 in this embodiment to adjust the silicon wafer distance. As Figure 8As shown in the figure, the variable-spacing suction cup assembly 468 includes a horizontally arranged main rod 4685 connected below the second sliding seat 464. A second adjustment cylinder 4689 is arranged on the side of the main rod 4685. A plurality of shorter fourth slide rails 4683 are arranged at intervals on the lower surface of the main rod 4685. A sliding connecting member 4682 is slidably sleeved on each fourth slide rail 4683, and the sliding connecting member 4682 is located below the fourth slide rail 4683. Moreover, a sliding connecting member 4682 at one end of the main rod 4685 is connected to the telescopic rod of the second adjustment cylinder 4689 through a connecting plate 4681, and a first fixed connecting member 4688 is arranged at the other end and fixedly connected to the main rod 4685. Suction cups are connected to both ends of the first fixed connecting member 4688 and each sliding connecting member 4682. The distance between the two suction cups at both ends is fixed and is the same as the distance between the two placement areas in the silicon wafer cassette. Between the two adjacent suction cups on the adjacent connecting members (including the adjacent first fixed connecting member 4688 and sliding connecting member 4682, and the adjacent different sliding connecting members 4682), abutting portions 4684 are arranged on the opposite sides. When the telescopic rod of the second adjustment cylinder 4689 drives a sliding connecting member 4682 at one end of the main rod 4685 to slide, through the transmission of the abutting portions 4684 between the adjacent connecting members, each sliding connecting member 4682 slides in sequence. When the abutting portions 4684 are all in abutment with each other, the distance between the adjacent connecting members is unified and is also synchronized with the distance between the two placement areas in the silicon wafer cassette, so that the distance between each adjacent silicon wafer is unified. On the other hand, the fixed-spacing suction cup assembly 564 mainly includes a second main rod 5645. A plurality of second fixed connecting members 5648 are sequentially arranged on the second main rod 5645. Suction cups are arranged at both ends of each second fixed connecting member 5648. Therefore, on the fixed-spacing suction cup assembly 564, the distance between each adjacent suction cup is fixed, so that the silicon wafer spacing that has been adjusted appropriately on the variable-spacing suction cup assembly 468 can be maintained and then placed on the third transmission line body 310. Further, in order to enable the variable-spacing suction cup assembly 468 to quickly and uniformly restore the distance between the suction cups after releasing the silicon wafer, so as to facilitate direct adsorption in the next time and improve the efficiency of the continuous feeding operation, synchronous connection blocks 4686 are also arranged on the sides of the first fixed connecting member 4688 and each sliding connecting member 4682. Each synchronous connection block 4686 has a through groove, and a flexible linkage belt (not shown in the figure) passes through each through groove in sequence for embedding to connect the plurality of synchronous connection blocks 4686 together. When the first handling unit 400 releases the silicon wafer, the second adjustment cylinder 4689 drives a sliding connecting member 4682 connected to it to move in the reverse direction, so that the flexible linkage belt is tightened, and the remaining sliding connecting members 4682 are driven to slide in sequence, so that the distance between each sliding connecting member 4682 can be quickly and uniformly restored, and thus the distance between the suction cups also returns to the state when the silicon wafer was initially sucked.It should be noted that the suction cups in this embodiment are all Bernoulli suction cups. The upper surface of the suction cup is provided with an air inlet and an air outlet, which are communicated with the air flow valve arranged on the main rod above. The air flow velocity on the adsorption surface of the suction cup is adjusted through the air flow valve, and the adsorption of the silicon wafer is realized by relying on the Bernoulli principle.

[0094] In addition, the third transfer unit 300 in this embodiment further includes a rectifying mechanism 320. The multiple third transfer line bodies 310 of the third transfer unit 300 include multiple odd-numbered line bodies 312 and multiple even-numbered line bodies 314. As Figures 13-15 shown, the multiple odd-numbered line bodies 312 and the multiple even-numbered line bodies 314 are each driven by a group of motors, and the odd-numbered line bodies 312 and the even-numbered line bodies 314 are arranged alternately. The rectifying mechanism 320 is arranged below the third transfer line body 310, and mainly includes a third motor 322 and multiple groups of clamping jaws 324 driven by the third motor 322. The multiple groups of clamping jaws 324 are arranged staggeredly. At the same time, when the odd-numbered line bodies 312 and the even-numbered line bodies 314 transfer the silicon wafer, the silicon wafer is misaligned through the control of different motors, so that the multiple groups of clamping jaws 324 arranged staggeredly can face the silicon wafers on the multiple third transfer line bodies 310 and clamp and rectify them uniformly to eliminate the position offset generated during the transportation of the silicon wafer. By transferring the silicon wafers with staggered positions, the clamping jaws 324 have a larger opening limit, thereby increasing the maximum offset amount of the silicon wafer that the clamping jaws 324 can adjust, ensuring that the silicon wafers on the third transfer line body 310 can all be position-corrected and the offset is eliminated. The working principle of this rectifying mechanism 320 has been elaborated in detail in the utility model with the application number CN202322090297.2 and the application date August 4, 2023. The structures and working principles of the third transfer unit 300 and the rectifying mechanism 320 will not be elaborated in this application.

[0095] Embodiment 2

[0096] Embodiment 2 provides a different silicon wafer transfer system. The main difference from Embodiment 1 is that the suction cup assemblies in the first adsorption mechanism 460 of the first handling unit 400 and the second adsorption mechanism 560 of the second handling unit are changed. In Embodiment 2, the adsorption assembly of the first adsorption mechanism 460 adopts a fixed-spacing type, and the structure is the same as the fixed-spacing suction cup assembly 564 in Embodiment 1; while the adsorption assembly of the second adsorption mechanism 560 adopts a variable-spacing type, and the structure is the same as the variable-spacing suction cup assembly 468 in Embodiment 1. Thus, when the silicon wafer transfer system in Embodiment 2 transfers the silicon wafer between the second transfer line body 210 and the multiple third transfer line bodies 310, the silicon wafer spacing is adjusted to adapt to the spacing between the multiple third transfer line bodies 310.

[0097] The foregoing has shown and described the basic principles, main features and advantages of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should understand that the present invention is not limited by the above embodiments. The above embodiments and the descriptions in the specification are only preferred examples of the present invention and are not used to limit the present invention. Without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, the present invention will have various changes and improvements, and these changes and improvements all fall within the scope of the present invention claimed. The scope of the present invention claimed is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A silicon wafer transfer system, characterized in that, Comprising: A first transfer unit (100), including at least two first transfer line bodies (110); A second transfer unit (200), including a second transfer line body (210), on which a detection mechanism (220) is provided; and A third transfer unit (300), including multiple third transfer line bodies (310); Wherein, the silicon wafers are sequentially transferred through the first transfer unit (100), the second transfer unit (200), and the third transfer unit (300); between the first transfer unit (100) and the second transfer unit (200), the silicon wafers are transferred by a first handling unit (400), and the first handling unit (400) can sequentially arrange the silicon wafers on at least two of the first transfer line bodies (110) on the second transfer line body (210); between the second transfer unit (200) and the third transfer unit (300), the silicon wafers are transferred by a second handling unit (500), and the second handling unit (500) has a steering mechanism (540), which can convert the directions of multiple silicon wafers on the second transfer line body (210) together and transfer them to multiple third transfer line bodies (310) respectively.

2. The wafer transfer system according to claim 1, wherein The first transfer unit (100) further includes: A lifting mechanism (120), provided at the bottom of the first transfer line body (110), for lifting and lowering the silicon wafer cassette; and An air knife (130), provided on the side of the first transfer line body (110), for blowing off the silicon wafers in the silicon wafer cassette.

3. The silicon wafer transfer system according to claim 2, characterized in that, A bottom plate (115) is provided below the first transfer line body (110), and the lifting mechanism (120) includes: A push rod (128), slidably embedded in the bottom plate (115), with a top piece (129) connected above the push rod (128) and a nut seat (127) connected below; A second motor (122), provided below the bottom plate (115); and A screw rod (126), whose upper end is threadedly connected to the nut seat (127), and whose lower end is driven by a synchronous belt (124) with the output shaft of the second motor (122); Wherein, when the second motor (122) rotates, it can drive the push rod (128) and the top piece (129) to move up and down.

4. The silicon wafer transfer system according to claim 1, wherein It further includes a return unit (700), and the return unit (700) includes: A lifting mechanism (710), including two second slide rails (712) vertically provided at the ends of the two first transfer line bodies (110), on which a line body lifting plate (714) is slidably sleeved, a second lifting cylinder (716) is provided above the second slide rails (712), and the telescopic rod of the second lifting cylinder (716) is connected to the line body lifting plate (714) to control its up and down movement, and the line body lifting plate (714) can feed in and out the silicon wafer cassette; and Two return line bodies (720), provided below the two first transfer line bodies (110), which can be respectively docked with the line body lifting plate (714) and the AGV transportation device.

5. The silicon wafer transfer system according to claim 4, wherein, The first transmission line body (110) includes a first front section line body (112) and a first rear section line body (114). The return line body (720) includes a return front section line body (722) and a return rear section line body (724). An orbit adjusting mechanism (740) is also jointly provided on the first transmission unit (100) and the return unit (700). The orbit adjusting mechanism (740) includes: A base (742) provided below one of the return rear section line bodies (724) on one side; A first adjusting cylinder (744) provided on the base (742); A third slide rail (746) provided on the base (742); and A sliding frame (748) slidably provided on the third slide rail (746). The sliding frame (748) is respectively connected to one of the first front section line bodies (112) and one of the return rear section line bodies (724) on one side; Wherein, the telescopic rod of the first adjusting cylinder (744) is connected to one of the return rear section line bodies (724) on one side, and can drive the sliding frame (748) and the connected first front section line body (112) and one of the return rear section line bodies (724) to approach or move away from one of the first front section line bodies (112) and one of the return rear section line bodies (724) on the other side.

6. The silicon wafer transfer system according to claim 1, wherein The first handling unit (400) includes: A first linear module (420) arranged perpendicular to the first transmission line body (110). A first sliding seat (424) is slidably provided on the first linear module (420). The first sliding seat (424) can move between the two first transmission line bodies (110) and the second transmission line body (210); and A first adsorption mechanism (460) provided below the first sliding seat (424), and having a first lifting cylinder (466) and a variable-spacing suction cup assembly (468). The variable-spacing suction cup assembly (468) is provided below the telescopic rod of the first lifting cylinder (466).

7. The silicon wafer transfer system according to claim 6, wherein The variable-spacing suction cup assembly (468) includes: A main rod (4685) connected below the telescopic rod of the first lifting cylinder (466). A first fixed connecting piece (4688) is provided near one end of the main rod (4685). Multiple fourth slide rails (4683) are spacedly arranged on the main rod (4685) extending from the first fixed connecting piece (4688) to the other end; Multiple sliding connecting pieces (4682) respectively slidably provided on the multiple fourth slide rails (4683); and A second adjusting cylinder (4689) provided on the main rod (4685); Among them, a sliding connector (4682) near the opposite end of the main rod (4685) from the first fixed connector (4688) is connected to the telescopic rod of the second adjusting cylinder (4689) through a connecting plate (4681); suction cups are arranged at both ends of the first fixed connector (4688) and the sliding connector (4682), and an abutting portion (4684) is arranged between adjacent connectors; when the telescopic rod of the second adjusting cylinder (4689) expands and contracts, it can drive a plurality of the sliding connectors (4682) to slide together through the abutting portion (4684).

8. The silicon wafer transfer system according to claim 1, wherein, The second handling unit (500) further includes: A second linear module (520) arranged perpendicular to the second transmission line body (210), a third sliding seat (524) is slidably arranged on the second linear module (520), and the third sliding seat (524) can move between the second transmission line body (210) and a plurality of third transmission line bodies (310); and A second adsorption mechanism (560) arranged below the steering mechanism (540) and having a fixed-spacing suction cup assembly (564); Among them, the steering mechanism (540) includes: A first motor (542) arranged above the third sliding seat (524); An adjusting shaft (546) connected above the second adsorption mechanism (560) and rotatably arranged on the third sliding seat (524) through a bearing (548); and A coupling (544) whose two ends are respectively sleeved on the output shaft of the first motor (542) and the adjusting shaft (546).

9. The silicon wafer transfer system according to claim 1, wherein, The third transmission unit (300) further includes a rectifying mechanism (320), and the rectifying mechanism (320) is arranged below the third transmission line body (310); the rectifying mechanism (320) includes a third motor (322) and a plurality of groups of clamping jaws (324) driven by the third motor (322); the plurality of groups of clamping jaws (324) can simultaneously clamp and rectify the silicon wafers on a plurality of the third transmission line bodies (310).

10. The silicon wafer transfer system according to claim 9, characterized in that, The plurality of third transmission line bodies (310) include a plurality of odd-numbered line bodies (312) and a plurality of even-numbered line bodies (314); the silicon wafers on the plurality of odd-numbered line bodies (312) and the plurality of even-numbered line bodies (314) are transmitted with staggered positions, and the plurality of groups of clamping jaws (324) are arranged in a staggered manner so that the plurality of groups of clamping jaws (324) correspond to the positions of the silicon wafers.

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