Workpiece in-out furnace system and chemical vapor deposition furnace
By using multi-layer nested stacked material trays and a synchronously operating component system, the problems of feeding, discharging, and gas supply in multi-layer vertical CVD furnaces have been solved, achieving a highly efficient and stable chemical vapor deposition process, and improving production efficiency and film quality.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Patents(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- ZHEJIANG JINGGONG PRECISION MFG CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2025-09-24
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-21
AI Technical Summary
Existing multi-layer vertical CVD furnaces face challenges in automated feeding and unloading, precise positioning, layered and controllable gas supply, and reliability in high-temperature environments, resulting in low production efficiency, poor process consistency, and safety hazards.
The system employs a multi-layered nested stack of material trays, cart assemblies, positioning assemblies, gas supply assemblies, attitude adjustment assemblies, and drive assemblies. Through precise positioning, independent gas supply, and synchronous operation, it achieves efficient workpiece loading and unloading and uniform atmosphere supply.
It improves production efficiency, ensures process consistency, enhances the uniformity of thin film deposition and the stability of equipment, simplifies operation procedures, and reduces costs and maintenance difficulty.
Smart Images

Figure CN121023482B_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the field of chemical vapor deposition equipment technology, specifically a workpiece loading and unloading system and a chemical vapor deposition furnace. Background Technology
[0002] Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technology, as an important material surface treatment process, is widely used in semiconductors, photovoltaics, tool coatings, and high-performance composite materials (such as carbon fiber reinforced composites) to prepare high-performance thin films or coatings on substrate surfaces. In the high-temperature CVD process, the workpiece (such as a preform or material sample) needs to be placed in a sealed furnace to carry out a chemical reaction under specific temperature and precursor atmosphere conditions, thereby achieving a uniform film coating on the surface.
[0003] Traditional CVD equipment often employs single-layer flat loading or simple stacking of materials when processing batches of workpieces. This results in limited furnace capacity, a small number of workpieces processed at a time, and low production efficiency. To improve single-furnace capacity, vertical multi-station CVD furnaces have emerged in existing technologies. These furnaces load workpieces in layers onto a loading tray and arrange multiple process stations vertically within the furnace body to achieve simultaneous processing of multiple layers of workpieces. However, such equipment still faces many challenges in achieving efficient material feeding and unloading, precise positioning, and layered, controllable atmosphere supply.
[0004] Multi-layer material trays need to achieve rapid, stable conveying and accurate positioning during the furnace loading and unloading process. Existing material car lifting and furnace positioning mechanisms are often complex in structure, and the locking and releasing actions of each layer of material trays are poorly coordinated. This can easily lead to inaccurate positioning due to accumulated errors, affecting process consistency and even causing jamming or collision risks.
[0005] CVD processes demand extremely high uniformity of reactant gas distribution on the workpiece surface. For multilayer structures, ensuring the quality of the thin film hinges on how to independently and controllably supply precursor gases to each layer. Existing gas supply systems often struggle to achieve precise and independent airflow control for each workpiece layer, and the gas supply components must be effectively retracted when not in operation to avoid interfering with loading and unloading operations, making structural design challenging. Summary of the Invention
[0006] In view of the above-mentioned shortcomings in the existing technology, the purpose of this invention is to provide a workpiece feeding and unloading system and a chemical vapor deposition furnace, which solves the key technical problems of multi-layer vertical CVD furnaces in terms of automated feeding and unloading, precise positioning, layered controllable gas supply and high-temperature environment reliability, and provides an excellent equipment solution for achieving high-performance, high-efficiency and high-stability chemical vapor deposition processes.
[0007] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to achieve the above objectives is: a workpiece loading and unloading system, comprising:
[0008] A material tray, wherein the material trays are arranged axially and can be nested and stacked in multiple layers;
[0009] The material cart assembly is used to carry the material trays stacked along the axial direction and drive the material trays to move vertically up and down to realize loading and unloading operations.
[0010] The positioning component and the air supply component are provided in multiple sets arranged in a vertical direction. The positioning component is used to lock and position the material tray, and the air supply component can adjust its own retraction posture and supply air to the upper and lower sides of the material tray.
[0011] The attitude adjustment component is provided with multiple sets arranged in a vertical direction. Each set of positioning components and air supply components is connected to the attitude adjustment component. The attitude adjustment component is used to adjust the attitude of the associated positioning components and air supply components.
[0012] The driving component is capable of power connection with the attitude adjustment components of each layer and transmitting driving force to the attitude adjustment components.
[0013] To ensure that the loading tray can support the workpieces, effectively coat the workpiece material surface, and achieve stable stacking and effective positioning within the furnace body, the following technical solution is provided.
[0014] The material tray includes an annular frame, an upper support, a lower support, and a bearing plate. The upper support and the lower support are fixed to the upper and lower sides of the annular frame, respectively. The upper support and the lower support are arranged in an annular array and are nested together. The outer wall of the annular frame is provided with multiple sets of radial slots arranged in an annular array. The bearing plate is fixed to the inner side of the annular frame and has ventilation holes evenly distributed on it.
[0015] To ensure that the material cart assembly can effectively support the material trays stacked along the axial direction, and to realize the function of driving the material trays to rise and fall in the vertical direction, as well as to meet the requirement of driving the material trays on it to be quickly transferred, the following technical solution is provided.
[0016] The material cart assembly includes a frame, a lifting platform, and a hydraulic telescopic cylinder. The lifting platform is assembled onto the frame and driven by the hydraulic telescopic cylinder to achieve lifting movement. A support seat is fixedly connected to the top of the lifting platform to maintain a nested fit with the lower support.
[0017] To ensure that the positioning component can effectively position the material tray, the following technical solution is provided.
[0018] The positioning component includes multiple sets of positioning seats and pin seats arranged in a ring array. The positioning seats are arranged around the periphery of the material tray and slide along the radial direction of the material tray. The inner end of the positioning seat can be nested and engaged with the radial slot. The pin seat is fixed to the outer end of the positioning seat.
[0019] To ensure that the air supply component can be adjusted in its retraction and extension posture and to effectively supply air to the material trays set on its upper or lower layers, the following technical solution is provided.
[0020] The air supply assembly includes multiple sets of mounting seats and air distribution plates arranged in a ring array. The mounting seats are arranged around the material tray. One end of the air distribution plate is fixed to a connecting pipe that is rotatably installed in the mounting seat. An air supply passage is opened in the mounting seat. The inner end of the air supply passage is coaxially sleeved with the connecting pipe. The air distribution plate is connected to nozzles arranged vertically upward or downward.
[0021] To ensure that the attitude adjustment component can be combined with the associated positioning component and air supply component for transmission, and drive the positioning seat and air distribution plate to retract and extend synchronously, the following technical solution is provided.
[0022] The attitude adjustment assembly includes a rotating disk and a drive shaft. The rotating disk is arranged around the material carrier and rotates around its own axis. The rotating disk has an arc-shaped guide groove that matches the pin seat. The drive shaft is rotatably installed in the mounting base and arranged radially along the material carrier. An inner bevel gear and an outer bevel gear are fixedly connected to the inner and outer ends of the drive shaft, respectively. A transmission bevel gear that meshes with the inner bevel gear is fixedly connected to the connecting pipe. Multiple sets of sector bevel gears are fixedly connected to the rotating disk. The sector bevel gears mesh with the outer bevel gears at corresponding positions.
[0023] To ensure that the drive components can achieve power connection with the attitude adjustment components at different height positions, the following technical solutions are provided.
[0024] The drive assembly includes a lifting bracket, a sliding bracket, a telescopic electric cylinder, a drive motor, an adjusting motor, and a guide plate and an adjusting screw arranged in the vertical direction. The lifting bracket is slidably connected to the guide plate and screwed to the adjusting screw. The sliding bracket is slidably mounted on the lifting bracket and driven by the telescopic electric cylinder to run in the horizontal direction. The adjusting motor is poweredly connected to the adjusting screw. The drive motor is mounted on the sliding bracket and poweredly connected to a locking connector. In each set of attitude adjustment assemblies, one set of the drive shaft and the locking connector can achieve a power connection.
[0025] To ensure that the locking connector achieves a power connection with the attitude adjustment component at the corresponding position, and to ensure that the attitude adjustment component can achieve a self-locking effect after the power connection with the locking connector is canceled, thereby preventing the positioning component and air supply component from undergoing invalid displacement during equipment operation, the following technical solution is provided.
[0026] Each of the attitude adjustment components also includes a transmission mechanism that is matched with one of the transmission shafts. The transmission mechanism includes a connecting support, a locking groove, a spline shaft, and end face gears A and B that maintain a matching meshing. The locking groove is assembled into the connecting support and nested with the locking joint. The spline shaft is coaxially fixed to the locking groove. The spline shaft passes through the connecting support and is slidably inserted into the outer end of the transmission shaft. The end face gear A is fixedly installed in the connecting support. The end face gear B is coaxially fixed to the spline shaft. A support spring that abuts against the end face gear B is also assembled around the spline shaft.
[0027] A chemical vapor deposition furnace includes the aforementioned workpiece loading and unloading system, and also includes an inner furnace body and an outer furnace body arranged outside the inner furnace body. The gap between the inner furnace body and the outer furnace body is configured as a heat insulation cavity. The inner furnace body and the outer furnace body are arranged vertically and have inlet and outlet ports at the bottom.
[0028] The material cart assembly is located below the inlet / outlet and passes the material tray through the inlet / outlet to enter and exit the inner furnace body. The positioning assembly is arranged through the inner furnace body. The gas supply assembly is arranged in the inner furnace body. The posture adjustment assembly and the drive assembly are both arranged in the heat insulation cavity.
[0029] The beneficial effects of this invention are:
[0030] 1. By employing multi-layer nested stackable material trays and a material cart assembly capable of lifting and lowering entire stacks of material trays, one-time batch loading and transfer of workpieces is achieved. A single drive component can automatically complete the layer-by-layer positioning of all material trays within the furnace, the deployment of the gas supply assembly, and the reverse-order recovery during unloading through sequential coupling with the attitude adjustment components of each layer via lifting, horizontal movement, and unloading. This greatly simplifies the operation process, shortens furnace loading and unloading time, and thus significantly improves equipment utilization and production cycle time.
[0031] 2. The material tray itself, through the nested design of the upper and lower supports, ensures natural centering and stability during stacking. The positioning component adopts a multi-point radial synchronous telescopic method, directly engaging and locking with the radial slots on the side of the material tray. This ensures precise and secure positioning, effectively preventing displacement that may occur due to vibration or airflow disturbance during the process, thus ensuring process consistency. The attitude adjustment component, through a rotating disk and arc-shaped guide groove mechanism, ensures the synchronous movement of all positioning seats, avoiding jamming or wear caused by asynchronous movements.
[0032] 3. The gas supply and positioning components are linked, with each layer equipped with an independent gas distribution plate. These plates can be controlled to rotate and position themselves within the projection area above or below the material carrier for targeted gas supply. This unique gas supply design allows the middle layer's gas distribution plate to simultaneously supply gas to both the upper and lower material carriers, while the uppermost and lowermost gas distribution plates supply gas unidirectionally downwards and upwards, respectively. This ultimately creates a complete and uniform precursor atmosphere within the furnace, ensuring uniform airflow coverage on the surface of each workpiece layer and effectively improving the uniformity and quality of thin film deposition.
[0033] 4. The attitude adjustment components and main drive components are cleverly arranged within the heat insulation cavity formed by the inner and outer furnace bodies, making full use of the structural space of the equipment and resulting in a compact and reasonable overall layout. This layout not only protects the precision transmission components from the direct impact of the high-temperature environment inside the furnace, improving their service life and reliability, but also makes the internal structure of the furnace body simple and easy to maintain.
[0034] 5. The drive assembly adopts a "one-drive-multiple-connectable" design. Through the cooperation of the lifting bracket and the sliding bracket, a single drive motor can sequentially drive the attitude adjustment components on each layer, simplifying the power system and reducing costs. The end-face gears A and B in the transmission mechanism automatically engage and lock under the action of the support spring after the drive assembly disengages, achieving self-locking of the attitude adjustment components' positions. This effectively prevents accidental movement of the positioning and air supply components due to external forces or vibrations during the process, ensuring the stability and safety of the process. Attached Figure Description
[0035] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention;
[0036] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the material carrier tray.
[0037] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of a lifting platform and a hydraulic telescopic cylinder assembly;
[0038] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the furnace body;
[0039] Figure 5 A structural diagram of a combination of multi-layer material carrier, positioning component, air supply component, and attitude adjustment component;
[0040] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the structure of the material carrier, positioning assembly, air supply assembly, and attitude adjustment assembly assembled on the inner furnace body;
[0041] Figure 7 A structural diagram of the combination of positioning components, air supply components, and attitude adjustment components;
[0042] Figure 8A schematic diagram of the power connection between the rotating disk, drive shaft, air distribution plate, and positioning seat;
[0043] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the assembly base, gas distribution plate, and drive shaft combination on the inner furnace body.
[0044] Figure 10 A schematic diagram of the structure of the transmission mechanism and the transmission shaft assembly;
[0045] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the drive component.
[0046] In the diagram: 1. Material tray, 11. Annular frame, 111. Radial groove, 12. Upper support, 13. Lower support, 14. Bearing plate, 141. Vent hole, 2. Cart assembly, 21. Car frame, 211. Guide sleeve, 212. Bearing wheel, 22. Lifting platform, 221. Support seat, 222. Telescopic sleeve, 23. Hydraulic telescopic cylinder, 24. Guide rail, 3. Positioning assembly, 31. Positioning seat, 32. Pin seat, 4. Air supply assembly, 41. Assembly seat, 411. Air supply passage, 42. Air distribution plate, 421. Connecting pipe, 422. Nozzle, 423. Transmission bevel gear, 43. Annular pipeline, 431. Solenoid valve, 5. Attitude adjustment assembly, 51. Rotary disc, 51. 1. Arc-shaped guide groove; 512. Sector-shaped bevel gear; 52. Drive shaft; 521. Inner bevel gear; 522. Outer bevel gear; 53. Transmission mechanism; 531. Connecting support; 532. Locking groove; 533. Splined shaft; 534. End face gear A; 535. End face gear B; 356. Support spring; 6. Drive assembly; 61. Lifting bracket; 62. Sliding bracket; 63. Telescopic electric cylinder; 64. Drive motor; 641. Locking connector; 642. Worm gear; 643. Worm; 65. Adjusting motor; 651. Bevel gear set; 66. Guide plate; 67. Adjusting screw; 71. Inner furnace body; 72. Outer furnace body; 73. Heat insulation cavity; 74. Inlet / outlet port; 75. Furnace cover. Detailed Implementation
[0047] The technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention.
[0048] Example 1
[0049] Please see Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figures 4-6 , Figure 11 A workpiece loading and unloading system, comprising:
[0050] Material tray 1, the material tray 1 is arranged along the axial direction and can be nested and stacked in multiple layers;
[0051] Material cart assembly 2 is used to carry the material tray 1 stacked along the axial direction and drive the material tray 1 to move vertically up and down to realize loading and unloading operations.
[0052] Positioning component 3 and air supply component 4 are provided with multiple sets arranged in the vertical direction. Positioning component 3 is used to lock and position the material tray 1, and air supply component 4 can adjust its own retraction posture and supply air to the upper and lower sides of the material tray 1.
[0053] The attitude adjustment component 5 is provided with multiple sets arranged in the vertical direction. Each set of positioning components 3 and air supply components 4 are connected to the attitude adjustment component 5. The attitude adjustment component 5 is used to adjust the attitude of the associated positioning components 3 and air supply components 4.
[0054] The drive component 6 can be powered to connect with the attitude adjustment components 5 of each layer and transmit driving force to the attitude adjustment components 5.
[0055] This workpiece loading and unloading system is mainly used in the production and operation of chemical vapor deposition equipment to efficiently load and unload materials that need to be surface coated into and out of the furnace, thereby improving material processing efficiency and quality.
[0056] Taking the coating process of carbon fiber high-temperature composite material as an example, during the feeding stage into the furnace body, the composite carbon fiber high-temperature composite material is evenly placed on each layer of material tray 1. Each layer of material tray 1 can be stably stacked in the vertical direction by nesting and snapping, and then mounted on the material cart assembly 2. When the material cart assembly 2 drives the material tray 1 and the material loaded in it to rise and enter the furnace body, it can cooperate with the positioning assembly 3, air supply assembly 4, attitude adjustment assembly 5 and drive assembly 6 set in the furnace body to realize the feeding of material tray 1 into the furnace body and the layer-by-layer positioning.
[0057] When the material tray 1 moves to the positioning component 3 at a specific height, the drive component 6, which moves synchronously there, drives the attitude adjustment component 5 to operate. Then, the attitude adjustment component 5 drives the corresponding positioning component 3 and air supply component 4 to work. The positioning component 3 extends to nest and insert the material tray 1 for precise positioning, while the corresponding air supply component 4 is set above the positioning component 3 and is driven by the attitude adjustment component 5 to move in the same direction to extend it above the material tray 1 and uniformly supply the upper part of the material tray 1 with precursor gas.
[0058] The feeding process is carried out by adding the loading trays 1 into the furnace body of the equipment layer by layer from top to bottom. After the upper loading tray 1 is positioned and the matching gas supply component 4 is extended, the material cart component 2 drives the remaining stacked loading trays 1 to move downward to the position of the next positioning component 3. The above operation is repeated to position the loading trays 1. It should be noted that the gas supply component 4 here can supply the precursor gas downward to the loading tray 1 corresponding to the layer, and at the same time, it can also supply the precursor gas upward to the loading tray 1 positioned above.
[0059] After all the material trays 1 are loaded, the drive assembly 6 runs to the bottom of its stroke and connects with the corresponding attitude adjustment assembly 5. The attitude adjustment assembly 5 drives only the bottommost gas supply assembly 4 to extend and open, and supplies the bottommost material tray 1 with precursor gas, so that each layer of material trays 1 in the furnace body is covered in the atmosphere of precursor gas. After the furnace body is heated to a specific temperature, the precursor gas undergoes a chemical reaction and adheres to the material surface in the form of a thin film.
[0060] The unloading operation of the workpiece is the reverse process of the loading operation. By reversing the above operation process, the stable unloading of each layer of material tray 1 in the furnace body of the equipment can be achieved, and the material is finally collected into the material cart assembly 2.
[0061] Example 2
[0062] Please see Figures 1-3 To ensure that the material carrier 1 can effectively support the workpiece, effectively coat the surface of the workpiece material, and achieve stable stacking and effective positioning in the furnace body, the following technical solution is provided.
[0063] The material tray 1 includes an annular frame 11, an upper support 12, a lower support 13, and a bearing plate 14. The upper support 12 and the lower support 221 are fixedly connected to the upper and lower sides of the annular frame 11, respectively. The upper support 12 and the lower support 221 are arranged in an annular array. The upper support 12 and the lower support 13 are nested and matched. The outer wall of the annular frame 11 is provided with multiple sets of radial slots 111 arranged in an annular array. The bearing plate 14 is fixed to the inner side of the annular frame 11. Ventilation holes 141 are evenly opened on the bearing plate 14.
[0064] The ring frame 11 ensures the overall structural strength of the material tray 1 and provides stable support for other components. The upper support 12 and the lower support 13 are respectively arranged on the upper and lower sides of the ring frame 11. When stacking multiple material trays 1, the lower support 13 at the bottom of the upper material tray 1 can be nested and engaged with the upper support 12 at the top of the lower material tray 1, thereby ensuring the effective stacking and arrangement of each layer of material trays 1.
[0065] The support plate 14 is used to place the workpiece material to be processed. The workpiece material is placed on the support plate 14 through the matching bracket structure. The contact area between the bracket structure and the workpiece material is small, which can ensure that the formed chemical film is uniformly covered on the surface of the workpiece material. The setting of the vent hole 141 can ensure that the precursor gas supplied by the lower gas supply component 4 can pass through the vent hole 141 and cover the lower surface of the workpiece material.
[0066] The height dimensions provided by the upper support 12 and the lower support 13 enable the corresponding support plate 14 to be suspended in the air when each layer of material tray 1 is stacked, thereby meeting the space requirements for loading workpiece materials on it.
[0067] The radial slot 111 on the outer side of the annular frame 11 can be nested and engaged with the extended positioning component 3, thereby effectively fixing the material tray 1 to the corresponding height position in the furnace body of the equipment.
[0068] To ensure that the material cart assembly 2 can effectively carry the material trays 1 stacked along the axial direction, and to realize the function of driving the material trays 1 to rise and fall in the vertical direction, as well as the need to drive the material trays 1 on it to be quickly transferred, the following technical solution is provided.
[0069] The material cart assembly 2 includes a frame 21, a lifting platform 22, and a hydraulic telescopic cylinder 23. The lifting platform 22 is assembled onto the frame 21 and is driven by the hydraulic telescopic cylinder 23 to achieve lifting movement. The top of the lifting platform 22 is fixedly connected to a support seat 221 that is nested and matched with the lower support 13.
[0070] The support base 221 at the top of the lifting platform 22 can be nested with the lower support base 13 at the bottom of the material tray 1, thereby ensuring that the bottommost material tray 1 is stably placed on the lifting platform 22 and that the other material trays 1 are stably stacked on the basis of the lower material tray 1.
[0071] The frame 21 can drive the lifting platform 22, hydraulic telescopic cylinder 23 and each layer of material tray 1 loaded on it to operate stably, so as to realize the transfer of workpiece materials between different locations in the processing workshop.
[0072] A telescopic sleeve 222 is fixedly connected to the bottom of the lifting platform 22, while a guide sleeve 211 is fixedly installed in the frame 21. The telescopic sleeve 222 is slidably installed in the guide sleeve 211 and moves up and down in the vertical direction. The hydraulic telescopic cylinder 23 is fixedly installed in the guide sleeve 211 and arranged in the vertical direction. The movable end of the hydraulic telescopic cylinder 23 is fixedly connected to the axis of the lifting platform 22. During the telescopic movement of the hydraulic telescopic cylinder 23, it can drive the telescopic sleeve 222 of the lifting platform 22 and the material trays 1 of each layer carried by it to move up and down in the vertical direction stably.
[0073] The processing workshop is also equipped with guide rails 24 connecting various locations. The bottom of the frame 21 is equipped with load-bearing wheels 212. The load-bearing wheels 212 cooperate with the guide rails to enable the material cart assembly 2 to be stably transferred in various locations in the processing workshop.
[0074] Example 3
[0075] Please see Figures 4-10 To ensure that the positioning component 3 can effectively position the material tray 1, the following technical solution is provided.
[0076] The positioning component 3 includes multiple positioning seats 31 and pin seats 32 arranged in a ring array. The positioning seats 31 are arranged around the material tray 1 and slide along the radial direction of the material tray 1. The inner end of the positioning seat 31 and the radial slot 111 can be nested and engaged. The pin seat 32 is fixed to the outer end of the positioning seat 31.
[0077] The pin seat 32 can cooperate with the attitude adjustment component 5, thereby driving each group of positioning seats 31 to extend and retract synchronously in the radial direction. During the synchronous inward movement of each group of positioning seats 31, they can be inserted into the radial slot 111 on the outer side of the annular frame 11, thereby achieving effective positioning of the material tray 1 set at this position.
[0078] To ensure that the air supply component 4 can adjust its retraction and extension posture and effectively supply air to the material tray 1 set on its upper or lower layer, the following technical solution is provided.
[0079] The air supply assembly 4 includes multiple sets of mounting bases 41 and air distribution plates 42 arranged in a ring array. The mounting bases 41 are arranged around the material tray 1. One end of the air distribution plate 42 is fixedly connected to a connecting pipe 421 that is rotatably installed in the mounting base 41. An air supply passage 411 is opened in the mounting base 41. The inner end of the air supply passage 411 is coaxially sleeved with the connecting pipe 421. The air distribution plate 42 is connected to nozzles 422 that are arranged vertically upward or vertically downward.
[0080] The air distribution plate 42 is designed with an arc shape. In the recovery posture, it is concentrically arranged with the material tray 1 on its inner side to avoid spatial movement interference between the material tray 1 and the air supply component 4 during loading and unloading operations. The air distribution plate 42 can rotate stably around the axis of the connecting pipe 421 on it, so that the air distribution plate 42 rotates into the vertical projection of the material tray 1. When the air distribution plate 42 and the connecting pipe 421 on it are running, they are always connected with the air supply passage 411, so as to ensure that the precursor gas input from the air supply passage 411 is supplied to the air distribution plate through the connecting pipe 421, and then stably delivered to the material tray 1 through the nozzle 422.
[0081] The top-level air distribution plate 42 has only vertically downward-arranged nozzles 422, which supply the precursor gas downward only to the top-level material tray 1; while the bottom-level air distribution plate 42 has only vertically upward-arranged nozzles 422, which supply the precursor gas upward to the bottom-level material tray 1.
[0082] The outer end of the mounting base 41 in the gas supply component 4 is connected to the annular pipe 43. Each annular pipe 43 interface of the gas supply component 4 is equipped with a solenoid valve 431. The solenoid valve 431 effectively controls the flow of the precursor gas of the corresponding annular pipe 43 and the connected gas distribution plate 42.
[0083] To ensure that the attitude adjustment component 5 can be combined with the associated positioning component 3 and air supply component 4 for transmission, and drive the positioning seat 31 and air distribution plate to be retracted and extended synchronously, the following technical solution is provided.
[0084] The attitude adjustment component 5 includes a rotating disk 51 and a drive shaft 52. The rotating disk 51 is arranged around the material tray 1 and rotates around its own axis. The rotating disk 51 has an arc-shaped guide groove 511 that matches the pin seat 32. The drive shaft 52 is rotatably installed in the mounting base 41 and arranged radially along the material tray 1. The inner and outer ends of the drive shaft 52 are respectively fixedly connected to an inner bevel gear 521 and an outer bevel gear 522. A drive bevel gear 423 that meshes with the inner bevel gear 521 is fixedly connected to the connecting pipe 421. Multiple sets of sector bevel gears 512 are fixedly connected to the rotating disk 51. The sector bevel gears 512 mesh with the outer bevel gears 522 at the corresponding positions.
[0085] When the drive assembly 6 drives one of the transmission shafts 52 to operate, the combination of the outer bevel gear 522 and the sector bevel gear 512 can drive the rotating disk 51 to operate stably. When the rotating disk 51 is operating, the cooperation between the arc guide groove 511 and the pin seat 32 can drive the positioning seats 31 in each group of positioning assemblies 3 to extend and retract synchronously. At the same time, the rotating disk 51 can also drive the other groups of outer bevel gears 522 and transmission shafts 52 to operate synchronously through the sector bevel gear 512. Then, the combination of the inner bevel gear 521 and the transmission bevel gear 423 can drive the air distribution plate 42 in the air supply assembly 4 to operate stably around the axis of the connecting pipe 421, so as to realize the synchronous expansion and contraction of the air supply assembly 4 and the positioning assembly 3.
[0086] Example 4
[0087] Please see Figure 10 , Figure 11 To ensure that the drive component 6 can achieve power connection with the attitude adjustment component 5 at different height positions, the following technical solution is provided.
[0088] The drive assembly 6 includes a lifting bracket 61, a sliding bracket 62, a telescopic electric cylinder 63, a drive motor 64, an adjusting motor 65, and a guide plate 66 and an adjusting screw 67 arranged vertically. The lifting bracket 61 is slidably connected to the guide plate 66 and screwed to the adjusting screw 67. The sliding bracket 62 is slidably mounted on the lifting bracket 61 and driven by the telescopic electric cylinder 63 to run horizontally. The adjusting motor 65 is poweredly connected to the adjusting screw 67. The drive motor 64 is mounted on the sliding bracket 62 and poweredly connected to a locking connector 641. Each set of attitude adjustment assemblies 5 has a drive shaft 52 and a locking connector 641 that can achieve a power connection.
[0089] The lifting bracket 61 is guided by the guide plate 66 to move stably in the vertical direction, so that the locking joint 641 on it is coaxial with the transmission shaft 52 in each layer of the attitude adjustment assembly 5. In order to ensure that the adjustment motor 65 can be powered by the adjustment screw 67 and meet the layout requirements, the adjustment motor 65 adopts a horizontal layout and is powered by the vertically arranged adjustment screw 67 through the bevel gear set 651. The moving adjustment screw 67 drives the lifting bracket 61 to move stably.
[0090] The locking connector 641 is rotatably mounted on the sliding bracket 62 and coaxially fixed to the worm gear 642. The output shaft of the drive motor 64 is fixed to the worm 643, which is rotatably mounted on the sliding bracket 62. The worm 643 cooperates with the worm gear 642 to adjust the power output of the drive motor 64 by reducing speed and increasing torque, and drives the locking connector 641 to operate stably. After the locking connector 641 reduces speed and increases torque, it can drive the entire attitude adjustment assembly 5 to operate stably.
[0091] The telescopic electric cylinder 63 is fixedly installed on the lifting bracket 61 and arranged horizontally. Its movable end is fixedly connected to the sliding bracket 62 to drive the sliding bracket 62 and its components to slide stably in the horizontal direction.
[0092] To ensure that the locking connector 641 achieves a power connection with the attitude adjustment component 5 at the corresponding position, and to ensure that the attitude adjustment component 5 can achieve a self-locking effect after the power connection with the locking connector 641 is canceled, thereby preventing the positioning component 3 and the air supply component 4 from undergoing invalid displacement during equipment operation, the following technical solution is provided.
[0093] Each set of attitude adjustment components 5 also includes a transmission mechanism 53 that is matched with one of the transmission shafts 52. The transmission mechanism 53 includes a connecting support 531, a locking groove 532, a spline shaft 533, and end face gears A534 and B535 that maintain a matching meshing. The locking groove 532 is assembled into the connecting support 531 and nested and locked with the locking joint 641. The spline shaft 533 is coaxially fixed to the locking groove 532. The spline shaft 533 is arranged through the connecting support 531 and is slidably inserted into the outer end of the transmission shaft 52. The end face gear A534 is fixedly installed in the connecting support 531. The end face gear B535 is coaxially fixed to the spline shaft 533. A support spring 356 that abuts against the end face gear B535 is also assembled on the periphery of the spline shaft 533.
[0094] The connection support 531 ensures that the other components of the transmission mechanism 53 are stably assembled on it. The spline shaft 533 and the corresponding transmission shaft 52 always maintain a sliding connection. The locking groove 532 can be stably installed on the connection support 531 by sliding axially and rotating stably around its own axis. In the natural state, the support spring 356 can push the locking groove 532, the spline shaft 533 and the end face gear B535 to move outward as a whole. Then, the end face gear B535 and the end face gear A534 are nested and meshed, so that the locking groove 532 and the spline shaft 533 are in a locked and limited position.
[0095] When the telescopic electric cylinder 63 drives the sliding bracket 62 and its locking connector 641 to slide horizontally, the locking connector 641 is nested and locked with the locking groove 532, and further drives the locking groove 532, spline shaft 533, and end gear B535 to slide inward. At this time, the end gear B535 and the end gear A534 are separated and can rotate freely. When the drive motor 64 drives the locking connector 641 to operate through the combination of worm 643 and worm wheel 642, the power can be stably transmitted to the corresponding transmission shaft 52 through the locking groove 532 and spline shaft 533, thereby ensuring that the attitude adjustment component 5 is stably connected to power and operates.
[0096] Example 5
[0097] Please refer to the figure. Figure 1 , Figure 4 , Figure 6 A chemical vapor deposition furnace includes a workpiece loading and unloading system as described above, and also includes an inner furnace body 71 and an outer furnace body 72 arranged outside the inner furnace body 71. The gap between the inner furnace body 71 and the outer furnace body 72 is set as a heat insulation cavity 73. The inner furnace body 71 and the outer furnace body 72 are arranged vertically and have inlet and outlet ports 74 at the bottom.
[0098] The material cart assembly 2 is located below the inlet / outlet port 74 and passes the material tray 1 through the inlet / outlet port 74 to enter and exit the inner furnace body 71. The positioning assembly 3 is arranged through the inner furnace body 71. The gas supply assembly 4 is arranged in the inner furnace body 71. The posture adjustment assembly 5 and the drive assembly 6 are both arranged in the heat insulation cavity 73.
[0099] Specifically, a furnace cover 75 that can be opened and closed is installed at the inlet / outlet 74 to control the opening and closing posture of the inlet / outlet 74. When loading and unloading is performed using the workpiece loading / unloading system, the furnace cover 75 is in the open posture.
[0100] The inner wall of the inner furnace body 71 needs to be insulated and treated to withstand high temperatures so that it can withstand the high-temperature environment of the chemical tendency deposition furnace. A water cooling system also needs to be installed on its outer wall to ensure that the heat insulation cavity 73 is always kept at the ambient temperature, thereby ensuring that the attitude adjustment component 5 and the drive component 6 are stably assembled and operated in it.
[0101] The materials used for positioning component 3 and gas supply component 4 must meet the high-temperature resistance requirements of the chemical vapor deposition furnace, so that it can operate stably in a high-temperature environment.
[0102] The positioning seat 31 is slidably inserted into the side wall of the inner furnace body 71, while the pin seat 32 is arranged in the heat insulation cavity 73. The mounting seat 41 is fixedly installed on the inner furnace body 71 and extends outward into the heat insulation cavity 73. At the same time, the mounting seat 41 also adopts a heat-insulating and high-temperature resistant design, and the water cooling system is connected to it to ensure that the connecting pipe 421, drive shaft 52, and inner bevel gear 521 assembled inside are not affected by the high-temperature environment.
[0103] The rotating disk 51 in the attitude adjustment component 5 is rotatably installed on the periphery of the inner furnace body 71 to drive the gas supply component 4 and the positioning component 3 to operate stably.
[0104] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present 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 its spirit or essential characteristics. Therefore, the embodiments should be considered in all respects as exemplary and non-limiting, and the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description. Thus, all variations falling within the meaning and scope of equivalents of the claims are intended to be included within the present invention. No reference numerals in the claims should be construed as limiting the scope of the claims.
[0105] Furthermore, it should be understood that although this specification describes embodiments, not every embodiment contains only one independent technical solution. This narrative style is merely for clarity. Those skilled in the art should consider the specification as a whole, and the technical solutions in each embodiment can also be appropriately combined to form other embodiments that can be understood by those skilled in the art.
Claims
1. A workpiece loading and unloading system, characterized in that, include: Material tray (1), the material tray (1) is arranged along the axial direction and can be nested and stacked in multiple layers; Material cart assembly (2), the material cart assembly (2) is used to carry the material tray (1) stacked along the axial direction, and drive the material tray (1) to rise and fall vertically to realize loading and unloading operations; Positioning component (3) and air supply component (4), both the positioning component (3) and the air supply component (4) are provided with multiple sets arranged in the vertical direction. The positioning component (3) is used to lock and position the material tray (1). The air supply component (4) can adjust its own retraction posture and supply air to the upper and lower sides of the material tray (1). The posture adjustment component (5) is provided with multiple sets arranged in the vertical direction. Each set of positioning components (3) and air supply components (4) is connected to the posture adjustment component (5). The posture adjustment component (5) is used to adjust the posture of the associated positioning components (3) and air supply components (4). The drive component (6) is capable of power connection with the attitude adjustment components (5) of each layer and transmitting driving force to the attitude adjustment components (5).
2. The workpiece loading and unloading system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The material tray (1) includes an annular frame (11), an upper support (12), a lower support (13), and a bearing plate (14). The upper support (12) and the lower support (221) are fixedly connected to the upper and lower sides of the annular frame (11), respectively. The upper support (12) and the lower support (221) are arranged in an annular array. The upper support (12) and the lower support (13) are nested and matched. The outer wall of the annular frame (11) is provided with multiple sets of radial slots (111) arranged in an annular array. The bearing plate (14) is fixed to the inner side of the annular frame (11). Ventilation holes (141) are evenly opened on the bearing plate (14).
3. The workpiece loading and unloading system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The material cart assembly (2) includes a frame (21), a lifting platform (22), and a hydraulic telescopic cylinder (23). The lifting platform (22) is mounted on the frame (21) and driven by the hydraulic telescopic cylinder (23) to achieve lifting movement. The top of the lifting platform (22) is fixedly connected to a support seat (221) that is nested and matched with the lower support (13).
4. A workpiece loading and unloading system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The positioning component (3) includes multiple sets of positioning seats (31) and pin seats (32) arranged in a ring array. The positioning seats (31) are arranged on the periphery of the material tray (1) and slide along the radial direction of the material tray (1). The inner end of the positioning seat (31) can be nested and engaged with the radial slot (111). The pin seat (32) is fixed to the outer end of the positioning seat (31).
5. A workpiece loading and unloading system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The air supply assembly (4) includes multiple sets of mounting bases (41) and air distribution plates (42) arranged in a ring array. The mounting bases (41) are arranged around the material tray (1). One end of the air distribution plate (42) is fixedly connected to a connecting pipe (421) that is rotatably installed in the mounting base (41). An air supply passage (411) is provided in the mounting base (41). The inner end of the air supply passage (411) is coaxially sleeved with the connecting pipe (421). The air distribution plate (42) is connected to nozzles (422) that are arranged vertically upward or vertically downward.
6. A workpiece loading and unloading system according to claim 5, characterized in that: The attitude adjustment component (5) includes a rotating disk (51) and a drive shaft (52). The rotating disk (51) is arranged around the material tray (1) and rotates around its own axis. The rotating disk (51) has an arc-shaped guide groove (511) that matches the pin seat (32). The drive shaft (52) is rotatably installed in the mounting base (41) and arranged radially along the material tray (1). The inner and outer ends of the drive shaft (52) are respectively fixed with an inner bevel gear (521) and an outer bevel gear (522). The connecting pipe (421) is fixed with a drive bevel gear (423) that meshes with the inner bevel gear (521). The rotating disk (51) has multiple sets of sector bevel gears (512) fixed on it. The sector bevel gears (512) mesh with the outer bevel gears (522) at the corresponding positions.
7. A workpiece loading and unloading system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The drive assembly (6) includes a lifting bracket (61), a sliding bracket (62), a telescopic electric cylinder (63), a drive motor (64), an adjusting motor (65), and a guide plate (66) and an adjusting screw (67) arranged in the vertical direction. The lifting bracket (61) and the guide plate (66) are slidably connected and screwed to the adjusting screw (67). The sliding bracket (62) is slidably mounted on the lifting bracket (61) and driven by the telescopic electric cylinder (63) to run in the horizontal direction. The adjusting motor (65) is poweredly connected to the adjusting screw (67). The drive motor (64) is mounted on the sliding bracket (62) and poweredly connected to a locking connector (641). In each set of posture adjustment assemblies (5), there is a set of drive shafts (52) and locking connectors (641) that can achieve a power connection.
8. A workpiece loading and unloading system according to claim 7, characterized in that: Each of the attitude adjustment components (5) further includes a transmission mechanism (53) that is matched with one of the transmission shafts (52). The transmission mechanism (53) includes a connecting support (531), a locking groove (532), a spline shaft (533), and end face gears A (534) and B (535) that maintain a matching mesh. The locking groove (532) is assembled into the connecting support (531) and is nested and locked with the locking joint (641). The spline shaft (533) and The locking groove (532) is coaxially fixed, the spline shaft (533) passes through the connecting support (531) and is slidably inserted into the outer end of the transmission shaft (52), the end face gear A (534) is fixedly installed in the connecting support (531), the end face gear B (535) is coaxially fixed with the spline shaft (533), and the periphery of the spline shaft (533) is also equipped with a support spring (356) that abuts against the end face gear B (535).
9. A chemical vapor deposition furnace, characterized in that: The system includes a workpiece loading and unloading furnace system as described in any one of claims 1-8, and further includes an inner furnace body (71) and an outer furnace body (72) arranged outside the inner furnace body (71). The gap between the inner furnace body (71) and the outer furnace body (72) is configured as a heat insulation cavity (73). The inner furnace body (71) and the outer furnace body (72) are arranged in a vertical layout and have inlet and outlet ports (74) at the bottom. The material cart assembly (2) is located below the inlet / outlet port (74) and the material tray (1) passes through the inlet / outlet port (74) to enter and exit the inner furnace body (71). The positioning assembly (3) is arranged through the inner furnace body (71). The gas supply assembly (4) is arranged in the inner furnace body (71). The posture adjustment assembly (5) and the drive assembly (6) are both arranged in the heat insulation cavity (73).