Sucker device for taking and placing silicon wafer

Abstract

The utility model discloses a sucker device used for picking and placing silicon wafers, a plurality of suckers are locked and fixed at the bottom of a mounting support to form a sucker array, and two adjacent suckers are parallel to each other and are spaced by a certain distance to form a suction space between the two suckers; the first collecting pipe assembly and the second collecting pipe assembly are arranged on the two opposite sides of the top of the mounting support respectively and operate independently, the first collecting pipe assembly is connected with the multiple suction cups located on the inner side of the suction cup array, and the second collecting pipe assembly is connected with the multiple suction cups located on the two sides of the suction cup array. And the first collecting pipe assembly and the second collecting pipe assembly are used for driving the plurality of suckers to suck the silicon wafers in groups. The device has the advantages of being compact in structure, convenient to install and adjust, high in use flexibility, capable of achieving automatic wafer loading and unloading of the graphite boats of various specifications and the like, and overcomes the defect that wafer loading and unloading of the graphite boats of various specifications cannot be automatically achieved at the same time in the prior art.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of solar cell production equipment, in particular to a suction cup device for taking and placing silicon slices. Background Art

[0002] At present, in the manufacturing process of crystalline silicon solar cells, it is usually necessary to process silicon wafers. For example, in the PECVD coating process, a graphite boat is needed as a carrier. Before the process, the silicon wafers from the previous process are taken out from the variable pitch assembly and loaded into the boat slot of the graphite boat. A silicon wafer is placed in each of the three card points of the boat slot. After the silicon wafers are placed, the graphite boat is sent into the reaction chamber of the process equipment for coating and other processes. After the process is completed, the graphite boat is sent out, and after the graphite boat is cooled, the coated silicon wafers are taken out of the graphite boat, loaded into the variable pitch assembly, and sent to the next process. In the coating process, graphite boats of various specifications are used for the process at the same time. There are large differences in the widths of graphite boats of different specifications, and the number of silicon wafers along the width direction of the graphite in different graphite boats is inconsistent. It is necessary to load and unload the two graphite boats at the same station.

[0003] In the prior art, the suction cup assembly can only load and unload silicon wafers for a graphite boat of one specification. When the graphite boat is changed, the suction cup assembly needs to be replaced manually. When the suction cup assembly is used to load and unload silicon wafers for graphite boats of multiple specifications, multiple sets of suction cup assemblies corresponding to the graphite boats are required to load and unload silicon wafers for the specified graphite boats respectively. All suction cups use a single-sided unified air intake to form a vacuum, which takes a long time and has low efficiency.

[0004] It can be seen that the existing technical solutions cannot automatically realize the loading and unloading of wafers for graphite boats of various specifications at the same time, and it is necessary to rely on manual replacement or adjustment of the suction cup assembly to adapt to the loading and unloading of silicon wafers for graphite boats of different specifications. Utility Model Content

[0005] The technical problem to be solved by the utility model is to provide a suction cup device for taking and placing silicon wafers, which has a compact structure, is convenient to assemble and adjust, has high flexibility in use and can realize automatic loading and unloading of graphite boats of various specifications, in view of the deficiency of the prior art that it is unable to automatically realize loading and unloading of wafers on graphite boats of various specifications at the same time.

[0006] In order to solve the above technical problems, the utility model adopts the following technical solutions:

[0007] A suction cup device for taking and placing silicon wafers comprises: a mounting bracket, a suction cup, a first manifold assembly and a second manifold assembly; a plurality of the suction cups are locked and fixed to the bottom of the mounting bracket to form a suction cup array, and two adjacent suction cups are parallel to each other and spaced a certain distance apart to form a suction space between them; the first manifold assembly and the second manifold assembly are respectively arranged on two opposite sides of the top of the mounting bracket, and operate independently, the first manifold assembly is connected to the plurality of suction cups located on the inner side of the suction cup array, and the second manifold assembly is connected to the plurality of suction cups located on both sides of the suction cup array, and the first manifold assembly and the second manifold assembly are used to drive the plurality of suction cups to group and suck silicon wafers.

[0008] As a further improvement of the utility model, the first manifold assembly includes: a first manifold, a first air branch pipe joint, a first air branch pipe, a first main air pipe joint, a first main air pipe and a first main plug; the first manifold is fixed on the top of the mounting bracket, and first main plugs are provided at both ends of the first manifold; the first manifold is connected to the first main air pipe through the first main air pipe joint, and the first main air pipe is connected to an external vacuum device; a plurality of first air branch pipe joints arranged side by side are provided in the middle part of the first manifold, and the first air branch pipe joint is connected to the suction cup through the first air branch pipe to realize independent vacuuming of each suction cup on the inner side of the suction cup array.

[0009] As a further improvement of the present invention, the second manifold assembly includes: a second manifold, a second air branch pipe joint, a second air branch pipe, a second main air pipe joint, a second main air pipe and a second main plug; the second manifold is fixed on the top of the mounting bracket and is opposite to the first manifold, and second main plugs are provided at both ends of the second manifold; the second manifold is connected to the second main air pipe through the second main air pipe joint, and the second main air pipe is connected to an external vacuum device; a plurality of side-by-side second air branch pipe joints are provided on both sides of the second manifold, and the second air branch pipe joints are connected to the suction cup through the second air branch pipe to realize independent vacuuming of each suction cup on both sides of the suction cup array.

[0010] As a further improvement of the utility model, the suction cup includes: a mounting plate, a suction nozzle assembly, an exhaust assembly, a receiving groove and an air duct; the top of the mounting plate is locked and fixed to the mounting bracket, a plurality of receiving grooves are provided on the side of the mounting plate, a suction nozzle assembly and an exhaust assembly are provided in the receiving grooves, an air duct is provided on the upper part of the mounting plate, the bottom of the exhaust assembly is connected to the suction nozzle assembly, the top of the exhaust assembly is connected to the air duct, and the air duct is connected to the first air distribution pipe or the second air distribution pipe so as to realize vacuuming of the suction nozzle assembly to suck up the silicon wafer.

[0011] As a further improvement of the utility model, the suction nozzle assembly includes a suction nozzle and a spring. The suction nozzle is fixed in the receiving groove by a plurality of springs, and the top of the suction nozzle is connected to the suction assembly.

[0012] As a further improvement of the utility model, the air extraction component includes an air extraction pipe and an air pipe joint, the bottom of the air extraction pipe is connected to the suction nozzle, and the top of the air extraction pipe is connected to the airway through the air pipe joint.

[0013] As a further improvement of the present invention, the top of the mounting plate is locked and fixed to the mounting bracket by means of a plug screw.

[0014] Compared with the prior art, the advantages of the utility model are:

[0015] The utility model discloses a suction cup device for taking and placing silicon wafers, which forms a suction cup array by locking and fixing a plurality of suction cups on the bottom of a mounting bracket, wherein two adjacent suction cups are parallel to each other and spaced a certain distance apart to form a suction space between the two, thereby realizing silicon wafer suction; a first manifold assembly and a second manifold assembly are respectively arranged on two opposite sides of the top of the mounting bracket, and respectively operate independently, the first manifold assembly is connected to a plurality of suction cups located on the inner side of the suction cup array, and the second manifold assembly is connected to a plurality of suction cups located on both sides of the suction cup array, and the first manifold assembly and the second manifold assembly are respectively used to control a plurality of suction cups located on the inner side and on both sides of the array to group and suck silicon wafers, thereby being able to batch load and unload silicon wafers on graphite boats of various specifications at the same time, without the need for manual adjustment in the middle, and having the characteristics of a higher degree of automation, adaptability to more occasions, and higher efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 The figure is a schematic diagram of the structural principle of a suction cup device for taking and placing silicon wafers in a specific embodiment of the utility model.

[0017] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the structural principle of the suction cup in a specific embodiment of the utility model.

[0018] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the structural principle of the first manifold assembly in a specific embodiment of the utility model.

[0019] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the structural principle of the second manifold assembly in a specific embodiment of the utility model.

[0020] Figure 5 This is one of the schematic diagrams of the structural principle of the suction cup device sucking up the silicon wafer in the specific embodiment of the utility model.

[0021] Figure 6 This is the second schematic diagram of the structural principle of the suction cup device sucking up the silicon wafer in the specific embodiment of the utility model.

[0022] Legend: 1. Mounting bracket; 2. Suction cup; 3. First manifold assembly; 4. Second manifold assembly; 21. Mounting plate; 22. Suction nozzle; 23. Spring; 24. Exhaust pipe; 25. Air pipe joint; 26. Plug screw; 27. Receiving groove; 28. Airway; 31. First manifold; 32. First branch air pipe joint; 33. First branch air pipe; 34. First main air pipe joint; 35. First main air pipe; 36. First main plug; 41. Second manifold; 42. Second branch air pipe joint; 43. Second branch air pipe; 44. Second main air pipe joint; 45. Second main air pipe; 46. Second main plug; 10. Suction cup device; 20. Silicon wafer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The present invention is further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific preferred embodiments, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereby.

[0024] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "side", "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential" and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the referred device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation to the present invention.

[0025] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and cannot be understood as indicating or suggesting relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of such features. In the description of the present utility model, "multiple" means two or more, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0026] Example

[0027] like Figures 1 to 6As shown, the suction cup device for taking and placing silicon wafers of the utility model comprises: a mounting bracket 1, a suction cup 2, a first manifold assembly 3 and a second manifold assembly 4. Several pieces of the suction cups 2 are locked and fixed at the bottom of the mounting bracket 1 to form a suction cup array, and two adjacent suction cups 2 are parallel to each other and spaced a certain distance apart to form a suction space between the two. The first manifold assembly 3 and the second manifold assembly 4 are respectively arranged on two opposite sides of the top of the mounting bracket 1, and operate independently. The first manifold assembly 3 is connected to the multiple suction cups 2 located on the inner side of the suction cup array, and the second manifold assembly 4 is connected to the multiple suction cups 2 located on both sides of the suction cup array. The first manifold assembly 3 and the second manifold assembly 4 are used to drive the multiple suction cups 2 to absorb silicon wafers in groups. The specific number of suction cups 2 connected to the first manifold assembly 3 and the second manifold assembly 4 can be set according to the specifications of the graphite boat. The suction cup device of this embodiment can simultaneously load and unload silicon wafers in batches for graphite boats of various specifications without manual adjustment in the middle, and has the characteristics of higher automation, more adaptability, and higher efficiency.

[0028] In this embodiment, the mounting bracket 1 is composed of a mounting plate, a connecting flange, a manifold support plate, fasteners, etc. The mounting bracket 1 plays the role of mounting and supporting, and is the skeleton of the whole device; the upper surface of the mounting plate is equipped with a connecting flange, a certain number of slots and screw mounting holes are opened at the bottom, and the manifold support plates are installed on both sides. In addition, the connecting flange on the mounting bracket 1 can be connected to the end of the manipulator to achieve a wide range of movement.

[0029] like Figure 3 As shown, the first manifold assembly 3 includes: a first manifold 31, a first air distribution pipe joint 32, a first air distribution pipe 33, a first main air pipe joint 34, a first main air pipe 35 and a first main plug 36. The first manifold 31 is fixed to the top of the mounting bracket 1, and first main plugs 36 are provided at both ends of the first manifold 31. An air path is provided inside the first manifold 31 for unified air intake of the suction cups and air distribution of each suction cup. The first manifold 31 is connected to the first main air pipe 35 through the first main air pipe joint 34, and the first main air pipe 35 is connected to an external vacuum pumping device. A plurality of first air distribution pipe joints 32 arranged side by side are provided in the middle of the first manifold 31, and the first air distribution pipe joint 32 is connected to the suction cup 2 through the first air distribution pipe 33, so as to realize independent air extraction of each suction cup 2 on the inner side of the suction cup array.

[0030] like Figure 3As shown, the second manifold assembly 4 includes: a second manifold 41, a second air distribution pipe joint 42, a second air distribution pipe 43, a second main air pipe joint 44, a second main air pipe 45 and a second main plug 46. The second manifold 41 is fixed on the top of the mounting bracket 1 and is opposite to the first manifold 31. Second main plugs 46 are provided at both ends of the second manifold 41. An air path is provided inside the second manifold 41 for unified air intake of the suction cups and air distribution of each suction cup. The second manifold 41 is connected to the second main air pipe 45 through the second main air pipe joint 44, and the second main air pipe 45 is connected to an external vacuum pumping device. A plurality of side-by-side second air distribution pipe joints 42 are provided on both sides of the second manifold 41. The second air distribution pipe joints 42 are connected to the suction cups 2 through the second air distribution pipes 43 to realize independent air extraction of each suction cup 2 on both sides of the suction cup array.

[0031] like Figure 2 As shown, the suction cup 2 includes: a mounting plate 21, a suction nozzle assembly, an air extraction assembly, a receiving groove 27 and an air passage 28. The top of the mounting plate 21 is locked and fixed to the mounting bracket 1, a plurality of receiving grooves 27 are provided on the side of the mounting plate 21, a suction nozzle assembly and an air extraction assembly are provided in the receiving groove 27, an air passage 28 is provided on the upper part of the mounting plate 21, the bottom of the air extraction assembly is connected to the suction nozzle assembly, the top of the air extraction assembly is connected to the air passage 28, and the air passage 28 is connected to the first air distribution pipe 33 or the second air distribution pipe 43, so as to realize vacuuming of the suction nozzle assembly to suck the silicon wafer.

[0032] In this embodiment, the suction nozzle assembly includes a suction nozzle 22 and a spring 23. The suction nozzle 22 is fixed in the receiving groove 27 by four springs 23, and the top of the suction nozzle 22 is connected to the vacuum assembly. Specifically, there is an air path inside the suction nozzle 22, and the silicon wafer can be adsorbed when the air path is evacuated. Small holes are opened around the suction nozzle 22 for installing the spring 23. The spring 23 is installed on the suction nozzle 22 through the hole position on the suction nozzle 22 and the hole position on the mounting plate 21, so that the suction nozzle 22 is in a floating state, which is convenient for taking and placing the silicon wafer.

[0033] In this embodiment, the air extraction assembly includes an air extraction pipe 24 and an air pipe joint 25 . The bottom of the air extraction pipe 24 is connected to the suction nozzle 22 , and the top of the air extraction pipe 24 is connected to the airway 28 through the air pipe joint 25 .

[0034] In this embodiment, the top of the mounting plate 21 is locked and fixed to the mounting bracket 1 by means of a plug screw 26, and the structure is simple and the connection is firm.

[0035] like Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, in this embodiment, the workflow of loading and unloading silicon wafers is as follows:

[0036] 1) The empty suction cup assembly moves with the manipulator to the silicon wafer picking position of the No. 1 graphite boat. At this time, the first manifold assembly 3 and the second manifold assembly 4 are simultaneously controlled to evacuate the silicon wafers 20 in the graphite boat. At this time, the number of silicon wafers 20 that can be adsorbed by the suction cup device 10 is the same as the number of silicon wafers in the No. 1 graphite boat. Figure 5 The manipulator drives the suction cup device 10 after adsorbing the silicon wafer to move to the unloading variable pitch assembly. At this time, the first manifold assembly 3 and the second manifold assembly 4 are simultaneously controlled to break the vacuum, completing the placement of the silicon wafer on the variable pitch assembly.

[0037] 2) After placing the wafers on the variable pitch assembly, the empty suction cup assembly moves with the manipulator to the loading variable pitch assembly. At this time, the first manifold assembly 3 and the second manifold assembly 4 are simultaneously controlled to be vacuumed to adsorb the silicon wafers on the loading variable pitch assembly. At this time, the number of silicon wafers that the suction cup device 10 can adsorb is consistent with the number of silicon wafers on the loading variable pitch assembly. The manipulator drives the suction cup device 10 after adsorbing the silicon wafers 20 to move to the No. 1 graphite boat loading position. At this time, the first manifold assembly 3 and the second manifold assembly 4 are simultaneously controlled to break the vacuum to complete the loading of the silicon wafers on the No. 1 graphite boat.

[0038] 3) Repeat the process of loading and unloading wafers on graphite boat No. 1 until the entire graphite boat has completed loading and unloading silicon wafers.

[0039] 4) The empty suction cup device 10 moves with the manipulator to the silicon wafer picking position of the No. 2 graphite boat. At this time, only the first manifold assembly 3 is controlled to evacuate and absorb the silicon wafers in the graphite boat. At this time, the number of silicon wafers that can be absorbed by the suction cup is the same as the number of silicon wafers in the No. 2 graphite boat. The manipulator drives the suction cup device 10 after absorbing the silicon wafers to move to the unloading variable pitch assembly. At this time, only the first manifold assembly 3 is controlled to break the vacuum to complete the placement of the silicon wafers on the variable pitch assembly.

[0040] 5) After placing the wafers on the variable pitch assembly, the empty suction cup assembly moves with the manipulator to the loading variable pitch assembly. At this time, only the first manifold assembly 3 is controlled to evacuate the vacuum to adsorb the silicon wafers on the loading variable pitch assembly. At this time, the number of silicon wafers that can be adsorbed by the suction cup device 10 is consistent with the number of silicon wafers on the loading variable pitch assembly, that is, only the multiple suction cups 2 on the inner side of the suction cup array adsorb the silicon wafers. The manipulator drives the suction cup device 10 to move to the No. 2 graphite boat loading position after adsorbing the silicon wafers 20. At this time, only the first manifold assembly 3 is controlled to break the vacuum to complete the loading of the silicon wafers on the No. 2 graphite boat.

[0041] 6) Repeat the process of loading and unloading wafers on the second graphite boat until the entire graphite boat has completed loading and unloading silicon wafers.

[0042] The suction cup device of this embodiment can load and unload silicon wafers of various specifications of graphite boats at the same time, without manual adjustment in the middle, and has the characteristics of higher degree of automation, strong adjustability, adaptability to more occasions, higher efficiency, etc. Furthermore, multiple air circuits are used to separately control multiple suction cups in the middle and multiple suction cups at both ends, and the required position and number of silicon wafers are adsorbed by controlling the switch of the air circuit. The suction cup assembly has double-sided air intake, which can take and put silicon wafers faster, more efficiently, and improve the production capacity of the equipment.

[0043] Although the utility model is disclosed as above with preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the utility model. Any technician familiar with the art can use the above disclosed methods and technical contents to make many possible changes and modifications to the technical solution of the utility model without departing from the spirit and technical solution of the utility model, or modify it into an equivalent embodiment with equivalent changes. Therefore, any simple modification, equivalent replacement, equivalent change and modification made to the above embodiments according to the technical essence of the utility model without departing from the content of the technical solution of the utility model still falls within the scope of protection of the technical solution of the utility model.

Claims

1. A suction cup device for taking and placing silicon wafers, characterized in that: include: A mounting bracket (1), a suction cup (2), a first manifold assembly (3) and a second manifold assembly (4); a plurality of suction cups (2) are locked and fixed at the bottom of the mounting bracket (1) to form a suction cup array, and two adjacent suction cups (2) are parallel to each other and spaced a certain distance apart to form a suction space between them; the first manifold assembly (3) and the second manifold assembly (4) are respectively arranged on two opposite sides of the top of the mounting bracket (1) and operate independently, the first manifold assembly (3) is connected to the plurality of suction cups (2) located on the inner side of the suction cup array, and the second manifold assembly (4) is connected to the plurality of suction cups (2) located on both sides of the suction cup array, and the first manifold assembly (3) and the second manifold assembly (4) are used to drive the plurality of suction cups (2) to absorb silicon wafers in groups.

2. The suction cup device for taking and placing silicon wafers according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first manifold assembly (3) comprises: a first manifold (31), a first air distribution pipe joint (32), a first air distribution pipe (33), a first main air pipe joint (34), a first main air pipe (35) and a first main plug (36); the first manifold (31) is fixed on the top of the mounting bracket (1), and first main plugs (36) are provided at both ends of the first manifold (31); the first manifold (31) is connected to the first main air pipe (35) via the first main air pipe joint (34), and the first main air pipe (35) is connected to an external vacuum pumping device; a plurality of first air distribution pipe joints (32) arranged side by side are provided in the middle of the first manifold (31), and the first air distribution pipe joints (32) are connected to the suction cup (2) via the first air distribution pipe (33), so as to realize independent vacuuming of each suction cup (2) inside the suction cup array.

3. The suction cup device for taking and placing silicon wafers according to claim 2, characterized in that: The second manifold assembly (4) comprises: a second manifold (41), a second air distribution pipe joint (42), a second air distribution pipe (43), a second main air pipe joint (44), a second main air pipe (45) and a second main plug (46); the second manifold (41) is fixed on the top of the mounting bracket (1) and is opposite to the first manifold (31), and second main plugs (46) are provided at both ends of the second manifold (41); the second manifold (41) is connected to the second main air pipe (45) through the second main air pipe joint (44), and the second main air pipe (45) is connected to an external vacuum pumping device; a plurality of second air distribution pipe joints (42) arranged side by side are provided on both sides of the second manifold (41), and the second air distribution pipe joints (42) are connected to the suction cup (2) through the second air distribution pipe (43) to realize independent vacuuming of each suction cup (2) on both sides of the suction cup array.

4. The suction cup device for taking and placing a silicon wafer according to claim 3, characterized in that: The suction cup (2) comprises: a mounting plate (21), a suction nozzle assembly, an exhaust assembly, a receiving groove (27) and an air duct (28); the top of the mounting plate (21) is locked and fixed to the mounting bracket (1), a plurality of receiving grooves (27) are provided on the side of the mounting plate (21), a suction nozzle assembly and an exhaust assembly are provided in the receiving groove (27), an air duct (28) is provided on the top of the mounting plate (21), the bottom of the exhaust assembly is connected to the suction nozzle assembly, the top of the exhaust assembly is connected to the air duct (28), and the air duct (28) is connected to the first air distribution pipe (33) or the second air distribution pipe (43) so as to realize vacuuming of the suction nozzle assembly to suck the silicon wafer.

5. The suction cup device for taking and placing silicon wafers according to claim 4, characterized in that: The suction nozzle assembly comprises a suction nozzle (22) and a spring (23); the suction nozzle (22) is fixed in a receiving groove (27) by a plurality of springs (23); and the top of the suction nozzle (22) is connected to the air extraction assembly.

6. The suction cup device for taking and placing a silicon wafer according to claim 5, characterized in that: The air extraction component comprises an air extraction pipe (24) and an air pipe joint (25); the bottom of the air extraction pipe (24) is connected to the suction nozzle (22), and the top of the air extraction pipe (24) is connected to the airway (28) via the air pipe joint (25).

7. The suction cup device for taking and placing a silicon wafer according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that: The top of the mounting plate (21) is locked and fixed to the mounting bracket (1) via a plug screw (26).

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