Carrying tooth fork and carrying robot

Abstract

The utility model discloses a carrying tooth fork and a carrying robot, and relates to the technical field of wafer carrying equipment, the carrying tooth fork comprises a shell, a mounting head fixedly arranged at the top of the shell and two supporting arms fixedly arranged at the two ends of the shell and extending towards the same side of the shell, the mounting head is used for being connected with a multi-axis mechanical arm, the two supporting arms are symmetrically arranged, and the mounting head is used for being connected with the multi-axis mechanical arm. The two supporting arms are provided with supporting surfaces which are used for supporting wafer cassettes and are located in the same plane, the axial direction of the mounting head is perpendicular to the supporting surfaces, and after the carrying tooth fork is mounted on the multi-axis mechanical arm, when the multi-axis mechanical arm is in an initial state and the supporting arms are in a horizontal state, the wafer cassettes are mounted on the multi-axis mechanical arm. Therefore, in the subsequent process that the multi-axis mechanical arm drives the carrying tooth fork to carry wafers, the carrying tooth fork does not need to be rotated to adjust the supporting arm to be in the horizontal state, the number of point positions needing to be adjusted between joints of the multi-axis mechanical arm is reduced, and the precision that the multi-axis mechanical arm drives the carrying tooth fork to move is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of wafer handling equipment, in particular to a handling fork and a handling robot. Background Art

[0002] A wafer refers to the silicon chip used in the manufacture of silicon semiconductor integrated circuits. Due to its round shape, it is called a wafer. In order to ensure the safe storage, transportation and handling of wafers, wafer boxes are widely used as wafer carriers. For the automated handling of wafer boxes, such as a wafer box handling robot disclosed in patent application number CN202222789591.8, the handling robot carries the wafer box by means of a multi-axis robotic arm in cooperation with a clamp, wherein the clamp comprises a main body seat and a support arm, and the support arm is located at the bottom of the main body seat and extends toward the front of the main body seat, and a mounting head for connecting to the multi-axis robotic arm is provided on the back of the main body seat. The clamp of this structure results in that when cooperating with the multi-axis robotic arm, the clamp is in a vertical state when the multi-axis robotic arm is in an initial state, and the clamp needs to be kept in a horizontal state when clamping the wafer box. Therefore, when the multi-axis robotic arm manipulates the clamp to clamp the wafer box, it is necessary not only to adjust the horizontal and vertical positions of the clamp, but also to rotate the clamp from a vertical state to a horizontal state, resulting in too many points of adjustment of the multi-axis robotic arm, affecting the accuracy of the multi-axis robotic arm driving the clamp to move its position. Utility Model Content

[0003] The utility model aims to provide a transport fork and a transport robot to solve the problem in the prior art that too many points are required when a multi-axis robot arm drives a clamping claw to clamp a wafer box, which affects the accuracy of the multi-axis robot arm in adjusting the clamping claw position.

[0004] The purpose of the utility model can be achieved through the following technical solutions:

[0005] In the first aspect, the utility model provides a transport fork for transporting a wafer box, comprising a mounting base and support arms symmetrically arranged at both ends of the mounting base, the mounting base comprising a shell and a mounting head fixedly arranged on the top of the shell, two support arms fixedly arranged at both ends of the shell and extending to the same side of the shell, the mounting head is used to be connected to a multi-axis robot arm, and both support arms are provided with support surfaces for supporting the wafer box and located in the same plane, and the axial direction of the mounting head is perpendicular to the support surface.

[0006] In one embodiment of the utility model: the transport fork also includes a beam fiber optic sensor for detecting the state of the wafer box on the transport fork, the beam fiber optic sensor includes a transmitting end, a receiving end and a fiber optic amplifier, and the transmitting end and the receiving end are diagonally arranged on the two support arms respectively.

[0007] In one embodiment of the utility model: the support arm includes a vertical section, an inclined section arranged at one end of the vertical section, and a horizontal section arranged at one end of the inclined section away from the vertical section, the vertical section is fixedly arranged at the end of the shell, the upper surface portion of the horizontal section forms the support surface, and both ends of the support surface are respectively provided with a stop protrusion fixedly mounted on the upper surface of the horizontal section.

[0008] In one embodiment of the utility model: two in-position sensors are spaced apart on the supporting surface of each supporting arm.

[0009] In one embodiment of the utility model: a side stopper is provided on the outer side surface of each of the two support arms, and the side stopper includes a mounting portion fixedly mounted on the outer side surface of the support arm and a side stopper provided on the mounting portion for side blocking the wafer box, and the side stopper at least partially protrudes from the support surface.

[0010] In one embodiment of the utility model: a positioning column for positioning the wafer box is fixedly provided on the mounting portion, and the positioning column at least partially protrudes from the supporting surface.

[0011] In an embodiment of the utility model: the head of the positioning column is conical.

[0012] In one embodiment of the utility model: an anti-collision block is provided at the front end of the support arm, the anti-collision block is connected to the support arm through an elastic member, and the support arm is also provided with a micro-touch switch for detecting whether the anti-collision block moves relative to the support arm.

[0013] In one embodiment of the utility model: a gravity sensor for detecting the weight of the wafer box is provided on the support arm.

[0014] In a second aspect, the utility model provides a handling robot, comprising a multi-axis robotic arm and the above-mentioned handling fork connected to the multi-axis robotic arm.

[0015] Beneficial effects of the utility model: the present application arranges the installation head on the top of the shell so that the axial direction of the installation head is perpendicular to the supporting surface, so that after the transport fork is installed on the multi-axis robotic arm, when the multi-axis robotic arm is in the initial state, the support arm is in a horizontal state, resulting in that in the subsequent process of the multi-axis robotic arm driving the transport fork to transport the wafer, there is no need to rotate the transport fork to adjust the support arm to a horizontal state, thereby reducing the number of points that need to be adjusted between the joints of the multi-axis robotic arm and improving the accuracy of the multi-axis robotic arm driving the transport fork to move. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] The utility model is further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0017] Figure 1It is a structural schematic diagram of a tooth fork for transport in the utility model;

[0018] Figure 2 It is a three-dimensional diagram of the transport fork clamping the wafer box in the utility model;

[0019] Figure 3 It is a side view of the transport fork in the utility model for clamping a wafer box;

[0020] Figure 4 yes Figure 2 A magnified view of the structure at center;

[0021] Figure 5 It is a structural schematic diagram of a wafer box in the utility model.

[0022] Description of reference numerals:

[0023] 10. Carrying fork; 11. Shell; 111. Front; 112. Top; 113. Back; 12. Mounting head; 13. Support arm; 131. Vertical section; 132. Inclined section; 133. Horizontal section; 1331. Support surface; 14. Connecting rod; 15. Stopping protrusion; 151. Guide surface; 16. In-position sensor; 17. Opposite optical fiber sensor; 171. Transmitting end; 172. Receiving end; 173. Optical fiber amplifier; 18. Side stopper; 181. Mounting part; 182. Side stopper; 19. Positioning column; 20. Anti-collision block; 21. Elastic member; 22. Impact rod; 23. Gravity sensor; 24. Ultrasonic sensor; 100. Wafer box; 101. First side surface; 102. Second side surface; 103. Handle; 104. Positioning groove. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the utility model to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the utility model. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the utility model, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the utility model, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the utility model.

[0025] It should be noted that the words "first", "second" and similar terms used in the present invention do not indicate any order, quantity or importance, but are only used to distinguish different components. The descriptions of the present invention regarding directions such as "left", "right", "left side", "right side", "upper", "lower", "top", and "bottom" are all defined based on the relationship between the orientations or positions shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the structure must be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they cannot be understood as limitations on the present invention. In the description of the present invention, the meaning of "multiple" is more than two, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0026] In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a direct connection, or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two components. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0027] See also Figure 2 As shown, the utility model is a transport fork 10 that can cooperate with a multi-axis robot arm (not shown) to transport a wafer box 100.

[0028] See also Figure 1 , Figure 3As shown, the transport fork 10 includes a mounting seat and support arms 13 symmetrically arranged at both ends of the mounting seat, the mounting seat includes a shell 11 and a mounting head 12 fixedly arranged on the top of the shell 11, and two support arms 13 are fixedly arranged at both ends of the shell 11 and extend to the same side of the shell 11. The shell 11 is generally a rectangular parallelepiped, and the shell 11 is surrounded by a front surface 111, a top surface 112, a back surface 113 and a bottom surface (not shown) arranged in sequence along its own axial direction, and the shell 11 has openings at both ends. The support arms 13 are generally strip-shaped components, and the two support arms 13 are symmetrically arranged at both ends of the shell 11, and are respectively fixedly installed on the shell 11 to block the openings at both ends of the shell 11. And the support arms 13 extend toward the front side 111, and are used to clamp the wafer box 100. The top of the support arm 13 has a support surface 1331 for supporting the wafer box 100, and the support surfaces 1331 of the two support arms 13 are located in the same plane. The mounting head 12 is generally cylindrical and fixedly mounted on the top surface 112 of the shell 11 for connection with the multi-axis robot. The axial direction of the mounting head 12 is perpendicular to the support surface 1331. In the present application, by setting the mounting head 12 on the top surface 112, the axial direction of the mounting head 12 is perpendicular to the support surface 1331. Compared with the prior art in which the mounting head 12 is set on the back surface 113 of the shell 11 so that the axial plane of the mounting head 12 is parallel to the support surface 1331 of the support arm 13, after the transport fork 10 in the present application is installed on the multi-axis robot, when the multi-axis robot is in the initial state, the support arm 13 is in a horizontal state, so that in the subsequent process in which the multi-axis robot drives the transport fork 10 to transport the wafer, there is no need to rotate the transport fork 10 to adjust the support arm 13 to a horizontal state, thereby reducing the number of points required to be adjusted between the joints of the multi-axis robot and improving the accuracy of the multi-axis robot driving the transport fork 10 to move.

[0029] For the convenience of subsequent description, in the present application, the axial direction of the mounting head 12 is defined as the vertical direction, and the length direction of the supporting surface 1331 is defined as the horizontal direction, and the vertical direction and the horizontal direction are perpendicular to each other.

[0030] In some examples, the support arm 13 includes a vertical section 131, an inclined section 132 disposed at one end of the vertical section 131, and a horizontal section 133 disposed at one end of the inclined section 132 away from the vertical section 131. The vertical section 131 is fixed to the end of the housing 11 by bolts, and is used to block the opening at the end of the housing 11. The inclined section 132 is bent from the bottom end of the vertical section 131 to the front face 111 of the housing 11 at 45 degrees, and the horizontal section 133 is bent from one end of the inclined section 132 away from the vertical section 131 to the front face 111 of the housing 11 at 45 degrees. Through the arrangement of the inclined section 132, a certain height difference is provided between the horizontal section 133 and the vertical section 131 in the vertical direction, so as to avoid that after the wafer box 100 is clamped by the horizontal section 133, the wafer box 100 blocks the front face 111 of the housing 11, thereby affecting the staff from observing the data displayed on the optical fiber amplifier 173 from the front face 111 of the housing 11. The inclined sections 132 of the two support arms 13 are fixedly connected via a connecting rod 14, thereby strengthening the structural strength between the two support arms 13 and ensuring that the distance between the two support arms 13 remains fixed.

[0031] In the present application, the middle part of the upper surface of the horizontal section 133 is set as a support surface 1331, and two opposite stopper protrusions 15 are fixedly provided at both ends of the support surface 1331. The two opposite stopper protrusions 15 are fixedly installed on the upper surface of the horizontal section 133 by bolts. The handle 103 on the side of the wafer box 100 can be limited by the two opposite stopper protrusions 15 to prevent the wafer box 100 from sliding off the support surface 1331. Furthermore, a guide surface 151 inclined downward along the top is provided on the opposite surface of the stopper protrusion 15. The guide surface 151 is used to guide the handle 103 in the subsequent process of the support arm 13 moving vertically upward to support the handle 103 of the wafer box 100, so that the handle 103 can slide along the guide surface 151 to between the two stopper protrusions 15, and eliminate the error between the carrying tooth fork 10 and the wafer box 100 within a certain range.

[0032] See also Figure 2 , Figure 5As shown, specifically, the wafer box 100 is generally a rectangular box body, and the wafer box 100 has a first side surface 101 and a second side surface 102 opposite to each other. The first side surface 101 and the second side surface 102 are both provided with a protruding handle 103 in the middle, and the distance between the first side surface 101 and the second side surface 102 is smaller than the distance between the inner sides of the two support arms 13 of the transport fork 10. When the transport fork 10 is clamping the wafer box 100, the two support arms 13 first move horizontally to the set positions on one side of the first side surface 101 and the second side surface 102 of the wafer box 100, respectively, so that the wafer box 100 is located between the two support arms 13, and the handle 103 is located horizontally between the two stopper protrusions 15 on the support arm 13 on the same side. Afterwards, the two support arms 13 move vertically upward, so that the support surface 1331 on the support arm 13 supports the bottom of the handle 103 on the same side, and the two stopper protrusions 15 on the support arm 13 limit the front and rear ends of the handle 103 on the same side respectively.

[0033] In the present application, two in-position sensors 16 are arranged at intervals along the horizontal direction on the support surface 1331 of each support arm 13. When the wafer box 100 is accurately clamped by the transport fork 10, the four in-position sensors 16 can be located at the four corners of the bottom of the wafer box 100 to sense it. Only when the four in-position sensors 16 all sense the wafer box 100, the controller determines that the transport fork 10 has accurately clamped the wafer box 100.

[0034] In the present application, the transport fork 10 also includes a cross-beam optical fiber sensor 17 for detecting the state of the wafer box 100 on the transport fork 10. The cross-beam optical fiber sensor 17 includes a transmitting end 171, a receiving end 172 and an optical fiber amplifier 173. Among them, the transmitting end 171 is arranged at the head of the horizontal section 133 of one of the support arms 13, and the receiving end 172 is arranged at the tail of the horizontal section 133 of the other support arm 13, so that the transmitting end 171 and the receiving end 172 are arranged diagonally. The transmitting end 171 and the receiving end 172 are respectively arranged on the outer side of the horizontal section 133 of the corresponding support arm 13 through a bending piece. Specifically, the transmitting end 171 and the receiving end 172 are respectively fixedly mounted on the corresponding bending piece, and the two bending pieces are respectively fixedly mounted on the outer side of the horizontal section 133 of the corresponding support arm 13 by bolts. The optical fiber amplifier 173 is fixedly installed in the shell 11, and a window is opened on the top of the front side 111 of the shell 11. The display screen of the optical fiber amplifier 173 is arranged in the window, so that the staff can observe the light data displayed on the display screen of the optical fiber amplifier 173 through the window, wherein the light data shows the light received by the receiving end 172.

[0035] If, due to a sudden accident during the transportation process, the wafer box 100 is offset by more than a certain distance in the vertical direction relative to the transportation fork 10, the light data displayed on the optical fiber amplifier 173 will change. When the changed number reaches the set range value, the controller determines that the wafer box 100 is at risk of falling, and feeds back to the multi-axis robot arm for further adjustment or alarm stop.

[0036] In the present application, a side stopper 18 is fixedly provided on the outer side of each support arm 13, and the side stopper 18 includes a mounting portion 181 and a side stopper 182. The mounting portion 181 is fixedly installed on the outer side of the support arm 13 by bolts and is arranged near the top of the support arm 13. The side stopper 182 is vertically arranged on the top of the mounting portion 181 and is integrally formed with the mounting portion 181. The side stopper 182 at least partially protrudes from the support surface 1331. When the carrying fork 10 clamps the wafer box 100, the side stopper 182 can block the handle 103 from the side.

[0037] A positioning column 19 is fixedly provided on each mounting portion 181, and the positioning column 19 at least partially protrudes from the support surface 1331. A positioning groove 104 adapted to the positioning column 19 is provided on the handle 103 of the wafer box 100. When the carrying fork 10 clamps the wafer box 100, the displacement of the wafer box 100 relative to the support arm 13 in the horizontal direction is limited by inserting the positioning column 19 into the positioning groove 104. Preferably, the head of the positioning column 19 is conical, so that the positioning column 19 is easy to insert into the positioning groove 104.

[0038] See also Figure 1 , Figure 4 As shown, in the present application, an anti-collision block 20 is provided at the front end of the support arm 13, and the anti-collision block 20 is connected to the support arm 13 by an elastic member 21. A micro-touch switch (not shown) is provided inside the support arm 13, and a collision rod 22 cooperating with the micro-touch switch is fixedly provided on the anti-collision block 20. When the carrying tooth fork 10 moves forward and hits an object, the anti-collision block 20 drives the elastic member 21 to contract and drives the collision rod 22 to contact the micro-touch switch, so that the micro-touch switch sends a collision signal, and the controller controls the multi-axis robot arm to stop the action according to the collision signal to prevent the carrying tooth fork 10 from further colliding with the object. The elastic member 21 can rebound when the carrying tooth fork 10 does not collide with the object, driving the anti-collision block 20 and the collision rod 22 to reset. Preferably, the elastic member 21 is a spring.

[0039] The support arm 13 is provided with a gravity sensor 23 , and the gravity sensor 23 can detect whether the wafer box 100 is above a certain weight.

[0040] See also Figure 3As shown, an ultrasonic sensor 24 is fixedly mounted on the back 113 of the shell 11. The detection direction of the ultrasonic sensor 24 is along the vertical direction. The ultrasonic sensor 24 is used to detect whether there is a wafer box 100 on the loading and unloading platform of the production machine to ensure the safety of taking and putting goods.

[0041] The present application also discloses a transport robot, including a multi-axis robotic arm and a transport fork 10 as shown above and connected to the multi-axis robotic arm. The multi-axis robotic arm is fixedly connected to a mounting head 12 of the transport fork 10 .

[0042] The above is a detailed description of an embodiment of the utility model, but the content is only a preferred embodiment of the utility model and cannot be considered to limit the scope of implementation of the utility model. All equivalent changes and improvements made within the scope of application of the utility model should still fall within the scope of the patent coverage of the utility model.

Claims

1. A transport fork for transporting a wafer box, characterized in that: It includes a mounting base and support arms symmetrically arranged at both ends of the mounting base, the mounting base includes a shell and a mounting head fixedly arranged on the top of the shell for connecting to a multi-axis robot arm, the two support arms are respectively fixedly installed at both ends of the shell and extend to the same side of the shell, the two support arms are provided with support surfaces for supporting the wafer box and located in the same plane, and the axial direction of the mounting head is perpendicular to the support surface.

2. A transport fork according to claim 1, characterized in that: The transport fork also includes a beam-forming optical fiber sensor for detecting the state of a wafer box on the transport fork. The beam-forming optical fiber sensor includes a transmitting end, a receiving end, and an optical fiber amplifier. The transmitting end and the receiving end are diagonally arranged on the two support arms.

3. A transport fork according to claim 1, characterized in that: The support arm includes a vertical section, an inclined section arranged at one end of the vertical section, and a horizontal section arranged at one end of the inclined section away from the vertical section. The vertical section is fixedly arranged at the end of the shell, and the upper surface of the horizontal section forms the support surface. Both ends of the support surface are respectively provided with a stop protrusion fixedly mounted on the upper surface of the horizontal section.

4. A transport fork according to claim 3, characterized in that: Two in-position sensors are arranged at intervals on the supporting surface of each supporting arm.

5. A transport fork according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outer side surfaces of the two support arms are each provided with a side stopper, and the side stopper includes a mounting portion fixedly mounted on the outer side surface of the support arm and a side stopper provided on the mounting portion for side blocking the wafer box, and the side stopper at least partially protrudes from the support surface.

6. A transport fork according to claim 5, characterized in that: A positioning column for positioning the wafer box is fixedly provided on the mounting portion, and the positioning column at least partially protrudes from the supporting surface.

7. A transport fork according to claim 6, characterized in that: The head of the positioning column is in a cone shape.

8. A transport fork according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: An anti-collision block is provided at the front end of the support arm, the anti-collision block is connected to the support arm through an elastic member, and a micro-touch switch for detecting whether the anti-collision block moves relative to the support arm is also provided on the support arm.

9. A transport fork according to claim 1, characterized in that: The support arm is provided with a gravity sensor for detecting the weight of the wafer box.

10. A transport robot, characterized in that: It comprises a multi-axis robotic arm and a handling fork as described in any one of claims 1 to 9 connected to the multi-axis robotic arm.

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