Wafer transmission turnover mechanism

Abstract

A wafer transmission turnover mechanism belongs to the technical field of wafer production auxiliary equipment and comprises a PLC (programmable logic controller), a rotating cylinder, a vacuum pneumatic sucker, a frame plate, a displacement mechanism and an adjusting mechanism. The adjusting mechanism comprises a linear sliding rail, an electric lead screw sliding table and a telescopic air cylinder, the rear side of the linear sliding rail is installed at the front upper end of the rack plate, and the rear side end of the electric lead screw sliding table is installed on the front side of a linear sliding rail sliding block; a connecting plate is mounted on the outer side of a movable column of the sliding table telescopic air cylinder, a bearing is mounted at the front side end of the connecting plate, a rotating air cylinder is mounted at the outer end of the front side of the connecting plate, a rotating shaft of the rotating air cylinder is mounted in an inner ring of the bearing, and a fixing plate is mounted at the position, located at the inner side end of the connecting plate, of the rotating shaft of the rotating air cylinder. The vacuum pneumatic sucker is mounted at the lower end of the fixing plate; the displacement mechanism is mounted at the lower end of the rack plate. The side end of the metal ring can be adsorbed through the vacuum suction cup, and the metal ring is automatically conveyed to the next working procedure to be machined after being turned over.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of wafer production auxiliary equipment, in particular to a wafer transmission and flipping mechanism. Background Art

[0002] A wafer is a silicon wafer used to make silicon semiconductor circuits. Its starting material is silicon. During production, high-purity polycrystalline silicon is dissolved and doped with silicon seed crystals. The silicon seed crystals are then slowly pulled out to form cylindrical single silicon ingots. After grinding, polishing, and slicing, the ingots become silicon wafers, also known as wafers. During production, wafers are clamped onto a hollow metal ring (without force, the wafer will not separate from the ring, but with slight force, it can be separated). Then, a film is applied to the surface using laminating equipment or manually. The laminating wafer and metal ring are then moved from the laminating station to an unloading station (for example, an electric conveyor at the unloading station transports the wafer to the next photolithography process). In practice, after laminating, the wafer and metal ring are flipped so that the laminating end of the wafer is on the bottom and the unlaminating end is on the top before being moved to the next station for photolithography. This allows the photolithography equipment to process the unlaminating side of the wafer.

[0003] In the prior art, wafers with film applied to them are usually removed from the film application station manually, flipped over, and then placed on an electric conveyor for transport to the photolithography machine station. This fully manual process is inconvenient for the workers and is not conducive to improving work efficiency. For these reasons, it is very necessary to provide a mechanism that can automatically remove, place, and flip wafers. Utility Model Content

[0004] In order to overcome the disadvantages mentioned in the background of the existing wafer lamination process in which the wafer and the fixed metal ring are manually taken, placed and turned over, the utility model provides a wafer transfer and turning mechanism based on mature PLC, rotary cylinder and vacuum pneumatic suction cup technologies. Under the joint action of other relevant mechanisms, after the wafer is laminarized in the previous process, the vacuum suction cup can absorb the side end of the metal ring, turn it over, and automatically transport it to the next process (such as the head end of the conveyor belt of a conveyor) for processing, thereby bringing convenience to the staff and correspondingly improving work efficiency.

[0005] The technical solution adopted by the utility model to solve its technical problems is:

[0006] A wafer transfer and flipping mechanism includes a PLC, a rotating cylinder, a vacuum pneumatic suction cup, a frame plate, and a displacement mechanism and an adjustment mechanism; the adjustment mechanism includes a linear slide, an electric lead screw slide, and a slide telescopic cylinder; the guide seat of the linear slide is installed at the front upper end of the frame plate, and the rear end of the fixed plate of the electric lead screw slide is installed at the front end of the sliding block of the linear slide; the front end of the sliding block of the electric lead screw slide is installed with a support plate, the fixed plate of the slide telescopic cylinder is installed at the front side end of the support plate, a connecting plate is installed at the outer side of the movable column of the slide telescopic cylinder, a bearing is installed at the front end of the connecting plate, the rotating cylinder is installed at the front outer end of the connecting plate and its rotating shaft is installed in the inner ring of the bearing, the rotating shaft of the rotating cylinder is located at the inner end of the connecting plate and a fixed block is installed, and the vacuum pneumatic suction cup is installed at the lower end of the fixed plate; the displacement mechanism is installed at the lower end of the frame plate.

[0007] Furthermore, when the movable column of the slide telescopic cylinder is located at the outer dead point, the distance between the inner sides of the two connecting plates is greater than the outer diameter of the metal ring; when the movable column of the slide telescopic cylinder is located at the inner dead point, the distance between the inner sides of the two connecting plates is smaller than the outer diameter of the metal ring.

[0008] Furthermore, the suction surface of the vacuum pneumatic suction cup is horizontally located at the lower side.

[0009] Furthermore, the displacement mechanism includes a motor reduction mechanism, a guide seat, a driving pulley, a driven pulley, and a transmission belt. The motor reduction mechanism and the upper end of the guide seat are respectively installed on the lower end of the frame plate, the driven pulley is rotatably installed on the front side of the guide seat, the driving pulley is installed on the upper end of the rotating shaft of the motor reduction mechanism, the transmission belt is sleeved on the outer ends of the driving pulley and the driven pulley, and the front end of the annular transmission belt is installed on the rear side of the lower end of the fixed plate of the electric screw slide.

[0010] The beneficial effects of the utility model are as follows: the utility model is based on mature PLC, rotary cylinder and vacuum pneumatic suction cup technologies. Under the joint action of other related mechanisms, after the wafer is filmed in the previous process, the displacement mechanism can control the left and right displacement of the vacuum suction cup, and the sliding block of the electric screw slide can be controlled.

[0011] The rotary cylinder can drive the vacuum cup up or down, and the vacuum cup can rotate clockwise or counterclockwise. This allows the vacuum cup to automatically absorb the side of the metal ring, flip it over, and then automatically transport it to the next process (such as the front end of a conveyor belt) for processing. This new device brings convenience to workers and correspondingly improves work efficiency. In summary, this new device has good application prospects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0013] Figure 1It is a schematic diagram of the overall front structure of the utility model.

[0014] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the overall rear view structure of the utility model. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] Figure 1 、 2 As shown in, a wafer transfer and flipping mechanism includes a PLC (not shown), a rotary cylinder 1, a vacuum pneumatic suction cup 2, and a frame plate 3, and also has a displacement mechanism and an adjustment mechanism; the adjustment mechanism includes an unpowered linear slide 41, an electric screw slide 42, and a slide telescopic cylinder 43, and the slide telescopic cylinder 43 and the linear slide 41 have two sets respectively, and the upper and lower intervals of the guide seats of the two sets of linear slides 41 are respectively installed horizontally on the upper front end and the middle part of the frame plate 3, and the rear side ends of the fixed plates of the electric screw slide 42 are respectively installed on the front side ends of the sliding blocks of the two sets of linear slides 41 by bolts; the front side end of the sliding block of the electric screw slide 42 is installed with a support plate 421 by bolts, and the rear sides of the fixed plates of the two sets of slide telescopic cylinders 43 are respectively installed horizontally on the left and right sides of the front of the support plate 421 by bolts, and the outer ends of the movable columns of the two sets of slide telescopic cylinders 43 are respectively longitudinally welded with a connecting plate 44, and the middle of the front ends of the two connecting plates 44 are respectively There is an opening, in which a bearing 45 is tightly installed. The two sets of rotating cylinders 1 are respectively installed on the outer ends of the front sides of the two connecting plates 44 by bolts, and their rotating shafts are respectively tightly fitted in the inner rings of the two bearings 45. The rotating shafts of the two sets of rotating cylinders 1 are located at the inner ends of the connecting plates 44 and are longitudinally welded with a fixing block 46. There are four sets of vacuum pneumatic suction cups 2, and the upper ends of the four sets of vacuum pneumatic suction cups 2 are respectively installed on the front and rear sides of the lower ends of the two fixing blocks 46; the displacement mechanism is installed at the lower end of the frame plate 3, and the multi-channel power output end of the PLC is respectively connected to the motor power input end of the electric screw slide 42, the two sets of slide telescopic cylinders 43 and the two intake and exhaust solenoid valves on the outside of the cylinder barrel of the rotating cylinder 1 (the intake and exhaust ports and the air storage tank of the air compressor are connected in parallel through pipelines), the intake pipe solenoid valves of the four vacuum pneumatic suction cups 2 (the air inlet and the air inlet end of the negative pressure pump are connected through pipelines), and the power input end of the negative pressure pump and the motor reduction mechanism 51 of the displacement mechanism are connected through wires.

[0016] Figure 1 、 2As shown in FIG, when the movable columns of the two sets of slide telescopic cylinders 43 are respectively at the outer dead centers, the distance between the inner sides of the two connecting plates 44 is greater than the outer diameter of the hollow metal ring 6. When the movable columns of the two sets of slide telescopic cylinders 43 are respectively at the inner dead centers, the distance between the inner sides of the two connecting plates 44 is less than the outer diameter of the hollow metal ring 6. The suction surfaces of the vacuum pneumatic suction cups 2 are horizontally located at the lower side, and the lower ends of the suction surfaces of the four sets of vacuum pneumatic suction cups 2 are in the same horizontal plane. The displacement mechanism includes a motor reduction mechanism 51, a guide seat 52, a driving pulley 53, a driven pulley 54, and an endless transmission belt 54. The rear side end of the shell of the motor reduction mechanism 51 is fixed with a fixed lower plate by bolts, and the fixed lower plate and the upper end of the guide seat 52 are respectively installed on the left and right lower ends of the frame plate 3 by bolts. A "]"-shaped fixed seat 521 is welded to the middle of the front end of the guide seat 52, and a shaft rod is vertically welded to the middle of the fixed seat 521. The inner ring of the middle bearing of the driven pulley 54 is tightly sleeved in the middle of the outer end of the shaft rod, and the middle of the driving pulley 53 is fixedly installed on the upper end of the rotating shaft of the motor reduction mechanism 51. The endless transmission belt 54 is annularly sleeved on the outer ends of the driving pulley 53 and the driven pulley 54. The middle of the front side end of the endless transmission belt is fixed with a splint 7 by bolts and fixedly installed on the middle of the rear side of the lower end of the fixed plate of the electric lead screw slide 42.

[0017] Figure 1 、 2As shown, this new model is based on mature PLC, rotary cylinder and vacuum pneumatic suction cup technologies. The left end of the frame plate 3 is installed on the rear end base of the previous film laminating process (the film laminating station is located at the front lower end of the left side of the frame plate), and the right side of the frame plate is installed on the head end base of the next process (such as the left side of the upper end of the conveyor belt of the electric conveyor line). The workflow of this new model is as follows: (1) After the staff laminates a wafer mounted on the annular metal ring 6, the PLC controls the positive and negative power input terminals of the motor reduction mechanism 51 to be energized for a period of time. Then, the rotating shaft of the motor reduction mechanism 51 drives the active pulley 53 to rotate clockwise (the right side of the conveyor belt 54 moves along the driven pulley 54). In this way, the front side of the conveyor belt 54 (the front side is fixed) will drive the electric screw slide 42 to move from right to left along the linear slide 41 to stop at the film laminating station. (2) The PLC controls the positive and negative power input terminals of the motor of the electric screw slide 42 to be energized for a period of time, and the sliding block of the electric screw slide 42 drives the four sets of vacuum pneumatic suction cups 2 to descend in height, and the suction cup surfaces of the four sets of vacuum pneumatic suction cups 2 are respectively located on the upper ends of the two sides of the metal ring 6. (3) The PLC controls the air inlet pipe solenoid valves and negative pressure pumps of the four sets of vacuum pneumatic suction cups 2 to be energized and work, and the lower ends of the suction cup surfaces of the four sets of vacuum pneumatic suction cups 2 tightly attract the upper ends of the two sides of the metal ring 6. (4) The PLC controls the positive and negative power input terminals of the motor of the electric screw slide 42 to be energized, and the sliding block of the electric screw slide 42 drives the four sets of vacuum pneumatic suction cups 2 and the metal ring 6 to rise in height, and the metal ring 6 is separated from the film-sticking station. (5) The PLC controls the positive and negative power input terminals of the motor reduction mechanism 51 to be energized, so that the rotating shaft of the motor reduction mechanism 51 drives the driving pulley 53 to rotate counterclockwise. In this way, the front side of the conveyor belt 54 (the front side is fixed) will drive the electric screw slide 42 to move from left to right along the linear slide 41 to the next work station and stop. (6) The PLC controls the upper end air intake and exhaust solenoid valves of the two sets of rotary cylinders 1 to be energized for a period of time (the air at the lower inner end of the cylinder is discharged through the exhaust port of the lower end air intake and exhaust solenoid valves). The rotating shafts of the two sets of rotary cylinders 1 drive the metal ring 6 and the wafer after film lamination to rotate 180 degrees. The film surface of the wafer after film lamination is located on the lower side. (7) The PLC controls the positive and negative power input terminals of the motor of the electric screw slide 42 to be energized for a period of time. The sliding block of the electric screw slide 42 drives the four sets of vacuum pneumatic suction cups 2 to descend in height. The wafer after film lamination and the metal ring are separated from the upper part of the next process by about 5 mm. (8) The PLC controls the negative pressure pump and the four sets of vacuum pneumatic suction cups 2 to lose power. After flipping, the wafer will fall onto the conveyor belt and wait for the next step to be processed. (9) The PLC controls the positive and negative power input terminals of the motor of the electric screw slide 42 to be energized. The sliding block of the electric screw slide 42 drives the four sets of vacuum pneumatic suction cups 2 to rise. The above process is repeated continuously. The new model can continuously flip the wafer and metal ring after the film is applied in the previous step and transport them to the next step.In the present invention, before use, the staff controls the power output end of the PLC to output power for a period of time to the power input end of the air inlet and exhaust solenoid valve at the upper end of the cylinder barrel of the two sets of slide telescopic cylinders 43. The compressed air output by the air compressor will enter the inner end of the inner side of the cylinder barrel, and the air in the outer end of the cylinder barrel will be discharged through the exhaust port of the air inlet and exhaust solenoid valve at the upper end of the outer side of the cylinder barrel. In this way, the push columns of the two sets of slide telescopic cylinders 43 will drive the two connecting plates 44 to move toward each other and toward the outer ends. The distance between the two connecting plates 44 and the four sets of vacuum pneumatic suction cups 2 is widened, which is convenient for the metal ring with a relatively large outer diameter. To perform the adsorption operation, the power output terminal of the PLC is controlled to output power to the power input terminal of the air intake and exhaust solenoid valves at the outer upper ends of the two sets of slide telescopic cylinders 43 for a period of time. The compressed air output by the air compressor will enter the inner outer ends of the cylinders, and the air inside the inner ends of the cylinders will be discharged through the exhaust ports of the air intake and exhaust solenoid valves at the outer inner ends of the cylinders. In this way, the push rods of the two sets of slide telescopic cylinders 43 will drive the two connecting plates 44 to move toward each other and toward the inner ends. The distance between the two connecting plates 44 and the four sets of vacuum pneumatic suction cups 2 is shortened, making it easier to perform the adsorption operation on metal rings with relatively small outer diameters. This new design brings convenience to the staff and correspondingly improves work efficiency. It should be noted that the PLC multi-channel power output terminals respectively output power to control the working mode of related electrical equipment, including the structures of rotary cylinder, slide telescopic cylinder, electric screw slide, motor reduction mechanism, vacuum pneumatic suction cup, etc., which is an extremely mature technology. This application does not provide any protection for the above technical solutions (nor does it elaborate on the working principles separately). This application protects the working mode of PLC controlling multiple devices under the joint action of related structures, which can continuously flip the wafers and metal rings after film pasting in the previous process and transport them to the next process.

[0018] The above shows and describes the basic principles and main features of the present invention and the advantages of the present invention. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the details of the above exemplary embodiments, and that the present invention can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, from all perspectives, the embodiments should be regarded as illustrative and non-restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the above description, and it is intended that all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalents of the claims be included in the present invention.

[0019] In addition, it should be understood that although this specification is described in terms of implementation methods, the implementation methods do not only include an independent technical solution. This narrative method of the specification is only for the sake of clarity. Those skilled in the art should regard the specification as a whole. The technical solutions in the embodiments can also be appropriately combined to form other implementation methods that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A wafer transfer and flipping mechanism, comprising a PLC, a rotary cylinder, a vacuum pneumatic suction cup, and a rack plate, characterized in that: It also has a displacement mechanism and an adjustment mechanism; the adjustment mechanism includes a linear slide, an electric lead screw slide, and a slide telescopic cylinder; the guide seat of the linear slide is installed at the front upper end of the frame plate, and the rear end of the fixed plate of the electric lead screw slide is installed at the front end of the sliding block of the linear slide; the front end of the sliding block of the electric lead screw slide is installed with a support plate, the fixed plate of the slide telescopic cylinder is installed at the front side end of the support plate, a connecting plate is installed at the outside of the movable column of the slide telescopic cylinder, a bearing is installed at the front end of the connecting plate, a rotating cylinder is installed at the front outer end of the connecting plate and its rotating shaft is installed in the inner ring of the bearing, the rotating shaft of the rotating cylinder is located at the inner end of the connecting plate and a fixed block is installed, and a vacuum pneumatic suction cup is installed at the lower end of the fixed plate; the displacement mechanism is installed at the lower end of the frame plate.

2. The wafer transfer and flipping mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the movable column of the slide telescopic cylinder is located at the outer dead point, the distance between the inner sides of the two connecting plates is greater than the outer diameter of the metal ring. When the movable column of the slide telescopic cylinder is located at the inner dead point, the distance between the inner sides of the two connecting plates is less than the outer diameter of the metal ring.

3. The wafer transfer and flipping mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The suction surface of the vacuum pneumatic suction cup is located horizontally on the lower side.

4. The wafer transfer and flipping mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The displacement mechanism includes a motor reduction mechanism, a guide seat, a driving pulley, a driven pulley, and a transmission belt. The motor reduction mechanism and the upper end of the guide seat are respectively installed at the lower end of the frame plate, the driven pulley is rotatably installed on the front side of the guide seat, the driving pulley is installed on the upper end of the rotating shaft of the motor reduction mechanism, the transmission belt is sleeved on the outer ends of the driving pulley and the driven pulley, and the front end of the annular transmission belt is installed on the rear side of the lower end of the fixed plate of the electric screw slide.

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