Automatic cover opening and closing mechanism for SMIF wafer box
By designing an automatic opening and closing mechanism for the SMIF wafer box, and using a power switch or PLC control to achieve automatic separation and combination of the chassis and the box cover, combined with an electric linear slide and a six-axis robot arm, the problem of inconvenient manual operation in the existing technology is solved, and the wafer transfer efficiency is improved.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202422852158.3
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-11-22
- Publication Date
- 2025-10-21
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-11-22
AI Technical Summary
When transferring the existing SMIF wafer box to the relevant workstation, manual operation is required to separate and combine the box cover and chassis, which causes inconvenience to the workers and low efficiency.
An automatic opening and closing mechanism for SMIF wafer cassettes was designed. The mechanism is controlled by a power switch or PLC to achieve automatic separation and combination of the chassis locking rod and the cassette cover locking slot. The cassette cover is lifted by an electric linear slide, and a six-axis robot arm is used to pick and place wafers.
It has enabled automated operation of wafer cassettes, reduced human intervention, improved work efficiency, and simplified the wafer transfer process.
Smart Images
Figure CN223462207U_ABST
Abstract
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The utility model relates to wafer production auxiliary equipment technical field, especially a SMIF wafer box automatic cover opening and closing mechanism. BACKGROUND
[0002] At present, in the manufacturing process of semiconductor, the conveying of production material wafer is very important to IC manufacturing. In order to ensure the quality of wafer during conveying between different processes, and avoid the wafer from being contaminated by dust or other contaminants, the conveying work of wafer adopts a standard conveying container, that is, the standard mechanical interface (SMIF for short) technology. The SMIF technology is centered on the concept of "isolation technology"; the so-called isolation technology aims to seal the wafer in a clean environment. The SMIF wafer box is composed of a box cover (lid), a bottom plate and a locking mechanism, the locking mechanism is installed at the middle of the lower end of the bottom plate, the two locking rods hinged on the two sides of the locking mechanism are respectively located in the rectangular guide grooves on the two sides of the middle of the lower end of the bottom plate, a plurality of wafers are stacked from top to bottom on the bottom plate, the box cover is sleeved on the bottom plate, and then the rotating disc of the locking mechanism is counterclockwise rotated by a tool (the lower end and the lower end of the bottom plate are in the same plane), the outer ends of the two locking rods are respectively located in the locking grooves on the two sides of the inner lower end of the box cover, so that the box cover and the bottom plate are combined together to store the plurality of wafers located on the bottom plate and in the box cover.
[0003] In the prior art, when the wafer box containing a plurality of wafers is transported to the relevant work station (usually hoisted into position by a crane, the lower outer end of the bottom plate usually has three fixed grooves, and the work station usually has three positioning columns, the three fixed grooves of the bottom plate are respectively located outside the three positioning columns, and the three positioning columns limit the bottom plate), the worker manually uses a "U"-shaped tool to clamp in the rotating disc of the locking mechanism from bottom to top, clockwise rotates the rotating disc of the locking mechanism, the outer ends of the two locking rods are respectively separated from the locking grooves on the two sides of the inner lower end of the box cover, so that the box cover and the bottom plate are separated, after the worker removes the box cover, the front end of the arm of the six-axis robot based on PLC control (usually through a vacuum suction disc to adsorb the wafer on the upper end) will sequentially take down the plurality of wafers from the bottom plate and transfer them to the next work station (such as a photoetching station) from top to bottom. After the wafers on the bottom plate are transferred, the worker reversely operates to combine the bottom plate and the box cover, and transfers them to the previous work station for wafer loading and transferring work. The above-mentioned working mode needs the worker to open the connecting part between the bottom plate and the box cover, and also needs the worker to manually remove the box cover, and then needs the worker to manually assemble the box cover and the bottom plate, which is inconvenient for the worker, and is not conducive to improving the work efficiency. In summary, it is very necessary to provide a mechanism that can conveniently separate and combine the box cover and the bottom plate. SUMMARY
[0004] In order to overcome the prior art wafer box to be transferred to the related work station, the box cover and the bottom disc need to be manually separated and combined, which brings inconvenience to the workers and is not conducive to improving the work efficiency, the utility model discloses a kind of under the joint action of related mechanism, it is equipped by simple power switch control or PLC automatic control, can make the bottom disc two locking rods outside end respectively and the locking groove of the inner lower end of box cover separate, then the height of box cover is lifted, the arm front end of six-axis robot based on PLC etc.
[0005] The technical scheme adopted by the utility model to solve its technical problems is:
[0006] SMIF wafer box automatic cover opening and closing mechanism, including rack plate, bottom disc support table, still have unlocking mechanism, box cover fixed lifting mechanism, the upper end of rack plate has operation opening, six-axis robot is installed in the rear side end of rack plate;The bottom disc support table rear side is fixedly installed in the middle part of the front side end of rack plate, and is located at the lower side end of operation opening;The unlocking mechanism includes rotary cylinder and unlocking head, connecting plate, connecting plate has opening, rotary cylinder is installed in the lower side end of connecting plate and its rotating shaft upper part is located in the upper end of connecting plate outside via opening, connecting plate upper end two sides are installed in the lower end of bottom disc support table, the lower end of unlocking head is installed on the rotating shaft upper end of rotary cylinder;The upper end of bottom disc support table has rotary groove, and a plurality of positioning columns are installed on the upper end of bottom disc support table;The box cover fixed lifting mechanism includes electric linear slide, box cover fixed plate, the shell of electric linear slide is installed in the lower end of the front side end of rack plate, the rotating block front side end of electric linear slide is installed with horizontal plate, the front end two sides of horizontal plate are installed with vertical plate respectively, the lower end two sides of box cover fixed plate are installed in the upper end of two vertical plates, and the box cover fixed table has fixed hole.
[0007] Further, the upper end of the locking rod of the unlocking head rotates in the rotary groove.
[0008] Further, the upper end of the locking rod and the rotating disc lock hole of the locking mechanism of the lower end of the bottom disc are respectively from top to bottom in a vertical plane, and the outer diameter of the locking rod is smaller than the inner diameter of the lock hole.
[0009] Further, the upper end of the bottom disc support table is consistent with the outer dimension of the lower end of the bottom disc of the wafer box, and the plurality of fixing grooves of the lower end of the bottom disc are respectively and the plurality of positioning columns of the bottom disc support table from top to bottom in a vertical plane, the outer diameter of the positioning column is smaller than the inner diameter of the fixing groove, and the height of the positioning column is lower than the height of the fixing groove.
[0010] Further, the fixing hole of the box cover fixing plate is larger than the outer dimension of the outer side end of the wafer box, and the limiting plate width of the two side ends of the box cover is larger than the inner diameter of the fixing hole of the box cover fixing plate.
[0011] Further, the height of the bottom disc support table is lower than the height of the operation port lower end of the rack plate.
[0012] Further, the electric linear slide table can also be a pneumatic slide table, and the rotary cylinder can also be a motor reduction mechanism.
[0013] Compared with the prior art, the utility model has the beneficial effects that: under the joint action of the related mechanisms, when the wafer box containing a plurality of wafer slices is transported to the related operation station (generally hoisted to the position by a crown block), the worker inserts the three fixing grooves at the lower end of the bottom disc of the wafer box into the three positioning columns of the bottom disc support table, and through simple power switch control or PLC automatic control, the bottom disc two locking rods can be separated from the two locking grooves at the inner lower end of the box cover through the unlocking mechanism, then the height of the box cover is lifted, the arm front end of the six-axis robot based on PLC control (generally through vacuum suction disc adsorption of the wafer slice at the upper end) can take out the plurality of wafer slices from the bottom disc one by one and transfer to the next station (such as a photoetching station) from top to bottom, and after the wafer slices are taken out, the bottom disc and the box cover can be combined together in a non-human way, which is convenient for transferring to the previous station, thereby bringing convenience to the worker and improving the work efficiency. In summary, the utility model has good application prospect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0014] The utility model will be further described below in combination with the drawings and embodiments.
[0015] Figure 1 It is the whole structure schematic diagram of the utility model.
[0016] Figure 2 It is the partial structure schematic diagram of the utility model.
[0017] Figure 3 It is the wafer box split type structure and partial enlarged structure schematic diagram.
[0018] Figure 4 It is the locking mechanism structure schematic diagram of the bottom box of the wafer box.
[0019] Figure 5 It is the circuit diagram of the utility model. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0020] Figure 1 、 2, 3, 4, 5, SMIF wafer box automatic cover opening and closing mechanism, including power module A1, power switch S1, air compressor (not shown in the figure), rack plate 1, chassis support table 2, also has a lock mechanism 3, box cover fixed lifting mechanism, the upper end of the rack plate 1 middle part has a rectangular opening as the operating port 101, six-axis robot (not shown in the figure) is installed in the rear side end of the rack plate 1; The chassis support table 2 rear side is fixedly installed in the middle of the front side end of the rack plate 1 and located below the operating port 101, the lower end of the rack plate 1 is welded on a horizontally distributed base plate (not shown in the figure); The lock mechanism includes rotary cylinder DC and "U" type lock head 31, connecting plate 32, the connecting plate 32 has an opening in the middle, the rotary cylinder DC is fixedly installed at the lower end of the connecting plate 32 and its rotating shaft upper part is located outside the upper end of the connecting plate 32 through the opening, the connecting plate 32 is welded on both sides of the lower end of the chassis support table 2, the lower end of the lock head 31 is welded on the rotating shaft upper end of the rotary cylinder DC; The middle part of the chassis support table 2 has a circular arc rotating groove 21 at the front and rear ends, respectively, and one or two positioning columns 22 are vertically welded on the upper end of the chassis support table 2; The box cover fixing plate 41 includes an electric linear slide M, the housing of the electric linear slide M is vertically installed in the middle of the front side end of the rack plate 1 by bolts, the front side end of the rotating block of the electric linear slide M is transversely welded with a horizontal plate 42, the front end of the horizontal plate 42 is welded with a vertical plate 43 on both sides, and the lower end of the box cover fixing plate 41 is welded on the upper end of the two vertical plates 41, and the middle part of the box cover fixing plate has a rectangular fixing hole 411; The power module A1 and the power switch S1 are installed on the circuit board in the component box 5 (the component box is installed on the front right side end of the rack plate), the power input terminals 1 and 2 of the power module A1 are connected with the two poles of the AC 220V power supply through wires, the power output terminals 3 and 4 of the power module A1 are connected with the power input terminals 1 and 2 of the power switch S1 through wires, and the power output terminals 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the power switch S1 are connected with the positive and negative power input terminals of the electric screw slide M through wires.
[0021] Figure 1 、 2As shown in FIG. 3, 4, 5, the upper end of the two locking rods of the unlocking head 31 rotates in the rotating groove 21. The upper end of the two locking rods and the rotating disc of the locking mechanism at the lower end of the chassis are respectively in a vertical plane from top to bottom, and the outer diameter of the locking rod is smaller than the inner diameter of the locking hole 82. The upper end of the chassis support platform 2 is consistent with the outer dimension of the lower end of the wafer box chassis 6, and the lower end of the three fixing grooves 61 of the chassis 6 is respectively in a vertical plane from top to bottom with the three positioning columns 22 of the chassis support platform, and the outer diameter of the positioning column 22 is smaller than the inner diameter of the fixing groove 61, and the height of the positioning column 22 is lower than the height of the fixing groove 61. The fixing hole 411 of the box cover fixing plate is larger than the outer dimension of the outer end of the wafer box cover 7, and the limiting plate 71 at the two side ends of the box cover is larger than the left and right width of the fixing hole 411 of the box cover fixing plate. The height of the chassis support platform 2 is lower than the height of the lower end of the operation port 101 of the rack plate. The electric linear slide table M can also use a pneumatic slide table, and the rotating air cylinder can also use a motor reduction mechanism; the two air inlet and outlet electromagnetic valves of the rotating air cylinder and the air tank exhaust pipe of the air compressor are connected in parallel through a pipeline; the two air inlet and outlet electromagnetic valves DC1, DC2 are respectively connected in series through one power switch S2, S3 and the power output terminal 3, 4 of the power module A1 through a wire. All the power switch handles are located outside the opening at the front end of the component box.
[0022] Figure 1 、 2, 3, 4, 5, the AC 220V power supply into the power module A1 power input, power module A1 3, 4 pin output stable DC 12V power supply into the power supply input of power switch S1, S2, S3 (handle is located in the component box front outer side end). The new type of wafer box with multiple wafer pieces is transported to the working position (usually by crane and hoist in place), and the staff cooperates to operate the orientation of the wafer box, so that the wafer box enters the fixing hole 411 from the fixing hole 411 of the box cover fixing plate, the bottom plate 6 of the wafer box is located on the bottom plate support table 2, and the three fixing grooves 61 at the lower end of the bottom plate 6 are respectively located vertically outside the three positioning columns 22, and the three positioning columns 22 play a positioning role for the bottom plate and the box cover (the upper end of the lock rod is inserted into the two lock holes 82 of the rotating disc 8 of the locking mechanism at the lower end of the bottom plate). Then the staff opens the power switch of the cylinder rear end exhaust electromagnetic valve DC2 of the rotary air cylinder DC (which can also be PLC controlled), and the electromagnetic valve DC2 is energized and the valve core is opened. In this way, the compressed air output by the air compressor enters the rear end of the cylinder (the air in the front end of the cylinder is discharged through the exhaust port of the exhaust electromagnetic valve at the front side of the cylinder), the rotating shaft of the rotary air cylinder DC drives the unlocking head 31 to rotate counterclockwise, the lock rod of the lock head drives the rotating disc 8 of the locking mechanism to rotate counterclockwise, and the rotating disc 8 drives the two locking rods 81 to retract to the stop point. The outer ends of the two locking rods 81 are separated from the locking grooves 72 on the inner lower end of the box cover 7, so that the box cover 7 and the bottom plate 1 are separated. Then, the staff moves the handle of the power switch S1 to the left, and the 1, 2 pins and the 3, 4 pins of the power switch S1 are connected, and the positive and negative power input ends of the electric linear slide table M are energized, and the rotating block drives the box cover fixing plate 41 to rise in height. When the box cover fixing plate 41 rises to the stop point, turn off the power switch S1 (the distance between the lower end of the box cover 7 and the uppermost wafer piece is large, which facilitates the subsequent six-axis robot to take out the wafer piece). The arm of the subsequent six-axis robot based on PLC control (usually through a vacuum suction cup to adsorb the wafer piece at the upper end) will be from top to bottom, and one by one, the multiple wafer pieces will be taken off from the bottom plate and transferred to the next station (such as a photoetching station). After the wafer pieces are taken out, the staff moves the handle of the power switch S1 to the right, and the 1, 2 pins and the 5, 6 pins of the power switch S1 are connected, and the negative and positive power input ends of the electric linear slide table M are energized, and the rotating block drives the box cover fixing plate 41 to descend in height. When the box cover fixing plate 41 descends to the stop point, turn off the power switch S1.At this moment, the upper end of the locking rod is still inserted into the two lock holes 82 of the rotating disc of the locking mechanism at the lower end of the bottom plate; then the staff opens the power switch (which can also be controlled by PLC) of the cylinder front end exhaust electromagnetic valve DC1 of the rotary cylinder DC, and the electromagnetic valve DC1 is energized to open the valve core, so that the compressed air output by the air compressor enters the front end of the cylinder (the air in the rear end of the cylinder is discharged through the exhaust port of the rear end exhaust electromagnetic valve), the rotating shaft of the rotary cylinder DC drives the unlocking head 31 to rotate clockwise, the locking rod of the locking head drives the rotating disc 8 of the locking mechanism to rotate clockwise, and the rotating disc 8 drives the two locking rods 81 to extend to the stop point, and the outer ends of the two locking rods 81 enter the locking grooves 72 at the inner lower end of the box cover 7, so that the box cover 7 and the bottom plate 1 are locked together, and the subsequent staff can take out the wafer box from bottom to top by hoisting equipment or manually. The present application brings convenience to the staff and improves the work efficiency. Figure 5 In the embodiment, the power module A1 is an AC 220V to DC 12V switching power module product; the electric linear sliding table M is a power 300W electric screw sliding table product; and the rotary cylinder DC is an HRQ10 type. Figure 4 The existing bottom plate locking mechanism structure diagram is shown in the figure. Specifically, when the rotating disc 8 is counterclockwise rotated, the left side of the rotating disc 8 drives the hingedly connected first connecting plate 83 to move rightward and inward, and the left side of the first connecting plate 83 drives the hingedly connected left end locking rod 81 to move rightward and inward along the guide groove 61 at the inner lower end of the bottom plate. The right side of the rotating disc 8 drives the hingedly connected second connecting plate 84 to move leftward and inward, and the right side of the second connecting plate 84 drives the hingedly connected right end locking rod 81 to move leftward and inward along the guide groove 61 at the inner lower end of the bottom plate. The outer sides of the two locking rods are all inserted into the guide groove 61, and the bottom plate and the cover box can be separated. When the rotating disc 8 is clockwise rotated, the left side of the rotating disc 8 drives the hingedly connected first connecting plate 83 to move leftward and outward, and the left side of the first connecting plate 83 drives the hingedly connected left end locking rod 81 to move leftward and outward along the guide groove 61 at the inner lower end of the bottom plate. The right side of the rotating disc 8 drives the hingedly connected second connecting plate 84 to move rightward and outward, and the right side of the second connecting plate 84 drives the hingedly connected right end locking rod 81 to move rightward and outward along the guide groove 61 at the inner lower end of the bottom plate. The outer sides of the two locking rods are all protruded outward from the guide groove 61, and the bottom plate and the cover box can be fixed together.
[0023] The basic principle and main features of the present application and the advantages of the present application are shown and described above, and for those skilled in the art, it is obvious that the present application is limited to the details of the above exemplary embodiments, and can be realized in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or basic characteristics of the present application. Therefore, from any point of view, the embodiments should be regarded as exemplary and non-limiting, and the scope of the present application is defined by the appended claims rather than the above description, and therefore all changes falling within the meaning and scope of the equivalent elements of the claims are intended to be included in the present application.
[0024] In addition, it should be understood that, although the present application is described in the form of an embodiment, the embodiment does not only contain one independent technical solution, and the description manner of the specification is only for the sake of clarity, and those skilled in the art should consider the specification as a whole, and the technical solutions in the embodiments can also be appropriately combined to form other embodiments that those skilled in the art can understand.
Claims
1. A SMIF pod automatic cover opening and closing mechanism, comprising a rack plate, a bottom disc support table, characterized in that, The lock opening mechanism, the box cover fixing and lifting mechanism, the upper end of the rack plate has an operation port, and the six-axis robot is installed at the rear end of the rack plate; the rear side of the bottom disc support table is fixedly installed at the middle of the front end of the rack plate and is located at the lower end of the operation port; the lock opening mechanism comprises a rotary cylinder, a lock head and a connecting plate, the connecting plate has an opening, the rotary cylinder is installed at the lower end of the connecting plate and the upper end of the rotary shaft thereof is located outside the connecting plate through the opening, the upper end of the connecting plate is installed at the lower end of the bottom disc support table on both sides, and the lower end of the lock head is installed on the upper end of the rotary shaft of the rotary cylinder; the upper end of the bottom disc support table has a rotary groove, and a plurality of positioning columns are installed at the upper end of the bottom disc support table; the box cover fixing and lifting mechanism comprises an electric linear slide and a box cover fixing plate, the housing of the electric linear slide is installed at the lower end of the front end of the rack plate, the front end of the rotating block of the electric linear slide is provided with a horizontal plate, the front end of the horizontal plate is provided with two vertical plates, the lower end of the box cover fixing plate is installed at the upper end of the two vertical plates, and the box cover fixing table has a fixing hole.
2. The SMIF pod open / close cover mechanism of claim 1, wherein, The upper end of the lock head is rotatably located in the rotary groove.
3. The SMIF pod open / close cover mechanism of claim 1 wherein, The upper end of the lock rod and the rotating disc lock hole of the locking mechanism at the lower end of the bottom disc are vertically arranged from top to bottom, and the outer diameter of the lock rod is smaller than the inner diameter of the lock hole.
4. The SMIF pod open / close cover mechanism of claim 1 wherein, The upper end of the bottom disc support table has the same outer dimension as the bottom end of the wafer box, and the plurality of fixing grooves at the lower end of the bottom disc are vertically arranged with the plurality of positioning columns of the bottom disc support table from top to bottom, the outer diameter of the positioning column is smaller than the inner diameter of the fixing groove, and the height of the positioning column is lower than the height of the fixing groove.
5. The SMIF pod open / close cover mechanism of claim 1 wherein, The fixing hole of the box cover fixing plate has a larger inner dimension than the outer dimension of the box cover of the wafer box, and the limiting plate at the two side ends of the box cover has a larger width than the inner diameter of the fixing hole of the box cover fixing plate.
6. The SMIF pod open / close cover mechanism of claim 1, wherein, The height of the bottom disc support table is lower than the height of the operation port of the rack plate.
7. The SMIF pod open / close cover mechanism of claim 1 wherein, The electric linear slide can also be a pneumatic slide, and the rotary cylinder can also be a motor reduction mechanism.