Automatic feeding device

Abstract

The utility model discloses an automatic feeding device which comprises carriers, a guide seat, a bearing mechanism and a transfer mechanism, a plurality of carriers can be arranged in a guide channel of the guide seat in a stacked mode in the vertical direction, and a bearing seat of the bearing mechanism can be arranged in a lifting mode in the vertical direction. The carrier is driven to move downwards in the guide channel and can be transferred to the transfer mechanism, and a moving seat of the transfer mechanism can move in the horizontal direction to be switched between the first station and the second station. When the device works, materials can be loaded into the carrier in the guide channel, and the carrier is driven by the moving seat to the second station to supply materials to semiconductor processing equipment; after the materials in the carriers are taken away, the empty carriers can be put into the guide seat again, automatic feeding and automatic circulation of the carriers are achieved, the whole device is compact in structure and small in occupied space, long-time manual guarding is not needed in the operation process of the device, and labor input is greatly saved.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The utility model relates to an automatic feeding device. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the field of semiconductor production, there is usually a need to supply thin plate materials. These thin plate materials are usually stored in a magazine carrier and are transferred to the feeding station as a whole, and then the materials are supplied to the processing station one by one. At present, the magazine carrier is usually filled with materials independently, and then is carried to the processing station one by one. This not only requires a large machine operation area, but also usually needs manual attendance, which requires a large amount of manpower. SUMMARY

[0003] The utility model aims at providing an automatic feeding device to solve one or more problems in the prior art.

[0004] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the utility model adopts the technical scheme of an automatic feeding device, comprising:

[0005] A carrier, which is in the shape of a cuboid, has a material inlet and outlet on one side facing the horizontal direction;

[0006] A guide seat, which has a guide channel extending in the vertical direction, and a plurality of carriers can be stacked in the guide channel in the vertical direction;

[0007] A transfer mechanism, which includes a moving seat, the moving seat is arranged below the guide seat, and the moving seat can be movably arranged in the horizontal direction and can be switched between a first station and a second station. When the moving seat is in the first station, at least part of the moving seat is located directly below the guide channel;

[0008] A supporting mechanism, which includes a supporting seat, the supporting seat extends in the horizontal direction and can pass through the guide channel and support the carrier, the supporting seat can be arranged to rise and fall in the vertical direction, and the supporting seat has a material transfer height position at the same height as the moving seat;

[0009] The guide seat includes a first guide frame and a second guide frame arranged at intervals in the first horizontal direction, and the interval between the first guide frame and the second guide frame is adjustably arranged, so that the guide channel has a guide state for providing the carrier to slide up and down, and a clamping state for clamping and fixing the carrier.

[0010] Preferably, the first guide frame comprises a first rail and a second rail each extending along a vertical direction and each in an L shape, the first rail and the second rail are spaced apart along a second horizontal direction and cooperatively define a U-shaped guide track with an opening facing the second guide frame, the second horizontal direction is perpendicular to the first horizontal direction; the second guide frame comprises a plurality of blocking rods spaced apart along the second horizontal direction and each extending along the vertical direction, the plurality of blocking rods, the first rail and the second rail cooperatively form the guide channel.

[0011] In some embodiments, the first guide frame further comprises a fixed seat and a sliding seat, the first rail is fixedly arranged on the fixed seat, and the second rail is fixedly arranged on the sliding seat, wherein a sliding rod extending along the first horizontal direction is arranged on the fixed seat, the sliding seat is arranged on the sliding rod, or the sliding seat is arranged on the sliding rod in a slidable manner.

[0012] In some embodiments, the second guide frame further comprises a connecting seat, a plurality of the blocking rods are fixedly arranged on the connecting seat, the connecting seat is located at the same height position as the fixed seat, an adjusting rod is fixedly arranged on the connecting seat and extending along the first horizontal direction, the adjusting rod is arranged on the fixed seat in a slidable manner, and a clamping driving member is arranged on the fixed seat and configured to drive the adjusting rod to slide so as to move the connecting seat towards or away from the fixed seat.

[0013] In some embodiments, a buffer pad is fixedly arranged on a side of the connecting seat facing the fixed seat, and the buffer pad is located between two adjacent blocking rods.

[0014] In some embodiments, the first rail and the second rail each comprise an upper rail rod and a lower rail rod pivotally connected to each other, two upper rail rods are fixedly arranged on the fixed seat and the sliding seat respectively, and two lower rail rods are configured to be arranged in a flip manner away from the guide channel.

[0015] Preferably, the supporting seat has two groups of supporting frames arranged in a spaced apart manner, an avoiding space for the moving seat to pass through is formed between the two groups of supporting frames, and when the supporting frames are lower than the moving seat in the vertical direction, the carrier is transferred from the supporting seat to the moving seat.

[0016] In some embodiments, the supporting mechanism comprises a guide frame extending in vertical direction, the supporting seat further comprises a mounting frame, two groups of the supporting frames horizontally extend from the same side of the mounting frame towards the guide channel, the mounting frame is slidingly fitted on the guide frame, and the supporting mechanism further comprises a lifting driving element for driving the mounting frame to slide up and down along the guide frame.

[0017] In some embodiments, a screw capable of rotating around its own axis is further arranged in the guide frame, the mounting frame is threadedly connected on the screw, and the lifting driving element comprises a motor, and the output shaft of the motor is drivingly connected with the screw.

[0018] Preferably, the transferring mechanism further comprises a cylinder for driving the moving seat to reciprocate in horizontal direction.

[0019] Thanks to the above technical scheme, the automatic feeding device has the following advantages: the carriers can be loaded with materials in the guide channel, the carriers are transmitted one by one in vertical direction, and after being transmitted to the lowermost position, the carriers are moved to the second working position by the linear motion of the moving seat to supply materials for the semiconductor processing equipment; after the materials in the carriers are taken away, the empty carriers can be reloaded into the guide seat by the mechanical arm. The automatic feeding device can realize automatic feeding and automatic circulation of the carriers, the structure of the whole device is compact, the device occupies a small space, and the device does not need to be manually guarded for a long time during operation, thereby greatly saving labor input. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0020] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical scheme of the present application, the following will briefly introduce the drawings needed in the embodiment description. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor.

[0021] Figure 1 The overall structure of the automatic feeding device of the present application Figure 1

[0022] Figure 2 The overall structure of the automatic feeding device of the present application Figure 2

[0023] Figure 3 The structure schematic view of the automatic feeding device of the present application Figure 1

[0024] Figure 4 The three-dimensional structure schematic view of the automatic feeding device of the present application Figure 1 ​​​​

[0025] Figure 5 For Figure 4 The stereogrammatical structure diagram of the shell after further hiding some parts is shown in Fig. 2;

[0026] In the above drawings:

[0027] 1, carrier; 11, material inlet and outlet; 12, partition plate;

[0028] 2, guide seat; 21, first guide frame; 21a, upper guide rail rod; 21b, lower guide rail rod; 211, first guide rail; 212, second guide rail; 213, fixing seat; 214, sliding rod; 215, sliding seat; 22, second guide frame; 221, blocking rod; 222, connecting seat; 23, adjusting rod; 24, air cylinder;

[0029] 3, supporting mechanism; 31, supporting seat; 311, supporting frame; 312, mounting frame; 32, guide frame; 33, motor; 34, screw rod;

[0030] 4, transfer mechanism; 41, moving seat;

[0031] 5, machine base. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] The preferred embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings, so that the advantages and features of the present application can be more easily understood by those skilled in the art. It should be noted that the description of these embodiments is used to help understand the present application, but does not constitute a limitation of the present application.

[0033] Referring to the automatic feeding device shown in the drawings, it comprises a carrier 1, a guide seat 2, a transfer mechanism 4, and a supporting mechanism 3, the guide seat 2, the supporting mechanism 3, and the transfer mechanism 4 are all arranged on the machine base 5 of the automatic feeding device, so as to automatically transmit the carrier 1 and automatically feed.

[0034] The carrier 1 is in the shape of a cuboid, and a plurality of partition plates 12 are arranged on the opposite two side walls of the carrier 1 in a spaced-apart manner along the vertical direction, the two partition plates 12 at the same height jointly form the support for the same piece of material, and a plurality of pieces of material are arranged in the carrier 1 in a vertically stacked manner. The carrier 1 has a material inlet and outlet 11 on the side facing the horizontal direction, and the material can be placed into the inner cavity of the carrier 1 through the material inlet and outlet 11, and the material can also be taken out from the carrier 1 piece by piece through the material inlet and outlet 11.

[0035] The guide seat 2 has a guide channel extending in the vertical direction, and a plurality of carriers 1 can be stacked and arranged in the guide channel in the vertical direction. The transfer mechanism 4 includes a moving seat 41 arranged below the guide seat 2, which is movably arranged in the horizontal direction and can be switched between a first station and a second station. The first station is used to receive the carrier 1, and when the moving seat 41 is in the first station, at least part of the moving seat 41 is located directly below the guide channel. The second station is a feeding station, i.e. a position where the carrier 1 needs to be sent for feeding. The first station and the second station are spaced apart in a straight line direction, and the moving seat 41 moves in the straight line direction to switch between the first station and the second station.

[0036] The supporting mechanism 3 includes a supporting seat 31 extending in the horizontal direction and capable of passing through the guide channel and supporting the carrier 1. The supporting seat 31 is movably arranged in the vertical direction, and the supporting seat 31 has a transfer height position at the same height as the moving seat 41. At the transfer height position, the carrier 1 on the supporting seat 31 can be supported on the moving seat 41 at the same time. When the supporting seat 31 continues to move downward and is below the transfer height position, the carrier 1 can be fully supported on the moving seat 41.

[0037] In the automatic feeding device, the guide seat 2 includes a first guide frame 21 and a second guide frame 22 arranged in the first horizontal direction. The distance between the first guide frame 21 and the second guide frame 22 is adjustably arranged, so that the guide channel has a guide state for providing the carrier 1 to slide up and down, and a clamping state for clamping and fixing the carrier 1.

[0038] When the automatic feeding device works, the distance between the first guide frame 21 and the second guide frame 22 in the first horizontal direction is slightly larger than the size of the carrier 1 in the direction. The guide channel is initially in the guide state, the empty carrier 1 is placed into the guide channel from above the guide seat 2, and the lowermost carrier 1 is supported by the supporting seat 31. With the downward movement of the supporting seat 31, the empty carrier 1 can be gradually supplemented into the guide channel. When the carrier 1 is at a certain height position in the guide channel, the mechanical hand pours the material into the carrier 1 through the material inlet and outlet 11, so that the carrier 1 is converted to the full load state.

[0039] When the support seat 31 is lowered to the transfer height position, the carrier 1 is fully supported on the moving seat 41 and is separated from the guide seat 2. At this time, the first guide frame 21 and the second guide frame 22 are driven to move relative to each other so that the distance between the guide channels in the first horizontal direction is equal to the size of the carrier 1 in this direction. At this time, the guide channels are in a clamping state so that the carriers 1 in the guide channels, except the carrier 1 supported on the support seat 31, are clamped and cannot slide downward. After the carrier 1 supported on the support seat 31 is completely transferred to the moving seat 41, the moving seat 41 is driven to move linearly to the second station, thereby transferring the carrier 1 to the second station to supply the semiconductor processing equipment with materials.

[0040] After the materials in the carrier 1 are all taken away at the second station, the empty carrier 1 is again put into the guide channels from above by the robot, the moving seat 41 is driven to move linearly back to the first station, and the next full carrier 1 is moved. In this way, the automatic circulation of the carrier 1 is realized, the structure of the supply device is compact, the size of the device occupying the equipment platform is small, and the supply device can be widely applied to the automatic supply of most semiconductor processing equipment.

[0041] Referring to the drawings, in the embodiment, the first guide frame 21 includes a first guide rail 211 and a second guide rail 212 each extending in the vertical direction and each being L-shaped. The first guide rail 211 and the second guide rail 212 are arranged in the second horizontal direction and cooperatively define a U-shaped guide rail opening toward the second guide frame 22. The second horizontal direction is perpendicular to the first horizontal direction, and the first horizontal direction and the second horizontal direction correspond to the width direction and the length direction of the carrier, respectively, such as the X direction and the Y direction in FIG. 1. Figure 2 The second guide frame 22 includes a plurality of blocking rods 221 arranged in the second horizontal direction and each extending in the vertical direction. The plurality of blocking rods 221, the first guide rail 211 and the second guide rail 212 cooperatively form the guide channels of the guide seat 2.

[0042] In the embodiment, the first guide frame 21 further includes a fixed seat 213 and a sliding seat 215. The first guide rail 211 is fixedly arranged on the fixed seat 213, and the second guide rail 212 is fixedly arranged on the sliding seat 215. The fixed seat 213 is provided with a sliding rod 214 extending in the first horizontal direction. The sliding rod 214 is arranged to be slidable relative to the fixed seat 213, or the sliding seat 215 is arranged to be slidable relative to the sliding rod 214. By adjusting the distance between the fixed seat 213 and the sliding seat 215, the distance between the first guide rail 211 and the second guide rail 212 can be changed, thereby being able to adapt to different length requirements of different sizes of carriers 1. After adjustment, the sliding seat 215 can be locked relative to the fixed seat 213 by using a locking screw or the like.

[0043] The second guide frame 22 further comprises a connecting seat 222, a plurality of blocking rods 221 are fixedly arranged on the connecting seat 222, and an adjusting rod 23 extending along the first horizontal direction is further fixedly arranged on the connecting seat 222. The adjusting rod 23 is arranged in a sliding manner relative to the fixing seat 213, and a clamping driving part for driving the adjusting rod 23 to slide so that the connecting seat 222 moves towards or away from the fixing seat 213 is further arranged on the fixing seat 213. Here, the clamping driving part is a pneumatic cylinder 24, and the adjusting rod 23 is a telescopic rod of the pneumatic cylinder, which drives the connecting seat 222 to move so that the second guide frame 22 moves relative to the first guide frame 21. By adjusting the distance between the first guide frame 21 and the second guide frame 22 in the first horizontal direction, the size of the guide channel can be adapted to the different width requirements of different carriers 1, and the guide channel can also be converted between the guide state and the clamping state.

[0044] The connecting seat 222 and the fixing seat 213 are at the same height, and when the guide channel is in the clamping state, the connecting seat 222 and the fixing seat 213 cooperate with each other to clamp and fix the carrier 1, so that the contact area between the carrier 1 and the guide channel is large, and the clamping is more stable and reliable. Here, a buffer pad 223 is fixedly arranged on the side of the connecting seat 222 towards the fixing seat 213, and the buffer pad 223 is located between the two adjacent blocking rods 221. In this way, when the carrier 1 is clamped, the buffer pad 223 is in contact with one side of the carrier 1, which can significantly increase the friction between the two, thereby preventing the carrier 1 from falling.

[0045] Referring to Figure 5 As shown in the figure, the lengths of the first guide rail 211 and the second guide rail 212 are greater than the length of the blocking rod 221, so that the carrier 1 can be moved to the second station by passing over the blocking rod 221 after being lowered below the blocking rod 221; and the lengths of the first guide rail 211 and the second guide rail 212 extend to the machine base 5, so that the carrier 1 can be guided during the entire lowering process. Here, the first guide rail 211 and the second guide rail 212 each comprise an upper guide rail 21a and a lower guide rail 21b pivotally connected to each other, the two upper guide rails 21a are respectively fixed to the fixing seat 213 and the sliding seat 215, and the two lower guide rails 21b are arranged to be able to be flipped away from the guide channel. In this way, if the carrier 1 at the bottom fails during the lowering or other operation process, the two lower guide rails 21b can be flipped away from the guide channel, so that the failed carrier 1 can be pulled out from the lower part from this side to quickly eliminate the failure.

[0046] Referring to Figure 5As shown, in the supporting mechanism 3, the supporting seat 31 has two groups of supporting frames 311 arranged at intervals, and the two groups of supporting frames 311 form an avoiding space capable of passing through the moving seat 41, so that when the supporting frame 311 is lower than the moving seat 41 in the vertical direction, the carrier 1 can be transferred from the supporting frame 311 to the moving seat 41. The supporting mechanism 3 further comprises a guide frame 32 extending in the vertical direction, and the supporting seat 31 further comprises a mounting frame 312, and the two groups of supporting frames 311 are arranged at intervals on the same side of the mounting frame 312 and extend horizontally towards the guide channel. The mounting frame 312 is slidingly fitted on the guide frame 32, and the supporting mechanism 3 further comprises a lifting driving member for driving the mounting frame 312 to slide up and down on the guide frame 32.

[0047] Here, the guide frame 32 is provided with a screw rod 34 capable of rotating around its own axis, and the mounting frame 312 is threadedly connected to the screw rod 34. The lifting driving member is specifically a motor 33, and the output shaft of the motor 33 is drivingly connected to the screw rod 34. The motor 33 rotates forward or reversely, and correspondingly the screw rod 34 rotates forward or reversely, so that the mounting frame 312 rises or falls along the screw rod 34, thereby realizing the lifting of the supporting seat 31 in the vertical direction.

[0048] In the embodiment, the transfer mechanism 4 further comprises a gas cylinder (not shown in the figure) for driving the moving seat 41 to reciprocate linearly in the horizontal direction, and the moving seat 41 is fixedly arranged on the telescopic rod of the gas cylinder and switches between the first working position and the second working position with the linear motion of the telescopic rod.

[0049] In summary, the automatic feeding device of the utility model can realize automatic feeding and automatic circulation of the carrier 1, the structure of the whole device is compact, the occupied space is small, and manual long-time on-duty is not required during the operation of the device, thereby greatly saving the labor input.

[0050] The above embodiments are only for illustrating the technical concept and characteristics of the utility model, the purpose is to enable persons skilled in the art to understand the content of the utility model and implement it, and cannot limit the protection scope of the utility model. Any equivalent changes or modifications made according to the essence of the utility model shall be covered within the protection scope of the utility model.

Claims

1. An automatic feeding device characterized by comprising: The utility model relates to a kind of material transfer device, including: Carrier, which is cuboid, has material inlet and outlet towards horizontal direction side; Guide seat, with guide channel extending along vertical direction, multiple carriers can be stacked in guide channel along vertical direction; Transfer mechanism, including moving seat, moving seat is arranged below guide seat, moving seat can be movably arranged along horizontal direction and can be switched between first station and second station, wherein, when moving seat is in first station, at least part of moving seat is located directly below guide channel; Support mechanism, including support seat, support seat extends along horizontal direction and can pass through guide channel and support carrier, support seat can be arranged along vertical direction and has material transfer height position with moving seat at the same height; Wherein, guide seat includes first guide frame and second guide frame arranged along first horizontal direction, the interval between first guide frame and second guide frame is adjustably arranged, so that guide channel has guide state providing carrier sliding up and down, and clamping state clamping carrier.

2. The automatic feed device according to claim 1, characterized in that: First guide frame includes first guide rail and second guide rail each extending along vertical direction and being L-shaped, first guide rail and second guide rail are arranged along second horizontal direction and cooperated to define U-shaped guide rail with opening towards second guide frame, and second horizontal direction is perpendicular to first horizontal direction;Second guide frame includes multiple blocking rods arranged along second horizontal direction and extending along vertical direction, multiple blocking rods, first guide rail and second guide rail cooperated to form guide channel.

3. The automatic feed device according to claim 2, characterized in that: First guide frame also includes fixed seat and sliding seat, first guide rail is fixed on fixed seat, and second guide rail is fixed on sliding seat, wherein, sliding bar extending along first horizontal direction is arranged on fixed seat, sliding seat is arranged on sliding bar, and sliding bar can be movably arranged relative to fixed seat or sliding seat can be movably arranged relative to sliding bar.

4. The automatic feed device according to claim 3, characterized in that: Second guide frame also includes connecting seat, multiple blocking rods are fixed on connecting seat, connecting seat is at the same height position with fixed seat, adjusting rod is fixedly arranged on connecting seat, adjusting rod extends along first horizontal direction, adjusting rod can be movably arranged relative to fixed seat, and clamping driving element is arranged on fixed seat for driving adjusting rod to slide so that connecting seat moves towards or away from fixed seat.

5. The automatic feed device according to claim 4, characterized in that: Buffer pad is also fixedly arranged on the side of connecting seat towards fixed seat, and buffer pad is located between adjacent two blocking rods.

6. The automatic feed device according to claim 3, characterized in that: First guide rail and second guide rail each include upper guide rail rod and lower guide rail rod pivotally connected with each other, two upper guide rail rods are respectively fixed on fixed seat and sliding seat, and two lower guide rail rods are respectively arranged to be reversely arranged away from guide channel.

7. The automatic feed device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The supporting seat has two groups of supporting frames arranged at intervals, and the two groups of supporting frames form an avoiding space through which the moving seat can pass, and when the supporting frames are lower than the moving seat in the vertical direction, the carrier is transferred from the supporting seat to the moving seat.

8. The automatic feed device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The supporting mechanism includes a guide frame extending in the vertical direction, the supporting seat further includes a mounting frame, and the two groups of supporting frames extend horizontally from the same side of the mounting frame towards the guide channel, the mounting frame is slidingly fitted on the guide frame, and the supporting mechanism further includes a lifting drive for driving the mounting frame to slide up and down on the guide frame.

9. The automatic feed device according to claim 8, characterized in that: The guide frame is further provided with a screw rod capable of rotating around its own axis, the mounting frame is threadedly connected to the screw rod, and the lifting drive includes a motor, and the output shaft of the motor is drivingly connected to the screw rod.

10. The automatic feeder of claim 1, wherein: The transfer mechanism further includes a pneumatic cylinder for driving the moving seat to reciprocate linearly in the horizontal direction.

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