Automatic handling device

Abstract

The present invention provides an automatic handling device comprising a suction head that picks up and holds a workpiece, an arm connected to the suction head that moves the suction head, and a platform on which the workpiece to be conveyed to the workpiece receiving opening of the carrier is mounted, wherein the suction head has a movable section that is movable in a plane parallel to a main body of the suction head, wherein the movable section is configured to pick up and hold the workpiece and has a plurality of positioning pins extending in a vertically lower direction, and wherein, when the workpiece held by the movable section is loaded into the workpiece receiving opening of the carrier, the plurality of positioning pins are pressed against tooth valleys of a gear on an outer circumference of the carrier and the movable section moves in the parallel plane.This presses the carrier against the sun gear side to fix its position and orientation, and moves the held workpiece into the workpiece receiving opening. Consequently, the automatic handling device can load the workpiece precisely into the workpiece receiving opening of the carrier at low cost.

Description

TECHNICAL AREA

[0001] The present invention relates to an automatic handling device that automatically transports a workpiece such as a silicon wafer. STATE OF THE ART

[0002] In conventional examples, when both the top and bottom surfaces of a planar workpiece, such as a silicon wafer, are to be flattened simultaneously, a double-sided chip removal device, such as a double-sided polisher or a double-sided lapper, is used. For example, in the double-sided polisher, a disc-shaped planetary gear, called a carrier, is arranged between an upper and a lower rotary table, each of which has a polishing pad made of urethane foam or fiber attached. The workpiece is inserted into and held in a receiving opening of this carrier, and the carrier rotates or turns by the combined rotation of a sun gear and an internal gear that mesh with the carrier.The upper and lower surfaces of the workpiece are simultaneously polished by the rotation, the rotation of the upper and lower rotary tables, and the sliding action on the workpiece. Furthermore, to ensure efficient polishing, a polishing slurry is fed through several holes in the upper rotary table during the double-sided polishing process.

[0003] Furthermore, the upper turntable incorporates a mechanism that moves up and down. The upper turntable is set to its upper position, and then the carrier is placed on the lower turntable, or the workpiece is inserted into the erected carrier. Regarding the insertion of the workpiece into the carrier, there is a case where an operator manually loads it into a workpiece receiving opening in the carrier, and another case where an automatic handling device is used for loading. After the workpiece has been loaded in this manner, the upper turntable moves downwards, and the workpiece and the carrier are clamped between the upper and lower turntables.Furthermore, the workpiece is polished by the rotation and turning of the carrier, which is implemented by the rotation of the upper and lower rotary table and the rotation of the internal gear and sun gear during the feeding of the polishing slurry. PRINT TYPE LIST PATENT LITERATURE

[0004] Patent document 1: Japanese unexamined patent publication (Kokai) No. 2005-243996 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAL PROBLEM

[0005] In a silicon wafer chip removal process, for example, the loading and unloading of the silicon wafer into and out of a chip removal process device has generally been shifted from processing by an operator to automated processing using a robot or the like, and a reduction in labor costs realized by this shift contributes to a reduction in the manufacturing costs of the silicon wafer.

[0006] However, with a double-sided polishing device or a double-sided lapping device with a mechanism very similar to that of the first-mentioned device, the technical difficulty of automatically unloading the workpiece is relatively low, but automatic loading of the workpiece requires advanced technology. One reason for this is described in detail below.

[0007] In the case of loading or unloading a workpiece into or from the workpiece receiving opening of the carrier in the automatic handling device, a wafer gripper hand is moved to a pre-stored position by an articulated robot, a SCARA robot, a rotary arm, or any other drive, and the workpiece is placed or gripped. This carrying mechanism can generally be controlled with a positional accuracy of hundreds of micrometers or less and is sufficiently suitable for loading and unloading workpieces.

[0008] On the other hand, it is difficult to increase the accuracy of the workpiece holding opening's position when placing or gripping the workpiece. The position of this workpiece holding opening is imprecise because fixing the position and orientation of the holder placed on the lower turntable is challenging.

[0009] Meanwhile, a carrier in a general double-sided polishing device or a double-sided lapping device can accommodate one or more workpieces, and it is frequently the case that a plurality of carriers, such as five carriers, are provided in the device at equal intervals, i.e., at intervals of 72°.

[0010] When picking up workpieces in the carriers, a target carrier is moved from the multitude of carriers to a specific workpiece loading position by rotating the internal gear and the sun gear. The workpiece is then picked up in the carrier located at this specific loading position. After the workpiece has been picked up in the carrier at this specific loading position, the next immediately available carrier is moved to the workpiece loading position by rotating the internal gear and the sun gear 72° in the same direction (this step is called carrier switching in certain situations). The workpieces are picked up in all five carriers by repeating the workpiece picking and switching process five times.

[0011] Although, as described above, the position of each carrier is stopped at a desired position by controlling the internal gear and the sun gear, these gears normally have some play, and an uncertainty arises in the stopped position depending on the magnitude of the play. Additionally, generally, even though the carriers are engaged with the sun gear and the internal gear and inserted into the device, gaps between the carriers and the two gears are present, as shown in Fig. 10 shown provided, which also represents a factor that reduces the accuracy of the stop positions of the carriers.

[0012] When unloading the workpiece, for example a silicon wafer, since nowadays a wafer with a diameter of 200 mm or 300 mm is established, a reduction in positional accuracy in the millimeter range due to the play and gaps between the carriers and the gears when the wafer gripper hand tries to grip the wafer is small enough for a workpiece size, and thus it is often the case that this reduction does not lead to a problem.

[0013] Regarding the loading of the workpiece, however, since the diameter of the workpiece receiving opening in each carrier is normally designed to be at most approximately 1 mm larger than the diameter of the workpiece or smaller than this value, the workpiece cannot be repeatedly loaded exactly into the workpiece hole unless an uncertainty in the carrier position accuracy is eliminated.

[0014] With regard to such a problem, for example, a device was developed in patent literature 1 that optically measures the position of each carrier and the position of a workpiece receiving opening and loads a workpiece at a position corresponding to the measurement result. However, the integration of an optical device, the calculation of the workpiece receiving opening position from image information, and the software required to control a workpiece loading position according to the calculation entail considerable costs.

[0015] In view of the problem, it is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic handling device that can load a workpiece into a workpiece receiving opening in a carrier inexpensively and accurately. SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM

[0016] To achieve the object according to the present invention, an automatic handling device is provided which conveys a workpiece into a workpiece receiving opening of a carrier for receiving the workpiece or conveys the workpiece out of the workpiece receiving opening of the carrier in a double-sided chip removal device for workpieces, which has the carrier which engages with a sun gear and an internal gear and performs a planetary gear movement, comprising: a suction head that picks up and holds the workpiece; an arm that is connected to the suction head and moves the suction head; and a platform on which the workpiece to be conveyed to the workpiece receiving opening of the carrier is mounted; wherein the suction head has a movable section which is movable in a plane parallel to a main body of the suction head, wherein the movable section is configured to suction and hold the workpiece, and has a plurality of positioning pins extending in a vertically lower direction, and When loading the workpiece held by the movable section into the workpiece receiving opening of the carrier, the plurality of positioning pins are pressed against tooth valleys of a gear on an outer circumference of the carrier and the movable section moves in the parallel plane, thereby pressing the carrier against the sun gear side to fix a position and direction of the carrier, and conveying the held workpiece into the carrier receiving opening.

[0017] In the automatic handling device according to the present invention, the carrier is pressed against the sun gear by a plurality of positioning pins, thus ensuring that the carrier is always fixed in a predetermined position and direction. The workpiece is then loaded into the workpiece receiving opening, ensuring that the workpiece is always loaded in the fixed position of the receiving opening. Furthermore, this automatic handling device does not have a particularly complex configuration and does not require costly optical equipment or other components. Therefore, the workpiece can be loaded precisely into the carrier receiving opening without the need for expensive equipment such as optical devices or image processing systems, and highly accurate workpiece handling can be achieved at low cost.

[0018] At this point, it is preferable that the platform has a mechanism configured to position the workpiece in such a way that a center point of the workpiece held by the movable section coincides with a center point of the workpiece receiving opening of the carrier when fixing the position and direction of the carrier by the multitude of positioning pins.

[0019] As described above, if the mechanism is provided that allows the center point of the workpiece, held in advance by the movable section on the platform, to coincide with the center point of the workpiece receiving opening, then highly accurate transport of the workpiece can be implemented.

[0020] Furthermore, at this point the platform has a plurality of positioning openings into which the plurality of positioning pins are inserted when the movable section suctions and holds the workpiece attached to the platform, and a position of the plurality of positioning openings is set such that it enables the movable section to hold the workpiece in a position in which the center of the workpiece held by the movable section coincides with the center of the workpiece receiving opening when fixing the position and direction of the carrier by the plurality of positioning pins inserted into the plurality of positioning openings.

[0021] Since the suction head in the automatic handling device according to the present invention has the positioning pins in its movable section, the insertion of such positioning pins into the positioning openings makes it possible to hold the workpiece in such a position that the center of the workpiece held by the movable section can coincide with the center of the workpiece receiving opening due to the simpler configuration, and moreover, precise transport of the workpiece can be easily carried out. ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION

[0022] According to the automatic handling device of the present invention, a costly optical device or image processing device is not necessarily required, and the workpiece can be loaded precisely into the workpiece receiving opening. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. Figure 1 is a schematic view showing an example of an automatic handling device according to the present invention in a double-sided chip removal device; Fig. Figure 2 is a schematic view showing an example of an operating mode of the automatic handling device according to the present invention when positioning pins are pressed against tooth valleys of a carrier in the double-sided chip removal device; Fig. Figure 3 is a view to illustrate an inclination of the carrier in one direction in the double-sided chip removal device; Fig. Figure 4 is a schematic view showing an example of an operating mode of the automatic handling device according to the present invention when a movable section of a suction head moves and all positioning pins are pressed against the tooth valleys of the carrier in the double-sided chip removal device; Fig. 5(a) and Fig. 5(b) are a top view and a side view, respectively, showing an example of a configuration of an arm and the suction head in the automatic handling device according to the present invention; Fig. Figure 6(a) is a side view showing an example of a state in which a second air cylinder of the suction head in the automatic handling device according to the present invention is pulled apart, and Fig. Figure 6(b) is a side view showing an example of a state in which the second air cylinder of the suction head in the automatic handling device according to the present invention is retracted; Fig. Figure 7(a) is a top view showing an example of a state in which the movable section of the suction head moves in a horizontal plane in the automatic handling device according to the present invention, and Fig. Figure 7(b) is a top view showing an example of a state in which the movable section of the suction head in the automatic handling device according to the present invention does not move; Fig. Figure 8 is a top view showing an example of a configuration of a platform in the automatic handling device according to the present invention; Fig. Figure 9 is a view illustrating a workpiece unloading step using the automatic handling device according to the present invention; and Fig. Figure 10 is a view to illustrate the gaps between both a sun gear and an internal gear and supports in a double-sided chip removal device. DESCRIPTION OF EXECUTION FORMS

[0023] Although one embodiment of the present invention is described below, the present invention is not limited to that embodiment.

[0024] As described above, when loading a workpiece into a workpiece receiving opening of a carrier in a double-sided chip removal device, such as a double-sided polishing device or a double-sided lapping device, the position or orientation of the carrier is not fixed due to gaps between both a sun gear and an internal gear and the carrier. Consequently, there is a problem in that the workpiece cannot be loaded accurately. Furthermore, although a device has been developed that optically measures the position of the carrier and the workpiece receiving opening and loads the workpiece in a position corresponding to the measurement result, there is a problem in that the optical system and other components require a significant amount of initial investment.

[0025] Therefore, the present inventors have repeatedly conducted intensive studies to solve the problem. In this way, they have concluded that the automatic handling device, which can fix a position and direction of the carrier using positioning pins during workpiece loading, can transport the workpiece with high accuracy at low cost with a simple configuration, thus completing the present invention.

[0026] The automatic handling device according to the present invention will now be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0027] As in Fig. As shown in Figure 1, an automatic handling device 1 according to the present invention transports a workpiece W into a workpiece receiving opening 24 of a carrier 23 or transports the same from the workpiece receiving opening 24 into a double-sided chip removal device 20 ( Fig. Figure 1 shows a double-sided polishing device), which has the workpiece holders 23, which engage with a sun gear 21 and an internal gear 22 and perform a planetary gear movement on a lower rotary table 25.

[0028] This automatic handling device 1 includes a suction head 2 that picks up and holds the workpiece W, an arm 3 connected to the suction head 2 that moves the suction head 2, and a platform 4 on which the workpiece W is mounted. The workpiece W is then conveyed to the workpiece receiving opening 24 of each carrier 23 in the double-sided chip removal device 20. It should be noted that the machined workpiece W, once unloaded from the workpiece receiving opening 24, may be mounted on the platform 4. Furthermore, although Fig. Figure 1 shows the double-sided chip removal device 20, in which the number of carriers is five, the number of carriers is of course not limited to five.

[0029] In such an automatic handling device 1, the workpiece W, mounted on the platform 4, is essentially suctioned and held by the suction head 2. Furthermore, the suction head 2 is moved by the arm 3 towards the upper side of the carrier 23 so that the workpiece W is positioned above the workpiece receiving opening 24. Then, the suction and holding action performed by the suction head 2 is terminated, and the workpiece W is loaded into the workpiece receiving opening 24.

[0030] Here, as in Fig. As shown in Figures 5(a) and (b), the suction head 2 of the automatic handling device 1 according to the present invention has a movable section 5 which can move in a plane parallel to a main body 8 of the suction head, and the movable section 5 can suction and hold the workpiece W and has a plurality of positioning pins 6 which extend in a vertically lower direction.

[0031] Before this suction head 2 loads the workpiece W into the workpiece receiving opening 24, an additional step is performed, as described in Fig. As shown in Figure 2, the plurality of positioning pins 6 are inserted into positions surrounded by the carrier 23, the internal gear 22, and the lower rotary table 25. Furthermore, when the workpiece W is loaded into the workpiece receiving opening 24, the plurality of positioning pins 6 can press the carrier 23 against the side of the sun gear 21. This step of pressing the carrier 23 against the side of the sun gear 21 can essentially eliminate a gap between the sun gear 21 and the carrier 23 (namely, it establishes a position of the carrier in an x-direction in Fig. 2 (a central direction of the lower turntable 25) is determined).

[0032] If the carrier 23 simply goes into the Fig. When the x-direction shown in Figure 2 is pressed, however, the direction of the carrier 23 in a region of a gap on the side of the internal gear 22 is not determined, as shown in Figure 2. Fig. 3 is shown. That is, a position in a in Fig. The direction shown in Figure 3 (an outer circumferential direction of the lower turntable 25) cannot be determined.

[0033] On the other hand, in the automatic handling device according to the present invention, as in Fig. As shown in Figure 4, when the carrier 23 is pressed against the side of the sun wheel 21 by the suction head 2, the movable section 5 is in the parallel plane to the main body of the suction head 2, and the movable section 5 of the suction head 2 can move such that, in a direction corresponding to the carrier 23, it is inclined so that all positioning pins 6 are pressed against the same positions on the carrier 23, or more specifically, all positioning pins 6 are pressed against tooth valleys of the carrier 23.

[0034] Since all positioning pins 6 are always pressed against the same positions on the carrier 23 and the positioning pins 6 are fixed to the movable section 5, this mechanism ensures that the relationship of position and direction between the movable section 5, which suctions the workpiece, and the carrier 23 always remains the same.

[0035] According to the automatic handling device of the present invention, which includes such a suction head 2, even if the stopping point accuracy of the carrier is insufficient, the relationship between position and direction between the movable section 5, which suctions the workpiece, and the carrier 23 is always the same, and consequently the workpiece can be loaded accurately. Furthermore, this automatic handling device does not require measuring the position of the workpiece receiving opening using a costly optical device or the like. Thus, the workpiece can be loaded accurately into the carrier receiving opening without the need for an optical device or the like, and highly accurate workpiece loading can be achieved at low cost.

[0036] An example of configurations of the suction head and the arm in the automatic handling device according to the present invention is now described in detail below.

[0037] As in Fig. As shown in Figures 5(a) and (b), the suction head 2 is located on the rotatable arm 3, and an extension / retraction function using a first air cylinder 7 is added to this arm 3. The workpiece W is unloaded from the workpiece receiving opening 24 in a state where the arm 3 is retracted, and the workpiece W is loaded in a state where the arm 3 is extended.

[0038] As in Fig. As shown in Figures 5(a) and (b), the suction head 2 has a two-layer structure comprising an upper part (a main body 8 of the suction head) attached to the arm 3, and a lower part (the movable section 5) connected to the main body 8 of the suction head via a sliding bearing 9. The movable section 5 can move in the plane parallel to the main body 8. In this case, the movable section 5, which actually suctions and holds the workpiece W, has a suction pad 10 attached to its underside. The workpiece W is drawn in and held by this suction pad 10 under negative pressure. Furthermore, the movable section 5 has a plate attached to it, and the plurality of positioning pins extending in the lower vertical direction are located on this plate. It should be noted that Fig. Figure 5 shows an example where the number of positioning pins is 6, but the number of positioning pins can of course also be three or more.

[0039] Since the movable section 5, which has a movable area in the horizontal plane to the main body 8 of the suction head, and the plate on which the positioning pins 6 are located are configured as a single piece, the positioning pins 6 can move together with the movable section 5 when it moves towards the main body 8.

[0040] Furthermore, a second air cylinder 11 is arranged on the main body 8 of the suction head, which moves the movable section 5 and the positioning pins 6, which are configured as a single unit, in a movable area of ​​the sliding bearing 9 in a base direction of the arm 3. Additionally, on a distal end side of the suction head 2, the main body 8 of the suction head 2 and the movable section 5 are connected by springs 12, which are in a stretched state (a state in which the springs 12 exert a contraction force towards the distal end direction of the arm 3), so that the movable section 5 can be corrected and held in the distal end direction of the arm 3 within the movable area of ​​the movable section 5.In a state where the second air cylinder 11 is extended, the movable section 5 is fixed to the main body 8 of the suction head because it comes into contact with the distal end of the second air cylinder 11 and is pulled by the springs 12 in the distal end direction of the arm 3. Furthermore, in a state where the second air cylinder 11 is not extended, i.e., in a state where the movable section 5 is not fixed by the second air cylinder 11, the movable section 5 can move within the area of ​​the sliding bearing 9.

[0041] Here, instead of the rotatable arm 3, an arm using an articulated robot can be used. In this case, the extension / retraction function of arm 3, i.e., the first air cylinder 7, can be removed. Furthermore, the second air cylinder 11, which pushes the movable section 5 towards the base of the arm, can be replaced by a cylinder incorporating a mechanism that uses a motor or a magnet. Alternatively, it is possible to use a mechanism that employs a compliance unit, which moves the movable section 5 towards the base when the movable section 5 is locked in place.

[0042] The workpiece loading step will now be described.

[0043] As described above, the carrier 23 is installed in such a manner as described in Fig. The double-sided chip removal device 20 shown in Figure 1 is first placed in a standby operating mode at a workpiece loading position by controlling the stop positions of the sun gear 21 and the internal gear 22. Then the arm 3 is rotated so that the workpiece W can be drawn in by the suction head 2 to reach the top of this carrier 23. Subsequently, as shown in Figure 1, the workpiece W is moved to a standby mode at a workpiece loading position by controlling the stop positions of the sun gear 21 and the internal gear 22. Then the arm 3 is rotated so that the workpiece W can be drawn in by the suction head 2 to reach the top of this carrier 23. Fig. As shown in Figure 6(a), the second air cylinder 11 is pulled apart, the movable section 5 is fixed, and then the movable section 5, which holds the workpiece W, is lowered to a position where the workpiece W is slightly above a surface of the carrier 23. At this point, the plurality of positioning pins 6 are in positions where they are not in contact with the lower rotary table 25, the carrier 23, and the internal gear 22. Fig. 1 come, and they are introduced in the respective gaps between these.

[0044] Then, as in Fig. As shown in Figure 6(b), the movable section 5 and the positioning pins 6 are released from a state in which they are pushed towards the base of the arm 3 by contracting the second air cylinder 11 and are pulled by the springs 12 to align themselves relatively in a distal end direction of the arm, i.e. in the direction of the sun wheel 21. Fig. 1. to move, and the gaps between the positioning pins 6 and the carrier 23 are reduced or these components come into contact with each other. When the positioning pins 6 and the carrier 23 begin to come into contact with each other, the carrier 23 is pushed by the positioning pins 6 towards the side of the sun gear 21, and the gap between the carrier 23 and the side of the sun gear 21 is reduced or eliminated.

[0045] Furthermore, the pulling action is also carried out by the force of the springs 12, and the movable section 5 and the positioning pins 6 move from a position in Fig. 7(b) state shown while they tilt towards the sun wheel side, as in Fig. Figure 7(a) shows that, since the main body 8 of the suction head and the movable section are connected to each other by the sliding bearing 9, the movable section 5 moves when tilted, even if the carrier 23 is placed in a position that has an inclination in the x-direction, so that the plurality of positioning pins 6 is pressed against the tooth valleys of the outer circumferential gear of the carrier 23. At this point, the carrier 23 is pressed towards the side of the sun gear 21 by the additional contraction force of the springs 12, and the gap between the carrier 23 and the sun gear 21 becomes zero. That is, the position and direction of the carrier 23 are fixed by the sun gear 21 and the plurality of positioning pins 6.

[0046] In this state, the arm 3 and the suction head 2 are moved downwards until the workpiece W is positioned in the workpiece receiving opening 24, and the suction and holding action is released, precisely positioning the workpiece W in the workpiece receiving opening 24. The suction head 2, which has engaged the suction and holding action, then moves slightly upwards, pulls the second air cylinder 11 apart, moves the movable section 5 towards the base of the arm 3, releases the contact between the positioning pins 6 and the carrier 23, creates a gap, and then moves further upwards, moving the platform 4 to suction and hold the next workpiece to be conveyed. The double-sided chip removal device 20 performs a 72° switch with the carrier 23 to prepare for loading the next workpiece. The workpieces can be loaded into all five carriers by repeating these steps five times.

[0047] A configuration of platform 4 and a workpiece suction step on the platform will now be described.

[0048] The platform 4 in the automatic handling device according to the present invention can have a mechanism that positions the workpiece W, which is to be sucked in by the suction head 2 and conveyed into the workpiece receiving opening 24 of the carrier, at a position where the center point of the workpiece W held by the movable section 5 coincides with the center point of the workpiece receiving opening 24 when the plurality of positioning pins 6 fix the position and direction of the carrier 23.

[0049] Specifically, it is preferable that the platform 4 has a plurality of positioning openings into which the plurality of positioning pins 6 are inserted when the movable section 5 suctions and holds the workpiece W mounted on the platform 4, and a position of the plurality of positioning openings is set such that it enables the movable section 5 to hold the workpiece W in a position in which the center of mass of the workpiece W held by the movable section 5 coincides with the center of mass of the workpiece receiving opening 24 when fixing the position and direction of the carrier 23 by the plurality of positioning pins 6 inserted into the plurality of positioning openings.

[0050] An example of how to configure such a platform will now be given with reference to Fig. 8 described.

[0051] As in Fig. As shown in Figure 8, the platform is equipped with a workpiece centering mechanism on which each workpiece to be conveyed into the workpiece receiving opening 24 is positioned, and the position of the workpiece W, which is placed manually or automatically on this mechanism, can always remain the same. In the Fig. In the platform 4 shown in Figure 8, the workpiece, which is placed on a multitude of workpiece support sections 13, is pushed in one direction by a slide 14, which consists, for example, of an air cylinder, and the workpiece W is fixed by the slide 14 and the workpiece support sections 13 on the other side, which hold the workpiece, thus always obtaining the same position of the workpiece W.

[0052] Furthermore, this platform 4 provides a plurality of positioning openings 15 into which the plurality of positioning pins 6 of the suction head 2 are inserted. Each of these positioning openings 15 has a larger diameter than that of each positioning pin 6, so that each positioning pin 6 can be inserted when the suction head 2 moves downwards, regardless of the extended / retracted position of the second air cylinder 11, which is located in Fig. 6(a) and (b). Furthermore, the positioning openings 15 are placed at positions where the plurality of positioning pins 6 come into contact with the inner walls of the plurality of positioning openings 15 when the second air cylinder 11 is contracted and the movable section 5 is pulled by the springs 12 in the distal end direction of the arm 3.

[0053] In addition, in a case where the movable section 5 suctions the workpiece W in this state, the positions of the positioning openings 15 are adjusted so that the center point of the workpiece W coincides with the center point of the workpiece receiving opening 24 when the positioning pins 6 come into contact with the carrier 23 in the workpiece loading step.

[0054] The suction head 2, which has rotated, moves downwards onto the platform 4 in a state where the second air cylinder 11 is extended. The downward movement stops when a suction surface of the suction head 2 reaches a position slightly above the surface of the workpiece W, and the second air cylinder 11 retracts. The movable section 5, released by the second air cylinder 11, is pulled by the force of the springs 12 in the distal end direction of the arm 3, and the multiple positioning pins 6 come into perfect contact with the inner walls of the positioning openings 15. Furthermore, the workpiece W is suctioned in, held, and moved upwards, and then rotated into the workpiece loading position. The workpiece W is loaded into the workpiece receiving opening 24 of the carrier 23 by the aforementioned workpiece loading step.

[0055] According to the automatic handling device, which has a platform with positioning openings corresponding to the positioning pins of the suction head, the simple configuration of the platform, as described above, allows the workpiece to be held in the position where the center point of the workpiece held by the movable section coincides with the center point of the workpiece receiving opening, and the workpiece can be loaded more easily and accurately.

[0056] A description of an unloading step of unloading and conveying the workpiece W held in the workpiece receiving opening 24 of the carrier 23 after the end of the chip removal using the double-sided chip removal device 20 is now given.

[0057] First, the carrier 23 holding the workpiece W is placed at the workpiece loading position, as in the loading step in standby mode. Then, the suction head 2 is brought to the upper side of this workpiece by rotating the arm 3. At this point, the first air cylinder 7 can be moved into the retracted state.

[0058] When the first air cylinder 7 is in the contracted state, the suction head 2 is placed on the side of the internal gear 22, similar to the loading step, but it is still positioned above the workpiece W.

[0059] In this state, the second air cylinder 11 is extended, since the movable section 5 of the suction head 2 is merely pulled by the springs 12, and the movable section 5 is fixed. At this point, as in Fig. As shown in Figure 9, the positioning pins 6 used in the loading step are placed outside the inner gear 22.

[0060] The suction head 2 then moves downwards to a position where the suction pad 10 comes into contact with the workpiece W, and suctions and holds the workpiece W. Since the positioning pins 6 are located outside the internal gear 22, the suction head 2 can move downwards without coming into contact with the internal gear 22 or the carrier 23. Subsequently, the suction head 2, which is holding the workpiece, moves upwards, rotates to the side of the automatic handling device, places the workpiece W onto the platform 4, and then releases the workpiece. As in Fig. As shown in Figure 9, at this point, since the arm is operating in the retracted state, when arm 3 moves downwards to place the workpiece W onto platform 4, the positioning pins 6 can be moved downwards to the outside of the positioning openings 15 of platform 4. Subsequently, arm 3 and suction head 2 are moved upwards to perform the switching of the carrier 23 and into the unloading position of a subsequent workpiece W. Unloading all workpieces W is completed by repeating these steps five times. EXAMPLE

[0061] Although the present invention is now described in more detail below with reference to an example of the present invention, the present invention is not limited thereto. Example 1

[0062] The conveying of a silicon wafer into the workpiece receiving opening of the carrier in the double-sided polishing device 20 and the conveying of the silicon wafer out of the workpiece receiving opening after double-sided polishing were repeatedly carried out in accordance with the above-mentioned loading and unloading steps of the workpiece using a method as described in Fig. The process was carried out using the automatic handling device 1 shown in Figure 1 according to the present invention, and a total of 3000 silicon wafers, each having a diameter of 300 mm, were loaded and unloaded.

[0063] At this time, the platform which has the positioning openings was used, the positioning openings being set so that the movable section of the suction head can hold the workpiece in a position where the center point of the silicon wafer held by the movable section coincides with the center point of the workpiece receiving opening.

[0064] Consequently, each of the 3000 silicon wafers could be correctly loaded into the workpiece receiving opening of the carrier, and the number of defects that occurred when unloading each silicon wafer after double-sided polishing was zero.

[0065] As described above, it has been confirmed that the automatic handling device of the present invention enables the precise loading and unloading of the workpiece at low cost without the use of an expensive setup.

[0066] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the foregoing embodiment. The foregoing embodiment is an illustrative example, and any example having substantially the same configuration and performing the same functions and effects as those of the technical concept described in the claims of the present invention is within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

[1] Automatic handling device which conveys a workpiece into a workpiece receiving opening of a carrier for receiving the workpiece or conveys the workpiece out of the workpiece receiving opening of the carrier in a double-sided chip removal device for workpieces which has the carrier which engages with a sun gear and an internal gear and performs a planetary gear movement, comprising: a suction head that picks up and holds the workpiece; an arm that is connected to the suction head and moves the suction head; and a platform on which the workpiece to be conveyed to the workpiece receiving opening of the carrier is mounted; wherein the suction head has a movable section which is movable in a plane parallel to a main body of the suction head, wherein the movable section is configured to suction and hold the workpiece, and has a plurality of positioning pins extending in a vertically lower direction, and When loading the workpiece held by the movable section into the workpiece receiving opening of the carrier, the plurality of positioning pins are pressed against tooth valleys of a gear on an outer circumference of the carrier and the movable section moves in the parallel plane, thereby pressing the carrier against the sun gear side to fix a position and direction of the carrier, and conveying the held workpiece into the carrier receiving opening. [2] Automatic handling device according to claim 1, wherein the platform has a mechanism configured to position the workpiece in a position where a center point of the workpiece held by the movable section coincides with a center point of the workpiece receiving opening of the carrier when fixing the position and direction of the carrier by the plurality of positioning pins. [3] Automatic handling device according to claim 2, wherein the platform has a plurality of positioning openings into which the plurality of positioning pins are inserted when the movable section suctions and holds the workpiece mounted on the platform, and a position of the plurality of positioning openings is set such that the movable section is enabled to hold the workpiece in a position in which the center of the workpiece held by the movable section coincides with the center of the workpiece receiving opening when fixing the position and direction of the carrier by the plurality of positioning pins inserted into the plurality of positioning openings.

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