Conveyance tray and workpiece working device

Abstract

To provide a conveyance tray with a simple configuration which can convey a workpiece to a place with many interfering objects nearby and can fine-adjust the direction or inclination of a workpiece in a work position without causing increase of burden on a worker or reduction of the work efficiency.SOLUTION: A conveyance tray 100 includes: a body part 110, which can move by floating above a conveyance path M by magnetism; a supporting arm 112 connected to the body part 110; and a workpiece holding unit 113 provided in the supporting arm 112. The supporting arm 112 is formed to extend to a side of the body part 110 and support the side of the workpiece W by the work holding units 113 with a pair of supporting arms 112. The work holding unit 113 is provided in a position which does not interfere with the body part 110 in a vertical direction of the supporting arm 112.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a transport tray that is movable by being magnetically levitated on a transport path. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, various types of transport trays capable of floating and moving above a transport path by magnetism have been proposed, and for example, a transport tray (transport module) of a system for processing substrates described in Patent Document 1 is well known.

[0003] The transport tray (transport modules 20, 30, 60) known from Patent Document 1 can move in a floating state by magnetic levitation on a magnetic transport path (floor portion 10) on which a first magnet is provided within a working space (vacuum transport chamber 120), and the transport tray (transport modules 20, 30, 60) can be positioned at a predetermined position (loading portion 4) within the working space (vacuum transport chamber 120), and the workpiece (wafer W) on the transport tray (transport module 20, 30, 60) can be transported to the wafer processing chamber 110 by a robot arm (wafer transport arm 5).

[0004] Also, for example, in the substrate inspection device 1 described in Patent Document 2, a robot arm (transport robot 12) is used to transport the workpiece (wafer W). The substrate inspection device 1 known from Patent Document 2 is a device for performing macro-inspection and micro-inspection on a workpiece (wafer W) removed from a cassette 13 by a robot arm (transport robot 12).In the macro-inspection, the inspection is performed visually, and in the micro-inspection, the surface of the workpiece (wafer W) is partially magnified and inspected using a microscope 5. The microscope 5 can move in two axial directions, the X-axis and the Y-axis, which are perpendicular to the observation optical axis of the microscope 5. When performing micro-inspection, the microscope 5 can be moved to an observation position to inspect the surface of the workpiece (wafer W) held by the robot arm (transport robot 12).

[0005] The robot arm (transport robot 12) only needs to be configured to be able to hold the workpiece (wafer W) and move it to the inspection position. For example, a transport tray (transport modules 20, 30, 60) that can move by magnetic levitation as known in Patent Document 1 can be used in place of the robot arm (transport robot 12) of the substrate inspection apparatus 1 as described in Patent Document 2. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2022-113548 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2009-210419 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] However, the carrier tray disclosed in Patent Document 1 and the substrate inspection device disclosed in Patent Document 2 still have room for improvement.

[0008] In other words, the substrate inspection device known from Patent Document 2 enables micro-inspection of the surface of a workpiece by a microscope receiving reflected light that is irradiated onto the surface of the workpiece. However, in a transmission microscope that irradiates a specimen such as a cell in a workpiece such as a slide or petri dish with light from above or below and receives the transmitted light that passes through the specimen in the workpiece to observe the specimen, for example, there was a risk that the workpiece could not be transported to the observation position while still placed on the magnetically levitating transport tray known from Patent Document 1. It is also possible to use a robot arm to hold the periphery of the workpiece and insert it from the working position to the observation position; however, particularly with an inverted microscope, which is a type of transmission microscope, the specimen inside the workpiece is often manipulated with a manipulator or syringe at the observation position, and if equipment such as manipulators and syringes are fixedly positioned around the observation position, there is a risk that the robot arm will interfere with the equipment, making it difficult to enter the workpiece into the observation position, or even if it is possible to enter the workpiece into the observation position while avoiding the equipment, it may be difficult for the robot arm to fine-tune the orientation and tilt of the workpiece from the working position. Furthermore, even if the equipment around the observation position is configured to be movable, it is still time-consuming to move the equipment each time the workpiece enters the observation position, which could increase the burden on the worker and reduce work efficiency.

[0009] The present invention aims to solve these problems by providing a transport tray with a simple configuration that can transport a workpiece to locations with many obstacles in the surrounding area, such as the observation position of a transmission microscope, without increasing the burden on the worker or reducing work efficiency, and that can fine-tune the orientation and inclination of the workpiece at the working position. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The transport tray of the present invention is a transport tray having a main body portion that can be floated and moved on a transport path by magnetism, a support arm connected to the main body portion, and a work holding portion provided on the support arm, wherein the support arm is configured to extend to the side of the main body portion and support a pair of sides of a workpiece with the work holding portion, and the work holding portion is provided on the support arm at a position that does not interfere with the main body portion in the vertical direction, thereby solving the above-mentioned problem. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the transport tray of the invention of claim 1, the support arms are configured to extend laterally to the main body portion and support the sides of the workpiece in a pair, and the workpiece holding portions are provided at positions on the support arms that do not interfere with the main body portion in the vertical direction. Therefore, the workpiece held in the workpiece holding portions can be positioned outside the transport path, and this allows the workpiece to be brought to the observation position for a transmission microscope adjacent to the transport path without the main body portion having to enter from the working position. In addition, since the support arms are configured to support the sides of the workpiece in a pair using the workpiece holding parts, there is no interference between the workpiece in the vertical direction and the workpiece by the workpiece holding parts or the main body, and there is no interference with the reception by the light receiving part of the light irradiated by the transmission microscope onto the workpiece at the observation position or the transmitted light that has passed through the workpiece. In addition, by controlling the attitude of the transport tray, the direction and inclination of the workpiece held in the workpiece holding section can be easily fine-tuned, and since the range of movement is smaller than when controlling the attitude of the workpiece using a robot arm, etc., the direction and inclination of the workpiece can be freely fine-tuned without interfering with equipment such as manipulators and syringes, even when such equipment is placed around the transmission microscope. This makes it possible to suppress an increase in the burden on workers, such as the effort required to move equipment, and a decrease in work efficiency.

[0012] According to the configuration described in claim 2, the work holding portion is provided with holding claws capable of clamping the work in the vertical direction, so that the work can be securely held and the work can be prevented from suddenly coming off the work holding portion due to the momentum during transport. According to the configuration described in claim 3, the holding claw has an upper pressing portion that contacts the upper part of the workpiece and a lower pressing portion that contacts the lower part of the workpiece when clamping the workpiece in the vertical direction, and a connecting piece that connects the upper pressing portion and the lower pressing portion, and the connecting piece is tiltably connected to the work holding portion via the rotating shaft, so that by entering the workpiece from above with the upper pressing portion side tilted toward the outside of the pair of work holding portions, the workpiece presses down on the lower pressing portion, and at the same time, the upper pressing portion tilts toward the inside of the pair of work holding portions with the rotating shaft as the center of rotation, so that it can automatically move to a position where it presses down on the upper part of the workpiece, thereby securely holding the workpiece.

[0013] According to the configuration described in claim 4, the support arm has at least a pair of first support arms and a pair of second support arms, and the second support arm has a second work holding portion capable of holding a work separately from the first work holding portion provided on the first support arm. Therefore, two workpieces can be transported simultaneously on one transport tray, and by rotating the transport tray at the work position, multiple workpieces can be continuously placed at the observation position and observed, improving work efficiency. According to the configuration described in claim 5, the second support arm is arranged to extend on the opposite side of the first support arm, sandwiching the main body, and the second work holding part is arranged at a position opposite the first work holding part, sandwiching the main body. Therefore, by holding workpieces in the first work holding part and the second work holding part, each work acts as a counterweight, making it easier to balance the transport tray during transport and making the transport operation even more stable.

[0014] According to the configuration described in claim 6, the work unit is configured to be able to perform work on a work held on a transport tray placed at a work position on the magnetic transport path, so that the work unit can access the work in any position without having to transfer the work held on the transport tray, thereby improving work efficiency. According to the configuration described in claim 7, the working unit works on workpieces that are located outside the magnetic conveying path among the workpieces held on the conveying tray placed at the working position on the magnetic conveying path. Therefore, for example, the working unit can easily access the workpieces held on the conveying tray not only from above but also from below, further improving work efficiency. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a carrier tray 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a top view of the carrier tray 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] XX' cross-sectional view showing a state before a workpiece W1 is held by the transport tray 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 4] XX' cross-sectional view showing a state after the workpiece W1 is held by the transport tray 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Diagram 5] 1 is a perspective view showing a state after a workpiece W1 is held by the transport tray 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 1 is a perspective view showing a working space P using a carrier tray 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 1 is a top view showing a working space P using a carrier tray 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] 1 is an enlarged view of a portion A showing a first observation procedure of a sample by an inverted microscope S in a working space P using a transport tray 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 9] 1 is an enlarged view of a portion A showing a second observation procedure of a sample by an inverted microscope S in a working space P using a transport tray 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 10] 11 is an enlarged view of part A showing a third observation procedure of a sample by an inverted microscope S in a working space P using a transport tray 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 11] 11 is an enlarged view of part A showing a fourth observation procedure of a sample by an inverted microscope S in a working space P using a transport tray 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a carrier tray 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] A carrier tray 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0017] As shown in Figures 1 to 5, a transport tray 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention has a main body 110 that is capable of floating and moving on a magnetic transport path M described later, a connection base 111 connected to the upper part of the main body 110, and a pair of support arms 112 formed to extend laterally from the connection base 111. The pair of support arms 112 have a workpiece holding portion 113 at a position that does not interfere with the main body portion 110 in the vertical direction, and the workpiece holding portion 113 is provided with holding claws 120 that can clamp a petri dish-shaped workpiece W1 in the vertical direction.

[0018] The holding claw 120 has an upper holding portion 121, a lower holding portion 122, a connecting piece 123 connecting the upper holding portion 121 and the lower holding portion 122, and a rotating shaft 124 rotatably connecting the connecting piece 123 to the work holding portion. In addition, by tilting the holding claws 120 before holding the workpiece W1 so that the upper pressing portion 121 moves away from the workpiece holding portion 113, the lower pressing portion 122 can tilt upward from the bottom of the workpiece holding portion 113 in conjunction with the upper pressing portion 121.

[0019] In this state, when the workpiece W1 is advanced into the workpiece holding portion 113 from above, the lower portion of the workpiece W1 presses against the lower pressing portion 122, causing the upper pressing portion 121 to tilt in conjunction therewith and press down the upper portion of the workpiece W1. This allows the workpiece holding portion 113 to hold the workpiece W1 by clamping it between the upper pressing portion 121 and the lower pressing portion 122 using the holding claws 120, thereby preventing the workpiece W1 from suddenly coming off the workpiece holding portion 120 due to the momentum during transportation.

[0020] The configuration of the transport tray is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a transport tray 200 configured to be able to hold a plurality of slide-like workpieces W2 as shown in FIG. Here, the transport tray 200 has a main body 210, a regular octagonal connecting base 211 connected to the upper part of the main body 210, a pair of support arms 212 (212a, 212b, 212c, 212d, 212e, 212f, 212g, 212h) formed to extend laterally from the ends of each side of the outer periphery of the connecting base 211, and work holding portions 213 (213a, 213b, 213c, 213d, 213e, 213f, 213g, 213h) on the pair of support arms 212 at positions that do not interfere with the main body 210 in the vertical direction, and each work holding portion 213 is capable of holding a work W2.

[0021] When using such a transport tray 200, by holding a workpiece W2 in each of the workpiece holding portions 213 at symmetrical positions on either side of the main body portion 211, the workpieces W2 act as counterweights, making it easier to balance the transport tray 200 during transport and further stabilizing the transport operation. In addition, when multiple work holding parts are provided on a transport tray, they do not necessarily have to be provided at symmetrical positions on either side of the main body part; for example, multiple work holding parts may be provided only on one side of the center of the main body part.

[0022] Next, a procedure for observation in the working space P by the inverted microscope S, which is a transmission microscope, using the carrier tray 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0023] As shown in Figures 6 and 7, the work space P is provided with a work table T, a magnetic transport path M arranged at a predetermined position on the work table T, an inverted microscope S which is a work unit arranged to encompass an observation position Pb adjacent to the work position Pa of the magnetic transport path M, and a robot arm R which is a work loading / unloading unit arranged near the transfer position Pc of the magnetic transport path M. In addition, a petri dish-shaped workpiece W1 containing an observation sample is placed in a predetermined position on the workbench T, and multiple transport trays 100 are arranged on the magnetic transport path M, and the multiple transport trays 100 are configured to be floated, movable, and tiltable on the magnetic transport path M by a control unit (not shown).

[0024] The inverted microscope S has an emitter Sa that emits light from above the observation position Pb, a light-receiving unit (objective lens) Sc that receives the emitted light at a position opposite the emitter Sa, an eyepiece Sb through which the operator observes the specimen, and a picking unit Sd that can retrieve the specimen from the observation position Pb. Although not shown, in addition to the inverted microscope S, a small manipulator or the like capable of accessing and working on the specimen in the workpiece W1 may be arranged around the observation position Pb.

[0025] The robot arm R places the workpiece W1a on the transport tray 100a located at the transfer position Pc. The transport tray 100a holding the workpiece W1a on the workpiece holding portion 113 is moved to the working position Pa while being levitated on the magnetic transport path M by a control unit (not shown). At this time, as shown in FIG. 8, the control unit (not shown) moves the transport tray 100b to a transfer position Pc, and the robot arm R places the workpiece W1b on the transport tray 100b, thereby enabling the workpiece to be observed to be quickly switched.

[0026] Next, the direction of the transport tray 100a is changed by a control unit (not shown), and the workpiece W1a is brought onto the light receiving portion Sc in the observation position Pb, as shown in FIG. The transport tray 100a holds the workpiece W1a with a workpiece holding portion 113 located on the side of the main body portion 111, so that the workpiece W1a can be inserted onto the light receiving portion Sc at the observation position Pb, which is outside the magnetic transport path M, while the main body portion 111 remains positioned on the magnetic transport path M. In addition, the transport tray 100a is configured to be movable and tiltable on the magnetic transport path M by a control unit (not shown), so that the inclination and position of the work W1a together with the transport tray 100a can be fine-tuned, allowing the specimen in the work W1a to be observed more quickly and accurately with the inverted microscope S. Furthermore, since the workpiece W1a is held in the workpiece holding portion 113 at a position that does not interfere with the main body portion 110 in the vertical direction, the irradiated light from the light-emitting portion Sa passes through the specimen in the workpiece W1a and becomes transmitted light, and can reach the light-receiving portion Sc below the workpiece W1a. Furthermore, by using a transport tray capable of transporting multiple workpieces simultaneously, such as the transport tray 200, the workpiece to be observed can be quickly placed at the observation position by rotating the transport tray at the working position, allowing the observation work using the inverted microscope S to proceed even more quickly.

[0027] After the observation of the sample in the work W1a is completed, as shown in FIG. 10, the control unit (not shown) moves the transport tray 100a to move the work W1a away from the observation position Pb. After the transport tray 100a is withdrawn from the working position Pa, as shown in FIG. 11, the transport tray 100b, which has been waiting at the transfer position Pc, is moved to the working position Pa, allowing the work W1b to quickly enter the observation position Pb and quickly start observing the sample in the work W1b. In addition, while the sample in the work W1b is being observed, the transport tray 100a can be moved to the transfer position Pc, and the robot arm R can remove the work W1a from the work holding portion 113 and place a new work thereon, thereby quickly switching to the work to be observed after the work W1b. Furthermore, since the transport tray 100 moves in a floating state above the magnetic transport path M, there is no contact between the transport tray 100 and the magnetic transport path M when the transport tray 100 moves, so there is no dust generation due to friction, or noise or mechanical malfunctions due to contact between the transport tray 100 and the magnetic transport path M.

[0028] As described above, by using a transport tray that holds the workpiece in a position that does not interfere with the main body in the vertical direction, the workpiece can be easily brought into the observation position with minimal movement, even in a configuration where the area around the observation position is narrow, such as an inverted microscope, or where equipment such as a manipulator or syringe is located to perform additional work on the specimen at the observation position, and the specimen in the workpiece can be quickly observed. In addition to observation with an inverted microscope, the use of a magnetic transport path and transport tray enables tasks to be performed quickly not only when using an inverted microscope, but also when using an upright microscope, which is a type of transmission microscope, or when performing tasks in a narrow environment around the observation position during experiments or observations, such as dispensing samples. Furthermore, since the device configuration for transporting the workpieces can be simplified in comparison with a transport device having a fixed track, space can be saved.

[0029] Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various design modifications can be made without departing from the present invention described in the claims.

[0030] In the above-described embodiment, the work holding portion of the transport tray has been described as being capable of holding a petri dish-shaped or preparation-shaped workpiece, but the configuration of the work holding portion is not limited to this and may be configured to be capable of holding, for example, a test tube-shaped workpiece. In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the pair of support arms are described as being formed so as to extend laterally from the main body portion, but the configuration of the support arms is not limited to this, and may be formed, for example, in the shape of a single prong extending laterally from the main body portion to the main body portion.

[0031] Further, in the above-described embodiment, the workpiece holding portion is described as being provided with holding claws, but the configuration of the workpiece holding portion is not limited to this, and for example, the workpiece holding portion may not have holding claws. [Explanation of symbols]

[0032] 100, 200...Transport tray 110, 210... Main body 111, 211 ... Connection base 112, 212a, 212b, 212c, 212d, 212e, 212f, 212g, 212h... Support arm 113, 213a, 213b, 213c, 213d, 213e, 213f, 213g, 213h... Workpiece holder 120 ··· Retaining claw 121 Upper presser 122 Lower presser 123 Connection piece 124 Rotation axis M Magnetic conveyor R ··· Robot arm W, W1a, W1b, W2... Work S ··· Inverted microscope (transmission microscope) Sa Light emitting part Sb Eyepiece Sc... Light receiving section Sd...Picking unit Pa... Working position Pb Observation position PC...Transfer position T ··· Work table

Claims

1. A transport tray having a main body that is movable by being magnetically levitated on a transport path, a support arm connected to the main body, and a workpiece holding unit provided on the support arm, The support arms are configured to extend laterally to the main body and support the sides of the workpiece on the workpiece holding portion in pairs, The transport tray is characterized in that the workpiece holding portion is provided at a position on the support arm so as not to interfere with the main body portion in the vertical direction.

2. 2. The carrier tray according to claim 1, wherein the workpiece holding portion is provided with holding claws capable of holding the workpiece in a vertical direction.

3. The holding claw has an upper pressing portion that contacts an upper portion of the workpiece when the workpiece is clamped in the vertical direction, a lower pressing portion that contacts a lower portion of the workpiece, and a connecting piece that connects the upper pressing portion and the lower pressing portion, 3. The carrier tray according to claim 2, wherein the connection piece is connected to the workpiece holding portion via a rotation shaft so as to be tiltable.

4. The support arm includes at least a pair of first support arms and a pair of second support arms, 2. The carrier tray according to claim 1, wherein the second support arm has a second workpiece holding portion capable of holding a workpiece separately from the first workpiece holding portion provided on the first support arm.

5. The second support arm is provided to extend on an opposite side to the first support arm across the main body, The carrier tray according to claim 4 , wherein the second workpiece holding portion is provided at a position opposite to the first workpiece holding portion across the main body portion.

6. A workpiece operating device comprising: a magnetic conveying path capable of conveying the conveying tray according to any one of claims 1 to 5; a workpiece loading / unloading unit for loading / unloading a workpiece onto / from the conveying tray; an operating unit for performing an operation on the workpiece mounted on the conveying tray; and a control unit for controlling the magnetic conveying path, The workpiece loading / unloading mechanism is configured to be able to load / unload a workpiece onto / from the transport tray disposed at a loading / unloading position on the magnetic transport path; A workpiece working device, characterized in that the working unit is configured to be able to perform work on a workpiece held on the transport tray that is placed at a working position on the magnetic transport path.

7. The workpiece operating device according to claim 6, characterized in that the operating unit operates on workpieces that are positioned outside the magnetic transport path among the workpieces held on the transport tray arranged at a working position on the magnetic transport path.

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