Cutting device and conveying system

Abstract

To provide a cutting device suitable for cutting a tape on an outer peripheral side surface of a laminated body.SOLUTION: A cutting device 10 includes: a vertical articulated robot 20 having a robot arm 22; and a robot hand 30 provided at a tip of the robot arm 22. A cutter 45 is provided on the robot hand 30. When dismantling a workpiece in which a laminate, formed by laminating substrates and the like, is integrated by attaching a tape to an outer peripheral side surface of the laminate, the cutting device 10 moves the cutter 45 along the outer peripheral side surface by an operation of the robot arm 22 to cut the tape.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cutting device for cutting a tape and a transport system including the cutting device. [Background technology]

[0002] When manufacturing semiconductor substrates and the like, substrates that have been processed in a previous process are sometimes transported to a temporary storage area in a packaged state, stacked on a backing plate or the like and covered with a sheet, in preparation for processing in the next process. In order to prepare for the next process, it is desirable to unpack the substrates in advance.

[0003] As a system for unpacking packaged items, Patent Document 1 describes a robot system that cuts packing bags containing items and removes the items from the packing bags. In this system, the packing bag is cut by moving a cutting part provided on a hand at the tip of a robot arm along one direction on the top surface of the packing bag.

[0004] Furthermore, Patent Document 2 describes an unpacking system that unpacks cardboard boxes packed with items and removes the items inside the boxes. In this system, too, a cutter attached to a hand at the tip of a robot arm moves in one direction along the top surface of the cardboard, cutting the tape closing the flaps on the top surface of the cardboard. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-077466 [Patent Document 2] Patent Publication No. 2021-046228 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Here, as a method of packaging the aforementioned substrates, there is a case where the laminate is integrated by applying tape to the outer peripheral side of the laminate including the substrate, backing plate, sheet, etc. In this case, in order to unpack the substrates, it is necessary to cut the tape on the outer peripheral side of the laminate.

[0007] In this regard, the above-mentioned Patent Documents 1 and 2 cut along one direction on the top surface of a packing bag or cardboard, and are not suitable for cutting the tape on the outer periphery of a laminate.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has as its object to provide a cutting device suitable for cutting the tape on the outer peripheral side surface of a laminate. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The first invention for solving the above problem is a cutting device comprising an industrial robot having a robot arm and a robot hand attached to the tip of the robot arm, wherein the robot hand is provided with a cutter, and when tape is applied to the outer peripheral side of a stack of planar laminated materials to dismantle the stack into an integrated workpiece, the cutter is moved along the outer peripheral side by the operation of the robot arm to cut the tape.

[0010] When cutting the tape, the cutting device sandwiches the workpiece between rollers on one side and the other side of the stack in the stacking direction of the stacked materials.

[0011] The cutting device has a sensor for detecting the height of an exposed surface of the laminate in the stacking direction of the stacked material of the laminate in the workpiece.

[0012] The industrial robot is, for example, a vertical articulated robot.

[0013] The second invention is a conveying system characterized by having the cutting device of the first invention, a loading device that loads the workpiece into a dismantling location where the workpiece is dismantled by the cutting device, and an unloading device that unloads the stacked material from the dismantling location after the workpiece has been dismantled by the cutting device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] The present invention provides a cutting device suitable for cutting the tape on the outer peripheral side surface of a laminate. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a top view schematically illustrating an example of a conveyance system 1 including a cutting device 10. FIG. [Figure 2] 2 is a view showing a cross section in the thickness direction of the workpiece 100 in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an outline of the cutting device 10 of FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the robot hand 30 of FIG. 3. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a top view of the robot hand 30 of FIG. 4. [Figure 6] 6 is a front view of the robot hand 30 of FIG. 5 as viewed from the direction indicated by the arrow VI in FIG. 5. [Figure 7] 7 is a side view of the robot hand 30 of FIG. 5 as seen from the direction indicated by the arrow VII in FIG. 5. [Figure 8] 5 is a side view showing a state in which the outer periphery of a workpiece 100 is placed between an upper roller 36 and a lower roller 38 of the robot hand 30 of FIG. 4. FIG. [Figure 9] 9 is a side view showing a state in which the lower roller 38 of the robot hand 30 in FIG. 8 is in contact with the lower surface of the workpiece 100. FIG. [Figure 10] 10 is a side view showing a state in which the outer periphery of a workpiece 100 is sandwiched between an upper roller 36 and a lower roller 38 of the robot hand 30 of FIG. 9. FIG. [Figure 11] 11 is a side view showing a state in which the cutter 45 of FIG. 10 is brought into contact with the tape 104. FIG. [Figure 12] 12 is a top view showing a state in which the tape 104 is being cut by the cutter 45 of FIG. 11. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0017] (1. Conveying system 1 and cutting device 10) 1 is a top view schematically illustrating an example of a conveyance system 1 including a cutting device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The conveyance system 1 carries a workpiece 100, which is an integrated stack of substrates or the like, from a rack 2 to a table 5 (a dismantling location), dismantles the workpiece 100, and then carries the substrates or the like out to a temporary storage table 7.

[0018] The workpiece 100 is carried in from the rack 2 to the table 5, and the substrate or the like is carried out from the table 5 to the temporary placement table 7 using a conveying device 3. Furthermore, on the table 5, the workpiece 100 is disassembled using a cutting device 10.

[0019] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a cross section in the thickness direction of the workpiece 100 in Fig. 1. The workpiece 100 is a laminate in which a substrate 102 and an aluminum sheet 103 are laminated in this order on a backing plate 101. The backing plate 101, the substrate 102, and the aluminum sheet 103 are planar objects to be laminated. The laminate is integrated by adhering tape 104 to the outer periphery of the laminate, and the substrate 102 and other components are packaged.

[0020] The plane of the workpiece 100 is rectangular. The tape 104 is provided so as to be continuous around the entire periphery of the plane of the workpiece 100. However, this is not limited to this. For example, the plane of the workpiece 100 may not be rectangular, and the tape 104 may be provided at intervals in the circumferential direction of the plane of the workpiece 100. Also, in the example of FIG. 2, one substrate 102 is placed on the backing plate 101, but multiple substrates 102 may be stacked on the backing plate 101.

[0021] The transport device 3 is a vertical articulated robot that adsorbs and transports an object using a robot hand at the tip of the robot arm. The transport device 3 serves both as a carry-in device that carries the workpiece 100 from the rack 2 to the table 5 and as a carry-out device that carries the substrate 102 and the like from the table 5 to the temporary placement table 7.

[0022] However, the transfer device 3 is not limited to this. For example, other industrial robots such as horizontal articulated robots can be used as the transfer device 3, and transfer devices other than industrial robots, such as conveyors, can also be used. Also, a carry-in device that carries the workpiece 100 onto the table 5 and a carry-out device that carries the substrate 102 and the like out of the table 5 can be provided separately.

[0023] The table 5 is used to place the workpiece 100. The table 5 is placed on a stand 4 that is installed on the floor. The stand 4 is also provided with a load sensor 6 that detects the workpiece 100, a cutting device 10, and the like. The load sensor 6 is a photoelectric sensor that emits detection light for workpiece detection toward the workpiece 100, but is not limited to this.

[0024] The cutting device 10 uses a cutter to cut the tape 104 on the outer circumferential side of the laminate of the workpiece 100, thereby dismantling the workpiece 100. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing an outline of the cutting device 10 of Fig. 2. The cutting device 10 is mainly composed of a vertical articulated robot 20 and a robot hand 30. The robot hand 30 is provided with a cutter 45.

[0025] The vertical articulated robot 20 is an industrial robot having a robot arm 22 attached to a base 21. The robot arm 22 is configured by rotatably connecting a plurality of arm members 221, 222. A robot hand 30 is provided at the tip of the robot arm 22.

[0026] The vertical articulated robot 20 is a six-axis vertical articulated robot, and can rotate the robot arm 22 and the robot hand 30 around six rotation axes J1 to J6. The rotation axis J1 is a vertical rotation axis that rotates the robot arm 22 in a horizontal plane. The rotation axes J2, J3, and J5 are horizontal rotation axes that rotate the arm members 221 and 222 of the robot arm 22 and the robot hand 30 in a vertical plane, respectively. The rotation axis J4 is a rotation axis that is perpendicular to the rotation axis J3, and rotates a part 2221 on the tip side of the arm member 222 around the axis. The rotation axis J6 is a rotation axis that is perpendicular to the rotation axis J5, and rotates the robot hand 30 around the axis.

[0027] 4 to 7 are diagrams showing details of the robot hand 30 in Fig. 3. Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the robot hand 30 in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a top view of the robot hand 30 in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a front view of the robot hand 30 in Fig. 5, as seen from the direction indicated by arrow VI in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a side view of the robot hand 30 in Fig. 5, as seen from the direction indicated by arrow VII in Fig. 5.

[0028] As shown in Figure 4, the main parts of the robot hand 30 include a frame 32, a roller cylinder holding plate 33, a roller cylinder 34, a holding bracket 35, an upper roller 36, a roller holding plate 37, a lower roller 38, a cutter cylinder holding plate 41, a cutter cylinder 42, a slide stage 43, a cutter holding plate 44, a cutter 45, a cutter pressing piece 46, a sensor 51, and a sensor holding plate 52.

[0029] The frame 32 is a plate-like member attached to the tip of the robot arm 22. The frame 32 is disposed so that its plate surface is perpendicular to the rotation axis J6.

[0030] 6, frame 32 is substantially Y-shaped when viewed from the front. More specifically, frame 32 has rectangular portion 321, protruding portions 322 protruding upward from the left and right ends of rectangular portion 321, and protruding portion 323 protruding downward from the center between the left and right ends of rectangular portion 321.

[0031] The roller cylinder holding plate 33 is a holding member for holding the roller cylinder 34. The roller cylinder holding plate 33 is arranged so as to protrude forward from each of the left and right protruding portions 322 of the frame 32. "Forward" refers to the direction from the tip of the robot arm 22 along the rotation axis J6 toward the outside of the robot arm 22. As shown in FIG. 6, the roller cylinder holding plate 33 is a hook-shaped member having a horizontal portion 331 and a vertical portion 332 in a front view. The roller cylinder holding plates 33 are arranged so as to cover the upper left corner of the left protruding portion 322 and the upper right corner of the right protruding portion 322, respectively.

[0032] The roller cylinder 34 is a lifting member for raising and lowering the upper roller 36. The roller cylinder 34 is provided at the front end of each roller cylinder holding plate 33. An air cylinder is used as the roller cylinder 34, but this is not limited to this. Other cylinders, such as a hydraulic cylinder, may also be used.

[0033] The retaining metal fitting 35 is a holding member for holding the upper roller 36. The retaining metal fitting 35 is attached to the lower end of the roller cylinder 34. As shown in FIG. 4, the retaining metal fitting 35 has a configuration in which a front end 352 of a horizontal portion 351 is bent downward.

[0034] The upper roller 36 is a roller that rotates around a rotation shaft 361 in the front-rear direction. The front-rear direction is a direction parallel to the rotation shaft J6. The rotation shaft 361 is attached to the end 352 of the holding metal fitting 35.

[0035] The roller holding plates 37 are holding members for holding the lower rollers 38. The roller holding plates 37 are arranged so as to protrude forward from the lower left and right corners of the rectangular portion 321 of the frame 32. As shown in FIG. 6, the roller holding plates 37 are hook-shaped members having a horizontal portion 371 and a vertical portion 372 in a front view. The roller holding plates 37 are arranged so as to cover the lower left and right corners of the rectangular portion 321 of the frame 32, respectively. Furthermore, a front end 373 of the horizontal portion 371 is bent upward.

[0036] The lower roller 38 is a roller that rotates around a rotation shaft 381 in the front-rear direction. As shown in Figures 6 and 7, the lower roller 38 is provided at a position that corresponds vertically to the upper roller 36 in front and side views. The rotation shaft 381 is attached to the end 373 of the roller holding plate 37.

[0037] The cutter cylinder holding plate 41 is a holding member for holding the cutter cylinder 42. The cutter cylinder holding plate 41 is a plate-shaped member that is disposed so as to protrude forward from the lower end of the protruding portion 323 of the frame 32.

[0038] The cutter cylinder 42 is an expandable member for sliding the cutter 45 in the front-rear direction. The cutter cylinder 42 is placed on a cutter cylinder holding plate 41. An air cylinder is used as the cutter cylinder 42, but it is not limited to this and other cylinders such as a hydraulic cylinder may also be used.

[0039] The slide stage 43 slides back and forth in accordance with the extension and contraction of the cutter cylinder 42. As shown in Figure 4, the slide stage 43 has a horizontal portion 431 with a front end 432 bent downward. The end 432 is attached to the front end of the cutter cylinder 42.

[0040] The cutter holding plate 44 is a holding member for placing and holding the cutter 45. The cutter holding plate 44 is a plate-shaped member that is placed on the horizontal portion 431 of the slide stage 43. As shown in Fig. 6, a recess 441 is provided on the upper surface of the cutter holding plate 44 for placing and accommodating the cutter 45.

[0041] The cutter 45 is a cutting member for cutting the tape 104 on the outer peripheral side surface of the laminate of the workpiece 100 along the outer peripheral side surface. The tip of the cutter 45 protrudes forward from the cutter holding plate 44.

[0042] The cutter holding piece 46 is a holding member for holding the cutter 45 toward the cutter holding plate 44. The cutter holding piece 46 is fastened to the cutter holding plate 44 using a bolt or the like. As a result, the cutter 45 is held between the cutter holding plate 44 and the cutter holding piece 46.

[0043] The sensor 51 is a sensor that detects the height of the upper surface of the workpiece 100. The sensor 51 is a photoelectric sensor that emits detection light downward and receives the detection light reflected from the workpiece 100, thereby detecting the height of the upper surface of the workpiece 100.

[0044] The sensor holding plate 52 is a holding member for holding the sensor 51. The sensor holding plate 52 is provided so as to protrude forward from the horizontal portion 331 of the roller cylinder holding plate 33. The sensor 51 is fixed to the front end of the sensor holding plate 52.

[0045] (2. Operation of Cutting Device 10) Next, the operation of the cutting device 10 will be described with reference to Figures 8 to 12. The operations of the robot arm 22 and robot hand 30 of the cutting device 10, which will be described later, are controlled by a controller (not shown).

[0046] Fig. 8 is a side view showing a state in which the outer periphery of the workpiece 100 is placed between the upper roller 36 and the lower roller 38 of the robot hand 30 of Fig. 4. Fig. 9 is a side view showing a state in which the lower roller 38 of the robot hand 30 of Fig. 8 is in contact with the underside of the workpiece 100. Fig. 10 is a side view showing a state in which the outer periphery of the workpiece 100 is sandwiched between the upper roller 36 and the lower roller 38 of the robot hand 30 of Fig. 9. Fig. 11 is a side view showing a state in which the cutter 45 of Fig. 10 is in contact with the tape 104. Fig. 12 is a top view showing a state in which the tape 104 is being cut by the cutter 45 of Fig. 11.

[0047] When the workpiece 100 is disassembled using the cutting device 10, the workpiece 100 is first loaded onto the table 5 by the conveying device 3. The cutting device 10 operates the robot arm 22 to position the outer periphery of the workpiece 100 between the upper roller 36 and the lower roller 38 of the robot hand 30, as shown in FIG. 8. At this time, the height of the upper surface of the workpiece 100 is detected by the sensor 51 of the robot hand 30, and is used to control the operation of the robot arm 22. The upper roller 36 and the lower roller 38 are disposed on one side and the other side in the stacking direction of the stacked objects (substrate 102, etc.) of the workpiece 100. Here, "upper" and "lower" correspond to one side and the other side in the stacking direction. The upper surface of the workpiece 100 detected by the sensor 51 is the exposed surface in the stacking direction.

[0048] The workpiece 100 is placed at the center in the height direction of the robot hand 30. In this embodiment, the workpiece 100 is transported with the backing plate 101 facing up. However, this is not limiting, and the workpiece 100 may be transported with the aluminum sheet 103 facing up.

[0049] 9, the cutting device 10 raises the robot hand 30 by operating the robot arm 22 until the lower roller 38 abuts against the underside of the workpiece 100. The cutting device 10 then drives the roller cylinder 34 to lower the upper roller 36 as shown in FIG. 10, and the outer periphery of the workpiece 100 is sandwiched and held from above and below by the upper and lower rollers (on one side and the other side in the stacking direction described above), i.e., the upper roller 36 and the lower roller 38.

[0050] The cutting device 10 drives the cutter cylinder 42 to move the cutter 45 forward as shown in FIG. 11, and brings the tip of the cutter 45 into contact with the tape 104 on the outer circumferential side surface of the laminate in the workpiece 100. At this time, in this embodiment, the height of the cutter 45 is within the range of the thickness of the backing plate 101. The cutter 45 comes into contact with the tape 104 at a height corresponding to the backing plate 101. However, the contact position of the cutter 45 is not limited to this.

[0051] Thereafter, the cutting device 10 operates the robot arm 22 to move the robot hand 30 in the circumferential direction of the plane of the workpiece 100 along the outer peripheral side surface, as shown by arrow A in Fig. 12. As a result, the tape 104 on the side surface of the workpiece 100 is cut along the outer peripheral side surface.

[0052] The robot hand 30 is disposed so as to bend 90° relative to the robot arm 22 in a plan view by a combination of rotations about rotation axes J4 to J6 (see FIG. 3) of the robot arm 22. The robot arm 22 rotates about rotation axes J2 and J3 (see FIG. 3), allowing the robot hand 30 to move horizontally along the circumferential direction of the plane of the workpiece 100. By combining this with the rotation of the robot arm 22 about rotation axis J1 (see FIG. 3), the cutting device 10 can cut the tape 104 on the outer peripheral side surface of the laminate in the workpiece 100 along two perpendicular sides of the periphery of the workpiece 100.

[0053] 1, two cutting devices 10 are arranged around the table 5. Each cutting device 10 is responsible for cutting two different orthogonal sides of the periphery of the workpiece 100, so that the two cutting devices 10 can cut the tape 104 around the entire periphery of the workpiece 100.

[0054] After cutting the tape 104, the cutting device 10 releases the workpiece 100 from its holding state by following the procedure reverse to that shown in Figures 8 to 11. Then, the cutting device 10 operates the robot arm 22 to retract the robot hand 30 from the workpiece 100. The substrate 102 or other laminated object is carried out from the table 5 to the temporary placement table 7 by the transport device 3.

[0055] As described above, in this embodiment, the cutter 45 can be moved along the outer peripheral side surface of the laminate of the workpiece 100 by the operation of the robot arm 22 of the cutting device 10, and the tape 104 on the outer peripheral side surface can be cut. This allows the disassembly of the workpiece 100 to be automated, improving work efficiency and safety. Furthermore, the loading and disassembly of the workpiece 100 and the removal of the substrate 102 and the like can be performed by a series of automated conveyance systems 1.

[0056] In this embodiment, when cutting the tape 104, the workpiece 100 is sandwiched between the upper roller 36 and the lower roller 38 from above and below. The upper roller 36 and the lower roller 38 run over the upper and lower surfaces of the workpiece 100 as the cutter 45 moves. This makes it possible to hold the workpiece 100 with a simple configuration and to stably cut the tape 104.

[0057] In addition, in this embodiment, by detecting the height of the top surface of the workpiece 100 using the sensor 51, it becomes possible to control the operation of the robot arm 22 and the robot hand 30 according to the thickness of the workpiece 100, thereby enabling reliable dismantling of various types of workpieces 100.

[0058] In addition, in this embodiment, a robot hand 30 is attached to the tip of the robot arm 22 of the vertical articulated robot 20 to form the cutting device 10, and by the operation described in Figure 12 etc., the cutter 45 can be easily moved along the outer side surface of the laminate in the workpiece 100.

[0059] However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in this embodiment, a six-axis vertical articulated robot 20 is used in the cutting device 10, but the number of axes is not particularly limited. Also, a horizontal articulated robot may be used instead of the vertical articulated robot 20. It is also possible to provide a robot hand 30 at the tip of the robot arm of the horizontal articulated robot, and to move the cutter 45 along the outer peripheral side surface by operating the robot arm.

[0060] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the above-mentioned photoelectric sensor is used as the sensor 51, but the type of sensor is not particularly limited as long as it can detect the height of the upper surface of the workpiece 100. The mounting position of the sensor 51 is not limited to the roller cylinder holding plate 33 of the robot hand 30, and it is sufficient as long as it can detect the height of the upper surface of the workpiece 100. In some cases, the sensor 51 may be omitted.

[0061] Additionally, the cutting device 10 can inspect the wear state of the cutter 45 using a separate sensor such as the presence sensor 6 every time it cuts the tape 104 a predetermined number of times. For example, the cutting device 10 operates the robot arm 22 to position the designed tip of the cutter 45 in the path of the detection light emitted from the presence sensor 6. If the tip of the cutter 45 cannot be detected by the presence sensor 6, it can determine that the actual tip of the cutter 45 is worn, and the operation of the cutting device 10 can be stopped.

[0062] Furthermore, the cutting device 10 may use a separate sensor (not shown) to detect contact of the tip of the cutter 45 with the tape 104. If contact with the tape 104 is detected, the driving of the cutter cylinder 42 is stopped. This makes it possible to prevent an excessive reaction force from being applied to the cutter 45 when cutting the tape 104.

[0063] In addition, in this embodiment, cylinders such as the roller cylinder 34 and the cutter cylinder 42 are used to raise and lower the upper roller 36 and move the cutter 45 back and forth, but the mechanism is not particularly important as long as it is possible to raise and lower the upper roller 36 and move the cutter 45 back and forth.

[0064] In addition, in this embodiment, an example of dismantling a workpiece 100 made up of stacked substrates 102, etc. has been described, but the contents of the workpiece 100 are not limited to this, and it may be any workpiece made up of stacked planar materials (a laminate).

[0065] While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to these examples. It is clear that those skilled in the art can conceive of various modifications or alterations within the scope of the technical ideas disclosed herein, and it is understood that these modifications also fall within the technical scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0066] 1:Transport system 2: Rack 3:Transportation device 5: Table 6: Stock sensor 7: Temporary stand 10: Cutting device 20: Vertical articulated robot 21: Bass 22:Robot arm 30: Robot Hand 32: Frame 33: Roller cylinder holding plate 34: Roller cylinder 35: Retaining bracket 36: Upper roller 37: Roller holding plate 38: Lower roller 41: Cutter cylinder holding plate 42: Cutter cylinder 43: Slide Stage 44: Cutter holding plate 45: Cutter 46: Cutter holder 51: Sensor 52: Sensor holding plate 100: Work 101: Backing board 102: Circuit board 103: Aluminum sheet 104: Tape

Claims

1. an industrial robot having a robot arm; a robot hand provided at the tip of the robot arm; and a cutter is provided on the robot hand, A cutting device characterized in that, when dismantling a workpiece formed by stacking planar laminated materials by applying tape to the outer peripheral side of the laminate, the cutter is moved along the outer peripheral side by the operation of the robot arm to cut the tape.

2. 2. The cutting device according to claim 1, wherein when cutting the tape, the work is sandwiched between rollers on one side and the other side of the stack in the stacking direction of the materials to be stacked.

3. 2. The cutting device according to claim 1, further comprising a sensor for detecting the height of an exposed surface of the laminate in the stacking direction of the laminated material of the workpiece.

4. 2. The cutting device according to claim 1, wherein the industrial robot is a vertical articulated robot.

5. The cutting device according to claim 1; A carry-in device that carries the workpiece to a disassembly location where the workpiece is disassembled by the cutting device; a carrying-out device that carries out the stacked object from the dismantling location after the workpiece is dismantled by the cutting device; A transport system comprising:

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