Conveying mechanism

Abstract

To provide a conveying mechanism capable of preventing a plate-like object from dropping during the conveyance of the plate-like object.SOLUTION: The conveying mechanism includes a gripping means for gripping the outer periphery of the plate-like object by the claw mechanism 10 and a moving means for moving the gripping means. The pawl mechanism 10 is provided with an advancing and retreating pin 12 advancing and retreating in the vertical direction, a gear 14 formed on the upper part of the advancing and retreating pin 12, a pressing part 16 formed on the lower part of the advancing and retreating pin 12, a cylindrical body 18 housing the advancing and retreating pin 12 and guiding the advancing and retreating, a rotary body 20 arranged on the upper part of the gear 14, and a pawl body 22 connected to the rotary body 20. When the advancing / retreating pin 12 advances upward, the gear 14 comes into contact with the rotating body 20 and rotates the rotating body 20, so that the pawl body 22 is positioned at a first position where the pawl body 22 is pushed down and a second position where the pawl body 22 is pushed up. The jaw mechanism 10 grips the plate-shaped object when the jaw bodies 22 are positioned at the first position, and releases the plate-shaped object when the jaw bodies 22 are positioned at the second position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a conveying mechanism for conveying a plate-like object. [Background technology]

[0002] Wafers with multiple devices such as ICs and LSIs formed on their surface along planned dividing lines are cut to the desired thickness using a grinding machine, and then separated into individual device chips using a dicing machine and laser processing machine. Each of these device chips is then used in electrical equipment such as mobile phones and personal computers.

[0003] The dicing device includes a holding means for holding a frame unit in which a wafer is positioned in an opening of a frame having an opening in the center for accommodating the wafer, and in which the frame and wafer are integrally formed by tape; a cutting means having a cutting blade for cutting the wafer held in the holding means; a feeding means for relatively feeding the holding means and the cutting means for processing; a carrying-in / out means for carrying out frame units from a cassette containing multiple frame units and temporarily placing them on a temporary placement table; a first transport means for transporting the frame units from the temporary placement table to the holding means; and a second transport means for transporting the frame units containing the cut wafers to a cleaning means, thereby enabling the wafer to be efficiently divided into individual device chips (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0004] The laser processing device has substantially the same configuration as the dicing device, except that the cutting means is replaced with a laser beam application means (see, for example, Patent Document 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-300556 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-236157 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The first and second transport means in processing equipment such as dicing equipment and laser processing equipment are configured to transport the frame of the frame unit by suction holding it with a suction pad. Therefore, in conventional processing equipment, there is a risk that the frame unit may fall during transport due to a malfunction of the suction source. If the frame unit falls during transport, it may cause problems such as breakage of the wafer or damage to parts of the processing equipment.

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide a conveying mechanism that prevents plate-like objects from dropping during conveyance. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] According to the present invention, there is provided the following transport mechanism that solves the above-mentioned problems. "A conveying mechanism for conveying plate-like objects, The apparatus includes a gripping means for gripping the outer periphery of a plate-like object with a claw mechanism, and a moving means for moving the gripping means, The claw mechanism includes an advance / retract pin that moves up and down, a gear formed on the upper part of the advance / retract pin, a pressing part formed on the lower part of the advance / retract pin, a cylindrical body that houses the advance / retract pin and guides its advance / retract movement, a rotating body disposed on the upper part of the gear, and a claw body connected to the rotating body, When the advance / retract pin advances to the upper part, the gear comes into contact with the rotating body and rotates the rotating body, thereby positioning the pawl at a first position where the pawl is pushed down and at a second position where the pawl is pushed up, A conveying mechanism is provided in which the claws grip the plate-like object when positioned at the first position and release the plate-like object when positioned at the second position.

[0009] Preferably, the claw body includes a contact portion that contacts the rotating body in a non-rotating manner, a first arm that rises from the contact portion, a force point formed on the upper part of the first arm, a second arm that has one end that connects to the force point and has a fulcrum, a third arm that hangs down from the other end of the second arm, and a support portion that supports a plate-like object at a force point formed on the lower end of the third arm.

[0010] The plate-like object is preferably a frame unit having an opening in the center for accommodating the wafer, the wafer being positioned in the opening, and the frame and the wafer being integrally formed by tape.

[0011] The pressing portion formed at the lower portion of the retractable pin preferably presses the frame of the frame unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] The conveying mechanism of the present invention comprises: A conveying mechanism for conveying a plate-like object, The apparatus includes a gripping means for gripping the outer periphery of a plate-like object with a claw mechanism, and a moving means for moving the gripping means, The claw mechanism includes an advance / retract pin that moves up and down, a gear formed on the upper part of the advance / retract pin, a pressing part formed on the lower part of the advance / retract pin, a cylindrical body that houses the advance / retract pin and guides its advance / retract movement, a rotating body disposed on the upper part of the gear, and a claw body connected to the rotating body, When the advance / retract pin advances to the upper part, the gear comes into contact with the rotating body and rotates the rotating body, thereby positioning the pawl at a first position where the pawl is pushed down and at a second position where the pawl is pushed up, The claws grip the plate-like object when positioned at the first position and release the plate-like object when positioned at the second position, so that the plate-like object can be securely gripped without the need for a suction source and the plate-like object will not fall during transport, thereby preventing breakage of the plate-like object and damage to parts of the processing device due to the plate-like object falling during transport. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a transport mechanism according to the present invention. [Figure 2] Internal structure of the pawl mechanism shown in Figure 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the advance / retract pin shown in FIG. 2 . [Figure 4] FIG. 3 is a development view of the guide member shown in FIG. 2. [Figure 5] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the rotating body shown in FIG. 2 as seen from below. [Figure 6] 3A is a perspective view of the pawl mechanism shown in FIG. 2 (pawl body: first position); FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the pawl mechanism shown in FIG. 2 (pawl body: second position). [Figure 7] (a) An internal structural diagram of the pawl mechanism shown in Figure 2 (pawl body: first position), (b) an internal structural diagram of the pawl mechanism showing the state in which the advance / retract pin and the rotating body are raised from the state shown in (a), (c) an internal structural diagram of the pawl mechanism showing the state in which the advance / retract pin and the rotating body are lowered from the state shown in (b) (pawl body: second position). [Figure 8] 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which a frame unit is gripped by the gripping means shown in FIG. 1. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a transport mechanism according to the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

[0015] (Transport mechanism 2) As shown in FIG. 1, the transport mechanism 2 includes a gripping means 4 that grips the outer periphery of a plate-like object with a claw mechanism, and a moving means 6 that moves the gripping means 4.

[0016] (Gripping means 4 of conveying mechanism 2) The gripping means 4 has a support plate 8 and a plurality of claw mechanisms 10 supported by the support plate 8. Although the support plate 8 in this embodiment is H-shaped, the shape of the support plate 8 may be arbitrary. Furthermore, four claw mechanisms 10 are supported on the support plate 8 shown in FIG.

[0017] (Claw mechanism 10 of gripping means 4) 2, the claw mechanism 10 includes an advance / retract pin 12 that moves up and down, a gear 14 formed on the top of the advance / retract pin 12, a pressing portion 16 formed on the bottom of the advance / retract pin 12, a cylindrical body 18 that houses the advance / retract pin 12 and guides its advance / retract movement, a rotating body 20 disposed on the top of the gear 14, and a claw body 22 connected to the rotating body 20. In FIG. 2, the cylindrical body 18 and the coil spring 42 are shown in cross section to show the internal structure of the claw mechanism 10.

[0018] (Advance and retreat pin 12 of claw mechanism 10) The advance / retract pin 12 is formed into a cylindrical shape as a whole. The advance / retract pin 12 is provided with an elongated hole 12a extending in the axial direction (vertical direction) of the advance / retract pin 12. A support piece 18f (described later) of the cylindrical body 18 is inserted into this elongated hole 12a, so that the advance / retract pin 12 is supported by the cylindrical body 18 so as to be able to advance and retract freely in the vertical direction.

[0019] (Gear 14 of pawl mechanism 10) The gear 14 is formed on the upper portion of the retractable pin 12. In this embodiment, the gear 14 is integral with the retractable pin 12; however, the gear 14 and the retractable pin 12 may be separate components. As shown in FIG. 3, the gear 14 has a plurality of first inclined surfaces 14a and a plurality of second inclined surfaces 14b. The first inclined surfaces 14a and the second inclined surfaces 14b are alternately arranged in the circumferential direction of the retractable pin 12. The first inclined surfaces 14a are inclined downward from right to left in FIG. 2 when the retractable pin 12 is viewed from the front. On the other hand, the second inclined surfaces 14b are inclined upward from right to left in FIG. 2 when the retractable pin 12 is viewed from the front. In this manner, the gear 14 is formed as a mountain-shaped cam in which the first inclined surfaces 14a and the second inclined surfaces 14b are alternately arranged in the circumferential direction. The peaks of the gear 14 are indicated by reference numeral 14c, and the valleys of the gear 14 are indicated by reference numeral 14d.

[0020] (Pressing portion 16 of claw mechanism 10) 2, the pressing portion 16 is formed on the lower part of the advance / retract pin 12. In this embodiment, the pressing portion 16 is integral with the advance / retract pin 12, but the pressing portion 16 and the advance / retract pin 12 may be separate bodies. Furthermore, although the shape of the pressing portion 16 is hemispherical in this embodiment, it is not limited to hemispherical and may be any shape (for example, a truncated cone shape or a cone shape with a rounded upper end).

[0021] (Cylinder 18 of claw mechanism 10) The cylinder 18 has a circular lower plate 18a, a circular upper plate 18b disposed at a vertical distance from the lower plate 18a, and a cylindrical side wall 18c connecting the periphery of the lower plate 18a to the periphery of the upper plate 18b. A first opening 18d through which the retractable pin 12 passes is formed in the lower plate 18a. A second opening 18e through which a first arm 32 (described below) of the claw 22 passes is formed in the upper plate 18b. A support piece 18f for supporting the retractable pin 12 so that it can move up and down is fixed to the inner surface of the side wall 18c, and a cylindrical guide member 24 is also fixed to the inner surface of the side wall 18c.

[0022] Referring to FIG. 4, which is a development view of the guide member 24, a plurality of grooves 24a and a plurality of protrusions 24b protruding upward from the grooves 24a are alternately arranged in the upper portion of the guide member 24. In this embodiment, three grooves 24a and three protrusions 24b are provided. The grooves 24a may be rectangular as shown in FIG. 4. The protrusions 24b have a first inclined portion 24c extending from the upper end of the side wall of the grooves 24a at an incline downward toward the right in FIG. 4, a vertical portion 24d extending vertically upward from the lower end of the first inclined portion 24c, and a second inclined portion 24e extending from the upper end of the vertical portion 24d at an incline downward toward the right in FIG. 4.

[0023] (Rotating body 20 of claw mechanism 10) 2 and 5, the rotating body 20 is cylindrical as a whole and passes through the guide member 24 of the cylindrical body 18. In Fig. 2, an upper part of the rotating body 20 protruding upward from the upper end of the guide member 24 and a lower part of the rotating body 20 protruding downward from the lower end of the guide member 24 are shown.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 5, a gear 26 that meshes with the gear 14 of the reciprocating pin 12 is formed on the lower part of the rotating body 20. The gear 26 of the rotating body 20 has a plurality of first inclined surfaces 26a and a plurality of second inclined surfaces 26b. The first inclined surfaces 26a and the second inclined surfaces 26b are alternately arranged in the circumferential direction of the rotating body 20. The first inclined surfaces 26a are inclined downward from right to left in FIG. 2 when viewed from the front of the rotating body 20. On the other hand, the second inclined surfaces 26b are inclined upward from right to left in FIG. 2 when viewed from the front of the rotating body 20. In this manner, the gear 26 of the rotating body 20 is formed as a mountain-shaped cam in which the first inclined surfaces 26a and the second inclined surfaces 26b are alternately arranged in the circumferential direction. The peaks of the gear 26 are indicated by reference numeral 26c, and the valleys of the gear 26 are indicated by reference numeral 26d.

[0025] Furthermore, ribs 28 extending in the axial direction (vertical direction) of the rotor 20 are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the rotor 20. A plurality of ribs 28 (three in this embodiment) are provided at intervals in the circumferential direction of the rotor 20. A lower surface 28a of the rib 28 is inclined upward from right to left in FIG. 5 when the rotor 20 is viewed from the front.

[0026] (claw body 22 of claw mechanism 10) As shown in FIG. 2, the claw body 22 in the illustrated embodiment includes a contact portion 30 that contacts the rotating body 20 in a non-rotating manner, a first arm 32 that rises from the contact portion 30, a force point 34 formed on the upper part of the first arm 32, a second arm 36 that has one end 36a that connects to the force point 34 and has a fulcrum 36b, a third arm 38 that hangs down from the other end 36c of the second arm 36, and a support portion 40 that supports a plate-like object at a point of application formed on the lower end 38a of the third arm 38.

[0027] (Contact portion 30 of claw body 22) The contact portion 30 may be, for example, disk-shaped. The contact portion 30 is disposed inside the cylindrical body 18 and is in contact with the upper end of the rotating body 20. However, the contact portion 30 is not connected to the rotating body 20, and is configured not to rotate even when the rotating body 20 rotates. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2 , a coil spring 42 is disposed between the contact portion 30 and the upper plate 18b of the cylindrical body 18 to press the contact portion 30 against the rotating body 20.

[0028] (First arm 32 of claw body 22) The lower end of the first arm 32 is fixed to the upper surface of the contact portion 30. The first arm 32 extends upward from the upper surface of the contact portion 30 and passes through the second opening 18e of the cylindrical body 18 to protrude upward from the cylindrical body 18. As shown in Figures 6(a) and 6(b), the upper part of the first arm 32 is provided with a pair of connecting pieces 32a that are spaced apart from each other and extend upward.

[0029] (Pawl body 22, force point 34) The force point 34 is formed on the connecting piece 32a of the first arm 32. A force point pin (reference number omitted) that supports one end 36a of the second arm 36 is provided on the force point 34. The force point pin is attached to the pair of connecting pieces 32a.

[0030] (Second arm 36 of claw body 22) The second arm 36 extends from the force application pin toward the outside in the radial direction of the cylindrical body 18. One end 36a of the second arm 36 is swingably connected to the first arm 32 via the force application pin. In the present embodiment, the one end 36a of the second arm 36 has a bifurcated shape that can sandwich the force application pin, but is not limited to this shape, and a through hole for passing the force application pin may be formed in the one end 36a of the second arm 36.

[0031] The second arm 36 has a fulcrum 36b which serves as the center of swing of the second arm 36. The fulcrum 36b is located between one end 36a and the other end 36c of the second arm 36. A fulcrum pin (reference number omitted) which supports the second arm 36 is provided at the fulcrum 36b. The fulcrum pin is attached to a bracket 44 extending from the cylindrical body 18.

[0032] (Third arm 38 of claw body 22) The third arm 38 hangs down from the other end 36c of the second arm 36. As can be seen from FIG. 2, the lower end 38a of the third arm 38 is located lower than the lower end of the pressing portion 16.

[0033] (Support portion 40 of claw body 22) The support portion 40 supports a plate-like object at a point of application formed on the lower end portion 38a of the third arm 38. In this embodiment, a support piece 38b extending substantially horizontally from the lower end portion 38a of the third arm 38 toward the advance / retract pin 12 is provided as the point of application. Therefore, the support portion 40 of this embodiment is configured to support a plate-like object at the support piece 38b (point of application) formed on the lower end portion 38a of the third arm 38.

[0034] (Operation of the claw mechanism 10) In the pawl mechanism 10 configured as described above, when the retractable pin 12 advances upward, the gear 14 formed on the upper part of the retractable pin 12 comes into contact with the rotating body 20, causing the rotating body 20 to rotate, thereby positioning the pawl body 22 at a first position (the position shown in FIG. 6(a)) where the pawl body 22 is pushed down, and at a second position (the position shown in FIG. 6(b)) where the pawl body 22 is pushed up. The operation of this pawl mechanism 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7(a) to 7(c). Note that while some of the pawl body 22 is omitted from FIGS. 7(a) to 7(c), the pawl body 22 is positioned at the first position in FIG. 7(a) and at the second position in FIG. 7(c).

[0035] 7(a), in the first position, the rib 28 of the rotating body 20 is located at the lower end of the first inclined portion 24c of the guide member 24 and is supported by the vertical portion 24d. In addition, a downward force is applied to the rotating body 20 from the coil spring 42 via the contact portion 30, so that the rotating body 20 does not rotate in the first position.

[0036] Furthermore, in the first position, gear 14 formed on the upper part of advance / retreat pin 12 and gear 26 formed on the lower part of rotor 20 are spaced apart, and the phase of gear 14 and the phase of gear 26 are slightly offset (for example, by about 1 to 2 mm) in the circumferential direction. That is, peak 14c of gear 14 and valley 26d of gear 26, and valley 14d of gear 14 and peak 26c of gear 26 are slightly offset in the circumferential direction.

[0037] When the pressing portion 16 is pressed upward from a state in which the claw body 22 is in the first position, and the advance / retract pin 12 advances upward, the gear 14 comes into contact with the gear 26 of the rotating body 20 and pushes up the rotating body 20, as shown in Figure 7(b). As a result, the rib 28 of the rotating body 20 moves away from the first inclined portion 24c of the guide member 24, and the lower surface 28a of the rib 28 is positioned above the vertical portion 24d of the guide member 24.

[0038] Furthermore, when the advance / retreat pin 12 pushes up the rotor 20, as the gear 14 and the gear 26 mesh with each other, the rotor 20 rotates slightly so that the phase of the gear 14 coincides with the phase of the gear 26. As a result, the rib 28 of the rotor 20 moves from above the first inclined portion 24c of the guide member 24 to above the second inclined portion 24e (see FIG. 7(b)).

[0039] Next, when the upward force applied by the pressing portion 16 is removed from the state in which the rotating body 20 is pushed up by the retractable pin 12 (the state shown in FIG. 7(b)), the retractable pin 12 and the rotating body 20 descend. As the rotating body 20 descends, the rib 28 of the rotating body 20 slides down the second inclined portion 24e of the guide member 24 and falls into the groove portion 24a, as shown in FIG. 7(c). Because the lower end of the groove portion 24a is located lower than the lower end of the first inclined portion 24c, in the state shown in FIG. 7(c), compared to the state shown in FIG. 7(a), the rotating body 20 is positioned lower, and the contact portion 30 of the claw 22 is also positioned lower. As a result, a downward force is applied from the first arm 32 to the force point 34, causing the second arm 36 to swing around the fulcrum 36b. As a result, the claw 22 is positioned in the second position (the position shown in FIG. 6(b)).

[0040] As shown in Fig. 6(b), at the second position, the third arm 38 is inclined relative to the cylindrical body 18, and the support part 40 at the second position is farther from the advance / retreat pin 12 than the support part 40 at the first position. Also, as shown in Fig. 7(c), at the second position, the phase of the gear 14 and the phase of the gear 26 are slightly out of phase in the circumferential direction.

[0041] In this way, in the claw mechanism 10, when the advance / retract pin 12 advances upward from a state in which the claw body 22 is positioned in the first position, the gear 14 contacts the rotating body 20 and rotates the rotating body 20, thereby positioning the claw body 22 in the second position.

[0042] Conversely to the above, when the advance / retract pin 12 advances upward from a state in which the claw body 22 is positioned at the second position, the gear 14 comes into contact with the rotating body 20 and rotates the rotating body 20, thereby positioning the claw body 22 at the first position.

[0043] To explain the operation of the pawl mechanism 10 when switching from the second position to the first position, first, when the pawl body 22 is in the second position, the pressing portion 16 is pressed upward, causing the advance / retract pin 12 to advance upward, and the gear 14 comes into contact with the gear 26 of the rotating body 20, pushing the rotating body 20 upward. This causes the rib 28 of the rotating body 20 to come out of the groove 24a of the guide member 24. Also, when the advance / retract pin 12 pushes the rotating body 20 upward, the rotating body 20 rotates slightly so that the phase of the gear 14 and the phase of the gear 26 coincide. As a result, the rib 28 of the rotating body 20 moves from above the groove 24a of the guide member 24 to above the first inclined portion 24c.

[0044] Next, when the upward force applied to the pressing portion 16 is removed from the state in which the rotating body 20 is pushed up by the retractable pins 12, the retractable pins 12 and the rotating body 20 descend. As the rotating body 20 descends, the rib 28 of the rotating body 20 slides down the first inclined portion 24c until it contacts the vertical portion 24d of the guide member 24. When the rib 28 of the rotating body 20 reaches a position where it is supported by the vertical portion 24d, the claw 22 is positioned at the first position, as shown in FIG. 7(a). That is, as the rotating body 20 moves up and down, the second arm 36 of the claw 22 swings about the fulcrum 36b, and the claw 22 is positioned at the first position.

[0045] In this way, in the claw mechanism 10, when the advance / retract pin 12 advances upward, the gear 14 contacts the rotating body 20 and rotates the rotating body 20, thereby positioning the claw body 22 at a first position where the claw body 22 is pushed down and at a second position where the claw body 22 is pushed up.

[0046] (Moving means 6 of transport mechanism 2) The moving means 6 of the transfer mechanism 2 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The moving means 6 shown in Fig. 1 includes a connecting block 46 connected to the upper surface of the support plate 8 of the gripping means 4, an elevating means 48 (which may be, for example, an air cylinder) that raises and lowers the gripping means 4 together with the connecting block 46, a transfer arm 50 connected to the top of the elevating means 48, and a ball-screw type Y-axis feed means 52 that moves the transfer arm 50 in the Y-axis direction indicated by the arrow Y in Fig. 1. In the moving means 6 of this embodiment, the gripping means 4 is raised and lowered by the elevating means 48, and the gripping means 4 is moved in the Y-axis direction by the Y-axis feed means 52.

[0047] The moving means 6 is not limited to the above-described configuration and may have other configurations. For example, instead of the Y-axis feed means 52, the moving means 6 may be equipped with a rotation motor (not shown) that rotates the transfer arm 50. Furthermore, the shape of the transfer arm 50 of the moving means 6 is not limited to the shape shown in FIG. 1 and may be any shape.

[0048] (Plate-like object transported by transport mechanism 2) FIG. 1 also shows a frame unit 54, which is an example of a plate-like object transported by the transport mechanism 2. The frame unit 54 includes a disk-shaped wafer 56, a frame 58 having a circular opening 58a in the center for accommodating the wafer 56, and a circular tape 60 attached to the wafer 56 and the frame 58. The wafer 56 may be formed of a semiconductor material such as silicon. The front surface 56a of the wafer 56 is partitioned into multiple rectangular regions by grid-like division lines 62. A device 64 such as an IC or LSI is formed in each of the multiple rectangular regions. In the frame unit 54, the wafer 56 is positioned in the opening 58a of the frame 58, and the frame 58 and the wafer 56 are integrally formed with each other by the tape 60. Note that in this embodiment, the back surface 56b of the wafer 56 is attached to the tape 60, but the front surface 56a of the wafer 56 may also be attached to the tape 60.

[0049] (Transportation of plate-like object by transport mechanism 2) Next, a method for transporting a frame unit 54, which is an example of a plate-like object, by the transport mechanism 2 will be described.

[0050] In this embodiment, first, the gripping means 4 is positioned above the frame unit 54 by the Y-axis feed means 52 of the moving means 6. When positioning the gripping means 4 above the frame unit 54, each of the multiple pressing portions 16 is positioned directly above the frame 58. Also, the claws 22 are positioned in advance at the second position. It is assumed that the frame unit 54 is placed on a table (not shown) whose outer dimensions are smaller than those of the frame 58.

[0051] After positioning the gripping means 4 above the frame unit 54, the lifting means 48 lowers the gripping means 4, and the pressing section 16 presses the frame 58 to push up the rotating body 20. Because the frame unit 54 is placed on the table as described above, when the pressing section 16 presses the frame 58, the pressing section 16 is pressed upward by the frame 58, causing the advance / retract pin 12 to advance upward, and the gear 14 formed on the upper part of the advance / retract pin 12 to come into contact with the rotating body 20 and push up the rotating body 20. This causes the rib 28 of the rotating body 20 to come out of the groove 24a of the guide member 24.

[0052] After the rotating body 20 has been pushed up until the ribs 28 are released from the grooves 24a, the lifting means 48 raises the gripping means 4, and the pressing of the frame 58 by the pressing section 16 is released. This positions the claws 22 at the first position, so that the frame 58 of the frame unit 54 can be gripped by the support sections 40 of the claws 22, as shown in Figure 8. Then, the lifting means 48 and the Y-axis feed means 52 are operated, and the frame unit 54 is transported to a destination table (not shown).

[0053] Once the frame unit 54 has been transported to the destination table by the transport mechanism 2, the gripping means 4 releases the frame 58. At this time, the frame unit 54 is first placed on the destination table, and then the lifting means 48 lowers the gripping means 4, and the pressing section 16 presses the frame 58 to push up the rotating body 20. Next, the lifting means 48 raises the gripping means 4, and the pressing section 16 releases the frame 58 from being pressed. This positions the claws 22 at the second position, and the support sections 40 of the claws 22 release the frame unit 54 from being gripped.

[0054] As described above, in the conveying mechanism 2 of this embodiment, the claws 22 grip the frame unit 54 when positioned at the first position and release the frame unit 54 when positioned at the second position. Therefore, unlike conventional techniques that use suction pads to hold and transport plate-like objects, the conveying mechanism 2 of this embodiment can reliably grip plate-like objects without requiring a suction source for gripping the plate-like objects, preventing the plate-like objects from falling during transport. This prevents damage to the plate-like objects and components of the processing device due to the plate-like objects falling during transport. Furthermore, the conveying mechanism 2 does not require a suction source for gripping the plate-like objects and does not require a drive source for switching the claws 22 between the first and second positions, thereby reducing energy consumption and making it more economical. [Explanation of symbols]

[0055] 2: Transport mechanism 4: Gripping means 6: Transportation 10: Claw mechanism 12: Advance / retreat pin 14: Gears 16: Pressing part 18: Cylinder 20: Rotating body 22: Claw body 30: Contact part 32: First Arm 34: Emphasis 36: Second Arm 36a: One end of the second arm 36b:Fulcrum 36c: the other end of the second arm 38: Third Arm 38a: Lower end of the third arm 38b: Support piece 40: Support part 54: Frame unit 56: Wafer 58: Frame 58a: Frame opening 60: Tape

Claims

1. A conveying mechanism for conveying a plate-like object, The apparatus includes a gripping means for gripping the outer periphery of a plate-like object with a claw mechanism, and a moving means for moving the gripping means, The claw mechanism includes an advance / retract pin that moves up and down, a gear formed on the upper part of the advance / retract pin, a pressing part formed on the lower part of the advance / retract pin, a cylindrical body that houses the advance / retract pin and guides its advance / retract movement, a rotating body disposed on the upper part of the gear, and a claw body connected to the rotating body, When the advance / retract pin advances to the upper part, the gear comes into contact with the rotating body and rotates the rotating body, thereby positioning the pawl at a first position where the pawl is pushed down and at a second position where the pawl is pushed up, a conveying mechanism in which the claws grip the plate-like object when positioned at the first position and release the plate-like object when positioned at the second position;

2. 2. The conveying mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the claw body includes a contact portion that contacts the rotating body in a non-rotating manner, a first arm that rises from the contact portion, a force point formed on an upper part of the first arm, a second arm that has one end connected to the force point and has a fulcrum, a third arm that hangs down from the other end of the second arm, and a support portion that supports the plate-like object at a force point formed on a lower end of the third arm.

3. 3. A transport mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the plate-like object is a frame unit having a central opening for accommodating a wafer, the wafer being positioned in the opening of the frame, and the frame and the wafer being integrally formed by tape.

4. 4. The transport mechanism according to claim 3, wherein the pressing portion formed at the lower portion of the retractable pin presses the frame of the frame unit.

Images