Workpiece holding device

Abstract

Provided is a workpiece holding device capable of reliably holding even a heavy-weight workpiece and separating the workpiece without applying a load to the held workpiece.　This workpiece holding device includes: a belt-shaped base material 1 to which an adhesive holding material 2 is attached and which can be elastically deformed; a pedestal block 4 having a base surface; and a load receiving plate 5 having an opening at a position avoiding interference with the adhesive holding material 2 of the belt-shaped base material and supporting the belt-shaped base material 1 from below. To hold the workpiece, the belt-shaped base material 1 is sandwiched between the load receiving plate 5 and the pedestal block 4, and the adhesive holding material 2 is projected from the opening of the load receiving plate 5. Meanwhile, to remove the workpiece, the sandwiching of the belt-shaped base material 1 is released.

Description

Work holding device

[0001] This invention relates to a workpiece holding device that holds a workpiece using a self-adhesive adhesive holding material, and more particularly to a workpiece holding device that can reliably hold even heavy workpieces and that can remove the held workpiece without placing any particular load on it.

[0002] When transporting or picking up various workpieces such as semiconductor wafers and glass substrates, generally, a vacuum chuck that holds the workpiece by vacuum suction or an electrostatic chuck that holds the workpiece by electrostatic suction is used.

[0003] However, vacuum chucks cannot be used in reduced pressure environments. Furthermore, for thin, fragile workpieces, vacuum marks may remain after chucking, and in some cases, the workpiece may be damaged. On the other hand, electrostatic chucks may not be able to chucking certain workpieces, or may require a high voltage to increase the chucking force.

[0004] Therefore, instead of these, several methods have been considered that can hold a workpiece in a relatively simple manner regardless of the type of workpiece and without being restricted by equipment.

[0005] For example, a device has been proposed in which adhesive tape wound on a supply roll is wound onto a take-up roll while unused adhesive tape with strong adhesive strength is constantly supplied, and two adhesive tapes are used to hold the workpiece by their adhesive surfaces adhering to the workpiece, and then a pressure pin is used to press the gap between the two adhesive tapes from above, pushing the held workpiece downward and peeling it off (see Patent Document 1).

[0006] In addition, an electronic component transfer head has been proposed in which an electronic component (workpiece) is adhered by pressing the adhesive surface of an adhesive tape from above with a pressing block, and then the pressing block is raised while holding the electronic component, and at that time, the periphery of the electronic component is abutted against a guide member to prevent the electronic component itself from rising, thereby peeling off the electronic component (see Patent Document 2).

[0007] Furthermore, a picking device has been proposed in which adhesive tape is supplied between a supply side tape holder and a recovery side tape holder to adhere a workpiece, and after the workpiece has adhered, an excitation rotor with an eccentric cam located above the adhesive area is moved up and down to shake off the workpiece and peel it off (see Patent Document 3).

[0008] On the other hand, a device has been proposed in which a workpiece is held by a holding means having an adhesive coating layer coated with an adhesive, and then, when the workpiece is to be released, a plurality of air chambers located above the holding means that can be inflated with air are inflated, thereby bending the holding means and separating the workpiece from the adhesive coating layer (see Patent Document 4).

[0009] In addition, a work transport device has been proposed in which a self-adhesive adhesive layer is laminated on the surface of an endless belt, which is then turned into a belt conveyor using a drive roller and a driven roller, and which transports workpieces adhesively held by the adhesive layer (see Patent Document 5).

[0010] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-190287 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-85896 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2018-176289 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2014-509953 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2014-162571

[0011] When using adhesive tape to hold a workpiece as described above, it is necessary to exert sufficient holding force on the workpiece. At the same time, it is also important to know how to separate the held workpiece.

[0012] For example, when using an adhesive tape in which an adhesive is applied to a tape substrate such as cellophane, the holding force (adhesion force) on the workpiece can be increased by increasing the adhesive surface (bonding surface) on the workpiece.

[0013] However, in order to peel off the adhesive tape adhered to the workpiece, various measures such as those described in the above-mentioned Patent Documents 1 to 3 are required, and in doing so, a load is inevitably applied to the workpiece.

[0014] On the other hand, unlike adhesive tapes coated with adhesive, when the workpiece is adhesively held in place by a self-adhesive adhesive holding material such as that described in Patent Document 5, or when a partially cross-linked silicone resin such as that mentioned in Patent Document 4 (paragraph 0033 of the specification) is used, the force required to peel the workpiece off is relatively small.

[0015] However, if the adhesive strength is weak, the type of workpiece that can be held is limited. In particular, depending on the weight of the workpiece, the adhesive holding surface that adheres the workpiece may bend or twist, causing the workpiece to fall. Therefore, there is a trade-off between increasing the adhesive holding strength of the workpiece and being able to separate the workpiece with as little load as possible.

[0016] Therefore, the inventors conducted extensive research into a means for securely holding a workpiece while separating it with as little load as possible on the workpiece. As a result, they discovered that all of the above problems could be solved by attaching a self-adhesive adhesive holding material to a strip-shaped substrate that can be elastically deformed, and combining this strip-shaped substrate with a base block having a base surface and a load-bearing plate that supports the workpiece held by the adhesive holding material on the strip-shaped substrate from below, and thus completed the present invention.

[0017] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a work holding device that can securely hold even a heavy workpiece and can separate the held workpiece without placing a load on it.

[0018] In other words, the present invention is a work holding device that holds a workpiece using a self-adhesive adhesive holding material, comprising: a strip-shaped substrate having the adhesive holding material attached to one surface thereof and capable of elastic deformation; a base block having a base surface; and a load receiving plate that has an opening located to avoid interference with the adhesive holding material of the strip-shaped substrate and supports from below the strip-shaped substrate holding the workpiece with the adhesive holding material; wherein, when holding a workpiece, the strip-shaped substrate is clamped between the load receiving plate and the base block, the other surface of the strip-shaped substrate is brought into close contact with the base surface of the base block, and the adhesive holding material of the strip-shaped substrate is caused to protrude from the opening in the load receiving plate to form a work holding surface; and, when removing a workpiece, the clamping of the strip-shaped substrate between the load receiving plate and the base block is released, causing the strip-shaped substrate to separate from the base surface of the base block, and the adhesive holding material of the strip-shaped substrate is retracted from the opening in the load receiving plate to cancel the formation of the work holding surface.

[0019] The present invention is a workpiece holding device that holds a workpiece using a self-adhesive adhesive holding material, and includes a strip-shaped substrate with an adhesive holding material attached to one side thereof that is elastically deformable, a base block with a base surface, and a load-bearing plate that has an opening in a position that avoids interference with the adhesive holding material of the strip-shaped substrate and supports from below the strip-shaped substrate holding the workpiece with the adhesive holding material.

[0020] Of these, it is preferable that the strip-shaped substrate is locked to the base block with the surface having the adhesive retaining material facing outward. Preferably, the base block has locking portions at both ends in the longitudinal direction, and both ends of the strip-shaped substrate are locked to the locking portions with the surface having the adhesive retaining material facing outward. In other words, the surface of the strip-shaped substrate opposite the surface having the adhesive retaining material faces the base surface of the base block, and both ends of the strip-shaped substrate are supported by the locking portions of the base block.

[0021] To hold a workpiece, the load-receiving plate sandwiches the strip-shaped substrate between itself and the base block, bringing the other side of the strip-shaped substrate (the side opposite to the side bearing the adhesive holder) into close contact with the base surface of the base block, and the adhesive holder of the strip-shaped substrate protrudes from the opening in the load-receiving plate to form a workpiece-holding surface. In this chucked state in which the workpiece-holding surface is formed in this manner, the strip-shaped substrate is sandwiched between the load-receiving plate and the base block, and these are integrated to prevent deformation of the strip-shaped substrate, and the adhesive holder of the strip-shaped substrate protruding from the opening in the load-receiving plate adhesively holds the workpiece. In this case, it is preferable that the adhesive holder of the strip-shaped substrate protruding from the opening in the load-receiving plate is uniformly arranged (evenly arranged at equal intervals) within the base surface of the base block, so that a workpiece-holding surface corresponding to the base surface of the base block is formed.

[0022] On the other hand, when removing a workpiece, the belt-shaped substrate is released from the clamping between the load receiving plate and the base block as described above, the belt-shaped substrate is separated from the base surface of the base block, and the adhesive holder of the belt-shaped substrate is retracted from the opening in the load receiving plate to release the workpiece-holding surface. In this dechucked state in which the base block, belt-shaped substrate, and load receiving plate are no longer integrated when the workpiece-holding surface is formed, the belt-shaped substrate adhesively holding the workpiece becomes deformable, and the other surface of the belt-shaped substrate separates from the base surface of the base block, bending the belt-shaped substrate, and the adhesive holder on the other surface is peeled off from the workpiece, allowing the workpiece to be removed.

[0023] In this invention, a strip-shaped substrate having a self-adhesive adhesive holder that can be elastically deformed, a base block having a base surface, and a load-receiving plate that supports from below the workpiece held by the adhesive holder of the strip-shaped substrate are combined, and when holding a workpiece, an integrated state is created in which the strip-shaped substrate is sandwiched between the load-receiving plate and the base block, and the strip-shaped substrate holding the workpiece with the adhesive holder is supported from below by the load-receiving plate, so that even when a workpiece with a relatively heavy weight is adhesively held, the strip-shaped substrate does not bend and the workpiece can be securely held. Furthermore, when the workpiece is to be removed, the above-mentioned integration can be released, and in this case, the presence of a load-receiving plate between the adhesive holder of the strip-shaped substrate and the workpiece makes it easy to peel the workpiece off.

[0024] Here, the strip-shaped substrate need only be capable of elastic deformation so as to be able to follow the integration of the load-receiving plate and base block and the attachment and detachment of the workpiece, and there are no particular restrictions on the material, etc., but for example, it may be made of a resin such as a resin film, or a metal such as cold-rolled steel plate (SPCC) or stainless steel, or it may be made of paper, cloth, etc.

[0025] Furthermore, the adhesive holding material used is one that has self-adhesion. This differs from commercially available adhesive tapes (adhesive tapes) in that an adhesive is applied to a substrate such as cellophane, and the adhesive holding material itself is adhesive (has self-adhesion). Therefore, with adhesive tapes, the adhesive strength of the adhesive decreases when the tape is peeled off from the target object (workpiece) after application, and repeated peeling will gradually cause the tape to lose its adhesiveness. However, an adhesive holding material with self-adhesion can be repeatedly used to hold and peel off workpieces (attachment and detachment). In this case, cleaning the surface of the adhesive holding material allows for further repeated use.

[0026] Suitable examples of such self-adhesive adhesive retaining materials include those made of resins such as silicone rubber, ethylene-propylene-diene rubber (EPDM), butyl rubber, fluorine-based resins, urethane-based resins, acrylic resins, etc. Among these, those that can exhibit van der Waals forces, a type of intermolecular force, at the interface with the workpiece to be adhesively retained are preferred.

[0027] The base block may have a base surface that can sandwich the strip-shaped substrate between itself and the load-receiving plate to form a workpiece holding surface, and preferably has locking portions at both ends that can lock both ends of the strip-shaped substrate to support the strip-shaped substrate. There are no particular restrictions on the material, and any suitable material, such as metal or resin, can be used.

[0028] Furthermore, the load-receiving plate only needs to have an opening in a position that avoids interference with the adhesive holder of the strip substrate when the strip substrate is sandwiched between the base surface of the base block and the base block, and to be able to support the strip substrate from below while the workpiece is held by the adhesive holder. In other words, it only needs to have enough strength to prevent the sandwiched strip substrate from bending when the strip substrate is sandwiched between the base block and the base block and integrated to form a workholding surface and hold the workpiece, and there are no particular restrictions on the material from which the load-receiving plate is made. Furthermore, the shape of the load-receiving plate and the size and position of the opening can be appropriately set depending on the shape of the workpiece and the size and position of the adhesive holder attached to the strip substrate.

[0029] In the workpiece holding device of the present invention, a second adhesive holding material having self-adhesive properties may be interposed between the load receiving plate and the strip-shaped substrate. This further prevents the strip-shaped substrate from bending or shifting when the strip-shaped substrate is sandwiched between the base block and the load receiving plate and integrated to form a workpiece holding surface to hold the workpiece. This second adhesive holding material may be the same as the adhesive holding material attached to the strip-shaped substrate.

[0030] The workpiece holding device of the present invention preferably includes a distance adjustment means for adjusting the distance (relative distance) between the base surface of the base block that clamps the strip-shaped substrate and the load-receiving plate, thereby enabling the base block and the load-receiving plate to freely clamp (integrate) or release the strip-shaped substrate.

[0031] There are no particular limitations on such distance adjustment means, and examples include well-known means such as a cylinder device that can adjust the air pressure or oil pressure inside the cylinder to extend or retract a rod (piston rod), or an electric actuator device in which a ball screw is attached to a stepping motor to extend or retract a screw shaft.

[0032] Here, if the distance adjustment means is a cylinder device as described above, or an extension device equipped with an extendable extension shaft such as a rod or screw shaft, such as an electric actuator device, the movement of the extension shaft can be used to directly or indirectly move the base block up and down, or directly or indirectly move the load-receiving plate up and down, thereby adjusting the relative distance between them.

[0033] In addition, in the present invention, when removing a workpiece, the following two operations are mainly performed. First, the base block, strip-shaped substrate, and load-receiving plate, which are integrated as described above, are released by separating the other surface of the strip-shaped substrate from the base surface of the base block. Next, at least one end of the strip-shaped substrate is made deformable so that the adhesive holding material of the strip-shaped substrate can be retracted from the opening in the load-receiving plate. During this operation, a movement restriction means may be provided to restrict movement of the strip-shaped substrate toward the base block.

[0034] There are no particular limitations on the specific method for configuring this movement restricting means, but for example, a pressing rod as described below can be used as the movement restricting means. That is, by providing a through-hole that penetrates the base block in the thickness direction, inserting a pressing rod into this through-hole and pressing the strip substrate (and the load-receiving plate) with the tip of the pressing rod, it is possible to restrict movement of the strip substrate toward the base block (restricting the strip substrate from being pulled back toward the base surface of the base block). In addition to this, movement of the strip substrate toward the base block can also be restricted, for example, by holding down the end of the strip substrate with a hook-like member or by gripping the end of the strip substrate with a clamping member.

[0035] The workpieces to be adhesively held by the workpiece holding device of the present invention are not particularly limited as long as they can be adhesively held by a self-adhesive adhesive holding material, and examples include semiconductor wafers, glass substrates, metal materials such as aluminum and stainless steel, resin films, paper, cloth, and other materials.The device can also be used to adhesively hold parts, components, materials, etc. used in the manufacturing process of various products.

[0036] According to the present invention, workpieces can be held with sufficient adhesive strength and can be separated without applying any load to the held workpieces. Therefore, even heavy workpieces can be held without dropping, and even thin and weak workpieces can be separated without scratching or damaging them.

[0037] Furthermore, since the workpiece holding device of the present invention adhesively holds the workpiece using a self-adhesive adhesive holding material, it is versatile and can be used for any type or shape of workpiece, and is not subject to any particular restrictions in terms of equipment. Therefore, it can be used in a wide range of applications, such as as a workpiece transport device for transporting various types of workpieces, or as part of a robot hand that picks up works.

[0038] FIG. 1 is an explanatory perspective view from above of a work holding device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory side view of a work holding device according to the present invention (in a state where a work is being held). FIG. 3 is an explanatory plan view from below of a work holding device according to the present invention (in a state where a work is being held). FIG. 4 is an explanatory side view of a work holding device according to the present invention (in a state where a work is being held). FIG. 5 is an explanatory plan view from below of a work holding device according to the present invention (in a state where a work is being removed). FIG. 6 is an explanatory plan view showing the inner surface (the surface opposite the work holding surface) of a load receiving plate. FIG. 7 is an explanatory plan view showing the adhesive holding material attached to the outer surface of a belt-shaped substrate. FIG. 8 is a schematic explanatory view showing a case where a work is adhesively held using a work holding device. FIG. 9 is a schematic explanatory view showing a case where a work is removed using a work holding device.

[0039] The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings, although the present invention is not limited to these details.

[0040] Figures 1 to 5 illustrate an example of a workpiece holding device that holds a workpiece using a self-adhesive adhesive holding material. That is, Figure 1 is an explanatory perspective view from above of a workpiece holding device X according to this example. Figures 2 and 4 are explanatory side views of the workpiece holding device X, and Figures 3 and 5 are explanatory plan views from below. Of these, Figures 2 and 3 show the state in which the workpiece is held, and Figures 4 and 5 show the state in which the workpiece has been removed, as will be described in detail later.

[0041] This work holding device X comprises a strip-shaped substrate 1 to which an adhesive holding material 2 is attached and which is capable of elastic deformation, a base block 4 having locking portions 3 at both ends and having a base surface 4a, and a load-receiving plate 5 having an opening 5a in a position to avoid interference with the adhesive holding material 2 attached to the strip-shaped substrate 1 and supporting the strip-shaped substrate 1 from below when the work is held.

[0042] Of these, the strip-shaped substrate 1 has its surface 1a, to which the adhesive holder 2 is attached, facing outward, and both ends thereof are locked to the locking portions 3 of the base block 4. In this state, that is, in a state in which the strip-shaped substrate 1 is not sandwiched and integrated between the load-receiving plate 5 and the base block 4 as shown in Figures 4 and 5, the other surface 1b of the strip-shaped substrate 1 is locked to the base block 4 without being in close contact with the base surface 4a of the base block 4. Note that, as shown in Figure 6, a second adhesive holder 2' having self-adhesive properties is affixed to the inner surface of the load-receiving plate 5, and the adhesive holder 2' is interposed between the load-receiving plate 5 and the strip-shaped substrate 1.

[0043] Here, the adhesive holding material 2 and the second adhesive holding material 2' are made of silicone rubber, ethylene-propylene-diene rubber (EPDM), butyl rubber, fluorine-based resin, urethane-based resin, acrylic resin, etc., and have self-adhesive properties that exhibit van der Waals forces, which are a type of intermolecular force.

[0044] 7, in the workpiece holding device X in this example, adhesive holding regions are provided on the outer surface 1a of the strip-shaped substrate 1, on both sides of the approximate center in the longitudinal direction of the strip-shaped substrate 1, in which two columns and three rows (i.e., six pieces) of adhesive holding materials 2 each measuring 9 mm x 9 mm are arranged. These adhesive holding materials 2 are designed to protrude from the openings 5a of the load-receiving plate 5 when the strip-shaped substrate 1 is sandwiched and integrated between the base block 4 and the load-receiving plate 5. On the other hand, as shown in Figure 6 above, a total of six second adhesive holding materials 2' each measuring 3 mm x 40 mm are attached along the length of the load-receiving plate 5, and a total of four second adhesive holding materials 2' each measuring 3 mm x 35 mm are attached along the width of the load-receiving plate 5, surrounding each opening 5a through which the adhesive holding materials 2 attached to the strip-shaped substrate 1 protrude. This prevents misalignment and deformation between the strip-shaped substrate 1 and the load-receiving plate 5 when the strip-shaped substrate 1 is sandwiched and integrated between the base block 4 and the load-receiving plate 5.

[0045] In this workpiece holding device X, a base block 4, on which a strip-shaped substrate 1 is secured, is housed inside a housing frame 6 having U-shaped sides and consisting of legs 6a and a middle plate 6b, and a load-receiving plate 5 is screwed from below to the end of the legs 6a with screws 7a. Two through-holes 4b are provided at approximately the center of the length of the base block 4, penetrating the base block 4 in the thickness direction, and a pressing rod 8 is inserted into each of the through-holes 4b. One end of the pressing rod 8 is screwed to the middle plate 6b with a screw (not shown), and the other end is screwed to the load-receiving plate 5 from below together with the strip-shaped substrate 1 with a screw 7b. As will be described later, when the workpiece is removed, the pressing rod 8 serves as a movement restricting means for restricting movement of the strip-shaped substrate 1 toward the base block 4.

[0046] Furthermore, an electric actuator device 11 is mounted on the middle plate 6b of the accommodating frame 6, approximately in the center in the longitudinal direction, which enables a screw shaft (telescopic shaft) 10 to be extended or retracted by a stepping motor 9 having a sliding screw. A top plate 12 to which the screw shaft 10 is fixed is installed above this actuator device 11, and the top plate 12 is fixed to two connecting posts 13 that stand on the base block 4 and pass through holes in the middle plate 6b. Furthermore, linear motion guide jigs 16 equipped with guide shafts 15 that pass through linear bushings 14 are attached to the middle plate 6b of the accommodating frame 6 on both sides of the electric actuator device 11, with one end of the guide shaft 15 fixed to the base block 4 and the other end capable of passing through insertion holes 12a provided in the top plate 12. As a result, by extending or retracting the screw shaft 10 of the electric actuator device 11, the top plate 12 moves up and down, and the base block 4 connected to the connecting struts 13 moves in tandem, so that the electric actuator device 11 serves as a distance adjustment means that makes it possible to adjust the distance between the base surface 4a of the base block 4 and the load-receiving plate 5. Note that by interposing a biasing member (not shown), such as a spring, between the two connecting struts 13 and the top plate 12, a pressing load may be applied by the base block 4 to the load-receiving plate 5.

[0047] In addition, in the workpiece holding device X according to this embodiment, pillars 17 are erected at the four corners of the middle plate 6b of the accommodating frame 6, and gripping members 18 are attached to the ends of the pillars 17 so that they can be connected to a robot or the like.

[0048] To hold a workpiece using this workpiece holding device X, first, as shown in FIG. 8 , the screw shaft 10 of the electric actuator device 11 is lowered (retracted) toward the stepping motor 9 to bring the base block 4 closer to the load-receiving plate 5. Then, the strip-shaped substrate 1 is sandwiched between the base surface 4a of the base block 4 and the load-receiving plate 5, and the other surface (inner surface) 1b of the strip-shaped substrate 1 is brought into close contact with the base surface 4a of the base block 4, and the adhesive holder 2 of the strip-shaped substrate 1 is made to protrude from the opening 5a of the load-receiving plate 5 to form an integrated workpiece holding surface S. Next, in this state, the workpiece w is brought relatively close to the workpiece holding surface S, and the adhesive holder 2 on the workpiece holding surface S adhesively holds the workpiece w. At this time, the base block 4 may press the adhesive holder 2 on the workpiece holding surface S against the workpiece w through the top plate 12. Furthermore, while the base block 4, the strip-shaped base material 1, and the load receiving plate 5 are integrated as described above, the workpiece w may be brought relatively close to the work holding surface S to adhesively hold the workpiece w, or the load receiving plate 5 may be brought relatively close to the workpiece w and abutted against it, and then these may be integrated to adhesively hold the workpiece w. In FIG. 8, i) indicates the position of the workpiece attachment / detachment reference plane. Similarly, ii) indicates the position of the top surface of the base block 4, and iii) indicates the position of the top surface of the top plate 12 in FIG. 9, which will be described later. These are also common to FIG. 9 and are intended to clarify the position (height) relationship when attaching or detaching a workpiece.

[0049] On the other hand, when removing the workpiece, as shown in Figure 9, first, the screw shaft 10 of the electric actuator device 11 is raised (extended) to move the base block 4 away from the load receiving plate 5, thereby releasing the clamping of the strip substrate 1 between the load receiving plate 5 and the base block 4, separating the strip substrate 1 from the base surface 4a of the base block 4, and retracting the adhesive holder 2 of the strip substrate 1 from the opening 5a of the load receiving plate 5, thereby releasing the formation of the workpiece holding surface. That is, as described above, extending the screw shaft 10 of the electric actuator device 11 pushes the top plate 12 upward, and the base block 4 is lifted upward in conjunction with it via the connecting support 13. At this time, the presence of the pressing rod 8 restricts movement of the strip substrate 1 toward the base block 4, so that the other surface 1b of the strip substrate 1 and the base surface 4a of the base block 4 are reliably separated, and both ends of the strip substrate 1 are curled up. Furthermore, since the load-receiving plate 5 is interposed between the adhesive holder 2 on the strip-shaped substrate 1 and the workpiece w, the workpiece w can be easily peeled off from the adhesive holder 2 .

[0050] As explained above, when holding the workpiece, the other surface 1b of the strip substrate 1 and the base surface 4a of the base block 4 are reliably separated, and both ends of the strip substrate 1 are curled up.Then, the load-receiving plate 5 is brought relatively close to the workpiece w and abuts it against it, and the base block 4, strip substrate 1, and load-receiving plate 5 are integrated to adhesively hold the workpiece w.Starting from the part pressed down by the tip of the pressure rod 8, the adhesive holding material 2 on the strip substrate 1 comes into contact with the workpiece w in sequence, thereby preventing poor contact due to air being drawn in between the formed workpiece holding surface S and the workpiece w.

[0051] In this embodiment, an electric actuator device is used as the distance adjustment means, but a cylinder device that adjusts air pressure or hydraulic pressure to extend or retract a piston rod may also be used. Furthermore, as a movement restriction means for restricting movement of the strip-shaped substrate toward the base block, in addition to the above-mentioned means for passing a pressing rod through the base block, for example, a hook-like member may be used to hold down the end of the strip-shaped substrate, or a clamping member may be used to clamp the end of the strip-shaped substrate.

[0052] In addition, when the workpiece w is placed facing downward in the vertical direction on the workpiece holding device X, downward corresponds to facing downward in the vertical direction, and upward corresponds to facing upward in the vertical direction. However, in the present invention, when the workpiece is used as a reference, downward in the workpiece holding device X means the work side, and upward means the opposite side, including cases where, for example, the placement surface on which the workpiece w is placed is inclined from a horizontal plane in the vertical direction.

[0053] Experimental Example 1: Experimental Example 1 was conducted using the workpiece holding device X described above to adhesively hold a test workpiece. In Experimental Example 1, an elastically deformable polyimide film (manufactured by UBE Corporation under the trade name Upilex®) measuring 30 mm wide, 130 mm long, and 0.125 mm thick was used as the strip-shaped substrate 1. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3 , adhesive holding materials 2 measuring 9 mm long, 9 mm wide, and 1 mm thick were attached to the outer surface 1a of the strip-shaped substrate 1 on both sides of the approximate center of the strip-shaped substrate 1 in the longitudinal direction, arranged in two columns and three rows (i.e., six pieces) with a spacing of d = 6 mm between each other, using 0.8 mm thick acrylic adhesive tape. The adhesive holding materials 2 have self-adhesive properties that allow them to adhesively hold the test workpiece due to the van der Waals forces on their surfaces when they come into contact with the test workpiece.

[0054] Furthermore, SUS304 measuring 40 mm wide x 162 mm long x 1 mm thick was used as the load-receiving plate 5. This load-receiving plate 5 was provided with openings 5a corresponding to the positions of the above-mentioned adhesive holding materials 2, through which these could protrude when the work-holding surface was formed.

[0055] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6 , a total of six second adhesive holders 2′ measuring 3 mm × 40 mm × 0.1 mm thick and four second adhesive holders 2′ measuring 3 mm × 35 mm × 0.1 mm thick were attached to the inner surface of the load-receiving plate 5, surrounding each opening 5a. Like the adhesive holder 2, the second adhesive holders 2′ have self-adhesive properties that enable them to adhesively hold the strip-shaped substrate by the van der Waals forces on their surfaces when they come into contact with the strip-shaped substrate. Kapton (registered trademark) tape with a thickness of 0.035 mm was used to attach the second adhesive holders 2′ to the load-receiving plate 5. However, as described below, the adhesive holder 2′ was used to compare the adhesive retention of the test workpiece by the workpiece holding device X with and without it. Experiments were also conducted using a comparative workpiece holding device without the load-receiving plate 5.

[0056] In Experimental Example 1, test workpieces of different weights were prepared as test workpieces to be adhesively held, consisting of A5052 aluminum sheets with polyimide tape attached to their surfaces. As shown in Table 1, nine test workpieces weighing 110 g, 210 g, 300 g, 400 g, 500 g, 600 g, 750 g, 880 g, and 990 g were prepared. Each test workpiece was adhesively held by the workpiece holding device X, and if it could be maintained in a lifted position for one minute, it was deemed a pass (OK). If it fell during the test or could not be lifted while being adhesively held, it was deemed a fail (NG). The results are summarized in Table 1. When removing the adhesively held test workpiece from the workpiece holding device X after a predetermined time, the presence of the load-receiving plate between the adhesive holding material on the strip-shaped substrate and the test workpiece allowed the test workpiece to be easily peeled off.

[0057]

[0058] Experimental Example 2 Experimental Example 2, in which a test workpiece was adhesively held, was conducted in the same manner as Experimental Example 1, except that an elastically deformable SPCC (Steel Plate Cold Commercial) having a width of 30 mm, a length of 130 mm, and a thickness of 0.5 mm was used as the strip-shaped substrate 1. In Experimental Example 2, the test workpiece to be adhesively held was an A5052 aluminum plate with polyimide tape attached to its surface, but as shown in Table 2 below, its weight was slightly different from that in Experimental Example 1. The adhesive holding ability was evaluated in the same manner as in Experimental Example 1. The results are summarized in Table 2. In Experimental Example 2, when the adhesively held test workpiece was to be removed after a predetermined time had elapsed in the workpiece holding device X having a load-receiving plate, the test workpiece could be easily peeled off.

[0059]

[0060] The results of Experimental Examples 1 and 2 show that a workpiece holding device according to the present invention using a load-receiving plate can adhesively hold a larger workpiece weight (holding load) than a workpiece holding device that does not use a load-receiving plate. In particular, by interposing a second adhesive holding material having self-adhesive properties between the load-receiving plate and the strip-shaped substrate, it becomes possible to hold heavier workpieces. Furthermore, since the held workpiece can be separated without applying any particular load to the workpiece when it is removed, this workpiece holding device can be used for a variety of workpiece types and shapes.

[0061] 1: Strip-shaped base material, 2: Adhesive holding material, 3: Locking portion, 4: Base block, 4b: Through hole, 5: Load-receiving plate, 6: Storage frame body, 6a: Leg material, 6b: Middle plate, 7 (7a, 7b): Screw, 8: Pressing rod, 9: Stepping motor, 10: Telescopic shaft, 11: Electric actuator device, 12: Top plate, 13: Connecting support, 14: Linear bushing, 15: Guide shaft, 16: Linear guide jig, 17: Pillar material, 18: Gripping material

Claims

1. A workpiece holding device which holds a workpiece using an adhesive retaining material having self-adhesive properties, comprising: a strip-shaped substrate having the adhesive retaining material attached to one surface thereof and capable of elastic deformation; a base block having a base surface; and a load receiving plate which has an opening located to avoid interference with the adhesive retaining material of the strip-shaped substrate and which supports from below the strip-shaped substrate with the workpiece held by the adhesive retaining material; wherein, when holding a workpiece, the strip-shaped substrate is sandwiched between the load receiving plate and the base block, the other surface of the strip-shaped substrate is brought into close contact with the base surface of the base block, and the adhesive retaining material of the strip-shaped substrate is caused to protrude from the opening in the load receiving plate to form a workpiece holding surface; and, when removing a workpiece, the sandwiching of the strip-shaped substrate between the load receiving plate and the base block is released, the strip-shaped substrate is separated from the base surface of the base block, and the adhesive retaining material of the strip-shaped substrate is retracted from the opening in the load receiving plate to cancel the formation of the workpiece holding surface.

2. A workpiece holding device as described in claim 1, wherein a second adhesive holding material having self-adhesive properties is interposed between said load receiving plate and said strip-shaped base material.

3. A work holding device as described in claim 1, wherein the base block has locking portions on both ends, and both ends of the band-shaped substrate are locked to the locking portions of the base block with the surface having the adhesive retaining material facing outward.

4. A workpiece holding device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a distance adjustment means for adjusting the distance between said load receiving plate and the base surface of said base block.

5. A work holding device as described in claim 1, further comprising a movement restricting means for restricting the movement of the strip-shaped substrate toward the base block in order to separate the other surface of the strip-shaped substrate from the base surface of the base block when removing the workpiece.

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