Guide Wheel Carriage for Jam-Resistant Multi-Floor Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing transfer apparatuses in semiconductor manufacturing equipment face challenges in stable and efficient transfer of articles across multiple floors due to external forces and potential jamming issues caused by machining or assembly errors, which affect the reliability and precision of the transfer process.
Innovation Solution
The transfer apparatus incorporates a driving module with a linear motor and a carriage module equipped with guide wheels that can move relative to their brackets in specific directions, supported by springs for elastic contact with guide rails, allowing for stable movement and preventing jamming by accommodating machining and assembly errors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If guide wheels are fixed rigidly to brackets, then structural stability is improved, but machining and assembly errors cause jamming
Solution Approach 1:
The guide wheels are configured to move relative to their brackets along guide holes, transforming the rigid fixed connection into a dynamic adjustable connection. This allows the guide wheels to automatically compensate for machining and assembly errors through relative movement, preventing jamming while maintaining structural stability during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The position of guide wheels relative to brackets is made variable through guide holes, allowing automatic adjustment of parameters (position) to accommodate machining tolerances and assembly variations. This parameter flexibility resolves the contradiction between rigid stability and error tolerance.
2Reliability
If guide wheels are made movable relative to brackets, then accommodation of machining errors is improved, but structural stability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The guide wheels are configured to move relative to their brackets along guide holes, transforming the rigid fixed connection into a dynamic adjustable connection. This allows the guide wheels to automatically compensate for machining and assembly errors through relative movement, preventing jamming while maintaining structural stability during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The movable guide wheel configuration creates a self-adjusting mechanism that automatically finds the optimal position, effectively equalizing the potential for error accommodation across different assembly variations, thereby maintaining stability despite initial tolerances.
3Power
If external forces act on the carriage module, then transfer function is improved, but positioning precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The spring members provide elastic counter-forces to external forces acting on the carriage module. When external forces push the carriage against the guide rails, the springs compress and generate opposing elastic forces, preventing excessive contact pressure and maintaining positioning precision while still allowing force-driven movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring members pre-compress to create elastic cushioning that absorbs external forces before they can cause positioning errors. This beforehand cushioning protects the positioning system from the full impact of external forces, maintaining precision during the transfer process.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration ensures stable and precise transfer of articles across multiple floors by canceling external forces and preventing jamming, enhancing the reliability and efficiency of the transfer process in semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
Implementation Method 1
a spring which is provided inside the through-hole of the first wheel connection block to surround a side surface of the first bolt and is configured to elastically support the first wheel connection block in the first horizontal direction
Implementation Method 2
the main rail includes a linear motor coil to which electric power is applied, and the moving block includes a linear motor magnet
Data Source
AI summary
A transfer apparatus includes a first guide rail, a second guide rail, a driving module including a main rail and a moving block that moves along the main rail, and a carriage module coupled to the moving block and supporting an article, wherein the carriage module includes first guide wheels configured to be in rolling contact with the first guide rail and second side guide wheels configured to be in rolling contact with the second guide rail.