Patent Application
20240199348
This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0178447 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Dec. 19, 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method of transferring an article.
In general, in order to manufacture a semiconductor device, various types of processes, such as deposition, photography, and etching, are performed, and devices performing each of these processes are arranged in a semiconductor manufacturing line. Objects, such as wafers or masks, for performing a semiconductor device manufacturing process may be provided to each semiconductor process device in a state of being accommodated in a container. Additionally, the processed objects may be transferred in the state of being container in the container.
The container is transferred by the Overhead Hoist Transport (hereinafter, referred to as a container transferring device). The container transferring device transfers a container containing an object to a load port of one of the semiconductor process devices. The container transferring device may also pick up the container containing the processed object from the load port and transfer the container to the outside, or transfer the container to another one of the semiconductor process devices.
The container transferring device is designed to transfer one type of container. In order for the container transferring device to transfer containers of different sizes, the set position of the drop preventing body needs be changed according to the size of the container.
The present invention has been made in an effort to provide an article transferring apparatus and an article transferring method capable of transferring an article of a different size.
The present invention has also been made in an effort to provide an article transferring apparatus and an article transferring method capable of solving problems that may occur in a process of transferring heterogeneous articles through an interlock device.
The object of the present invention is not limited thereto, and other objects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art from the following description.
An aspect of the present invention provides an apparatus for transferring an article, the apparatus including: a vehicle moving along a moving rail installed on a ceiling; a main body connected to the vehicle and providing an interior space in which an article is located; a hoist module provided in the main body, and for hoisting a belt by winding or unwinding the belt; a hand unit fixed at one end of the belt and for gripping the article; and a drop preventing member provided in the main body, and for preventing the article from dropping during moving of the vehicle, in which the drop preventing member includes support pins provided at different heights depending on types of article.
Further, the drop preventing member may further include a plate on which the support pins are installed, and the support pins may include: first support pins supporting a first article; and second support pins for supporting a second article and a third article with a larger area than the first article, and the first support pins have lower heights than the second support pins.
Further, the second support pins may have inclined surfaces that align the first article when the first article is coupled to the first support pins.
Further, the apparatus may further include: a first detection unit provided in the main body and detecting the article; and a control unit for determining a type of article according to a detection signal of the first detection unit.
Further, the first detection unit may detect the article at a home position where the article waits for a period of time before the hoist module seats the article on the drop preventing member.
Further, the first detection unit may include: a first sensor for detecting the article at a first height; a second sensor for detecting the article at a second height lower than the first height, and the control unit may determine the article as a first article when the first sensor and the second sensor do not detect the article, determine the article as a third article when the first sensor and the second sensor detect the article, and determine the article as a second article when the first sensor detects the article and the second sensor does not detect the article.
Further, the control unit may control a descending motion of the hoist module so that a descending distance of the hand unit varies depending on the type of article.
Further, when the article is determined as the first article, the control unit descends the hand unit by a first height, when the article is determined as the second article, the control unit descends the hand unit by a second height, and when the article is determined as the third article, the control unit descends the hand unit by a third height.
Further, the apparatus may further include a second detection unit for detecting a descending height of the hand unit, in which the second detection unit may include: a dog bar provided to be moved with the hand unit; a first sensor for detecting the dog bar when the hand unit is moved by the first height; a second sensor for detecting the dog bar when the hand unit is moved by the second height; and a third sensor for detecting the dog bar when the hand unit is moved by the third height.
Further, the apparatus may further include a third detection unit for detecting whether a gripper of the hand unit is gripping a flange of the article.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a method of transferring an article, the method including: (a) when a hand unit grips an article located in a storage place, hoisting the article to a home position of a main body by a hoist module connected with the hand unit; (b) in a state where the article located at the home position of the main body, moving a drop preventing member to a position for preventing the article from dropping; and (c) placing the article located at the home position of the main body on the drop preventing member, in which in the operation (c), the article is placed to be supported on at least one of first support pins and second support pins of the drop preventing member, the first support pins and the second support pins supporting the article at different heights.
Further, the method may further include an article determining operation for detecting the article located at the home position of the main body and determining a type of article, before the operation (b) or the operation (c).
Further, the article determining operation may include determining three types of article based on whether a first sensor detecting an article at a first height and a second sensor detecting an article at a second height lower than the first height detect the article, and when the first sensor and the second sensor do not detect the article, the article may be determined as a first article, when the first sensor and the second sensor detect the article, the article may be determined as a third article, and when the first sensor detects the article and the second sensor does not detect the article, the article may be determined as a second article.
Further, the operation (c) may include controlling a descending motion of the hoist module so that a descending distance of the hand unit varies depending on the type of article determined in the article determining operation.
Further, the operation (c) may include: when the article is determined as the first article, descending the hand unit by a first height, when the article is determined as the second article, descending the hand unit by a second height, and when the article is determined as the third article, descending the hand unit by a third height.
Further, the operation (c) may further include detecting a descending height of the hand unit.
Further, the method may further include detecting whether a gripper of the hand unit properly grips a flange of the article in the operation (a).
Still another aspect of the present invention provides an apparatus for of transferring an article, the apparatus including: a vehicle moving along a moving rail installed on a ceiling; a main body connected to the vehicle and providing an interior space in which an article is located; a hoist module provided in the main body, and for hoisting a belt by winding or unwinding the belt; a hand unit fixed at one end of the belt and for gripping the article; and a drop preventing member provided in the main body, and for preventing the article from dropping during moving of the vehicle; a first detection unit provided in the main body and for detecting an article; and a control unit for determining a type of article according to a detection signal of the first detection unit, in which the drop preventing member may include: a plate positioned in a lower portion of the interior space by a driving unit; first support pins provided on the plate and supporting a first article; and second support pins provided on the plate, supporting a second article and a third article with a larger area than the first article, and having higher heights than the first support pins, and the first detection unit detects the article at a home position where the article waits for a period of time before the hoist module seats the article on the drop preventing member.
Further, the second support pins may have inclined surfaces that align the first article when the first article is coupled to the first support pins, and the first detection unit may include: a first sensor for detecting the article at a first height; a second sensor for detecting the article at a second height lower than the first height, and the control unit may determine the article as a first article when the first sensor and the second sensor do not detect the article, determine the article as a third article when the first sensor and the second sensor detect the article, and determine the article as a second article when the first sensor detects the article and the second sensor does not detect the article.
Further, the control unit may control a descending motion of the hoist module so that a descending distance of the hand unit varies depending on the type of article, and the apparatus may further include: a second detection unit for detecting a descending height of the hand unit; and a third detection unit for detecting whether a gripper of the hand unit is gripping a flange of the article.
Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments.
Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.
When the term “same” or “identical” is used in the description of example embodiments, it should be understood that some imprecisions may exist. Thus, when one element or value is referred to as being the same as another element or value, it should be understood that the element or value is the same as the other element or value within a manufacturing or operational tolerance range (e.g., ±10%).
When the terms “about” or “substantially” are used in connection with a numerical value, it should be understood that the associated numerical value includes a manufacturing or operational tolerance (e.g., ±10%) around the stated numerical value. Moreover, when the words “generally” and “substantially” are used in connection with a geometric shape, it should be understood that the precision of the geometric shape is not required but that latitude for the shape is within the scope of the disclosure.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which example embodiments belong. It will be further understood that terms, including those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
As illustrated in
In the present exemplary embodiment, the article transferring apparatus 100 transfers the article 20 to the transfer destination place 10 in a transferring facility having a plurality of transferring destination places 10. The article 20 is an object to be transferred, and may be, for example, a single article or a combination of multiple articles, such as a received object and a container for receiving the received article. In the present exemplary embodiment, the article 20 may be a container (Mask SMIF POD) that receives a photomask. Different types of mask SMIF POD include RSP-150, RSP-200, and EUV-POD, depending on their size.
The article transferring apparatus 100 may transfer articles of various sizes. As illustrated in
In the present exemplary embodiment, the transferring destination place 10 may include a processing device 12 and a loading place 14 for the article 20 to be loaded. For example, the processing device 12 may be a device that processes the semiconductor substrate and/or processes the photomask by withdrawing the photomask from the article 20 located at the loading place 14. As illustrated in
The transferring path 30 may be defined by a moving rail 32 connected to the ceiling. Further, the loading place 14 may be installed below the moving rail 32 and overlapping the moving rail 32 in top plan view (see
In the present exemplary embodiment, the article transferring apparatus 100 may be an Overhead Hoist Transport (OHT) device. The article transferring apparatus 1000 may travel the moving rail 32 to transfer the article 20 to the transferring destination place 10. In the present exemplary embodiment, the plurality of the article transferring apparatuses 100 is provided in the transferring facility. Further, as illustrated in
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on the case where the article transferring apparatus 100 transfers a container containing a photomask to semiconductor process devices disposed on a semiconductor manufacturing line. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the article transferring apparatus of the present exemplary embodiment may be equally or similarly applied to various manufacturing lines requiring transferring of articles and/or containers in which articles are accommodated.
As illustrated in
In the present exemplary embodiment, the article transferring apparatus 100 may be a transferring vehicle including a vehicle 200, a vehicle main body 800, a hoist module 300, a hand unit 400, a drop preventing member 700, a first detection unit 510, a second detection unit 520, a third detection unit 530, and a control unit 900.
The vehicle 200 is a moving module that travels along the moving rail 32 provided along the ceiling of a semiconductor manufacturing line by a separate driving unit. The vehicle 200 may include a body 210 having driving wheels 212 on both sides. An actuator (for example, a driving motor) for rotating the driving wheel 212 may be provided in the body 210. The body 210 travels along the moving rail 32. Specifically, the body 210 may travel while the travel wheels 212 rotate in a state of being in contact with the moving rail 32. Meanwhile, a top surface of the body 210 may be provided with a steering wheel 218. The steering wheel 218 is configured to be movable along a horizontal direction perpendicular to the direction of travel of the body 210. For example, the steering wheel 218 may move in a left and right direction of the body 210. The steering wheel 218 may selectively contact a straight steering rail (not illustrated) to guide straight driving and a diverging steering rail (not illustrated) to guide diverging driving.
The vehicle main body 800 is connected to the vehicle 200 below the moving rail 32. The upper side of the vehicle main body 800 may be connected to the lower side of the vehicle 200 by at least one connection part. The vehicle main body 800 provides an interior space 802 in which the article 20 is located.
The vehicle main body 800 may be formed to have a structure having open both sides and lower side to allow the article 20 to be moved in the left-right direction and in a downward direction in the interior space 802. Here, both sides may be perpendicular to the moving direction of the article transferring apparatus 100.
For example, the hoist module 300 may load and unload the article 20. The hoist module 300 unloads the article 20 from the loading place to the interior space 802, or loads the article 20 from the interior space 802 to the loading place. The article 20 is transferred through the open bottom surface of the vehicle main body 800. The hoist module 300 may be provided in the vehicle main body 800. The hoist module 300 includes a hoisting unit 330 for hoisting the hand unit 400.
The hoisting unit 330 moves the hand unit 400 in an up and down direction. The hosting unit 330 may include a driving unit 332 and a hosting belt 336. The hosting belt 336 of the hosting unit 330 may be connected to the hand unit 400. The hosting belt 336 may move the hand unit 400 in an upward and downward direction by a driving force generated by the driving unit 332. For example, the driving unit 332 may generate driving force to wind or unwind the hoisting belt 336 to move the hand unit 400 in the upward or downward direction. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the hosting unit 330 may be modified into a variety of known devices that can hoist the hand unit 400.
he hand unit 400 is coupled to the hoist module 300. The hand unit 400 may be connected to the hoist module 300 through the plurality of hosting belts 336 and may include a gripper 420 for gripping the article 20. Additionally, the article 20 may include a flange 28 configured to be gripped by the gripper 420. The gripper 420 grips or ungrips the flange 28 of the article 20. Although not illustrated, the hand unit 400 may include a gripper driving unit (not illustrated) for driving the gripper 420. For example, the gripper driving unit may operate the gripper 420 by using a cam plate and a cam follower, and may also include a motor, a ball screw, and the like for moving the cam plate. However, the configuration of the hand unit 400 itself may be varied, and the scope of the present invention will not be limited thereby.
The drop preventing member 700 is provided in the vehicle main body 800. The drop preventing member 700 prevents the drop of the article 20 during moving of the vehicle 200. For example, even when the article is in danger of being abnormally dropped, for example, when the hand unit abnormally releases its grip on the article, the drop preventing member 700 also serves to prevent the drop of the article.
Referring to
The support pins 720 and 730 are provided to regulate the horizontal movement of the article 20. The support pins 720 and 730 may restrict the article 20 from being moved in the front and rear direction or transverse width direction beyond a set range. The support pins 720 and 730 may include a first support pin 720 and a second support pin 730.
The first support pins 720 may be provided on the plate 710 to support the first article 21. The second support pins 730 may be provided on the plate 710 to support the second article 22. Heights of the second support pins 730 may be treater than heights of the first support pins 720.
Referring to
As illustrated in
Referring again to
Here, a higher-level controller 90 may be an OHT Control System (OCS) that provides integrated control management of a plurality of article transferring apparatuses to be inserted for the purpose of transferring the article in the semiconductor manufacturing process. The higher-level controller 90 receives the transfer instructions from a Manufacturing Control System (MCS), which integrally manages the manufacturing device and logistics system. In order to ensure that the transfer operation is completed in the shortest amount of time, the high-level controller may issue a transfer instruction to the article transferring apparatus to navigate the shortest route from the origin to the destination and select an article transferring apparatus that is optimally positioned to perform the transfer operation. At this time, loading/unloading information of the article is also provided to the control unit 900.
The first detection unit 510 may be installed on an interior side of the vehicle main body 800 to detect the type of articles 21, 22, and 23. The first detection unit 510 detects the articles 21, 22, and 23 in the home position. The home position is where the articles 21, 22, and 23 wait for a short period of time before the hoist module 300 seats the article on the drop preventing member 700.
The first article 21, the second article 22, and the third article 23 have different sizes (heights). For example, the first sensor 512 is disposed below the first article 21 present at the home position, and the second sensor 514 is disposed below the second article 22 present at the home position. The second sensor 514 is disposed above the third article 23 present at the home position.
The control unit 900 may determine a type of article according to the detection signal from the first detection unit 510.
The control unit 900 determines a type of article as the first article 21 when the first sensor 512 and the second sensor 514 do not detect the article, determines a type of article as the third article 23 when the first sensor 512 and the second sensor 514 detect the article, and determines a type of article as the second article when the first sensor 512 detects the article and the second sensor 514 does not detect the article.
The control unit 900 controls the descending motion of the hoist module 300 such that the lowering distance of the hand unit 400 varies depending on the type of article.
Referring to
The second detection unit 520 detects a descending height of the hand unit 400 that has been moved from the home position to the support position at which the article is supported on the drop preventing member 700. The second detection unit 520 may include a dog bar 522, and a first sensor 525, a second sensor 526, and a third sensor 527. The dog bar 522 is provided to be moved with the hand unit 400.
The first sensor 525, the second sensor 526, and the third sensor 527 may be installed on the hoist module 300. However, the installation locations of the sensors are not limited thereto, and may also be installed on the vehicle main body 800. The first sensor 525 detects the dog bar 522 when the hand unit 400 is moved by the first height L1 (see
Referring to
The article transferring apparatus 100 including the configuration as described above may determine the size of the article 20, and may safely place the article from the home position to the support position based on the size of the article.
An article transferring method in the article transferring apparatus of the present invention is as follows.
First, when the hand unit 400 grips the article 20 located in a storage place, the hoist module 300 connected with the hand unit 400 hoists the article 20 to a home position on the vehicle main body 800. The third detection unit 530 detects whether the gripper 420 of the hand unit 400 has properly gripped the flange 28 of the article 20.
In the state where the article 20 is located at the home position on the vehicle main body 800, the drop preventing member 700 is moved to a position to prevent the article 20 from dropping.
The article 20 is then moved from the home position of the vehicle main body 800 to the support position of the drop preventing member 700.
Before the article 20 is placed on the drop preventing member 700, the first detection unit 510 detects the article 20 located at the home position and the control unit 900 determines the type of article 20. The control unit 900 may determine three types of article based on whether the first sensor 512 detecting the article at the first height detects the article and whether the second sensor 514 detecting the article at the second height detects the article.
When the control unit 900 completes the determination of the article, the control unit 900 controls the descending motion of the hoist module 300 such that a descending distance of the hand unit 400 varies depending on the type of article determined. For example, in the case of the first article 21, the hand unit 400 descends by the first height, in the case of the second article 22, the hand unit 400 descends by the second height, and in the case of the third article 23, the hand unit 400 descends by the third height. The second detection unit 520 detects the position of the downwardly moved hand unit 400 (double interlock function). The detection signal from the second detection unit 520 is provided to the control unit 900. Based on the detection signal, the control unit 900 may verify whether the hand unit 400 is in a normal position.
In the foregoing exemplary embodiments, the method is described on the basis of a flow chart as a series of operations or blocks, but the present invention is not limited to the order of operations, and the operations of the present invention may occur in a different order or concurrently with other operations as described above. Further, those skilled in the art will understand that the operations illustrated in the flow chart are not exclusive, and that other operations may be included or one or more operations of the flow chart may be deleted without affecting the scope of the present invention.
The foregoing exemplary embodiments are presented for helping the understanding of the present invention, and do not limit the scope of the present invention, and it should be understood that various modified exemplary embodiments from the foregoing exemplary embodiments are also included in the scope of the present invention. The technical protection scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical spirit of the claims, and it should be understood that the technical protection scope of the present invention is not limited to the literal description of the claims itself, but is substantially equivalent to the technical value.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2022-0178447 | Dec 2022 | KR | national |
