TWI859799B - Miniature warehousing device - Google Patents

Abstract

A miniature warehousing device, which can be disposed at one side of a process equipment, includes a frame, a horizontal transfer facility, an elevating transfer facility and a carrier. The frame includes a plurality of storage spaces for storing object containers, such as wafer cassette. The frame includes a vertical transfer passage and a lateral transfer passage, so that the carrier can move in the vertical transfer passage and the lateral transfer passage. The carrier can move in a horizontal direction and a lateral direction by the horizontal transfer facility and the elevating transfer facility, respectively, to move the object container. At least one column of the storage spaces is a movable storage space that is connected to a moving mechanism. The moving mechanism can drive the whole column of the movable storage space to move horizontally, so as to change the position of the vertical transfer passage. Therefore, the vertical transfer passage can be switched in response to needs, and the carrier can pick or place the object container conveniently. It does not need many vertical transfer passages. The size of the mechanism can be reduced that can be applied in a narrow warehousing device with a limited space.

Description

Small storage unit

The present invention relates to a small storage device, in particular to a small storage device that can be arranged between a transfer device (such as an overhead crane) and a process equipment so that an object container can be exchanged between the transfer device and the process equipment.

With the development of the semiconductor industry, integrated circuits need to go through multiple complicated processing procedures, such as etching, grinding, diffusion and deposition, before they can be produced. Currently, whether it is between interbays or intrabays, most of the wafers are transported by overhead hoist transport systems, and a storage device is usually required between the overhead hoist and the process equipment to temporarily store the wafer boxes. However, if the existing storage device needs to set up multiple vertical transport channels, it will take up a large space and is difficult to apply to limited and narrow occasions.

The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a small storage device for the shortcomings of the prior art, which does not require the installation of multiple straight transport channels and can reduce the size of the mechanism, and can be applied to storage devices with limited space and narrow lengths.

In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a small storage device that can be installed on one side of a process equipment. The small storage device includes: a frame, the frame includes a plurality of storage locations that can be used to store object containers, the storage locations are arranged in upper and lower layers, and each layer has a plurality of the storage locations, and the plurality of the storage locations on each layer are arranged in a row along a horizontal direction. The frame is arranged into multiple rows in a lifting direction, and the frame is provided with at least one horizontal transport channel and at least one vertical transport channel, the horizontal transport channel extends along the horizontal direction, the vertical transport channel extends along the lifting direction, and the vertical transport channel is connected with the horizontal transport channel; a horizontal transfer mechanism, the horizontal transfer mechanism extends a predetermined length along the horizontal direction, and the horizontal transfer mechanism is provided on one side of the frame; a lifting and transferring mechanism, which is arranged on the horizontal transferring mechanism, the horizontal transferring mechanism can drive the lifting and transferring mechanism to move along the horizontal direction, the lifting and transferring mechanism extends a predetermined length along the lifting direction, and the lifting and transferring mechanism is arranged on one side of the frame; a supporting member, which is arranged on the lifting and transferring mechanism, the lifting and transferring mechanism can drive the supporting member to move along the lifting direction to take and place the object container; and a moving mechanism; wherein the storage positions include a plurality of movable storage positions, the movable storage positions are arranged in at least one row along the lifting direction, the movable storage positions are connected to the moving mechanism, and the moving mechanism can drive the movable storage positions to move along the horizontal direction to change the position of the vertical transport channel.

The beneficial effect of the present invention is that the small storage device provided by the present invention includes a frame, a horizontal transfer mechanism, a lifting and transferring mechanism, a carrier and a moving mechanism. The frame includes a plurality of storage positions that can be used to store object containers. The frame is provided with at least one transverse transport channel and at least one vertical transport channel, and the vertical transport channel is connected to the transverse transport channel. The lifting and transferring mechanism is arranged on the horizontal transfer mechanism, and the horizontal transfer mechanism can drive the lifting and transferring mechanism to move in the horizontal direction. The carrier is arranged on the lifting and transferring mechanism, and the lifting and transferring mechanism can drive the carrier to move in the lifting direction to take and place the object container. The storage spaces include multiple movable storage spaces, which are arranged in at least one row along the lifting direction. The movable storage spaces are connected to a moving mechanism, which can drive the movable storage spaces to move horizontally to change the position of the vertical transport channel. Therefore, it is not necessary to set up multiple vertical transport channels, and the size of the mechanism can be reduced, which can be applied to storage devices with limited space and narrow length.

To further understand the features and technical contents of the present invention, please refer to the following detailed description and drawings of the present invention. However, the drawings provided are only used for reference and description and are not used to limit the present invention.

The following is an explanation of the relevant implementation methods disclosed by the present invention through specific concrete embodiments. Those skilled in the art can understand the advantages and effects of the present invention from the contents disclosed in this specification. The present invention can be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and the details in this specification can also be modified and changed in various ways based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the concept of the present invention. In addition, the drawings of the present invention are only simple schematic illustrations and are not depicted according to actual sizes. Please note in advance. The following implementation methods will further explain the relevant technical contents of the present invention in detail, but the disclosed contents are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. In addition, the term "or" used in this article may include any one or more combinations of the related listed items depending on the actual situation.

[Example]

Please refer to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 , the present invention provides a small storage device that can be installed on one side of a process equipment 200 (as shown in FIG. 2 ), so that the small storage device can be installed between a transfer device (such as an overhead crane) and the process equipment 200, so that the object container 100 can be exchanged between the transfer device and the process equipment 200. The small storage device includes a frame 1, a horizontal transfer mechanism 2, a lifting transfer mechanism 3, a carrier 4 and a moving mechanism 5.

The rack 1 is a narrow body, and includes a plurality of storage locations 11, which can be used to store object containers 100. The object containers 100 can be wafer boxes or photomask boxes, etc., and are not limited. The storage locations 11 are arranged in multiple layers, and each layer has multiple storage locations 11. The multiple storage locations 11 on each layer are arranged in a row along a horizontal direction A, that is, the multiple storage locations 11 on each layer are at the same horizontal height. The storage locations 11 are arranged in multiple rows along a lifting direction B, and the lifting direction B is perpendicular to the horizontal direction A. The lifting direction B is a vertical direction perpendicular to the horizontal direction A.

The frame 1 is provided with at least one transverse transport channel 12 and at least one vertical transport channel 13. One transverse transport channel 12 can be provided and one vertical transport channel 13 can also be provided. However, the number of transverse transport channels 12 and vertical transport channels 13 is not limited. The transverse transport channel 12 extends along the horizontal direction A, and the vertical transport channel 13 extends along the lifting direction B. The vertical transport channel 13 is connected to the transverse transport channel 12. Preferably, the transverse transport channel 12 is located below the storage positions 11, and the lower end of the vertical transport channel 13 is connected to the transverse transport channel 12. The transverse transport channel 12 and the vertical transport channel 13 are a space without the storage positions 11. The carrier 4 can move in the transverse transport channel 12 and the vertical transport channel 13, so that the carrier 4 will not interfere with the storage positions 11. Preferably, the upper end of the vertical transport channel 13 is open, and the side of the vertical transport channel 13 facing the carrier 4 is open, so that the carrier 4 can enter and exit the vertical transport channel 13.

The horizontal transfer mechanism 2 is an elongated body, and the horizontal transfer mechanism 2 extends a predetermined length along the horizontal direction A. The horizontal transfer mechanism 2 is arranged on one side of the frame 1, and the horizontal transfer mechanism 2 can be fixed to the frame 1. The horizontal transfer mechanism 2 can be an electric slide, which has high precision and good assembly rigidity, but is not limited thereto. The horizontal transfer mechanism 2 can also be other existing transmission mechanisms, such as a screw group, a belt group, a gear group or a chain group driven by a motor. The horizontal transfer mechanism 2 is arranged at a side interval of the storage positions 11, and the storage positions 11 are all located within the transfer stroke of the horizontal transfer mechanism 2.

The lifting and transferring mechanism 3 is arranged on the horizontal transfer mechanism 2 so as to use the horizontal transfer mechanism 2 to drive the lifting and transferring mechanism 3 and the supporting member 4 to move along the horizontal direction A. The lifting and transferring mechanism 3 is an elongated body, and the lifting and transferring mechanism 3 is arranged vertically. The lifting and transferring mechanism 3 extends a predetermined length (height) along the lifting direction B. The lifting and transferring mechanism 3 is arranged on one side of the frame 1, and can use the lifting and transferring mechanism 3 to drive the supporting member 4 to move along the lifting direction B. The lifting and transferring mechanism 3 can be an electric slide with high precision and good assembly rigidity, but it is not limited. The lifting and transferring mechanism 3 can also be other existing transmission mechanisms, such as a screw group, a belt group, a gear group or a chain group driven by a motor. The lifting and transferring mechanism 3 is disposed at a side interval of the storage positions 11 , and the storage positions 11 are all located within the transfer stroke of the lifting and transferring mechanism 3 .

The carrier 4 can be a carrier device such as a fork, and the carrier 4 is arranged on the lifting and transferring mechanism 3, and the lifting and transferring mechanism 3 can drive the carrier 4 to move along the lifting direction B to take and place the object container 100. The carrier 4 can use the horizontal transfer mechanism 2 and the lifting and transferring mechanism 3 to transmit horizontal transfer and lifting and transferring respectively, so that when the carrier 4 carries the object container 100, the horizontal transfer mechanism 2 and the lifting and transferring mechanism 3 can be used to transmit horizontal transfer and lifting and transferring of the object container 100 respectively, so that the object container 100 can be transferred to an appropriate storage position 11, so that the object container 100 can be exchanged between the transfer device (such as an overhead crane) and the process equipment 200.

The storage locations 11 include a plurality of movable storage locations 11a, which are arranged in at least one row along the lifting direction B. The number of the movable storage locations 11a can be two, three, four or five, etc., and the movable storage locations 11a are arranged in at least one row in a relatively straight line. Preferably, the movable storage locations 11a are arranged near the middle of the frame 1. When the movable storage locations 11a are removed, a straight transport channel 13 can be formed, which can be used to accommodate the carrier 4 and transport the object containers 100 in the storage locations 11 on both sides of the straight transport channel 13.

The movable storage positions 11a are connected to a moving mechanism 5, and the moving mechanism 5 can drive the entire row of movable storage positions 11a to move along the horizontal direction A to change the position of the straight transport channel 13 (as shown in Figures 1 and 4), so that the straight transport channel 13 can be freely switched according to the use of the storage positions 11. When it is necessary to take or place an object container 100 in a certain row of storage positions 11, the moving mechanism 5 can be used to drive the entire row of movable storage positions 11a to move, so that the straight transport channel 13 moves to one side of the row of storage positions 11, so that the carrier 4 can take or place the object container 100.

The moving mechanism 5 is an elongated body, and the moving mechanism 5 extends a predetermined length along the horizontal direction A. The moving mechanism 5 can be fixed to the frame 1, and the moving mechanism 5 can be used to drive the movable storage positions 11a to move along the horizontal direction A. After the movable storage positions 11a are moved away, space can be made to form a straight transport channel 13. The moving mechanism 5 can be an electric slide, which has high precision and good assembly rigidity, but it is not limited to this. The moving mechanism 5 can also be other existing transmission mechanisms, such as a screw group, a belt group, a gear group or a chain group driven by a motor. Preferably, the movable storage positions 11a can be fixed on a linking member 51, and the movable storage positions 11a can be arranged on one side of the linking member 51. The linking member 51 extends along the lifting direction B, and can be used to arrange an appropriate number of movable storage positions 11a, and the movable storage positions 11a are respectively aligned with the storage positions 11 in the horizontal direction A. The linking member 51 is connected to the moving mechanism 5, and the moving mechanism 5 can drive the movable storage positions 11a to move stably through the linking member 51, so as to switch the position of the vertical transport channel 13.

In addition, as shown in Figures 5 and 6, in this embodiment, the supporting member 4 adopts a foldable design, and the supporting member 4 is pivoted on a lifting seat 6 so that the supporting member 4 can rotate on the lifting seat 6. The supporting member 4 is arranged on the lifting and transferring mechanism 3 through the lifting seat 6, and the lifting and transferring mechanism 3 can drive the lifting seat 6 and the supporting member 4 to move along the lifting direction B. The carrier 4 is connected to a driving module 7, which can be an electric module or a pneumatic module, etc. The driving module 7 can be fixed on the lifting seat 6. The carrier 4 can be driven by the driving module 7. The carrier 4 can rotate up and down on the lifting seat 6 so that the carrier 4 can be folded to one side (upward or downward) (as shown in FIG. 5). The carrier 4 can also rotate left and right on the lifting seat 6 so that the carrier 4 can be folded to one side (left or right) (as shown in FIG. 6). The supporting member 4 can be driven by the driving module 7 to be stored to one side and in a folded state, so that the supporting member 4 can be moved arbitrarily without interfering with the storage positions 11. Therefore, the supporting member 4 is not limited to moving in the horizontal transport channel 12 and the vertical transport channel 13, but can move in other directions such as diagonal directions, so that the supporting member 4 can be quickly moved to a fixed position to save time and increase utilization rate.

[Beneficial Effects of Embodiments]

The beneficial effect of the present invention is that the small storage device provided by the present invention includes a frame, a horizontal transfer mechanism, a lifting and transferring mechanism, a carrier and a moving mechanism. The frame includes a plurality of storage positions that can be used to store object containers. The frame is provided with at least one transverse transport channel and at least one vertical transport channel, and the vertical transport channel is connected to the transverse transport channel. The lifting and transferring mechanism is arranged on the horizontal transfer mechanism, and the horizontal transfer mechanism can drive the lifting and transferring mechanism to move in the horizontal direction. The carrier is arranged on the lifting and transferring mechanism, and the lifting and transferring mechanism can drive the carrier to move in the lifting direction to take and place the object container. The storage spaces include multiple movable storage spaces, which are arranged in at least one row along the lifting direction. The movable storage spaces are connected to a moving mechanism, which can drive the movable storage spaces to move horizontally to change the position of the vertical transport channel. Therefore, it is not necessary to set up multiple vertical transport channels, and the size of the mechanism can be reduced, which can be applied to storage devices with limited space and narrow length.

The contents disclosed above are only preferred feasible embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the patent application of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent technical changes made using the contents of the specification and drawings of the present invention are included in the scope of the patent application of the present invention.

1: Frame 11: Storage 11a: Movable storage 12: Horizontal transport channel 13: Vertical transport channel 2: Horizontal transfer mechanism 3: Lifting transfer mechanism 4: Carrying parts 5: Moving mechanism 51: Connecting parts 6: Lifting seat 7: Driving module A: Horizontal direction B: Lifting direction 100: Object container 200: Process equipment

FIG. 1 is a front view schematic diagram of a small storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view schematic diagram of a small storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic top view of a small storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the use status of the small storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view schematic diagram of a carrier according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic top view of a carrier according to another embodiment of the present invention.

1: Frame 11: Storage 11a: Movable storage 12: Horizontal transport channel 13: Vertical transport channel 2: Horizontal transfer mechanism 3: Lifting transfer mechanism 5: Moving mechanism 51: Linkage A: Horizontal direction B: Lifting direction 100: Object container

Claims (8)

A small storage device can be installed on one side of a process equipment. The small storage device includes: a frame, the frame includes a plurality of storage locations, which can be used to store object containers. The storage locations are arranged in multiple layers, and each layer has a plurality of the storage locations. The plurality of storage locations on each layer are arranged in a row along a horizontal direction. The storage locations are arranged in multiple columns along a lifting direction. The frame is provided with at least one horizontal transport channel and at least one vertical transport channel. The frame body comprises a horizontal transport channel, the horizontal transport channel extends along the horizontal direction, the vertical transport channel extends along the lifting direction, and the vertical transport channel is connected to the horizontal transport channel; a horizontal transfer mechanism, the horizontal transfer mechanism extends a predetermined length along the horizontal direction, and the horizontal transfer mechanism is arranged on one side of the frame body; a lifting transfer mechanism, the lifting transfer mechanism is arranged on the horizontal transfer mechanism, and the horizontal transfer mechanism can drive the lifting mechanism to move the lifting mechanism. The lowering and transferring mechanism moves along the horizontal direction, the lifting and transferring mechanism extends a predetermined length along the lifting direction, and the lifting and transferring mechanism is arranged on one side of the frame; a carrier, the carrier is arranged on the lifting and transferring mechanism, the lifting and transferring mechanism can drive the carrier to move along the lifting direction to take and place the object container; and a moving mechanism; wherein the upper end of the vertical transport channel is open, and the horizontal transport channel is located at Below the storage positions, the lower end of the vertical transport channel is connected to the horizontal transport channel, and the vertical transport channel is open on the side facing the carrier; the storage positions include a plurality of movable storage positions, which are arranged in at least one row along the lifting direction, and are connected to the moving mechanism, which can drive the movable storage positions to move along the horizontal direction to change the position of the vertical transport channel. A small storage device as described in claim 1, wherein the movable storage spaces are arranged near the middle of the frame. A small storage device as described in claim 1, wherein the movable storage locations are fixed on a linkage, the linkage is connected to the moving mechanism, and the moving mechanism can drive the movable storage locations to move through the linkage. A small storage device as described in claim 3, wherein the movable storage positions are arranged on one side of the connecting member, and the connecting member extends along the lifting direction. The small storage device as described in claim 1, wherein the horizontal transfer mechanism and the lifting transfer mechanism are electric slides. A small storage device as described in claim 1, wherein the movable storage locations are aligned with the storage locations in the horizontal direction. As described in claim 1, the small storage device, wherein the carrier is pivoted on a lifting seat, the carrier can rotate on the lifting seat, the carrier is arranged on the lifting and transferring mechanism through the lifting seat, the carrier is connected to a driving module, the carrier can be driven by the driving module, so that the carrier can be stored to one side and be in a folded state. A small storage device as described in claim 7, wherein the carrier can be rotated up and down or left and right on the lifting seat so that the carrier can be folded to one side.

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