Handling: hand and hoist-line implements – Utilizing fluid pressure – Venturi effect
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-11
2002-10-01
Lillis, Eileen D. (Department: 3652)
Handling: hand and hoist-line implements
Utilizing fluid pressure
Venturi effect
Reexamination Certificate
active
06457759
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an adsorption pen, and more particularly to an adsorption pen improved in operability for handling wafers, pellets cut from a wafer and IC packages with sealed pellets.
In the processes for manufacturing various semiconductor devices, the adsorption pen is used for handling wafers, pellets cut from a wafer and IC packages with sealed pellets. In Japanese laid-open patent publication No. 6-163672, it is disclosed that the conventional adsorption pen has the following structure.
FIG. 1
is a cross sectional elevation view illustrative of the conventional adsorption pen disclosed in the above publication. The conventional adsorption pen has a body
300
and a head
400
extending from the body
300
. The head
400
has an adsorption port
21
which is in contact with the object which is intended to be adsorbed. The body
300
has a cylinder
23
which is connected through a passage
22
to the adsorption port
21
in the head
400
. The cylinder
23
has a piston
24
, a piston rod
26
, and a contraction spring
25
. A first face of the piston
24
faces toward the passage
22
and the adsorption port
21
, whilst a second face of the piston
24
is connected with the piston rod
26
. The contraction spring
25
has a first end which is fixed to the second face of the piston
24
and a second end which is fixed to a bottom end of the cylinder
23
. The contraction spring
25
provides a contracting force which forces the piston
24
toward the bottom end of the cylinder
23
. The body
300
further has a ratchet stopper mechanism which comprises a pair of ratchet stoppers
28
a
, a pair of levers
29
,
30
and a single push button
31
. Each of the ratchet stoppers
28
a
has an alignment of plural ratchets in parallel to the piston rod
26
. Each of the ratchet stoppers
28
a
is connected to the piston rod
26
fixed to the piston
24
, so that the ratchet stoppers
28
a
show coupling motions to the piston rod
26
fixed to the piston
24
. Each of the levers
29
,
30
has a first end connected to the push button
31
and a second end having a ratchet
28
b
which is engaged with any one of the plural ratchets of the ratchet stoppers
28
a
when the push button
31
is not pushed, so that the engagement of the ratchets
28
b
of the levers
29
,
30
with the ratchets of the ratchet stoppers
28
a
stops the motion of the piston rod
26
fixed to the piston
24
toward the bottom of the cylinder
23
even though the contraction spring
25
remains to provide a contracting force which forces the piston
24
toward the bottom end of the cylinder
23
. If the push button
31
is pushed, the ratchets
28
b
of the levers
29
,
30
are disengaged from the ratchets of the ratchet stoppers
28
a
to allow motion of the piston rod
26
fixed to the piston
24
toward the bottom of the cylinder
23
due to the contracting force by the contraction spring
25
, whereby a cylinder internal space is formed which is defined by an inner wall of the cylinder
23
and the first face of the piston
24
, and thus the adsorption port
21
, the passage
22
and the cylinder internal space are placed into a vacuum state. One push of the push button
31
disengages one of the ratchets of the ratchet stopper
28
a
from the ratchet
28
b
connected with the lever
29
thereby to move the piston rod
26
and the piston
24
toward the bottom end of the cylinder
23
by the contracting force by the contraction spring
25
but subsequently and automatically the next one of the ratchets of the ratchet stopper
28
a
is then engaged with the ratchet
28
b
connected with the lever
29
thereby to stop the motion of the piston rod
26
and the piston
24
. Further, the body
300
has a handle
27
at its bottom portion for handling the adsorption pen.
The conventional adsorption pen is disadvantageous in the following viewpoint. It is necessary for a user to not only grip the handle
27
but also push the push button
31
to operate the conventional adsorption pen, for which reason the conventional adsorption pen is inconvenient in operability thereof. This disadvantage in inconvenient operability is likely to cause miss-operations of the conventional adsorption pen in adsorption and release to an object to be adsorbed such as wafers, pellets cut from a wafer and IC packages with sealed pellets. This object will hereinafter be referred to as “work”. Once the conventional adsorption pen is miss-operated in adsorption and release to the work, it is possible to drop the work and break the same.
In the above circumstances, it had been required to develop a novel adsorption pen free from the above problem.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel adsorption pen free from the above problems.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel adsorption pen which is convenient in operability.
The present invention provides an adsorption pen for adsorbing and releasing an article comprising: a body; a contact head coupled with the body and having an adsorption pad being in contact tightly with the article for forming an internal space defined by the adsorption pad and the article, and the adsorption pad having at least a bendable and contractible elastic portion which is deformable to reduce a volume of the internal space, thereby to reduce an internal pressure of the internal space upon application of a pushing force to the body toward the article; a valve mechanism for switching the internal space between a close-state where the internal space is separated by the valve mechanism from the atmospheric pressure and an open-state where the internal space has the atmospheric pressure; and a knock mechanism connected to the valve mechanism for placing the valve mechanism into the close-state upon both operations of applying a pushing force to the body toward the article and subsequently making the body free from application of the pushing force, so that the adsorption pad adsorbs the article due to the reduced internal pressure of the internal force and also for placing the valve mechanism into the open-state upon applying the pushing force to the body again, so that the adsorption pad releases the article.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following descriptions.
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Chin Paul T.
Lillis Eileen D.
Young & Thompson
LandOfFree
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