Material or article handling – Load carried along a horizontal linear path – Carried via magnetic floating
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-12
2002-05-07
Fischetti, Joseph A. (Department: 2167)
Material or article handling
Load carried along a horizontal linear path
Carried via magnetic floating
C414S416060, C414S477000, C414S751100, C414S752100, C414S753100, C414S744600
Reexamination Certificate
active
06382900
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to an apparatus for conveyance, in particular, to an apparatus for conveyance which is preferred for use in the manufacture of semiconductor chips.
A semiconductor manufacturing system generally comprises a bonder, which conveys semiconductor chips, and a feeder, which is mechanically coupled to and coordinated with the bonder for coordinated motion therewith for feeding lead frames.
Reference is now made to
FIGS. 1
to
9
to describe a bonder
100
and a feeder
140
used in the prior art. In the description to follow, the lateral direction of bonder
100
and feeder
140
is defined as the X-axis direction, while the fore-and-aft direction thereof is defined as the Y-axis direction.
The bonder
100
will be described first with reference to
FIGS. 1
to
7
.
FIG. 1
is a top view,
FIG. 2
a front view,
FIG. 3
is a left-hand side elevation and
FIG. 4
a right-hand side elevation of the bonder.
Referring to
FIG. 1
, the lower portion as viewed in
FIG. 1
represents a front portion of the bonder
100
while the upper portion as viewed in
FIG. 1
represents a rear portion of the bonder
100
. The bonder
100
includes a box-shaped first base
101
and a drive motor
102
fixed to the first base
101
. The motor
102
has an output shaft on which a disc cam
103
and a splined shaft
104
are mounted. A cylindrical cam
105
is mounted on the splined shaft
104
in an axially movable manner and includes a helical cam groove
105
a.
Referring to
FIG. 4
, an arm
107
is connected to the cylindrical cam
105
through a cam follower
108
, which is fixed to the arm
107
and is pressed into the cam groove
105
a
of the cylindrical cam
105
. A horizontal guide
106
is mounted on the first base
101
for guiding movement of the arm
107
. When the drive motor
102
is set in motion to rotate the cylindrical cam
105
, the arm
107
is reciprocated by the cam follower
108
in the X-axis direction.
Referring to
FIG. 3
, a plurality of vertical guides
109
are mounted on the lateral surface of the first base
101
, and a plate
110
connected to the vertical guides
109
is allowed to move in the vertical direction, or Z-axis direction. A rail
111
extending along the Y-axis direction is secured to the bottom of the plate
110
. As shown in
FIG. 2
, a cam follower
113
is secured to the top of the plate
110
through a connecting plate
112
. The cam follower
113
contacts the top of the disc cam
103
. When the drive motor
102
rotates the disc cam
103
, the plate
110
and the rail
111
are reciprocated by the cam follower
113
in the vertical direction.
Returning to
FIG. 3
, the arm
107
has a vertical guide
116
at one end, and a fastening member
115
fastens the vertical guide
116
and the rail
111
. The vertical guide
116
guides movement of the fastening member
115
in the vertical direction and guides movement of the fastening member
115
in the Y-axis direction. A bonding head or pickup head
114
is fixed to the fastening member
115
. When the drive motor
102
drives both the cylindrical cam
105
and the disc cam
103
for rotation simultaneously, the arm
107
moves in the Y-axis direction while the rail
111
moves in the vertical, or X-axis, direction. Accordingly, the pickup head
114
moves in the Y-axis direction in accordance with the movement of the arm
107
and moves in the vertical direction in accordance with the movement of the rail
111
. In this manner, the pickup head
114
performs a series of mounting operations through these movements in the both directions.
Returning to
FIG. 1
, an inching motor
117
is fixed to the lateral surface of the first base
101
at a location below the drive motor
102
. The inching motor
117
has an output shaft connected to a ball screw
118
, which is threaded to a linear bushing
119
. The linear bushing
119
slides along a shaft
120
, which extends in the Y-axis direction. The linear bushing
119
carries a cam follower
121
(see FIG.
2
), which bears against a disc portion
122
, which is formed at one end of the cylindrical cam
105
. When the motor
117
drives the ball screw
118
, the linear bushing
119
and the cam follower
121
move in the Y-axis direction. As the cam follower
121
moves, the cylindrical cam
105
moves along the splined shaft
104
. The movement of the cylindrical cam
105
is transmitted through the cam follower
121
to cause an inching motion of the arm
107
and the pickup head
114
.
As shown in
FIG. 2
, a second base
124
is located below and supports the first base
101
. Above the second base
124
, a plurality of shafts
125
extend in the X-axis direction. A linear bushing
123
slides along these shafts
125
. The first base
101
is movable in the X-axis direction along the shafts
125
.
Another inching motor
126
is mounted on the second base
124
and has an output shaft having threads for engagement with the first base
101
. When the motor
126
drives the threaded shaft, the first base
101
is moved in the X-axis direction. As the first base
101
moves, the pickup head
114
undergoes an inching motion in the X-axis direction.
Referring to
FIGS. 5
to
7
, the construction of the pickup head
114
will be described.
FIG. 5
is a right-hand side elevation,
FIG. 6
a top view and
FIG. 7
a front view of the pickup head
114
.
Referring to
FIG. 5
, the pickup head
114
is provided with a leveling regulating mechanism for adjusting the lower surface of a collet
127
, which is used to hold a semiconductor chip in a horizontal plane. The pickup head
114
is constructed to a high structural rigidity with first to fourth metallic bodies
128
to
131
. The first body
128
is connected to a second body
129
, which is then connected to a third body
130
, which is, in turn, connected to the fourth body
131
. In each instance, the connection takes place by way of a screw
132
, the tightening of which may be regulated to bring the lower surface of the collet
127
into a horizontal plane. The first body
128
is pivotal about a fulcrum A relative to the second body
129
. As shown in
FIG. 6
, the second body
129
is pivotal about a fulcrum B relative to the third body
130
. As shown in
FIG. 7
, the third body
130
is pivotal about a fulcrum C relative to the fourth body
131
.
The bonder
100
causes the pickup head
114
to perform a series of normal mounting operations when the drive motor
102
is set in motion. The pickup head
114
undergoes an inching motion when the inching motors
117
,
126
are set in motion, thus performing a fine adjustment of its position. Specifically, the position of the pickup head
114
when it picks up a semiconductor chip or when it loads a semiconductor chip on a lead frame is finely adjusted.
Referring now to
FIGS. 8 and 9
, the feeder
140
will be described.
FIG. 8
is a side elevation of the feeder
140
, and
FIG. 9
is a plan view of an essential part of the feeder
140
.
Referring to
FIG. 8
, the feeder
140
includes an actuator
133
extending in the X-axis direction and a carriage
134
mounted on top of the actuator
133
. In response to the actuation of the actuator
133
, the carriage
134
moves in the X-axis direction. The carriage
134
includes a damper
135
and an air cylinder
136
which drives the damper
135
. Thus, the damper
135
is moved in the Y-axis direction when the air cylinder
136
, is operated. The carriage
134
is fixed to a pipe bearer
137
formed by a plurality of interconnected sleeves and containing a piping, not shown, connected to the air cylinder
136
.
As shown in
FIG. 9
, the air cylinder
136
has a rod
136
a
, which is connected to a linkage
138
, which is, in turn, connected to an upper damper
135
a
(see
FIG.8
) of the damper
135
. The upper damper
135
a
is rotatable about a rotary mechanism
139
. When the rod
136
a
is driven, the upper damper
135
a
assumes a pivoted position as shown in phantom lines in
FIG. 8
, thus opening the damper
135
. In this manner, the damper
135
Kadowaki Tetsuji
Makara Chihiro
Armstrong Westerman & Hattori, LLP.
Fischetti Joseph A.
Fujitsu Limited
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