KR20180007234A - Air bearing-driven linear stage of stack type and linear stage device including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

According to the present invention, a linear stage comprises: a base made of a stone material, wherein the length of a pair of first edges in parallel to each other is shorter than the length of a pair of second edges in parallel to each other which are in perpendicular to the first edges; at least first to third guide rails formed in an upper portion of the base while having an interval therebetween and fixated to be in parallel to the second edge; and at least one fourth guide rail disposed in perpendicular above at least three guide rails to be disposed to be slid along the first to third guide rails.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a linear-type linear stage and a linear stage having the same,

The present invention relates to a linear stage, and more particularly, to a linear stage using an air bearing and a linear stage apparatus including the linear stage.

In general, a linear stage refers to a device that transfers equipment mounted on a stage by driving a linear motor. The linear stage is frequently used at the time of supplying the various parts in the semi-assembly line of an automobile factory to a line or moving the pallet at high speed on a work and assembly line. Particularly, it is recognized as a suitable transferring means for transferring wafers in a semiconductor manufacturing factory requiring cleanliness.

In recent years, linear stage has been mainly used in PDP and LCD assembly inspection equipment, and consists of bearings, linear motors, linear encoders and servo controllers. Bearing supporting and guiding this slider plays an important role in the components of the ultra-precision linear motion unit as a key element technology associated with the accuracy of the linear unit.

Ball bearings and roller bearings are widely used as support bearings for general linear motion systems, but there are limitations in achieving high-precision positions due to up-and-down shaking due to elastic deformation of balls and rollers and unevenness of balls or rollers. Therefore, a fluid bearing for supporting a slider by injecting a lubricating fluid such as air between a slider and a guide rail has been developed, in particular, an air bearing, in order to enable a high-speed movement of the object and obtain high-

This air bearing is such that the air supplied by the air compressor is injected from the slider onto the guide rails to support the slider while at the same time minimizing vibration and moving it with minimal frictional force.

However, in addition to reducing the vibration of the slide, the accuracy of the linear stage is also affected by whether or not the guide rail is rigid and the surface is firmly fixed on an even stone.

In this linear stage, granite is generally used as the base material in order to increase the precision. Conventionally, by providing the support portions of the guide rails at both ends of the base in the width direction, it has been necessary to increase the size of the base by the length of the guide rails. This has a problem that the linear stage is enlarged.

Also, since the large granite for use as a base is expensive, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost of the linear stage increases when the size of the base increases.

In addition, a stone such as granite used as a base for a conventional linear stage must be precisely trimmed through a surface treatment technique called lapping. However, in order to widen the working radius of the linear stage, when using a larger and wider base, the process of lapping the granite used in such a base becomes very complicated.

Accordingly, there is an urgent need for research on a linear stage having a base area of a linear stage in which a conventional air bearing is used, and a working range equal to or wider than that of a conventional linear stage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to reduce the width of a base of a linear stage so that the linear stage can be downsized and maintain the existing precision.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a wider workable range for a base of the same size as the conventional one.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a linear stage device in which a plurality of linear stages are connected and arranged.

In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising: a base made of stone and having a length of a pair of first sides parallel to each other is smaller than a length of a pair of mutually parallel second sides perpendicular to the pair of first sides; At least three first to third guide rails spaced above the base and secured parallel to the second side; And at least one fourth guide rail disposed at a right angle to the at least three first to third guide rails and slidably disposed along the first to third guide rails.

Particularly, the present invention can be configured such that the length of the fourth guide rail is longer than the length of the first side of the pair.

The present invention is also characterized in that at least three first to third sliders are provided on the fourth guide rails and are slidably connected to the first to third guide rails and the first to third sliders are slidably connected along the fourth guide rails, 4 slider, and air bearings may be formed between the at least three first to third sliders and the first to third guide rails, and between the fourth slider and the fourth guide rails. At this time, the air bearing may have a thickness of 5 mu m.

Further, in the present invention, the base, the rail, and the slider may be made of granite or ceramics.

And a linear stage having any one of the above-mentioned features may be arranged so that a plurality of fourth guide rails are connected to each other to form a linear stage device.

The present invention has the effect of securing a wide movable range by providing a guide rail longer than the width of the base of the linear stage.

Further, by reducing the area of the base of the linear stage, it is possible to simplify the lapping process of precisely machining the surface roughness of the base, thereby simplifying the entire manufacturing process of the linear stage and reducing the manufacturing cost .

1 is a perspective view illustrating a structure of a linear stage according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are perspective views each showing a use state of the linear stage according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a perspective view illustrating a structure of a slider according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a perspective view showing a cross section of the slider according to an embodiment of the present invention, taken along line AA.
6 is a perspective view showing a cross section of the slider according to an embodiment of the present invention, taken along line BB.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description. While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein but may be embodied in other forms. Rather, the embodiments disclosed herein are provided by way of illustration to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail.

Hereinafter, a linear stage according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9. FIG.

The linear stage 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be referred to as a stack type linear stage driven by an air bearing.

In the present invention, the air bearing means an air layer or air-film produced on the slider and the guide rail by the air injected from the slider.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a structure of a linear stage according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are perspective views illustrating a use state of the linear stage according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1, the linear stage 1 includes a base 10, a plurality of guide rails 100, 200, 300, 400, and a plurality of sliders 101, 201, 301, 401. The linear stage 1 includes sliders 101 and 201 such as a linear motor (not shown) in addition to a base 10, a plurality of guide rails 100, 200, 300 and 400 and a plurality of sliders 101, 201, , 301 and 401 may be included. However, in the present specification, a configuration directly related to the present invention will be mainly described.

The base 10 forms the base of the linear stage 1 and is arranged at the bottom of the configurations. The base 10 generally has a rectangular shape, but is not limited thereto and may have various shapes. However, in order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, it is assumed that the base 10 is rectangular in this embodiment.

The base 10 may have a length shorter than a length of a pair of longitudinally parallel second sides of the pair of first parallel sides parallel to each other at right angles to the pair of first sides. Here, the 'horizontal direction' and the 'vertical direction' of the base 10 are based on the base 10 shown in FIG. 1, and when the base 10 is rotated 90 degrees, the 'horizontal direction' Direction 'can be changed with each other.

It is an object of the present invention to reduce the area of the base 10 used in the linear stage 1 to reduce the overall size of the linear stage 1 and to secure a wider working range than the base applied to the prior art , The base 10 of the present invention has a rectangular shape in which the length of the first side is shorter than the length of the second side.

The base 10 is formed of stone, and may be formed of granite or ceramics. The granite or ceramic material is suitable for precisely machining the surface roughness, and at the same time, it is preferred as the material of the base 10 because of its strong deformation resistance against external force. Further, the base 10 is made of a single stone plate.

The base 10 of the present invention has a width (width) shorter than that of the base of the conventional linear stage and can be manufactured using relatively small granites or ceramics because the overall area of the base 10 is reduced. It is easy to get granite to become.

Further, since the width of the base 10 is reduced and the area of the entire base 10 is reduced, the lapping process for precisely machining the surface roughness of the granite or ceramics is simplified and the manufacturing cost is reduced.

A plurality of guide rails 100, 200, and 300 may be disposed on the upper surface of the base 10 in parallel to the second side of the base 10 at regular intervals.

The plurality of guide rails 100, 200, and 300 may be separately manufactured and fixed to the upper surface of the base 10.

Preferably, the plurality of guide rails 100, 200 and 300 grind or polish the upper surface of the base 10 to have the shape of each of the guide rails 100, 200 and 300, It is possible to configure the rails 100, 200, and 300 to be integrated.

Each of the guide rails includes a first guide rail 100, a second guide rail 200, and a third guide rail 300, and is fixed to the upper surface of the base 10.

The first and third guide rails 100, 300 are disposed along the second side of the base 10. That is, the first and third guide rails 100 and 300 are disposed at both widthwise ends of the base 10 in the longitudinal direction.

The second guide rail 200 is disposed between the first and third guide rails 100 and 300. The second guide rail 200 is preferably disposed between the first and third guide rails 100 and 300, Direction.

1 to 3, the cross sections of the plurality of guide rails 100, 200, 300, and 400 are substantially Y-shaped, but are not limited thereto, and various shapes are possible.

1 to 3, the plurality of sliders 101, 201, and 301 includes a first slider 101, a second slider 201, and a third slider 301, 100, 200, and 300, respectively. The plurality of guide rails 100, 200, and 300 and the plurality of sliders 101, 201, and 301 may be formed of granite or ceramics as in the case of the base 10.

In particular, a gap is formed between each of the guide rails 100, 200, 300 and the sliders 101, 201, 301 by air. The gap is a very narrow gap in micrometer (μm) The surface roughness of the surface layer greatly influences the air flow. And the air flow is related to vibration. Granite and ceramic materials are suitable for precisely machining the surface roughness. They are resistant to external forces and are suitable for the material of guide rails and sliders.

The plurality of sliders 101, 201, and 301 may be fixed to the fourth guide rail 400 so as to slide along the plurality of guide rails 100, 200, and 300 in the same direction at the same time.

The fourth guide rail 400 is installed on the plurality of sliders 101, 201, and 301 in a direction perpendicular to the axis in which the first to third guide rails 100, 200, and 300 are installed.

The fourth slider 401 can be slidably coupled to the fourth guide rail 400 in the longitudinal direction of the fourth guide rail 400.

The fourth guide rail 400 and the fourth slider 401 may also be formed of granite or ceramics.

In particular, the fourth guide rail 400 may be longer than the first side of the base 10. The length of the fourth guide rail 400 may be configured without regard to the width of the base 10 and the range of movement of the fourth slider 401 slidably connected along the fourth guide rail 10).

Therefore, the movable range of the fourth slider 401 installed on the fourth guide rail 400 can be equal to or larger than the movable range of the conventional linear stage.

In the conventional linear stage, support portions connected to the base at both ends of the guide rail are formed, so that the slider can not slide beyond the width of the base. As a result, the conventional linear stage has a disadvantage in that the movable range of the slider is limited and the area of the base is increased.

However, according to the present invention, since the length of the fourth guide rail 400 is not limited by the area of the base 10, the movable range of the fourth slider 401 can be widened, The area can be downsized.

Also, as the area of the base 10 is reduced, the area for lapping is reduced, so that the manufacturing process of the linear stage is simplified and the manufacturing cost is reduced.

Particularly, in the present invention, gaps are formed between the plurality of guide rails 100, 200, 300, and 400 and the plurality of sliders 101, 201, 301, and 401, An air bearing is formed.

The air bearing serves to slide a plurality of sliders along the guide rails with a minimum friction force without vibration through an air layer called a so-called air-film.

In the present invention, the thickness of the air bearing is preferably 5 micrometers ([mu] m).

4 to 6 illustrate a slider according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the case of the present invention, since all the sliders have the same shape and configuration, only the first slider will be described below. The following description of the first slider applies equally to the second to fourth sliders.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first slider 101 is made up of four flat plates 110 of the same shape. The four flat plates 110 are fastened together with the bolts 111.

The bolts 111 are fastened to both ends of the flat plate 110 in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the first guide rail 100.

4 to 6 show that four flat plates 110 are assembled, but substantially five flat plates 110 are assembled by virtue of the shape of the first guide rail.

In addition, the number of the flat plates 110 may be different according to the shape of the first slider 101.

The first slider 101 floats in the air with a predetermined gap above the first guide rail 100 by the air injected from the nozzle, and is movable in the longitudinal direction of the first guide rail. The size of the gap can be varied in various designs depending on the weight, width, etc. of the first slider 101, and is preferably about 5 micrometers (μm).

The first slider 101 according to the present invention has air bearings formed between the first slider 101 and the first guide rails to prevent unevenness on the surface of the balls or rollers or friction with the first guide rails 100 And the vibration and noise caused thereby are reduced.

Air is injected into the first slider 101, and the air is typically supplied through a compressor. The air is regulated by the regulator at an appropriate pressure before being introduced into the first slider 101. [ Preferably, the pressure of the regulator is set to 0.3 MPa. The set pressure of the regulator can be changed according to the weight of the first slider 101, the size of the gap, and the like.

An air inlet through which the outside air flows is formed in any one of the plurality of flat plates (110). The air inlet is fitted with an air tube. When there are a plurality of air tubes for supplying air, an operator is caught by a plurality of air tubes when the first slider 101 travels, or a plurality of air tubes are intertwined with each other to interfere with the movement of the first slider 101 It can cause problems. Therefore, in the present invention, a single air inlet is formed in any one of the plurality of flat plates 110. Thus, the above-mentioned problems that may occur during the traveling of the first slider 101 can be prevented in advance.

4 is a projection perspective view of the first slider 101 showing the internal structure of the first slider 101. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the first slider 101 with respect to the A-A cross section, and Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the first slider 101 with respect to the B-B cross section. 5 and 6, an air inflow path formed inside the first slider 101 can be confirmed.

As shown in FIG. 5, the first slider 101 includes a first flow tube 130, a second flow tube 140, an insert mounting hole 150, and an insert 160.

The first flow tube 130 is formed in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the first guide rail 100 and guides the introduced air to the second flow tube 140. The first flow tube 130 formed on each flat plate 110 constituting the first slider 101 is communicated with the first flow tube 130 formed on the adjacent flat plate 110 assembled to one end of each flat plate 110 . As a result, the air introduced through the single air inlet flows to all the flat plates 110 through the first flow tube 130 formed in each flat plate 110. Accordingly, the linear stage 1 does not need to have a separate device for supplying air to each flat plate 110, so that a simple structure is achieved. Both ends of the first and second flow tubes are closed by a stopper 145 so that the inflow air is prevented from flowing out, and air is concentrated on the insert 160.

The second flow tube 140 is formed in the longitudinal direction of the first guide rail 100 and communicates with the first flow tube 130 to guide the introduced air to the insert 160.

Referring to FIG. 6, in the second flow tube 140, the same number of insert mounting holes 150 as the number of the inserts 160 are formed. The insert mounting hole 150 communicates with the second flow tube 140 at one end, and provides a space in which the insert 160 is mounted.

The insert 160 mounted in the insert mounting hole 150 serves as a passage through which the air introduced from the second flow tube 140 is injected onto the surface of the first guide rail 100. The first slider 101 is supported in the air on the first guide rail 100 by the repulsive force of the air injected through the insert 160. [

The insert mounting hole 150 is formed in the longitudinal direction of the first guide rail 100 on the flat plate 110. This is to support the first slider 101 placed in the longitudinal direction of the first guide rail 100 with a uniform supporting force. When the insert mounting hole 150 is not formed in the longitudinal direction, an unbalance occurs in the supporting force of the first slider 101, so that the first slider 101 may interfere with the first guide rail 100.

The spacing between the insert mounting holes 150 is uniform and the supporting force of the first slider 101 is uniformly applied. The distance between the insert mounting holes 150 is determined by the weight of the first slider 101, the injection speed of the injection air, the magnitude of the repulsive force, and the like.

The mounting holes 150 are formed in two or more rows in the longitudinal direction of the first guide rail 100. This is to cause the air injected through the nozzles to collide with the surface of the first guide rail 100, and then be quickly discharged to the outside.

In the linear stage according to the present invention, at least two or more inserts 160 are mounted along the longitudinal direction of the first guide rail 100.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of linear stages 1 are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the fourth guide rail 400, and the fourth guide rails 400 are arranged in parallel with the fourth guide rails 400 It is also possible to construct the linear stage device by connecting it.

Although this linear stage apparatus is not shown in the drawings, the movable range of the fourth slider is maximized so that the working range of various units mounted on the fourth slider can be enlarged. At the same time, it can be used in industrial processes requiring precision and cleanliness by providing high-speed and ultra-precise positioning means using air bearings.

The invention has been described in an illustrative manner. The terms used herein are for the purpose of description and should not be construed as limiting. Various modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. Accordingly, the present invention may be freely practiced within the scope of the claims, unless otherwise specified.

1: Linear stage 10: Base
100: first guide rail 101: first slider
110: flat plate 111: bolt
130: first flow tube 140: second flow tube
145: plug 150: insert mounting hole
160: insert
200: second guide rail 201: second slider
300: third guide rail 301: third slider
400: fourth guide rail 401: fourth slider

Claims (6)

The length of a pair of first sides parallel to each other being smaller than a length of a pair of second sides parallel to each other perpendicular to the pair of first sides;
At least three first to third guide rails spaced above the base and secured parallel to the second side; And
And at least one fourth guide rail disposed at right angles to the at least three first to third guide rails and slidably disposed along the first to third guide rails. The method according to claim 1,
And the length of the fourth guide rail is longer than the length of the pair of first sides. The method according to claim 1,
At least three first to third sliders installed on the fourth guide rail and slidably connected to the first to third guide rails; And
And a fourth slider slidably connected to the fourth guide rail,
Wherein air bearings are formed between the at least three first to third sliders and the first to third guide rails and between the fourth slider and the fourth guide rails. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the air bearing has a thickness of 5 m. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the base, the rail, and the slider are made of granite or ceramics. A linear stage device comprising: a plurality of linear stages according to any one of claims 1 to 5 connected to each other.

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