JPH07137824A - Object floating device, object conveying device therewith, and method of floating object - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To handle a relatively large and heavy object and provide size and cost reduction of an object floating device which floats an object in the air by forming a vibrating body out of at least one pair of vibrating elements which are disposed in such a manner as their vibrating surfaces may cross each other. CONSTITUTION:This object float-conveying device, which is constituted as an object conveying device, is provided with a vibrating element 1 which is formed into a rectangular plate shape, to whose central part the tip of a horn 2 is linked. The horn 2 is linked with a vibrator 4 which generates ultrasonic vibration as a result of being excited by an oscillator, and amplifies vibration generated by the vibrator 4. A pair of such object floating devices are provided and disposed in such a manner as the vibrating surfaces of the vibrating elements may cross each other, roughly forming a V shape. With this constitution, an object 7c is floated at a distance from the respective vibrating elements 1 with the synthetic force of buoyancy which is generated by the radiation pressure of a sound wave radiated from the respective vibrating elements 1. It is thus possible to convey a relatively large and heavy object 7c.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an object levitating apparatus and method for levitating an object in the air, and an object carrying apparatus equipped with the apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the following types of devices have been known as this type of device.

(1) A method of magnetically levitating and carrying an object by using an alternating magnetic field flowing through a coil. (2) A method of levitating and carrying using the superconducting Meissner effect. (3) A method of levitating and transporting by using a pressurized gas such as compressed air.

[0004]

In the devices described in (1) and (2) among these devices, the object to be levitated and transported is limited to a ferromagnetic material or a semiconductor, and receives magnetism. The disadvantage is that it cannot be applied to objects that are not desirable to be placed under conditions. In addition, for a device that utilizes the super electric Meissner effect, an expensive cooling liquid is required to cool the coil to an extremely low temperature, and the consumption of the cooling liquid also causes an increase in cost, and the safety of the cooling liquid is high. Must also be considered,
Moreover, there is a problem that the scale of the apparatus must be extremely large in order to levitate and convey the material in a stable state for a long time.

On the other hand, in the device of the system described in (3) above, it is necessary to supply the pressurized gas to the entire surface of the conveying path for the object. Therefore, a large-scale pressurized gas supply means is provided, and the entire device is provided. It is difficult to achieve miniaturization as described above, and it is not easy to control the pressure of the supply gas to be uniform over a wide range. Further, in the device, a so-called clean room,
When used under conditions in which the atmosphere should be kept clean, a means for sucking and recovering the gas ejected from the pressurized gas supply means is also necessary in order to prevent the gas from being diffused. However, there is also a problem that it is difficult to completely recover the gas.

By the way, recently, a device as shown in FIG. 21 has been developed. This device was installed on October 3, 1983.
No. 745 in "The Acoustical Society of Japan"
Page and page 746.

That is, in FIG. 21, the excitation means 10
1. A standing wave (not shown) is generated between the stepped circular vibration plate 102 excited by 1 and the reflecting plate 103 arranged corresponding to the vibration plate 102, and a sphere 104 made of expanded polystyrene is formed.
A plurality of (weight 1.2 mg, diameter 4 mm) are levitated by the sound field. Note that, in FIG. 21, the direction of gravity is indicated by an arrow g. In this case, each sphere 104 is said to be stationary at an interval of 1/2 of the wavelength of the aerial ultrasonic wave, and its position has been found to be a valley of sound pressure. The size of the levitating sphere is preferably 1/2 wavelength or less, and its weight is related to sound pressure.

However, using the standing wave in this way,
In an apparatus configured to make an object stand still at the position of the node, the sphere 104 as the sample is currently limited to an extremely lightweight object, and the diaphragm 1 is used to levitate a heavy object.
The vibration amplitude of 02 must be extremely large. Therefore, in view of the stress-like destruction of the diaphragm 102 and the horn 101a (see FIG. 21), it is difficult to stably levitate a heavy object for a long time, and it is considered far from practical use. Further, in such a configuration, it is conceivable to adopt a method of converging a sound wave into a strong sound wave so that even a relatively heavy object can be levitated.
Sound waves will act on a smaller area than the diameter of
As a result, only small diameter objects can be handled.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and is capable of handling an object having a relatively large weight and size without being restricted by the material or the like of the object to be handled, and downsizing the object. It is an object of the present invention to provide an object levitation device that is low in cost, suitable from the viewpoint of safety, etc., and easy to control, an object transporting device including the device, and an object levitation method.

[0010]

An object levitating apparatus according to the present invention comprises a vibrating body and an ultrasonic wave exciting means for exciting the vibrating body, and on the surface of the vibrating body by radiation pressure of sound waves of the vibrating body. An object levitating apparatus for levitating an object, wherein the vibrating body is composed of at least one set of vibrating bodies arranged such that vibrating surfaces thereof intersect with each other. Further, the object transporting device according to the present invention includes at least one set of vibrating bodies arranged such that vibrating surfaces intersect with each other, ultrasonic excitation means for exciting the vibrating body, and traveling means for causing the vibrating body to travel. And a structure in which an object is levitated on the surface of the vibrating body by the radiation pressure of the sound wave of the vibrating body and the object is caused to run. Further, the object levitating method according to the present invention is such that the vibrating bodies are excited from directions intersecting with each other and the object is levitated on the surface of the vibrating body by the radiation pressure of the sound waves of the vibrating body.

[0011]

EXAMPLES Examples of the present invention will be described below.

1 to 3 show an object transporting apparatus as a first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in the figure, the object transporting device has a vibrating body 1 formed in a rectangular plate shape. This vibrator 1
The screw 3 (see FIG.
(Shown in FIG. 1). However, the shape of the vibrating body 1 is not limited to the flat plate shape, and can be appropriately changed depending on the application and the like. The vibrating body 1 may be attached to the horn 2 by using various other means such as brazing or welding, and the attaching position is variable. In FIG. 1, an arrow U indicates the vibration direction of ultrasonic vibration generated by the horn 2. In this way, the horn 2 vibrates vertically. Vibrating body 1
2 has a length L (see FIG. 2) and a width B, which are determined by the resonance length of the flexural vibration based on the vibration transmitted from the horn 2, and the flexural vibration as shown by the flexural curve A in FIG.

Incidentally, the vibrating body 1 of this embodiment has a length L.
Is 434 mm, the width B is 154 mm, and the thickness t (shown in FIG. 1) is 3 mm, and duralumin is used as a material. For the horn 2, about 19.4k
It is excited at Hz, and a vibration having an amplitude of about 32 μmp-p is placed on the tip. With these settings, the vibration nodes of the vibrating body 1 appear at intervals of about 54.25 mm in the length direction and about 19.25 mm in the width direction, and vibrate in a lattice-like vibration mode. The dimensions of the vibrating body 1, the resonance frequency and its amplitude, and the form of the vibration mode can be appropriately set, and for example, the length L can be set to 1000 mm or more.

As shown in FIG. 1, the horn 2 includes a vibrator 1
Is coupled to the vibrator 4 on the side opposite to the coupling portion for. The electrode 4a of the oscillator 4 is connected to the oscillator 5, and the oscillator 4 is excited by the oscillator 5 to generate ultrasonic vibration. The horn 2 mechanically amplifies the vibration generated by the vibrator 4. The horn 2
Is formed with a flange portion 2b, and the flange portion 2b is attached to the case 6 containing the vibrator 4 and the horn 2.
Are fastened via packing 2c.

The above-mentioned horn 2, oscillator 4, oscillator 5, and peripheral members related to these are collectively referred to as ultrasonic excitation means.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, plate-shaped sound wave reflecting members 8 are arranged along both sides of the conveying path of the object 7 to be conveyed, and are attached to the case 6.

Next, the operation of the object transporting device having the above structure will be described.

First, the operation of the object levitation device included in the object transport device will be described.

First, when the apparatus is operated, as shown in FIG. 1, the attitude of the apparatus is adjusted so that the vibrating body 1 is parallel to the virtual horizontal plane 10. Power is supplied in this state,
The oscillator 4 excites the vibrator 4, the horn 2 vertically vibrates, and the vibrating body 1 is excited through the horn to perform flexural vibration. When the vibrating body 1 performs flexural vibration, sound waves (not shown) are emitted from the vibrating body 1.

After the vibrating body 1 starts to vibrate as described above, the object 7 is brought onto the vibrating body 1 and the hand is gently released.
However, the object 7 may be placed on the vibrating body 1 in advance before the vibration of the vibrating body 1 is started.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the portion E in FIG. 1. As is apparent from the figure, the object 7 is separated from the surface of the vibrating body 1 by the radiation pressure of the sound wave emitted from the vibrating body 1. Levitate with e ₁ separated. Here, the levitation distance e ₁ is a distance with reference to 0 (zero) on the surface of the vibrating body 1 which is still without emitting sound waves. If the area of the vibrating body 1 is small, the vibrating body 1 vibrates in the vibration mode of longitudinal vibration itself applied from the horn 2 without causing flexural vibration, but in this case as well, the object 7 levitates similarly. If the power supply to the ultrasonic wave excitation means is cut off, the sound wave from the vibrating body 1 is immediately stopped, and the object 7 contacts the vibrating body 1.

The object 7 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 is assumed to be simply a flat plate and relatively lightweight, such as a business card or a thin plate made of synthetic resin or metal. These objects are
The device shown in this example was prototyped and was levitated as a sample, but in addition to this, an experiment was also conducted on an object 7 having a configuration as shown in FIG. That is, the flat carrier 7a and the heavy object 7 carried on the carrier 7a
and b. In FIG. 5, the distance between the carrier 7a and the vibrating body 1 in this case is indicated by e ₂ .
It should be noted that a heavy object 7b that requires such a carrier 7a
Examples of the object include an object that cannot be floated by itself, such as an object having a nearly spherical shape or an object having irregularities, and a powder or liquid in a state of being contained in a container. However, if the bottom surface of itself is flat, the carrier 7a is removed and only the heavy object 7b is levitated. Therefore, with respect to such a heavy object 7b, a levitation experiment of itself is also performed, and various objects are Also conducted an experiment.

As a result of the above experiment, it was found that any material can be levitated without any restrictions on the material of the specimen to be levitated. In addition, we conducted a wide range of experiments from light to heavy, but of course, the lightest material levitated, and the heaviest material was the largest in the experiment, with a diameter of about 140 mm and a weight of about 3.26 kg made of metal. The object floats, and the maximum buoyancy that the object receives due to the radiation pressure of the sound wave from the vibrating body 1 is calculated to be 21.4 g / cm.
Became ² . Therefore, if this value is converted from the surface area of the vibrating body 1, if the object extends over the entire surface of the vibrating body 1, it becomes possible to levitate even if the weight of the object is 14.3 kg. However, the input power to the vibration system applied to the device was 130 W when levitating a relatively lightweight object, but 16 W is required when levitating a heavy object as described above.
It required 0W.

As described above, although objects of various materials were provided in the levitation experiment, the higher the plane accuracy of the bottom surface facing the surface of the vibrating body 1, the higher the weight, the more levitated. found. However, it was also confirmed that the flatness of the surface of the vibrating body 1 is high and the stability of the entire device is important.

As is apparent from the above, in the device according to the present invention, there is no restriction on the material of the object to be handled such as the magnetic substance, and the device which cannot be placed in the magnetic field. , Any object can be levitated and transported as described below. Further, even if the weight and size of the object to be handled are relatively large, it can be levitated and transported.

Next, the operation of the object transporting device including the above-mentioned object levitation device will be described. This object transporting device is obtained by adding traveling means for traveling the levitated object 7 to the configuration of the object levitation device described above.

FIG. 6 shows an example of means for this traveling.
The configuration shown in is adopted. That is, the vibrating body 1
Is inclined at an angle θ _{1 with} respect to the virtual horizontal plane 10. This inclination θ ₁ causes acceleration due to gravity in the object 7, and the object 7 travels. However, the angle θ
It is set to 1 to 5 ° in the experiment for _1. In the case of such a configuration, since a drive source for moving the object 7 is not particularly required and the device is simply tilted, it is easy to reduce the size and cost of the entire device.
As described above, if the power supply to the ultrasonic wave excitation means is cut off, the object 7 instantly contacts the vibrating body 1 and stops due to frictional resistance.

By the way, when the object 7 is conveyed as described above, deviation from the conveying path is prevented by the following action.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the sound wave reflecting members 8 are arranged along both sides of the conveying path. As is clear from FIG. 3, these sound wave reflection members 8
Is in a non-contact state with the vibrating body 1, and guides the sound wave emitted from the lower surface of the vibrating body 1 to the lateral side of the conveying path while reflecting as shown by the arrow in the figure. Since the sound wave guided in this way exists on the side of the transport path, this becomes a wall, and when the object 7 tries to deviate from the transport path, it acts to push it back. Therefore, the object 7 does not deviate from the transport path. Further, according to this configuration, the object 7
Does not come into contact with the sound wave reflection member 8. However, even if such a sound wave reflection member 8 is not provided, it is confirmed that the object 7 that is about to protrude from the edge of the vibrating body 1 is pulled back inward by the action of the sound wave emitted by the vibrating body 1 itself. Has been done.

Next, as described above, the object 7 is utilized by utilizing gravity.
A description will be given of another object transporting device, each of which has a traveling means different from the traveling type. It should be noted that each of these object transporting devices is configured in the same manner as the object transporting device as the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and 6 except for the portions described below, so the description of the entire device will be given. Since they are duplicated, they are omitted and only the description of the essential parts is given. Also in the following description. The same components as those of the object transporting device shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

FIG. 7 shows the essential parts of an object transporting device as a second embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in the figure, in the object transporting apparatus, the vibrating body 1 is parallel to the virtual horizontal plane 10. The traveling means for traveling the object 7 has a plurality of nozzles 15 arranged in parallel at predetermined intervals along the direction in which the object 7 should travel. These nozzles 15 are arranged, for example, above the vibrating body 1 and eject the compressed air toward the object 7 from diagonally behind. The object 7 is accelerated and conveyed by the jetted compressed air. These nozzles 15 and a compressor (not shown) that supplies compressed air to the nozzles 15 constitute gas injection means that functions as the traveling means. In addition,
The gas to be pressurized and injected is not limited to air, and various types can be used depending on the application and if the influence on the environment such as the atmosphere is allowed.

FIG. 8 shows the essential parts of an object transporting device as a third embodiment of the present invention. In the object transporting device shown in FIG. 7, the object 7 is made to travel by jetting gas, but in this device, ultrasonic waves are radiated to the object 7 and the object 7 is made to travel with propulsive force.

That is, as shown in the figure, a plurality of ultrasonic radiators 20 are arranged at equal intervals above the vibrating body 1 along the direction in which the object 7 should travel. The ultrasonic radiators 20 are provided with the diaphragms 20a provided respectively.
The ultrasonic waves 21 radiated more are installed in a state of being inclined so as to be directed obliquely downward and forward.

In such a structure, the object 7 is accelerated and conveyed by the radiation pressure of the sound waves emitted from each ultrasonic radiator 20.

FIG. 9 shows the essential parts of an object transporting device as a fourth embodiment of the present invention. Although the ultrasonic wave radiator 20 is provided to propel the object 7 in the object transporting device shown in FIG. 8, the sound wave generated by the vibrating body 1 itself is utilized for object propulsion in this device.

As shown in the figure, in this embodiment, a plurality of flat plate-like reflecting members 25 are provided above the vibrating body 1 along the direction in which the object 7 should travel. Each reflecting member 25 is installed so as to make an angle of θ ₂ with respect to the surface of the vibrating body 1 and tilt so that the front is higher. Therefore, the sound wave 26a radiated upward from the vibrating body 1 is reflected by these reflecting members 25 and travels obliquely forward and downward. The object 7 is accelerated and conveyed by this reflected wave 26b.

Although a plurality of reflecting members 25 are individually provided in the present embodiment, in addition to this, only one long reflecting member (not shown) having a plurality of inclined portions formed in a wave shape is provided. May be

Further, in the second to fourth embodiments shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, respectively, the nozzle 15 and the ultrasonic radiator 20 are provided.
And a plurality of reflecting members 25 are provided side by side along the object transporting path, but these are considered as a single object 7 to be transported.
It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which it is moved so as to follow.

FIG. 10 shows an object transporting apparatus as a fifth embodiment of the present invention. In the object transporting apparatus, the traveling means for traveling the object 7 is configured as described below.

As shown in the figure, an ultrasonic wave exciting means 30 for exciting the vibrating body 1 is installed on the right end side of the vibrating body 1, and an energy converting means having a structure similar to that of the ultrasonic wave exciting means 30 on the left end side. Means 31 are arranged. The energy converting means 31 is for converting the energy of the ultrasonic wave emitted by the vibrating body 1 excited by the ultrasonic wave exciting means 30 into electric energy again. Specifically, the electrode 4a of the vibrator 4 included in the energy conversion means 31
A circuit composed of a resistor R and a coil L is connected to the electric energy, and electric energy converted from ultrasonic energy as mechanical energy is further converted into Joule heat by passing through this circuit and dissipated.

In this structure, when the energy converting means 31 is actuated at the same time as the ultrasonic wave exciting means, as shown by the arrow S, the flexural vibration wave generated in the vibrating body 1 becomes a traveling wave. The object 7 travels on the traveling wave.

FIG. 11 shows a main part of an object transporting device as a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in the figure, in the object transporting apparatus, a weight 32 is mounted on the running direction side of the object 1 as a means for running the object 7. When the weight is placed in this manner, the object 7 tilts in a levitated state because the weight distribution is different between the traveling direction side of the object and the opposite direction side thereof. Then, a sound wave (not shown) radiated upward from the vibrating body 1 is reflected by the lower surface of the object 7, and the reflected wave (not shown) travels obliquely backward and downward. The object 7 is accelerated by the propulsive force of this reflected wave and travels.
Instead of using the weight 32, the weight distribution of the object 7 itself may be changed by changing the thickness between the traveling direction side and the opposite direction side, and the object 7 may be tilted.

FIG. 12 shows the essential parts of an object transporting device as a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in the figure, in this object transporting device, unevenness 7d is formed on the rear lower surface of the object 7 as means for moving the object 7. As is apparent from FIG. 13, the unevenness 7d is formed by alternately and continuously forming vertical surfaces 7e and inclined surfaces 7f in the direction in which the object 7 should travel. The inclined surface 7f is formed so as to form an angle of θ ₃ with respect to the surface of the vibrating body 1 and lower toward the front. Therefore, the sound wave 26a radiated upward from the vibrating body 1 is reflected by these inclined surfaces 7f and travels obliquely rearward and downward. The object 7 is accelerated by the propulsive force of the reflected wave 26b and travels.

By the way, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in the object transporting device of each of the above-described embodiments, in order to prevent the object 7 from deviating from the transport path, the sound wave reflecting member 8 is provided along the transport path. Is provided, and the sound waves emitted from the lower surface side of the vibrating body 1 and reflected along the sound wave reflecting member 8 act as walls. With such a configuration, it is possible to deal with an object up to a certain mass, but when the mass of the object 7 becomes considerably large, the inertia when trying to deviate from the conveyance path is large, and this is restricted only by the sound wave wall. Is difficult to do. Therefore, the configuration shown in FIG. 14 is added.

As shown in FIG. 14, a heavy object 7
On both sides of the transport path of (for example, only heavy goods 7b),
A flat plate-shaped deviation prevention member 35 is provided. Therefore, when the object 7 tries to deviate from the transport path, it comes into very light contact with the inner surface of the deviation prevention member 35, and the deviation is avoided.

In each of the above-described embodiments, one object conveying device is shown, but as shown in FIG. 15, two or more object conveying devices are arranged so that their respective conveying paths are continuous. It can be installed side by side in series. In this way, you can freely set the length of the transport path,
Great flexibility and versatility.

FIG. 16 shows a main part of an object levitation device as an eighth embodiment of the present invention. This object levitation device is shown in FIG. 1 in which a flat plate-shaped vibrating body 1 is connected to the tip of a horn 2 of an ultrasonic wave exciting means so that its virtual plane is perpendicular to the vibration direction U of the horn 2. A set of such object levitation devices are provided so as to intersect with each other, and in the present embodiment, the vibrating surfaces of the respective vibrating bodies 1 are arranged so as to be substantially V-shaped. Therefore, the object 7c arranged in the vibrating body 1 receives a buoyant force due to the radiation pressure of the sound wave emitted from each vibrating body 1, and is separated from each vibrating body 1 by the combined force as shown in FIG. Levitated in the state of being. At this time, the levitated object 7c receives forces in opposite horizontal directions (horizontal direction in FIG. 16) from the vibrating bodies 1 on both sides, and is supported in the horizontal direction by its balance, and the vibrating body 1 surfaces on both sides are in non-contact. It will be levitated in the state of. In addition, the levitated object 7c
Preferably has a substantially V-shaped cross section having an opposing surface parallel to the surface of the vibrating body 1 as shown in FIG.
The shape is not necessarily specified.

FIG. 17 shows a plurality of the object levitation devices arranged side by side. When the vibrating body 1 is continuously arranged in a straight line as shown in the figure, the object 7 having a desired length can be easily levitated and supported. can do.

FIG. 18 shows a modification of the object 7c suitable for being levitated by the object levitating apparatus.
Although all of (a) to (c) of FIG. 18 have a substantially V-shaped cross section having an opposing surface parallel to the surface of the vibrating body 1, the object 7c
Is suitable for use as a board for holding or carrying other objects. FIG. 18A shows an object 7c ₁ having a flat inner bottom surface which is advantageous for placing an object, and FIG.
FIG. 18B is an object 7c _{2 obtained} by bending a flat plate into a substantially V shape, and FIG. 18C shows that the front end and the rear end of FIG. 18B are closed so as to function as a storage container. It is the constructed object 7c ₃ . 18 (a) to 18
(C) is just an example, and the levitated object 7 can be used by appropriately changing its shape.

In the object levitating apparatus, the levitated object 7
Although not shown, the running means of c can be run by using the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 15. For example, the apparatus itself may be tilted as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, gas may be jetted as shown in FIG. 7, or ultrasonic radiation pressure may be applied as shown in FIG. Is. As described above, in the present invention, it is needless to say that the object 7c can be transported along the substantially V-shaped transport path constituted by the pair of vibrating bodies 1 by appropriately using various traveling means. The pair of opposing vibrating bodies 1 also serve as a guide for conveying the object 7c as described above, and prevent the vibrating body 1 from falling off the conveying path.

Here, a part of the actual experiment described above will be described.

For this experiment, a measuring device as shown in FIG. 19 was prepared. This measuring device measures the levitation distance e of various objects 7 on the vibrating body 1. As shown in the figure, a laser displacement meter 37, an oscilloscope 38 for displaying the measured value by the laser displacement meter 37, and a signal emitted from the laser displacement meter 37 are amplified and displayed between the oscilloscope 38 for display. It has an interposing displacement gauge body 39.

The laser displacement meter 37 is for irradiating the laser 37a from directly above the object 7 toward the upper surface of the object 7 and measuring the distance by utilizing the reflected light or the like.
Various known measurement principles can be adopted. The measurement is specifically performed as follows.

First, the vibrating body 1 is made to stand still without vibrating, and the object 7 is placed on the vibrating body 1. In this state, the measuring device is operated, and the distance to the upper surface of the stationary object 7 is reset to be the reference for measuring the levitation distance, that is, 0 (zero). Next, the vibrating body 1 is excited to levitate the object 7. In this levitated state, the measuring device is operated again to perform the measurement. Since the measured value obtained here is a distance from the above standard, the measured value is the levitation distance e.
Becomes When the object 7 is a metal, the object 7 and the vibrating body 1 are energized in the non-floating state to obtain a mutual conductive state, and the conductive state disappears to become the non-conductive state. It was also confirmed that he had levitated.

The above description is based on the results of selecting various objects as the specimens and performing the levitation experiment with the prototype object levitation device for each of these objects.
As an example of practical application, the configuration shown in FIG. 20 was considered.

The object to be transported in this configuration is
A silicon wafer 40 as a primary product when a semiconductor (IC chip) is manufactured.
Is mounted on a carrier 41 formed in, for example, a rectangular plate, and is levitated by the above-described object transporting device and transported.

As is clear from the figure, the carrier 41 is provided with a circular recess 41a into which the substantially circular silicon wafer 40 is to be inserted. For example, four protrusions 41b are formed on the inner peripheral surface of the recess 41a at equal intervals, and the silicon wafer 40 is placed on the protrusions 41b in the recess 41a.
Then, on both sides of the carrier 41, cutouts 41c communicating with the recesses 41a are formed. This notch 41c
Has a depth such that a predetermined gap is formed between the bottom surface of the cutout portion 41c and the lower surface of the silicon wafer 40 when the silicon wafer 40 is placed on the protrusion 41b. That is, a robot hand or the like (not shown) holds the silicon wafer 40 through the notch 41c when the silicon wafer 40 is inserted into or taken out of the recess 41a.

Without using the carrier 41,
It is also possible to directly transfer the silicon wafer 40.

Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned respective constitutions, and it is needless to say that a wide variety of constitutions can be realized by combining any two or more constitutions of these constitutions with each other even in part thereof. is there.

Further, although duralumin is used as the material of the vibrating body 1 in each of the above-described embodiments, various materials such as carbon steel and its alloy steels such as stainless steel and titanium alloy may be used. Can be adopted.

[0065]

As described above, according to the present invention,
As soon as it is a magnetic material, it is not restricted by the material etc. of the object to be handled, and it is possible to levitate and convey any object such as something that can not be placed in a magnetic field,
Moreover, there is an effect that it is possible to deal with the object even if the weight and size of the object are relatively large. Further, as for the device, substantially only the vibration body and the ultrasonic wave excitation means for exciting the vibration body are required to be provided at the minimum, so that it is possible to achieve the effect of downsizing and cost reduction and to reduce the power consumption. Is very small and contributes to energy saving. Furthermore, since it is a levitation action by the radiation pressure of the sound wave that has converted the electric energy, it has an advantage that the safety of the worker can be easily ensured and can be easily controlled by turning on and off the power supply. The shape of the vibrating body can be appropriately changed according to the application, and the apparatus can be arranged in order to convey the object over a long distance. The degree of freedom is extremely large and the versatility is excellent. Further, in the present invention, since the vibrating surfaces of at least one set of vibrating bodies are arranged so as to intersect with each other, it is possible to stably hold an object on the vibrating body surface. Therefore, in the carrying device using the levitation device, it is possible to prevent the carrying device from falling off the carrying path without using a special carrying guide.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view including a partial cross section of an object transporting apparatus as an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the object carrying device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a view on arrow D-D relating to FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion E in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another configuration of an object to be carried by the object carrying device shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.

FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory diagram of the object transporting device shown in FIGS. 1 to 3;

FIG. 7 is a front view of a main part of another object transporting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a front view of a main part of still another object transporting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a front view of a main part of still another object transporting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a front view including a partial cross section of still another object transporting device of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a front view of a main part of still another object transporting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a front view of a main part of still another object transporting device according to the present invention.

13 is an enlarged view of a portion G in FIG.

FIG. 14 is a side view showing a modified example of a part of the object transporting device of each embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 13.

FIG. 15 is a front view including a partial cross section showing a state in which a plurality of object transporting devices are lined up.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the object levitation device of the present invention.

17 is a perspective view of essential parts showing a modified example of the object levitation device of FIG. 16.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing an example of a levitating object used in the object levitating apparatus of FIG. 16.

FIG. 19 is a front view showing the outline of a main part of an object levitation device according to the present invention and a measuring device that performs measurement on the device.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of a silicon wafer to be transferred by the object transfer device of each of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 13 and a carrier on which the silicon wafer is mounted.

FIG. 21 is a front view schematically showing a conventional object levitation device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vibrating body 2 Horn 4 Oscillator 5 Oscillator 6 Case 7 Object 8 Sound wave reflecting member 10 Virtual horizontal plane 20 Ultrasonic radiator 25 Reflecting member 30 Ultrasonic exciting means 31 Energy converting means 35 Deviation prevention member 37 Laser displacement meter 38 Oscilloscope 39 Displacement Total body 40 Silicon wafer 41 Carrier

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An object levitation device comprising: a vibrating body; and an ultrasonic wave exciting means for exciting the vibrating body, wherein the object is levitated on the surface of the vibrating body by radiation pressure of sound waves of the vibrating body. The object levitation device, wherein the vibrating body is composed of at least one set of vibrating bodies arranged so that vibrating surfaces thereof intersect with each other. 2. The object levitation device according to claim 1, wherein the vibrating body performs bending vibration or longitudinal vibration. 3. The object levitating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vibrating body is formed in a flat plate shape. 4. At least one set of vibrating bodies arranged such that their vibrating surfaces intersect with each other, ultrasonic excitation means for exciting the vibrating body, and traveling means for causing the vibrating body to travel.
An object conveying device, wherein an object is levitated on the surface of the vibrating body by radiation pressure of sound waves of the vibrating body, and the object is run. 5. The object transporting device according to claim 4, wherein the traveling means includes a gas ejecting means for ejecting gas toward the object. 6. The object transporting apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the traveling means has ultrasonic wave emitting means for emitting ultrasonic waves to the object. 7. The traveling means includes a reflecting member that reflects the ultrasonic waves emitted from the vibrating body toward the object, as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 6. Object transport device. 8. The traveling means has energy conversion means for converting ultrasonic energy generated by the ultrasonic excitation means into electric energy to convert the ultrasonic wave into a traveling wave traveling in a direction in which the object should move. The object transporting device according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein 9. The object has a different weight distribution between the traveling direction side and the opposite direction side of the object, and the propulsive force is generated by a reflected wave radiated from the vibrating body and reflected on the lower surface of the object. The object transporting device according to claim 4, wherein the object is run. 10. The object according to claim 4, wherein unevenness is formed on a lower surface of the object, and the object is caused to travel by a propulsive force by a reflected wave emitted from the vibrating body and reflected by the unevenness. 9. The object transporting device according to any one of 9. 11. The object transfer device according to claim 4, wherein a plurality of object transfer paths are arranged side by side so as to be continuous. 12. A method of levitating an object, which comprises vibrating vibrating bodies in directions intersecting with each other, and levitating an object on the surface of the vibrating body by radiation pressure of sound waves of the vibrating body.