SPHERICAL MATERIAL SUPPLYING DEVICE AND METHOD

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a spherical material supplying device and a method which are capable of automatically supplying by gravity fall the spherical materials such as spherical single crystalline silicon, at prescribed intervals to a prescribed treating apparatus in a manner as to avoid the contact thereof with each other. SOLUTION: The supplying device 10 has a first drive roller 21 and second drive roller 22 provided with rotating means 13 disposed to drop the single crystalline silicon 11 by gravity while rotating the same around a line approximately orthogonal with the falling axis in the lower part of a pipe line 12 in order to supply the single crystalline silicon 11 to a resist process step. The single crystalline silicon 11 falls by gravity while rotating the same around the line orthogonal with the falling axis by the first drive roller 21 and the second drive roller 22 which rotate around the line approximately parallel to the line orthogonal the falling axis as the center of drive.