JP4636379B2 - Method and apparatus for receiving and receiving articles in a suspended lift carriage - Google Patents

Description

The present invention provides a substrate (wafer) that is installed in a predetermined position along an annular orbit between processes in a process of a suspended lift carriage (hereinafter referred to as an OHT carriage) and is detachably stored in an article (FOUP or the like). , Liquid crystal, etc.), a carry-out article placed on an article carry-in / carry-out port of a station (hereinafter referred to as a processing station) that performs various processes (CVD, cleaning, etc.), and a position above the carry-out article, The present invention relates to a method for exchanging with an article for carrying into the processing station held by an OHT carriage and an apparatus for carrying out the method.

In order to perform necessary processing at a series of processing stations which are arranged in a clean room in a process or along an annular track between processes and perform various surface treatments (thin film formation, photolithography, cleaning, etching, inspection, etc.) of a wafer in recent years. In many cases, the FOUP containing the wafer is transported using an OHT carriage.
The substrate processing process is managed by a tag attached to the FOUP in which the substrate is accommodated, and the contents of the tag are sequentially updated as the substrate processing process proceeds. Substrate processing steps are specified by tag information attached to the FOUP, and subsequent necessary processing is managed by a computer based on the tag information.

At this time, since the time required for processing differs depending on the type of processing at each processing station, it is necessary to adjust the process time, and a stocker for temporarily waiting the FOUP is provided.
The stocker includes a large number of FOUP placement shelves and a stacker crane that carries FOUPs into or out of predetermined shelves.

Now, the said stocker and the processing station which performs various processes are arrange | positioned along the cyclic | annular track | orbit of an OHT cart.
A plurality of the annular tracks are provided according to the scale of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. Each annular track is formed by linking the in-process annular track and the inter-process annular track, and the OHT carriage performs stable traveling control in these tracks. Therefore, the FOUP containing a substrate such as a wafer is transferred to a predetermined stocker or processing station.
The reason why the OHT carriage is used as a means for transporting FOUPs in a clean room is that there are a number of processing stations for carrying out various processes arranged along the travel path of the OHT carriage, or various facilities such as temporary stockers for FOUPs. This is due to the greater freedom in placing the slab on the ground and safety issues.

Now, the OHT carriage travels on the intra-process annular track or the inter-process annular track while gripping the FOUP, and with respect to a large number of (for example, 25) wafers and other substrates that are detachably stored in the FOUP. Then, it stops at a position facing the FOUP loading / unloading port in a predetermined processing station for necessary processing (thin film formation, photolithography, cleaning, etching, inspection, etc.) according to the stage of the process.
Next, the gripped FOUP is lowered and placed on the loading / unloading port of the predetermined processing station.

Substrates stored in the FOUP placed in the loading / unloading port of the processing station are guided one by one into the processing station by a robot provided in the processing station and are subjected to predetermined processing.
The time required for processing on the substrate varies depending on the type of processing. However, since it takes a corresponding time, the OHT carriage that has transported the FOUP receives a command from the transport system controller to execute another transport command after the FOUP is placed. It is instructed to prevent a decrease in the operating efficiency of the entire system.

By the way, the handling of FOUPs after the processing at the processing station is completed is sequentially as (1) to (5).
(1) The processing station requests the transport system controller to collect the processed FOUP.
(2) The system controller issues a take-off command to an empty OHT cart waiting in the vicinity of the processing station.
(3) The OHT cart that has received the take-in command reaches the processing station, holds the FOUP placed on the carry-in / carry-out port, and carries it to the transfer destination instructed by the system controller.
(4) The system controller confirms that the processed FOUP has been collected from the processing station, and waits on the track to carry a new FOUP stored in a stocker or the like to the processing station. To
(5) The OHT cart that has received the transport command transports a new FOUP stored in a stocker or the like to the processing station.
Therefore, the OHT cart that picks up the processed FOUP from the processing station is different from the OHT cart that supplies a new FOUP.
On the other hand, if the take-up and supply of the FOUP to the processing station can be executed by a single OHT cart, it can be expected that simplification of the take-up and supply work and shortening of the transport time can be achieved.
However, if this is performed in the prior art, when an OHT cart that has transported a new FOUP stored in a stocker or the like tries to place the FOUP at the loading / unloading port of the processing station, It collides with a processed FOUP that has not yet been picked up, resulting in an accident.

Therefore, the FOUP is placed on the FOUP loading / unloading port of a predetermined processing station, and is held by the OHT carriage and the FOUP containing the substrate that has been processed at this processing station, and is about to perform processing at this processing station. Replacement with a FOUP containing a substrate cannot be performed with a single OHT cart.

However, there is Patent Document 1 below as a prior art in which such FOUP replacement is executed by one OHT cart.
In this patent document 1, a FOUP placed on a FOUP carry-in / carry-out port of a predetermined processing station and processing of each substrate held therein is completed at the processing station, and the predetermined processing station. A technique for exchanging a FOUPU containing a substrate to be processed is disclosed.
Specifically, there are five embodiments mainly based on an OHT carriage having a pair of finger mechanisms for holding a FOUP. The outline of these embodiments will be described below.

Embodiment 1:
As shown in FIG. 3, the OHT cart 1 includes a pair of finger mechanisms 18a and 18b for gripping FOUP along its traveling direction, and grips and releases two carriers (FOUP) 20a and 20b individually. It is configured to be controllable.
The processing apparatus 2 is provided with a carrier carry-in / carry-out port 8, which is movable on the carrier carry-in / carry-out port 8 so as to be able to advance and retreat in the traveling direction of the OHT carriage 1. A load receiving table 46 that can be positioned on the load port 21 that performs predetermined processing one by one is provided.

With the above configuration, first, a carrier mechanism 20b storing a substrate scheduled to be processed by the processing apparatus 2 in FIG. 3 from a stocker or other processing apparatus installed along the traveling path of the OHT carriage 1 is provided with a finger mechanism. The OHT carriage 1 reaches the upper position of the carrier carry-in / carry-out port 8 while being gripped by 18b.
Next, as the elevating belt 16 is fed, the gripper mechanism 17 is lowered, the substrate processed by the processing apparatus 2 is stored, and the carrier 20a placed on the cargo receiving table 46 is gripped by the finger mechanism 18a. .

In this state, the gripper mechanism 17 is slightly raised to form a gap between the load receiving table 46 and the carrier 20a, the load receiving table 46 is moved to a lower portion of the carrier 20b, the gripper mechanism is lowered, and the carrier 20b is moved downward. It is placed on the load receiving table 46 and the gripping state of the carrier 20b by the finger mechanism 18b is released.
With the above operation, the carrier 20a on the receiving table 46 and containing the substrate processed by the processing apparatus 2 is replaced with the carrier 20b containing the substrate scheduled to be processed by the processing apparatus 2. Can do.

Embodiment 2:
The load receiving table 46 disclosed in FIG. 3 of the first embodiment is omitted, and the configuration is simplified as disclosed in FIG.
In general, it is common sense to prohibit the OHT carriage from traveling in the reverse direction because it significantly increases the danger of the carriage collision and lowers the transport efficiency. In the second embodiment, it is necessary to grip the carrier 20b containing the substrate to be processed by the finger mechanism at the position “B” in FIG. The exchanging operation with the mounting cannot be performed continuously by adding a process such as returning to the stocker every time.

Embodiment 3:
As shown in FIG. 7, in the configuration of the first embodiment, the finger mechanisms 18a and 18b at the positions "A" and "B" can be controlled independently by independent lifting belts 16a and 16b, respectively. It is configured.
With this configuration, the degree of freedom as an apparatus is increased, and a plurality of stacking means can be freely operated without being affected by the lifting and lowering of other stacking means, and as a result, alignment becomes easy. , The transport efficiency of the OHT cart is improved.

Embodiment 4:
As shown in FIG. 8, the basic structure is the same as that of the second embodiment, and the finger mechanisms 18a and 18b at the positions "A" and "B" are independent from each other as in the third embodiment. , 16b are configured to be capable of independent lifting control.

Embodiment 5:
With the configuration shown in FIG. 10, the carrier position can be moved from the “A” position to the “B” position in a situation where the carrier 18 is stored in the OHT cart 1.
With the addition of this configuration, the configuration disclosed in the second and fourth embodiments (the configuration having no load receiving table movable along the traveling direction of the OHT conveyance carriage 1 disclosed in the first and third embodiments and the opposite direction thereof). ), It is possible to replace the carrier 20a storing substrates that have been processed continuously in different processing apparatuses 2 and the carrier 20b storing substrates that are scheduled to be processed without returning to the stocker.
JP-A-2005-22539

As described above, each processing station that is arranged along the in-process annular track and performs processing specified for many types of CVD, cleaning, etc. on the substrate in the FOUP has a FOUP loading / unloading port. is doing.
A FOUP storing a substrate scheduled for processing at the corresponding processing station is carried into the FOUP loading / unloading port by the OHT cart.
Next, a predetermined process is performed one by one on the substrates stored in the FOUP, and when all the substrates have completed the predetermined processing and returned to the FOUP, the FOUP is loaded into the stocker or the next process by the OHT cart. For this purpose, it is transferred to another predetermined processing station.

By the way, in the FOUP loading / unloading operation by the OHT cart at the FOUP loading / unloading port of the processing station, the OHT cart holding the FOUP containing the substrate to be processed at the processing station is gripped. It is difficult to exchange a FOUP that is placed on a FOUP loading / unloading port in the processing station and that contains a substrate already processed in the processing station.
Therefore, at the FOUP loading / unloading port of one processing station, it is necessary to carry out the unloading of the FOUP for storing the processed substrate and the loading of the FOUP for storing the unprocessed substrate by separate OHT carts. is there.

Therefore, all the substrates are processed in a single processing station, the substrates are stored, and the FOUP placed on the FOUP loading / unloading port of the processing station is running on the in-process annular track. And it is carried out by the empty OHT cart which is not holding FOUP.
Thereafter, the FOUP storing the substrate to be processed at the processing station is carried into the FOUP loading / unloading port of the processing station by another OHT cart that is traveling on the in-process annular track.
As a result, FOUP loading / unloading at the FOUP loading / unloading port of the processing station has a considerable time loss and tends to reduce the processing efficiency of the substrates stored in the FOUP.

As a technique mainly aimed at solving such problems, there is Patent Document 1 mentioned above.
The technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 is to carry out FOUP carrying out all the substrates placed in a FOUP loading / unloading port in a predetermined processing station and accommodated in the processing station. The FOUP containing the substrate to be processed at the processing station can be simultaneously loaded into the FOUP loading / unloading port.

In order to realize this, the OHT cart has two clipper devices for gripping FOUP along the traveling direction of the OHT cart, as shown in FIGS. 3, 6, 7, and 8 of Patent Document 1. A specially-designed OHT cart is used.
Furthermore, in order to shift to a processing station that continuously receives different processes without returning to the stocker, a load receiving table 45 disclosed in FIGS. 3 and 7 of Patent Document 1 and movable in the traveling direction of the OHT cart 1 is disclosed. Or a configuration in which the gripped FOUP is moved while being gripped by the OHT transport carriage as shown in FIG.

As described above, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 is subjected to a FOUP placed on a FOUP loading / unloading port of a predetermined processing station and containing a substrate that has completed the predetermined processing, and a predetermined processing. The replacement work with the FOUP containing the substrate can be performed with only one OHT cart.
However, for this purpose, as described above, a highly versatile OHT conveyance carriage cannot be used, and the cost of the OHT conveyance carriage increases, and at the same time, it is necessary to add a very complicated mechanism to the movement of the FOUP.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to use a general-purpose OHT cart that is capable of moving up and down and transport one FOUP by one unit, and is disposed along an annular track between processes or stored in the FOUP. Placed on the FOUP loading / unloading port of the processing station that performs the necessary processing, and is held by the OHT carriage and processed by the processing station. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for enabling exchange of a FOUP containing a substrate to be replaced and an apparatus for carrying out the method.

Means and effects for solving the problems

In order to solve the above-described problem, the method for delivering an article in the OHT cart according to claim 1 is realized by the following first to fourth steps.
1st process: The goods for carrying in to the predetermined | prescribed processing station currently hold | gripped by the holding part of an OHT cart are dropped, and this goods for carrying are slide plates which can move forward and backward, Comprising: It mounts on one mounting surface in the suspension type temporary storage shelf (henceforth OHB) which has the mounting surface of articles | goods.
Second step: In the gripping portion of the OHT carriage, the unloading article placed on the article loading / unloading port of the predetermined processing station is gripped and raised, and the unloading article is placed on the other mounting surface of the OHB. Placed on.
Third step: The carrying-in article placed on one of the placing surfaces of the OHB is gripped and lowered by the gripping part of the OHT carriage, and placed on the article loading / unloading port of the predetermined processing station. Fourth step: The carrying-out article placed on the other placement surface of the OHB is grasped and raised by the grasping portion of the OHT carriage.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the OHT carriage, which is subjected to traveling control in a predetermined direction along the in-process annular track and the inter-process annular track linked to the in-process annular track, is gripped by a predetermined processing station. The slide plate in the suspension-type temporary storage shelf is exchanged between the article to be processed and the article placed on the article carry-in / carry-in port at the predetermined processing station and already processed at the predetermined processing station. By using the advance / retreat function together, it is possible to implement only by raising / lowering control of only one OHT carriage.
Accordingly, the OHT carriage for carrying articles to the article carrying-in / out port at a predetermined processing station and the OHT carriage for carrying out articles from the article carrying-in / out port can be made common, and the OHT carriage is one. It can be a general-purpose one that holds a single article on the platform, moves up and down, and transports it. There is no need to manufacture a special OHT cart, and unprocessed articles are loaded onto the article loading / unloading port at the processing station. In addition, the processed goods can be carried out efficiently.

The method for exchanging articles in the OHT conveyance cart according to claim 2 is the FOUP in which the articles accommodate the semiconductor substrate in a removable manner in the method for exchanging articles in the OHT conveyance cart according to claim 1, and the processing station The semiconductor substrate processing equipment is disposed at a proper position along the annular track of the OHT transport carriage and is accommodated in the FOUP.
According to the invention according to claim 2, the effect of the invention according to claim 1 cited above is originally placed on the loading / unloading port for FOUP in a predetermined processing station and processed at the processing station. When the FOUP storing the substrate is unloaded, the FOUP storing the substrate to be processed at the processing station is placed on the FOUP loading / unloading port without delay.
Accordingly, various processes (thin film formation, photolithography, cleaning, etching, inspection, etc.) can be efficiently performed on the substrate stored in the FOUP.

The article transfer device for an OHT carriage according to claim 3 is an article for carrying out and a carrying article placed on an article loading / unloading port of a processing station installed at a predetermined location along a traveling path of the OHT carriage. It has an OHB for exchanging with an article to be carried that is positioned above the article for use and is held by the article holding part of the OHT carriage. The OHB is subjected to advancing / retreating control along the advancing / retreating direction. A slide plate having two article placement surfaces on which articles are placed one by one is provided, and each article placement surface of the slide plate stores and takes out articles for loading or unloading by controlling the advance and retreat of the slide plate. Only in some cases, one of the article placement surfaces operates so as to face the article gripping portion of the lifting mechanism of the OHT carriage, and in other cases, the drive control is performed so as to allow the raising / lowering movement of the OHT carriage. That features To.
The invention according to claim 3 relates to an apparatus for carrying out the invention according to claim 1, and the effect of the invention is equivalent to the effect of the invention according to claim 1, and duplication of the description is avoided. .

The article transfer device in the OHT transport carriage according to claim 4 is the article transfer apparatus in the OHT transport cart according to claim 3, wherein the article is a FOUP in which a semiconductor substrate is detachably inserted. The semiconductor substrate processing equipment is disposed at a proper position along the annular track of the OHT transport carriage and is accommodated in the FOUP.
According to the invention of claim 4, the effect of the invention according to claim 3 of the cited destination is the same as that of claim 2.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, the outline of the drawing will be described. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an application system of the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are a front view and a side view for carrying out the present invention, respectively, and FIG. 4 is an OHB according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the FOUP placement status in OHB for explaining the method of the present invention.

Next, the configuration of the entire system to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a bay, which is provided alongside a plurality of continuous areas. In each bay 1, an in-process annular track 2 for running and guiding an OHT carriage described later is laid, and each in-process annular track 2 includes a branch track 3. Thus, the OHT transport carriage is configured to be able to travel while being regulated in a predetermined direction.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a processing station arranged along the in-process annular track 2 for performing any processing such as thin film formation, photolithography, cleaning, etching, and inspection on a semiconductor substrate such as a wafer stored in the FOUP. Each of the bays 1 is arranged so as to be adapted to the processing order as much as possible along the in-process annular track 2 laid, and each has a FOUP loading / unloading port 5a. This FOUP carry-in / carry-out port 5a carries in a FOUP containing a substrate scheduled for a predetermined process by the OHT carriage, and carries out a FOUP containing a substrate that has completed the predetermined process.

6 is a stocker, which is arranged at an appropriate position in the in-process circular track 2 and is stored in a FOUP containing a substrate for which all processing has been completed or in a standby for a FOUP containing a substrate scheduled for a predetermined processing. The FOUP is stored and includes a FOUP carry-in port 6a and a carry-out port 6b.
Reference numeral 7 denotes an OHT carriage, which has a function of driving the in-process annular track 2, the branch track 3, and the inter-process annular track 4 in a predetermined direction, and a lifting / holding function of the FOUP in the gripping state. Reference numeral 8 denotes a system controller that controls the travel control of the OHT transport cart such as an instruction of a travel route of the OHT transport cart 7 and collision prevention control. Reference numeral 20 denotes a controller for controlling OHB described later.

Now, a specific example of the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, 9 a and 9 b are FOUPs, and the FOUP 9 a is placed on the FOUP loading / unloading port 5 a of the processing station 5.
Then, the substrates that are stored in the FOUP 9a and not subjected to the predetermined processing in the processing station 5 are processed one by one by a robot action (not shown), and the predetermined processing is completed for all the substrates. The apparatus is in a standby state for conveyance to another processing station 5 or a stocker 6 (see FIG. 1) that performs a predetermined process.

The OHT carriage 7 includes a driving / running mechanism 7a that engages with any of the in-process annular raceway 2, the branching raceway 3, and the inter-process annular raceway 4 (the state in FIG. 2 indicates the in-process annular raceway 2). The adjustment mechanism 7b, the lifting mechanism 7c, the lifting belt 7d, the grip mechanism 7e, and the finger mechanism 7f are included.
The drive / running mechanism 7a receives electric power by non-contact power feeding and obtains a propulsive force based on the principle of a linear motor, as specifically shown in Patent Document 1, and is based on a system controller 8 (see FIG. 1). The traveling direction is regulated by the traveling control.

In the FOUP 9b, a substrate scheduled to be processed at a predetermined processing station 5 is stored. The FOUP 9b is at a position corresponding to the FOUP loading / unloading port 5a of the processing station 5. At this time, the FOUP 9 b is held on the OHT carriage 7 by gripping the flange portion of the FOUP 9 b by the finger mechanism 7 f of the OHT conveyance carriage 7.

Reference numeral 10 denotes OHB, which is held by the in-process annular track 2 and extends downward, and a rack member 10b supported in a horizontal state with respect to a lower end portion of the rack frame 10a in an open state. Composed.
The space surrounded by the rack frame 10a and the shelf member 10b has a size sufficient to allow the OHT carriage 7 that winds the lifting belt 7d and grips the FOUP to pass therethrough.
Further, the shelf member 10b includes a fixed plate 10bx and a slide plate 10by, and a further detailed configuration will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 4, the slide plate 10by is subjected to advancing / retreating control with the OHB controller 20 (see FIG. 1) being subjected to two-step control of the relative position with the fixed plate 10bx.
This forward / backward control of the slide plate 10by causes displacement of the relative position of the slide plate 10by with respect to the fixed plate 10bx.
Thus, the distal region of the FOUP mounting surface of the slide plate 10By (hereinafter, area called _{Z 1)} and a proximal region (hereinafter, referred to as a region _{Z 2)} is in the retracted state of facing to the fixed plate 10bx both Alternatively, one of the area Z ₁ and the area Z ₂ faces the FOUP gripped by the OHT carriage stopped at a position corresponding to the FOUP loading / unloading port 5 a of the predetermined processing station 5.

Next, an advance / retreat mechanism, a FOUP positioning mechanism, and the like related to the slide plate 10by will be described.
That is, in FIG. 4, 10 dx and 10 dy are kinematic pins, which are fitted into holes (not shown) formed on the bottom surfaces of the FOUPs 9 a and 9 b only when the FOUPs 9 a and 9 b are properly placed on the slide plate 10 by. Match. A normal fitting state between the kinematic pins 10dx and 10dy and the hole formed on the bottom surface of the FOUP is detected by sensors 10ex and 10ey arranged on the surface of the slide plate 10by.

10f is a gear which is installed at an appropriate position on the fixed plate 10bx side, and the rotation speed and the rotation direction are controlled by an OHB controller 20 (see FIG. 1) by a motor with a reduction gear (not shown).
Reference numeral 10g denotes a linear gear, which is provided on the bottom surface of the slide plate 10by in the advancing / retreating direction of the slide plate 10by and in a position where it engages with the gear 10f.
Although details of the guide mechanism of the slide plate 10by with respect to the fixed plate 10bx are omitted, they are provided by appropriate known means.

In the above configuration, the OHT carriage 7 that travels along the in-process annular track 3 laid in one bay 1 in the overall configuration of FIG. 1 is accommodated in the gripping FOUP 9b, and the substrate processing is scheduled. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the FOUP 9a containing the substrate that has been processed in the processing station 5 is already placed in the FOUP loading / unloading port 5a of the processing station 5, as shown in FIGS. In this case, the arrangement exchange operation between the FOUP 9a and the FOUP 9b will be described with reference to FIG.

Operation 1: Initial state shown in FIG. 5A (the carry-in FOUP 9b has its flange gripped by the finger mechanism 7f of the OHT carriage 7, and the carry-out FOUP 9a is opposed to the carry-in FOUP 9b in the vertical direction. Region Z ₁ in the slide plate 10by of the shelf member 10b of the OHB 10 from the state of being placed on the loading / unloading port 5a for use)
, Z ₂ (see FIG. 4, the same applies hereinafter) is the position of the dotted line in FIG. 3 (region Z ₂
Extend to the bottom of the FOUP 9b.
Operation 2: The elevating belt 7d of the OHT carriage 7 is extended, and the FOUP 9b is a region Z ₂ in the slide plate 10by on the shelf member 10b.
Placed on. The OHB 10 at this time is in the state shown in FIG.
Operation 3: The sensor 10ey confirms that the kinematic pin 10dy shown in FIG. 4 is properly engaged with the bottom surface of the FOUP 9b, the finger mechanism 7f of the OHT carriage 7 disengages from the flange of the FOUP 9b, and the finger mechanism The elevating belt 7d is wound so that 7f rises slightly.
Operation 4: The slide plate 10by is slid in a direction overlapping the fixed plate 10bx by driving the gear 10f shown in FIG. The OHB 10 at this time is in the state shown in FIG.

Action 5: The elevating belt 7d of the OHT carriage 7 is fed out, the finger mechanism 7f is lowered, reaches the flange portion of the FOUP 9a placed on the FOUP loading / unloading port 5a of the processing station 5, and is moved by the finger mechanism 7f. The FOUP 9a rises after gripping. The state of the OHT cart 7 lifting mechanism at this time is as shown in FIG.
Action 6: The lifting belt 7d of the OHT carriage 7 is wound up, and the FOUP 9a is raised until at least the bottom surface position of the FOUP 9a is higher than the planar position of the slide plate 10cy of the shelf member 10c.
Operation 7: sliding plate 10by the shelf member 10b in this state OHB10 the area _{Z 1}
And FOUP 9a are extended so as to face each other.

Operation 8: OHT is unwound elevation belt 7d of the bogie 7, FOUP9a is placed in the region _{Z 1} of the slide plate 10by on the shelf member 10b, kinematic pins 10dx and the proper bottom of FOUP9a shown in FIG. 4 When the engagement is confirmed by the sensor 10e, the finger mechanism 7f of the OHT carriage 7 is disengaged from the flange of the FOUP 9a, and the elevating belt 7d is wound so that the finger mechanism 7f is slightly raised. At this time, the state of the lifting mechanism of the OHT carriage 7 is as shown in FIG.
Operation 9: the slide plate 10by the said sliding plate 10by the drive gear 10f shown in FIG. 4, the region _{Z 2} causes the extension so as to face the OHT trolley finger mechanism 7f. The state of the OHB 10 at this time is shown in FIG.

Action 10: Winding up / down belt 7d and raising FOUP 9b by finger mechanism 7f. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5E, the uppermost surface of the FOUP 9a is regulated to be positioned lower than the lowermost surface of the FOUP 9b.
Operation 11: slide plate 10by the OHB10 shelf member 10b is stuck to FIG 5 (F) position while placing the FOUP9a to the area _{Z 1.}
Operation 12: The elevating belt 7d of the OHT transport carriage 7 is fed out, the finger mechanism 7f is lowered, and the FOUP 9b is placed on the FOUP loading / unloading port 5a of the processing station 5. This state is as shown in FIG.

Operation 13: elevation belt 7d winding, the finger mechanism 7f, after being raised above the top level of FOUP9a, the position of FIG. 5 (G) in a state where the slide plate 10by has placed the FOUP9a to the region _{Z 1} The FOUP 9a extends to a position where it can be lifted and lowered by the OHT carriage 7.

Operation 14: elevation belt 7d the feed, later finger mechanism 7f grasps the FOUP9a, lifting belt 7d winding, engagement of the FOUP9a, the kinematic pins 10dx provided in the region _{Z 1} of the slide plate 10by The slide plate 10by is contracted in a direction opposite to the fixed plate 10bx in conjunction with the sensor 10ex detecting that the release is released.
Action 15: The elevating belt 7d is further wound, and the transporting posture is prepared for the next process of the FOUP 9a by the OHT carriage 7. This state is shown in FIG.

Since each of the operations 1 to 15 is sequentially performed in response to a signal from the OHB controller 20, the operations 1 to 15 are placed on the FOUP loading / unloading port 5a of the processing station 5, The replacement of the FOUP 9a that stores the substrate that has been processed with the FOUP 9b that stores the substrate that is about to be processed at the processing station 5 is performed quickly and efficiently.
In the above-described embodiment, the FOUP 9b for loading carried by the OHT carriage 7 and the FOUP 9a placed on the FOUP loading / unloading port 5a of the processing station 5 are used.
Has been described by being placed in the region Z ₂ and region Z ₁ of each slide plate 10By, it may be placed on the respective regions Z ₁ and region Z _2.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above from the viewpoint of space utilization in a clean room. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various embodiments are possible.
For example, with regard to the arrangement of the OHB 10, it is possible to suspend the fixed portion of the rack frame 10 a of the OHB 10 from a ceiling located in the vicinity of the annular track 2.
However, in this configuration, it is desirable that the forward / backward direction of the slide plate 10by be different by 90 degrees compared to the above embodiment.
Further, in FIG. 1, the OHB controller 20 controls a plurality of OHBs by one OHB controller. However, the OHB controller 20 may be individually arranged in each OHB and controlled independently for each OHB.

It is a top view which shows the application system of this invention. It is a principal part front view for implementing this invention. It is a principal part side view for implementing this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the concept of the shelf board of the suspension type shelf which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the mounting condition of FOUP in OHB for demonstrating the method of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

2 ... In-process annular track 5 ... Processing station 5a ... ················································································ 7 ... Lifting belt 7f ... Finger mechanism 9a, 9b ... ..FOUP
10 ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Suspended temporary storage shelf (OHB)
10b ... Shelf member 10bx ... Fixing plate 10by ...・ ・ ・ Slide plate 20 ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ OHB controller Z ₁ , Z ₂・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Foot placement of slide plate Area to display the face

Claims (4)

A method for delivering an article in a suspended lift carriage comprising the following first to fourth steps.
First step: Lowering an article to be carried into a predetermined processing station held by a holding part of a suspension type lifting and lowering transport carriage, and moving the article to be carried into a slide plate that can freely move forward and backward. It mounts on one mounting surface in the suspension type temporary storage shelf which has the mounting surface of two articles | goods.
Second step: In the gripping part of the suspension type lifting and lowering carriage, the article for delivery placed on the article loading / unloading port of the predetermined processing station is gripped and raised, and the article for delivery is stored in the temporary storage shelf. Place on the other placement surface.
Third step: The article to be loaded placed on one placement surface of the suspension type temporary storage shelf is grasped and lowered by the grasping part of the suspension type lifting transport carriage, and the article is carried into the predetermined processing station. Fourth step of placing on the carry-out port: The carry-out article placed on the other placement surface of the suspension-type temporary storage shelf is gripped and raised by the grip portion of the suspension-type lifting / lowering carriage. The article is a FOUP that removably accommodates a semiconductor substrate, and the processing station is a processing facility for a semiconductor substrate that is disposed in a proper position along an annular track of a suspended lift carriage and accommodated in the FOUP. 2. A method for delivering an article in the suspended lift carriage according to 1. An article to be carried placed on an article loading / unloading port of a processing station installed at a predetermined location along the traveling path of the suspended lifting carriage A suspension-type temporary storage shelf for exchanging with an article for carrying held by an article gripping part of a transport carriage;
The suspension-type temporary storage shelf includes a slide plate having two article placement surfaces which are subjected to advance / retreat control and place articles one by one along the advance / retreat direction, and each article placement surface of the slide plate includes Only when storing or taking out articles to be carried in or out by slide plate advance / retreat control, either one of the article placement surfaces operates so as to face the article gripping part of the lifting mechanism of the suspended lift carriage. In other cases, the article transfer device for the hanging type lifting / lowering carriage is controlled to allow the lifting / lowering movement of the hanging type lifting / lowering carriage. An article is a FOUP in which a semiconductor substrate is removably accommodated, and a processing station is a processing facility for a semiconductor substrate that is disposed at an appropriate position along an annular track of a suspended lift carriage and accommodated in the FOUP. 4. The article transfer device in the hanging type lifting and lowering carriage described in 3.

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