CN111094157A

CN111094157A - Conveying system

Info

Publication number: CN111094157A
Application number: CN201880060901.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 佐藤史朗; 久保田昌辉; 荒井正
Original assignee: Nidec Sankyo Corp
Current assignee: Nidec Instruments Corp
Priority date: 2017-09-29
Filing date: 2018-09-11
Publication date: 2020-05-01
Also published as: WO2019065202A1; JP2019064763A

Abstract

A handling system (1) comprising: a tray arrangement unit (6) for arranging a tray in which a display panel is stored before inspection; a tray arrangement unit (7) for arranging a tray in which normal display panels are stored after inspection; a tray arrangement unit (8) for arranging and storing the abnormal display panel after inspection; a tray arrangement unit (9) for arranging empty trays; and a robot (12) which carries the pallet. When the uppermost tray of the tray arrangement part (6) is empty, the robot (12) conveys the tray from the tray arrangement part (6) to the tray arrangement part (9), and when the uppermost tray of the tray arrangement parts (7, 8) contains a predetermined number of display panels, the robot (12) conveys the tray from the tray arrangement part (9) to the tray arrangement parts (7, 8) and superposes the tray on the uppermost tray of the tray arrangement parts (7, 8).

Description

Conveying system

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a conveying system for conveying display panels such as liquid crystal panels.

Background

Conventionally, an inspection apparatus for lighting and inspecting a liquid crystal panel is known (for example, see patent document 1). The inspection apparatus described in patent document 1 is incorporated in a manufacturing system of a liquid crystal display. The inspection apparatus includes a detector for performing lighting inspection of the liquid crystal panel, a carrying-in side conveyor for conveying the liquid crystal panel before inspection toward the detector, a carrying-in mechanism for carrying the liquid crystal panel carried by the carrying-in side conveyor into the detector, a carrying-out mechanism for carrying the liquid crystal panel after inspection out of the detector, and a carrying-out side conveyor for conveying the liquid crystal panel carried out of the carrying-out mechanism.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open No. 2007-107973

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problem to be solved by the invention

In the manufacturing system incorporating the inspection device described in patent document 1, it is preferable that the time for loading and unloading the liquid crystal panel into and from the inspection device is short in order to shorten the tact time of the manufacturing system.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a transport system that can reduce the time required for carrying in and out a display panel with respect to an inspection apparatus, the transport system carrying in and out the display panel to and from the inspection apparatus that inspects the display panel.

Technical scheme for solving technical problem

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a transport system for carrying a display panel into and out of an inspection apparatus for inspecting the display panel, the transport system including: a supply-side tray arrangement unit that can arrange trays containing display panels before inspection in a stacked state; a first discharge-side tray arrangement section capable of arranging trays in a stacked state in which display panels judged to be normal by inspection by an inspection apparatus are accommodated; a second discharge-side tray arrangement section capable of arranging trays in a stacked state in which display panels judged to be abnormal by inspection by the inspection apparatus are accommodated; an empty tray arrangement portion that can arrange empty trays in a stacked state in multiple stages; a panel transfer robot that transfers a display panel; and a tray carrying robot that carries the trays, the panel carrying robot carrying the display panels in the tray disposed on the uppermost layer of the supply-side tray arrangement portion to the inspection device and carrying the inspected display panels from the inspection device to the tray disposed on the uppermost layer of the first discharge-side tray arrangement portion or the tray disposed on the uppermost layer of the second discharge-side tray arrangement portion, the tray carrying robot carrying and arranging the tray that becomes empty from the supply-side tray arrangement portion to the empty tray arrangement portion when the tray on the uppermost layer of the supply-side tray arrangement portion becomes empty, the tray carrying robot carrying the empty tray from the empty tray arrangement portion to the first discharge-side tray arrangement portion and overlapping it on the tray on the uppermost layer of the first discharge-side tray arrangement portion when a predetermined number of display panels are accommodated in the tray on the uppermost layer of the first discharge-side tray arrangement portion, when a predetermined number of display panels are stored in the uppermost tray of the second discharge-side tray arrangement unit, the tray transfer robot transfers empty trays from the empty tray arrangement unit to the second discharge-side tray arrangement unit, and superimposes the empty trays on the uppermost tray of the second discharge-side tray arrangement unit.

A conveyance system includes a supply-side tray arrangement unit, a first discharge-side tray arrangement unit, a second discharge-side tray arrangement unit, an empty tray arrangement unit, and a tray conveyance robot that conveys trays. In the present invention, when the uppermost tray of the supply-side tray arrangement portion is empty, the tray transfer robot transfers and arranges the empty tray from the supply-side tray arrangement portion to the empty tray arrangement portion, when a predetermined number of display panels are stored in the uppermost tray of the first discharge-side tray arrangement portion, the tray transfer robot transfers the empty tray from the empty tray arrangement portion to the first discharge-side tray arrangement portion and superimposes the empty tray on the uppermost tray of the first discharge-side tray arrangement portion, and when a predetermined number of display panels are stored in the uppermost tray of the second discharge-side tray arrangement portion, the tray transfer robot transfers the empty tray from the empty tray arrangement portion to the second discharge-side tray arrangement portion and superimposes the empty tray on the uppermost tray of the second discharge-side tray arrangement portion.

Therefore, in the present invention, when the tray at the uppermost layer of the supply-side tray arrangement portion becomes empty, there is no need to take out the empty tray to the outside of the conveyance system, and when a predetermined number of display panels are stored in the tray at the uppermost layer of the first discharge-side tray arrangement portion and the tray at the uppermost layer of the second discharge-side tray arrangement portion, there is no need to supply the empty tray from the outside of the conveyance system to the first discharge-side tray arrangement portion or the second discharge-side tray arrangement portion. That is, in the present invention, after the display panel starts to be carried in and out with respect to the inspection device, it is possible to eliminate the need to take out empty trays to the outside of the conveyance system or to supply empty trays from the outside of the conveyance system. In the present invention, the tray transfer robot can automatically transfer the tray from the supply-side tray placement unit to the empty tray placement unit, and can automatically transfer the tray from the empty tray placement unit to the first discharge-side tray placement unit and the second discharge-side tray placement unit. Therefore, in the present invention, the time for carrying in and out the display panel with respect to the inspection apparatus can be shortened.

In the present invention, it is desirable that the supply-side tray arrangement section, the first discharge-side tray arrangement section, the second discharge-side tray arrangement section, and the empty tray arrangement section are arranged in a row, and the empty tray arrangement section, the supply-side tray arrangement section, the first discharge-side tray arrangement section, and the second discharge-side tray arrangement section are arranged in this order. With this configuration, the tray conveying time of the tray conveying robot can be shortened as compared with a case where the supply-side tray arrangement unit, the first discharge-side tray arrangement unit, the second discharge-side tray arrangement unit, and the empty tray arrangement unit are arranged at random. In addition, with such a configuration, for example, by disposing the interface section of the inspection apparatus for delivering and receiving the display panels behind the first discharge-side tray disposition section, the total conveyance distance of the display panels from the tray of the supply-side tray disposition section to the panel conveyance robot conveyance display panel of the interface section of the inspection apparatus, the total conveyance distance of the display panels from the interface section of the inspection apparatus to the panel conveyance robot conveyance display panel of the first discharge-side tray disposition section, and the total conveyance distance of the display panels from the interface section of the inspection apparatus to the panel conveyance robot conveyance display panel of the second discharge-side tray disposition section can be shortened. Therefore, the time required for loading and unloading the display panel into and from the inspection apparatus can be further shortened.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the panel transfer robot is disposed at a position further to the rear side than the empty tray disposing section, the supply-side tray disposing section, the first discharge-side tray disposing section, and the second discharge-side tray disposing section, when an arrangement direction of the empty tray disposing section, the supply-side tray disposing section, the first discharge-side tray disposing section, and the second discharge-side tray disposing section is set to a left-right direction, and a direction orthogonal to an up-down direction and the left-right direction is set to a front-rear direction, the stacked trays are supplied from the front side to the supply-side tray disposing section, and the stacked trays are taken out to the front side from the first discharge-side tray disposing section and the second discharge-side tray disposing section. With this configuration, since the panel transfer robot is not disposed in front of the supply-side tray placement unit, the operation of supplying the tray to the supply-side tray placement unit is facilitated. In addition, with this configuration, since the panel transfer robot is not disposed in front of the first discharge-side tray placement unit and the second discharge-side tray placement unit, the operation of taking out the tray from the first discharge-side tray placement unit and the operation of taking out the tray from the second discharge-side tray placement unit are facilitated.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the supply-side tray arranging section, the first discharge-side tray arranging section, the second discharge-side tray arranging section, and the empty tray arranging section include a tray lifting mechanism that lifts and lowers the tray. With this configuration, the vertical position of the tray on the uppermost layer of the supply-side tray arrangement portion can be kept constant, the vertical position of the tray on the uppermost layer of the first discharge-side tray arrangement portion can be kept constant, the vertical position of the tray on the uppermost layer of the second discharge-side tray arrangement portion can be kept constant, and the vertical position of the tray on the uppermost layer of the empty tray arrangement portion can be kept constant. Therefore, as compared with the case where the vertical position of the uppermost tray varies depending on the number of layers of trays arranged, the control of the tray transfer robot can be simplified, and the control of the panel transfer robot can be simplified.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the supply-side tray placing section and the empty tray placing section include movable pins to be inserted between the tray placed on the uppermost layer and the tray placed on the second layer from the top, in order to separate the tray placed on the uppermost layer from the tray placed on the second layer from the top. With this configuration, when the tray is conveyed from the supply-side tray arrangement portion to the empty tray arrangement portion, only one tray that becomes empty at the uppermost level can be reliably conveyed. In addition, with this configuration, when the tray is conveyed from the empty tray arrangement portion to the first discharge-side tray arrangement portion or the second discharge-side tray arrangement portion, only the uppermost tray can be reliably conveyed.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the supply-side tray arranging section includes a tray lifting mechanism for lifting and lowering the tray, the movable pins of the supply-side tray arranging section are arranged at three or more positions so as to be able to support the tray arranged at the uppermost layer from below, when the movable pins enter between the tray arranged at the uppermost layer and the tray arranged at the second layer from above, the tray lifting mechanism lowers the stacked trays so that the movable pins support the tray arranged at the uppermost layer, and a gap is formed between the tray arranged at the uppermost layer and the tray arranged at the second layer from above, and the panel transfer robot holds the display panels arranged in the tray arranged at the uppermost layer of the supply-side tray arranging section in a state where the gap is formed between the tray arranged at the uppermost layer and the tray arranged at the second layer from above.

When the panel transfer robot holds the display panel arranged in the uppermost tray of the supply-side tray arrangement unit, there is a possibility that the uppermost tray deforms downward due to a force acting on the display panel from above. Therefore, the display panel disposed on the tray of the second layer from the top can be prevented from being damaged.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the supply-side tray placement section includes: a first sensor for detecting the tray disposed at the uppermost layer at a position where the movable pin can be inserted between the tray disposed at the uppermost layer and the tray disposed at a second layer from the top; and a second sensor for detecting the uppermost tray supported by the movable pin. With this configuration, the tray stacked can be stopped at a position where the movable pin can enter between the tray disposed on the uppermost layer and the tray disposed on the second layer from the top by using the first sensor, and it can be confirmed that the tray on the uppermost layer is supported by the movable pin by using the second sensor.

In the present invention, it is desirable that the supply-side tray arranging section, the first discharge-side tray arranging section, and the second discharge-side tray arranging section include a positioning mechanism for positioning the tray in the horizontal direction. With this configuration, the panel transfer robot can accurately hold the predetermined position of the display panel stored in the uppermost tray of the supply-side tray arrangement unit, and can accurately transfer the display panel into the predetermined position of the uppermost tray of the first discharge-side tray arrangement unit and the predetermined position of the uppermost tray of the second discharge-side tray arrangement unit.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the transport system includes a cassette placement unit configured to place cassettes in which a plurality of display panels before inspection are stored so as to be overlapped in the vertical direction with a gap in the vertical direction, and the cassette placement unit is disposed at a position where the panel transport robot can transport the display panels from the cassettes placed in the cassette placement unit to the inspection device. With this configuration, the display panel stored in the tray of the supply-side tray arrangement portion and the display panel stored in the cassette can be transported to the inspection apparatus by the common panel transport robot.

Effects of the invention

As described above, in the present invention, in the carrying system that carries in and carries out the display panel to and from the inspection apparatus that inspects the display panel, the time for carrying in and carrying out the display panel to and from the inspection apparatus can be shortened.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a conveyance system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a diagram for explaining the carrying system shown in fig. 1 from above.

Fig. 3 is a front view of the panel transfer robot shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a side view of the pallet handling robot shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the supply-side tray arrangement section shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the supply-side tray arrangement portion shown in fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a diagram for explaining the structure of the supply-side tray arrangement section shown in fig. 5 from the front.

Fig. 8 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the supply-side tray arrangement shown in fig. 5 from the side.

Fig. 9 is a front view for explaining the configurations of the carriage plate, the base member, the support frame, the slide mechanism, and the like shown in fig. 6.

Fig. 10 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the slide mechanism shown in fig. 6.

Fig. 11 (a) and 11 (B) are front views of the peripheral portion of the pin cylinder shown in fig. 5, and fig. 11 (C) and 11 (D) are front views of the peripheral portion of the sensor shown in fig. 5.

Fig. 12 is a diagram for explaining the separating operation of the tray disposed on the uppermost layer in the supply-side tray arrangement section shown in fig. 5.

Fig. 13 is a diagram for explaining the structure of the empty tray arrangement portion shown in fig. 1 from the front.

Fig. 14 is a diagram for explaining the structure of the empty tray arrangement portion shown in fig. 1 from the side.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(integral Structure of carrying System)

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a conveying system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a diagram for explaining the conveying system 1 shown in fig. 1 from above.

The conveying system 1 of the present embodiment is incorporated into a production line of a relatively small liquid crystal display used in a portable device or the like. The transport system 1 transports a liquid crystal panel 2 as a display panel. Specifically, the transport system 1 carries the liquid crystal panel 2 into the inspection apparatus 3 for inspecting the liquid crystal panel 2 and carries the liquid crystal panel 2 out of the inspection apparatus 3. The liquid crystal panel 2 is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape.

In the present embodiment, the liquid crystal panel 2 before inspection by the inspection device 3 is stored in the tray 4 or the cassette 5 according to the size of the liquid crystal panel 2 to be inspected. Specifically, the large liquid crystal panel 2 is housed in the tray 4, and the small liquid crystal panel 2 is housed in the box 5. The liquid crystal panel 2 inspected by the inspection device 3 is stored in the tray 4. A plurality of liquid crystal panels 2 are stored in the tray 4 in a vertically non-overlapping state. In the case 5, a plurality of liquid crystal panels 2 are housed so as to be overlapped in the vertical direction with a gap therebetween in the vertical direction. The tray 4 is formed in a substantially rectangular flat plate shape, and a concave portion for accommodating the liquid crystal panel 2 is formed on the upper surface of the tray 4. In addition, the tray 4 is formed of a relatively low-rigidity resin. In fig. 1, the tray 4 and the cassette 5 are not shown.

The conveyance system 1 includes: a tray arrangement unit 6 in which trays 4 containing liquid crystal panels 2 before inspection can be arranged in a stacked state; a tray arrangement unit 7 that can arrange trays 4 containing liquid crystal panels 2 determined to be normal by inspection by the inspection device 3 in a stacked state; a tray arrangement unit 8 for arranging the trays 4 in a stacked state, the trays containing the liquid crystal panels 2 determined to be abnormal by the inspection of the inspection device 3; and a tray arrangement unit 9 for arranging the empty trays 4 in a stacked state.

The transport system 1 includes a robot 11 that transports the liquid crystal panels 2, a robot 12 that transports the trays 4, and a cassette placement unit 13 that places the cassettes 5 that store a plurality of liquid crystal panels 2. The tray arrangement portion 6 of the present embodiment is a supply-side tray arrangement portion, the tray arrangement portion 7 is a first discharge-side tray arrangement portion, the tray arrangement portion 8 is a second discharge-side tray arrangement portion, and the tray arrangement portion 9 is an empty tray arrangement portion. The robot 11 of the present embodiment is a panel transfer robot, and the robot 12 is a pallet transfer robot.

The tray arrangement portion 6, the tray arrangement portion 7, the tray arrangement portion 8, and the tray arrangement portion 9 are arranged in a row. The tray arrangement parts 6 to 9 are provided on the stand 14. A main body frame (not shown) of the conveying system 1 is fixed to the stand 14. In the following description, the arrangement direction (X direction in fig. 1 and the like) of the tray arrangement portions 6 to 9 is defined as the left-right direction, and the Y direction in fig. 1 and the like orthogonal to the up-down direction and the left-right direction is defined as the front-back direction. In addition, the X1 direction side in fig. 1 and the like in the left-right direction is referred to as the "right" side, the X2 direction side in fig. 1 and the like as the opposite side is referred to as the "left" side, the Y1 direction side in fig. 1 and the like in the front-rear direction is referred to as the "front" side, and the Y2 direction side in fig. 1 and the like as the opposite side is referred to as the "rear" side.

The inspection device 3 of the present embodiment is a lighting inspection device that lights and inspects the liquid crystal panel 2. The inspection apparatus 3 includes, for example: a panel holding section having panel mounting sections 15 for mounting the liquid crystal panel 2 at two locations; a rotation mechanism that rotates the panel holding portion in an axial direction in which the vertical direction is rotational; and a housing, the interior of which becomes a dark room when performing lighting inspection of the liquid crystal panel 2. A backlight or a camera for performing lighting inspection of the liquid crystal panel 2 is provided inside the housing. The rotation mechanism rotates the panel holding portion between a position where one panel mounting portion 15 of the two panel mounting portions 15 is disposed outside the housing and the other panel mounting portion 15 is disposed inside the housing, and a position where the one panel mounting portion 15 is disposed inside the housing and the other panel mounting portion 15 is disposed outside the housing.

As described above, the

tray arrangement portions

6, 7, 8, and 9 are arranged in a line in the left-right direction. In the present embodiment, the tray arrangement portion 9, the tray arrangement portion 6, the tray arrangement portion 7, and the tray arrangement portion 8 are arranged in this order. Specifically, the tray arrangement portion 9, the tray arrangement portion 6, the tray arrangement portion 7, and the tray arrangement portion 8 are arranged in this order from the left side toward the right side. The robot 12 is disposed above the tray arrangement parts 6 to 9. The robot 11 is disposed at a position further to the rear side than the tray disposition parts 6 to 9. Further, the robot 11 is disposed on the rear side of the tray arranging portion 7.

The inspection device 3 is disposed at a position further to the rear side than the robot 11. The inspection device 3 is disposed behind the tray arrangement parts 6 to 8. The panel mounting unit 15 of the inspection apparatus 3 is disposed on the rear side of the robot 11. The cartridge disposing section 13 is disposed on the rear side of the tray disposing section 6. The cassette placement unit 13 is disposed on the front side of the inspection apparatus 3 and on the left side of the robot 11. The cassette placement unit 13 is disposed at a position where the robot 11 can convey the liquid crystal panel 2 from the cassette 5 disposed in the cassette placement unit 13 to the panel placement unit 15 of the inspection apparatus 3.

(Structure of robot and Box arrangement part)

Fig. 3 is a front view of the robot 11 shown in fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a side view of the robot 12 shown in fig. 1.

The robot 11 is a six-axis vertical multi-joint robot. The robot 11 includes: a support member 19 constituting a lower end portion of the robot 11, a joint portion 20 relatively rotatably connected to the support member 19, a joint portion 21 relatively rotatably connected to the joint portion 20, a linear arm 22 having a base end fixed to the joint portion 21, a joint portion 23 fixed to a distal end of the arm 22, a joint portion 24 relatively rotatably connected to the joint portion 23, a linear arm 25 having a base end relatively rotatably connected to the joint portion 24, a joint portion 26 at a distal end of the fixing arm 25, a joint portion 27 relatively rotatably connected to the joint portion 26, and a panel holding mechanism 28 rotatably connected to the joint portion 27 and holding the liquid crystal panel 2.

The

joint sections

20, 21, 23, 24, 26, and 27 include motors and speed reducers for reducing and transmitting the power of the motors. The joint section 20 is connected to the support member 19 so as to be rotatable in the axial direction in which the vertical direction is rotatable. The joint portion 21 is connected to the joint portion 20 so as to be rotatable in an axial direction in which the rotation is performed in a horizontal direction. The joint portion 24 is connected to the joint portion 23 so as to be rotatable in an axial direction in which the rotation is performed in a horizontal direction. The joint 27 is connected to the joint 26 so as to be rotatable in an axial direction in which the rotation is horizontal.

The axial direction of the rotation of the joint 21 with respect to the joint 20 and the axial direction of the rotation of the joint 24 with respect to the joint 23 are orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the arm 22. The axial direction of the rotation of the joint portion 24 with respect to the joint portion 23 and the axial direction of the rotation of the joint portion 27 with respect to the joint portion 26 are orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the arm 25. The axial direction of rotation of the joint 24 with respect to the joint 23 is orthogonal to the axial direction of rotation of the arm 25 with respect to the joint 24. The axial direction of rotation of the joint portion 27 with respect to the joint portion 26 is orthogonal to the axial direction of rotation of the panel holding mechanism 28 with respect to the joint portion 27.

The panel holding mechanism 28 includes a panel holding portion 28a that sucks and holds the liquid crystal panel 2. The panel holding portion 28a holds one liquid crystal panel 2. A plurality of suction holes are formed in the panel holding portion 28 a. A suction mechanism of air such as a vacuum pump is connected to the plurality of suction holes via a predetermined pipe. Note that, in fig. 1 and 2, the panel holding portion 28a is not shown.

The robot 12 is a so-called biaxial orthogonal robot. The robot 12 includes: a fixed frame 31 fixed to the stand 14, a movable frame 32 held by the fixed frame 31 so as to be slidable in the left-right direction with respect to the fixed frame 31, a movable frame 33 held by the movable frame 32 so as to be slidable in the up-down direction with respect to the movable frame 32, and a tray holding portion 34 attached to the movable frame 33. The robot 12 includes a driving mechanism for sliding the movable frame 32 in the left-right direction, a guide mechanism for guiding the movable frame 32 in the left-right direction, a driving mechanism for sliding the movable frame 33 in the up-down direction, and a guide mechanism for guiding the movable frame 33 in the up-down direction.

The fixing frame 31 is disposed above the front end portions of the tray arrangement portions 6 to 9. The movable frame 32 is attached to the upper surface side of the fixed frame 31. In addition, the movable frame 32 extends from the fixed frame 31 toward the rear side. The movable frame 33 is attached to the rear end of the movable frame 32. The tray holding portion 34 is attached to the lower end of the movable frame 33. As shown in fig. 4, the tray holding portion 34 includes a plurality of suction portions 35 that suck and hold the tray 4. A suction mechanism for air such as a vacuum pump is connected to the suction unit 35 via a predetermined pipe. The suction portion 35 is in contact with the upper surface of the tray 4, and vacuums the tray 4.

The cartridge arranging portion 13 includes a cartridge holding portion 36 that holds the cartridge 5. The cartridge holding portion 36 is rotatable about the lower end of the cartridge holding portion 36 in the axial direction of rotation in the front-rear direction. The operator places the cartridge 5 in the cartridge holding portion 36 by manual operation. In the present embodiment, after the cartridge 5 is placed on the cartridge holding portion 36 in a state inclined from the left obliquely upward to the left as it goes upward, the cartridge holding portion 36 is rotated to a position where the thickness direction of the liquid crystal panel 2 housed in the cartridge 5 substantially coincides with the vertical direction, and then the cartridge holding portion 36 is fixed.

(general structure of tray arrangement part)

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the tray arrangement portion 6 shown in fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the tray arrangement portion 6 shown in fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a diagram for explaining the structure of the tray arrangement portion 6 shown in fig. 5 from the front. Fig. 8 is a diagram for explaining the structure of the tray arrangement portion 6 shown in fig. 5 from the side.

The trays 4 are arranged in the tray arrangement portion 6 in a stacked state (stacked state). The tray arrangement portion 6 includes two side plates 38 constituting left and right side surfaces of the tray arrangement portion 6 and a rear side plate 39 constituting a rear surface of the tray arrangement portion 6, and an upper surface and a front surface of the tray arrangement portion 6 are opened. The tray arrangement portion 6 includes a placement plate 40, and the placement plate 40 places the tray 4 disposed at the lowermost portion of the trays 4 disposed in the tray arrangement portion 6. That is, the tray arrangement portion 6 includes a mounting plate 40, and the tray 4 arranged at the lowermost portion among the trays 4 in the stacked state is mounted on the mounting plate 40. The tray arrangement portion 6 includes a base member 41 on which the placement plate 40 is placed, and a support frame 42 on which the base member 41 is slidably attached.

Further, the tray arrangement portion 6 includes a slide mechanism 43 that slides the base member 41 with respect to the support frame 42. The slide mechanism 43 slides the base member 41 in the front-rear direction with respect to the support frame 42. The tray arrangement portion 6 includes a lock mechanism 44 for locking the base member 41 on one end side (specifically, the rear end side in the sliding direction) of the base member 41 with respect to the support frame 42 in the sliding direction, and a lock mechanism 45 (see fig. 6) for locking the base member 41 on the other end side (specifically, the front end side in the sliding direction) of the base member 41 with respect to the support frame 42 in the sliding direction.

Further, the tray arrangement portion 6 includes an elevating mechanism 46 that elevates the support frame 42. That is, the tray arrangement portion 6 includes an elevating mechanism 46 that elevates the base member 41, the placement plate 40, and the tray 4. The elevating mechanism 46 of the present embodiment is a tray elevating mechanism. Also, the tray arrangement portion 6 includes a cylinder 47 for positioning the tray 4 in the horizontal direction. That is, the tray arranging portion 6 includes a cylinder 47 for positioning the tray 4 placed on the placing plate 40 in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction. The tray arrangement unit 6 includes a pin cylinder 50 for separating the tray 4 arranged on the uppermost layer from the tray 4 arranged on the second layer from the top. The tray arrangement portion 6 of the present embodiment includes four pin cylinders 50.

The tray arrangement unit 6 includes sensors 51 to 53 for detecting the tray 4 arranged on the uppermost layer. The sensor 51 is a sensor for detecting the upper limit position of the uppermost tray 4. The sensor 52 is a sensor for detecting the uppermost tray 4 supported by the movable pin 89 of the pin cylinder 50 as described later. The sensor 53 is a sensor for stopping the uppermost tray 4 among the trays 4 in the stacked state raised by the raising and lowering mechanism 46 at the upper limit position. The sensor 51 of the present embodiment is a first sensor, and the sensor 52 is a second sensor.

Hereinafter, a specific configuration of the tray arranging portion 6 will be described. In the present embodiment, the tray arrangement portion 7 and the tray arrangement portion 8 are configured identically. The tray arrangement portions 7 and 8 are configured in the same manner as the tray arrangement portion 6 except that the tray arrangement portions 7 and 8 do not include the pin cylinder 50 and the

sensors

52 and 53. Therefore, a description of the specific configuration of the tray arrangement portions 7 and 8 is omitted.

The tray arrangement portion 9 does not include the placement plate 40, the base member 41, the slide mechanism 43, and the

lock mechanisms

44 and 45; the tray arrangement portion 9 does not include the cylinder 47 and the

sensors

52, 53; and the number of the pin cylinders 50 included in the tray arrangement portion 9 is two, the tray arrangement portion 9 is configured substantially in the same manner as the tray arrangement portion 6. Hereinafter, a specific configuration of the tray arrangement portion 9 will be described centering on a difference from the tray arrangement portion 6.

(specific configuration of tray arrangement part)

Fig. 9 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the carriage plate 40, the base member 41, the support frame 42, the slide mechanism 43, and the like shown in fig. 6 from the front. Fig. 10 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the slide mechanism 43 shown in fig. 6. Fig. 11 (a) and 11 (B) are front views of the peripheral portion of the pin cylinder 50 shown in fig. 5, and fig. 11 (C) and 11 (D) are front views of the peripheral portions of the sensors 51 to 53 shown in fig. 5. Fig. 12 is a diagram for explaining the separating operation of the tray 4 disposed on the uppermost layer in the tray disposing unit 6 shown in fig. 5. Fig. 13 is a diagram for explaining the structure of the tray arrangement portion 9 shown in fig. 1 from the front. Fig. 14 is a diagram for explaining the structure of the tray arrangement portion 9 shown in fig. 1 from the side.

The mounting plate 40 is formed in a substantially rectangular flat plate shape. The mounting plate 40 is detachably mounted on the base member 41 such that the thickness direction of the mounting plate 40 coincides with the vertical direction and the longitudinal direction of the mounting plate 40 formed in a substantially rectangular shape coincides with the front-rear direction. The placement plate 40 is disposed on the right side of the side plate 38 disposed on the left side, and is disposed on the left side of the side plate 38 disposed on the right side. The mounting plate 40 is made of resin. The rigidity of the mounting plate 40 is higher than that of the tray 4. The carriage plate 40 is formed of nylon, for example.

The mounting plate 40 has two through holes 40a formed therein with a gap therebetween in the front-rear direction, and the through holes penetrate the mounting plate 40 in the vertical direction. The two through holes 40a are formed in a substantially rectangular shape. Pins 56 for positioning the tray 4 in the horizontal direction (the front-rear direction and the left-right direction) are fixed to two corners of the rear end side of the mounting plate 40. The pins 56 project upward from the upper surface of the carriage plate 40. A plurality of pins 55 (see fig. 6) for positioning the carriage plate 40 with respect to the base member 41 are fixed to the lower surface of the carriage plate 40. In the present embodiment, the pins 55 are fixed to the center of the placement plate 40, two positions on both left and right end sides of the front end portion of the placement plate 40, and two positions on both left and right end sides of the rear end portion of the placement plate 40. That is, five pins 55 are fixed to the lower surface of the mounting plate 40. The pins 55 project downward from the lower surface of the carriage plate 40.

As described above, the tray 4 is formed in a substantially rectangular flat plate shape. The tray 4 is placed on the placement plate 40 such that the longitudinal direction of the tray 4 coincides with the front-rear direction. The outer shape of the tray 4 is substantially equal to the outer shape of the placement plate 40. A flange portion 4a (see fig. 12) extending toward the outer peripheral side of the tray 4 is formed at the lower end portion of the tray 4. The flange portion 4a is formed in a substantially rectangular frame shape. Two corner portions on the rear end side of the tray 4 placed on the placement plate 40 (i.e., two corner portions on the rear end side of the flange portion 4 a) are inclined surfaces 4b inclined to the inside in the left-right direction as they go to the rear side (see fig. 6).

The base member 41 is disposed on the right side of the side plate 38 disposed on the left side, and is disposed on the left side of the side plate 38 disposed on the right side. The base member 41 includes a base plate 57 on which the mounting plate 40 is detachably mounted, and two rail fixing plates 58 to which a third rail 69, which will be described later, constituting the slide mechanism 43 is fixed. The substrate 57 is formed in a substantially rectangular flat plate shape, and is disposed so that the thickness direction of the substrate 57 coincides with the vertical direction. The length of the base plate 57 in the front-rear direction is substantially equal to the length of the placement plate 40 in the front-rear direction. The width of the base plate 57 in the left-right direction is narrower than the width of the mounting plate 40 in the left-right direction.

Two substantially rectangular through holes 57a (see fig. 6) that penetrate the substrate 57 in the vertical direction are formed in the substrate 57 at intervals in the front-rear direction. The base plate 57 is formed with an insertion hole into which the pin 55 fixed to the center of the mounting plate 40 is inserted, and insertion holes into which the pins 55 fixed to both left and right end sides of the rear end of the mounting plate 40 are inserted. In the present embodiment, the operator slides the base member 41 relative to the support frame 42 by manual operation. A handle 59 to be gripped by an operator when sliding the base member 41 with respect to the support frame 42 is fixed to the front end side of the lower surface of the base plate 57. Further, two pins 55 fixed to both left and right end sides of the front end portion of the mounting plate 40 are in contact with the left and right end faces of the base plate 57.

A lock plate 60 for locking the base member 41 with respect to the support frame 42 is fixed to the rear end side of the lower surface of the base plate 57. The lock plate 60 is formed in a flat plate shape, and is disposed so that the thickness direction of the lock plate 60 coincides with the left-right direction. The lock plate 60 is fixed to the right end side of the base plate 57. As shown in fig. 8, the front portion of the lower surface of the lock plate 60 is an inclined surface 60a inclined upward as it goes toward the front side, and the rear portion of the lower surface of the lock plate 60 is an inclined surface 60b inclined upward as it goes toward the rear side. A minute flat surface perpendicular to the vertical direction is formed between the inclined surface 60a and the inclined surface 60b (see fig. 8).

The rail fixing plate 58 is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape elongated in the front-rear direction. The rail fixing plate 58 is disposed such that the thickness direction of the rail fixing plate 58 coincides with the left-right direction. The rail fixing plate 58 is fixed to the lower surface of the base plate 57. Further, two rail fixing plates 58 are fixed to both end sides of the base plate 57 in the left-right direction, respectively. The rail fixing plate 58 has a length in the front-rear direction longer than that of the base plate 57. The front end of the rail fixing plate 58 is disposed on the front side of the front end of the base plate 57, and the rear end of the rail fixing plate 58 is disposed on the rear side of the rear end of the base plate 57.

The support frame 42 is disposed at a position on the right side of the side plate 38 disposed on the left side, and is disposed at a position on the left side of the side plate 38 disposed on the right side. The support frame 42 includes two rail fixing plates 61 for fixing a first rail 67, which will be described later, constituting the slide mechanism 43, a support plate 62 for fixing the rail fixing plates 61, a base plate 63 fixed to the support plate 62, and two reinforcing plates 64. The support plate 62 is formed in a substantially rectangular flat plate shape. The support plate 62 is disposed such that the thickness direction of the support plate 62 coincides with the vertical direction.

The length of the support plate 62 in the front-rear direction is longer than the length of the base plate 57 in the front-rear direction. The width of the support plate 62 in the left-right direction is narrower than the interval between the two rail fixing plates 58 in the left-right direction. The support plate 62 is formed with a notch 62a that is cut from the front end of the support plate 62 toward the rear side. The support plate 62 is formed with a single substantially rectangular through hole 62b (see fig. 6) that penetrates the support plate 62 in the vertical direction. The through hole 62b is disposed behind the notch 62 a.

The rail fixing plate 61 is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape elongated in the front-rear direction. The rail fixing plate 61 is disposed such that the thickness direction of the rail fixing plate 61 coincides with the left-right direction. The rail fixing plate 61 is fixed to the upper surface of the support plate 62. Further, two rail fixing plates 61 are fixed to both end sides of the support plate 62 in the left-right direction, respectively. The two rail fixing plates 61 are disposed on the inner sides of the two rail fixing plates 58 in the left-right direction. The rail fixing plate 61 has a length in the front-rear direction longer than that of the support plate 62. The front end of the rail fixing plate 61 is disposed at the same position as the front end of the support plate 62 in the front-rear direction, and the rear end of the rail fixing plate 61 is disposed at a position further to the rear side than the rear end of the support plate 62.

The substrate 63 is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape, and is disposed so that the thickness direction of the substrate 63 coincides with the front-rear direction. The base plate 63 is fixed to the rear end portion of the lower surface of the support plate 62. The reinforcing plate 64 is a reinforcing rib for securing the fixing strength of the support plate 62 and the base plate 63. The reinforcing plate 64 is formed in a substantially isosceles trapezoidal flat plate shape, and is disposed so that the thickness direction of the reinforcing plate 64 coincides with the left-right direction. The rear end surface of the reinforcing plate 64 is fixed to the front surface of the base plate 63, and the upper end surface of the reinforcing plate 64 is fixed to the lower surface of the support plate 62. In fig. 8, two reinforcing plates 64 are not shown.

The slide mechanism 43 is a so-called double slide rail, and as shown in fig. 9 and 10, includes: a first rail 67 fixed to the rail fixing plate 61, a second rail 68 slidably held in the front-rear direction on the first rail 67, and a third rail 69 slidably held in the front-rear direction on the second rail and fixed to the rail fixing plate 58. Ball bearings are disposed between the first rail 67 and the second rail 68, and between the second rail 68 and the third rail 69. The slide mechanism 43 may be a single slide rail.

The length (the length in the front-rear direction) of the second rail 68 is slightly longer than the length of the third rail 69. The length of the first rail 67 is about twice the length of the second rail 68. The first rail 67 is fixed to the right side surface of the rail fixing plate 61 disposed on the right side, and is fixed to the left side surface of the rail fixing plate 61 disposed on the left side. The third rail 69 is fixed to the left side surface of the rail fixing plate 58 disposed on the right side, and is fixed to the right side surface of the rail fixing plate 58 disposed on the left side. In addition, the third rail 69 is fixed to the rear end portion of the rail fixing plate 58.

As shown in fig. 6, the lock mechanism 44 includes: a stopper 70 that restricts the movement of the base member 41 to the rear side, a roller 71 that contacts the lock plate 60, a lever member 72 that rotatably holds the roller 71 at one end side, and a holding member 73 that rotatably holds the other end side of the lever member 72. The stopper 70 is formed in a thick disk shape, and is disposed so that the thickness direction of the stopper 70 coincides with the front-rear direction. The stopper 70 is formed of rubber, for example. The stopper 70 is fixed to the fixing member 74. The fixing member 74 is fixed to the left end side of the rear end of the support plate 62. The stopper 70 is located on the upper side of the support plate 62 and on the lower side of the base plate 57. The stopper 70 is disposed right to the rail fixing plate 61 disposed on the left side. A flat plate-shaped abutment plate 75 (see fig. 9) that comes into contact with the front end surface of the stopper 70 is fixed to the left end side of the rear end portion of the lower surface of the base plate 57.

The holding member 73 is fixed to the rear end side and the right end side of the upper surface of the support plate 62. The front end of the lever member 72 is held by a holding member 73 so as to be rotatable in the axial direction in which the lever member is rotatable in the left-right direction. The roller 71 is held by the rear end of the lever member 72 so as to be rotatable in the axial direction about the left-right direction. The lever member 72 is biased upward by a compression coil spring 76 (see fig. 6) disposed on the rear side of the rotation center of the lever member 72. That is, the lever member 72 is biased in the counterclockwise direction (counterclockwise direction) in fig. 8 by the biasing force of the compression coil spring 76.

The lock mechanism 45 includes a stopper 70, a roller 71, a lever member 72, and a holding member 73, similarly to the lock mechanism 44. In the lock mechanism 45, the stopper 70 restricts the movement of the base member 41 to the front side. The stopper 70 is fixed to a fixing member 77, and the fixing member 77 is fixed to the front end side and the left end side of the upper surface of the support plate 62. In the lock mechanism 45, the front surface of the abutment plate 75 is in contact with the rear end surface of the stopper 70.

In the lock mechanism 45, the holding member 73 is fixed to the front end side and the right end side of the upper surface of the support plate 62. The rear end portion of the lever member 72 is rotatably held by the holding member 73 in the axial direction in which the rotation is in the left-right direction, and the roller 71 is rotatably held by the front end portion of the lever member 72 in the axial direction in which the rotation is in the left-right direction. The lever member 72 is biased upward by a compression coil spring 76 disposed on the front side of the rotation center of the lever member 72. That is, the lever member 72 is biased clockwise (clockwise) in fig. 8 by the biasing force of the compression coil spring 76.

The base member 41 is slidable in the front-rear direction between a rearward limit position (a position indicated by solid lines in fig. 5, 6, and 8) at which the front end of the tray 4 placed on the placement plate 40 and the front end of the placement plate 40 are disposed rearward of the front ends of the side plates 38 and the base member 41 is locked by the locking mechanism 44, and a forward limit position (a position indicated by two-dot chain lines in fig. 8) at which the rear end of the tray 4 placed on the placement plate 40 and the rear end of the placement plate 40 are disposed forward of the front ends of the side plates 38 and the base member 41 is locked by the locking mechanism 45. When the base member 41 is at the retreat limit position, the robot 11 carries the liquid crystal panel 2. When the base member 41 is at the forward limit position, the tray 4 in the stacked state in which the liquid crystal panels 2 before inspection are stored and the tray 4 in the state of being placed on the placement plate 40 are placed on the substrate 57.

When the base member 41 is disposed at the retreat limit position, the front end surface of the stopper 70 of the lock mechanism 44 and the rear surface of the contact plate 75 are in light contact with each other or face each other with a very small gap therebetween. When the base member 41 is disposed at the retreat limit position, the inclined surface 60a of the lock plate 60 contacts the roller 71 of the lock mechanism 44. Therefore, the movement of the base member 41 in the front-rear direction is restricted. When the base member 41 is disposed at the forward limit position, the rear end surface of the stopper 70 of the lock mechanism 45 and the front surface of the contact plate 75 are in light contact or face each other with a very small gap therebetween. When the base member 41 is disposed at the forward limit position, the inclined surface 60b of the lock plate 60 contacts the roller 71 of the lock mechanism 45. Therefore, the movement of the base member 41 in the front-rear direction is restricted.

When the base member 41 moves rearward toward the retreat limit position, the inclined surface 60b of the lock plate 60 contacts the roller 71 of the lock mechanism 44. Thereafter, when the base member 41 is further moved to the rear side, the lever member 72 is rotated clockwise in fig. 8 against the urging force of the compression coil spring 76, and the rear end portion of the lock plate 60 passes over the roller 71. When the rear end portion of the lock plate 60 passes over the roller 71, the lever member 72 is rotated counterclockwise in fig. 8 by the biasing force of the compression coil spring 76, and the inclined surface 60a of the lock plate 60 comes into contact with the roller 71.

Similarly, when the base member 41 moves toward the forward limit position, the inclined surface 60a of the lock plate 60 contacts the roller 71 of the lock mechanism 45. Thereafter, when the base member 41 further moves forward, the lever member 72 rotates counterclockwise in fig. 8 against the biasing force of the compression coil spring 76, and the tip end portion of the lock plate 60 passes over the roller 71. When the tip end portion of the lock plate 60 passes over the roller 71, the lever member 72 is rotated clockwise in fig. 8 by the biasing force of the compression coil spring 76, and the inclined surface 60b of the lock plate 60 comes into contact with the roller 71.

Further, the tray arrangement portion 6 includes a sensor 79 (refer to fig. 6) for detecting that the base member 41 is at the retreat limit position. The sensor 79 is a proximity sensor and is fixed to the right end side of the rear end portion of the upper surface of the support plate 62 via a fixing member. A bolt 80 (see fig. 6) for detection by the sensor 79 is fixed to the rear end portion of the substrate 57. The tray placement unit 6 includes two rear side plates 81, and when the base member 41 is at the retreat limit position, the two rear side plates 81 are placed directly behind both right and left end portions of the tray 4 placed on the placement plate 40. The rear side plate 81 is fixed to the side plate 38.

Further, the tray arrangement portion 6 includes a roller 82 that supports the base member 41 moving to the advance limit position from below. The roller 82 is held by a fixing member 83 so as to be rotatable in an axial direction around a left-right direction. The fixing member 83 is fixed to a main body frame provided on the stand 14. The rollers 82 are disposed on both left and right end sides, respectively. The roller 82 is disposed at substantially the same position as the holding member 73 of the lock mechanism 45 in the front-rear direction. The roller 82 contacts the lower surface of the track fixing plate 58 and supports the track fixing plate 58 from below.

As shown in fig. 7, the elevating mechanism 46 includes a motor 84, a screw member connected to an output shaft of the motor 84 via a coupling 85, a nut member engaged with the screw member and fixed to a rear surface of the base plate 63, and a guide mechanism 86 for guiding the support frame 42 in the vertical direction. The motor 84 is, for example, an ac induction motor, and the speed of the motor 84 can be adjusted. The motor 84 is fixed to a support plate 87 formed in a flat plate shape. The support plate 87 is fixed to the stand 14. The rear side plate 39 is fixed to the support plate 87. The screw member is rotatably held by the support plate 87. The guide mechanism 86 includes, for example, a guide rail fixed to the support plate 87 and a guide block engaged with the guide rail and fixed to the base plate 63. Further, the motor 84 may be a servo motor.

The pin cylinder 50 is a cylinder. The pin cylinder 50 includes a movable pin 89 that moves using compressed air as a drive source, and a cylinder body that movably holds the movable pin 89 (see fig. 11 a and 11B). As described above, the tray arrangement portion 6 includes the four pin cylinders 50. The cylinder bodies of two of the four pin cylinders 50 are fixed to the left side plate 38 via a predetermined member, and the cylinder bodies of the remaining two pin cylinders 50 are fixed to the right side plate 38 via a predetermined member.

Of the two pin cylinders 50 fixed to the left side plate 38, the cylinder body of one pin cylinder 50 is fixed to the front end portion of the side plate 38, and the cylinder body of the other pin cylinder 50 is fixed to the rear end portion of the side plate 38. The cylinder body of one pin cylinder 50 of the two pin cylinders 50 fixed to the right side plate 38 is fixed to the front end portion of the side plate 38, and the cylinder body of the other pin cylinder 50 is fixed to the rear end portion of the side plate 38. The pin cylinder 50 fixed to the front end portion of the left side plate 38 and the pin cylinder 50 fixed to the front end portion of the right side plate 38 are disposed at the same position in the front-rear direction, and the pin cylinder 50 fixed to the rear end portion of the left side plate 38 and the pin cylinder 50 fixed to the rear end portion of the right side plate 38 are disposed at the same position in the front-rear direction.

The pin cylinder 50 is disposed such that the moving direction of the movable pin 89 coincides with the left-right direction. The two pin cylinders 50 fixed to the left side plate 38 are disposed such that the movable pin 89 protrudes to the right, and the two pin cylinders 50 fixed to the right side plate 38 are disposed such that the movable pin 89 protrudes to the left. The four movable pins 89 are disposed above the upper end surface of the side plate 38.

The movable pins 89 are inserted between the tray 4 disposed on the uppermost layer and the tray 4 disposed on the second layer from the top (see fig. 12B and 12C to separate the tray 4 disposed on the uppermost layer from the tray 4 disposed on the second layer from the top).

The sensors 51 to 53 are transmissive optical sensors, and include a light emitting portion 91 and a light receiving portion 92. The sensor 52 is disposed above the sensor 53, and the sensor 51 is disposed above the sensor 52. For example, the sensor 52 is disposed at a position forward of the sensor 51, and the sensor 53 is disposed at a position rearward of the sensor 51. The light emitting parts 91 of the sensors 51 to 53 are fixed to the side plate 38 disposed on the left side via predetermined members, for example, and the light receiving parts 92 of the sensors 51 to 53 are fixed to the side plate 38 disposed on the right side via predetermined members. The light emitting section 91 and the light receiving section 92 are arranged to face each other in the left-right direction. The light emitting unit 91 and the light receiving unit 92 are disposed above the upper end surface of the side plate 38. The sensors 51 to 53 may be reflective optical sensors.

As described above, the sensor 51 is a sensor for detecting the upper limit position of the uppermost tray 4, and the sensor 53 is a sensor for stopping the uppermost tray 4 of the stacked trays 4 raised by the raising and lowering mechanism 46 at the upper limit position. In the present embodiment, when the sensor 53 detects the uppermost tray 4 among the trays 4 in the stacked state raised by the lifting mechanism 46, the motor 84 is decelerated, and when the sensor 51 detects the uppermost tray 4, the motor 84 is stopped.

As shown in fig. 12 (a), when the uppermost tray 4 is stopped at the upper limit position, the movable pin 89 is disposed below the flange portion 4a of the uppermost tray 4 and above the flange portion 4a of the tray 4 disposed second from the top, and the movable pin 89 can be inserted between the flange portion 4a of the uppermost tray 4 and the flange portion 4a of the tray 4 disposed second from the top. That is, the sensor 51 of the present embodiment is also a sensor for detecting the tray 4 at the uppermost layer at a position where the movable pin 89 can enter between the tray 4 at the uppermost layer and the tray 4 arranged at the second layer from the top.

In the present embodiment, when the uppermost tray 4 is stopped at the upper limit position, the pin cylinder 50 is operated to project the movable pin 89, and as shown in fig. 12 (B), the movable pin 89 enters between the uppermost tray 4 and the tray 4 disposed at the second layer from the top. When the movable pin 89 enters between the tray 4 on the uppermost layer and the tray 4 disposed on the second layer from the top, as shown in fig. 12C, the lifting mechanism 46 lowers the stacked trays 4 (stacked state trays 4) to cause the movable pin 89 to support the tray 4 on the uppermost layer, and to form a gap between the tray 4 on the uppermost layer and the tray 4 disposed on the second layer from the top.

When the uppermost tray 4 is supported by the movable pin 89, the uppermost tray 4 also slightly descends. The tray 4 on the uppermost layer slightly lowered is out of the detection range of the sensor 51. On the other hand, the sensor 52 is disposed at a position where it is possible to detect the tray 4 of the uppermost layer that has slightly descended, and the tray 4 of the uppermost layer that has already slightly descended when supported by the movable pin 89 is detected by the sensor 52. That is, the sensor 52 is a sensor for detecting the uppermost tray 4 supported by the movable pin 89.

The cylinder 47 is a guided cylinder. The cylinder 47 is disposed at a position further toward the front side than the front end of the tray 4 when the base member 41 is at the rearward limit position. When the base member 41 is at the rearward limit position, the cylinder 47 is disposed on the front side of the tray 4 disposed at the uppermost layer at the upper limit position. The cylinder 47 is fixed to the main body frame of the tray arrangement portion 6 via a predetermined member. The cylinder 47 is disposed such that the rod of the cylinder 47 protrudes rearward. A pressing member 93 that presses the tray 4 rearward by contacting the front end surface of the tray 4 disposed at the uppermost layer at the upper limit position is fixed to the front end (rear end) of the rod of the cylinder 47.

In the present embodiment, when the base member 41 is at the retreat limit position and the uppermost tray 4 is disposed at the upper limit position, and the air cylinder 47 is operated to press the uppermost tray 4 rearward by the pressing member 93, the inclined surfaces 4b of the plurality of trays 4 disposed on the lower side come into contact with the pins 56 fixed to the mounting plate 40, and the trays 4 in the stacked state are positioned in the horizontal direction (the front-rear direction and the left-right direction). In the present embodiment, the cylinder 47, the pressing member 93, and the pin 56 constitute a positioning mechanism 94 for positioning the tray 4 in the horizontal direction.

As described above, the tray arrangement portion 9 does not include the placement plate 40, the base member 41, the slide mechanism 43, and the

lock mechanisms

44, 45. As shown in fig. 13 and 14, the support frame 42 of the tray arrangement portion 9 includes a mounting plate 95 on which the tray 4 disposed lowermost among the trays 4 disposed in the tray arrangement portion 9 is mounted, two fixing plates 96 and a base plate 97 to which the mounting plate 95 is fixed, and two reinforcing plates 98. The mounting plate 95 is formed in the same manner as the mounting plate 40. Pins 56 for positioning the tray 4 in the horizontal direction are fixed to two corners of the rear end side of the mounting plate 95. The fixing plate 96 is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape elongated in the front-rear direction, and is disposed so that the thickness direction of the fixing plate 96 coincides with the left-right direction. The two fixing plates 96 are disposed at a spacing in the left-right direction. The lower surface of the mounting plate 95 is fixed to the upper end surface of the fixing plate 96.

The substrate 97 is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape, and is disposed so that the thickness direction of the substrate 97 coincides with the front-rear direction. The rear end surface of the fixing plate 96 is fixed to the front surface of the base plate 97, and the lower surface of the rear end portion of the mounting plate 95 is fixed to the upper end surface of the base plate 97. A nut member constituting a part of the elevating mechanism 46 and a guide block constituting a part of the guide mechanism 86 are fixed to the rear surface of the base plate 97. The reinforcing plate 98 is a reinforcing rib for securing the fixing strength of the mounting plate 95 and the base plate 97. The reinforcing plate 98 is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape elongated in the vertical direction, and is disposed so that the thickness direction of the reinforcing plate 98 coincides with the left-right direction. The rear end surface of the reinforcing plate 98 is fixed to the front surface of the base plate 97, and the upper end surface of the reinforcing plate 98 is fixed to the lower surface of the mounting plate 95.

In addition, as described above, the tray arrangement portion 9 includes the two pin cylinders 50. In the pallet arrangement portion 9, one of the two columnar pin cylinders 50 is fixed to the front end portion of the side plate 38 arranged on the left side via a predetermined member, and the remaining one columnar pin cylinder 50 is fixed to the front end portion of the side plate 38 arranged on the right side via a predetermined member. The two cylindrical pin cylinders 50 are arranged at the same position in the front-rear direction. The pin cylinder 50 fixed to the left side plate 38 is disposed such that the movable pin 89 protrudes rightward, and the pin cylinder 50 fixed to the right side plate 38 is disposed such that the movable pin 89 protrudes leftward.

In the tray arrangement portion 9, in order to separate the tray 4 arranged on the uppermost layer from the tray 4 arranged on the second layer from the top, the movable pin 89 is inserted between the flange portion 4a of the tray 4 arranged on the uppermost layer and the flange portion 4a of the tray 4 arranged on the second layer from the top. However, the tray 4 disposed at the uppermost layer cannot be supported from below by the two movable pins 89 in the tray disposition portion 9.

As described above, the tray placement unit 9 does not include the

sensors

52 and 53, but includes the sensor 51 for detecting the upper limit position of the uppermost tray 4. In the tray arranging portion 9, the motor 84 is stopped at a position where the uppermost tray 4 is detected by the sensor 51. As described above, the tray arrangement units 7 and 8 also include the sensor 51, but do not include the

sensors

52 and 53, and the motor 84 is stopped at the position where the sensor 51 detects the uppermost tray 4 in the tray arrangement units 7 and 8.

In the tray arrangement portion 9, when the uppermost tray 4 is stopped at the upper limit position, the movable pin 89 is also arranged at a position lower than the flange portion 4a of the uppermost tray 4 and upper than the flange portion 4a of the tray 4 arranged at the second layer from the top, and the movable pin 89 can be inserted between the flange portion 4a of the uppermost tray 4 and the flange portion 4a of the tray 4 arranged at the second layer from the top. In the tray arrangement portion 9, the tray 4 on the uppermost layer and the tray 4 arranged on the second layer from the top are in contact with each other, and no gap is formed between the two trays 4.

(operation of the carrying System)

When the liquid crystal panel 2 is carried into the inspection device 3 and the liquid crystal panel 2 is carried out from the inspection device 3 by the carrying system 1, first, an empty tray 4 in which the liquid crystal panel 2 is not stored is supplied to the tray placement portion 9. Specifically, for example, the empty trays 4 stacked in a stacked state of 5 layers are placed on the placement plate 95 of the tray arrangement portion 9 from the left side of the tray arrangement portion 9 by manual operation of the operator. When an empty tray 4 in a stacked state is placed on the placement plate 95 of the tray placement portion 9, the lifting mechanism 46 lifts and lowers the tray 4 in the tray placement portion 9 so that the tray 4 in the stacked state stops at a position where the sensor 51 detects the tray 4 on the uppermost layer. The empty trays 4 in the stacked state may be placed on the placement plate 95 of the tray arrangement portion 9 from the front side of the tray arrangement portion 9.

Thereafter, in the tray arrangement portion 9, the pin cylinder 50 is operated, and the movable pin 89 enters between the flange portion 4a of the tray 4 on the uppermost layer and the flange portion 4a of the tray 4 arranged on the second layer from the top. Thereafter, the robot 12 holds and picks up the tray 4 at the uppermost layer of the tray arrangement portion 9, and conveys the tray 4 to the tray arrangement portion 7 and places it on the placement plate 40 of the tray arrangement portion 7. At this time, the base member 41 of the tray arrangement portion 7 is arranged at the retreat limit position. Further, the support frame 42 of the tray arrangement portion 7 is raised to a predetermined position. When the robot 12 does not transport the tray 4, the movable frame 33 and the tray holding portion 34 stand by on the upper side of the tray placement portion 9.

When an empty tray 4 is placed on the placement plate 40 of the tray placement portion 7, the lifting mechanism 46 lifts the tray 4 in the tray placement portion 7 so that the tray 4 stops at a position where the sensor 51 detects the tray 4. Then, in the tray arranging section 7, the air cylinder 47 is operated to position the empty tray 4 in the front-rear-left-right direction. In the tray arrangement portion 9, when the uppermost tray 4 is conveyed toward the tray arrangement portion 7, the columnar pin cylinder 50 operates, and the protruding movable pins 89 retract. Thereafter, the lifting mechanism 46 lifts and lowers the trays 4 so that the trays 4 in the stacked state are stopped at the position where the sensor 51 detects the uppermost tray 4 among the trays 4 in the stacked state remaining in the tray arrangement portion 9.

Thereafter, in the tray arrangement portion 9, the pin cylinder 50 is operated, and the movable pin 89 enters between the flange portion 4a of the tray 4 on the uppermost layer and the flange portion 4a of the tray 4 arranged on the second layer from the top. Thereafter, the robot 12 holds and picks up the tray 4 on the uppermost layer of the tray arrangement portion 9, and conveys the tray 4 to the tray arrangement portion 8 and places it on the placement plate 40 of the tray arrangement portion 8. At this time, the base member 41 of the tray arrangement portion 8 is arranged at the retreat limit position. Further, the support frame 42 of the tray arrangement portion 8 is raised to a predetermined position. When an empty tray 4 is placed on the placement plate 40 of the tray placement portion 8, the lifting mechanism 46 lifts the tray 4 in the tray placement portion 8 so that the tray 4 stops at a position where the sensor 51 detects the tray 4. Thereafter, in the tray arranging portion 8, the air cylinder 47 is operated to position the empty tray 4 in the front-rear-left-right direction.

In the tray arrangement portion 9, when the uppermost tray 4 is conveyed toward the tray arrangement portion 8, the pin cylinder 50 operates, and the protruding movable pins 89 retract. Thereafter, the lifting mechanism 46 lifts and lowers the trays 4 so that the trays 4 in the stacked state are stopped at the position of the uppermost tray 4 among the trays 4 in the stacked state remaining in the tray arrangement portion 9 detected by the sensor 51.

When the liquid crystal panels 2 before inspection stored in the tray 4 are supplied to the inspection device 3, the tray 4 in which the liquid crystal panels 2 before inspection are stored in a stacked state is supplied to the tray arrangement portion 6. When the tray 4 in the stacked state is supplied to the tray arrangement portion 6, the support frame 42 is lowered to the lower limit position, and the operator moves the base member 41 to the advance limit position by manual operation. In this state, the tray 4 in the stacked state, that is, the tray 4 in the state of being placed on the placement plate 40 is placed on the base plate 57 of the tray placement portion 6 from the front side by manual operation of the operator. That is, the stacked trays 4 are fed from the front side to the tray arrangement portion 6. The number of layers of the tray 4 supplied to the tray arrangement portion 6 is, for example, 30 at maximum. In addition, the tray arrangement portion 6 includes a sensor for detecting the lower limit position of the support frame 42. The tray arrangement parts 7 and 8 also include sensors for detecting the lower limit position of the support frame 42.

When the tray 4 in the stacked state is placed on the base plate 57 of the tray arrangement portion 6 together with the placement plate 40, the operator moves the base member 41 to the retreat limit position in the tray arrangement portion 6 by manual operation. Thereafter, in the tray arrangement portion 6, the lifting mechanism 46 lifts the tray 4 so that the tray 4 in the stacked state is stopped at the position where the sensor 51 detects the tray 4 on the uppermost layer. Thereafter, the cylinder 47 is operated to position the tray 4 in the stacked state in the front-rear-left-right direction. Thereafter, the pin cylinder 50 is operated, and the movable pin 89 enters between the flange portion 4a of the tray 4 on the uppermost layer and the flange portion 4a of the tray 4 disposed on the second layer from the top. Thereafter, the lifting mechanism 46 lowers the stacked trays 4, and causes the movable pins 89 to support the uppermost tray 4, and a gap is formed between the uppermost tray 4 and the tray 4 disposed second from the top.

When an empty tray 4 is placed on the placement plates 40 of the tray arrangement portions 7 and 8 and a gap is formed between the tray 4 on the uppermost layer and the tray 4 arranged on the second layer from the top in the tray arrangement portion 6, the robot 11 conveys the liquid crystal panel 2 in the tray 4 arranged on the uppermost layer in the tray arrangement portion 6 to the inspection apparatus 3. That is, the robot 11 holds and picks up the liquid crystal panel 2 in the tray 4 disposed on the uppermost layer of the tray disposing section 6 and conveys the liquid crystal panel to the inspection apparatus 3 in a state where a gap is formed between the tray 4 disposed on the uppermost layer and the tray 4 disposed on the second layer from the top. Specifically, the panel holding portion 28a of the robot 11 sucks and holds the upper surface of the liquid crystal panel 2, and conveys the liquid crystal panel to the inspection apparatus 3.

The robot 11 conveys and stores the liquid crystal panel 2 after inspection from the inspection apparatus 3 to the tray 4 disposed at the uppermost layer of the tray arrangement portion 7 or conveys and stores the liquid crystal panel to the tray 4 disposed at the uppermost layer of the tray arrangement portion 8. Specifically, the robot 11 conveys and stores the liquid crystal panel 2 determined to be normal by the inspection of the inspection device 3 into the tray 4 disposed at the uppermost layer of the tray placement unit 7, and conveys and stores the liquid crystal panel 2 determined to be abnormal by the inspection of the inspection device 3 into the tray 4 disposed at the uppermost layer of the tray placement unit 8.

When the tray 4 on the uppermost layer of the tray arrangement portion 6, from which the liquid crystal panel 2 is carried out by the robot 11, is empty, the robot 12 carries the empty tray 4 from the tray arrangement portion 6 and arranges it on the tray arrangement portion 9. That is, the robot 12 holds and picks up the empty tray 4, and conveys the tray from the tray arrangement portion 6 to the tray arrangement portion 9, and superimposes the tray on the trays 4 arranged in the stacked state in the tray arrangement portion 9. When the tray 4 is placed on the tray placing portion 9, the lifting mechanism 46 lifts and lowers the tray 4 in the tray placing portion 9 so that the tray 4 in the stacked state stops at the position where the sensor 51 detects the tray 4 placed on the uppermost layer of the tray placing portion 9.

In the tray arrangement portion 6 from which the empty tray 4 has been carried out, the pin cylinder 50 operates, and the protruding movable pins 89 retract. Thereafter, the lifting mechanism 46 lifts the tray 4 so that the tray 4 in the stacked state stops at the position of the uppermost tray 4 among the trays 4 in the stacked state left in the tray arrangement portion 6 detected by the sensor 51. Thereafter, the pin cylinder 50 is operated, and the movable pin 89 enters between the flange portion 4a of the tray 4 on the uppermost layer and the flange portion 4a of the tray 4 disposed on the second layer from the top. Thereafter, the lifting mechanism 46 lowers the stacked trays 4, and causes the movable pins 89 to support the uppermost tray 4, and a gap is formed between the uppermost tray 4 and the tray 4 disposed second from the top.

Thereafter, the robot 11 conveys the liquid crystal panel 2 in the tray 4 disposed on the uppermost layer of the tray arrangement portion 6 to the inspection apparatus 3. When the liquid crystal panels 2 placed on the trays 4 in the tray placement unit 6 are sequentially conveyed to the inspection apparatus 3 and all the trays 4 in the tray placement unit 6 are conveyed to the tray placement unit 9, the trays 4 in the stacked state in which the liquid crystal panels 2 before inspection are stored are supplied to the tray placement unit 6 as described above.

When a predetermined number of liquid crystal panels 2 are stored in the tray 4 on the uppermost layer of the tray arrangement portion 7 into which the liquid crystal panels 2 are carried by the robot 11 (for example, when a predetermined number of liquid crystal panels 2 are stored in the tray 4), the robot 12 carries an empty tray 4 from the tray arrangement portion 9 to the tray arrangement portion 7 and superimposes the empty tray 4 on the uppermost layer of the tray arrangement portion 7. That is, the robot 12 holds and picks up the empty tray 4 at the uppermost layer of the tray arrangement portion 9, and conveys the tray from the tray arrangement portion 9 to the tray arrangement portion 7, and superimposes the tray on the tray 4 of the tray arrangement portion 7. In the tray arrangement portion 7 into which the empty tray 4 is carried, the lifting mechanism 46 lifts and lowers the tray 4 so that the tray 4 in the stacked state stops at a position where the sensor 51 detects the carried-in tray 4, that is, the uppermost tray 4. Thereafter, the robot 11 conveys the liquid crystal panel 2 from the inspection apparatus 3 to the tray 4 disposed at the uppermost layer of the tray arrangement portion 7.

Similarly, when a predetermined number of liquid crystal panels 2 are stored in the uppermost tray 4 of the tray arrangement portion 8 into which the liquid crystal panels 2 are carried by the robot 11, the robot 12 carries an empty tray 4 from the tray arrangement portion 9 to the tray arrangement portion 8, and superimposes the empty tray 4 on the uppermost tray 4 of the tray arrangement portion 8. That is, the robot 12 holds and picks up the empty tray 4 at the uppermost layer of the tray arrangement portion 9, and conveys the tray from the tray arrangement portion 9 to the tray arrangement portion 8, and superimposes the tray on the tray 4 of the tray arrangement portion 8. In the tray arrangement portion 8 into which the empty tray 4 is carried, the lifting mechanism 46 lifts and lowers the tray 4 so that the tray 4 in the stacked state stops at the position of the uppermost tray 4 detected by the sensor 51 as the tray 4 carried in. Thereafter, the robot 11 conveys the liquid crystal panel 2 from the inspection apparatus 3 to the tray 4 disposed at the uppermost layer of the tray arrangement portion 8.

When a predetermined number of trays 4 containing a predetermined number of liquid crystal panels 2 are stacked in the tray arrangement portion 7, the stacked trays 4 are taken out from the tray arrangement portion 7. When the tray 4 in the stacked state is taken out from the tray arrangement portion 7, the support frame 42 is lowered to the lower limit position, and the operator moves the base member 41 to the advance limit position by manual operation. In this state, the tray 4 in the stacked state placed on the placement plate 40 of the tray arrangement portion 7 is lifted up together with the placement plate 40 from the base plate 57 and taken out to the front side by the manual operation of the operator. That is, the stacked trays 4 are taken out to the front side from the tray placing portion 7. Further, the tray arrangement portion 7 includes a sensor for detecting that the trays 4 have been stacked by a prescribed number of layers.

When the tray 4 in the stacked state is taken out from the tray arrangement portion 7 together with the placement plate 40, another placement plate 40 is placed on the base plate 57 of the tray arrangement portion 7 by a manual operation. Thereafter, in the tray arranging portion 7, the operator moves the base member 41 to the retreat limit position by manual operation. Thereafter, in the tray arrangement portion 7, the elevating mechanism 46 raises the support frame 42 to a predetermined position. Thereafter, the robot 12 conveys the tray 4 on the uppermost layer of the tray arrangement portion 9 to the tray arrangement portion 7, and places the tray on the placement plate 40 of the tray arrangement portion 7. When an empty tray 4 is placed on the placement plate 40 of the tray placement portion 7, the lifting mechanism 46 lifts and lowers the tray 4 in the tray placement portion 7 so that the tray 4 stops at a position where the sensor 51 detects the tray 4.

Similarly, when trays 4 containing a predetermined number of liquid crystal panels 2 are stacked by a predetermined number of layers in tray arrangement portion 8, the stacked trays 4 are taken out from tray arrangement portion 8. When the tray 4 in the stacked state is taken out from the tray arrangement portion 8, the support frame 42 is lowered to the lower limit position, and the operator moves the base member 41 to the advance limit position by manual operation. In this state, the tray 4 in the stacked state placed on the placement plate 40 of the tray arrangement portion 8 is taken out to the front side together with the placement plate 40 by the manual operation of the operator. That is, the stacked tray 4 is taken out to the front side from the tray placing portion 8. Further, the tray arrangement portion 8 includes a sensor for detecting that the trays 4 are stacked by a prescribed number of layers.

When the tray 4 in the stacked state is taken out from the tray arrangement portion 8 together with the placement plate 40, another placement plate 40 is placed on the base plate 57 of the tray arrangement portion 8 by a manual operation. Thereafter, in the tray arranging portion 8, the operator moves the base member 41 to the retreat limit position by manual operation. Thereafter, in the tray arrangement portion 8, the elevating mechanism 46 raises the support frame 42 to a predetermined position. Thereafter, the robot 12 conveys the tray 4 on the uppermost layer of the tray arrangement portion 9 to the tray arrangement portion 8, and places the tray on the placement plate 40 of the tray arrangement portion 8. When an empty tray 4 is placed on the placement plate 40 of the tray arrangement portion 8, the lifting mechanism 46 lifts and lowers the tray 4 in the tray arrangement portion 8 so that the tray 4 stops at a position where the sensor 51 detects the tray 4.

In the tray arrangement portion 9, before the robot 12 carries out the tray 4 from the tray arrangement portion 9 to the tray arrangement portion 7 or the tray arrangement portion 8, the pin cylinder 50 operates, and the movable pin 89 enters between the flange portion 4a of the tray 4 on the uppermost layer and the flange portion 4a of the tray 4 arranged on the second layer from the top. When the uppermost tray 4 is conveyed toward the tray arrangement portions 7 and 8, the pin cylinder 50 operates to retract the protruding movable pin 89. Thereafter, the lifting mechanism 46 lifts and lowers the trays 4 so that the trays 4 in the stacked state are stopped at the position of the uppermost tray 4 among the trays 4 in the stacked state remaining in the tray arrangement portion 9 detected by the sensor 51.

On the other hand, when the liquid crystal panel 2 before inspection stored in the cartridge 5 is supplied to the inspection apparatus 3, the cartridge 5 in which the liquid crystal panel 2 before inspection is stored is supplied to the cartridge arrangement portion 13. The robot 11 conveys the liquid crystal panel 2 in the cassette 5 to the inspection device 3, and conveys and stores the inspected liquid crystal panel 2 from the inspection device 3 into the tray 4 disposed at the uppermost layer of the tray arrangement portion 7 or the tray 4 disposed at the uppermost layer of the tray arrangement portion 8.

(main effect of the present embodiment)

As described above, the conveyance system 1 of the present embodiment includes the tray arrangement units 6 to 9 and the robot 12 that conveys the trays 4. In the present embodiment, when the tray 4 on the uppermost layer of the tray arrangement portion 6 is empty, the robot 12 conveys and arranges the empty tray 4 from the tray arrangement portion 6 to the tray arrangement portion 9, and when a predetermined number of liquid crystal panels 2 are stored in the tray 4 on the uppermost layer of the tray arrangement portion 7, the robot 12 conveys the empty tray 4 from the tray arrangement portion 9 to the tray arrangement portion 7 and superimposes the empty tray 4 on the uppermost layer of the tray arrangement portion 7, and when a predetermined number of liquid crystal panels 2 are stored in the tray 4 on the uppermost layer of the tray arrangement portion 8, the robot 12 conveys the empty tray 4 from the tray arrangement portion 9 to the tray arrangement portion 8 and superimposes the empty tray 4 on the uppermost layer of the tray arrangement portion 8.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the tray 4 at the uppermost layer of the tray arrangement portion 6 is empty, there is no need to take out the tray 4 that is empty to the outside of the transport system 1, and when a predetermined number of liquid crystal panels 2 are stored in the tray 4 at the uppermost layer of the tray arrangement portion 7 and the tray 4 at the uppermost layer of the tray arrangement portion 8, there is no need to supply the empty tray 4 to the tray arrangement portions 7 and 8 from the outside of the transport system 1. That is, in the present embodiment, after the liquid crystal panel 2 starts to be carried in and out with respect to the inspection device 3, there is no need to take out the tray 4 that has become empty to the outside of the conveyance system 1 or to take in the empty tray 4 from the outside of the conveyance system 1. In the present embodiment, the tray 4 is automatically conveyed from the tray arrangement portion 6 to the tray arrangement portion 9 by the robot 12, and the tray 4 is automatically conveyed from the tray arrangement portion 9 to the tray arrangement portion 7 and the tray arrangement portion 8. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the time for carrying in and out the liquid crystal panel 2 to and from the inspection device 3 can be shortened.

In the present embodiment, the tray arrangement parts 6 to 9 are arranged in a row. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the conveyance time of the tray 4 by the robot 12 can be shortened as compared with the case where the tray arrangement portions 6 to 9 are arranged at random.

In the present embodiment, the tray arrangement portion 9, the tray arrangement portion 6, the tray arrangement portion 7, and the tray arrangement portion 8 are arranged in this order from the left side to the right side. In the present embodiment, a panel mounting portion 15 of the inspection device 3 on which the liquid crystal panel 2 is mounted is disposed behind the tray disposing portion 7. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the total transport distance of the liquid crystal panel 2 from the tray 4 of the tray placement unit 6 to the transport distance of the robot 11 of the panel placement unit 15 of the inspection apparatus 3 to transport the liquid crystal panel 2, the transport distance from the panel placement unit 15 to the robot 11 of the tray placement unit 7 to transport the liquid crystal panel 2, and the transport distance from the panel placement unit 15 to the robot 11 of the tray placement unit 8 to transport the liquid crystal panel 2 can be shortened. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the time required for loading and unloading the liquid crystal panel 2 into and from the inspection device 3 can be further shortened.

In the present embodiment, the inspection device 3, the robot 11, and the cassette placement unit 13 are disposed behind the tray placement units 6 to 8, but the stacked trays 4 are supplied from the front side to the tray placement unit 6, and the stacked trays 4 are taken out from the tray placement units 7 and 8 to the front side. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the feeding operation of the tray 4 to the tray arrangement portion 6 becomes easy, and the taking-out operation of the tray 4 from the tray arrangement portions 7, 8 becomes easy.

In the present embodiment, the tray arrangement portions 6 to 9 include the elevating mechanism 46 for elevating the tray 4 and the sensor 51 for detecting the upper limit position of the tray 4 on the uppermost layer. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the position of the uppermost tray 4 of the tray arrangement portions 6 to 9 in the vertical direction can be kept constant. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the control of the

robots

11 and 12 can be simplified as compared with the case where the position in the vertical direction of the uppermost tray 4 varies depending on the number of layers of the trays 4 arranged in the tray arrangement portions 6 to 9.

In the present embodiment, in order to separate the tray 4 disposed on the uppermost layer from the tray 4 disposed on the second layer from the top, the

tray disposing parts

6 and 9 include movable pins 89 that enter between the tray 4 disposed on the uppermost layer and the tray 4 disposed on the second layer from the top. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the tray is conveyed from the tray arrangement portion 6 to the tray arrangement portion 9, only the tray 4 at the uppermost layer that becomes empty can be reliably conveyed, and when the empty tray 4 is conveyed from the tray arrangement portion 9 to the tray arrangement portions 7 and 8, only the tray 4 at the uppermost layer can be reliably conveyed.

In the present embodiment, since the panel holding portion 28a of the robot 11 sucks and holds the upper surface of the liquid crystal panel 2 in the tray 4 disposed at the uppermost layer of the tray disposing portion 6, when the robot 11 holds the liquid crystal panel 2 in the tray 4 at the uppermost layer of the tray disposing portion 6, a force acts on the liquid crystal panel 2 from above, and the tray 4 at the uppermost layer may be deformed downward. However, in the present embodiment, the robot 11 holds the liquid crystal panel 2 in the tray 4 disposed on the uppermost layer of the tray disposing section 6 in a state where a gap is formed between the tray 4 disposed on the uppermost layer and the tray 4 disposed on the second layer from the top. Therefore, even if the uppermost tray 4 is deformed downward, the liquid crystal panels 2 arranged in the trays 4 of the second layer from the top can be prevented from contacting the uppermost tray 4. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the liquid crystal panel 2 disposed on the tray 4 of the second layer from the top can be prevented from being damaged.

In the present embodiment, the tray arrangement portion 6 includes: a sensor 51 for detecting the tray 4 at the uppermost layer at a position where the movable pin 89 can be inserted between the tray 4 at the uppermost layer and the tray 4 arranged at the second layer from the top; and a sensor 52, the sensor 52 being used for detecting the tray 4 of the uppermost layer supported by the movable pin 89. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the sensor 51 can be used to stop the stacked tray 4 at a position where the movable pin 89 can enter between the tray 4 disposed on the uppermost layer and the tray 4 disposed on the second layer from the top, and the sensor 52 can be used to confirm that the tray 4 on the uppermost layer is supported by the movable pin 89.

In the present embodiment, the tray arrangement parts 6 to 8 include a positioning mechanism 94, and the positioning mechanism 94 is used for positioning the tray 4 in the horizontal direction. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the robot 11 can accurately hold the predetermined position of the liquid crystal panel 2 stored in the uppermost tray 4 of the tray arrangement unit 6, and the robot 11 can accurately carry the liquid crystal panel 2 to the predetermined position of the uppermost tray 4 of the tray arrangement units 7 and 8.

In the present embodiment, the transport system 1 includes a cassette placement unit 13 for placing the cassettes 5, and the cassette placement unit 13 is disposed at a position where the robot 11 can transport the liquid crystal panel 2 from the cassettes 5 placed in the cassette placement unit 13 to the inspection apparatus 3. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the liquid crystal panel 2 stored in the tray 4 of the tray arrangement portion 6 and the liquid crystal panel 2 stored in the cassette 5 can be transported to the inspection apparatus 3 by the common robot 11.

(other embodiments)

The above embodiment is an example of the best mode of the present invention, but is not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made within a range not changing the gist of the present invention.

In the above embodiment, the number of the pin cylinders 50 included in the tray arranging portion 6 may be 5 or more. That is, the number of the movable pins 89 included in the tray arrangement portion 6 may be 5 or more. The number of the movable pins 89 included in the tray arrangement portion 6 may be 3, and the tray 4 arranged at the uppermost layer may be supported from the lower side. In the above-described embodiment, when the robot 11 holds the liquid crystal panel 2 in the tray 4 disposed on the uppermost layer of the tray disposing unit 6, no gap may be formed between the tray 4 disposed on the uppermost layer and the tray 4 disposed on the second layer from the top. In this case, the tray arrangement portion 6 may not include the sensor 52.

In the above-described embodiment, the supply of the tray 4 to the

tray arrangement portions

6 and 9 may be automatically performed by using a robot or the like, or the removal of the tray 4 from the tray arrangement portions 7 and 8 may be automatically performed by using a robot or the like. In the above-described embodiment, the movable pins 89 of the pin cylinder 50 may be fixed with pressing members that contact the left and right end surfaces of the tray 4 to position the tray 4 in the left-right direction. In the above-described embodiment, the

tray arrangement portions

9, 6, 7, and 8 are arranged in this order from the left side to the right side, but the tray arrangement portions 6 to 9 may be arranged in any order. In the above embodiment, the tray arrangement portions 6 to 9 may be arranged randomly.

In the above embodiment, the tray arrangement portions 6 to 8 may not include the mounting plate 40. In this case, the tray 4 is placed on the substrate 57 in the tray arrangement portions 6 to 8. In the above embodiment, at least any one of the tray arrangement parts 6 to 9 may not include the elevating mechanism 46. In the above-described embodiment, the

tray arrangement portions

6 and 9 may not include the pin cylinder 50. In the above-described embodiment, the tray arrangement portions 6 to 8 may not include the

lock mechanisms

44 and 45, the slide mechanism 43, and the positioning mechanism 94. In the above-described embodiment, the conveyance system 1 may not include the cassette placement unit 13.

In the above-described embodiment, the robot 11 may be a vertical articulated robot other than six axes, may be a horizontal articulated robot, may be a three-axis orthogonal robot, or may be a so-called parallel link robot. In the above-described embodiment, the robot 12 may be a three-axis orthogonal robot, a vertical articulated robot, or a horizontal articulated robot. In the above-described embodiment, the inspection device 3 may be an inspection device other than a lighting inspection device. In the above-described embodiment, the display panel conveyed by the conveying system 1 is the liquid crystal panel 2, but the display panel conveyed by the conveying system 1 may be a display panel other than the liquid crystal panel 2. For example, the display panel conveyed by the conveying system 1 may be an organic EL panel.

Description of the reference numerals

1 conveyance system

2 LCD panel (display panel)

3 inspection device

4 tray

5 boxes

6 tray arrangement part (supply side tray arrangement part)

7 tray arrangement part (first discharge side tray arrangement part)

8 tray arrangement part (second discharge side tray arrangement part)

9 tray configuration part (empty tray configuration part)

11 robot (Panel transfer robot)

12 robot (tray carrying robot)

13 cassette arrangement part

46 lifting mechanism (tray lifting mechanism)

51 sensor (first sensor)

Sensor 52 (second sensor)

89 Movable pin

94 positioning mechanism

X left and right directions

Y front-to-back direction.

Claims

1. A conveyance system that carries a display panel into and out of an inspection apparatus that inspects the display panel, the conveyance system comprising:

a supply-side tray arrangement portion that can arrange trays that house the display panels before inspection in a state of being stacked in multiple stages; a first discharge-side tray arranging portion that can arrange the trays that house the display panels that are determined to be normal by the inspection of the inspection apparatus in a stacked state into a plurality of layers; a second discharge-side tray arranging section that can arrange the trays containing the display panels determined to be abnormal by the inspection of the inspection apparatus in a stacked state; an empty tray arrangement portion that can arrange empty trays in a stacked state in multiple stages; a panel transfer robot that transfers the display panel; and a tray carrying robot that carries the tray,

the panel transfer robot transferring the display panel arranged on the tray at the uppermost layer of the supply-side tray arrangement portion to the inspection device and transferring the inspected display panel from the inspection device to the tray arranged at the uppermost layer of the first discharge-side tray arrangement portion or the tray arranged at the uppermost layer of the second discharge-side tray arrangement portion,

the tray transfer robot transfers the empty tray from the supply-side tray arrangement portion to the empty tray arrangement portion when the tray on the uppermost layer of the supply-side tray arrangement portion becomes empty, transfers the empty tray from the supply-side tray arrangement portion to the empty tray arrangement portion, and when a predetermined number of the display panels are stored in the tray on the uppermost layer of the first discharge-side tray arrangement portion, transfers the empty tray from the empty tray arrangement portion to the first discharge-side tray arrangement portion and overlaps it on the tray on the uppermost layer of the first discharge-side tray arrangement portion, and when a predetermined number of the display panels are stored in the tray on the uppermost layer of the second discharge-side tray arrangement portion, transfers the empty tray from the empty tray arrangement portion to the second discharge-side tray arrangement portion, and is superposed on the tray on the uppermost layer of the second discharge-side tray arrangement portion.

2. Handling system according to claim 1,

the supply-side tray arrangement portion, the first discharge-side tray arrangement portion, the second discharge-side tray arrangement portion, and the empty tray arrangement portion are arranged in a row, and the empty tray arrangement portion, the supply-side tray arrangement portion, the first discharge-side tray arrangement portion, and the second discharge-side tray arrangement portion are arranged in this order.

3. Handling system according to claim 2,

when the arrangement direction of the empty tray arrangement portion, the supply-side tray arrangement portion, the first discharge-side tray arrangement portion, and the second discharge-side tray arrangement portion is set to the left-right direction, and a direction orthogonal to the up-down direction and the left-right direction is set to the front-rear direction,

the panel transfer robot is disposed at a position further to the rear side than the empty tray disposition part, the supply-side tray disposition part, the first discharge-side tray disposition part, and the second discharge-side tray disposition part,

feeding the stacked trays from the front side to the feed-side tray arrangement section,

the stacked trays are taken out to the front side from the first discharge-side tray arrangement portion and the second discharge-side tray arrangement portion.

4. Handling system according to any of claims 1 to 3,

the supply-side tray arranging section, the first discharge-side tray arranging section, the second discharge-side tray arranging section, and the empty tray arranging section include a tray lifting mechanism that lifts and lowers the tray.

5. Handling system according to any of claims 1 to 4,

in order to separate the tray disposed on the uppermost layer from the tray disposed on the second layer from the top, the supply-side tray disposition portion and the empty tray disposition portion include movable pins that enter between the tray disposed on the uppermost layer and the tray disposed on the second layer from the top.

6. Handling system according to claim 5,

the supply-side tray arranging section includes a tray lifting mechanism for lifting and lowering the tray,

the movable pins of the supply-side tray arrangement portion are arranged at three or more positions so as to be able to support the tray arranged at the uppermost layer from below,

when the movable pin enters between the tray disposed on the uppermost layer and the tray disposed on the second layer from the top, the tray lifting mechanism lowers the stacked trays, supports the tray disposed on the uppermost layer by the movable pin, and forms a gap between the tray disposed on the uppermost layer and the tray disposed on the second layer from the top,

the panel transfer robot holds the display panel in the tray disposed on the uppermost layer of the supply-side tray disposition part in a state where a gap is formed between the tray disposed on the uppermost layer and the tray disposed on the second layer from the top.

7. Handling system according to claim 6,

the supply-side tray arranging section includes: a first sensor for detecting the tray disposed at the uppermost layer at a position where the movable pin can be inserted between the tray disposed at the uppermost layer and the tray disposed at a second layer from the top; and a second sensor for detecting the tray of the uppermost layer supported by the movable pin.

8. Handling system according to any of claims 1 to 7,

the supply-side tray arrangement portion, the first discharge-side tray arrangement portion, and the second discharge-side tray arrangement portion include a positioning mechanism for positioning the trays in a horizontal direction.

9. Handling system according to any of claims 1 to 8,

includes a cassette arrangement unit configured to arrange cassettes in which a plurality of display panels are stored in a vertically overlapping manner with a vertical gap therebetween,

the cassette placement unit is disposed at a position where the panel transfer robot can transfer the display panel from the cassette disposed at the cassette placement unit to the inspection apparatus.