JP2001127146A - Substrate cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate cassette which substantially horizontally mounts a substrate by supporting with a rack projected in a support body, and can receive a plurality of the substrates at a multi-stage, and in which if fine particles such as abrasive powders, or the like generate by friction between the rack member and a lower face of the substrate, it is possible to prevent dropping to a surface of the lower-stage substrate, and to fairly improve a yield of a device to be manufactured from the substrate. SOLUTION: A rack member 4 is provided with a top end cover 9 made of a synthetic resin having a mount supporting part 9A for supporting a lower face of a substrate B and a saucer part 9B for receiving abrasive powders just under the mount supporting part, at the top end of a support pin 8 made of a metal, and a base end part of the support pin 8 is buried and engaged at each fixed interval in a vertical direction of the support body 3, and the rack member is projected on an inner face side of the support body.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate cassette, and more particularly, to a substrate substrate capable of accommodating a mother substrate or a large-sized display substrate in a multi-stage manner. Regarding cassettes.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a substrate cassette of this type, an upper frame and a lower frame made of a synthetic resin are separated from each other by a predetermined distance in a vertical direction from a shelf for supporting a substrate on a composite of a metal and a synthetic resin. Generally, a structure in which the supporting members are connected to each other by a projecting member is generally used.

[0003] Since a functional film constituting a device is formed on the surface of the substrate by various processes on the surface except the peripheral portion, the substrate is usually supported by placing the rear peripheral portion on a shelf protruding from a support. Have been. Here, when the substrate is taken in and out of the substrate cassette, the shelf pieces and the substrate rub against each other to generate fine particles such as abrasion powder, and fall on the lower substrate. Here, even if the shelf is made of PEEK resin having excellent wear resistance, generation of particles due to friction between the shelf and the substrate cannot be avoided in principle. If the particles adhere to the functional film portion of the substrate, the cell often becomes defective. If a predetermined number or more of the cells become defective, the entire device becomes a defective product.

[0004] In the case of a conventional small substrate, the central portion has a small deflection, so that the peripheral portion of the substrate can be supported by a shelf. In this case, the shelf and the substrate rub against each other and particles are generated. Even if it occurs and adheres to the lower substrate, the rate of failure of the device is low because the adhered portion is the peripheral portion of the substrate.

However, in recent years, as the size of a display panel device has increased, the size of a substrate accommodated in a substrate cassette has also increased. For example, vertical and horizontal 650mm
A large glass substrate having a size of × 750 mm and a thickness of 1.1 mm or 0.7 mm has come to be used. In the case of this large-sized substrate, since the thickness of the substrate is small, the problem of the bending at the center portion in the cassette accommodation state is important. That is, if the deflection of the substrate is large, not only is it difficult to put the substrate into and out of the substrate cassette, but if the functional film portion is excessively bent, the cell structure is broken and becomes defective. Furthermore, in order to efficiently store, store, and transport a large number of substrates, it is necessary to minimize the amount of substrate bending in a cassette. Therefore, in the case of a large-sized substrate, the length of the shelf is increased, and the lower surface of the substrate is sufficiently supported near the center from the periphery of the substrate. Since the portion which contacts the substrate is located on the back side of the functional film of the substrate, the adhesion of the above-mentioned particles, which was not a problem with a small substrate, becomes a major problem.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above situation, the present invention is intended to solve the problem by supporting a substrate substantially horizontally on a shelf protruding from a support, and accommodating a plurality of substrates in multiple stages. A possible substrate cassette, even if fine particles such as abrasion powder are generated due to friction between the shelf piece and the lower surface of the substrate,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate cassette capable of preventing the device manufactured from the substrate from being dropped on the surface of the lower substrate and capable of greatly improving the yield.

[0007]

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a plurality of supports having projecting shelves for supporting substrates at predetermined intervals in an up-down direction are provided with an upper frame and a lower frame. What is claimed is: 1. A substrate cassette connected between frames to form a rectangular parallelepiped box-shaped structure, wherein the shelf is provided at a tip end of a metal support pin, with a supporting portion for supporting a lower surface of the substrate, A bottom cover made of an organic polymer material having a receiving portion for receiving abrasion powder is provided immediately below the support pin, and base ends of the support pins are buried or fitted at regular intervals in the vertical direction of the support. A substrate cassette was constructed by projecting a shelf on the inner surface side of the support.

Here, the tip cover is provided at the tip of a support pin constituting the shelf, and a slider made of an organic polymer material is provided at an intermediate portion corresponding to a side edge of a substrate to be accommodated. Is also preferred.

Here, the tray portion has a circular or square shape in plan view and a diameter or a side length of 10 to 25 mm.
It is further preferable that the receiving portion has a shape protruding upward from the central portion.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall view of a substrate cassette A according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a main part of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a main part of a state in which a substrate B is housed. The lower frame 3 is a support, and 4 is a shelf.

The substrate cassette A according to the present invention has a rectangular parallelepiped shape in which both sides of the upper frame 1 and the lower frame 2 having a rectangular outer shape are connected by a plurality of supports 3,. And the shelf 3 for supporting the substrate B on the support 3.
Are projected inward at regular intervals in the vertical direction, and the front surface is an opening 5 for taking in and out the substrate B. Further, between the upper frame 1 and the rear of the lower frame 2, In this structure, one or more stopper members 6 and 6 are provided to restrict the backward movement of the substrate B. Here, in the present embodiment, the upper frame 1 and the lower frame 2 are made of synthetic resin and have a vertically symmetrical shape, that is, the same member that has the same shape when turned upside down. The body 1 and the lower frame 2 may have different shapes. For example, a closed type in which the upper frame 1 has no opening window may be used. A lower surface of the upper frame 1, an upper surface of the lower frame 2,
A closing plate (not shown) is attached to the outer surfaces of the supports 3,... And the rear surface of the stopper member 6, or the upper frame 1 and the lower frame 2 are of a closed type, and the outer surfaces of the supports 3,. It is also possible to provide a closed structure by attaching a closing plate (not shown) to the rear side surface of the stopper member 6 and providing an opening / closing lid (not shown) in the opening 5.

The support 3 is a composite member of a metal and a synthetic resin in which a reinforcing metal rod is insert-molded, and the support members 3 on both sides are the same member. The stopper member 6 has the height of the shelf pieces 7 projecting from the front side thereof at a predetermined interval lower than the height of the shelf pieces 4 of the support members 3 on both sides, for example, 4 mm lower. It is set. Shelf piece 7 of the stopper member 6
The main function is to limit excessive bending of the substrate B, vibration of the substrate, and rubbing caused by the vibration, rather than the function of supporting the substrate B.

Here, the substrate B accommodated in the substrate cassette A is generally a glass substrate having a thickness of 1.1 mm or 0.7 mm, and various sizes exist. At the beginning, the dimensions of various display devices tend to be large, and in the case of a multi-panel production of a plurality of display devices from a mother substrate, for example, the width ×
The vertical dimension is 500mm × 600mm, 550mm × 6
50mm, 600mm × 720mm, 650mm × 75
The one with 0 mm is becoming mainstream.

Accordingly, the substrate cassette A according to the present invention
The length of the shelf piece 4 is increased so that a large and thin substrate B can be supported with its bending being minimized. In the present embodiment, the shelf piece 4 is made of metal pins and has a structure in which the shelf piece 4 is pressed into the support body 3 or a structure in which the shelf piece 4 is fitted and fixed by appropriate retaining means. Can be set arbitrarily in accordance with the dimensions of the substrate B to be supported, and the support 3 can be used in common to accommodate various substrate dimensions. The shelf pieces 4,.
The support 3 may be integrally protruded by insert molding.

The features of the present invention are shown in FIGS. That is, the shelf piece 4 protruding from the support 3 is provided with a tip cover 9 made of an organic polymer material at the tip of a metal support pin 8, and the tip cover 9 supports the lower surface of the substrate B. It has a supporting portion 9A and a receiving portion 9B that receives wear powder immediately below the mounting supporting portion 9A. Here, as the organic polymer material, there are synthetic resins, synthetic rubbers, and elastomers, and an optimum material may be selected according to the use and purpose. In the present embodiment, a synthetic material having excellent wear resistance is used as a preferable material. Resin is used. Then, the base end of the support pin 8 is buried or fitted in the support 3, and a plurality of shelf pieces 4 are projected at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction of the support 3. In addition, a slider 10 made of an organic polymer material is provided at a position corresponding to a side edge of the substrate B to be accommodated, at a longitudinally intermediate portion of the support pins 8 constituting the shelf piece 4. In the present embodiment, the support pins 8 are made of SUS304, and the tip cover 9 and the slider 10 are made of P, which has excellent wear resistance.
It is made of EEK resin. Note that the tip cover 9 and the slider 10 may be integrated with each other, cover substantially the entire length of the support pin 8, and the portion where the support 9A and the slider 10 are provided may protrude above other portions. here,
When covering substantially the entire length of the support pin 8, insert molding is performed using an organic polymer material. Further, since the tip cover 9 and the slider 10 are portions for supporting the substrate B, it is also preferable to add a conductive agent to impart conductivity.

Here, the tray portion 9B has a circular or square shape in plan view and a diameter or a side length of 10 to 2 mm.
It is preferable to set the range to 5 mm, and it is necessary to set the shape in a plan view larger than the vertical projection shape of the support 9A. When the substrate B is taken in and out of the substrate cassette A, or due to vibration during transportation, particles such as fine abrasion powder generated by rubbing between the support 9A and the back surface of the substrate B fall downward,
In order to receive the particles effectively in the receiving portion 9B, the diameter or the length of one side of the receiving portion 9B is 10 m.
If it is smaller than m, it is not sufficient, and if it is larger than 25 mm, the effect is saturated and the size of the part becomes too large, which is not preferable. Alternatively, the area of the receiving portion 9B is preferably 2 to 20 times the vertical projection area of the contact portion of the supporting portion 9A which contacts the lower surface of the substrate B. In addition, the receiving portion 9B has a shape in which the periphery protrudes upward from the central portion, so that particles generated at a contact portion between the supporting portion 9A and the substrate B can be stably deposited in the concave portion at the central portion. It is more preferable because it is possible.

Next, the structure of each part of the substrate cassette A according to the present invention will be described in more detail. The upper frame body 1 and the lower frame body 2 are symmetrical with respect to the center line, and are formed by integrally forming vertical and horizontal grid-like reinforcing bars 12 inside an outer peripheral frame 11. At portions where the supports 3 are connected, mounting surfaces 13, having a slightly larger area, are formed. There are a total of four locations where the mounting surface portion 13 is provided, two locations at regular intervals between the front and rear end portions on both sides and the middle thereof.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the support 3 is provided with metal rods 14, such as SUS shafts, on both sides along the longitudinal direction, and with a conductive agent to impart conductivity. It is formed by insert molding in an organic polymer material, and has wide support surfaces 15, 15 which are surface-bonded to the mounting surface 13 at the upper and lower ends. Further, as shown in FIG.
An axially oriented screw hole 16 is formed at the end of the metal rod 14 by direct tapping.
An embedding nut 17 such as a bit is hot-pressed into the central end of the slab. The embedding nut 17 can be embedded by insert molding, helicert processing, or the like. Then, the support surface portion 15 of the support body 3 is made to protrude from the support surface portion 15 in a state where the support surface portion 15 is joined to the mounting surface portions 13, 13 of the upper frame body 1 and the lower frame body 2, or in mounting holes 18 formed in the mounting surface portion 13. The bolts 19,... Inserted into the mounting holes 18,... From the opposite side are screwed into the screw holes 16 of the metal rods 14, 17 and the upper frame 1 and the lower frame 2 are connected. The stopper member 6 is provided on the support 3
In the same manner as described above, a metal rod is made of an abrasion-resistant resin obtained by insert molding, and is bolted between the rear portions of the outer peripheral frames 11 of the upper frame 1 and the lower frame 2.

Also, vertical surfaces 20,... Are formed at regular intervals on the inner surface side of the support 3, and between the upper and lower vertical surfaces 20, 20 are continuous with the lower vertical surface 20, and An inclined surface 21 provided with a step portion with respect to the vertical surface 20 is formed. That is, the inclined surface 21 has a shape in which the lower end thereof has the same thickness as the vertical surface 20 and has a linearly reduced thickness as it goes upward. An insertion hole 22 for the shelf piece 4 is formed horizontally at the center in the width direction of the vertical surface 20. Therefore, each of the vertical surfaces 20,... Formed insertion holes 22,.
Are at regular intervals over substantially the entire length of the support 3 in the vertical direction. The vertical surface 20 is not always necessary, and the insertion hole 22 may be formed in the inclined surface 21.

The shelf piece 4 is mounted by press-fitting the base end of the support pin 8 into the insertion hole 22 from the inner surface side of the support 3 or by projecting the support pin 8 into the support 3 by insert molding. It is. In the present embodiment, the pitch of the shelf pieces 4 is 25 mm, the diameter of the support pins 8 is 4 mm,
Since the diameter of the supporting portion 9A and the slider 10 is set to 7 mm and the diameter of the receiving portion 9B is set to 16 mm, there is a net spacing of 18 mm between the upper and lower shelf pieces 4 and 4. The distance between the upper and lower shelf pieces 4, 4 is the same as the upper or lower shelf piece 4,.
Even if the central portion of the substrate B is bent, there is no hindrance to taking in and out of another substrate B by the robot arm.

Here, the length of the shelf 4 protruding from the inner surface of the support 3 is determined by the length of the support pin 8, and the length of the support pin 8 is high in rigidity and straightness. It can be set appropriately by using SUS made of good SUS. In other words, it is easy to manufacture the shelf pieces 4 having different projection lengths by using the common support 3, so that the cost can be significantly reduced. Further, the inclined surface 21 of the support 3 is a portion for abutting the edge of the substrate B. If the shelf 4 is press-fitted after the support 3 is formed as described above, the support 3 is formed. If the mold has a very simple structure, and if the position at which the mold is split is on the side of the support 3,
This is preferable because no parting line is formed on the inclined surface 21. Further, since the insertion hole 22 is in a direction parallel to the direction in which the mold is removed, it is possible to make the insertion hole 22 be perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the support 3 accurately. Even if there is a gradient, if the support pins 8 are press-fitted, it is possible to project the support pins 8 exactly perpendicular to the support 3.

The insertion hole 22 can be formed by post-processing such as drilling of a drilling machine or the like, and furthermore, the support pin 8 can be insert-molded into the support 3 as described above. is there. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the insertion hole 22 is formed with an inner large-diameter hole 22A and an outer small-diameter hole 22A.
B, and formed with a stepped portion, and the base of the support pin 8 is formed in a shape corresponding to the shape of the insertion hole 22, and is pushed into the through portion of the support pin 8 fitted in the insertion hole 22. It is also possible to attach the nut 23 and the like to prevent it from slipping out. In any case, the support pin 8 is
The support pin is completely prevented from rotating when it protrudes from the side surface of the support member.

When the substrate B is accommodated in the substrate cassette A according to the present invention, the robot arm supports a position where the substrate B is least bent at the intermediate portion in the width direction of the substrate B, and in this state, the opening 5 From the front row, 4 and 4
Pass above. However, both ends of the substrate B still bend downward due to its own weight. At this time, the sliders 1 provided on the corresponding shelf pieces 4 and 4 of the left and right supports 3 and 3 are used.
Since the end portions of the substrate B can be prevented from directly contacting the support pins 8 by 0 and 10, the substrate B can be smoothly inserted into the substrate cassette A. Then, after pushing the substrate B to a predetermined position, the substrate B is slowly lowered and the substrate B is mounted on the left and right shelf pieces 4,..., As shown in FIG. It flexes downward, and the opposite ends are slightly curved upward and lifted up, and slightly float with respect to the slider 10. Left and right shelf 4,
The backward movement of the substrate B mounted on the substrate B is restricted by the stopper members 6 and 6, and the forward movement of the substrate B is
Is restricted by stopper members (not shown) attached to both sides of the. Then, when the substrate B is taken in and out of the substrate cassette A or during transportation, the lower surface of the substrate B and the shelf 4
Even if particles are generated by rubbing against the supporting portion 9A, the particles are captured by the receiving portion 9B of the lower shelf piece 4, so that they do not fall onto the functional film of the lower substrate B. .

[0024]

According to the substrate cassette of the present invention described above, the following remarkable effects can be obtained.

According to the first aspect, even if fine particles such as abrasion powder are generated due to friction between the shelf piece and the lower surface of the substrate, the particles are prevented from being received by the tray and dropped onto the surface of the lower substrate. The yield of devices manufactured from the substrate can be greatly improved.

According to the second aspect, when a substrate is taken in and out of the substrate cassette, it is possible to prevent the end of the substrate from directly contacting the support pins by the slider provided on the shelf, thereby preventing the substrate from being damaged.

According to the third aspect, the particles generated by the rubbing of the substrate and the supporting portion of the shelf can be reliably captured by the receiving portion.

According to the fourth aspect, the particles can be reliably received in the concave portion at the center of the tray portion.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall simplified perspective view of a substrate cassette according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially exploded perspective view showing a shelf provided with a supporting portion and a receiving portion, which are main parts of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partial vertical sectional front view showing a state in which a substrate is accommodated.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state in which a shelf is protruded from a support.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List A substrate cassette B substrate 1 upper frame 2 lower frame 3 support 4 shelf 5 opening 6 stopper member 7 shelf 8 support pin 9 tip cover 9A mounting support 9B receiving pan 10 slider 11 outer frame 12 reinforcing bar 13 Mounting surface part 14 Metal rod 15 Support surface part 16 Screw hole 17 Embedded nut 18 Mounting hole 19 Bolt 20 Vertical surface 21 Inclined surface 22 Insertion hole 23 Push nut

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Isao Saraoka 22-22 Nagaikecho, Abeno-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Inside Sharp Corporation (72) Inventor Takayuki Saigo 1-1-1, Tokuan, Tsurumi-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka No. 71 Inside Starlight Kogyo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yasuhisa Hayashibara 2222 Kamitoyama, Ritsuto-cho, Kurita-gun, Shiga Prefecture F-term inside Starlight Kogyo Co., Ltd. 3E096 AA09 BA15 BB03 CA01 CB03 DA01 DA23 EA02X EA02Y EA06Y FA01 FA03 FA07 FA15 GA09 5F031 CA05 CA07 DA01 EA06 PA18 PA20 PA26

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of support members, each of which is provided with projecting shelves for supporting substrates at predetermined intervals in a vertical direction, are connected between an upper frame and a lower frame to form a rectangular parallelepiped box-shaped structure. A substrate cassette, wherein the shelf piece has, at an end of a metal support pin, a mounting portion for supporting a lower surface of the substrate and a receiving portion for receiving abrasion powder immediately below the mounting portion. And a base cover of the support pin is buried or fitted at regular intervals in the vertical direction of the support, and a shelf is protruded from the inner surface side of the support. A cassette for a substrate, comprising: 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said tip cover is provided at a tip of a support pin constituting said shelf, and a slider made of an organic polymer material is provided at an intermediate portion corresponding to a side edge of a substrate to be accommodated. 2. The substrate cassette according to claim 1. 3. The substrate cassette according to claim 1, wherein the tray portion has a circular shape or a rectangular shape in plan view, and a diameter or a length of one side is set in a range of 10 to 25 mm. 4. The substrate cassette according to claim 1, wherein the tray portion has a shape having a periphery projecting upward from a central portion.