JP2005332846A - Substrate transfer apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate transfer apparatus having an improved operation performance in taking a substrate out of a cassette and storing a substrate into the cassette. <P>SOLUTION: A conveyor hoisting and lowering device 303 moves an in-cassette conveyor 302 to a position opposite to a substrate storing conveyor 305 or a substrate carry-out conveyor 307 while a cassette hoisting and lowering device 304 moves a cassette 4 up and down to a position where a substrate G in the cassette 4 can be delivered between the cassette 4 and the in-cassette conveyor 302, enabling the delivery of the substrate between the in-cassette conveyor 302 and the substrate storing conveyor 305 or substrate carry-out conveyor 307. Meanwhile, a substrate storing conveyor moving device 306 or a substrate carry-out conveyor moving device 308 moves the substrate storing conveyor 305 or the substrate carry-out conveyor 307 to a position opposite to the in-cassette conveyor 302, to store the substrate G into a desired cassette 4, or to carry out the substrate G out of a desired cassette 4 from among a plurality of cassettes 4. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate transfer apparatus, and more particularly to a technique for taking a substrate in and out of a cassette in which the substrate is stored.

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, in the manufacturing process of precision electronic substrates (hereinafter simply referred to as “substrates”) such as plasma display substrates, liquid crystal display substrates, and semiconductor substrates, substrates such as substrate transport robots having a rotating arm portion. The substrate is taken out from the cassette by the transfer device, and the taken-out substrate is transferred in a predetermined transfer order to each processing unit such as a rotary coating processing unit, a rotary development processing unit, an adhesion strengthening unit, a cleaning plate, and a hot plate. After performing a series of processes, a substrate processing apparatus is used that returns the processed substrates to the cassette.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-340297

  However, in the case of the substrate processing apparatus as described above, even if each processing function in each processing unit is improved, the operation by the substrate transport robot, that is, the operation of taking out the substrate from the cassette and transporting it to each processing unit. Unless the capability and the capability of receiving processed substrates from the final processing unit and storing them in the cassette are not improved, it is difficult to improve the processing capability of the entire substrate processing apparatus. Therefore, it is desired to improve the capability of each operation by the substrate transfer robot.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate transfer apparatus with improved operational capabilities relating to substrate removal from a cassette and substrate storage in the cassette.

The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is a substrate transport apparatus that includes a cassette in which a plurality of substrates are stored in a horizontal posture, and carries out the substrates from the cassette or stores the substrates in the cassette. And
A cassette stage in which a plurality of the cassettes are juxtaposed,
A cassette that is disposed in each of the plurality of cassettes, transports the substrate in a transport direction orthogonal to the direction in which the cassettes are juxtaposed, and carries the substrate out of the cassette and stores the substrate in the cassette. An inner conveyor,
In the cassette, conveyor lifting means for lifting the conveyor in the cassette at least between two predetermined positions of the upper position and the lower position,
Cassette lifting and lowering means for raising and lowering the cassette in order to transfer the substrate stored in the cassette to and from the in-cassette conveyor moved to the upper or lower position by the conveyor lifting and lowering means;
Unloading the substrate from the cassette or storing the substrate in the cassette with the conveyor in the cassette disposed at the upper position or the lower position and moved to the upper position or the lower position by the conveyor lifting means A first conveyor for performing
The first conveyor is moved in the direction in which the cassettes are juxtaposed, and is arranged at a position facing one of the in-cassette conveyors moved to the upper position or the lower position by the conveyor lifting means. Means,
Between the upper position or the lower position and the position where the first conveyor is not disposed, and the conveyor in the cassette moved by the conveyor lifting means, the substrate of the substrate Of the operations of either carrying out from the cassette or storing the substrate in the cassette, the second conveyor that performs the operation that is not performed by the first conveyor;
Second conveyor moving means for moving the second conveyor in a direction in which the cassettes are arranged side by side and arranging the second conveyor at a position facing the conveyor in the cassette moved to a position where the first conveyor is not arranged. Are provided.

  In this configuration, the conveyor lifting / lowering means moves the in-cassette conveyor to a position facing the first conveyor or the second conveyor, and the cassette lifting / lowering means can transfer the substrate in the cassette to and from the cassette conveyor. The substrate can be transferred between the in-cassette conveyor and the first conveyor or the second conveyor, and the first or second conveyor moving means replaces the first or second conveyor with the in-cassette conveyor. By moving to the opposite position, it is possible to store a substrate in a desired cassette and carry out the substrate from the desired cassette among a plurality of cassettes arranged side by side.

Moreover, invention of Claim 2 is a board | substrate conveyance apparatus of Claim 1, Comprising: The said cassette stage has several stage part provided for every said cassette,
The cassette raising / lowering means raises and lowers each stage unit according to whether the in-cassette conveyor transfers the substrate to or from the first conveyor or the second conveyor, and sets the height position of the cassette. , Set according to the first conveyor or the second conveyor.

  In this configuration, the cassette lifting / lowering means lifts and lowers the stage unit depending on whether the in-cassette conveyor transfers the substrate to or from the first conveyor or the second conveyor, and sets the cassette height position to the first conveyor or Set according to the second conveyor.

The invention according to claim 3 is a substrate transport apparatus comprising a cassette in which a plurality of substrates are stored in a horizontal posture, and carrying out the substrate from the cassette or storing the substrate in the cassette. ,
A cassette stage in which a plurality of the cassettes are juxtaposed,
Each of the plurality of cassettes, and a conveyor for carrying out the cassette in the cassette in a conveyance direction orthogonal to a direction in which the cassettes are arranged in parallel,
The substrate is transported in a transport direction perpendicular to the direction in which the cassettes are arranged in parallel at a height position different from the disposition position of the in-cassette conveyor, A cassette storage conveyor for storing substrates in the cassette;
Cassette lifting and lowering means for raising and lowering the cassette in order to transfer the substrate stored in the cassette between the conveyor in the cassette and the conveyor in the cassette;
A substrate carry-out conveyor for receiving and carrying the substrate in the cassette from the cassette carry-out conveyor;
Substrate carry-out conveyor moving means for moving the substrate carry-out conveyor in a direction in which the cassettes are juxtaposed and facing each of the cassette carry-out conveyors arranged in the cassettes;
A substrate storage conveyor for transferring the substrate to the cassette storage conveyor;
And a substrate storage conveyor moving means for moving the substrate storage conveyor in a direction in which the cassettes are arranged side by side and facing each of the cassette storage conveyors disposed in the cassettes. It is.

  According to this configuration, the cassette lifting / lowering means moves the cassette from the in-cassette carry-out conveyor by moving the cassette to a position where the substrate in the cassette can be transferred between the cassette carry-out conveyor or the cassette carry-in conveyor. It is possible to carry the substrate to the substrate carry-out conveyor and to carry the substrate from the substrate storage conveyor to the cassette storage conveyor, and further, the substrate carry-out conveyor moving means or the substrate storage conveyor moving means is the substrate carry-out conveyor or the substrate. By moving the storage conveyor, it is possible to store a substrate in a desired cassette and carry out the substrate from the desired cassette among a plurality of cassettes arranged in parallel.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate transfer apparatus including a cassette in which a plurality of substrates are stored in a horizontal posture, and carrying out the substrate from the cassette or storing the substrate in the cassette. ,
A cassette stage having two cassettes arranged side by side;
An in-cassette unloading conveyor that is disposed inside one of the cassettes, conveys the substrate in a conveying direction orthogonal to the direction in which the two cassettes are arranged in parallel, and unloads the substrate from the cassette;
The substrate is transported in a transport direction perpendicular to the direction in which the two cassettes are juxtaposed, and is placed in a cassette different from the cassette in which the conveyor for transporting in the cassette is disposed. A cassette storage conveyor for storing substrates;
A cassette lifting and lowering means for raising and lowering the cassette in order to deliver the substrate stored in the cassette to and from the in-cassette unloading conveyor or the in-cassette storing conveyor provided in each of the cassettes;
A substrate carry-out conveyor for receiving and carrying the substrate in the cassette from the cassette carry-out conveyor;
And a substrate storage conveyor for transporting the substrate to the cassette storage conveyor.

  According to this configuration, the cassette lifting / lowering means moves the cassette from the in-cassette carry-out conveyor by moving the cassette to a position where the substrate in the cassette can be transferred between the cassette carry-out conveyor or the cassette carry-in conveyor. Substrate conveyance to the substrate carry-out conveyor and substrate conveyance from the substrate storage conveyor to the cassette storage conveyor can be performed.

The invention according to claim 5 is a substrate transport apparatus comprising a cassette in which a plurality of substrates are stored in a horizontal posture, and carrying out the substrate from the cassette or storing the substrate in the cassette. ,
A cassette stage in which a plurality of the cassettes are juxtaposed,
An in-cassette carry-out conveyor that is disposed inside any of the plurality of cassettes, conveys the substrate in a conveyance direction perpendicular to the direction in which the plurality of cassettes are arranged in parallel, and unloads the substrate from the cassette;
Among the plurality of cassettes, the substrate is transported in a transport direction orthogonal to a direction in which the plurality of cassettes are arranged in parallel, and is disposed inside the cassette in which the conveyor for carrying out the cassette is not disposed, A conveyor for storing the substrate in the cassette,
A cassette lifting and lowering means for raising and lowering the cassette in order to deliver a substrate stored in the cassette to and from the in-cassette carry-out conveyor or in-cassette storage conveyor provided in each of the plurality of cassettes;
A substrate carry-out conveyor for receiving and carrying the substrate in the cassette from the cassette carry-out conveyor;
A substrate carry-out conveyor moving means for moving the substrate carry-out conveyor in a direction in which the cassettes are juxtaposed and facing each of the cassette carry-out conveyors;
A substrate storage conveyor for transporting the substrate to the cassette storage conveyor;
The substrate storage conveyor is moved in the direction in which the cassettes are juxtaposed, and includes substrate storage conveyor moving means disposed at a position facing each of the cassette storage conveyors.

  According to this configuration, the cassette lifting / lowering means moves the cassette to a position where the substrate in the cassette can be transferred to or from the cassette carrying-out conveyor or the cassette containing conveyor. The substrate transfer from the substrate to the substrate carry-out conveyor and the substrate transfer from the substrate storage conveyor to the cassette storage conveyor can be performed, and the substrate carry-out conveyor moving means or the substrate storage conveyor moving means is By moving the substrate storage conveyor, a desired cassette is selected from a plurality of cassettes provided with a cassette carry-out conveyor, and a substrate is carried out, or a plurality of cassette storage conveyors are provided. A desired cassette can be selected from the cassettes to accommodate the substrate.

  In the first aspect of the invention, the operation of storing the substrate received from the processing unit into the cassette and the operation of taking out the substrate from the cassette and transporting it to the processing unit, which are conventionally performed by the substrate transfer robot having the rotating arm unit, are performed. And (1) Substrate transport operation by the in-cassette conveyor, the first conveyor, and the second conveyor. In addition, the operation of changing the height of the arm portion with the substrate according to the substrate storage position in the cassette or the substrate unloading position from the cassette, which has been conventionally performed by the substrate transfer robot, is as follows. Replace with your own vertical movement. Further, the movement operation of the arm portion in the direction in which a plurality of cassettes are arranged in parallel, which has been conventionally performed by the substrate transfer robot, is (3) the cassette of the first or second conveyor by the first or second conveyor moving means. Replace with movement in parallel direction. By replacing these operations, operations (2) and (3) can be performed independently and simultaneously.

  In addition, by providing the first conveyor and the second conveyor, it is possible to perform the substrate storing operation and the substrate taking-out operation for the cassette independently and simultaneously.

  Thereby, the board | substrate conveyance capability concerning the board | substrate accommodation with respect to a cassette and taking-out can be improved significantly.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, by moving the respective stage portions up and down, the respective cassettes are arranged at different height positions depending on which of the first conveyor and the second conveyor is to be transferred to the substrate. Can be arranged.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the in-cassette carry-out conveyor is provided for transferring the substrate to the substrate carry-out conveyor, and the in-cassette storage conveyor is provided for receiving the substrate from the substrate storage conveyor. Therefore, it is not necessary to move the two cassette inner conveyors up and down in accordance with which of the first conveyor and the second conveyor to transfer the substrate. This simplifies the operation control of the two cassette inner conveyors when transferring the substrates.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the cassette for storing the substrate and the cassette for discharging the substrate are fixed, and no moving means for moving the substrate carry-out conveyor and the substrate storage conveyor in the direction in which the cassettes are arranged is unnecessary. Therefore, the configuration of the apparatus can be simplified.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the substrate carry-out conveyor moving means or the substrate storage conveyor moving means moves the substrate carry-out or substrate storage conveyor, so that the plurality of cassettes provided with the cassette carry-out conveyor are provided. It is possible to select a desired cassette from the inside and carry out the substrate, or select a desired cassette from a plurality of cassettes provided with a cassette storage conveyor and store the substrate.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example of a substrate processing apparatus provided with a substrate transfer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The substrate processing apparatus 1 shown in this figure is an apparatus that takes charge of a photolithography process in the processing of a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display, for example, and sequentially performs a cleaning process before resist coating to resist coating / exposure / development sequentially. It is configured.

  As shown in the figure, the substrate processing apparatus 1 includes an indexer unit 2 as a substrate supply unit, a cleaning unit 10 as a unit processing unit, a dehydration bake unit 20, a resist coating unit 30, a pre-bake unit 40, an exposure unit 60, The developing unit 80 and the post-bake unit 90 and a buffer (buffer unit) 50 provided between the pre-bake unit 40 and the exposure unit 60 are provided. The substrate processing apparatus 1 treats the substrate supplied from the indexer unit 2 in each unit processing unit while transporting the substrate to each unit processing unit in a predetermined transport order, and then returns the substrate to the indexer unit 2 again. The layout configuration is such that other processing units are connected in a U-shape to the indexer unit 2.

  The indexer unit 2 is provided with a plurality of cassettes 4 storing substrates and a substrate transfer device 3 according to the present invention. The substrate transfer device 3 takes out the substrate from the cassette 4 and passes it to the cleaning unit 10, and receives the processed substrate from the post-bake unit 90 and stores it in the cassette 4. Details of the configuration and operation of the substrate transfer device 3 will be described later.

  The cleaning unit 10 includes a carry-in unit 11, a UV ozone cleaning unit 12, a water washing unit 13, a droplet removal unit 14, and a carry-out unit 15, while transporting the substrate supplied from the indexer unit 2 in a horizontal posture, for example. The cleaning process is performed.

  The dehydration bake unit 20 includes a carry-in unit 21, a heating unit 22, an adhesion strengthening processing unit 23, and a cooling unit 24. First, the substrate that has been subjected to the cleaning process is subjected to a heating process in the heating unit 22 to obtain moisture. In order to improve the adhesion of the resist solution, HMDS (hexamethyldisilazane) is applied in the adhesion strengthening processing unit 23. Finally, the cooling unit 24 is configured to cool the substrate.

  The resist coating unit 30 has a carry-in part 31, a spin coater part 32, a vacuum drying part 33, an edge rinse part 34, and a carry-out part 35. First, a uniform resist film is formed on the surface of the substrate in the spin coater part 32. Then, after this is baked under reduced pressure by the reduced pressure drying unit 33, an unnecessary resist film on the peripheral edge of the substrate is removed at the edge rinse unit 34.

  The pre-bake unit 40 includes two processing units 41 each including a heating unit and a cooling unit in multiple stages. A robot 42 interposed between the processing units 41 allows the substrate to be disposed on the processing unit 41. In this way, the substrate is heated and cooled.

  The buffer 50 includes two storage units 51 that can store a large number of substrates, and a robot 52 interposed between the storage units 51. In this configuration, the substrate is stored in each storage unit 51 by 52 and temporarily stands by.

  The exposure unit 60 includes, for example, an exposure machine such as a reduction projection exposure machine, an alignment mechanism that performs positioning for printing an exposure pattern in the exposure machine, and the like, and is configured to expose a substrate after pre-baking. Yes.

  The developing unit 80 includes a carry-in unit 81, a developing unit 82, a washing / drying unit 83, and a carry-out unit 84. In the developing unit 82, for example, a developing process is performed while spraying a developer onto a substrate. Has been.

  The post-bake unit 90 includes a carry-in unit 91, a heating unit 92, a cooling unit 93, and a carry-out unit 94. First, the developer that has been subjected to the heat treatment on the substrate after the development treatment and remains on the substrate. The cleaning liquid is removed by evaporation, and then a cooling process is performed.

  In FIG. 1, reference numerals 7 and 8 denote substrate mounting tables, and transfer of the substrate between the resist coating unit 30 and the prebake unit 40 or the substrate between the prebake unit 40 and the buffer 50. At the time of delivery, the substrate is temporarily placed. Reference numeral 70 denotes a conveyor that conveys the substrate after the exposure processing to the developing unit 80.

  The configuration of the substrate transfer device 3 will be described. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the substrate transfer apparatus 3. 2 clearly shows the configuration of the substrate transfer device 3, the two stage portions 311 are shifted from each other in the substrate transfer direction, and the substrate storage conveyor 305 and the substrate storage conveyor moving device 306 are connected to the substrate. Although illustrated in a state of being shifted in the substrate transfer direction with respect to the carry-out conveyor 307 and the substrate carry-out conveyor moving device 308, these are actually arranged in a state where the positions in the substrate transfer direction are aligned. In addition, you may arrange | position in the state shifted as mentioned above.

  The substrate transfer device 3 includes a cassette stage 301, a cassette conveyor 302, a conveyor lifting device 303, a cassette lifting device 304, a substrate storage conveyor 305, a substrate storage conveyor moving device 306, a substrate carry-out conveyor 307, and a substrate. And a carry-out conveyor moving device 308.

  The cassette stage 301 includes a plurality of stage portions 311 provided for each cassette 4, and the cassette stage 301 as a whole has a plurality of cassettes arranged side by side. In addition, in the inside of the cassette 4, a groove for supporting the side edge of the substrate G is formed on the inner wall, or a steel wire for supporting the substrate is provided at a position that does not hinder the vertical movement of the cassette inner conveyor 302 described later. It is preferable that the structure is arranged. As a result, the cassette 4 and the in-cassette conveyor 302 can be moved relative to each other without hindrance.

  In-cassette conveyors (intra-cassette substrate storage conveyors and in-cassette substrate carry-out conveyors) 302 are respectively disposed in the plurality of cassettes 4. The in-cassette conveyor 302 transports the substrate G in a transport direction orthogonal to the direction in which the cassettes 4 are arranged in parallel. For example, the in-cassette conveyor 302 includes a plurality of rollers arranged side by side in the substrate transport direction. The substrate G is transported by rotating in contact with the lower part of the substrate. Substrate unloading from the cassette 4 and storage of the substrate in the cassette 4 are performed by the in-cassette conveyor 302.

  The conveyor lifting / lowering device (conveyor lifting / lowering means) 303 includes, for example, an air cylinder attached to the lower portion of the cassette inner conveyor 302, and moves the cassette inner conveyor 302 up and down inside the cassette 4 to store the cassette inner conveyor 302 and the substrate. The height positions of the conveyor 305 and the substrate carry-out conveyor 307 are aligned.

  The cassette lifting / lowering device (cassette lifting / lowering means) 304 includes, for example, an air cylinder and the like, and moves the cassette 4 up and down with respect to the in-cassette conveyor 302 by moving the stage unit 311 up and down.

  The cassette lifting / lowering device 304 moves the cassette 4 up and down to (1) bring the lower part of the substrate G in the cassette 4 into contact with the in-cassette conveyor 302 and enable the substrate to be carried out by the in-cassette conveyor 302. The lower part of the board | substrate G conveyed from the board | substrate storage conveyor 305 and the conveyor 302 in a cassette contact so that the board | substrate accommodation in the cassette by the conveyor 302 in a cassette is attained.

  The cassette lifting / lowering device 304 raises and lowers the stage unit 311 according to whether the in-cassette conveyor 302 transfers the substrate G to or from the substrate storage conveyor 305 or the substrate carry-out conveyor 307, thereby moving the cassette 4 to the substrate storage conveyor. It arrange | positions in the height position matched with 305 or the board | substrate carrying-out conveyor 307. FIG.

  In this embodiment, the substrate storage conveyor (first conveyor, second conveyor, substrate storage conveyor) 305 is disposed above the substrate carry-out conveyor 307. The substrate storage conveyor 305 passes the substrate G sent from the final processing unit (post bake unit 90 in FIG. 1) to the in-cassette conveyor 302 in the cassette 4. The substrate storage conveyor 305 is composed of, for example, a plurality of rollers arranged side by side in the substrate conveyance direction, and conveys the substrate G by rotating in contact with the lower portion of the substrate G. The substrate storage conveyor 305 may be disposed at a lower position than the substrate carry-out conveyor 307.

  A substrate storage conveyor moving device (first conveyor moving means, second conveyor moving means, substrate storage conveyor moving means) 306 is a substrate storage conveyor 305 in a direction in which a plurality of cassettes 4 are arranged in parallel (the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2). For example, a belt conveyor. The substrate storage conveyor moving device 306 moves the substrate storage conveyor 305 to a position facing each cassette 4 and arranges the substrate storage conveyor 305 at a position facing the in-cassette conveyor 302 disposed in the cassette 4. . Thereby, in any of the plurality of cassettes 4, the transfer of the substrate G between the in-cassette conveyor 302 and the substrate storage conveyor 305 in the cassette 4 is enabled.

  In this embodiment, the substrate carry-out conveyor (first conveyor, second conveyor, substrate carry-out conveyor) 307 is disposed below the substrate storage conveyor 305 and receives the substrate G received from the in-cassette conveyor 302 in the cassette 4. Is passed to the first processing unit (cleaning unit 10 in FIG. 1). Similarly to the substrate storage conveyor 305, the substrate carry-out conveyor 307 is composed of, for example, a plurality of rollers arranged in the substrate conveyance direction, and conveys the substrate G by rotating in contact with the lower portion of the substrate G. It is like that.

  A substrate carry-out conveyor moving device (first conveyor moving means, second conveyor moving means, substrate carry-out conveyor moving means) 308 is a substrate carry-out conveyor 307 in a direction in which a plurality of cassettes 4 are juxtaposed (arrow direction in FIG. 2). For example, a belt conveyor. The substrate carry-out conveyor moving device 308 moves the substrate carry-out conveyor 307 to a position facing each cassette 4, and arranges the substrate carry-out conveyor 307 at a position facing the in-cassette conveyor 302 disposed in the cassette 4. . Thereby, in any of the plurality of cassettes 4, the transfer of the substrate G between the in-cassette conveyor 302 and the substrate carry-out conveyor 307 in the cassette 4 is enabled.

  Next, the operation of the substrate transfer apparatus 3 will be described. FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams showing an outline of the substrate carry-out operation from the cassette 4 by the substrate transfer device 3. The substrate carry-out operation will be described with reference to FIG. 2 and FIG.

  When unloading the substrate G from the cassette 4, (1) the conveyor lifting device 303 moves up and down the in-cassette conveyor 302 in the cassette 4 from which the substrate G is taken out, and the in-cassette conveyor 302 and the substrate unloading conveyor 307 are moved up and down. Align the height position with.

  (2) The cassette lifting / lowering device 304 lowers the stage portion 311 of the cassette 4 until the lowermost substrate G1 accommodated in the cassette 4 contacts the in-cassette conveyor 302 (FIG. 3A). Therefore, the cassette lifting / lowering device 304 moves the stage unit 311 up and down and arranges the cassette 4 at a height position that matches the in-cassette conveyor 302 and the substrate carry-out conveyor 307.

  (3) The substrate carry-out conveyor moving device 308 moves the substrate carry-out conveyor 307 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2 and opposes the substrate carry-out conveyor 307 to the cassette 4 (conveyor 302 in the cassette) from which the substrate G is taken out. Place in position.

  (4) The in-cassette conveyor 302 is rotationally driven in the direction to carry the substrate G1 out of the cassette 4, and the substrate carry-out conveyor 307 is also rotated in the same direction, whereby the substrate is unloaded from the substrate G1 in-cassette conveyor 302. It is transferred to the conveyor 307 and the substrate G is unloaded from the cassette 4 (FIG. 3A).

  (5) The board | substrate carrying-out conveyor 307 conveys the board | substrate G1 carried out from the inside of the cassette 4 to the washing | cleaning unit 10 (FIG. 1).

  (6) When the substrate G1 is completely unloaded from the cassette 4, the cassette lifting / lowering device 304 is stored in a level one higher than the substrate G1 previously stored in the lowest level in the cassette 4. The stage portion 311 of the cassette 4 is lowered until the substrate G2 contacts the in-cassette conveyor 302 (FIG. 3B). Thereafter, the operations (4) to (6) are sequentially repeated for each substrate.

  (7) The substrate carry-out conveyor moving device 308 returns the substrate carry-out conveyor 307 to the position opposite to the cassette 4 (the in-cassette conveyer 302) that is the substrate removal target.

  In the operations (1) to (7), the operation (3) can be performed in parallel with the operations (1) and (2). Further, the operation (6) can be performed in parallel with the operation (5). As a result, it is not necessary to perform each operation in turn as in the case of the operation by the substrate transfer robot having the conventional arm portion, so that the time required for taking out the substrate from the cassette 4 can be shortened, and the substrate transfer capability by the substrate transfer device 3 is greatly increased. Can be improved.

  FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams showing an outline of the operation of storing a substrate in the cassette 4 by the substrate transfer device 3. The following description will be given with reference to FIG. 2 in addition to FIG.

  When the substrate G is stored in the cassette 4, (1) the conveyor lifting device 303 moves up and down in the cassette conveyor 302 in the cassette 4 storing the substrate G, and the height between the conveyor 302 in the cassette and the substrate storage conveyor 305 is increased. Align the position.

  (2) The cassette lifting device 304 moves the stage unit 311 up and down, and assuming that the substrate G is stored in the uppermost substrate storage space in the cassette 4, the stored substrate G is transferred to the in-cassette conveyor 302. The height position of the cassette 4 is adjusted so as to abut (FIG. 4A). Therefore, the cassette lifting / lowering device 304 moves the stage unit 311 up and down and arranges the stage unit 311 at a height position that matches the in-cassette conveyor 302 and the substrate storage conveyor 305.

  (3) The substrate storage conveyor 305 is rotationally driven in a direction for introducing the substrate G1 into the cassette 4. When the substrate storage conveyor 305 receives the substrate G1 from the final processing unit (post bake unit 90 in FIG. 1) and the substrate G1 is placed on the substrate storage conveyor 305, the rotation of the substrate storage conveyor 305 is stopped. The

  (4) The substrate storage conveyor moving device 306 moves the substrate storage conveyor 305 on which the substrate G1 is placed in the direction of the arrow in FIG. Let

  (5) The substrate storage conveyor 305 is rotated again in the direction of introducing the substrate G1 into the cassette 4, and the in-cassette conveyor 302 is also rotated in the same direction. As a result, the substrate G1 is transferred from the substrate storage conveyor 305 to the in-cassette conveyor 302, and the substrate G is transported toward the inside of the cassette 4 and stored in the cassette 4 (FIG. 4A).

  (6) When the substrate G1 is stored in the cassette 4, the cassette lifting device 304 stores another substrate in the substrate storage space one level lower than the substrate storage space in which the substrate G1 is stored. If it is assumed, the cassette 4 is raised to a height position where the in-cassette conveyor 302 is assumed to come into contact with the substrate (FIG. 4B).

  (7) The substrate storage conveyor moving device 306 returns the substrate storage conveyor 305 to the position where the substrate G is received from the post bake unit 90.

  Thereafter, the operations (3) to (5) are repeated for each substrate in sequence.

  In the operations (1) to (7), the operations (3) and (4) can be performed in parallel with the operations (1) and (2). Further, the operation (7) can be performed in parallel with the operation (6). Thereby, since the time for storing the substrate in the cassette 4 can be shortened, the substrate storage capability of the substrate transfer device 3 can be greatly improved.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the substrate transfer device 3 includes a substrate storage mechanism by the substrate storage conveyor 305 and the substrate storage conveyor moving device 306, and a substrate transfer mechanism by the substrate transfer conveyor 307 and the substrate transfer conveyor moving device 308. Since both mechanisms are provided, the substrate unloading and substrate storing operations by these mechanisms can be performed in parallel. Also in this respect, the substrate storage capacity of the substrate transfer device 3 can be greatly improved.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the height position of the cassette inner conveyor 302 when the cassette 4 is replaced by an AGV (automated guided vehicle). As shown in FIG. 5, when the cassette 4 is replaced by the AGV, the in-cassette conveyor 302 is moved to the retracted position below the cassette 4, that is, below the stage unit 311 by the conveyor lifting device 303. The cassette lifting device 304 moves the height position of the stage unit 311 to a height position suitable for transporting the cassette 4 by AGV. Thereby, conveyance of cassette 4 by AGV can be performed smoothly.

  The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, in the above embodiment, the conveyor lifting device 303 moves the in-cassette conveyor 302 up and down, and moves the in-cassette conveyor 302 to the height position of the substrate storage conveyor 305 or the substrate carry-out conveyor 307. However, the cassette 4 is not provided with the conveyor lifting device 303, and the cassette 4 is disposed at a height position facing the substrate storage conveyor 305 or the substrate carry-out conveyor 307. Only the inner conveyor 302 may be provided. In this case, only the substrate can be carried out or stored from each cassette 4, but the configuration of the substrate transport device 3 can be simplified by the absence of the conveyor lifting device 303.

  Further, the conveyor lifting device 303, the substrate storage conveyor moving device 306, and the substrate carry-out conveyor moving device 308 are not provided, and the cassette 4 is located in a cassette disposed at a height position facing the substrate storage conveyor 305 or the substrate carry-out conveyor 307. Only the conveyor 302 may be provided. In this case, it is only possible to carry out or store substrates from each cassette 4, and the substrate carry-out conveyor 307 is fixedly provided at a position facing the substrate carry-out cassette 4. The cassette 4 is fixedly provided at a position facing the storage cassette 4, and it is not possible to freely select the cassette 4 for carrying out the substrate or for storing or carrying out the substrate storage substrate. Since the device 306 and the substrate carry-out conveyor moving device 308 are not provided, the configuration of the substrate transfer device 3 can be simplified.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although each cassette 4 is provided in the respectively separate stage part 311 and each stage part 311 raises / lowers, it is set as the structure which each cassette 4 moves up and down, but each cassette 4 is the same. There may be provided a cassette lifting device that is provided on the stage portion and that can move each cassette 4 portion up and down independently.

1 illustrates an example of a substrate processing apparatus including a substrate transfer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows schematic structure of a board | substrate conveyance apparatus. (A) (b) is a figure which shows the outline of the board | substrate carrying-out operation from the inside of a cassette by a board | substrate conveyance apparatus. (A) (b) is a figure which shows the outline of the board | substrate accommodation operation | movement in the cassette by a board | substrate conveyance apparatus. It is a figure which shows the height position of the conveyor in a cassette at the time of cassette replacement | exchange by AGV (automated conveyance vehicle).

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate processing apparatus 3 Substrate transfer apparatus 301 Cassette stage 302 Conveyor in cassette 303 Conveyor raising / lowering apparatus 304 Cassette raising / lowering apparatus 305 Substrate storage conveyor 306 Substrate storage conveyor moving apparatus 307 Substrate unloading conveyor 308 Substrate unloading conveyor moving apparatus 311 Stage unit 4 Cassette G, G1-G5 board

Claims (5)

A substrate transport apparatus that includes a cassette in which a plurality of substrates are stored in a horizontal posture, and carries out the substrate from the cassette or stores the substrate in the cassette,
A cassette stage in which a plurality of the cassettes are juxtaposed,
A cassette that is disposed in each of the plurality of cassettes, transports the substrate in a transport direction orthogonal to the direction in which the cassettes are juxtaposed, and carries the substrate out of the cassette and stores the substrate in the cassette. An inner conveyor,
In the cassette, conveyor lifting means for lifting the conveyor in the cassette at least between two predetermined positions of the upper position and the lower position,
Cassette lifting and lowering means for raising and lowering the cassette in order to transfer the substrate housed in the cassette to and from the conveyor in the cassette moved to the upper position or the lower position by the conveyor lifting and lowering means;
Unloading the substrate from the cassette or storing the substrate in the cassette with the conveyor in the cassette disposed at the upper position or the lower position and moved to the upper position or the lower position by the conveyor lifting means A first conveyor for performing
The first conveyor is moved in the direction in which the cassettes are juxtaposed, and is arranged at a position facing one of the in-cassette conveyors moved to the upper position or the lower position by the conveyor lifting means. Means,
Between the upper position or the lower position and the position where the first conveyor is not disposed, and the conveyor in the cassette moved by the conveyor lifting means, the substrate of the substrate Of the operations of either carrying out from the cassette or storing the substrate in the cassette, the second conveyor that performs the operation that is not performed by the first conveyor;
Second conveyor moving means for moving the second conveyor in a direction in which the cassettes are arranged side by side and arranging the second conveyor at a position facing the conveyor in the cassette moved to a position where the first conveyor is not arranged. A substrate transfer device comprising: The cassette stage has a plurality of stage portions provided for each cassette,
The cassette raising / lowering means raises and lowers each stage unit according to whether the in-cassette conveyor transfers the substrate to or from the first conveyor or the second conveyor, and sets the height position of the cassette. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate transfer apparatus is set according to the first conveyor or the second conveyor. A substrate transport apparatus that includes a cassette in which a plurality of substrates are stored in a horizontal posture, and carries out the substrate from the cassette or stores the substrate in the cassette,
A cassette stage in which a plurality of the cassettes are juxtaposed,
Each of the plurality of cassettes, and a conveyor for carrying out the cassette in the cassette in a conveyance direction orthogonal to a direction in which the cassettes are arranged in parallel,
The substrate is transported in a transport direction perpendicular to the direction in which the cassettes are arranged in parallel at a height position different from the disposition position of the in-cassette conveyor, A cassette storage conveyor for storing substrates in the cassette;
Cassette lifting and lowering means for raising and lowering the cassette in order to transfer the substrate stored in the cassette between the conveyor in the cassette and the conveyor in the cassette;
A substrate carry-out conveyor for receiving and carrying the substrate in the cassette from the cassette carry-out conveyor;
Substrate carry-out conveyor moving means for moving the substrate carry-out conveyor in a direction in which the cassettes are juxtaposed and facing each of the cassette carry-out conveyors arranged in the cassettes;
A substrate storage conveyor for transferring the substrate to the cassette storage conveyor;
Substrate storage conveyor moving means for moving the substrate storage conveyor in a direction in which the cassettes are juxtaposed and facing each of the cassette storage conveyors arranged in the cassettes. Conveying device. A substrate transport apparatus that includes a cassette in which a plurality of substrates are stored in a horizontal posture, and carries out the substrate from the cassette or stores the substrate in the cassette,
A cassette stage having two cassettes arranged side by side;
An in-cassette unloading conveyor that is disposed inside one of the cassettes, conveys the substrate in a conveying direction orthogonal to the direction in which the two cassettes are arranged in parallel, and unloads the substrate from the cassette;
The substrate is transported in a transport direction perpendicular to the direction in which the two cassettes are juxtaposed, and is placed in a cassette different from the cassette in which the conveyor for transporting in the cassette is disposed. A cassette storage conveyor for storing substrates;
A cassette lifting and lowering means for raising and lowering the cassette in order to deliver the substrate stored in the cassette to and from the in-cassette unloading conveyor or the in-cassette storing conveyor provided in each of the cassettes;
A substrate carry-out conveyor for receiving and carrying the substrate in the cassette from the cassette carry-out conveyor;
A substrate transfer apparatus comprising: a substrate storage conveyor that transfers the substrate to the cassette storage conveyor. A substrate transport apparatus that includes a cassette in which a plurality of substrates are stored in a horizontal posture, and carries out the substrate from the cassette or stores the substrate in the cassette,
A cassette stage in which a plurality of the cassettes are juxtaposed,
An in-cassette carry-out conveyor that is disposed inside any of the plurality of cassettes, conveys the substrate in a conveyance direction orthogonal to the direction in which the plurality of cassettes are arranged in parallel, and carries out the substrate from the cassette
Among the plurality of cassettes, the substrate is transported in a transport direction orthogonal to a direction in which the plurality of cassettes are arranged in parallel, and is disposed inside the cassette in which the conveyor for carrying out the cassette is not disposed, A conveyor for storing the substrate in the cassette,
A cassette lifting and lowering means for raising and lowering the cassette in order to deliver a substrate stored in the cassette to and from the in-cassette carry-out conveyor or in-cassette storage conveyor provided in each of the plurality of cassettes;
A substrate carry-out conveyor for receiving and carrying the substrate in the cassette from the cassette carry-out conveyor;
A substrate carry-out conveyor moving means for moving the substrate carry-out conveyor in a direction in which the cassettes are juxtaposed and facing each of the cassette carry-out conveyors;
A substrate storage conveyor for transporting the substrate to the cassette storage conveyor;
A substrate transport apparatus comprising: a substrate storage conveyor moving unit configured to move the substrate storage conveyor in a direction in which the cassettes are juxtaposed and to face each of the cassette storage conveyors.

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