JP2005347614A - Substrate carrying apparatus, and substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate carrying apparatus and a substrate processing apparatus whereby dust generations can be suppressed stably and surely. <P>SOLUTION: A rise/fall conveyer 30 performs a rise/fall operation between an upper stage carrying position and a lower stage carrying position. When the rise/fall conveyer 30 is located in the upper stage carrying position, exhausting ports 38 are joined to sucking ports 44 of upper positioning portions 40. When the rise/fall conveyer 30 is located in the lower stage carrying position, the exhausting ports 38 are joined to sucking ports 54 of lower positioning portions 50. When the rise/fall conveyer 30 is in the upper stage carrying position or in the lower stage carrying position, dust generations occur in the insides of covers 32, 33 while being accompanied by the rotation of a carrying roller 31. However, the dust generations are exhausted to an exhausting line 90 via an upper fixed exhausting duct 49 or a lower fixed exhausting duct 59. Since the upper and lower fixed exhausting ducts 49, 59 are not bent even though the rise/fall conveyer 30 rises/falls, the dust generations can be suppressed stably and surely. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate transport apparatus for transporting a semiconductor substrate, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, a glass substrate for a photomask, a substrate for an optical disk, etc. (hereinafter simply referred to as “substrate”) between a plurality of stages of substrate transport positions, and The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus incorporating the substrate transfer apparatus.

  A variety of processes such as cleaning, resist coating, exposure, development, and heat treatment are performed on the substrate as described above to achieve a series of substrate processes. Particularly in an apparatus for processing a large glass substrate, there is known an apparatus configuration in which a substrate is placed on a transport roller, and units for processing are linearly connected while the substrate is transferred in the horizontal direction by the transport roller. Yes. And in order to improve the installation efficiency of an apparatus, the apparatus which laminated | stacked and comprised the processing unit in the up-down direction is also proposed (for example, refer patent documents 1-3). In such an apparatus, an elevator type elevating conveyor that transfers substrates between an upper processing line and a lower processing line is incorporated.

JP 2002-261143 A Japanese Utility Model Publication No.59-170517 International Publication No. 00/68118 Pamphlet

  Usually, such an elevating conveyor is configured to be moved up and down between the processing lines of each stage, and is provided with a plurality of conveying rollers arranged to support the substrate from below at predetermined intervals. These transport rollers are rotationally driven by a drive mechanism provided on the elevating conveyor. The drive mechanism rotates the transport roller to transport the substrate in the horizontal direction, receives the substrate from each stage processing line, and passes the substrate to each stage processing line.

  Since the drive mechanism of the transport roller is provided with a motor and a belt and performs a mechanical operation, unavoidable dust generation occurs during transport of the substrate. In order to prevent such dust generation from adhering to the substrate as particles, the bearing portion of the transport roller is sealed and the drive mechanism is covered with a cover. By doing so, since the drive mechanism is placed in the sealed space, dust generated from the drive mechanism is prevented from leaking out from the cover and adhering to the substrate.

  Further, in order to more reliably prevent the drive mechanism from becoming a particle contamination source, an exhaust duct is connected to the cover, and negative pressure is applied to the inside of the cover to suck and collect dust generated from the drive mechanism. The exhaust duct is connected to an exhaust line of a factory where the apparatus is installed, and particles generated from the drive mechanism when the transport roller is driven to rotate are discharged to the exhaust line of the factory via the exhaust duct.

  However, since the lifting conveyor frequently moves up and down with substrate processing, the exhaust duct bends every time the lifting conveyor moves up and down. The exhaust duct connected to the elevating conveyor used in the substrate processing apparatus is usually made of aluminum, and there is a possibility that dust is generated from the exhaust duct itself due to repeated bending accompanying the elevating and lowering of the elevating conveyor and becomes a contamination source. Another problem is that the exhaust duct is fatigued and deteriorated in a relatively short time due to repeated bending. Furthermore, it is necessary to secure a working space for the exhaust duct to bend in accordance with the lifting and lowering operation of the lifting conveyor, leading to a problem that the apparatus is increased in size.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a substrate transport apparatus and a substrate processing apparatus that can stably and reliably suppress dust generation.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention of claim 1 is a substrate transfer apparatus that delivers a substrate at a plurality of substrate transfer positions, and places a substrate received at any of the plurality of substrate transfer positions. And a transfer means for transferring the substrate to one of the plurality of stages of substrate transfer positions, a lifting / lowering means for raising and lowering the placement transfer means between the plurality of stages of substrate transfer positions, When the substrate transfer means is located at any one of the plurality of substrate transfer positions, and the substrate is moved in a substantially horizontal direction to receive the substrate from the substrate transfer position, or A driving means for operating the placement and transfer means so as to pass the substrate to the substrate transfer position, and the plurality of stages of substrate transfer positions are provided exclusively for each of the plurality of stages of board transfer positions. Either And location and a discharge means for sucking and removing the dust from the drive means when the drive means is driven.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the substrate transfer apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the placement transfer unit further includes a cover that covers the drive unit, and the cover is provided with an exhaust port. And an intake port that is connected to the exhaust port and applies a negative pressure to the inside of the cover when the placement transfer unit is positioned at the substrate transfer position where the exhaust unit is provided.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus for performing a predetermined process on a substrate, the substrate transport apparatus according to any one of the first or second aspect, and at least one of the plurality of stages of substrate transport positions. And a substrate processing section for connecting the substrate delivery port to the substrate and performing the predetermined processing on the substrate.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the driving means is driven while being provided at each of the plurality of stages of substrate transport positions and the placement transport means is located at one of the plurality of stages of substrate transport positions. Since the exhaust means that sucks and removes the dust generated from the drive means is provided, the exhaust means will not be interlocked even when the mounting and conveying means is moved up and down, and the dust generation can be stably and reliably suppressed. it can.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the placement transport means is located at the substrate transport position where the exhaust means is provided, the suction port of the exhaust means and the exhaust port of the cover that covers the drive means are connected. Since negative pressure is applied to the inside of the cover, dust generation can be stably and reliably suppressed.

  According to the invention of claim 3, the substrate transfer device according to claim 1 or 2 and the substrate delivery port are connected to at least one of the plurality of stages of substrate transfer positions, In contrast, since a substrate processing unit that performs predetermined processing is provided, dust generation in the substrate processing apparatus can be stably and reliably suppressed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  1 and 2 are a front view and a plan view, respectively, showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. In FIGS. 1 and 2 and subsequent figures, an XYZ orthogonal coordinate system with the Z-axis direction as the vertical direction and the XY plane as the horizontal plane is appropriately attached as necessary to clarify the directional relationship. Yes. The substrate to be processed by the substrate processing apparatus of this embodiment is a liquid crystal glass substrate.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the substrate processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes an indexer unit 2, a first substrate processing unit 6 and a second substrate processing unit 7 arranged in parallel above and below, and a liftable substrate transfer apparatus. 10 is provided. The indexer unit 2 takes out the substrates one by one from the mounting table 4 on which the cassette 5 storing a plurality of substrates is placed, and the cassette 5 placed on the mounting table 4 to the first substrate processing apparatus 6. And a transfer device 3 that takes out the processed substrate from the second substrate processing apparatus 7 and stores it in the cassette 5. The transfer device 3 includes a robot that can move in the longitudinal direction of the mounting table 4 (in the direction of the arrow AR2). Further, the cassette 5 is transported by a transport device such as AGV (not shown) and delivered to the mounting table 4.

  The first substrate processing unit 6 on the upper stage and the second substrate processing unit 7 on the lower stage each include a plurality of transfer rollers that horizontally transfer the substrate in the direction of the arrow AR11 and the direction of the arrow AR12, respectively. It is comprised so that these processes may be performed. In the present embodiment, the first substrate processing unit 6 is configured to perform an etching process on the substrate, and the second substrate processing unit 7 is configured to perform a cleaning process and a drying process on the substrate.

  FIG. 3 is a side view of a liftable substrate transport apparatus 10 which is an embodiment of the substrate transport apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a plan view thereof. The elevating type substrate transfer apparatus 10 mainly includes an elevating conveyor 30, an elevating mechanism 20 that elevates the elevating conveyor 30, and an upper portion that performs alignment when the elevating conveyor 30 is raised to the upper conveyance position. The positioning unit 40 and a lower positioning unit 50 that performs positioning when the elevating conveyor 30 is lowered to the lower conveyance position are provided. A power supply box 12 that supplies power to each drive unit of the liftable substrate transfer apparatus 10 is installed at the bottom of the frame 11.

  The elevating mechanism 20 is provided on both sides in the width direction (Y-axis direction) of the elevating substrate transfer apparatus 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the lifting mechanism 20 includes a guide member 21, a motor 22, a timing belt 24, and a support member 25. The support member 25 fixedly supports the elevating conveyor 30. The support member 25 is slidably provided with respect to the guide member 21 erected along the vertical direction (Z-axis direction), and is connected to the timing belt 24. The motor 22 is fixedly installed on the frame body 11. A timing belt 24 is wound around a main pulley 23 connected to the motor shaft of the motor 22 and a driven pulley 26 provided on the upper portion of the frame 11. Therefore, when the motor 22 rotates in the forward or reverse direction, the timing belt 24 rotates between the main pulley 23 and the driven pulley 26 along the vertical direction. As the timing belt 24 rotates, the support member 25 and the lifting conveyor 30 connected to the timing belt 24 move up and down along the vertical direction.

  In the present embodiment, the elevating mechanism 20 elevates the elevating conveyor 30 between the upper transport position UT and the lower transport position LT. The upper transfer position UT is a height position at which the upper first substrate processing unit 6 horizontally transfers the substrate W along the direction of the arrow AR11. The lift conveyor 30 receives and places the substrate W that has been horizontally transported by the first substrate processing unit 6 when it is positioned at the upper transport position UT. Note that, for such delivery, the first substrate processing unit 6 includes a substrate delivery port connected to the upper transport position UT of the elevating substrate transport apparatus 10.

  On the other hand, the lower transport position LT is a height position at which the lower second substrate processing unit 7 horizontally transports the substrate W along the direction of the arrow AR12. When the elevating conveyor 30 is located at the lower transfer position LT, the elevating conveyor 30 sends out the transferred substrate W to the second substrate processing unit 7. For such delivery, the second substrate processing unit 7 also includes a substrate delivery port connected to the lower transfer position LT of the liftable substrate transfer apparatus 10.

  In the present embodiment, the elevating mechanism 20 is configured by a belt feeding mechanism using the timing belt 24, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the elevating conveyor 30 is provided between the upper transport position UT and the lower transport position LT. Various known mechanisms can be adopted as long as the mechanism can be moved up and down between them. For example, a configuration using a ball screw may be used.

  FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the lifting conveyor 30. FIG. 6 is a side sectional view of the lifting conveyor 30. FIG. 7 is a front view of the lifting conveyor 30. The elevating conveyor 30 includes a plurality of transport rollers 31 and a drive mechanism 60 that rotationally drives the transport rollers 31. The elevating conveyor 30 itself is not fixed to the frame 11 of the elevating type substrate transfer apparatus 10 but is supported by the support member 25 of the elevating mechanism 20 so as to be movable up and down. The plurality of transport rollers 31 are disposed between the cover 32 and the cover 33 at a predetermined pitch so that each longitudinal direction thereof extends along the Y direction.

  One end ((+ Y) side end) of each transport roller 31 is rotatably connected to the cover 33 via a bearing 34. On the other hand, the other end (the (−Y) side end) of each transport roller 31 is rotatably connected to the cover 32 via a bearing 34, and a pulley 36 is fixed to the tip portion thereof. The drive mechanism 60 is built in the cover 32 and includes a motor 61, a belt 63, a tension pulley 65 and a driven pulley 64. The motor 61 is fixedly installed on the inner wall of the cover 32. The tension pulley 65 is rotatably provided at an intermediate position between the arrangement intervals of the pulleys 36. Further, a driven pulley 64 is rotatably provided at a position in the cover 32 opposite to the motor 61 ((+ X) side). The belt 63 is wound around a main driving pulley 62 fixed to the motor shaft of the motor 61, a pulley 36 connected to the conveying roller 31, a tension pulley 65 and a driven pulley 64.

  With such a configuration, when the motor 61 rotates the main pulley 62 in the forward or reverse direction, the belt 63 rotates and the pulleys 36 rotate, and accordingly, the plurality of transport rollers 31 are interlocked and moved simultaneously. At the same speed. When the elevating conveyor 30 is positioned at the upper transport position UT, the drive mechanism 60 rotates the pulley 36 counterclockwise on the paper surface of FIG. The substrate W transferred from the processing unit 6 can be received, horizontally transported, and placed on the plurality of transport rollers 31. Further, when the elevating conveyor 30 is positioned at the lower transport position LT, the drive mechanism 60 rotates the plurality of transport rollers 31 by rotating the pulley 36 clockwise on the paper surface of FIG. The substrate W placed on the substrate 31 is horizontally transported and transferred to the second substrate processing unit 7. When the substrate W delivered from the first substrate processing unit 6 is horizontally transported and reaches a predetermined position on the elevating conveyor 30, the drive mechanism 60 stops the rotational driving of the plurality of transport rollers 31. As a result, the substrate W is placed and held on the plurality of transport rollers 31.

  The cover 32 is a housing that houses the drive mechanism 60. The entire drive mechanism 60 is covered by the cover 32. Flange-shaped exhaust ports 38 are formed at two locations on the bottom surface of the cover 32. On the other hand, the cover 33 has the same shape as the cover 32, but there is no mechanism such as the drive mechanism 60 inside. Flange-shaped exhaust ports 38 are also formed at two locations on the bottom surface of the cover 33. These four exhaust ports 38 are joined to intake ports of an upper positioning portion 40 and a lower positioning portion 50 described later.

  FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the upper positioning portion 40. Four upper positioning units 40 are provided at the upper transfer position UT of the liftable substrate transfer apparatus 10 (see FIG. 4). The upper positioning unit 40 is configured by forming a positioning unit 43 and an intake port 44 on a movable base 41. The pedestal 41 is rotatably attached to the frame body 11 of the liftable substrate transfer apparatus 10 via a rotation shaft 42. The pedestal 41 is rotatable in a horizontal plane with the rotation shaft 42 as a rotation center. The air cylinder 45 has a base end attached to the frame 11 and a piston tip connected to the base 41 so as to be rotatable. As the air cylinder 45 expands and contracts, the pedestal 41 rotates as indicated by an arrow AR8. That is, when the air cylinder 45 performs the extending operation, the pedestal 41 rotates to the solid line position in FIG. 8, and when the air cylinder 45 performs the contracting operation, the pedestal 41 rotates to the two-dot chain line position. The air cylinder 45 is a so-called clevis-type cylinder, and is not completely fixed to the frame body 11 but can be slightly swung as shown in FIG.

  The alignment portion 43 has a recess on its upper surface, and a projection (not shown) attached to the outside of the bottom surface of the covers 32 and 33 of the elevating conveyor 30 engages with the recess so that the upper portion is at the upper transport position UT. The horizontal direction alignment of the elevating conveyor 30 is performed.

  The intake port 44 is formed in a flange shape at a predetermined position on the upper surface of the base 41. This predetermined position is a position where the exhaust port 38 and the intake port 44 are joined when the elevating conveyor 30 is aligned by the alignment unit 43. As shown in FIG. 7, the intake port 44 is connected to the exhaust line 90 through an upper fixed exhaust duct 49. Normally, an exhaust line in a factory where the substrate processing apparatus 1 is installed may be applied as the exhaust line 90. Thereby, the suction port 44 can apply the suction force by the negative pressure.

  On the other hand, FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the lower positioning portion 50. Four lower positioning portions 50 are provided at the lower transfer position LT of the liftable substrate transfer apparatus 10. Each of the four lower positioning portions 50 is provided almost directly below the upper positioning portion 40 (see FIG. 3). The lower positioning portion 50 is configured by forming a positioning portion 53 and an intake port 54 on a fixed base 51. The lower positioning unit 50 is different from the upper positioning unit 40 in that the lower positioning unit 50 is fixedly installed on the frame body 11 of the elevating substrate transport apparatus 10. That is, the pedestal 51 of the lower positioning portion 50 is fixedly attached to the frame body 11.

  The alignment portion 53 has a recess on its upper surface, and a projection (not shown) attached to the outside of the bottom surface of the covers 32 and 33 of the elevating conveyor 30 engages with the recess, so that the position adjustment portion 53 is at the lower transport position LT. The horizontal direction alignment of the elevating conveyor 30 is performed.

  The air inlet 54 is formed in a flange shape at a predetermined position on the upper surface of the base 41. The predetermined position is a position where the exhaust port 38 and the intake port 54 are joined when the elevating conveyor 30 is aligned by the alignment unit 53. As shown in FIG. 7, the air inlet 54 is connected to the exhaust line 90 through a lower fixed exhaust duct 59. As a result, the suction port 54 can apply a suction force due to a negative pressure.

  Next, the operation of the liftable substrate transfer apparatus 10 when the substrate W transferred from the upper first substrate processing unit 6 is transferred to the lower second substrate processing unit 7 will be described. First, the elevating mechanism 20 raises the elevating conveyor 30 to the upper conveyance position UT. At this time, in order to prevent interference between the lifting conveyor 30 and the upper positioning portion 40, the air cylinder 45 of the upper positioning portion 40 performs a contracting operation in advance to retract the base 41 to the retracted position (the two-dot chain line position in FIG. 4). Let me. If the pedestal 41 is retracted to the retracted position, the upper positioning unit 40 and the elevating conveyor 30 do not interfere even when the elevating conveyor 30 is raised to the upper conveyance position UT. And the raising / lowering conveyor 30 raises to upper direction slightly from the upper stage conveyance position UT.

  Next, the air cylinder 45 extends to move the base 41 to the operating position (solid line position in FIG. 4). Thereby, the alignment part 43 and the inlet port 44 of the base 41 will be located under the raising / lowering conveyor 30. FIG. Subsequently, the lifting mechanism 20 slightly lowers the lifting conveyor 30 to the upper transfer position UT. Thereby, the positioning unit 43 performs horizontal alignment of the elevating conveyor 30 and connects the exhaust port 38 of the elevating conveyor 30 and the intake port 44 of the upper positioning unit 40.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a state where the exhaust port 38 and the intake port 44 are connected. In the example of the present embodiment, both the exhaust port 38 and the intake port 44 are formed of an elastic body in a flange shape. Therefore, even if there is a slight dimensional error in the exhaust port 38 and the intake port 44, there is no possibility that they will collide and break, and a reliable connection can be obtained. By connecting the exhaust port 38 and the intake port 44, the negative pressure of the exhaust line 90 is applied to the inside of the covers 32 and 33 through the connecting portion.

  Further, when the elevating conveyor 30 is positioned at the upper transport position UT, the drive mechanism 60 starts to rotate the plurality of transport rollers 31. As a result, the substrate W received from the first substrate processing unit 6 is received and horizontally transported, and when the entire substrate W has completely moved onto the elevating conveyor 30, the drive mechanism 60 has the plurality of transport rollers 31. Stop rotation drive. As a result, the substrate W is placed and held on the plurality of transport rollers 31.

  At this time, since the drive mechanism 60 is driven in the cover 32, dust generation from the drive mechanism 60 occurs. Further, although the drive mechanism 60 does not exist in the cover 33, dust is generated from the bearing 34 as the transport roller 31 rotates. The dust generated in the covers 32 and 33 is discharged from the upper fixed exhaust duct 49 to the exhaust line 90 through the connection portion between the exhaust port 38 and the intake port 44. That is, the negative pressure of the exhaust line 90 is applied to the inside of the covers 32 and 33 through the connection portion between the exhaust port 38 and the intake port 44, whereby dust generated from the drive mechanism 60 is sucked and removed. .

  Therefore, it is possible to prevent dust generated from the drive mechanism 60 from leaking from the covers 32 and 33 and adhering to the substrate W as particles. When the inside of the covers 32 and 33 is a completely sealed space, a discharge airflow is not formed even if a negative pressure is applied, and the suction efficiency is lowered. For example, the outside air is generated in the covers 32 and 33 using the bearing 34 as an open type bearing. It is preferable to allow the inflow.

  Next, the lifting conveyor 30 again slightly rises from the upper transport position UT, and the exhaust port 38 is separated from the intake port 44. As a result, negative pressure does not act on the covers 32 and 33. At this time, the drive mechanism 60 is stopped, so that no dust is generated and there is no possibility that particles adhere to the substrate W. Subsequently, the air cylinder 45 performs a contracting operation to retract the base 41 to the retracted position again.

  Then, the lifting mechanism 20 lowers the lifting conveyor 30 to the lower transport position LT. As a result, the positioning unit 53 aligns the lifting conveyor 30 in the horizontal direction, and the exhaust port 38 of the lifting conveyor 30 and the suction port 54 of the lower positioning unit 50 are connected. The connection mode between the exhaust port 38 and the intake port 54 is exactly the same as the connection mode with the intake port 44 described above (see FIG. 10). By connecting the exhaust port 38 and the intake port 54, the negative pressure of the exhaust line 90 is applied to the inside of the covers 32 and 33 through the connecting portion.

  When the elevating conveyor 30 is positioned at the lower transport position LT, the drive mechanism 60 starts to rotate the plurality of transport rollers 31. As a result, the elevating conveyor 30 transports the substrate W horizontally and sends it to the second substrate processing unit 7 for delivery. Thereafter, when the entire substrate W is completely sent out from the lifting conveyor 30, the drive mechanism 60 stops the rotational driving of the plurality of transport rollers 31.

  Also at this time, dust is generated by driving the drive mechanism 60 in the covers 32 and 33, and the dust is exhausted from the lower fixed exhaust duct 59 through the connection portion between the exhaust port 38 and the intake port 54. It is discharged to the line 90. That is, the negative pressure of the exhaust line 90 is applied to the inside of the covers 32 and 33 through the connection portion between the exhaust port 38 and the intake port 54, whereby dust generated from the drive mechanism 60 is removed by suction. . In this way, a series of transfer operations by the liftable substrate transfer apparatus 10 from the upper first substrate processing unit 6 to the lower second substrate processing unit 7 is completed.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, it functions as a dedicated exhaust unit for exhausting to the upper transport position UT and the lower transport position LT, which are the two transport height positions of the liftable substrate transport apparatus 10. An upper positioning part 40 and a lower positioning part 50 are provided. And when the raising / lowering conveyor 30 is located in the upper conveyance position UT, it connects to the inlet 44 of the upper positioning part 40, and the dust generation from the drive mechanism 60 is suction-removed to the exhaust line 90, and is located in the lower conveyance position LT. Sometimes, the dust generated from the drive mechanism 60 is sucked and removed to the exhaust line 90 by being connected to the intake port 54 of the lower positioning portion 50. For this reason, it is possible to prevent dust generated from the drive mechanism 60 from leaking from the covers 32 and 33 and adhering to the substrate W as particles when the drive mechanism 60 is driven. Note that when the elevating conveyor 30 is not located at either the upper transport position UT or the lower transport position LT, negative pressure cannot be applied to the covers 32 and 33, but the drive mechanism 60 also stops operating. There is no dust generation, and there is no problem of particle adhesion.

  Further, since the intake port 44 of the upper positioning unit 40 and the intake port 54 of the lower positioning unit 50 for exhausting air are provided at each of the upper transport position UT and the lower transport position LT, the intake ports 44 and 54 are provided. The upper fixed exhaust duct 49 and the lower fixed exhaust duct 59 connected to each other can be fixed. That is, the upper fixed exhaust duct 49 or the lower fixed exhaust duct 59 does not bend even when the elevating conveyor 30 performs the elevating operation. Therefore, there is no possibility that the upper fixed exhaust duct 49 and the lower fixed exhaust duct 59 generate dust due to repeated bending, and they can be prevented from being fatigued and damaged. As a result, it is possible to stably and reliably suppress dust generation in the elevating conveyor 30.

  While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above examples. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the exhaust port 38 formed by processing the elastic body into a flange shape is connected to the intake ports 44 and 54. However, the connection form is as shown in FIG. Also good. In the form of FIG. 11, the intake port 44 is formed by processing a metal pipe into a tapered shape having a diameter that decreases toward the tip. On the other hand, the exhaust port 38 of the elevating conveyor 30 is formed by processing an elastic body into a ring shape. When the elevating conveyor 30 is positioned at the upper transport position UT and the exhaust port 38 and the intake port 44 are connected, the tapered intake port 44 is fitted into the elastic exhaust port 38. In this case, the intake port 54 of the lower positioning unit 50 is also tapered like the intake port 44 of the upper positioning unit 40. As the connection form between the exhaust port 38 and the intake ports 44 and 54, various known modes other than these can be adopted. For example, the exhaust port 38 is tapered to the intake port, contrary to FIG. 44 and 54 may be elastic ring shapes.

  In the above embodiment, the first substrate processing unit 6 is an etching processing unit, and the second substrate processing unit 7 is a unit that performs a cleaning process and a drying process. However, the first substrate processing unit 6 and the second substrate processing unit are used. The processing content of the unit 7 is not limited to these. For example, the first substrate processing unit 6 is a coating unit that performs resist coating processing on the substrate W, and the second substrate processing unit 7 is development processing of the substrate W after exposure. It may be a developing unit that performs the above.

  Further, in the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing apparatus 10 is configured so that the elevating substrate transfer apparatus 10 performs the return transfer of the substrate W from the upper first substrate processing unit 6 to the lower second substrate processing unit 7. Although the apparatus 1 is configured, the present invention is not limited to this. The processing units are arranged on both sides in the X direction of the liftable substrate transport apparatus 10 to determine the transport height position of the substrate W transported in one direction. The liftable substrate transfer device 10 may be changed.

  Further, the transfer position in the liftable substrate transfer apparatus 10 is not limited to two stages, and may be three or more stages. Even in this case, by providing a dedicated exhaust mechanism at each of the multistage transport positions, the same effect as in the above embodiment can be obtained.

  Furthermore, the substrate W to be transferred by the substrate transfer apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the liquid crystal glass substrate, and may be a semiconductor wafer.

It is a front view which shows schematic structure of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a top view which shows schematic structure of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. It is a side view of the raising / lowering substrate transfer apparatus of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. It is a top view of the raising / lowering board | substrate conveyance apparatus of FIG. It is a perspective view of the raising / lowering conveyor of the raising / lowering board | substrate conveying apparatus of FIG. It is a sectional side view of the raising / lowering conveyor of the raising / lowering board | substrate conveyance apparatus of FIG. It is a front view of the raising / lowering conveyor of the raising / lowering board | substrate conveyance apparatus of FIG. It is a top view which shows an upper positioning part. It is a top view which shows a lower positioning part. It is a figure which shows an example of the form to which the exhaust port of an elevator conveyor and the inlet port of an upper positioning part are connected. It is a figure which shows the other example of the form by which the exhaust port of a raising / lowering conveyor and the inlet port of an upper positioning part are connected.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate processing apparatus 6 1st substrate processing unit 7 2nd substrate processing unit 10 Elevating-type substrate conveyance apparatus 20 Elevating mechanism 30 Elevating conveyor 32, 33 Cover 38 Exhaust port 40 Upper positioning part 44 Inlet port 50 Lower positioning part 54 Inlet port 60 Drive mechanism LT Lower transfer position UT Upper transfer position W Substrate

Claims (3)

A substrate transfer apparatus for delivering a substrate at a plurality of substrate transfer positions,
A placement transport means for placing the substrate received at any of the plurality of stages of substrate transport positions and passing the substrate to any of the plurality of stages of substrate transport;
Elevating means for elevating and lowering the placing and conveying means between the plurality of stages of substrate conveying positions;
Provided in the placement and transport means, and when the placement and transport means is located at any of the plurality of stages of substrate transport positions, the substrate is moved in a substantially horizontal direction to receive the substrate from the substrate transport position. Or a driving means for operating the above-mentioned placing and conveying means so as to pass the substrate to the substrate conveying position;
Provided exclusively for each of the plurality of stages of substrate transport positions, from the drive means when the driving means is driven while the placement transport means is located in any of the plurality of stages of substrate transport positions Exhaust means for sucking and removing dust,
The board | substrate conveyance apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
The placing and conveying means further includes a cover that covers the driving means,
The cover is provided with an exhaust port,
The exhaust unit includes an intake port that is connected to the exhaust port and applies a negative pressure to the inside of the cover when the placement transport unit is positioned at the substrate transport position where the exhaust unit is provided. A substrate transfer device. A substrate processing apparatus for performing predetermined processing on a substrate,
The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
A substrate processing unit connected to at least one of the plurality of substrate transport positions and performing the predetermined processing on the substrate;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising:

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