JP2007027614A - Heat treatment device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To minimize damage when an arm or a hand or the like of a person is accidentally pinched between a chamber body and a lid body with a simple/sure and efficient safety mechanism in an upper-lid opening/closing heat treatment device. <P>SOLUTION: An emergency wire 120 is stretched almost horizontally so as to go round the inside of a frame 66 along the outer periphery of the lid body 70 in an adhesion unit (AD) 46. A change-over switch is joined or coupled to the emergency wire 120. When the emergency wire 120 is pulled at an arbitrary place, the change-over switch is shifted by the displacement of the emergency wire 120 in the straightly stretched direction near the change-over switch as the result of the further increase of the tensile force over the whole length of the emergency wire 120. Forcible lifting-up operation is executed which holds the lid body 70 at a retreat position by immediately forcibly returning it to the retreat position in response to the shifting of the change-over switch. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a heat treatment apparatus that forms a chamber by aligning a lid with a chamber body having an open top surface, and performs a desired heat treatment on a substrate to be processed in the chamber.

  In photolithography for FPD (flat panel display) manufacturing and semiconductor device manufacturing, HMDS (hexamethyldisilane) is used to improve the adhesion of the resist film to the substrate to be processed (glass substrate, semiconductor wafer, etc.). An adhesion process is performed to make the surface to be treated hydrophobic.

  A conventional adhesion processing apparatus, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, places a substrate to be processed on a hot plate provided in a chamber body having an open top surface, and covers the lid from above to cover the chamber. Close and draw vapor HMDS into the chamber to apply HMDS on the surface of the substrate. After a predetermined processing time has elapsed, the lid is lifted upward from the chamber body to open the chamber and carry the substrate out of the hot plate. I have to.

In such an upper lid opening and closing type heat treatment apparatus, a cylinder, particularly an air cylinder, is often used as an actuator suitable for reciprocating work in an elevating mechanism that moves the lid up and down with respect to the chamber body. When opening the chamber, the air cylinder performs forward or forward movement, for example, to lift the lid to a predetermined position above the chamber body. When closing the chamber, the air cylinder moves backward or backward to align the lid with the chamber body. At this time, in order to make the inside of the chamber airtight, the outer peripheral edge of the lid is pressed with a suitable pressure against a seal member attached to the outer peripheral edge of the chamber body.
JP-A-11-214292

  In the upper lid opening and closing type heat treatment apparatus as described above, if the arm or hand of a human (usually a factory worker) is accidentally pinched between the chamber body and the lid body, the thrust of the cylinder is strong and the person himself However, it is very difficult to pull out arms and hands by yourself. If such a situation occurs during system operation, there is a risk of not only being injured by the pinching force but also being burned by the heat from the hot plate. Moreover, the recent increase in the size of the substrate has caused this problem. That is, the apparatus unit is also enlarged with the increase in the size of the substrate, and the pressing force received from the lid when the arm or hand is pinched is much larger than before. In addition, even if a safety button is installed to forcibly release the force to close the lid (the thrust of the cylinder that lowers the lid), the arm or It is uncertain whether a hand will be caught, and it is not practical to install a safety button in terms of cost performance.

  The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the prior art, and can easily and efficiently prevent damage when a human arm or hand is accidentally sandwiched between a chamber body and a lid. It is an object of the present invention to provide a heat treatment apparatus that is surely kept to a minimum by a safety mechanism.

  In order to achieve the above object, a heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention includes a chamber main body having an open top surface and a processing chamber that is provided so as to be movable up and down immediately above the chamber main body and performs a desired thermal treatment on a substrate to be processed. A lid that is fitted to the chamber body to form, a first position that supports the lid and fits the chamber body, and a second position that is spaced apart from the chamber body by a predetermined distance A lifting mechanism that moves up and down, an emergency wire stretched in the vicinity of the chamber body or the lid, and displacement of the emergency wire when an external force of a predetermined value or more is applied to any part of the emergency wire An emergency switch mechanism that switches from the first state to the second state through the first switch, and the elevation switch in response to switching of the emergency switch mechanism from the first state to the second state. Structure is forcibly moving said lid to said second position, or forcibly held in the second position.

  In the above configuration, when a person accidentally puts an arm or hand between the chamber body and the lid, the emergency wire is displaced by pulling the emergency wire passing through the vicinity with the other hand. The first state is switched to the second state, and in response to the switching, the elevating mechanism forcibly moves the lid body to the second position away from the chamber body. As a result, the person can immediately pull out the caught arm and hand, and can avoid injury and burns.

  According to the present invention, no matter where the emergency wire is pulled, the manual operation force is transmitted to the entire length of the emergency wire to obtain a predetermined displacement in the wire, and the emergency switch mechanism is operated. A safety function equivalent to arranging a large number of safety buttons around the device unit can be easily realized by using one emergency wire.

  In the present invention, the emergency wire may preferably be stretched along the outer periphery of the chamber body or lid, and more preferably stretched substantially along the outer periphery of the chamber body or lid. Good. Although the emergency wire may be inclined obliquely, it is easy to perform manual operation if it is preferably stretched almost horizontally, and the height position of the stretch can be arbitrarily selected. It is convenient for manual operation if it is stretched to a position higher than the second position.

  According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, one or more pulleys are provided for bending and supporting the emergency wire at a desired location. For example, in a square device unit, one emergency wire can be made to make one turn along the outer periphery of the unit by arranging pulleys at the corners of the unit. The pulley structure preferably has a hooked reel shape in which the emergency wire is difficult to come off.

  According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, a tension adjusting unit is provided for adjusting the tension applied to the emergency wire under a steady state. Particularly preferably, the first wire end support portion supports one end of the emergency wire at a fixed position, and the second wire end support portion supports the other end of the emergency wire at an adjustable position in the wire length direction. Is provided.

  According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the elevating mechanism has one or more cylinders in which each piston rod is directly or indirectly coupled to the lid. The cylinder may be an air cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder. In this case, the elevating mechanism supplies high pressure to the first port of the cylinder and simultaneously supplies low pressure to the second port of the cylinder in order to move the lid down from the second position to the first position. In order to move the lid upward from the first position to the second position, low pressure may be supplied to the first port of the cylinder and simultaneously high pressure may be supplied to the second port of the cylinder.

  In a preferred aspect of the present invention, the elevating mechanism includes a first inlet connected to the high pressure source, a second inlet connected to the low pressure source, and a first pipe at the first port of the cylinder. A first directional control valve having a first outlet connected via a second outlet and a second outlet connected to a second port of the cylinder via a second pipe; The first outlet is connected to the first inlet and the second outlet is connected to the second inlet in the first directional control valve to move the lid downward from the first position to the first position. The first outlet is connected to the second inlet and the second outlet is connected to the first inlet in the first directional control valve in order to move the valve up from the first position to the second position. . The first directional control valve is a cylinder that moves forward or backward at a predetermined timing in order to open and close the lid in a steady state. For example, a 5-port solenoid valve suitable for electrical control by the controller May be configured.

  According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the emergency switch mechanism is provided in the middle of the first piping, and connected to the first outlet of the first directional control valve, and the low pressure source. A second directional control valve having a connected second inlet and an outlet connected to the first port of the cylinder; and a second directional control valve provided in the middle of the second piping. A third directional control valve having a first inlet connected to the second outlet, a second inlet connected to the high pressure source, and an outlet connected to the second port of the cylinder; An actuator connected to an emergency wire so as to be displaced between a backward movement position corresponding to the first state and an forward movement position corresponding to the second state in order to switch the direction control valve 3; When the actuator is in the backward movement position, the second and third directional control valves are connected to the respective outlets at the first outlet. Switching so as to connect to the inlet, when the actuator is in the forward position switches to the second and third directional control valve is each outlet connected to the second inlet.

  In this case, the second directional control valve can be constituted by a normally open type three-port valve, and the third directional control valve can be constituted by a normally closed type three-port valve. In the steady state, since the respective outlets of the second and third directional control valves are connected to the first inlet on the first directional control valve side, the cylinder operation is performed by switching the flow path of the first directional control valve. Are switched. In an emergency, that is, when the emergency switch mechanism is switched from the first state to the second state by the operation of the emergency wire, the actuator is operated so that the respective outlets of the second and third directional control valves are connected to the low pressure source and the high pressure source The flow path switching in the first directional control valve is not effective, and the low pressure from the low pressure source is applied to the first directional control valve and the first directional control valve. High pressure from the high pressure source is supplied to the second port of the cylinder via the third directional control valve and the second pipe. As a result, the cylinder is switched to an operation for forcibly moving the lid from the first position to the second position.

  According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, each of the second and third directional control valves comprises a pilot operated valve, and the actuator has a first inlet connected to the high pressure source and a first inlet connected to the low pressure source. A manually operated fourth having two inlets, a first outlet connected to the pilot port of the second directional control valve, and a second outlet connected to the pilot port of the third directional control valve. Directional control valve. In this case, the fourth directional control valve can be constituted by a 5-port valve with a detent, for example. In this way, by configuring the actuator also with a valve, the emergency switch mechanism can be completely incorporated into the pneumatic circuit or hydraulic circuit that drives the cylinder.

  According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, there is provided reset means for manually returning the emergency switch mechanism from the second state to the first state. When the actuator is constituted by a manpower operated valve with a detent, a reset means may be coupled or connected to the operation portion of the valve.

  According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, a processing gas supply unit for supplying a predetermined processing gas into a processing chamber formed by joining a lid to the chamber body, and an exhaust for discharging the gas from the processing chamber. Are provided. The present invention can be applied to any upper lid opening / closing heat treatment apparatus, but in particular, an upper lid opening / closing type that supplies and exhausts a processing gas while heating a substrate in an airtight chamber or processing chamber like an adhesion apparatus. It can be suitably applied to a heat treatment apparatus.

  Moreover, in the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, as a preferred embodiment, the processing gas supply unit stops the supply of the processing gas in response to the switching of the emergency switch mechanism from the first state to the second state. It is also possible to take treatment, treatment to stop the heat generation of the hot plate, or treatment to supply cooling air to the chamber body.

  According to the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, due to the above-described configuration and operation, damage when a human arm, hand, or the like is accidentally sandwiched between the chamber body and the lid body can be easily, reliably and efficiently performed. It can be kept to a minimum by a safety mechanism.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a coating and developing treatment system as a configuration example to which the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention can be applied. This coating / development processing system is installed in a clean room and uses, for example, an LCD substrate as a substrate to be processed, and performs cleaning, resist coating, pre-baking, development, and post-baking in the photolithography process in the LCD manufacturing process. is there. The exposure process is performed by an external exposure apparatus (not shown) installed adjacent to this system.

  This coating and developing system is roughly divided into a cassette station (C / S) 10, a process station (P / S) 12, and an interface unit (I / F) 14.

  A cassette station (C / S) 10 installed at one end of the system includes a cassette stage 16 on which a predetermined number, for example, four cassettes C for storing a plurality of substrates G can be placed, and a side on the cassette stage 16. And a transport path 17 provided in parallel with the arrangement direction of the cassette C, and a transport mechanism 20 that is movable on the transport path 17 and that allows the substrate C to be taken in and out of the cassette C on the stage 16. The transport mechanism 20 has a means for holding the substrate G, for example, a transport arm, can be operated with four axes of X, Y, Z, and θ, and is transported on the process station (P / S) 12 side described later. And the substrate G can be transferred.

  The process station (P / S) 12 includes, in order from the cassette station (C / S) 10 side, a cleaning process unit 22, a coating process unit 24, and a development process unit 26, a substrate relay unit 23, a chemical solution supply unit 25, and It is provided in a horizontal row via (spaced) the space 27.

  The cleaning process unit 22 includes two scrubber cleaning units (SCR) 28, an upper and lower ultraviolet irradiation / cooling unit (UV / COL) 30, a heating unit (HP) 32, and a cooling unit (COL) 34. Contains.

  The coating process unit 24 includes a spinless resist coating unit (CT) 40, a vacuum drying unit (VD) 42, an upper and lower two-stage adhesion / cooling unit (AD / COL) 46, and an upper and lower two-stage heating / cooling. A unit (HP / COL) 48 and a heating unit (HP) 50 are included.

  The development process unit 26 includes three development units (DEV) 52, two upper and lower two-stage heating / cooling units (HP / COL) 53, and a heating unit (HP) 55.

  Conveying paths 36, 51, and 58 are provided in the longitudinal direction in the center of each process unit 22, 24, and 26, and the conveying devices 38, 54, and 60 move along the conveying paths 36, 51, and 58, respectively. Each unit in the process unit is accessed to carry in / out or carry the substrate G. In this system, in each process part 22, 24, 26, a liquid processing unit (SCR, CT, DEV, etc.) is disposed on one side of the transport paths 36, 51, 58, and heat treatment is performed on the other side. System units (HP, COL, etc.) are arranged.

  The interface unit (I / F) 14 installed at the other end of the system is provided with an extension (substrate transfer unit) 56 and a buffer stage 57 on the side adjacent to the process station 12, and is transported to the side adjacent to the exposure apparatus. A mechanism 59 is provided. The transport mechanism 59 is movable on the transport path 19 extending in the Y direction, and is used to load and unload the substrate G with respect to the buffer stage 57, and to extend from the extension (substrate transfer unit) 56 and the adjacent exposure device. The substrate G is transferred.

  FIG. 2 shows a processing procedure in this coating and developing processing system. First, in the cassette station (C / S) 10, the transport mechanism 20 takes out one substrate G from a predetermined cassette C on the stage 12 and transports it to the cleaning process unit 22 of the process station (P / S) 12. It is passed to the device 38 (step S1).

  In the cleaning process section 22, the substrate G is first sequentially carried into an ultraviolet irradiation / cooling unit (UV / COL) 30, subjected to dry cleaning by ultraviolet irradiation in the first ultraviolet irradiation unit (UV), and then subjected to the next cooling unit ( In COL), the temperature is cooled to a predetermined temperature (step S2). This UV cleaning mainly removes organic substances on the substrate surface.

  Next, the substrate G is subjected to a scrubbing cleaning process by one of the scrubber cleaning units (SCR) 28 to remove particulate dirt from the substrate surface (step S3). After the scrubbing cleaning, the substrate G is subjected to dehydration treatment by heating in the heating unit (HP) 32 (step S4), and then cooled to a constant substrate temperature by the cooling unit (COL) 34 (step S5). Thus, the pretreatment in the cleaning process unit 22 is completed, and the substrate G is transferred to the coating process unit 24 by the transfer device 38 via the substrate transfer unit 23.

  In the coating process unit 24, the substrate G is first sequentially carried into an adhesion / cooling unit (AD / COL) 46, and undergoes a hydrophobic treatment (HMDS) in the first adhesion unit (AD) (step S6). The cooling unit (COL) cools to a constant substrate temperature (step S7).

  Thereafter, the substrate G is coated with a resist solution by a spinless method in a resist coating unit (CT) 40, and then subjected to a drying process by reduced pressure in a reduced pressure drying unit (VD) 42 (step S8).

  Next, the substrate G is sequentially carried into the heating / cooling unit (HP / COL) 48, and the first heating unit (HP) performs baking after coating (pre-baking) (step S9), and then the cooling unit ( COL) to cool to a constant substrate temperature (step S10). In addition, the heating unit (HP) 50 can also be used for baking after this application | coating.

  After the coating process, the substrate G is transported to the interface unit (I / F) 14 by the transport device 54 of the coating process unit 24 and the transport device 60 of the development process unit 26, and is passed from there to the exposure apparatus (step). S11). In the exposure apparatus, a predetermined circuit pattern is exposed on the resist on the substrate G. After the pattern exposure, the substrate G is returned from the exposure apparatus to the interface unit (I / F) 14. The transport mechanism 59 of the interface unit (I / F) 14 passes the substrate G received from the exposure apparatus to the development process unit 26 of the process station (P / S) 12 via the extension 56 (step S11).

  In the development process unit 26, the substrate G is subjected to development processing in any one of the development units (DEV) 52 (step S12), and then sequentially carried into one of the heating / cooling units (HP / COL) 53, Post baking is performed in the first heating unit (HP) (step S13), and then the substrate is cooled to a constant substrate temperature in the cooling unit (COL) (step S14). A heating unit (HP) 55 can also be used for this post-baking.

  The substrate G that has undergone a series of processing in the development process section 26 is returned to the cassette station (C / S) 10 by the transfer devices 60, 54, and 38 in the process station (P / S) 24, where the transfer mechanism 20 Is stored in one of the cassettes C (step S1).

  In this coating and developing system, the present invention can be applied to, for example, an adhesion unit (AD) 46 of the coating process unit 24. Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an adhesion unit (AD) 46 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  3 and 4 show the overall configuration of the adhesion unit (AD) 46 in this embodiment. 5 to 7 show a configuration of a main part in the unit (AD) 46. FIG.

  The adhesion unit (AD) 46 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape formed by assembling a plurality of columns 62 and beams 64 made of, for example, stainless steel prisms or square cylinders on the outer peripheral end portion of a square base plate 60. A frame 66 is provided, and a fixed chamber body 68 and a lid 70 that can be raised and lowered are provided inside the frame 66.

  More specifically, the chamber body 68 is configured as a flat, rectangular parallelepiped lower container having an opening on the upper surface that is slightly larger in size (area) than the substrate G (FIG. 5), and is mounted on the base plate 60 via the joint fitting 71. (Fig. 4).

  The lid body 70 is configured as a flat rectangular parallelepiped upper container having an opening on the lower surface of the same size (area) as the chamber body 68 (FIG. 5), and a plurality of first horizontal supports extending in one horizontal direction (X direction). It is fixed to the member 72 (FIGS. 3 and 4). Then, both ends of each first horizontal support member 72 are fixed to a pair of left and right second horizontal support members 74 extending in a horizontal direction (Y direction) orthogonal thereto, and each second horizontal support member 74 is a base plate. It is connected to a piston rod 78 of an air cylinder 76 that stands vertically on 60 (FIGS. 3 and 4). When the piston rod 78 of each air cylinder 76 moves forward or moves vertically upward, the lid body 70 moves (rises) integrally with the horizontal support members 74 and 72, and the piston rod 78 of each air cylinder 76 moves. When returning or retreating vertically downward, the lid body 70 is moved (lowered) vertically downward integrally with the horizontal support members 74 and 72. On both sides of each air cylinder 76, in order to perform such up-and-down movement stably, guide portions 80 are provided that support each second horizontal support member 74 so as to be able to go up and down (FIG. 3).

  As shown in FIG. 5, a hot plate 82 having a shape (square) and a size corresponding to the substrate G is horizontally arranged in the chamber body 68 and fixed by a metal fitting 84. The hot plate 82 is made of a metal having a high thermal conductivity such as aluminum, and a heater (not shown) made of a resistance heating element is provided inside or on the lower surface thereof. In addition, a lift pin mechanism 90 for raising and lowering the substrate G by moving a plurality of lift pins 88 through the through holes 86 of the hot plate 82 in order to transfer the substrate G to and from the external transport mechanism 54 (FIG. 1) is also provided. . In the lift pin mechanism 90, a horizontal support plate 92 that vertically supports the lift pins 88 is disposed below the heat plate 82 in the chamber body 68, and an elevating drive unit (not shown) including an air cylinder that moves the horizontal support plate 92 up and down. Are arranged inside or outside the chamber body 68.

  An endless seal member 94 extending in the circumferential direction is attached to the outer peripheral edge (side wall upper end surface) of the chamber body 68. When the lid 70 is united with the chamber body 68, the outer peripheral edge (side wall lower end surface) of the lid 70 is placed on the seal member 94 and pressed with an appropriate pressure. An airtight processing chamber 96 is formed between them.

  As shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5, an HMDS gas introduction port 98 is provided on one side surface of the lid 70, and an exhaust port 100 is provided on the other side surface facing the HMDS gas introduction port 98. ing. More specifically, the HMDS gas introduction port 98 is formed by inserting the terminal joints 106 of the gas supply pipes 104 from the outside into a plurality of through holes 102 formed at appropriate intervals on one side of the lid 70, respectively. A number of gas discharge ports 110 are formed at regular intervals in the buffer chamber 108 attached to the (inner wall). The exhaust port 100 has a large number of vent holes 112 formed at regular intervals on the side surface of the lid 70 facing the HMDS gas introduction port 98, and an exhaust duct chamber 114 is provided on the back side (outside) thereof. An exhaust port 116 formed at the bottom of the exhaust duct chamber 114 communicates with an exhaust pump (not shown) through an exhaust pipe 118.

  When performing the adhesion process in the adhesion unit (AD) 46, the substrate 70 is placed on the hot plate 82 by the lift pin mechanism 90, and then the lid body 70 is moved from the predetermined retracted position by the lowering drive of the air cylinder 76. Lower the chamber vertically to fit the chamber body 68 and close the chamber (FIGS. 4 and 5). The substrate G is heated to a predetermined temperature, for example, 110 ° C. by the hot plate 82. Then, while exhausting the chamber or the processing chamber 96 by the exhaust pump, HMDS gas is supplied from the HMDS gas supply source (not shown) to the processing chamber 96 through the gas supply pipe 104 and the HMDS gas introduction port 98. In the processing chamber 96, the HMDS gas ejected in a uniform laminar flow from the gas discharge port 110 of the HMDS gas introduction port 98 flows toward the exhaust port 100 and adheres to the upper surface (surface to be processed) of the substrate G in the middle. To do. The surplus HMDS gas is sent from the vent hole 112 to the exhaust duct chamber 114 at the exhaust port 100, and is drawn from there by an exhaust pump. When a predetermined processing time elapses, the HMDS gas supply source and the exhaust pump are stopped, and then the lid 70 is pulled upward from the chamber body 68 by the ascending drive of the air cylinder 76, and is lifted up to a predetermined retracted position as it is. Thereafter, the lift pin mechanism 90 raises the lift pins 88 to lift the substrate G above the hot plate 82 (position indicated by the phantom line G ′ in FIG. 5) and take it to the transport device 54 (FIG. 1). Each part and the whole operation | movement in a unit are performed under control of a controller (not shown).

  In FIG. 3, one side [A] of the adhesion unit (AD) 46 is the transport path 31 (FIG. 1) side on which the transport device 54 operates, and the opposite side [B] is an empty space. . In normal apparatus inspection and maintenance, an operator accesses (puts in) the unit (AD) 46 from the [B] side of the empty space. However, sometimes access is made from the [A] side of the transport path 31, and there is also a possibility of access from the adjacent unit side.

  In this adhesion unit (AD) 46, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the emergency wire 120 is stretched substantially horizontally so as to go around the inside of the frame 66 along the outer periphery of the lid 70. . More specifically, the reel-type pulleys 122 are arranged at the same height position along the outer periphery of the lid body 70 at an appropriate interval (in the illustrated example, a position slightly higher than the retracted position of the lid body 70). ) And one emergency wire 120 is wound around these pulleys 122 with an appropriate tension. Each pulley 122 is attached to each corner of the frame 66 via a metal fitting 124. The emergency wire 120 is made of a rigid body that is difficult to expand and contract, such as stainless steel, and both ends thereof are supported by individual wire end support portions 126 and 128.

  As shown in FIG. 6, one wire end support portion 126 has a bolt 132 inserted into the blind hole of the fixing block 130, a nut 134 that fixes the bolt 132 to the fixing block 130, and a tip portion of the bolt 132. It consists of an attached metal fitting 136 for locking the wire, and is locked to the metal fitting 136 at a position where one end of the emergency wire 120 is fixed. The other wire end support portion 128 includes a bolt 138 inserted through the through hole of the fixing block 130, a pair of nuts 140 and 142 that fix the bolt 138 to the fixing block 130 from both sides, and the tip of the bolt 138. And the other end of the emergency wire 120 is locked to the wire fitting 144 at a position that can be adjusted in the axial direction of the bolt 138, that is, the length direction of the emergency wire 120. is doing. In the wire end support portion 128, the bolts 138 can be moved in the axial direction by loosening the nuts 140 and 142, and the nuts 140 and 142 may be tightened again at a position where a desired tension is applied to the emergency wire 120. . As a result, the tension applied to the emergency wire 120 in a steady state can be arbitrarily adjusted. Note that the fixed block 130 is fixed to the frame 66 via a metal fitting 144.

  As shown in FIGS. 3, 7, and 8, the emergency wire 120 is connected to or connected to a changeover switch 146 formed of, for example, a manual operation valve. The changeover switch 146 in the illustrated example is a 5-port directional control valve (air valve) with a detent, and the emergency wire 120 is slidably locked to a pin 148 attached to the operation rod 146a.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, in a steady state, that is, when the operation rod 146 a is in the backward movement position, the pin 148 is in a state where the emergency wire 120 is not straight but broken (around) around the changeover switch 146. It is locked to. Pulleys 122 and 150 are arranged in the vicinity of both sides of the pin 148 in order to increase the angle at which the emergency wire 120 bends in the vicinity of the changeover switch 146 as much as possible.

  In an emergency, when the emergency wire 120 is pulled at an arbitrary position, for example, when it is pulled in the direction of arrow F in FIG. 3 on the [B] side of the front of the unit, the tension is further increased over the entire length of the emergency wire 120. As shown by the phantom line (dashed line) 120 ″ in FIG. 7, the emergency wire 120 is displaced in the direction of tensioning straight near the changeover switch 146, thereby causing the pin 148 of the changeover switch 146 to move forward (pulling). The flow path in the changeover switch 146 is switched and, as will be described later, in response to this switching, the lid 70 is forcibly moved back to the retracted position and held at the retracted position in the lid lifting mechanism. It has come to be.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, there is also provided a reset operation rod 150 for manually returning the operation rod 146a of the changeover switch 146 from the forward movement position to the backward movement position. A vertical support plate 154 is fixed to a horizontal support plate 152 attached to the frame 66, and a changeover switch 146 is attached to the vertical support plate 154. The reset operation rod 150 is also attached to the vertical support plate 154 via the guide 156. As shown in FIG. 3, the changeover switch 146 is arranged on the [B] side of an empty space with the highest frequency of maintenance access, and the reset operation rod 150 is easily operated.

  As described above, the emergency wire 120 is pulled when a person's arm or hand is accidentally sandwiched between the chamber body 68 and the lid 70 while the adhesion unit (AD) 46 is operating. It is. In this case, the air cylinder 76 generates thrust in the direction in which the lid 70 is lowered, that is, in the direction in which the piston rod 78 moves backward or backward, and the person pulls out his arm or hand by overcoming this force. Is not easy. However, when one arm or hand is pinched, it is usually one, and the other arm or hand is free. Therefore, the emergency wire 120 may be pulled to the near side by using a free hand. Then, as described above, the manually operated changeover switch 146 can be manually operated through the emergency wire 120, and the thrust of the air cylinder 76 is reversed by the forced operation of the lid lifting mechanism, as shown in FIG. Then, the lid body 70 is forcibly moved back (upward movement) to the retracted position, and the sandwiched arm or hand can be pulled out immediately.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 9, the emergency wire 120 is labeled 125 “IF IT PULLS, A TOP COVER UP” indicating the function of the wire 120 at a plurality of locations at appropriate intervals. Is attached. By this label display, the person who contacts the adhesion unit (AD) 46 for the first time can also notice the presence and function of the emergency wire 120.

  In this embodiment, the changeover switch 146 is formed of an air valve, and the changeover switch 146 is incorporated in an air cylinder drive circuit (pneumatic circuit) that drives the air cylinder 76.

  FIG. 10 shows the configuration of the air cylinder drive circuit in this embodiment. Each air cylinder 76 is switched between a forward operation and a backward operation by a 5-port directional control valve 160 formed of an electromagnetic valve in a steady state. More specifically, the air supply port P and the exhaust port R of the direction control valve 160 are connected to a high-pressure air supply source 162 and an exhaust source 164, respectively, for factory power. One outlet A of the direction control valve 160 is connected to the upper port 76a of each air cylinder 76 via a pipe 166, and the other outlet B is connected to the lower port 76b of each air cylinder 76 via a pipe 168. ing. In the middle of the pipe 166, a self-holding circuit 170, a quick exhaust valve 172, and a speed controller 174 are provided. In the middle of the pipe 168, a quick exhaust valve 176, a self-holding circuit 172, and a speed controller 178 are provided.

  The direction control valve 160 switches the flow path under the control of the controller. That is, when the lid 70 is aligned with the chamber body 68 in order to close the chamber, the outlet A is connected to the air supply port P, and the outlet B is connected to the exhaust port R. Then, the high-pressure air from the high-pressure air supply source 162 passes through the air supply port P → the outlet B of the direction control valve 160 to the pipe 166 side, and is supplied to the upper port 76a of the air cylinder 76 through the pipe 166. . On the other hand, the air discharged from the lower port 76 b of the air cylinder 76 passes through the pipe 168 and is drawn to the exhaust source 164 via the outlet B → exhaust port R of the direction control valve 160.

  When the lid 70 is pulled upward from the chamber main body 68 to open the chamber, the outlet A is connected to the exhaust port R and the outlet B is connected to the air supply port P in the direction control valve 160. As a result, the high-pressure air from the high-pressure air supply source 162 passes through the air supply port P → the outlet B of the direction control valve 160 to the piping 168 side, and is supplied to the lower port 76b of the air cylinder 76 through the piping 168. The On the other hand, the air discharged from the upper port 76 a of the air cylinder 76 passes through the pipe 166 and is drawn to the exhaust source 164 via the outlet A → the exhaust port R of the direction control valve 160.

  In this embodiment, the emergency switch mechanism includes, for example, a pilot-operated three-port directional control valve 180 provided in each of the pipes 166 and 168 in addition to the human-operated five-port directional control valve 146 constituting the changeover switch. 182. The three-port directional control valve 180 is normally closed, and has one inlet connected to the upstream side of the pipe 166, that is, the outlet A of the directional control valve 160, the other inlet connected to the exhaust source 164, and the outlet connected to the pipe 166. It is connected to the downstream side. The three-port directional control valve 182 is normally open, and has one inlet connected to the upstream side of the pipe 168, that is, the outlet B of the directional control valve 160, the other inlet connected to the high-pressure gas source 162, and the outlet connected to the pipe. 168 is connected to the downstream side.

  In the 5-port directional control valve 146, one inlet or supply port P is connected to the high-pressure air source 162, and the other inlet or exhaust port R ′ is connected to the exhaust source 184. One outlet A is connected to the pilot port of the direction control valve 182, and the other outlet B is connected to the pilot port of the direction control valve 180.

  Normally, the operation switch 146a of the changeover switch (5-port directional control valve) 146 is switched to the original position or the backward movement position, the outlet A is connected to the exhaust port R ′, and the outlet B is connected to the air supply port P. It is connected. Accordingly, the outlets of the direction control valves 180 and 182 are connected to the outlets A and B of the direction control valve 160 via the upstream pipes 166 and 168, respectively. That is, this is the same as the case where the direction control valves 180 and 182 are not provided on the pipes 166 and 168, and the controller can arbitrarily control the operation of the air cylinder 76 via the direction control valve 160.

  In an emergency, that is, when the emergency wire 120 is pulled as described above and the operation switch 146a of the changeover switch (5-port directional control valve) 146 moves forward, the outlets A and B of the directional control valve 146 are respectively connected to the air supply port P. The directional control valve 180 has an outlet connected to the exhaust source 164, and the directional control valve 182 has an outlet connected to the high-pressure gas source 162. By such forced switching by the changeover switch (5-port directional control valve) 146, the high-pressure gas source 162 is connected to the air via the directional control valve 182 and the pipe 168 regardless of the control on the controller or the directional control valve 160 side. The exhaust source 164 is connected to the upper port 76 a of the air cylinder 76 through the direction control valve 180 and the pipe 166 while being connected to the lower port 76 b of the cylinder 76. As a result, the air cylinder 76 switches to an operation of moving the piston rod 78 forward or forward. This forcible switching is held until it is reset by the manual operation rod 150 (FIGS. 7 and 8) by the detent (self-holding) function of the changeover switch (5-port directional control valve) 146.

  As described above, in the adhesion unit (AD) 46 of this embodiment, when a person accidentally sandwiches an arm or hand between the chamber main body 68 and the lid body 70, the other hand is in the vicinity. If the emergency wire 120 passing through the cable is pulled, the emergency switch mechanism works to force the lid 70 to be lifted up (opened), so that the sandwiched arm or hand can be pulled out immediately, thus avoiding damage and burns. it can.

  Furthermore, in the event of an emergency, the controller can take other safety measures in conjunction with the switching of the emergency switch mechanism. For example, when a sensor for detecting the position of the piston rod 78 is attached to the air cylinder 76, when the piston rod 78 moves to the reciprocating position at an unexpected scene or timing in a normal sequence, the output signal of the sensor is used as a basis. The controller can recognize the emergency and take the necessary safety measures. For example, the heat generation of the hot plate 82 may be stopped, or the supply of HMDS gas from the HMDS gas supply unit may be stopped or stopped. Further, although not shown in the drawings, when a mechanism for blowing cool air is provided in or near the chamber main body 68, the cooling air supply mechanism may be operated in this scene.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the emergency wire 120 is stretched around the outer periphery at a position slightly higher than the lid 70. However, the height position, range (area), etc., where the emergency wire 120 is stretched can be arbitrarily selected. Basically, the emergency wire 120 may be stretched at an arbitrary height position, range, and inclination as long as it is inside the frame 66. Further, if necessary, the emergency wire 120 may be provided outside the frame 66. When a plurality of adhesion units (AD) 46 are stacked in multiple stages, a plurality of the emergency wires 120 may be used together. It is also possible. In the above-described embodiment, the air cylinder can be replaced with a hydraulic cylinder or an electric actuator. The emergency switch mechanism can be variously modified. For example, the changeover switch (5-port directional control valve) 146 can be replaced with an electromagnetic valve or other type of actuator.

  The above-described embodiment relates to the adhesion unit (AD) 46. However, in the coating and developing treatment system of the above-described embodiment, the vacuum drying unit (VD) 42 of the coating process unit 24 is also an upper lid opening / closing type heat treatment apparatus. Therefore, the present invention can also be applied to the vacuum drying unit (VD) 42. In addition, the present invention can be applied to any upper lid opening / closing type heat treatment apparatus.

  The substrate to be processed in the present invention is not limited to an LCD substrate, and various substrates for flat panel displays, semiconductor wafers, CD substrates, glass substrates, photomasks, printed substrates, and the like are also possible.

It is a top view which shows the structure of the application | coating development processing system which can apply this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence in the said application | coating development processing system. It is a top view which shows the whole structure of the adhesion unit in embodiment. It is a side view which shows the whole structure (state with the lid | cover closed) of the said adhesion unit. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the chamber part of the said adhesion unit. It is a fragmentary top view which shows the structure of a part of emergency switch mechanism in embodiment. It is a fragmentary top view which shows the structure of a part of emergency switch mechanism in embodiment. It is a partial side view which shows the structure of a part of emergency switch mechanism in embodiment. It is a side view which shows the whole structure (state with the lid | cover closed) of the said adhesion unit. It is a pneumatic circuit figure showing the composition of the air cylinder drive circuit containing the emergency switch mechanism in an embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

10 Coating and Development Processing System 24 Cleaning Process Unit 46 Adhesion Unit (AD)
66 Frame 68 Chamber body 70 Lid 76 Air cylinder 98 HMDS gas introduction port 100 Exhaust port 120 Emergency wire 122,150 Pulley 126,128 Wire end support 146 Changeover switch (man-operated 5-port directional control valve)
150 Manual operation rod for reset 160 5-port directional control valve (solenoid valve)
162 High-pressure gas source 164 Exhaust source 166, 168 Piping 180, 182 3-port directional control valve

Claims (19)

A chamber body with an open top;
A lid that can be moved up and down directly above the chamber body, and is fitted to the chamber body to form a processing chamber for performing a desired thermal treatment on the substrate to be processed;
A lifting mechanism that supports the lid and moves up and down between a first position that fits the chamber body and a second position that is spaced apart from the chamber body by a predetermined distance;
An emergency wire stretched in the vicinity of the chamber body or the lid;
An emergency switch mechanism that switches from a first state to a second state through displacement of the emergency wire when an external force of a predetermined value or more is applied to an arbitrary part of the emergency wire. In response to the switching from the first state to the second state, the elevating mechanism forcibly moves the lid to the second position or forcibly holds the lid in the second position. Heat treatment equipment.   The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the chamber body is provided with a hot plate that places the substrate and heats the substrate to a predetermined temperature.   The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the emergency wire is stretched along an outer periphery of the chamber body or the lid.   The heat treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the emergency wire is stretched so as to substantially make a round along an outer periphery of the chamber body or the lid.   The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the emergency wire is stretched substantially horizontally.   The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the emergency wire is stretched at a position higher than a second position of the lid.   The heat processing apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-6 which has the 1 or several pulley for bending and supporting the said emergency wire in a desired location.   The heat processing apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-7 which has a tension adjustment part for adjusting the tension | tensile_strength given to the said emergency wire under a steady state.   A first wire end support portion for supporting one end of the emergency wire at a fixed position; and a second wire end support portion for supporting the other end of the emergency wire at a position adjustable in a wire length direction. The heat processing apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-8.   The heat treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the elevating mechanism has one or more cylinders in which each piston rod is directly or indirectly coupled to the lid. The elevating mechanism supplies high pressure to the first port of the cylinder and simultaneously supplies low pressure to the second port of the cylinder so that the lid moves downward from the second position to the first position. And
The high pressure is supplied to the second port of the cylinder at the same time as the low pressure is supplied to the first port of the cylinder in order to move the lid upward from the first position to the second position. The heat processing apparatus as described in. The lifting mechanism is
A first inlet connected to a high pressure source; a second inlet connected to a low pressure source; a first outlet connected to a first port of the cylinder via a first pipe; and the cylinder A first directional control valve having a second outlet connected to the second port of the second port via a second pipe,
In order to move the lid down from the second position to the first position, the first outlet is connected to the first inlet in the first directional control valve and the second Connecting an outlet to the second inlet;
In order to raise the lid from the first position to the second position, the first outlet is connected to the second inlet in the first directional control valve and the second The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 11, wherein an outlet is connected to the first inlet. The emergency switch mechanism is
A first inlet connected to a first outlet of the first directional control valve; a second inlet connected to the low pressure source; and a second inlet of the cylinder. A second directional control valve having an outlet connected to the one port;
A first inlet connected to a second outlet of the first directional control valve; a second inlet connected to the high pressure source; and a second of the cylinder. A third directional control valve having an outlet connected to the two ports;
In order to switch the second and third directional control valves, the emergency wire is displaced between a backward movement position corresponding to the first state and a forward movement position corresponding to the second state. And when the actuator is in the return position, the second and third directional control valves are switched so that the respective outlets are connected to the first inlet, The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 12, wherein when the actuator is in the forward movement position, the second and third directional control valves are switched so that the respective outlets are connected to the second inlet. Each of the second and third directional control valves comprises a pilot operated valve;
A first inlet connected to the high pressure source; a second inlet connected to the low pressure source; a first outlet connected to a pilot port of the second directional control valve; The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 13, comprising a manually operated fourth directional control valve having a second outlet connected to a pilot port of the third directional control valve.   The heat processing apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-14 which has a reset means for returning the said emergency switch mechanism from the said 2nd state to the said 1st state by manual operation. A processing gas supply unit for supplying a predetermined processing gas into the processing chamber formed by combining the lid body with the chamber body;
The heat processing apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-15 which has an exhaust part for discharging | emitting gas from the said process chamber.   The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the processing gas supply unit stops supply of the processing gas in response to switching of the emergency switch mechanism from the first state to the second state.   The heat treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein heat generation of the hot plate is stopped in response to switching of the emergency switch mechanism from the first state to the second state. The heat treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein a cooling gas is supplied to the chamber body in response to switching of the emergency switch mechanism from the first state to the second state.

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