JP2007184452A - Positioning tray - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a positioning tray which can fairly reduce chips or cracks of a board and can enhance a positioning accuracy. <P>SOLUTION: The positioning tray comprises a tray body 20 for placing a board 10 to be positioned, a positioning member 30 which is arranged on the tray body and is brought into contact with an outer circumference of the board for positioning the board, a movable member 50 which can be made close to or apart from the positioning member and abuts the board placed inside of the positioning member on the positioning member for positioning, and a drive member 80 for driving the movable member. The positioning member is a cylinder or pillar having an axis perpendicular to a plane of the tray body, two or more cylinders or pillars are installed for each of two sides, and the movable member is self-swingably attached to the drive member. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a tray for positioning a substrate such as a liquid crystal panel at a predetermined position as the substrate is conveyed or processed.

For example, when a substrate (workpiece) such as a liquid crystal panel or a semiconductor chip is subjected to various processes such as conveyance, processing, and assembly, it is necessary to accurately position and arrange these substrates at predetermined positions on a table of a processing apparatus or the like.
Various kinds of such positioning devices have been proposed, and in particular, a technique that can reduce the chipping or cracking of a work has been reported (for example, see Patent Document 1).
According to this technique, the positioning device includes a positioning member having two plates that can come into contact with the outer periphery of the substrate, and a movable member that positions the substrate by abutting the positioning member toward and away from the positioning member. In addition, by swinging the movable member, it is supposed that the one-piece contact when the movable member is abutted is prevented.

JP-A-7-68441

However, in the case of the technique described in Patent Document 1 described above, since the positioning member has a plate shape, it is difficult to sufficiently relax or prevent the contact between the substrate and the plate. For example, since the friction coefficient between the materials increases in a vacuum or a reduced pressure environment, if the substrate hits the plate, the substrate cannot slide any more, and the position of the substrate is fixed while being touched. Therefore, in the case of this technique, the positioning accuracy is low, and there is a possibility that chipping or cracking of the substrate still occurs.
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a positioning tray that can significantly reduce chipping and cracking of a substrate and improve positioning accuracy.

In order to achieve the above object, a positioning tray of the present invention includes a tray main body on which a polygonal substrate is placed, and the two adjacent sides of the substrate disposed on the tray main body, A positioning member for positioning, a movable member that can move toward and away from the positioning member, and positions the substrate placed inside the positioning member by contacting the positioning member, and moves the movable member The positioning member is a cylinder or a column having a central axis perpendicular to the plane of the tray body, and two or more cylinders or columns are installed for each of the two sides, and the movable member is movable. The member is attached to the drive member so as to be capable of swinging.
In this way, even if the substrate hits the cylinder that forms the positioning member, it can slide smoothly to release the force, and the substrate is not pressed while being hit like the conventional positioning plate. .

The positioning tray of the present invention includes a tray body on which a polygonal substrate is placed, a positioning member disposed on the tray body and in contact with two adjacent sides of the substrate, and positioning the substrate, A movable member capable of approaching and moving away from the positioning member, positioning the substrate placed inside the positioning member by contacting the positioning member, and a driving member for moving the movable member; The movable member includes a bifurcated arm and a contact member that is attached to each arm and contacts each of the other two sides of the substrate, and each of the arms is self-centered around a moving line that moves toward and away from the movable member. The arm is attached to the drive member so as to swing, and the position where the contact member contacts the other two sides is substantially the middle point of each side.
In this way, the movable member moves while self-oscillating from the starting position, and the contact member at the end of the arm alternately contacts and presses the two sides of the substrate, so that the substrate is always applied to the positioning member from only one direction. Can be pressed. For this reason, even if one side of the substrate hits the positioning member, when the direction pressed by the self-oscillation of the arm changes, the pressing on the substrate that hits the positioning member first is released once, and the other direction The substrate is brought into contact with and pressed from the positioning member. For this reason, it is possible to reduce the position adjustment error caused by the one-piece contact. Further, since the position of each arm that contacts the substrate is near the center side surface of one side of the substrate and is close to the center of gravity of the substrate, it is possible to suppress the substrate from shifting in the rotation direction during pressing. .

The cylinder or column is preferably a roller that can rotate about the central axis.
In this case, when the substrate comes into contact with the cylinder forming the positioning member, the effect of smoothly sliding and releasing the force is further increased.

The tray body is provided with a guide groove, and the movable member is provided with a guide pin accommodated in the guide groove. When the movable member approaches and separates, the guide pin moves along the shape of the guide groove. It is preferable that each arm swings around the movement line by moving.
In this way, the self-oscillation of each arm can be accurately controlled according to the shape of the guide groove, and the displacement adjustment of the substrate by the self-oscillation of the movable member is further sufficient.

The guide groove is formed by connecting a linear portion located on the movement line and a separation portion spaced from the movement line, and the guide pin moves along the shape of the guide groove, whereby each of the arms However, after self-oscillating around the movement line, it is preferable to go straight along the movement line and approach the positioning member.
In this way, after each arm self-oscillates and sufficiently adjusts the displacement of the substrate, each arm goes straight and presses the substrate against the positioning member, so that the one-side contact can be further reduced.

  The present invention is preferably used in a vacuum or reduced pressure environment.

  According to the present invention, chipping and cracking of the substrate can be greatly reduced and positioning accuracy can be improved.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a top view showing a configuration example of a positioning tray according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a positioning tray (substrate tray) 100 includes a tray main body 20 having a rectangular plane, and a plurality of positioning members 30 disposed on the inner side by a predetermined distance from two adjacent edges of the tray main body 20. A recess 40, a movable portion 50, and a drive member 80 such as a hydraulic cylinder that moves the movable portion 50 are provided.
The rectangular substrate (substrate) 10 is placed on the plane of the tray main body 20, and the outer periphery of two adjacent sides of the substrate 10 abuts on the inside of the positioning member 30, whereby the substrate is positioned on the tray main body 20. The The concave portion 40 prevents the substrate placed on the tray main body 20 from falling off to the outside, and is recessed so that the thickness of the substrate 10 is lower than the plane of the tray main body 20. The outer edge of the recess 40 is parallel to the edge of the tray body 20 and is slightly larger than the size of the substrate 10.

The positioning member 30 is composed of four rotating cylinders (rollers) having an axis perpendicular to the plane of the tray main body 20, and each of the cylinders along a position a predetermined distance inside from two adjacent edges of the tray main body 20. Are arranged two by two. These cylinders are respectively arranged at positions that divide one side of the substrate 10 into three equal parts, and come into contact with two adjacent sides of the substrate 10.
Each cylinder is located at the edge of the recess 40. Since the friction coefficient between materials increases in a vacuum or reduced pressure environment, the cylinder is a roller that can rotate around its axis for the purpose of reducing the friction coefficient, but in particular, the roller is supported by a bearing. Preferably it is. However, it may be a simple cylinder (or column) in which the positioning member does not rotate.

The movable member 50 includes two right arms 52A and a left arm 52B that are bifurcated into a Y-shape, a right roller 51A and a left roller 51B that are respectively attached to the lower surface of the tip of each arm, and the bases of the arms 52 and 52. The arm base 55 that is connected and extends in the form of a long piece, the first guide pin 53 that protrudes on the lower surface of the arm base 55 on the connection portion side with the arms 52A and 52B, and the lower surface of the distal end of the arm base 55 protrude. And a second guide pin 54.
The length of each arm is adjusted so that each roller (contact member) 51A, 52A contacts the midpoints 10b, 10c of two sides (two sides different from the two sides that contact the positioning member) of the substrate 10 respectively. Has been. Therefore, the contact position of the substrate 10 by the movable member 50 becomes substantially the midpoints 10b and 10c of each side. Here, the deviation of the position of the initial state where the substrate is placed on the tray is preferably about ± 10% or less with respect to the reference position of the substrate after completion of alignment, and is set to ± 1% in this embodiment. ing. Therefore, “the contact position of the contact portion is at the midpoint of each side” means that the movable member 50 is in contact with the substrate 10 first, and the state where the substrate 10 is completely advanced and pressed against the positioning member 30. , It means that the contact position of the contact portion is substantially at the midpoint of each side.
In this way, the contact member at the tip of the arm comes into contact with the substrate immediately after the movable member moves from the starting position, and when the movable member capable of self-oscillation is used, the positioning member after the substrate position adjustment has been sufficiently completed. Since the substrate arrives at the substrate, the contact per piece can be reduced. Further, since the position where the movable member presses and holds the substrate is close to the center of gravity of the substrate, the substrate 10 is positioned by the self-oscillation of the movable member without detaching or shifting in the rotation direction during holding. The member 30 can be pressed to limit the position of the substrate.

  The guide pins 53 and 54 are located on the center line of the arm base 55 in the long side direction. The rotation axes of the rollers 51A and 51B are perpendicular to the extending direction of the arms 52A and 52B.

  A plate 81 extending in a direction perpendicular to the line A is pivotally attached to the arm base 55 in the vicinity of the guide pin 53, and an urging force according to the advance / retreat of the drive member 80 is applied to the movable member 50 via the plate 81. Is transmitted to. That is, the movable member 50 advances and retreats along the line A in FIG. 1 according to the advance and retreat of the drive member 80, and can move toward and away from the positioning member 30. The A line is on an extension line of a line segment that bisects the angle formed by the two sides of the substrate 10 in contact with the positioning member 30, and this extension line is the same as the diagonal line of the positioned substrate 10.

On the plane of the tray body 20, a guide groove 60 is provided on the line A that faces the positioning member 30 and is located outside the recess 40. The guide groove 60 accommodates the first guide pin 53 and the second guide pin 54 of the arm base 55, and the movable member 50 moves in the A-line direction along the guide groove 60.
As shown in FIG. 2A, the guide groove 60 includes a linear portion 61 located on the A line, and a starting point portion 64 located on an extension line (A line) of the linear portion 61 and separated from the linear portion 61. A separation portion 63 that is continuous with the start point portion 64 and is curved in an arc shape in a direction away from the line A to the outside (right outside in FIG. 1), and a connection portion 62 that connects the separation portion 63 and the straight portion 61 in an arc shape. . In the guide groove 60, the linear portion 61 is located on the side closest to the positioning member 30.

Next, a state in which the movable member 50 (including the arms 52A and 52B and the arm base 55) moves along the guide groove 60 will be described by comparing FIG. 2 and FIG.
<Departure location>
First, as shown in FIG. 2A, the position where the second guide pin 54 of the arm base 55 is accommodated in the start point 64 (that is, the position where the movable member 50 is farthest from the positioning member 30) is defined as the starting position. To do. At the starting position, the first guide pin 53 is accommodated at the rear end of the linear portion 61.
Since the guide pins 53 and 54 are located on the A line at the starting position, the movable member 50 is also located on the A line as shown in FIG.
In this embodiment, it is assumed that the substrate 10 is placed deviating counterclockwise from a predetermined positioning position (a position where the diagonal line of the substrate 10 and the A line coincide).

<Self-oscillation to the left>
Next, when the movable member 50 approaches the positioning member 30 side according to the extension of the driving member 80, the second guide pin 54 moves from the starting point portion 64 to the separating portion 63, as shown in FIG. The first guide pin 53 advances through the straight part 61.
In this case, the second guide pin 54 is displaced to the right when viewed from the line A, and the first guide pin 53 is positioned on the line A. Therefore, the movable member in front of the pin 53 with the first guide pin 53 as the center. 50 self-oscillates to the left (counterclockwise). The self-oscillation angle at this time is F. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 3B, each arm also swings to the left, and the right roller 51 </ b> A at the tip of the right arm pushes near the right center side surface 10 b of the substrate 10.
The substrate 10 is pressed against the left positioning member 30 facing the right roller by the right roller 51A, and the position of the substrate 10 in this direction is corrected.

<Self-oscillation to the right>
When the movable member 50 further approaches the positioning member 30 side, as shown in FIG. 2C, the second guide pin 54 moves from the separating portion 63 to the connecting portion 62, and the first guide pin 53 moves along the straight portion 61. move on.
In the connecting portion 62, the second guide pin 54 returns so as to approach the A line, and the first guide pin 53 is positioned on the A line, so that the self-oscillation angle G at this time is smaller than F. Accordingly, the movable member 50 in front of the first pin 53 swings to the right (counterclockwise) around the first guide pin 53. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 3C, each arm also swings to the right, and the left roller 51 </ b> B at the tip of the left arm pushes the vicinity of the left central side surface 10 c of the substrate 10.
The substrate 10 is pressed against the right positioning member 30 facing the left roller by the left roller 51B, and the position of the substrate 10 in this direction is corrected. At this time, the position of the substrate is appropriately limited by the left and right positioning members 30.

<Forward>
When the movable member 50 further approaches the positioning member 30 side, the second guide pin 54 moves from the connecting portion 62 to the straight portion 61 and the first guide pin 53 moves the straight portion 61 as shown in FIG. move on.
In this case, since the first guide pin 53 and the second guide pin 54 are both located on the A line as viewed from the A line, the movable member 50 advances on the A line without self-oscillation. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 3 (d), the rollers 51A and 51B at the tips of the arms push the vicinity of the left and right central side surfaces 10b and 10c of the substrate 10 evenly.
In this way, the substrate 10 is pressed against the positioning member 30 side by the equal pressing force from the left and right rollers in a state where the position of the substrate 10 is corrected in order from the left and right rollers, and positioning is completed. To do.
As described above, by adjusting the position of the substrate before pressing the substrate 10 against the positioning member 30, it is possible to prevent the substrate 10 from hitting the positioning member 30, thereby preventing chipping and cracking and improving positioning accuracy. To do.
Further, since the movable member 50 self-oscillates so as to push the left and right sides of the side surface of the substrate at least once each, the substrate 10 moves from the original position of the tray body 20 as shown in FIG. In addition to the case where the substrate 10 is deviated clockwise, for example, even when the substrate 10 is deviated clockwise from the original position of the tray body 20, the position is effectively adjusted. Can do.

In the first embodiment, in the above description, the substrate side surface is first pressed from the right roller, and then the left roller is pressed. However, the order may be reversed and the left side may be pressed first. In this case, the guide groove 60 that is symmetric with respect to line A in FIG. 2A may be used as the guide groove.
In the first embodiment, it is essential that the movable member self-oscillates at least once to the left and right. For example, by using another guide groove, the movable member self-oscillates a plurality of times to the left and right. May be.

<Second Embodiment>
In the positioning tray according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the positioning member 30 is substantially the same as that according to the first embodiment (however, in this embodiment, the cylinder constituting the positioning member 30 is around the central axis). However, as the movable member, for example, the one that simply self-oscillates around the movement line A is used as the movable member described in Patent Document 1. In other words, the movable member is not restricted from self-swinging along the guide groove, and when the movable member is pivotally supported by the drive member and the substrate is placed on the tray body in a deviated manner, the shift is prevented. Self-oscillating to relax. Further, as will be described later, in this embodiment, the length of the arm of the movable member is shorter than that of the first embodiment, and comes into contact with the substrate behind the midpoint of the two sides of the substrate 10 (on the drive member side).

  FIG. 4 is a top view showing a configuration example of a positioning tray according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 4, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 are the same components as those in the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted. The positioning tray (substrate tray) 200 includes a tray main body 20, a positioning member 30, a recess 40, a movable part 500, and a drive member 80 such as a hydraulic cylinder that moves the movable part 500.

  The movable part 500 has, for example, substantially the same structure as the movable member 18 (FIG. 1 of the same document) of the positioning device described in Patent Document 1. That is, the movable member 500 connects two right arms 520A and left arms 520B bifurcated into a Y shape, right rollers 510A and left rollers 510B attached to the lower surfaces of the tips of the arms, and the bases of the arms. And an arm base portion 550 extending in the shape of a long piece. A plate 83 extending in a direction perpendicular to the line A is pivotally attached to the rear end of the arm base 550 so as to be pivotable by a connecting portion 590, and an urging force corresponding to the advance / retreat of the drive member 80 is transmitted through the plate 83 to the movable member. 500. As a result, the movable member 500 advances on the A line from the starting position toward the positioning member 30 and presses the substrate 10 against the positioning member 30 for positioning.

Here, the connecting portion 590 is displaced to the left from the A line. Thereby, similarly to the movable member 18 described in Patent Document 1, when the movable member 500 self-oscillates from side to side at a predetermined angle around the A line and presses the substrate placed deviating from the normal position, The reaction force is missed.
The length of each arm is as follows. In other words, when the movable member 500 is at the starting position, the arm length is adjusted so that the rollers (contact members) 510A and 510B are positioned near the end on the driving member 80 side from the middle points 10b and 10c of the substrate 10. ing.

  In the case of the second embodiment, the movable member self-oscillates to the left and right. However, unlike the first embodiment, the movable member does not positively press the side surface of the substrate from the left and right to adjust the position. Therefore, in the case of the second embodiment, there may be a case where the substrate comes into contact with each other. The position can be adjusted by escaping. As a result, chipping and cracking during positioning can be prevented, and positioning accuracy can be improved.

<Example>
EXAMPLES The present invention will be described below with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.

<Example of using a rotatable cylindrical positioning member and contacting the movable member near the midpoint of the side of the substrate>
As an example according to the first embodiment, a positioning tray (substrate tray) 100 shown in FIG. 1 was used, and a positioning member having a diameter of 6 mm and rotatable around the central axis was used. Then, a positioning operation was performed in a vacuum apparatus having a vacuum degree of 10 ⁻² to 10 ⁻⁴ Pa. A glass plate having a 200 × 200 mm square and a thickness of 0.7 mm was used as the substrate 10, and the positioning operation shown in FIG. The deviation of the substrate from the A line after the positioning was measured for each substrate, and the average value of the deviation (hereinafter referred to as “positioning error”) was determined to be ± 10 μm.

<Example of using a non-rotating cylindrical positioning member and moving the movable member to the end on the drive member side from the midpoint of the side of the substrate>
As an example according to the second embodiment, a positioning error was obtained by using the positioning tray (substrate tray) 200 shown in FIG. 4 and performing a positioning operation in exactly the same manner as in Example 1. The result was ± 65 μm. It was.

<Example of using a rotatable cylindrical positioning member and bringing the movable member into contact with the end on the drive member side from the midpoint of the side of the substrate>
A positioning error is obtained by performing a positioning operation in the same manner as in Example 2 except that the positioning tray (substrate tray) 200 shown in FIG. 4 is used and the cylinder of the positioning member 30 is changed to a roller (rotatable). As a result, it was ± 25 μm.

<Example of using a plate-shaped positioning member and bringing the movable member into contact with the middle point of the side of the substrate>
Except that the positioning tray (substrate tray) 100 shown in FIG. 1 is used and the positioning member 30 is changed to a plate (as shown in FIG. 1 of Patent Document 1) instead of a cylinder, the same method as in the first embodiment is used. When the positioning operation was performed to determine the positioning error, it was ± 60 μm.

<Comparative example>
Positioning is performed in exactly the same manner as in Example 1 except that the positioning tray (substrate tray) 200 shown in FIG. 4 is used and the positioning member 30 is not a cylinder but a plate (the one described in FIG. 1 of Patent Document 1). When the operation was performed, cracking or chipping occurred on 15 out of 100 substrates. Further, when positioning errors were obtained for 85 substrates in which such defects did not occur, they were ± 100 μm.
Further, when the positioning operation of the tray of the comparative example was observed, it was found that when the substrate hits the positioning plate, the substrate stuck to the plate. In other words, if the positioning member is a cylinder, the substrate can slide smoothly to release force even if the substrate comes into contact with the positioning member, but this effect does not occur if it is plate-shaped.
In the case of the comparative example, the arm length is shorter than in the first and fourth embodiments, and the position where the roller at the tip of the arm contacts the substrate is far from the center of gravity of the substrate. It becomes easy to rotate. For this reason, since the substrate reaches the positioning member before the position adjustment of the substrate by the self-oscillation of the movable member is not sufficiently completed, cracking and chipping are likely to occur, and the positioning error may be increased.

It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram which shows an example of the positioning tray which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the motion of the guide pin accommodated in the guide groove. It is a figure which shows the motion of the movable member according to the motion of a guide pin. It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram which shows an example of the positioning tray which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

10 Substrate (substrate)
20 Tray body 30 Positioning member 50, 500 Movable part 51A, 510A Right roller 51B, 510B Left roller 52A, 520A Right arm 52B, 520B Left arm 53 First guide pin 54 Second guide pin 55, 550 Arm base 60 Guide groove 61 Linear portion 62 Connecting portion 63 Separating portion 64 Starting point portion 80 Drive member 100, 200 Positioning tray (substrate tray)

Claims (6)

A tray body on which a polygonal substrate is placed;
A positioning member that is disposed on the tray body and contacts two adjacent sides of the substrate to position the substrate;
A movable member that can approach and move away from the positioning member, and positions the substrate placed inside the positioning member by contacting the positioning member;
A drive member for moving the movable member;
The positioning member is a cylinder or a column having a central axis perpendicular to the plane of the tray main body, two or more cylinders or columns are provided for each of the two sides, and the movable member is attached to the driving member. A positioning tray, wherein the positioning tray is mounted so as to be capable of swinging. A tray body on which a polygonal substrate is placed;
A positioning member that is disposed on the tray body and contacts two adjacent sides of the substrate to position the substrate;
A movable member that can approach and move away from the positioning member, and positions the substrate placed inside the positioning member by contacting the positioning member;
A drive member for moving the movable member;
The movable member includes a bifurcated arm and a contact member that is attached to each arm and contacts each of the other two sides of the substrate, and each arm is centered on a moving line that the movable member approaches and leaves. The arm is attached to the drive member for self-oscillation;
The positioning tray in which the position where the contact member contacts the other two sides is a substantially middle point of each side. The positioning tray according to claim 1, wherein the cylinder or the column is a roller rotatable around the central axis. The tray body is provided with a guide groove, and the movable member is provided with a guide pin accommodated in the guide groove. When the movable member approaches and separates, the guide pin moves along the shape of the guide groove. The positioning tray according to claim 2, wherein the arms self-oscillate around the movement line by moving. The guide groove is formed by connecting a linear portion located on the movement line and a separation portion spaced from the movement line, and the guide pin moves along the shape of the guide groove, whereby each of the arms 5. The positioning tray according to claim 4, wherein the positioning tray moves straight along the movement line and approaches the positioning member after self-oscillating around the movement line. 6. 6. The positioning tray according to claim 1, wherein the positioning tray is used in a vacuum or a reduced pressure environment.