JP2007227972A - Carrier stocker - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the throughput of a carrier stocker. <P>SOLUTION: A carrier transfer robot 20 carries a carrier C in between a first delivery port 10 for receiving from an outside the carrier C for containing a substrate and a second delivery port 300 having the carrier C for delivering the substrate to an apparatus 4. The first mounting stage 11 of the first delivery port 10 has a passing gate 12 into which the up-and-down hand 23 of the carrier transfer robot 20 can pass through. The second mounting stage 303 of the second delivery port 300 has a notch 304 into which the up-and-down hand 23 can pass through. Thus, the carrier transfer robot 20 is possible to support and carry the carrier C, so that the high speed transportation of the carrier stocker becomes possible. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a carrier stocker that accommodates a carrier that accommodates a substrate.

  The carrier stocker receives and accommodates a carrier that accommodates a substrate from the outside, and conveys the accommodated carrier to a predetermined position as necessary.

  In recent years, in addition to a horizontal array carrier that accommodates substrates in a state where a plurality of substrates are arranged in a row in a horizontal direction as a conventional carrier for accommodating substrates, the main surface of the substrate is A vertical arrangement carrier that accommodates substrates in a state where a plurality of substrates are arranged in a line in a vertical direction in a horizontal direction has come to be used.

  Such a vertically arranged carrier (hereinafter simply referred to as a carrier) is shown in FIG.

  The carrier C has a carrier body CB having an opening TH on the front surface and a front lid FL that can be attached to and detached from the opening.

  A columnar member CP extending upward from the carrier main body CB is provided on the top of the carrier main body CB, and a flange member CT is provided on the top of the columnar member CP.

  Further, the front lid FL is provided with a lock mechanism. Although details of the lock mechanism are not shown, the front cover FL and the carrier body CB can be fixed and released by fitting a detachment mechanism of an opener 920 described later into the lock hole CH and operating the detachment mechanism.

  Such a carrier C is placed on the stage 911 as shown in FIG. 5 (b), and the front lid FL is attached / detached by the opener 920. In FIG. 5B, the X, Y, and Z axes are set for convenience. The opener 920 has an opening at the top, and has a housing 921 fixed to the machine frame and the like, and a detachable hand 922 that can move forward and backward in the X-axis direction and move in the vertical direction. Although not shown, the attachment / detachment hand 922 is provided with an attachment / detachment mechanism that engages with the lock hole CH to operate or release the lock mechanism of the front lid. Further, the attachment / detachment mechanism can hold the front cover FL removed from the carrier body CB, and the attachment / detachment hand 922 holds and holds the front cover FL so that the substrate W can be carried in and out through the opening TH. Become.

  In such a carrier stocker that accommodates the carrier C, a first delivery unit that receives the carrier C that accommodates the substrate W from the outside of the carrier stocker, and the carrier C that is placed like the stage 911 are placed. The inner substrate W has a second delivery section that is carried into and out of the carrier stocker, and has a transport means for transporting the carrier C between the first delivery section and the second delivery section. An example of such a transport means is a transport robot that grips the flange member CT and transports the carrier C to the stage 911 in a suspended state.

  However, when the carrier member C is transported while holding the collar member CT and suspended, the speed of transportation cannot be increased because rapid acceleration / deceleration cannot be performed due to the problem of the strength of the columnar member CP. For this reason, improvement in throughput is only required to a certain extent.

  An object of the present invention is to improve throughput in a carrier stocker.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention of claim 1 is a carrier stocker for accommodating a carrier for accommodating a substrate, and supports a part of the bottom of the carrier for delivering the carrier to and from the outside of the carrier stocker. In order to deliver the carrier between the first delivery unit for placing the carrier and the outside of the carrier stocker, or to deliver the substrate to the carrier with the substrate processing apparatus, the bottom of the carrier A second delivery part for placing the carrier while supporting a part of the carrier, and supporting a part of the bottom part of the carrier different from the parts supported by the first delivery part and the second delivery part, Carrier transport means for transporting the carrier between the delivery section and the second delivery section, and the second delivery section is a cut-off that the carrier transport means can pass through. Characterized in that it has an away portion.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the carrier stocker according to the first aspect of the present invention, the first delivery part has a notch part through which the carrier conveying means can pass.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the carrier stocker according to the first or second aspect of the present invention, the carrier transport means has a lifting hand that can be lifted up and down, and a carrier is disposed on an upper surface of the lifting hand. The pin which supports the bottom part of this is standingly arranged.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the carrier stocker according to the third aspect of the present invention, the carrier conveying means includes a rail extending in the horizontal direction between the first delivery section and the second delivery section, A traveling base that travels on the rail, and a vertical base that is provided on the traveling base and to which the lifting hand is attached.

  According to the present invention, the carrier transport unit transports the carrier between the first delivery unit and the second delivery unit while supporting a portion different from the portions supported by the first delivery unit and the second delivery unit. Therefore, the moving speed of the carrier conveying means can be increased, and the throughput of the carrier stocker can be improved.

<Carrier Stocker of First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a carrier stocker 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. For convenience, the X, Y, and Z axes are set as shown.

  The carrier stocker 1 is connected to another apparatus 4 such as a substrate processing apparatus with a partition wall 2 as a boundary.

  An opening 3 is opened in the partition wall 2, and an opener 70 is provided on the X axis positive direction side of the partition wall 2 across the opening 3.

  The opener 70 has an attachment / detachment hand 71 that attaches / detaches a front cover (not shown) of the carrier C. The attachment / detachment hand 71 can move forward and backward in the X-axis direction and can move up and down in the Z-axis direction. The attachment / detachment hand 71 is provided with an attachment / detachment mechanism 72 for attaching / detaching the front cover lock, and attaches / detaches the front cover of the carrier C placed on the second delivery section 30 (described later) through the opening 3.

  When the attachment / detachment hand 71 removes the front cover, the attachment / detachment hand 71 moves in the positive direction of the X axis and further descends while the attachment / detachment mechanism 72 holds the front cover. The substrate (not shown) can be taken in and out.

  The carrier stocker 1 includes a first delivery unit 10 that delivers a carrier C to a carry-in / out robot 50 (described later), stock shelves 60A and 60B on which a plurality of carriers C are placed, and other devices 4 that are in the carrier. Carrier transfer robot 20 that holds the carrier C and transfers the carrier C between the first transfer unit 10 and the stock shelves 60A and 60B. The intermediate lifter 40 conveys the carrier C between the carrier conveyance robot and the second delivery unit.

<First delivery section>
The first delivery unit 10 has a first mounting table 11.

  The first mounting table 11 has a passage opening 12 through which the support slider 55 and the lifting hand 23 can pass when a support slider 55 of the loading / unloading robot 50 described later and the lifting hand 23 of the carrier transport robot 20 are lifted and lowered. The size of the passage port 12 is set such that the peripheral portion of the bottom surface of the carrier C gets on the first mounting table 11.

  Therefore, the first mounting table 11 supports the carrier C by supporting the peripheral portion of the bottom of the carrier C.

<Stock shelf>
Each of the stock shelves 60A and 60B has the same structure as that of the first mounting table 11, and temporarily stores the carrier received by the first delivery unit 10 from the outside or the carrier passed by the first delivery unit 10 to the outside.

<Second delivery section>
The second delivery unit 30 includes a horizontal base 31 and a horizontal moving table 32 that horizontally moves in the X-axis direction on the horizontal base. When the carrier C is placed on the horizontal moving table 32, three pins 33 that are fitted into pin holes (not shown) formed on the bottom surface of the carrier C are provided upright. For this reason, the carrier C is positioned on the horizontal moving table 32.

  Further, the horizontal moving table 32 has an intermediate position for transferring the carrier C to and from the intermediate lifter 40 below the intermediate lifter 40 as shown in FIG. 3 (a), and an intermediate position as shown in FIG. 3 (b). In the X-axis positive direction, two positions of the lid opening / closing position where the front cover of the carrier C and the attaching / detaching hand 71 of the opener 70 contact are horizontally moved along the X-axis direction.

<Carrier transfer robot>
Returning to FIG. 1, the carrier transport robot 20 moves up and down along the traveling base 21 that travels on the rail R <b> 1 extending in the Y-axis direction, the vertical base 22 that is fixed on the traveling base 21, and the vertical base 22. A lifting hand 23 is provided.

  The raising / lowering hand 23 has a shape that can pass through the passage port 12 when moving up and down with respect to the passage port 12 of the first mounting table 11. Specifically, a part of the lifting hand 23 has a similar shape to the passage port 12 in plan view. Although a part of the lifting hand 23 and the passage opening 12 are similar in shape, the lifting hand 23 can pass through the passage opening 12 because the lifting hand 23 is smaller in plan view. For this reason, the raising / lowering hand 23 supports the inner side rather than the peripheral part of the carrier C which the 1st mounting base 11 supports among the bottom parts of the carrier C. That is, the lifting hand 23 supports a portion of the bottom of the carrier C that is different from the portion supported by the first mounting table 11.

  Further, on the upper surface of the elevating hand 23, three pins 24 that are fitted in pin holes (not shown) formed on the bottom surface of the carrier C are erected. For this reason, the carrier C is positioned on the lifting hand 23.

  The carrier transport robot 20 is configured such that the carriage 21 travels in the Y-axis direction, and the lifting hand 23 moves up and down along the vertical base 22 to move the carrier to the first delivery unit 10, the stock shelves 60 </ b> A, 60 </ b> B, It can be delivered to the mediation lifter 40.

  Further, since the pins 24 are erected on the elevating hand 23 and the pins 24 are fitted into the pin holes of the carrier C, the carrier C can be moved on the elevating hand 23 even if the carrier transport robot 20 performs rapid acceleration / deceleration. Is not displaced, and the carrier C is stably conveyed.

<Intermediary lifter>
The intermediate lifter 40 is provided above the second delivery unit 30. FIG. 2 shows the details of the mediation lifter 40.

  The lifter base 41 is fixed to a frame (not shown) of the carrier stocker 1. The lifter base 41 is provided with a fixed chuck 42 and a rotating chuck 43 side by side in the moving direction of the horizontal moving table 32, that is, in the X-axis direction. The fixed chuck 42 and the rotating chuck 43 are integrated with the lifter base 41. On the other hand, it is provided so that raising and lowering is possible.

  The fixed chuck 42 is a member extending along the Y-axis direction, has a notch 42A through which the flange member CT of the carrier C can pass in the vertical direction, and has a support surface 42D that supports the lower surface of the flange member CT. Have.

  The rotating chuck 43 includes a shaft 43A along the Y-axis direction, and a connecting member 43B that connects the shaft 43A and the rotating chuck body 43C. The rotating chuck body 43C has a support surface 43D that supports the lower surface of the flange member CT.

  In this rotating chuck 43, by rotating about the shaft 43A, the support surface 43D is in a vertical position as shown in FIG. 2A, and the support surface 43D is horizontal as shown in FIG. 2B. The holding posture can be taken.

<Loading / unloading robot>
Returning to FIG. 1, the carry-in / out robot 50 carries the carrier C in and out of the carrier stocker 1.

  In addition, although the two carrying-in / out robots 50 are shown in the figure, these have the same structure.

  The loading / unloading robot 50 includes a fixed base 51 fixed to a floor surface, a lift base 52 that moves up and down with respect to the fixed base 51, and a first slider 53 that moves horizontally in the X-axis direction with respect to the lift base 52 on the lift base 52. A second slider 54 that horizontally moves in the X-axis direction relative to the first slider 53 on the first slider 53, and a support slider 55 that horizontally moves in the X-axis direction relative to the second slider 54 on the second slider 54. Have.

  The support slider 55 has a shape capable of passing through the passage port 12 of the first mounting table 11, similarly to the lifting hand 23 of the carrier transport robot 20. Therefore, the support slider 55 supports a portion of the bottom of the carrier C that is different from the portion supported by the first mounting table 11.

  In the loading / unloading robot 50, the first slider 53, the second slider 54, and the support slider 55 move relative to the lifting base 52, so that the support slider 55 can be moved in the X-axis direction. Moreover, the position of the support slider 55 can be moved up and down by raising and lowering the elevating base 52.

  When the loading / unloading robot 50 delivers the carrier C to the carrier stocker 1, first, the supporting slider 55 is positioned on the lift base 52 as in the loading / unloading robot 50 shown in the negative Y-axis direction of FIG. A carrier C is received from a carrier (not shown). At this time, the elevating base 52 is raised. Then, the first slider 53, the second slider 54, and the support slider 55 are moved in the X-axis positive direction like the loading / unloading robot 50 shown in the Y-axis positive direction in FIG. 1, and the carrier C is placed on the first mounting table 11. Position. Thereafter, the carrier C on the support slider 55 is transferred to the first mounting table 11 by lowering the lifting base 52 and passing the passage 12 through the support slider 55.

  Here, since the pins 56 are erected on the support slider 55 and the pins 56 are fitted into the pin holes of the carrier C, the position of the carrier C does not shift on the support slider 55 and the carrier C is stable. Then transported.

<Operation of carrier stocker>
Next, an example of the operation of the carrier stocker 1 will be described.

  First, the case where the carrier transport robot 20 receives the carrier C from the first mounting table 11 will be described.

  The carrier C is placed on the passing port 12 of the first placing table 11 from the loading / unloading robot 50. At this time, since the positioning is performed on the support slider 55 by the pins 56 on the support slider 55, the carrier C is positioned at a predetermined position on the first mounting table 11.

  Thereafter, the traveling platform 21 is caused to travel in a state in which the lifting hand 23 of the carrier transport robot 20 is arranged at a position lower than the first mounting table 11, and the lifting hand 23 is positioned below the passage port 12 where the carrier is placed. Let In this state, the elevating hand 23 is raised with respect to the vertical base 22 so that the elevating hand 23 passes through the opening 12 and reaches the bottom surface of the carrier C. At this time, since the carrier C is positioned at a predetermined position on the first mounting table 11, the pin 24 of the elevating hand 23 and the pin hole of the carrier C are securely fitted. Further, the bottom surface of the carrier C can be supported by the lifting hand 23 by raising the lifting hand 23. At this time, the lifting hand 23 supports a portion of the bottom of the carrier C that is different from the portion supported by the first mounting table 11.

  Next, the carrier transport robot 20 is moved as necessary, and the carrier C supported by the lifting hand 23 is placed on the stock shelves 60A and 60B or transported to the mediation lifter 40.

  Note that when the carrier C held by the carrier transport robot 20 is placed on the first placement table 11, a procedure reverse to the above may be performed.

  Next, a case where the carrier C is transported to the mediation lifter 40 by the carrier transport robot 20 and the carrier C is transported to the second delivery unit 30 by the mediation lifter 40 will be described.

  First, the carrier C is supported on the lifting hand 23.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the intermediate lifter 40 keeps the rotating chuck 43 in the released posture while the fixed chuck 42 and the rotating chuck 43 are raised with respect to the lifter base 41.

  In this state, the carrier transport robot 20 is moved, and the flange member CT of the carrier C is disposed above the support surface 42D of the fixed chuck 42.

  At this time, since the notch 42A is provided in the fixed chuck 42, the flange member CT and the fixed chuck 42 do not interfere with each other. In particular, even if the thickness of the flange member CT in the vertical direction is different for each specification of the carrier C, there is no interference.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2B, the rotation chuck 43 is rotated to place the support surface 43D between the flange member CT of the carrier C and the carrier body CR. When the lifting hand 23 is lowered, the eaves member CT is supported by the support surfaces 42D and 43D, and as a result, the carrier C is held by the mediation lifter 40. At this time, the pins 24 are erected on the elevating hand 23 and the carrier C is positioned on the elevating hand 23, so that the carrier C is held at a predetermined position of the mediation lifter 40.

  As described above, the carrier C is delivered from the carrier transport robot 20 to the mediation lifter 40.

  Next, when the lifting hand 23 is retracted from above the horizontal moving table 32 and both the fixed chuck 42 and the rotating chuck 43 are lowered with respect to the lifter base 41 as shown in FIG. 32.

  At this time, since the carrier C is positioned at a predetermined position in the mediation lifter 40, the carrier C is securely fitted to the pin 33 on the horizontal moving table 32.

  Furthermore, the horizontal movement of the carrier C toward the opening 3 in the second delivery unit 30 will be described.

  In the state where the carrier C is placed on the horizontal moving table 32 as shown in FIG. 3A, the rotating chuck 43 is rotated as shown in FIG. To do. Then, the carrier C can be moved to the opening 3 side by moving the horizontal moving table 32 in the positive direction of the X axis and moving it to the lid opening / closing position. Thereafter, the front cover (not shown) of the carrier C is removed by the opener 70 shown in FIG.

  As described above, the carrier C also moves with the movement of the horizontal moving table 32. However, when the rotating chuck 43 rotates and takes the release posture, the rotating chuck 43 moves out of the moving path of the carrier C. Interference between the moving chuck 43 and the carrier C can be prevented.

  In the case where the carrier C supported by the horizontal moving table 32 in the lid opening / closing position is transferred to the carrier transport robot 20 via the intermediate lifter 40, the reverse procedure to the above may be performed.

  Note that the carrier C has different height dimensions depending on the number of sheets accommodated, and therefore, there is a carrier C having a different position in the height direction.

  When handling the carrier C having different positions of the collar member CT, for example, in the case where the carrier transport robot holds and transports the collar member CT, the carrier transport robot holds the collar member CT when delivering the carrier. The position in the height direction to go must be changed according to the dimensions of the carrier C, and the control becomes complicated.

  However, according to the carrier stocker 1 of the present embodiment, the carrier transport robot 20 supports and transports the bottom of the carrier C, and the first transfer unit 10 and the stocker shelves 60A and 60B are also carriers between the carrier transport robot 20. When delivering C, the bottom of the carrier C is supported. Therefore, the carrier transfer robot 20 can transfer the carrier C to the first transfer unit 10 and the stocker shelves 60A and 60B regardless of the difference in the height direction of the carrier C by the same control. It will be easy.

  Further, since the carrier transport robot 20 supports and conveys the bottom of the carrier C, it can be accelerated and decelerated more rapidly than the one transported while holding the cage of the carrier C, and the transport speed can be increased.

<Carrier Stocker of Second Embodiment>
FIG. 4 shows a carrier stocker 100 according to the second embodiment.

  The difference between the carrier stocker 1 of the first embodiment and the carrier stocker 100 of the present embodiment is that the carrier stocker 100 does not have an intermediate lifter and the structure of the second delivery unit is different. Therefore, the second delivery unit 300 will be described.

  The second delivery unit 300 includes a fixing member 301 fixed to the partition wall 2, an L-shaped member 302 fixed to the fixing member 301, and a second mounting table 303 fixed on the L-shaped member 302.

  The 2nd mounting base 303 has the notch part 304 which can pass when the raising / lowering hand 23 raises / lowers. Then, the raising / lowering hand 23 supporting the carrier C descends from above the second mounting table 303 downward, so that the peripheral portion of the bottom surface of the carrier C rides on the second mounting table 303, and the carrier C moves to the second mounting table 303. Supported. In this case, the 2nd mounting base 303 supports the peripheral part of the bottom part of the carrier C, and the raising / lowering hand 23 supports the part inside this peripheral part. That is, the lifting hand 23 supports a portion of the bottom portion of the carrier C that is different from the portion supported by the first mounting table 11 and the second mounting table 303.

  Here, since the carrier C is mounted on the second mounting table 303 while being positioned on the lifting hand 23, the carrier C is mounted at a predetermined position on the second mounting table 303. For this reason, the front lid of the carrier C is securely attached and detached by the opener 70.

  In the carrier stocker 100 according to the second embodiment, the mediation lifter 40 as in the carrier stocker 1 according to the first embodiment is unnecessary, so that an increase in device cost can be suppressed.

  Further, the carrier C has different height dimensions due to the difference in the number of accommodated sheets, and accordingly, there is a carrier C having a different position in the height direction.

  When handling the carrier C with different positions of the collar member CT, for example, when the carrier transport robot holds and transports the collar member CT, when the carrier transport robot delivers the carrier, it goes to hold the collar member CT. The position in the height direction must be changed according to the dimensions of the carrier C, and the control becomes complicated.

  However, according to the carrier stocker 100 of the present embodiment, the carrier transport robot 20 supports and transports the bottom of the carrier C, and the first delivery unit 10, stocker shelves 60A and 60B, and the second delivery unit 300 are also carrier transport robots. When the carrier C is transferred to or from 20, the bottom of the carrier C is supported. For this reason, regardless of the difference in the height direction of the carrier C, the carrier transport robot 20 can transfer the carrier C by the same control, and the control becomes simple.

  In addition, it is possible to transport either a carrier having the flange member CT or a carrier not having it.

  According to the carrier stockers 1 and 100 as described above, since the carrier transport robot 20 supports and transports the bottom of the carrier C, it can accelerate and decelerate abruptly as compared with the one that holds and transports the flange member CT of the carrier C. The speed of conveyance can be increased.

  In addition, since the carrier transport robot 20 can support and transport the bottom of the carrier C, the carrier transport robot 20 does not need to hold the saddle member CT and the columnar member CP, and force is applied to the saddle member CT and the columnar member CP. This is less likely. For this reason, the lifetime of the flange member CT and the columnar member CP can be extended.

  In the carrier stockers 1 and 100 as described above, the second delivery units 30 and 300 support the carrier C in order to deliver the substrate to the other device 4, but the carrier C itself is used to deliver the carrier C to the other device 4. C may be held.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the carrier stocker which is 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows a part of carrier stocker in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows a part of carrier stocker in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the carrier stocker which is 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the conventional carrier.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,100 Carrier stocker 10 1st delivery part 20 Carrier conveyance robot 24, 33, 56 Pins 30, 300 2nd delivery part 32 Horizontal moving table 40 Intermediary lifter 42 Fixed chuck 43 Rotating chuck 303 2nd mounting table C Carrier CT 鍔Member CP Columnar member

Claims (4)

A carrier stocker for accommodating a carrier for accommodating a substrate,
A first delivery unit for placing the carrier while supporting a part of the bottom of the carrier in order to deliver the carrier to and from the outside of the carrier stocker;
In order to deliver the carrier to / from the outside of the carrier stocker, or to deliver the substrate to / from the substrate processing apparatus, the carrier is placed while supporting a part of the bottom of the carrier. A second delivery section;
Carrier conveying means for supporting a portion of the bottom of the carrier different from the portions supported by the first delivery portion and the second delivery portion, and for conveying the carrier between the first delivery portion and the second delivery portion. And
The second stocker has a notch through which the carrier transport means can pass. The carrier stocker according to claim 1,
The first stocker has a notch through which the carrier transport means can pass. The carrier stocker according to claim 1 or 2,
The carrier transporter has a lifting hand that can be moved up and down in the vertical direction, and a pin that supports a bottom portion of the carrier is erected on an upper surface of the lifting hand. The carrier stocker according to claim 3,
The carrier conveying means is
A rail extending horizontally between the first delivery portion and the second delivery portion;
A traveling platform that travels on the rail;
A vertical base provided on the platform and to which the lifting hand is attached;
A carrier stocker characterized by comprising:

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