JP2008115875A - Non-contact supporting device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a non-contact supporting device for suppressing the deterioration the flatness of a plate-like work to be supported in a non-contact manner. <P>SOLUTION: The non-contact supporting device 10 comprises a base 11 having an air supply passage 21 for supplying pressurized air, and a porous body 12 installed on the base 11 for jetting the pressurized air from the air jetting surface by the supply of the pressurized air via the air supply passage 21. On the base 11, the porous body 12 is installed with its air jetting surface formed in a long shape. In the air jetting surface, air vent grooves 33 are formed which intersect both the longitudinal direction and the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The air vent grooves 33 are a plurality of linear grooves which are formed at equal spaces in the longitudinal direction of the non-contact supporting device 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a non-contact support device that supports a plate-shaped workpiece such as a glass substrate in a non-contact manner.

  In recent years, in a manufacturing process of a liquid crystal panel or a semiconductor, a non-contact support device that supports the plate-like workpiece in a non-contact manner is used so as not to damage the surface of the plate-like workpiece such as a glass substrate or a semiconductor wafer. The non-contact support device arranges a porous body so as to face the plate-shaped workpiece, and floats the plate-shaped workpiece by air ejected from the surface of the porous body. Such a non-contact support device is used in various places, such as when inspecting a plate-like workpiece or performing a specific process, or when transporting to the next process.

  However, if the air ejected from the surface of the porous body toward the plate-like workpiece remains between the surface of the porous body and the back surface of the plate-like workpiece and is not discharged well, air accumulates near the center of the porous body. As a result, the plate-like workpiece swells in a dome shape in the vicinity thereof. In such a situation, the flatness of the plate-like workpiece becomes low, and high-precision inspection and processing cannot be performed.

Accordingly, a technique has been proposed in which a groove parallel to the traveling direction of the plate-like workpiece is formed in a porous body in order to reduce air accumulation (see, for example, FIG. 3 of Patent Document 1). With this technology, it is expected that air between the surface of the porous body and the back surface of the plate-shaped workpiece can be guided to the groove side, and the air between the surface of the porous body and the back surface of the plate-shaped workpiece can be discharged. ing.
International Publication No. 2006/052919 Pamphlet

  However, in the non-contact support device in which the groove parallel to the traveling direction of the plate-like workpiece is formed in the porous body, the groove length is very long, so in the situation where the plate-like workpiece covers the porous body, the groove It takes a long time for the air that has reached the inside to be discharged out of the groove from the workpiece traveling direction end of the non-contact support device. As a result, the air continuously ejected from the surface of the porous body cannot be discharged efficiently. That is, the problem that the flatness of the workpiece is low has not been solved, and there is room for improvement.

  The present invention has been made on the basis of the novel attention of the above-mentioned problem by the inventors and the knowledge that the problem becomes more prominent as the work is larger, and the flatness of the plate-like work supported in a non-contact manner is reduced. The main object is to provide a non-contact support device that can be suppressed.

  In order to achieve the above object, a non-contact support device according to the present invention includes a base having a supply passage for supplying pressurized gas, and is installed on the base, and pressurized gas is supplied through the supply passage. And a porous body that ejects pressurized air from the gas ejection surface that is the surface, and the porous body is installed on the base so that the gas ejection surface is elongated, and the gas ejection A groove that intersects both the longitudinal direction and the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is formed on the surface.

  Here, when the groove is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the gas ejection surface, the groove length (distance between both ends of the groove) becomes very long, and the plate-like workpiece is covered above the porous body. In this case, the pressurized gas in the groove cannot be discharged efficiently. Therefore, an excessive gas pool is generated and the flatness of the plate-like workpiece is lowered. On the other hand, when the groove is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the gas ejection surface, the so-called sag phenomenon that one side of the plate-like workpiece reaches the groove at the same time and the flying height decreases at once is the general usage method. As a result, the flatness of the plate-like workpiece is lowered.

  In this regard, in the present invention, the groove formed on the gas ejection surface of the porous body is formed so as to intersect both the longitudinal direction of the gas ejection surface and the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction. For this reason, the groove length can be made shorter than that of the conventional one, and the above-mentioned sag phenomenon can be suppressed in a general method of use. Therefore, according to this invention, the fall of the flatness of the plate-shaped workpiece supported non-contact can be suppressed.

  The groove is preferably a linear groove. This is because a straight groove is easy to manufacture and is suitable for shortening the groove length.

  When the groove is a linear groove, the groove is preferably formed in a straight line and in an oblique direction with respect to the longitudinal direction of the gas ejection surface. By forming the grooves in a straight line and obliquely with respect to the longitudinal direction, the manufacturing can be further facilitated while shortening the length of the grooves.

  It is preferable that a plurality of the grooves are formed at equal intervals in the longitudinal direction of the gas ejection surface. This is because it is possible to evenly exert an ejection effect of the ejected gas by the grooves over the entire longitudinal direction on the long gas ejection surface.

  In the plurality of grooves, the adjacent grooves are preferably arranged so that the end position of one groove and the start position of the other groove substantially coincide with each other in the longitudinal direction of the gas ejection surface. By arranging in this way, only one groove at any position in the longitudinal direction exerts a gas discharge action on the gas ejection surface. Therefore, the area occupied by the groove on the gas ejection surface can be reduced to ensure a wide area where the levitation force acts, and the area variation of the area can be suppressed, so that stable non-contact support can be realized.

  When the plurality of porous bodies are aligned and arranged on the same surface, the grooves are adjacent to each other in the position of the end of the groove of one porous body and the groove of the other porous body. It is preferable that the end portions are formed so as to coincide with each other. If the end position of the groove of one porous body does not coincide with the end position of the groove of the other porous body in each adjacent porous body, one end of the groove is blocked by the side surface of the porous body. It is considered that the pressurized gas in the groove cannot be discharged efficiently, but according to the above configuration, each groove can be continued between adjacent porous bodies, and the pressurized gas in the groove can be efficiently used. Can discharge well.

  It is preferable that the porous body has a hole for opening to the atmosphere exposed in the groove. Such a configuration is effective when the pressurized gas is not sufficiently discharged even if the groove length is shortened. This is because the pressurized gas in the groove is discharged through the hole for opening to the atmosphere, and the discharge efficiency of the pressurized gas in the groove is increased. Also in this case, since the length of the groove is short, it is basically unnecessary to make the configuration complicated until the evacuation is positively performed from the hole, so that a non-contact support device can be provided at low cost.

  It is preferable that a surplus portion of the base on which the porous body is not installed is provided on the outer side at least at the end of the groove. Specifically, the width of the porous body is shorter than the width of the base at a position corresponding to the end of the groove. Or it is set as the structure which provides a notch etc. in the site | part corresponded to the edge part of the said groove | channel in a porous body. Thereby, in the case where a plurality of non-contact support devices are arranged side by side, even if the bases are joined together, the groove of the porous body in each non-contact support device can be made non-continuous, and the non-continuous portion of the groove Thus, the pressurized air in the groove can be discharged efficiently.

  It is preferable that a plurality of vacuum evacuation holes are formed on the gas ejection surface, and an exhaust passage for evacuation communicating with the vacuum evacuation holes is formed on the base. This is because evacuation is performed simultaneously with the ejection of the pressurized gas from the gas ejection surface, and the bearing flying height can be increased by suppressing the workpiece flying height. Further, by forming the exhaust passage in the base together with the supply passage, the base can function not only as a mounting base for the porous body but also as a gas flow path, and the configuration can be simplified. .

  A rectangular plate-shaped workpiece is conveyed in the longitudinal direction, and the plate-shaped workpiece is a direction in which the side that is the leading end in the conveying direction and the side that is the trailing end in the conveying direction are orthogonal to the longitudinal direction. It is general that the non-contact support apparatus is maintained so as to extend to the outside. In such an application, the invention described above functions suitably.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment embodying the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, the case where the non-contact support apparatus is used for a surface inspection apparatus for a glass substrate is embodied. FIG. 1 shows a configuration of the non-contact support device 10. FIG. 1A is a plan view of the non-contact support device 10, FIG. 1B is a side view of the non-contact support device 10, and FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the contact support device 10. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the non-contact support device 10 includes a base 11 having a long shape and a hollow portion extending in the longitudinal direction thereof, and a plurality of (this embodiment) installed side by side on the base 11. 3) a porous body 12 and a closing plate 13 for closing both side openings of the base 11.

  The base 11 is formed by extrusion molding from a metal material such as aluminum. The base 11 has three hollow portions (internal spaces) partitioned from each other by a partition wall, the central hollow portion is an air supply passage 21, and the two hollow portions on both sides thereof are air suction passages 22. . In the base 11, a pressure port 23 that communicates with the air supply passage 21 and a suction port 24 that communicates with each air suction passage 22 are formed on the installation side (upper surface side) of the porous body 12. A plurality of the pressure ports 23 and the suction ports 24 are formed at predetermined intervals as viewed in the longitudinal direction of the base 11. Further, an air introduction port 25 communicating with the air supply passage 21 and two air discharge ports 26 communicating with the air suction passage 22 are formed at the bottom of the base 11.

  The porous body 12 is formed of a fluororesin such as a sintered trifluoride resin or a sintered tetrafluoride resin. Each porous body 12 has a long plate shape, and its upper surface is an air ejection surface. An air circulation groove 31 is formed on the porous body 12 on the side facing the base 11 (the side opposite to the air ejection surface). The air circulation groove 31 is formed along the longitudinal direction of the non-contact support device 10. In the state where the porous body 12 is joined to the base 11, the air circulation groove 31 extends over almost the entire length of the non-contact support device 10. An air circulation space is formed, and the pressurization port 23 of the base 11 is communicated with the air circulation space. The porous body 12 has suction holes 32 penetrating in the thickness direction of the porous body 12 so as to sandwich the air circulation groove 31. The suction hole 32 is provided at a position communicating with the suction port 24 on the base 11 side in a state where the porous body 12 is joined to the base 11.

  Further, a plurality of air vent grooves 33 are formed on the air ejection surface of the porous body 12. Each of the air vent grooves 33 is a straight groove having a straight line shape, and is formed at equal intervals. In particular, the air vent groove 33 is oblique to the longitudinal direction of the porous body 12 (non-contact support device 10), that is, both in the longitudinal direction and in the lateral direction (direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction). It is formed in an intersecting direction.

  Here, in the plurality of air vent grooves 33, the adjacent grooves 33 are arranged so that the end position of one groove and the start end position of the other groove in the longitudinal direction substantially coincide with each other. With this arrangement, only one groove exerts an air discharge action on the air ejection surface at any position in the longitudinal direction (any position in the left-right direction in FIG. 1). That is, as shown in FIG. 1A, for example, in the L1 section of the figure, one air vent groove 33 does not overlap with the other air vent grooves 33 when viewed in the short direction of the porous body 12, and The positions of the end portions of the two adjacent air vent grooves 33 coincide with each other.

  In the short side portion of the porous body 12, the end position of each air vent groove 33 is substantially the center of the short side portion. Therefore, when a plurality of porous bodies 12 are arranged in the same plane as shown in the figure, the position of the end of the air vent groove 33 of one porous body 12 and the other porous body 12 are adjacent to each other. The end position of the air vent groove 33 of the body 12 substantially coincides. That is, the respective air vent grooves 33 are continuous between adjacent porous bodies 12.

  In addition to the fluororesin, the porous body 12 is made of synthetic resin materials such as sintered nylon resin and sintered polyacetal resin, metal materials such as sintered aluminum, sintered copper, and sintered stainless steel, sintered carbon, and sintered carbon. It may be formed of other materials such as sintered ceramics.

  The porous body 12 is joined to the base 11 using an adhesive or the like. The closing plate 13 has substantially the same size as the end surfaces at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the base 11 and is fixed to the base 11 with screws or the like.

  In the non-contact support device 10 configured as described above, when pressurized air is supplied to the base 11 from an air pump (not shown) or the like, the pressurized air flows into the air supply passage 21 from the air introduction port 25 and further passes through the pressure port 23. It flows into the air circulation groove 31. And the air which flowed into the air circulation groove | channel 31 passes the micropore of the porous body 12, and is ejected from the upper surface (air ejection surface). In a state where the plate-like workpiece is present above the porous body 12, the workpiece is lifted by the pressurized air ejected from the air ejection surface, and the workpiece is supported in a non-contact state.

  At this time, since the air vent groove 33 is formed on the air ejection surface of the porous body 12, the air ejected to the work lower surface enters the air vent groove 33, and the porous body passes through the air vent groove 33. Twelve sides are discharged. As a result, the inconvenience that air accumulates between the air ejection surface of the porous body 12 and the lower surface of the work and the work swells in a dome shape due to the air is avoided. In particular, in this embodiment, since the air vent groove 33 is formed obliquely with respect to the longitudinal direction of the porous body 12, a configuration in which the air vent groove 33 is formed in the longitudinal direction of the porous body 12 (conventional configuration). As compared with the case, the air vent groove 33 is shortened. Therefore, the pressurized air in the air vent groove 33 is efficiently discharged.

  Further, when pressurized air is ejected from the porous body 12 to float the work, air suction is performed simultaneously with a vacuum pump (not shown) or the like. That is, air suction (vacuum evacuation) is performed through the air suction passage 22 and the suction port 24 of the base 11 and the suction holes 32 of the porous bodies 12, and the workpiece is drawn by the air suction. Thereby, the workpiece flying height is suppressed and the bearing rigidity is increased. That is, the flying height fluctuation due to the disturbance is suppressed.

  FIG. 3 shows the configuration of a workpiece transfer device used when the workpiece W (glass substrate) is actually transferred. In FIG. 3, the three non-contact support devices 10 are installed so as to be parallel to each other, and each is a floating conveyance rail. Each non-contact support device 10 is connected to each other by two frames 41A and 41B. Supply of pressurized air to the non-contact support device 10 and air suction are performed through the frames 41A and 41B. A pressurized air pump P1 is connected to one frame 41A, and the other frame 41B is connected to the other frame 41B. A vacuum pump P2 is connected. Then, when the pressurized air is discharged by the pressurized air pump P1, the pressurized air is supplied to each non-contact support device 10 via the internal passage of the frame 41A, and the air jet of the porous body 12 as described above Air ejection is performed on the surface. Further, when air suction (evacuation) is performed by the vacuum pump P2, air suction is performed in each non-contact support device 10 through the internal passage of the frame 41B.

  The workpiece W has a rectangular plate shape, and is levitated and conveyed along the longitudinal direction of the non-contact support device 10. During the workpiece conveyance, the workpiece W is maintained such that the side S1 which is the leading end in the conveying direction and the side S2 which is the trailing end in the conveying direction both extend in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. At this time, as described above, air ejection and air suction are simultaneously performed by the porous body 12, and thereby the work W is transported in a state where the work flying height is stabilized.

  According to the embodiment described in detail above, the following excellent effects can be obtained.

  Since the air vent groove 33 is formed on the air ejection surface of the porous body 12 in a direction intersecting both the longitudinal direction and the short direction (direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction), the groove 33 is formed in the porous body 12. The groove length can be shortened as compared with the case where it is formed in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the air, and the pressurized air in the air vent groove 33 is efficiently discharged in a situation where the plate-like workpiece is covered above the porous body 12. can do. Further, unlike when the air vent groove 33 is formed in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, when a quadrilateral workpiece is levitated and conveyed, it floats at a stretch when one side (leading end) of the workpiece reaches the groove 33. There is no occurrence of a phenomenon that the amount decreases (sagging phenomenon). As described above, it is possible to suppress a decrease in flatness of the plate-like workpiece that is supported in a non-contact manner, and the plate-like workpiece can be suitably levitated and conveyed.

  Since the air vent groove 33 is formed by a linear groove, a preferable configuration can be realized in order to shorten the groove length. Moreover, the air bleeding groove 33 can be easily manufactured.

  Since a plurality of air vent grooves 33 are formed at equal intervals in the longitudinal direction, the air exhaust effect by the air vent grooves 33 can be evenly applied to the entire longitudinal direction on the long air ejection surface.

  In the plurality of air vent grooves 33, the adjacent grooves 33 are arranged so that the end position of one groove in the longitudinal direction of the non-contact support device 10 and the start position of the other groove substantially coincide with each other. At any position, only one groove exerts an air discharging action. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the area occupied by the air vent groove 33 on the air ejection surface to ensure a wide area where the levitation force acts, and to suppress the area variation of the area, thereby realizing stable non-contact support. Can do.

  In the air vent groove 33, the position of the end of the air vent groove 33 of one porous body 12 and the position of the end of the air vent groove 33 of the other porous body 12 coincide with each other of the porous bodies 12. Since it formed, in the structure which arrange | positions the several porous body 12 on the base 11, the air discharge efficiency in the boundary part of each porous body 12 can be improved. In other words, in each adjacent porous body 12, if the end position of the air vent groove 33 of one porous body 12 and the end position of the air vent groove 33 of the other porous body 12 do not coincide, It is considered that one end of the groove 33 is blocked by the side surface of the porous body 12 and the pressurized air in the air bleeding groove 33 cannot be discharged efficiently. Each air vent groove 33 is continuous, and the pressurized air in the air vent groove 33 can be discharged efficiently.

  A plurality of suction holes 32 (vacuum evacuation holes) are formed on the air ejection surface of the porous body 12 so as to be separated from each other, and air suction (vacuum evacuation) is performed simultaneously with the ejection of pressurized air from the air ejection surface through the suction holes 32. Since it is configured to perform, the workpiece flying height can be suppressed and the bearing rigidity can be increased.

  Further, since the air suction passage 22 is formed in the base 11 together with the air supply passage 21, the base 11 can function not only as a mounting base for the porous body 12 but also as an air flow path, thereby simplifying the configuration. Can be planned.

  The present invention is not limited to the description of the above embodiment, and may be implemented as follows, for example.

  In the said embodiment, although the porous body 12 was formed in the elongate shape so that the longitudinal direction of the non-contact support apparatus 10 may become a long side, you may change this. For example, the porous body 12 may be formed in a square shape, and the square porous body 12 may be arranged side by side on the base. Further, the porous body 12 is formed so that the longitudinal direction of the non-contact support device 10 is a short side and the short direction of the non-contact support device 10 is a long side, contrary to the configuration of the above embodiment. Also good. In any case, any structure may be used as long as the porous body 12 is installed on the base 11 so that the air ejection surface is elongated. In this case, the shape of each porous body 12 is arbitrary. However, in consideration of manufacturing convenience and the like, the porous body 12 is attached to the non-contact support device 10 as in the above embodiment (FIG. 1). It is desirable to form in a long shape so that the longitudinal direction becomes a long side.

  In the above embodiment, the three porous bodies 12 are arranged side by side on the base 11, but this configuration is changed to provide one porous body 12 on the base 11 as shown in FIG. 4. Also good. In this case, the porous body 12 has substantially the same size as the base 11, and one air circulation groove 31 is formed on the lower surface of the porous body 12 over almost the entire length of the base 11. In the configuration shown in FIG. 4, the suction holes 32 in the porous body 12 are formed in accordance with the inclination of the air bleeding grooves 33, that is, alternately in each row.

  In the porous body 12, a hole for opening to the atmosphere may be formed so as to be exposed in the air vent groove 33. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the air release hole 43 is formed at the substantially central portion in the length direction of the air vent groove 33. The air opening hole 43 is formed over the porous body 12 and the base 11 below the porous body 12, and one end opens on the bottom of the air vent groove 33 and the other end opens on the side surface of the base 11. It is also possible to provide two or more air opening holes 43 in the middle of the air vent groove 33. According to this configuration, even in the middle position of the air vent groove 33, the pressurized air in the air vent groove 33 can be discharged through the air release hole 43. Therefore, when the compressed air is not sufficiently discharged even if the groove length is shortened, the efficiency of discharging the pressurized air in the air vent groove 33 can be increased.

  It is also possible to arrange a plurality of non-contact support devices 10 side by side in the short direction. A specific configuration will be described with reference to FIG. 6A is a plan view showing a configuration in which two non-contact support devices 10 are installed side by side, and FIG. 6B is a side view thereof (side view seen from the short side). In FIG. 6, the non-contact support device 10 is configured by using one porous body 12 each. The illustration of the suction hole 32 is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the two non-contact support devices 10 are installed with their long sides facing each other. In this case, the side surfaces of the base 11 are joined together, and the air vent grooves 33 are arranged on the same straight line at the air ejection surfaces of the two porous bodies 12. Here, the length D1 in the short direction of the base 11 and the length D2 in the short direction of the porous body 12 are D1> D2, and the two non-contact support devices 10 are arranged side by side as illustrated. In this case, a linear gap C is formed between the two porous bodies 12. The gap C leads to the end of each air vent groove 33, and the air vent groove 33 is discontinuous by the gap C in each porous body 12 in the two non-contact support devices 10. In this configuration, the pressurized air in the air vent groove 33 is discharged to the outside through the gap C in a state where the plate-like workpiece is covered above the porous body 12. Therefore, when a plurality of non-contact support devices 10 are arranged side by side, the pressurized air in the air vent groove 33 can be discharged efficiently.

  In the case where a plurality of non-contact support devices 10 are installed side by side as described above, at least at the end portion of the air vent groove 33, an excess portion of the base 11 on which the porous body 12 is not installed is provided outside. Good. From this, a configuration in which the width dimension of the porous body 12 is shorter than the width dimension of the base 11 at a position corresponding to the end of the air bleeding groove 33 may be employed. It is good also as a structure which provides a notch etc. in the site | part corresponded to the edge part of the air bleeding groove | channel 33 in the mass 12. FIG.

  In the above-described embodiment, the air vent groove 33 is formed in a straight line in the porous body 12. However, the air vent groove 33 may be changed to be formed in a V shape including two straight portions. Specifically, it is preferable to form a V shape with the central portion in the short direction of the porous body 12 as the top. Even in such a configuration, the two straight portions constituting the V-shaped air vent groove 33 are formed obliquely with respect to the longitudinal direction of the porous body 12 so that the pressure in the air vent groove 33 is the same as described above. Air can be discharged efficiently. Further, the air vent groove 33 may be formed in an arc shape or a wave shape. In any case, if the groove length can be shortened as compared with the case where the air vent groove 33 is formed in parallel to the longitudinal direction of the porous body 12, efficient air discharge can be realized.

  In the above-described embodiment, the adjacent air vent grooves 33 are arranged such that the end position of one groove and the start position of the other groove in the longitudinal direction substantially coincide with each other, that is, each air vent groove 33 is non-contact support device 10. However, it is also possible to change the arrangement so that the adjacent air vent grooves 33 are partially overlapped in the longitudinal direction of the non-contact support device 10.

  It is also possible to change the groove cross section of the air vent groove 33 formed in the porous body 12 to other shapes such as a triangular shape and a semicircular shape in addition to a square shape.

  In the said embodiment, although the glass substrate was mentioned as an example and demonstrated as a workpiece | work, if it is a plate-shaped workpiece, it will not be limited to a glass substrate.

  In the said embodiment, although air was mentioned and demonstrated as an example as pressurized gas supplied to the non-contact support apparatus 10, you may use other gas, such as nitrogen other than air.

The figure for demonstrating the whole structure of a non-contact support apparatus. AA sectional view taken on the line AA of FIG. The block diagram of a workpiece conveyance apparatus. The top view which shows the whole structure of the non-contact support apparatus in another embodiment. The top view which shows a partial structure of the non-contact support apparatus in another embodiment. The figure which shows the structure of a non-contact support apparatus in another embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Non-contact support apparatus, 11 ... Base, 12 ... Porous body, 21 ... Air supply passage, 22 ... Air suction passage, 31 ... Air circulation groove, 32 ... Suction hole, 33 ... Air vent groove, W ... Workpiece.

Claims (10)

A base having a supply passage for supplying pressurized gas;
A porous body that is installed on the base and ejects pressurized air from a gas ejection surface that is a surface by supplying pressurized gas through the supply passage;
On the base, the porous body is installed so that the gas ejection surface is long, and the gas ejection surface has a groove that intersects both the longitudinal direction and the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction. A non-contact support device characterized in that is formed.   The non-contact support device according to claim 1, wherein the groove is a linear groove.   The non-contact support device according to claim 2, wherein the groove is formed in a straight line and in an oblique direction with respect to a longitudinal direction of the gas ejection surface.   The non-contact support device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the grooves are formed at equal intervals in the longitudinal direction.   5. The non-contact support device according to claim 4, wherein in each of the plurality of grooves, adjacent grooves are arranged so that a terminal position of one groove and a starting end position of the other groove in the longitudinal direction substantially coincide with each other.   When the plurality of porous bodies are aligned and arranged on the same surface, the grooves are adjacent to each other in the position of the end of the groove of one porous body and the groove of the other porous body. The non-contact support device according to claim 1, wherein the non-contact support device is formed so as to coincide with the end position.   The non-contact support device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the porous body has a hole for opening to the atmosphere exposed in the groove.   The non-contact support device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a surplus portion of the base where the porous body is not installed is provided outside at least an end portion of the groove.   9. A plurality of vacuum suction holes are formed on the gas ejection surface so as to be spaced apart from each other, and an exhaust passage for vacuum communication is formed in the base so as to communicate with the vacuum suction holes. Non-contact support device.   A rectangular plate-shaped workpiece is conveyed in the longitudinal direction, and the plate-shaped workpiece has a side that is the leading end in the conveying direction and a side that is the rear end in the conveying direction extending in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The non-contact support device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the non-contact support device is maintained as described above.

Images