JP2010251454A - Conveying device for plate-like body - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a conveying device for plate-like body capable of securely holding and conveying a plate-like body. <P>SOLUTION: The conveying device 1 for plate-like body includes a holding member 10 which sucks and holds the plate-like body from above, and a support member 20 which supports the holding member 10 movably, wherein a hollow portion 13 has a branch flow passage 14 where a flow of compressed gas introduced from an inlet hole 11b is branched and guided to respective injection holes 12a, and the branch flow passage 14 is formed so that compressed gas flow to each branch point may be branched to flow in two directions, the two flowing-out directions being symmetrical about the flowing-in direction to the branch point. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a plate-like conveyance device that conveys a plate-like material such as a solar cell substrate or a wafer.

  Bernoulli chuck configured to hold the plate-like body by injecting air from an injection port formed on the suction surface and generating a negative pressure between the suction surface and the plate-like body as a transfer device of this type It has been known. For example, the Bernoulli chuck disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a disk-like suction holding plate 52 in which a plurality of grooves 51 for sucking a wafer are arranged along the outer edge, as shown in FIG. Each groove 51 is connected to a distribution channel 53 extending radially from the center of the suction holding plate 52. A compressed air supply path 54 is connected to the center of the radial distribution flow path 53, and compressed air is supplied from the connecting pipe 55 and the compressed air supply path 54 to each groove 52 via each distribution flow path 53.

JP 2009-32744 A

  However, in the conventional Bernoulli chuck, it is difficult to uniformly distribute the compressed air to each distribution channel 53 extending radially, so the flow rate of the compressed air flowing through each distribution channel 53 becomes non-uniform, There was a risk that the plate-like body would vibrate irregularly due to fluctuations in pressure distribution. For example, in the case where the plate-like body is a solar cell substrate, damage such as cracking due to vibration is likely to occur due to recent thinning, and improvement in yield has been demanded.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a plate-like body transport device that can reliably transport a plate-like body while preventing damage.

  The object of the present invention is a plate-like body transport device comprising a holding member that holds and holds the plate-like body from above and a support member that movably supports the holding member, the holding member having an upper surface A hollow portion is provided between the side and the lower surface side, an introduction hole for introducing compressed gas is formed on the upper surface side, and an injection port for injecting compressed air surrounds the introduction hole on the lower surface side The hollow portion includes a branch flow path that branches the flow of the compressed gas introduced from the introduction hole and guides it to each of the injection ports. The plate-like body is formed so that the compressed gas flowing into each branch point is branched in two directions and flows out, and the two outflow directions are symmetric with respect to the inflow direction to the branch point. Achieved by the transport device.

  In this plate-like body conveyance device, the injection port is preferably arranged along a virtual circle centered on the introduction hole, and the inflow direction to each branch point of the branch flow path is the diameter of the virtual circle. It is preferable to substantially match the direction.

  The holding member includes a holding portion main body having a concave portion formed on a lower surface side, and a disk-shaped bottom lid joined to the holding portion main body so as to cover the concave portion, The bottom cover body is formed on the top surface, and the injection port can be formed along the outer edge of the bottom cover body. In this configuration, it is preferable that the concave portion formed in the holding portion main body has an inclined side wall.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the said holding member is further provided with the contact member holding the outer edge of a plate-shaped object.

  The holding member preferably has an air hole penetrating from the upper surface to the lower surface and isolated from the branch flow path.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the conveying apparatus of the plate-shaped body which can hold | maintain and convey a plate-shaped body reliably can be provided.

It is sectional drawing of the conveying apparatus of the plate-shaped object which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a principal part top view of the conveying apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 2. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is a schematic block diagram of the conventional Bernoulli chuck.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a plate-like material conveying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the transfer device 1 includes a holding member 10 that holds a plate-like body P such as a solar cell substrate from above, and an arm-like support member that is connected at one end to the upper surface side of the holding member 10. 20. The support member 20 has a flow path 21 of compressed gas formed therein, and is supported by being suspended so that the holding member 10 can be rotationally driven by operation of a motor (not shown). The flow path 21 of the support member 20 is connected to a compressed gas supply source (not shown) such as a cylinder or factory air, and can supply compressed gas to the inside of the holding member 10.

  The holding member 10 includes a rectangular holding portion main body 11 having a circular concave portion 11a formed on the lower surface side, and a disc-shaped bottom lid body 12 attached to the holding portion main body 11 so as to cover the concave portion 11a. I have. An introduction hole 11b is formed in the center of the holding body 11 and the support member 20 is connected to the introduction hole 11b in an airtight manner by a coupler, welding, or the like. The introduction hole 11 b communicates with a hollow portion 13 formed between the upper surface side and the lower surface side of the holding member 10. As shown by a broken line in FIG. 1, the hollow portion 13 includes a branch flow path 14 formed of a groove formed on the upper surface of the bottom lid body 12, and branches the flow of compressed air introduced from the introduction hole 11 b. Then, the fuel is discharged from a plurality of injection ports 12a formed along the outer periphery of the bottom lid body 12. The hollow part 13 forms a groove part in the recessed part 11a of the holding | maintenance part main body 11, or provides a convex part in the recessed part 11a or the bottom cover body 12 instead of forming a groove part in the bottom cover body 12 like this embodiment. Can also be formed.

  The side wall 11c of the recess 11a is an inclined surface that extends outwardly downward, and the compressed air discharged from the injection port 12a extends along the side wall 11c between the side wall 11c and the outer edge of the bottom lid 12. A slight gap is formed so as to flow outward. The lower surface of the bottom lid 12 is substantially flush with the lower surface of the peripheral edge of the holding body 11.

  A horizontal bracket 111 and a vertical bracket 112 are provided on each of the four sides of the holding unit main body 11. The horizontal bracket 111 and the vertical bracket 112 are respectively formed with long holes 111a and 112a indicated by broken lines, and bolts 111b and 112b are inserted into the long holes 111a and 112a. An abutting member 113 that holds the outer edge of the plate-like body P is provided below the vertical bracket 112. The contact member 113 is preferably formed of an elastic material such as a rubber material, and the contact portion 113a with the plate-like body P is inclined so as to expand outwardly downward. The position of the horizontal bracket 111 can be adjusted in the horizontal direction along the long hole 111a with respect to the holding portion main body 11, and can be fixed with a bolt 111b. Similarly, the vertical bracket 112 can be adjusted in the vertical direction along the long hole 112a with respect to the horizontal bracket 111, and can be fixed by the bolt 112b.

  The holding body 11 and the bottom lid 12 can be coupled by a coupling means (not shown) such as a bolt, and by uniformly distributing the coupling means, the entire upper surface of the bottom lid 12 is recessed 11a. It is in close contact with. Air holes 11 d and 12 b are formed in the holding portion main body 11 and the bottom lid body 12 at positions communicating with each other, and penetrate from the upper surface to the lower surface of the holding member 10. The air holes 11d and 12b are sealed by an O-ring 15 disposed in a recess on the upper surface of the bottom cover body 12, and the compressed air introduced into the hollow portion 13 is configured not to communicate with the air holes 11d and 12b. Has been. In the present embodiment, the air holes 11d and 12b are formed at two locations on both sides of the introduction hole 11b, but the size, number, and arrangement of the air holes are not particularly limited.

  FIG. 2 is a plan view of the bottom lid 12. As described above, the bottom cover body 12 has the branch channel 14 formed of a groove for forming the hollow portion 13 shown in FIG. The branch flow path 14 branches in two opposite directions from the central introduction portion 14a, and then always branches in two directions at each branch point J of the guide portion 14b, while being equally spaced along the outer periphery of the bottom lid body 12. It is connected to the discharge part 14c formed in. The groove depth of the branch flow path 14 is formed so that the introduction part 14a is the deepest and the discharge part 14c is the shallowest, and the guide part 14b guides at a constant depth in the middle. The bottom cover body 12 is in close contact with the holding portion main body 11 at the upper surface portion other than the branch flow path 14, and each discharge portion 14c is separated by a partition wall 14d.

  FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of the plate-like body shown in FIG. The guide portion 14b of the branch flow path 14 is formed so that the two outflow directions C and C are symmetrical on both sides with respect to the inflow direction B of the compressed gas to the branch point J. The straight line connecting the center O of the circular bottom lid 12 and each branch point J coincides with the inflow direction B to the branch point J. Further, the outflow direction D from the guide portion 14 b to the discharge portion 14 c is also formed so as to pass through the center O of the bottom lid body 12. With such a configuration, the flow of the compressed gas is distributed to each discharge portion 14c. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. The compressed gas that has flowed into the discharge portion 14 c from the guide portion 14 b is sprayed from the injection port 12 a with the flow path narrowed in the discharge portion 14 c, and smoothly discharged radially along the side wall 11 c of the holding portion main body 11.

  Next, operation | movement of the conveying apparatus 1 provided with the said structure is demonstrated. As shown in FIG. 1, when compressed gas is supplied from the introduction hole 11b with the plate-like body P disposed below the holding member 10, the compressed gas is injected from the injection port 12a, and the lower surface side of the holding member 10 and the plate A negative pressure is generated between the plate-like body P and the plate-like body P is sucked, and the outer edge of the plate-like body P is held by the contact member 113a. Thus, the plate-like body P can be transported by driving the support member 20 in a state where the upper surface of the plate-like body P is not in contact with the holding member 10. Each contact member 113a can be fixed at an optimal position according to the size and shape of the plate-like body P by adjusting the position of the horizontal bracket 111 and the vertical bracket 112, and the holding member 10 and the plate-like body P can be fixed. A predetermined interval can be maintained.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the transport device 1 of the present embodiment is formed such that the branch flow path 14 branches the compressed gas flowing into each branch point J in two directions and flows out. The two outflow directions C and C are symmetric with respect to the inflow direction B to the branch point J. With such a configuration, the introduced compressed gas can be distributed so as to be evenly distributed at each branch point J, and the compressed gas can be uniformly and radially injected from each injection port 12a. As a result, the negative pressure between the holding member 10 and the plate-like body P can be kept constant, the vibration of the plate-like body P can be prevented, and the plate-like body P can be reliably transported without being damaged. Can do.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, each injection port 12a is arrange | positioned circularly along the outer periphery of the bottom cover body 12, and the inflow direction A to each branch point J corresponds with the radial direction of the bottom cover body 12. Yes. With such a configuration, uniform distribution of the compressed gas can be promoted more reliably. Moreover, in this embodiment, the outflow direction D from the guide part 14b to the discharge part 14c is also in agreement with the radial direction of the bottom cover body 12, and thereby the compressed gas injected radially from each injection port 12a. The flow can be made uniform.

  Further, as in the present embodiment, the holding member 10 is formed between the holding member 10 and the plate-like body P by penetrating the holding member 10 from the upper surface to the lower surface and forming the air holes 11d and 12b isolated from the branch flow path 14. Is negative pressure at the peripheral edge of the plate-like body P, while the central portion is atmospheric pressure. As a result, since only the peripheral edge of the plate-like body P can be sucked and held, it is possible to suppress the plate-like body P from being bent in a bowl shape and prevent the plate-like body P from being damaged. Such an effect is particularly remarkable when the plate-like body P is a thin solar cell substrate. The air holes can be appropriately distributed and disposed at positions avoiding the branch flow path 14 so as not to communicate with the branch flow path 14.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Conveyance apparatus 10 Holding member 11 Holding part main body 11a Recessed part 11b Introduction hole 11c Side wall 11d Atmospheric hole 113a Contact member 12 Bottom cover body 12a Injection port 12b Atmospheric hole 13 Hollow part 14 Branch flow path 20 Support member

Claims (6)

A plate-like body conveyance device comprising: a holding member that sucks and holds a plate-like body from above; and a support member that movably supports the holding member,
The holding member has a hollow portion between the upper surface side and the lower surface side, an introduction hole for introducing compressed gas is formed on the upper surface side, and an injection port for injecting compressed air is formed on the lower surface side. A plurality are formed at substantially equal intervals so as to surround the introduction hole,
The hollow portion includes a branch flow path that branches the flow of the compressed gas introduced from the introduction hole and guides the flow to the injection ports.
The branch flow path is formed so that the compressed gas flowing into each branch point is branched in two directions and flows out, and the two outflow directions are symmetric with respect to the inflow direction to the branch point. A plate-like body conveying apparatus. The said injection port is arrange | positioned along the virtual circle centering on the said introduction hole, The inflow direction to each branch point of the said branch flow path substantially corresponds to the radial direction of the said virtual circle. Plate-like body transport device. The holding member includes a holding unit body having a recess formed on the lower surface side, and a disc-shaped bottom lid attached to the holding unit body so as to cover the recess.
The branch channel is formed on the upper surface of the bottom lid,
The plate-like conveyance device according to claim 1, wherein the ejection port is formed along an outer edge of the bottom lid. The plate-like body conveyance device according to claim 3, wherein the concave portion formed in the holding portion main body has an inclined side wall. The said holding member is a conveying apparatus of the plate-shaped body in any one of Claim 1 to 4 further equipped with the contact member holding the outer edge of a plate-shaped body. 6. The plate-shaped conveyance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the holding member has an air hole penetrating from an upper surface to a lower surface and isolated from the branch flow path.

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