JP2010253568A - Suction holding hand, transfer device, holding method, seating method, and transfer method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a suction holding hand; a transfer device; a holding method; a seating method; and a transfer method, which position a holding object or a transfer object with respect to the transfer device and a seating position of the holding object or the transfer object without increasing cost and transfer time due to installation of a position detection sensor, calculation of misregistration amount, and execution of position correction. <P>SOLUTION: The suction holding hand non-contactedly and suckingly holds the holding object by a negative pressure occurred at the center of a gas swirling flow generated in a swirling flow generation chamber, and a gas flowing sideways from an end of the swirling flow generation chamber. The swirling flow generation chamber is opened. The suction holding hand includes a suckingly holding surface inclined relative to a horizontal direction; a regulation member which is disposed on a low side in a vertical direction on the inclined suckingly holding surface, and regulates movement of the holding object in at least two directions in a direction parallel to the suckingly holding surface; and a support member for supporting the suckingly holding surface and the regulation member. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a suction holding hand for sucking and holding a holding object, a conveying device for sucking and holding a conveying object, a holding method for sucking and holding a holding object, and a holding conveying object to be seated at a predetermined seating position. The present invention relates to a seating method to be carried out, and a conveyance method to convey and convey an object to be conveyed.

  Conventionally, a member to be processed, such as a substrate constituting a liquid crystal device, which is not preferably contaminated by contact with many parts of the member, picks up and holds the member to be processed, By moving it to another position and handling it using a transfer device that automatically performs the transfer operation placed at that position, contamination is suppressed. Various devices have been devised for efficient transport, and Patent Document 1 discloses that the air resistance received by the substrate to be moved is adjusted by adjusting the direction of the surface of the substrate corresponding to the direction of transporting the substrate. A substrate transport apparatus and a substrate transport method that do not cause an inconvenient state such as increase or dust winding are disclosed.

In many cases, such as a substrate that constitutes a liquid crystal device, a workpiece that needs to be precisely formed with a fine structure is accurately placed at a predetermined seating position with respect to the machining device. It is necessary to be seated. In order to allow the workpiece to be accurately seated at a predetermined seating position, the workpiece is accurately held at a predetermined workpiece-holding position in the conveying device, and the workpiece-holding position is determined. This is possible by positioning the workpiece at a position corresponding to the seating position of the workpiece and seating the workpiece at the position.
Patent Document 2 discloses a ceramic plate transport device and method that includes a position detection sensor, obtains a positional shift amount of a transport target, and corrects a movement amount by the transport device in accordance with the positional shift amount. Yes.

JP 2001-53126 A JP-A-6-286829

  However, in a device provided with a position detection sensor such as the conveyance device disclosed in Patent Document 2, the size of the device may increase and the manufacturing cost of the device may increase because the position detection sensor is provided. There was a problem that there was sex. In addition, a time for detecting the positional deviation amount and a time for correcting the movement amount are required, and a time for calculating a correction amount such as the movement amount from the detected positional deviation amount is also required. There was also a problem that increased. Furthermore, there is a problem that the load on the control device of the transport device that performs the calculation of the correction amount increases.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to solve at least a part of the problems described above, and the invention can be implemented as the following forms or application examples.

  [Application Example 1] The suction holding hand according to this application example includes a negative pressure generated in a central portion of a swirl flow of gas generated in a swirl flow generation chamber, and a gas flowing out from an end of the swirl flow generation chamber. A suction holding hand for holding and holding the object to be held in a non-contact manner, wherein the swirl flow generation chamber is open and inclined with respect to a horizontal direction (a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction) And the movement of the object to be held in at least two directions parallel to the suction holding surface, which is disposed on the lower side in the vertical direction of the suction holding surface inclined with respect to the suction holding surface. And a support member that supports the suction holding surface and the regulating member while maintaining the inclined state of the suction holding surface.

According to the suction holding hand of this application example, the holding object is sucked and held without contact, and the suction holding surface for sucking and holding the holding object is inclined from the horizontal direction. It is arranged.
Chucking device that sucks and holds the object to be held in a non-contact manner by the negative pressure generated at the center of the swirling flow of the gas generated in the swirling flow generating chamber and the gas flowing out from the end of the swirling flow generating chamber to the side Uses Bernoulli's theorem and is also called Bernoulli chuck. The Bernoulli chuck using Bernoulli's theorem sucks the object to be held by the negative pressure generated at the center of the swirling flow of gas generated in the swirling flow generating chamber. Since the gas in the swirling flow generation chamber flows out from the suction outlet opening on the suction holding surface, the force in the direction of moving the object to be held away from the suction holding surface acts on the suction target surface, so that the suctioned holding A non-contact state between the object and the suction holding surface is formed.
Generally, the suction holding surface is supported downward in the vertical direction by a support member, and the suction holding hand holds the holding object in a suspended state. Since the holding object is not in contact with the suction holding surface, the holding object is hardly subjected to a restraining force in a direction parallel to the suction holding surface by the force by which the holding object is sucked and held. For this reason, the holding object sucked and held by the tilted suction holding surface moves to the lower side tilted by gravity while maintaining a certain clearance from the suction holding surface. Since the regulating member is disposed on the inclined lower side, the object to be held is sucked and held with the end face in contact with the regulating member. Thereby, the position of the holding object can be positioned at a fixed position with respect to the suction holding hand.

  Application Example 2 In the suction holding hand according to the application example described above, it is preferable that a height dimension of the restriction member from the suction holding surface is smaller than a thickness of the holding object.

  According to this suction holding hand, since the height dimension of the regulating member from the suction holding surface is smaller than the thickness of the holding object, the end surface in contact with the regulating member in the holding object in contact with the regulating member is There is a portion that does not contact the regulating member in the height direction. For this reason, the holding object is brought into contact with another member by using the same force as the force for bringing the holding object into contact with the regulating member, thereby bringing the holding object into contact with another member. Can be positioned.

  Application Example 3 The suction holding hand according to the application example described above is arranged on the higher side in the vertical direction of the suction holding surface inclined with respect to the suction holding surface, in a direction parallel to the suction holding surface. A second restricting member for restricting movement of the object to be held in at least two directions, wherein a height dimension of the second restricting member from the suction holding surface is larger than a thickness of the object to be held; Is preferred.

  According to this suction holding hand, the second regulating member that regulates the movement of the holding object is disposed on the higher side in the vertical direction of the inclined suction holding surface. As a result, the object to be held lifted toward the suction holding surface by the suction force from the suction holding hand is generated due to the suction holding surface being inclined. The movement to the higher side of the inclined suction holding surface can be restricted by the component force acting so as to urge in the parallel direction. Since the height dimension of the second regulating member from the suction holding surface is larger than the thickness of the holding object, the suction holding surface is tilted high from the early stage when the holding object is exerted with a suction force. It can be in the state which can control moving to the side.

  Application Example 4 It is preferable that the suction holding hand according to the application example further includes an angle changing unit that changes an angle of the suction holding surface with respect to a horizontal direction.

  According to this suction holding hand, the angle changing means is provided, and the angle of the suction holding surface with respect to the horizontal direction can be changed. As a result, the angle of the suction holding surface is changed between the time of suction holding and the state of suction holding, respectively, and the angle of each appropriate suction holding surface at the time of suction holding or the state of suction holding The angle of the suction holding surface can be adjusted.

  [Application Example 5] The transfer device according to this application example includes a negative pressure generated in a central portion of a swirl flow of gas generated in a swirl flow generation chamber, and a gas flowing out from an end of the swirl flow generation chamber to the side. And a holding device that sucks and holds the object to be conveyed in a non-contact manner, and conveys the object to be conveyed held by the holding means, wherein the holding means has the swirl flow generation chamber open. A suction holding surface that is inclined with respect to a horizontal direction (a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction), and the suction holding surface that is disposed on a lower side in the vertical direction of the suction holding surface that is inclined with respect to the suction holding surface. A regulating member that regulates movement of the object to be conveyed in at least two directions parallel to the suction holding surface, and a state in which the suction holding surface is tilted to support the suction holding surface and the regulating member. A support member, And butterflies.

According to the transport device of this application example, the transport target is sucked and held without contact, and the suction holding surface for sucking and holding the transport target is tilted from the horizontal direction, and the regulating member is arranged on the tilted lower side. It is installed.
Chucking device that sucks and holds the object to be conveyed in a non-contact manner by the negative pressure generated at the center of the swirling flow of the gas generated in the swirling flow generating chamber and the gas flowing out from the end of the swirling flow generating chamber to the side Uses Bernoulli's theorem and is also called Bernoulli chuck. The Bernoulli chuck using Bernoulli's theorem sucks the object to be conveyed by the negative pressure generated at the center of the swirling flow of gas generated in the swirling flow generating chamber. Since the gas in the swirl flow generation chamber flows out from the suction outlet opening in the suction holding surface, the force in the direction of moving the object to be transported away from the suction holding surface acts on the suction target surface. A non-contact state between the object and the suction holding surface is formed.
Generally, the suction holding surface is supported downward in the vertical direction by a support member, and the holding means holds the conveyance object in a suspended state. Since the conveyance object is in a non-contact state with the suction holding surface, the restraint force in the direction parallel to the suction holding surface is hardly received by the force by which the conveyance object is sucked and held. For this reason, the conveyance object sucked and held by the tilted suction holding surface moves to the lower side tilted by gravity while maintaining a certain clearance from the suction holding surface. Since the regulating member is disposed on the inclined lower side, the conveyance object is sucked and held in a state where the end surface is in contact with the regulating member. Thereby, the position of a conveyance target object can be positioned in a fixed position with respect to the suction holding hand.

  Application Example 6 In the conveyance device according to the application example described above, it is preferable that a height dimension of the restriction member from the suction holding surface is smaller than a thickness of the conveyance object.

  According to this transport apparatus, since the height dimension of the regulating member from the suction holding surface is smaller than the thickness of the transport object, the end surface that is in contact with the regulating member in the transport object in contact with the regulating member is There is a portion that does not contact the regulating member in the height direction. For this reason, using the same force as the force for bringing the object to be conveyed against the regulating member, the part is brought into contact with another member, so that the object to be conveyed is brought into contact with another member. Can be positioned.

  Application Example 7 In the conveyance device according to the application example, the holding unit is arranged on the suction holding surface, which is disposed on a higher side in the vertical direction of the suction holding surface inclined with respect to the suction holding surface. A second restricting member for restricting movement of the transport object in at least two parallel directions; and a height dimension of the second restricting member from the suction holding surface of the transport object. It is preferable that the thickness is larger.

  According to this conveyance apparatus, the 2nd control member which controls the movement of a conveyance target object is arrange | positioned by the high side in the perpendicular direction in the inclined suction holding surface. As a result, the object to be transported lifted toward the suction holding surface by the suction force from the suction holding hand is generated on the suction holding surface with respect to the object to be transported, which is caused by the inclination of the suction holding surface. The movement to the higher side of the inclined suction holding surface can be restricted by the component force acting so as to urge in the parallel direction. Since the height of the second restricting member from the suction holding surface is larger than the thickness of the transport target, the suction target surface where the transport target is inclined is high from the early stage when the transport target is exerted with a suction force. It can be in the state which can control moving to the side.

  Application Example 8 It is preferable that the transfer device according to the application example further includes an angle changing unit that changes an angle of the suction holding surface with respect to a horizontal direction.

  According to this transport device, the angle changing means is provided, and the angle of the suction holding surface with respect to the horizontal direction can be changed. As a result, the angle of the suction holding surface is changed between the time of suction holding and the state of suction holding, respectively, and the angle of each appropriate suction holding surface at the time of suction holding or the state of suction holding The angle of the suction holding surface can be adjusted.

  Application Example 9 The holding method according to this application example is a holding method for holding a holding object, in which a swirl flow generation chamber is open and tilted with respect to a horizontal direction (a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction). The suction holding surface of the suction holding terminal provided with the suction holding surface is caused to approach the suction holding surface of the object to be held, and the center of the swirling flow of the gas generated in the swirling flow generating chamber is generated. A suction holding process for sucking and holding the object to be held in a non-contact manner by a negative pressure and a gas flowing out from an end of the swirl flow generation chamber, and the suction holding inclined to the suction holding surface A positioning step of bringing the holding object into contact with a restricting member that is disposed on a lower side in the vertical direction of the surface and restricts movement of the holding object in at least two directions parallel to the suction holding surface; , Characterized by having .

According to the holding method of this application example, there is an approach step of bringing the suction holding surface of the suction holding terminal including the suction holding surface closer to the suction holding surface of the holding object.
Chucking device that sucks and holds the object to be held in a non-contact manner by the negative pressure generated at the center of the swirling flow of the gas generated in the swirling flow generating chamber and the gas flowing out from the end of the swirling flow generating chamber to the side Uses Bernoulli's theorem and is also called Bernoulli chuck. The Bernoulli chuck using Bernoulli's theorem sucks the object to be held by the negative pressure generated at the center of the swirling flow of gas generated in the swirling flow generating chamber. The holding object can be sucked into the suction holding terminal by the approaching step. Since the gas in the swirling flow generation chamber flows out from the suction outlet opening on the suction holding surface, the force in the direction of moving the object to be held away from the suction holding surface acts on the suction target surface, so that the suctioned holding A non-contact state between the object and the suction holding surface is formed, and the suction holding process is performed.
Generally, the suction holding surface is supported downward in the vertical direction by a support member, and the suction holding hand holds the holding object in a suspended state. Since the holding object is not in contact with the suction holding surface, the holding object is hardly subjected to a restraining force in a direction parallel to the suction holding surface by the force by which the holding object is sucked and held. For this reason, the holding object sucked and held by the tilted suction holding surface moves to the lower side tilted by gravity while maintaining a certain clearance from the suction holding surface. Since the regulating member is disposed on the inclined lower side, the object to be held is sucked and held in a state where the end surface is in contact with the regulating member, and the positioning step is performed. Thereby, the position of the holding object can be positioned at a fixed position with respect to the suction holding terminal.

  [Application Example 10] A seating method according to this application example is a seating method in which a held conveyance object is seated at a predetermined seating position, in which a swirl flow generation chamber is opened, and the horizontal direction (vertical direction) A negative pressure generated at the center of the swirl flow of the gas generated in the swirl flow generation chamber, and an end of the swirl flow generation chamber. At least in a direction parallel to the suction holding surface, which is disposed on the lower side in the vertical direction of the suction holding surface inclined with respect to the suction holding surface. The end surface of the transport object that is in contact with the regulating member that restricts the movement of the transport object in two directions is brought into contact with a position defining wall formed at the seating position of the transport object. The abutting step and the conveyance object The serial end face, characterized by having a a seating step of seating said transport object being in contact with the said position-defining wall.

According to the seating method of this application example, there is a contact step in which the end surface of the transport target object whose end surface is in contact with the regulating member is in contact with the position defining wall formed at the seating position of the transport target object.
Since the conveyance object is in a non-contact state with the suction holding surface, the restraint force in the direction parallel to the suction holding surface is hardly received by the force by which the conveyance object is sucked and held. For this reason, the conveyance object sucked and held by the tilted suction holding surface moves to the lower side inclined by the gravity while maintaining a certain clearance from the suction holding surface, and the end surface is brought into contact with the regulating member. Yes. For this reason, the position of the conveyance target object with respect to the regulating member is almost constant, and the end surface of the conveyance target object can be brought into contact with the position defining wall by being moved with reference to the position of the regulating member. Since the transport object can be easily moved with a small force in a direction parallel to the suction holding surface with respect to the suction holding surface, it is not necessary to accurately position the transport target with respect to the position defining wall in advance. By simply bringing them into contact, the object to be conveyed can be brought into contact with the position defining wall and positioned. By carrying out the seating step, the object to be transported can be seated at a position defined by the position defining wall.

  [Application Example 11] The transfer method according to this application example is a transfer method for moving a transfer object in a first position to a second position, in which a swirl flow generation chamber is opened, and the horizontal direction An approaching step of bringing the suction holding surface of a suction holding terminal provided with a suction holding surface tilted with respect to (a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction) closer to the suction holding surface of the conveyance object at the first position. And the negative pressure generated in the central portion of the swirl flow of the gas generated in the swirl flow generation chamber and the gas flowing out from the end of the swirl flow generation chamber in a non-contact manner A suction holding step for holding, and the object to be conveyed in at least two directions parallel to the suction holding surface, which is disposed on a lower side in the vertical direction of the suction holding surface inclined with respect to the suction holding surface The object to be conveyed is a regulating member that regulates the movement of objects. A positioning step of bringing the end surface into contact with each other, a moving step of moving the suction holding terminal in a state where the suction holding terminal sucks and holds the positioned conveyance object, and the suction holding terminal at the second position. And a seating step of releasing the suction holding state of the transport object and seating the transport object.

According to the conveyance method of this application example, the method includes an approach step of bringing the suction holding surface of the suction holding terminal including the suction holding surface closer to the suction holding surface of the object to be transferred.
Chucking device that sucks and holds the object to be conveyed in a non-contact manner by the negative pressure generated at the center of the swirling flow of the gas generated in the swirling flow generating chamber and the gas flowing out from the end of the swirling flow generating chamber to the side Uses Bernoulli's theorem and is also called Bernoulli chuck. The Bernoulli chuck using Bernoulli's theorem sucks the object to be conveyed by the negative pressure generated at the center of the swirling flow of gas generated in the swirling flow generating chamber. By the approaching step, the conveyance object can be sucked into the suction holding terminal. Since the gas in the swirl flow generation chamber flows out from the suction outlet opening in the suction holding surface, the force in the direction of moving the object to be transported away from the suction holding surface acts on the suction target surface. A non-contact state between the object and the suction holding surface is formed, and the suction holding process is performed.
Generally, the suction holding surface is supported downward in the vertical direction by a support member, and the suction holding hand holds the object to be transported in a suspended state. Since the conveyance object is in a non-contact state with the suction holding surface, the restraint force in the direction parallel to the suction holding surface is hardly received by the force by which the conveyance object is sucked and held. For this reason, the conveyance object sucked and held by the tilted suction holding surface moves to the lower side tilted by gravity while maintaining a certain clearance from the suction holding surface. Since the regulating member is disposed on the inclined lower side, the object to be conveyed is sucked and held in a state where the end surface is in contact with the regulating member, and the positioning step is performed. Thereby, the position of a conveyance target object can be positioned in a fixed position with respect to the suction holding terminal. Since the position of the conveyance object is positioned at a fixed position with respect to the suction holding terminal, the state is maintained and the suction holding terminal is moved to a predetermined position corresponding to the second position of the conveyance object. Thus, the conveyance object can be seated at the second position by releasing the suction holding state of the conveyance object at that position and causing the object to be seated.

  [Application Example 12] In the conveyance method according to the application example, an end surface of the conveyance object that is in contact with the restriction member is formed on a position defining wall formed at the arrangement position of the conveyance object at the second position. It is preferable that the method further includes a step of abutting.

According to this conveyance method, it has the contact process which contacts the said end surface of the conveyance target object which made the end surface contact | abut to a control member to a position regulation wall.
Since the conveyance object is in a non-contact state with the suction holding surface, the restraint force in the direction parallel to the suction holding surface is hardly received by the force by which the conveyance object is sucked and held. For this reason, the conveyance object sucked and held by the tilted suction holding surface moves to the lower side inclined by the gravity while maintaining a certain clearance from the suction holding surface, and the end surface is brought into contact with the regulating member. Yes. For this reason, the position of the conveyance target object with respect to the regulating member is almost constant, and the end surface of the conveyance target object can be brought into contact with the position defining wall by being moved with reference to the position of the regulating member. Since the transport object can be easily moved with a small force in a direction parallel to the suction holding surface with respect to the suction holding surface, it is not necessary to accurately position the transport target with respect to the position defining wall in advance. By simply bringing them into contact, the object to be conveyed can be brought into contact with the position defining wall and positioned. By carrying out the seating step, the object to be transported can be seated at a position defined by the position defining wall.

(A) is the top view seen from the counter substrate side with each component about the liquid crystal modulation panel. (B) is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the cross-sectional shape in the cross section shown by HH in (a). The external appearance perspective view which shows the general shape of a conveying apparatus. The perspective view which shows the structure of a suction pad. The top view which shows the structure of a head case. (A) is sectional drawing which shows the state by which the suction pad was attached to the head case. (B) is the top view which looked at the state by which the suction pad was attached to the head case from the suction pad side. (A) is a disassembled perspective view which shows the whole structure of a suction holding hand. (B) is a side view which shows the structure of an apparatus attaching part. (A) is an external perspective view of a work guide. (B) is a top view of a work guide. (C) is a side view of a work guide. (A) is a side view of a suction holding terminal. (B) is the top view which looked at the suction holding terminal from the suction holding surface side. The flowchart which shows each process of the conveyance process of a counter substrate. Explanatory drawing which shows the positional relationship of the suction holding | maintenance terminal and counter substrate in each process of the conveyance process of a counter substrate.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a suction holding hand, a transfer device, a holding method, a seating method, and a transfer method will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiment will be described with reference to an example of a transport device that transports an object to be transported and is seated and aligned at a predetermined position. The transport device of the embodiment is aligned with the processing tray in order to supply the processing device with a filter substrate (counter substrate) constituting the liquid crystal device that has been transported on the transport tray in the manufacturing process of the liquid crystal device. It is a device to let you. In the drawings referred to in the following description, the vertical and horizontal scales of members or parts and the scales of each part may be shown differently from actual ones in order to display the constituent members in an easy-to-understand manner.

<LCD panel>
First, the liquid crystal modulation panel 140 including the counter substrate 150 handled by the transport apparatus 10 (see FIG. 2) will be described with reference to FIG. The liquid crystal modulation panel 140 is a main element constituting the liquid crystal light modulation device, and the liquid crystal light modulation device is a light modulation device used as a light valve of a projection display device.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a liquid crystal modulation panel. FIG. 1A is a plan view of a liquid crystal modulation panel viewed from the counter substrate side together with each component, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional shape taken along line HH in FIG. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows. The liquid crystal modulation panel 140 according to this embodiment is a TFT active matrix driving type liquid crystal panel with a built-in driving circuit, which is an example of an electro-optical element.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the liquid crystal modulation panel 140, the TFT array substrate 155 and the counter substrate 150 are disposed to face each other. A liquid crystal layer 157 is sealed between the TFT array substrate 155 and the counter substrate 150, and the TFT array substrate 155 and the counter substrate 150 are provided with a sealing material 152 provided in a seal region located around the image display region 142a. Are bonded to each other.

  The sealing material 152 is made of, for example, an ultraviolet curable resin, a thermosetting resin, or the like for bonding the two substrates, and is applied on the TFT array substrate 155 in the manufacturing process and then cured by ultraviolet irradiation, heating, or the like. It is. Further, a gap material such as glass fiber or glass bead is dispersed in the sealing material 152 for setting the distance (inter-substrate gap) between the TFT array substrate 155 and the counter substrate 150 to a predetermined value.

  A light-shielding frame light-shielding film 153 that defines the frame area of the image display area 142a is provided on the counter substrate 150 side in parallel with the inside of the seal area where the sealant 152 is disposed. However, part or all of the frame light shielding film 153 may be provided as a built-in light shielding film on the TFT array substrate 155 side.

  Of the area extending around the image display area 142 a, the data line driving circuit 161 and the external circuit connection terminal 162 extend along one side of the TFT array substrate 155 in the area located outside the sealing area where the sealing material 152 is disposed. Is provided. The scanning line driving circuit 164 is provided along two sides adjacent to the one side so as to be covered with the frame light shielding film 153. Further, in order to connect the two scanning line driving circuits 164 provided on both sides of the image display area 142 a in this way, a plurality of the pixel lines are covered along the remaining side of the TFT array substrate 155 and covered with the frame light shielding film 153. Wiring 165 is provided.

  Vertical conductive members 166 functioning as vertical conductive terminals between the two substrates are disposed at the four corners of the counter substrate 150. On the other hand, the TFT array substrate 155 is provided with vertical conduction terminals in a region facing these corners. Thus, electrical conduction can be established between the TFT array substrate 155 and the counter substrate 150.

  In FIG. 1B, on the TFT array substrate 155, an alignment film (not shown) is formed on the pixel electrode 169 after the pixel switching TFT, the scanning line, the data line, and the like are formed. . On the other hand, on the counter substrate 150, in addition to the counter electrode 167, a lattice-shaped or stripe-shaped light shielding film 168 and an alignment film (not shown) are formed in the uppermost layer portion. The liquid crystal layer 157 is made of, for example, a liquid crystal in which one or several types of nematic liquid crystals are mixed, and takes a predetermined alignment state between the pair of alignment films.

  In addition to the data line driving circuit 161, the scanning line driving circuit 164, and the like, other circuits may be formed on the TFT array substrate 155 shown in FIG. As other circuits, a sampling circuit that samples an image signal on an image signal line and supplies it to a data line, a precharge circuit that supplies a precharge signal of a predetermined voltage level to a plurality of data lines before the image signal, and manufacturing An inspection circuit or the like for inspecting the quality, defects, etc. of the electro-optical device in the middle or at the time of shipment may be formed.

<Conveyor>
Next, the transport apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing a general shape of the transport device.
As shown in FIG. 2, the transport device 10 includes a suction holding hand 20, a robot mechanism 30 including a hand moving arm 31 and a device base 38, and a transport device control unit 39.

  The hand moving arm 31 includes an arm portion 32a, an arm portion 32b, an arm joint portion 33, a hand holding mechanism 34, and an arm shaft portion 36. One end of the arm portion 32 a and one end of the arm portion 32 b are connected by an arm joint portion 33. One end of the arm portion 32 b opposite to the one end connected to the arm joint portion 33 is connected to the arm shaft portion 36. The arm shaft portion 36 supports the arm portion 32 b so as to be rotatable about the rotation shaft of the arm shaft portion 36. The axial direction of the rotation shaft of the arm shaft portion 36 is a substantially vertical direction. The arm portion 32 b supports the arm portion 32 a through the arm joint portion 33 so as to be rotatable about the rotation axis of the arm joint portion 33. The arm portion 32 a and the arm portion 32 b can adjust the angle formed by each other in the arm joint portion 33. That is, the hand moving arm 31 can bend and stretch at the arm joint portion 33. The axial direction of the rotation shaft of the arm shaft portion 36 and the axial direction of the rotation shaft of the arm joint portion 33 are substantially parallel to each other. The device base 38 supports the arm shaft portion 36 so as to be slidable in the axial direction of the rotation axis of the arm shaft portion 36 and to be accurately positioned and fixed via a built-in sliding support mechanism (not shown). is doing.

  A hand holding mechanism 34 is fixed to one end of the arm portion 32a opposite to the one end connected to the arm joint portion 33. The suction holding hand 20 is fixed to the hand holding mechanism 34. The hand holding mechanism 34 has a rotation axis in the same axial direction as the axial direction of the rotation axis of the arm shaft portion 36 and the axial direction of the rotation shaft of the arm joint portion 33. Therefore, the axial direction of the rotation shaft of the hand holding mechanism 34 is a substantially vertical direction. The hand holding mechanism 34 supports the suction holding hand 20 so as to be rotatable about the rotation axis with respect to the arm portion 32a.

The suction holding hand 20 includes four suction pads 21 (see FIG. 3), which will be described later, and the suction holding surface 182A (see FIG. 8) of the suction holding hand 20 includes four suction pads 21 included in the four suction pads 21. It is comprised by the suction holding surface 182 (refer FIG. 3). The suction holding surface 182A (suction holding surface 182) of the suction holding hand 20 is inclined with respect to a surface substantially perpendicular to the rotation axis of the hand holding mechanism 34. The suction holding hand 20 corresponds to a suction holding hand or holding means.
By rotating the suction holding hand 20 by the hand holding mechanism 34, the inclination direction of the suction holding surface (the positional relationship in the plane direction between the higher and lower sides of the inclined surface) can be changed.
The transport device control unit 39 performs overall control of the operation of each unit of the transport device 10 based on a control program input in advance via an information input / output device (not shown).

Next, the operation of the transfer device 10 when the workpiece is transferred by the transfer device 10 will be described.
First, by rotating the hand moving arm 31 by the arm shaft portion 36 in the arbitrary direction and bending the hand moving arm 31 at the arm joint portion 33, the suction holding hand 20 is moved to an arbitrary position, for example, Position the workpiece in a position where suction can be held. Next, the arm shaft portion 36 is slid in the axial direction of the rotation shaft of the arm shaft portion 36 by the sliding support mechanism of the apparatus base 38, thereby sucking and holding the work on the suction holding surface of the suction holding hand 20. Approach to a possible distance and suck and hold the workpiece at that position. Next, the arm shaft portion 36 is slid by the sliding support mechanism of the apparatus base 38, the suction holding hand 20 is moved, and the workpiece is lifted.
Next, the hand moving arm 31 is rotated by the arm shaft portion 36, the hand moving arm 31 is directed in the direction in which the work is placed, and the hand moving arm 31 is bent and extended at the arm joint portion 33. The suction holding hand 20 that has been sucked and held is positioned at a position where the workpiece faces the placement position. Next, the work supported by the suction holding hand 20 is placed on the mounting surface by sliding the arm shaft portion 36 in the axial direction of the rotation shaft of the arm shaft portion 36 by the sliding support mechanism of the device base 38. The workpiece is brought close to a distance that can be placed, and the suction holding of the workpiece is released at the position, and the workpiece is seated on the placement surface. A workpiece such as the counter substrate 150 conveyed by the conveyance device 10 corresponds to a holding object or a conveyance object.

<Suction pad>
Next, the suction pad 21 provided in the suction holding hand 20 will be described with reference to FIG. The suction pad 21 applies Bernoulli's theorem to suck the member to be sucked and held, and applies a pressing force to the member by the outflowing gas, thereby maintaining the non-contact state between the member and the suction pad. The member is held by contact. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the structure of the suction pad.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the suction pad 21 includes a swirl flow generation chamber 181, a suction holding surface 182, a pair of gas ejection channels 183 and 183, and a pair of chamber channels 185 and 185. . The swirl flow generation chamber 181 is a cylindrical recess. The suction holding surface 182 is an end surface where the swirl flow generation chamber 181 of the suction pad 21 is opened, and is a surface that is connected to the opening side end of the swirl flow generation chamber 181 and faces the sucked and held member. One end of the gas ejection flow path 183 is open to the inner peripheral surface 184 of the swirl flow generation chamber 181, and the swirl flow generation chamber 181 is caused to eject compressed air to generate a swirl flow in the swirl flow generation chamber 181. The chamber flow path 185 communicates with the upstream end of each gas ejection flow path 183 and supplies compressed air from the gas supply source 28 (see FIG. 6). The compressed air supplied from the gas supply source 28 flows into the pair of chamber flow paths 185 at the same time, and is ejected to the swirl flow generation chamber 181 through the gas ejection flow paths 183.

  The outer shape of the suction pad 21 is a substantially cylindrical shape with a substantially circular suction holding surface 182 as an end surface, and a part of the suction pad 21 is cut out from the middle of the cylinder to the end surface opposite to the suction holding surface 182. ing. The notched portion is a flat surface and is composed of a pair of surfaces 186 and 186 parallel to each other. An opposite side of the chamber channel 185 that communicates with the gas ejection channel 183 is open to the surface 186.

  The swirl flow generation chamber 181 is formed in a columnar shape with one end of the inner peripheral surface 184 closed, and a pair of gas ejection flow paths 183 are formed on the closed side of the swirl flow generation chamber 181. The compressed air that has flowed into the swirl flow generation chamber 181 flows along the inner peripheral surface 184, becomes a strong swirl flow, and eventually flows laterally from the open end. A negative pressure is generated at the center of the swirling flow according to Bernoulli's theorem, and the counter substrate 150 and the like are sucked by this negative pressure.

  The suction holding surface 182 is connected to the opening side end of the swirl flow generating chamber 181 and is formed in a shape substantially orthogonal to the swirl axis of swirl flow. When the swirl flow generated in the swirl flow generation chamber 181 reaches the open end of the swirl flow generation chamber 181, it flows out as a vortex from the inner peripheral side toward the outer peripheral side along the suction holding surface 182 by the centrifugal force. The gap between the counter substrate 150 and the suction holding surface 182 is maintained by the air flowing out of the swirl flow generation chamber 181 and flowing out on the suction holding surface 182.

In the suction pad 21 shown in FIG. 3, the swirl flow generated in the swirl flow generation chamber 181 swirls clockwise as viewed from the suction holding surface 182 side. When the position of the gas ejection channel 183 is set to a plane-symmetrical position with respect to the plane including the central axis of the swirling flow generation chamber 181, the swirling flow generated in the swirling flow generation chamber 181 is opposite to the suction holding surface 182 side. Turn clockwise. In the present embodiment, a thing that generates a swirling flow in any swirling direction regardless of the swirling direction is referred to as a suction pad 21.
The shape of the suction pad 21 may be a bell mouth shape so that the opening end of the swirling flow generation chamber 181 gradually widens, or a vortex-shaped groove for maintaining a vortex flow is formed on the suction holding surface 182. Also good.

<Head case>
Next, a head case 51 that has the suction pad 21 fixed and that constitutes the suction holding head 25 (see FIG. 6) will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the configuration of the head case. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a suction pad is attached to the head case. 5A is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the suction pad is attached to the head case, and FIG. 5B is a plan view of the state in which the suction pad is attached to the head case as viewed from the suction pad side. It is.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the head case 51 holds the four suction pads 21 so as to protrude downward, and the ends of the respective swirl flow generation chambers 181 are positioned in the same plane. . Specifically, the head case 51 has four fixed mounting holes formed in a matrix. The fixed mounting hole includes a flat surface that can be fitted to the pair of surfaces 186 and 186 of the suction pad 21 without a gap. Each suction pad 21 is bonded and fixed by fitting a portion where the surface 186 is formed into a fixed mounting hole. The swirling direction of the swirling flow generated by the suction pad 21 generates a swirling flow in which the two suction pads 21 positioned diagonally among the four suction pads 21 swirl clockwise, and the other diagonal. The four suction pads 21 are arranged so that the two suction pads 21 positioned generate a swirling flow swirling counterclockwise.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the pressure air groove 88 formed in the head case 51 includes a wide main pressure air groove 84 disposed at a position that bisects the four suction pads 21, and the main pressure air groove 84 to each suction pad 21. Each of the suction pads 21 branched perpendicularly to each other is formed of a total of four sets of sub-pressure air grooves 85 having a narrow width. Each sub pressure air groove 85 includes a long long sub pressure air groove 85a and a short short sub pressure air groove 85b, and is disposed at a position where the attached suction pad 21 is sandwiched. In a state where the suction pad 21 is attached to the head case 51, the long auxiliary pressure air groove 85 a and the short auxiliary pressure air groove 85 b communicate with the chamber flow path 185 opened in the surface 186 of the suction pad 21. Compressed air supplied from a gas supply source 28 (see FIG. 6), which will be described later, flows from a suction gas hole 54 of a lid case 52 (see FIG. 6), which will be described later, and passes through the main pressure air groove 84 and each sub pressure air groove 85. And flows into each suction pad 21. The compressed air that has flowed into the suction pad 21 is jetted into the swirl flow generation chamber 181 to generate a swirl flow that swirls as indicated by the arrow a shown in FIG. The lid case 52 is positioned with respect to the head case 51 by fitting inside the protruding frame portion 87 formed on the periphery of the head case 51.

<Suction holding hand>
Next, the overall configuration of the suction holding hand 20 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of the suction holding hand. FIG. 6A is an exploded perspective view showing the entire configuration of the suction holding hand, and FIG. 6B is a side view showing the structure of the device mounting portion.
As shown in FIG. 6, the suction holding hand 20 includes a plurality of (four in the illustrated example) suction pads 21 for holding a workpiece such as the counter substrate 150, a pad holder 23 for holding the suction pads 21, An apparatus mounting portion 24 that supports the pad holder 23 and a gas supply source 28 that supplies air for non-contact holding are provided.

The pad holder 23 coaxially overlaps the suction holding head 25 having the above-described head case 51, the work guide 26 that vertically supports the suction holding head 25, and the joint member 27 that vertically supports the work guide 26. Configured to state.
The suction holding head 25 includes a head case 51 and a lid case 52, and the lid case 52 is fitted inside a protruding frame portion 87 formed on the periphery of the head case 51 and is fixed without a gap. By fixing the lid case 52 to the head case 51, the main pressure air groove 84 and each sub pressure air groove 85 formed in the head case 51 are formed in the suction gas hole 54 and the suction pad 21 formed in the cover case 52. It is a gas flow path communicating with the formed chamber flow path 185.

  The gas supply source 28 is a device that sends out compressed air, such as a compressed air pump. One end of a suction air supply pipe 29 for sending compressed air is connected to the gas supply source 28. The other end of the suction air supply pipe 29 is connected to a suction air supply flow path 74 formed in the joint member 27 of the pad holder 23.

The device mounting portion 24 of the suction holding hand 20 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and a large-diameter mounting hole 41 is formed inside the upper half, and a small mounting hole 42 is formed inside the lower half. ing. In the mounting hole 41, a mounting hole shaft 41a, which is a central axis, is formed coaxially with the substantially cylindrical outer shape. The mounting hole 42 is formed such that a mounting hole shaft 42a as a central axis intersects with the mounting hole shaft 41a and is inclined with respect to the mounting hole shaft 41a. The attachment hole 41 functions as a part for attaching the suction holding hand 20 to the hand holding mechanism 34 of the robot mechanism 30, and the attachment portion 72 of the joint member 27 is inserted and attached to the attachment hole 42. In order to clearly show that the mounting hole shaft 42a and the mounting hole shaft 41a are inclined with respect to each other, the inclination angle is enlarged and illustrated, but the actual inclination angle is several degrees.
The hand holding mechanism 34 and the device mounting portion 24 are fixed to each other by fixing the portion of the hand holding mechanism 34 fitted in the mounting hole 41 with a set screw screwed into the upper screw hole 43. The device mounting portion 24 and the joint member 27 are fixed to each other by fixing the mounting portion 72 fitted in the mounting hole 42 with a set screw screwed into the lower screw hole 44. The device attachment portion 24 corresponds to a support member.

  The joint member 27 of the pad holder 23 includes a mounting portion 72 and a hanging portion 71. On the top surface of one end of the hanging portion 71 having a substantially prismatic shape, a columnar mounting portion 72 whose center axis substantially coincides with the center of the substantially prismatic shape of the hanging portion 71 is erected. A part of the side surface of the mounting portion 72 having a substantially cylindrical shape is cut away to form a flat portion 72a against which the set screw screwed into the lower screw hole 44 is abutted. The joint member 27 is attached to the device attachment portion 24 by fitting the attachment portion 72 into the attachment hole 42 of the device attachment portion 24 and screwing the set screw into the lower screw hole 44. A pedestal 79 having a substantially square corner is chamfered on the end surface of the hanging portion 71 opposite to the end surface from which the mounting portion 72 is projected. A pedestal seat 69 (see FIG. 7) formed on the work guide 26 is fitted to the pedestal 79, and is positioned and fixed.

  A suction air supply channel 74 is formed inside the hanging portion 71. The suction air supply channel 74 is a substantially “L” -shaped channel that is connected to the suction air supply pipe 29 and is continuous with the swirl flow generation chamber 181 of the suction pad 21. The suction air supply channel 74 has a horizontal channel 75 and a vertical channel 76. The lateral flow path 75 opens to the side surface of the substantially prismatic hanging portion 71 and is formed substantially perpendicular to the side surface. The suction air supply pipe 29 is connected to the opening via a joint 77. One end of the longitudinal channel 76 opens at a substantially central position of the surface of the pedestal 79 and is formed substantially perpendicular to the surface. The opening is formed in the suction gas hole 64 of the work guide 26 fitted to the pedestal 79. It is connected. Ends of the horizontal flow path 75 and the vertical flow path 76 opposite to the opening ends are joined to each other to form a substantially “L” -shaped suction / air supply flow path 74.

The work guide 26 is erected on the plate surface of the guide main body 61 on both sides of the chamfered portion located at one diagonal and the guide main body 61 formed in a shape in which four corners of a substantially square thick plate are chamfered. Two guide protrusions 62 and two guide protrusions 63 are integrally formed.
A pedestal seat portion 69 into which the pedestal 79 of the suspending portion 71 is fitted is recessedly formed on the surface of the guide body 61 opposite to the surface on which the guide protrusion 62 and the guide protrusion 63 are erected. The pedestal 79 formed on the end surface of the hanging portion 71 (joint member 27) is engaged with and fixed to the pedestal seating portion 69, whereby the work guide 26 is suspended and supported by the hanging portion 71.

  The suction holding head 25 described above is suspended and supported by the work guide 26. In a state where the suction holding head 25 is suspended and supported by the work guide 26, the suction gas hole 64 formed in the approximate center of the work guide 26 communicates with the suction gas hole 54 formed in the approximate center of the lid case 52. is doing.

<Work guide>
Next, the work guide 26 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the shape of the work guide. FIG. 7A is an external perspective view of the work guide, FIG. 7B is a plan view of the work guide, and FIG. 7C is a side view of the work guide.

As described above, the work guide 26 includes the guide main body 61, the two guide protrusions 62 and the two guide protrusions 63, the suction gas hole 64 formed substantially at the center of the guide main body 61, and the base seat portion 69. And.
As shown in FIG. 7, the guide body 61 has a shape in which four corners of a substantially square plate are chamfered. In one of the chamfered corners, guide protrusions 62 are erected at the ends of the sides on both sides of the chamfer. A guide surface 62 a on the inner side of the guide protrusion 62 (center side of the guide main body 61) is formed substantially perpendicular to the main body surface 61 a of the guide main body 61. The two guide surfaces 62a face in directions substantially orthogonal to each other in a direction parallel to the main body surface 61a. The workpiece positioned on the guide main body 61 is restricted from moving in two directions by coming into contact with the respective guide protrusions 62.
A guide protrusion 63 is erected at a position diagonally opposite the guide protrusion 62 with respect to the center of the guide body 61 at a corner opposite to the corner where the guide protrusion 62 is formed. The inner surface of the guide protrusion 63 is also formed substantially perpendicular to the main body surface 61 a of the guide main body 61. The two guide surfaces 63a face in directions substantially orthogonal to each other in a direction parallel to the main body surface 61a. The work positioned on the guide main body 61 is in contact with the guide protrusions 63, and the movement in two directions opposite to the direction in which the movement is restricted is in contact with the guide protrusions 62.
The guide protrusion 62 has a lower standing height than the guide protrusion 63. The guide protrusion 62 corresponds to a restriction member. The guide protrusion 63 corresponds to a second restricting member.

<Suction holding terminal>
Next, the suction holding terminal 90 will be described with reference to FIG. A set of the four suction pads 21, the suction holding head 25, and the work guide 26 is referred to as a suction holding terminal 90. FIG. 8 is an external view showing the shape of the suction holding terminal. FIG. 8A is a side view of the suction holding terminal, and FIG. 8B is a plan view of the suction holding terminal viewed from the suction holding surface side.

  The mounting hole shaft 42a shown in FIG. 8A is a mounting hole shaft 42a that is the central axis of the mounting hole 42 of the device mounting portion 24 described above. The shaft 40a is an axis parallel to the mounting hole shaft 41a, and in a state where the suction holding hand 20 is attached to the hand holding mechanism 34 of the robot mechanism 30, the direction of the shaft 40a is the vertical direction. In order to clearly show that the mounting hole shaft 42a and the shaft 40a are inclined with respect to each other, the inclination angle is enlarged and illustrated, but the actual inclination angle is several degrees.

  As described above, the four suction pads 21 are fixed to the head case 51 of the suction holding head 25, and the suction holding head 25 is fixed on the guide main body 61 of the work guide 26. The work guide 26 is fixed to the joint member 27. The mounting portion 72 of the joint member 27 is fitted and fixed in the mounting hole 42 of the device mounting portion 24. With this configuration, as shown in FIG. 8, the direction parallel to the suction holding surface 182 of the four suction pads 21 is a direction substantially orthogonal to the mounting hole shaft 42a, and is horizontal (the vertical direction of the shaft 40a). In a direction perpendicular to the direction). The suction holding surfaces 182 of the four suction pads 21 are collectively referred to as a suction holding surface 182A. The mounting hole shaft 42a is located approximately at the center of the suction holding surface 182A.

The guide protrusion 62 protrudes from the suction holding surface 182A, for example, about half the thickness of the counter substrate 150 in the axial direction of the mounting hole shaft 42a. The guide protrusion 63 protrudes, for example, about 1.2 times the thickness of the counter substrate 150 from the suction holding surface 182A in the axial direction of the mounting hole shaft 42a.
Guide projections 62 or guide projections 63 are arranged in four directions surrounding the suction holding surface 182A, and the workpiece such as the counter substrate 150 sucked and held by the suction holding surface 182A is guided by the guide projections 62 or the guide projections 63. Therefore, the movement in the direction parallel to the suction holding surface 182A is restricted. In other words, the workpiece is in a position where it overlaps with the guide main body 61, and one corner of the workpiece is between two guide projections 62 arranged close to each other, and the two sides constituting the corner are respectively A corner that is substantially in contact with one guide projection 62 and located at the opposite corner of the corner is between the other two guide projections 63 disposed in proximity to each other to form the corner. Four guide protrusions 62 or guide protrusions 63 are arranged at positions where the workpiece can be positioned in a state where the two sides are substantially in contact with one guide protrusion 63. By the four guide projections 62 or the guide projections 63, the movement of the substantially rectangular or square workpiece in the surface direction of the guide main body 61 can be restricted. By changing the positions of the four guide protrusions 62 or the guide protrusions 63, workpieces having different sizes or planar shapes can be sucked and held.
The guide protrusions 62 and the guide protrusions 63 shown in the figure are shown large for the sake of clarity, but the guide protrusions 62 and the guide protrusions 63 are large enough to withstand the applied force. If there is enough.

<Transport>
Next, a transporting process in which the counter substrate 150 is sucked, held, moved, and seated by the suction holding hand 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. The transporting process is a process of sucking and holding the counter substrate 150 placed on the transporting pallet 100 and seating the counter substrate 150 on the seating region 121 of the processing pallet 120 for alignment. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing each step of the counter substrate transfer step. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the positional relationship between the suction holding terminal and the counter substrate in each step of the counter substrate transfer process.

  First, in step S <b> 1 of FIG. 9, the suction holding hand 20 is moved by the robot mechanism 30, and the suction holding terminal 90 is moved to a suction position where the counter substrate 150 placed on the transfer pallet 100 can be sucked and held. As will be described later, since the positioning of the counter substrate 150 with respect to the suction holding terminal 90 is performed in a later process, the positional accuracy of the suction holding terminal 90 with respect to the position of the counter substrate 150 in step S1 is as shown in FIG. It is sufficient if the counter substrate 150 is inserted between the guide protrusion 62 and the guide protrusion 63.

  The mounting hole shaft 42a shown in FIG. 10 is a mounting hole shaft 42a that is the central axis of the mounting hole 42 of the device mounting portion 24 described above. As described above, the shaft 40 a is a shaft parallel to the mounting hole shaft 41 a of the device mounting portion 24, and the transporting device 10 in a state where the suction holding hand 20 is attached to the hand holding mechanism 34 of the robot mechanism 30 in the transporting process. Therefore, the direction of the shaft 40a is the vertical direction. Therefore, the mounting hole shaft 42a is inclined with respect to the vertical direction, and the suction holding surface 182A orthogonal to the mounting hole shaft 42a is inclined with respect to the horizontal plane. In order to clearly show that the mounting hole shaft 42a and the shaft 40a are inclined with respect to each other, the inclination angle is enlarged and illustrated, but the actual inclination angle is several degrees.

  Next, in step S2 of FIG. 9, as shown in FIG. 10B, the counter substrate 150 is sucked and held by the suction holding terminal 90 in a non-contact manner. In this process, compressed air is sent from the gas supply source 28 to the suction pad 21, and negative pressure is generated in the swirl flow generation chamber 181. By performing Step S1, almost simultaneously with the completion of Step S1, To be implemented. In FIG. 10, the counter substrate 150 and the suction pad 21 are shown in contact with each other, but precisely, a minute gap exists between the counter substrate 150 and the suction pad 21.

Next, in step S3 of FIG. 9, as shown in FIG. 10C, the counter substrate 150 is held by the suction holding terminal 90 (the transfer device 10) by bringing the end surface of the counter substrate 150 into contact with the guide protrusion 62. Position with respect to.
Since the suction holding surface 182A is inclined with respect to the horizontal plane, a force in a direction parallel to the suction holding surface 182A is generated by the gravity applied to the counter substrate 150 and applied to the counter substrate 150. Since the suction pad 21 holds and holds the counter substrate 150 in a non-contact manner, the counter substrate 150 is slidably held in the surface direction of the suction holding surface 182A. The counter substrate 150 is supported by the suction holding surface by applying a force in a direction parallel to the suction holding surface 182A to the counter substrate 150 and holding the counter substrate 150 slidably in the surface direction of the suction holding surface 182A. It moves to the lower side of the inclined suction holding surface 182A along 182A. Since the guide protrusion 62 capable of restricting the movement of the counter substrate 150 is formed on the lower side of the inclined suction holding surface 182A, the end surface of the counter substrate 150 that has moved contacts the guide protrusion 62. Thus, the process of step S3 is automatically performed substantially simultaneously with the completion of step S2.
As described above, the guide protrusion 62 protrudes from the suction holding surface 182A, for example, about half the thickness of the counter substrate 150 in the axial direction of the mounting hole shaft 42a. For this reason, the counter substrate 150 is held in a state where about half of the thickness protrudes from the guide protrusion 62.

  Next, in step S <b> 4 of FIG. 9, the suction holding hand 20 that sucks and holds the counter substrate 150 is moved by the robot mechanism 30, and the suction holding terminal 90 that sucks and holds the counter substrate 150 is a predetermined in the processing pallet 120. Move to a position facing the seating area 121. A position where the suction holding terminal 90 faces the predetermined seating area 121 is referred to as a seating execution position of the suction holding terminal 90.

Next, in step S5 of FIG. 9, as shown in FIG. 10D, the end face that has been in contact with the guide protrusion 62 of the counter substrate 150 is formed at the end of a predetermined seating region 121 in the processing pallet 120. And a position defining wall 122 that defines the range of the seating area 121. Since the counter substrate 150 is held in a state in which about half of the thickness protrudes from the guide protrusion 62, the protruding portion can be brought into contact with the position defining wall 122.
Since the suction holding surface 182A is inclined with respect to the horizontal direction, the counter substrate 150 has a component force in a direction parallel to the suction holding surface 182A of gravity applied to the counter substrate 150. Since the counter substrate 150 is in contact with the guide protrusion 62, the force with which the counter substrate 150 is in contact with the guide protrusion 62 is very small. For this reason, when the counter substrate 150 is brought into contact with the position defining wall 122, the counter substrate 150 is easily separated from the guide protrusion 62, and the position in the direction parallel to the suction holding surface 182A is set by the position defining wall 122. In a prescribed state, the suction holding hand 20 holds the suction.

  The direction in which the counter substrate 150 is approached toward the position defining wall 122 is a direction inclined in the same direction as the direction in which the suction holding surface 182A is inclined with respect to the horizontal plane, as indicated by an arrow b in FIG. It is preferable that By approaching from the inclined direction, it is possible to increase the positional accuracy in the horizontal direction of the end surface of the counter substrate 150 with respect to the position defining wall 122, which is necessary for bringing the end surface of the counter substrate 150 into contact with the position defining wall 122. it can. The counter substrate 150 is sucked and held even when the counter substrate 150 sucked and held by the sucking and holding terminal 90 abuts against the bottom of the seating region 121 like the counter substrate 150 indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. Since there is a high possibility of escaping in a direction parallel to the surface 182A, the possibility that the counter substrate 150 is sandwiched between the suction pad 21 and the processing pallet 120 can be reduced.

Next, in step S <b> 6 of FIG. 9, the supply of compressed air to the suction pad 21 is stopped and the suction holding state is released, so that the counter substrate 150 is seated on the seating region 121 of the processing pallet 120. The counter substrate 150 sucked and held by the suction holding terminal 90 is in contact with the position defining wall 122 like the counter substrate 150 indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. When the suction holding state is released, there is almost no possibility that a force in the horizontal direction is applied to the counter substrate 150, so that it falls in the vertical direction due to gravity, and the end surface is substantially in contact with the position defining wall 122. Sit in the seating area 121.
Step S6 is performed, and the process of carrying one counter substrate 150 from the carrying pallet 100 and seating it on the seating region 121 of the processing pallet 120 is completed. By repeating this process, the counter substrate 150 placed on the transfer pallet 100 is transferred and aligned on the processing pallet 120.

Hereinafter, the effect by embodiment is described. According to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) When the suction holding surface 182A is inclined with respect to the horizontal plane, a force in a direction parallel to the suction holding surface 182A can be applied to the counter substrate 150 by gravity applied to the counter substrate 150.

  (2) Since the suction pad 21 holds and holds the counter substrate 150 in a non-contact manner, the counter substrate 150 is slidably held in the surface direction of the suction holding surface 182A. It can be easily moved by a force in a direction parallel to the holding surface 182A.

  (3) Since the guide protrusion 62 capable of restricting the movement of the counter substrate 150 is formed on the lower side of the inclined suction holding surface 182A, the end surface of the counter substrate 150 contacts the guide protrusion 62, so The substrate 150 can be locked. By setting the end surface of the counter substrate 150 in contact with the guide protrusion 62, the position of the counter substrate 150 can be set to a fixed position with respect to the suction holding terminal 90 (suction holding hand 20).

  (4) The counter substrate 150 sucked and held by the suction holding terminal 90 is in contact with the guide protrusion 62 by the suction holding surface 182A being inclined with respect to the horizontal plane, so that the suction holding terminal 90 (suction It is positioned at a fixed position with respect to the holding hand 20). For this reason, when the counter substrate 150 is sucked and held by the suction holding hand 20, it is not necessary to accurately position the counter substrate 150 with respect to the suction holding terminal 90. Thereby, when the suction holding terminal 90 is brought close to the counter substrate 150 in order to suck and hold the counter substrate 150, the tolerance of the positional accuracy of the suction holding terminal 90 with respect to the counter substrate 150 can be increased.

  (5) The guide protrusion 62 protrudes from the suction holding surface 182A in the axial direction of the mounting hole shaft 42a, for example, about half the thickness of the counter substrate 150. For this reason, the counter substrate 150 is held in a state where about half of the thickness protrudes from the guide protrusion 62. Accordingly, the end surface of the counter substrate 150 can be brought into contact with the position defining wall 122 while the end surface of the counter substrate 150 is in contact with the guide protrusion 62.

  (6) When the counter substrate 150 is seated on the seating region 121, the end surface of the counter substrate 150 is brought into contact with the position defining wall 122. By bringing the end surface of the counter substrate 150 into contact with the position defining wall 122, the position of the counter substrate 150 with respect to the position defining wall 122 can be set to a fixed position. Thereby, the counter substrate 150 can be positioned at a predetermined position in the seating region 121 of the processing pallet 120.

  (7) Since the counter substrate 150 can be positioned at a predetermined position in the seating region 121 of the processing pallet 120 by bringing the end surface of the counter substrate 150 into contact with the position defining wall 122, the counter substrate 150 is placed in the seating region. The tolerance of the positional accuracy of the counter substrate 150 in the seating area 121 when seated on the seat 121 can be increased.

  (8) The guide protrusion 63 is disposed on the higher side of the inclined suction holding surface 182A, and the height from the suction holding surface 182A is higher than the guide protrusion 62. Thus, when the suction holding terminal 90 sucks and holds the counter substrate 150 placed on the transfer pallet 100, the distance between the guide protrusion 63 and the counter substrate 150 is reduced. Thus, in the process in which the suction holding terminal 90 approaches the counter substrate 150, the guide protrusion 63 has a function of regulating the position of the counter substrate 150 even when the distance between the suction holding terminal 90 and the counter substrate 150 is long. be able to.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment was described referring an accompanying drawing, suitable embodiment is not restricted to the said embodiment. The embodiment can of course be modified in various ways without departing from the scope, and can also be implemented as follows.

  (Modification 1) In the above embodiment, when the counter substrate 150 is seated on the seating region 121, the end surface of the counter substrate 150 is in contact with the position defining wall 122. It is not essential to bring the object to be held or the object to be transported into contact with the position defining wall in order to position the object relative to the seating position. Since the holding object or the conveyance object is positioned with respect to the suction holding hand or the conveying device by contacting the holding member or the conveying object with a regulating member that regulates the movement of the holding object or the conveying object, the suction holding hand or the holding means The object to be held or the object to be transported may be positioned with respect to the seating position by positioning at a position accurate with respect to the seating position. In this case, since the position defining wall is not required, the holding object or the conveyance object can be positioned even at the seating position where there is no member that defines the position, such as the position defining wall.

  (Modification 2) In the above-described embodiment, the suction holding hand 20 includes the four suction pads 21, but the number of suction pads included in the suction holding hand is not limited to four. Any number of suction pads may be provided in the suction holding hand as long as an appropriate suction holding force corresponding to the size and weight of the holding object to be sucked and held can be realized.

  (Modification 3) In the above embodiment, the guide body 61 has a substantially square planar shape, but the shape of the guide body is not limited to a substantially square shape. The shape of the guide body may be any shape as long as it corresponds to the shape of the workpiece.

  (Modification 4) In the above embodiment, the device mounting portion 24 is a member in which the mounting hole 41 and the mounting hole 42 are integrally formed, and the angle formed by the mounting hole shaft 41a and the mounting hole shaft 42a is fixed. In addition, although the inclination of the suction holding surface 182A with respect to the horizontal plane is fixed, it is not essential that the inclination is fixed. For example, the device mounting portion 24 is mounted as a two-body structure of a portion having the mounting hole 41 and a portion having the mounting hole 42 by connecting the two bodies via a connection mechanism capable of changing the angle. You may make it the structure which can change suitably the angle which the hole axis | shaft 41a and the mounting hole axis | shaft 42a make. In the suction holding process, the positioning process, and the like, the inclination angle of the suction holding surface can be set to an angle suitable for each process. In processes where horizontal is preferred, it can also be horizontal. The connection mechanism that can change the angle in this case corresponds to the angle changing means.

  (Modification 5) In the above-described embodiment, the suction holding hand 20 includes the guide protrusion 63 disposed on the higher side of the inclined suction holding surface 182A. It is not essential to provide a member. The object to be held and the object to be conveyed that have been sucked and held after the suction and holding step are in contact with the restricting member, and it is unlikely that the position is required to be restricted by the second restricting member. The suction holding hand or the holding means may be configured such that the second restricting member such as the guide protrusion 63 is not provided.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Conveying device, 20 ... Suction holding hand, 21 ... Suction pad, 24 ... Device mounting part, 26 ... Work guide, 27 ... Joint member, 28 ... Gas supply source, 30 ... Robot mechanism, 34 ... Hand holding mechanism, 38 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS EQUIPMENT MACHINE, 39 ... CONVEYING DEVICE CONTROL UNIT, 40a ... SHAFT, 41 ... INSTALLATION HOLE, 41A ... INSTALLATION HOLE SHAFT, 42 ... INSTALLATION HOLE, 42A ... INSTALLATION HOLE SHAFT, 51 ... HEAD CASE, 61 ... Guide body, 61a ... Main body surface, 62 ... guide protrusion, 62a ... guide surface, 63 ... guide protrusion, 63a ... guide surface, 74 ... suction air supply channel, 84 ... main pressure air groove, 85 ... sub pressure air groove, 88 ... pressure air groove, 90 ... suction Holding terminal, 100... Pallet for transfer, 120... Pallet for processing, 121... Seating area, 122... Position defining wall, 140. Layers, 181 ... swirling flow generating chamber, 182 ... sucking and holding surface, 182A ... sucking and holding surface, 183 ... gas ejection passage, 184 ... inner circumferential surface, 185 ... chamber flow.

Claims (12)

Suction holding that holds the object to be held in a non-contact manner by the negative pressure generated in the center of the swirling flow of the gas generated in the swirling flow generating chamber and the gas flowing out from the end of the swirling flow generating chamber to the side. Hand,
The swirl flow generating chamber is open, and a suction holding surface inclined with respect to a horizontal direction (a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction);
Restriction for restricting movement of the object to be held in at least two directions parallel to the suction holding surface, which is disposed on the lower side in the vertical direction of the inclined suction holding surface with respect to the suction holding surface. A member,
A suction holding hand comprising: a support member that supports the suction holding surface and the regulating member while maintaining the state in which the suction holding surface is inclined.   The suction holding hand according to claim 1, wherein a height dimension of the restriction member from the suction holding surface is smaller than a thickness of the holding object.   A first member for restricting movement of the object to be held in at least two directions parallel to the suction holding surface, which is disposed on a higher side in the vertical direction of the suction holding surface inclined with respect to the suction holding surface. The suction holding device according to claim 1, further comprising a second regulating member, wherein a height dimension of the second regulating member from the suction holding surface is larger than a thickness of the holding object. hand.   The suction holding hand according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising angle changing means for changing an angle of the suction holding surface with respect to a horizontal direction. Holding means for sucking and holding the object to be conveyed in a non-contact manner by the negative pressure generated in the center of the swirling flow of the gas generated in the swirling flow generating chamber and the gas flowing out from the end of the swirling flow generating chamber to the side A transfer device for transferring the transfer object held by the holding means,
The holding means has a suction holding surface in which the swirl flow generating chamber is open and inclined with respect to a horizontal direction (a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction);
Restriction for restricting movement of the object to be conveyed in at least two directions parallel to the suction holding surface, which is disposed on the lower side in the vertical direction of the inclined suction holding surface with respect to the suction holding surface. A member,
A conveying device comprising: a support member that supports the suction holding surface and the regulating member while maintaining the state in which the suction holding surface is inclined.   The transport apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a height dimension of the restricting member from the suction holding surface is smaller than a thickness of the transport target object.   The holding means is disposed on a higher side in the vertical direction of the suction holding surface inclined with respect to the suction holding surface, and the holding object is arranged in at least two directions parallel to the suction holding surface. A second restriction member for restricting movement is further provided, and a height dimension of the second restriction member from the suction holding surface is larger than a thickness of the conveyance object. The conveying apparatus as described in.   The transport apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising an angle changing unit that changes an angle of the suction holding surface with respect to a horizontal direction. A holding method for holding a holding object,
A suction holding surface of a suction holding terminal having a suction holding surface that is open with a swirl flow generation chamber and is inclined with respect to a horizontal direction (a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction) is a suction holding surface of the holding object. An approaching process to approach,
The holding object is sucked and held in a non-contact manner by the negative pressure generated in the central portion of the swirl flow of the gas generated in the swirl flow generation chamber and the gas flowing out from the end of the swirl flow generation chamber to the side. A suction holding step;
Restriction for restricting movement of the object to be held in at least two directions parallel to the suction holding surface, which is disposed on the lower side in the vertical direction of the inclined suction holding surface with respect to the suction holding surface. And a positioning step of bringing the holding object into contact with a member. A seating method for seating a held transport object at a predefined seating position,
A swirl flow generating chamber is opened, and a suction holding terminal having a suction holding surface inclined with respect to a horizontal direction (a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction) is connected to the swirl flow of the gas generated in the swirl flow generating chamber. The negative pressure generated in the center and the gas flowing out from the end of the swirl flow generation chamber are sucked and held, and lower than the suction holding surface in the vertical direction of the inclined suction holding surface. The end surface of the object to be transported, the end surface of which is in contact with a regulating member that restricts movement of the object to be transported in at least two directions parallel to the suction holding surface, An abutting step of abutting against a position defining wall formed at the seating position;
A seating method comprising: a seating step of seating the transport object in a state where the end surface of the transport object is in contact with the position defining wall. A transport method for moving a transport object in a first position to a second position,
The conveyance in which the suction holding surface of the suction holding terminal provided with the suction holding surface having an opening in the swirl flow generation chamber and inclined with respect to the horizontal direction (direction perpendicular to the vertical direction) is in the first position An approaching step of approaching the suction holding surface of the object;
The negative pressure generated in the central portion of the swirl flow of the gas generated in the swirl flow generation chamber and the gas flowing out from the end of the swirl flow generation chamber are sucked and held in a non-contact manner. A suction holding step;
Restriction for restricting movement of the object to be conveyed in at least two directions parallel to the suction holding surface, which is disposed on the lower side in the vertical direction of the inclined suction holding surface with respect to the suction holding surface. A positioning step of bringing the end surface of the conveyance object into contact with a member;
A moving step of moving the suction holding terminal in a state where the suction holding terminal sucks and holds the positioned conveyance object;
And a seating step in which the suction holding terminal is stopped at the second position, the suction holding state of the transport target is released, and the transport target is seated.   The method further comprises a step of abutting an end surface of the conveyance target object that is in contact with the regulating member on a position defining wall formed at an arrangement position of the conveyance target object in the second position. The transport method according to claim 11.

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