JP2011108822A - Substrate folder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate folder which can reduce substrate breakage as much as possible by securely reducing a shock caused by vibration generated during transfer while preventing the lower side of the substrate from contacting with a lower side support member unsuitably in setting the substrate. <P>SOLUTION: A substrate folder 1 holds the substrate in a vertical attitude while the lower side of a glass substrate 2 is supported by a lower side supporting member 4 when transferring the glass substrate by a substrate transfer apparatus where the lower side supporting member 4 includes a placing portion 7 having a flat plane where the lower side of the glass substrate 2 is placed, and an elastic deformation portion 8 which supports the placing portion 7 from below, and is elastically deformable by the weight of the glass substrate 2 placed on the placing portion 7. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for improving a substrate folder that holds a substrate in a vertical posture while supporting the lower side of the substrate with a lower side support member when various substrates such as a glass substrate are transferred by the substrate transfer device.

  As is well known, glass substrates for flat panel displays (FPD) such as liquid crystal displays, plasma displays, organic EL displays, and field emission displays are required to be further increased in size and thickness. Therefore, the FPD glass substrate that has been enlarged and thinned in response to the request is not only increased in weight but also easily damaged, and the fact is that the handling difficulty has increased.

  In addition, this type of FPD glass substrate needs to be subjected to various treatments such as forming electrodes by forming ITO or the like in the manufacturing process. In recent years, from the viewpoint of improving production efficiency, various processing steps are arranged on the transport path, and various processes are sequentially performed while sequentially transporting the glass substrate for FPD along the transport path. It is customary to adopt the method of going. Therefore, it is necessary to transport the glass substrate along the transport path. However, when a large-sized glass substrate is transported in a horizontal posture, the substrate transport device is unduly enlarged and the occupied space increases. Arise. Therefore, when transporting a large glass substrate, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, the glass substrate is often transported while being held in a vertical posture (for example, a substantially vertical posture). . In this case, it is necessary to support at least the lower side of each side of the glass substrate in order to hold the glass substrate in a vertical posture.

  However, the glass substrate for FPD is easily damaged as the size and thickness are reduced as described above, and particularly, the side of the glass substrate is easily damaged. Therefore, when a glass substrate for FPD is held and conveyed in a vertical posture, special consideration is required for the support form on the lower side of the glass substrate from the viewpoint of preventing the glass substrate from being damaged.

  Therefore, from this point of view, for example, in Patent Document 2, a substrate holder that holds the glass substrate in a vertical posture is provided with a substrate receiving portion (lower side support member) that supports the lower side of the glass substrate in surface contact, and In addition, it is disclosed that the substrate receiving portion is formed of a material having high impact absorption such as polytetrafluoroethylene or polyimide resin. In this way, there is an advantage that it is possible to suppress the occurrence of breakage such as scratches and cracks on the lower side of the glass substrate, as compared to the case where the lower side of the glass substrate is supported by point contact with pins or the like.

JP 2007-39158 A JP 2009-161817 A

  As disclosed in Patent Document 2, when the substrate receiving portion is formed of polytetrafluoroethylene or polyimide resin, the shape of the substrate receiving portion is not substantially deformed. The posture of the support surface is maintained while attached to the substrate folder. Therefore, when the lower side of the glass substrate and the substrate receiving part are not parallel to each other, when the glass substrate is set in the substrate folder, the lowermost part such as the corner of the lower side of the glass substrate is the first part and the substrate receiving part. May cause a problem that the glass substrate is damaged due to stress concentration at the contact portion.

  Therefore, in order to cope with such a problem, it is necessary to place the glass substrate on the substrate receiving portion while keeping the lower side of the glass substrate and the substrate receiving portion in parallel with each other. Due to factors such as the mounting error and the processing accuracy of the lower side of the glass substrate, it is virtually impossible to make them both completely parallel. Therefore, the problem of breakage of the glass substrate is inevitably caused, and the problem of breakage becomes more prominent as the glass substrate becomes larger and thinner.

  Further, when the substrate receiving portion is formed of polytetrafluoroethylene or the like, although it has a high shock absorbing performance as compared with a metal plate or the like, it cannot be expected that the cushioning property is high enough to absorb the shock completely. Therefore, if the impact due to vibration generated when the glass substrate held in the substrate folder is transported by the transport device is increased, the impact may not be sufficiently absorbed by the substrate receiving portion, and the glass substrate may be easily damaged. There is.

  In addition, although it demonstrated taking the glass substrate for FPD as an example above, it is not restricted to this, Fragile substrates, such as a glass substrate used for another use, and a silicon substrate, were held with a vertical posture. Even when transported in a state, the same problem may occur if the support form of the lower side support member that supports the lower side of the substrate is inappropriate.

  In view of the above circumstances, the present invention prevents a situation in which the lower side of the substrate is inadequately contacting the lower side support member when setting the substrate, and reliably reduces the impact caused by vibrations generated during transport. It is a technical problem to provide a substrate folder that can reduce substrate damage as much as possible.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a substrate folder that holds the substrate in a vertical position in a state where the lower side of the substrate is supported by a lower side support member when the substrate is transferred by the substrate transfer device. The lower-side support member has a flat surface on which the lower side of the substrate is placed, and supports the placement portion from below and is elastically deformable by the weight of the substrate placed on the placement portion. It is characterized by having an elastic deformation part.

  According to such a configuration, when the substrate is set in the substrate folder, a part of the lower side of the substrate comes into contact with the mounting unit even when the lower side of the substrate and the mounting unit are not parallel to each other. The elastic deformation portion supporting the placement portion from below is elastically deformed by the weight of the substrate that has come into contact. As a result, the posture of the mounting portion supported by the elastically deforming elastically deformed portion is adjusted following the lower side of the glass substrate. Therefore, an inappropriate contact state on the lower side of the substrate is alleviated, and a situation where stress concentration occurs at the contact portion of the substrate can be avoided.

  Further, the impact caused by the vibration generated when the substrate held in the substrate folder is transported by the transport device can be reliably absorbed by the high cushioning property due to the elasticity of the elastic deformation portion.

  In the above configuration, it is preferable that the placement portion is relatively less flexible than the elastic deformation portion. Here, “low flexibility” means having an elastic function and high rigidity.

  In this way, when the substrate is placed, the placement portion itself is not easily deformed, so that the posture of the substrate is easily stabilized following the plane of the placement portion.

  Said structure WHEREIN: It is preferable that the said mounting part can incline within the plane in alignment with the surface of the said board | substrate by the elastic deformation of the said elastic deformation part.

  In this way, even when a part of the lower side of the substrate is in contact with the placement unit, the inclination of the placement unit can be easily adjusted along the lower side of the substrate. The contact state can be made better.

  Said structure WHEREIN: The said description part may be divided | segmented into plurality in the direction in alignment with the lower side of the said board | substrate.

  In this way, each placement unit can individually correspond to the lower side of the substrate, and therefore, when the lower side of the substrate and each placement unit are not parallel to each other, the deviation is more reliably absorbed. It becomes possible. In addition, since each mounting part is supported by the elastic deformation part, after setting of a board | substrate is completed, all the mounting parts come in contact with the lower side of a board | substrate by the elastic deformation of an elastic deformation part. Therefore, even when the placement portion is divided, a placement portion that does not participate in supporting the lower side of the substrate does not occur.

  Said structure WHEREIN: The said elastic deformation part may be divided | segmented into plurality in the direction in alignment with the lower side of the said board | substrate.

  In this way, since each elastically deformable portion can be individually deformed, it is possible to more efficiently absorb the impact caused by vibrations that occur during conveyance.

  Said structure WHEREIN: It is preferable that the said elastic deformation part is comprised with the spring.

  If it does in this way, it will become possible to provide a good cushioning property to an elastic deformation part easily. Moreover, since a metal etc. can be selected as a material if it is a spring, high heat resistance can be easily provided to an elastic deformation part.

  Said structure WHEREIN: It is preferable that the said mounting part and the said elastic deformation part have 150 degreeC or more heat resistance.

  That is, when performing functional processing such as forming electrodes on the substrate in the transport path while transporting the substrate held in the substrate folder by the transport device, the functional processing may be accompanied by heat treatment. Many. Therefore, in this case, it is necessary that the placement portion and the elastic deformation portion have heat resistance that can withstand the heat treatment. And since heat processing performed in functional processing, such as forming an electrode on a substrate, is generally about 200 ° C. and at least 150 ° C. or higher, the elastic deformation portion is at least 150 ° C. or higher as described above. It preferably has heat resistance.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when the substrate is set in the substrate folder, a part of the lower side of the substrate comes into contact with the mounting unit even when the lower side of the substrate and the mounting unit are not parallel to each other. At the same time, the elastic deformation portion supporting the placement portion is elastically deformed by the weight of the substrate, and the posture of the placement portion is adjusted following the lower side of the glass substrate. Therefore, an inappropriate contact state on the lower side of the substrate is alleviated, and stress concentration occurring at the contact portion of the substrate can be avoided. In addition, the impact caused by the vibration generated when the substrate held in the substrate folder is transported by the transport device can be reliably absorbed by the high cushioning property due to the elasticity of the elastic deformation portion. Therefore, when setting the substrate in the substrate folder, it is possible to prevent the lower side of the substrate from improperly contacting the lower side support member of the substrate folder, and to surely reduce the shock caused by vibrations during transportation. Damage to the substrate can be reduced as much as possible.

(A) is a front view of the board | substrate folder which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention, (b) is a vertical side view of (a). (A) is an enlarged view of the area | region shown by X of FIG. 1, (b) is a figure which shows the state which the elastic deformation part of (a) elastically deformed. It is a schematic side view which shows the board | substrate conveyance apparatus incorporating the board | substrate folder which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a schematic plan view which shows the film-forming apparatus with which the board | substrate conveyance apparatus of FIG. 3 was integrated. It is a principal part enlarged view of the board | substrate folder which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a principal part enlarged view of the board | substrate folder which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a principal part enlarged view of the board | substrate folder which concerns on the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a principal part enlarged view of the board | substrate folder which concerns on the 5th Embodiment of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following, a case where the substrate is a glass substrate for FPD (hereinafter simply referred to as a glass substrate) will be described as an example.

  As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, a substrate folder 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a frame 3 arranged so as to surround a glass substrate 2 in a vertical posture, and a frame A lower side support member 4 that is disposed in the lower part on the inner peripheral side of the body 3 and supports the lower side of the glass substrate 2, and a back surface support member 5 that supports the back side of the glass substrate 2 are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 1B, the back support member 5 is tilted so that the upper side of the glass substrate 2 is located on the back side with respect to the lower side, and the tilt angle θ is 75 ° with respect to the horizontal line. It is set in a range of ˜87 ° (preferably 85 ° ± 2 °).

  A regulating member 6 that regulates the movement range of the glass substrate 2 is arranged on both the inner circumferential side and both the inner circumferential upper side of the frame body 3 so as to face both sides and the upper side of the glass substrate 2 with a gap. ing.

  2 (a) and 2 (b), the lower side support member 4 includes a mounting unit 7 having a support plane on which the lower side of the glass substrate 2 is mounted, and the mounting unit 7 from below. And an elastically deformable portion 8 to be supported.

  The placement portion 7 is formed of a material (for example, engineering plastic) that is less flexible than the elastic deformation portion 8. Further, the corners of the support plane of the mounting portion 7 are chamfered to prevent the glass substrate 2 from being damaged.

  The elastic deformation portion 8 is formed of, for example, an elastic resin material 9 such as silicon sponge or rubber, and is elastic by the weight of the glass substrate 2 placed on the placement portion 7 as shown in FIG. Deformable flexibility.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, the placement portion 7 and the elastic deformation portion 8 are divided into a plurality along the lower side of the glass substrate 2 in a state where they are overlapped with each other. In this way, each divided mounting portion 7 can individually correspond to the lower side of the glass substrate 2. Therefore, when the lower side of the glass substrate 2 and the support plane of each mounting part 7 are not parallel to each other, it is possible to more reliably absorb the deviation in parallelism between the two. In addition, since each of the divided elastic deformation portions 8 can be individually deformed, it is possible to more efficiently absorb an impact caused by vibration generated during conveyance.

  Next, a substrate transfer apparatus incorporating the substrate folder 1 configured as described above will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the substrate transport apparatus 10 has a plurality of transport rollers 11 arranged along a transport path, and the substrate folder 1 holding the glass substrate 2 in a vertical posture by the transport rollers 11. It is designed to be transported. And this board | substrate conveyance apparatus 10 is integrated in the process of the glass substrate 2, and various processes are performed with respect to the glass substrate 2 on a conveyance path | route.

  Specifically, when the substrate transfer device 10 is incorporated in a film forming device (sputtering device) 12 that forms electrodes on the surface of the glass substrate 2 with an ITO film or the like, the transfer route is a loop as shown in FIG. 4, for example. An inlet 13 for introducing the glass substrate 2 before film formation and an outlet 14 for taking out the glass substrate 2 after film formation are provided in a part of the path.

  A section along the transport path from the inlet 13 to the outlet 14 is divided into a plurality of chambers, and the glass substrate 2 held in a vertical position in the substrate folder 1 is sequentially moved in each chamber while glass is moved. A film forming process is performed on the substrate 2.

  Specifically, the glass substrate 2 charged from the charging port 13 is placed under vacuum in the vacuum application zone 15 on the downstream side of the charging port 13, and then transferred to the preheating zone 16 and heated. Thereafter, the film is heated to, for example, about 200 ° C. in the film formation zone 17, and an electrode is formed on the surface of the glass substrate 2 (surface opposite to the side supported by the back support member 5) using ITO or the like. The glass substrate 2 on which the electrode is formed is cooled to about room temperature in the cooling zone 18 on the downstream side of the film formation zone 17, then returned to atmospheric pressure in the vacuum break zone 19, and conveyed to the outlet 14. .

  By the way, in order to execute such a film forming step, first, it is necessary to set the glass substrate 2 in the substrate folder 1. At this time, when the lower side of the glass substrate 2 and the placement portion 7 of the lower side support member 4 are not parallel to each other, the lower side of the glass substrate 2 and the placement portion 7 are in inappropriate contact with each other, There is a case where the glass substrate 2 is damaged.

  Therefore, by supporting the mounting portion 7 by the elastic deformation portion 8, the problem is solved as follows. That is, as shown in FIG. 2B, a part of the lower side of the glass substrate 2 is in contact with the support plane of the placement unit 7, and at the same time, the placement unit 7 is supported from below by the weight of the glass substrate 2. The elastic deformation part 8 is elastically deformed. As a result, the posture of the mounting portion 7 supported by the elastically deforming elastic deformation portion 8 is adjusted following the lower side of the glass substrate 2. Accordingly, an inappropriate contact state on the lower side of the glass substrate 2 is alleviated, so that a situation where stress concentration occurs in the glass substrate 2 can be avoided. In addition, it is necessary to consider the impact caused by the vibration generated when the glass substrate 2 held in the substrate folder 1 is transported. However, the impact is surely ensured by the high cushioning property due to the elasticity of the elastic deformation portion 8. Can be absorbed into. Therefore, breakage of the glass substrate 2 can be reduced as much as possible.

  In the case where the glass substrate 2 is held on the substrate folder 1 in a vertical posture and the film forming process is performed on the surface of the glass substrate 2 as described above, it is generally about 200 ° C., at least 150 ° C. or more. Therefore, the elastically deformable portion 8 preferably has a heat resistance of 150 ° C. or higher.

  FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing a main part of the substrate folder according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The substrate folder 1 according to the second embodiment is different from the substrate folder 1 according to the first embodiment in that the elastic deformation portion 8 of the lower side support member 4 is configured by a coil spring (winding spring) 20. In the point. In this way, a good cushioning property can be imparted to the elastically deformable portion 8 easily and reliably, which is advantageous in preventing the glass substrate 2 from being damaged. As the coil spring 20, for example, a metal, a resin, or a ceramic can be used.

  FIG. 6 is an enlarged view showing a main part of the substrate folder according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The difference between the substrate folder 1 according to the third embodiment and the substrate folder 1 according to the second embodiment is that the displacement direction of the mounting portion 7 accompanying the elastic deformation of the elastic deformation portion 8 is regulated. In the point. Specifically, a pin 22 fixed to the back support member 5 is inserted into a long hole 21 having a long axis along the vertical direction provided in the mounting portion 7, and the pin 22 is short of the long hole 21. Lateral blurring of the mounting portion 7 is regulated by interfering with both wall surfaces facing in the axial direction. On the other hand, the placement portion 7 is allowed to move in the vertical direction within the long hole 21 in accordance with the elastic deformation of the elastic deformation portion 8. Further, since the mounting portion 7 is allowed to swing (swing) around the pin 22 in accordance with the elastic deformation of the elastic deformation portion 8, the mounting portion 7 is configured so that the glass substrate 2 Can be tilted freely in a plane along the surface of

  FIG. 7 is an enlarged view showing a main part of the substrate folder according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The substrate folder 1 according to the fourth embodiment is different from the substrate folder 1 according to the second to third embodiments in that the elastically deforming portion 8 is composed of a leaf spring 23 bent in an inverted V shape. It is in the point. Specifically, a part including the bent portion 23 a of the leaf spring 23 is embedded in the placement portion 7, and the remaining portion of the leaf spring 23 projects from the lower surface of the placement portion 7. The leg part 23b which supports is comprised. Therefore, when the load of the glass substrate 2 acts on the mounting part 7, the leg part 23b of the leaf | plate spring 23 opens, the position of the mounting part 7 is displaced below, and the attitude | position of the mounting part 7 is carried out. Has been adjusted.

  In this case, the mounting portion 7 may be insert-molded using the leaf spring 23 as an insert product. Further, after forming a holding groove for holding the plate spring 23 in the mounting portion 7, the plate spring 23 may be fitted into the holding groove.

  FIG. 8 is an enlarged view showing the main part of the substrate folder according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. The board folder 1 according to the fifth embodiment is largely different from the board folder 1 according to the fourth embodiment in two ways. The first difference is that a pin 22 fixed to the back support member 5 is inserted into a long hole 21 having a long axis along the vertical direction provided in the mounting portion 7. It is in the place where the horizontal blurring of the part 7 is regulated.

  The second difference is that the mounting portion 7 is provided with a holding groove 24 for holding a leaf spring 23 bent in an inverted V shape, which is an elastic deformation portion 8, and a space for forming the holding groove 24. However, it exists in the place which is gradually enlarged toward the front-end | tip part of the leg part 23b from the bending part 23a of the leaf | plate spring 23. FIG. That is, the gap between the leaf spring 23 and the holding groove 24 is gradually increased from the bent portion 23a of the leaf spring 23 toward the distal end portion of the leg portion 23b. In this way, when the mounting portion 7 swings around the pin 22 (swinging motion) or opens the leg portion 23b of the leaf spring 23, the leaf spring 23 and the holding groove 24 are mutually connected. It becomes difficult to interfere. Therefore, the swinging operation of the mounting portion 7 and the leg opening operation of the leg portion 23b of the leaf spring 23 are smoothly performed, which is very advantageous in preventing the glass substrate 2 from being damaged. In the illustrated example, the leg portions 23 b of the leaf spring 23 protrude obliquely downward from both side surfaces of the placement portion 7. In this case, when the leg portion 23 b of the leaf spring 23 is largely opened, the lower surface of the mounting portion 7 may be in contact with the lower portion on the inner peripheral side of the frame body 3. In this way, even when a large unexpected force is applied to the mounting portion 7, the mounting portion 7 contacts the lower part on the inner peripheral side of the frame 3, so that the lower side of the glass substrate 2 is supported. Disturbances in the posture of the supporting plane of the mounting portion 7 that is in place can be minimized.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to said embodiment, It can implement with a various form. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where both the mounting portion 7 and the elastic deformation portion 8 are divided into a plurality along the lower side of the glass substrate 2 has been described. Alternatively, the mounting unit 7 divided into a plurality of parts may be arranged, or the single mounting unit 7 may be arranged so as to straddle the elastic deformation part 8 divided into a plurality of parts. Moreover, both the mounting part 7 and the elastic deformation part 8 may be comprised from the single member continuous along the lower side of the glass substrate 2. FIG.

  In order to demonstrate the usefulness of the present invention, a comparison test was conducted. More specifically, in the comparison test, vibration measurement near the lower side of the glass substrate that occurs when actually transported and confirmation of the contact state of the lower side and lower side support members that occur when the glass substrate is set in the substrate folder. And inspection. In the following description, in both the example and the comparative example, the target substrate to be held in the vertical posture in the substrate folder is a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display, and the width (width) × length (height) × thickness However, the thing of 1500 mm x 1850 mm x 0.7 mm was used.

  The lower side support member according to the first embodiment of the present invention is composed of a single member in which both the placement portion and the elastic deformation portion are continuous along the lower side of the glass substrate. The mounting part is made of aluminum, and the elastically deforming part is made of silicon sponge. The mounting portion uses a width (width) × length (depth) × thickness (height) of 1900 mm × 30 mm × 15 mm, and the elastic deformation portion has the same size as the mounting portion. used. The natural frequency of the vibration system including the elastically deformed portion was designed to be 15 Hz.

  As a result, in Example 1, vibrations and impacts were absorbed by the elastically deforming portion even during conveyance, and the state where the aluminum placing portion supported the entire length of the lower side of the glass substrate was maintained. Specifically, the frequency of the input vibration during conveyance was in the range of 50 to 200 Hz, but it was absorbed by the vibration system including the elastically deforming portion made of silicon sponge, and the vibration acceleration near the lower side of the glass substrate was 0. It became below 8G.

  In addition, when setting the glass substrate in the substrate folder, even if the mounting portion is relatively inclined with respect to the lower side of the glass substrate, the glass substrate comes into contact with the mounting portion, and at the same time, an elastic made of silicon sponge. Due to the flexibility of the deformed part, the aluminum mounting part tilts along the lower side of the glass substrate, and the lower side of the glass substrate and the mounting part come into full contact with each other, causing stress concentration on the lower side of the glass substrate. There wasn't.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in the lower side support member according to the second embodiment of the present invention, both the placement portion and the elastic deformation portion are divided along the lower side of the glass substrate 2. The mounting portion is made of a Vespel (DuPont) material, and the elastic deformation portion is made of a stainless steel coil spring. Each of the divided mounting portions has a width (width) × length (depth) × thickness (height) of 35 mm × 15 mm × 10 mm, and six are placed on the lower side of the glass substrate. Two coil springs constituting the elastic deformation portion were arranged for each placement portion. The natural frequency of the vibration system including the elastically deformed portion was designed to be 15 Hz.

  As a result, in Example 2, the frequency of the input vibration during conveyance was in the range of 50 to 200 Hz, but it was absorbed by the vibration system including the elastically deforming portion, and the vibration acceleration near the lower side of the glass substrate of the glass substrate was It became 0.7G or less.

  Moreover, when setting a glass substrate to a substrate folder, the favorable contact state was maintained similarly to Example 1 by the softness | flexibility of the elastic deformation part.

  In addition, since the bespel material and the stainless steel material were used for the placement portion and the elastic deformation portion, respectively, it became possible to enjoy heat resistance of about 250 ° C.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the lower side support member according to the third embodiment of the present invention is configured such that both the placement portion and the elastic deformation portion are divided along the lower side of the glass substrate, and the horizontal vibration of the placement portion. In order to prevent this, a pin is inserted into a long hole having a long axis in the vertical direction provided in the mounting portion. The mounting portion is made of a bespel material, and the elastic deformation portion is made of a stainless steel coil spring. Moreover, the pin inserted in the long hole formed in the mounting part is also formed of stainless steel. The mounting part used the thing of width (width) x length (depth) x thickness (height) of 35 mm x 15 mm x 10 mm, and arranged six on the lower side of the glass substrate. Two coil springs constituting the elastic deformation portion were arranged for each placement portion. The natural frequency of the vibration system including the elastically deformed portion was designed to be 15 Hz.

  As a result, in Example 3, lateral vibration of the mounting portion hardly occurs, and a better vibration isolation effect than that in Example 2 is obtained, and the vibration acceleration near the lower side of the glass substrate is 0.5 G or less. It was.

  Moreover, when setting a glass substrate to a substrate folder, the favorable contact state was maintained similarly to Examples 1-2 by the softness | flexibility of an elastic deformation part.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the lower side support member according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention has an inverted V-shape in order to provide vertical directionality with respect to the movable direction of the placement portion as an elastic deformation portion. A bent leaf spring was used. In addition, a space is provided in the holding groove for holding the leaf spring provided in the placement portion, and the influence of the movement of the placement portion and the leaf spring is reduced, thereby reducing the support surface of the placement portion to external force. The angle can be adjusted freely. The mounting portion is formed of a cerazole (manufactured by AZ Electronic Materials) material, and the elastic deformation portion is formed of a leaf spring of Inconel (manufactured by Daido Special Metal). Moreover, the pin made from Inconel was used also for the pin inserted in the long hole formed in the mounting part. The mounting part used the thing of width (width) x length (depth) x thickness (height) of 35 mm x 20 mm x 10 mm, and arranged six pieces on the lower side of the glass substrate. One leaf spring constituting the elastically deforming portion was arranged for each placement portion. The natural frequency of the vibration system including the elastically deformed portion was designed to be 10 Hz.

  As a result, in Example 4, the vibration-proof effect was further improved, and the vibration acceleration near the lower side of the glass substrate was 0.3 G or less.

  Moreover, when setting a glass substrate to a substrate folder, the favorable contact state was maintained similarly to Examples 1-3 by the softness | flexibility of a mounting part.

  In addition, since the cerazole material and the Inconel material were respectively used for the mounting part (including the pin) and the elastically deforming part, it became possible to enjoy heat resistance of about 330 ° C.

  The lower side supporting member according to the comparative example was not provided with an elastically deforming part, but only an engineer plastic mounting part, and this mounting part was fixed to the back support member of the substrate folder with a bolt. That is, since the mounting portion is simply fixed to the back support member with a bolt, there is no degree of freedom in rotation of the mounting portion. The mounting portion used was a width (width) × length (depth) × thickness (height) of 35 mm × 15 mm × 10 mm.

  As a result, in the comparative example, since there is no elastically deformed portion, an impact is input as it is to the glass substrate, and the vibration acceleration near the lower side of the glass substrate shows a value of 2G.

  Moreover, since the mounting part is simply fixed to the back surface support member by the bolt, the posture of the mounting part is maintained while being attached to the back surface support member. For this reason, when the glass substrate is set in the substrate folder, the posture of the mounting unit is not adjusted following the lower side of the glass substrate, the lower side of the glass substrate and the mounting unit are inadequately contacting, and the lower side of the glass substrate There was a situation where damage occurred.

  Therefore, even if the results of the above Examples 1 to 4 and the results of the comparative example are compared, it is recognized that the substrate transfer apparatus according to the present invention is useful in preventing the glass substrate from being damaged. Can do.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate folder 2 Glass substrate 3 Frame 4 Lower side support member 5 Back support member 6 Restriction member 7 Placement part 8 Elastic deformation part 9 Elastic resin material 10 Substrate conveyance apparatus 11 Conveyance roller 12 Film formation apparatus 20 Coil spring 21 Long hole 22 Pin 23 Leaf spring 24 Holding groove

Claims (7)

When transporting a substrate with a substrate transport device, in a substrate folder that holds the substrate in a vertical position in a state where the lower side of the substrate is supported by a lower side support member,
The lower side support member is elastically deformable by the weight of the mounting part having a flat surface on which the lower side of the substrate is placed, and supporting the placement part from below and being placed on the placement part. A substrate folder comprising an elastically deformable portion.   The substrate folder according to claim 1, wherein the placement portion is relatively less flexible than the elastic deformation portion.   The substrate folder according to claim 1, wherein the placement portion can be tilted in a plane along the surface of the substrate by elastic deformation of the elastic deformation portion.   The substrate folder according to claim 1, wherein the placement unit is divided into a plurality of portions in a direction along the lower side of the substrate.   5. The substrate folder according to claim 1, wherein the elastic deformation portion is divided into a plurality of portions in a direction along a lower side of the substrate.   The substrate folder according to claim 1, wherein the elastically deforming portion is configured by a spring.   The substrate folder according to claim 1, wherein the placement portion and the elastic deformation portion have heat resistance of 150 ° C. or higher.

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