JP2011246189A - Substrate transporting tray - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate transporting tray, in which a transporting tray for a large-sized glass substrate or the like is thinned, in which the number of trays to be stacked in a multiple-stage manner is increased to improve transporting efficiency and thereby to reduce a transporting cost, and which is safe in quality.SOLUTION: In the substrate transporting tray, a rectangular substrate is housed in a tray, and the trays are stacked in the multiple-stage manner by frame parts surrounding the substrates and are transported. The substrate transporting tray includes: the rectangular frame part surrounding the substrate and slightly larger than the substrate; and a substrate holding member carrying the substrate on a surface thereof is disposed on a whole surface inside the frame part. The substrate holding member is a film-like member, and an area of the film-like member is larger than an area inside the frame part when the frame part is seen from above.

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate carrying tray for storing glass substrate products such as color filters used for forming a display panel such as a liquid crystal display device one by one, and stacking and transporting them.

  A display panel such as a liquid crystal display device is generally configured by enclosing a liquid crystal between a color filter substrate and an element substrate such as a TFT arranged opposite to each other. When transporting such a color filter substrate or element substrate, or a semi-finished glass substrate on which a (primary) glass substrate or electrode as the base is formed, the glass substrate is usually arranged on its side edge. In the storage box held by, transport in multiple stages.

  In recent years, a glass substrate having a thickness of 0.7 mm or less has been used for various display panels. In particular, with the widespread use of large LCD TVs, the glass substrates used are recently called the 6th generation (1500 mm × 1800 mm), the 8th generation (2160 mm × 2460 mm), or the 10th generation (2850 mm × 3050 mm). The size is increasing year by year.

  Since such a large and thin glass substrate is easily bent, if a plurality of glass substrates are stored in the glass substrate storage box, each glass substrate is bent at the time of transportation and damaged due to contact between adjacent glass substrates. There is a risk. For this purpose, it is necessary to hold the glass substrates in the glass substrate storage box at intervals of 100 mm or more so that the glass substrates do not come into contact with each other. There is a problem that the number of stored sheets cannot be increased.

  In view of this, a substrate storage tray has been proposed that is used when conveying large-sized (one side or more) glass substrate products such as color filter substrates and TFT substrates. In Patent Document 1, as shown in FIG. 1, one glass substrate is stored in a substrate storage tray having a frame portion and a buffer material installed as a glass substrate receiver inside the frame, and the substrate storage tray. As shown in FIG. 2, it is transported by being stacked in multiple stages. In addition, by providing an opening inside the frame, it is possible to lift the substrate from the bottom of the tray, and the substrate can be taken out from the tray without contacting the functional film formed on the upper surface of the substrate. A storage tray is disclosed. In addition, as another technique related to a substrate transport tray, Patent Document 2 discloses that a substrate is not provided with a substrate support portion in a frame portion, and a substrate is provided with a plate-like object holder provided on two sides facing the frame portion and the frame portion. A tray that supports and holds the substrate in a state bent in the vertical direction with respect to the tray is disclosed.

  However, as shown in FIG. 1, the conventional substrate transport tray is provided with a buffer material for supporting the glass substrate and a crosspiece for supporting the buffer material inside the frame portion. Since a space for installing the substrate support portion is required, it is an obstacle to thinning the tray. Therefore, when actually transporting, the number of trays that can be loaded at one time has been reduced due to the height restrictions of trucks and containers. For example, a glass substrate product such as a G8 size color filter can convey only 60 sheets with one shipping packing and 180 sheets with one truck. That is, the number of substrates that can be transported at one time is small, leading to an increase in transport cost. On the other hand, a tray having no substrate support portion can be thinned, but the inside of the tray frame is not supported at all. If there is a problem such as substrate breakage due to substrate contact during substrate transfer, there is a high risk that the effect will spread to the lower substrate, the transfer distance will be limited to a short time, or the transfer work time will be shortened. There were problems such as being unable to.

Japanese Patent No. 4215622 JP 2008-030818 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to reduce the thickness of a transport tray such as a large glass substrate, increase the number of sheets that can be stacked in multiple stages, increase the transport efficiency, and reduce the transport cost, and It is an object to provide a substrate transport tray that is safe in quality.

  The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is a substrate transport tray for storing rectangular substrates one by one and stacking and transporting them in a frame portion that surrounds the substrates, than the substrate surrounding the substrates. A rectangular frame portion that is one size larger, and a substrate holding member for supporting the substrate on the entire surface inside the frame portion, the substrate holding member is a film-like member, and An area of the film-like member is larger than an area inside the frame part when the frame part is viewed from above.

  In addition, the invention according to claim 2 of the present invention has a substrate support member provided in the frame portion separately from the film-like member in at least a part of the inside of the frame portion, and the substrate support 2. The substrate transport tray according to claim 1, wherein the member carries the substrate end portion from the lower side of the film-like member via the film-like member.

  Further, in the invention according to claim 3 of the present invention, the film-like member is fixed only to two sides of the frame portion facing each other, and the substrate carrying tray according to claim 1 or 2 It is.

  The invention according to claim 4 of the present invention is described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a cushioning material is provided on at least a part of the inner peripheral portion of the frame portion. This is a substrate transfer tray.

  The substrate carrying tray of the present invention uses a film-like member for the substrate holding portion, thereby reducing the thickness of one tray and increasing the number of stacked substrates. Therefore, the number of trays that can be conveyed at one time (= the number of substrates) It became possible to increase. Along with this, the transportation cost of the substrate could be reduced. In addition, by disposing the film-like member on the entire surface of the substrate holding portion, the substrate is not dropped to the lower portion, and a quality safe tray can be obtained.

  In addition, the substrate carrying tray of the present invention has a substrate support member in at least a part of the inside of the frame portion separately from the film-like member, and can carry the substrate end portion via the film-like member. it can. Therefore, the concentrated load applied to the substrate end of the film-like member is alleviated, and the end surface of the stored substrate can be prevented from being damaged by being damaged by the film-like member.

  Furthermore, since the substrate transport tray of the present invention is provided with a cushioning material on at least a part of the inner peripheral portion of the frame portion, the substrate interferes with the frame portion when the substrate moves due to vibration or the like. Cracking and scratching can be prevented.

Schematic which showed typically an example of the conventional glass substrate conveyance tray. Schematic which showed typically the lamination | stacking state of an example of the conventional glass substrate conveyance tray. Explanatory drawing which shows one Embodiment of the board | substrate conveyance tray of this invention in a cross section. Explanatory drawing which shows the other example of one Embodiment of the board | substrate conveyance tray of this invention in a cross section. The schematic top view which shows typically one Embodiment of the board | substrate conveyance tray of this invention. The schematic perspective view which shows typically one Embodiment of the board | substrate conveyance tray of this invention. The cross-sectional schematic which showed typically the lamination | stacking state of an example of the board | substrate conveyance tray of this invention.

  Hereinafter, a substrate transport tray of the present invention will be described based on an embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the substrate transport tray of the present invention, the substrate (on the entire inner surface of the frame portion (3) made of a highly rigid material such as a metal frame that can be stacked so that the front and back are in surface contact with each other) As shown in FIG. 1, by using a film-like member (2) such as a plastic film, a rubber sheet, a cloth made of polymer fiber, a nonwoven fabric or a net as the substrate holding member (20) for carrying 1) on the surface. Since it can be made thinner than a conventional tray receiving member (20) made of a cushioning material for a tray and a crosspiece (80) for supporting the substrate receiver (20), the thickness of the transport tray alone can be reduced.

  Here, examples of the film-like member (2) include plastic films such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester, and polyamide, cloths made of polymer fibers such as polyester and polyamide, non-woven fabrics, nets, and the like, or composites thereof. A thin film having a smooth surface can be used. Since these materials are in direct contact with the glass substrate, they are preferably inert and easy to clean and clean. In addition to PP, polyolefin resins such as HDPE and PP elastomers, hard vinyl chloride (PVC), polyacetal A resin whose surface is coated with a resin, a fluororesin such as PFA, FEP, or ETFE, a polyurethane resin, a polyester resin, a nylon resin, or the like can also be preferably used.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in order to accommodate the distortion, warpage, and deflection of the substrate (1) in the transport tray in a fixed state, the substrate (1) is a film-like member that is bent in a cylindrical side shape vertically downward. (2) It will be in the form received on the entire surface. Therefore, the area of the film-like member (2) is larger than the area inside the frame part when the frame part (3) is viewed from above, and is fixed only to the two opposite sides of the frame part. It is arranged in a state bent to the side.

  In order to prevent the film-like member from being damaged or torn due to interference between the film-like member (2) and the end of the substrate (1), as shown in FIG. In addition to the film-like member (2), a substrate support member (4) provided in the frame portion is provided at least at a part of the inside. The substrate support member carries the substrate end portion from the lower side of the film-like member via the film-like member. As the substrate support member, a metal plate, a plastic plate, or the like can be used.

  Further, in order to prevent the substrate end surface from interfering with the transport tray frame portion (3) to crack the substrate or to generate scratches, as shown in FIG. 5, one of the inner peripheral portions of the transport tray frame portion (3) is provided. A cushioning material (5) is provided in the part. The substrate transport tray of the present invention configured as described above holds the substrate over the entire surface by the film-like member (2) installed by being bent inside the frame (3), and the thin substrate transport tray is used as it is. It is possible to stack the front and back surfaces of the two in contact with each other, and multi-stage stacking is possible.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic top view of a substrate transport tray using a medium density polyethylene (MDPE) film having a thickness of 100 μm as a substrate support portion, and FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view thereof. Substrate transport trays shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 were produced, and a substrate transport test was performed. As shown in FIG. 7, the transportation was carried out on a truck by stacking the trays together with the substrates placed on the trays to form one unit. By reducing the thickness of the tray, the number of stacked units of one unit could be 2.5 times that of a conventional tray. Further, when the substrate after transportation was observed, no cracks were generated. In addition, automatic inspection and macro inspection of the substrate were performed, but no defects were found. From the above, by using a film-like member as the substrate holding member, it was possible to improve the substrate transport efficiency without impairing the quality of the substrate.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,10 ... Substrate 2 ... Film-like member 20 ... Substrate holding member
21 ... Crosspiece (buffer material support) 3, 30 ... Frame (frame)
4 ... Substrate support member 5 ... Buffer material

Claims (4)

  In a substrate transport tray for storing rectangular substrates one by one and transporting them stacked in a multi-stage frame surrounding the substrate, a rectangular frame that is slightly larger than the substrate surrounding the substrate; A substrate holding member for supporting the substrate by the surface on the entire inner surface of the frame portion, the substrate holding member is a film-like member, and the area of the film-like member is the frame portion A substrate transport tray, wherein the area is larger than the area inside the frame portion as viewed from above.   In addition to the film-like member, at least a part of the inside of the frame portion has a substrate support member provided in the frame portion, and the substrate support member is formed from the lower side of the film-like member. The substrate transfer tray according to claim 1, wherein the substrate end is supported via a member.   The substrate transport tray according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the film-like member is fixed only to two sides of the frame portion facing each other.   The substrate transport tray according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a buffer material is provided on at least a part of an inner peripheral portion of the frame portion.