JP2012183620A - Substrate transfer apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simply recover a regulation function of a regulation body with a short time and labor in a substrate transfer apparatus which makes the regulation body position and hold a substrate sucked and held by a Bernoulli chuck at a predetermined position.SOLUTION: A guide 53 for regulating sliding movement parallel to a surface of the substrate W is constituted so as to be detached and attached from/to a guide mounting member 51. The regulation function of the regulation body 50 can be recovered by replacing only the guide 53 without replacing the whole regulation body 50. Accordingly, the cost and time and labor required for recovering the regulation function of the regulation body 50 are reduced in comparison with the case that the whole regulation body 50 is replaced.

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for transferring a substrate, and more particularly, to an apparatus for capturing and transferring a substrate in a non-contact state by a Bernoulli chuck provided in a hand unit using a parallel mechanism as a transfer mechanism. Examples of the substrate include a rectangular silicon wafer for a solar cell, or an electrode or a separator for a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery.

  In the present invention, a substrate sucked and held by a Bernoulli chuck is held in a predetermined posture by a restricting body, and a transfer apparatus provided with this kind of restricting body is disclosed in Patent Document 1. In Patent Document 1, four Bernoulli chucks are arranged on the inner surface of a cylindrical support body that opens downward, and round bar-shaped guide pins are fixed to four places on the peripheral surface of the support body. The circular substrate simultaneously sucked and held by each Bernoulli chuck has its peripheral surface received by a guide pin, so that the movement of the substrate along the suction surface during transfer movement can be restricted by the guide pin.

  In Patent Document 2, a peripheral surface of a substrate is received by an inclined surface provided at a lower part of a guide body, and the substrate adsorbed by a Bernoulli chuck is regulated to move in a horizontal direction (a direction parallel to the surface of the substrate). An apparatus is disclosed. The restricting body in Patent Document 2 is fixed to a rectangular parallelepiped moving block that is movably mounted in a slot formed in a chuck base (plate-like object holding member), and an inclined surface formed on the lower surface of the moving block. It consists of a rubber sheet. Within the elongated hole, the moving block is fixed by adjusting bolts inserted from above. The inclined surface and the rubber sheet are provided so as to intersect the adsorption plane of the Bernoulli chuck.

  In the present invention, the main part of the transfer device is constituted by a parallel mechanism. The basic structure of the parallel mechanism is known from Patent Document 3 relating to the application of the present applicant. There, there are three drive motors arranged on the base, three sets of arm units driven by each drive motor, a hand part supported by the arm unit, and a rotational power provided to a turning shaft provided in the hand part. A parallel mechanism is configured with a turning drive shaft that transmits power.

JP-A-2005-051260 (paragraph number 0044, FIG. 3) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2004-083180 (paragraph number 0032, FIG. 2) International Publication No. 2008/059659 pamphlet (paragraph number 0018, FIG. 1)

  In this type of substrate transfer device, if the restricting body is worn by contact with the substrate to be transferred and the restricting function is impaired, it is necessary to replace the restricting body and restore the restricting function. However, the substrate transfer apparatus of Patent Document 1 is in a form in which a round bar-shaped guide pin is fixed to a support, and it is not planned to restore the regulation function at all.

  The restriction body in the transfer device of Patent Document 2 is composed of a rectangular parallelepiped moving block fixed in an elongated hole with an adjusting bolt, and a rubber sheet fixed to an inclined surface formed on the lower surface of the moving block. For this reason, by loosening the adjusting bolt and exchanging the moving block, the entire regulating body including the rubber sheet can be exchanged to restore the regulating function. However, it is extremely difficult to attach the moving block to the same position in the elongated hole before and after the moving block replacement operation. For this reason, in the form of Patent Document 2, it is indispensable to re-execute the position adjustment operation of the mounting position of the moving block in the elongated hole after the moving block replacement operation, and much labor is required to recover the regulating function of the regulating body. And time is required.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate transfer apparatus that holds a substrate sucked and held by a Bernoulli chuck in a predetermined posture by a regulating body so that the regulation function of the regulating body can be easily restored with less effort. There is to do.

  In the present invention, the hand portion 5 of the parallel mechanism is provided with a Bernoulli chuck 10 for sucking and holding the substrate W in a non-contact state, and a plurality of regulating bodies 50 arranged so as to surround the periphery of the Bernoulli chuck 10. The target substrate transfer apparatus is intended. The Bernoulli chuck 10 includes a chuck base 32 and a chuck unit 33 provided on the lower surface of the chuck base 32. The restricting body 50 includes a guide mounting member 51 configured to be position-adjustable with respect to the chuck base 32, a guide 53 detachably mounted on a mounting portion 52 of the guide mounting member 51, and the guide mounting member 51. And a lock fixture 54 that locks and immovably moves. The guide 53 is a resin part having an outer peripheral surface having a perfect circular cross section. When the guide 53 is mounted on the mounting portion 52, the outer peripheral surface 67 of the inclined guide 53 receives the periphery of the substrate W in a point contact manner. The sliding movement in the direction parallel to the surface of the substrate W is restricted.

  The guide attachment member 51 is a rectangular column-shaped metal molded product that is long in the vertical direction, and an inclined surface 56 is formed on a side surface 55 facing the substrate W at the lower end. The mounting portion 52 has two openings, an opening 70 on the substrate W side provided in the inclined surface 56 of the guide attachment member 51 and an opening 71 on the lower end side provided in the lower end of the guide attachment member 51. It is a groove | channel of a cross-section part circular arc shape which hold | maintains a part of outer peripheral surface 67 of this. In a state where the guide 53 is mounted on the mounting portion 52, a part of the outer peripheral surface 67 of the guide 53 is exposed to the outer surface from the inclined surface 56 through the opening 70 on the substrate W side, and the guide exposed from the inclined surface 56. The outer peripheral surface 67 of 53 receives the periphery of the substrate W, so that the sliding movement in the direction parallel to the surface of the substrate W can be restricted.

  The guide mounting member 51 is configured to be slidable in one direction along the surface of the chuck base 32 along the slide groove 59 formed in the chuck base 32, and is not rotatable in the slide groove 59. It is locked and fixed by a lock fixture 54 at an arbitrary adjustment position along the slide groove 59.

  The guide attachment member 51 includes a stopper 80 for preventing and holding the guide 53 attached to the attachment portion 52. The stopper 80 includes an arm portion 81 along the outer surface of the guide attachment member 51 and a receiving portion 82 provided at the lower end of the arm portion 81 and receiving the lower end of the guide 53 attached to the attachment portion 52. By fastening the mounting bolt 84 to the screw hole 85 provided in the guide mounting member 51 through the elongated hole-like insertion hole 83 provided in the arm portion 81 and extending in the vertical direction, the stopper 80 is connected to the guide 80. It is fixed to the mounting member 51. The stopper 80 has a fixed state in which the arm portion 81 is fixed to the guide mounting member 51 by the bolt 84 and the receiving portion 82 receives the lower end of the guide 53 to prevent the guide 53 from falling off the mounting portion 52. The guide mounting member 51 is configured so that the state of the arm 81 can be changed between a free state in which the arm portion 81 can be swung and rotated about the bolt 84.

  On one side surface 61 of the guide mounting member 51, an arm restricting element 90 for restricting the swinging rotation of the arm portion 81 around the bolt 84 in the holding state is provided.

  In the present invention, the Bernoulli chuck 10 and the plurality of regulating bodies 50 are provided in the hand portion 5 of the parallel mechanism so that the substrate W can be sucked and held in a non-contact state with respect to the surface of the substrate W. The restricting body 50 is detachably mounted on a guide mounting member 51 configured to be position-adjustable with respect to the chuck base 32 and a mounting portion 52 of the guide mounting member 51, and is parallel to the surface of the substrate W. The guide 53 that restricts the sliding movement of the guide and the lock fixture 54 that locks and fixes the guide mounting member 51 so as not to move are included.

  As described above, when the guide 53 that restricts the sliding movement in the direction parallel to the surface of the substrate W is configured to be detachable with respect to the guide attachment member 51, only the guide 53 is required without replacing the whole restriction body 50. It is possible to restore the regulating function of the regulating body 50 simply by exchanging. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the cost required for recovery of the restriction function of the restriction body 50 and to suppress an increase in the running cost of the parallel mechanism, as compared with the form in which the whole restriction body 50 is replaced.

  In addition, in the present invention, since only the guide 53 is configured to be detachable from the guide mounting member 51, the arrangement position of the regulating body 50 with respect to the chuck base 32 is changed along with the restoration work of the regulating function. There is no. Accordingly, it is not necessary to reset the arrangement position of the regulating body 50 associated with the replacement work of the guide 53, and the replacement work of the guide 53 can be advanced more quickly and easily.

  In the present invention, the guide 53 is a resin component having an outer peripheral surface 67 having a perfect circular cross section, and the outer peripheral surface 67 receives the peripheral edge of the substrate W in a point-contact manner, thereby sliding in a direction parallel to the surface of the substrate W. I tried to regulate. According to this, the replacement work of the guide 53 can be advanced with less effort without worrying about the mounting direction of the guide 53 with respect to the mounting portion 52. That is, regardless of the posture and direction of the guide 53 with respect to the mounting portion 52, the regulation function can be recovered only by mounting the guide 53 on the mounting portion 52. Therefore, the replacement of the guide 53 can be advanced more quickly and easily.

  In the present invention, since the peripheral edge 67 of the substrate 53 is received in a point contact manner by the outer peripheral surface 67 of the inclined guide 53, the inclined guide 53 with respect to the position coordinates when positioning the Bernoulli chuck 10 with respect to the substrate W. A marginal gap corresponding to the horizontal component of the outer peripheral surface 67 can be expected. In other words, when the Bernoulli chuck 10 is moved above the substrate W by the parallel mechanism and lowered to a height away from the substrate W by a predetermined distance that can be attracted, the positioned guide 53 and the substrate W before suction are brought together. Even if it is slightly deviated, as long as the deviated dimension is within the range of the previous margin, the guide 53 does not come into contact with the substrate W, and accordingly the mounting accuracy of the guide 53 and the positional accuracy including the dimensional accuracy are included. Can be relaxed. Further, the Bernoulli chuck 10 can be positioned more quickly because the required positioning accuracy with respect to the substrate W is moderate. Therefore, according to the substrate transfer apparatus of the present invention, when the substrate W is sucked and held by the Bernoulli chuck 10, the positioning accuracy required for the hand unit 5 is moderated, and the substrate W is transferred in a non-contact state. Loading can be performed efficiently at high speed. Further, in the process of sucking and holding the substrate W by the Bernoulli chuck 10, the peripheral edge of the substrate W is guided by the outer peripheral surface 67 of the inclined guide 53, and the deviation between the substrate W and the Bernoulli chuck 10 is corrected. It can be transferred to the transfer destination with positional accuracy.

  In the present invention, the periphery of the substrate is received in a point contact manner by the outer peripheral surface 67 of the inclined guide 53. According to this, the periphery of the substrate W in the state of being sucked and held by the Bernoulli chuck 10 is received by the outer peripheral surface 67 of the inclined guide 53, and the substrate W can be sucked and held in a state where the substrate W is always corrected to an appropriate posture. . Therefore, when the substrate W sucked and held in the non-contact state is transferred, the substrate W can be prevented from shaking due to the air resistance acting on the substrate W. Further, since the substrate W is transferred while being held in an appropriate posture by the outer peripheral surface 67 of the guide 53, the substrate W can be transferred to the transfer destination with high positional accuracy. In addition, when the substrate W that has received air resistance is pressed against the suction surface side of the Bernoulli chuck 10, the periphery of the substrate W is received by the outer peripheral surface 67 of the inclined guide 53, and the substrate W reaches the limit position. It is possible to restrict movement beyond. As described above, according to the substrate transfer apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to reliably prevent the substrate W from coming into contact with the Bernoulli chuck 10 and being damaged.

  The mounting portion 52 has two openings, an opening 70 on the substrate W side provided in the inclined surface 56 of the guide attachment member 51 and an opening 71 on the lower end side provided in the lower end of the guide attachment member 51. A part of the outer peripheral surface 67 of the cross section can be a groove having a true arcuate cross section. According to this, the guide 53 can be held in an appropriate posture simply by inserting and mounting the guide 53 into the groove from the opening 71 on the lower end side. Accordingly, the guide 53 can be easily attached to or detached from the guide attachment member 51 from below the guide attachment member 51, and the effort required to replace the guide 53 can be reduced.

  The guide mounting member 51 is configured to be slidable in one direction along the surface of the chuck base 32 along the slide groove 59 formed in the chuck base 32 and to be non-rotatable in the slide groove 59. It is possible to adopt a form in which the lock is fixed by the lock fixture 54 at an arbitrary adjustment position along the slide groove 59. As described above, if the guide mounting member 51 is configured to be non-rotatable within the slide groove 59, the margin gap between the guide 53 and the substrate W can be prevented from shifting as the guide mounting member 51 rotates. The mounting accuracy of the guide 53 can be strictly defined. That is, according to the present invention, since the guide mounting member 51 is configured to be non-rotatable in the slide groove 59, the guide mounting member 51 is prevented from rotating with the fixing work of the lock fixture 54, and the guide mounting member 51 is prevented from rotating. 51 can be locked in an optimal position.

  A stopper 80 is provided for retaining and holding the guide 53 mounted on the mounting portion 52. The stopper 80 includes an arm portion 81 along the outer surface of the guide attachment member 51 and a receiving portion 82 provided at the lower end of the arm portion 81 and receiving the lower end of the guide 53 attached to the attachment portion 52. To do. Further, the stopper 80 is fixed by fastening the mounting bolt 84 to the screw hole 85 provided in the guide mounting member 51 through the elongated hole-like insertion hole 83 provided in the arm portion 81 and extending in the vertical direction. It is set as the form fixed to the guide attachment member 51. According to these, when the guide 53 is replaced, the arm portion 81 is moved downward by the length of the elongated insertion hole 83 only by loosely operating the mounting bolt 84 so as to be in a free state. In this released state, the guide 53 can be removed from the mounting portion 52 and a new guide 53 can be attached to the mounting portion 52. As described above, the replacement operation of the guide 53 can be performed with a simple operation by loosely operating the mounting bolt 84 and changing the posture state of the stopper 80. The guide 53 can be easily exchanged with less effort compared to a configuration in which it is fixed by a bolt.

  On one side surface of the guide mounting member 51, an arm regulating element 90 for regulating the swinging rotation of the arm portion 81 around the bolt 84 in the holding state can be provided. According to this, it is possible to prevent the arm portion 81 from rotating when the bolt 84 is tightened. Therefore, it becomes easy to hold | maintain the arm part 81 in a holding | maintenance attitude | position in an appropriate attitude | position, and replacement | exchange of the guide 53 can be performed simply with less effort.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the principal part of the board | substrate transfer apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a front view of a parallel mechanism to which a substrate transfer device concerning the present invention is applied. It is a bottom view of a parallel mechanism. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of Bernoulli chuck. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of Bernoulli chuck. It is a disassembled perspective view of Bernoulli chuck. It is a bottom view of Bernoulli chuck. It is a bottom view of a chuck unit. It is a figure for demonstrating the positioning operation | work of the control body using a jig | tool. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a regulation body. It is the sectional view on the AA line of FIG. It is a perspective view of a regulation body. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of Bernoulli chuck. It is a perspective view which shows another Example of a guide. It is a perspective view which shows another Example of a guide. It is a perspective view which shows another Example of a guide.

(Example) FIGS. 1-13 shows the Example of the board | substrate transfer apparatus based on this invention. In FIG. 2, the substrate transfer apparatus includes a parallel mechanism configured by using a high-rigidity base 1 across a conveyor as a base. Examples of the substrate W to be transferred include a rectangular silicon wafer constituting a solar battery, or an electrode or a separator for a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery. As shown in FIG. 2, the parallel mechanism includes a base 2 fixed to the gantry 1, three electric motors 3 disposed on the lower surface of the base 2, and three sets of arm units 4 driven by the motors 3. And a hand portion 5 supported by each arm unit 4. The hand portion 5 is provided with a turning shaft 7 that is driven to turn through a turning drive shaft 6. A joint body 8 is fixed below the hand portion 5 (see FIG. 4), and a Bernoulli chuck 10 is fixed below the joint body 8 via a joint plate 9.

  The electric motor 3 is assembled to the base 2 via a motor bracket, and the upper end of the arm unit 4 is connected to the output shaft thereof. The electric motor 3 integrally includes a servo motor and a speed reducer, and outputs the reciprocating turning power decelerated by the speed reducer to the arm unit 4.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the arm unit 4 includes a drive arm 13 and a pair of parallel rods 14 that transmit the turning motion of the drive arm 13 to the hand unit 5. The upper end and the lower end of the rod 14 are connected to the drive arm 13 and the hand unit 5 via a ball joint 15, respectively. Both rods 14 are biased by the spring unit 16 so as to approach each other. By driving each arm unit 4 with the electric motor 3, the hand unit 5 can be freely displaced in a predetermined three-dimensional space.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in order to transmit the turning power while following the three-dimensional displacement of the hand unit 5, the turning drive shaft 6 is composed of a telescopic ball spline shaft 18 and a universal joint 19 connected to the upper and lower ends thereof. Configure. The upper universal joint 19 is connected to the output shaft of the motor 20, and the lower universal joint 19 is connected to the pivot shaft 7. The electric motor 20 that drives the turning drive shaft 6 is composed of a servo motor and a speed reducer, as in the case of the previous electric motor 3. The electric motor 20 is disposed on the upper surface of the base 2.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the hand portion 5 is formed of a trifurcated plate-like block, and the pivot shaft 7 is rotatably supported by a cross roller bearing 21 at the center portion thereof. A joint body 8 is fixed to the lower surface of the pivot shaft 7, a joint plate 9 is fixed below the joint body 8, and a Bernoulli chuck 10 is fixed below the joint plate 9. The joint body 8 is formed in a columnar shape, and is inserted into a screw hole 23 to which a bolt 22 for fixing the joint plate 9 is fastened and a positioning pin hole 28 described later at the lower end of the cylindrical wall. Pin 24 is provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the joint plate 9 is a resin or metal molded product formed in a square shape, and a depressed hole 26 having an upward receiving surface 25 is formed in the center of the board surface. . The receiving surface 25 has a through hole 27 for the bolt 22 and a pin hole 28 for positioning. The pin 24 of the joint body 8 is inserted into the positioning pin hole 28. At the four corners of the plate surface of the joint plate 9, through holes 29 that allow the insertion of bolts 31 for mounting spacers 30 described later are opened. After the pin 24 of the joint body 8 and the pin hole 28 of the joint plate 9 are aligned, the lower end of the joint body 8 is inserted into the recessed hole 26. In this state, the joint plate 9 can be fixed to the joint body 8 by fastening the bolt 22 to the screw hole 23 from below through the through hole 27. However, the fastening and fixing work of the joint plate 9 to the joint body 8 as described above is performed after the Bernoulli chuck 10 is assembled to the joint plate 9 first.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, the Bernoulli chuck 10 has a chuck base 32 fastened and fixed in parallel to the lower surface of the joint plate 9 via a spacer 30 via a spacer 30, and a lower surface of the chuck base 32. It consists of four fixed chuck units 33 and the like. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 13, the air piping to the chuck unit 33 includes an air hose 35 connected to a compressed air supply source (not shown) and an air chamber 42 of the chuck unit 33 fixed to the upper surface of the chuck base 32. The air supplied from the compressed air supply source is sent to the air chamber 42 of the chuck unit 33 through the air hose 35 and the joint 36.

  The air hose 35 is arranged in a gap S formed between the joint plate 9 and the chuck base 32 by the previous spacer 30. That is, the air pipe including the air hose 35 is disposed in a pipe gap S formed between the joint plate 9 and the chuck base 32 by the spacer 30. Thus, when the piping gap S is formed between the joint plate 9 and the chuck base 32 and the air hose 35 is arranged in the piping gap S, the air hose 35 reaching each chuck unit 33 is connected to the piping gap S. Since they can be centrally arranged, it becomes possible to handle a group of air hoses 35 collectively in advance, thereby facilitating piping work. Further, each air hose 35 reaching each chuck unit 33 is prevented from projecting to the outside (horizontal direction outside) of the chuck base 32, and the air hose 35 is moved along with the movement of the hand unit 5 or the rotation of the Bernoulli chuck 10. Fluctuation can be prevented from contacting peripheral members. In addition, it is possible to suppress an increase in the movement inertia force of the hand unit 5 and the Bernoulli chuck 10 due to the flapping of the air hose 35.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the chuck base 32 is formed in a substantially square shape that is slightly smaller than the substrate W. As shown in FIG. 6, each chuck unit 33 is fixed by a total of eight bolts 37 fastened from above the chuck base 32. The bolt 37 can be made of synthetic resin (specifically, made of polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) resin or polyether ether ketone (PEEK) resin) for the purpose of weight reduction. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 38 denotes a screw hole for fastening and fixing the bolt 37 formed on the cylindrical wall of the chuck unit 33. A fastening seat 39 for fastening a regulating body 50 to be described later is formed in a protruding manner at the center of each side constituting the outer peripheral edge of the chuck base 32.

  As shown in FIG. 13, a shallow cylindrical chuck recess 40 that opens downward is formed on the lower surface of the chuck unit 33, and a flat surface 41 is formed continuously with the opening periphery of the chuck recess 40. As shown in FIG. 8, the air chamber 42 and the chuck recess 40 are communicated with each other through eight nozzle holes 43. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 13, the nozzle hole 43 is inclined downward from the air chamber 42 side toward the peripheral corner of the chuck recess 40, and the center axis of the nozzle hole 43 is the chuck recess 40. Are formed so as to be symmetrical with respect to the central axis. Thereby, the central axis of the air flow blown out from the nozzle hole 43 is directed downward along the opening edge of the chuck recess 40.

  As described above, when compressed air is blown out from the nozzle holes 43 at a plurality of locations in a state of being directed below the opening edge of the shallow chuck recess 40, the air flow causes a boundary angle between the opening periphery of the chuck recess 40 and the flat surface 41. The flow velocity at the time of passing through the portion is increased, and the pressure on the central portion side of the chuck recess 40 can be made negative. The substrate W to be transferred can be sucked and held by this negative pressure action. When the opening surface of the chuck recess 40 including the flat surface 41 is used as the suction surface of the Bernoulli chuck 10, the suction-held substrate W and the suction surface are vertically moved through a slight gap E as shown in FIG. Opposite to. The airflow blown out from the nozzle hole 43 is discharged into the atmosphere through the previous gap E while turning.

  The substrate W in the state of being sucked by the Bernoulli chuck 10 does not generate any force in the direction along which the Bernoulli chuck 10 follows the suction surface. Therefore, if a slight force is applied in the horizontal direction, the substrate W moves relative to the Bernoulli chuck 10 and is held. Can not. In order to restrict such sliding movement of the substrate W and to transfer the substrate W reliably, as shown in FIG. 7, the eight restricting bodies 50 protrude downward on each side of the chuck base 32. It is fixed with. Specifically, two regulation bodies 50 are fixed to the lower surface of the fastening seat 39 that is formed to protrude from the center of each side of the rectangular chuck base 32.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 9, and 12, the regulating body 50 is detachably attached to a guide mounting member 51 configured to be position-adjustable with respect to the chuck base 32 and a mounting portion 52 of the guide mounting member 51. And a guide 53 for restricting the sliding movement of the substrate W, and a lock fixture 54 for locking and fixing the guide mounting member 51 so as not to move. The guide mounting member 51 is a rectangular column-shaped aluminum molded product that is long in the vertical direction, and an inclined surface 56 is formed at the lower end of the side surface 55 facing the substrate W.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the guide mounting member 51 is slidable in the horizontal direction along the slide groove 59 formed on the lower surface of the fastening seat 39 of the chuck base 32, and cannot be rotated in the slide groove 59. It is configured, and is locked and fixed by a lock fixture 54 at an arbitrary adjustment position along the slide groove 59. Specifically, the fastening seat 39 is formed with a slide groove 59 and an elongated hole 57 allowing insertion of the lock fixture 54 in a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of each side of the rectangular chuck base 32. The guide mounting member 51 is configured to be movable along the slide groove 59. A screw hole 58 is formed in the upper end surface of the guide mounting member 51. After inserting the upper end of the guide mounting member 51 into the slide groove 59 from below and inserting the bolt as the lock fixture 54 into the elongated hole 57 from above, the slide groove 59 is fastened to the screw hole 58. The guide mounting member 51 can be locked and fixed at an arbitrary position. As shown in FIG. 10, when the guide mounting member 51 is inserted into the slide groove 59, two side surfaces extending in the length direction of the slide groove 59 are arranged on the two side surfaces of the guide mounting member 51 facing the inner side surface. The upper end portions of 60 and 60 abut each other. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the guide mounting member 51 from rotating around the central axis of the screw hole 58 inadvertently. In particular, it is possible to prevent the guide attachment member 51 from rotating carelessly when a bolt that is the lock fixture 54 is rotated.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the positioning of the guide mounting member 51 in the slide groove 59 can be determined using a positioning jig 65. The jig 65 shown in the present embodiment uniquely determines the relative position with the Bernoulli chuck 10 using the flat surface 41 of the chuck unit 33 and the mounting hole (through hole 29) of the spacer 30 of the chuck base 32. Can be done. Further, it is formed in a square frame shape having a reference surface 66 set at a position moved by a predetermined amount with respect to the external dimension of the substrate W, and is directed to the reference surface 66 toward the substrate W side of the guide mounting member 51. By abutting the side surface 55, the guide attachment member 51 can be positioned. As a result, the position of the reference surface 66 can be set so that a predetermined amount of clearance is secured between the outer peripheral surface 67 of the guide 53 and the substrate W at all opposing positions. That is, the side surface 55 directed to the substrate W side is used as a contact surface, and the contact surface is applied to the reference surface 66 of the jig 65, whereby the arrangement position of the guide mounting member 51 in the slide groove 59 can be determined. Next, the guide mounting member 51 can be fixed by fastening a bolt which is the lock fixture 54 to the guide mounting member 51.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the guide 53 is a resin part having an outer peripheral surface having a perfectly circular cross section. As shown in FIG. 1, the inclined outer peripheral surface 67 receives the peripheral edge of the substrate W in a point contact manner. The sliding movement of W in the horizontal direction (direction parallel to the surface of the substrate W) is restricted. A tapered guide surface 68 is formed at the upper end of the outer peripheral surface (cylinder wall) of the guide 53. As a plastic material for forming the guide 53, plastic materials such as ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHPE), polyether ether ketone (PEEK), polyacetal (POM), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyimide (PI), ABS and the like are used. It is preferable to use it. Since ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene and polyimide are difficult to injection mold, if a rod-shaped material is formed by turning, a guide 53 having excellent dimensional accuracy can be easily formed at low cost. In particular, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene is excellent in that it has a high molecular weight, so that even when worn, fine particles are unlikely to be generated, and there is little risk of particles falling onto the substrate W.

  As shown in FIGS. 9 and 12, the mounting portion 52 includes an opening 70 on the substrate W side provided in the inclined surface 56 of the guide attachment member 51 and an opening 71 on the lower end side provided in the lower end of the guide attachment member 51. This is a groove having a true circular arc cross section that holds a part of the outer peripheral surface 67 of the guide 53 in a fitted state. As shown in FIG. 12, the axial direction (d1) of the groove defined by the circle center of the back end surface of the groove and the circle center of the lower end side opening, and the inclined surface 56 defined by the side edge of the inclined surface 56 The extension direction (d2) is set in the same direction. As shown in FIG. 1, in a state where the guide 53 is mounted on the mounting portion 52 from the guide surface 68 side, a part of the outer peripheral surface 67 of the guide 53 is exposed from the inclined surface 56 through the opening 70 on the substrate W side. . Then, the outer peripheral surface 67 of the guide 53 exposed from the inclined surface 56 receives the peripheral edge of the substrate W in a point contact manner, so that sliding movement in a direction parallel to the surface of the substrate W can be restricted.

  As described above, the extending direction (d1) of the grooves constituting the mounting portion 52 and the extending direction (d2) of the inclined surface 56 are set in the same direction. Therefore, when the guide 53 is mounted on the mounting portion 52, the generatrix of the outer peripheral surface 67 of the guide 53 exposed from the inclined surface 56 through the opening 70 on the substrate W side coincides with the extending direction of the inclined surface 56.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 7, and 9 to 12, the guide 53 mounted on the mounting portion 52 is held on the side surface 61 that is located on the opposite side of the substrate W of the guide mounting member 51. A stopper 80 is provided. The stopper 80 is a metal part (SUS sheet metal part) having a substantially L-shaped cross section. The stopper 80 is provided on the arm part 81 along the side surface of the guide attachment member 51 and the lower end of the arm part 81 and is attached to the attachment part 52. The receiving portion 82 receives the lower end of the guide 53. As shown in FIGS. 9, 10, and 12, an elongated hole-like insertion hole 83 extending in the vertical direction is provided in the central portion of the arm portion 81. The stopper 80 can be fixed at an arbitrary height position of the guide mounting member 51 by fastening the mounting bolt 84 to the screw hole 85 provided in the guide mounting member 51 through the insertion hole 83. .

  As shown in FIG. 1, when the bolt 84 is fastened to the screw hole 85, the arm portion 81 of the stopper 80 is in a fixed state fixed to the guide mounting member 51. In such a fixed state, the receiving portion 82 receives the lower end of the guide 53, so that the guide 53 can be prevented from coming off from the mounting portion 52. When the bolt 84 is loosely operated from the fixed state, the stopper 80 is in a free state in which the stopper 80 can swing and rotate around the bolt 84 as shown in FIG. As described above, by gently operating the bolt 84, the state of the stopper 80 can be changed between the fixed state and the free state.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the side surface 61 of the guide mounting member 51 has a width dimension slightly larger than the width dimension of the arm portion 81, and swings and rotates around the bolt 84 of the arm portion 81 in the fixed state. A restriction groove 90 (arm restriction element) for restriction is engraved. The restriction groove 90 is a long groove that runs in the vertical direction, and the swinging of the arm part 81 is restricted by receiving the side edge of the arm part 81 mounted along the restriction groove 90 with the groove wall (see FIG. 10). ). In this way, it is possible to prevent the stopper 80 from being inadvertently rotated in the tightening operation (rotation operation) of the bolt 84 to become an oblique posture, so that the appropriate state as shown in FIG. The guide 53 can be prevented from being detached from the mounting portion 52 in the posture.

  When removing the guide 53 from the mounting portion 52, the bolt 84 is loosely operated to bring the stopper 80 into a free state. In such a free state, as shown in FIG. 9, the stopper 80 can be moved downward by the length of the elongated hole 83. In addition, as shown in FIG. 12, in the free state, by rotating the stopper 80 around the bolt 84, the receiving portion 82 is moved from the insertion / removal locus of the guide 53 when the guide 53 is attached to and detached from the mounting portion 52. Can be evacuated. In the retracted position as described above, the guide 53 can be removed from the opening 71 on the lower surface side of the mounting portion 52, and in addition, a new guide 53 can be inserted into the mounting portion 52 from the opening 71 and mounted. . After the guide 53 is inserted into the mounting portion 52 and mounted, the arm portion 81 is placed along the restriction groove 90, and the arm portion 81 is moved along the restriction groove 90 until the receiving portion 82 contacts the lower end surface of the guide 53. Move upward. Next, the bolts 84 are tightened in a state where the receiving portion 82 is in contact with the lower end surface of the guide 53, and the stopper 80 is fixed. Since the bolt 84 can be tightened in a state where the side edge of the arm portion 81 of the stopper 80 is received by the groove wall of the restriction groove 90, the stopper 80 does not rotate carelessly and assumes an oblique posture. . As described above, even if the guide 53 is worn by repeated contact with the substrate W, the regulation function of the regulation body 50 can be recovered by exchanging it with a new guide 53. However, the regulation of the regulating body 50 can also be achieved by rotating the fixed amount within the mounting portion 52 without replacing the guide 53 and mounting the guide 53 again so as to face the substrate W at a different position on the outer peripheral surface 67. It is possible to restore function.

  When the substrate W is sucked and held by the Bernoulli chuck 10, the positional accuracy of the hand unit 5 and the Bernoulli chuck 10 with respect to the substrate W becomes a problem. If the position accuracy is insufficient and the guide 53 is forcibly brought into contact with the upper surface of the substrate W, the substrate W cannot be damaged, and the substrate W cannot be sucked and held. On the other hand, the higher the position accuracy, the more accurately the substrate W can be sucked. However, in order to secure the position accuracy, the movement speed of the hand unit 5 is decreased or the mechanism vibration due to the inertial force generated by the acceleration during deceleration is reduced. If it stops until it is settled, it takes time to position the hand unit 5 and the Bernoulli chuck 10, and the transfer operation cannot be performed efficiently. In the present embodiment, the restricting body 50 is provided so as to surround the substrate W, and the outer peripheral surface 67 of the guide 53 constituting the restricting body 50 is inclined in a direction away from the substrate W as it goes downward. By making the positional accuracy of the Bernoulli chuck 10 relative to the substrate W moderate, the transfer operation of the substrate W can be performed more quickly.

  If the substrate W is adsorbed by the Bernoulli chuck 10 in a state where the guide 53 and the substrate W are slightly displaced and separated from the distance E in FIG. The peripheral edge of the substrate W comes into contact with the oblique outer peripheral surface 67 of the guide 53 in a point contact manner in advance. Further, as the substrate W approaches the suction surface of the Bernoulli chuck 10, the peripheral edge of the substrate W is guided by the oblique outer peripheral surface 67 of the guide 53 in the direction opposite to the previous biasing direction. The deviation from the Bernoulli chuck 10 can be repaired. Therefore, the substrate W can be sucked and held in a state in which the substrate W is always corrected to an unbiased posture. Furthermore, it is possible to eliminate the swinging of the substrate W due to the difference in air resistance acting on the periphery during transfer.

  When the guide 53 is worn due to contact with the substrate W, only the guide 53 needs to be replaced in the above procedure. Therefore, the arrangement position of the regulating body 50 is not changed at all with the replacement work of the guide 53, and the regulating function of the regulating body 50 is restored simply and reliably by arranging the guide 53 at the optimum position. Can do. Further, with the replacement work of the guide 53, there is no need to reset the arrangement position of the regulating body using the jig 65 (see FIG. 9), and the replacement work of the guide 53 is advanced more quickly and easily. Is possible. However, when the shape or the like of the substrate W to be transferred is changed, the arrangement position of the guide mounting member 51 in the slide groove 59 using the jig 65 whose position of the reference surface 66 is changed according to the change. Can be reset.

  14 to 16 show another embodiment of the guide 53. 14 shows a hollow cylindrical guide 53, FIG. 15 shows a conical guide 53, and FIG. 16 shows a truncated cone-shaped guide 53. As described above, the guide 53 in the present invention may be a resin molded product having the outer peripheral surface 67 having a perfect circular cross section, and is not limited to the cylindrical shape as shown in the above embodiment. As described above, if the guide 53 is a resin part having the outer peripheral surface 67 having a perfect circular cross section, and the mounting portion 52 of the guide mounting member 51 is shaped to match the side surface of the guide 53, The periphery of W can be received in a point contact manner.

  In the above embodiment, the Bernoulli chuck 10 is configured by a total of four chuck units 33, but the number of chuck units 33 is not limited to this. The number of the regulating bodies 50 is not limited to the number (8) shown in the above embodiment. For example, when the substrate W has a quadrangular shape, the four sides of the substrate W are received by at least four regulating bodies 50. If you can do it. Moreover, if the total number of the regulation bodies 50 is four or more, it can increase suitably.

5 Hand part 10 of parallel mechanism Bernoulli chuck 32 Chuck base 33 Chuck unit 50 Regulator 51 Guide mounting member 52 Mounting part 53 Guide 54 Locking fixture 56 Inclined surface 59 of guide mounting member Slide groove 67 Outer peripheral surface 70 of mounting part Substrate side opening 71 Opening on the lower end side of the mounting portion 80 Stopper 81 Arm portion 82 constituting the stopper Receiving portion 83 constituting the stopper Inserting hole 84 in the arm portion 84 Bolt 85 Screw hole 90 in the guide mounting member Arm restriction element (regulation groove) )
W substrate

Claims (5)

A substrate transfer apparatus in which a Bernoulli chuck for sucking and holding a substrate in a non-contact state and a plurality of regulating bodies arranged so as to surround the periphery of the Bernoulli chuck are provided in a hand portion of a parallel mechanism. ,
The Bernoulli chuck comprises a chuck base and a chuck unit provided on the lower surface of the chuck base,
The restricting body includes a guide mounting member configured to be position-adjustable with respect to the chuck base, a guide that is detachably mounted on a mounting portion of the guide mounting member, and the guide mounting member is fixed so that the guide mounting member cannot be moved. Including a locking fixture,
The guide is a resin part having an outer peripheral surface with a perfect circular cross section, and when the guide is mounted on the mounting portion, the outer peripheral surface of the inclined guide receives the peripheral edge of the substrate in a point contact manner. A substrate transfer apparatus configured to be able to regulate sliding movement in a direction parallel to the surface of the substrate. The guide mounting member is a rectangular column-shaped metal molded product that is long in the vertical direction, and an inclined surface is formed on a side surface facing the substrate at the lower end thereof,
The mounting portion has two openings, an opening on the substrate side opened on the inclined surface of the guide mounting member and an opening on the lower end side opened on the lower end of the guide mounting member, and the outer periphery of the guide It is a groove with a cross-section part of a circular arc shape that holds a part of the surface in a fitting state,
In a state where the guide is mounted on the mounting portion, a part of the outer peripheral surface of the guide is exposed from the inclined surface to the outer surface through the opening on the substrate side, and the outer periphery of the guide exposed from the inclined surface The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the surface is configured to receive a peripheral edge of the substrate so that sliding movement in a direction parallel to the surface of the substrate can be regulated.   The guide mounting member is configured to be slidable in one direction along the surface of the chuck base along a slide groove formed in the chuck base, and to be non-rotatable in the slide groove. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is transferred and locked by the lock fixture at an arbitrary adjustment position along the line. The guide mounting member includes a stopper for retaining and holding the guide mounted on the mounting portion.
The stopper includes an arm portion along the outer surface of the guide mounting member, and a receiving portion that is provided at a lower end of the arm portion and receives the lower end of the guide mounted on the mounting portion.
The stopper is attached to the guide mounting member by fastening a mounting bolt to a screw hole provided in the guide mounting member through an elongated hole-shaped insertion hole provided in the arm portion and extending in the vertical direction. Fixed,
The stopper includes a fixed state in which the arm portion is fixed to the guide mounting member by the bolt, and the receiving portion receives a lower end of the guide to prevent the guide from falling off the mounting portion, and the bolt is 4. The structure according to claim 1, wherein the state of the arm portion can be changed with respect to the guide mounting member between a loosened state and a free state in which the arm portion can swing and rotate around the bolt. 5. Substrate transfer device.   The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 4, wherein an arm regulating element is provided on one side surface of the guide mounting member for regulating swinging rotation of the arm portion around the bolt in the holding state.

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