JP2020128289A - Substrate conveyance system and control method of substrate conveyance system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a substrate conveyance system capable of supplying a glass substrate to be carried out from a wire cassette to various positions, and recovering the glass substrate to be carried into the wire cassette from various positions.SOLUTION: A substrate conveyance system 1 includes: a first substrate conveyance device 4 for carrying out a glass substrate 2 from a wire cassette 3; a substrate conveyance robot 5 having a hand 33 on which the glass substrate 2 is mounted; and a second substrate conveyance device 6 for conveying the glass substrate 2 between the first substrate conveyance device 4 and the substrate conveyance robot 5. The first substrate conveyance device 4, the second substrate conveyance device 6 and the substrate conveyance robot 5 are arranged in this order in the X direction. The substrate conveyance robot 5 includes: an arm 34 to which the hand 33 is connected; an arm drive mechanism for expanding/contracting the arm 34; an arm lifting mechanism for lifting the arm 34; and a rotary mechanism for rotating the arm 34 with the vertical direction being the axial direction of the rotation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a substrate transfer system for transferring a glass substrate between a wire cassette capable of accommodating a plurality of glass substrates and a processing device that performs a predetermined process on the glass substrate. The present invention also relates to a method of controlling such a substrate transfer system.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a substrate supply device for supplying a glass substrate to a processing device that performs a predetermined process on a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device is known (for example, refer to Patent Document 1). The substrate supply device described in Patent Document 1 includes a first unit, a second unit, and a transport unit. The first unit and the second unit each include a mounting portion on which the wire cassette is mounted, an elevating mechanism for elevating the mounting portion, and a roller conveyor for conveying the glass substrate. The transport unit is a roller conveyor. The substrate supply device is arranged on the upstream side of the processing device. The first unit, the second unit, and the transport unit are arranged in this order from the upstream side to the downstream side. In the substrate supply device, the glass substrate carried into the processing device is finally transported by the transport unit.

JP, 2018-83700, A

In the case of the substrate supply device described in Patent Document 1, the glass substrate that is unloaded from the wire cassette and is loaded into the processing device is unloaded from the wire cassette because it is finally transported by the transport unit that is the roller conveyor. The glass substrate can be supplied only to a certain position.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate transfer system capable of supplying glass substrates carried out from a wire cassette to various positions and collecting glass substrates carried into a wire cassette from various positions. To provide. Moreover, the subject of this invention is providing the control method of such a board|substrate conveyance system.

In order to solve the above problems, the substrate transfer system of the present invention is a first substrate transfer for carrying out a glass substrate from a wire cassette capable of accommodating a plurality of glass substrates or carrying a glass substrate into the wire cassette. An apparatus, a substrate transfer robot having a hand on which a glass substrate is mounted, and a second substrate transfer device for transferring a glass substrate between the first substrate transfer device and the substrate transfer robot. A mounting part on which the wire cassette is mounted, a mounting part elevating mechanism for elevating the mounting part, and a plurality of first linear parts that contact the lower surface of the glass substrate and linearly convey the glass substrate in the horizontal direction. The substrate transfer robot includes a first transfer conveyor having a transfer roller, an arm to which the hand is connected, a base that forms the lower end of the substrate transfer robot, and the hand that is straight in a horizontal direction with respect to the base. A hand moving mechanism for moving the arm with respect to the base, an arm elevating mechanism for elevating and lowering the arm with respect to the base, and a rotating mechanism for rotating the arm with respect to the base with the up-down direction as the axis of rotation. When the transport direction of the glass substrate by the first transport conveyor is the first direction and the direction orthogonal to the vertical direction and the first direction is the second direction, the second substrate transport device transports the glass substrate in the first direction. A second transfer conveyor and a slide mechanism for linearly moving the second transfer conveyor in the second direction are provided, and the first substrate transfer device, the second substrate transfer device, and the substrate transfer robot move in the first direction. It is characterized by being arranged in order.

In the substrate transfer system of the present invention, the first substrate transfer device, the second substrate transfer device, and the substrate transfer robot are arranged in this order in the first direction. Further, according to the present invention, the substrate transfer robot includes a hand on which a glass substrate is mounted, an arm to which the hand is connected, a hand moving mechanism for linearly moving the hand in a horizontal direction, and an arm lifting mechanism for lifting the arm. And a rotating mechanism for rotating the arm with the vertical direction as the axis of rotation.

Therefore, in the present invention, the glass substrate carried out from the wire cassette placed on the placing part of the first substrate transport device and transported by the second substrate transport device is supplied to various positions by the substrate transport robot, The glass substrate collected from various positions by the substrate transfer robot and transferred to the second substrate transfer device can be carried into the wire cassette mounted on the mounting portion of the first substrate transfer device. .. That is, according to the present invention, it is possible to supply the glass substrates carried out from the wire cassette to various positions and to collect the glass substrates carried into the wire cassette from various positions.

In the present invention, the substrate transfer system includes, for example, a plurality of first substrate transfer devices arranged in the second direction.

In the present invention, the second transfer conveyor is a roller conveyor having a plurality of second transfer rollers that contact the lower surface of the glass substrate and transfer the glass substrate in the first direction. It is preferable to provide a substrate lifting mechanism that lifts the glass substrate that comes into contact with the second transport roller and floats the glass substrate from the second transport roller. With this configuration, it is possible to relatively easily prevent the interference between the hand of the substrate transfer robot and the second transfer roller when the glass substrate is transferred between the hand of the substrate transfer robot and the second transfer conveyor. Will be possible.

In the present invention, for example, the arm is composed of a plurality of arm portions that are rotatably connected to each other, and the hand moving mechanism expands and contracts the arm so that the hand moves linearly in a state in which the hand faces a certain direction. It is an arm drive mechanism.

In the present invention, the second substrate transfer device detects the position in the first direction, the position in the second direction, and the inclination with respect to the first direction of the glass substrate that has been unloaded from the wire cassette and placed on the second transfer conveyor. It is preferable to provide a detection mechanism for According to this structure, for example, the detection mechanism is attached to the hand of the substrate transfer robot, and the position of the glass substrate placed on the second transfer conveyor in the first direction, the position in the second direction, and the first direction. In comparison with the case where the substrate transfer robot is operated to detect the tilt, the position of the glass substrate mounted on the second transfer conveyor in the first direction, the position in the second direction, and the tilt with respect to the first direction are compared. It becomes possible to detect in a short time.

In the present invention, the substrate transfer system includes a control unit for controlling the substrate transfer system, and the control unit mounts the glass substrate placed on the second transfer conveyor on the hand based on the detection result of the detection mechanism. The position of the second transfer conveyor in the second direction is corrected by the slide mechanism, and the position of the hand in the first direction when the glass substrate placed on the second transfer conveyor is mounted on the hand is the hand moving mechanism. It is preferable that the rotation mechanism corrects the inclination of the hand with respect to the first direction when the glass substrate placed on the second conveyor is mounted on the hand.

With this configuration, in order to correct the mounting position of the glass substrate mounted on the hand from the second transfer conveyor, the position of the glass substrate is corrected by contacting the glass substrate mounted on the second transfer conveyor. Even if the second substrate transfer device is not provided with such a contact type alignment mechanism, the mounting position of the glass substrate mounted on the hand from the second transfer conveyor can be corrected in a non-contact manner. Therefore, it is possible to simplify the configuration of the second substrate transfer device and prevent damage to the glass substrate when correcting the mounting position of the glass substrate mounted on the hand from the second transfer conveyor. Will be possible. Further, as compared with the case where the position of the glass substrate is corrected by the contact type alignment mechanism, the mounting position of the glass substrate mounted on the hand can be corrected in a short time. Further, with this configuration, even when the substrate transfer robot does not have a slide mechanism that linearly moves the arm in the second direction, when the glass substrate placed on the second transfer conveyor is mounted on the hand. It is possible to correct the relative position of the glass substrate in the second direction with respect to the hand.

The substrate transfer system of the present invention is controlled by the following control method, for example. That is, in the present invention, for example, based on the detection result of the detection mechanism, the position of the second transfer conveyor in the second direction when the glass substrate placed on the second transfer conveyor is mounted on the hand is moved by the slide mechanism. The position of the glass substrate placed on the second transport conveyor is corrected by the hand moving mechanism and the glass placed on the second transport conveyor is corrected. A tilting mechanism corrects an inclination of the hand with respect to the first direction when the substrate is mounted on the hand.

In this case, even if the second substrate transport device does not include a contact type alignment mechanism that contacts the glass substrate placed on the second transport conveyor to correct the position of the glass substrate, Since the mounting position of the glass substrate mounted on the hand from the conveyor can be corrected in a non-contact manner, the configuration of the second substrate transfer device can be simplified, and at the same time, the second transfer conveyor can transfer the hand to the hand. It is possible to prevent damage to the glass substrate when correcting the mounting position of the glass substrate mounted on the glass substrate. Further, as compared with the case where the position of the glass substrate is corrected by the contact type alignment mechanism, the mounting position of the glass substrate mounted on the hand can be corrected in a short time. Further, in this case, even when the substrate transfer robot is not provided with the slide mechanism for linearly moving the arm in the second direction, when the glass substrate mounted on the second transfer conveyor is mounted on the hand. , It is possible to correct the relative position of the glass substrate in the second direction with respect to the hand.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to supply the glass substrates carried out from the wire cassette to various positions and to collect the glass substrates carried into the wire cassette from various positions.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the substrate transfer system according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention. It is a front view of the 1st board|substrate conveyance apparatus shown in FIG. It is a schematic side view of the 1st board|substrate conveyance apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view of a second transfer conveyor of the second substrate transfer device shown in FIG. 1. It is a side view of the 2nd board|substrate conveyance apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a side view of the substrate transfer robot shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the substrate transfer robot shown in FIG. 1 and a second transfer conveyor shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 3 is a block diagram for explaining configurations of a substrate transfer robot and a second substrate transfer device shown in FIG. 1.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Overall configuration of substrate transfer system and configuration of substrate unloading device)
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a substrate transfer system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of the substrate unloading device 4 shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the substrate unloading device 4 shown in FIG.

The substrate transfer system 1 of the present embodiment is a system for supplying the glass substrate 2 to a processing device (not shown) that performs a predetermined process on the glass substrate 2 for a liquid crystal display device. The substrate transfer system 1 includes a plurality of substrate unloading devices 4 for unloading the glass substrates 2 from a wire cassette 3 capable of accommodating a plurality of glass substrates 2, and a substrate transfer robot 5 for supplying the glass substrates 2 to a processing device ( Hereinafter, referred to as a "robot 5") and a substrate transfer device 6 that transfers the glass substrate 2 between the substrate unloading device 4 and the robot 5. In this embodiment, the substrate transfer system 1 includes four substrate unloading devices 4. The substrate unloading device 4 of the present embodiment is a first substrate carrying device, and the substrate carrying device 6 is a second substrate carrying device.

The substrate unloading device 4 linearly conveys the glass substrate 2 in a horizontal direction, a placing portion 8 on which the wire cassette 3 is placed, a raising/lowering mechanism 9 as a placing portion raising/lowering mechanism for raising and lowering the placing portion 8. And a transfer conveyor 10 as a first transfer conveyor. In the following description, the transport direction of the glass substrate 2 by the transport conveyor 10 (X direction in FIG. 1) is referred to as “front-back direction”, and the Y direction in FIG. And The X1 direction side in FIG. 1 or the like, which is one side in the front-rear direction, is the “front” side, and the opposite side X2 direction side in FIG. 1 or the like is the “rear” side. The front-back direction of this embodiment is the first direction, and the left-right direction is the second direction.

The four substrate unloading devices 4 are arranged so as to be adjacent to each other in the left-right direction. That is, the four substrate unloading devices 4 are arranged in the left-right direction. The substrate unloading device 4, the substrate transfer device 6, and the robot 5 are arranged in this order from the rear side to the front side. That is, the substrate carry-out device 4, the substrate transfer device 6, and the robot 5 are arranged in this order in the front-back direction. The glass substrate 2 is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape. In the substrate unloading device 4 and the substrate transporting device 6, the long side direction and the front-back direction of the glass substrate 2 formed in a rectangular shape are substantially coincident with each other.

The wire cassette 3 is composed of a cassette frame 11 and a plurality of wires 12 arranged inside the cassette frame 11. The outer shape of the wire cassette 3 (that is, the outer shape of the cassette frame 11) has a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The wire 12 is fixed to the cassette frame 11 while being stretched in the left-right direction. In addition, the plurality of wires 12 are fixed to the cassette frame 11 with a certain space in the vertical direction and the front-back direction. The glass substrate 2 accommodated in the wire cassette 3 is placed on the wire 12, and the glass substrate 2 can be accommodated in the wire cassette 3 with a certain space in the vertical direction. There is.

The mounting portion 8 supports both ends of the lower surface of the wire cassette 3 in the left-right direction. In addition, the mounting portion 8 supports, for example, at both end sides in the left-right direction, for example, at both end sides in the front-rear direction of the lower surface of the wire cassette 3 and at a center position in the front-rear direction of the lower surface of the wire cassette 3. ing. The lifting mechanism 9 includes a motor and a power transmission mechanism that transmits the power of the motor to the mounting portion 8. The power transmission mechanism is, for example, a ball screw having a screw shaft that is rotated by the power of the motor and a nut member that engages with the screw shaft. The screw shaft is arranged so that the axial direction of the screw shaft and the vertical direction coincide with each other. The nut member is attached to the mounting portion 8.

The transport conveyor 10 is a roller conveyor. The transport conveyor 10 includes a plurality of transport rollers 13 that contact the lower surface of the glass substrate 2 to transport the glass substrate 2 in the front-rear direction, and a roller drive mechanism that drives the plurality of transport rollers 13. The plurality of transport rollers 13 are rotatably supported by the frame 14. Further, the plurality of transport rollers 13 are arranged at positions where the glass substrate 2 accommodated in the wire cassette 3 can be transported. The carrying roller 13 of the present embodiment is the first carrying roller.

The mounting portion 8 has a position where the lower end of the wire cassette 3 is arranged above the upper end of the transport roller 13 and a wire 12 arranged on the uppermost side of the wire cassette 3 is below the upper end of the carry roller 13. It can be moved up and down from the position where it is placed. When the glass substrate 2 housed in the wire cassette 3 is unloaded, the mounting portion 8 descends to a position where the lower surface of the glass substrate 2 in the wire cassette 3 is in contact with the transport roller 13. Then, the glass substrate 2 arranged at the lowermost side in the wire cassette 3 is unloaded by the transfer conveyor 10. That is, the glass substrates 2 are unloaded one by one from the wire cassette 3 in order from the glass substrate 2 housed in the lowermost stage of the wire cassette 3 toward the glass substrate 2 housed in the uppermost stage of the wire cassette 3. ..

Further, when the glass substrate 2 accommodated in the wire cassette 3 is unloaded, the plurality of transport rollers 13 except some of the transport rollers 13 enter the inside of the wire cassette 3. The plurality of transport rollers 13 transport the glass substrate 2 housed in the wire cassette 3 toward the front side. The frame 14 is arranged in a comb-teeth shape so that the transport roller 13 and the wire 12 that have entered the inside of the wire cassette 3 do not interfere with each other, and the plurality of transport rollers 13 are located at positions avoiding the wire 12 in the front-rear direction. It is located in.

(Structure and control method of substrate transfer device and substrate transfer robot)
FIG. 4 is a plan view of the transfer conveyor 17 of the substrate transfer device 6 shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a side view of the substrate transfer device 6 shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a side view of the robot 5 shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a plan view of the robot 5 shown in FIG. 1 and the transfer conveyor 17 shown in FIG. FIG. 8 is a block diagram for explaining the configurations of the robot 5 and the substrate transfer device 6 shown in FIG.

The substrate transfer device 6 includes a transfer conveyor 17 as a second transfer conveyor that transfers the glass substrate 2 in the front-rear direction, a base member 18 that movably supports the transfer conveyor 17 in the left-right direction, and a base member 18. A slide mechanism 19 for linearly moving the transport conveyor 17 in the left-right direction is provided.

The transport conveyor 17 is a roller conveyor. The transport conveyor 17 includes a plurality of transport rollers 20 that contact the lower surface of the glass substrate 2 to transport the glass substrate 2 in the front-rear direction, and a roller drive mechanism that drives the plurality of transport rollers 20. The transport rollers 13 of the transport conveyor 10 and the transport rollers 20 of the transport conveyor 17 are arranged at the same height. Further, the transfer conveyor 10 and the transfer conveyor 17 are arranged at positions where the glass substrate 2 can be delivered from the transfer conveyor 10 to the transfer conveyor 17 in the front-rear direction. The carrying roller 20 of the present embodiment is a second carrying roller. It should be noted that the conveyance roller 20 is not shown in FIGS. 1 and 7.

In addition, the substrate carrying device 6 is a substrate lifting mechanism 21 that lifts the glass substrate 2 that contacts the plurality of carrying rollers 20 and floats the glass substrates 2 from the plurality of carrying rollers 20, and is carried out from the wire cassette 3 and placed on the carrying conveyor 17. The glass substrate 2 is provided with a position in the front-rear direction, a position in the left-right direction (specifically, a position in the left-right direction with respect to the conveyor 17), and a detection mechanism 22 for detecting an inclination with respect to the front-rear direction. Note that the detection mechanism 22 is omitted in FIG. Further, the substrate transfer device 6 may include an ionizer arranged above the transfer conveyor 17.

The slide mechanism 19 includes a motor 24 and a power transmission mechanism that transmits the power of the motor 24. The power transmission mechanism includes, for example, a drive pulley and a driven pulley rotatably attached to both left and right ends of the base member 18, and a belt spanning the drive pulley and the driven pulley. The drive pulley is rotated by the power of the motor 24. A part of the belt is fixed to the frame of the transfer conveyor 17. Alternatively, the power transmission mechanism includes a rack fixed to the base member 18 and a pinion that meshes with the rack and rotates by the power of the motor 24. The pinion is rotatably attached to the frame of the transfer conveyor 17.

The slide mechanism 19 includes four substrate unloading devices 4 at a position where the transport conveyor 10 and the transport conveyor 17 of the substrate unloading device 4 arranged on the rightmost side of the four substrate unloading devices 4 are aligned in the left-right direction. The transfer conveyor 17 is moved between a position where the transfer conveyor 10 and the transfer conveyor 17 of the substrate unloading device 4 arranged on the leftmost side in the left-right direction coincide with each other in the left-right direction. The slide mechanism 19 also includes a detection mechanism 25 for detecting the position of the transport conveyor 17 in the left-right direction. The slide mechanism 19 is electrically connected to the control unit 26 that controls the substrate transfer system 1. Specifically, the motor 24 and the detection mechanism 25 are electrically connected to the control unit 26. The control unit 26 controls the motor 24 based on the detection result of the detection mechanism 25.

The substrate lifting mechanism 21 includes a plurality of support pins that come into contact with the lower surface of the glass substrate 2, a pin holding member to which lower ends of the plurality of support pins are fixed, and a lifting mechanism that lifts and lowers the pin holding member. The plurality of support pins are arranged at positions that do not interfere with the transport roller 20. The pin holding member can move up and down between a position where the upper end of the support pin is located above the upper end of the transport roller 20 and a position where the upper end of the support pin is located below the upper end of the transport roller 20. Has become.

The detection mechanism 22 includes two sensors 28 for detecting the horizontal position of the glass substrate 2 and the inclination with respect to the front-back direction, and a sensor 29 for detecting the front-back position of the glass substrate 2. .. The sensors 28 and 29 are optical sensors having a light emitting element and a light receiving element. The sensors 28 and 29 are line sensors including a plurality of light receiving elements arranged in a straight line. The sensors 28 and 29 are electrically connected to the control unit 26.

As shown in FIG. 7, the two sensors 28 are attached to one end of the transport conveyor 17 in the left-right direction. Further, the two sensors 28 are arranged at both ends of the transport conveyor 17 in the front-back direction. The sensor 28, which is a line sensor, is arranged so that the longitudinal direction (arrangement direction of the light receiving elements) of the sensor 28 and the left-right direction coincide with each other. The sensor 29 is attached to the front end of the transport conveyor 17. The sensor 29, which is a line sensor, is arranged so that the longitudinal direction of the sensor 29 and the front-back direction coincide with each other.

In the present embodiment, based on the detection result of the one end surface of the glass substrate 2 in the left-right direction by the two sensors 28, the position of the glass substrate 2 placed on the transport conveyor 17 in the left-right direction and the position placed on the transport conveyor 17 are set. The tilt of the glass substrate 2 with respect to the front-rear direction is detected, and based on the detection result of the front end surface of the glass substrate 2 by the sensor 29, the front-rear position of the glass substrate 2 placed on the conveyor 17 is detected. Detected.

The robot 5 is arranged at a position in the front-rear direction where the glass substrate 2 placed on the transport conveyor 17 can be received. The robot 5 is a horizontal articulated robot. The robot 5 includes a hand 33 on which the glass substrate 2 is mounted. The robot 5 of this embodiment includes two hands 33. In addition, the robot 5 constitutes two arms 34 to which the two hands 33 are respectively connected, a main body portion 35 that supports the two arms 34, a lower end portion of the robot 5, and the main body portion 35. And a base 36 for supporting. The hand 33 is rotatably connected to the tip side of the arm 34. The base end side of the arm 34 is rotatably connected to the main body 35. The body portion 35 is rotatably connected to a base 36.

The arm 34 is composed of two arm portions, an arm portion 38 and an arm portion 39, which are rotatably connected to each other, and extend and contract with respect to the main body portion 35. The base end side of the arm portion 38 is rotatably connected to the main body portion 35. The base end side of the arm portion 39 is rotatably connected to the tip end side of the arm portion 38. The hand 33 is rotatably connected to the tip end side of the arm portion 39.

The main body portion 35 includes two support members 40 that support the base ends of the two arms 34, an elevating member 41 to which the two supporting members 40 are fixed and which can be moved up and down, and an elevating member 41. A columnar member 42 that holds the columnar member 42 so as to be able to move up and down, and a turning member 43 that supports the lower end side of the columnar member 42 and that is rotatably connected to the base 36 are provided. The base end side of the arm 34 is rotatably connected to the tip end side of the support member 40. The base end side of the support member 40 is fixed to the elevating member 41. The columnar member 42 is configured by two column parts, that is, a first column part 44 fixed to the turning member 43 and a second column part 45 that holds the elevating member 41 so that the elevating member 41 can move up and down. The second pillar portion 45 is held by the first pillar portion 44 so as to be able to move up and down. The columnar member 42 may be composed of one column portion.

In the robot 5, the turning member 43 rotates with respect to the base 36 with the vertical direction as the axis of rotation. That is, the hand 33, the arm 34, and the main body 35 rotate with respect to the base 36 with the vertical direction as the axial direction of rotation. Further, the second pillar portion 45 moves up and down with respect to the first pillar portion 44, and the lifting member 41 moves up and down with respect to the second pillar portion 45 together with the hand 33, the arm 34, and the like. That is, the hand 33 and the arm 34 move up and down with respect to the base 36, the turning member 43, and the first pillar portion 44. Further, the arm 34 extends and contracts with respect to the main body 35 and the base 36. Specifically, the arm 34 extends and contracts with respect to the main body 35 and the base 36 so that the hand 33 moves linearly in the horizontal direction with the hand 33 facing in a certain direction. The robot 5 conveys the glass substrate 2 by a combination of these operations.

The robot 5 includes an arm drive mechanism 47 that expands and contracts the arm 34 so that the hand 33 moves linearly in a certain direction. Further, the robot 5 includes an arm elevating mechanism 48 that elevates and lowers the second pillar portion 45 with respect to the first pillar portion 44 and elevates and lowers the elevating member 41 with respect to the second pillar portion 45, and an axis that rotates in the vertical direction. As a direction, a turning mechanism 49 for turning the turning member 43 with respect to the base 36 is provided. That is, the robot 5 includes an arm lifting mechanism 48 that lifts and lowers the arm 34 with respect to the base 36, and a rotation mechanism 49 that rotates the arm 34 with respect to the base 36 with the vertical direction as the axis of rotation. I have it. The arm drive mechanism 47 of this embodiment is a hand movement mechanism that linearly moves the hand 33 with respect to the base 36.

The arm drive mechanism 47 includes a motor 50 and a power transmission mechanism that transmits the power of the motor 50. The power transmission mechanism includes, for example, a pulley, a belt, a speed reducer, and the like. Further, the arm drive mechanism 47 includes a detection mechanism 51 for detecting the amount of expansion and contraction of the arm 34. The arm drive mechanism 47 is electrically connected to the control unit 26. Specifically, the motor 50 and the detection mechanism 51 are electrically connected to the control unit 26. The control unit 26 controls the motor 50 based on the detection result of the detection mechanism 51.

The arm lifting mechanism 48 includes a motor 52 and a power transmission mechanism that transmits the power of the motor 52. The power transmission mechanism includes, for example, a pulley, a belt, a speed reducer, a ball screw, and the like. In addition, the arm lifting mechanism 48 includes a detection mechanism 53 for detecting the height of the arm 34. The arm lifting mechanism 48 is electrically connected to the control unit 26. Specifically, the motor 52 and the detection mechanism 53 are electrically connected to the control unit 26. The control unit 26 controls the motor 52 based on the detection result of the detection mechanism 53.

The rotating mechanism 49 includes a motor 54 and a power transmission mechanism that transmits the power of the motor 54. The power transmission mechanism includes, for example, a pulley, a belt, a speed reducer, and the like. The rotation mechanism 49 also includes a detection mechanism 55 for detecting the rotational position of the arm 34 with respect to the base 36. The rotating mechanism 49 is electrically connected to the control unit 26. Specifically, the motor 54 and the detection mechanism 55 are electrically connected to the control unit 26. The control unit 26 controls the motor 54 based on the detection result of the detection mechanism 55.

When the glass substrate 2 carried out from the substrate carrying-out device 4 is placed on the carrying conveyor 17, the carrying conveyor 10 and the carrying conveyor 17 of the substrate carrying-out device 4 carrying out the glass substrate 2 are arranged at the same position in the left-right direction. In this state, the glass substrate 2 carried by the carrying conveyor 10 and carried out from the wire cassette 3 is placed on the carrying conveyor 17.

When the glass substrate 2 is placed on the transport conveyor 17, the detection mechanism 22 detects the position of the glass substrate 2 placed on the transport conveyor 17 in the front-rear direction, the position of the left-right direction, and the inclination with respect to the front-rear direction. When the detection mechanism 22 detects the position of the glass substrate 2 in the front-rear direction, the position of the left-right direction, and the inclination with respect to the front-rear direction, the control unit 26 slides to a position where the robot 5 and the transfer conveyor 17 are aligned in the left-right direction. The transport conveyor 17 is moved by the mechanism 19.

After the glass substrate 2 is placed on the transport conveyor 17, the robot 5 and the transport conveyor 17 are moved to a position where they are aligned in the left-right direction, and then the glass substrate placed on the transport conveyor 17. The position in the front-back direction, the position in the left-right direction, and the inclination with respect to the front-back direction of 2 may be detected by the detection mechanism 22. Further, after the glass substrate 2 is placed on the transport conveyor 17, the glass substrate 2 placed on the transport conveyor 17 is moved while moving the transport conveyor 17 to a position where the robot 5 and the transport conveyor 17 are aligned in the left-right direction. The position in the front-back direction, the position in the left-right direction, and the inclination with respect to the front-back direction may be detected by the detection mechanism 22.

After that, the substrate lifting mechanism 21 floats the glass substrate 2 from the plurality of transport rollers 20, and then the robot 5 mounts the glass substrate 2 mounted on the transport conveyor 17 on the hand 33 and transports it to the processing device. When the glass substrate 2 placed on the transport conveyor 17 is mounted on the hand 33, the control unit 26 determines the left and right sides of the transport conveyor 17 when mounting the glass substrate 2 on the hand 33 based on the detection result of the detection mechanism 22. The position in the direction is corrected by the slide mechanism 19, the position in the front-back direction of the hand 33 when the glass substrate 2 is mounted on the hand 33 is corrected by the arm drive mechanism 47, and the position when the glass substrate 2 is mounted on the hand 33 is corrected. The tilt of the hand 33 with respect to the front-back direction is corrected by the rotation mechanism 49.

For example, as shown in FIG. 7, when the glass substrate 2 is placed on the transport conveyor 17 in a state of being inclined with respect to the front-back direction, the control unit 26 causes the glass substrate 2 to be mounted on the hand 33. After the tilt of the hand 33 with respect to the front-back direction is corrected by the rotation mechanism 49, the horizontal position of the conveyor 17 when the glass substrate 2 is mounted on the hand 33 is corrected by the slide mechanism 19, and the glass substrate 2 is moved. The arm drive mechanism 47 corrects the position of the hand 33 in the front-rear direction when the hand 33 is mounted on the hand 33.

It should be noted that the control unit 26 stores in advance the detection result of the detection mechanism 22 when the glass substrate 2 is placed at a predetermined reference position of the transport conveyor 17 in the correct orientation. The control unit 26 is mounted on the transport conveyor 17 based on the detection result of the detection mechanism 22 when the glass substrate 2 is actually supplied to the processing apparatus and the detection result of the detection mechanism 22 stored in advance in the control unit 26. When the placed glass substrate 2 is mounted on the hand 33, the horizontal position of the transfer conveyor 17, the front-back position of the hand 33, and the inclination of the hand 33 with respect to the front-back direction are corrected.

(Main effects of this embodiment)
As described above, in the present embodiment, the substrate carry-out device 4, the substrate transfer device 6, and the robot 5 are arranged in this order in the front-back direction. Further, in this embodiment, the robot 5 includes the hand 33 on which the glass substrate 2 is mounted, the arm 34 to which the hand 33 is connected, the arm drive mechanism 47 for linearly moving the hand 33 in the horizontal direction, and the arm 34. An arm elevating mechanism 48 for elevating and lowering the arm 34 and a rotating mechanism 49 for rotating the arm 34 with the up-down direction as the axis of rotation. Therefore, in this embodiment, the robot 5 can supply the glass substrate 2 unloaded from the wire cassette 3 and transported by the substrate transport device 6 to various positions. That is, in this embodiment, the glass substrate 2 carried out from the wire cassette 3 can be supplied to various positions.

In the present embodiment, the transport conveyor 17 includes a substrate lifting mechanism 21 that lifts the glass substrate 2 and floats the glass substrate 2 from the transport roller 20, and the robot 5 operates after the substrate lifting mechanism 21 lifts the glass substrate 2 from the transport roller 20. The glass substrate 2 placed on the transport conveyor 17 is mounted on the hand 33. Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is possible to relatively easily prevent the interference between the hand 33 and the transfer roller 20 when the glass substrate 2 is transferred from the transfer conveyor 17 to the robot 5.

In the present embodiment, the substrate transfer device 6 is a detection mechanism for detecting the position in the front-rear direction, the position in the left-right direction, and the inclination with respect to the front-rear direction of the glass substrate 2 that has been unloaded from the wire cassette 3 and placed on the transfer conveyor 17. 22 is provided. Therefore, in the present embodiment, for example, a detection mechanism that performs the same function as the detection mechanism 22 is attached to the hand 33 of the robot 5, and the position in the front-back direction and the left-right direction of the glass substrate 2 placed on the transport conveyor 17 are set. The position and the inclination with respect to the front-rear direction of the glass substrate 2 mounted on the transport conveyor 17 are compared with the case of detecting the position with respect to the front-rear direction. It becomes possible to detect in a short time.

In the present embodiment, the control unit 26 determines, based on the detection result of the detection mechanism 22, the slide mechanism 19 to determine the horizontal position of the transfer conveyor 17 when the glass substrate 2 placed on the transfer conveyor 17 is mounted on the hand 33. The position of the hand 33 in the front-rear direction when the glass substrate 2 is mounted on the hand 33 is corrected by the arm drive mechanism 47, and the hand 33 is tilted with respect to the front-rear direction when the glass substrate 2 is mounted on the hand 33. Is corrected by the rotation mechanism 49.

Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to correct the mounting position of the glass substrate 2 mounted on the hand 33 from the transport conveyor 17, the glass substrate 2 placed on the transport conveyor 17 is contacted to correct the position of the glass substrate 2. Even if the substrate transfer device 6 does not have the contact type alignment mechanism, the mounting position of the glass substrate 2 mounted on the hand 33 from the transfer conveyor 17 can be corrected in a non-contact manner. Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is possible to simplify the configuration of the substrate transfer device 6, and damage the glass substrate 2 when correcting the mounting position of the glass substrate 2 mounted on the hand 33 from the transfer conveyor 17. Can be prevented.

Further, in this embodiment, the mounting position of the glass substrate 2 mounted on the hand 33 can be corrected in a short time, as compared with the case where the position of the glass substrate 2 is corrected by the contact type alignment mechanism. Furthermore, in this embodiment, even if the robot 5 does not have a slide mechanism that linearly moves the arm 34 in the left-right direction, the glass substrate 2 placed on the conveyor 17 is mounted on the hand 33 by the slide mechanism 19. It is possible to correct the relative position of the glass substrate 2 in the left-right direction with respect to the hand 33 when performing.

(Other embodiments)
The above-described embodiment is an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

In the above-described embodiment, the substrate transfer system 1 may be a system for collecting the glass substrate 2 from the processing device. In this case, the substrate carry-out device 4 serves as a substrate carry-in device for carrying the glass substrate 2 into the wire cassette 3. Further, in this case, the glass substrate 2 collected by the robot 5 from the processing device is carried to the substrate loading device by the substrate transport device 6 and then loaded into the wire cassette 3 of the substrate loading device. The substrate loading device in this case is the first substrate transfer device.

In this case, the glass substrate 2 collected by the robot 5 from various positions and transported to the substrate transport device 6 can be loaded into the wire cassette 3 mounted on the mounting portion 8 of the substrate loading device. become. That is, the glass substrate 2 carried into the wire cassette 3 can be collected from various positions.

In the above-described embodiment, the number of substrate unloading devices 4 arranged in the left-right direction may be two, three, or five or more. Further, the number of substrate unloading devices 4 included in the substrate transfer system 1 may be one. Further, as described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, another substrate unloading device 4 may be installed behind the substrate unloading device 4. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the transfer conveyor 17 may be a conveyor other than a roller conveyor such as a belt conveyor.

In the above-described form, the robot 5 may include an arm that holds the hand 33 so as to be slidable in the horizontal direction. In this case, the robot 5 is provided with a hand moving mechanism that moves the hand 33 linearly in the horizontal direction with respect to the arm. Further, in the above-described form, the robot 5 may include a slide mechanism that moves the base 36 in the left-right direction. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the substrate transfer device 6 may include an elevating mechanism that moves up and down the transfer conveyor 17. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the glass substrate 2 may be a glass substrate used for purposes other than the liquid crystal display device.

1 substrate transfer system 2 glass substrate 3 wire cassette 4 substrate unloading device (first substrate transfer device)
5 Robot (substrate transfer robot)
6 Substrate transfer device (second substrate transfer device)
8 Placement part 9 Elevating mechanism (placement part elevating mechanism)
10 Transport Conveyor (First Transport Conveyor)
13 Transport roller (first transport roller)
17 Transport Conveyor (Second Transport Conveyor)
19 Slide Mechanism 20 Conveyor Roller (Second Conveyor Roller)
21 substrate lifting mechanism 22 detection mechanism 26 control unit 33 hand 34 arm 36 base 38, 39 arm unit 47 arm drive mechanism (hand moving mechanism)
48 Arm lifting mechanism 49 Rotating mechanism X First direction Y Second direction

Claims (7)

It has a first substrate transfer device for carrying out the glass substrate from a wire cassette capable of accommodating a plurality of glass substrates or carrying the glass substrate into the wire cassette, and a hand on which the glass substrate is mounted. A substrate transfer robot; and a second substrate transfer device for transferring the glass substrate between the first substrate transfer device and the substrate transfer robot,
The first substrate transfer device includes a mounting part on which the wire cassette is mounted, a mounting part elevating mechanism that elevates and lowers the mounting part, and a lower surface of the glass substrate that contacts the glass substrate in a horizontal direction. A first conveyor having a plurality of first conveyor rollers for linearly conveying to
The substrate transfer robot includes an arm to which the hand is connected, a base that constitutes a lower end portion of the substrate transfer robot, and a hand moving mechanism that linearly moves the hand horizontally with respect to the base. An arm elevating mechanism for elevating and lowering the arm with respect to the base, and a rotating mechanism for rotating the arm with respect to the base with the vertical direction as an axial direction of rotation,
Assuming that a transport direction of the glass substrate by the first transport conveyor is a first direction and a direction orthogonal to the vertical direction and the first direction is a second direction,
The second substrate transfer device includes a second transfer conveyor that transfers the glass substrate in a first direction, and a slide mechanism that linearly moves the second transfer conveyor in the second direction.
A substrate transfer system in which the first substrate transfer device, the second substrate transfer device, and the substrate transfer robot are arranged in this order in a first direction. The substrate transfer system according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of the first substrate transfer devices arranged in a second direction. The second transfer conveyor is a roller conveyor having a plurality of second transfer rollers that contact the lower surface of the glass substrate and transfer the glass substrate in a first direction,
The said 2nd board|substrate conveyance apparatus is equipped with the board|substrate lifting mechanism which lifts the said glass substrate which contact|abuts a some said 2nd conveyance roller, and floats it from a plurality of said 2nd conveyance rollers. The substrate transfer system described. The arm is composed of a plurality of arm portions rotatably connected to each other,
4. The substrate according to claim 1, wherein the hand moving mechanism is an arm driving mechanism that expands and contracts the arm so that the hand moves linearly in a certain direction. Transport system. The second substrate transfer device detects a position in the first direction, a position in the second direction, and an inclination with respect to the first direction of the glass substrate that is unloaded from the wire cassette and placed on the second transfer conveyor. 5. The substrate transfer system according to claim 1, further comprising a detection mechanism for A control unit for controlling the substrate transfer system,
The control unit determines the position of the second transport conveyor in the second direction when the glass substrate placed on the second transport conveyor is mounted on the hand, based on the detection result of the detection mechanism. The slide mechanism corrects the position of the hand in the first direction when the glass substrate placed on the second conveyer is mounted on the hand, and the second moving mechanism corrects the position of the hand in the first direction. 6. The substrate transfer system according to claim 5, wherein an inclination of the hand with respect to the first direction when the glass substrate mounted on the transfer conveyor is mounted on the hand is corrected by the rotating mechanism. A method for controlling a substrate transfer system according to claim 5, wherein
Based on the detection result of the detection mechanism, the slide mechanism corrects the position in the second direction of the second transfer conveyor when the glass substrate placed on the second transfer conveyor is mounted on the hand. Then, the position in the first direction of the hand when the glass substrate placed on the second transport conveyor is mounted on the hand is corrected by the hand moving mechanism, and the glass substrate is placed on the second transport conveyor. A method for controlling a substrate transfer system, wherein the tilt of the hand with respect to the first direction when the placed glass substrate is mounted on the hand is corrected by the rotating mechanism.

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