JP2811238B2 - Substrate take-out device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate take-out apparatus for taking out substrates one by one from a substrate storage container (cassette) in which substrates such as semiconductor wafers and glass plates for manufacturing liquid crystal are stored in multiple stages.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a cassette for accommodating substrates has a plurality of grooves (substrate accommodating grooves) for accommodating substrates in multiple stages, two side wall members formed on the inner surface of the cassette at equal pitches and opposed to each other. A plate-like connecting member for keeping the distance between members constant and reinforcing the same is provided on the upper and lower portions of the side wall member. The substrate is stored horizontally in each substrate storage groove.

On the other hand, a substrate take-out device is provided with an arm for taking out a substrate from a cassette in which the substrate is stored, and the arm is used to take out the substrate from the cassette as follows.

[0004] First, the arm is raised to a position slightly lower than the substrate from which the arm is to be taken out, together with an elevating member that moves up and down along the direction in which the substrate is stored in the cassette, and then the arm is inserted into the cassette. Then, the substrate is sucked and held in the middle of raising the arm again by a slight stroke enough to transfer the substrate from the substrate storage groove to the arm, and the arm is withdrawn from the cassette in that state, and the horizontal state is set in the substrate storage groove. Out of the substrate.

In such a series of operations, the height at which the arm enters the cassette for taking out the substrate (hereinafter referred to as the arm entry height) is controlled in the following manner.

A position is determined slightly below any one of the substrates in the cassette, that is, just below the entry margin provided so that the arm can enter without rubbing against the lower surface of the substrate. The substrate is taken out by controlling the elevation of the arm so that the height at the top or bottom of the storage stage corresponds to the arm entry height corresponding to the substrate at each stage.

However, since there is a connecting member at the lower part of the cassette between the bottom of the cassette and the groove for accommodating the lowermost substrate, the entry margin of the substrate accommodated in the lowermost stage is inevitably larger than that of the substrate accommodated in other stages. Become narrower. For this reason,
The substrate is taken out by controlling the arm to move up and down by the pitch of the storage stage, starting from the arm entry height for the lowermost substrate having a smaller entry margin than the other stages.

Alternatively, the storage of the substrates in the lowermost stage of the cassette is abandoned, and the pitch of the storage stages is increased or decreased by the pitch of the storage stages based on the arm entry height for the substrates in the stages other than the lowermost stage which can secure a sufficient entry margin. The substrate is taken out by controlling the raising and lowering of the arm to the height.

[0009]

However, the following problems have been pointed out in the above-mentioned conventional substrate unloading apparatus.

In the former control, that is, the control based on the arm entry height with respect to the lowermost substrate, the narrow entry margin for the lowermost substrate is uniformly applied to all the substrates. The operation reliability is inferior in that the arm enters the substrate in a stage other than the lower stage without rubbing against the lower surface of the substrate. In this regard, it is conceivable to form the arm as thin as possible, but there is a problem in mechanical strength, and this also causes inconvenience of poor reliability.

On the other hand, in the latter control, that is, in the control based on the arm entry height with respect to the substrates in the stages other than the lowermost stage, a sufficient entry allowance can be provided. It is assumed that it is not stored, and is not efficient.

Further, there are the following disadvantages between cassettes. The dimensions from the bottom surface of the cassette to the lowermost substrate accommodating groove, the degree of upward warping of the connecting member at the bottom of the cassette, and the like are different for each cassette and are not uniform. For example, even when the design dimensions of the cassettes are all the same, they may differ due to manufacturing errors of the dies, lack of quality maintenance, etc., or may differ due to differences in the cassette manufacturing destination.

[0013] For this reason, it is somewhat impossible to make the entry allowance at the time of taking out the lowermost substrate uniform for all cassettes as described above, and as a result, the size of the cassette to be used is reduced. Uniformity is required and there are restrictions on cassettes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to take out a substrate stored at the lowermost stage without any trouble, and to take out a substrate without being affected by a cassette to be used. It is another object of the present invention to provide a substrate unloading device that reliably performs the same.

[0015]

Means adopted in the first invention to achieve the above object is to mount the apparatus on a container mounting table as exemplified in the block diagram of FIG. from the substrates container C, a plurality of substrate storage container
1. A substrate unloading device for unloading a substrate W stored in a storage stage , wherein the lifting device M1 is reciprocally movable along the direction of the storage stage of the substrate W in the substrate storage container C, and is mounted on the lifting device M1; Holding arm HA capable of holding substrates
And the height at which the holding arm HA enters each of the storage stages in the substrate storage container when the substrate W is taken out from the substrate storage container C, the height of the holding arm HA into the substrate storage container.
It is standard arm entries margin of the interval of the not such hinder uniform penetration of
Arm entry height setting means M2 for setting each substrate W in the substrate storage container C as a height separated from the lower surface of the substrate to be taken out of each storage stage , and the holding arm HA at the set arm entry height. Control means M3 for driving and controlling the lifting / lowering means M1 until the movement of the holding arm HA is reached, forward / backward drive means M4 for horizontally driving the holding arm HA into and out of the substrate storage container, and the holding arm HA by the forward / backward driving means M4. A substrate transfer means M5 for controlling the drive of the lifting / lowering means M1 during the forward / backward drive to raise the holding arm HA, thereby transferring the substrate to be taken out from the storage stage of the substrate to the holding arm HA; Allowance for the standard arm
The narrowing correction amount for narrowing correction is input in response to prior SL container placed on the stage by substrate accommodating container C correction amount input means M
6 and the substrate WL stored at the bottom of the substrate storage container
With respect to the arm entry height setting means M2 ,
The arm entries height was set boss on the basis of the standard arm entries margin, as its gist in that it comprises an arm entries height changing means M7 lowermost vary based on narrowing correction amount the input.

The means employed in the second invention is shown in FIG.
As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 1, a substrate take-out device for taking out a substrate W stored in a plurality of storage stages in a substrate storage container C from a substrate storage container C mounted on a container mounting table. An elevating means M1 which is reciprocally movable along a direction of a storage step of the substrate W in the substrate storage container C.
1, mounted on the elevating unit M11, and the holding arms HA capable substrate holding, each said holding arm HA when taking out the substrate W from the substrate storage containers C of the substrate storage container
The height entering the housing stage, the substrate for the substrates W stored in stages other than the lowest in the container C, uniformly have a hinder entry of the holding arms HA downward the substrate W
Set standard arm entries afford only the extraction substrate lower surface of the interval of the height spaced downward, the substrate WL housed at the bottom, the only narrow lower arm entries margin than the standard arm entries margin top Arm entry height setting means M12 that is set at a height separated from the lower surface of the substrate stored in the lower stage, and drive control of the elevation means M11 until the holding arm HA reaches the set arm entry height. A control means M13, and an advance / retreat driving means M14 for driving the holding arm HA forward and backward in the horizontal direction into the substrate storage container.
The lifting and lowering means M11 is driven and controlled during the forward and backward driving of the holding arm HA by the forward and backward driving means M14, so that the holding arm HA is raised. A substrate transfer means M15 for transferring to the HA, and a substrate W stored in the lowermost stage
The lower limit arm entry allowance used by the arm entry height setting means M12 for setting the arm entry height for L is corrected.
The correction amount is set to the substrate storage container C mounted on the container mounting table.
Correction amount input means M15A for inputting according to
The arm entries margin, as its gist in that it comprises a correction means M16 for compensation based on the correction amount the input.

The setting of the arm entry height by the arm entry height setting means M2 or the arm entry height setting means M12 according to the first and second aspects of the present invention depends on the height at which the holding arm HA enters the substrate storage container. Is stored in advance for each substrate in each stage stored in the substrate storage container C, or is calculated in advance for each substrate in each stage, or calculated each time the substrate is taken out.

As shown in FIG. 3, arm entry heights (TH1a, TH1b, TH2, TH3...
Hn) is stored as follows. First, a substrate storage container serving as a model (a substrate storage container having a standard size or a substrate storage container having an ideal size is desirable, but an appropriate substrate storage container may be used) is actually mounted on the container mounting table. Then, the holding arm HA is actually moved horizontally below the substrate in each stage from a temporary arm entry height considered appropriate for taking out the substrate in each stage. Then, the holding arm H that has entered
If the distance between A and the lower surface of the substrate in each step can be secured as a standard arm entry allowance or a lower limit arm entry allowance that does not hinder the entry of the holding arm HA into the substrate storage container, the temporary arm entry at that time. The height is stored as the arm entry height corresponding to the substrate at each stage. Alternatively, based on various design dimensions such as the mounting height HWL of the substrate stored in the lowermost stage (hereinafter, also simply referred to as the lowermost substrate) WL, the pitch P between the substrates, the standard arm entry allowance d0, the lower limit arm entry allowance d1, and the like. And memorize them at the device design stage.

The symbols TH1a and TH1b in FIG.
Is the arm entry height with respect to the lowermost substrate WL, and TH1a is the arm entry height setting means M2 of the first invention.
And TH1b represents the arm entry height set by the arm entry height setting means M2 of the second invention.

On the other hand, when calculating the arm entry height corresponding to the board at each stage, the arm entry height is calculated for each board by using a calculation formula using the above design dimensions as parameters. That is, based on the placement height HWL of the lowermost substrate WL, the pitch P between the substrates, and the standard arm entry allowance d0, the following stage (1) relates to the second and subsequent substrates W (substrates other than the lowermost substrate WL). The arm entry height (TH2, TH3... THn) is calculated. (1) THn = HWL + P (n-1) -d0 where n is an integer of 2 or more and represents the number of storage stages of the substrate. If the pitch P between the substrates is equal, the arm entry height T for the second stage substrate W is calculated by the above equation (1).
H2 is calculated, and the arm entry height of the third and subsequent steps (TH3 ...
THn), the following equation (1-1) is used instead of equation (1).
Can also be calculated. (1-1) THn = TH2 + P.times. (N-2) where n is an integer of 3 or more and represents the number of storage stages of the substrate.

The arm entry height (TH1a, TH1b) with respect to the lowermost substrate WL is set to T in the first invention.
According to the second invention, it is calculated by the calculation formula of TH1b = HWL-d1 according to the calculation formula of H1a = HWL-d0. In addition,
In the first invention, as described later, the holding arm H
A is the arm entry height TH stored or calculated as described above.
It does not necessarily enter the substrate storage container from 1a.

The arm entry height (TH1a, TH1b) corresponding to the lowermost substrate WL is calculated by using the mounting height HWL of the lowermost substrate WL, the standard arm entry allowance d0, and the lower arm entry allowance d1. Can be determined mechanically based on, for example, restrictions on the device structure, restrictions on the device design, and the like. In this case, in the second invention, based on the mechanically calculated arm entry height TH1b, the board pitch P, the standard arm entry allowance d0, and the lower limit arm entry allowance d1, the following formula (2) is used. Arm entry heights for the second and subsequent substrates W (TH2, TH3... THn)
) Can be calculated. (2) THn = TH1b + d1 + P (n-1) -d0 Here, n is an integer of 2 or more and represents the number of storage stages of the substrate.

The pitch P between the substrates is not limited to the same pitch, and may be different between the substrates. The arm entry heights (TH1a, TH1b, TH2) are taken into consideration in consideration of the intervals between the substrates.
, TH3... THn) are set.

[0024]

The substrate unloading device according to the first aspect of the present invention having the above-described configuration determines the height at which the holding arm HA enters the substrate storage container when the substrate W is unloaded from the substrate storage container C. Is set by the arm entry height setting means M2 for each substrate W stored in each stage. Then, the arm entry height (TH1a, TH2 in FIG. 3)
, TH3... THn) until the holding arm HA reaches the lifting arm M1 by the control means M3. Thereafter, the holding arm HA is moved from the storage stage of the substrate storage container C by the forward / backward drive of the holding arm HA with respect to the substrate storage container C by the forward / backward drive means M4 and the drive control of the lifting / lowering means M1 by the substrate transfer means M5 during the forward / backward drive. The substrate W is transferred. By performing this for each substrate, the substrates W are taken out of the substrate storage container C one by one.

However, if the substrate to be taken out is the lowermost substrate WL, it operates as follows . First, the correction
From the quantity input means M6, a standard arc is set according to the substrate storage container C.
The narrowing correction amount for narrowing the approach margin d0 is input.
You. Then, as shown in FIG. 3 , the lowermost arm approach height
The arm changing means M7 is configured such that the arm entry height setting means M2 for the lowermost substrate WL is based on a uniform standard arm entry allowance d0.
Zui by setting boss was arm entries height (lowermost arm entries height, TH1a in FIG. 3) and inputted as described above
Change based on the amount of narrowing correction and enter the arm after this change
Height is the arm entries height TH 10 lowermost of the actual.

That is , the arm for the lowermost substrate WL
The entry allowance is the standard arm entry allowance d for the narrowing correction amount.
The lower arm entry height TH10 at which the holding arm HA actually enters when the lowermost substrate WL is taken out is smaller than 0 , and the arm entry height initially set by the arm entry height setting means M2. From TH1a , the correction amount
The new height is higher by the amount of the narrow correction input from the input means M6 . As a result, when the lowermost substrate WL is taken out, the holding arm HA reaches the separate arm entry height TH10 for the lowermost stage, so that the holding arm HA has an interval smaller than the arm entry allowance for the substrate W other than the lowermost substrate WL. The arm enters the substrate storage container with a margin for entry.

[0027] Thus, the extent of narrowing correction amount input via a correction amount input means M6 in accordance with the variations in dimensions between the container bottom and the lowermost substrate receiving groove in each substrate cassette C
The force to Rukoto, it is possible to avoid the inconvenience when the lowermost substrate was taken out such contact between the holding arms HA and lowermost substrate.

Further, the substrate unloading apparatus of the second invention having the above-described structure is arranged so that the lowermost substrate WL
The arm entry height of the holding arm HA at the time of taking out the other substrates W is set to the arm entry height TH1b for the lowermost substrate WL and the arm entry height (TH2, TH2, for the substrates W other than the lowermost substrate WL). TH3... THn) and is set by the arm entry height setting means M12. Then, similarly to the first invention, the lifting / lowering means M1 until the holding arm HA reaches the arm entry height of each substrate.
The substrate is taken out one by one from the substrate storage container C by performing the movement of No. 1 and the subsequent reciprocation drive of the holding arm HA and the transfer of the substrate to the holding arm HA.

However, the arm entry height setting means M12
Arm entries margin, for the substrate W other than the lowermost substrate WL is uniform as standard is but interval used for setting the arm entries height for each substrate (bottom substrate WL and the other substrate W) as described above The arm entry allowance d0 is a lower limit arm entry allowance d1 for the lowermost substrate WL which is smaller than the standard arm entry allowance. For this reason, when removing the lowermost substrate WL, the holding arm HA necessarily approaches the lower surface of the substrate and enters the substrate storage container as compared to when the substrate W other than the lowermost substrate WL is removed.

The lower limit arm entry allowance d 1 used by the arm entry height setting means M12 with respect to the lowermost substrate WL.
The correction amount of the substrate storage container is adjusted by the correction amount input means M15A.
Is input in response and C, the correction means M16 in this compensation amount
There based on lower bound arm entries margin corrected, arm entries height setting means M12 is set by changing from the arm entries height of the lowermost one of the previous (TH1b). In other words , the correction amount
Correction of lower limit arm entry allowance d1 by input means M15A
When the lowermost substrate WL is taken out after the amount input and correction by the correcting means M16 , the actual lowermost arm entry height TH10 reached by the holding arm HA is changed from the initially set lowermost arm entry height TH1b. , Correction means M
Thus, the upper and lower limits are changed by the correction of the lower limit arm entry allowance d1.

As a result, the difference between the substrate storage container serving as a model and the substrate storage container placed on the container mounting table, the dimensional variation from the bottom of the substrate storage container to the lowermost substrate storage groove, and the inclination of the groove. based on the degree or the like, the lower limit arm entries excess
The correction amount of the margin d1 is input from the correction amount input means M15A.
And enters the lower limit arm by the correction means M16 with the correction amount.
If the margin d1 is corrected, as in the first invention,
Various inconveniences can be avoided when the substrate stored in the lowermost stage is taken out. Moreover, for example, when a degree of such variation in size of up to the lowermost substrate receiving groove is using the homogeneous model substrate storage container, the lower limit arm entries lower arm entries margin correction and that it is not necessary margin d1 d1
Without the correction amount to zero correction of this, the holding arm HA, after reaching the initial lowermost arm entries height TH1b, lower arm entries margin d from the lowermost substrate lower surface
Enter the substrate storage container at a distance of one. However, although the lower limit arm entry allowance d1 is narrower than the standard arm entry allowance d0 in advance, the above-mentioned inconvenience can be avoided because the degree of variation in the dimensions is small.

In other words, the second invention distinguishes the taking out of the lowermost substrate WL and the taking out of the other substrates W from the beginning in terms of the width of the allowance of the arm entry of the holding arm HA below the substrate . From the correction amount input means M15A
Correction means based on the input correction amount of lower limit arm entry allowance d1
The lower limit arm entry allowance d1 is corrected by M16
By increasing or decreasing the arm entry allowance d1 in the increasing or decreasing direction, it is possible to cope with various differences between the individual substrate storage containers.

[0033]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, a preferred embodiment of a substrate unloading device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Prior to the description of the substrate unloading apparatus of this embodiment, a rotary substrate processing apparatus incorporating the apparatus will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 4 which is a schematic perspective view of the apparatus. Further, the substrate unloading apparatus of this embodiment performs substrate transfer with the processing apparatus and storage of the substrate in a cassette in addition to the unloading of the substrate.

The rotary substrate processing apparatus 1 is an apparatus for coating a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or the like with a photoresist or the like and performing a heat treatment. The rotary substrate processing apparatus 1 is roughly divided into the following two units. That is, the rotary type substrate processing apparatus 1 has the configuration shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the substrate W is taken out from the cassettes C1 to C4 in which the substrates W are stored in multiple stages and transported to the substrate transfer position P which is the substrate transfer position, or the substrate transfer position P
A substrate transfer unit 2 for transferring a substrate W from one of the cassettes capable of storing the substrate to the substrate W, and a processing device for performing a predetermined process on the substrate W taken out of the cassette And a process processing unit 3 which is an aggregate of

Next, each of the above units will be described.
First, the process processing unit 3 will be described. However, since this unit is not directly related to the gist of the present invention, only a brief description thereof will be given. As shown in FIG. 4, the process processing unit 3 heat-treats (heats) the substrate before and after the spin coating devices 31 and 32 for forming a chemical liquid thin film by dropping a chemical solution on the surface of the rotating substrate.・
(Cooling) heat treatment equipment 33, 34, 35. Further, each of the spin coating devices 31 and 32 and the heat treatment devices 33 and 3
A substrate transfer device 37 is provided that is horizontally movable in the direction of arrow A in the figure along the lines 4 and 35.

The substrate transporting device 37 has a U-shaped substrate supporting arm 37a, 37b on the upper surface of a stage 38 which can be horizontally moved in the direction of arrow A by a driving system (not shown).
A head 39 which is arranged on a step and is rotatable in the direction of arrow B in the figure.
It is comprised including. In addition, each of the substrate support arms 37
a and 37b are configured to be able to freely enter and exit from the head 39.

As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, which is a partial cutaway view of the rotary substrate processing apparatus 1, the substrate transfer unit 2 has a plurality of substrates W stored on the upper surface of the cassette mounting table 4 in multiple stages. There are two cassettes C1 and C2 and two cassettes C3 and C4 that do not store substrates. A main part of a substrate detection device for detecting the presence or absence of a substrate is provided inside the cassette mounting table 4, and various instructions are given to the substrate transfer unit 2 and the process processing unit 3 on the front surface of the cassette mounting table 4. Main operation panel 5 for the user. The cassette C
Although C3 and C4 are cassettes not containing substrates, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, all cassettes may be cassettes containing substrates. Further, each cassette is provided with a substrate accommodating groove at an equal pitch (for example, a pitch of 3/16 inch or 4/16 inch or the like), and accommodates substrates horizontally in this groove.

Further, the substrate transfer unit 2 includes a substrate transfer device 6 for taking out the substrate W from each cassette or storing the substrate W in each cassette, by using an arrow D in the drawing along the array of the cassettes C1 to C4. To be able to move horizontally in any direction.

As shown in FIG. 6 which is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 which is a sectional view taken along the line XX of FIG.
The substrate suction arm 7 provided at the tip thereof in the direction of the arrow D (horizontal direction) and the direction (vertical direction) along the storage step direction of the substrate W in the cassette (the direction of arrow E in FIG. 6).
As shown in the figure, the following structure is provided to move the cassette in the direction of arrow F (forward / backward direction) between the standby position outside the cassette and the take-out position that has entered the cassette.

The suction section 7a is connected to an air suction device (not shown), and when the substrate suction side becomes negative pressure by this air suction device, the suction portion 7a suctions the substrate W. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the standby position and the take-out position exist for each substrate in the cassette, and the height from the reference position T0 when the substrate suction arm 7 is lowered to its origin (the arm entry height). TH) differs for each substrate. That is, the arm entry height TH at the time of taking out the substrates of each stage in the cassette is predetermined based on the formation pitch of the substrate storage grooves, the distance from the reference position T0 to the lowest substrate in the cassette, and the like.

The number of steps from the bottom of the substrate accommodating groove and the arm entry height T when the substrate of the number of steps is taken out.
Arm entry height map corresponding to H (see FIG. 8)
Are stored in the ROM 82 of the main controller 80 described later. The setting of the arm entry height TH is performed as follows.

That is, a state in which a cassette serving as a model (a standard cassette in which the dimensions up to the lowermost substrate accommodating groove, for example, the cassette C4 is made faithfully to the design dimensions, for example, the cassette C4) is actually mounted on the cassette mounting table 4. Then, the substrate suction arm 7
Is raised to the temporary arm entry height, and then is actually entered into the cassette. In this case, the clearance (arm entry allowance) from the lower surface of the substrate is about 0.5 mm for the lowermost substrate (lower limit arm entry allowance d1 in FIG. 3).
When about 1.5 mm (standard arm entry allowance d0 in FIG. 3) for the second and subsequent boards, the temporary arm entry height is set as the actual arm entry height TH corresponding to each board. Teaching every time.

Approximately 0.1 mm for the substrate stored in the lowermost stage.
The clearance of 5 mm is determined as an appropriate value that allows the substrate suction arm 7 to enter the cassette without contacting the substrate or the reinforcing material at the bottom of the cassette when the lowermost substrate in the standard cassette is taken out. I have. On the other hand, about 1.5 mm for the second and subsequent substrates
Is set as a value that allows the substrate suction arm 7 to enter the cassette with a sufficient margin with respect to the lower surface of each substrate of the second and subsequent stages even if the cassette is slightly different in size from the standard cassette.

As shown in FIG. 6, the substrate transfer device 6 includes a moving mechanism 40 for moving the substrate suction arm 7 in the direction of arrow D. The moving mechanism 40 is provided with the substrate transfer device 6
Is slidably mounted on a pair of guide rails 42 juxtaposed on the cassette mounting table 4 along the rows of the cassettes C1 to C4, and is juxtaposed on the guide rails 42. And is screwed to the ball screw 43. Accordingly, the rotation of a motor (not shown) is transmitted to the ball screw 43, and the ball screw 43 rotates forward and backward, whereby the substrate suction arm 7 reciprocates along the cassettes C1 to C4.

Further, the substrate transfer device 6 is provided with an arm lifting mechanism 50 mounted on the moving mechanism 40 for moving the substrate suction arm 7 in the vertical direction, which is the direction of arrow E in the figure. The arm raising / lowering mechanism 50 combines the lifting / lowering means M1 and the substrate transfer means M5 in the block diagram of FIG. 1 for the first invention, and the lifting / lowering means in the block diagram of FIG. 2 for the second invention. A portal frame 51 erected on the movable base table 41 and a pair of guide shafts 52 erected in the vertical direction on the portal frame 51, which also serve as M11 and the substrate transfer means M15. Prepare.

A lifting member 53 is slidably mounted on the guide shaft 52 and is screwed to a ball screw 54 provided in parallel with the guide shaft 52. A motor 55 for rotating the ball screw 54 is provided with a gate-shaped motor. A beam member 51a at the upper end of the frame 51 is provided. This motor 55 and ball screw 5
The belt 55a is stretched between the cassette 4 and the ball screw 54, and the rotation of the motor 55 is transmitted to the ball screw 54, and the ball screw 54 rotates in the forward and reverse directions. Move up and down.

Further, the substrate transfer device 6 is provided with an arm advance / retreat drive mechanism 60 for moving the substrate suction arm 7 in the direction of arrow F on the upper surface of a pair of brackets 56 provided on the elevating member 53 of the arm elevating mechanism 50. . The arm advance / retreat drive mechanism 60 is provided with a guide rail 62 on a base plate 61 fixed to the upper surface of a bracket 56 along a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the movable base table 41, and the arm base 63 is attached to the guide rail 62. A support rod 64 slidably mounted and supporting the substrate suction arm 7 in a cantilever manner is attached to an arm base 63.
It is configured to stand upright.

On the upper surface of the base plate 61 of the arm advance / retreat drive mechanism 60, an endless belt 65 is provided with a pair of driven pulleys 66a and 66b so as to form a track parallel to the guide rail 62.
The arm base 63 is fixed to an endless belt 65. An endless belt 68 is also stretched between a driven pulley 67 and a driven pulley 66b connected to a stepping motor 69 on the lower surface of the base plate 61. Accordingly, the rotation of the stepping motor 69 is transmitted to the endless belt 65 via the endless belt 68. When the stepping motor 69 rotates forward and backward, the arm base 63 reciprocates along the guide rail 62, and the substrate suction arm 7 moves forward and backward between the standby position and the take-out position in the cassette.

In addition, on the upper surface of the base plate 61, a transmission type optical sensor 7 having a slit parallel to the endless belt 65 is provided.
The L-shaped light-shielding plate 71 extends horizontally from the arm base 63 so as to pass through the slit. For this reason, the origin position of the arm base 63 is detected by detecting the passage of the slit of the light shielding plate 71 by the optical sensor 70. That is, it is detected that the substrate suction arm 7 is located at the standby position.

The substrate transfer device 6 includes the moving mechanism 40 for moving the substrate suction arm 7 and the arm lifting / lowering mechanism 5.
0, in addition to the arm reciprocating drive mechanism 60, as shown in FIG.
In order to support horizontally, three support pins 8a, 8b,
8c is provided on the base 9 so as to be movable up and down. In order to align the center of the substrate W supported by each of the support pins, an alignment plate 10 is provided on both sides of the base 9 so as to be able to reciprocate horizontally.

On the upper surface of the alignment plate 10, four
The guide pins 11 of the books are provided in a protruding manner in such an arrangement that they have substantially the same curvature as the outer diameter of the substrate W. Therefore, when each alignment plate 10 is reciprocated horizontally while the substrate W is supported by the support pins raised from the base 9, each guide pin 11 comes into contact with or separates from the outer periphery of the substrate W. The center alignment of the substrate W is completed.

The substrate W taken out of the cassette and center-aligned in this way is transferred to the substrate transfer position P (see FIG. 4) by the substrate transfer device 6 and then transferred to the substrate processing unit 3 already described. It is delivered to the device 37 and sequentially conveyed and processed by the spin coating device in the unit. Then, the processed substrate after the processing is returned to the substrate transfer position P by the substrate transfer device 37, and then stored in a predetermined cassette by the substrate transfer device 6.

As shown in FIG. 4, a cassette control panel 18 is provided on the upper surface of the cassette mounting table 4 to indicate a cassette containing substrates to be processed or to input a processing order for each cassette. Is provided for each cassette.

Further, the cassette mounting table 4 is provided with a substrate detecting device 20 for detecting whether or not the substrate W is stored in the cassette, for each cassette. This substrate detecting device 20
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, a U-shaped bracket 21 surrounding the cassette is provided so as to be able to move up and down in the direction of arrow E which is the direction of the storage step of the substrate W in the cassette. And a light sensor 24 including a light receiving element 22 and a light projecting element 23 for detecting the presence or absence of the substrate W stored in the cassette. The bracket 21 is moved up and down by a plate-shaped support 30 penetrating through the cassette mounting table 4 and fixed to the bracket 21, a rodless cylinder (not shown) for vertically moving the support 30, and an optical sensor elevating mechanism 25 having a guide rod (not shown). 9).

The substrate detecting device 20 includes, in addition to the above-described sensor, a detection member (not shown) that has the same number of slits as the substrate storage grooves of the cassette and is formed at the same pitch as the storage grooves and moves up and down in conjunction with the bracket 21. Timing detection sensor 2 for detecting the passing state of the slit in the detected member
6 (see FIG. 9). Therefore, based on the detection result of the passing state of the slit by the timing detection sensor 26 and the detection result of the presence or absence of the substrate in each substrate storage groove by the optical sensor 24, the substrate W is stored in the substrate storage groove of any stage of the cassette. Can be determined.

Next, a control system in the rotary substrate processing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to a block diagram shown in FIG. The control system according to the present embodiment includes a main controller 80 that controls the entire rotary substrate processing apparatus 1.
In addition, as its sub-controllers, a board transfer unit controller 90 for controlling the board transfer unit 2,
A substrate transport device controller 37A, which is a controller for each processing device constituting the process processing unit 3,
A spin coating device controller 31A for each spin coating device,
32A and heat treatment equipment controller 3 for each heat treatment equipment
3A, 34A and 35A.

The main controller 80 is configured as a logic operation circuit mainly including a well-known CPU 81 for executing a logic operation, a ROM 82 for previously storing various programs for controlling the CPU, a RAM 83 for temporarily storing various data, and the like. In addition, a storage disk 84 that can write and hold data at any time and stores a large amount of data in advance is built in.

Then, the main controller 80
By an input / output port 86 mutually connected to the CPU or the like via a common bus 85, input / output with the outside, for example,
Data is transferred between the main operation panel 5, which will be described later, the substrate transfer unit controller 90, the substrate transfer device controller 37A, and various controllers 31A to 35A for each processing device.

The substrate transfer unit controller 90 is connected to the substrate transfer device 6, the cassette control panel 18, the optical sensor elevating mechanism 25, and the like, in addition to the optical sensor 24 and the timing detection sensor 26. The arithmetic operation data obtained by the controller, such as signals from the sensors and the cassette control panel 18, is output to the main controller 80. The cassette control panel 18, optical sensor 24, timing detection sensor 26, optical sensor elevating mechanism 25, etc.
Are provided in each of the four cassettes C1 to C4 on the upper surface of the substrate, and each is connected to the substrate transfer unit controller 90.

The various controllers 37A, 31A to 35A for each processing device such as a spin coating device are controlled based on control command values issued from the main controller 80 and detection signals from sensors (not shown) provided in each processing device. To control each processing device.

Each of the controllers 37A, 31A to 35A for each processing device includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like, similarly to the main controller 80, but a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Next, in the rotary type substrate processing apparatus 1 described above, the substrate transfer control (routine) for transferring the substrate W taken out of the cassette on the substrate transfer unit 2 side to the process processing unit 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. This will be described based on a flowchart.

Before starting the substrate transfer routine, the rotary type substrate processing apparatus 1 performs the following work as an initial setting separately from the routine.

That is, a cassette as a model (a cassette having the best dimensional accuracy or a standard cassette is desirable) is placed on the cassette mounting table 4, and the substrate transfer device 6 is manually tested at various arm entry heights. The arm entry height for the substrate stored in each stage of the model cassette is determined by an experimental method of moving the model cassette or by a calculation method of performing various calculations from data obtained by measuring the dimensions of each part of the model cassette. Various kinds of data necessary for the transfer are clarified and stored in a storage unit (not shown) built in the board transfer unit controller 90. When the above initial settings are completed, the board transfer routine shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 is started.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the first half of a substrate transfer routine, which is a series of processes for transferring the substrate W taken out of the cassette of the substrate transfer unit 2 to the process processing unit 3, and FIG. It is a flowchart which shows.

In the board transfer routine of FIG. 10, first, in step 100 (hereinafter, the step is simply referred to as S), input of various information (arm up / down information) relating to raising and lowering the arm to take out the substrate is performed. It is determined whether or not the operation has been performed with the switch or numeric keypad of the cassette control panel 18 or the main operation panel 5, and if not, the process waits until this information is input.

The arm elevation information in S100 is the arm entry height TH1 (see FIG. 7, the moving distance from the reference position T0) of the substrate suction arm 7 when the substrate stored in the lowermost stage of the model cassette is taken out. ). Therefore, in S100, when it is necessary to correct the TH1 of the cassette to be used as the individual difference of the cassette with respect to the TH1 of the model cassette,
Whether or not the correction value has been input is determined based on whether or not a ten-key input has been made on the main operation panel 5 or the like, and the process stands by until the ten-key input has been made. If there is a correction value input using the numeric keypad, the input value is stored in the board transfer unit controller 90 corresponding to the cassette.

In this case, when it is not necessary to correct the arm entry height of the substrate stored in the lowermost stage, a numerical value “0” is input as a correction value. Further, a switch for outputting a control signal indicating that the arm entry height correction is unnecessary is provided. By operating this switch, the input of the correction value “0” when the arm entry height correction is unnecessary can be omitted. .

In S100, the presence or absence of input of the arm entry height correction value of the substrate stored in the lowermost row and the storage of the correction value are determined by the total cassette designated as the original cassette and the destination cassette. It is determined whether or not the processing has been completed for all cassettes, and the processing is repeated until the above processing is completed for all cassettes.

When the input and storage of the arm entry height correction value for the lowermost substrate is confirmed for all cassettes, the cassette number (cassette No.) of each cassette and the input for each cassette are input in S115 described later. The correction map in which the corrected arm entry height correction value is associated is completed. For example, cassettes C1 and C1 as storage source cassettes
C2 is designated and cassette C is stored as the storage destination cassette.
3 and C4 are indicated, and the arm entry height correction value “0.1” (unit: m
m), the arm entry height correction value “−0.1” for the cassette C2, the arm entry height correction value “0.15” for the cassette C3, and the arm entry height correction value “0” for the cassette C4. When the input and storage are performed, the correction map shown in FIG. 12 in which the cassette numbers (cassette numbers) of the respective cassettes and the respective arm entry height correction values are associated with each other is completed.

The reason why the height correction is performed for the storage destination cassette is that the cassette itself is not fixed as either the storage source cassette or the storage destination cassette. However, it may be used as a storage cassette next time. Further, when the lowermost substrate is stored in the storage destination cassette, the substrate suction arm 7 is lowered below the lowermost substrate lower surface as described later, but this is for avoiding an excessive degree of the lowering. is there.

Here, the absolute value of the above-mentioned correction value is determined by setting the arm entry allowance “about 0.5 mm” for the substrate stored at the lowermost stage which is taken into consideration when setting the arm entry height TH of the substrate stored at the lowermost stage. (Correction degree). If the correction value is a positive number, the arm entry allowance is increased, and if the correction value is a negative number, the arm entry allowance is reduced.

Next, in S105, it is determined whether or not various information (substrate related information) relating to the substrate to be processed has been input from the cassette control panel 18, the main operation panel 5, or the like, and the above information is input. If not, wait until it is entered.

The various information (substrate-related information) relating to the substrate to be processed here refers to the cassette C containing the substrate.
Cassette unit information such as an instruction of a processing cassette (storage source cassette) indicating which cassette of substrates 1 to C4 is to be processed, and an instruction of a processing order of cassette units when processing substrates of a plurality of storage source cassettes. In addition to the distinction between transfer modes of substrates taken out of a cassette (transfer mode for storing processed substrates in the same cassette as the original cassette or transfer mode for storing processed substrates in a different cassette from the original cassette), , The following information on a board basis. That is, the information in units of substrates includes a discrimination of a storage cassette which is stored after an unprocessed substrate is processed in the process processing unit 3, a procedure number numerical code for specifying a substrate processing procedure in the process processing unit 3, and more. It is information including these. The transfer mode of the substrate taken out of the cassette is distinguished, for example.
It is not necessary to perform the input operation every time, and if the input operation is not performed, the preset information may be automatically input.

The setting of these board-related information is input to the cassette control panel 18 or the keyboard 5a.
Is set from

When it is determined that the input of the board-related information has been completed (S105), next, it is determined whether or not the start of the rotation process on the board is instructed by the operator on the cassette control panel 18 or the keyboard 5a. Is determined based on the presence or absence of the predetermined operation (S106). Here, it waits without performing any processing until the predetermined operation is performed. If it is determined that the predetermined operation has been performed and the start of the rotation process on the substrate has been instructed, the substrate detection is performed on the cassettes in the storage source in the designated cassette order (S11).
0).

That is, an ascending signal is output to the optical sensor elevating mechanism 25, and the optical sensor 24 located at the initial position at the lowermost end of the cassette is continuously raised from the lower end of the cassette toward the upper end. Then, the passing state of the slit of the detected member, which rises with the optical sensor 24, is determined by the timing detection sensor 2.
6, the presence or absence of the substrate W is scanned at once by the optical sensor 24. As a result, the presence or absence of a substrate is detected for each substrate storage groove of the cassette.

Thereafter, based on the detection result of the presence or absence of the substrate for each substrate storage groove in the cassette and the inputted substrate-related information, the storage state of the substrate W in the cassette is grasped, and the substrate storage described later as shown in FIG. The situation data is created and stored in the board transfer unit controller 90 (S115). In this storage, the data is sequentially stored from the address of a predetermined address in correspondence with the substrate storage groove of each cassette.

The total number of addresses is set to the predetermined value so that data can be stored for each substrate in the substrate storage groove of each cassette in case the substrates are completely stored in the four cassettes C1 to C4. It is secured from the address. The first address for writing data is set in advance as a write start address (AA1).

For example, the board-related information confirmed to have been input in S105 is the processing order of the cassettes C1 and C2 (storage source cassettes), the cassettes C2 and C1, and the transfer mode of the cassette independent transfer mode. , The storage destination cassette C3 corresponding to the storage source cassette C1, the storage destination cassette C4 corresponding to the storage source cassette C2, and the like, the cassettes C1 and C2 (cassette C
Board detection is performed (in ascending order of the numerical value of) (S110),
The data as shown in FIG.
It is stored (S115).

In this case, the write start address (AA1
) Corresponds to the lowermost substrate accommodating groove of the cassette C1 for detecting the presence or absence of a substrate, and data on the substrate in this groove is written in the address AA1 area. Then, in the address AA2 area, data relating to the substrate in the substrate storage groove in the second stage from the bottom of the cassette C1 is written.

Each of the addresses includes a cassette number of a storage source cassette (storage source cassette No.) and a groove number corresponding to the number of substrate storage grooves counted from the lowest substrate storage groove in the cassette. , The processing order (transfer order) of each cassette, the detection result of the presence or absence of the substrate (“1” when there is a substrate, “0” when there is no substrate), and the cassette number of the storage cassette (storage cassette No. ) Is written.

After storing the substrate storage status for each cassette in this manner, the substrate-related information and S110
And the board detection result detected by the main controller 80
(S120). Thereafter, the board transfer unit controller 90 determines whether to start the board transfer based on whether or not a board transfer start permission command signal for permitting the start of the board transfer from the main controller 80 has been input (S130).

If the input of the board transfer start permission command signal is not received, the board transfer unit controller 90 proceeds to step S131 and issues a board-related information review command to review board-related information from the main controller 80. It is determined whether or not a signal has been input. If the signal has not been input, the process proceeds to S130. That is, until a board transfer start permission command signal or a board related information review command signal is received, S
It goes around from S130 to S131 and waits. Note that S13
If it is determined in step S1 that the board-related information review command signal has been input from the main controller 80, it is determined in step S130 that the board transfer start permission has not been obtained.
Move to 105. At this time, a warning or the like is appropriately displayed on the display 5b or the like, and S10 is continued until such a situation is resolved.
It waits for the execution of the processing after step 5. On the other hand, if the input of the board transfer start permission command signal is received, the process proceeds to S135 and subsequent steps to actually transfer the board.

In the processing after S135, either the supply of the unprocessed substrate from the cassette to the processing unit 3 or the storage of the processed substrate from the processing unit 3 into the cassette is performed.

First, in S135, it is determined whether the supply of the unprocessed substrate or the storage of the processed substrate is to be performed by a substrate storage command signal from the main controller 80 (by receiving a substrate from the substrate transfer device 37 of the process processing unit 3). It is determined based on the presence or absence of the input of a command signal for storing in a cassette).

Here, if the board storage command signal from the main controller 80 has not been input, it is determined that the supply of the unprocessed board is to be started, and the processing after S140 is executed. It is determined that the storage of the processed substrate is to be performed, and the process of S136 described later is performed.

If it is determined in S135 that the supply of the unprocessed substrate is to be started, it is determined whether or not the supply of the unprocessed substrate to the process processing unit 3 is to be actually performed. (S140). If there is no input of the substrate supply execution command signal, the flow shifts to S135, and if the command signal is input, the flow shifts to S145 described later in FIG. 11 to execute the supply of the unprocessed substrate.

In S145, the transfer target cassette storing the substrates to be transferred to the processing unit 3 is determined based on the substrate storage status stored in S115. For example, from the substrate storage situation in FIG. 13, the cassette from which the substrate is first taken out is the cassette C2 whose processing order is the earliest of the storage source cassettes (cassettes C1 and C2).
It is.

Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the substrate to be delivered to the process processing unit 3 is the substrate stored in the lowest stage among the substrates in the discriminated cassette C2 in the substrate storing state and S160 described later. A determination is made from the current value of the board count counter that is incremented by one each time the board is taken out (S150). That is, an initial value 1 is set in this board count counter at the start of the board transfer routine, and the address AB1 of the slot number of the cassette C2 in FIG. Is 1, it is determined that the transfer target substrate is the substrate stored at the bottom.

If it is determined that the transfer target substrate is the substrate stored in the lowermost stage, the arm entry height of the lowermost substrate is corrected in the next step S155. Since there is no need to perform the correction,
The process proceeds to 160. In S155, the arm entry height of the substrate stored at the lowermost stage is corrected as follows.

That is, based on the correction map shown in FIG. 12 and the arm entry height map shown in FIG. 8, the arm entry height TH1 of the lowermost substrate in the cassette C2 is set to the height correction value "-0.1". Then, the actual arm entry height TH10 (see FIGS. 3 and 7) for the lowermost substrate is calculated. Since this height correction value is a negative number, the appropriate clearance of about 0.5 mm for the lowermost substrate is corrected to be narrower by 0.1 mm. Accordingly, the actual arm entry height TH10 for the lowermost substrate is about 0.4 mm apart from the lowermost substrate lower surface, and is 0.1 mm above the initially set lowermost substrate arm entry height TH1. .

Further, since the height correction value of the cassette C1 is "0.1" (see FIG. 12), the above-mentioned appropriate clearance of about 0.5 mm is corrected to be wider by 0.1 mm, and the actual arm entry is performed. The height TH10 is about 0.6 mm apart from the lower surface of the lowermost substrate, and is 0.1 mm higher than the initially set arm entry height TH1 of the substrate stored in the lowermost stage.
It is 1 mm below. Further, since the height correction value of the cassette C4 is “0” (see FIG. 12), the correction of the appropriate clearance of about 0.5 mm is not substantially performed, and the actual arm entry height TH10 is initially set. It is the same as the set arm entry height TH1 of the lowermost substrate.

When the actual arm entry height TH10 is calculated in this way, control signals are output to the moving mechanism 40, the arm lifting / lowering mechanism 50, the arm advance / retreat driving mechanism 60, etc. of the substrate transfer device 6 to drive these mechanisms. The substrate is taken out of the cassette as described in (1) (S160). First, the substrate transfer device 6 is horizontally moved to the front of the cassette C2 which is the transfer target cassette, and if the transfer target substrate is the substrate stored in the lowermost stage, the actual arm entry determined in S155 is performed. The substrate suction arm 7 is raised to the height TH10. On the other hand, if the transfer target substrate is a substrate of the second or subsequent stage, the arm entry height (TH2, TH3... THn) initially set corresponding to the substrate of each stage.
The substrate suction arm 7 is raised to the position (see FIG. 7).

Thereafter, the substrate suction arm 7 is advanced to the take-out position in the cassette, the substrate suction arm 7 is raised enough to slightly lift the transfer target substrate from the substrate storage groove, and the substrate is moved to the standby position outside the cassette. The suction arm 7 is retreated and the substrate suction arm 7 is sequentially lowered from the standby position to the reference position T0 in this order, and each substrate of the transfer target cassette C2 is taken out. The suction of the substrate by the suction portion 7a at the tip of the substrate suction arm 7 is executed in accordance with the above. Also, the value of the board count counter for counting the number of boards to be taken out is set to a value of 1 every time a board is taken out.
Increment by one. That is, if the lowermost substrate is taken out, the value of the substrate count counter becomes 2, and if the second substrate is taken out, it becomes 3.

Subsequently, the taken out substrate is moved to the substrate transfer position P
Then, the center alignment of the substrate W by the alignment plate 10 is sequentially performed (S165).

Then, it is determined whether or not the transfer of the substrate from the cassette to the substrate transfer position P is completed based on a detection signal from a sensor (not shown) installed at the substrate transfer position P (S170), and the detection signal is input. Until the transfer of the substrate to the substrate transfer position P is completed. When the board transfer unit controller 90 receives a detection signal from a sensor or the like, it determines that the transfer of one board to the board transfer position P is completed, and outputs a transfer completion signal to that effect to the main controller 80. (S175).

In the process processing unit 3, the main controller 80 receiving the input of the transfer completion signal
In response to the instruction from, the substrate is received from the substrate transfer position P and the substrate is transferred to a heat treatment device or the like.

Thus, the processing unit 3
When the supply and transfer of one substrate to the substrate and the output of the transfer completion signal are completed, the supply target substrate (substrate that has been determined to be present in S110) is a substrate to be supplied to the processing unit 3 following the one substrate. It is determined whether or not all of the processed unprocessed substrates remain (S180). If it is determined that there is a supply target substrate, the process proceeds to S135 to continue supplying the substrate, and if it is determined that there is no supply target substrate, the process proceeds to S185 described later.

That is, until all the substrates to be supplied are supplied to the processing unit 3, the above-mentioned steps S135 and S14 are performed.
By repeatedly performing a series of substrate supply loop processes consisting of each process from 0 to S180, the substrate storage command signal from the main controller 80 is not input, and
Unprocessed substrates are supplied to the process processing unit 3 one by one at the output timing of the substrate supply execution command signal from the main controller 80.

The determination of the presence or absence of the supply target substrate in S180 is made based on the presence or absence of the substrate supply completion signal output from the main controller 80.

On the other hand, while the processing of the substrate supply loop is repeatedly performed to supply the unprocessed substrates one after another, the unprocessed substrate makes a round of processing equipment of the process processing unit 3 to perform a series of rotation processing. Is completed, and the substrate transport device 37
Of the processed substrate to the substrate transfer position P (return)
Then, the main controller 80 issues a substrate storage command signal to the substrate transfer unit controller 90 in order to store the processed substrate in the storage destination cassette.

Then, the board transfer unit controller 90 having received the board storage command signal proceeds to S136 to execute processing of storing the processed board in the storage destination cassette based on the input of the board storage command signal in S135. The processed substrates are stored in the cassette via the transfer device 6. That is, a control signal is output to the substrate transfer device 6 and driven to drive the substrate, thereby aligning the center of the processed substrate with the alignment plate 10, transferring the substrate from the substrate transfer position P to the front of the storage cassette, and transferring the substrate to the storage cassette. The storage and the like are sequentially performed, and the storage and transfer of the processed substrates are performed one by one (S136). When the storage and transfer of the one processed substrate is completed, S13
Then, as described above, the determination as to whether to supply the unprocessed substrate or to store the processed substrate is repeatedly performed based on the presence or absence of the substrate storage command signal from the main controller 80. .

Note that the storage and transfer of the substrate is performed in the above S11.
Based on the substrate storage status data created and stored in step 5, the return of the substrates to the substrate transfer position P is performed in the storage groove of the predetermined stage of the cassette for storing the processed substrates set in advance. In this case, when lowering the substrate suction arm 7 in storing the substrate in the storage groove,
The substrate suction arm 7 is lowered to the actual arm entry height when the substrate is taken out. In particular, with respect to the lowermost substrate, the substrate suction arm 7 is lowered to the arm entry height after the height correction.

As described above, while either the supply of the unprocessed substrate or the storage of the processed substrate is repeatedly executed according to the input state of the substrate storage command signal from the main controller 80, the process is executed at S180. The supply target substrates to be supplied to the processing unit 3 are all process processing units 3
If it is determined that the information has been supplied, the process proceeds to the next step S185.

In this S185, all the substrates (cassettes C1,
The substrate in C2 is rotated by each processing device of the processing unit 3, and it is determined whether or not all processed substrates are stored in the storage cassette of the substrate transfer unit 2. If it is determined that all the processed substrates have not been stored in the storage cassette, the process proceeds to S135. If it is determined that all the processed substrates have been stored in the storage cassette, the process proceeds to S135. The board transfer routine ends.

As described above, the rotary substrate processing apparatus 1 incorporating the substrate unloading apparatus of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, has the arm entry height (TH1b) for the substrate stored at the lowermost stage. The arm entry heights (TH2, TH3... THn) of the substrates stored in stages other than the lowermost stage are determined by the width of the arm entry allowance between each substrate and the substrate suction arm 7 (standard arm entry allowance d0, lower limit). The difference is set in advance in terms of the arm entry allowance d1). By appropriately correcting the lower limit arm entry allowance d1 (0.5 mm), which is an appropriate clearance for the lowermost substrate, the actual arm entry height (TH10) of the substrate stored in the lowermost stage in each cassette is obtained. It was calculated.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 12, the lower limit arm entry allowance d1 (0.5 mm) is adjusted to 0.1 mm by correcting the cassette C1 by 0.1 mm . 6 mm, and 0 . 4mm
In addition, with respect to the cassette C3, a correction of 0.15 mm was made to achieve 0 . The length is changed to 65 mm, and the same is true for the cassette C4 with no correction, which remains at 0.5 mm. That is, the actual arm entry height (TH10) of the substrate stored in the lowermost stage of each cassette is 0 .0 for the cassette C1 from the bottom surface of the lowermost substrate . 6 mm apart, and 0 .0 for cassette C2 . 4 mm apart, and 0. The position is separated by 65 mm, and the position of the cassette C4 is separated by 0.5 mm.

As a result, if the height correction value shown in FIG. 12 is determined in consideration of the dimensional variation from the cassette bottom surface to the lowermost substrate storage groove and the degree of inclination of the groove, the substrate suction arm 7 It is possible to avoid various inconveniences at the time of taking out the substrate stored in the lowermost stage, such as contact with the lowermost substrate. In addition, when using a standard cassette (model cassette) that is faithful to the design dimensions, or when there is only negligible variation in the dimensional accuracy between cassettes, the holding arm remains with the lower arm entry allowance d1. Does not cause various inconveniences at the time of taking out the lowermost substrate, it is not necessary to correct the lower limit arm entry allowance d1 for each cassette to be used. Therefore, the usability of the substrate removing device is improved. Further, by increasing or decreasing the correction of the lower limit arm entry allowance d1 in the increasing or decreasing direction, it is possible to cope with various differences of the individual cassettes.

In this embodiment, when the processed substrate received from the process processing unit 3 is stored in the cassette, if the substrate to be stored is the substrate stored in the lowermost stage, the substrate at the time of taking out the substrate is removed. Since the substrate suction arm 7 is lowered to the actual arm entry height (TH10) of the substrate stored in the lower stage, even when the lowermost substrate is stored, contact between the substrate suction arm 7 and the lowermost substrate or the like may occur. Can be avoided.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and may be implemented in various modes without departing from the gist of the present invention. Of course.

For example, in this embodiment, the arm entry height (FIG. 8) corresponding to each substrate is stored in advance, and only the arm entry height for the substrate stored at the bottom is corrected by the correction value of FIG. Based on the dimensions from the cassette bottom in the standard cassette to the lowermost substrate storage groove, the substrate pitch in the cassette, the standard arm entry allowance d0, the lower limit arm entry allowance d1, etc. Arm entry height when going to take out
The calculation may be performed each time the substrate is taken out or before the substrate is taken out.

[0113]

As described above, the substrate unloading apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention initially includes a substrate other than the lowermost stage and a lowermost stage.
The arm entry height of the holding arm with respect to the substrate of
Arm is set on the basis of the standard approach margin, but the lowest stage of arm entries height about board of the lowermost stage of the setting <br/> constant the holding arm, is input in response to the substrate storage container varying based on narrowing compensation amount of arm entries margin of the lower surface of the base plate
Owl, only except the bottom but the minute we make this change (narrowing correction)
And entering different heights A over arm, which is the stage of the substrate. For this reason, after reaching the arm entry height determined in accordance with the narrowing correction, the holding arm enters the substrate storage container separated from the lowermost substrate lower surface by an arm entry margin after the narrowing correction. That is, at the time of taking out the lowermost substrate, the arm entry allowance, which is the distance between the lower surface of the substrate and the holding arm, becomes narrower than when taking out the substrates at other stages. This improves the reliability of the only substrate unloading operation than traditional devices has been provided a uniform arm enters margin to all the stages of the substrate as previously described.

Further, the degree of the narrowing correction is not necessarily required to be uniform for a plurality of substrate storage containers, and may be determined for each substrate storage container.

As a result, even if the dimensional variation from the bottom surface of the substrate storage container to the lowermost substrate storage groove, the inclination of the groove, and the like are different in each substrate storage container, a narrow width considering these differences is taken into account.
Input of small correction amount and actual arm based on this narrow correction amount
Through changing the approach margin, it is possible to avoid a disadvantage when the lowermost substrate was taken out such contact between the hold arm and the bottom substrate. In other words, the lowermost substrate can be reliably taken out of the container without being affected by the non-uniformity of the container itself such as variation in dimensions of the used substrate storage container, and the versatility of the substrate storage container with respect to the substrate unloading device. Is improved. Moreover, since it is not necessary to make the holding arm thin, its mechanical strength can be secured, and the reliability of holding and taking out the substrate is improved.

Further, the substrate take-out device of the second invention is
As shown in FIG. 3, the arm entry height (TH1b) for the lowermost substrate and the arm entry height (TH2, TH3... THn) for substrates other than the lowermost substrate are determined by the width of the holding arm entry margin (standard). Since the arm entry allowance d0 and the lower limit arm entry allowance d1) are differentiated and set in advance, the substrate unloading operation is more complicated than in the conventional apparatus in which a uniform arm entry allowance is provided for all the substrates as described above. Reliability is improved.

The lower limit arm entry allowance d1 is determined by the difference between the substrate storage container serving as a model and the substrate storage container placed on the container mounting table, and the dimension from the bottom of the substrate storage container to the lowermost substrate storage groove. the variations and the correction amount inputted based on the inclination degree or the like of the grooves may be suitable Yibin correction. For this reason, the actual arm entry height of the holding arm at the time of taking out the lowermost substrate after performing such a correction is the arm entry height of the lowermost substrate before the correction by the amount corrected for the lower limit arm entry allowance d1. TH
It will fluctuate up and down from 1b.

As a result, if the necessity of correction of the lower limit arm entry allowance d1 and the degree of the correction are considered in consideration of the variation in the dimension from the bottom surface of the substrate storage container to the lowermost substrate storage groove, the degree of inclination of the groove, etc. Various inconveniences at the time of taking out the lowermost substrate can be avoided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a substrate unloading device according to a first invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a substrate unloading device according to a second invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view used to explain the operation and effect of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a rotary substrate processing apparatus 1 incorporating a substrate unloading apparatus (substrate transfer unit 2) according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the rotary substrate processing apparatus 1 of the embodiment, with a partial plane cut away.

FIG. 6 shows a substrate transfer device 6 in the rotary substrate processing apparatus 1.
FIG.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line XX in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view used to explain the operation and effect of the board transfer unit 2 of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a control system centered on a main controller 80 that integrally controls the rotary substrate processing apparatus 1.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the first half of a board transfer routine performed on the board transfer unit 2 according to the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the second half of a board transfer routine performed on the board transfer unit 2 side of the embodiment.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram for describing processing in a substrate delivery routine.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram for describing processing in a substrate delivery routine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rotary substrate processing apparatus 2 Substrate transfer unit 3 Process processing unit 4 Cassette mounting table 5 Main operation panel 6 Substrate transfer equipment 7 Substrate suction arm 18 Cassette control panel 20 Substrate detection device 40 Moving mechanism 50 Arm elevating mechanism 60 Arm advance / retract drive mechanism 80 Main Controller 90 Board Transfer Unit Controller C1, C2, C3, C4 Cassette

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-61-267623 (JP, A) JP-A-62-36242 (JP, A) Real opening 63-136337 (JP, U)

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A substrate unloading device for extracting a substrate stored in a plurality of storage stages in a substrate storage container from a substrate storage container mounted on a container mounting table, wherein the substrate is stored in the substrate storage container. Elevating means which is reciprocally movable along the step direction, a holding arm mounted on the elevating means and capable of holding a substrate, and when the substrate is taken out of the substrate storage container , the holding arm is provided in each of the substrate storage containers . the height entering the housing stage, not such hinder the ingress of the retaining arm to the substrate storage container
The height from the take <br/> out board lower surface spaced below the standard arm entries but afford only the storage stage between a uniform interval, the arm entries height setting means for setting for each substrate in the substrate cassette A control means for controlling the drive of the elevating means until the holding arm reaches the set arm entry height; an advance / retreat driving means for driving the holding arm to advance / retreat horizontally into the substrate storage container; Substrate transfer means for transferring the substrate to be taken out from the storage stage of the substrate to the holding arm by controlling the drive of the elevating means during the forward / backward driving of the holding arm by the driving means to raise the holding arm And a narrowing correction amount for narrowing the standard arm entry allowance ,
Input in response to the placed substrate container before Symbol container placing table
The correction amount input means, and the arm entry height setting means for the substrate stored in the lowermost stage of the substrate storage container, the uniform standard arm entry.
The arm entries height was set boss on the basis of the margin, and said input
And a lowermost arm entry height changing means for changing based on the narrowing correction amount . 2. A substrate take-out device for taking out a substrate stored in a plurality of storage stages in a substrate storage container from a substrate storage container mounted on a container mounting table, wherein the substrate is stored in the substrate storage container. Elevating means which is reciprocally movable along the step direction, a holding arm mounted on the elevating means and capable of holding a substrate, and when the substrate is taken out of the substrate storage container, the holding arm is provided in each of the substrate storage containers. the height entering the housing stage, the substrate for the substrate housed in stages other than the lowest in the receiving container, the retaining standard arm entries enters the hindered such have a uniform interval of the arms of the lower substrate For the substrate stored at the lowermost level, set at a height separated from the lower surface of the substrate to be taken out by a margin and below the substrate stored at the lowermost level by the lower limit arm entry allowance narrower than the standard arm entry allowance. Arm entry height setting means for setting a height separated from a surface; control means for driving and controlling the elevating means until the holding arm reaches the set arm entry height; and An advancing / retracting driving means for driving the holding arm to reciprocate in the horizontal direction; and controlling the lifting / lowering means to drive the elevating means during the advancing / retracting drive of the holding arm by the advancing / retracting driving means, thereby raising the holding arm. Substrate transfer means for transferring the substrate from the storage stage to the holding arm; and correcting the lower limit arm entry allowance used by the arm entry height setting means for setting the arm entry height for the substrate accommodated in the lowermost stage. The correction amount is set on the container mounting table.
Correction amount input means for inputting according to the input substrate storage container, and the lower limit arm entry allowance is determined based on the input correction amount.
Substrate feeding device, characterized in that it comprises a correcting means for compensation in this household.