JP3070006B2 - How to transport thin work - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display Panel), a PDP (Plasma Display Panel),
In an image forming process for producing a PWB (printed wiring board) and printing plate making, etc., a work is carried into an exposure unit of an exposure apparatus, and after exposure, a thin plate-like work applied to carry out the work from the exposure unit. The present invention relates to a transfer method, and more particularly to a transfer method of a thin plate-like work capable of transferring a work without bringing a transfer device into contact with the surface of the work.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The method of transporting a thin plate-like work in an exposure apparatus has remarkable differences depending on the types of products to be handled. That is, as a means for transporting a work for PWB and printing plate making, for example, as shown in FIG. , 2a are widely used. The transfer device 2 sucks the work 3 positioned in the temporary positioning section 4 and transfers it to the exposure section 5, and the transfer apparatus 2a transfers the work 3 exposed in the exposure section 5 to the exposure section 5. The suction is carried to the carry-out section 6.
7, 7a in the figure are the upper and lower grille frames, 8, 8
a is a discharge lamp, and 9 and 9 are positioning pins.

However, as for the means for transporting the work for LCD and PDP, it is difficult to suck the work using a vacuum chuck or the like as described below. All unloading operations from the exposure unit are performed manually, and there is a strong demand for improvement in production efficiency.

The reason why a vacuum chuck or the like cannot be used will be described with respect to an active matrix type LCD in which thin film transistors called “TFTs” are arranged in a grid pattern on a transparent glass substrate. As shown in FIG.
The protective film layer 15, the source electrode 17, the drain electrode 18, the lead wires (not shown), and the like are stacked in layers, and each of these layers is formed by applying photolithography to each layer. This is because the layers are sequentially formed from the lower layer to the upper layer, and if the surface of the work being processed is sucked by a vacuum chuck or the like, the upper surface of the work may be damaged.

Further, the reason why a vacuum chuck or the like cannot be used will be described with reference to a three-electrode surface discharge type PDP shown in FIG. 25. An address electrode 102 and a dielectric layer 103 are provided inside a glass substrate 101 on the back side of the PDP. , Partition 104
Are formed, and a thin layer 105 of a phosphor of three colors (red, green, blue) is formed between the valleys of the adjacent partitions 104, 104. The formation of the address electrodes, the formation of the partitions, and the thinning of the phosphor are performed. In each step of forming a layer, cleaning a glass substrate, etc., ultraviolet light is applied each time, so that carrying-in / out operations to the exposure apparatus are indispensable. This is because it is not preferable to make a contact with a vacuum chuck or the like.

When the PDP is formed by integrally bonding the partition side of the panel portion 106 and the panel portion 107 on the front side, the glass substrate 101 is positioned inside the PDP.
Is brought to the surface side of the PDP, and it is important to handle the glass substrate 101 so as not to cause scratches during the transportation for exposure.

[0007] Furthermore, a recent trend is to increase the size of a work (in a PDP, the width × length × thickness is 1000 mm × 1300 mm).
mm × 0.6 mm), ultra-thin work pieces (PDP intermediate materials have a thickness of 50 μm), and finer image patterns (the size of the TFT of the active matrix LCD is 9-12 μm and the positioning accuracy is ± 0-7 μm) and the demand for improved flatness of the work bottom not only makes manual operation for LCDs and PDPs difficult, but also for conventional means for PWB and printing plate making. Also need to be reviewed.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a method of transporting a thin plate-like work in which a work can be carried in and out of an exposure position without contacting a carrying device with an upper surface of the work. Is a first object, and a second object is to provide a conveying method that does not cause scratches or the like on the lower surface of a work being conveyed.

[0009]

The object, according to an aspect of is achieved by have been inventions according to claims 1 to 7 described below. (1) The invention according to claim 1, by placing a thin plate-shaped work on top of the roller conveyor provided on the carry-in side, a step of transferring I toward or to the exposure unit, the work during transfer to the exposed portion received at the top of providing a belt conveyor, the center of the main plate Toko
Left and close to each other parallel to the main platen
A step of carrying over the exposure platen comprising a right auxiliary plate, said belt conveyor is lowered, a step of transferring the workpiece on the upper surface of the exposure platen, after the exposure, the belt conveyor the is raised to receive the workpiece to the top of the belt conveyor, and further placing a step of lifting above the exposure platen, lifted the work on top of the belt conveyor is unloaded from the exposing unit step And a step of receiving and transferring the work being carried out to the upper part of the roller conveyor provided on the carry-out side . And the bell
When the conveyor moves up and down, the left and right auxiliary platens
It is configured as a method of transporting a thin plate-like work separated from the side of the main platen .

According to the first aspect of the present invention , throughout the entire process
Always keep the lower surface of the work on a roller conveyor or belt conveyor.
Transported by the conveyor
There is an advantage that it does not come into contact with. Also, a pair of
Larger supporting span when belt conveyor supports workpiece
Since it is not necessary to set it sharply, the central part in the width direction of the work
Can be transported from the belt conveyor without hanging down.
The work is smoothly transferred to the roller conveyor on the sending side.
The advantage is that In addition, the belt conveyor descends
The work is transferred to the main surface plate and the auxiliary surface plate
And the operation of bringing the left and right auxiliary platens into close contact with the central main platen.
Do.

[0011] The invention of claim 2 is in addition to the invention of claim 1.
Check the transport speed of each roller conveyor on the loading and unloading sides.
Is set equal to the conveyor speed of the
According to this configuration, the work is performed between two adjacent sets of conveyors.
The roller or belt runs idle when transferring
There is an advantage that a scratch is not given to the lower surface of the hook.

The invention of claim 3 is the invention of claim 1 or 2
In addition to the above, a belt conveyor
When loading and unloading from the exposure unit, the loading side
Roller conveyor provided at the top should be exposed next
A work is placed and transported toward the exposure section.
According to this configuration, loading and unloading of workpieces are performed simultaneously.
So that the transfer time per work is reduced.
And increase productivity.
You.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to any one of the first to third aspects, the roller conveyor provided on the transport side comprises a central main roller conveyor and both sides of the main roller conveyor parallel to the transport direction. The left and right auxiliary rollers are located at a lower retract position when receiving a work from the belt conveyor, and the main roller conveyor receives the work. The left and right auxiliary rollers are raised to the same level as the main roller conveyor.

According to this configuration, since the outer dimensions of the work are large or the thickness of the work is thin, even if the left and right both sides of the work supported by the belt conveyor hang down, the discharge side from the belt conveyor. Has the advantage that transfer to the roller conveyor is performed smoothly.

[0015] The invention of claim 5, wherein the main plate in addition to the invention of any one of claims 1 to 3, have a number of air holes for sucking the air, and vertically movable is constituted After exposure, when the work rises together with the upper flaming frame glass in a state where the work is seized on the mask film, the main platen rises to absorb the work, and then descends to separate the work from the mask film, The work is further lowered to transfer the work to the upper portion of the belt conveyor. According to this configuration, there is an advantage that the work can be separated from the mask film with a simple configuration.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to any one of the first to third aspects, a cooling device is provided on each of the main and auxiliary exposure bases. Therefore, there is an advantage that a precise image can be formed even if the external dimensions of the work become large.

[0017] The invention of claim 7, after transferring the workpiece above the exposure platen in addition to the invention of any one of claims 1 to 3, the center center of the workpiece of the exposure platen to come as the workpiece have a provisional positioning to process, during positioning, the workpiece is floated on the upper surface of the exposure platen by blowing compressed air from a number of air holes provided in the exposure platen is intended to move the workpiece along the upper surface in that state, according to this configuration, without giving scratch scratch on the lower surface of the work, there is an advantage that Ru <br/> can position the workpiece.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a process diagram showing a procedure of a transport method according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the transport apparatus, FIG. 3 is a front view of an exposure apparatus incorporating the transport apparatus of FIG. 3 is a cut-away plan view of the exposure apparatus of FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a side view of the belt conveyor apparatus, and FIG. 6 is a cut elevation view of the same belt conveyor apparatus.

The main part of the transfer method shown in this example is a step of placing the thin plate-like work 22 on the roller conveyor 21 (see FIG. 3) provided on the carry-in side and transferring it to the exposure unit 25. I, a step II of receiving the workpiece 22 being transferred to the upper part of the belt conveyors 23 provided in the exposure unit 25 and carrying the workpiece 22 above the exposure platen 24, and lowering the belt conveyors 23, 23 Step III of transferring the work 22 onto the upper surface of the exposure platen 24, and after the exposure, the belt conveyor 23 is raised to move the belt conveyor 2
Step IV of receiving the work 22 on the upper part of the belt conveyor 23 and further lifting it above the surface plate 24 for exposure, and placing the lifted work 22 on the upper part of the belt conveyors 23 and 23 and carrying out the work 22 from the exposure part 20 V and work 2 being unloaded
2 is received by the roller conveyor 25 provided on the carry-out side, and is transferred. Hereinafter, the configuration of each device related to the transfer and exposure of the work will be described.

As shown in FIG. 2, the roller conveyor 21 on the loading side comprises a plurality of driving wheels 21a driven by a motor 31 and a plurality of driven wheels 21b. To transfer the work 22 toward the exposure unit 25.

The motor 31 is started and stopped in synchronism with a belt conveyor driving motor 28 to be described later. In this case, the belt conveyors 23, 23 place the exposed work on the upper part thereof. When the work is to be placed and unloaded from the exposure unit 25, the roller conveyor 21 places a work to be exposed next and places the work to be exposed next.
Will be transferred to Therefore, it is possible to shorten the transfer time per work piece, and the productivity is improved.

As shown in FIG. 3, the exposure unit 25
An exposure surface plate 24 for supporting the work 22 from below,
A pair of left and right belt conveyors 23, 23, a temporary positioning device for positioning the work 22 so that the center of the work 22 is located at the center of the exposure platen 24, and a mask film (not shown) adhered to the lower surface. In this state, it is composed of an upper frame glass 73 which moves vertically and horizontally and a discharge lamp 87 which irradiates ultraviolet rays.

As a light source device, instead of the light source device shown in FIG. 3, parabolic reflectors 90 and 92 as shown in FIG.
Fly-eye lens 93 and plane reflecting mirrors 94, 95, 9
6 may be used to irradiate the workpiece 22 with the parallel light 97.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the pair of belt conveyors 23 are movably mounted on a common support frame 27, and are driven by a motor 28 fixed to the support frame 27. It has become. Further, the common support base 27 is configured to move up and down by cylinder devices 26, 26 attached to the lower surface on the front and rear sides, and when the belt conveyors 23, 23 are at the upper limit position, the common support base 27 is moved up and down. The cylinder devices 26, 26 are arranged so that the upper surface is at the same level as the upper surface of the roller conveyor 21 and, when in the lower limit position, the upper surface of the belt conveyors 23, 23 is lower than the upper surface of the exposure platen 24. Stroke is set.

The belt of the belt conveyor is the work 2
2 is made of soft synthetic rubber or the like so as not to scratch the lower surface, and the conveying speed of the belt conveyor 23 is set such that when the workpiece 22 is received from the roller conveyor 21, the driving wheel 22a of the roller conveyor or the belt 23 The transport speed of the roller conveyor 21 is set equal to that of the roller conveyor 21 so that one of the idlers does not spin and does not scratch the lower surface of the work 22.

The motor 28 is connected to the roller conveyor 2 on the loading side.
1 is started at the same time as the motor 31 that drives the motor 1, and is stopped by a stop signal from a sensor 30 (see FIG. 4) that detects that the work has reached just above the exposure platen 24. The mounting position of the sensor 30 that generates the stop signal can be changed each time depending on the size of the work.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the exposure platen 24 has a rectangular main platen 32 located at the center, and left and right auxiliary plates disposed on both sides of the main platen 32 so as to be closely and separable. Each of the auxiliary surface plates 33, 33 has two cylinder devices 3 on its side.
4 and 34 are in the horizontal direction, and the lower surface of the main platen 32 is shown in FIG.
The cylinder device 35 is arranged in the vertical direction as shown in FIG.

The cylinder devices 34, 34 are used to bring the left and right auxiliary platens 33, 33 into close contact with the side of the main platen 32, or to separate them from the side.
When the members 3 and 23 move up and down, the left and right auxiliary stools are separated from the side of the main stool.

The cylinder devices 34 and 35 have limit switches (not shown) for detecting the expansion and contraction of each rod.
And an electromagnetic switching valve (not shown) for controlling the supply and discharge of the driving working medium (air or oil), and the like. The work transfer operation is automatically performed in cooperation with a sensor (not shown) or the like for detecting the load.

Main and auxiliary platens 32, 33, 33
Each of them has a hollow structure, as shown in FIG. 8, has base plates 36, 37, 37 having recesses opened upward, and a flat top plate 38 mounted on the top of each base plate 36, 37, 37. ,
39, 39, etc., and each top plate 38, 3
9, 39, hollow portions 40, 42, 42 penetrating the top plate
Are open over substantially the entire surface of each top plate.

On the lower surfaces of the base plates 36, 37, 37,
An air pipe 43 is attached, and compressed air is injected into each of the hollow portions 40, 42, 42 through this air pipe 43, or air is sucked from each of the hollow portions 40, 42, 42. I have.

A large number of air holes 41 are used to blow the compressed air out of the air holes 41 to float the work when positioning the work, while it is used to bring the work into close contact with the top plate during exposure. You. The air holes 41 of the main platen 32 are also used for peeling off the work seized on the mask film from the mask film.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a cooling pipe 44 for circulating a cooling liquid is mounted in the hollow portions 40, 42, 42 of each platen. The cooling pipe 44 is provided for each of the top plates 38
The hollow portion meanders in a state of being in close contact with the back surfaces of the base plates 9 and 39 and the inner surface of the recess of the base plate. Instead of mounting the cooling pipe 44, a cooling flow path 45 is formed inside each base plate as shown in FIG. 10, or the cooling pipe 44 is attached to the lower surface of the base plate as shown in FIG. You may do so.

In the vicinity of the exposure table 24, a work temporary positioning device is disposed. This temporary positioning device is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 13, a total of eight sliders 46 are arranged on each of the four circumferences of the exposure platen 24,
6 supports all the sliders as a set of two so as to horizontally move toward the center of the exposure platen 24 with its lower surface in contact with the upper surface of the exposure platen 24. It is composed of a set of supporting devices 47, 47, 47, 47, and two sets of driving devices 48, 49, etc. for simultaneously driving two sets of each supporting device so that opposing sliders operate simultaneously.

As shown in FIG. 14, each slider 46 has a cylindrical ring 52 provided with a bearing 50 at the center and a bearing 50.
A mandrel 53 for rotatably supporting the ring 52 via
The bottom surface of the stopper 54 is formed in a spherical shape, and slides on the upper surface of the exposure platen 24. ing.

As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, each support device 47 has a U-shaped arm 55 for supporting two sliders 46, and a support 56 attached to the lower surface of the arm 55.
, A base 57 attached to the lower end of the column 56, and a guide mechanism for supporting the base 57 movably in the horizontal direction. The guide mechanism is attached to the lower surface of one end of the base 57. Guide metal 58, a horizontal guide rod 59 penetrating the guide metal 58, and a base 57.
The traveling wheels 60 are attached to the lower surface of the other end of the vehicle.
2 is run. Although not shown here, a sensor for detecting the running position of the support device 47 is attached to each base 57.

The two sets of driving devices 48 and 49 are two sets of endless chains 63 and 64 arranged below the exposure platen 24 so as to be orthogonal to each other, and the two sets of chains 63 and 64.
Motors 65 and 6 that individually drive the motors in forward and reverse directions
5 and the like. Two of the four support devices 47, which are opposed to each other, share one chain and are connected near both ends of the chain.

In order to connect the two opposing support devices 47, 47 to one chain 63 or 64, the base 57 of one of the support devices is connected to the chain via a metal fitting 66 as shown in FIG. The lower part 68 and the base 57 of the other support device are connected via a connection hardware 67 to the upper part 69 of the chain.

When the support device is connected to the chain in this manner, when the motor 65 is rotated in a certain direction, the two
When the sets of support devices move toward each other and the motor 65 rotates in the opposite direction, the two opposing sets of support devices move in directions away from each other.

When performing the positioning operation, as shown in FIG. 14, compressed air is simultaneously blown out from the air holes 41 of each of the surface plates 32, 33, and 33 to lift the work 22 and lift the ring 52.
Is brought into contact with the peripheral edge of the work 22 to push the work 22 (arrow a). Since each slider 46 is symmetrically arranged with respect to the center of the surface plate 24, the work 22 is positioned so that the center thereof coincides with the center of the exposure surface plate 24.

When the work moves on the surface plate for exposure, the work floats from the upper surface of the surface plate for exposure, so that there is no possibility that the rear surface of the work is damaged. The lower end of each slider 46 slides on the upper surface of the exposure platen 24 while the work 22
, It is possible to position workpieces of various sizes regardless of the size of the workpiece.

FIG. 15 shows a modification of the slider. The slider 46a has a cylindrical ring 52a having a flange 70 attached to a lower end thereof, and a cylindrical hollow shaft which blows compressed air from air holes provided at the lower end and side portions of the cylindrical ring 52a while being movably fitted into the ring 52a. 72.

According to the slider 46a, the compressed air blown out from the lower end of the hollow shaft 72 and the compressed air blown out from the air holes 41 of the exposure platen 24 float the ring 52a through the flange 70, Since the air bearing is formed between the ring 52a and the hollow shaft 72, the slider 46a moves smoothly without contacting the upper surface of the exposure platen.

Although not shown here, a mask film (PW) is formed on the lower surface of the upper grill frame glass 73 (see FIG. 3).
B, in case of printing plate making) or glass mask (LCD, PD
P) is affixed, and the positioning operation of these masks and the work is carried out by moving the upper frame glass horizontally. That is, the driving mechanism 7 shown in FIGS.
4, 74, 74 and the receiving mechanism 75, 75, 75, the fired frame glass 73 is moved in the X-axis direction (transport direction) and Y
The mask film is moved in the axial direction (the direction perpendicular to the transport direction) so that the alignment marks provided on the mask film match the alignment marks provided on the work. Whether or not the alignment marks completely match is confirmed using a television camera (not shown).

When the positioning operation is completed, exposure is performed next. There are two methods of exposure, namely, vacuum contact for bringing the framed glass into close contact with the work and proximity exposure for bringing the framed glass close to and away from the work. Hereinafter, the case of performing vacuum contact will be described. In FIG. 17, reference numeral 76 is a bank rubber, 77 is a fired frame, 7
Reference numeral 8 denotes a motor, 79 denotes a feed mechanism using a screw, and 80 denotes a slide base.

The roller conveyor 85 on the unloading side includes a motor 88
Roller conveyor 84 driven by the motor, left and right auxiliary rollers 82, 82 adjacent on both sides parallel to the transport direction of the central roller conveyor 84, and cylinder devices 86, which drive the auxiliary rollers 82, 82 up and down. 86 and the like.

After exposure, the motor 88 is automatically activated by a signal from the cylinder 26 indicating that the belt conveyors 23 and 23 have reached the upper limit position after the work 22 has been loaded, as will be described later. Has become. The conveying speed of the roller conveyor 85 is the same as that of the belt conveyor 2.
3 is set to be equal to the transport speed of the belt conveyor 23 so that either the drive wheel of the roller conveyor or the belt conveyor 23 does not run idle and scratches the lower surface of the work 22 when receiving the work 22. I have.

Next, the operations of the transport device, the exposure platen, and the components of the exposure device related thereto will be described with reference to FIGS.
19 will be described in the order of steps. (1) When the roller conveyor 21 on the loading side places the work 22 and transfers it toward the exposure unit 25, the belt conveyor 2
3 and 23 receive the work 22 and carry in the work 22 above the exposure surface plate 24 (see FIG. 1). (2) The cylinder devices 34, 34 on both sides operate to separate the left and right auxiliary platens 33, 33 to the side of the main platen 32 (see FIG. 18A).

(3) The belt conveyors 23 are lowered, and the work 22 is moved along the main platen 32 and the auxiliary platen 3
3 and 33 (see FIG. 18B). (4) The cylinder devices 34, 34 on both sides operate to bring the left and right auxiliary platens 33, 33 into close contact with the central main platen 32 (see FIG. 18C). (5) The temporary positioning device is operated to position the work 22 so that the center of the work 22 is located at the center of the main surface plate 32 (see FIG. 18D).

(6) When the temporary positioning device returns to the original position, the upper grill frame glass 73 on which the mask film has been adhered falls down above the main platen 32 and the auxiliary platens 33, 33.
The alignment between the mask film and the work is performed. Here, the inner space surrounded by the bank rubber 76 is depressurized, and the mask film is brought into close contact with the workpiece to perform exposure [FIG.
9 (a)].

(7) After the exposure, when the upper frame glass 73 rises and returns to the original position, the left and right auxiliary platens 33 are separated from each other, the belt conveyors 23 rise, and the work 22
And rises to the upper limit position (see FIG. 19B). (8) Here, the belt conveyors 23 operate to carry out the work 22 from the exposure unit 25.

(9) At this time, the belt conveyors 23, 23
Starts to operate at the same time as the roller conveyor 85 on the unloading side.
And the roller conveyor 21 on the loading side starts operation.
Then, the roller conveyor 21 transfers the work to be exposed next to the exposure unit 25, while the unloading roller conveyor 85 receives the work from the belt conveyors 23, and transfers the work to the next process. .

At this time, if the left and right side ends 83 of the work 22 hang down as shown in FIG. 20A because the work 22 is large and the plate thickness is thin, the auxiliary rollers 82 on the carry-out side are previously prepared. Is lowered, and the central portion of the work is received by the central roller conveyor 84. Then, FIG.
As shown in (b), the auxiliary rollers 82, 82 are raised to lift the hanging side end portions 83, 83 upward. Then, the auxiliary rollers 82 and 82 are moved to the roller conveyor 84 at the center.
When the workpiece reaches the same level as above, the workpiece is leveled and carried out for the next step.

Next, a method of separating the work when a printing phenomenon occurs between the mask film and the work due to the exposure will be described with reference to FIGS. 21 (a), 21 (b), 21 (c) and 21 (d). (1) When the upper frame glass 73 is raised, the work 22 is raised in a state of being stuck to the mask film [FIG.
(A)]. (2) Here, the left and right auxiliary stools 33, 33 are laterally separated, the main stool 32 is raised, and the main stool 32 is brought into contact with the lower surface of the work 22 (see FIG. 21B). .

(3) Next, the hollow portion of the main stool 32 is depressurized, the main stool is sucked to the work 22, and the main stool is lowered as appropriate. With this operation, the work 22 is separated from the mask film and placed on the upper surface of the main platen 32 (see FIG. 21C). (4) Here, the belt conveyors 23, 23 are raised to receive the work 22, while the main platen 32 that has delivered the work 22 is lowered to return to the original position [FIG. 21 (d)].
reference〕.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment of the present invention. For example, when the external dimensions of the work are sufficiently small or the thickness of the work is sufficiently large, the exposure surface plate is not required. It goes without saying that various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention, for example, it may be an integral type instead of the split type.

[0057]

As described above, the present invention has the following excellent effects. (1) According to the first aspect of the invention, the work can be transferred without bringing the transfer device into contact with the upper surface of the work. Together, when the belt conveyor goes up and down,
Since the left and right auxiliary platens are separated to the side of the main platen,
The center in the width direction of the mark does not hang down,
Work from the belt conveyor to the roller conveyor on the unloading side
The transfer of documents is performed smoothly. (2) According to the second aspect of the invention, the work can be transported without damaging the lower surface of the work.

(3) According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the transfer time per work piece, and to improve the productivity of the transfer work. (4) According to the fourth aspect of the invention, even if the external dimensions of the work are large or the thickness of the work is small, smooth conveyance can be performed. (5) According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the work seized on the mask film can be easily peeled off from the mask film.

(6) According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the work
Since thermal expansion can be reduced, a precise image can be formed even if the external dimensions of the work are large. (7) According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the work can be provisionally positioned such that the center of the work is at the center of the exposure platen and without damaging the lower surface of the work.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a process chart showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a transport device for performing the method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view of an exposure apparatus incorporating the transport device shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a view taken in the direction of arrows IV-IV in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the belt conveyor and the driving device shown in FIG. 3 with a partial intermediate portion omitted (a view as seen from the direction VV in FIG. 6).

FIG. 6 is a view from arrow VI-VI in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the exposure platen in an operating state.

FIG. 8 is a view taken in the direction of arrows VIII-VIII in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing another example of the cooling unit shown in FIG. 7;

10 is a view as viewed from the direction of arrows XX in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing still another example of the cooling unit shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 12 is a plan view of the temporary positioning device shown in FIG.

13 is a view as seen from the direction of the arrows XIII-XIII in FIG.

FIG. 14 is an operation explanatory view of the temporary positioning device.

FIG. 15 is a cut-away side view showing another example of the slider shown in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a bottom view showing the vicinity of the fired glass shown in FIG. 3;

17 is an enlarged sectional side view of a portion XVII shown in FIG. 16;

18 (a), (b), (c), and (d) are explanatory views of the operation of the transfer device shown in FIG.

FIGS. 19 (a) and (b) are explanatory views of the operation of the transport device shown in FIG. 2;

20 (a) and (b) are explanatory views of the operation of the auxiliary roller on the carry-out side shown in FIG.

FIGS. 21 (a), (b), (c) and (d) are explanatory views of the operation of the method for separating a work.

FIG. 22 is a principle view showing another example of the light source device.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional transport device.

FIG. 24 is a cut-away side view of a thin film transistor (TFT).

FIG. 25 is an exploded perspective view showing a part of the plasma display panel.

[Explanation of symbols]

 21, 85 Roller conveyor 22 Work 23 Belt conveyor 24 Exposure surface plate 25 Exposure unit 26, 34, 35 Cylinder device 32 Main surface plate 33 Auxiliary surface plate 40, 42 Hollow part 41 Air hole 44 Cooling pipe 45 Cooling channel 46 Slide Moving element 47 Supporting device 63, 64 Chain 82 Auxiliary roller 84 Central roller conveyor

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65G 49/07 H01L 21/68 B65G 47/52

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] We claim: 1. placing a thin plate-shaped work on top of the roller conveyor provided on the carry-in side, a step of transferring I toward either the exposed area of the belt conveyor provided with a workpiece in the transfer to the exposed portion Received at the top , the central main platen and parallel to this main platen
Such as left and right auxiliary platen that can be placed close and separated on both sides
A step of carrying over the Ranaru exposure platen, said belt conveyor is lowered, a step of transferring the workpiece on the upper surface of the exposure platen, after exposure, is raised the belt conveyor, the It receives a work at the top of the belt conveyor, and further placing a step of lifting above the exposure platen, lifted the work on top of the belt conveyor, and a step of unloading from the exposure unit, the work in the unloading receiving the upper part of the roller conveyor provided on the carry-out side and a step of transferring, consists, when the belt conveyor is raised and lowered, the left and right auxiliary constant
A method for transporting a thin plate-like work, wherein a plate is separated from a side of the main platen . 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the conveying speed of each of the roller conveyors on the carry-in side and the carry-out side is set equal to the conveying speed of the belt conveyor. Wherein the belt conveyor, when unloaded from the exposure unit by placing the exposed workpiece thereon,
The roller conveyor is provided in the carry-side, transport method of the thin plate-shaped workpiece according to claim 1 or 2 for transferring I thereon to then places a workpiece to be exposed or countercurrent to the exposure unit. 4. A roller conveyor provided on the carry-out side,
And the center of the main roller conveyor, you to the main roller conveyor
On both sides parallel to the kicking conveying direction, consists of a left and right auxiliary roller which is vertically movable arrangement, when receiving the workpiece from the conveyor belt, said left and right auxiliary roller is in the retracted position below said main roller conveyor After receiving the workpiece, transport method of the thin plate-like workpiece according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the left and right auxiliary roller rises to the same level as the main roller conveyor. Wherein said main plate is air have a number of air holes for sucking the, and vertically movable is constituted, after exposure, the upper printing frame glass in a state in which the workpiece is seized in the mask film when increased with, the main plate adsorbs the workpiece to rise, then, according to claim 1 which is lowered by separating the workpiece from the mask film, further transfers the lowered work on top of the belt conveyor 4. The method for conveying a thin plate-shaped work according to any one of the above-described items. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein a cooling device is provided on each of the main and auxiliary exposure plates. After the wherein said workpiece has been transferred to the top of the exposure platen, the center of the workpiece have a step of positioning the workpiece so as to come to the center of the exposure platen when positioning the numerous provided an exposure platen by the air holes blowing compressed air to float the workpiece on the upper surface of the exposure platen, of claims 1 to move the workpiece along the upper surface in that state 3 The method for transporting a thin plate-shaped work according to any one of the above.