JP4019675B2 - Transport device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely place a substrate 8 on a mount table even if a distance for carrying in and delivery is long in a processing chamber 2. SOLUTION: This conveyance device is provided with a first conveyor 24 that is provided within a carrying-in chamber 16 to carry a substrate 8 set at a fitting position to a treatment chamber 2, a second conveyor 9 that is provided between the carrying-in camber 16 and a mount table 7 of the treatment chamber 2 and receives the substrate 8 from the first conveyor 24 and carries it to the mount table 7 in a horizontal direction, a third conveyor 10 that is provided between the mount table 7 of the treatment chamber 2 and a delivering chamber 38 and received the substrate 8 protruded from the mount table 7 and carries it to the delivering chamber 38, and a fourth conveyor 40 that is provided in the delivering chamber 38 and receives the substrate 8 from the third conveyor 10 and carries it to a pick-up position.

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a transfer apparatus that carries a substrate into a processing chamber and sets the substrate at a predetermined position.
[0002]
[Prior art]
For example, in an apparatus for processing an object to be processed in a special processing environment filled with a high vacuum or an inert gas, such as a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, a processing chamber that is isolated from the outside in an airtight state so that the processing environment appears. On the other hand, it is necessary to carry in and carry out the processing object, and to set the processing object on the mounting table in the processing chamber. At this time, if the loading / unloading distance from the open / close door provided on the partition wall of the processing chamber to a predetermined position is long, it is definitely necessary to use a general transfer device that rotates the hand part to transfer the object to be processed. It is difficult to set on the mounting table. Therefore, conventionally, in such a processing apparatus, when an operator uses a long holding member to detachably hold the processing object, the processing object is carried into and out of the processing chamber, and the mounting table is loaded. Set work.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described conventional configuration, every time processing is completed, the operator needs to carry in and out the processing target and set work, and there is a problem that a heavy burden is placed on the operator. Furthermore, when trying to set the processing object at a predetermined position with high positioning accuracy, in addition to increasing the burden on the operator, it takes a long time to complete the setting of the processing object, and thus the productivity is greatly reduced. There will also be problems.
[0004]
Therefore, according to the present invention, even when the carry-in / out distance in the processing chamber is long, the processing object can be reliably set on the mounting table, and the processing object can be positioned with high accuracy. A device is provided.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the invention of claim 1 is set in a processing environment different from the external environment, Formed into a shape in which a rectangular convex engaging part protrudes from the lower surface over both ends in the traveling direction In a transfer apparatus provided in a processing apparatus having a processing chamber that performs processing at a predetermined position of a mounting table that engages with a substrate, and a loading chamber and an unloading chamber that are connected to the processing chamber so as to be openable and closable. The first conveyor that is provided in the carry-in chamber and transports the substrate set at the attachment position to the processing chamber, and the substrate that is provided between the mounting table and the carry-in chamber in the processing chamber and is received from the first conveyor. Before Convey horizontally in the table Do A second conveyor, a third conveyor provided between the mounting table and the unloading chamber in the processing chamber, receiving the substrate pushed out from the mounting table and transporting it to the unloading chamber, and provided in the unloading chamber; A fourth conveyor that receives the substrate from the third conveyor and conveys the substrate to a removal position; A groove-like engagement portion is formed on the upper surface portion of the mounting table so that the convex engagement portion is slidably fitted in the advancing direction, and the substrate is conveyed by the second conveyor. The substrate on the table is pushed out from the table on the third conveyor. It is characterized by that.
[0006]
According to said structure, since conveyance between a carrying-in chamber, a processing chamber, and a carrying-out chamber is performed by the 1st-4th conveyor, even if the processing chamber becomes a big volume and the conveyance distance with respect to a mounting base becomes long, mounting is carried out. A board | substrate can be reliably conveyed with respect to a mounting base. In addition, since the second conveyor conveys the substrate on the mounting table in the horizontal direction, the substrate on the mounting table can be pushed out by the newly transferred substrate and delivered to the third conveyor. Thereby, carrying in / out of the board | substrate with respect to a mounting base can be performed, without using a special mechanism.
[0007]
Invention of Claim 2 is a conveying apparatus of Claim 1, Comprising: When a board | substrate is conveyed by the 2nd conveyor to a mounting base, Swiveled from the retracted position to the position in the extrusion direction, It has an extrusion mechanism that pushes and sets a substrate from a front side of the mounting table to a predetermined position of the mounting table.
[0008]
According to said structure, a board | substrate can be positioned to the predetermined position of a mounting base with high precision rather than the case where a board | substrate is set to the predetermined position of a mounting base only with a 2nd conveyor.
[0009]
A third aspect of the present invention is the transfer apparatus according to the first or second aspect, wherein a conveyor portion on which the substrates in the first to fourth conveyors are placed is formed of a refractory material.
[0010]
According to said structure, even if a board | substrate becomes high temperature, the initial performance of a 1st thru | or 4th conveyor can be maintained over a long period of time.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, the transfer apparatus according to the present embodiment is applied to various processing apparatuses such as a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, a steel plate processing apparatus, and a glass plate processing apparatus. The processing apparatus includes a vacuum tank 3 that forms the processing chamber 2, a substrate carry-in device 15 that carries the substrate 8 into the vacuum tank 3, and a substrate carry-out device 37 that carries the substrate 8 out of the vacuum tank 3. 1 and the control device 51 of FIG. 4 for controlling the operation of the processing apparatus main body 1.
[0012]
A gas cylinder containing an inert gas such as argon gas or nitrogen gas is connected to the vacuum tank 3 through a valve (not shown), and the inert gas is supplied to the processing chamber 2 at an arbitrary concentration. Has been made possible. A vacuum pump is also connected to the vacuum tank 3 via a valve (not shown) so that the air in the processing chamber 2 can be exhausted to the outside so as to have an arbitrary pressure (degree of vacuum). Thereby, the processing chamber 2 in the vacuum tank 3 is allowed to appear in a processing environment having a desired degree of vacuum and inert gas concentration different from the external environment. As shown in FIG. 4, the vacuum tank 3 is provided with a temperature sensor 61 for detecting the temperature of the processing chamber 2, a pressure sensor 62 for detecting the pressure of the processing chamber 2, and the substrate 8 conveyed by the conveyors 9 and 10. Various sensors such as a substrate detection sensor 63 including an optical sensor for detection are provided.
[0013]
A support member 6 is provided at a processing position which is the center of the processing chamber 2. On the upper surface of the support member 6, a mounting table 7 that holds the substrate 8 is provided. The substrate 8 is formed in a shape in which a rectangular convex engaging portion 8a is protruded from the lower surface to both ends in the traveling direction, and the substrate 8 itself is used as a processing object or on the upper surface of the substrate 8. A processing object is placed and used.
[0014]
The mounting table 7 is made of a metal material such as stainless steel excellent in corrosion resistance, a ceramic material such as alumina excellent in corrosion resistance and fire resistance, a carbon material, or the like. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, a groove-like engaging portion 7 a is formed on the upper surface portion of the mounting table 7. The groove-like engaging portion 7a is formed over both ends in the traveling direction (left-right direction) of the substrate 8, and the longitudinal section is formed in a rectangular shape. And the mounting base 7 can position the board | substrate 8 in the orthogonal | vertical direction with respect to the advancing direction by fitting the convex-shaped engagement part 8a of the board | substrate 8 to the groove-like engagement part 7a so that sliding is possible. .
[0015]
A second conveyor 9 and a third conveyor 10 are respectively provided on the loading side (right side in the figure) and the unloading side (left side in the figure) of the mounting table 7. As for these conveyors 9 and 10, the conveyor part which mounts the board | substrate 8 is formed with the refractory material. As shown in FIG. 1, the second conveyor 9 is provided between the mounting table 7 and the carry-in door 4, while the third conveyor 10 is provided between the mounting table 7 and the carry-out door 5. Yes. The second and third conveyors 9 and 10 are horizontally arranged with both ends thereof being stretched by driving rollers 9a and 10a and driven rollers 9b and 10b. The drive rollers 9 a and 10 a are connected to a drive mechanism provided outside the vacuum tank 3 after a drive shaft (not shown) passes through the partition wall of the vacuum tank 3. The second and third conveyors 9 and 10 have a height position of the upper surface on which the substrate 8 is placed, that is, a height position of the upper surface of the placement table 7, that is, the groove-like engaging portion 7 a of the placement table 7 and the substrate 8. The height is set so that the convex engaging portion 8a coincides with the horizontal direction. Thus, the second conveyor 9 is rotated by a drive mechanism (not shown) so as to transfer the substrate 8 from the loading door 4 side to the mounting table 7 side, while the third conveyor 10 is mounted The substrate 8 is transported from the stage 7 side to the carry-out door 5 side.
[0016]
As shown in FIG. 2, on the side of the second conveyor 9, when the substrate 8 is transferred to the mounting table 7 by the two conveyors 9, the substrate 8 is placed from the front side of the mounting table 7. A base extruding mechanism 11 is provided to push out to a predetermined position. The push-out mechanism 11 includes a push-out cylinder 12 capable of moving the cylinder rod 12a forward and backward with an arbitrary advance amount with high accuracy, a push-out plate 13 provided at the tip of the cylinder rod 12a of the push-out cylinder 12, and a base of the push-out mechanism 11. And a turning mechanism 14 connected to the end. As shown in FIG. 1, the turning mechanism 14 supports the extrusion cylinder 12 so as to be rotatable in the horizontal direction at a height position at which the extrusion plate 13 abuts against the side surface of the substrate 8 on the second conveyor 9.
[0017]
As a result, the pushing mechanism 11 can be turned to a pushing direction position indicated by a solid line and a retracted position indicated by a two-dot chain line. And when the board | substrate 8 is conveyed by the 2nd conveyor 9, the extrusion cylinder 12 is turned to a retracted position so that the extrusion board 13 may not become the obstruction | occlusion of conveyance of the board | substrate 8. FIG. On the other hand, when the substrate 8 reaches the loading start position (the front side of the mounting table 7) which is the tip of the second conveyor 9, the extrusion cylinder 12 is swung to the pushing direction position indicated by the solid line by the turning mechanism 14, When the cylinder rod 12a is advanced, the substrate 8 is pushed onto the mounting table 7 by the push plate 13 and set. Note that the substrate at the loading start position is detected by the substrate detection sensor 33 in FIG. 4 with this position as the detection region.
[0018]
As shown in FIG. 1, a substrate carry-in device 15 is provided on the carry-in side (right side in the drawing) of the vacuum tank 3 configured as described above. The substrate carry-in device 15 has a carry-in chamber 16 in which a substrate case 20 capable of holding a plurality of substrates 8 is accommodated. The carry-in chamber 16 is formed by a storage partition wall 17 and can receive a vacuum exhaust or an inert gas supply independently of the above-described processing chamber 2 so that a processing environment can appear.
[0019]
On the upper surface of the housing partition wall 17, an opening 17 a used for taking in and out the substrate case 20 is formed. A lid member 19 is detachably attached to the opening 17a in an airtight state. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the substrate case 20 has a rectangular parallelepiped support frame 21. The support frame 21 is open on the front side and the back side with respect to the transport direction of the substrate 8, and is open on the bottom side. In addition, a gripping member 22 that is used when the support frame 21 is taken in and out of the carry-in chamber 16 is provided on the outer surface of the upper surface wall of the support frame 21. A plurality of support members 23 are provided on the inner side surfaces of the left and right side walls of the support frame 21 so as to face each other so as to support the substrate 8 in the horizontal direction. These support members 23 are arranged at equal intervals in the vertical direction so that the substrates 8 are stacked at a predetermined interval.
[0020]
Further, the substrate carry-in device 15 is allowed to enter the substrate case 20 from below, and places the substrate 8 on the first conveyor 24 that conveys the substrate 8 held by the substrate case 20 and the first conveyor 24. In this way, a case elevating mechanism 25 for adjusting the height position of the substrate case 20 is provided. As shown in FIG. 1, the first conveyor 24 has a conveyor portion formed of a refractory material and stretched horizontally by a driving roller 24a and a driven roller 24b, as in the second conveyor 9 described above. The substrate 8 of the substrate case 20 can be transported to the carry-in door 4 side.
[0021]
As shown in FIG. 3, the case elevating mechanism 25 includes a pair of case support plates 26 and 26 disposed so as to contact the lower end of the side wall of the support frame body 21, and both lower end portions of each case support plate 26. And a pair of rod-like members 27 and 27 that pass through the housing partition wall 17 in an airtight manner, a coupling member 28 that couples the rod-like members 27 and 27, and a central portion of the coupling member 28. Nut member 29, nut member 29 is screwed and rod-shaped screw member 30 whose axis is set in the vertical direction, and bearings 31 and 31 that rotatably support the upper and lower ends of screw member 30 are supported. And a rotation drive mechanism 32 that can rotate the screw member 30 at an arbitrary rotation angle in the forward direction and the reverse direction.
[0022]
The rotary drive mechanism 32 includes a gear 33 provided below the screw member 30, a lifting motor 34 with an encoder 34 a shown in FIG. 4, a gear 35 connected to the rotating shaft of the lifting motor 34, and all the gears 33. It has the toothed belt 36 meshed with 33 and 35. The case elevating mechanism 25 configured as described above is at a height position corresponding to the rotation angle and the rotation direction by rotating the elevating motor 34 in the forward direction or the reverse direction at a predetermined rotation angle. The substrate case 20 can be moved up and down.
[0023]
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, a substrate carry-out device 37 having substantially the same configuration as the substrate carry-in device 15 is provided on the carry-out side (left side in the drawing) of the vacuum tank 3. In other words, the substrate carry-out device 37 is extended in the horizontal direction by a storage partition wall 39 having a carry-out chamber 38 capable of appearing a processing environment independently of the processing chamber 2, and a drive roller 40a and a driven roller 40b. A conveyor 40 and a case elevating mechanism 25 that elevates and lowers the substrate case 20 to an arbitrary height position are provided. Note that the details of each member of the substrate carry-out device 37 are substantially the same as those of the substrate carry-in device 15 described above, and a description thereof is omitted.
[0024]
The operation of the processing apparatus main body 1 configured as described above is controlled by a control apparatus 51 as shown in FIG. The control device 51 includes a calculation unit 52 that executes various programs, a communication unit 53 that is connected so as to be able to perform data communication with an information processing device 60 that manages processing contents, the number of processes of the substrate 8, and the like, and FIG. Connected to the memory 54 for storing various programs and data such as the substrate transfer routine, the input / output unit 55 connected to each driving device and sensor of the processing apparatus main body 1, the temperature sensor 61, the pressure sensor 62, and the like. An AD converter 56 and a signal bus 57 in which these members are connected so as to be capable of bidirectional data communication are provided.
[0025]
In the above configuration, the operation of the transfer device will be described.
[0026]
When the control device 51 and the processing device main body 1 are turned on and put into operation, the control device 51 is in a state of accepting an operation start command and stands by. When the operator issues an operation start command by a button operation or the like, the control device 51 that has received this command executes a substrate processing routine, thereby causing the processing chamber 2 in the vacuum tank 3 to have a desired pressure or inert gas concentration. Set the environment. Further, the substrate transfer routine is executed in parallel with the processing routine by time sharing, so that the substrate 8 is carried into and out of the processing chamber 2 according to the flowchart of FIG.
[0027]
That is, as shown in FIG. 1, first, whether or not the substrate case 20 is set in an appropriate state capable of starting a processing operation in the carry-in chamber 16 of the substrate carry-in device 15 and the carry-out chamber 38 of the substrate carry-out device 37 is determined. If it is confirmed (S1) and not set properly (S1, NO), that fact is notified (S18). In this case, the operator opens the lid member 19 to replace the substrate case 20 in each chamber 2 or 38 or carries the substrate case 20 into each empty chamber 2 or 38. As shown in FIG. 3, the setting operation of the substrate case 20 is completed by placing the substrate case 20 on the case support plate 26, so that the burden on the operator is extremely small.
[0028]
On the other hand, when the substrate case 20 is properly set (S1, YES), in the substrate carry-in device 15, the carry-in side set process of placing the substrate 8 on the first conveyor 24 and making it in a transportable state is performed. Done. That is, by counting the number of pulses of the encoder 34a in FIG. 4, the substrate case 20 is lowered by the case elevating mechanism 25 while the elevation amount (height position) of the substrate case 20 is monitored. As a result, the first conveyor 24 enters the substrate case 20 from the lower side, and the height at which the substrate 8 held at the lowermost stage of the substrate case 20 is placed on the first conveyor 24. When the position is reached, the raising / lowering operation of the substrate case 20 is stopped (S2). The “bottom stage” mentioned here is the stage of the substrate 8 positioned on the lowermost side among the substrates 8 if a plurality of substrates 8 are held in the substrate case 20. If the substrate 8 is held, this is the stage of the substrate 8.
[0029]
Further, in the substrate carry-out device 37, carry-out side set processing is performed so that the substrate 8 can be held in the substrate case 20 by the fourth conveyor 40. That is, by counting the number of pulses of the encoder 34a in FIG. 4, the substrate case 20 is lowered by the case elevating mechanism 25 while the elevation amount (height position) of the substrate case 20 is monitored. As a result, the fourth conveyor 40 enters the substrate case 20 from the lower side, and becomes the height position of the fourth conveyor 40 that can carry the substrate 8 into the uppermost support member 23 of the substrate case 20. Sometimes, the raising / lowering operation of the substrate case 20 is stopped (S3). Here, the “uppermost stage” is a lower stage next to the lowermost stage of the substrate 8 held by the substrate case 20.
[0030]
Next, an exhaust process and an inert gas supply process are performed on the carry-in chamber 16 of the substrate carry-in device 15 and the carry-out chamber 38 of the substrate carry-out device 37, whereby the environment of both chambers 16 and 38 is changed to the process chamber 2. Is set to the same environment (S4). Thereafter, the carry-in door 4 and the carry-out door 5 are opened, and all the rooms 16, 2, and 38 are brought into communication (S5).
[0031]
When the conveyance of the substrate 8 can be started as described above, first, as shown in FIG. 2, the extrusion cylinder 12 is pushed in the extrusion direction indicated by the solid line so that the extrusion mechanism 11 does not become an obstacle to the conveyance of the substrate 8. It is retracted by turning from the position to the retracted position of the two-dot chain line in the figure (S6). Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 1, the first conveyor 24 and the second conveyor 9 are rotationally driven, whereby the substrate 8 of the substrate case 20 is transported to the loading door 4 side by the first conveyor 24, and the loading door 4 is moved. Then, it is transferred to the second conveyor 9 and then conveyed to the mounting table 7 side by the second conveyor 9 (S7).
[0032]
When the substrate 8 is transported as described above, it is determined whether or not the substrate 8 has reached the loading start position close to the mounting table 7 based on the detection signal of the substrate detection sensor 63 of FIG. 4 (S8). ). If the substrate 8 is not detected by the substrate detection sensor 63, it is determined that the substrate 8 has not reached the loading start position (S8, NO), and the carrying of the mounting table 7 in S7 is continued. On the other hand, when the substrate 8 is detected by the substrate detection sensor 63 and it is determined that the substrate 8 has reached the loading start position (S8, YES), the first conveyor 24 and the second conveyor 9 are stopped. (S9).
[0033]
Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 2, the extrusion cylinder 12 of the extrusion mechanism 11 is returned to the extrusion direction position indicated by the solid line (S10). The extrusion cylinder 12 advances the cylinder rod 12a, and the substrate 8 is pushed horizontally by the extrusion plate 13 in the direction of the mounting table 7 so that the convex engaging portion 8a of the substrate 8 is inserted into the groove-shaped engaging portion 7a of the mounting table 7. Engage and set (S11). In this setting operation, the substrate 8 may be positioned at a predetermined position by controlling the advancement amount of the cylinder rod 12a by the extrusion cylinder 12 with high accuracy, and the extrusion plate 13 is placed on the side surface of the mounting table 7. The substrate 8 may be positioned at a predetermined position by abutting.
[0034]
Next, the processing operation for the substrate 8 is started. At this time, when the processed substrate 8 is set on the mounting table 7, the substrate 8 is pushed out onto the third conveyor 10 by the substrate 8 sent out by the extrusion mechanism 11. Therefore, it is confirmed whether or not the substrate 8 extruded is present on the third conveyor 10 (S12). If present (S12, YES), as shown in FIG. By rotating the 4 conveyor 40, the processed substrate 8 is carried out to the carry-out chamber 38 of the substrate carry-out device 37. As a result, the substrate 8 is inserted and held in the substrate case 20 set in the carry-out chamber 38 (S13). Thereafter, the carry-out side set process for the substrate case 20 is performed so that the substrate 8 can be held in the next lower stage (S14).
[0035]
Next, when the substrate 8 does not exist on the third conveyor 10 (S12, NO), or when the setting process is completed on the S14 carry-out side, the processing operation for the substrate 8 set on the mounting table 7 in S11 is completed. It is determined whether or not (S15). If the processing operation has not been completed (S15, NO), the determination of the processing operation in S15 is repeated. If the processing operation has been completed (S15, YES), then all the substrates 8 held in the substrate case 20 will be processed. It is then determined whether or not the processing operation has been completed (S16). If the processing operation for all the substrates 8 is not completed (S16, NO), the processing is re-executed from S16, and the next substrate 8 is transported and processed. On the other hand, if the processing operation for all the substrates 8 has been completed (S16, YES), the operator is notified of this in order to prompt the replacement of the substrate case 20 (S17), and this routine is terminated.
[0036]
As described above, the transfer apparatus according to the present embodiment is set in a processing environment different from the external environment, and can be opened and closed in an airtight state with respect to the processing chamber 2 that performs processing at a predetermined position of the mounting table 7. The first conveyor 24 is provided in a processing apparatus having a carry-in chamber 16 and a carry-out chamber 38 connected to each other. The first conveyor 24 is provided in the carry-in chamber 16 and conveys the substrate 8 set at an attachment position to the processing chamber 2. A second conveyor 9 that is provided between the mounting table 7 and the loading chamber 16 in the processing chamber 2, receives the substrate 8 from the first conveyor 24, and transports the substrate 8 onto the mounting table 7 in the horizontal direction, and the processing chamber 2. The third conveyor 10 is provided between the mounting table 7 and the unloading chamber 38, receives the substrate 8 pushed out from the mounting table 7 and transports it to the unloading chamber 38, and is provided in the unloading chamber 38. Receive substrate 8 from conveyor 10 Is the configuration in which a fourth conveyor 40 for conveying the take-out position Te.
[0037]
According to said structure, since conveyance between the carrying-in chamber 16, the processing chamber 2, and the carrying-out chamber 38 is performed by the 1st-4th conveyors 24, 9, 10, and 40, the processing chamber 2 becomes large volume and is mounted. Even if the transport distance with respect to the mounting table 7 becomes long, the substrate 8 can be reliably transported to the mounting table 7. In addition, since the second conveyor 9 transports the substrate 8 onto the mounting table 7 in the horizontal direction, the substrate 8 on the mounting table 7 can be pushed out by the newly transported substrate 8 and delivered to the third conveyor 10. Thereby, carrying in / out of the board | substrate 8 with respect to the mounting base 7 can be performed without using a special mechanism.
[0038]
Furthermore, the transport apparatus of the present embodiment pushes and sets the substrate 8 from the front side of the mounting table 7 to a predetermined position of the mounting table 7 when the substrate 8 is transferred to the mounting table 7 by the second conveyor 9. The mechanism 11 is provided. And by being comprised in this way, the board | substrate 8 can be positioned to the predetermined position of the mounting base 7 with high precision rather than the case where the board | substrate 8 is set in the predetermined position of the mounting base 7 only by the 2nd conveyor 9. FIG. It can be done.
[0039]
As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on suitable embodiment, this invention can be changed in the range which does not exceed the meaning. For example, the setting operation of the substrate 8 with respect to the mounting table 7 in the present embodiment is performed by fitting the convex engaging portion 8a of the substrate 8 having a rectangular longitudinal section into the groove-shaped engaging portion 7a of the mounting table 7. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the longitudinal section may be square, curved, or semicircular. In the present embodiment, the case elevating mechanism 25 is moved up and down by the rotation of the screw member 30, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the case elevating mechanism 25 may be moved up and down using a cylinder device. . Furthermore, although the raising / lowering positioning in the case raising / lowering mechanism 25 is performed based on the rotation angle detected by the encoder 34a of FIG. 4, the height position of the substrate case 20 is directly set by the detection sensor arranged for each stage. It may be carried out by detecting at the same time.
[0040]
【The invention's effect】
The invention of claim 1 is set in a processing environment different from the external environment, Formed into a shape in which a rectangular convex engaging part protrudes from the lower surface over both ends in the traveling direction In a transfer apparatus provided in a processing apparatus having a processing chamber that performs processing at a predetermined position of a mounting table that engages with a substrate, and a loading chamber and an unloading chamber that are connected to the processing chamber so as to be openable and closable. The first conveyor that is provided in the carry-in chamber and transports the substrate set at the attachment position to the processing chamber, and the substrate that is provided between the mounting table and the carry-in chamber in the processing chamber and is received from the first conveyor. Before Convey horizontally in the table Do A second conveyor, a third conveyor provided between the mounting table and the unloading chamber in the processing chamber, receiving the substrate pushed out from the mounting table and transporting it to the unloading chamber, and provided in the unloading chamber; A fourth conveyor for receiving the substrate from the third conveyor and transporting the substrate to the take-out position; A groove-like engagement portion is formed on the upper surface portion of the mounting table so that the convex engagement portion is slidably fitted in the advancing direction, and the substrate is conveyed by the second conveyor. The substrate on the table is pushed out from the table on the third conveyor. It is a configuration.
[0041]
According to said structure, since conveyance between a carrying-in chamber, a processing chamber, and a carrying-out chamber is performed by the 1st-4th conveyor, even if the processing chamber becomes a big volume and the conveyance distance with respect to a mounting base becomes long, mounting is carried out. A board | substrate can be reliably conveyed with respect to a mounting base. Further, since the second conveyor conveys the substrate in the horizontal direction onto the mounting table, the substrate on the mounting table can be pushed out by the newly conveyed substrate and delivered to the third conveyor. This brings about an effect that the substrate can be carried in and out of the mounting table without using a special mechanism.
[0042]
Invention of Claim 2 is a conveying apparatus of Claim 1, Comprising: When a board | substrate is conveyed by the 2nd conveyor to a mounting base, Swiveled from the retracted position to the position in the extrusion direction, This is a configuration having an extrusion mechanism that pushes and sets the substrate to a predetermined position of the mounting table from the front side of the mounting table.
[0043]
According to said structure, there exists an effect that a board | substrate can be positioned to the predetermined position of a mounting base with high precision rather than the case where a board | substrate is set in the predetermined position of a mounting base only with a 2nd conveyor.
[0044]
Invention of Claim 3 is a conveying apparatus of Claim 1 or 2, Comprising: The conveyor part which mounts the board | substrate in the said 1st thru | or 4th conveyor is a structure formed with the refractory material.
[0045]
According to said structure, even if a board | substrate becomes high temperature, there exists an effect that the initial performance of a 1st thru | or 4th conveyor can be maintained over a long period of time.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a processing apparatus main body.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing an operating state of an extrusion mechanism.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a substrate carry-in device.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a transport device.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a substrate transfer routine.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Processing unit
2 treatment room
3 Vacuum tank
4 Loading door
5 Unloading door
6 Support members
7 mounting table
7a Groove engaging part
8 Board
8a Convex engaging part
9 Second conveyor
10 Third conveyor
11 Extrusion mechanism
12 Extrusion cylinder
13 Extruded plate
15 Substrate carry-in device
16 Loading room
17 Storage bulkhead
20 PCB case
21 Support frame
24 1st conveyor
25 Case lifting mechanism
34 Lifting motor
37 Substrate unloading device
38 Unloading room
39 Storage bulkhead
40 4th conveyor
51 Control device
61 Temperature sensor
62 Pressure sensor
63 Substrate detection sensor

Claims (3)

A process that is set in a processing environment different from the external environment and performs processing at a predetermined position of a mounting table that engages a substrate formed in a shape in which a rectangular convex engaging portion protrudes from the lower surface over both ends in the traveling direction. In a transfer apparatus provided in a processing apparatus having a chamber and a loading chamber and a loading chamber connected to the processing chamber in an airtight manner so as to be opened and closed,
A first conveyor that is provided in the carry-in chamber and conveys the substrate set at the attachment position to the processing chamber;
Is provided between the loading chamber and the mounting table in the process chamber, a second conveyor for conveying in a horizontal direction of the substrate received from the first conveyor onto the mounting table,
A third conveyor which is provided between the mounting table and the unloading chamber in the processing chamber and receives the substrate pushed out from the mounting table and transports it to the unloading chamber;
Wherein provided on the carry-out chamber, it has a fourth conveyor for conveying the take-out position receives the substrate from the third conveyor,
On the upper surface portion of the mounting table, a groove-like engagement portion is formed in which the convex engagement portion is slidably fitted in the traveling direction.
A transporting apparatus, wherein a substrate on the mounting table is pushed out from the mounting table onto the third conveyor by a substrate transported by the second conveyor .   When the substrate is transported to the mounting table by the second conveyor, it has an extrusion mechanism that is pivoted from the retracted position to the position in the pushing direction and pushes the substrate from the near side of the mounting table to a predetermined position of the mounting table. The conveying apparatus according to claim 1.   The conveying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a conveyor portion for placing a substrate on the first to fourth conveyors is formed of a refractory material.

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