JP4426276B2 - Conveying device, coating system, and inspection system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport apparatus that transports an object to be transported such as a glass substrate, and a coating system and an inspection system including the transport apparatus.

  As a coating system for coating a coating solution such as a photoresist on a glass substrate, for example, there is one disclosed in Patent Document 1. This coating system includes a coating device for coating a coating solution and a transport device for moving the glass substrate with respect to the coating device. The transport device has a base that sucks and holds the glass substrate over the entire surface, and moves the glass substrate relative to the coating device by moving the base together with the glass substrate being sucked.

In addition, a coating system has been developed in which the coating apparatus is moved with respect to the glass substrate while the glass substrate is fixed on the base (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
JP-A-8-243476 JP 2002-200450 A

  However, in recent years, since the size of the glass substrate for liquid crystal has been increased, in the transfer device disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, the weight of the base becomes too heavy, and the thrust required for transfer increases, so that the glass substrate is increased. There has been a problem that it becomes difficult to transport. In addition, in the coating system disclosed in Patent Document 2 in which the coating apparatus is moved with respect to the glass substrate, the gantry becomes large due to the increase in the size of the glass substrate, resulting in an increase in weight. There was a problem.

  Therefore, it has been considered to hold a part of the glass substrate and transport the glass substrate itself. In this case, in order to achieve uniform coating, it is necessary to suppress the deflection of the glass substrate.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, a transport device capable of reducing the thrust required for transport and suppressing the deflection of the transported object, a coating system including the transport device, and an inspection. The purpose is to provide a system.

The transport apparatus according to the present invention includes (1) a base having a main surface that extends in the transport direction of an object to be transported as a substrate , (2) a guide member that extends in the transport direction, and (3) transport guided by the guide member. a moving member movable in a direction, (4) and the holding member for holding by adsorbing conveyed object at a gap from the main surface is fixed to the moving member, in the area portion in the transport direction of the (5) base A gas discharge / suction mechanism for discharging and sucking gas so as to correct the deflection of the object to be transferred in the transfer direction. The discharge hole and the suction hole are arranged independently from each other when viewed from above the base, and are configured to be adjacent to each other in the transport direction and the direction orthogonal to the transport direction .

  According to this apparatus, the object to be transported is transported in the transport direction by holding the object to be transported by the holding member and guiding and moving the moving member in the transport direction by the guide member. At this time, in a partial region in the transport direction on the base, gas discharge and suction can be performed on the object to be transported by the gas discharge suction mechanism. Thus, in this transport apparatus, it is not necessary to move the entire base when moving the object to be transported, so that it is possible to reduce the thrust required for transport. In addition, since gas can be discharged and sucked from the transported object in a partial area on the transport path, deflection of the transported object can be suppressed in the partial area.

  In the transport apparatus according to the present invention, the guide member may be configured as a single shaft. If it does in this way, a to-be-conveyed object is hold | maintained from the side of one side edge.

  In the transport device according to the present invention, the holding member may have a spring property in the normal direction of the main surface of the base. In this way, the height position of the object to be conveyed can be finely adjusted in the normal direction of the main surface of the base, and the possibility that the object to be conveyed hits the gas discharge suction mechanism can be reduced. it can.

  In the transport apparatus according to the present invention, the holding member may have a spring property in a direction orthogonal to both the normal direction of the main surface of the base and the transport direction. In this way, in the case where the guide member is constituted by two shafts, even if the distance between the two guide members varies due to the distortion of the guide member, the conveyed object held by the holding member may be damaged, It is possible to reduce the possibility that the holding member comes off or shifts.

  The transport apparatus according to the present invention may include a rotation correcting means for correcting the rotation of the object to be transported in a plane parallel to the main surface of the base. In this way, the work can be suitably performed in a system that dislikes the rotation of the conveyed object during a predetermined work.

  The transfer device according to the present invention may include a first gas discharge mechanism that discharges gas from the base side toward the transfer object in a region other than a partial region on the base. In this way, the weight load applied to the holding member is reduced, and the conveyance of the object to be conveyed becomes easy.

  In the transport apparatus according to the present invention, the object to be transported may be a glass substrate.

  A coating system according to the present invention includes the above-described transport device and a coating device for applying a coating liquid to a transported object, and the discharge suction mechanism has a pair of main surfaces facing each other in a partial region. A gas is discharged and sucked to one main surface side of the object to be conveyed, and the coating apparatus applies the coating liquid to the other main surface side of the object to be conveyed in a partial region.

  In this coating system, gas is discharged and sucked from a transported object in a partial area on the base, thereby suppressing the deflection of the transported object in the partial area and increasing the flatness. Therefore, it is possible to uniformly apply the coating liquid.

  The coating system according to the present invention may include a second gas discharge mechanism that discharges gas to the object to be transported on the other main surface side in a part of the region before the coating device. . If it does in this way, the flatness of the to-be-conveyed object in a partial area | region can be improved more, and it becomes possible to apply | coat a coating liquid more uniformly.

The coating method according to the present invention is a coating method for applying a coating liquid while adsorbing and holding an object to be conveyed, which is a substrate having a pair of opposed main surfaces , on a base with a holding member , A step of applying a coating liquid on the other main surface side while discharging and sucking a gas with a gas discharge suction mechanism to correct the deflection of the transferred object on one main surface side with respect to the transferred object ; In the step of applying the coating liquid, the suction liquid is included in the gas discharge suction mechanism and is arranged independently of each other when viewed from above, and is configured to be adjacent to each other in the transport direction and the direction perpendicular to the transport direction . Gas is discharged and sucked through the hole and the discharge hole.

  In this coating method, since the coating liquid can be applied in a state where the deflection of the conveyed object is suppressed and the flatness is increased, the coating liquid can be uniformly applied.

  An inspection system according to the present invention includes the above-described transfer device and an inspection device for inspecting an object to be transported, and the gas discharge suction mechanism has a pair of main surfaces facing each other in a partial area. Gas is discharged and sucked to one main surface side of the conveyed object, and the inspection apparatus inspects the conveyed object from the other main surface side of the conveyed object in a partial region.

  In this inspection system, by injecting and sucking gas to and from the object to be conveyed in a partial area on the base, the inspection of the partial object in a state where the deflection of the object to be conveyed is suppressed and the flatness is increased. Therefore, it is possible to improve the inspection accuracy.

  In the transport apparatus according to the present invention, the holding member includes a base portion extending along the transport direction and a plurality of supports extending from the base portion in a direction perpendicular to both the normal direction of the main surface of the base and the transport direction. Each having a holding mechanism including a beam portion and a suction portion for sucking and holding the object to be conveyed, each of the plurality of support beam portions, It may have a spring property at least in the normal direction of the main surface of the base, and may have a twist property around its own axis. In this way, by carrying out gas discharge and suction in a partial area on the base, even if the height of the transported object differs in the transport direction, the transported object is damaged. And can be held securely.

  The transport apparatus according to the present invention includes two moving members and two holding members, each of which is provided so that the speed can be controlled independently, and the holding position of the object to be transported by each of the holding members is the base. It is good also as the characteristic which has shifted | deviated about the direction orthogonal to both the normal line direction of this principal surface, and a conveyance direction. In this way, by controlling the moving speed of the two moving members, the rotation of the conveyed object in the plane parallel to the main surface of the base is corrected, and the system which dislikes the rotation of the conveyed object during a predetermined work Thus, the operation can be suitably performed.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to provide the conveyance apparatus which can reduce the thrust required for conveyance, and can suppress the bending of a to-be-conveyed object, an application | coating system provided with this, and an inspection system.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a coating system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the configuration of the coating system according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 2, the coating device 14 and the gantry 40 are indicated by alternate long and short dash lines.

  As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the coating system 10 includes a transport device 12 and a coating device 14. The transport device 12 includes a base 16, a pair of guide rails (guide members) 18, four sliders (moving members) 20, a drive mechanism 22, four holding members 24, and an air discharge suction mechanism (gas discharge). Suction mechanism) 26.

  The base 16 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is placed on a horizontal surface such as a floor surface. An upper surface (main surface) 16a of the base 16 extends in a predetermined direction. The direction in which the upper surface 16 a of the base 16 extends is the transport direction of the glass substrate (conveyed object) 28. The width of the base 16 is set larger than the width of the glass substrate 28. In the following description, as shown in FIG. 1, the direction in which the upper surface 16a of the base 16 extends is the transport direction X, the normal direction of the upper surface 16a of the base 16 is the vertical direction Z, the transport direction X, and the vertical direction Z. The direction orthogonal to both is referred to as the width direction Y.

  The pair of guide rails 18 are installed on the upper surface 16a of the base 16 so as to extend in the transport direction X. The pair of guide rails 18 are arranged in parallel to each other with an interval slightly larger than the width of the glass substrate 28.

  Two sliders 20 are provided for each of the pair of guide rails 18. Each slider 20 is guided by the guide rail 18 so as to be movable in the transport direction X.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the drive mechanism 22 includes a linear motor mechanism that includes a stator 30 and a mover 32. The stator 30 is provided on the base 16 along the guide rails 18 on the outer sides of the pair of guide rails 18. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the mover 32 includes a drive body 33 that is driven by acting with the stator 30, and extends from both ends of the drive body 33 in the transport direction X. And a connecting member 37 for connecting the two. The connecting member 37 is fixed to the outer surface of the slider 20. As a result, the two sliders 20 provided on each guide rail 18 move synchronously while maintaining a certain distance.

  The holding members 24 are respectively fixed to the inner surfaces of the four sliders 20. As shown in FIG. 3, the holding member 24 includes a suction portion 34 and a spring plate portion 36. The holding member 24 sucks and holds the side edge portion of the glass substrate 28 with air suction by the suction portion 34. By these holding members 24, the glass substrate 28 is held in a state of being separated from the upper surface 16 a of the base 16. The spring plate portion 36 includes a base portion 36 a that extends along the vertical direction Z and a bent portion 36 b that extends along the width direction Y. The adsorption part 34 is fixed on the bent part 36b.

  Here, it is preferable that the bent part 36b of the spring plate part 36 has a spring property in the vertical direction Z as shown in FIG. In this way, the holding member 24 has a spring property in the vertical direction Z, and the height position of the glass substrate 28 can be finely adjusted in the vertical direction Z. As a result, it is possible to reduce the possibility that a problem such as the glass substrate 28 hitting the gas discharge suction mechanism 26 will occur.

  Further, regarding the holding member 24 fixed to the two sliders 20 provided on the one guide rail 18, the base portion 36a of the spring plate portion 36 has a spring property in the width direction Y as shown in FIG. preferable. In this way, the holding member 24 has a spring property in the width direction Y. As a result, when the guide rail 18 is distorted, the displacement in the width direction Y of the glass substrate 28 and the rotation of the glass substrate 28 in a plane parallel to the upper surface 16a of the base 16 are corrected with respect to the other guide rail 18 side. (Rotation correction means).

  The air discharge / suction mechanism 26 is provided on the base 16 in a coating region (partial region) below the coating device 14 described later. As shown in FIG. 3, the air discharge / suction mechanism 26 discharges and sucks air (gas) to the lower surface (one main surface) 28a side of the glass substrate 28. The air discharge / suction mechanism 26 has a plurality of holes 26a through which air passes, and the plurality of holes 26a are regularly arranged in the transport direction X and the width direction Y. The length of the air discharge suction mechanism 26 in the width direction Y is provided substantially the same as the width of the glass substrate 28. The length of the air discharge suction mechanism 26 in the transport direction X is preferably a sufficient length before and after the coating device 14. As an example, when a glass substrate 28 having a length in the transport direction X of 2300 mm, a length in the width direction Y of 2000 mm, and a thickness of 0.6 mm is transported at 250 mm / sec, the length of the air discharge suction mechanism 26 in the transport direction X The thickness is preferably at least about 400 mm to 500 mm.

  The coating device 14 applies a coating solution such as a photoresist solution to the upper surface (the other main surface) 28 b side of the glass substrate 28. The nozzle tip 38 of the coating device 14 extends in the width direction Y. The coating device 14 is supported on the base 16 at a predetermined height by a gantry 40 installed on the base 16.

  Next, a coating solution coating method using the coating system 10 described above will be described.

  First, the glass substrate 28 is adsorbed and held at the side edge in the width direction Y by the four holding members 24 before the coating device 14 on the base 16. At this time, the glass substrate 28 is held in a state of being separated from the upper surface 16 a of the base 16. More specifically, the glass substrate 28 is held so as to be separated from the upper surface of the air discharge suction mechanism 26 by about 10 μm in the application region and from the tip end portion 38 of the nozzle of the application device 14 by about 100 μm to 200 μm.

  Next, the glass substrate 28 is transported in the transport direction X at a predetermined speed by moving the slider 20 by the drive mechanism 22. When the glass substrate 28 comes to the application region, the air discharge / suction mechanism 26 discharges and sucks air to the lower surface 28a of the glass substrate 28. As a result, the deflection of the glass substrate 28 is corrected in the application region while the glass substrate 28 is floating on the air discharge suction mechanism 26, and the flatness of the glass substrate 28 is improved. In the present embodiment, the correction of the deflection of the glass substrate 28 is considered to be about 10 μm to 100 μm at the maximum position. At this time, with respect to the plurality of holes 26a provided in the air discharge suction mechanism 26, as shown in FIG. 4, the suction holes (shown by white circles) and the discharge holes (shown by black circles) are adjacent to each other. Thus, it is preferable to uniformly suck and discharge air to the glass substrate 28. In this way, the flatness of the glass substrate 28 is further improved.

  Then, as described above, air is discharged and sucked to the lower surface 28a of the glass substrate 28 in the coating region, and at the same time, the coating liquid is applied to the upper surface 28b of the glass substrate 28 by the coating device 14. Here, since the flatness of the glass substrate 28 is increased, the coating liquid can be uniformly applied to the upper surface 28 b of the glass substrate 28. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, an air discharge mechanism (second gas discharge mechanism) 42 is provided above the air discharge suction mechanism 26 and adjacent to the front stage of the coating apparatus 14, so as to apply the coating in the coating region. It is preferable to discharge air onto the upper surface 28b of the glass substrate 28 in the previous stage. In this way, the flatness of the glass substrate 28 can be further increased, and a more uniform coating can be performed.

  Next, the suction by the holding member 24 is released with respect to the coated glass substrate 28 that has passed through the coating region and is conveyed to the subsequent stage of the base 16. Then, the glass substrate 28 is carried out of the system, and the holding member 24 is returned to the front stage of the base 16 for application to the next glass substrate 28.

  As described in detail above, in the present embodiment, when the glass substrate 28 is moved, it is not necessary to move the glass substrate 28 together with the base, so that it is possible to reduce the thrust required for conveyance. In addition, vibration and heat transmitted to the glass substrate 28 can be reduced as compared with the case where the entire base is moved. In addition, since the air discharge / suction mechanism 26 can discharge and suck air to the glass substrate 28, the deflection of the glass substrate 28 in the application region can be suppressed. As a result, it becomes possible to apply the coating liquid in a state where the flatness of the glass substrate 28 is increased in the coating area, and the coating liquid can be uniformly applied.

  In the present embodiment, the holding member 24 can adsorb and hold the glass substrate 28, so that the glass substrate 28 can be reliably held. Further, since the glass substrate 28 is held from the lower surface 28a, there is a low possibility that the glass is broken or scratched as in the case of sandwiching the glass substrate 28, and the coating liquid is applied to the entire upper surface 28a of the glass substrate 28. It can be performed.

  In the present embodiment, since the holding member 24 has a spring property in the vertical direction Z, the height position of the glass substrate 28 can be finely adjusted in the vertical direction Z. As a result, it is possible to reduce the possibility that a problem such as the glass substrate 28 hitting the gas discharge suction mechanism 26 will occur.

  In the present embodiment, the holding member 24 fixed to the two sliders 20 provided on one guide rail 18 has a spring property in the width direction Y. Therefore, when the guide rail 18 is distorted, the other guide With reference to the rail 18 side, it is possible to correct the displacement of the glass substrate 28 in the width direction Y and the rotation of the glass substrate 28 in a plane parallel to the upper surface 16a of the base 16.

In the present embodiment, the flatness of the glass substrate 28 in the coating region can be further improved by providing the air discharge mechanism 42 that discharges air to the upper surface 28b side of the glass substrate 28 before the coating apparatus 14. The coating liquid can be applied more uniformly.
(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same element as above-mentioned 1st Embodiment, and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a configuration of a coating system 60 according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 6, the coating device 14 and the gantry 40 are indicated by alternate long and short dash lines. The configuration of the coating system 60 according to the present embodiment is the same as that of the coating system 10 according to the first embodiment except that the configuration of the transfer device 62 is different.

  In the present embodiment, the transport device 62 has only one guide rail 18 along the transport direction X, and is configured as a single shaft. Thereby, compared with the case where two guide rails 18 are arranged side by side and configured by two axes, the linear motor mechanism as the drive mechanism 22 is only required on one side, and the cost can be reduced.

  In this case, the glass substrate 28 is held at one side edge by the holding member 24. However, since the glass substrate 28 is cantilevered, the weight load applied to the holding member 24 is increased, and the base 16 is brought into contact with the scratch due to the deflection. There is a risk that the glass substrate 28 may be attached. Therefore, a gas discharge mechanism (first gas discharge mechanism) 66 that discharges air (gas) from the base 16 side toward the lower surface 28a of the glass substrate 28 is provided in a region other than the coating region on the base 16. . The gas discharge mechanism 66 includes a plurality of static pressure bearings 66a, and the plurality of static pressure bearings 66a are regularly arranged in the transport direction X and the width direction Y. These hydrostatic bearings 66a are made of a porous body made of stone, ceramic, or metal.

  In the present embodiment, the holding member 24 preferably has a spring property in the vertical direction Z. In this way, the height position of the glass substrate 28 in the vertical direction Z can be finely adjusted. As a result, it is possible to reduce the possibility that a problem such as the glass substrate 28 hitting the gas discharge suction mechanism 26 will occur.

  Further, in the present embodiment, it is preferable that the transport device 62 includes a rotation correcting means for forcibly correcting the rotation of the glass substrate 28 in a plane parallel to the upper surface 16a of the base 16. That is, the guide rail 18 is not necessarily straight and may be distorted in the width direction Y. If the guide rail 18 is distorted, the glass substrate 28 rotates in a plane parallel to the upper surface 16a of the base 16 as shown by a solid line in FIG. The rotation of the glass substrate 28 is not preferable for uniformly applying the coating solution.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, the holding member 24 has a hinge mechanism 68 that can rotate around an axis along the vertical direction Z, and the other holding member 24 has a minute size of about several tens of μm in the width direction Y. A piezo element 70 capable of displacement is attached. As a result, as indicated by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 8, the rotation of the glass substrate 28 as it is can be corrected by the piezoelectric element 70 to the position indicated by the solid line. Instead of the piezo element 70, a voice coil, an ultrasonic motor, a linear motor, an air actuator, or the like may be used.

  Next, a coating liquid coating method using the coating system 60 described above will be described.

  First, the glass substrate 28 is transported in the transport direction X without performing coating by the coating device 14, and whether or not the glass substrate 28 is rotated in a plane parallel to the upper surface 16 a of the base 16 due to distortion of the guide rail 18. To detect. When rotation of the glass substrate 28 is recognized, a control program is set in advance so as to drive the piezo element 70 in a direction to correct the rotation. Thereby, rotation of the glass substrate 28 in subsequent coating operations is prevented.

  Next, air discharge is started from the plurality of static pressure bearings 66 a of the air discharge mechanism 66 toward the lower surface 28 a of the glass substrate 28. The static pressure bearing 66a may have an air discharge portion and a suction portion that sucks the discharged air. The suction of air at this time is to prevent the discharged air from adhering to the glass substrate and adversely affecting the application because the discharged air may contain fine dust. Next, before the coating device 14 on the base 16, the glass substrate 28 is adsorbed and cantilevered at the side edge in the width direction Y by the two holding members 24. At this time, the glass substrate 28 is held in a state of being separated from the upper surface 16 a of the base 16. More specifically, the glass substrate 28 is held so as to be separated from the upper surface of the air discharge suction mechanism 26 by about 10 μm in the application region and from the tip end portion 38 of the nozzle of the application device 14 by about 100 μm to 200 μm.

  Next, the glass substrate 28 is transported in the transport direction X at a predetermined speed by moving the slider 20 by the drive mechanism 22. When the glass substrate 28 comes to the application region, the air discharge / suction mechanism 26 discharges and sucks air to the lower surface 28a of the glass substrate 28. As a result, the deflection of the glass substrate 28 is corrected in the application region while the glass substrate 28 is floating on the air discharge suction mechanism 26, and the flatness of the glass substrate 28 is improved.

  Then, as described above, air is discharged and sucked to the lower surface 28a of the glass substrate 28 in the coating region, and at the same time, the coating liquid is applied to the upper surface 28b of the glass substrate 28 by the coating device 14. Here, since the flatness of the glass substrate 28 is increased, the coating liquid can be uniformly applied to the upper surface 28 b of the glass substrate 28. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, an air discharge mechanism (second gas discharge mechanism) 42 is provided above the air discharge suction mechanism 26 and adjacent to the front stage of the coating apparatus 14, so that coating is performed in the coating region. It is preferable to discharge air onto the upper surface 28b of the glass substrate 28 in the previous stage. In this way, the flatness of the glass substrate 28 can be further increased, and a more uniform coating can be performed.

  Next, the suction by the holding member 24 is released with respect to the coated glass substrate 28 that has passed through the coating region and is conveyed to the subsequent stage of the base 16. Then, the glass substrate 28 is carried out of the system, and the holding member 24 is returned to the front stage of the base 16 for application to the next glass substrate 28.

  As mentioned above, in this embodiment, the same operation effect as a 1st embodiment can be acquired. In particular, in this embodiment, since the guide rail 18 is configured with one axis, the linear motor mechanism as the drive mechanism 22 is only required on one side as compared with the case of configuring with two axes, and the cost can be reduced. . At this time, since the air discharge mechanism 66 for discharging air from the base 16 side toward the lower surface 28a of the glass substrate 28 is provided in a region other than the coating region on the base 16, the glass substrate 28 is moved by the discharged air. By lifting, the weight load applied to the holding member 24 can be reduced, and the conveyance of the glass substrate 28 can be facilitated.

Further, since the rotation of the glass substrate 28 in a plane parallel to the upper surface 16a of the base 16 can be forcibly corrected, the rotation of the glass substrate 28 is prevented, and the coating liquid can be applied more uniformly. .
(Third embodiment)
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same element as above-mentioned 1st and 2nd embodiment, and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an inspection system 80 according to the third embodiment. FIG. 10 is a plan view showing the configuration of the inspection system 80. In FIG. 10, the gantry 40 is indicated by a one-dot chain line.

  As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the inspection system 80 according to the present embodiment includes a transport device 12 and an inspection device 82. Since the conveying apparatus 12 is the same as the conveying apparatus of the coating system 10 according to the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

  The inspection device 82 inspects the glass substrate 28 from the upper surface 28b side. Examples of the inspection device 82 include an imaging device such as a CCD camera, and a laser measurement device that irradiates a laser beam and receives the reflected light. According to the imaging apparatus, for example, an optical image such as a circuit pattern formed on the glass substrate 28 can be obtained, thereby enabling inspection of defective products and the like. Further, according to the laser measuring device, it is possible to inspect defective products or the like by examining the reflectance of the laser beam. The inspection device 82 is not limited to these CCD cameras and laser measurement devices, and includes all known devices that can inspect the state of the glass substrate 28 in a non-contact manner.

  The inspection device 82 is attached to the gantry 40 installed on the base 16 via a slide member 84. The slide member 84 is movable in the width direction Y along the gantry 40. Therefore, the inspection device 82 attached to the slide member 84 can move in the width direction Y, and the glass substrate 28 can be scanned in the width direction Y. Further, the inspection device 82 itself is also movable in the vertical direction Z with respect to the slide member 84, and thus the inspection device 82 can be supported at a predetermined height position on the base 16. Therefore, a focused optical image is obtained in the imaging apparatus, and the data accuracy is improved in the laser measuring instrument, thereby improving the inspection accuracy.

  Next, a method for inspecting the glass substrate 28 using the above-described inspection system 80 will be described.

  First, in front of the inspection device 82 on the base 16, the glass substrate 28 is sucked and held at the side edge in the width direction Y by the four holding members 24. At this time, the glass substrate 28 is held in a state of being separated from the upper surface 16 a of the base 16. More specifically, the glass substrate 28 is separated from the upper surface of the air discharge suction mechanism 26 by about 10 μm in the inspection region (partial region).

  Next, the glass substrate 28 is transported in the transport direction X at a predetermined speed by moving the slider 20 by the drive mechanism 22. When the glass substrate 28 comes to the inspection area, the air discharge suction mechanism 26 discharges and sucks air to the lower surface 28a of the glass substrate 28. Thereby, the deflection of the glass substrate 28 is corrected in the inspection region while the glass substrate 28 is floating on the air discharge suction mechanism 26, and the flatness of the glass substrate 28 is improved. In the present embodiment, the correction of the deflection of the glass substrate 28 is considered to be about 10 μm to 100 μm at the maximum position. At this time, with respect to the plurality of holes 26a provided in the air discharge suction mechanism 26, as shown in FIG. 4, the suction holes (shown by white circles) and the discharge holes (shown by black circles) are adjacent to each other. Thus, it is preferable to uniformly suck and discharge air to the glass substrate 28. In this way, the flatness of the glass substrate 28 is further improved.

  Next, as described above, air is discharged and sucked to the lower surface 28a of the glass substrate 28 in the inspection region, and at the same time, the conveyance of the glass substrate 28 in the conveyance direction X is stopped. Then, the slide member 84 is slid in the width direction Y, and the glass substrate 28 is scanned. At this time, it is preferable to finely adjust the vertical position of the inspection device 82 as necessary. When the scan is completed, the glass substrate 28 is moved by a predetermined distance in the transport direction X, the transport is stopped again, and the second scan is performed. Thus, the glass substrate 28 is inspected from the upper surface 28b by the inspection device 82 by performing a plurality of scans. Here, since the flatness of the glass substrate 28 is increased, the inspection accuracy of the glass substrate 28 can be improved. At this time, as shown in FIG. 11, an air discharge mechanism 42 is provided above the air discharge suction mechanism 26 and before the inspection device 82, and air is discharged onto the upper surface 28b of the glass substrate 28 before the inspection in the inspection region. It is preferable. In this way, the flatness of the glass substrate 28 is further enhanced, and it becomes possible to perform inspection with higher accuracy. The air discharge mechanism 42 may be provided above the air discharge suction mechanism 26 and at the rear stage of the inspection device 82, or may be provided at both the front and rear stages. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 12, an annular air discharge mechanism 42 is provided around the lens in the imaging device and around the laser light incident / exit portion in the laser measuring device so as to be integrated with the inspection device 82. Also good.

  Next, the suction by the holding member 24 is released with respect to the inspected glass substrate 28 that has passed through the inspection region and is conveyed to the subsequent stage of the base 16. Then, the glass substrate 28 is carried out of the system, and the holding member 24 is returned to the front stage of the base 16 for the inspection of the next glass substrate 28.

  As described in detail above, in the present embodiment, when the glass substrate 28 is moved, it is not necessary to move the glass substrate 28 together with the base, so that it is possible to reduce the thrust required for conveyance. In addition, vibration and heat transmitted to the glass substrate 28 can be reduced as compared with the case where the entire base is moved. In addition, since the air discharge / suction mechanism 26 can discharge and suck air to the glass substrate 28, the deflection of the glass substrate 28 in the inspection region can be suppressed. As a result, it is possible to inspect with the flatness of the glass substrate 28 increased in the inspection region, and the inspection accuracy can be improved.

  In addition, in this embodiment, there can exist the same effect by the structure same as the coating system 10 which concerns on 1st Embodiment.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, the transfer device 12 of the first embodiment may include an air discharge mechanism 66 in a region other than the application region, like the transfer device 62 in the second embodiment.

  Further, in the transfer device 12 of the first embodiment, as in the transfer device 62 of the second embodiment, the rotation of the glass substrate 28 in a plane parallel to the upper surface 16a of the base 16 may be forcibly corrected. .

  Further, the stator 30 of the drive mechanism 22 is preferably provided separately from the base 16 by being installed on the floor surface F or the like. In this way, the reaction force generated by driving the drive mechanism 22 can be released out of the system.

  Further, the guide member may be configured by the corner portion of the base 16 in the direction along the transport direction X, and the slider 20 may be configured to be guided by the corner portion. In this way, it is possible to reduce the number of parts by omitting the guide rail 18.

  As shown in FIG. 13, in the transfer device 62 of the coating system 60 according to the second embodiment, the base 16 is composed of a base part 70 and an air mechanism part 72, and the air mechanism part 72 is ground or the like. The air discharge suction mechanism 26 and the air discharge mechanism 66 are preferably configured integrally. In this way, the operation of matching the height of the air discharge suction mechanism 26 and the height of the air discharge mechanism 66 can be omitted, and the manufacturing efficiency can be improved.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, two sliders 20 are provided on one guide rail 18, but the slider 20 is configured by a single member having a length comparable to the length of the glass substrate 28 in the transport direction X. May be. In this way, the length of the suction portion 34 can be increased, and the suction force can be improved. Further, the number of parts can be reduced by reducing the number of sliders 20.

  Moreover, in the biaxial conveyance apparatus 12 with which the coating system 10 according to the first embodiment and the inspection system 80 according to the third embodiment are provided, the glass substrate 28 may be held as follows. The holding member 24 has a holding mechanism 90 as shown in FIGS. The holding mechanism 90 is provided at the base portion 92 extending along the transport direction X, the plurality of support beam portions 94 extending from the base portion 92 in the width direction Y, and the tips of the plurality of support beam portions 94, respectively. And a suction portion 96 for sucking and holding the glass substrate 28. The length of the base portion 92 is approximately the same as the length of the glass substrate 28 in the transport direction X. Each of the plurality of support beam portions 94 has a spring property at least in the vertical direction Z and a twist property about its own axis α. Each of the plurality of support beam portions 94 has a spring property in the transport direction X, a width direction Y, and a vertical direction Z, and has a torsion property around their axes, and has six degrees of freedom. It is best to do. A wide mounting portion 98 is provided at the tip of the support beam portion 94 in order to securely mount the suction portion 96.

  The holding mechanism 90 is coupled to the inner side surfaces of the two sliders 20 that are slidably provided on the guide rail 18. More specifically, on the side of one guide rail 18 serving as a reference, the holding mechanism 90 has the base plate portion 92 directly coupled to the two sliders 20, and on the other guide rail 18 side, the elastic member 99 is attached. The substrate portion 92 of the holding mechanism 90 is connected to the two sliders 20 via the two sliders 20. As a result, the other guide rail side has springiness in the Y direction. As a result, when the other guide rail 18 is distorted, the displacement of the glass substrate 28 in the width direction Y and the rotation of the glass substrate 28 in a plane parallel to the upper surface 16a of the base 16 with the one guide rail 18 side as a reference. Can be corrected. Examples of the elastic member 99 include an elastic body such as a spring plate having a spring property in the width direction Y.

  Such a support beam portion 94 can be formed of a material such as SUS, for example. Typical dimensions are a length T1 of about 100 mm, a width T2 of about 10 mm, and a thickness T3 of about 1.5 mm. As a result, the support beam portion 94 can have a twistability of about ± 2 degrees around the axis α.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 16, in the application region or the inspection region on the base 16, the air discharge suction mechanism 26 discharges and sucks air with respect to the glass substrate 28, thereby increasing the height of the glass substrate 28. Different in the transport direction X. The height difference d may be about 50 μm to 200 μm. At this time, if the glass substrate 28 cannot be held well following the deformation, the glass substrate 28 may be damaged due to cracks or cracks. On the other hand, if the glass substrate 28 is held by the holding mechanism 90 described above, the plurality of support beam portions 94 have a spring property at least in the vertical direction Z and a twist property around its own axis α. Therefore, the glass substrate 28 can be reliably held following the deformation of the glass substrate 28, and the possibility that the glass substrate 28 is damaged can be reduced.

  Moreover, in the uniaxial conveyance apparatus 62 with which the coating system 60 which concerns on 2nd Embodiment is provided, you may hold | maintain the glass substrate 28 as follows. As shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, the holding member 24 includes a spring plate portion 102 and a suction portion 104. These holding members 24 are connected to the two sliders 20 via spring plate portions 102. The spring plate portion 102 has a spring property at least in the vertical direction Z. The suction part 104 mounted at the tip of the spring plate part 102 is a member for sucking and holding the glass substrate 28 by air pulling, and as shown in FIG. 18, around the axis β along the vertical direction Z. It is provided so as to be rotatable.

  In holding the glass substrate 28 using the holding member 24 described above, the position of the suction portion 104 in the width direction Y is shifted by each holding member 24. As a result, the holding positions at which the glass substrates 28 are sucked and held by the holding members 24 are different in the width direction Y. This deviation amount Δy is preferably set to an amount that can correct the rotation of the glass substrate 28 by about 1 degree as will be described later. For example, when the glass substrate 28 having a length in the transport direction X of 2000 mm is transported, the deviation amount Δy is preferably 1 mm or less.

  Further, in the holding of the glass substrate 28 using the holding member 24 described above, each of the sliders 20 is provided so that the speed can be controlled independently. That is, in the above-described second embodiment, each slider 20 is provided so as to be able to move synchronously while maintaining a certain distance by one drive body 33, but here each slider 20 is each a drive body 33. So that the speed can be controlled independently.

  Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 19, when the two sliders 20 are moved at the same speed, the holding position of the glass substrate 28 is the point A and the point B. Is made larger than the velocity v1 of the rear slider 20 by Δv, the holding positions of the glass substrate 28 become the points A and C. Moreover, the holding position of the glass substrate 28 becomes the points A and D by making the speed v2 of the front slider 20 smaller than the speed v1 of the rear slider 20 by Δv. In this way, by controlling the speed v2 of the front slider 20 and the speed v1 of the rear slider 20, the locus of the holding position B of the glass substrate 28 by the front holding member 24 is a radius around the point A. An arc of l (indicated by a broken line in FIG. 19) is drawn. As a result, as shown in FIG. 20, when the guide rail 18 is distorted, the surface v2 parallel to the upper surface 16a of the base 16 is controlled by controlling the speed v2 of the front slider 20 and the speed v1 of the rear slider 20. It is possible to correct the rotation of the glass substrate 28 inside.

  In the above-described third embodiment, the inspection device 82 is slid in the width direction Y by the slide member 84 and the glass substrate 28 is scanned. However, the inspection device 82 is arranged in an array in the width direction Y. An inspection system may be configured using an apparatus array. In this way, it is not necessary to scan the glass substrate 28 in the width direction Y, and the inspection efficiency can be improved.

  In the first and second embodiments described above, the application of the photoresist onto the glass substrate 28 has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to the application of ink when a color filter is laminated.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the conveyance of the glass substrate 28 is described as an object to be conveyed. However, the object to be conveyed may be another member that easily causes deflection such as a film or a semiconductor substrate.

  The transfer apparatus according to the present invention is such as a PDP manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a plasma display panel (PDP), a semiconductor inspection apparatus for inspecting a defect of a semiconductor substrate, etc. It is also applicable to other systems.

It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the coating system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a top view which shows the structure of the coating system which concerns on 1st Embodiment (a coating device and a gantry are shown with the dashed-dotted line). It is the partial expansion part which shows the structure of a conveying apparatus. It is a figure explaining the state where the hole for suction (it shows with a white circle) and the hole for discharge (it shows with a black circle) are adjoining about a plurality of holes which an air discharge suction mechanism has. It is a figure which shows a mode that air is discharged to the upper surface of a glass substrate by the air discharge mechanism provided in the front | former stage of the coating device. It is a top view which shows the structure of the coating system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment (a coating device and a gantry are shown with the dashed-dotted line). It is a figure for demonstrating a mode that a glass substrate rotates in the surface parallel to the upper surface of a base by distortion of a guide rail. It is a figure for demonstrating a mode that the rotation of the glass substrate by the distortion of a guide rail is corrected. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the test | inspection system which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a top view which shows the structure of the test | inspection system which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows a mode that air is discharged to the upper surface of a glass substrate by the air discharge mechanism provided in the front | former stage of the test | inspection apparatus. It is a figure which shows the air discharge mechanism integrated with the test | inspection apparatus. It is a figure for demonstrating the modification of a conveying apparatus. It is a figure for demonstrating the other modification of a conveying apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the holding mechanism with which the conveying apparatus of FIG. 14 is provided. It is a figure explaining a mode that a glass substrate deform | transforms with an air discharge suction mechanism. It is a figure for demonstrating the other modification of a conveying apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the holding member with which the conveying apparatus of FIG. 17 is provided. It is a figure explaining the relationship between the holding position of a glass substrate, and the speed of a slider. It is a figure for demonstrating a mode that the rotation of the glass substrate by the distortion of a guide rail is corrected in the conveying apparatus of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Coating system, 12, 62 ... Conveyance device, 14 ... Coating device, 16 ... Base, 18 ... Guide rail, 20 ... Slider, 24 ... Holding member, 26 ... Air discharge suction mechanism, 28 ... Glass substrate, 34 ... Adsorption 36, spring plate, 42 ... air discharge mechanism, 66 ... air discharge mechanism, 80 ... inspection system, 82 ... inspection device, 90 ... holding mechanism, 92 ... base portion, 94 ... support beam portion, 96 ... adsorption portion , X: transport direction.

Claims (13)

A base having a main surface extending in the conveyance direction of the object to be conveyed, which is a substrate ;
A guide member extending in the transport direction;
A movable member guided by the guide member and movable in the transport direction;
A holding member for holding by adsorbing the conveyed object at a gap from the major surface being secured to said moving member,
A gas discharge suction mechanism for discharging and sucking gas so as to correct the deflection of the object to be transported in the transport direction in a partial region on the base in the transport direction; ,
With
The discharge hole and the suction hole, which are included in the gas discharge suction mechanism and allow the gas to pass therethrough, are arranged independently of each other when viewed from above the base and are mutually in the transport direction and a direction perpendicular to the transport direction. A conveying apparatus configured to be adjacent to each other . The conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the guide member is configured as a single shaft. The transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the holding member has a spring property in a normal direction of the main surface of the base. The transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the holding member has a spring property in a direction orthogonal to both the normal direction of the main surface of the base and the transport direction. Conveying apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises at the base of the plane parallel to the principal plane, a rotation correcting means for correcting the rotation of the transported object. The transport apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a first gas discharge mechanism that discharges gas from the base side toward the object to be transported in an area other than the partial area on the base. The transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the object to be transported is a glass substrate. A transport apparatus according to claim 1 ;
A coating apparatus for applying a coating liquid to the object to be transported,
The gas discharge and suction mechanism discharges and sucks the gas to one main surface side of the object to be transported having a pair of opposed main surfaces in the partial region,
The coating apparatus applies the coating liquid to the other main surface side of the transported object in the partial area.
An application system characterized by that. In the partial region, the front in than the coating apparatus, according to claim 8, characterized in that it comprises a second gas discharging mechanism for discharging the gas to the carried object to the other main surface side Application system. An application method for applying a coating liquid while adsorbing and holding an object to be conveyed, which is a substrate having a pair of opposing main surfaces, with a holding member on the base,
A step of applying the coating liquid on the other main surface side while discharging and sucking gas with a gas discharge suction mechanism so as to correct the deflection of the transferred object on one main surface side with respect to the transferred object. Including
The step of applying the coating liquid is configured to be included in the gas discharge suction mechanism and arranged independently of each other as viewed from above the base and adjacent to each other in the transport direction and the direction perpendicular to the transport direction. The gas is discharged and sucked through the suction hole and the discharge hole. A transport apparatus according to claim 1 ;
An inspection device for inspecting the conveyed object,
The gas discharge and suction mechanism discharges and sucks the gas to one main surface side of the object to be transported having a pair of opposed main surfaces in the partial region,
The inspection apparatus inspects the object to be conveyed from the other main surface side of the object to be conveyed in the partial area;
Inspection system characterized by that. The holding member is
A base portion extending along the transport direction;
A plurality of support beam portions extending from the base portion in a direction perpendicular to both the normal direction of the main surface of the base and the transport direction;
A holding mechanism that is provided at each of the ends of the plurality of support beam portions and includes an adsorption portion for adsorbing and holding the object to be conveyed;
2. The transport device according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of support beam portions has a spring property at least in a normal direction of the main surface of the base and a twist property around its own axis. . Two each of the moving member and the holding member,
Each of the moving members is provided so that the speed can be controlled independently.
Holding position of each said object to be conveyed by the holding member, according to claim 2, characterized in that offset direction orthogonal to both the normal direction and the transport direction of the base of the main surface Conveying device.

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