JP5831200B2 - Method for releasing adsorption of substrate holding frame in frame conveying apparatus for adsorbing and hanging substrate holding frame - Google Patents

Description

In the present invention, a rigid (flexible) rectangular (quadrangle) substrate is placed one by one on a substrate support plate provided on the inner periphery of a rectangular substrate holding frame, and the substrate is placed thereon. The present invention relates to a substrate holding frame for use in storing and transporting substrate holding frames in multiple stages in a stacked manner, a substrate holding frame conveying device, and the like.
An example of the substrate is a thin glass substrate, and in particular, a plasma display, an organic EL display, a color filter substrate for a liquid crystal display device, an intermediate product thereof, and other various substrates can be exemplified.
These large substrates are easy to bend, and if only the four peripheral edges are supported, they will be slightly curved downwards, but they will not be in contact with each other when stacked in multiple stages, and they will be stacked at a high density. There is a need to. Furthermore, it is necessary to protect the substrate from damage and cracking due to vibration during transportation and storage, and it is also necessary to prevent dust contamination and contamination.

  The present invention relates to a substrate holding frame, a substrate holding frame conveying apparatus, and a method of using the same, and in particular, a handle portion in which a substrate holding frame is extended to the left and right of a frame as in the prior art. In addition, the present invention relates to a substrate holding frame body and a transfer device for the same, taking into consideration that it can be sucked and transferred regardless of the method of gripping the engaging portion.

It is important that a substrate used for a color filter for a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, an organic EL display, etc. be transported and stored without being damaged or soiled. When transporting such a plate-like object, it is necessary to store in parallel at a predetermined interval so that the substrates do not contact each other.
However, flat panel display products represented by these liquid crystal display, plasma display, and organic EL display are manufactured in a multi-faceted state, even if the display device itself is upsized, even if it is a small size product. For this reason, the substrate used and its intermediate products have been increased in size, and when the size is about 1 meter square, even if a 0.7 mm thick glass substrate supports two or four sides facing each other, It is inevitable that the intermediate portion is bent downward (gravity direction) by 100 mm or more. Substrates are required to have a size of 2 square meters or more, and it is necessary to store and handle such substrates with high density and safety due to problems of storage space and handling equipment.

  Patent Document 1 is an invention relating to a display substrate storage tray, and a mechanism and method for extracting a display substrate stored in the display substrate storage tray. In the present invention, chucking chuck claws are inserted between the engaging portion 13 of the upper display substrate storage tray 10 and the engaging portion 13 of the lower display substrate storage tray 10. When the chuck claw is engaged with the engaging portion 13 of the upper display substrate storage tray 10, only the upper display substrate storage tray 10 is used for lower display substrate storage. It is transported separately from the tray 10 (paragraph (0036)). Unlike the gripping device by suction of the present application, the engaging part extends outward from the outer peripheral frame, so deformation may occur due to contact during transportation, which may cause gripping failure by the robot hand. There is a problem.

  Patent Document 2 relates to a device that supplies a component tray to a component insertion device, and describes that the component tray is gripped by an elevating mechanism and a suction mechanism. A component tray supply device that is configured by a vacuum pad that sucks and grips a component tray by vacuum pressure, has a suction passage formed in a plurality of rods, and is connected to a vacuum device via a pipe from the upper end (paragraph (0015) However, there is no description of a small hole that releases pressurized air when releasing suction by pressurization on the tray itself as in the present application. There is no description of releasing the adsorption, and there is no description of the effect of preventing the foreign matter from being scattered by the pressurized air.

Patent Document 3 unloads articles such as cardboards stacked on a pallet having a support portion that suspends a suction unit that can be held at a negative pressure so as to move up and down as described in paragraph (0013). It is a device that performs negative pressure release only by releasing to the atmosphere.
Although it is important that the substrate holding frame on which the large substrate is placed is securely held, it is necessary to release the suction at the same time in a short time. If the suction release is only released to the atmosphere, the time required for the release or the clogging or deformation of the piping may cause variations between the suction portions. In addition, surrounding foreign matters are sucked into the piping when released to the atmosphere, which may cause contamination of the substrate.

JP 2004-59116 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-312895 JP 2001-270624 A

Although not described in the prior literature, the related technology prior to the present application will be described.
FIG. 10 shows a general form of a conventional substrate holding frame. The substrate holding frame 10 is a rectangular shape in plan view, which is formed by assembling a metal frame member having a hollow structure with a rectangular cross section and consisting of a pair of opposing 11a, 11b and another pair of corresponding 11c, 11d. The metal frame part 11 is comprised. The four corners of each metal frame 11 are joined by a corner piece 16. In some cases, the entire frame is flat, but the center of the corresponding pair of 11c and 11d is often curved downward.

A substrate support plate 13 extends inward from the four-round metal frame portion 11, and the thin plate substrate is placed so that the peripheral edge is applied to the surface of the substrate support plate 13. A region K surrounded by the substrate support plate 13 is an empty space region. A fitting portion 12 for aligning the upper and lower frame bodies is formed between the metal frame portion 11 and the substrate support plate 13. The fitting part 12 is formed on the front and back surfaces of the frame. In FIG. 10, only the front-side fitting portion (first fitting portion 12a) is shown.
On the left and right sides (generally, the side on which the long side of the substrate is placed), a handle portion 15 is formed, which serves as a grip portion when the substrate holding frame is transported by a robot.

FIG. 11 is a view showing a packing state of a conventional substrate holding frame.
The substrate is placed on the substrate holding frame 10 to form a multi-stage stack 100 of 100 to 150 steps, the upper cover 21 is covered on the upper surface, the inner pallet 30 is applied to the lower step, the belt 23 is bound, and the vibration proof pallet 40 is further attached. Generally, it is transported in a packed state.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a conventional method for transporting a substrate holding frame. Although only one side of the transport device is shown, there is also a pair of mechanisms on the other side that operate in the same way. Moreover, although the state which mounted substrate A1, A2, A3 is shown, it is the same also when not mounting a substrate.
First, as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the cylinder 51 that is the suspension mechanism of the frame body transfer device 50 is lowered. Next, as shown in (C), the hook 52 of the cylinder 51 is inserted into the lower surface of the handle 15 of the frame 10. If the cylinder 51 is raised in this state, the hooking portion 52 and the handle portion 15 are engaged, and the substrate holding frame 10 can be conveyed in this state (D).
The suspension mechanism in the present invention is an apparatus including a robot hand of a frame transport device, a cylinder attached to the robot hand, and a suction portion at the tip of the cylinder.
As described above, conventionally, a method of gripping the frame body with the handle 15 is generally performed.

Substrates used in various flat panel displays typified by liquid crystal display, plasma display and organic EL display are 6th generation (1850 * 1500 mm), 7th generation (2200 * 1900 mm), 8th generation (2500 * 2200 mm). As a result, the added value of one substrate is increasing.
Therefore, handling of the substrate in the manufacturing process as well as handling and transporting of the substrate between the processes so as not to have foreign matters or scratches has become more important than ever.

In the method of stacking and transporting the frames on which the substrates are placed in this way, when taking out the frames on which the substrates are stacked and stacked in multiple stages one by one, the robot hand moves the frame from both sides of the frame. Hold and move. On both side surfaces of the frame on which the substrate is placed, the hand grips 15 held by the robot hand are attached so as to protrude outward from the frame.
In order to increase the loading efficiency of the substrates, the frames are devised to be stacked at a high density, and the interval between the frames stacked on the G6 (6th generation) size substrate can be reduced to about 10 mm. Along with this, the interval between the handle portions 15 protruding to the outer periphery is similarly reduced.
Therefore, the tolerance for gripping the protruding handle 15 on both side surfaces of the frame on which the robot hands are stacked becomes narrow, and even slight deformation of the handle 15 results in poor gripping.
Since the hand grip portion 15 held by the robot hand extends outward from the outer peripheral frame, deformation may occur due to contact during conveyance, which may cause a grip failure due to the robot hand. The present invention is intended to solve such a grip failure.

Another issue is that the substrate holding frame has become larger and heavier as the size of the substrate grows, and the robot, storage device, unpacking device, and packing device that are used for stacking and unloading the frame have also become larger. There is a demand for space saving from the viewpoint of this.
In addition, reduction of the frame width size has become an important issue from the viewpoint of storing the stacked packages in a container used for truck transportation or sea transportation.
The transportation mode of the substrate is that a stack of frames stacked on a pallet with sufficient strength that can mount a heavy-weight material frame holding the substrate, a lid placed on top and fixed with a belt or the like is being transported. It is in a state where the whole is covered with a cover that is placed on a vibration isolator that reduces vibration.

  Taking a G6 size substrate as an example, the substrate size is 1850 * 1500 mm, the frame size on which the substrate is placed is 1970 * 1670 mm, and the lid size to be placed on the top surface is 1979 * 1670 mm. The size of the pallet on which the body is placed is 1998 * 1698 mm, and the size of the anti-vibration table on which all of these are placed is 2008 * 1708 mm, which is about 200 mm larger than the substrate size in the horizontal direction.

On the other hand, containers used for transportation are sized according to ISO (International Organization for Standardization) standards in order to realize efficient cargo handling at ports around the world. 20 feet, 40 feet, and 45 feet containers are used, but in Japan, 40 feet containers are generally used because 45 feet containers are too large to be loaded on a trailer.
A 40-foot container will be length (12.2m) x width 8ft (2.438m).
In a typical container, the outer dimension in the width direction is 2,438 mm (8 feet), and the inner dimension in the width direction is about 2,346 to 2,352 mm.
The board size is 2200 * 1900mm for the G7 size and 2500 * 2200mm for the G8 size, and the pallet size of these packages is estimated to exceed 2400mm when the width direction is 2100mm or more. Storage becomes difficult in the width direction.
The present invention is also intended to solve the problem of such handling.

The first of the gist of the present invention that solves the above problems is a method for releasing adsorption of a substrate holding frame in a frame transport device that adsorbs and suspends the substrate holding frame, wherein the substrate holding frame is , a cross section rectangular hollow structure and is a flat metal frame member rectangular in plan view of the metal frame unit including a, a substrate support plate that is extended to the frame inward along the metal frame part, the metal frame part and has a fitting portion formed in the boundary portion of the substrate supporting plate, on each of the upper surfaces of the metal frame member of a pair of opposed, has a suction portion of the plurality of circular, the suction parts, through the hollow interior of the metal frame member, and have a small hole for releasing the pressurized air in the frame transfer apparatus, rods having a suction pad on the tip attached to the robot hand of the apparatus Has a tubular outer cylinder and a central cylinder passing through the inner cylinder, The slider has a sealing pad at the tip in conjunction with the outer cylinder, and the outer cylinder has the suction pad of a size capable of covering the sealing pad from the outside, and through the outer cylinder. The suction pad can be depressurized and pressurized, and in the state where the suction pad of the frame transport device is sucked by the suction part of the substrate holding frame, the tip is passed through the tubular outer cylinder. After pressurizing the inside of the suction pad attached to the suction pad, before the suction pad is separated from the metal frame portion, the central cylinder having the sealing pad at the tip rises and seals from the small hole of the suction portion. After releasing the pad and releasing the pressurized air through the small hole of the metal frame into the hollow of the metal frame, the outer cylinder having the suction pad is moved to the center casing. Characterized by increased in conjunction with Sunda, adsorption procedures for canceling a substrate holding frame, in.

The second of the gist of the present invention for solving the above problems is a method for releasing adsorption of a substrate holding frame in a frame transport device that adsorbs and suspends the substrate holding frame, and the substrate holding frame is , a rectangular shape in plan view of the metal frame part in cross-section and a rectangular shape of a pair of metallic frame members that flat facing a hollow structure and the central portion are a pair of opposing metallic frame member curved downward, the It includes a substrate support plate that is extended to the frame inward along the metal frame unit, and a fitting portion formed in the boundary portion of the substrate support plate and the metal frame section, a pair of metal the counter on each of the upper surfaces of the frame member has a suction portion of the plurality of circular for suspending a substrate holding frame body, the suction part, through the hollow interior of the metal frame member, releasing pressurized air and it has a small hole in the frame transfer apparatus, adsorption on the tip attached to the robot hand of the apparatus The housing having a lid has a tubular outer cylinder and a central cylinder passing through the inner cylinder, the central cylinder interlocking with the outer cylinder and having a sealing pad at the tip, and the outer cylinder The suction pad has a size capable of covering the sealing pad from the outside, and the suction pad in the suction pad can be depressurized and pressurized through the outer peripheral cylinder. In the state of being adsorbed to the adsorption part of the substrate holding frame, after pressurizing the inside of the adsorption pad attached to the tip through the tubular outer cylinder, before the adsorption pad is separated from the metal frame part The central cylinder having the sealing pad at the tip rises to release the sealing pad from the small hole in the suction portion, and pressurizes air through the small hole in the metal frame portion. After releasing the serial metal frame hollow of the characterized in that the outer cylinder is increased in conjunction with the central cylinder, the adsorption method of exiting a substrate holding frame, in having the suction pad.
In the present invention, in addition to the features of the first aspect of the present invention, the pair of metal frame members are curved.

The third of the gist of the present invention for solving the above problems is that the adsorbing portions are arranged on at least 3 or 4 positions on the respective upper surfaces of the opposed pair of metal frame members, and the diameter of the adsorbing portion is: 3. The method of releasing adsorption of a substrate holding frame according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the distance is 30 mm to 40 mm .

  In this claim, the metal frame means a frame made of a metal frame material in a rectangular shape, and the substrate holding frame is a state in which a substrate support plate and a fitting portion are added to the metal frame. Of the whole thing. The suspension means an operation of moving the substrate holding frame up and down with the tip of the cylinder adsorbed.

  Conventionally, the handle portion 15 gripped by the robot hand extends outward from the metal frame portion, so that deformation may occur due to contact during transportation, which may cause gripping failure by the robot hand. there were. However, as in the present application, since the suction portion is provided on the upper surface of the metal frame portion having a hollow structure, there is no need to provide a handle portion extending outward from the metal frame body. The frame was hardly deformed, and it was possible to prevent the occurrence of poor gripping of the frame by the robot hand. Also, after sucking and transporting the suction pad attached to the tip of the cylinder attached to the robot hand, the pressurized air when releasing the suction by pressurizing is released into the hollow of the metal frame part through the small hole. The diffusion of pressurized air to the surface of the part was prevented, and the scattering of foreign matters could be reduced.

It is a top view which shows the frame for board | substrate holding | maintenance. It is a figure which shows arrangement | positioning of the adsorption | suction part of a board | substrate holding frame. It is a half sectional view of a frame for substrate maintenance. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement which the frame conveying apparatus suspends the board | substrate holding frame. It is a figure of a frame conveyance device. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement which adsorb | sucks a board | substrate holding | maintenance frame. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement which cancels | releases adsorption | suction of a board | substrate holding frame. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement which suspends the board | substrate holding frame which the frame body transfer apparatus curved. It is a figure which shows the conveyance form of the conventional frame for board | substrate holding | maintenance. It is a figure which shows the general form of the conventional board | substrate holding frame. It is a figure which shows the packing state of the conventional board | substrate holding frame.

Hereinafter, first, the substrate holding frame 10 will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate holding frame 10 includes metal frame parts 11 that are connected to each other by corner pieces 16 and have a rectangular shape in plan view. 11, a substrate support plate 13 extending inward of the frame along the frame 11, and a fitting portion 12 formed at the boundary between the metal frame portion 11 and the substrate support plate 13. The shape up to this point is the same as that of the conventional substrate holding frame described with reference to FIG.

The substrate holding frame 10 is characterized in that the height of the one-stage frame is 10 to 20 mm, preferably 10 to 15 mm, and the substrate holding frame 10. A plurality of suction portions 17 for suspending the substrate holding frame 10 are provided on the upper surfaces of at least one pair of metal frame members 11 facing each other. A plurality is in the range of 3 to 4. Since the frame is adsorbed and held, there is a feature that the handle portion is eliminated.
The reason why the substrate holding frame 10 is formed at a low height is to increase the substrate loading density of the multi-stage stack of frames, and the suction portion 17 is provided to reduce the volume of the package as described above. This is because the frame 10 that does not include the handle 15 can be transported.

There are two basic forms of the substrate holding frame 10; a first form and a second form.
In the first form (claim 1) of the substrate holding frame 10, the metal frame members 11a, 11b, 11c, and 11d on the front, rear, left and right sides are flat, In the second form (Claim 2), the pair of opposing metal frame portions 11a and 11b are flat, but the other pair of opposing metal frame portions 11c and 11d has a shape in which the central portion is curved downward. belongs to.

  In any form, a pair of metal frame members 11 facing each other has a plurality of suction portions 17 for suspending the frame body 10. As shown in FIG. 2A, as an example, the adsorbing portions are arranged at one central portion of one side of the metal frame portion 11 and at two locations on both sides at equal intervals from the central portion. The reason why it is arranged at the center is to reduce the amount of bending of the metal frame 11 at the center when it is suspended. In addition, when a large substrate is supported and there is bending when suspended, it is possible to further interpolate and arrange the suction portion. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2B, two different adsorbing portions may be arranged in the vicinity of both ends of one side without being arranged in the central portion of one side of the metal frame portion 11, and further arranged in two further inside if necessary. Is possible.

FIG. 3 is a half sectional view of the substrate holding frame. The cross section of the one side of a pair of metal frame part 11 which has the adsorption | suction part of the frame 10 for board | substrate conveyance which opposes is shown.
The suction portion 17 is a portion that is sucked with the suction pad 60 at the tip of the housing 57 of the frame transport apparatus 50, and is a smooth surface with which the suction pad 60 comes into contact. The suction portion 17 of the metal frame portion 11 of the substrate holding frame body. 6 or 8 positions are arranged on the flat surface of the upper surface. A tape may be attached to the surface of the suction portion in order to maintain reliable suction, and when the surface becomes dirty or scratched, it may be peeled off and replaced with a new tape.
At the center of the suction portion 17 is a diameter that can be closed by a sealing pad 61 at the tip of the housing 57 of the frame transport device 50 when sucking, and a metal for releasing pressurized air when releasing suction. It has a small hole 18 which is conducted from the upper surface of the frame part 11 into the hollow. If the small hole 18 has a large diameter, the pad is easily deformed and leaks when sealed with the sealing pad. On the other hand, if the diameter is small, it takes time to release the pressurized air. The number of small holes is not limited to one, and a plurality of small holes may be used. Since the diameter is small, there are few deformations of the sealing pad, and there are a plurality of sealing pads.

Next, the frame transport apparatus 50 of the substrate holding frame 10 of the present invention will be described.
First, the configuration of the frame body transfer device 50 that sucks and suspends the substrate holding frame body 10 will be described with reference to FIG.
The frame transfer device 50 includes a robot hand 55 and a robot 70 that controls the operation of the robot hand. The robot hand 55 has at least a rotating arm 71 that performs a rotating operation horizontally, an upper and lower arm 72 that performs an up-and-down operation and a back-and-forth operation, and a suspension device 56 that performs a suspension operation by sucking and holding the substrate holding frame 10. Has been.

Next, the configuration of the suspension device will be described.
The suspension device 56 is configured to have at least a casing 57 that holds the substrate holding frame 10 by suction and a frame that holds the casing.
The casing 57 has an outer periphery having a suction pad that closes and seals the upper surface of the metal frame 10 with a central cylinder 53 having a sealing pad 61 for sealing the small hole 18 of the metal frame portion 11 at the tip. At least the cylinder 54 is configured.

Next, a detailed configuration of the housing 57 will be described with reference to FIG.
The housing 57 has a cylinder driving device 58 and a central cylinder 53 having a hollow outer peripheral cylinder 54 having a suction pad 60 at the tip and a sealing pad 61 at the tip, and controls the operation of the central cylinder inside the outer cylinder. A stopper A 62 and a stopper B 63 are provided, and an elastic body 64 is attached to the stopper A 62.
A fixing plate 65 for controlling the position of the central cylinder 53 by the elastic body 64 attached to the stopper A 62 of the outer peripheral cylinder 54 and the stopper B 63 is attached inside the central cylinder 53.
The outer cylinder 54 is hollow, and is connected to a vacuuming pipe and a pressurized air pipe, both of which are controlled to open and close by a solenoid valve. The cylinder driving device 58 is a device that drives the outer cylinder 54 up and down.

A method for adsorbing the substrate holding frame will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 6A shows a state in which the center cylinder 53 is fixed to the outer cylinder 54 with the fixing plate 65 of the center cylinder 53 held by the elastic body 57 of the outer cylinder 54 and in contact with the stopper B 63 of the outer cylinder 54.
In this state, the cylinder driving device 58 lowers the outer cylinder 54 to a position where the suction pad 60 contacts the suction portion 17. At this position, the sealing pad 61 is not yet in contact with the small hole 18 of the suction portion 17.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 6B, the outer cylinder 54 is further lowered by the cylinder driving device 58 and lowered to a position where the sealing pad 61 is in close contact with the small hole 18 of the metal frame. This state is a state in which the sealing pad 61 at the tip of the center cylinder 53 is in contact with the upper surface of the metal frame portion and is not in a sealed state. FIG. 6C shows a state where the outer cylinder is further lowered by the distance s and the sealing pad 61 closes the small hole by pressing it from above.
The outer cylinder 54 is lowered by the distance s, but the center cylinder 53 is stopped by moving the amount of elastic deformation of the sealing pad 61 from the state in which the sealing pad 61 is in contact with the upper surface of the metal frame portion. Is deformed. The sealing pad 61 is pressed downward by the repulsive force of the elastic body 57. With this pressure, the small hole 18 of the metal frame 10 is sealed by the sealing pad 61 and sealed.
At this time, the suction pad 60 further presses the suction portion 17 and seals the suction portion. (FIG. 6C)
At this time, the inside of the suction pad 60 is decompressed through the hollow outer cylinder 54, and the substrate holding frame 10 is sucked and suspended.

Next, a method for releasing the adsorption of the substrate holding frame will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 7A shows a state in which the suction pad 60 and the metal frame 10 are sucked in a reduced pressure state, and the sealing pad 61 at the tip of the center cylinder 53 closes the small hole 18 of the metal frame. Vacuuming is stopped by a solenoid valve through the hollow outer cylinder 54 and switched to pressurized air. In this state, the inside of the suction part 17 and the suction pad 60 is surely changed from the normal pressure to the pressurized state instantly from the reduced pressure state. When the pressurized state is reached, the pressurized air is stopped by the solenoid valve.

Subsequently, the outer peripheral cylinder rises in a pressurized state, and the sealing pad 61 is separated from the small hole 18 in a state where the suction pad 60 is in contact with the suction portion of the metal frame body, and the pressurized air is passed through the small hole 18 through the metal frame portion. 11 to the hollow part. (Fig. 7B)
6 and 7 show the suspension operation on one side, but it should be understood that the left and right operate in parallel.
The pressurized air passes through the inside of the frame body and is released outside without being released to the surface of the substrate loaded inside the substrate holding frame body. As a result, it is possible to prevent turbulence of the airflow inside the substrate holding frame and to prevent the mixing of peripheral foreign matters.

An operation in which the frame body transporting apparatus 50 transports the substrate holding frame body 10 by the suction and suction release methods described above will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 4A is a diagram in which the suspension device at the tip of the robot hand 55 is positioned above the loaded substrate holding frame 10. The suction pad 60 and the sealing pad 61 at the tip of the housing 57 are not yet in contact with the suction portion.
FIG. 4B is a view in which the outer peripheral cylinder 54 connected to the central cylinder 53 is lowered and the suction pad 60 at the tip is lowered to the suction portion 17 of the substrate holding frame 10. The sealing pad 61 at the tip of the central cylinder 53 is not yet closed.
FIG. 4C shows a state in which the outer cylinder 54 is further lowered, the sealing pad 61 closes the small hole, and the suction pad 60 is in close contact with the suction portion 17. At this time, the inside of the suction pad 60 is depressurized through the hollow outer cylinder 54 to suck the substrate holding frame.
FIG. 4D is a diagram illustrating a state in which the robot hand is further lifted upward with the outer cylinder raised.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an operation in which the frame body transfer device 50 suspends the substrate holding frame body 10 in which the operation described in FIG. 4 is curved.

  A method of selecting the suction pad will be described using Formula 1, Table 1, and Table 2.

  Equation 1 is an expression showing the relationship between the suction pad area, the vacuum pressure, and the lifting force when the article is suspended.

In Equation 1, W is the lifting force (N), C is the adsorption area (cm 2), P is the vacuum pressure (−kPA), and f is the safety factor (horizontal suspension).
The substrate holding frame of the present invention is lifted horizontally by a suction pad. The safety factor used in Equation 1 is 4, and the lifting force is based on the pad area and the vacuum pressure generated when the pad is used. Desired.

The selection of the pads used in the sixth-generation glass substrate holding frame will be described.
The weight of the sixth generation substrate (1850 * 1500 mm 0.7 mmt) is about 5.0 kg, and is a substrate holding frame for holding the sixth generation substrate shown in FIG. The weight of the aluminum substrate holding frame having a curved shape, the cross section of the metal frame member shown in FIG. 3 being hollow, the height d of the metal frame portion being 10 mm, and the thickness of the plate being 2 mmt is 5.5 kg. The total weight with the substrate held was 10.5 kg.

Table 1 shows the theoretical lifting force per pad when various pad diameters and various vacuum pressures are applied to the substrate and the substrate holding frame.
Table 1 lists the results of calculating the lifting force (N) when the suction pad diameter is 20 to 60 mm, that is, the suction area is in the range of 3.14 cm ² to 28.26 cm ² , and the vacuum pressure is 0 to 100 kPa. It is a thing.

  Table 2 is necessary from the lifting force per suction pad of each diameter calculated in Table 1 when the weight of the substrate holding frame 10 holding the sixth generation glass substrate is 10.5 kg, that is, 102.9 N. It is the table | surface which showed the number of pads.

Three pairs of metal frame portions, ie, one in the center and one on each side of the pair of metal frames that are flat and opposite to each other in the sixth generation substrate holding frame. In total, the suction pad diameter and the number of suction pads when six suction portions are provided will be described, including the relationship with the vacuum pressure.

First, since the suction pad adsorbs to the suction part on the flat upper surface of the metal frame part, the suction pad diameter is limited by the width of the upper surface of the metal frame part. In the sixth generation substrate holding frame, the width of the metal frame is about 30 mm to 50 mm. Therefore, the diameter of the suction pad needs to be 50 mm or less.
Further, the suction pad has two or more places, that is, four or more places in one pair of metal frames in order to balance one metal frame.

Based on the above-mentioned restrictions, a description will now be given along a list of suction pad diameters and the number of suction pads necessary for lifting the sixth generation glass substrate and the substrate holding frame in Table 1.
The vacuum pressure is set to −80 kPa in consideration of pressure loss of the pipe and adsorption leakage.

  When the diameter of the suction pad is set to 50 mm or 60 mm, the suction pad can be lifted up by lifting the substrate and the frame for holding the substrate with suction at four places as a whole.

  Next, when the diameter of the suction pad is 40 mm, five places are necessary as a whole, and therefore there are six places to balance the pair of metal frames. Furthermore, when the suction pad diameter is 35 mm, it is possible at six locations, and when the suction pad diameter is 30 mm, there are eight locations. If the suction pad diameter is 20 mm, there are 17 locations, but if it exceeds 8 locations, the frame body transfer device becomes complicated, which is not practical.

  From the above-mentioned contents, the diameter of the suction pad is 30 mm to 40 mm, and the number of the suction pads can be from 6 to 8 locations, that is, 3 to 4 locations on each pair of metal frames. . In order to suppress the bending of the metal frame and simplify the mechanism, in order to secure a safe suction force with as few suction parts as possible, it is desirable that each of the metal frames in a pair of 35 mm or more and 40 mm or less It is preferable to arrange in.

Next, the diameter of the sealing pad will be described.
At the center of the suction portion is a diameter that can be closed by a sealing pad 61 at the tip of the housing 51 of the frame body transport device 50 when sucking, and a metal frame for releasing pressurized air when releasing suction It has a small hole connected from the upper surface of the part into the hollow. If the diameter of the small hole is large, the pad is easily deformed and leaks when sealed with the sealing pad. On the other hand, if the diameter is small, it takes time to release the pressurized air. The number of small holes is not limited to one, and a plurality of small holes may be used. Since the diameter is small, there are few deformations of the sealing pad, and there are a plurality of sealing pads, so that it is easy to release the pressurized air. When the diameter of the small hole is changed from 3 mm to 10 mm, when the leakage due to deformation of the sealing pad and the positional deviation are taken into consideration, the diameter of the sealing pad can be reliably prevented from 6 mm to 20 mm. When a plurality of small holes are gathered at 3 mm or less, since the opening area is large but deformation of the sealing pad can be reduced, sealing can be performed without deformation at a diameter about 2 mm larger than the diameter of the small holes. When nine small holes with a diameter of 3 mm were arranged vertically and horizontally at intervals of 1 mm, the sealing pad had a diameter of about 15 mm and could be sealed without deformation.

(Embodiment related to material)
The pad material includes nitrile rubber, silicone rubber, urethane rubber, fluorine rubber, chloroprene rubber, and the like, and is selected according to the purpose of use. When handling substrates for liquid crystal display panels, it does not come into direct contact with the substrate, but when it is contaminated, there is a possibility that a coating film repelling phenomenon may occur in the polyimide alignment film coating process in a later step. Therefore, it is better to avoid using silicone rubber or fluorine rubber.
The material of the suction pad is preferably a material that has a sealing property when sucked and has strength against a load when a heavy object is suspended.
The material of the sealing pad 61 is elastic so that the small hole is closed when the central cylinder 53 descends and the sealing pad 61 at the tip comes into contact with the small hole 18, and the sealing property can be maintained when the pressure is reduced. A material that does not deteriorate even if it contacts the surface is good, and the same material as the suction pad may be used.

  As a material used for the metal frame member 11, a metal material that is lightweight and does not cause corrosion can be used. Specifically, aluminum alloys such as pure aluminum, duralumin (aluminum, copper (3.5 to 5.5%), magnesium), and aluminum-manganese can be used. These materials are hollow extruded to produce a frame shape.

  In the above description, an embodiment of a frame for holding a substrate used for storage or transportation by stacking a large substrate of a sixth generation substrate (1850 * 1500 mm 0.7 mmt) with high density will be described.

  A metal frame portion 11 assembled in a rectangular shape in plan view from a metal frame member having a hollow structure with a rectangular cross section has a pair of metal frame portions whose central portions are bent downward, and the inside of the frame along the metal frame portions. A substrate support plate 13 extending in parallel, a pair of flat metal frame portions, a substrate support plate 13 extending inward along the metal frame portion, and a boundary portion between the metal frame portion 11 and the substrate support plate 13 A substrate holding frame 10 having a configuration having a fitting portion 12 formed on the substrate 10 is manufactured by hollow extrusion processing of an aluminum material having a thickness of 2 mm. The suction portions 17 are provided on the upper surfaces of the flat pair of metal frame portions 11 on the respective metal frame portions 11, that is, on the pair of metal frame portions 11. An area equivalent to a circle with a diameter of 40 mm was secured at one location of the suction portion, and a small hole 18 with a diameter of 3 mm was provided in the center. The metal frame 11 was manufactured by connecting the other pair of curved metal frame 11 and the corner piece 16.

As shown in FIG. 1, the adsorbing portions 17 are disposed at equal intervals from one central portion and the central portion of each of the metal frame portions on a pair of flat metal frame portions 11 a and 11 b facing the substrate holding frame body 10. As shown in FIG. FIG. 1 shows three adsorbing portions 17 on the metal frames 11a and 11b.
The weight of the substrate 1850 * 1500 mm 0.7 mmt was 5 kg, the aluminum substrate holding frame was 5.5 kg, and the total weight was 10.5 kg.

The suction portion 17 is a portion that sucks the suction pad 60 at the tip of the housing 57 of the frame transport apparatus 50, and is a smooth surface that comes into contact with the suction pad 60. For the substrate holding frame, The suction pad diameter of the body transport device was 35 mm, and suction was performed at six locations. The flat surface of the upper surface of the metal frame part was 45 mm, and the diameter of the adsorption part could be secured to 40 mm. The material of the suction pad was urethane resin.
At the center of the suction portion, the suction pad 61 has a diameter that can be closed by the sealing pad 61 at the tip of the housing 51 of the frame transport device 50 when sucked, and the diameter of the small hole of the suction portion is 3 mm. Is a urethane resin with a diameter of 6 mm.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Board | substrate holding | maintenance frame 11 Metal frame part 11a, 11b Metal frame part 11c, 11d Left and right metal frame part 12a First fitting part 12b Second fitting part 13 Substrate support plate 14 Substrate holding member 15 Handle part 16 Cornerpiece 17 Suction part 18 Small hole 20 Upper lid 21 Surface plate 22 Bundling mechanism 23 Bundling belt 30 Inner pallet 40 Anti-vibration pallet 50 Substrate holding frame transport device 51 Cylinder 52 Hook 53 Central cylinder 54 Outer cylinder 55 Robot Hand 56 Suspension device 57 Housing 58 Cylinder driving device 60 Suction pad 61 Sealing pad 62 Stopper A
63 Stopper B
64 Elastic body 65 Fixed plate 70 Robot 71 Rotating arm 72 Upper and lower arm 100 Multi-stage stack of frames A Substrate K Space area of substrate holding frame

Claims (3)

A method for releasing adsorption of a substrate holding frame in a frame conveying apparatus that adsorbs and suspends a substrate holding frame,
The substrate holding frame is
Section and a rectangular hollow structure and is a flat metal frame member rectangular in plan view of the metal frame unit including a, a substrate support plate that is extended to the frame inward along the metal frame part, the metal frame portion said has a fitting portion formed in the boundary portion of the substrate supporting plate, and the top surface of each metal frame member of a pair of opposed, has a suction portion of the plurality of circular, the suction unit , through the hollow interior of the metal frame member, and have a small hole to release the pressurized air,
In the frame transport device,
A housing attached to the robot hand of the apparatus and having a suction pad at the tip has a tubular outer cylinder and a central cylinder passing through the inner cylinder, and the central cylinder is interlocked with the outer cylinder and sealed at the tip. The outer peripheral cylinder has the suction pad of a size capable of covering the sealing pad from the outside, and can be decompressed and pressurized in the suction pad through the outer peripheral cylinder,
In a state where the suction pad of the frame transport device is sucked to the suction portion of the substrate holding frame, after pressurizing the inside of the suction pad attached to the tip through the tubular outer cylinder, the Before the suction pad moves away from the metal frame, the central cylinder having the sealing pad at the tip rises to release the sealing pad from the small hole of the suction portion, and pressurizes air to the small size of the metal frame. A method of releasing adsorption of a substrate holding frame, wherein the outer peripheral cylinder having the suction pad is connected to the central cylinder and is raised after being discharged into the hollow of the metal frame through a hole . A method for releasing adsorption of a substrate holding frame in a frame conveying apparatus that adsorbs and suspends a substrate holding frame,
The substrate holding frame is
A rectangular shape in plan view of the metal frame part in cross-section and a rectangular shape of a pair of metallic frame members that flat facing a hollow structure and the central portion are a pair of opposing metallic frame member curved downward, the metal a substrate support plate that is extended to the frame inward along the frame part, have a fitting portion which is formed at the boundary portion of the substrate support plate and the metal frame part, the metal frame of a pair of the opposed on each of the upper surfaces of the timber has a suction portion of the plurality of circular for suspending a substrate holding frame body, the suction part, through the hollow interior of the metal frame member to release the pressurized air small and it has a hole,
In the frame transport device,
A housing attached to the robot hand of the apparatus and having a suction pad at the tip has a tubular outer cylinder and a central cylinder passing through the inner cylinder, and the central cylinder is interlocked with the outer cylinder and sealed at the tip. The outer peripheral cylinder has the suction pad of a size capable of covering the sealing pad from the outside, and can be decompressed and pressurized in the suction pad through the outer peripheral cylinder,
In a state where the suction pad of the frame transport device is sucked to the suction portion of the substrate holding frame, the suction pad attached to the tip through the tubular outer cylinder is pressurized, and then the suction pad Before the pad leaves the metal frame, the central cylinder having the sealing pad at the tip rises to release the sealing pad from the small hole in the suction portion, and pressurizes air to the small hole in the metal frame. The substrate holding frame body suction release method according to claim 1, wherein the outer peripheral cylinder having the suction pad is connected to the center cylinder and is raised after being discharged into the hollow of the metal frame body . Claim wherein the suction portion is on each of the upper surfaces of a pair of metal frame members to the opposite, arranged in three or four positions to as small a diameter of the suction portion, characterized in that the 30mm is 40mm The method for releasing adsorption of a substrate holding frame according to claim 1 or 2.

Images