JP5911170B2 - Substrate transport and processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate transfer and processing apparatus, and more particularly to a substrate transfer and processing apparatus that can be used in a heating or cooling apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a processing apparatus is known in which substrates to be processed are sequentially transported by a transport mechanism and a substrate is moved to a predetermined location. For example, in Patent Document 1, a wiring board on which electronic components are mounted via cream solder is placed on a work table, the work table is transferred by a predetermined interval by transfer, and the board that has entered the heating zone is heated. A reflow soldering apparatus is disclosed. According to the document (particularly FIG. 3), when the substrate is carried into the transfer, the substrate sequentially passes through a preheating zone consisting of a plurality of zones, a reflow zone consisting of one zone, and a cooling zone consisting of one zone.

  Patent Document 2 (particularly FIG. 4) discloses a molding block transport apparatus in which a processing object is sequentially transported by a transport unit to an input stage, a heating stage, a pressure stage, a cooling stage, and a recovery stage. Delivery of the processing object between the stages is performed by an arm-shaped transport unit arranged between the stages.

JP 2003-51672 A JP 2009-143757 A

  However, in the apparatus of Patent Document 1, the substrates are sequentially conveyed at equal intervals, and each unit zone is processed with a fixed tact time. In other words, the time required for the entire process depends on the tact time in the most time-consuming zone. Therefore, there is a problem that it is difficult to shorten the entire processing time.

  Further, in the transport apparatus of Patent Document 2, since the processing object is transferred between the stages by individual transport units (arms), the structure of the transport apparatus becomes complicated, and in particular, the transport is increased as the number of stages is increased. The device becomes complicated and large. Therefore, there is a problem that the transport device cannot be simplified.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate transport and processing apparatus with a simple configuration that shortens the entire processing time without being restricted by the tact time of one processing step.

  A first aspect of the present invention is a substrate transfer and processing apparatus, a transfer arm on which a substrate can be placed, a slide mechanism that slides the transfer arm in the substrate transfer direction, a first lower block, and a first A first processing block composed of an upper block and a first lifting mechanism for lifting and lowering the first lower block between the lowered position and the raised position are provided. The first lower block has a recess that extends in the sliding direction of the transfer arm and has an upper surface open. When the first lower block is in the lowered position, the substrate held by the transfer arm is When the first lower block can pass between the first upper block and the first lower block, and the first lower block is in the raised position, the substrate is supported by the first lower block so as to approach the first upper block. And a transfer arm is configured to be movable in a space defined by the recess.

  Here, in order to seal a plurality of elements mounted on the substrate, the first processing block sandwiches the substrate between the first lower block and the first upper block, and pressurizes and heats the elements. Can be a block.

  Further, the second processing block, which is composed of the second lower block and the second upper block and is arranged in the substrate transfer direction with respect to the first processing block, is arranged between the lowered position and the raised position. The second lower block has a recess that extends in the sliding direction of the transfer arm and has an open upper surface, and the second lower block is in the lowered position. In addition, when the substrate held by the transfer arm can pass between the second upper block and the second lower block, and the second lower block is in the raised position, the substrate is in the second lower block. The transport arm is configured to be moved in a space defined by the recess, supported by the upper block, and the first lower block and the second lower block can be moved up and down independently. .

  Here, the second processing block is disposed downstream of the first processing block in the transport direction of the transport arm, and the first processing block is a pressure heating block that heats and pressurizes the substrate. The processing block is a cooling block for cooling the substrate, and the second lower block is lowered to the lowered position while the first lower block is in the raised position and the substrate is processed by the first processing block, The transport arm may be configured to unload the preceding substrate from the second processing block.

  In addition, the second processing block is disposed upstream of the first processing block in the transport direction of the transport arm, and the first processing block is a pressure heating block that heats and pressurizes the substrate. The processing block is a preheating block that preheats the substrate, and the second lower block is lowered to the lowered position while the first lower block is in the raised position and the substrate is processed by the first processing block. The transfer arm may be configured to carry the subsequent substrate into the second processing block.

  In the above description, the transfer arm is configured to be movable in the first direction in the substrate transfer direction and the second direction opposite thereto by the slide mechanism.

1 is a bird's-eye view of a substrate transport and processing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the apparatus by the 1st Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the apparatus by the 1st Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the apparatus by the 1st Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the apparatus by the 1st Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the apparatus by the 1st Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the apparatus by the 1st Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the apparatus by the 1st Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the apparatus by the 1st Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the apparatus by the 1st Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the apparatus by the 1st Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the apparatus by the 1st Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the apparatus by the 1st Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the apparatus by the 1st Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the apparatus by the 2nd Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the apparatus by the 2nd Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the apparatus by the 2nd Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the apparatus by the 2nd Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the apparatus by the 2nd Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the apparatus by the 2nd Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the apparatus by the 2nd Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the apparatus by the 2nd Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the apparatus by the 2nd Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the apparatus by the 2nd Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining the apparatus by the 3rd Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining the apparatus by the 3rd Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining the apparatus by the 3rd Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining the apparatus by the 3rd Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining the apparatus by the 4th Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining the apparatus by the 4th Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining the apparatus by the 4th Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining the apparatus by the 4th Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining the apparatus by the 4th Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining the apparatus by the 4th Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the apparatus by the 5th Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the apparatus by the 5th Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the apparatus by the 5th Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the apparatus by the 5th Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the apparatus by the 5th Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the apparatus by the 5th Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the apparatus by the 5th Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the apparatus by the 5th Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining the apparatus by the modification of this invention. It is a figure explaining the apparatus by the modification of this invention. It is a figure explaining the apparatus by the modification of this invention.

<Basic configuration>
FIG. 1 shows a substrate transfer and processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a heat sealing device for heating and pressurizing a substrate is shown as an example. The heat sealing device includes a transport mechanism 1, a preliminary heating block 2, a pressure heating block 3, and a cooling block 4. The substrate 5 is not limited to the processing target itself, and may be a transport tray that carries and transports a plurality of processing targets. In this embodiment, a plurality of elements to be sealed are placed on the substrate 5 together with the sealing material, and the heat sealing device heats and pressurizes the elements to be sealed. The substrate 5 is sequentially transferred to the preliminary heating block 2, the pressure heating block 3, and the cooling block 4 by the transfer mechanism 1. In the preheating block 2, the substrate 5 is preheated at a temperature lower than the melting point of the sealing material, and the inside of the container is degassed. In the pressure heating block 3, a pressure is applied to the substrate 5, and the substrate 5 is heated to a temperature equal to or higher than the melting point of the sealing material. Thereby, an element is sealed. In the cooling block 4, the substrate 5 is cooled and then unloaded.

  The transport mechanism 1 includes transport arms 11 a and 11 b on which a substrate 5 can be placed and a slide mechanism 12. The slide mechanism 12 slides the transport arms 11a and 11b whose tracks are guides 13a and 13b in the longitudinal direction, that is, the transport direction. In the following description, the transport arms 11a and 11b are collectively referred to as the transport arm 11, and the guides 13a and 13b are collectively referred to as the guide 13. A positioning portion is provided on the upper surface of the transfer arm 11, and the substrates 5 can be arranged at predetermined intervals. The positioning portion may be a protrusion that engages with a hole in the substrate 5 or may be a step that can be fitted to the substrate 5. This positioning unit is provided exclusively for the arrangement of the substrates 5 and may not be involved in the high-precision positioning performed in each apparatus.

  The external configurations of the preheating block 2, the pressure heating block 3, and the cooling block 4 are substantially the same. Therefore, the configuration of the pressure heating block 3 will be described below with reference to FIGS. In addition, although the substantial content of each processing block naturally differs, the content of the processing in each processing block is not the subject of the present invention, and detailed description thereof is omitted. FIG. 2 shows a cross section of the heating / pressurizing block 3, the transport arm 11 and the substrate 5 perpendicular to the substrate transport direction. The pressure heating block 3 includes a lower block 31, an upper block 32, and an elevating mechanism 33. The elevating mechanism 33 moves the lower block 31 between a lowered position (left figure in FIG. 2) and an elevated position (right figure in FIG. 2). Move up and down. The lower block 31 has recesses 31 a and 31 b that extend in the sliding direction of the transfer arm 11 and have upper surfaces opened.

  As shown in the left diagram of FIG. 2, when the lower block 31 is in the lowered position, the substrate 5 supported by the transfer arms 11a and 11b can pass between the lower block 31 and the upper block 32 in the transfer direction. . On the other hand, as shown in the right diagram of FIG. 2, when the lower block 31 is in the raised position, the upper surface 31 c of the lower block 31 supports the substrate 5, and the substrate 5 is located between the lower block 31 and the upper block 32. It is caught. In this state, the transfer arms 11a and 11b can move in the transfer direction in the spaces defined by the recesses 31a and 31b, respectively. That is, when the lower block 31 is close to the upper block 32, the transfer arm 11 can move in the transfer direction without interfering with the lower block 31, the upper block 32, or the substrate 5.

  Similarly, lower blocks 21 and 41, upper blocks 23 and 43, and lifting mechanisms 22 and 42 are provided for the preheating block 2 and the cooling block 4, respectively. Similarly, the lower blocks 21 and 41 are provided with recesses 21a and 21b and recesses 41a and 41b. That is, the transport arms 11a and 11b that are parallel to each other pass through the recesses 21a, 31a, and 41a and the recesses 21b, 31b, and 41b of the lower blocks 21, 31, and 41 in the raised position, respectively. Note that the slide mechanism 12 and the lower blocks 21, 31, and 41 are collectively controlled by a control means (not shown). Each processing block may have a highly accurate substrate positioning mechanism.

  Since the transport arm 11 passes through the concave portion of the lower block that can be moved up and down in this way, the transport mechanism 1 can transport another substrate while the pressure heating block 3 or the like is processing a certain substrate. it can. Therefore, as will be described in detail later, while a certain substrate is being processed in one processing block, another substrate can be transferred and another process can proceed. That is, with the above configuration, in a processing apparatus having a plurality of processing blocks or processing steps, the time required for the entire processing can be reduced regardless of the tact time in one processing block.

<Example 1>
The conveyance process according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3A, the processing block will be described as an example including a preliminary heating block 2, a pressure heating block 3, and a cooling block 4. The upper block 22 of the preheating block 2 is provided with a heater unit 24 that can be heated in contact with the substrate. The upper block 32 of the pressure heating block 3 is provided with a heater and a probe 34 capable of performing a sealing process on the substrate 5. The upper block 42 of the cooling block 4 is provided with a cooling unit 44 that can cool in contact with the substrate 5. In addition, you may provide a heater part and a cooling part also in the lower blocks 21, 31, and 41, respectively. Further, the heater unit 24 may not be in contact with the substrate 5, and may be one in which the substrate 5 is included in the upper block 22 and heated. Similarly, the cooling unit 44 may not be in contact with the substrate 5, and may be a cooling tank that cools by including the substrate 5 in the upper block 42.

  Ends 11c and 11d of the transfer arm 11 are supported by the respective guides 13, and slide back and forth between a substrate carry-in position (see FIG. 3A) and a substrate carry-out position (see FIG. 3B). In this embodiment, the transfer arm 11 has a length including at least the first processing block (preliminary heating block 2) to the last processing block (cooling block 4) plus a substrate loading / unloading space. If you do.

  In a state where the transfer arm 11 is at the substrate carry-in position, the substrate carry-in mechanism 14 can place the substrate 5 on the carry arm 11. On the other hand, in a state where the transport arm 11 is at the substrate unloading position, the substrate unloading mechanism 15 can take out the substrate 5 from the transport arm 11. In this embodiment, the substrate carry-in mechanism 14 is configured to lower and release and place the substrate 5 in a state where the substrate 5 is grasped from above. You may be comprised so that the board | substrate 5 may be mounted on the conveyance arm 11 from the right side of the conveyance rail 11) or a side (front-back direction of a figure). Similarly, in the present embodiment, the substrate carry-out mechanism 15 is configured to descend and grasp the substrate 5 from above and then ascend, but in the rearward direction of the transfer arm 11 (of the transfer rail 11 in the drawing). The substrate 5 may be extracted from the left side) or from the side.

  3A to 3M, when the tact times of the processes in the preheating block 2, the pressure heating block 3 and the cooling block 4 are T2, T3 and T4, respectively, it is assumed that T3> T4. Although T3> T2 can be set, in this embodiment, T2 = T3.

  In this specification, “substrate transport direction” includes a forward direction and a reverse direction, and “forward direction” refers to a direction from the start of processing of a certain substrate to the end of processing, and “reverse direction”. Means the opposite direction. Accordingly, in each figure, the forward direction is right → left direction, and the reverse direction is left → right direction. Moreover, in each figure, a part of code | symbol is abbreviate | omitted for clarification of illustration.

  In FIG. 3A, the lower blocks 21, 31 and 41 are in the raised position. Each lower block may be in the lowered position, but for the purpose of keeping the preheating block 2 and the pressure heating block 3 warm, and keeping the cooling block 4 cool, each processing block is in a state where the upper block and the lower block are closed. Is preferred. As described above, even when one or more of the processing blocks are closed, the transfer arm 11 can transfer the substrate 5 without interfering with each lower block. As shown in the drawing, the transfer arm 11 is placed at the substrate loading position while being kept warm or cold in each processing block (that is, with each processing block closed), and the first substrate 5 loaded from the substrate loading mechanism 14. −1 is located immediately before the preheating block 2.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, the lower block 21 is lowered to the lowered position, the transfer arm 11 is slid in the forward direction, and the substrate 5-1 is transferred between the lower block 21 and the upper block 22. Then, as shown in FIG. 3C, the lower block 21 is raised to the raised position, and the preliminary heating process of the substrate 5-1 by the preliminary heating block 2 is performed. Here, it is assumed that the subsequent substrate 5-2 is set in the substrate carry-in mechanism 14.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3D, during the preheating process of the substrate 5-1, the transfer arm 11 is slid in the reverse direction, and the subsequent substrate 5-2 is placed on the transfer arm 11 from the substrate carry-in mechanism 14. The

  When the preheating process of the substrate 5-1 is completed, as shown in FIG. 3E, the lower blocks 31 and 21 are lowered to the lowered position, the transfer arm 11 is slid in the forward direction, and the substrates 5-1 and 5-2 are moved. They are conveyed between the lower block 31 and the upper block 32 and between the lower block 21 and the upper block 22, respectively. Then, as shown in FIG. 3F, the lower blocks 31 and 21 are raised to the raised position, and the sealing process of the substrate 5-1 by the pressure heating block 3 and the preheating process of the substrate 5-2 by the preheating block 2 are performed. Is called. Here, it is assumed that the subsequent substrate 5-3 is set in the substrate carry-in mechanism 14.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3G, during the sealing process of the substrate 5-1 and the preheating process of 5-2, the transfer arm 11 is slid in the reverse direction, and the subsequent substrate 5-3 is moved from the substrate carry-in mechanism 14. It is placed on the transfer arm 11.

  When the sealing process of the substrate 5-1 and the preheating process of 5-2 are finished, as shown in FIG. 3H, the lower blocks 41, 31 and 21 are lowered to the lowered position, and the transfer arm 11 is slid in the forward direction. Then, the substrates 5-1, 5-2 and 5-3 are transferred between the lower block 41 and the upper block 42, between the lower block 31 and the upper block 32, and between the lower block 21 and the upper block 22, respectively. Then, as shown in FIG. 3I, the lower blocks 41, 31 and 21 are raised to the raised position, the cooling process of the substrate 5-1 by the cooling block 4, the sealing process of the substrate 5-2 by the pressure heating block 3, and the preliminary processing Preheating treatment of the substrate 5-3 by the heating block 2 is performed. During these processes, the transfer arm 11 is slid in the reverse direction.

  When the cooling process of the substrate 5-1 is completed, as shown in FIG. 3J, the lower block 41 is lowered to the lowered position while the processes of the pressure heating block 3 and the preheating block 2 are continued. As shown in FIG. 3K, the transfer arm 11 is slid in the forward direction to transfer the substrate 5-1 to the carry-out position, and the substrate 5-1 is taken out by the substrate carry-out mechanism 15 as shown in FIG. 3L.

  As shown in FIG. 3M, during the sealing process of the substrate 5-2 and the preheating process of 5-3, the transfer arm 11 is slid in the reverse direction, and the subsequent substrate 5-4 is transferred from the substrate carry-in mechanism 14 to the transfer arm. 11 is mounted. In this state, the substrate is advanced by one in the state of FIG. 3G (that is, the substrate 5-2 is in the pressure heating block 3, the substrate 5-3 is in the preheating block 2, and the substrate 5-4 is in the standby position. Respectively). Thereafter, the conveyance and processing operations of FIGS. 3G to 3M are repeated until the processing of the substrate 5-n is completed.

  In this way, the processing of another processing block can be completed and the substrate can be transported during processing in a certain processing block, so the time required for the entire processing is reduced without being affected by the tact time of one processing block. can do. For example, if each substrate is transported at a constant speed while being maintained at regular intervals as in the prior art, it is necessary to finish the processing in the preliminary heating block 2, the pressure heating block 3, and the cooling block 4 for one substrate. In contrast to the time T3 × 3, in this embodiment, T3 × 2 + T4 (<T3 × 3), and the required time is shortened.

<Example 2>
The conveyance process according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, the processing block will be described as an example including a preheating block 2, a pressure heating block 3 and a cooling block 4. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4A, it is assumed that the transfer arm 11 has a sufficient length. Each configuration of the preheating block 3, the pressure heating block 3, and the cooling block 4 in this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment. Also, the tact time of each block is assumed to be T2 = T3> T4 as in the first embodiment.

  In FIG. 4A, the lower blocks 21, 31 and 41 are in the raised position. Each lower block may be in the lowered position, but for the purpose of keeping the preheating block 2 and the pressure heating block 3 warm, and keeping the cooling block 4 cool, each processing block is in a state where the upper block and the lower block are closed. Is preferred. As described above, even when one or more of the processing blocks are closed, the transfer arm 11 can transfer the substrates 5-1 to 5-n without interfering with the lower blocks. Therefore, the substrate 5-1 can be transported to the position immediately before the preheating block 2 while being kept warm or cold in each processing block (that is, with each processing block being closed).

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, the lower block 21 is lowered to the lowered position, the transfer arm 11 is slid in the forward direction, and the substrate 5-1 is transferred between the lower block 21 and the upper block 22. Then, as shown in FIG. 4C, the lower block 21 is raised to the raised position, and the preliminary heating process of the substrate 5-1 by the preliminary heating block 2 is performed. Here, even when the subsequent substrate 5-2 is transported at a wide or narrow interval with respect to the substrate 5-1, the transport arm 11 is slid forward or backward during the preheating process of the substrate 5-1. Thus, the position of the substrate 5-2 can be adjusted. As described above, according to the apparatus of the present embodiment, even when a plurality of substrates are conveyed at intervals different from the intervals between the processing blocks, the substrate interval can be adjusted immediately before the preheating block 2.

  When the preheating process of the substrate 5-1 is completed, as shown in FIG. 4D, the lower blocks 31 and 21 are lowered to the lowered position, the transfer arm 11 is slid in the forward direction, and the substrates 5-1 and 5-2 are moved. They are conveyed between the lower block 31 and the upper block 32 and between the lower block 21 and the upper block 22, respectively. Then, as shown in FIG. 4E, the lower blocks 31 and 21 are raised to the raised position, and the sealing process of the substrate 5-1 by the pressure heating block 3 and the preheating process of the substrate 5-2 by the preheating block 2 are performed. Is called.

  When the sealing process of the substrate 5-1 and the preheating process of 5-2 are finished, as shown in FIG. 4F, the lower blocks 41, 31 and 21 are lowered to the lowered position, and the transfer arm 11 is slid in the forward direction. Then, the substrates 5-1, 5-2 and 5-3 are transferred between the lower block 41 and the upper block 42, between the lower block 31 and the upper block 32, and between the lower block 21 and the upper block 22, respectively. Then, as shown in FIG. 4G, the lower blocks 41, 31 and 21 are raised to the ascending position, and the cooling process of the substrate 5-1 by the cooling block 4, the sealing process of the substrate 5-2 by the pressurizing and heating block 3, and the reserve Preheating treatment of the substrate 5-3 by the heating block 2 is performed. Here, as shown in FIG. 4H, the transfer arm 11 is slid in the reverse direction to retract the position of the substrate 5-4.

  When the cooling process of the substrate 5-1 is completed, as shown in FIG. 4I, the lower block 41 is lowered to the lowered position while the processes of the pressure heating block 3 and the preheating block 2 are continued. Then, as shown in FIG. 4J, the transfer arm 11 is slid in the forward direction, the substrate 5-1 is transferred to the carry-out position, and the substrate 5-1 is taken out.

  Thereafter, when the sealing process in the pressurizing and heating block 3 and the heating process in the preheating block 2 are completed, the substrate is advanced by one in the state of FIG. 4F (that is, the substrate 5-2 is pressurized to the cooling block 4). The substrate 5-3 and the substrate 5-4 correspond to the heating block 3 and the preliminary heating block 2, respectively. Thereafter, the conveyance and processing operations of FIGS. 4F to 4J are repeated until the processing of the substrate 5-n is completed.

  In this way, the processing of another processing block can be completed and the substrate can be transported during processing in a certain processing block, so the time required for the entire processing is reduced without being affected by the tact time of one processing block. can do. For example, if each substrate is transported at a constant speed while being maintained at regular intervals as in the prior art, it is necessary to finish the processing in the preliminary heating block 2, the pressure heating block 3, and the cooling block 4 for one substrate. In contrast to the time T3 × 3, in this embodiment, T3 × 2 + T4 (<T3 × 3), and the required time is shortened. In addition, if a pretreatment chamber is connected upstream of the processing chamber and a subsequent substrate is loaded from the pretreatment chamber during the processing of the preceding substrate, the transfer time required for transferring the substrate between the processing chambers can be shortened. Can do. The same applies to the case where the post-processing chamber is connected to the downstream side of the processing chamber to deliver the substrate. A substrate stocker that can accommodate a plurality of substrates may be provided on the upstream side of the processing chamber.

<Example 3>
In the first embodiment, the transport arm 11 has a minimum length, and in the second embodiment, the transport arm 11 has a sufficient length. 1 shows a configuration in which processing is performed for each predetermined number of substrates as a predetermined length.

  5A and 5B show a configuration in which both ends 11 c and 11 d of the transfer arm 11 are supported by the guide 13. FIG. 5A shows a state where the transfer arm 11 is at the substrate carry-in position, and FIG. 5B shows a state where the transfer arm 11 is at the substrate carry-out position. In the case of this configuration, the transfer arm 11 only needs to have a length that is approximately twice the length including at least the first processing block (preliminary heating block 2) to the last processing block (cooling block 4). .

  5C and 5D show a configuration in which only one end portion 11c of the transfer arm 11 is supported by the guide 13. FIG. FIG. 5C shows a state where the transfer arm 11 is at the substrate carry-in position, and FIG. 5D shows a state where the transfer arm 11 is at the substrate carry-out position. In the case of this configuration, the transfer arm 11 may have a length including at least the first processing block (the preheating block 2 in this embodiment) to the substrate unloading position (the position of the substrate 5 in FIG. 5D). .

In the apparatus of FIGS. 5A and 5B or FIGS. 5C and 5D, the three substrates may be transported and processed as one unit. As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4C, from the state in which the substrate of one unit is placed at the substrate carry-in position, the forward and backward transport operations of the transport arm 11 and the lifting operation of each lower block are appropriately combined. 5B and 5D, it is possible to reach a state where the last substrate of the unit is in the unloading position. 4B and 4D, the transfer arm 11 is moved in the reverse direction from the state where the processing of the last substrate _53k among the substrates _53k-2 , _53k-1, and _53k of the kth unit is completed. In the same manner as in the states shown in FIGS. 5A and 5C, the substrates 5 _{3k + 1} , 5 _{3k + 2} and 5 _{3k + 3} of the (k + 1) th unit can be placed on the transfer arm 11 and the next processing can be started. With the configuration of this embodiment, the entire apparatus can be reduced in size by minimizing the length of the transfer arm 11.

<Example 4>
In the first to third embodiments described above, the apparatus includes a plurality of lower blocks. However, in the present embodiment, the apparatus includes only a single lower block. As shown in FIGS. 6A to 6D, the apparatus of this embodiment includes a transport mechanism 1, a pressure heating block 3, and a cooling nozzle 45. The cooling nozzle 45 cools the substrate 5 on the transfer arm 11 by blowing cold air or a coolant toward the transfer arm 11 or the moving substrate 5. 6A to 6D show a configuration in which the cooling nozzle 45 exerts a cooling action from the upper side to the lower side of the transfer arm 11, but the cooling nozzle 45 has a cooling action from the lower side to the upper side of the transfer arm 11. It is good also as a structure which exerts, and you may use both together.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, the lower block 31 is lowered to the lowered position, the transfer arm 11 is slid in the forward direction, and the substrate 5-1 is transferred between the lower block 31 and the upper block 32. Then, as shown in FIG. 6B, the lower block 31 is raised to the raised position, and the sealing process of the substrate 5-1 by the pressure heating block 3 is performed.

  When the sealing process of the substrate 5-1 is finished, as shown in FIG. 6C, the lower block 31 is lowered to the lowered position, and then the cooling nozzle 45 starts the cooling operation. 6D, the transfer arm 11 is slid in the forward direction, the substrate 5-1 is transferred below the cooling nozzle 45, and the substrate 5-2 is transferred between the lower block 31 and the upper block 32. The As shown in FIG. 6E, while the cooling process of the substrate 5-1 is performed, the lower block 31 is raised to the raised position, and the sealing process of the substrate 5-2 is started. Then, as shown in FIG. 6F, the transfer arm 11 is slid in the forward direction, and the substrate 5-1 passes below the cooling nozzle 45 and is transferred to the carry-out position and taken out.

  In FIG. 6F, the state where the substrate 5-1 is taken out is a state where the substrate is advanced by one in the state shown in FIG. 6B. Therefore, thereafter, the conveyance and processing operations of FIGS. 6B to 6D are repeated until the processing of the substrate 5-n is completed. Therefore, the cooling process of the substrate 5 can be continuously performed while the substrate 5 moves or stops below the cooling nozzle 45 from FIGS. 6C to 6F.

  As described above, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, since the other substrate can be transported while one substrate is being processed in a certain processing block, the processing to be performed while moving the substrate while moving the substrate stationary. However, the executable processing can be executed in parallel. That is, other processing can be completed within the processing time of one processing block, and the time required for the entire processing can be shortened.

<Example 5>
In the first and second embodiments, the configuration in which the next cooling process can be completed and the substrate can be taken out during the most time-consuming sealing process is shown. An example of performing many other processes is shown. The conveyance process in a present Example is demonstrated with reference to FIG. In the present modification, the processing block includes a pressure heating block 3, a primary cooling block 6 for rapid cooling, and a secondary cooling block 7 in the subsequent stage. As with the other processing blocks, the primary cooling block 6 includes a lower block 61, an upper block 62, and an elevating mechanism 63, and the secondary cooling block 7 includes a lower block 71, an upper block 72, and an elevating mechanism 73. The lower block 61 is provided with recesses 61a and 61b, and the lower block 71 is provided with recesses 71a and 71b. A primary cooling unit 64 and a secondary cooling unit 74 are provided in the upper blocks 62 and 72, respectively.

  In this embodiment, when the tact times of the processes in the pressure heating block 3, the primary cooling block 6 and the secondary cooling block 7 are T3, T6 and T7, respectively, it is assumed that T3 = T6 + T7.

  In FIG. 7A, the lower block 31 is lowered to the lowered position, the transfer arm 11 is slid in the forward direction, and the substrate 5-1 is transferred between the lower block 31 and the upper block 32. 7B, the lower block 31 is raised to the raised position, and the sealing process is performed.

  When the sealing process of the substrate 5-1 is finished, as shown in FIG. 7C, the lower blocks 61 and 31 are lowered to the lowered position, the transfer arm 11 is slid in the forward direction, and the substrates 5-1 and 5-2 are moved. It is conveyed between the lower block 61 and the upper block 62 and between the lower block 31 and the upper block 32, respectively. Then, as shown in FIG. 7D, the lower blocks 61 and 31 are raised to the raised position, and the primary cooling process of the substrate 5-1 by the primary cooling block 6 and the sealing process of the substrate 5-2 by the pressure heating block 3 are performed. Is called. In FIG. 7D, the transfer arm 11 is slid in the reverse direction, and the position of the substrate 5-3 is retracted.

  When the primary cooling process of the substrate 5-1 is completed during the sealing process of the substrate 5-2, the lower blocks 71 and 61 are lowered to the lowered position as shown in FIG. 7E, and the transfer arm 11 is moved as shown in FIG. 7F. The substrate 5-1 is slid in the forward direction and conveyed between the lower block 71 and the upper block 72. Then, as shown in FIG. 7G, the lower block 71 is raised to the raised position, and the secondary cooling process of the substrate 5-1 by the secondary cooling block 7 is performed. 7E to 7G, the sealing process of the substrate 5-2 by the pressure heating block 3 is continued.

  When the secondary cooling process of the substrate 5-1 and the sealing process of the substrate 5-2 are finished, as shown in FIG. 7H, the lower blocks 71, 61 and 31 are lowered to the lowered position, and the transfer arm 11 is moved in the forward direction. The substrate 5-1 is slid and conveyed to the carry-out position, and the substrate 5-1 is taken out. 7H, the substrate 5-2 and the substrate 5-3 are transferred between the lower block 61 and the upper block 62 and between the lower block 31 and the upper block 32, respectively.

  Thereafter, when the lower blocks 61 and 31 are raised to the raised position, the substrate is advanced by one in the state of FIG. 7D (ie, the substrate 5-2 is in the primary cooling block 6 and the substrate 5 is in the heating and pressurizing block 3). −3 is a corresponding state). Thereafter, the conveyance and processing operations of FIGS. 7D to 7H are repeated until the processing of the substrate 5-n is completed.

  As described above, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, the processing of a plurality of other blocks can be executed during the processing of a certain processing block, so that various types of processing can be performed efficiently within a predetermined overall processing time. For example, assuming that each substrate is transported at a constant speed while maintaining the same interval as in the prior art, only the sealing process and the one-stage cooling process can be performed within a time of T3 × 2 for two substrates. In contrast, in this modification, the sealing process and the two-stage cooling process can be performed within the same T3 × 2 time.

  In this embodiment, the cooling block has two stages, but the preheating block may have two stages. Also in this embodiment, similarly to the second embodiment, the transport arm 11 may be configured to have a minimum length as a configuration for transporting and processing three substrates as one unit.

<Modification>
In the first embodiment and the like, for example, as shown in FIGS. 4H and 7D, a step of sliding the transfer arm 11 in the reverse direction to adjust the distance between the mth substrate and the m + 1th substrate is included. However, as a modification, a configuration in which the substrate interval can be adjusted while the transfer arm 11 is slid only in the forward direction is shown.

  8A to 8C show an apparatus according to this modification. The apparatus according to this modification includes a substrate delivery block 8 at the front stage of the processing block group. Although the preheating block 2, the pressure heating block 3, and the cooling block 4 are illustrated as processing blocks, this modification can be applied to any processing block. The substrate delivery block 8 includes a lower block 81 and an elevating mechanism 83, and the lower block 81 is moved up and down by the elevating mechanism 83 between a lowered position and a raised position.

In the state shown in FIG. 8A, the substrate _5m is on the transport arm 11 and is transported in the forward direction. On the other hand, the substrate 5 _{m + 1 and} thereafter are on the lower block 81 and are stopped away from the transfer arm 11. As shown in FIG. 8B, when the distance between the transported substrate 5 _m and the standby substrate 5 _{m + 1} reaches a desired distance, the lower block 81 is lowered to the lowered position, and the substrate 5 _{m + 1} is placed on the transport arm 11. And sent out. This substrate 5 _{m + 1} substrate 5 _{m + 2} or later during transmitting operation is also mounted on the carrier arm 11, after the lower block 81 that sent the substrate 5 _{m + 1} on the carrier arm 11, rises rapidly as shown in FIG. 8C Since the position is returned to the position, the substrate 5 _{m + 2 and} thereafter are again moved away from the transfer arm 11 and directed to the lower block 81 and stopped.

As described above, according to the present modification, the intervals on the transfer arms 11 can be adjusted to a desired distance for the plurality of substrates 5. For example, the distance between the substrate 5 _m and the substrate 5 _{m + 1} is 1 processing block interval (distance that the substrate can be processed simultaneously in adjacent processing blocks) or 2 processing block intervals (for example, the first processing block and the third processing block). Distance that the substrates can be processed simultaneously).

As described above using the embodiments and the modifications, the configuration of the present invention has various advantageous effects.
For example, according to the configuration of the present invention, a subsequent substrate can be transferred during processing of the preceding substrate, or a processing of the preceding substrate can be transferred during processing of the subsequent substrate. Therefore, in the substrate transfer and processing apparatus composed of a plurality of processing steps, the entire processing time can be shortened, or more processing can be performed within a certain processing time, and the production efficiency can be improved.

  In addition, since the transport and processing apparatus of the present invention can be constructed with a simple configuration comprising a transport mechanism having a slidable transport arm, and a processing block having a recessed portion through which the transport arm can be inserted and a lower block provided, Excellent device versatility.

  In the transfer and processing apparatus of the present invention, the transfer arm 11 is moved in the reverse direction while the substrate being processed is away from the transfer arm (for example, all the substrates are supported by the lower block). To return to the substrate loading position. Therefore, since the substrate can be frequently placed on the transfer arm 11, a large number of substrates can be processed continuously even with the short transfer arm 11. That is, the transfer arm 11 can be shortened to reduce the size of the entire apparatus.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in the above-described examples and modifications, the following is noted about the configuration of the present invention.
In the embodiment and the modification, the lower block and the upper block are described as a rectangular parallelepiped, but they are not necessarily a rectangular parallelepiped. For example, the upper block may have any shape as long as a desired process can be performed on the substrate supported by the lower block. In other words, the “block” in this specification should not be interpreted as being limited to a rectangular parallelepiped, but should be interpreted as one member group capable of executing the above-described processing.

  In the embodiment and the modification, the configuration in which the substrate is in contact with or included in the upper block in the operation of each lower block is shown, but the substrate is not necessarily in contact with the upper block depending on the nature of the processing in each processing block. Or it may not be included. That is, the apparatus of the present invention only needs to have a configuration in which the substrate is at least brought close to the upper block so that the upper block can exert a desired action on the substrate when the lower block is in the raised position.

  In the embodiment and the modification, the preheating block 2, the pressure heating block 3, the cooling block 4 and the like are shown as the processing blocks, but other processing blocks may be provided. For example, an inspection block for identifying good / bad of the completed substrate may be provided after the cooling block, or a packaging block with a cover for protecting the substrate from dust, moisture, static electricity, or the like may be provided. Further, the configuration of the present invention can be applied not only to the heat sealing device but also to other devices that require the same transfer operation.

  In the embodiment and the modified example, the configuration in which the transport arm 11 is slid on the guide 13 is shown. However, if the slide mechanism 12 can guide the transport direction of the transport arm 11, a wheel or the like is placed on the transport arm side. It is good also as a structure which provides a rotation member and the conveyance arm 11 runs on a plane.

  In the embodiment and the modification, the number of transfer arms is two and the number of corresponding recesses in each lower block is two. However, the number of transfer arms may be three or more as long as they are parallel to each other. Further, if the substrate is stably placed, one transfer arm may be used. In any case, the recess of each lower block may be provided corresponding to the position of the transfer arm.

1. 1. Transport mechanism Preheating block
3. 3. Pressure heating block 4. Cooling block Substrate 6. Primary cooling block 7. Secondary cooling block8. Substrate delivery blocks 11, 11a, 11b. Transfer arm 12. Slide mechanism 13, 13a, 13b. Guide 14. Substrate loading mechanism 15. Substrate carry-out mechanism 21, 31, 41, 61, 71, 81. Lower blocks 22, 32, 42, 62, 72. Upper blocks 23, 33, 43, 63, 73, 83. Elevating mechanism 31a, 31b. Recess 31c. Upper surface 45. Cooling nozzle

Claims (6)

A substrate transfer and processing apparatus,
A transfer arm on which a substrate can be placed,
A slide mechanism for sliding the transfer arm in the substrate transfer direction;
A first processing block comprising a first lower block and a first upper block, and a first lifting mechanism for lifting and lowering the first lower block between a lowered position and a raised position,
The first lower block has a recess extending in a sliding direction of the transfer arm and having an open upper surface;
When the first lower block is in the lowered position, the substrate held by the transfer arm can pass between the first upper block and the first lower block;
When the first lower block is in the raised position, the substrate is supported by the first lower block so as to approach the first upper block, and a space defined by the recess is formed in the space. A device in which the transfer arm is movable. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:
A second processing block, which is composed of a second lower block and a second upper block, and is disposed in the substrate transport direction with respect to the first processing block; and Second lifting mechanism that moves up and down
With
The second lower block has a recess extending in the sliding direction of the transfer arm and having an open upper surface;
When the second lower block is in the lowered position, the substrate held by the transfer arm can pass between the second upper block and the second lower block;
When the second lower block is in the raised position, the substrate is supported by the second lower block to approach the upper block, and the transfer arm moves in a space defined by the recess. Configured and possible
An apparatus in which the first lower block and the second lower block can be moved up and down independently. 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second processing block is disposed downstream of the first processing block in the transport direction of the transport arm, and the first processing block heats the substrate. A pressure heating block for pressing, and the second processing block is a cooling block for cooling the substrate;
While the first lower block is in the raised position and the substrate is processed by the first processing block, the second lower block is lowered to the lowered position, and the transfer arm is moved to the second processing block. An apparatus configured to unload a preceding substrate from 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second processing block is disposed upstream of the first processing block in the transport direction of the transport arm, and the first processing block heats the substrate. A pressure heating block for pressing, and the second processing block is a preheating block for preheating the substrate;
While the first lower block is in the raised position and the substrate is processed by the first processing block, the second lower block is lowered to the lowered position, and the transfer arm is moved to the second processing block. An apparatus configured to carry a subsequent substrate into the apparatus.   5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transfer arm is configured to be movable in a first direction of the substrate transfer direction and a second direction opposite thereto by the slide mechanism. 6. .   The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first processing block sandwiches the substrate between the first lower block and the first upper block in order to seal an element mounted on the substrate, An apparatus that is a pressure heating block that heats and pressurizes the element.