JP5941943B2 - Lid opening / closing device and multi-chamber processing system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a lid opening / closing device applied to a processing apparatus that performs a predetermined processing on a target object such as a substrate, and a multi-chamber processing system including the same.

Conventionally, for example, in a manufacturing process of an LCD (liquid crystal display) substrate, a multi-chamber type vacuum processing system including a plurality of vacuum processing devices for performing predetermined processing such as etching processing and film formation processing on the substrate in a reduced pressure atmosphere Is used.
This vacuum processing system includes a transfer chamber provided with a substrate transfer mechanism having a robot arm for transferring a substrate, and a plurality of vacuum processing apparatuses and a load lock chamber connected to the periphery of the transfer chamber via gate valves.
The substrate is loaded into each vacuum processing apparatus via a gate valve by a robot arm provided in the transfer chamber, and the substrate processed in each vacuum processing apparatus is returned to the transfer chamber via a gate valve. It can be conveyed to a processing apparatus and can perform various necessary processes on the substrate surface.

  In this type of vacuum processing system, the chamber of the vacuum processing apparatus has an openable / closable lid that enables internal maintenance. As a mechanism for opening and closing the lid, a structure in which a lid 102 is provided on the upper portion of a box-shaped chamber body 101 via a hinge 103 so as to be rotatable up and down is known. The lid 102 is rotatably provided with a hinge 103 as a fulcrum by a cylinder device 104 such as a hydraulic cylinder provided on the side of the chamber body 101. That is, by extending the piston rod 105 of the cylinder device 104, the lid body 102 can be pushed upward to open the opening of the chamber body 101.

  In the opening / closing mechanism shown in FIG. 6, when the size of the chamber body 101 is increased in proportion to the increase in the substrate size, the lid 102 is also enlarged. Therefore, when the lid 102 is opened, the large lid 102 is not attached to the factory. There is a risk of interference with the ceiling. For example, when the substrate size for LCD is 2 to 3 m, such as G8 to G10, a space exceeding 3 m must be secured above the chamber body 101 and can be installed in a normal factory. There is a risk of exceeding the limit.

The lid 102 provided in the chamber main body 101 accommodates attached heavy objects such as a shower head and various pipes for discharging gas to the inside of the lid 102 for performing processing using a gas such as etching. Therefore, the total weight tends to increase to about 1 to 10 t depending on the scale of the apparatus. For this reason, when the lid 102 is opened, the opening angle of the lid 102 is lower by about 20 to 30 ° than 90 ° in consideration of the rotation angle of the hinge 103, the stability of the lid 102 after being released, and the like. It is designed as an angle. However, since the opening angle of the lid 102 is reduced, internal maintenance of the chamber body 101, removal and replacement of internal equipment, maintenance on the back side of the lid 102, and maintenance of equipment attached to the inside of the lid 102. There was a problem that sufficient space or space could not be secured for replacement.
Further, in a chamber of a large vacuum processing apparatus referred to as the G5 generation or later, as shown in FIG. 7, a lid 108 is rotatably connected to a side portion of the chamber body 106 via a large hinge 107, The structure which rotates the support shaft 109 of 107 using the large sized motor apparatus 110 is employ | adopted. According to this configuration, there is an advantage that the lid 108 can be maintained by opening 180 °, and there is no problem in terms of maintenance space.
However, the configuration shown in FIG. 7 requires a speed reducer in addition to the large motor device 110, which causes a problem that the weight of the entire device increases, and an offset load is generated near the drive portion of the support shaft 109. For this reason, it is necessary to increase the strength of the factory floor, and the structural frame of the device itself is also required to have high strength. For these reasons, the apparatus shown in FIG. 7 has a problem that the manufacturing cost and the equipment cost increase.

  For this reason, a structure for solving these problems is proposed in Patent Document 1 below. The structure described in Patent Document 1 has a slide mechanism that slides the lid in the horizontal direction and a rotation mechanism that rotates the lid as a mechanism for attaching and detaching the lid of the processing chamber. After sliding to a position where it does not overlap the side, the lid can be rotated.

JP 2001-185534 A

  In the structure described in Patent Document 1, rail-shaped horizontal linear guides are provided on both side surfaces of a box-shaped chamber body, and a slide moving part is provided movably along the linear guide. It is attached to the side of the lid. Further, the slide moving unit is rotatably attached to the side surface of the lid body, and is configured to be turned over by rotating the lid body after moving the lid body to the side of the chamber body.

  According to the structure described in Patent Document 1, after moving the lid to the side of the chamber main body and moving the lid and the chamber main body to a position where they do not interfere with each other, turning the lid upside down, Maintenance can be performed to every corner inside the lid. Further, if the mounting position of the slide moving unit is set to the center side in the width direction of the side surface of the lid body, when the lid body is rotated, the space height required above is 1/2 of the length of one side of the lid body. Therefore, when the size of the lid is as large as 2 to 3 m, there is an advantage that interference with the ceiling portion of the factory can be reduced.

  However, in the above-described structure, since the slide moving unit and the linear guide are provided on the side surface of the chamber body and the side surface of the lid body, the heavy body lid body of 1 to 10 t can be supported and rotated on the side surface of the chamber body and the side surface of the lid body. It is necessary to provide a slide moving part and linear guide of strength and size. That is, since heavy objects such as the slide moving unit and linear guide are attached to the side surface of the chamber body and the side surface of the lid body, a mechanism for supporting the heavy objects is separately provided in the vacuum apparatus, and etching and film formation processing are performed. Therefore, it was necessary to make the structure more robust than the strength required as a vacuum device.

  In addition, when considered as a multi-chamber type vacuum processing system, there is a possibility that the slide moving unit and the linear guide may interfere with a gate valve provided at the boundary between the transfer chamber and the vacuum processing apparatus, which is not applicable. . Even if the slide moving part or the linear guide does not directly interfere with the gate valve, there is a possibility that the necessary maintenance area around the gate valve and the attachment area of these heavy objects may interfere with each other.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the lid body can be slid in the lateral direction of the chamber body, and the lid body can be rotated and turned over, the lid body can be maintained, and the side surface of the chamber body can be maintained. And a lid opening / closing device applicable to a multi-chamber processing system, and a multi-chamber processing system including the opening / closing device. For the purpose of provision.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs the following configuration.
The lid opening / closing device of the present invention is a rectangular lid opening / closing device detachably provided on the chamber main body, on both sides of the lid installed on the chamber main body, A first support portion and a second support portion are formed at diagonal positions of the lid in plan view, and linear first guide members and second guide members that are parallel to each other are provided on both sides of the installation position of the chamber body. And the second guide member extends to the side of the chamber body along a side portion of the chamber body with a lower position near the first support portion as a base point. 2 An imaginary line connecting the first support part and the second support part extends in a direction away from the chamber main body with a lower position near the support part as a base point, and the first guide member and the second support part Extension direction and inclination of guide member The first traversing machine is provided so as to be movable along the first guide member, and the second traversing machine is provided so as to be movable along the second guide member. The first elevator is supported by the first elevator installed, the second support is supported by the second elevator installed on the second traversing machine, and the first and second traversing machines are supported. The lid is supported so as to be movable in the extending direction of the first guide member and the second guide member, and the lid is supported movably up and down by the first elevator and the second elevator. The first elevator and the second elevator are provided with a rotation mechanism for rotating the lid with the virtual line as a rotation center axis.

In the lid opening / closing device of the present invention, the first guide member is installed in the vicinity of one side surface of the chamber body, and the second guide member is installed in the vicinity of an extension surface of the other side surface of the chamber body. preferable.
In the lid opening / closing apparatus of the present invention, the first guide member and the second guide member are formed longer than the length of the chamber body along the extending direction, and the first traversing machine and the second traversing machine It is preferable that the lid body can be moved to a position where the lid body is detached from above the chamber body to the side of the chamber body.

In the multi-chamber processing system according to the present invention, a plurality of chamber bodies are formed on the side of the transfer chamber so as to surround the transfer chamber with respect to a hollow transfer chamber having a function capable of transferring an object to be processed. A multi-chamber type processing system that is connected through a gate valve and is provided with a lid on each of the chamber bodies, and the lid opening / closing device described above is applied to the plurality of chamber bodies. It is characterized by that.
In the multi-chamber processing system of the present invention, the base of the first guide member of the other chamber body adjacent to the tip of the second guide member formed on one of the adjacent chamber bodies around the transfer chamber. It is preferable that the position which is arrange | positioned at an end side and makes the said cover body remove | separate from said one chamber main body by the said 1st traversing machine and a 2nd traversing machine is a side position of the other adjacent chamber main body.

According to the lid opening / closing apparatus of the present invention, the chamber body is moved by moving the lid body of the chamber body in the lateral direction of the chamber body by the first traversing machine and the second traversing machine, and the lid body is detached from the side of the chamber body. The lid can be maintained without being affected by the body. For this reason, even if it is the structure by which various apparatuses are installed in the cover body, maintenance of a cover body can be performed without trouble.
After the lid is moved to the side of the chamber body, the lid can be lowered by the first elevator and the second elevator. Therefore, when performing maintenance on the lid, the lid is moved to a height suitable for workers. Maintenance work, which contributes to the improvement of maintenance workability.

  Since the first support portion and the second support portion are provided at the diagonal position of the lid body, the lid body can be rotated with the diagonal line connecting the first support portion and the second support portion as the rotation center axis, via the hinge. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a wider interference area in the upper space of the lid body when the lid body is rotated than in the conventional device in which the lid body is rotatable up and down. For this reason, it can be applied to a building having a lower ceiling height than when a conventional apparatus is installed, and can be applied even in an installation environment in which various devices are installed around the chamber body.

According to the multi-chamber processing system of the present invention, it is possible to perform maintenance work on the lid bodies of the plurality of chamber bodies by individually moving and rotating the lid bodies from the plurality of chamber bodies.
Further, if the first guide member is provided on the side opposite to the gate valve installation side of the chamber main body and the second guide member is provided on the side of the gate valve installation portion, the lid body is provided on the side of the chamber main body and the gate valve. It can be moved to the side and rotated for maintenance. For this reason, in contrast to the structure in which the lid is moved to the outside of the processing system on the side opposite to the gate valve installation side of the chamber body, the space for moving the lid does not have to be expanded to the outside. Since the empty space can be used effectively, it is possible to install the lid opening / closing device without expanding the occupied area as a multi-chamber processing system.

  Furthermore, as a multi-chamber processing system, when a lid body opening / closing device is provided in a plurality of chamber bodies, the position where the lid body is detached from one chamber body is set to be a lateral position of another adjacent chamber. The lid can be moved and rotated by effectively using the space between adjacent chamber bodies. For this reason, the multi-chamber processing system provided with the cover body opening / closing device having a space-saving configuration can be provided.

1 is a plan view showing a first embodiment of a multi-chamber processing system provided with a lid opening / closing device according to the present invention. The side view which shows the state which raised the cover body with respect to the chamber main body provided in the processing system. The side view which shows the state which moved the cover body horizontally with respect to the chamber main body provided in the processing system. The side view which shows the state which rotated the cover body with respect to the chamber main body provided in the processing system. The side view which shows the state which descends after rotating a cover body with respect to the chamber main body provided in the processing system. The perspective view which shows an example of the cover body opening / closing mechanism provided in the conventional processing apparatus. The perspective view which shows an example of the cover body opening / closing mechanism provided in the processing apparatus after the conventional G5 generation. The block diagram which shows 2nd embodiment of the multi-chamber type | mold processing system provided with the opening / closing apparatus of the cover body which concerns on this invention. The side view of the second embodiment. FIG. 10A is an enlarged view of a partial configuration of the second embodiment, FIG. 10A is a plan view of the reversing mechanism, FIG. 10B is a side view of the lifting mechanism, and FIG. 10C is a side view of the reversing mechanism. The side view which shows the state in the middle of raising the cover body from the chamber main body and moving it in the second embodiment. The side view which shows the state in the middle of rotating the cover body removed from the chamber main body in the said 2nd embodiment. The side view which shows the state which rotated the cover body removed from the chamber main body in the second embodiment, and turned it over. It is a figure which shows the state which removes a cover body from a chamber main body in the second embodiment in steps, FIG.14 (A) is a perspective view which shows the state which raised the cover body from the chamber main body, FIG.14 (B) is FIG. FIG. 14C is a perspective view showing a state in which the lid is moved halfway, and FIG. 14D is a perspective view showing the state shown in FIG. FIG. 14E is a side view of the state shown in FIG. 14B, and FIG. 14F is a side view of the state shown in FIG. FIG. 15A is a view showing stepwise the state of removing the lid from the chamber body in the second embodiment, and FIG. 15A is a perspective view showing the state where the lid is moved to a position where it is removed from the chamber body; B) is a perspective view showing a state in the middle of turning over the lid, FIG. 15C is a perspective view showing a state in which the lid is turned over, FIG. 15D is a side view of the state shown in FIG. 15E is a side view of the state shown in FIG. 15B, and FIG. 15F is a side view of the state shown in FIG. The block diagram which shows 3rd embodiment of the multi-chamber type | mold processing system provided with the opening / closing apparatus of the cover body which concerns on this invention. FIG. 17A shows a main part of a lid opening / closing mechanism in the third embodiment, and FIG. 17A is a schematic plan view showing a main part of a cart moving mechanism and a lid rotating mechanism, and FIG. The side view of the principal part. It is a figure which shows the state which removes a cover body from a chamber main body in the third embodiment in steps, FIG.18 (A) is a front view which shows the state in which the cover body is mounted on the chamber main body, FIG. FIG. 18B is a front view showing a state where the lid is moved above the chamber body, and FIG. 18C is a front view showing a state where the lid is rotated while moving the lid to the side of the chamber body. ) Is a front view showing a state in which the lid moved to the side of the chamber body is lowered.

"First embodiment"
The lid opening / closing device according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings as appropriate.
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an example of a cluster-type multi-chamber processing system including three chamber devices each having a lid opening / closing device according to the present invention around a transfer chamber.
This processing system A has a transfer chamber 1 having an approximately octagonal shape in plan view installed in the center, and a rectangular chamber in plan view via a gate valve 2 on three side surfaces among the side surfaces of the transfer chamber 1. The main bodies 3, 4, and 5 are connected at intervals of 90 ° in plan view. A load lock chamber 6 is connected to one of the surfaces to which the chamber bodies 3, 4, and 5 are not connected via the gate valve 2. The chamber bodies 3, 4, 5 and the load lock chamber 6 are arranged at 90 ° intervals so as to surround the periphery of the transfer chamber 1 in a plan view with respect to the transfer chamber 1, and the whole is installed in a clean room of a building.

  Lids 3A, 4A, and 5A installed to be openable and closable are provided on the chamber bodies 3, 4, and 5, respectively, and each chamber device is configured, and the lid is formed by the open / close device described below in each chamber device. 3A, 4A, and 5A are opened and closed. In addition, since the opening / closing apparatus provided in each chamber main body 3, 4, 5 has an equivalent structure, the opening / closing mechanism will be described below by taking one chamber main body 3 as an example. The lids 3A, 4A, and 5A are detachably installed on the box-shaped chamber bodies 3, 4, and 5 and lifted from the opening surfaces of the chamber bodies 3, 4, and 5 by a transport mechanism that will be described later. 3A, 4A, 5A is configured to be removable from the chamber bodies 3, 4, 5.

  The chamber body 3 is a chamber body having a rectangular shape in plan view drawn on one side of the transfer chamber 1 in the plan view of FIG. 1, and one side surface of the chamber body 3 is connected to the transfer chamber 1 via the gate valve 2. ing. The transfer chamber 1 is provided with a transfer machine (not shown) such as a robot arm inside, and a substrate to be processed such as a rectangular substrate for LCD transferred to the inside of the transfer chamber via the load lock chamber 6 and the gate valve 2. An object can be transported to any one of the chamber bodies 3, 4, and 5 via the gate valve 2 as necessary. In addition, the processing object processed in any one of the chamber bodies 3, 4, 5 is returned to the transfer chamber 1 and transferred to any one of the other chamber bodies 3, 4, 5 as necessary. An object can be subjected to a plurality of processes such as a plurality of film formations and etchings. Each chamber body 3, 4, 5 is connected to an evacuation device (not shown) such as a vacuum pump, and constitutes a film forming chamber for use for etching and various film forming purposes by reducing the pressure inside. In the multi-chamber type processing system A, after performing various processes such as film formation and etching on the object to be processed using any one of the chamber bodies 3, 4, and 5, the object to be processed is loaded into the load lock chamber 6. It is comprised so that a to-be-processed object can be carried outside after conveyance.

In the chamber body 3, the side surface connected to the transfer chamber 1 via the gate valve 2 is defined as a first side surface 3a, and the opposite side surface is defined as a second side surface 3b. The side surface close to 6 is defined as the third side surface 3c, and the remaining side surface is defined as the fourth side surface 3d.
A rail-shaped first guide member 10 slightly longer than the lateral width of the second side surface 3b of the chamber main body 3 is installed on the floor surface adjacent to the second side surface 3b of the chamber main body 3. The first guide member 10 is provided in parallel to the second side surface 3 b at a position adjacent to the second side surface 3 b which is the side surface opposite to the connection side of the gate valve 2 in the chamber body 3. Further, in the chamber body 3, a rail-like second guide member slightly longer than the first guide member 10 on the floor surface in the vicinity of the extended surface position of the first side surface 3 a, that is, on the side surface on the side where the gate valve 2 is installed. 11 is installed. The second guide member 11 is installed in parallel with the first guide member 10 and in parallel with the first side surface 3 a of the load lock chamber 6.

On the first guide member 10, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, a first traversing machine 15 provided with wheels 12 and 12 under the carriage 13 is provided movably along the first guide member 10. ing. In the first traversing machine 15, on the lower side of the carriage 13, a traveling motor device 14 that rotates the wheel 12 and moves the carriage 13 along the first guide member 10 is provided.
In the first traversing machine 15, a jack-type first elevator 16 is erected on the carriage 13, and a block-like first support part 17 is attached to the upper end of the first elevator 16, and this first support The portion 17 supports a support rod 18 that extends horizontally at one corner of the lid 3A. The first elevator 16 is configured to be vertically extendable and configured by a jack mechanism or a hydraulic cylinder mechanism, and the first support portion 17 is moved a predetermined distance by moving the lifting rod 16B up and down relative to the cylinder member 16A of the first elevator 16. It can be moved up and down. In addition, a reversing machine (rotating mechanism) 20 connected to the first support 17 and rotating the support rod 18 around its axis is installed on the side of the mount 19 attached to the upper end of the first elevator 16. ing.

On the 2nd guide member 11, the 2nd traversing machine 25 provided with the wheels 22 and 22 under the trolley | bogie 23 is provided so that the movement along the 2nd guide member 11 is possible.
In the second traversing machine 25, a columnar second elevator 26 is erected on the carriage 23, and a block-like second support part 27 is attached to the upper end portion of the second elevator 26, and this second support part 27. Supports a support rod 28 that extends horizontally at the other corner of the lid 3A.
The lid body 3A of the present embodiment has a rectangular shape close to a square in plan view, and the support rod 18 and the support rod 28 are formed at diagonal positions thereof, so the first support portion 17 and the second support portion 27 are The lid 3A having a rectangular shape in plan view is disposed at a substantially diagonal position. Further, since the support rods 18 and 28 are attached to the lid 3A so as to substantially follow the diagonal L of the lid 3A, the virtual line connecting the first support 17 and the second support 27 is the diagonal of the lid 3A. L is almost common.

The second elevator 26 has a jack structure equivalent to that of the first elevator 16. The elevator rod 26 </ b> B moves up and down relative to the cylinder member 26 </ b> A of the second elevator 26 to move the second support portion 27 up and down a predetermined distance. it can.
The carriage 13 of the first traversing machine 15 and the carriage 23 of the second traversing machine 25 are connected by an L-shaped frame member 30 in plan view, and when the first traversing machine 15 moves along the first guide member 10, The second traversing machine 25 can follow and move synchronously along the second guide member 11.

In the processing system shown in FIG. 1, the first guide member 10 and the second guide member 11 are installed on the chamber bodies 4 and 5 in the same manner as the chamber body 3.
Of the side surfaces 4a, 4b, 4c and 4d of the chamber body 4, a first guide member 10 is provided on the floor along the side surface 4b opposite to the side surface 4a on the side where the gate valve 2 is provided. A second guide member 11 is installed on the floor along the extended surface of the side surface 4a on the side where the valve 2 is provided. The second guide member 11 provided for the chamber body 4 is disposed adjacent to the side surface 3d of the previous chamber body 3, and the distal end portion of the second guide member 11 is provided for the chamber body 3. It is disposed near the end of the guide member 10.
A structure equivalent to the opening / closing mechanism provided for the chamber body 3 described above is also applied to the first guide member 10 and the second guide member 11 provided for the chamber body 4.
That is, a first traversing machine 15, a first elevator 16, a first support portion 17, a pedestal 19, and a reversing machine 20 having wheels 12 and a carriage 13 are provided on the first guide member 10. On the 2nd guide member 11, the 2nd traversing machine 25 provided with the wheel 22 and the trolley | bogie 23, the 1st elevator 26, the 2nd support part 27, and the mount frame 29 are provided.

  Of the side surfaces 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d of the chamber body 5, a first guide member 10 is provided on the floor along the side surface 5b opposite to the side surface 5a on the side where the gate valve 2 is provided. A second guide member 11 is installed on the floor along the extended surface of the side surface 5a on the side where the valve 2 is provided. The second guide member 11 provided for the chamber body 5 is disposed adjacent to the side surface 4 d of the previous chamber body 4, and the distal end portion of the second guide member 11 is provided for the chamber body 4. 10 near the end.

A structure equivalent to the opening / closing mechanism provided for the chamber body 3 described above is also applied to the first guide member 10 and the second guide member 11 provided for the chamber body 5.
That is, a first traversing machine 15, a first elevator 16, a first support portion 17, a pedestal 19, and a reversing machine 20 having wheels 12 and a carriage 13 are provided on the first guide member 10. On the 2nd guide member 11, the 1st traversing machine 25 provided with the wheel 22 and the trolley | bogie 23, the 1st elevator 26, the 1st support part 27, and the mount frame 29 are provided.
Since the opening / closing mechanism provided in the chamber bodies 4 and 5 is equivalent to the opening / closing mechanism provided in the chamber body 3, the opening / closing operation of the lid body 3 </ b> A of the chamber body 3 will be described below. The case will be described below as a representative example.

In order to open the lid 3A of the chamber body 3 for maintenance or the like using the opening / closing device configured as described above, the decompression of the chamber body 3 used for etching or film formation is released. When the pressure is returned to the atmospheric pressure and the processing gas or the like is supplied to the inside via a pipe or the like, the gas supply is stopped and the lid 3A is made removable.
In an initial state where the opening of the lid 3A is started, the lid 3A is placed on the opening of the chamber body 3 so as to close the upper surface opening of the chamber body 3. As shown in FIG. 1, the first traversing machine 15 is located at the start end (the left end in FIG. 1) of the first guide member 10, and the second traversing machine 25 is the start end (the left end in FIG. 1) of the second guide member 11. Part).
The first elevator 16 and the second elevator 26 are extended at the position of the first traversing machine 15 and the second traversing machine 25 shown by solid lines in FIG. 1, and the lid 3A is raised as shown by the arrows in FIG. The lid 3 </ b> A is separated from the opening of the chamber body 3.

If the lid 3A is raised to a sufficient height, as shown in FIG. 3, the first traversing machine 15 and the second traversing machine are provided along the first guide member 10 and the second guide member 11 to their end sides. 25 is run, and the lid 3A is moved to the side of the chamber body 3.
By moving the first traversing machine 15 and the second traversing machine 25 to the terminal end side of the first guide member 10 and the second guide member 11, the lid 3A can be attached to the chamber body 3 as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. It moves to an empty space on the side side and on the side side of the load lock chamber 6.

  If the lid 3A is moved to the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1 or the position shown in FIG. 3, the reversing machine 20 is operated as shown in FIG. 4 to rotate the lid 3A around the support rods 18 and 28 as the rotation center axis. And turn it over as shown in FIG. At this time, the lid 3A is rotated with the diagonal line of the lid 3A along the support rods 18 and 28 as the rotation center axis. Here, the width and height of the space required for the lid 3A to rotate are the width of the space necessary for the lid 102 to move upward as it is with the hinge 103 as the rotation center as in the conventional structure shown in FIG. And narrower than the height. For this reason, even when rotating a large lid 3A such as 2 to 3 m on one side and turning it over, the lid 3A can be rotated in a narrower space than the conventional structure, so a clean room with a low ceiling, or Even in a clean room in which various pipes and facilities are arranged around the chamber body 3A, it can be applied without any problem.

If the lid 3A is turned upside down, the position of the lid 3A can be lowered to a required height using the first elevator 16 and the second elevator 26, so that the position can be adjusted to a height that facilitates maintenance work.
Since various devices such as a pipe for supplying gas to the internal space of the chamber body 3 and a shower head may be mounted on the inner surface side of the lid 3A, the lid 3A including these devices may be installed. Maintenance work can be performed.
When the maintenance work is completed, the lid 3A is raised as shown in FIG. 5, and subsequently the lid 3A is inverted as shown in FIG. 4. From the state shown in FIG. 2 Run the traversing machine 25 in the state shown in FIG. 2, return the lid 3A directly above the chamber body 3, and lower the lid 3A from this state to close the opening of the chamber body 3 with the lid 3A. Can do. With the above operation, the opening / closing operation and the maintenance work of the lid 3A can be completed.

  In the above description, the timing of turning the lid 3A upside down has been described as being performed after the lid 3A is completely moved to the side of the chamber body 3 as shown in FIG. However, the lid 3A may be operated so as to be turned over by gradually rotating the lid 3A while moving the lid 3A to the side. If the lid 3A is moved to the side of the chamber body 3 by a fraction of the width of the lid 3A, the chamber body 3 and the lid 3A will not interfere with each other even if the lid 3A is rotated. During the movement, the lid 3A may be turned over by gradually rotating the lid 3A using the reversing machine 20. Since such a rotating operation can simultaneously move and rotate the lid 3A, the lid 3A, which is a heavy object, can be turned over smoothly and smoothly.

The opening / closing operation and the maintenance work performed on the lid body 3 </ b> A of the chamber body 3 can be similarly performed on the lid body 4 </ b> A of the chamber body 4. Further, the opening / closing operation and the maintenance work performed on the lid body 3 </ b> A of the chamber body 3 can be similarly performed on the lid body 5 </ b> A of the chamber body 5.
As described above, in the processing system A of the present embodiment, when a plurality of chamber bodies 3, 4, 5 are provided, the lids 3A, 4A, 5A of the chamber bodies 3, 4, 5 are opened and closed. Smooth operation and maintenance work.

For any of the lids 3A, 4A, and 5A, the lids 3A, 4A, and 5A are moved to empty spaces on the sides of the chamber bodies 3, 4, and 5, and opening and closing operations and maintenance work are performed using the empty spaces. Therefore, the space around the processing system A can be used effectively.
In addition, when the processing system A is viewed in plan, the lids 3A, 4A, and 5A are moved to the lateral sides of the chamber bodies 3, 4, and 5 instead of outside the chamber bodies 3, 4, and 5, Compared with the configuration in which the lids 3A, 4A, and 5A are moved outside the chambers 3, 4, and 5, the processing system A can be installed in a small area, and the installation space can be effectively used.

"Second embodiment"
8 to 13 show a cluster type multi-chamber processing system B provided with a lid opening and closing device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the processing system B of this embodiment, around the transfer chamber 1 is shown. The chamber main bodies 3, 4, 5 and the load lock chamber 6 are provided, and the lids 3A, 4A, 5A are provided on the chamber main bodies 3, 4, 5 respectively, which is the same as the structure of the first embodiment. is there.
Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the first embodiment is performed except that the position where the chamber body 4 and the load lock chamber 6 are connected to the transfer chamber 1 is reversed from the position of the processing system A shown in FIG. The processing system A according to the embodiment and the processing system B according to the second embodiment have the same structure as a processing system that etches or forms a film such as a substrate.

The structure of the second embodiment is different from the structure of the first embodiment in a mechanism for moving the lids 3A, 4A, and 5A up and down and a mechanism for moving the lids along the guide members 10 and 11.
Other structures differ only in the positional relationship, and the structure of the first embodiment is the same as the structure of the second embodiment. Therefore, the same reference numerals are given and descriptions of common parts are omitted. In the second embodiment, the opening / closing devices for opening and closing the lids 3A, 4A, and 5A have the same structure. Therefore, the following description will be given by using a device that opens and closes the lid 3A of the chamber body 3 as a representative. To do.
The structure of the first embodiment is the same as the structure of the second embodiment with respect to the guide members 10 and 11 provided to open and close the lid 3A of the chamber body 3.

  In the structure of the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, the carriage 43 is longer than the carriage 13 of the first embodiment, slightly shorter than the entire length of the guide member 10, and formed in a U-shaped cross section. It is installed on the guide member 10 so as to cover the guide member 10. A plurality of wheels 42 are provided at the front and rear of the carriage 43, and the carriage 43 is provided so as to be movable along the guide member 10. A traverse motor device 44 is provided on the carriage 43, and two chain members 44 </ b> B are stretched around sprocket wheels 44 </ b> A and 44 </ b> A attached to the rotation shaft of the motor device 44. Each chain member 44 </ b> B is wound around a plurality of wheel members 42 </ b> A provided on the front side and the rear side of the carriage 43, and is rotated along the guide member 10 by rotating each wheel by driving the motor device 44. The carriage 43 is configured to be movable.

  A motor device 50 for raising and lowering is provided at the front end side of the carriage 43, and an output shaft of the motor apparatus 50 is connected to a box-type gear mechanism 52 provided at the rear end portion of the carriage 43 via a connection shaft 51. Yes. The gear mechanism 52 is accommodated in a base portion of a column-type first elevator 46 erected on the rear end side of the carriage 43, and a shaft member 52 </ b> A connected to the upper portion of the gear mechanism 52 extends along the inside of the first elevator 46. Is extended upward. The gear mechanism 52 receives the rotational force of the connecting shaft 51 connected horizontally, transmits this rotational force to the shaft member 52A connected to the gear mechanism 52 above, and rotates the shaft member 52A around the axis. It has a function. A plurality of gears are incorporated in the gear mechanism 52, and a gear for converting a rotational force around the axis of the connecting shaft 51 arranged horizontally into rotation around the axis of the shaft member 52A arranged vertically. Device.

The first elevator 46 includes a hollow lifting rod 46B that is slidably accommodated up and down with respect to the hollow cylinder member 46A, and the rotational force of the shaft member 52A is applied to the upper and lower portions of the lifting rod 46B on the inner bottom side of the lifting rod 46B. A feed screw mechanism for converting to a lifting operation is incorporated.
The lifting rod 46B of the first elevator 46 is moved up and down by the rotational force of the motor device 50, and the gantry 19 and the first support portion 17 and the support rod 18 supported by the first support portion 17 are moved up and down. Let

The carriage 53 of the second traversing machine 55 provided on the guide member 11 side has a plurality of wheels similarly to the carriage 43, and is provided movably along the guide member 11. Further, the carriage 43 and the carriage 53 are integrally connected by an I-type frame member 57, and the carriage 53 moves along the guide member 11 as the carriage 43 moves along the guide member 10.
The motor device 50 provided on the carriage 43 has a second connection shaft 58 extending along the frame member 57 toward the carriage 53. A second elevator 66 is provided on the tip side of the carriage 53, and a second connection shaft 58 is connected to a box-type gear mechanism 62 provided on the bottom side of the second elevator 66. Similarly to the first elevator 46, the second elevator 66 also includes a hollow cylinder member 66A, a hollow elevator rod 66B, and a gear mechanism 52, and the elevator rod 66B is raised and lowered according to the driving force of the motor device 50.
With the above configuration, the connecting shaft 51 and the connecting shaft 58 that rotate by receiving the driving force of the motor device 50 are synchronously rotated, so that the lifting rod 46B of the first elevator 46 and the lifting rod 66B of the second elevator 66 are synchronized. Move up and down.

  The lifting device B of the second embodiment can move the lid 3A of the chamber body 3 up and down in the same manner as the device of the first embodiment by the lifting and lowering operation of the first elevator 46 and the second elevator 66 by the motor device 50. It is configured. Further, the lid 3A can be rotated and reversed by the structure described below, as in the apparatus of the first embodiment.

A characteristic structure in the processing system B of the second embodiment is that the lid 3A can be rotated so as to synchronize with the movement of the carriage 43 and the carriage 53 along the guide members 10 and 11.
A third sprocket wheel is provided on the output shaft of the motor device 44, one end side of the third chain member 59 is wound around the third sprocket wheel, and the other end side of the chain member 59 is adjacent to the first elevator 46. The clutch mechanism 61 of the gear mechanism 60 is connected. The gear mechanism 60 includes a miter gear. A reverse drive shaft 63 is erected on the gear mechanism 60, and the reverse drive shaft 63 is connected to a gear mechanism 65 provided on the gantry 19. The output shaft is connected to the reversing machine 20 so that the rotation angle of the support rod 18 operated by the reversing machine 20 can be adjusted.
That is, by transmitting the rotational driving force of the motor device 44 to the reversing machine 20 via the clutch device 61, the reversing machine 20 is operated in synchronization with the movement of the carriage 43 and the carriage 53 along the guide members 10 and 11. The rotation angle of the supporting lid 3A can be adjusted.
For example, when the carriages 43 and 55 are moved to slightly move the lid body 3A from above the chamber body 3, the lid body 3A starts to rotate in synchronization with the lid body 3A being removed from the upper position of the chamber body 3. Can be operated so as to almost complete the rotation of the lid 3A.

FIG. 11 shows a state in which the lid 3A is moved above the chamber body 3 and then moved to a side of the chamber body 3 by a fraction of the width of the lid 3A, and the lid 3A is moved in FIG. FIG. 13 shows a state where the cover 3A is turned upside down.
As an example, from the state where the lid 3A is raised above the chamber body 3 as shown in FIGS. 14 (A) and 14 (D), the width of the lid 3A as shown in FIGS. 14 (B) and 14 (E). After the lid body 3A is moved in the horizontal direction, the rotation of the lid body 3A is started.
Next, as shown in FIGS. 15 (A), 15 (D) to 15 (B), (E), the rotation of the lid 3A is advanced along with the horizontal movement of the lid 3A, and FIGS. 15 (C), (F). As shown in FIG. 4, when the lid 3A is moved to the side of the chamber body 3 to a position where it is removed from the upper side of the chamber body 3, the lid 3A can be operated so as to end the rotation.

As shown in FIGS. 14 to 15, if the movement and rotation of the lid 3A are performed at the same time, the flipping of the lid 3A can be completed simultaneously with the end of the movement of the lid 3A. For this reason, maintenance work can be started immediately after the movement of the lid 3A is completed.
In addition, also in the processing system B of the second embodiment, it is possible to obtain the same effects as the processing system A of the first embodiment. For example, there is an advantage that the opening / closing mechanism can be installed without interfering with the maintenance area of the gate valve 2. Further, since the lid body 3A can be moved by supporting the diagonal position of the lid body 3A and the movement of the traversing machines 45 and 55, the height limit when rotating the lid body 3 can be reduced, and the lid can be closed during maintenance work. The body 3A can be adjusted to a suitable height.
Furthermore, even in the cluster type multi-chamber processing system B, the maintenance work can be performed by moving the lids 3A, 4A, and 5A to the lateral side instead of the outside of the apparatus, so that it can be applied without expanding the installation area. Have.

In the processing system B of the second embodiment, the power of the motor device 44 that moves the traversing machines 45 and 55 is used, and the driving force of the motor device 44 is transmitted to the reversing device 20 by the gear mechanisms 60 and 65 to cover the lid. Since 3A can be rotated, the lid 3A can be smoothly rotated as the traversing machines 45 and 55 move.
Further, even when the processing system B is enlarged, the first guide member 10 and the second guide member 11 can be installed on the floor without interfering with the maintenance area of the gate valve 2, so that the guide members 10, 11 Larger size can be realized without hindrance.

In the processing system B of the second embodiment, after the lid body 3A is lifted by the elevators 46 and 66, the lid body 3A starts to rotate while the lid body 3A is laterally moved while being moved sideways by the traversing machines 45 and 55. Alternatively, the lid 3A may be reversed after the lateral movement of the lid 3A is completed. When it is not necessary to reverse the lid 3A, the lid 3A may be moved laterally, and maintenance work may be performed in a state where the lateral movement is completed.
Of course, there is no need for maintenance work of the lid 3A, and it is needless to say that only the operation of opening the lid 3A may be performed.

"Third embodiment"
FIGS. 16 to 18 show a cluster type multi-chamber processing system C provided with a lid opening / closing device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In the processing system C of this embodiment, around the transfer chamber 1. It is the same as the structure of the second embodiment in that the chamber bodies 3, 4, 5 and the load lock chamber 6 are provided, and the lid bodies 3A, 4A, 5A are provided on the chamber bodies 3, 4, 5 respectively. is there. In FIG. 16, the chamber bodies 4 and 5 and the lids 4A and 5A are not shown, and only the chamber body 3, the lid 3A, and the load lock chamber 6 are shown.
The processing system C of the third embodiment and the processing system B of the second embodiment have the same structure as a processing system that etches or forms a film such as a substrate.

In the structure of the third embodiment, the mechanism for moving the lid 3A up and down and the mechanism for moving the lid 3A along the guide members 10 and 11 have a similar structure, but a part of the mechanism is different.
In the structure of the third embodiment, the same parts as those of the second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description of the structures of the equivalent parts is omitted. In the third embodiment, the opening / closing devices for opening and closing the lids 3A, 4A, and 5A have the same structure. Therefore, the following description will be made with a device for opening and closing the lid 3A of the chamber body 3 as a representative. To do.
The structure of the third embodiment and the structure of the second embodiment are equivalent for the guide members 10 and 11 provided to open and close the lid 3A of the chamber body 3.

In the structure of the third embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, a carriage 73A and a carriage 73B are connected in a U-shape in plan view with a frame member 73C, and are covered on the guide members 10 and 11 with the carriages 73A and 73B. Thus, the carriages 73 </ b> A and 73 </ b> B are installed on the guide members 10 and 11. As shown in FIG. 18, the carriages 73 </ b> A and 73 </ b> B are provided with a plurality of wheels 72 at positions along the guide members 10 and 11, and the carriages 73 </ b> A and 73 </ b> B are provided movably along the guide members 10 and 11. ing. A traverse motor device 74 is provided at a position near the guide member 10 above the frame member 73C.
One output shaft 74a of the motor device 74 is connected to a gear mechanism 77 provided at the rear end portion of the carriage 73B via a miter gear 75 combining a pair of bevel gears and a connection shaft 76. A vertically arranged gear shaft 78 is erected on the upper portion of the gear mechanism 77, and the gear shaft 78 is connected to a reversing machine (rotating mechanism) 20 connected to the first support portion 17. The reversing machine 20 is driven by rotation and the lid 3A can be rotated via the support rod 18 in the same manner as the structure of the second embodiment.

  A miter gear is incorporated in the gear mechanism 77, and rotation around the axis of the connection shaft 76 can be converted into rotation around the axis of the gear shaft 78. The gear shaft 78 is configured as a screw shaft type, and a cylinder shaft 79 having a screw groove formed on the inner peripheral surface is fitted on the upper side of the gear shaft 78. The cylinder shaft 79 can move up or down along the gear shaft 78 as the gear shaft 78 rotates.

  The other output shaft 74b of the motor device 74 is extended to the central portion side of the carriage 73, and a screw gear 80 is attached to the tip thereof. On the floor below the screw gear 80, a rack 81 is laid in parallel and horizontally with the guide members 10 and 11. A transmission shaft 82 is installed in the vertical direction in the vicinity of the screw gear 80 as shown in FIG. 17B, and a pinion 83 that meshes with the teeth of the rack 81 is attached to the lower end of the transmission shaft 82. A gear 85 that meshes with the screw gear 80 is attached to the upper end portion.

With the above mechanism, the pinion 83 can be rotated through the transmission shaft 82 by the rotation of the output shaft 74b of the motor device 74, and the carriages 73A and 73B can be caused to travel. Further, the rotational force of the output shaft 73a of the motor device 74 can be transmitted to the connection shaft 76 via the miter gear 75, and the connection shaft 76 can be rotated. By transmitting the rotational force of the connecting shaft 76 to the reversing machine 20 via the gear shaft 78 and the cylinder shaft 79, the lid 3A can be rotated via the support rod 18.
Therefore, in the structure of the third embodiment, the driving force of the motor device 74 is used to transmit the rotational force of the output shaft 74b to the pinion 83 via the screw gear 80, the gear 85, and the transmission shaft 82 as the rotational force. It is possible to use the meshing force of the rack 83 and the rack 81 as the driving force of the carts 73A and 73B. In this embodiment, the motor device 74, the output shaft 74b, the screw gear 80, the gear 85, the transmission shaft 82, the pinion 83, and the rack 81 constitute a moving propulsion mechanism for the carriages 73A and 73B.

  In the third embodiment, the mechanism for raising and lowering the lid 3A is equivalent to the structure of the previous second embodiment. A first elevator 46 and a second elevator 66 are provided, and the first support unit 17 and the support shaft 18 can be raised and lowered by the first elevator 46, and the second support unit 27 and the second support shaft 28 are moved by the second elevator 66. The point which can be raised and lowered is the same as the structure of the second embodiment. The point that the first elevator 46 and the second elevator 66 can be operated by rotating the connecting shafts 51 and 58 by the motor device 50 installed on the carriage 73 to raise and lower the lid 3A is the same as the structure of the second embodiment. It is the same.

  A reference numeral 90 in FIG. 16 is a work table provided on the side of the load lock chamber 6, and a reference numeral 91 is a work table provided along the fourth side surface 3 d of the chamber body 3. What is denoted by reference numeral 92 is a work table provided on the side of the guide member 11.

According to the third embodiment having the above configuration, the pinion 83 rotates along the rack 81 by rotating the output shaft 74b of the motor device 74, so that the carriages 73A and 73B can be moved. Each workbench is equipped with stairs as needed to allow maintenance workers to move.
In the structure of the third embodiment, simultaneously with the movement of the carriage 73 along the guide portions 10, 11, the rotation of the output shaft 74 a of the motor device 74 is transmitted to the connection shaft 76 via the miter gear 75. Therefore, the lid 3A can be rotationally driven.
FIG. 18A shows an initial state in which the lid 3A is installed on the chamber body 3. From this initial state, the first elevator 46 and the second elevator 66 are extended to attach the lid 3A to the chamber body 3. Lift upward as shown in FIG. 18 (B).
When the carriage 73 is gradually moved along the guide members 10 and 11 from this state as shown in FIG. 18C, the lid 3A can be gradually rotated at a rotation angle corresponding to the moving distance of the lid 3A. it can.
When the position of the lid 3A is moved to the side of the chamber body 3 as shown in FIG. 18C, the lid 3A can be turned upside down by rotating the lid 3A by 180 °. From this state, the lid 3A can be maintained by moving it to a required height position as shown in FIG. Maintenance work can be appropriately performed using the work table 92. Further, the maintenance work of the chamber body 3 can be performed using the work table 91.

According to the structure of the third embodiment, the same effect as the structure of the second embodiment can be obtained.
In addition, in the structure of 3rd embodiment, the inside out by rotation of the cover 3A can be completed in the state which moved the cover 3A to the side of the chamber main body 3. FIG. That is, since the lid 3A can be moved and rotated little by little at the same time, the lid 3A can be rotated and turned over in a shorter time than when the lid 3A is moved and rotated individually. In particular, since the chamber main body of the fifth generation apparatus and thereafter is enlarged, the lid 3A is also a heavy object of several t to 10 t, for example. For this reason, the rotational speed of the lid 3A cannot be increased more than a certain degree. For this reason, rather than performing the rotation operation after the movement of the lid 3A, it is possible to rotate the lid 3A more efficiently by performing the rotation operation gradually at the same time as the movement. That is, since the lid 3A can be rotated with the movement of the lid 3A, the rotation time of the lid 3A can be shortened by simultaneous operation.
In the structure of the third embodiment, the number of drive sources can be reduced as much as possible to reduce the malfunction of the control system, and the movement and rotation of the lid 3A can be performed smoothly and safely. In particular, it is possible to eliminate malfunctions by reducing the number of control system parts, and it is possible to prevent contact accidents between the lid 3A and the chamber body 3 due to malfunctions. In addition, reducing the number of control system components and drive sources contributes to a reduction in apparatus cost.

A ... processing system, 1 ... transfer chamber, 2 ... gate valve, 3, 4, 5 ... chamber body, 6 ... load lock chamber, 10 ... first guide member, 11 ... second guide member, 12, 22 ... wheel, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13, 23 ... Carriage, 14 ... Motor apparatus, 15 ... 1st traversing machine, 16 ... 1st elevator, 16A ... Cylinder member, 16B ... Lifting rod, 17 ... 1st support part, 18, 28 ... Support rod, 20 ... Reversing machine (rotating mechanism), 25 ... second traversing machine, 26 ... second elevator, 26A ... cylinder member, 26B ... lifting rod, 27 ... second support, 30 ... frame member,
B ... processing system, 42 ... wheel, 43, 53 ... bogie, 44 ... motor device, 45 ... first traversing machine, 46 ... first elevator, 46A ... cylinder member, 46B ... lifting rod, 50 ... motor device, 51 ... Connection shaft, 52 ... gear box, 55 ... second traversing machine, 57 ... frame member, 59 ... chain device, 61 ... clutch device, 66 ... second elevator, 66A ... cylinder member, 66B ... lifting rod, 73A, 73B ... Dolly, 74 ... motor device, 80 ... screw gear, 81 ... rack, 82 ... transmission shaft, 83 ... pinion.

Claims (6)

A lid-opening / closing device having a rectangular shape in plan view, which is detachably provided on the chamber main body, on both sides of the lid on the chamber main body, at a diagonal position of the lid in plan view. A first support part and a second support part are formed;
A linear first guide member and a second guide member, which are parallel to each other, are provided on both sides of the installation position of the chamber main body, and the first main guide member is located near the lower position of the first support portion as a starting point. The second guide member extends in a direction away from the chamber body starting from a lower position near the second support portion so as to extend laterally along the side of the chamber body, and And an imaginary line connecting the first support portion and the second support portion is disposed so as to be inclined with respect to the extending direction of the first guide member and the second guide member,
A first elevator that is provided so as to be movable along the first guide member, and a second elevator that is provided so as to be movable along the second guide member. The first support portion is supported by the second elevator, and the second support portion is supported by a second elevator installed upright on the second traversing machine, and the lid body is supported by the first traversing machine and the second traversing machine. The first guide member and the second guide member are supported so as to be movable in the extending direction. The first elevator and the second elevator support the lid so as to be movable up and down. The first elevator and the second elevator The lid opening / closing device is provided with a rotation mechanism for rotating the lid around the virtual line as a rotation center axis.     The first guide member is installed near one side surface of the chamber body, and the second guide member is installed near an extension surface of the other side surface of the chamber body. Lid opening / closing device. Motor unit for running the first transverse unit is provided in the first transverse unit, in conjunction with the movement of the rotating mechanism the first transverse machine transmits the rotation power from the motor unit to the first transverse unit 3. The lid opening / closing device according to claim 1, further comprising a power transmission mechanism that operates and rotates the lid during movement of the first traversing machine. A plurality of chamber bodies are connected via a gate valve formed on a side portion of the transfer chamber so as to surround the transfer chamber with respect to a transfer chamber having a hollow structure having a function capable of transferring an object to be processed, A multi-chamber processing system in which a lid is provided on each chamber body,
A multi-chamber processing system, wherein the lid opening / closing device according to claim 1 is applied to at least one of the plurality of chamber bodies.     The first guide member is provided on a side opposite to the gate valve installation side of the chamber body, and the second guide member is provided on the side of the gate valve installation part in the chamber body. Item 5. The multi-chamber processing system according to Item 4. A distal end portion of the second guide member formed on one of adjacent chamber bodies around the transfer chamber is disposed on a proximal end side of the first guide member of the other chamber body adjacent to the first chamber, 6. The multi-chamber processing system according to claim 5, wherein a position where the lid body is detached from the one chamber body by the traversing machine and the second traversing machine is a side position of another adjacent chamber body.

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