JP6189646B2 - Transport device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a coating system that coats a coating solution such as a resist solution on a substrate in a manufacturing process of a flat panel display or the like is known. The coating system applies the coating liquid with the coating device while the glass substrate floated by the levitation device is transported by the transport device. In such a coating system, the substrate is brought into contact with a holding member that has been processed with high precision, the transport height of the substrate is held within a predetermined range, and the coating liquid is uniformly coated on the substrate. There is a transport device. For example, it is like patent document 1.

  In the conveyance device described in Patent Document 1, an adsorption member is disposed inside a through hole formed in the holding member in order to adsorb the substrate with the adsorption member (adsorption pad) while contacting the substrate with the holding member (stopper). Yes. Further, the holding member is fixed with a screw or the like using a fixing hole formed separately from the through hole. For this reason, the holding member has a complicated machining shape, and distortion due to machining increases. Therefore, the transport apparatus has a problem that as the processing shape of the holding member becomes complicated, the substrate is deformed by the strain of the holding member, and it becomes difficult to hold the transport position of the substrate within a predetermined range.

JP 2011-213435 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide a transport device that can easily maintain the transport position of a substrate within a predetermined range by reducing distortion due to processing of a holding member.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is as described above. Next, means for solving the problem will be described.

  That is, the present invention includes an adsorption member, a holding member, an adsorption holding mechanism having a supporting member that supports the adsorption member and the holding member, and a transport mechanism that moves the adsorption holding mechanism, and adsorbs the substrate with the adsorption member. A holding device that conveys the substrate while holding the substrate in a predetermined position, and the adsorption member includes an adsorption unit that adsorbs the substrate, a fixing unit that fixes the adsorption unit to the support member, The holding member is fixed by being sandwiched between the fixing portion of the adsorption member and the support member.

  According to the present invention, a through hole is formed in a contact surface of the holding member that contacts the substrate, and the suction member is disposed inside the through hole.

  In the present invention, the fixing portion is formed with an engaging portion in which a jig for detaching the adsorbing member from the supporting member can be engaged from the outside of the through hole.

  In the present invention, the engaging portion has two parallel planes facing each other.

  As effects of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

  In the present invention, the processing of the hole used only for fixing the holding member becomes unnecessary, and the processing shape of the holding member is simplified. Thereby, the distortion | strain by processing of a holding member can be reduced and the conveyance position of a board | substrate can be easily maintained in a predetermined range. In addition, foreign matter accumulation can be reduced.

  In the present invention, the holding member is fixed to the support member using the through hole. Thereby, the distortion | strain by processing of a holding member can be reduced and the conveyance position of a board | substrate can be easily maintained in a predetermined range.

  In the present invention, the adsorption member is attached and detached from the outside of the through hole by the jig. Thereby, the adsorption member can be exchanged without removing the holding member.

The perspective view which shows schematic structure of the coating system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The side view which shows the application | coating state of the coating system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The perspective view which shows the adsorption holding mechanism of the coating system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. (A) Partial sectional view showing the configuration of the suction holding mechanism of the coating system according to one embodiment of the present invention (b) The suction holding mechanism of the coating system according to one embodiment of the present invention sucks and holds the substrate. The partial cross section figure which shows a state. (A) Sectional drawing which shows the jig | tool which attaches / detaches the adsorption | suction member of the coating system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention (b) The state with which the jig | tool was engaged with the adsorption | suction member of the coating system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention (C) The partial cross section figure which shows the state where the adsorption member of the application system which relates to one execution form of this invention is attached to the holding member. The figure which shows the graph which showed the conveyance height from the reference plane in the predetermined part of a board | substrate.

  First, with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a coating system 1 that is an embodiment of a transport apparatus according to the present invention will be described. In the following description, the upstream side and the downstream side will be described with reference to the substrate transport direction (the arrow direction in FIGS. 1 and 2). In addition, in this embodiment, although the conveying apparatus 6 in the coating system 1 is demonstrated as one Embodiment of a conveying apparatus, it is not restricted to this.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the coating system 1 applies a coating solution while transporting a floated substrate W (for example, a glass substrate). The coating system 1 mainly includes a levitation device 2, a transport device 6, and a coating device 10.

  The levitation device 2 jets gas to float the substrate W. The levitation device 2 includes an upstream subunit 3, a main unit 4, and a downstream subunit 5 (hereinafter simply referred to as “units”). The levitation device 2 is arranged so that each unit is adjacent to the upstream subunit 3, the main unit 4, and the downstream subunit 5 in this order from the upstream side.

  Each unit includes a substantially rectangular stage body having fine injection holes (not shown) that can inject gas. Each unit is configured such that when gas is supplied, gas (for example, compressed air) is ejected from the planes 3a, 4a, and 5a of the stage main body of each unit in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface. Furthermore, each unit is provided with a gas suction hole (not shown).

  Thereby, as shown in FIG. 2, each unit controls the substrate W that has been transported to the planes 3a, 4a, and 5a of each unit by controlling the buoyancy caused by gas injection and the attractive force caused by gas suction. 4a and 5a can be levitated in parallel (see the white arrow in FIG. 2). Each unit is formed such that the length of the stage body in the direction perpendicular to the transport direction (hereinafter simply referred to as “width direction”) is smaller than the length in the width direction of the substrate W.

  The upstream subunit 3 floats the substrate W that has been transported by a roller conveyor or the like (not shown). The main unit 4 floats the substrate W with high accuracy in order to uniformly apply the coating liquid onto the substrate W transported from the upstream side subunit 3. The main unit 4 is configured so that the variation in the flying height of the substrate W is reduced by arranging the injection holes and the suction holes at a narrower interval than the upstream subunit 3 and the downstream subunit 5. ing. The downstream subunit 5 floats the substrate W transported from the main unit 4 for delivery to a roller conveyor or the like (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 1, the transport device 6 sucks and transports the substrate W. The transport device 6 includes a transport mechanism 7 and a suction holding mechanism 9. In the transport device 6, a plurality of suction holding mechanisms 9 are provided in the transport mechanism 7. That is, the transport device 6 is configured so that the plurality of suction holding mechanisms 9 can be moved integrally by the transport mechanism 7.

  The transport mechanism 7 moves the suction holding mechanism 9. The transport mechanism 7 is disposed on each side of the levitation device 2 in the width direction. The transport mechanism 7 is configured such that the moving table 8 provided on the rail 7a can reciprocate in the range from the upstream subunit 3 to the downstream subunit 5 by an actuator (for example, a linear motor) (not shown). ing. In addition, the transport mechanism 7 is configured such that the moving tables 8 on both sides can move in the same direction and at the same speed.

  The suction holding mechanism 9 sucks and holds the substrate W at a predetermined position. The suction holding mechanism 9 is provided on the moving table 8 of the transport mechanism 7. In the present embodiment, the suction holding mechanism 9 is provided with three suction holding mechanisms 9 in each transport mechanism 7. The suction holding mechanism 9 includes a suction member 14 and a holding member (stopper 17) (see FIG. 3). The adsorption holding mechanism 9 adsorbs both end portions in the width direction of the substrate W by the adsorption member 14 and brings it into contact with the holding member, whereby the position of the substrate W from the reference plane (in this embodiment, the plane 4a) (this embodiment). In the embodiment, it is configured such that the conveyance height) can be maintained within a predetermined range.

  The coating device 10 applies a coating solution. The coating device 10 is configured in a substantially portal shape. The coating device 10 is configured to stand from both sides of the floating device 2 in the width direction. The coating device 10 is provided above the main unit 4 of the levitation device 2 such that a slit 10a (discharge port) extends in the width direction in the transport direction. Thereby, the coating device 10 is configured so that the coating liquid can be sequentially applied to the entire region in the width direction of the substrate W transported on the main unit 4.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the coating system 1 configured as described above sucks and holds the end in the width direction of the substrate W by the suction holding mechanism 9 of the transport device 6 while the substrate W is floated by the floating device 2. . At this time, the coating system 1 sucks and holds the substrate W so that the transport position of the substrate W is equal to the height of the substrate W that has been levitated by the main unit 4 of the levitating device 2 (upward by a dimension H from the plane 4a). Hold by mechanism 9. Then, the coating system 1 transports the substrate W held by the suction holding mechanism 9 on the planes 3 a, 4 a, and 5 a of the stage main body of each unit of the levitation device 2 by the transport mechanism 7 of the transport device 6. The coating system 1 discharges the coating liquid from the slit 10 a onto the substrate W when the substrate W passes below the slit 10 a of the coating apparatus 10.

  Next, the suction holding mechanism 9 of the transport device 6 will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the suction holding mechanism 9 includes a fixing member 11, an air cylinder 12, a support member 13, a suction member 14, and a stopper 17 that is a holding member.

  The fixing member 11 supports the air cylinder 12 and the like. The fixing member 11 is formed in a substantially L shape in a side view. The fixing member 11 is provided such that the short side portion is fixed to the moving table 8 of the transport device 6 and the long side portion is perpendicular to the moving table 8.

  The air cylinder 12 as an actuator moves the support member 13 up and down. The air cylinder 12 is fixed to the long side portion of the fixing member 11. The air cylinder 12 includes a guide mechanism, and is provided on the fixing member 11 so that the unillustrated rod exit direction is a direction close to the substrate W (the arrow direction in FIG. 3). In the present embodiment, the actuator is the air cylinder 12 with a guide mechanism, but is not limited to this.

  The support member 13 supports the adsorption member 14 and the stopper 17 integrally. A plate surface 13 a for fixing the adsorption member 14 and the stopper 17 is formed on the support member 13. The support member 13 is connected to the air cylinder 12 such that the plate surface 13 a faces the substrate W. Accordingly, the support member 13 is configured such that the plate surface 13 a can be brought close to the substrate W by the air cylinder 12. The support member 13 is provided with an adjustment mechanism 13c for finely adjusting the distance from the reference surface to the plate surface 13a when the support member 13 is close to the substrate W.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the adsorption member 14 adsorbs the substrate W. The adsorbing member 14 includes an adsorbing pad 15 that is an adsorbing part that adsorbs a substrate, and a pad attachment 16 that is a fixing part that fixes the adsorbing pad 15 to the support member 13. The suction pad 15 is made of a cylindrical member having a bellows formed on one end side. The suction pad 15 is made of an elastic member such as rubber. The other end of the suction pad 15 is attached to one end of the pad attachment 16.

  The pad attachment 16 has a pad attachment portion 16a on one end side and a male screw portion 16b on the other end side. Further, the pad attachment 16 is provided with a stepped portion 16c between which the other end of the suction pad 15 is pressed between the pad attachment portion 16a and the male screw portion 16b. A contact surface 16d that is pressed against the stopper 17 is formed on the male threaded portion 16b side of the stepped portion 16c. A gas passage (not shown) that is communicated from one end side to the other end side is formed in the pad attachment 16. Accordingly, the suction member 14 can suck the substrate W by the suction pad 15 by sucking from the other side of the pad fixture 16.

  The stopper 17 that is a holding member holds the substrate W at a predetermined dimension H from the reference surface. The stopper 17 is made of resin (for example, a peak material) so as not to damage the substrate W. In general, a resin is likely to be warped during processing. Therefore, in order to process the stopper 17 with high accuracy, it is important to make the shape of the stopper 17 as simple as possible.

  The stopper 17 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The stopper 17 is formed with one side surface as a mounting surface 17a. The stopper 17 is disposed so that the mounting surface 17 a is in close contact with the plate surface 13 a of the support member 13. At this time, the stopper 17 is arranged so that the long side is parallel to the transport direction. The stopper 17 is formed such that a side surface thereof facing the mounting surface 17a is a contact surface 17b with the substrate W. That is, the stopper 17 is disposed so that the contact surface 17 b faces the substrate W.

  The stopper 17 is processed so that the parallelism of the contact surface 17b with respect to the attachment surface 17a and the flatness between the attachment surface 17a and the contact surface 17b are within a predetermined range. The stopper 17 is configured to hold the substrate W at a predetermined dimension H from the reference surface by bringing the substrate W into contact with the contact surface 17b while being fixed to the support member 13 (FIG. 4B). reference).

  The stopper 17 has seven through holes 18 formed from the contact surface 17b toward the mounting surface 17a (see FIG. 3). The through hole 18 is composed of a small diameter portion 18a on the mounting surface 17a side and a large diameter portion on the contact surface 17b side and 18b. That is, the through hole 18 has a stepped portion 18c formed in the middle. The large diameter portion 18 b of the through hole 18 is formed as a hole having an inner diameter that is larger than the maximum outer diameter of the pad attachment 16 and smaller than the short side of the stopper 17. Thereby, the through-hole 18 is formed in the stopper 17 while maintaining a rectangular parallelepiped outer shape. The small diameter portion 18 a of the through hole 18 is formed as a hole having an inner diameter that is larger than the outer diameter of the male screw portion 16 b of the pad attachment 16 and smaller than the outer diameter of the contact surface 16 d of the pad attachment 16. In the present embodiment, the stopper 17 has seven through holes 18, but is not limited thereto.

  In the stopper 17, the male screw portion 16 b of the pad attachment 16 is inserted into the small diameter portion 18 a of the through hole 18, and the suction pad 15 (and the pad attachment portion 16 a of the pad attachment 16) is inserted into the large diameter portion 18 b of the through hole 18. The stepped portion 16c of the pad attachment 16 is inserted. At this time, the pad fitting 16 is screwed into the female screw portion 13 b of the support member 13 at the male screw portion 16 b. Thereby, the contact surface 16d of the pad attachment 16 is pressed against the stepped portion 18c of the through hole 18 by the fastening force of the screw. The stopper 17 is fixed to the support member 13 by being sandwiched between the contact surface 16 d of the pad attachment 16 and the plate surface 13 a of the support member 13. That is, the stopper 17 is fixed to the support member 13 only by the adsorption member 14. In the present embodiment, the fixing method of the stopper 17 by the suction member 14 is by screws, but any configuration may be used as long as the stopper 17 is fixed to the support member 13 by the suction member 14.

  The through hole 18 of the stopper 17 is formed so that one end side of the suction pad 15 disposed inside the through hole 18 protrudes by a predetermined dimension S from the contact surface 17b. As described above, since the suction pad 15 protrudes from the contact surface 17b, the suction pad 15 can reliably hold the substrate W even when the substrate W is above the stopper 17 due to warping. The suction pad 15 sucks the substrate W, so that the bellows portion contracts by a predetermined dimension S due to the negative pressure. As a result, the suction pad 15 can bring the substrate W into contact with the contact surface 17 b of the stopper 17.

  As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4B, the suction holding mechanism 9 configured as described above has the support member 13 brought close to the substrate W by the air cylinder 12 and the substrate W levitated by the levitating device 2. Is adsorbed by the adsorbing member 14. The suction holding mechanism 9 holds the substrate W at a predetermined dimension H from the reference surface by bringing the substrate W into contact with the contact surface 17 b of the stopper 17 by the suction member 14.

  From the above, the stopper 17 of the suction holding mechanism 9 does not require hole processing other than the through hole 18 for arranging the suction member 14, and the processing shape is simplified. Accordingly, the stopper 17 can suppress the occurrence of distortion due to hole processing, and can easily increase the accuracy of the parallelism of the contact surface 17b with respect to the attachment surface 17a and the flatness between the attachment surface 17a and the contact surface 17b. That is, the transport device 6 can reduce the deformation of the substrate W due to the distortion of the stopper 17.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, each measurement point (predetermined position on the white arrow in FIG. 1) in the transport direction at a position 5 mm in the width direction from the end of the substrate W (position P in FIG. 1). The width of the variation in height from the reference surface of the substrate W is reduced to about 1/3 compared with the conventional suction holding mechanism in which the stopper 17 is fixed with a dedicated screw. Accordingly, the transport device 6 according to the present invention can reduce the strain due to the processing of the stopper 17 and maintain the transport position in consideration of the deflection amount of the substrate W within a predetermined range. Moreover, since the processing shape of the stopper 17 is simplified, it is possible to suppress the accumulation of foreign matters on the contact surface 17b.

  Next, the attachment / detachment of the adsorption member 14 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. The adsorption member 14 is attached and detached using a jig 19.

  As shown in FIG. 5 (a), the pad attachment 16 of the suction member 14 is formed with two sets of engaging portions 16e and 16e composed of two parallel planes facing each other on the stepped portion 16c. The dimension between the planes of the engaging portions 16e and 16e is formed larger than the outer diameter of the suction pad 15 of the suction member 14. In the present embodiment, the pad attachment 16 has two sets of engaging portions 16e and 16e, but is not limited to two sets.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the jig 19 attaches and removes the adsorption member 14. The jig 19 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape having an outer diameter portion smaller than the large diameter portion 18 b of the through hole 18 of the stopper 17. As shown in FIG. 5A, one end of the jig 19 is formed with two engaging claws 19a and 19a facing each other. The distance between the two engaging claws 19a and 19a is set to such a dimension that the engaging portions 16e and 16e of the pad attachment 16 can be inserted.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5B and FIG. 5C, the jig 19 is arranged between the engaging claw 19a and the engaging claw 19a in the axial direction of the jig 19. A ditch (a hole in this embodiment) for avoiding interference between the suction pad 15 and the suction pad 15 is formed. By being formed in this way, the jig 19 can engage the engaging claws 19 a with the engaging portions 16 e and 16 e of the pad fixture 16. In the present embodiment, there are two engagement claws 19a and 19a of the jig 19, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, when the suction member 14 (the suction pad 15 attached to the pad attachment 16) is fixed inside the through hole 18 of the stopper 17, the suction member 14 passes through the stopper 17. The hole 18 is inserted from the male screw portion 16b side of the pad attachment 16 (in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 4A).

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5C, the engaging claws 19 a and 19 a of the jig 19 are inserted into the through hole 18. In the suction member 14, the engaging claws 19 a and 19 a are engaged with the engaging portions 16 e and 16 e of the pad attachment 16 in the through hole 18. Then, the suction member 14 is rotated in a direction in which the male screw portion 16 b of the pad fixture 16 is screwed into the female screw portion 13 b of the support member 13 via the jig 19. As a result, the adsorption member 14 is fixed inside the through hole 18 of the stopper 17 without removing the stopper 17.

  When removing the suction member 14 fixed inside the through hole 18 of the stopper 17, first, the engaging claws 19 a and 19 a of the jig 19 are inserted into the through hole 18 of the stopper 17. In the suction member 14, the engaging claws 19 a and 19 a are engaged with the engaging portions 16 e and 16 e of the pad attachment 16 in the through hole 18. Then, the suction member 14 is rotated in a direction in which the male screw portion 16 b of the pad fixture 16 is detached from the female screw portion 13 b of the support member 13 via the jig 19. As a result, the suction member 14 is removed from the inside of the through hole 18 of the stopper 17 without removing the stopper 17.

  As described above, the suction member 14 can be easily attached to the inside of the through hole 18 through the through hole 18 of the stopper 17 by the jig 19 having a simple shape. Similarly, the adsorption member 14 can be removed from the inside of the through hole 18 by the jig 19. Thereby, the adsorption member 14 can be replaced without removing the stopper 17. Further, as another embodiment of the adsorbing member 14, a configuration may be employed in which an engaging portion for a hexagon wrench is formed in a gas passage (not shown) of the pad attachment 16.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 6 Conveyance apparatus 7 Conveyance mechanism 9 Adsorption holding mechanism 13 Support member 14 Adsorption member 15 Adsorption pad 16 Pad attachment 17 Holding member W Substrate

Claims (3)

An adsorption holding mechanism having an adsorption member, a holding member, and a supporting member for supporting the adsorption member and the holding member, and a transport mechanism for moving the adsorption holding mechanism, and adsorbing the substrate with the adsorption member to contact the holding member A transfer device for transferring the substrate while holding the substrate in a predetermined position;
The adsorption member has an adsorption part that adsorbs the substrate, and a fixing part that fixes the adsorption part to the support member,
A through-hole having a stepped portion is formed on the contact surface with which the substrate of the holding member contacts,
The adsorbing member is disposed inside the through hole in a state where the adsorbing member fixing portion is pressed against the stepped portion of the through hole, so that the holding member is fixed only to the adsorbing member. the support member and the sandwiched by the conveying device being fixed. The conveying device according to claim 1 , wherein the fixing portion is formed with an engaging portion that allows a jig for attaching and detaching the suction member to and from the support member to be engaged from the outside of the through hole. The transport device according to claim 2 , wherein the engaging portion has two parallel planes facing each other.

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