JPH0310251A - Plate-like work carrier device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the reliability of the carrying and to shorten carrying time by providing a holding and carrying mean with four carrier claws which inwardly moving the means from the outside of a plate-like work at a prescribed stroke with the aid of a driving mechanism, oppositely pinching the four coner parts and supporting the corners from bottom surface sides. CONSTITUTION:The device moves inwardly from the outside of the plate-like work 1 at a prescribed stroke with the aid of the driving mechanism and oppositely pinches its four corners. The plate-like work 1 is held by the holding/ carrying means 2 provided with four carrier claws 12 which support the corner parts from the bottom sides. The holding/carrying means 2 can be raised, sent, lowered and returned between a first work stage 16 and other work stage 17, and the plate-like work 1 can be carried from the first stage 16 to other work stage 17. Therefore, the rellabillity of carrying the plate-like work 1 can be improved, and the carrying time can be shortened.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a plate-shaped workpiece such as a glass substrate that is transported from a loader section to an exposure section or from an exposure section to an unloader section in a substrate exposure apparatus or the like. The present invention relates to a conveyance device, and particularly to a plate-like workpiece conveyance device that can improve reliability of conveyance and shorten conveyance time.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, in order to transport a plate-shaped workpiece such as a glass substrate from a loader section to an exposure section in a substrate exposure apparatus, a conveyor belt stretched from the loader section toward the exposure section is used, and the upper surface of the conveyor belt is A plate-shaped workpiece was placed thereon and conveyed by rotating the belt. Alternatively, using a suction pad for vacuum suction, apply the suction pad to the corner of the plate-shaped workpiece to vacuum-suck it, lift the plate-shaped workpiece at that position, send it to the exposure section, and lower it to release the vacuum suction. Due to this, it was being transported.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, when conveying plate-shaped workpieces using the conventional conveyor belt described above, there is variation in stopping accuracy at the target position.
In some cases, it was not possible to stop the machine at the desired position (general transport).Therefore, it was necessary to position the machine at the correct position after transport, which reduced the reliability of transport and took extra time. In addition, since the plate-shaped workpiece was placed on the upper surface of the conveyor belt, the dust that had been attached to the conveyor belt described in "2" sometimes adhered to the plate-shaped workpiece.

Furthermore, the movement of the conveyor belt may cause slippage between the conveyor belt and the plate-like workpiece, generating dust, and foreign matter may be mixed in.

On the other hand, in suction conveyance using a suction pad, it is necessary to confirm whether the corners of the plate-shaped workpiece have been reliably suctioned, which increases the time required for conveyance. Furthermore, for example, since the first surface of the resist on a glass substrate is directly vacuum-sucked with a suction pad, the resist surface may be scratched, reducing the reliability of conveyance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a plate-like workpiece conveying device that can solve these problems, improve reliability of conveyance, and shorten conveyance time.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, a plate-like workpiece conveying device according to the present invention holds a plate-like workpiece by a plate-like workpiece holding and conveying means, and places the holding and conveying means between one work stage and another work stage. In the plate-shaped work conveying device that conveys the plate-shaped work from one work stage to another by raising, feeding, lowering, and returning the work, the holding and conveying means moves the plate-shaped work by a drive mechanism. It is provided with four conveyance claws that approach the inside from the outside with a predetermined stroke and sandwich the four corner portions of the four opposite corners, and support the corner portions from the lower surface side.

Furthermore, it is effective if the portion of the conveying claw that holds the plate-shaped workpiece at its tip is made of a cushioning material.

[For production]

The plate-like workpiece conveying device configured in this manner approaches the plate-like workpiece inward from the outside at a predetermined stroke using the sliding mechanism, pinches the four corner parts of the plate-like workpiece, and pinches the four corners of the workpiece. A plate-shaped workpiece is held by a holding and transporting means comprising four transporting claws that support the part from the bottom side, and the holding and transporting means is moved up, forwarded, lowered, and moved between one work stage and another work stage. The return operation is performed to transport the plate-shaped workpiece from one work stage to another work stage.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a plate-like workpiece conveying device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view thereof. This plate-like work conveying device is used to convey a plate-like work such as a glass substrate from one work stage to another in a substrate exposure apparatus or the like, and includes a holding and conveying means 2 for a plate-like work 1, and a holding and conveying means 2 for holding and conveying the plate-like work 1. It comprises a lift mechanism 3 of the means 2 and a feed mechanism 4 of the holding and conveying means 2.

”2 The holding and conveying means 2 is a plate-shaped wire 1 such as a glass substrate.
A cylinder 6 is attached to the base member 5 and serves as a beating source, an actuating lever 8 is attached orthogonally to the tip of a rod 7 that expands and contracts due to the operation of the cylinder 6, and A spring 10.10 is stretched from both ends of the operating lever 8 to the mounting plates 9, 9 of the transport claws 12.12 on both sides, and is tensioned between the mounting plates 9, 9 and the base member 5. A cross roller guide 11.11 is provided so that the direction of the back and forth movement of the mounting plates 9, 9 is directed inwardly at about 45 degrees, and L is provided on the upper surface of the mounting plates 9, 9 on both sides. It has conveyor claws 12.12 extending in a letter shape and holding the corner portions of the plate-shaped workpiece 1 at the tip thereof. As shown in FIG. 1, the mechanisms from the cylinder 6 to the transport claws 12 are provided facing each other so as to sandwich the plate-shaped workpiece 1 inward, and a total of four transport claws 12 are provided. ing. The transport claw 12 includes the cylinder 6, the operating lever 8, the spring 10,
A drive mechanism consisting of a mounting plate 9 and a cross roller guide 11 approaches the inside of the plate-like work 1 from the outside at a predetermined stroke and pinches the four corners of the workpiece 1 facing each other. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3, the tip of the conveyance claw 12 has an inner corner 13 formed in a low stepped shape, and as shown in FIG.
3 supports the corner portion of the plate-like workpiece 1 from the bottom side. As shown in FIG. 3, a portion 14 ("
(including the corner portions 13 described in 2) may be formed of a cushioning material such as rubber. In this case, it is possible to reduce the risk of scratching the plate-shaped work such as a glass substrate. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, stoppers 15 are provided on the inner sides of the proximal ends of the conveying claws 12, so that the conveying claws 12 move toward the plate-shaped workpiece 1 in a predetermined direction. The movement is stopped after it has advanced one stroke.

The holding and conveying means 2, as shown in FIG.
For example, the stage immediately after the plate work 1 is taken out from the loader section, and the other work stage 1.
7 For example, two sets are provided side by side at the same spacing as the stage of the exposure section that exposes the circuit pattern of the mask onto the glass substrate, and can be raised and lowered by the lift mechanism 3 shown in FIG. . As shown in FIG. 2, this lift mechanism 3 is provided on the lower side of the holding and conveying means 2, 2, and includes a cam 19 rotatably provided on a mounting base 18, and a cam 19 that rotates. A link mechanism 2o that operates, a crank mechanism 21 that rotates due to the operation of this link mechanism 20, a connecting bar 22 that transmits the operation of this crank mechanism 21, and another crank mechanism 21' connected by this connecting bar 22. By rotating the cam 19 in a predetermined direction, the two sets of holding and conveying means 2, 2 are raised or lowered as indicated by arrows A and B.

Furthermore, the holding and conveying means 2 can be moved forward and back by a feeding mechanism 4 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG.
2, a motor 23 as a drive source, a ball screw 24 rotated by the motor 23, and a linear guide 25 that guides horizontal movement due to the rotation of the ball screw 24. It consists of bells 1 to 26 for transmitting the rotation of the ball screw 24 to the ball screw 24 on the other side, and by rotating the motor 23 in a predetermined direction, two sets of holding and conveying means 2,
2 is made to perform forward or return operations as indicated by arrows C and D.

Next, the operation of the plate-like workpiece conveying device configured as described above will be explained with reference to FIG. 5.

First, in FIG. 1, it is assumed that the plate-shaped workpiece 1 placed on one work stage 16 is held and conveyed to another work stage 17, and the holding and conveying means 2 is placed on the first work stage 16. the plate-like workpiece 1. At this time, the conveying claws 12 of the holding and conveying means 2 are moved back and are located outward from the four corners of the plate-shaped workpiece 1. In this state, as shown in FIG. 5, the cylinder 6 is driven to extend the rod 7. Then, the actuating lever 8 attached to the tip of the lot 7 moves inward and pulls the springs 10 and 10 provided at both ends, and the other end of the spring 10 engages the conveying claws on both sides. 12. Pull out the mounting plates 9, 9 of 12. At this time, the mounting plates 9, 9
The cross roller guide 11. is provided on the lower surface side of the cross roller guide 11.
11 and advance inwardly toward each other in a direction of about 45 degrees. As a result, the conveying claws 12, 12 provided on the upper surfaces of the mounting plates 9, 9 and extending to both sides move from the outside of the plate-like workpiece 1 to the inside, as shown by arrows E and G in FIG. They approach and pinch the corner portions of the plate-like workpiece 1. Note that the movement of the transport claws 12.12 in the directions of arrows E and G is as follows:
Stoppers 15, 15 provided on the inner sides of the proximal ends of the conveying claws 12.12 stop the conveying claws 12.12 after a predetermined stroke. As a result, the conveyance claw 12
．． The tip of the plate-shaped workpiece 1 is prevented from directly contacting and pressing the corner portion of the plate-like workpiece 1. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the corner portion indicated by -3 is supported and held from the lower surface side by the corner portion of the tip end of the conveyance claw 12. At this time, the four opposing transport claws 12 shown in FIG. 1 all approach inward in synchronization and hold all four corners of the plate-shaped workpiece 1.

After holding the plate-like workpiece 1 in this way, next
The cam 19 of the lift mechanism 3 shown in the figure is rotated in a predetermined direction, and the rotation of the cam 19 operates the link mechanism 20 and the crank mechanism 21. Raise it like A. Thereby, in FIG. 1, the plate-like workpiece 1 placed on one of the work stages 16 can be held by the holding and conveying means 2 and lifted above the work stage 16.

Next, in this state, the motor 23 of the feed mechanism 4 shown in Figure No. 1 is rotated in a predetermined direction, and the rotation of the motor 23 rotates the ball screw 24. The rotation of the ball screw 24 causes the plate-shaped The holding and conveying means 2 holding the workpiece 1 is sent toward another work stage 17 as shown by arrow C. At this time, the feeding operation is guided in the horizontal direction by a linear guide 25 provided on the outside, and stops when the held plate-like work 1 is located above the center of the other work stage 7. .

In this way, when the plate-shaped workpiece 1 held by the holding and transporting means 2 is transported to the other work stage 17'',
Next, the cam 19 of the lift mechanism 3 shown in FIG. lower as shown by arrow B. As a result, in FIG. 1, the plate-like workpiece 1 conveyed from one work stage 16 in the direction of arrow C is lowered and placed on the other work stage 17, and the holding and conveying means 2 performs the lowering operation. Stop.

Next, in this state, as shown in FIG. 5, the cylinder 6 is driven to contract the rod 7. Then, the operating lever 8 attached to the tip of the rod 7 retreats outward, and the springs 10 and 10 provided at both ends of the lever 8 move outward.
, and push back the mounting plates 9, 9 on both sides with the other end of the spring]-〇. At this time, "-Number A] Plate 9,
9 are guided by the cross 10-ra guides 11.11 and retract outwardly from each other in a direction of about 45 degrees. As a result, the conveying claws 12, 12 provided on the upper surfaces of the mounting plates 9, 9 retreat outward from the corners of the plate-like workpiece 1, as shown by arrows F and H in FIG. The hold on the corner portion of the plate-like workpiece 1 is released. At this time, the four opposing transport claws 12 shown in FIG. 1 all retreat outward in synchronization, releasing all of the holding on the four corners of the plate-shaped workpiece 1.

After releasing the holding of the plate-like workpiece 1 in this way, the motor 23 of the feed mechanism 4 shown in FIG. 24, the holding and conveying means 2 is moved to the first work stage 1 as shown by the arrow.
Return to 6.

At this time, the return movement is guided by a linear guide 25 provided on the outside, and stops when the holding and conveying means 2 returns to one of the work stages 16. This returns to the initial state of the conveyance operation of the plate-like workpiece 1. Thereafter, the above-mentioned operation is repeated to hold the first work stage 16 and the second plate-like workpiece 1 smoothly and transport it to the other work stage 17. As shown, in the case where two sets of holding and conveying means 2, 2 are arranged side by side and connected to each other by a base member 5, a connecting bar 22, and a linear guide 25, the holding and conveying means 2 on the left side in FIG. arrow C between the working stage 16 and the other working stage 17.
, D, the holding and conveying means 2 on the right hand side is interlocked with the other work stage 17 and the next work stage, for example, the stage immediately before storing the plate-shaped work 1 in the unloader section. A conveyance operation is performed between the two as shown by arrow J. In this case, the plate-shaped workpieces 1 on two work stages can be transported simultaneously.

Further, the holding and conveying means 2 is not limited to two sets arranged side by side as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, but may be arranged in just one set or three or more sets depending on the number of work stages. It's okay.

Furthermore, the drive mechanism for the conveying claws 12 in the holding and conveying means 2 is not limited to the structure shown in FIG. Any structure may be used as long as the four corner portions can be sandwiched facing each other. Further, the rift mechanism 3 and the feed mechanism 4 are not limited to those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, but may have any structure as long as they can perform the same functions.

〔Effect of the invention〕

Since the present invention is configured as follows, 1lilfl
The moving mechanism approaches the inside of the plate-shaped warp 1 from the outside with a predetermined stroke, pinches the four corner parts of the board facing each other, and supports the four conveying claws 12 from the bottom side. A plate-like workpiece 1 is held by a holding and conveying means 2, and the holding and conveying means 2 is moved to one work stage 1.
6 and other work stages 17, raising, feeding, lowering,
By performing a return operation, the plate-shaped workpiece 1 can be transported from one work stage 16 to another work stage 17. Therefore, the conveying means does not come into direct contact with the surface of the plate-like workpiece 1 such as a glass substrate, unlike in conventional conveyance belts, suction pads, etc.
2. It is possible to prevent foreign matter such as dust from adhering to the plate-shaped workpiece 1. In addition, especially when the portion 14 that holds the plate-shaped work 1 at the tip of the conveying claw 12 is formed of a cushioning material, the risk of damaging the surface of the plate-shaped work 1 can be eliminated. From this, the quality and yield of the product can be improved. In addition, since the plate-shaped work 1 can be held securely by simply supporting the four corners of the plate-shaped work 1 from the lower surface side with the four transfer claws 12 of the holding and conveying means 2, the transfer using the conventional suction para It is possible to convey the suction and holding smoothly without checking each time.Furthermore, in the feeding operation of the holding and conveying means 2, there is no variation in the stopping accuracy at the target position, and the conveyance is stopped at the desired position correctly. Because you can
Conveyance reliability can be improved. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to improve the reliability of transporting a plate-shaped workpiece and shorten the transport time.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the plate-like workpiece conveying device according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a front view thereof, Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of the main part showing the tip of the conveying claw, and Fig. 4 is the same. FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view of the main part showing the tip of the conveyance claw, and FIG. 1... Plate-shaped workpiece, 2... Holding and conveying means,
3 Lift mechanism, 4... Feeding mechanism, 6... Cylinder, 8... Operating lever, 9... Mounting plate, 10...
Spring, 11...Cross roller guide,
12... Conveyance claw, 14... Part that holds the plate-shaped workpiece, 15... Stopper, 16... One work stage, 17... Other work stage. ]6

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A plate-shaped workpiece is held by a plate-shaped workpiece holding and conveying means, and the holding and conveying means is moved up, forwarded, lowered, and returned between one work stage and another work stage to form the above-mentioned plate-like workpiece. In a plate-like workpiece conveying device that conveys a workpiece from one work stage to another, the holding and conveying means approaches the inside of the plate-like workpiece from the outside with a predetermined stroke by a drive mechanism, and moves the workpiece to the four corners of the workpiece. A plate-like workpiece conveyance device comprising four conveyance claws that sandwich a corner portion facing each other and support the corner portion from the lower surface side. (2) The plate-like workpiece conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the portion of the conveyance claw that holds the plate-like workpiece at the tip thereof is formed of a cushioning material.