JPH0542657A - Substrate positioning method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] When printing on a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, the substrate is accurately positioned without damaging the substrate surface and raising dust. [Structure] A positioning claw 27 that moves horizontally while the substrate 1 is lifted up from the surface plate 11 by the push-up pin 19.
The substrate 1 is positioned and fixed by. After that, while positioning the substrate 1 by the positioning claw 27, the positioning claw is synchronized with the lowering of the push-up pin 19 and the substrate 1.
The substrate 1 is placed on the surface plate 11 by lowering 27. Thereby, the substrate 1 can be accurately positioned on the surface plate 11. Since the substrate 1 does not rub against the large surface plate 11, the substrate 1 is not scratched. Unlike the case where the substrate 1 is lifted by the air flow, dust does not rise.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for positioning a substrate, such as a glass substrate, during the process of processing the substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An example of a conventional substrate positioning device used in a device for printing ink or the like on a glass substrate surface will be described with reference to FIGS.

A metal surface plate that receives the glass substrate 1 on its upper surface
There is a 51, and a positioning mechanism is provided on two adjacent sides of this surface plate 51.
52 are provided respectively. These positioning mechanism 52
Each of them comprises an elevating body 54 which is vertically driven by an actuator 53, and a fork-shaped slider 56 which is horizontally driven by an actuator 55 in the directions indicated by arrows X and Y and in the opposite direction. The structure is such that a positioning roller 57 is axially mounted on the slider 56. Both sliders 56 move in directions orthogonal to each other. The lifting body 54, the slider 56, and the positioning roller 57 are located in the notches 58 formed on the two sides of the surface plate 51, and these positioning rollers 57 are located above the surface plate 51 from the notches 58. Protruding to.

When the glass substrate 1 is placed on the surface plate 51, the positioning rollers 57 projecting from the surface plate 51 are moved in the directions of the arrows X and Y by the driving of the actuators 55, respectively, and the glass substrate 1 is moved to the 2 Press from the side to position.
When this positioning is completed, the positioning roller 57 is driven by the actuator 53 to move down from the upper surface of the surface plate 51, the glass substrate 1 is fixed on the surface plate 51 by vacuum suction or the like, and the glass substrate 1 is printed by the printing roller 59 or the like. Is performed.

However, in the above-mentioned conventional substrate positioning device, the notch for allowing the positioning roller 57 to escape to the surface plate 51.
Since there are 58 and these cutouts 58 extend under the glass substrate 1, the pressure applied to the glass substrate 1 becomes insufficient at the portion overlapping the cutouts 58 during printing. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the printed state is not uniform, and the glass substrate 1 has a mark 60 (the portion shown by parallel diagonal lines) of the notch 58 of the surface plate 51. When positioning the glass substrate 1 by the positioning roller 57, the glass substrate 1
Since the entire surface rubs the surface plate 51 made of metal, the surface of the glass substrate 1 is scratched.

As a countermeasure against this, as shown in FIG. 7, for example, a method of positioning the glass substrate 1 by floating it from the surface plate 51 with an air blow 71 is used, but in this conventional method, there is a problem of dust generation. There is.

[0007]

As described above, in the above-described conventional substrate positioning apparatus, when positioning the substrate,
Since the substrate surface and the surface plate surface rub against each other, there is a problem that the substrate surface is scratched. Further, in order to solve this problem, even in the method of positioning the substrate by floating it from the surface plate, there is a problem such as dust generation because air blow is conventionally used.

The present invention is intended to solve such a problem, and is capable of accurately positioning the substrate without damaging the surface of the substrate and causing problems such as dust generation. It is intended to provide a method.

[0009]

A substrate positioning method according to the present invention comprises a surface plate for receiving a substrate on an upper surface, a push-up mechanism for lifting the substrate from the surface plate, and a positioning mechanism for mechanically positioning the substrate. A substrate positioning device provided with is used. Then, the substrate is positioned and fixed by the positioning mechanism while the substrate is lifted from the surface plate by the push-up mechanism. After that, while maintaining the state where the positioning mechanism positions and fixes the substrate, the positioning mechanism is lowered in synchronization with the lowering of the substrate by the push-up mechanism to position the substrate on the surface plate. ..

[0010]

In the substrate positioning method of the present invention, the substrate is positioned by the positioning mechanism while the substrate is lifted from the surface plate by the push-up mechanism, so that the surface plate surface and the substrate surface are not rubbed at the time of positioning. The substrate surface is not scratched. At this time, since the substrate is pushed up and lifted from the surface plate, unlike the case where the substrate is floated by air blow, there is no problem such as dust generation. In addition, while the positioning mechanism holds the substrate in a fixed position, the positioning mechanism is lowered in synchronization with the lowering of the substrate by the push-up mechanism to supply the substrate onto the surface plate, so that the substrate is accurately positioned on the surface plate. Will be done.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

First, the structure of the substrate positioning device will be described. The apparatus of this embodiment is applied to a printing machine.

The substrate positioning device includes a metallic printing platen 11 for receiving the supplied rectangular glass substrate 1 on its upper surface, a push-up mechanism 12 for lifting the glass substrate 1 from the platen 11, and the glass substrate 1. And a positioning mechanism 13 for mechanically positioning.

The surface plate 11 is formed with a plurality of, for example, three small-diameter holes 16 arranged in a triangular shape so as to vertically penetrate therethrough. The diameter of these small diameter holes 16 is sufficiently smaller than the size of the glass substrate 1 and has a size that does not affect the printing process of the glass substrate 1.

The push-up mechanism 12 has a horizontal elevating plate 18 which is vertically driven by an actuator 17 such as a cylinder. A plurality of the same elevating plates 18 located below the surface plate 11 are the same. Push-up pins 19 of a length are fixed by projecting upward, and these push-up pins 19 are inserted into the small-diameter holes 16 of the surface plate 11 from below.

The positioning mechanism 13 pushes the glass substrate 1 from its three sides in a horizontal direction to position the glass substrate 1.
Those with the same structure are located outside the three sides of the surface plate 11.
Here, each positioning mechanism 13 will be described in detail.

A slider 22 is horizontally mounted on a base 21 on the side of the surface plate 11 via a rail 23 so that arrows X1, X2,
It is movably supported in the direction indicated by Y and in the opposite direction. The slider 22 is driven by an actuator 24 mounted on the same base 21. Note that arrow X
The 1, X2 directions and the arrow Y direction are directions orthogonal to each other. Further, at the position of the slider 22 on the surface plate 11 side,
An elevating body 25 is supported via rails 26 so as to be vertically movable. The upper part of the lifting body 25 is located above the surface plate 11,
Positioning claws 27 are formed to hit the glass substrate 1 from the side and push the glass substrate 1.

A roller is attached to the lower end of the same elevator 25.
28 is mounted on the shaft, and this roller 28 is mounted on the lift plate 18 of the push-up mechanism 12. In this way, the push-up mechanism 12 and the positioning mechanism 13 are connected to each other. The lower surface 27a of the positioning claw 27 is located at the same height as the upper end of the push-up pin 19.

The means for connecting the push-up mechanism 12 and the positioning mechanism 13 is not limited to the roller 28, but may be a rail or the like.

Next, a substrate positioning method using the above-mentioned device will be described.

Before the glass substrate 1 is supplied to the surface plate 11,
As shown in FIG. 1, as the actuator 17 is driven, the lift plate 18 and the push-up pins 19 rise, and the push-up pins 19 project upward from the upper surface of the surface plate 11. In this state,
The glass substrate 1 is supplied onto the push-up pins 19 by a glass substrate feeder (not shown). The lower surface of the glass substrate 1 held by the push-up pins 19 is located at the same height as the lower surface 27a of the positioning claw 27.

After the glass substrate 1 is thus supplied, the slider 22 and the lifting body 25 are integrally driven by the actuator 24 while the glass substrate 1 is still floating from the surface plate 11 by the arrows X1, X2, Y. And the positioning claws 27 of the elevating body 25, which have been waiting, move to the glass substrate 1.
Push from three sides to move horizontally and position mechanically. At the same time, the positioning claws 27 hit the three sides of the glass substrate 1, so that the glass substrate 1 is fixed so as not to rattle in the positioned state.

After the positioning is completed in this way, the push-up pin 19 descends while the positioning claw 27 holds the glass substrate 1 in the fixed position. At this time, since the roller 28 at the lower end of the lifting body 25 having the positioning claw 27 is placed on the lift plate 18 to which the push-up pin 19 is fixed, it is completely synchronized with the lowering operation of the push-up pin 19 and the glass substrate 1. Then, the positioning claw 27 descends. Thus, the positioning claw 27
3 moves down until the glass substrate 1 is mounted on the upper surface of the surface plate 11, as shown in FIG. Therefore, the glass substrate 1 is accurately positioned on the surface plate 11.

When the glass substrate 1 is thus supplied onto the surface plate 11, the glass substrate 1 is fixed onto the surface plate 11 by vacuum suction. Next, the slider 22 and the lifting body 25
The positioning claw 27 moves away from the glass substrate 1 by moving in the direction opposite to the X1, X2, and Y directions. Then, in this state, printing is performed on the glass substrate 1.

Since the surface plate 11 in this apparatus does not have a large notch as in the conventional apparatus, a printing load is uniformly applied to the entire surface of the glass substrate 1 and good printing can be performed. Further, since the glass substrate 1 is positioned not on the surface plate 11 but on the push-up pins 19, when positioning is performed,
There is little contact between the surface of the glass substrate 1 and other objects, and the surface of the glass substrate 1 is not scratched. That is, unlike the conventional case, the surface of the glass substrate 1 and the upper surface of the metal platen are not rubbed over a large area, so that the surface of the glass substrate 1 is not scratched.

At the same time, since the push-up pin 19 is used to lift the glass substrate 1 from the surface plate 11, unlike the case where the glass substrate 1 is floated by air blow, there is no problem such as dust generation.

The push-up pin 19 may be made of metal, but the push-up pin 19 that contacts the glass substrate 1 may be used.
A greater effect can be obtained by making the tip end portion or the entire push-up pin 19 of a relatively soft material such as resin. Further, although the glass substrate 1 is positioned while being pushed up, after that, the glass substrate 1 is supplied onto the surface plate 11 while maintaining the positioned state, so that the positional deviation does not occur during the supply. .. Therefore, the glass substrate 1 is accurately positioned on the surface plate 11.

In the above embodiment, an example in which the invention is applied to a printing machine has been described, but the invention is not limited to this, and the invention can be applied to other processing steps other than printing. Even in a processing step other than printing, the uniform upper surface of the surface plate 11 receives the entire lower surface of the glass substrate 1, so that the glass substrate 1 is in a uniform state, and therefore the processing conditions are also uniform. The entire surface of the substrate 1 can be uniformly processed, and the yield and quality can be improved.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the positioning of the glass substrate 1 has been described, but the invention can be applied to substrates other than glass such as printed circuit boards and wafers.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to accurately position the substrate without damaging the substrate surface and without causing problems such as dust generation, improving yield and quality. Can be realized.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 3, showing a substrate positioning device used in an embodiment of a substrate positioning method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 1, showing a state in which a substrate is positioned and fixed and supplied onto a surface plate.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the substrate positioning device.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an example of a conventional substrate positioning device.

5 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory plan view of a substrate showing a problem in the conventional example.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing an example of countermeasures against problems in the conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Board 11 Surface plate 12 Push-up mechanism 13 Positioning mechanism

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A push-up device, comprising: a substrate positioning device having a platen for receiving a substrate on its upper surface, a push-up mechanism for lifting the substrate from the platen, and a positioning mechanism for mechanically positioning the substrate. In a state where the substrate is lifted from the surface plate by a mechanism, after positioning and fixing the substrate by the positioning mechanism, the positioning mechanism holds the state of positioning and fixing the substrate, and A substrate positioning method characterized by lowering the positioning mechanism in synchronization with lowering to position the substrate on the surface plate.