JPH0710267A - Transfer device for use in clean room - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a transfer device for use in a clean room, which can hold plate-shaped electronic parts such as glass substrates one by one and position and place them on each stage such as processing devices with efficiency and accuracy. CONSTITUTION:A transfer device for use in a clean room includes a positioning device 1 having a lifting positioning mechanism provided on an elevating mechanism and using the lifting positioning mechanism to lift and position plate-shaped electronic parts conveyed in by means of a truck 8 and each held in a horizontal position, and a handling device 3 having a horizontal moving mechanism 32 provided on another elevating mechanism 31 and having a hand plate 34 on a moving body 33 traveling on the horizontal moving mechanism 32, for the plate-shaped electronic parts positioned by the positioning device 1 to be held on the hand plate 34 and moved.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is used in a process in a clean room for manufacturing a liquid crystal display or the like, and transfers a plate-shaped electronic component such as a glass substrate transported by a transport vehicle to a stage such as a process device. The present invention relates to a transfer device for a clean room.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in the process of manufacturing a liquid crystal display, a large number of thin film transistors and electrodes are formed on a glass substrate, and liquid crystals are sealed in the gaps between the stacked glass substrates. Most of it is done in a clean room as it needs to be done.

[0003]

When a glass substrate of this kind is sent to each stage of each process apparatus, conventionally, for example, about 10 glass substrates are cassettes (storage cases).
The transfer device has carried out the work of storing the glass cassette inside, carrying the cassette to the vicinity of the stage, taking out the glass substrates one by one from the cassette and mounting them on the stage.

Therefore, when the glass substrate becomes large,
There is a problem that a very large space is required for the transfer section, and a large glass substrate cannot be efficiently mounted on the stage of the process apparatus.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and holds plate-like electronic components such as glass substrates one by one,
An object of the present invention is to provide a transfer device for a clean room, which can be efficiently and accurately positioned and placed on each stage of a process device or the like.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a transfer device for a clean room according to the present invention is provided with a lifting and positioning mechanism on an elevating mechanism, and a plate-like electronic component in a horizontal state carried in by a transportation vehicle. , A positioning device for lifting and positioning by a lifting and positioning mechanism, a horizontal moving mechanism provided on another lifting mechanism, a hand plate mounted on a moving body traveling on the horizontal moving mechanism, and positioning by the positioning device. A plate-shaped electronic component, a handling device for holding and moving the electronic component on the hand plate,
In the lifting positioning mechanism, a pair of positioning support pieces are attached to the four corners of the frame body with their directions shifted by approximately 90 degrees,
Each positioning support piece is provided with a recess for supporting the edge of the plate-shaped electronic component.

[0007]

[Operation / Effect] In the transfer device for a clean room having such a configuration, when the transport vehicle on which the plate-shaped electronic components are horizontally mounted stops at a fixed position in the positioning device, the elevating mechanism of the positioning device is activated to lift it. The positioning mechanism rises and lifts the plate-shaped electronic components on the transport vehicle in a horizontal state. At this time, the edge portions at the four corners of the plate-shaped electronic component enter the recesses of the support pieces while contacting the respective positioning support pieces of the lifting / positioning mechanism. At this time, the positional deviation of the plate-shaped electronic component is corrected, and the plate-shaped electronic component is held by the lifting and positioning mechanism in a state of being accurately positioned.

Next, the horizontal moving mechanism of the handling device operates to move the moving body, so that the hand plate enters the inside of the lifting positioning mechanism, and the elevating mechanism operates to raise the hand plate together with the horizontal moving mechanism. By doing so, the plate-shaped electronic component is held on the hand plate. Then, the hand plate moves forward by the operation of the horizontal movement mechanism, and the plate-shaped electronic component is placed on the stage or the like located immediately before.

As described above, the positioning device can easily and accurately perform positioning of the conveyed plate-shaped electronic component only by raising the lifting and positioning mechanism.
In addition, the positioned plate-shaped electronic component is mounted on a stage or the like while being held by the hand plate of the handling device,
It can be transferred efficiently.

[0010]

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

FIG. 1 shows a front view of a transfer device for a clean room, FIG. 2 shows a right side view thereof, and FIG. 3 shows a plan view thereof. The transfer device includes a positioning device 1 for positioning a glass substrate G such as an LCD, which is transported by a monolace transport vehicle 8 traveling on a rail 9, while lifting it.
The handling device 3 holds the positioned glass substrate G on the hand plate 34 and inserts it into the stage S of the process device P.

The monorail carrier 8 has a pedestal on which a glass substrate G is placed, and a horizontally movable holding portion 7 on both sides, so that the glass substrate G is placed horizontally on the gantry. The edge portion is held by the holding portion 7 from both sides and conveyed.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the positioning device 1 is arranged so as to sandwich the rail 9, and the glass substrate G on the monorail carrier 8 which has traveled on the rail and has been carried in,
Lifting positioning mechanism 12 mounted on the lifting mechanism 11
Is configured so as to be positioned and held by being lifted.

The elevating mechanism 11 has a drive shaft 16 axially supported so as to traverse the lower side of the rail 9, and the motor 1 with a speed reducer.
3 is linked to a drive shaft 16 via a gear, pulleys 14 are fixed to both ends of the drive shaft 16, and a belt 17 is stretched between the pulley 14 and another pulley 15 which is pivotally supported above the drive shaft 16. Composed. Further, as shown in FIG.
The elevating frame 19 is guided horizontally by two guide shafts 18 disposed along both sides of the elevating frame 19 so that a part of the elevating frame 19 is connected to a part of the belt 17 and The rotation of the belt 17 raises and lowers the elevating frames 19 on both sides.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the lifting / positioning mechanism 12, a pair of positioning support pieces 21 are attached to the four corners of the frame body 20 which are divided into two parts with the directions thereof shifted by 90 degrees. A roller 22 that rotates in contact with the edge of the entering glass is supported in a substantially horizontal manner on the upper inclined portion of the glass, and the frame bodies 20 on both sides are horizontally fixed on the four support shafts 23. Consists of

Further, the positioning support piece 21 has a recess 21a into which the edge of the glass substrate G is inserted and placed from above, and the distance between the recess 21a and the recess 21a of each positioning support piece 21 is the glass substrate. It is precisely matched to the G dimension.
As a result, the positioning support piece 21 accurately positions and supports each edge of the glass substrate G that has entered while contacting the roller 22.

These four support shafts 23 are supported by a bearing portion 24 of the frame so as to be slidable up and down, and two pairs of support shafts 23 are provided.
The elevating frames 19 on both sides are fixed to the lower ends of the.
Therefore, the motor 13 of the lifting mechanism 11, the drive shaft 16,
By the operation of the belt 17, the lifting and positioning mechanism 12 provided with the positioning support pieces 21 at the four corners moves up and down.

The handling device 3 is installed at a position adjacent to the positioning device 1 so that the hand plate 34 is inserted inside the lifting and positioning mechanism 12. The handling device 3 is configured such that a horizontal movement mechanism 32 is provided on the elevating mechanism 31, and a hand plate 34 is attached on a moving body 33 of the horizontal movement mechanism 32 so as to horizontally project laterally.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the elevating mechanism 31 has four guide shafts 36 standing on a base 35, and an elevating frame 37 is horizontally supported by the guide shafts 36 so as to be vertically movable. ,
The screw rod 38 rotatably erected on the base 35 is screwed with a screw portion for attachment to a part of the elevating frame 37, and the motor 39 with a reduction gear rotationally drives the screw rod 38 to move up and down. It is configured to raise and lower the frame 37 in a horizontal state. As shown in FIG. 2, the elevating frame 37 has a structure in which a weight is attached to the tip end of a wire hung on a pulley, and the elevating frame is always urged upward by the weight.

A horizontal moving mechanism 32 is mounted on the elevating frame 37 via two legs 40 in the horizontal direction of the rail 9. In the horizontal movement mechanism 32, two rails 42 are laid inside the frame 41, and the moving body 33 is movably engaged on the rail 42. In addition, between the two rails 42, a wire 43 that is wound around a pulley that is axially supported at both ends of the frame body 41 is arranged, and the pulley is rotatably driven by a motor (not shown). Rotates. A part of the wire 43 is connected to the moving body 33, and the moving body 33 travels on the rail 42 by the rotation of the wire 43 by the motor.

As shown in FIG. 3, a hand plate 34 is mounted on the moving body 33 via an L-shaped arm. The hand plate 34 is arranged inside the lifting and positioning mechanism 12 of the positioning device 1 at a position where it can be horizontally inserted, and a plurality of suction holes for sucking by a suction mechanism (not shown) are provided on the upper surface.

Above the positioning device 1, the glass substrate G, which has been processed and carried out from the process device P, is
A mounting portion 6 is provided for temporarily mounting.

The transfer device having the above-mentioned configuration is arranged at a station position provided in front of the stage on the front of the process device, stock device, etc. in the clean room.

The monorail carrier 8 travels on the rail 9 while holding the glass substrate G in the upper holding portion 7 and stops at a fixed position in the positioning device 1. Then, the holding portion 7 of the monorail carrier 8 opens to both sides to release the glass substrate G, and in this state, the elevating mechanism 11 of the positioning device 1 operates, and the elevating frame 19 is elevated by driving the belt 17,
As a result, the lifting / positioning mechanism 12 moves up.

At this time, in the lifting / positioning mechanism 12, the four pairs of positioning support pieces 21 located at the four corners have the glass substrate G.
Of the glass substrate G, the edge portions of the four corners of the glass substrate G first come into contact with the roller 22 to enter the recesses 21a of the positioning support piece 21 while correcting the positional deviation. In the positioned state, it is held at the upper position as shown by the solid lines in FIGS.

Next, the horizontal moving mechanism 32 of the handling device 3 is actuated, and the moving body 33 moves rightward in FIG. 3 by the rotation of the wire 43. As a result, the hand plate 34 attached to the moving body 33 enters inside the lifting positioning mechanism 12, that is, directly below the glass substrate G, and stops.

Next, the lifting mechanism 31 of the handling device 3
The screw rod 38 is rotated by the drive of the motor 39, the lifting frame 37 is raised, and the hand plate 34 is raised together with the horizontal movement mechanism 32. At this time, hand plate 3
4 is a glass substrate G held by the lifting and positioning mechanism 12
Is held so as to be lifted from below, and the glass substrate G is sucked and held on the hand plate 34 by the suction of its suction hole, and stops at the upper position shown in FIG.

Next, the horizontal moving mechanism 32 of the handling device 3 is activated again, the moving body 33 moves to the right in FIG. 3 by the rotation of the wire 43, and the glass substrate G held on the hand plate 34 is moved. Stage S of process device P
When it reaches the top, it stops. Then, by operating the elevating mechanism 31 of the handling device 3, the hand plate 34 is lowered, and the glass substrate G is placed on the stage S.

After that, when the processed glass substrate is placed on the upper placing portion 6, the haddling device 3 operates the elevating mechanism 31 and the horizontal moving mechanism 32 to place the hand plate 34. The glass substrate G is moved to the position of the placing part 6, and the glass substrate G placed thereon is conveyed to the first position, that is, to the upper part of the monorail carrier 8 and held by the holding part 7 of the monorail carrier 8. Then, the monorail carrier 8 carries the glass substrate to the next step.

On the other hand, in the process apparatus P, when the processed glass substrate is taken out to the stage S, the handling apparatus 3 operates in the same manner as described above to move the hand plate 34 to the stage S, and the hand plate 34 is moved there. The glass substrate is held and conveyed to the upper placing portion 6 and temporarily placed there. In this way, the glass substrates G transported by the monorail transport vehicle 8 are sequentially loaded into the process apparatus P,
The glass substrate G that has been processed and carried out in the process device P
Is again mounted on the monorail carrier 8 and sent to the next step is repeated.

In this way, the glass substrate G conveyed by the monorail carrier 8 can be easily positioned and positioned only by the positioning device 1 raising the lifting and positioning mechanism 12. The glass substrate is the hand plate 34 of the handling device 3.
Can be held and carried into the stage S of the process apparatus P, or the glass substrate on the stage can be carried to the upper part of the monorail carrier 8 and efficiently transferred.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a transfer device showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a right side view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged front view of the positioning device 1.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view of the positioning device 1.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a lifting / positioning mechanism 12.

[Explanation of symbols]

1-positioning device, 3-handling device, 8-monorail carrier, 11-elevating mechanism, 12-lifting positioning mechanism, 21 positioning support piece, 22-roller, 31-elevating mechanism, 32-horizontal moving mechanism, 33-moving Body, 34, hand plate.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A positioning device is provided on a lifting mechanism, and a positioning device for lifting and positioning a plate-like electronic component in a horizontal state carried by a transport vehicle by the lifting positioning mechanism and another lifting mechanism. A horizontal movement mechanism is provided, a hand plate is mounted on a moving body that runs on the horizontal movement mechanism, and the plate-shaped electronic component positioned by the positioning device is
A handling device for holding and moving the hand plate, and a pair of positioning support pieces are attached to the lifting and positioning mechanism at four corners on the frame body with their directions shifted by approximately 90 degrees,
A transfer device for a clean room, wherein each of the positioning support pieces is provided with a recess for supporting an edge of the plate-shaped electronic component.