JPH0855894A - Carrier mechanism and method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a carrier mechanism for saving space and a carrier method using such carrier mechanism. CONSTITUTION:A carrier mechanism 20 carries a substrate S between a cassette stage 12, where two cassettes 13 and 14 for housing the LCD substrate S are laid out in parallel, and a stage 31 of an inspection device 30. The carrier mechanism 20 is provided with a carrier arm 21, a mechanism 24 for linearly moving the carrier arm along the arrangement direction of the cassette, a mechanism 28 for rotating and moving the carrier arm 21 between a direction for passing the substrate S with the cassette and a direction for passing the substrate S with the stage 31, and a controller 29 for executing the rotation of the carrier arm 21 by the mechanism 28 when the carrier arm 21 reaches a position corresponding to a specific position between the cassettes 13 and 14 by the mechanism 24.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a carrying mechanism and a carrying method used for carrying an LCD (liquid crystal display) substrate from a cassette to an inspection apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the process of manufacturing an LCD substrate, various processes such as film formation, etching and electrical inspection are performed, and various processing devices are used for that purpose. In such an apparatus, for example, a transport mechanism for transporting substrates between a cassette that houses a plurality of LCD substrates and a processing device is used.

As such a transport mechanism, the one shown in FIG. 4 is used. That is, the two LCD substrate cassettes 3 and 4 for loading and unloading are arranged in parallel on the cassette stage 2 provided on the side of the rectangular transport stage 1, and are adjacent to the transport stage 1 by the transport arm 7. Processing device 5, eg stage 6 of LCD inspection device
Then, the LCD substrate S is transported between the cassettes 3 and 4. The base of the transfer arm 7 moves in the direction of the arrow Y, and the transfer arm 7 can move in the X direction and rotate toward the cassettes 3 and 4 (the direction of θ in the drawing).

When the LCD substrate is carried by such a carrying mechanism, the carrying arm 7 is opposed to the cassette 3 and is projected so that the substrate S is placed on the arm 7. After that, the arm 7 is retracted and rotated along the θ direction until it faces the stage 6, and the base is moved to the vicinity of the stage 6 along the Y direction to transfer the substrate S to the stage 6. Further, after the predetermined processing is completed in the processing apparatus 5 such as the inspection apparatus, the substrate S is transferred from the stage 6 to the cassette 4 by the procedure reverse to the above.

[0005]

By the way, in the LCD inspection device and the like, space saving is mentioned as a common problem, and it is required to reduce the occupied area as much as possible even in the above-mentioned transport mechanism. . However, in such a transfer mechanism, since the arm 7 rotates at that position after receiving the substrate S from the cassette 3, the space required for the rotation is relatively large, and there is a certain limit to the space saving of the transfer mechanism. .

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has a transfer arm that can move linearly and rotationally, and can save space, and a transfer mechanism such as this is used. It is an object of the present invention to provide a transportation method that has been used.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above problems, the present invention firstly provides a carry-out / carry-in section in which an accommodating container for accommodating a transported object is arranged, and the transported object is transported. A transport mechanism for transporting the transported object to and from a desired transport position, and a transport arm for delivering the transported object between the transport position and the storage container,
A linear movement unit that linearly moves the transfer arm between a position corresponding to the storage container and a position corresponding to the transfer position; and transfer of a transfer target between the transfer arm and the storage container. A rotation moving means for rotating and moving between the carrying direction and the carrying direction of the transported object between the carrying position and the space required for the rotation of the carrying arm by the rotary moving means are provided in the container. And a control means for controlling the position of the transfer arm set by the linear movement means so as to be smaller than when the transfer arm is rotated at a corresponding position. provide.

Secondly, between the carrying-out / carrying-in section in which at least two containers for accommodating the transported object are arranged in parallel, and the transportation position where the transported object is to be transported, the transported object. A transport mechanism for transporting a body, comprising: a transport arm for delivering the transported object to and from the transport position, and the transport along an arrangement direction of the storage container. A linear movement means for linearly moving the arm, a direction in which the transfer arm transfers the transfer target to and from the storage container, and a direction in which the transfer target transfers the transfer target to and from the transfer position. Rotation moving means for rotating and moving the transfer arm, and rotation of the transfer arm by the rotation moving means when the transfer arm reaches a position corresponding to a predetermined position between the two storage containers by the linear moving means. Control means to Providing a transfer mechanism and having a.

Thirdly, in transporting the transported object between the unloading / carrying-in portion in which the container for accommodating the transported object is disposed and the transport position where the transported object is to be transported,
A transfer arm for transferring the transferred object to and from the transfer position, and a position corresponding to the transfer position of the transfer arm and a position corresponding to the transfer position. And a direction in which the transfer arm can transfer the transfer target to and from the storage container, and a direction in which the transfer arm transfers the transfer target to and from the storage container. And the linear movement is performed so that the space required to rotate the transfer arm is smaller than that when the transfer arm is rotated at a position corresponding to the storage container. There is provided a carrying method characterized by setting the position of a carrying arm.

Fourthly, the transported object is provided between an unloading / carrying-in portion in which at least two storage containers accommodating the transported object are arranged in parallel, and a transportation position where the transported object is to be transported. When transporting, the transport arm has a transport arm for delivering the transported object to and from the transport position, and the transport arm is linear along the arrangement direction of the storage container. The transfer arm is movable, and the transfer arm is rotated between a direction in which the transferred body is delivered to and from the storage container and a direction in which the transferred body is delivered to and from the transfer position. A transfer method, wherein a movable transfer mechanism is used, and when the transfer arm reaches a position corresponding to a position between the two storage containers by linear movement, the transfer arm is rotationally moved. I will provide a.

[0011]

In the conventional transfer device of this type, the space required for rotating the transfer arm was relatively large because the transfer arm was rotated at a position corresponding to the container. Therefore, in the present invention, based on such knowledge, the transfer arm is linearly moved so that the space required for the rotation of the transfer arm is smaller than that when the transfer arm is rotated at the position corresponding to the container. Set the rotation position. In other words, by moving the rotation position of the transfer arm from the position corresponding to the storage container, the rotation locus of the transfer arm can be set inward as compared with the case where the transfer arm is rotated at the position corresponding to the storage container, resulting in space saving. Can be achieved. For example, in the case of transporting a transported body between an unloading / carrying-in section in which at least two storage containers for storing the transported body are arranged in parallel and a transport position where the transported body is to be transported, When the transfer arm linearly moves to a position corresponding to the position between the two storage containers, the transfer arm is rotationally moved,
The rotation locus of the transfer arm can be set to be inside as compared with the case where the transfer arm is rotated at the position corresponding to the storage container, and space can be saved.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. This invention is an LCD
An example applied to a substrate transfer mechanism will be described. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a carrying device to which a carrying mechanism according to the present invention is applied is provided adjacent to an LCD board inspection device, FIG.
FIG. 4 is a plan view showing details of a transport mechanism.

In the figure, reference numeral 10 is a transport device, and an LCD substrate inspection device 30 is installed adjacent to the transport device. The LCD substrate S is carried into the inspection device 30 from the transport device 10 and after the inspection is completed. The LCD substrate S is unloaded from the inspection device 30 to the transport device 10.

The transfer device 10 has a rectangular transfer stage 11 in which a transfer mechanism 20 is provided and two L's.
It has a cassette stage 12 in which CD substrate cassettes 13 and 14 are arranged in parallel. Cassette stage 12
Is provided on the side of the transfer stage 11, and among the cassettes 13 and 14 on the transfer stage 11, the cassette 13 is for loading, the cassette 1
4 is for unloading. Further, an operation portion 18 is provided on the side of the main body.

On the other hand, the LCD substrate inspection device 30 has a stage 31 on which the LCD substrate S which is an inspection object is placed.
From here, the LCD substrate S is conveyed to a position where an inspection mechanism (not shown) is present.

The transfer mechanism 20 includes a transfer arm 21, a support member 22 for supporting the transfer arm 21 so as to be linearly movable along its longitudinal direction (X direction), and a direction in which the support members 22 are arranged in the cassettes 13 and 14 ( The first linear movement mechanism 24 for moving along the Y direction) and the arm 2 on the support member 22.
And a rotation moving mechanism 28 for rotating 1 (moving in the θ direction). Then, on the support member 22, the transfer arm 21 is linearly moved while being guided by the guide member 23 by a second linear movement mechanism (not shown).

The first linear movement mechanism 24 includes a ball screw 25 extending along the arrangement direction of the cassette and a support member 22.
A pair of guide rails 26 for guiding the ball in the Y direction and a motor 27 for rotating the ball screw 25 are provided. Then, by rotating the ball screw 25 by the motor 27, the support member 22 moves along the arrangement direction (Y direction) of the cassettes.

The transfer arm 21 is moved by these moving mechanisms, and transfers the LCD substrate S between the stage 31 of the LCD inspection device 30 and the cassettes 13 and 14.

The drive mechanism 20 further has a controller 29, which controls the motor 27 of the Y-direction moving mechanism 24, the rotary moving mechanism 28, and a linear moving mechanism (not shown).

In this embodiment, when the transfer arm 21 is rotated so as to face the stage 31 after the substrate S is received while the transfer arm 21 is in the position facing the cassette 13, the controller 29 causes The Y-direction moving mechanism 24 is controlled so that the support member 22 once moves to the cassette 14 side before rotation. Specifically, the support member 22 is moved so that the transfer arm 21 is positioned between the cassettes 13 and 14, and then the arm 21 is rotationally moved.

Next, the operation will be described. First, so that the transport arm 21 faces the cassette 13 for loading,
The position of the support member 22 is adjusted by the first moving mechanism 24. Next, the transfer arm 21 is moved into the cassette 13 by a second linear movement mechanism (not shown), and the LCD
The substrate S is placed. Thereafter, the arm 21 is retracted, and the support member 22 is further moved by the first linear movement mechanism 24 so that the transfer arm 21 is located between the cassettes 13 and 14 as indicated by the chain double-dashed line. Then, in this state, the rotation moving mechanism 28 rotates the transfer arm 21 to a position facing the stage 31. After that, the support member 22 is moved to the stage 31 side by the first linear movement mechanism 24, and the LCD substrate S is transferred from the transfer arm 21 to the stage 31.

After that, the LCD substrate S is conveyed to a predetermined position in the inspection device 30 where an inspection mechanism (not shown) is present, and a predetermined electrical inspection is performed. After the inspection, L from the inspection device 30
The CD substrate S is unloaded. When carrying out, the LCD substrate S
Is returned to the stage 31, and then the substrate S on the stage 31 is placed on the transfer arm 21. Then the rotation movement mechanism 2
The transport arm 21 is rotated by 8 to return to the original position along the support member 22. In this state, the first linear movement mechanism 2
4, the support member 22 is moved to a position facing the unloading cassette 14. Then, the transport arm 21 on which the LCD substrate S is placed is moved toward the cassette 14 along the guide 23 by the second linear movement mechanism, and the LCD substrate S on the transport arm 21 is housed in the cassette 14.

As a result, a series of carrying operations by the carrying mechanism 20 is completed. In such a transfer operation, when the substrate is loaded, as described above, after the LCD substrate S is placed on the transfer arm 21 and the arm 21 is retracted, the transfer arm 21 is moved to the cassette 13 by the first linear movement mechanism 24. And 1
The support member 22 is positioned so as to be at the position indicated by the chain double-dashed line between
Since the transfer arm 21 is rotatably moved to the position facing the stage 31 after moving, the rotation path of the transfer arm 21 can be set inward as compared with the case where the transfer arm 21 is rotated at the position facing the cassette 13. As a result, it is possible to save the space of the transfer device 10.

Incidentally, conventionally, the distance from the center of the cassette 13 to the end of the transfer stage 11 on the inspection device side (indicated by L in FIG. 2) was required to be 570 mm. It was confirmed that the thickness can be reduced to 350 mm, and a considerable space saving can be achieved.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
Will be described with reference to. In this embodiment, the position of the cassette stage 12 is different from that in the above-mentioned embodiments. That is, the cassette stage 12 is provided at a position facing the inspection device 30. Therefore, the first linear movement mechanism 2
4 and the support member 22 are arranged at a position which is rotated by 90 ° from the position of the above embodiment. Then, unlike the case of the above-described embodiment, the rotation moving mechanism 28 rotates the transfer arm 21 by 180 ° in order to move it from the cassette direction to the stage 31 direction.

Also in the case of this embodiment, the position of the supporting member 22 is adjusted by the first moving mechanism 24 so that the carrying arm 21 faces the carrying-in cassette 13 as in the above-mentioned embodiment. The transfer arm 21 is moved by the second linear movement mechanism.
Is moved into the cassette 13, the LCD substrate S is placed thereon, and then the arm 21 is retracted. Further, the transfer arm 21 is moved by the first linear movement mechanism 24 to the cassettes 13 and 1.
The support member 22 is positioned so as to be at the position indicated by the chain double-dashed line between
To move. Then, in this state, the rotation moving mechanism 28 rotates the transfer arm 21 along the arrow θ to a position facing the stage 31. As a result, as in the above-described embodiment, it is possible to achieve space saving of the transfer device 10 as compared with the case where the transfer arm 21 is rotated at a position facing the cassette 13.

In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to the LCD.
Although the present invention is applied to the transfer of the substrate, the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to the transfer of other things such as a semiconductor wafer. Further, the present invention can be applied not only to conveyance to an inspection apparatus but also to conveyance to various other apparatuses. Furthermore, the transfer arm 2
When the support member 22 is moved by the first linear movement mechanism 24 prior to the first rotational movement, the amount of movement is not particularly limited and may be set appropriately according to the layout of the transport device. It goes without saying that the moving position does not have to be in the intermediate portion between the two cassettes as shown in FIGS. Besides, various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0028]

According to the present invention, the transfer arm is linearly moved so that the space required for the rotation of the transfer arm is smaller than that required when the transfer arm is rotated at the position corresponding to the container. Since the setting is made, the rotation locus of the transfer arm can be set to the inner side as compared with the case of rotating at the position corresponding to the storage container, resulting in space saving.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a transfer device to which a transfer mechanism according to the present invention is applied is provided adjacent to an LCD substrate inspection device.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing details of a transport mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing another example of the transport mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a conventional transport mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 ... Transport device 11 ... Transport stage 12 ... Cassette stage 13, 14 ... Cassette 20 ... Transport mechanism 21 ... Transport arm 22 ... Support member 24 ... First linear movement mechanism 28 ... Rotational movement Mechanism 29 …… Controller 30 …… Inspection device 31 …… Stage

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A transport mechanism for transporting the transported object between a carry-out / carrying-in portion in which a container for accommodating the transported object is disposed and a transport position where the transported object is to be transported. A transfer arm for transferring the transferred object between the transfer position and the storage container; and a position at which the transfer arm corresponds to the storage container and the transfer position. A linear movement unit that linearly moves between the position and a position, a direction in which the transfer arm transfers the transfer target to and from the storage container, and a transfer position transfers the transfer target to and from the transfer position. A rotational movement means for rotationally moving between the orientation and a space required for rotation of the transfer arm by the rotational movement means so that it is smaller than when the transfer arm is rotated at a position corresponding to the storage container, The straight transfer Conveying mechanism and having a control means for controlling the position of the transfer arm to be set by means. 2. At least two for accommodating the transported object.
A transport mechanism that transports the transported object between a carry-out / carry-in portion in which one storage container is arranged in parallel, and a transport position where the transported object is to be transported, and between the transport position, And a transfer arm for delivering the transferred object to and from the storage container, a linear movement unit for linearly moving the transfer arm along the arrangement direction of the storage container, the transfer arm, A rotation moving unit that rotates between a direction in which the transferred body is delivered to and from the container and a direction in which the transferred body is delivered to and from the transfer position; and the transfer arm moves linearly. And a control unit for causing the rotation moving unit to rotate the transfer arm when the position reaches a position corresponding to a predetermined position between the two accommodating containers. 3. When the transfer target is transferred between an unloading / loading unit in which a storage container for storing the transfer target is arranged and a transfer position where the transfer target should be transferred, A transfer arm, and a position corresponding to the storage container, and a position corresponding to the transfer position. And a direction in which the transfer arm transfers the transfer target to and from the storage container, and a direction in which the transfer target transfers the transfer target to and from the transfer position. The transfer mechanism is rotatably movable between the transfer arm and the transfer arm is rotated by the linear transfer so that the space required for rotation of the transfer arm is smaller than when the transfer arm is rotated at a position corresponding to the storage container. Arm rotation position Method of transporting and setting. 4. At least two for accommodating the transported object.
When carrying the transported object between an unloading / carrying-in portion in which one storage container is arranged in parallel and a transportation position where the transported object is to be transported, between the transportation position and the storage container And a transfer arm for transferring the transferred object between the transfer container and the transfer container, the transfer arm is linearly movable along the arrangement direction of the storage container, and the transfer arm is connected to the storage container. A transfer mechanism that is rotationally movable between a transfer direction of the transferred object and a transfer direction of the transferred object between the transfer positions, and A transfer method, wherein the transfer arm is rotationally moved when a position corresponding to a position between two storage containers is reached.