JPH09107027A - Receiving cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To pull into or out of a plate-like body such as a substrate, etc., at least from a direction of crossing each other, and to save the space for a device for executing a pull-in/out process of the plate-like body. SOLUTION: A frame comprises a bottom plate 211 of a square shape, an upper plate frame body 212 of the square shape, and four props 213 for fixing both at corresponding four corners. A support member 217 extends towards inwardly of the frame body on the same level face from each of the props 213, and a projection 218 for mounting a substrate in a one vertical line at appropriate locations on the upper face is provided. The support member 217 is stepwise arranged at a pitch more than a dimension that at least heights of a substrate and the projection 218 are added, in a direction that the props 213 are vertically provided. In the bottom plate 211, a plate-like corner base 216 is fixed to the four corners, and there is provided a projection 216c for mounting the substrate in an upper face location conforming to a vertical line of the projection 218.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a structure of a storage cassette for stacking and storing, for example, a liquid crystal display substrate, a semiconductor substrate, and other plate-shaped bodies.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a series of substrate processing apparatus applied to a manufacturing process of a liquid crystal display substrate or a semiconductor substrate, for example, a substrate cleaning apparatus, a resist coating apparatus, a drying apparatus, an exposure apparatus,
A developing device or the like is used. In this case, for the purpose of absorbing the tact time difference between the pre-processing apparatus and the post-processing apparatus, it is common to employ a substrate cassette as a buffer for temporarily storing the substrate.

Conventionally, the one shown in FIG. 12 has been known as an example of a substrate transfer device which employs such a substrate cassette. In FIG. 12, reference numeral 600 denotes a substrate transfer device, and a transfer shelf 610 of the processing device of the previous process and a processing device of the subsequent process having a substrate receiving stand 620 for transferring the substrate are provided on opposite sides. The substrate transfer device 600 includes a first cassette 601 arranged in series with a substrate transfer shelf 610 arranged on one side (right side in the figure).
The second cassette 602 and the first and second cassettes 601,
It has one robot 603 that can reciprocate in parallel with the arrangement direction of 602. The substrate pedestal 620 is configured to be located at a predetermined position on an extension of the movement direction of the robot 603. The robot 603 is the first arm 603.
a, the second arm 603b and a board mounting hand 603c at the tip thereof, the first arm 603a is made rotatable, and the second arm 603b pivots in conjunction with the rotation of the first arm 603a, and Hand 603c
Are always oriented in the radial direction, whereby the first and second cassettes 601 and 602, the transfer shelf 610, and the substrate pedestal 620 are moved forward and backward to feed and discharge the substrate. ing.

In this substrate transfer device 600, the substrate B sent to the transfer rack 610 after the previous process is completed is transferred to the transfer tray 610 via the cassette 601.
The substrate B, which has been sent to 0 and has been processed and returned to the substrate pedestal 620, is transferred via the cassette 602 to the transfer shelf 61.
It is controlled to return to 0, whereby the delivery rack 61
The substrate B, which has been returned to 0, is fed to the subsequent process. That is, when the transfer shelf 610 is conveyed from the solid line position in the right direction in the drawing to the position indicated by the broken line by the transfer device (not shown), the robot 603 moves in the right direction and further extends the hand 603c to extend this substrate. B is mounted and the substrate B is stored in the first cassette 601. When the transfer from the transfer shelf 610 to the first cassette 601 is completed and no instruction to return the substrate from the second cassette 602 to the board transfer shelf 610 is issued within a certain time, the transfer shelf 610 is moved from the broken line position to the solid line position. It is moved by a transfer device (not shown). This processing is performed every time the substrate B is fed to the delivery shelf 610. On the other hand, when the next processing apparatus side requests the substrate B to be processed, the robot 603 extracts the substrate B from the first cassette 601, and hands it to the substrate receiving stand 620. Further, when the substrate B processed on the side of the next step processing device is returned to the substrate receiving stand 620, it receives this substrate B,
Stored in the second cassette 602. And the delivery shelf 6
When there is a substrate return instruction to 10, if the transfer shelf 610 is not in the broken line position, it is conveyed from the solid line position to the broken line position, and the substrate B stored in the second cassette 602 is extracted and carried out to the transfer shelf 610. .

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the above conventional device, 1
The robot 603 on the table has to transfer the substrates to the four places of the transfer shelf 610, the substrate receiving table 620, the first cassette 601 and the second cassette 602.
Moreover, since each cassette has a structure in which the substrate can be inserted and removed only from one direction, in the end, it is necessary to adopt a coping method that causes the robot 603 to perform a horizontal movement of a relatively long stroke, and therefore, the tact time. The time becomes longer, the structure becomes complicated, and the installation space of the substrate transfer apparatus itself is increased.

In view of such circumstances, the present invention enables the insertion and removal of the plate-like body such as the substrate from at least the directions intersecting with each other, and also enables the space saving of the apparatus for executing the inserting and removing process of the plate-like body. It is an object to provide a storage cassette having a structure.

[0007]

A storage cassette according to the present invention includes a rectangular bottom plate, an upper plate of the same square shape, and a bottom plate that is erected between the four opposite corners of the bottom plate and the upper plate. The upper plate is fixed to the four pillars that form a frame, and the pillars extend from the pillars toward the inside of the frame on the same horizontal plane. A support member provided with a protrusion for mounting a body is arranged in a stepwise manner in a standing direction of the support column at a pitch equal to or greater than the sum of at least the plate-shaped body and the height of the protrusion. Along with
The protrusions provided on the support members of the respective columns are located on the same vertical line.

According to this structure, only the four corners of the rectangular parallelepiped frame having the upright supporting columns interfere with each other when the plate-like body is taken in and out from the horizontal direction, and the directions intersect with each other, basically from the four sides. The plate-like body is put in and taken out. If the top plate and the bottom plate are square, all four directions have the same size, so that the plate-like body can be taken in and out from the four sides under the same conditions. Further, since the protrusions are provided on the same vertical line on the upper surface of the support member, the mounting conditions of the plate-shaped bodies at each stage are all constant. Furthermore, since the supporting members are arranged in the vertical direction at a pitch equal to or greater than the dimension including the plate-shaped body and the height of the protrusions, the mounting of the plate-shaped body is ensured, and by providing a pitch more than required, It is also possible to automatically carry in and out by using a robot for inserting and removing.

Further, since the projections correspond to the positions of the vertices of the quadrangle in the same horizontal plane, the plate-like body to be placed is reliably supported horizontally, and the placement state can be stabilized. . Further, when the robot for loading and unloading is automatically carried in and out, the robot hand can be easily and suitably taken in and out.

Plate-shaped corner bases are laid at the four corners of the bottom plate, and the corner bases are the same as the projections for mounting the plate-shaped body on the upper surface thereof and on the vertical lines. The corner base is effective in ensuring the strength of the cassette, and is provided with the projections and the spacing between the lowermost support member of the support members is set to be equal to the pitch. In addition to preventing the deformation of the load, the plate-shaped body can be placed even on the protrusion of the corner base, so that the number of mounting steps is increased as much as possible.

[0011]

1 is a schematic plan view for explaining a first embodiment of a substrate transfer device to which a storage cassette according to the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the same. Robots are omitted.

This substrate transfer device is, for example, an exposure device that exposes a substrate to a predetermined pattern, and pre- and post-processing devices (for example, a pre-baking device and a developing device) for the exposure device.
And an interface between the pre-processing apparatus and the exposure apparatus and from the exposure apparatus to the post-processing apparatus.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a substrate transfer device,
A gantry 10 having a substantially rectangular shape is provided, and on this gantry 10, two first and second robots 11, 1 for transferring substrates are provided.
2 and two first and second cassettes 21 and 22 (storage cassettes) having a buffer function are mounted. Also,
On one side (right side in FIG. 1) of the gantry 10 is a transfer shelf 3 included in the pre-processing and post-processing apparatus side, and on the other side (left side in FIG. 1) of the gantry 10 is a substrate receiving stand 4 for placing a substrate on the exposure apparatus side.
Are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined size.

The delivery shelf 3 used in this embodiment is
It is provided on the transfer table portion 10a extending horizontally to the right of the gantry 10 and has two upper and lower mounting shelves. For example, the lower shelf is for receiving from the pretreatment device and the upper shelf. The shelves are for feeding post-processing equipment. Each of the mounting shelves is provided with four board receiving pins 30 at the apex position of the quadrangle,
The board B is supported at four points by the board receiving pins 30 (see FIG. 2). In addition, the substrate pedestal 4 uses the substrate fed from the substrate transfer device 1 for each processing unit in the exposure apparatus (for example, a pattern exposure transfer unit onto a resist film, an edge exposure unit for additional exposure, and a character printing unit). ) For returning to the substrate transfer device 1 side after the exposure processing, and has two upper and lower mounting tables for feeding and discharging. The pre-exposure substrate B is handed from the main substrate transfer device 1 to one of the mounting tables, and the post-exposure substrate B is handed to the main substrate transfer device 1 from the other mounting table.

On the pedestal 10 of the substrate transfer apparatus 1, the first robot 11 and the second robot 12 and the first robot 11 and the second robot 12 are diagonally located at respective vertices of a quadrangle.
A cassette 21 and a second cassette 22 are provided. That is, the transfer shelf 3 is provided on the right side of the first robot 11.
The second cassette 22 is located on the rear side (upper side in FIG. 1) and the first cassette 21 is located on the left side. The substrate pedestal 4 is located on the left side of the second robot 12, the first cassette 21 is located on the front side (lower side in FIG. 1), and the second cassette 22 is located on the right side. In addition, depending on the arrangement state of the front-back processing device and the exposure device,
The delivery shelf 3 may be arranged in front of the first robot 11 and the substrate receiving table 4 may be arranged in rear of the second robot 12.

The first and second cassettes 21 and 22 are
In order to maintain the arrangement position, the cassette mounting tables 10b and 10c (see FIG. 1) on the gantry 10 are detachable by the restriction piece members at the corners. By making the first and second cassettes 21 and 22 removable by the cassette mounting tables 10b and 10c, for example, when a part of the parallel lines in the pre-processing and post-processing apparatus or the exposure apparatus is interrupted, the If the cassette is used to carry out another normal line, turn it to the carry-in section to continue processing of the normal line, or if the substrate is accumulated in the pretreatment device due to the processing tact time, the accumulated cassette is removed. It becomes easy and possible to bring the substrate transfer device 1 and continue the process of the next step.

The first and second robots 11 and 12 have the same structure except for the shape of the hand, which will be described later. Various types of robots are known that perform lifting, bending, stretching, and turning. Here, an example of the structure and operation of the second robot 12 will be briefly described. The second robot 12 has a cylindrical base portion 121, and a cylindrical shaft portion 122, which is rotatable about a vertical axis, is axially supported therein. The cylindrical shaft portion 122 is rotatable with respect to the base portion 121 via a driving force transmission system such as a rotation motor and a synchronous belt (not shown), and is also movable up and down by a lifting motor and a lifting mechanism. A rotary shaft (not shown) is further supported inside the cylindrical shaft portion 122, and the rotary shaft can be rotated with respect to the cylindrical shaft portion 122 by a hand drive motor and a drive force transmission system (not shown). Has been

At the upper end of the rotary shaft in the cylindrical shaft portion 122, there is a first
An arm 123 is attached so as to be able to rotate together at its tip, and the tip of this first arm 123 and the base end of the second arm 124 are linked together so as to be able to rotate together through a vertical concentric rotation shaft. , The tip of the second arm 124 and the hand 125
Is connected to the base end of the shaft so as to rotate together through a vertical concentric rotation shaft. Further, pulleys are attached to the respective rotation shafts of the base end and the tip of the first arm 123 and the base end and the tip of the second arm 124, and between the pulleys of the tip and the base end of the first arm 123, and A belt or the like is stretched between each of the pulleys at the distal end and the proximal end of the second arm 124. Here, the first and second arms 123 and 124 have the same length, and the diameter ratio of both pulleys attached to the rotating shafts of the base end and the tip of the first arm is 2: 1, and the base end of the second arm. By setting the diameter ratio of both pulleys attached to the rotation shaft at the tip and the rotation shaft to 1: 2, when the rotation motor and the hand drive motor are reversely rotated at a constant speed, the hand 125 is oriented in the radial direction. It is possible to bend and stretch while maintaining the posture, and when only the rotation motor is rotated, the hand 125 can be turned while maintaining the bending and stretching posture.

The hand 125 is formed in the shape of a long flat plate. On the other hand, the hand 115 of the first robot 11 has a bifurcated flat plate arm, and each arm has its upper surface 2 in the longitudinal direction so as to be at each vertex position of a quadrangle as a whole.
Substrate receiving pins 115a are projectingly provided at the points.

The first and second cassettes 21 and 22 have a rectangular parallelepiped shape and have the same structure. And the first
The robot 11 is mounted on the base 10 so that its long sides face each other, and the second robot 12 has its short sides face each other.

3 to 6 show the first and second cassettes 21,
22 is a configuration diagram showing the first embodiment of FIG. 22, FIG. 3 (a) is a plan view, FIG. 3 (b) is a plan view without an upper frame, FIG.
3A is a front view of FIG. 3A, and FIG. 4B is FIG.
Is a side view, FIG. 5 is an overall perspective view, and FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged perspective view. Hereinafter, the first cassette 21 will be described as an example.

The first cassette 21 has a rectangular bottom plate 21.
1 and an upper frame body 21 similarly fixed to a rectangular frame
2 and a column 213 is erected between them to form a frame. In addition, the plate surface of the bottom plate 211 is notched leaving a crossed beam shape in order to reduce the weight while maintaining a required strength, and the upper frame 212 is provided with a beam 214 that connects the longitudinal center. ing. Also, the bottom plate 211
Between the upper frame body 212 and the upper frame body 212, a required number of reinforcing columns 215 are provided on each of the long and short sides. Therefore, the operation of storing and taking out the substrate B in the cassette is performed from the side (the right side and the upper side in FIG. 3) where the reinforcing member 215 is not provided.

At each corner of the bottom plate 211, an L-shaped corner base 216 is fixedly provided in plan view so as to secure the strength reinforcement and to obtain the number of supporting steps. Corner base 216 is base 2
16a and an extending portion 216b extending from the base portion 216a toward the inside of the bottom plate 211. A substrate receiving pin 216c is provided on the upper surface of the tip of the extending portion 216a. The mounting positions of the substrate receiving pins 216c of the respective corner bases 216 are, for example, vertices of a quadrangle that is similarly reduced in size so that the substrates B housed in the cassette 21 are supported at positions where they are evenly distributed in weight. Set to the position.
Note that the mounting positions of the board receiving pins 216c may be set at four points such that the flexure of the board B is minimized, instead of the above-mentioned equal distribution of weight.

The pillars 213 attached to the four corners have an inner side surface 2131 orthogonal to the direction connecting the mounting position and the board receiving pin 216c, and an adjacent side surface 2132 orthogonal to the inner side surface 2131 (see FIG. 6). Further, horizontal projecting pieces 2131a are formed on the inner side surface 2131 so as to vertically project at a predetermined pitch. The horizontal projecting piece 2131a serves both to position the supporting member 217 for mounting and supporting the substrate B and to reinforce its strength.

The supporting member 217 for mounting and supporting the substrate B is
The horizontal protrusions 213 formed on the columns 213 at regular intervals.
1 is used to mount a plurality of steps. As shown in FIG. 6, the support member 217 includes a plate-shaped fixing portion 217a.
And a plate-shaped support portion 217b extending from the fixed portion 217a by a required length. The support portion 217b extends forward from the tip side of the upper side of the fixed portion 217a having a vertical surface, and is bent at the upper side of the support portion 217b to form a horizontal surface. Further, a substrate receiving pin 218 for supporting the substrate B is provided in a projecting manner at a proper position on the upper surface of the tip of the supporting portion 217a. The board receiving pin 218 is provided on the corner base 21.
The substrate receiving pins 216c of No. 6 are aligned so as to be vertically aligned.

The attachment of the support member 217 to the column 213 will be described with reference to FIG. Support part 21 of support member 217
7b is placed on the upper surface of the horizontal projection piece 2131a, the base end of the support portion 217b is brought into contact with the inner side surface 2131 of the column 213, and the fixing portion 217a is further brought into contact with the adjacent side surface 2132 of the column 213. In this state, the fixing portion 217a is fastened to the column 213 by screwing a screw into the female screw hole of the adjacent side surface 2132 through the hole of the fixing portion 217a which is formed by positioning so as to face each other in advance. And
As shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of support members 217 are attached to the support 213 in a stepwise manner (for example, 20 steps) by fastening the support members 217 to the respective horizontal protrusions 2131a. As described above, the strength of the supporting member 217 itself is secured by re-establishing the fixing portion 217a, and the strength in the vertical direction can be further secured by abutting the supporting portion 217b on the horizontal projecting piece 2131. Deformation is suppressed as much as possible. The vertical dimension between the board receiving pin 216c of the bottom corner 216 and the board receiving pin 218 of the second supporting member 217 from the bottom corresponds to the pitch between the other board receiving pins 218. There is.

The formation pitch of the horizontal protrusions 2131a, that is, the dimension between the substrate receiving pins 218 is the first,
The hands 115 and 125 of the second robots 11 and 21 are the board receiving pins 218 on the upper stage and the board receiving pins 2 on the lower stage.
18 (or 216a) without interfering with the first,
The size is set so that the second cassettes 21 and 22 can enter.

By making the first and second cassettes 21 and 22 have the above structure, the substrate B can be taken in and out from the right side and the upper side of FIG. Further, there is an advantage that both the first cassette 21 and the second cassette 22 can be manufactured only by changing the side positions where the reinforcing columns 215 are arranged.

The reinforcing columns 215 are not necessarily required. For example, when the reinforcing columns 215 on the short side are removed, the short sides can be inserted and withdrawn from opposite directions. Usability is improved. Furthermore, the versatility becomes higher except for the reinforcing column 215 on the long side.
Further, if the bottom plate 211 and the upper frame body 212 have a square shape, the first and second cassettes 21 and 22 can be commonly used, which is advantageous in terms of manufacturing and handling. Also, in this case, except for the reinforcing column 215, 3
The board B can be taken in and out without considering the direction of the board B from four directions or four directions.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram for controlling the supply / discharge operation of the substrate B. The controller 5 receives the board receiving command and the board request command from the delivery shelf 3 side, the board receiving command and the board request command from the board receiving stand 4, the board storage of the first and second cassettes 21 and 22 and the shelf information thereof. It generates and outputs operation instruction signals of the first and second robots 11 and 12 for management and each of the above-mentioned commands, and has a control program section 51 for processing inside. The first and second robots 11,
The operation command to the first and second robots 11 and 12,
The above-mentioned lifting motors 11 loaded in the respective 12
1a, 121a, rotation motors 111b, 121b, and hand drive motors 111c, 121c.
5, 125 is moved up and down, hands 115, 125 are bent and stretched, and hands 115, 125 are turned. The drive amount for each of the motors 111a, 121a to 111c, 121c is controlled by the preset number of drive pulses, and the current drive position, bending / extending state, and turning angle position are managed by integrating these drive amounts. Has been enabled. Alternatively, a proximity sensor, a micro switch, or the like may be provided on the transfer shelf 3, the substrate receiving table 4, the hands 115 and 125, and the first and second cassettes 21 and 22, if necessary.
The control can be performed by detecting the presence or absence of the substrate B and the presence or absence of the hands 115 and 125.

Next, the supply / discharge operation of the substrate B will be described. (1) Storage of Substrate B from Receiving Shelf 3 to First Cassette 21 by First Robot 11 When the substrate B is placed on the lower shelf of the delivery shelf 3 from the pretreatment device and a substrate receiving instruction is issued, the first The robot 11 controls the cylindrical shaft portion 112 to move up and down to a position slightly lower than the lower shelf of the delivery shelf 3 and swivels in the direction of the delivery shelf 3. When it turns to the direction opposite to the delivery shelf 3 and stops, then the first and second arms 113 and 114 are extended and enter the lower portion of the delivery shelf 3. Then, the board B is raised slightly to bring the board B into the board receiving pin 11 of the hand 115.
Receive at 5a. When the receipt of the substrate B is completed, the first and second arms 113 and 114 are folded, and then the cylindrical shaft 112 is rotated by 180 ° so that the hand 115 faces the long side of the first cassette 21. And the first
The shelf information to be stored in the cassette 21 is received, and the hand 115 is vertically moved to a height position with respect to the designated shelf (slightly higher than the shelf position and lower than the shelf immediately above it), and this height control is performed. When the process ends, the first and second arms 113 and 114 are extended, and the first cassette 21 enters the first cassette 21. When the entry is completed, the cylindrical shaft 112 is slightly lowered, and the substrate B on the hand 115 is placed on the instruction pin 218 of the shelf to be stored in the first cassette 21. When the placement of the substrate B is completed, the substrate B is slightly lowered and the first and second arms 1
Fold 13 and 114 out of the first cassette 21,
It turns and returns to a predetermined home position.

(2) Feeding of the substrate B from the first cassette 21 to the substrate pedestal 4 by the second robot 12, the second robot 12 receives the substrate request command from the exposure apparatus side, and then receives the first and second arms. The folded 123 and 124 are turned to face the short side of the first cassette 21. Next, the shelf information on the board B to be extracted is received and directed to a height position corresponding to the designated shelf height (slightly lower than the shelf position and higher than the shelf immediately below). The hand 125 is vertically controlled. Then, when the height control ends, the first and second arms 123 and 124
To extend into the first cassette 21. When the entry is completed, the cylindrical shaft portion 122 is slightly raised to receive the substrate B on the hand 125. When the reception of the substrate B is completed, the first and second arms 123 and 124 are folded and pulled out of the first cassette 21. Then, the cylindrical shaft portion 122
Rotate 90 degrees to move the hand 125 to the board pedestal 4
To face. Then, the hand 125 is controlled to move up and down to the height position of the substrate pedestal 4, and when this height control is completed, the first and second arms 123 and 124 are extended and the substrate B is delivered onto the substrate pedestal 4. After this, the first and second arms 1
23 and 124 are folded and turned to return to a predetermined home position.

(3) Storage of Substrate B from Substrate Receiving Table 4 to Second Cassette 22 by Second Robot 12 When the substrate B that has been subjected to the exposure processing is returned to the substrate receiving pedestal 4 and a substrate receiving command is issued, the second The robot 12 rotates the cylindrical shaft portion 122 to a position facing the substrate pedestal 4 and further controls the height of the cylindrical shaft portion 122. Then, the first and second arms 123,
The substrate 124 is extended to enter the lower portion of the substrate pedestal 4. In this state, the substrate B is slightly raised and the substrate B is received by the hand 125. When the receiving of the substrate B is completed, the first and second arms 123 and 124 are folded, and then the cylindrical shaft portion 122 is set to 1
Rotate by 80 ° to move the hand 125 to the second cassette 2
Face the short side of 2. Then, the shelf information to be stored in the second cassette 22 is received, and the hand 125 is vertically moved to a height position (slightly higher than the shelf position and lower than the immediately upper shelf) with respect to the designated shelf, When this height control ends, the first and second arms 123 and 124
To extend into the second cassette 22. When the entry is completed, the cylindrical shaft portion 122 is slightly lowered, and the substrate B on the hand 125 is placed on the shelf in which the second cassette 22 is to be stored. When the placement of the substrate B is completed, the substrate B is slightly lowered to fold the first and second arms 123 and 124 out of the second cassette 22, and pivots to return to a predetermined home position.

(4) Feeding of the substrate B from the second cassette 22 to the delivery shelf 3 by the first robot 11, the first robot 11 receives the substrate request command from the post-processing apparatus side and then the first and second arms. The folded 113 and 114 are turned to face the long side of the second cassette 22. Next, the shelf information on the board B to be extracted is received and directed to a height position corresponding to the designated shelf height (slightly lower than the shelf position and higher than the shelf immediately below). Control the hand 115 up and down. When the height control is completed, the first and second arms 113,
114 is extended to enter the second cassette 22. When the approach is completed, the cylindrical shaft 112 is slightly raised,
The substrate B is received on the hand 115. When the reception of the substrate B is completed, the first and second arms 113 and 114 are folded and pulled out of the second cassette 22. Next, the cylindrical shaft portion 112 is rotated by 90 ° to make the hand 115 face the delivery shelf 3. Then, the hand 115 is controlled to move up and down to a position slightly higher than the height of the upper shelf of the transfer shelf 3, and when this height control is completed, the first and second arms 11 are moved.
Extend 3,114 and enter the upper shelf of the delivery shelf 3. In this state, the hand 115 is slightly lowered to deliver it to the delivery shelf 3. After this, the first and second
The arms 113 and 114 are folded and turned to return to a predetermined home position.

In the present embodiment, the rotation directions of the first robot 11 and the second robot 12 when transferring the substrate are not particularly specified, and it is possible to rotate them in either direction. From the viewpoint of shortening, it goes without saying that it is preferable to rotate each robot in the direction in which the rotation distance becomes shorter.

In this way, the two first and second robots 1
Since the first and second cassettes 21 and 22 for the buffers 1 and 12 are used and the substrates B can be taken in and out from the adjacent two sides (two directions intersecting each other), the transfer shelf 3 and the substrate pedestal Even if both 4 issue a board request, it is possible to sufficiently deal with it, and it is possible to absorb the difference in takt time between the transfer shelf 3 and the board receiving stand 4. Further, the first and second robots 1 have the above-mentioned first and second cassette structures.
It is possible to save the space of the substrate transfer device 1 including the substrates 1 and 12.

FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view for explaining the second embodiment of the substrate transfer device. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the first robot 11 is reciprocally movable in the left-right direction by a predetermined short stroke.

That is, the first robot 11 has its base 1
11 is mounted on the movable table 110. The movable table 110 has a female screw hole screwed in a proper place below the movable table 110. On the other hand, a ball screw which is arranged in the left-right direction below the movable table 110 and is screwed into the female screw hole of the movable table 110. Is provided with a shaft that is screwed, a guide stay that is arranged in parallel with the shaft, and a motor that rotationally drives the shaft. By adopting such a configuration, even when the delivery shelf 3 and the gantry 10 are separated from each other as compared with the case of the first embodiment, the substrate B between the delivery shelf 3 and the delivery shelf 3 can be taken with a relatively small takt time. Supply and discharge can be performed.

FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view for explaining the third embodiment of the substrate transfer device. The third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the second robot 12 is reciprocally movable in the left-right direction by a predetermined short stroke.

That is, the second robot 12 has its base 1
21 is mounted on the movable table 120. The movable table 120 has a female screw hole screwed in an appropriate place below the movable table 120. On the other hand, a ball screw which is arranged in the left-right direction below the movable table 120 and is screwed into the female screw hole of the movable table 120. Is provided with a shaft that is screwed, a guide stay that is arranged in parallel with the shaft, and a motor that rotationally drives the shaft. By adopting such a configuration, even when the substrate pedestal 4 and the gantry 10 are separated from each other as compared with the case of the first embodiment, the substrate B between the substrate pedestal 4 and the substrate pedestal 4 can be relatively small in takt time. Can be supplied and discharged.

FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view for explaining the fourth embodiment of the substrate transfer device, and FIG. 11 is a schematic front view thereof, in which the first robot is omitted. The fourth embodiment is different from the first embodiment only in the structure of the delivery rack 3. That is, the rotating shaft 31 that is erected upright is rotatably supported by the delivery table portion 10a extending in the horizontal direction from the gantry 10 and the delivery table portion 10a. The driving force transmission structure is configured to be rotationally driven by a motor installed inside. The rotating arm 32 has a predetermined length in the horizontal direction, its center is fixed to the upper end of the rotating shaft 31, and support bases 33 and 34 are provided upright at both ends thereof. The transfer shelves 3a and 3b having the same shape are attached to the upper ends of the support bases 33 and 34. The delivery shelves 3a and 3b are the same as the delivery shelves 3 of the first embodiment.

Then, the motor installed inside the delivery table portion 10a is driven to rotate the rotary shaft 31 by a half turn, so that the delivery shelves 3a and 3b are alternately opposed to the first robot 11. I am trying to arrange it. In this way, by providing the two shelves 3a and 3b having the same shape as the transfer shelves, even if the substrate receiving command to the first robot 11 and the substrate request command from the pre / post-processing apparatus are simultaneously generated, such request is required. Since it is possible to simultaneously perform the response processing for, it is possible to shorten the tact time of substrate supply / discharge.

In this embodiment, the cassette B for loading and unloading the substrate B has been described, but this cassette is not limited to such an application and is transported in a line, for example, a work such as a plastic sheet material or a metal plate. The present invention can be applied to a buffer for storing, and can be used not only as a buffer but also for simply storing, storing, or transporting.

[0044]

As described above, according to the present invention, a quadrangular bottom plate, a quadrangular top plate, and the bottom plate and the top plate which are erected upright at four opposing corners of the bottom plate and the top plate. It has four support pillars that are fixed to form a frame body, and is extended from each of these support pillars toward the inside of the frame body on the same horizontal plane, and a plate-like body is placed at an appropriate place on the upper surface of the extended portion. Supporting members provided with projections for doing so are arranged in a stepwise manner in the standing direction of the column at a pitch of at least the sum of the plate-shaped body and the height of the projections, and Since the protrusions provided on the support member of the column are located on the same vertical line, basically the plate-like body can be taken in and out from the four sides. Further, since the protrusions are provided on one vertical line, it is possible to make the mounting conditions of the plate-shaped bodies of each step all constant, and further, the support member vertically adjusts the plate-shaped bodies and the height of the protrusions. Since the elements are arranged at a pitch equal to or larger than the added dimension, the plate-like body can be placed securely. Further, by providing a pitch more than required, it is possible to automatically carry in and out by a robot for inserting and removing.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the projections are made to correspond to the vertex positions of the quadrangle in the same horizontal plane, the plate-like member to be placed is reliably supported horizontally and is in a stable placing state. Can be secured. Further, even when the robot for loading and unloading is automatically carried in and out, the robot hand can be easily taken in and out.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, plate-shaped corner bases are laid at the four corners of the bottom plate, and the plate-shaped bodies are provided on the upper surfaces of the corner bases and on the vertical lines. Since the same protrusion as that for mounting is provided and the distance between the lowermost supporting member of the supporting members is set to be equal to the above pitch, this corner base ensures the strength of the cassette. This effectively prevents the load deformation of the cassette, and since the plate-shaped body can be mounted even on the protrusion of the corner base, the mounting stage can be increased as much as possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view for explaining a first embodiment of a substrate transfer device to which a storage cassette according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view for explaining the first embodiment of the substrate transfer device.

3A and 3B are configuration diagrams showing an embodiment of first and second cassettes, FIG. 3A is a plan view, and FIG. 3B is a plan view with an upper frame body removed.

4A is a front view of FIG. 3A, and FIG.
It is a side view of (a).

FIG. 5 is an overall perspective view showing an embodiment of first and second cassettes.

FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged perspective view of first and second cassettes.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram for controlling the supply / discharge operation of the substrate.

FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view for explaining a second embodiment of a substrate transfer device.

FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view for explaining a third embodiment of a substrate transfer device.

FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view for explaining a fourth embodiment of a substrate transfer device.

FIG. 11 is a schematic front view for explaining the fourth embodiment of the substrate transfer device.

FIG. 12 is a schematic plan view of a substrate transfer device adopting a conventional cassette.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Substrate Transfer Device 10 Stand 11 First Robot 12 Second Robot 113,123 First Arm 114,124 Second Arm 115,125 Hand 21 First Cassette 22 Second Cassette 211,221 Bottom Plate 212,222 Upper Frame 213, 223 columns 214, 224 beams 215, 225 reinforcing columns 216, 226 corner bases 216a, 226a bases 216b, 226b extension parts 216c, 226c substrate receiving pins 2131, 231 inner side faces 2132, 2232 adjacent side faces 2131a, 2231a horizontal protrusions 217 , 227 Supporting members 217a, 227a Fixing parts 217b, 227b Supporting parts 218, 228 Substrate receiving pins 3, 3a, 3b Transfer shelf 31 Rotating shaft 4 Substrate receiving base B Substrate

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Office reference number FI Technical display location G02F 1/13 101 G02F 1/1333 500 1/1333 500 0333-3E B65D 85/38 R

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A quadrangular bottom plate, a quadrangular upper plate, and a framing member that is erected upright between four opposing corners of the bottom plate and the upper plate to fix the bottom plate and the upper plate. Four pillars are provided, and the pillars are extended from the respective pillars toward the inside of the frame on the same horizontal plane, and projections for mounting the plate-like body are provided at appropriate places on the upper surface of the extending portion. The supporting members are arranged in a stepwise manner in the standing direction of the columns at a pitch of at least the sum of the plate-shaped body and the height of the protrusions, and are provided on the supporting members of the respective columns. The storage cassette, wherein the protrusions are located on the same vertical line. 2. The storage cassette according to claim 1, wherein the protrusions correspond to apexes of a quadrangle in the same horizontal plane. 3. The bottom plate has plate-shaped corner bases laid at its four corners, and the corner bases are upper surfaces thereof and projections for mounting the plate-shaped body at positions on the vertical line. 3. The storage cassette according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the same protrusion is provided, and the interval between the lowermost support member of the support members is set to be equal to the pitch.