JPH1029709A - Substrate carrying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To adjust the position of carrying rollers easily and quickly in correspondence to the alteration in the width of a substrate to be carried. SOLUTION: In a substrate carrying device, a pair of rollers 30, whose peripheral surface touches both ends in the width direction of a substrate, are driven/ rotated together with a roller shaft, 20 in order to carry the substrate. In this case, at least one of the rollers 30 should be the one that is movable relative to the roller shaft 20. The device is provided with a roller carrying means consisting of a carrying member 50 and its driving means. The movable roller is carried along the axial direction of the roller shaft 20 up to the prescribed position, so that the relative motion of the roller 30 to the roller shaft 20 is controlled at this position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate transfer device for transferring various substrates such as a glass square substrate for liquid crystal, a substrate for a color filter, a substrate for a photomask, and a substrate for a thermal head in a predetermined direction. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a device as shown in FIG. 12 has been generally known as a device for transporting various substrates.

This device has a plurality of roller shafts 190, and these roller shafts 190 are rotatably supported by a pair of left and right side plates 180 via bearings 182 in a state of being arranged in the depth direction of the drawing. ing. A support roller 184 is fixed to the center of each roller shaft 190 in the left-right direction, and a width regulating roller 192 is provided on both left and right wings. Each width regulating roller 192 has a cylindrical small-diameter portion 1 arranged in the axial direction.
93 and the large diameter portion 194 are integrally formed.
3 and a large-diameter portion 194, a truncated cone-shaped tapered portion 195 that continuously increases in diameter from the small-diameter portion 193 toward the large-diameter portion is formed, and the direction in which each small-diameter portion 193 is located inside. , And is fixed on each roller shaft 190. When each roller shaft 190 is driven to rotate in the same direction, the small-diameter portion 1 in the left and right width regulating rollers 192 is rotated.
The configuration is such that the substrate P placed on the substrate 93 is transported in the depth direction of the drawing.

In this apparatus, the distance between the outer ends of the small-diameter portions 193 is set to the width W of the substrate P in order to reliably control the position of the substrate P in the width direction and carry out the good conveyance. It is necessary to match with high accuracy. Therefore,
Using this apparatus, a plurality of types of substrates P having different width dimensions are used.
In order to be able to convey all the rollers, the position of the width regulating roller 192 on each roller shaft 190 needs to be changeable.

Therefore, conventionally, for example, a structure shown in FIG. 13 is used as a means for enabling the position change. In the figure, a plurality of screw holes 191 are provided in the vicinity of both ends of a roller shaft 190 so as to be displaced in the axial direction, and a stepped bolt which radially penetrates a large diameter portion 194 of the width regulating roller 192, for example. An insertion hole 197 is provided. Then, with the bolt 196 inserted through the bolt insertion hole 197, the bolt 196 is screwed into an appropriate screw hole 191 and inserted.
92 is fixed to the roller shaft 190.

According to this structure, for example, the bolt 196 is turned in the loosening direction from the state shown in the drawing to be pulled out from the screw hole 191 and the bolt insertion hole 197, and the width regulating roller 192 is moved along the roller shaft 190 in this state. After aligning the bolt insertion hole 197 with the screw hole 191 on the right side (outside the apparatus) in the figure, the bolt 196 is inserted again into the bolt insertion hole 197 at this position and screwed into the screw hole 191 to obtain a width. The fixing position of the regulating roller can be changed.

[0007]

In the above apparatus, when changing the board width, the width regulating rollers 192 attached to the respective roller shafts 190 are manually moved one by one so as to be positioned at an appropriate position. Work is needed. Such work is troublesome, requires a lot of time and labor, and greatly hinders automation and labor saving.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a substrate transfer apparatus which facilitates a roller position changing operation accompanying a change in a substrate width dimension and can contribute to automation and labor saving.

[0009]

As a means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is directed to a plurality of lines extending in a substrate width direction which is a direction orthogonal to a substrate transfer direction and arranged in the transfer direction. A roller shaft and a roller provided at a position where each roller shaft can contact both ends in the width direction of the substrate, and each roller shaft and the roller are in a state where the outer peripheral surface of the roller is in contact with both ends in the width direction of the substrate. In a substrate transfer device that transfers a substrate by rotating in the same direction,
At least one roller in each roller shaft is a movable roller that is relatively movable in the axial direction with respect to the roller shaft, and a roller transfer unit that transfers these movable rollers along the roller shaft; and a movable roller that has been transferred. Roller regulating means for regulating the relative movement with respect to the roller shaft.

According to this configuration, the position of the movable roller can be easily adjusted in accordance with the width of the substrate by transferring each movable roller along the roller axis by the roller transfer means.

When the substrate is transported on the basis of one side position, that is, when the substrate is transported with one end kept constant, only the roller corresponding to the other end may be a movable roller. When the substrate is transported on the basis of the central position, that is, when the substrate is transported with the substrate central position kept constant, both rollers need to be movable rollers. In this case, the left and right rollers can be simultaneously transferred and positioned by configuring the roller transfer means so as to simultaneously transfer both movable rollers at the same speed in opposite directions.

Further, a roller position detecting means for outputting a detection signal relating to the actual position of the movable roller or data corresponding thereto, and the movable roller is externally designated based on the detection signal from the roller position detecting means. With the control means for operating the roller transfer means so as to transfer to the position corresponding to the substrate width dimension and stop at the same position, the transfer and positioning of each roller are performed automatically. Become.

As the roller transfer means and the roller regulating means, each of the movable rollers is mounted on the roller shaft so as to be relatively non-rotatable and relatively movable in the axial direction. It is preferable that the transfer member be provided with a transfer member which is engaged so as to be relatively rotatable, and transfer member driving means for moving the transfer member in a direction parallel to the roller axis. According to this device, the movable roller can be transferred integrally with the transfer member by driving the transfer member, and after the transfer member is stopped, the movable roller can be rotationally driven integrally with the roller shaft. it can.

Further, a transfer member which is relatively rotatable with the movable roller and is engaged so as to be relatively movable only within a movable range limited in the roller axis direction, and moves the transfer member in a direction parallel to the roller axis. And a transfer member driving means for moving the movable roller, and a plurality of roller locking portions for locking the movable roller are provided on the roller shaft so as to be displaced in the axial direction. The movable roller can be driven integrally with the roller shaft by transferring the movable roller to the roller locking part at this position by transporting it to the position where it is locked by the roller locking part. become.

As the engagement structure between the transfer member and the roller, the movable roller is provided with a groove extending over the entire circumference, while the play member is provided with a loose fitting portion which is loosely fitted in the groove with a smaller width than the groove. The one provided is preferred. According to this structure,
With the loose fitting portion of the transfer member hitting the inner surface of the groove,
The transfer member and the roller can be moved integrally, and after the movement, relative rotation of the movable roller with respect to the transfer member is allowed.

Here, if the loose fitting portion of the transfer member is kept in contact with the inner side surface of the groove, rotational resistance is generated in the movable roller due to the frictional force generated between the two. After transferring from the outside to the position where the roller is locked to the roller locking portion corresponding to the specified board width dimension, only the transfer member is moved by a distance smaller than the difference between the width of the groove and the width of the loose fitting portion. If control is performed such that the transfer member and the movable roller are brought into a non-contact state by performing reverse transfer, frictional resistance due to contact between the transfer member and the movable roller can be eliminated, and smoother roller drive can be realized.

In the case where both rollers are movable rollers and these rollers are transported by using the above-described transport members, the transport members engaged with the respective movable rollers are provided with nuts in a direction parallel to the roller shaft, while If the transfer member driving means includes a screw shaft in which male screws in opposite directions are formed and each of the nuts is screwed to each male screw, and a screw shaft driving device for rotating and driving the screw shaft, the screw shaft It is possible to automatically move the two transfer members and the rollers engaged with the transfer members in the direction of coming into contact with and separating from each other only by rotating the drive member.

[0018]

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

The substrate transfer apparatus 10 shown here has a pair of left and right side plates 12 as shown in FIG. 2, and both side plates 12 extend in the substrate transfer direction (downward in FIG. 2). Both ends of a plurality of roller shafts 20 are rotatably supported on each side plate 12 via bearings (not shown). Each roller shaft 2
Numerals 0 extend in a horizontal direction (substrate width direction) orthogonal to the substrate transport direction, and are provided side by side along the transport direction.

A gear 14 is fixed to one end (the left end in FIG. 2) of each roller shaft 20, and a transport motor 16 is provided at an appropriate position of the substrate transport apparatus 10. The output shaft 18 of the transport motor 16 is connected to each gear 14 via an appropriate drive transmission mechanism, and the operation of the transport motor 16 causes all the roller shafts 20 to be simultaneously driven to rotate in the same direction. It has become.

A support roller 22 for supporting the central portion of the substrate P from below is fixed to a central portion of each roller shaft 20 in the left-right direction. A roller 30 is mounted.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4A and 4B,
Each roller 30 is formed in a cylindrical shape having a through hole on its central axis, and can be fitted around the roller shaft 20. Each roller 30 includes a cylindrical roller body 32, a cylindrical width regulating section 33 having a diameter larger than that of the roller body 32, and a cylindrical sphere holding section 34 arranged in this order in the axial direction and integrated. Is formed. The roller body 32 and the width regulating part 3
A tapered portion 35 is formed between the tapered portion 3 and the tapered portion 35, the diameter of which gradually decreases from the width regulating portion 33 toward the roller body 32.

A substrate support ring 31 made of rubber or the like is fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the roller main body 32. The widthwise end of the substrate P is placed on the substrate support ring 31, and the widthwise position is regulated by the tapered portion 35.

The ball holding portion 34 is provided with a through hole 36 penetrating the ball holding portion 34 in the radial direction (thickness direction), and the ball 37 is rollably accommodated in the through hole 36. The diameter of the ball 37 is set to be slightly larger than the axial dimension of the through hole 36 (that is, the thickness of the ball holding portion 34), and the inner end and the outer end of the ball 37 are respectively formed on the inner peripheral surface of the ball holding portion 34. And project from the outer peripheral surface.

A pair of upper and lower pressing members 24 are fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the ball holding portion 34. Both holding members 24 are
The center angle has an arc-shaped cross section slightly smaller than 180 °, and the radius of curvature of the inner peripheral surface thereof is set to be substantially equal to the radius of the outer peripheral surface of the sphere holding portion 34. Through holes 25 are formed at the top of the upper holding member 24 and at the bottom of the lower holding member 24, respectively, and the protruding portions of the balls 37 are fitted into the respective through holes 25. An O-ring 26 made of rubber or the like, which can be expanded and contracted, is fitted around the outer peripheral surfaces of both holding members 24 in an expanded state.
Each of the balls 37 is pushed inward in the radial direction via the pressing member 24 by the elastic return force.

On the other hand, a plurality of inverted conical roller locking recesses 28 are provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the left and right wings of each roller shaft 20.
Are formed, and the ball 37 is fitted into any of the roller locking recesses 28, whereby the roller shaft 20 is formed.
The relative rotation and the axial displacement of the roller 30 with respect to are controlled.

More specifically, in this embodiment, the circumferential side wall (so-called V-groove) of the roller locking recess 28 formed in the roller shaft 20 regulates the movement of the ball 37 in the circumferential direction. Accordingly, the relative rotation of the roller 30 with respect to the roller shaft 20 is regulated, and the axial side wall of the roller locking recess 28 regulates the movement of the ball 37 in the axial direction. Directional displacement is regulated. However, various modifications of the structure for regulating the movement of the roller 30 are conceivable. For example, the roller locking recess 28 of the roller shaft 20 may be used.
Instead of forming a long groove extending in the circumferential direction on the roller shaft 20 and forming a long groove extending in the axial direction instead of the through hole 36 of the ball holding portion 34, the ball 37 may be fitted at the intersection of the two long grooves. Good.

In this embodiment, each roller locking recess 2
8 are set to be symmetrical, and in the state where the right and left rollers 30 are locked in the appropriate roller locking recesses 28, the widthwise ends of the substrate P having the specific width W are fixed by the rollers 30 from below. It is configured to be supportable.

Further, in this apparatus, a pair of front and rear (a pair of upper and lower in FIG. 2) screw shafts 40 and a pair of left and right transfer members 50 are provided as means for transferring each roller 30 along the roller shaft 20. I have.

The two screw shafts 40 extend in parallel with the respective roller shafts 20. Similarly to the roller shafts 20, both left and right ends are rotatably supported by left and right side plates 12 via bearings (not shown). A left external thread 41L and a right external thread 41R, which are opposite to each other, are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the screw shaft 40 at the center in the left-right direction.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
A width shifting motor 42 is installed at a position outside of the
One end of one screw shaft 40 is directly connected to the output shaft of the width shifting motor 42 via a coupling 43. Further, timing pulleys 44 and 45 are fixed to ends of the screw shaft 40 and the other screw shaft 40, respectively.
6, the two screw shafts 40 are simultaneously driven to rotate in the same direction at the same speed by the operation of the width shifting motor 42.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 48 denotes a tension pulley for applying an appropriate tension to the timing belt 46.

The transfer member 50 is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 (a).
As shown in (b), an upright wall 51 extending in the substrate transfer direction (the depth direction in FIG. 3, the left-right direction in FIG. 4 (b)),
The vertical wall 51 has a substantially V-shape having a horizontal wall 52 extending horizontally from the lower end thereof, and a plurality of ribs 53 are formed over both walls 51, 52. On the lower surface of the horizontal wall 52,
At positions corresponding to the external threads 41L and 41R of each screw shaft 40, nuts 54 are bolted in parallel with the roller shaft 20.
5 and each nut 54 is fixed to each male screw 41.
L, 41R. In addition, the substrate transfer device 10
At both front and rear positions, both ends of the guide rod 60 extending parallel to the roller shaft 20 are fixed to the side plates 12,
On the lower surface of the horizontal wall 52 of the transfer member 50, a slider 57 that is fitted to the guide rod 60 is fixed.

Accordingly, the two screw shafts 40 are simultaneously driven to rotate in the same direction at the same speed, so that the two transfer members 50 are simultaneously driven at the same speed in the direction in which they come and go (slide drive).
It is supposed to be.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4B, the upper end of the vertical wall 51 is located at a position corresponding to each roller 30.
A notch 56 opened upward is formed. Each notch 5
6 has a substantially U-shape in front view in which a semicircular lower part and a linear upper part are combined.

On the other hand, the width regulating portion 33 of each roller 30
The groove 38 is formed over the entire circumference thereof, and the diameter of the radially inner bottom surface of the groove 38 is set slightly smaller than the diameter of the semicircular lower part of the notch 56. FIG.
As shown in (a) and (b), the width t2 of each groove 38 is set to be slightly larger than the thickness t1 of the vertical wall 51, and the notch 5 in the vertical wall 51 is provided in the groove 38.
6 are loosely fitted.

That is, each roller 30 is connected to the transfer member 50.
Relative to the vertical wall 51, and within a minute range limited in the axial direction (specifically, a range corresponding to the difference between the width t2 of the groove 38 and the wall thickness t1 of the vertical wall 51). And a plurality of rollers 30 engaged with the transfer member 50 (for example, when the right transfer member 50 slides, the right roller 30 ) Are simultaneously transferred in the same direction.

As shown in FIG. 2, one side (the right side in FIG. 2)
A detection block 58 as shown in FIG. 5 is fixed to an appropriate position on the lower surface of the horizontal wall 52 of the transfer member 50 by a bolt 55 or the like. On the other hand, a detection block 62 is mounted on the side wall 12 at a position corresponding to the detected block 58, and an origin position detection switch 63 and an overrun detection sensor 64 are fixed to the detection block 62. The home position detection switch 63 is provided at a position where the transfer member 50 contacts the detected block 58 when the transfer member 50 reaches the home position, which is the outermost position, and is switched from off to on by this contact. It is. The overrun detection sensor 64 is connected to the transfer member 50.
Is detected by mistake to enter a region outside of the origin position, and a signal to that effect is output.

As shown in FIG.
The other end of the screw shaft (the lower screw shaft in the figure) 40 which is directly connected to one end is extended outward, and this extended end is a support wall 70 also shown in FIG. Is rotatably supported via a bearing 72. A male screw 73 is formed at the tip of the screw shaft 40, and a nut 74 is attached to the male screw 73.
The spacer 75, the rotation detection plate 76, and the spacer 77 are sandwiched and fixed between the nut 74 and the bearing 72. Rotation detection plate 76
Protrudes radially outward from the end of the screw shaft, and has a notch intermittently formed in the outer peripheral edge in the circumferential direction.

On the other hand, a bracket 78 extends from the support wall 70 outward (to the right in FIG. 6).
A rotation angle detection sensor 80 is fixed to the tip of the bracket 78. The rotation angle detection sensor 80 includes the light emitting unit 8
0a and a light switch having a light receiving portion 80b, and the rotation detecting plate 76 is provided between the two portions 80a and 80b.
The arrangement position of the rotation angle detection sensor 80 is set such that the outer peripheral edge of the sensor is located. Therefore, as the screw shaft 40 rotates, the outer periphery of the rotation detecting plate 76 intermittently cuts off between the two portions 80a and 80b, and a pulse signal is output from the rotation angle detection sensor 80. It has become. By counting the number of pulses of the pulse signal, the rotation amount of the screw shaft 40, and thus the transfer amounts of the transfer member 50 and each roller 30 from the above-described origin position can be detected.

Further, the substrate transfer device 10 has a structure shown in FIG.
The input unit 82 and the control device 84 as shown in FIG. The input unit 82 inputs data relating to the width dimension W of the substrate P to be conveyed to the control device 84. In addition to the signal from the input unit 82, the origin position detection switch 63, the overrun detection Detection signals from the sensor 64 and the rotation angle detection sensor 80 are input to the control device 84. The control device 84 is composed of a microcomputer or the like, and is configured to output control signals to the transport motor 16 and the width adjusting motor 42 based on the input signals and control the operations of these motors 16 and 42. .

Next, a specific control operation performed by the control device 84 will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG.

Step S1: The width shifting motor 42 is turned on, and the two transfer members 50 and the respective rollers 30 engaged with the transfer members 50 are turned on.
Are simultaneously transferred outward.

Steps S2 and S3: The output signal of the origin position detection switch 63 is monitored, and when this signal is turned on, that is, the detected block 58 of the transfer member 50 on one side is connected to the origin position detection switch 63. At the point of contact, the width shifting motor 42 is switched off. Thereby, the right and left transfer members 50 and all the rollers 30 are positioned at the predetermined origin positions.

Step S4: Data input from the input section 82, that is, data relating to the width dimension W of the substrate P to be transported is read.

Step S5: Roller locking recesses which can lock the roller 30 at positions corresponding to both widthwise ends of the substrate P having the above width W among the plurality of roller locking recesses 28 provided on the roller shaft 20. 28, and the number of pulses required to transport each roller 30 to the locking position of the selected roller locking recess 28, in other words, from the current origin position to the locking position by the roller locking recess 28. Roller 20
The number of pulses output from the rotation angle detection sensor 80 during the transfer is calculated and set as the target number of pulses.

Step S6: The width moving motor 42 is operated in a direction opposite to that of the step S1 to move both the transfer members 50 and the respective rollers 30 inward. Then, when the number of pulses output from the rotation angle detection sensor 80 reaches the target number of pulses, the width adjusting motor 42 is stopped. As a result, as shown in FIG. 9A, each roller 30 is transported to a position where the ball 37 fits into the predetermined roller locking recess 28, and the roller shaft of each roller 30 is moved at this position. The relative movement (both rotational movement and linear movement in the axial direction) relative to 20 is regulated. That is, each roller 30 is in a state of rotating integrally with the roller shaft 20.

At this point, the peripheral edge of the notch 56 in the vertical wall 51 is in contact with the inner surface of the groove 38 on the roller 30 side.

Step S7: The width adjusting motor 42 is operated in the direction opposite to the step S6, and immediately after counting a predetermined number of minute pulses, the width adjusting motor 42
To stop. The “small number of pulses” is the width t of the groove 38.
It is set to a range smaller than the number of pulses corresponding to the difference between 2 and the wall thickness t1 of the vertical wall 51. When only the transfer member 50 moves backward by the number of minute pulses, both side surfaces of the vertical wall 51 are separated from both inner side surfaces of the groove 38 as shown in FIG. 9B. That is, the roller 30 and the transfer member 50 are in a non-contact state.

Step S8: The transport motor 16 is operated to rotate all the roller shafts 20 simultaneously in the same direction. At this time, each roller 30 also rotates integrally with each roller shaft 20. Therefore, in this state, if both ends in the width direction of the substrate P having the width dimension W are placed on the substrate support ring 31 of each roller 30, the positions of both ends of the substrate P are accurately positioned by the tapered portion 35, and P can be satisfactorily conveyed in a predetermined conveyance direction (downward direction in FIG. 2).

After the transfer of the substrate P having the width W is completed, the transfer motor 16 is stopped, and the process waits for the next transfer of the substrate.

According to such an apparatus, the width shifting motor 4
2, the entire roller 30 can be easily transported to a position corresponding to a predetermined substrate width dimension.
Can be locked to the side. Therefore, compared with the case where each roller 30 is manually moved one by one to the predetermined position along the roller shaft 20 and fixed at the predetermined position as in the related art,
The roller position adjustment work accompanying the change in the board width dimension is greatly simplified and speeded up, and the work efficiency is dramatically improved.

It is also possible to manually turn on and off the width shifting motor 42. In this case, the working efficiency is improved as compared with the conventional apparatus.
Detecting means such as a rotation angle detecting sensor 80 and a control device 8 for controlling the operation of the width shifting motor 42 based on the detection signal
4 can contribute to automation and labor saving of the apparatus.

In particular, as shown in FIGS. 9 (a) and 9 (b), after the roller 30 has been transferred to the locking position by the predetermined roller locking recess 28, the roller 30 is transferred by a very small amount in the direction opposite to the transfer direction. By performing control such that only the member 50 is moved, the transfer member 50 and the roller 30 can be brought into a non-contact state, and the rotational resistance of the roller 30 is reduced by the frictional force generated when both are in contact. The advantages that can be obtained are also obtained.

The present invention can take the following forms in addition to the above embodiment.

(1) In the above-described embodiment, the transfer member 50 is moved by the combination of the screw shaft 40 and the nut 54. However, the drive of the transfer member in the present invention requires various other drive mechanisms. It is possible to use. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, when a pair of racks 92 are engaged with a common pinion 90 at the same time, and the transfer member 50 is connected to the rack 92, the two transfer members 50 are brought into and out of contact by the rotation drive of the pinion 90. be able to. Further, even if a timing belt 96 is stretched between a pair of left and right timing pulleys 94 and the transfer member 50 is connected to an appropriate position of the timing belt 96, both the transfer members 50 are driven by the rotation drive of one of the timing pulleys 94. It is possible to move the member 50 toward and away. However, when the screw shaft 40 as described above is used, since the displacement of the transfer member 50 due to its rotation is minute, the roller can be positioned with higher accuracy.

(2) In the above embodiment, the left and right rollers 30
Is a movable roller, that is, a roller that can relatively move in the axial direction with respect to the roller shaft 20, but when the substrate P is transported not on the basis of the center position but on the basis of one end position, the position of one roller 30 is fixed. Then, the roller transfer means and the roller regulating means may be provided only for the other roller 30. For example, when the substrate P is transported with the left end position being constant irrespective of the width dimension of the substrate P, only the right roller 30 may be transported and positioned.

(3) In the above embodiment, the thickness t1 of the vertical wall 51 and the width t2 of the groove 38 are made substantially equal,
If the transfer member 50 and the transfer member 50 are hardly displaceable relative to each other in the axial direction, the transfer member 50 can also be used as a roller restricting means in the roller axial direction, so that the roller locking concave portion 28 can be omitted. Further, the roller 30
Can be continuously adjusted. In this case, after the roller 30 is transferred to a predetermined position, the transfer member 50 may be stopped at that position. The roller 30 and the roller shaft 20 may be key-coupled to each other so that the roller 30 cannot rotate relative to the roller shaft 20 and can move only in the axial direction.

(4) In the above embodiment, the width regulating roller 30 for supporting both ends of the substrate P in the width direction from below has been described.
In addition, the present invention can be widely applied to rollers that require position adjustment according to the width W of the substrate P. For example,
A press roller that presses both ends of the substrate from above so that the substrate being transported does not jump up, and whose position must be adjusted so that it contacts only both ends of the substrate without affecting the substrate surface treatment. The present invention can also be applied to In this case, the roller transfer means may be provided at a position above the roller shaft so as not to hinder the transfer of the substrate P.

[0060]

As described above, according to the present invention, the roller transfer means for transferring the movable roller provided on the roller shaft along the roller shaft, and the relative movement of the movable roller after the transfer with respect to the roller shaft are regulated. And a roller regulating means for adjusting the position of the movable roller when the width dimension of the substrate to be transported is changed can be performed easily and quickly, and the work efficiency is dramatically improved. There is an effect that can be improved.

Here, both left and right rollers are movable rollers,
In addition, according to the above-described roller transfer means configured to simultaneously transfer both movable rollers in the opposite direction at the same speed, the transfer and positioning of both movable rollers can be performed simultaneously by the operation of the roller transfer means. In addition, it is possible to quickly respond to a change in the width of the substrate conveyed on the basis of the center position.

A roller position detecting means for outputting a detection signal relating to the actual position of the movable roller or data corresponding thereto, and the movable roller is designated from the outside based on the detection signal from the roller position detecting means. By providing control means for operating the roller transfer means so as to transfer to a position corresponding to the substrate width dimension and stop at the same position, it is possible to contribute to automation and labor saving of the entire apparatus.

As the roller transfer means and the roller regulating means, each of the movable rollers is connected to the roller shaft so as to be relatively non-rotatable and relatively moveable in the axial direction. And a transfer member that is relatively rotatably engaged, and a transfer member driving unit that moves the transfer member in a direction parallel to the roller axis. With this configuration, the effect that all the movable rollers can be transferred and positioned can be obtained.

A transfer member which is relatively rotatable with the movable roller and is movably engaged only within a limited movable range in the roller axis direction, and moves the transfer member in a direction parallel to the roller axis. And a transfer member driving means for moving the movable roller, and a plurality of roller locking portions for locking the movable roller are provided on the roller shaft so as to be displaced in the axial direction. The movable member is transported by the transfer member to a position where the movable roller is locked by the roller locking portion, and the movable roller is locked to the roller locking portion at this position, whereby the movable roller can be driven to rotate integrally with the roller shaft. .

More specifically, according to the movable roller provided with a groove extending over the entire circumference, while the transfer member is provided with a play fitting portion having a smaller width than the groove and being loosely fitted in the groove.
Interlocking of the movable roller and the transfer member can be realized with a simple structure. In this device, after the movable roller and the transfer member are transferred from the outside to a position where the movable roller and the transfer member are locked by the roller locking portion corresponding to the substrate width dimension specified from the outside, the width of the groove and the width of the loose fitting portion are transferred. Control means for reversely transferring only the transfer member by a distance smaller than the difference between the transfer member and the movable roller so that the transfer member and the movable roller are in a non-contact state. Thus, an effect that a smoother roller drive can be realized can be obtained.

In the case where both rollers are movable rollers and these are transported using the above-mentioned transport members, the transport members engaged with the respective movable rollers are provided with nuts in the direction parallel to the roller shaft. By providing, as the transfer member driving means, external threads formed in opposite directions to each other, a screw shaft on which each of the nuts is screwed with each male screw, and a screw shaft driving means for rotating and driving the screw shaft. With a simple configuration in which the screw shaft is only driven to rotate, the two movable rollers can be automatically moved in the direction of coming into contact with and separating from each other, and the positioning can be performed with high accuracy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional front view showing a main part of a substrate transfer device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall plan view of the substrate transfer device.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional front view showing a roller of the substrate transfer apparatus and a transfer unit thereof.

4A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 3, and FIG.
FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion D in FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing input / output signals of a control device in the substrate transfer device.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a control operation by the control device.

9A is a cross-sectional front view showing the relative positional relationship between the roller and the transfer member immediately after the transfer of the roller, and FIG. 9B is a view showing the roller after only the transfer member is moved backward by a very small amount from the state of FIG. It is sectional front view which shows the relative positional relationship with a transfer member.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a combination of a pinion and a rack, which is a modification of the roller transfer means.

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a combination of a timing pulley and a timing belt as a modified example of the roller transfer means.

FIG. 12 is a front view illustrating an example of a conventional substrate transfer device.

FIG. 13 is a partial cross-sectional front view showing a main part of a conventional substrate transfer device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 substrate transfer device 20 roller shaft 28 roller locking concave portion (roller locking portion) 30 roller 38 groove 40 screw shaft 41L, 41R male screw 42 width shifting motor (screw shaft driving means) 50 transfer member 51 upright portion (free fitting portion) 54 Nut 63 Home position detection switch (roller position detection means) 80 Rotation angle detection sensor (roller position detection means) 84 Control device (control means) P board

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of roller shafts extending in a substrate width direction which is a direction orthogonal to a substrate conveyance direction and arranged in the conveyance direction, and each roller shaft can contact both ends in the width direction of the substrate. A roller provided at a position, wherein each roller shaft and the rollers rotate in the same direction in a state where the outer peripheral surface of the roller and both ends in the width direction of the substrate are in contact with each other. At least one of the rollers is a movable roller that is relatively movable in the axial direction with respect to the roller axis, a roller transporting unit that transports these movable rollers along the roller axis, and a roller axis of the movable roller that has been transported. And a roller restricting means for restricting relative movement of the substrate. 2. The substrate transfer device according to claim 1, wherein
A substrate transport apparatus, wherein both rollers are movable rollers, and the roller transport means is configured to simultaneously transport both movable rollers in opposite directions at the same speed. 3. A substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said detection means outputs a detection signal relating to an actual position of said movable roller or data corresponding thereto, and a detection signal from said roller position detection means. Control means for moving the movable roller to a position corresponding to a substrate width dimension specified from the outside and stopping the same at the same position, and controlling the roller transfer means. apparatus. 4. The substrate transfer device according to claim 1, wherein each of the movable rollers is mounted on a roller shaft so as to be relatively non-rotatable and relatively movable in the axial direction, and to be attached to these rotating rollers. A substrate transfer apparatus comprising: a transfer member that is engaged so as to be relatively immovable and relatively rotatable in a roller axis direction; and transfer member driving means that moves the transfer member in a direction parallel to the roller axis. . 5. The transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the transfer member is relatively rotatable with the movable roller and is relatively movably engaged only within a movable range limited in a roller axial direction. Transfer member driving means for moving the transfer member in a direction parallel to the roller shaft, and a plurality of roller locking portions for locking the movable roller are provided on the roller shaft so as to be displaced in the axial direction. A substrate transfer device, characterized in that: 6. The substrate transfer device according to claim 5, wherein
A substrate transport device, characterized in that the movable roller is provided with a groove extending over the entire circumference, and the transfer member is provided with a loose fitting portion having a smaller width than the groove and being loosely fitted in the groove. 7. The substrate transfer device according to claim 6, wherein
A roller position detecting means for outputting a detection signal relating to the actual position of the movable roller or data equivalent thereto, and the movable roller and the transfer member being externally designated based on a detection signal from the roller position detection means. The roller is transported to a position where it is locked by the roller locking portion corresponding to the dimension, and thereafter, only the transporting member is reversely transported by a distance smaller than the difference between the width of the groove and the width of the loose fitting portion. A substrate transport device comprising: a control unit that operates the transfer member driving unit so that the transfer member and the movable roller are brought into a non-contact state. 8. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 4, wherein both rollers are movable rollers, and a transfer member engaged with each movable roller is provided with a nut in a direction parallel to the roller axis. The transfer member drive means includes a screw shaft in which male screws in opposite directions are formed, each of the male screws is screwed with each of the nuts, and a screw shaft drive means for rotating and driving the screw shaft. Substrate transfer device.