JPH1065370A - Substrate housing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate housing device which can house substrates of a plurality of sizes and, at the same time, can make the changing work for the size of the housed substrates easier. SOLUTION: A pair of holding bodies 35 is attached to the inside of a frame body 12, and substrates 1 are horizontally housed in the frame body 12 by respectively inserting both edge sections of the substrates into the groove-like holding section of the holding bodies 35. A ball plunger provided with an engaging section which can elastically move forward and backward is attached to the upper section of each holding section 35, and a plurality of hole buttons is attached to the lower surface of the upper plate of the frame body 12 correspondingly to the size of carried substrates 1. Each hole button is provided with a receiving section with which the engaging section of the hole button is detachably engaged. The changing work for the size of the substrates 1 can be carried out easily and accurately, when the engaging section of each hole button is manually engaged with the receiving section of one of the ball plungers.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate storage device for storing substrates.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, in a manufacturing process of a liquid crystal display, a substrate transport cassette for accommodating the substrates of the liquid crystal display in multiple stages when moving the substrate between manufacturing apparatuses in each process has been used. .

[0003] This type of substrate transport cassette includes a frame and a pair of holders having grooves formed in multiple stages. In addition, each holding body is fastened and fixed to the frame using bolts in a state where the grooves are spaced from each other by a predetermined dimension and face each other. Then, the edges on both sides of the substrate are inserted into the opposing grooves, so that a plurality of substrates are stored in multiple stages horizontally.

In order to change the size (size) of a substrate to be stored, a bolt for fixing each holding body is loosened using a tool, and each holding body together with the bolt is moved to a predetermined position using a jig. The holder is moved and aligned, and the bolt is tightened using a tool to fix the position of each holder.

[0005]

However, in the above-described conventional configuration, when the size of the board to be stored is changed,
Tools and jigs are required, which makes the work complicated and difficult to improve work efficiency, and also makes it difficult to position each holder at the correct position according to the dimensions of various substrates. Have.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate storage device capable of easily changing the size of a substrate to be stored.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a substrate accommodating apparatus comprising: a frame; and a holding portion for holding an edge portion of the substrate. The frame body is provided with a plurality of receiving portions, and at least one of the holding members is provided with an engaging portion which is selectively detachably engaged with and held by each of the receiving portions. In this configuration, by selectively engaging the engaging portion of the holding member with the receiving portion of the frame, the operation of arranging the holding member in accordance with the dimensions of the substrate to be stored is facilitated.

Further, since the engaging portion is elastically movable, the work of engaging the engaging portion with the predetermined receiving portion and disposing the holding member at the predetermined position becomes easy.

Further, by providing the receiving portion movably on the frame, substrates of various sizes can be accommodated, and fine adjustment of the size becomes possible.

[0010]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a substrate storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a substrate.
Is a glass substrate used for a liquid crystal display, for example, and is formed in a flat rectangular plate shape having a standardized predetermined size (size).

Reference numeral 11 denotes a substrate transport cassette as a substrate storage device. The substrate transport cassette 11 stores and transports the substrate 1 in multiple stages in a process of manufacturing a liquid crystal display. That is, the substrate 1 is moved between the manufacturing apparatuses in each process while being stored in the substrate transfer cassette 11, and is loaded and unloaded one by one using a substrate transfer machine or the like in each manufacturing apparatus. Has become.

The substrate transport cassette 11 has a frame
This frame 12 has an upper plate 14 as a support.
, A lower plate 15, and four shafts 16 connecting these upper and lower plates 14, 15 at a predetermined interval.
The upper plate 14 is formed with a pair of slide mechanisms 18 at four locations near one side and near the other side, for a total of eight locations.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, each slide mechanism 18 has a holding groove having a longitudinal direction on both sides.
Each holding groove 21 penetrates the upper plate 14 up and down, and has a step portion 22 formed at an intermediate portion, and the width of the lower portion is smaller than that of the upper portion. Furthermore, each holding groove 21
In this embodiment, a plurality of, in this embodiment, three hole buttons 23 are respectively inserted from below, and are mounted at predetermined positions corresponding to the dimensions of the substrate 1 to be conveyed. That is, each hole button 23 includes a flange portion 25 that contacts the lower surface of the upper plate 14, and a shaft portion 26 that projects upward from the flange portion 25. The shaft 26 is inserted into each holding groove 21 and has a screw hole 27 opened at the upper end. Then, bolts which are inserted into the respective holding grooves 21 from above in the screw holes 27 and are locked to the step portions 22 are respectively provided.
Screw 28 and tighten each hole button 23
Are fastened and fixed to the upper plate 14. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a receiving portion 31 which is recessed in a substantially conical shape or the like toward the upper side is provided at the center of the lower surface of the flange portion 25.
Are formed.

On the upper surface of the upper plate 14, a scale mark 33 indicating a position where the hole button 23 is to be attached is formed by printing or engraving adjacent to each pair of slide mechanisms 18. The scale display 33 corresponds to the mounting position of the hole button 23, that is, the size of the substrate 1 to be conveyed.
A display such as 3 inch, 12.1 inch or the like is displayed.

Further, a rear support (not shown) is provided on the rear side of the frame 12 as necessary so that the stored substrate 1 does not fall to the rear side.

In FIG. 1, reference numerals 35 and 35 denote a pair of holders, and these holders 35 and 35 have a substrate portion 36 vertically opposed to each other between the upper and lower plates 14 and 15. A plurality of horizontal groove-shaped holding portions 37 are formed at predetermined intervals on the surfaces where the substrate portions 36 face each other.

The lower ends of these holders 35 are formed in a planar shape, while the upper ends are partially protruded from the upper end surface of the substrate 36 as shown in FIGS. In this way, four ball plungers 41 are attached to each. And this ball plunger 41
A mounting portion 42 embedded and fixed in the substrate portion 36, and a ball-shaped engaging portion 44 provided elastically removably from the upper end of the mounting portion 42, that is, resiliently movable vertically. And

The holder 35 is inserted between the upper and lower plates 14 and 15 in an upright state so that the lower end of the holder 35 abuts against the upper surface of the lower plate 15 and each of the ball plungers 41 engages. By engaging the joint portion 44 with any one of the receiving portions 31 of the hole button 23 of the frame 12, the holder 35 is positioned at a predetermined position of the frame 12, that is, at a predetermined interval between the holders 35. The substrate transfer cassette is held at the separated position.
11 is configured. In this state, the substrate 1 is slid from the front side of the frame 12 and inserted into the substrate transport cassette 11 by locking the edges on both sides to the holding portion 37 of the holding body 35. The substrate 1 can be stored and transported.

When the size (size) of the substrate 1 to be transferred is changed, a predetermined force is directly applied to the holding body 35 by an operator's hand, so that each engaging portion 44 of each ball plunger 41 is moved. After removing the hole button 23 from the receiving portion 31, the holder 35 is moved in both directions, and the hole button 23 corresponding to the size of the substrate 1 to be switched is referred to with reference to the scale display 33.
By engaging the engaging portion 44 of the ball plunger 41 with the receiving portion 31, the positioning and fixing of the holder 35 are performed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the ball plunger 41 is provided on the holder 35 side, and the frame 12
By fixing the hole buttons 23 on the sides corresponding to the dimensions of the substrate 1 to be stored and transported, there is no need to use a tool or the like, and the operator directly applies force by hand to the holding body. 35 can be easily moved and accurately positioned and held. Therefore, when the dimensions of the substrate 1 to be transported are changed, the work of changing the position of the holder 35 can be easily performed, and accurate positioning can be performed for each substrate size. Can be improved.

In the above embodiment, the frame 12 is
Although the upper and lower plates 14 and 15 are connected by the shaft 16, they may be formed in a box shape with an open front surface.

[0023]

According to the substrate storage device of the present invention, by selectively engaging the engaging portion of the holder with the receiving portion of the frame,
The holder can be easily arranged in accordance with the size of the substrate to be stored, and the work efficiency of the switching operation for adjusting to the size of the substrate can be improved.

Further, by making the engaging portion elastically movable back and forth, the engaging portion can be easily engaged with the predetermined receiving portion without using a tool or the like, and the holder can be easily moved to the predetermined position. Can be placed.

Further, by providing the receiving portion movably on the frame, substrates of various sizes can be stored and the size can be finely adjusted.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of a substrate storage device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a part of the substrate storage device.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a part of FIG. 2 of the substrate storage device;

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Substrate 11 Substrate transfer cassette as substrate storage device 12 Frame 31 Receiving part 35 Holder 37 Holding part 44 Engaging part

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A frame, comprising: a holding portion for holding an edge of a substrate; and a pair of holding members which are opposed to each other and are attached to the frame. A substrate storage device, wherein at least one of the holders is provided with an engagement portion which is selectively detachably engaged with and held by each of the receiving portions. 2. The substrate storage device according to claim 1, wherein the engagement portion is provided so as to be elastically movable. 3. The substrate storage device according to claim 1, wherein the receiving portion is movably provided on the frame.