JPH11176908A - Device for carrying in and out of vessel - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vessel-transfering in and out device, making allowance for margin bringing in and out a vessel, while transfer out continuously a substrate from the vessel and moreover transfer in the substrate to the vessel for avoiding the expansion of a system. SOLUTION: In a wafer-transfering in and out device 5 between a carrier C containing the wafer W and a cleaning part 3, a mounting base 12 of the device 5 is divided into a carrier transfer in region 13 and a carrier transfer out region 14. Next, in the carrier transfer in region 13, a carrier transfer in position A, a wafer taking in position B, and a transfering inside transfer position C are separately provided, so as to provide the first transfer inside transfer means 20 and the second transfer out side transfer means 21 between these positions A, B, C. Likewise, in the carrier transfer out region 14, a carrier transfer out position D, a wafer containing position E, and a transfer out side transfer position F are provided separately, so as to provide the first transfer out side transfer means 20' and the second transfer out side transfer means 21' between these positions D, E, F.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a container loading / unloading device for storing a substrate such as a CD substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a semiconductor device manufacturing process, for example, a cleaning system for removing contamination such as particles, organic contaminants, and metal impurities attached to the surface of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, referred to as "wafer"). Is used. As one of the cleaning processing systems for cleaning a wafer, a single-wafer cleaning processing system using a spin-type device is generally known.

[0003] The single wafer type cleaning processing system includes, for example, a mounting section on which a carrier for accommodating a wafer can be mounted, a cleaning processing section provided with a processing apparatus for cleaning and drying the wafer, and a mounting section. A transfer arm is provided for transferring a wafer to and from the cleaning processing unit and for transferring the wafer to each processing device of the cleaning processing unit. Then, the wafers taken out of the carrier mounted on the mounting section by the transfer arm are sequentially transferred to the respective processing devices of the cleaning processing section, and are subjected to predetermined cleaning and drying processes. The wafer after the predetermined processing is carried out of the cleaning processing unit by the transfer arm, and is again carried into the carrier mounted on the mounting unit.

[0004] Further, the transport process such as loading a carrier into the cleaning system or transporting the carrier from the cleaning system to another processing system is automated so as not to rely on humans from the viewpoint of measures against particles. Is being promoted. That is, for example, OHD (over head)
A monorail system known as d delivery is known, in which a wafer is placed in a pod (Pod).
The carrier is housed in a box called a pod, the pod is covered, and the wafer is transported in a sealed state. Among them, the use of a pod-type carrier in which a pod and a carrier are integrated is becoming widespread for convenience. Then, such a carrier is transported to an appropriate position in the clean room by using a trolley sliding on a rail provided above the clean room, and the carrier is suspended or lifted from the trolley by a chain or the like. It is carried in and out of a predetermined cleaning processing system or a stocker of a group of cleaning processing systems arranged in a large number.

Here, a loading / unloading device for loading / unloading a carrier accommodating a wafer into / from the cleaning processing system is provided in the mounting portion. For example, as shown in FIG. 15, in a mounting section 101 provided in a conventional cleaning processing system 100, a mounting table 103 of a loading / unloading device 102 is loaded with a carrier C on which a carrier C containing a wafer W before cleaning is loaded. Region 104 and carrier C capable of storing wafer W after cleaning
And a carrier carrying-out area 105 on which the carrier is placed. Then, the transfer arm 106 takes out the wafer W from the carrier C mounted on the carrier carry-in area 104 of the mounting table 103, and sequentially transfers the wafer W to each processing device of the cleaning processing unit (not shown). The wafer W cleaned by the apparatus is stored in the carrier C placed in the carrier unloading area 105. As described above, the carrier W for storing the wafer W before cleaning and the carrier C for storing the wafer W after cleaning are separated from each other, so that the cleanliness of the wafer W after cleaning is maintained.

[0006]

By the way, in order to improve the productivity of the cleaning system, it is important that the idle time of the cleaning system is eliminated as much as possible and the cleaning system is constantly operating. For this purpose, as shown in FIG. 15, when all the wafers W are unloaded from the carrier C in the carrier loading area 104 and the carrier C becomes empty,
Immediately, the empty carrier C is unloaded from the carrier carry-in area 104, the carrier C containing the next unwashed wafer W is carried in and loaded into the carrier carry-in area 104, and the unwashed wafers W are sequentially placed in the cleaning processing system 100. It is necessary to carry the cleaning process continuously. Similarly, in the carrier unloading area 105, the washed wafer W is loaded into the carrier C, and when a predetermined number of wafers W are stored in the carrier C, the carrier C is immediately unloaded from the carrier unloading area 105 and the next step is performed. It is necessary to load and load an empty carrier C capable of accommodating the wafer W in the carrier unloading area 105, and then unload the cleaned wafer W from the cleaning processing system 100 one after another.

However, although the automation of the transport system is being promoted, a large number of processing systems other than the cleaning processing system are arranged in the clean room, and the transport system itself is adapted to be compatible with all the processing systems. Is also complicated, and there is a certain limit to the optimum transport route of the truck for transporting the carrier and the traveling time of the truck.
Further, as shown in the illustrated example, the carrier loading area 104
Has only a mounting area for one carrier C, so that the time for loading the carrier C is limited to between the previous cleaning process and the next cleaning process. Similarly, the carrier unloading area 105 also has only a mounting area for one carrier C, so that the time for unloading the carrier C is limited between the previous cleaning processing and the next cleaning processing. It is difficult for the loading / unloading device 102 and the transport system having various restrictions to properly adjust the loading / unloading time of the carrier C.

Furthermore, if the transport system cannot respond to the request for loading / unloading the carrier C in the loading / unloading device 102, the carrier C containing the wafer W before the next cleaning cannot be immediately loaded into the carrier loading area 104. Or the carrier C containing the cleaned wafer W cannot be immediately unloaded from the carrier unloading area 105. In this case, the operation of taking out the wafer W before cleaning from the carrier C in the carrier carry-in area 104 is not performed, and a situation such as the absence of the wafer W to be cleaned in the cleaning processing system 100 occurs. The operation of 100 may be interrupted, reducing its productivity. Also,
As shown in FIG. 16, it is conceivable to increase the width of the carrier carry-in area 104 and the carrier carry-out area 105 to place a large number of carriers C side by side. The width must be made longer than necessary to match the width of 102. Therefore, the mounting space of the cleaning system 100 increases.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a margin for the time when a container is carried in and out, and to continuously remove a substrate from the container and store the substrate in the container. It is an object of the present invention to provide a container loading / unloading device which can perform the processing in an efficient manner and prevent the system from being enlarged.

[0010]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is to provide a container carrying-in area for carrying in a container accommodating a substrate and taking out the substrate from the container, and for accommodating the substrate in the container. In an apparatus having a container unloading area for unloading a container storing a substrate, a container unloading position for loading a container and a substrate unloading position for unloading a substrate from a container are separately provided in the container unloading area. In the area, a substrate storage position for storing substrates in the container and a container unloading position for unloading the container are separately provided, and a loading side moving means for moving the container between the container loading position and the substrate unloading position; And a carry-out side moving means for moving the container between the substrate storage position and the container carry-out position.

In the container loading / unloading device according to the first aspect, in the container loading area, the container storing the substrate before processing is first loaded and loaded at the container loading position. Then, the container is moved to the substrate unloading position by the loading side moving means. Then, at the substrate unloading position, the substrate before processing is removed from the container, and the substrate is carried into, for example, a processing unit. While the substrate is being taken out of the container at the substrate take-out position, the next container may be carried into the container carry-in position. When all the substrates are taken out of the container at the substrate unloading position, the next container, which has been waiting at the container loading position in advance, is immediately moved to the substrate unloading position by the loading side moving means, and the substrate is unloaded continuously. From these facts, first, since the time restriction on the loading of the container is eased as compared with the conventional case, it is possible to have a margin in the timing of loading the container storing the unprocessed substrates into the container loading / unloading device. .
Further, since the container accommodating the unprocessed substrate is always placed at the substrate unloading position, the unprocessed substrate can be continuously carried into the processing unit. Further, in this case, the arrangement of the container loading position and the substrate unloading position can be freely combined. For example, by arranging the container loading position and the substrate unloading position in front and back, it is possible to prevent the system from increasing in size.

On the other hand, in the container unloading area, first, an empty container capable of storing a substrate is loaded and placed at the container unloading position. Then, the container is moved to the substrate storage position by the unloading side moving means. When the processed substrate is stored in the container at the substrate storing position and a predetermined number of substrates are stored in the container, the container is moved to the container unloading position by the unloading side moving means. Further, the next container, which has been waiting at the container unloading position, is immediately moved to the substrate storing position by the unloading-side moving means, and the substrate is stored continuously. Then, the container moved to the container unloading position may be unloaded from the container unloading position while the processed substrate is stored in the next container at the substrate storing position. From these facts, first, since the time constraint on the unloading of the container is eased as compared with the conventional case, it is possible to have a margin when unloading the container storing the processed substrate from the unloading device of the container. . Further, since an empty container capable of accommodating the substrate is always placed at the substrate accommodating position, the processed substrate can be continuously unloaded from the processing section. Further, in this case, the arrangement of the container unloading position and the substrate storing position can be freely combined. For example, by arranging the container unloading position and the substrate storing position in front and back, it is possible to prevent the system from becoming larger.

In the container loading area of the container loading / unloading device according to the first aspect, a loading side moving position is provided between the container loading position and the substrate unloading position, as described in the second aspect.
A first loading side moving means for moving the container between the container loading position and the loading side moving position, and a second loading side moving means for moving the container between the loading side moving position and the substrate unloading position. It is good to provide. According to this configuration, the container can be moved between the container loading position and the substrate unloading position via the loading side moving position.

In this case, the structure of each moving means of the container carrying-in area in the container carrying-in / out device according to the first aspect can be as follows. That is, as described in claim 3, the first loading-side moving means includes a rotatable mounting plate in order to rotate the container between the loading position and the loading-side movement position. Good to be. According to this configuration, the container placed at the container carry-in position and the container placed at the substrate take-out position can be rotated by each other and simultaneously replaced. Further, as described in claim 4, the second carrying-in side moving means preferably includes an elevating mechanism for moving the container in the vertical direction and a slide mechanism for moving the container in the horizontal direction. According to this configuration, the height of the container can be adjusted at the carry-in side movement position, and the container can be smoothly moved between the carry-in side movement position and the substrate unloading position.

Further, as described in claim 5, the second carrying-in side moving means preferably has a rotating mechanism for changing the direction of the container by 180 °. Further, instead of providing a rotation mechanism in the second loading-side moving means, a reversing means for changing the direction of the container by 180 ° may be provided at the container loading position. In this case, the direction of the container can be changed by 180 ° while waiting at the container loading position or after moving from the substrate unloading position to the container loading position.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, on the unloading side of the container loading / unloading device, an unloading-side moving position is provided between the substrate storing position and the container unloading position. To move the container between the container and the unloading position
And a second unloading-side moving means for moving the container between the substrate storage position and the unloading-side moving position. According to this configuration, the container can be moved between the substrate storage position and the container unloading position via the unloading-side moving position.

In this case, the structure of each moving means of the container carrying-out area in carrying-in / out of the container according to the first aspect can be as follows. That is, as described in claim 8, the first unloading-side moving means includes a rotatable mounting plate so that the container can be moved between the unloading-side moving position and the container unloading position by a rotation operation. Good to be. According to this configuration, the container placed at the substrate storage position and the container placed at the container unloading position can be rotated by each other and simultaneously replaced. Further, as described in the ninth aspect, the second unloading-side moving means preferably includes an elevating mechanism for moving the container in a vertical direction and a slide mechanism for moving the container in a horizontal direction. According to this configuration, the height of the container can be adjusted at the unloading-side movement position, and the container can be smoothly moved between the substrate storage position and the unloading-side movement position.

Further, as described in claim 10, the second
It is preferable that the unloading-side moving means has a rotating mechanism for changing the direction of the container by 180 °. Further, instead of providing the rotation mechanism in the second unloading-side moving means, an inversion means for changing the direction of the container by 180 ° may be provided at the container unloading position. In this case, the direction of the container can be changed by 180 ° while waiting at the container unloading position or after moving from the substrate storage position to the container unloading position.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a container loading / unloading position for loading / unloading a container in an apparatus for loading / unloading a container holding a substrate and taking out / loading the substrate from / into the container. And a substrate loading / unloading position for taking out a substrate from the container and storing the substrate in the container are separately provided, and a moving means for moving the container between the container loading / unloading position and the substrate loading / unloading position is provided. It is characterized by the following.

According to the container loading / unloading device of the present invention, when a container storing a substrate before processing is loaded at the container loading / unloading position, first, the container storing the substrate before processing is loaded and unloaded. Carry in the position. Then, the container is moved to the substrate unloading position by the moving means. Then, at the substrate loading / unloading position, the substrate before processing is taken out of the container and the substrate is carried into, for example, a processing unit. While the substrate is being taken out of the container at the substrate loading / unloading position, the next container may be loaded into the container loading / unloading position. When all the substrates are removed from the container at the substrate loading / unloading position,
The next container which has been waiting at the container loading / unloading position is immediately moved to the substrate loading / unloading position by the moving means, and the substrate is subsequently taken out.

On the other hand, when carrying out the container storing the processed substrate, an empty container capable of storing the substrate is first loaded and loaded at the container loading / unloading position. Then, the container is moved to the substrate unloading position by the moving means. When the processed substrate is stored in the container at the substrate loading / unloading position and a predetermined number of substrates are stored in the container, the container is moved to the container loading / unloading position by the moving means. Further, the next container, which has been waiting at the container loading / unloading position in advance, is immediately moved to the substrate loading / unloading position by the moving means, and the substrate is continuously stored. Then, the container moved to the container loading / unloading position may be unloaded from the container loading / unloading position while the processed substrate is stored in the next container at the substrate loading / unloading position. From these facts, first of all, the time restrictions on loading and unloading containers are reduced compared to the conventional method.
It is possible to allow time for loading / unloading the container to / from the container loading / unloading device. In this way, since the container storing the unprocessed substrate or the empty container capable of storing the substrate is always placed at the substrate loading / unloading position, the unprocessed substrate is continuously loaded into the processing unit or the processing unit. The processed substrate can be continuously carried out. Further, in this case, the arrangement of the container loading / unloading position and the substrate loading / unloading position can be freely combined. For example, by arranging the container loading / unloading position and the substrate loading / unloading position in front and back, it is possible to prevent the system from becoming larger.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the container loading / unloading device, wherein a moving position is provided between the container loading / unloading position and the substrate loading / unloading position. It is preferable to provide first moving means for moving the container between the first position and the second position, and second moving means for moving the container between the moving position and the substrate unloading position. According to this configuration, the container can be moved between the container carry-in / out position and the substrate unloading position via the moving position.

In this case, the structure of each moving means for loading / unloading the container described in claim 12 can be as follows. That is, as described in claim 14, the first moving means has a rotatable mounting plate so that the container can be moved between the container loading / unloading position and the moving position by a rotation operation. Good. According to such a configuration, the container placed at the container loading / unloading position and the container placed at the substrate loading / unloading position can be rotated by each other and simultaneously replaced. Further, as described in claim 15, the second moving means preferably includes an elevating mechanism for moving the container in the vertical direction and a slide mechanism for moving the container in the horizontal direction. According to this configuration, the height of the container can be adjusted at the moving position, and the container can be moved smoothly between the moving position and the substrate unloading position.

In addition, as described in claim 16, the second
The moving means of (1) is preferably provided with a rotating mechanism for changing the direction of the container by 180 °. Further, instead of providing a rotating mechanism in the second moving means, a reversing means for changing the direction of the container by 180 ° may be provided at the container loading / unloading position. In this case, the direction of the container can be changed by 180 ° while waiting at the container loading / unloading position or after moving from the substrate loading / unloading position to the container loading / unloading position.

[0025]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below based on a cleaning system 1 for cleaning a wafer W as an example of a substrate. FIG. 1 is a plan view of the cleaning processing system 1, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view thereof. Note that the cleaning system 1 is configured to consistently perform loading of a wafer by the carrier C, cleaning of the wafer, drying of the wafer, and unloading by the carrier C.

The cleaning system 1 includes a mounting section 2 provided with a loading / unloading device 5 for mounting a carrier C for accommodating a wafer W, and various processing for performing predetermined cleaning processing and drying processing on the wafer W. Cleaning processing unit 3 including devices 6 to 11
The wafer W is loaded / unloaded from / to the carrier C placed between the mounting section 2 and the cleaning processing section 3 and mounted on the mounting section 2 and the wafer W is transferred to each of the processing apparatuses 6 to 11. And a transfer arm 4 for transferring.

The loading section 2 includes the loading / unloading device 5 according to the present embodiment, and is configured to be able to place four carriers C containing 25 wafers W thereon. As shown in FIG. 1, the mounting table 12 of the carry-in / out device 5 is partitioned into a carrier carry-in area 13 and a carrier carry-out area 14. The carrier carry-in area 13 stores a carrier C containing 25 wafers W before cleaning carried from outside the cleaning system 1.
And the carrier unloading area 14 is provided with a carrier C capable of storing the wafer W cleaned in the cleaning processing system 1.
Is placed. In this manner, the operation of carrying the wafer W before cleaning into the cleaning system 1 in units of the carrier C and applying the cleaning to the mounting unit 2 is performed in the mounting unit 2, and the wafer W cleaned and dried in the cleaning processing unit 3. Is loaded into the carrier C and then carried out in units of the carrier C.

The cleaning unit 3 is provided with processing units 6, 7, 8 for cleaning and drying the wafer W. A processing apparatus 9 configured to perform the same processing steps as the processing apparatus 6 is disposed below the processing apparatus 6, and configured to perform the same processing steps as the processing apparatus 7 below the processing apparatus 7. The processing apparatus 10 is disposed below the processing apparatus 8, and a processing apparatus 11 configured to perform the same processing steps as the processing apparatus 8 is disposed below the processing apparatus 8. Then, the processing devices 6 to 8 and the processing devices 9 to 11 are configured so that the processing can proceed simultaneously.

The transfer arm 4 is configured to move in the horizontal (X, Y) direction, move up and down, and rotate about a vertical axis. Further, three arms 4a, 4b, and 4c are attached to the transfer arm 4 in upper, middle, and lower stages. The transfer arm 4 transfers the wafer W before cleaning from the carrier C placed on the carrier loading area 13 of the loading table 12 of the loading / unloading device 5 by the arm 4b attached to the middle stage and the arm 4c attached to the lower stage. The operation of transporting to the processing devices 6 to 11 of the take-out cleaning processing unit 3 is performed. On the other hand, the wafer W cleaned by the arm 4a attached to the upper stage is transferred from the cleaning processing unit 3 to the carrier C placed on the carrier loading area 14 of the loading table 12 of the loading / unloading device 5.
The operation of storing in is performed.

Next, the loading / unloading device 5 provided in the mounting portion 2
Will be described.

First, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a carrier C mounted on the loading / unloading device 5 has a closed portion 15 opened on one side, and a plurality of, for example, 25 wafers W on the inner wall. The container body 17 has a holding groove 16 for holding the container horizontally at appropriate intervals, and a lid 18 for opening and closing the opening 15 of the container body 17. The engagement / disengagement mechanism 19 incorporated in the lid 18 is connected to a carrier loading area 13 described later.
The lid 18 is opened and closed by operating the lid opening / closing device 59 disposed at the wafer unloading position b and the wafer storage position e in the carrier unloading area 14.

Here, in the carry-in / out device 5, a carrier carry-in position a for carrying in and carrying the carrier C containing the unwashed wafer W carried from outside the cleaning system 1 in the carrier carry-in area 13 is provided. The wafer unloading position b for taking out the unwashed wafer W from the carrier C and transferring it to the transfer arm 4, and the loading side moving position c provided between the carrier loading position A and the wafer unloading position B Each is provided separately. The carrier unloading position d for loading and unloading the carrier C containing the cleaned wafer W out of the cleaning processing system 1 to the carrier unloading area 14 and the transfer arm 4 for transferring the cleaned wafer W to the carrier C.
The above-mentioned wafer storage position E for receiving and storing the data from the carrier, and the unloading side movement position provided between the carrier unloading position D and the wafer storage position E are separately provided. FIG. 5 shows the carrier carry-in area 13 and the carrier carry-out area 1
4 is an explanatory view of a vertical side surface of FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the first carrying-in side moving means 20 for moving the carrier C between the carrier carrying-in position a and the carrying-in side moving position c in the carrier carrying-in area 13, the carrying-in side moving position c and the wafer unloading. Second loading side moving means 2 for moving carrier C between position B and position B
1 is provided. Further, the first unloading-side moving means 20 'for moving the carrier C between the carrier unloading position d and the unloading-side moving position, and the transfer of the carrier C between the unloading-side moving position and the wafer storage position E are set in the carrier unloading area 14. And a second unloading-side moving means 21 'for moving the carrier C between them.

First, the configuration of the carrier carrying-in area 13 will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 5, the first carrying-in side moving means 20 carries a rotating shaft 23 of a motor 22 provided below the mounting table 12. The configuration is such that the mounting table 12 is penetrated, and a mounting plate 24 is mounted thereon. The mounting plate 24 has a mounting area capable of mounting at least C2 carriers, and forms a gap 25 immediately below the mounting position of the carrier C. In the illustrated example, two carriers C are mounted on the mounting plate 24 with the lids 18 facing each other. One carrier C is located at the carrier loading position A and the other carrier C is loaded. It shows a state where it is located at the side movement position c. Then, when the carrier C is placed at the loading side moving position c,
The gap 25 of the mounting plate 24 located at the loading side movement position c is
It is in a state where it just overlaps with the gap 26 formed in the mounting table 12.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the second loading-side moving means 21. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the second loading-side moving means 21 moves the carrier C up and down in the vertical direction. A mechanism 30, a rotation mechanism 31 for changing the direction of the carrier C by 180 °, and a slide mechanism 32 for moving the carrier C in the horizontal direction are provided. In the illustrated example, these three mechanisms are stacked, and the rotating mechanism 31 is stacked via the member 34 on the elevating mechanism 31 disposed at the lowest position.
The slide mechanism 32 is stacked on the middle rotation mechanism 31 via the member 35 so as to be the highest.

The elevating mechanism 30 supports the member 34 by a piston rod 37 of a cylinder 36, and the rotating mechanism 31 and the sliding mechanism 32
Is configured to perform a lifting operation. Further, in a state where the carrier C is placed at the loading side moving position c, the cylinder 3
6, the slide plate 38 of the slide mechanism 32, which will be described later, passes through the gap 26 of the mounting table 12 and the gap 25 of the mounting plate 24, and the convex portions 39 provided at three places on the upper surface thereof.
Are fitted from below into three concave portions 40 corresponding to the convex portions 39 arranged on the bottom surface 17a of the carrier C. Then, the carrier C ′ shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 5 continues to rise while the bottom face 17a of the carrier C and the slide plate 38 are in close contact with each other,
And the height of a loading / unloading port 56, which will be described later, provided at the wafer unloading position B is raised to the same position. On the other hand, from this state, the cylinder 36
When the carrier C is shortened, the carrier C moves downward, and the carrier C is again mounted on the mounting plate 24 as shown by a solid line in FIG. It is configured to move down to the lowest position as in the example shown.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the rotary mechanism 31 supports a member 35 by a rotary table 42 of a rotary cylinder 41, and rotates the slide mechanism 32 itself by rotating the rotary cylinder 41. It has become. In FIG. 5, the carrier C ′ indicated by a two-dot chain line
And the slide plate 38 ', as described above, the carrier C
When the rotary cylinder 41 rotates, the carrier C is rotated and the direction is changed by 180 °.

In the slide mechanism 32, FIGS.
As shown in FIG.
A linear bearing 47 having two movable members 46 slidable along is provided, and a cylinder 48 is provided at the center between the linear bearings 47. Moving member 46 and piston rod 4 of cylinder 48
Each of the joining plates 50 slidable by 9 is adhered to the lower surface of the above-mentioned slide plate 38, and the slide plate 38 is slid by the expansion and contraction operation of the cylinder 48. In particular, in the carrier C ′ and the slide plate 38 ′ shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 5, the bottom surface 17 a of the carrier C and the slide plate 38 are in close contact with each other as described above, as in the case of the configuration of the rotation mechanism 31. And the carrier C
Is configured to slide. However, a substantially U-shaped gap 51 is formed at the center of the front end of the slide plate, and a hook 52 is disposed at the center of the front end of the member 35. When the slide plate 38 slides a certain distance, The gap 51 is hooked on the hook 52 and the slide plate 3
The slide movement of the slide plate 8 is stopped to prevent the slide plate 38 from jumping out.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a loading / unloading port 56 is provided in the side plate 55 that separates the mounting section 2 from the rest at the wafer unloading position b. Elevating and swinging, having an engaging pin 57 and a lid holding plate 58 on the back side of the side plate 55 for engaging with the engaging / disengaging mechanism 19 of the lid 18 of the carrier C so that the lid 18 of the carrier C can be opened and closed. The lid opening / closing device 59 described above is provided. The lid holding plate 58 shown by a solid line in FIG.
8 shows a state in which the lid opening / closing device 59 moves upward to close the loading / unloading port 56, while the lid holding plate 58 'shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. This shows the state of movement, and
6 is open.

The first unloading-side moving means 20 ', the second unloading-side moving means 21' or other components of the carrier unloading area 14 correspond to the first unloading area 13 described above. It has the same configuration as the side moving means 20, the second carrying-in moving means 21, or other components, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the operation performed by the loading / unloading device 5 according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG.
A description will be given based on (a) to (g). First, as shown in FIG. 9A, an OHD (over head) not shown
The trolley (delivery) carries a pod-type carrier C containing, for example, 25 wafers W before cleaning, on the mounting portion 2.
And carried in the carrier carrying position 13 in the carrier carrying area 13 of the carrying-in / out device 5. An empty carrier C from which all of the wafers W already stored have been taken out is placed at the carry-in side moving position c, and the two carriers C are placed with their lids 18 facing each other. ing. In addition, since the carrier loading position A and the wafer storage position B are arranged back and forth to secure a mounting area for mounting two carriers C, the width of the carrier C is simply increased by increasing the width as in the conventional case. As compared with securing the mounting area, the mounting space of the cleaning processing system can be saved. In this case, the direction of the carrier C to be carried in and out of the carrying-in / out device 5 is determined depending on the convenience of the OHD carrying, and in this embodiment, the cover 18 of the carrier C is held in any case of carrying in and out. It should be performed toward the loading / unloading port 56.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 5, the mounting plate 24 rotates by the rotation of the motor 22, and
As shown in (b), the carrier C containing 25 unwashed wafers W, which has been located at the carrier carrying-in position A, is rotated by rotation to the carrying-in moving position C, and is moved to the carrying-side moving position C. The empty carrier C that has been moved is moved to the carrier carrying-in position A by rotation. Then, as shown in FIG. 9C, a carrier C containing 25 wafers W is stored.
Is located at the carry-in side movement position c, and the empty carrier C is located at the carrier carry-in position a. In this way, by rotating the carrier C between the carrier carry-in position A and the carry-in side movement position C, the empty carrier C and the carrier C containing 25 wafers W before cleaning can be simultaneously replaced.

In this state, as shown in FIG. 5, the carrier C is raised by the extension operation of the cylinder 36 of the elevating mechanism 30, and when the carrier C is rotated by 180.degree. The carrier is raised to the position of the carrier C ′ shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. When moved to the loading side movement position c in this way,
The height of the carrier C can be adjusted.

Since the bottom surface 17a of the carrier C and the slide plate 38 are in close contact with each other, FIG.
As shown in (2), the carrier C is rotated by the rotation operation of the rotation mechanism 31. When carrier C rotates 180 °,
The cover 18 of the carrier C faces the loading / unloading port 56 from the front (FIG. 9E). In this way, at the carry-in side moving position c, by changing the direction by 180 °, the cover 18 of the carrier C and the carry-in / out port 56 can be opposed to each other.

Further, since the bottom face 17a of the carrier C and the slide plate 38 are kept in close contact with each other, as shown in FIG. Then, the cover 18 of the carrier C enters the carry-in / out port 56. In this case, as shown in FIG. 8, the lid holding plate 58 of the lid opening / closing device 59 is previously raised to the position of the lid holding plate 58 shown by a solid line in FIG. Therefore, the engagement / disengagement mechanism 19 of the lid 18 is engaged with the engagement pin 57 of the lid holding plate 58. Then, by the operation of the lid opening / closing device 59, the lid holding plate 58 moves down to the position of the lid holding plate 58 'shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. Closed lid 18 is carrier C
Removed from Thus, the wafer W before cleaning is taken out of the carrier C (FIG. 2).

The transfer arm 4 unloads the wafer W from the carrier C located at the wafer unloading position B. Thereafter, the wafer W is processed by the processing device 6, 7, 8, or 9, 1 of the cleaning processing unit 3.
Cleaning is performed to remove impurities such as organic contaminants and particles adhered to the surface of the wafer W and the like, which are sequentially transported to 0 and 11.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 9 (f), all the unwashed wafers W are taken out of the carrier C at the wafer take-out position B, and the empty wafers placed at the carrier carry-in position A are emptied until they become empty. The carrier C is not placed at the carrier loading position a as it is. That is, FIG.
As shown in (2), while the wafer W is being taken out of the carrier C at the wafer take-out position B, the empty carrier C placed at the carrier carry-in position A is lifted by the OHD cart to the outside of the cleaning processing system 1. The carrier C containing the unloaded and next 25 wafers W before cleaning is placed at the carrier carry-in position a.

Thereafter, when the carrier C at the wafer unloading position B becomes empty, the empty carrier C is slid from the wafer unloading position B to the loading-side moving position C and returned to the first position.
Rotate 80 °. As shown in FIG. 9A, the carrier C at the carrier carrying-in position A and the carrier C at the carrying-side moving position C are placed again with the lids 18 facing each other.

Here, by immediately repeating the steps of FIGS. 9 (a) to 9 (g), the carrier C containing 25 wafers W before cleaning is placed without leaving a time interval at the wafer unloading position b. And the carrier C continues at the wafer unloading position b.
The operation of taking out the unwashed wafer W from is performed. Therefore, as can be seen from a series of steps, the wafer W before cleaning is continuously loaded into the cleaning processing unit 3 from the loading / unloading device 5, and the cleaning processing of the current 25 wafers W and the next 25 wafers are performed. There is no interruption between the cleaning processing of W and the cleaning processing system 1 can be operated continuously.

Further, while taking out the wafer W from the carrier C at the wafer unloading position b, a new carrier C containing 25 wafers W before cleaning is loaded at the carrier loading position a.
OHD is carried out and the empty carrier C is carried out.
For example, it is possible to carry the carrier C into the carry-in / out device 5 with a margin while observing the transfer request of another device, the moving time to the carry-in / out device 5, and the like.

The cleaned wafer W is placed in the carrier unloading area 1
The wafer W is stored in the carrier C on which the wafer 4 is placed, and is carried out of the cleaning processing system 1 in units of carriers. In the carrier unloading area 14, as in the carrier unloading area 13, FIG.
The carrier C is mounted on the wafer storage position E according to the steps (a) to (g), and the cleaned wafer W is stored. That is, in the carrier unloading area 14, first, an empty carrier C capable of storing the wafer W is loaded and loaded at the carrier unloading position d (FIG. 9A). And the carrier C
Is moved to the wafer storage position E via the unloading-side movement position (FIGS. 9B to 9F). Then, while the washed wafer W is stored in the carrier C at the wafer storage position e, the carrier C storing the previous wafer W is unloaded from the carrier unloading position d, and the next carrier C is loaded. (FIG. 9 (g)). Thereafter, FIGS. 9 (a) to 9 (g)
Is repeated, and when a predetermined number of wafers are stored in the carrier C at the wafer storage position, the carrier C is moved to the carrier unloading position d via the unloading side moving position. At the same time, the next empty carrier C waiting at the carrier unloading position d is moved to the wafer storage position E, and the wafer W is stored subsequently. Further, the carrier unloading position d and the wafer storing position e are arranged side by side, and the cleaning system 1
Space is saved.

Thus, according to the loading / unloading device 5 of the present invention, in the carrier loading region 13, first, the time restriction on loading of the carrier C is eased as compared with the related art, and therefore, the loading / unloading device 5 is placed in the carrier loading / unloading device 5 before cleaning. It is possible to allow time for loading the carrier C containing the wafer W.
Further, since the carrier C accommodating the unwashed wafer W is always placed at the wafer unloading position B, the unwashed wafer W can be continuously carried into the cleaning processing unit 3. Further, the carrier loading position A and the wafer unloading position B are arranged back and forth, thereby saving the mounting space of the cleaning system 1. On the other hand, in the carrier unloading area 14 as well, the time constraint on the unloading of the carrier C is eased as compared with the conventional case, so that there is enough time to unload the carrier containing the washed wafer W from the unloading and unloading device 5. Can be provided. In addition, since the empty carrier C capable of accommodating a wafer is always placed in the wafer accommodating position e, the cleaned wafer W can be continuously unloaded from the cleaning section 3. Further, the carrier unloading position d and the wafer storing position e are arranged in front and back, so that the mounting space of the cleaning system 1 is saved. Accordingly, there is no interruption between the current cleaning processing of the 25 wafers W and the cleaning processing of the next 25 wafers W, and the cleaning processing system 1 can be operated continuously. In addition, it is possible to prevent the cleaning system 1 from being enlarged.

Although an example of the embodiment of the present invention has been described, the present invention is not limited to this example.
It can take various aspects. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, in the carry-in / out device 70, the direction of the carrier C is set to 180 at the carrier carry-in position a (carrier carry-out position d).
The reversing means 71 of the carrier carrying-in area 13 to be changed (the reversing means 71 'of the carrier carrying-out area 14) may be provided so that the direction of the carrier C is reversed by 180 ° at the carrier carrying-in position a (carrier carrying-out position d).

In this case, the carrier loading area 13 will be described as a representative. First, in the mounting table 12, gaps 26 are formed at both the carrier loading position a and the loading side moving position c. Then, since it is not necessary to rotate the direction of the carrier C by 180 ° at the carry-in side moving position c, the second carry-in side moving means 21 ″ (the second carry-out side moving means 21 ′ ″).
The slide mechanism 32 provided in the
That is, the hook 52 is supported by the lifting mechanism 30 in a state where the hook 52 faces the wafer unloading position b.

The reversing means 71 of the carrier carry-in area 13
A rotary cylinder 73 is installed on the upper surface of the lift 72,
The rotary table 74 of the rotary cylinder 73 supports the lower surface of a rotary rod 76 on which a member 75 is installed on the upper surface.
Is rotated. FIG. 11 is an explanatory view of a front cross section of the carrier loading position A in FIG. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the elevator 72 is provided with the rodless cylinder 7.
The rodless cylinder 7 is supported via a bracket 79 by a lifting member 78 that moves up and down by the operation of the rodless cylinder 7.
7, the reversing means 71 of the carrier carry-in area 13
Is configured to be able to move up and down along an LM guide (not shown). In the example of FIG.
7 shows a state in which the member 75 has moved down to the lowest position by operation of the rod 7, and the example of FIG. 11 shows a state in which the member 75 has moved up to the highest position by operation of the rodless cylinder 77. .

When the carrier C is loaded and unloaded at the carrier loading position A, the member 75 is raised and the carrier C is lifted.
Is carried out in a state of being pushed upward from the mounting table 12. In this case, the three convex portions 80 provided on the upper surface of the member 75 and the three concave portions 81 arranged on the bottom surface 17a of the carrier C are fitted, and the member 75 and the bottom surface 17a of the carrier C are in close contact with each other. Therefore, the rotation of the rotary cylinder 72 can change the direction of the carrier C by 180 °. The carrier C shown by a solid line in FIG. 11 shows a state in which the back surface 82 faces in the direction opposite to the loading / unloading port 56, and the carrier C ′ shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. Shows a state in which is directed in the opposite direction to the loading / unloading port 56. The direction of the carrier C is reversed by 180 ° so that the cover 18 at the time of loading and the back surface 82 at the time of unloading face the direction opposite to the loading / unloading port 56. Further, the carrier C 'indicated by diagonal lines in FIG.
When the rodless cylinder 77 is operated in the state of
5 is moved downward, as shown in FIG.
Three convex portions 8 provided on the upper surface of the mounting plate 24 on the outer side
3 and the three concave portions 84 arranged on the bottom surface 17a of the carrier C outside the concave portion 80 just fit into the convex portion 80.
And the recess 81 are separated from each other, and the carrier C is mounted on the mounting table 24. In the loading / unloading device 70 shown in FIG. 10 and FIG.
Since it has the same configuration as the carry-in / out device 5 described in 8, the description of other components is omitted.

Regarding the operation performed by the loading / unloading device 70,
This will be described with reference to FIGS. First, FIG.
As shown in (a), an empty carrier C is placed at the carrier loading position a, and the wafer W before cleaning is placed at the wafer unloading position b.
Are placed on the carrier C containing 25 sheets. In this case, as shown in FIG. 11, the member 75 is raised by operating the rodless cylinder 77, and the empty carrier C is pushed up. Then, the empty carrier C is taken out of the carrier loading position A by OHD, and the carrier C containing 25 wafers W before cleaning is placed in place of the empty carrier C. (FIG. 12 (b)). Then, as shown in FIG.
By operating the rotary cylinder 73, the direction of the carrier C is rotated by 180 °. When the carrier C rotates by 180 °, the rear surface 82 faces the loading / unloading port 56, and the cover 18 turns in the direction opposite to the loading / unloading port 56 (FIG. 12).
(D)). Then, as shown in FIG. 12 (e), the carrier C, which has been
After all are removed and emptied, they are slid back to the carry-in side movement position c. Then, the mounting plate 24 is rotated (FIG. 12 (f)), and the carrier C containing 25 wafers W before cleaning is placed at the carry-in side moving position c, and the empty carrier C is placed at the carrier carry-in position a. Is placed. (FIG. 12
(G)). Here, the carrier C placed at the carry-in side moving position c is moved to the wafer unloading position b, while the carrier C placed at the carrier carry-in position a is pushed up by the member 75 and then by the reversing means 71. Rotate 180 °. Thus, the state returns to the state shown in FIG. In the carrier unloading area 14, the carrier loading area 13 is also used.
12 (a) to 12 (g), the washed wafer W is loaded into the carrier C at the wafer storage position E, and the empty carrier C is loaded and washed at the carrier unloading position d. The carrier C containing 25 sheets of W is carried out.

As described above, in the carrier carry-in area 13, while the carrier C accommodating the wafer W before cleaning is placed at the wafer take-out position B or the wafer W is taken out from the carrier C, the next position is taken at the carrier carry-in position B. 2 wafers W before cleaning
The direction of the new carrier C containing five sheets can be changed by 180 °. Even after moving from the wafer unloading position B to the carrier carrying-in position A, the direction of the empty carrier C is changed by one.
Can be changed by 80 degrees. Therefore, the step of changing the direction of the carrier C during the movement between the carrier carry-in position A and the wafer take-out position B can be eliminated, and the moving time of the carrier C between the carrier carry-in position A and the wafer take-out position B can be eliminated. Can be shortened. Similarly, in the carrier unloading area 14, the step of changing the direction of the carrier C during the movement between the carrier unloading position d and the wafer storage position E can be eliminated. The moving time of the carrier C can be reduced.

Further, as shown in FIG.
In the above, the mounting table 91 and the mounting plate 92 may be formed so that a larger number of carriers C can be mounted. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 13, the mounting plate 92 is formed in a circular shape. In the carrier carrying area 93, the carrying side moving position c and the carrier carrying positions A, B ′, and B ″ are respectively provided along the periphery of the mounting plate 91 at intervals of 90 ° when viewed from the plane. In the carry-out area 94, the carrier carry-out positions d, d ′, and d ″ are provided along the periphery of the mounting plate 92 at the carry-out side moving position and at intervals of 90 ° when viewed from the plane. According to such a configuration, the carrier loading area 9
In 3, at least one of the four carriers C placed is moved to the wafer unloading position B, and the remaining three carriers C are moved into the carrier loading positions A, A ′,
In the carrier unloading area 94, at least one of the four carriers C mounted is moved to the wafer unloading position E, and the remaining three carriers C are loaded into the carrier unloading area 94. It can be placed at positions d, d 'and d "to stand by. Therefore, the time constraint on the loading / unloading of the carrier C can be further alleviated, so that the loading / unloading device 90 loads the carrier C containing the wafer W before cleaning and the carrier C containing the wafer W after cleaning.
Can be given more time depending on the time of carrying out.

The loading / unloading device may include a carrier loading / unloading position for loading / unloading the carrier, and a wafer loading / unloading position for loading / unloading the wafer from / to the carrier. In this case, as shown in FIG. 14, in the loading / unloading device 95, a carrier loading / unloading position G and a wafer loading / unloading position H, and a moving position L between the carrier loading / unloading position G and the wafer loading / unloading position H are separately provided. First moving means (not shown) for moving the carrier C between the loading / unloading position G and the moving position R, and second moving means (not shown) for moving the carrier C between the moving position R and the wafer unloading position H Is provided. Further, as shown in the figure, a loading / buffer mechanism 96 is provided on one side, and a loading / buffering mechanism 97 is provided on the other side. In addition, the carrier loading / unloading position G and the wafer loading / unloading position G are arranged in front and rear in this manner, thereby saving the mounting space of the cleaning system 1.

With this configuration, when the carrier C containing the wafer W before cleaning is loaded at the carrier loading / unloading position, the carrier C containing the wafer W before cleaning is first loaded into the carrier loading / unloading position. Place. And
The carrier C is moved to the wafer unloading position H by the first moving means and the second moving means. Then, at the wafer unloading position H, the wafer W before cleaning is taken out from the carrier C, and the wafer W is carried into the cleaning processing unit 3. While the wafer W is being unloaded from the carrier C at the wafer unloading position H, the next carrier C may be loaded into the carrier loading / unloading position G. When all the wafers W are taken out of the carrier at the wafer loading / unloading position H, the next carrier C, which has been waiting at the carrier loading / unloading position G, is immediately moved to the wafer loading / unloading position H by the first moving means and the second moving means. Then, the wafer is taken out.
The wafer W taken out of the carrier C is temporarily stocked in the carry-in / buffer mechanism 96, and while the washed wafer W is stored in the carrier C at a wafer loading / unloading position H described later, the carry-in / buffer mechanism is used. From 96, the wafer W can be carried into the cleaning processing unit 3 continuously. Thus, there is no interruption in loading the wafer W before cleaning into the cleaning processing unit 3. Note that the empty carrier C may be taken out of the wafer C at the wafer unloading position H, and the empty carrier C may be put on standby, and the washed wafer W may be stored in the carrier C.

On the other hand, when the cleaned wafer W is stored in the carrier C at the wafer unloading position H, the wafer W
Is loaded and loaded at the carrier loading / unloading position G. Then, the carrier C is moved to the wafer unloading position H by the first moving means and the second moving means. After the washed wafer W is stored in the carrier C at the wafer loading / unloading position H and a predetermined number of wafers W are stored in the carrier C, the carrier C is moved into and out of the carrier loading / unloading position by the first moving means and the second moving means. Move to Further, the next carrier C, which has been waiting at the carrier loading / unloading position G, is immediately moved to the wafer loading / unloading position H by the first moving means and the second moving means, and the wafer W is continuously stored. Then, the carrier C moved to the carrier loading / unloading position G may be unloaded from the carrier loading / unloading position G while the washed wafer W is stored in the next carrier C at the wafer loading / unloading position H. In addition, while the wafer W before cleaning is taken out of the carrier C from the carrier at the wafer unloading position H, the wafer W cleaned by the cleaning unit 3 is removed.
Can be temporarily stored in the carry-out / buffer mechanism 97. As a result, the cleaned wafer W is stored in the cleaning processing unit 3.
Will not accumulate. From these facts, first, the time restriction on the loading and unloading of the carrier C is eased as compared with the related art, so that it is possible to allow time for loading and unloading the carrier C to and from the loading and unloading device 95. In this manner, since the carrier C containing the wafer W before cleaning or the empty carrier C capable of containing the wafer W is always placed at the wafer unloading position H, the wafer W before cleaning is continuously placed in the cleaning unit 3. The wafer W after the cleaning can be continuously carried out from the cleaning processing unit 3 or the wafer W. Further, the size of the cleaning system 1 can be prevented from increasing.

The loading / unloading device 95 is provided on both sides of the cleaning section 3 of the cleaning processing system. One of the loading / unloading devices 95 is for loading the carrier C containing the wafer W before cleaning and taking out the wafer W from the carrier C. A dedicated device,
The other device may be a device dedicated to storing the cleaned wafer W in the carrier C and unloading the carrier C storing the wafer W.

As an example, the carry-in / carry-out device 5 provided in the cleaning system 1 for cleaning the wafer W has been mainly described. However, the present invention relates to an LCD substrate, a CD substrate, a photomask, a printed substrate, and a ceramic substrate. It is also possible to adapt the present invention to a cleaning apparatus that handles another object to be processed.

[0064]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the container carrying-in area, first, the time constraint on the container carrying-in is reduced as compared with the conventional case, so that the substrate before processing is stored in the container carrying-in / out device. It is possible to allow time for carrying in the container that has been used. Further, since the container accommodating the unprocessed substrate is always placed at the substrate unloading position, the unprocessed substrate can be continuously carried into the processing unit. On the other hand, in the container unloading area, the time constraint on container unloading is first relaxed as compared with the conventional method, so allow time for unloading the container storing the processed substrates from the container unloading device. Can be. Further, since an empty container capable of accommodating the substrate is always placed at the substrate accommodating position, the processed substrate can be continuously unloaded from the processing section. Therefore,
In a system equipped with such a container loading / unloading device, there is no interruption before and after processing, and continuous operation of the system can be realized. In addition, the arrangement of the container carry-in position and the substrate take-out position and the arrangement of the container carry-out position and the substrate storage position can be freely combined, so that the system can be prevented from being enlarged.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a carry-in side moving position is provided between the container carry-in position and the substrate take-out position in the container carry-in area, and the container is brought into the container carry-in position and the substrate take-out position via the carry-in side move position. Can be moved to and from positions.
In this case, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the container placed at the container carry-in position and the container placed at the substrate take-out position can be moved by rotating each other and simultaneously replaced.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the height of the container can be adjusted at the carry-in side moving position, and the container can be smoothly moved between the carry-in side moving position and the substrate unloading position.

According to the fifth and sixth aspects of the present invention, the direction of the container can be changed by 180 °. In this case, if the container is moved to the container carrying position as described in claim 6, the container stands by at the container carrying position. During the transfer or after moving from the substrate unloading position to the container loading position, the direction of the container can be changed by 180 °. Therefore, the step of changing the direction of the container during the movement between the container carrying-in position and the substrate unloading position can be eliminated, and the moving time of the container between the container carrying-in position and the substrate unloading position can be shortened. .

According to the seventh to ninth aspects of the present invention, in the container unloading area, an unloading-side moving position is provided between the substrate storing position and the container unloading position, and the container is connected to the substrate unloading position via the unloading-side moving position. It can be moved to and from the container unloading position. In this case, according to the invention of claim 8, the container placed at the substrate storage position and the container placed at the container unloading position can be rotated by rotating each other and simultaneously replaced. Thus, the height of the container can be adjusted at the unloading side movement position, and the container can be smoothly moved between the substrate storage position and the unloading side movement position.

According to the tenth and eleventh aspects of the present invention,
The direction of the container can be changed by 180 °. In this case, if the container is set at the container unloading position as described in claim 11, while waiting at the container unloading position or after moving from the substrate loading position to the container unloading position, , The orientation of the container can be changed by 180 °. Therefore, the step of changing the direction of the container during the movement between the container unloading position and the substrate storing position can be eliminated, and the moving time of the container between the substrate storing position and the container unloading position can be reduced. .

According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, first, since the time restriction regarding the loading and unloading of the container is eased as compared with the related art, it is necessary to provide a margin for the timing of loading and unloading the container into and out of the container loading and unloading device. Can be. In addition, since the container that stores the unprocessed substrate or an empty container that can store the substrate is always placed at the substrate loading / unloading position, the unprocessed substrate is continuously loaded into the processing unit or the processing unit. The processed substrate can be continuously carried out. Therefore, in a system including such a container loading / unloading device, there is no interruption before and after processing, and continuous operation of the system can be realized. Further, since the arrangement of the container loading / unloading position and the substrate loading / unloading position can be freely combined, it is possible to prevent the system from being enlarged.

According to the thirteenth to fifteenth aspects, a moving position is provided between the container carrying-in / out position and the substrate loading / unloading position, and the container is moved between the container carrying-in / out position and the substrate loading / unloading position via the moving position. Can be moved. In this case, according to the invention of claim 14, the container placed at the container loading / unloading position and the container placed at the substrate loading / unloading position can be rotated by rotating each other and simultaneously replaced. According to the invention, the height of the container can be adjusted at the moving position, and the container can be smoothly moved between the moving position and the substrate unloading position.

According to the sixteenth and seventeenth aspects of the present invention,
The direction of the container can be changed by 180 °. In this case, if the container is moved to the container loading / unloading position while waiting at the container loading / unloading position or from the substrate loading / unloading position to the container loading / unloading position. After moving, the container can be turned 180 °. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the step of changing the orientation of the container during the movement between the container loading / unloading position and the substrate loading / unloading position, and to reduce the time required for the container to move between the container loading / unloading position and the substrate loading / unloading position. Can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a cleaning system including a loading / unloading device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a cleaning system including the carry-in / out device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a carrier according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a cross section of the carrier of FIG.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a vertical side surface of a container carrying-in area of the carrying-in / out device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a second loading side moving unit according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a loading / unloading port at a loading / unloading position in the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the lid opening / closing device arranged at the carry-in / out position.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a flow of carrier movement in the carry-in / out device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a vertical side surface of a carrier loading area in another example of the loading / unloading device.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a front cross section of a carrier carry-in area in another example of the carry-in / out device.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a flow of carrier movement in another example of the carry-in / out device.

FIG. 13 is a plan view showing another example of the loading / unloading device on which a large number of carriers can be placed.

FIG. 14 is a plan view showing another example of a carry-in / out device provided with a carrier carry-in / out position and a wafer carry-in / out position.

FIG. 15 is a plan view of a conventional carry-in / out device.

FIG. 16 is a plan view of another conventional loading / unloading device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cleaning processing system 5 Loading / unloading device 12 Mounting table 20 1st loading side moving means 21 2nd loading side moving means 24 Mounting plate 30 Elevating mechanism 31 Rotating mechanism 32 Slide mechanism 59 Lid opening / closing device W Wafer I Carrier loading position B Wafer unloading position C Carrying-side moving position d Carrier unloading position E Wafer storage position F Unloading-side moving position

Claims (17)

[Claims] An apparatus provided with a container carrying-in area for carrying in a container containing a substrate and taking out a substrate from the container, and a container carrying-out area for containing the substrate in the container and carrying out the container containing the substrate, In the container carrying-in area, a container carrying-in position for carrying a container and a substrate taking-out position for taking out a substrate from the container are separately provided, and in the container carrying-out area, a substrate storing position for accommodating the substrate in the container. And a container unloading position for unloading the container, and a loading-side moving means for moving the container between the container loading position and the substrate unloading position; a substrate storage position, the container unloading position; And a carry-out side moving means for moving the container between the containers. 2. A first carrying-side moving means for providing a carrying-side moving position between the container carrying-in position and the substrate taking-out position, and moving the container between the container carrying-in position and the carrying-side moving position. 2. The container loading / unloading device according to claim 1, further comprising a second loading side moving means for moving the container between the loading side moving position and the substrate unloading position. 3. The first loading-side moving means includes a rotatable mounting plate so as to rotate the container between the container loading position and the loading-side moving position. The container loading / unloading device according to claim 2, characterized in that: 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second loading side moving means includes a lifting mechanism for moving the container in a vertical direction and a slide mechanism for moving the container in a horizontal direction.
The container loading / unloading device according to claim 2 or 3. 5. The container loading / unloading device according to claim 2, wherein the second loading-side moving means includes a rotation mechanism for changing the direction of the container by 180 °. 6. The container is positioned at the container carry-in position.
5. The container loading / unloading device according to claim 2, further comprising a reversing means for changing 0 °. 7. A first unloading-side moving means for providing an unloading-side moving position between the substrate storage position and the container unloading position, and moving a container between the unloading-side moving position and the container unloading position. And a second unloading-side moving means for moving the container between the substrate storage position and the unloading-side moving position.
3. The container loading / unloading device according to claim 1. 8. The first unloading-side moving means includes a rotatable mounting plate so as to rotate the container between the unloading-side moving position and the container unloading position. The container loading / unloading device according to claim 7, characterized in that: 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the second unloading side moving means includes a lifting mechanism for moving the container in a vertical direction, and a slide mechanism for moving the container in a horizontal direction.
The container loading / unloading device according to claim 7. 10. The container carrying-in / out device according to claim 7, wherein the second carrying-out side moving means includes a rotating mechanism for changing the direction of the container by 180 °. 11. The container unloading position is set at one direction.
10. The container loading / unloading device according to claim 7, further comprising a reversing means for changing the angle by 80 degrees. 12. A container loading / unloading position for loading / unloading a container in an apparatus for loading / unloading a container holding a substrate, and taking out / loading a substrate from / into the container. A substrate loading / unloading position for taking out a substrate from the substrate and storing the substrate in the container are separately provided, and moving means for moving the container between the container loading / unloading position and the substrate loading / unloading position is provided. Characterized by a container loading / unloading device. 13. A first moving means for providing a moving position between the container loading / unloading position and the substrate loading / unloading position, and for moving a container between the container loading / unloading position and the moving position.
13. The container loading / unloading device according to claim 12, further comprising a second moving unit configured to move the container between the moving position and the substrate loading / unloading position. 14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first and second containers are moved by a rotating operation between the container loading / unloading position and the moving position.
14. The container loading / unloading device according to claim 13, wherein the moving means includes a rotatable mounting plate. 15. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said second moving means includes a lifting mechanism for moving the container in a vertical direction and a sliding mechanism for moving the container in a horizontal direction. A container loading / unloading device as described in the above. 16. The container loading / unloading device according to claim 13, wherein the second moving means includes a rotation mechanism for changing the direction of the container by 180 °. 17. The container loading / unloading device according to claim 13, further comprising a reversing means for changing the direction of the container by 180 ° at the container loading / unloading position.