JPH1131729A - Substrate housing vessel supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate housing vessel supply device for easy maintenance. SOLUTION: A substrate housing vessel supply part 1 is arranged at one end part of a substrate processing part 2, in which plural processing units 3 are arranged surrounding a substrate carrying robot 4. The substrate housing vessel supply part 1 is provided with a moving mechanism part 10 for carrying an integrated cassette to a prescribed substrate supply position, a rotating mechanism part 30 arranged at the substrate supply position, an elevating mechanism part 50 for adjusting the vertical position of the rotating mechanism 30, and a door opening and closing mechanism part 70 for the integrated cassette. The door opening and closing mechanism part 70 is arranged at the opposite side of the substrate processing part 2 with the rotating mechanism part 30 integrated. The rotating mechanism part 30 rotates and moves the integrated cassette to the door opening and closing mechanism part 70 side, so that the door of the integrated cassette can be detached, and rotates and moves the integrated cassette, so that the opening of the integrated cassette can be moved to the substrate supply position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate storage container supply device for supplying a substrate storage container having a removable door to a substrate supply position for supplying a substrate to a substrate processing section.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Semiconductor wafers, glass substrates for liquid crystal displays,
2. Description of the Related Art A substrate processing apparatus is used for performing various processes on a substrate such as a glass substrate for a photomask and a glass substrate for an optical disk. In order to improve production efficiency, the substrate processing apparatus is configured by unitizing a series of processes, and integrating a plurality of units.

In a clean room of a factory, a substrate storage container for storing a plurality of substrates is transferred to a substrate processing apparatus by a transfer robot. As one of the substrate storage containers, there is a type called a so-called integrated cassette which has a removable door and stores a large number of substrates therein.

FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram showing a substrate loading operation in a substrate processing apparatus provided with a conventional substrate storage container supply unit. The substrate storage container supply unit 160 is disposed at one end of the substrate processing unit 150 of the substrate processing apparatus,
1 and a door opening / closing mechanism 162. An electrical system unit 180 is provided below the cassette mounting portion 161.

[0005] The integrated cassette 170 transferred by the transfer robot is supplied to a predetermined position on the cassette mounting portion 161. Then, the door opening / closing mechanism 162 removes the door of the integrated cassette 170 to open the opening on the front surface of the integrated cassette 170.

FIG. 26 is a perspective view of a door opening / closing mechanism. In FIG. 26, the door opening / closing mechanism 162 includes a door opening / closing holding section 163 that removes and holds the door from the main body of the integrated cassette 170, and a lifting section 164 that moves the door opening / closing holding section 163 up and down.

[0007] The integrated cassette 170 is the cassette mounting portion 1
When it is placed on the unit 61, the door opening / closing holding unit 163 moves up to a position facing the door of the integrated cassette 170, moves further in the horizontal direction, and removes and holds the door from the main body of the integrated cassette 170. Then, the elevating unit 164 lowers the door opening / closing holding unit 163 holding the door. As a result, the front surface of the integrated cassette 170 is opened, and the substrate processing section 15 is opened.
The substrate is taken out of the integrated cassette 170 by the substrate transfer robot disposed at 0.

[0008]

However, in the structure in which the door opening / closing mechanism 162 is arranged between the substrate processing section 150 and the integrated cassette 170 on the cassette mounting section 161 as described above, the door opening / closing mechanism is provided. There is an inconvenience that the maintenance work of 162 becomes difficult.

That is, in the door opening / closing mechanism 162, the elevating unit 164 and the door opening / closing holding unit 163 in the standby position are formed at positions lower than the cassette mounting unit 161. In addition, the electrical unit 1 is located below the cassette mounting portion 161.
80 are arranged. For this reason, it is difficult to approach the lower part of the door opening / closing mechanism 162 from the outside, and the ease of maintenance is reduced.

[0010] It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate container supply device capable of easily performing maintenance work.

[0011]

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention A substrate storage container supply device according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a substrate storage container having an opening closed by a removable door and storing a plurality of substrates. A substrate storage container supply device that supplies a substrate to a substrate supply position for supplying a substrate to a substrate processing unit, wherein the door is removed from the substrate storage container at a door removal position different from the substrate supply position. Moving means for moving the removed substrate storage container from the door removal position to the substrate supply position, the removal means being located at a position which does not interfere with the movement path of the substrate storage container from the door removal position to the substrate supply position by the movement means. It is arranged.

In the substrate storage container supply device according to the first invention, the door of the substrate storage container is removed at the door removal position, and the substrate storage container having the opening opened is moved to the substrate supply position by the moving means. . Then, the substrate is sequentially supplied from the inside of the substrate storage container to the substrate processing unit at the substrate supply position. At this time, the detaching means is disposed at a position that does not interfere with the movement path of the substrate storage container. For this reason, there is no possibility that the removal means holding the door removed from the substrate storage container may hinder the movement operation of the substrate storage container, and the operator can easily approach the removal means without interfering with the movement path of the substrate storage container. Become. This allows
The ease of maintenance of the removing means is improved.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the substrate storage container supply device according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the moving means includes a support for supporting the substrate storage container;
Rotating means for rotating the support portion from the door removal position of the substrate storage container to the substrate supply position.

In this case, the substrate storage container is placed on the support portion, the door of the substrate storage container is removed by the removing means, and the support portion is rotated by the rotating means to move the substrate storage container to the substrate supply position. Operation can be easily performed.

A substrate storage container supply device according to a third aspect of the present invention is the configuration of the substrate storage container supply device according to the second invention, wherein the substrate supply position and the door removal position are circles about the rotation axis of the support portion. The detaching means is disposed on the periphery and is disposed outside the circumference so as to face the opening of the substrate storage container at the door removing position.

In this case, since the detaching means is disposed outside the circumference centered on the rotation axis of the support, the operator can more easily perform maintenance work.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the substrate storage container supply device according to the second or third aspect of the invention, wherein the removing means includes a substrate storage position located at the substrate supply position across the support portion. It is arranged on the side opposite to the opening side of the container.

In this case, after the door of the substrate storage container is removed by the removing means, the substrate can be supplied by moving the substrate storage container to a predetermined substrate supply position by rotating the support portion substantially 180 degrees.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the substrate storage container supply device according to the first aspect of the invention, wherein the moving means includes: a support portion for supporting the substrate storage container;
Linear drive means for linearly moving the support portion to linearly move the substrate storage container from the door removal position to the substrate supply position.

In this case, the configuration of the moving means can be simplified by linearly moving the substrate storage container from the door removing position to the substrate supply position by the linear driving means.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the fifth aspect of the present invention, the substrate supply position and the door removing position are arranged on a predetermined straight line, and the removing means is provided. Are disposed so as to face the opening of the substrate storage container at the door removal position on the side of a predetermined straight line.

Thus, after the door of the substrate storage container is removed at the door removal position, the substrate storage container is moved along a predetermined straight line to the substrate supply position, and the substrate in the substrate storage container is transferred to the substrate processing unit. Can be supplied.

[0023]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a substrate processing apparatus provided with a substrate storage container supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. It is. In the following description, two directions orthogonal to each other in a horizontal plane are defined as an X direction and a Y direction, and a vertical direction is defined as a Z direction. The X direction indicates a direction in which the substrate storage container supply unit 1 and the substrate processing unit 2 are aligned, and the Y direction indicates a direction orthogonal to the X direction.

1 and 2, the substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate storage container supply unit 1 and a substrate processing unit 2.
The substrate processing unit 2 includes a rotary coating unit, a developing unit,
Various processing units 3 such as a substrate heating unit or a substrate cooling unit are arranged in a circle around the substrate transfer robot 4. The substrate transfer robot 4 includes an arm 4a for holding a substrate. The arm 4a is configured to be able to move forward and backward in the horizontal plane toward each of the processing units 3 and the substrate storage container supply unit 1, and to be movable up and down in the Z direction and rotatable about a vertical axis. Thus, the substrate transfer robot 4 can transfer the substrate between the processing unit 3 and the substrate storage container supply unit 1 while holding the substrate on the arm 4a.

The substrate storage container supply unit 1 is disposed at one end of the substrate processing unit 2 in the X direction, and includes a moving mechanism unit 10, a rotating mechanism unit 30, a lifting mechanism unit 50, and a door opening and closing mechanism unit 70.
It is composed of In FIG. 2, the illustration of the door opening / closing mechanism 70 is omitted.

The moving mechanism 10, the rotating mechanism 30, and the door opening / closing mechanism 70 are arranged symmetrically in the areas S and D on both sides of the elevating mechanism 50. In one area S, a moving mechanism section 10, a rotation mechanism section 30, a door opening / closing mechanism section 70, and an elevating mechanism section 50 for supplying the substrate in the integrated cassette to the substrate processing section 2 are arranged. In D, a moving mechanism unit 10, a rotating mechanism unit 30, a door opening / closing mechanism unit 70, and a lifting mechanism unit 50 for discharging an integrated cassette containing processed substrates to the outside of the substrate processing apparatus are arranged. .
Hereinafter, the region S is referred to as a substrate supply region, and the region D is referred to as a substrate discharge region.

As shown in FIG. 2, the lift mechanism 50 has lift tables 55 on the substrate supply area S side and the substrate discharge area D side, respectively. The rotation mechanism 30 is disposed on each of the upper portion 55a and the lower portion 55b of each lift table 55.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the integrated cassette, FIG. 4 is a front view of the integrated cassette of FIG. 3, and FIG.
3 is a bottom view of the integrated cassette of FIG. 3 to 5, an integrated cassette 90 has a hollow main body 91 provided with a shelf (not shown) for accommodating a plurality of substrates therein, and a removable main body 91 for closing an opening on the front surface of the main body 91. Door 92. A pair of key holes 93 is provided on the surface of the door 92.
Is provided. When a later-described latch key is inserted into this key hole 93 and rotated, as shown in FIG.
Lock plate 9 provided at the upper end and lower end of 2
5 projects up or down as shown by the arrow or retreats. Thereby, the door 92 is locked to the main body 91 or the lock is released.

The height H from the mounting reference position F of the integrated cassette 90 to the key hole 93 differs depending on the number of substrates stored in the integrated cassette 90.

A pair of positioning holes 94 are formed on the surface of the door 92. When the door 92 is opened and closed, a positioning pin of a door opening and closing mechanism 70 described later is inserted into the positioning hole 94. The distance L between the pair of positioning holes 94 differs depending on the number of substrates stored in the integrated cassette 90.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, two sets of pin holes 96 and 97 each including three triangular pin holes and an opening 98 are formed on the bottom surface of the integrated cassette 90. I have. The operation of the pin holes 96 and 97 and the opening 98 will be described later.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a moving mechanism section and a rotating mechanism section of the substrate supply area. FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 6, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B. In FIGS. 6 and 7, the rotation mechanism 30 and the door opening / closing mechanism 70 are schematically illustrated.

The moving mechanism 10 is provided above the base 11.
An X slide plate 12 movable in the X direction and a Y slide plate 16 movable in the Y direction are provided.
A pair of Xs extending parallel to the X direction
A rail 13 is attached. A guide 14 that engages with the X rail 13 is attached to the lower surface of the X slide plate 12. Then, the X slide plate 12 reciprocates in the X direction by the air cylinder 15 attached to the upper surface of the base 11.

A pair of Y rails 18 extending parallel to the Y direction are mounted on the upper surface of the X slide plate 12. A guide 17 that engages with the Y rail 18 is attached to the lower surface of the Y slide plate 16. Then, the Y slide plate 16 is moved by the air cylinder 19 attached to the upper surface of the X slide plate
It reciprocates in the Y direction with respect to the slide plate 12.

On the upper surface of the Y slide plate 16, three support pins 20 arranged in a triangular shape are formed. These support pins 20 are fitted into one set (three) of pin holes 97 formed on the back surface of the integrated cassette 90 shown in FIG. Thereby, the Y slide plate 1
6 can support an integrated cassette 90.

A size detecting sensor 22 for detecting the size of the integrated cassette 90 is provided between the moving mechanism 10 and the rotating mechanism 30. As the size detection sensor 22, a transmission type optical sensor is used. In FIG. 7, a large integrated cassette 90 having a large number of substrates is stored.
Is indicated by 90a, and a small integrated cassette 90 having a small number of stored substrates is indicated by 90b.

In FIG. 7, the size detecting sensor 22
Consists mainly of a lower sensor 22b for detecting a small integrated cassette 90b and an upper sensor 22a for mainly detecting a large integrated cassette 90a. Then, the size of the integrated cassette 90 is detected by the output from the upper sensor 22a and the lower sensor 22b when the Y slide plate 16 of the moving mechanism unit 10 supporting the integrated cassette 90 passes through the size detecting sensor 22. You.

FIG. 9 is a front view of the lifting mechanism. In FIG. 9, the lifting mechanism 50 has a ball screw 52 that is vertically supported by a frame 51. A motor 54 is connected to a lower end of the ball screw 52. further,
An elevator 55 is engaged with the ball screw 52 via a bracket 55c. The elevating table 55 is formed of a U-shaped frame member, and the rotating mechanism 30 is attached to each of the lower portion 55b and the upper portion 55a. A part of the elevating table 55 is engaged with a pair of linear guides 53 arranged parallel to the ball screw 52.

When the motor 54 rotates, the ball screw 52
Is rotated, whereby the lifting table 55 is moved to the linear guide 53.
And move up and down in the vertical direction. Thereby,
The integrated cassette 90 supported by the rotation mechanism 30 of the lift 55 is moved up and down. In FIG. 9, only one lift table 55 is shown in detail, but the lift table 55 disposed on the opposite side and its lift mechanism have the same structure.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the rotation mechanism. FIG.
0, the rotation mechanism 30 is provided with the upper stage 5
A rotatable rotation plate 34 and a rotation plate 34 are mounted on the fixed base 31 fixed to the lower portion 5a or the lower portion 55b.
Fixed portion 40 disposed at the center of the rotating plate 3
And a cover 48 that covers the periphery of the cover 4.

The rotating plate 34 is rotatably attached to an annular fixing portion 32 formed on the upper surface of the fixed base 31 via an annular bearing 33. On the upper surface of the rotation plate 34, three support pins 39 are formed to be fitted into a set of pin holes 96 (see FIG. 5) on the bottom surface of the integrated cassette 90. The three support pins 39 are arranged on a circumference having a larger diameter than the three support pins 20 formed on the Y slide plate 16 of the moving mechanism 10. Thus, the integrated cassette 90 can be transferred between the Y slide plate 16 and the rotation plate 34 without interference between the support pins 20 on the Y slide plate 16 and the support pins 39 on the rotation plate 34. it can. The transfer operation of the integrated cassette 90 will be described later.

A gear 35 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating plate 34. A gear 37 attached to a rotating shaft of a motor 38 via a pinion 36 is engaged with the gear 35 of the rotating plate 34. Motor 38
Is rotated, the rotational force of the motor is transmitted to the rotating plate 34 via the pinion 36, and the rotating plate 34 rotates. Thus, the support pins 39 on the rotating plate 34
The integrated cassette 90 supported by is rotated.

Further, the center fixing portion 40 on the fixing base 31
Is provided with a fixing member 41 for firmly holding the integrated cassette 90. The base of the fixing member 41 is rotatably attached to a turning pin 43, and a fixing spring 42 is formed at the tip. The rotating pin 43 is connected to the connecting member 4.
4 is connected to the rod 45 of the air cylinder 46. The body end of the air cylinder 46 is fixed by a fixing pin 47.

When the rod 45 of the air cylinder 46 extends, the fixing member 41 turns around the turning pin 43, and the fixing spring 42 comes into contact with the projecting portion 98 a provided at the opening 98 on the bottom surface of the integrated cassette 90. The integrated cassette 90 is fixedly held to the rotating plate 34 by the elastic force of the fixed spring 42.

Next, the door opening / closing mechanism 70 will be described. The door opening and closing mechanism 70 is functionally a horizontal movement mechanism,
It is roughly divided into a pin switching section and a latch key rotating mechanism section.
Therefore, here, for convenience of explanation, each mechanism will be illustrated and described separately.

First, FIG. 11 is a side view of the horizontal moving mechanism of the door opening / closing mechanism, FIG. 11 (a) shows a state during standby, and FIG. 11 (b) shows a state during door opening / closing operation. ing.
In FIG. 11, the horizontal moving mechanism 7 of the door opening / closing mechanism 70
Reference numeral 0 a includes a fixing plate 71 fixed to the main body of the substrate storage container supply unit 1, and a door holding plate 84 that moves forward and backward with respect to the door 92 of the integrated cassette 90. Two pairs of links 72 and 73 are arranged in parallel between the fixed plate 71 and the door holding plate 84. The pair of links 72 and 73 are connected by a connecting pin 80. One end of the link 72 is fixed to the fixing bracket 7 of the fixing plate 71.
4 is rotatably attached to the other end, and the other end is a slide member 75.
Attached to. The slide member 75 is slidably attached to a rail 79 attached to the back surface 84b of the door holding plate 84.

One end of the link 73 is rotatably attached to a fixing bracket 76 of the door holding plate 84.
The other end is attached to the slide member 77. The slide member 77 is slidably attached to a rail 78 attached to the surface 71 a of the fixed plate 71.
Further, the pair of slide members 77 are connected to the connection member 83. The connecting member 83 is connected to a rod 82 of an air cylinder 81 disposed on the surface 71 a of the fixed plate 71.

Further, two sets of positioning pins 86 and 87 and a latch key 121 are formed on the door holding plate 84. Two positioning pins 86 and 87 are formed, and one of the positioning pins selected by a pin switching section 85 described later is inserted into a positioning hole 94 of a door 92 of the integrated cassette 90. Thus, the door 92 and the door holding plate 84 are positioned.

Two latch keys 121 are provided at predetermined positions. The latch keys 121 are inserted into key holes 93 provided in the door 92 of the integrated cassette 90 to lock the main body 91 and the door 92 of the integrated cassette 90. The door 92 is released and the door holding plate 84 is held.

As shown in FIG. 11A, when the rod 82 of the air cylinder 81 is extended, the link 72,
73 is folded, and the door holding plate 84 is separated from the door 92 of the integrated cassette 90. As shown in FIG. 11B, when the rod 82 of the air cylinder 81 is retracted, the links 72 and 73 are extended, and the door holding plate 84
Is in close contact with the door 92 of the integrated cassette 90. Further, when the rod 82 of the air cylinder 81 is extended again, the door holding plate 84 connects the door 92 to the main body 9 of the integrated cassette 90.
Remove from 1 and retreat.

Next, the pin switching section will be described. FIG.
2 is a side view of a pin switching unit of the door opening and closing mechanism, and FIG.
3 is a front view of the door holding plate. Although two sets of pin switching parts 85 are provided on the door holding plate 84, only one set is shown in FIG. The pin switching section 85 has a mechanism for selecting a positioning pin corresponding to the size of the integrated cassette 90.

That is, the integrated cassette 9 shown in FIG.
The distance L between the pair of positioning holes 94 formed in the 0 door 92 differs depending on the size of the integrated cassette 90. For example, the distance L between the positioning holes 94 of the integrated cassette 90 storing 25 substrates is larger than that of the integrated cassette 90 storing 13 substrates. Therefore, it is necessary to switch the positioning pins 86 and 87 of the door holding plate 84 according to the distance L between the positioning holes of the door 92 of the integrated cassette 90.

Therefore, the pin switching section 85 is provided with positioning pins 86 and 87 which can move through the door holding plate 84.
And a swing plate 111 for projecting one of the positioning pins 86 and 87, and an air cylinder 113 for swinging the swing plate 111. The swing plate 111 is swingably attached to a support bracket 110 fixed to the back surface 84b of the door holding plate 84, and
The positioning pin 8 is attached to one of the arms 111a.
6 is connected, the positioning pin 87 is connected to the other arm 111b, and the air cylinder 1 is connected to the remaining arm 111c.
The tips of thirteen rods 112 are connected.

With such a structure, the air cylinder 11
When the third rod 112 extends, one of the positioning pins 8
6 protrudes from the surface 84a of the door holding plate 84,
It is inserted into the positioning hole 94 of the door 92 of the integrated cassette 90, and the door holding plate 84 and the door 92 are positioned.
When the rod 112 of the air cylinder 113 is retracted, only the other positioning pin 87 is moved by the door holding plate 84.
The door 92 of the integrated cassette 90 projects from the surface 84a of the
, And the door holding plate 84 and the door 92 are positioned.

Next, the latch key rotating mechanism will be described. FIG. 14 is a front view of the latch key turning mechanism viewed from the side opposite to the turning mechanism. Latch key rotation mechanism 11
Reference numeral 5 denotes a latch key 121 and a mechanism for rotating the latch key 121. The latch key 121 is inserted into the key hole 93 of the door 92 of the integrated cassette 90 shown in FIG. Release and hold the door 92.

The tip of the latch key 121 projects from the front surface 84 a of the door holding plate 84, and the base is integrated with the rotating pin 116 a of the swing plate 116 and the rotating pin 118 a of the swing plate 118 on the back surface 84 b side of the door holding plate 84. Connected. Further, a tip 116 b of the swing plate 116 and a tip 118 b of the swing plate 118 are connected by a connecting rod 117.
Further, the tip of the rod 120 of the air cylinder 119 is connected to the other tip 118 c of the swing plate 118.

With such a structure, when the rod 120 of the air cylinder 119 extends in FIG. 14, the swing plates 118 and 116 rotate clockwise, and the latch key 121 rotates clockwise. When the rod 120 retracts, the swing plates 118 and 116 rotate counterclockwise, and the latch key 121 also rotates in the same direction. The latch key 121 is connected to the key hole 9 of the door 92 of the integrated cassette 90.
By rotating the latch key 121 in the state of being inserted in the door 3, the lock between the door 92 and the main body 91 can be released, and the door 92 can be held.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of a control system of the substrate processing apparatus. The substrate processing apparatus includes a moving mechanism controller 210 that controls the air cylinders 15 and 19 that drive the X slide plate 12 and the Y slide plate 16 of the moving mechanism section 10, and a motor 54 that moves the elevating table 55 of the elevating mechanism section 50 up and down. Elevating mechanism controller 25 to be driven
0, a rotation mechanism controller 23 for controlling the operation of a motor 38 for rotating the rotation plate 34 of the rotation mechanism 30
0, each air cylinder 81, 113,
Door opening / closing mechanism controller 21 for controlling the operation of 119
And a substrate transport controller 204 for driving the substrate transport robot 4 of the substrate processing unit 2. Moving mechanism controller 210, elevating mechanism controller 250, door opening / closing mechanism controller 215, rotating mechanism controller 2
30 and the substrate transport controller 204
The operation of each controller is controlled by the control unit 130. Further, the size detection sensor 22 for detecting the size of the integrated cassette 90 is connected to the control unit 130.

In the above configuration, the substrate storage container supply unit 1 corresponds to the substrate storage container supply device of the present invention, the integrated cassette 90 corresponds to the substrate storage container of the present invention, and the door opening / closing mechanism 70 corresponds to the removing means. , And the rotation mechanism 30 corresponds to a moving unit. Further, the rotating plate 34 and the support pins 39 correspond to a support portion of the moving means of the present invention, and the motor 38 corresponds to a rotating means. Further, the rotation mechanism 30
The position where the opening of the integrated cassette 90 held by the substrate is directly opposed to the door opening / closing mechanism 70 corresponds to the door removing position of the present invention, and the opening of the integrated cassette 90 corresponds to the substrate transfer robot 4.
Corresponds to the substrate supply position.

Hereinafter, the operation of the substrate container supply device will be described. FIGS. 16 to 18 are explanatory views of the loading / unloading operation of the integrated cassette of the substrate storage container supply section. The following operation is controlled by the control unit 130 shown in FIG.

First, as shown in FIG. 16A, the integrated cassette 90 transported by the external transport robot is placed on the Y slide plate 16 of the moving mechanism 10 (see FIG. 6). The transfer robot supplies the integrated cassette 90 to the moving mechanism unit 10 so that the door 92 of the integrated cassette 90 faces the substrate processing unit 2 side.

Next, as shown in FIG. 16 (b), the moving mechanism 10 moves the integrated cassette 90 along the arrow C by the X slide plate 12 and the Y slide plate 16, and Transport to Then, the Y slide plate 16 of the moving mechanism 10 and the rotating mechanism 3
The transfer of the integrated cassette 90 is carried out between 0 and 0.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory view of the transfer operation of the integrated cassette. As shown in FIG.
Is waiting at a lower position where the support pin 39 of the rotating mechanism 30 does not collide with the integrated cassette 90 on the Y slide plate 16 of the moving mechanism 10. Then, the Y slide plate 16 moves while holding the integrated cassette 90 above the rotation mechanism 30.

Next, as shown in FIG. 19B, the rotation mechanism 30 drives the motor 54 (see FIG. 9), and
Increase 5 As a result, the support pins 39 of the rotation mechanism 30 are fitted into the pin holes 97 on the bottom surface of the integrated cassette 90, and lift the integrated cassette 90 above the Y slide plate 16. Thereby, the Y slide plate 1
The sixth support pin 20 is detached from the pin hole 96 of the integrated cassette 90.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 19C, the Y slide plate 16 moves horizontally to the original position. By the above operation, the integrated cassette 90 is transferred from the Y slide plate 16 to the rotating plate 34 of the rotating mechanism 30.

Further, as shown in FIG. 16C, the integrated cassette 90 delivered to the rotating mechanism 30 is rotated 180 ° by the rotation of the rotating plate 34, and the door 92 is moved to the door opening / closing mechanism 70. Is stopped at a position directly opposite to. This position is called a door removal position. And the door opening and closing mechanism 7
0 removes the door 92 from the main body 91.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory view of the positioning operation of the rotation mechanism and the door opening and closing mechanism. The control unit 130 controls the integrated cassette 9 based on the output from the size detection sensor 22.
The height H from the mounting reference position F to the key hole 93 is determined by detecting the size of 0. Then, the motor 54 of the rotating mechanism 30 is driven to move the elevating table 55 up and down, and the vertical position of the key hole 93 of the door 92 of the integrated cassette 90 on the rotating mechanism 30 and the door opening / closing mechanism 70 Latch key 121
With the position in the vertical direction.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram of the door removing operation.
As shown in FIG. 21A, the controller 130 drives the door opening / closing mechanism controller 15 to select the positioning pins 86 and 87 according to the size of the integrated cassette 90 detected by the size detection sensor 22. . Here, it is assumed that the positioning pin 86 corresponding to the large integrated cassette 90 is selected. In this case, a pair of positioning pins 86 protrude from the door holding plate 84.

Next, as shown in FIG. 21B, the rod 82 of the air cylinder 81 is retracted, and the links 72 and 73 are retracted.
Is extended forward. Thereby, the door holding plate 84
Is closely attached to the door 92, the positioning pin 86 is inserted into the positioning hole 94 of the door 92, and the position of the door holding plate 84 and the door 92 is determined. At the same time, the latch key 121 is inserted into the key hole 93 of the door 92. Then, the latch key 121 is rotated by the latch key rotation mechanism 115, and the lock of the door 92 is released.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 21C, the rod 82 of the air cylinder 81 is extended again, and the door holding plate 84 moves backward while holding the door 92. Thus, the front surface of the integrated cassette 90 is opened.

Further, as shown in FIG. 17, when the door 92 is removed, the rotating mechanism 30 rotates the rotating plate 34 so that the opening of the integrated cassette 90 is moved to the substrate transport robot 4 of the substrate processing section 2. Integral cassette 90
To stop. This position is called a substrate supply position. Further, an empty integrated cassette 90 for storing processed substrates is set in a state shown in the drawing at a predetermined timing in the rotation mechanism section 30 of the substrate discharge area D.

In this state, the processing of the substrate by the substrate processing section 2 is started. The substrate transport robot 4 takes out the substrate from the integrated cassette 90 in the substrate supply area S in which the substrate is stored, and transports the substrate to a predetermined processing unit 3. The substrate processed by the processing unit 3 is stored in the integrated cassette 90 in the substrate discharge area D. This operation is repeated. Thus, the integrated cassette 9 in the substrate supply area S is
0 becomes empty, and the processed substrate is stored in the integrated cassette 90 in the substrate discharge area D.

Next, the integrated cassette 9 in the substrate discharge area D
Move to the zero discharge step. As shown in FIG. 18A, the rotation mechanism 30 rotates the rotation plate 34 and stops the opening of the integrated cassette 90 at a position facing the door opening / closing mechanism 70. Then, an operation reverse to the operation of removing the door shown in FIG. 22 is performed, and the door 92 held by the door opening / closing mechanism 70 is attached to the opening of the integrated cassette 90. Thereby, the integrated cassette 90 is sealed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 18B, the rotation mechanism 30 rotates the integrated cassette 90 by 180 °. Then, the moving mechanism 10 is driven, and the Y slide plate 16 moves to the rotating mechanism 30. And FIG.
9, the integrated cassette 90 is transferred from the rotation mechanism 30 to the Y slide plate 16 by an operation reverse to the transfer operation of the integrated cassette 90 shown in FIG.

Further, as shown in FIG. 18C, the moving mechanism 10 moves in the Y direction along the arrow E,
The integrated cassette 90 is moved in the opposite direction to the discharge position of the substrate storage container supply unit 1 to stand by.

The integrated cassette 90 containing the processed substrates is further transferred to a transfer robot and transferred to the next step.

With the above operation, the substrates stored in the integrated cassette 90 are supplied from the substrate storage container supply section 1 to the substrate processing section 2, and the processed substrates are transferred from the substrate processing section 2 to the empty integrated cassette 90. And discharged from the substrate storage container supply unit 1.

In the substrate container supply section 1 according to the present embodiment, the door opening / closing mechanism section 70 has the substrate processing section sandwiching the rotation mechanism section 30 at the substrate supply position to the substrate processing section 2 side of the integrated cassette 90. 2 is arranged on the opposite side. For this reason, it becomes possible to arrange the door opening and closing mechanism 70 on the side of the passage in the clean room, and the operator can easily approach. Thereby, the ease of maintenance of the door opening and closing mechanism 70 is improved.

The door opening / closing mechanism 70 removes the door 92 from the front surface of the integrated cassette 90, and holds the door 92 moved in a horizontal direction by a short distance. For this reason, the door opening / closing mechanism 70 comprises only a horizontal moving mechanism of the door 92, and the configuration is simplified as compared with the conventional door opening / closing mechanism which also requires a vertical moving mechanism. You.

In the substrate container supply section 1 according to the present embodiment, the size of the integrated cassette 90 is detected by the size detection sensor 22, and the door opening / closing mechanism section 70 and the integrated cassette 90 are connected accordingly. Is configured to perform vertical position adjustment. Thus, even when the integrated cassettes 90 having different sizes are inserted, the cassettes can be handled without any trouble.

Further, in the substrate storage container supply section 1 according to the present embodiment, the integrated cassette 90 is rotated by the rotation mechanism section 30 so that the door opening / closing section 70 faces the door opening / closing mechanism section 70;
It can be rotated and moved to a substrate supply position facing the substrate transport robot 4. For this reason, the door opening / closing mechanism 70 can be arranged on the side opposite to the substrate processing unit 2, and the size of the substrate storage container supply unit 1 can be reduced.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the structure in which the door opening / closing mechanism 70 moves the door holding plate 84 using the link mechanism has been described. However, another mechanism may be used. For example, FIG. 22 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the door opening and closing mechanism. The door opening and closing mechanism 70 according to this embodiment is directly connected to the air cylinder 14 without using a link mechanism.
0 moves the door holding plate 84 horizontally. The tip of the air cylinder 140 is the door holding plate 84
Is fixed to the back surface 84b. Air cylinder 1
A pair of linear guides 141 is provided on both sides of 40. As a result, the door holding plate 84 is moved parallel to the fixed plate 71. In the door opening / closing mechanism 70, the configurations of the pin switching unit 85 and the latch key turning mechanism 115 can be the same as the configurations of the embodiments shown in FIGS.

The door opening / closing mechanism 70 may be arranged not only at the position shown in FIG. 1 but also at the side of the moving mechanism 10 as shown in FIG. 23, for example. Also in this case, it becomes easy for the operator to approach the door opening / closing mechanism 70, and the ease of maintenance can be improved. In this case,
The integrated cassette 90 is supplied to the substrate storage container supply unit 1 with the door 92 facing the door opening and closing mechanism 70.

Further, as shown in FIG. 24, the door opening / closing mechanism 70 is
May be provided between the position where the substrate is supplied from the transfer robot and the substrate processing unit 2 and between the position where the integrated cassette 90 is discharged to the transfer robot and the substrate processing unit 2. In this case, the supplied integrated cassette 90 is supported by a horizontally movable supporting portion, and after the door 92 is removed by the door opening / closing mechanism 70, the cassette 90 is moved by linear driving means (not shown).
The substrate is linearly moved to a substrate supply position to the substrate transfer robot 4. Further, an integrated cassette 90 (not shown) for discharging the substrate is supported by a horizontally movable supporting portion, and after the door 92 is removed by the door opening / closing mechanism 70, the linear driving means (not shown). It is moved linearly to a position directly facing the substrate transfer robot 4. Even with such a configuration, maintenance work on the door opening / closing mechanism 70 can be facilitated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a substrate processing apparatus provided with a substrate storage container supply unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an integrated cassette.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the integrated cassette of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the integrated cassette of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the vicinity of a moving mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a front view of a lifting mechanism.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a rotation mechanism.

FIG. 11 is a side view of a horizontal moving mechanism of the door opening and closing mechanism.

FIG. 12 is a side view of a pin switching unit of the door opening and closing mechanism.

FIG. 13 is a front view of the door holding plate.

FIG. 14 is a front view of the latch key turning mechanism as viewed from the side opposite to the turning mechanism.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of a control system of the substrate processing apparatus.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of a loading / unloading operation of the integrated cassette in the substrate storage container supply unit.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of a loading / unloading operation of the integrated cassette in the substrate storage container supply unit.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram of the loading / unloading operation of the integrated cassette in the substrate storage container supply unit.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram of a delivery operation of an integrated cassette of a moving mechanism unit and a rotation mechanism unit.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram of a positioning operation of the rotation mechanism and the door opening and closing mechanism.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram of a door opening / closing operation of a door opening / closing mechanism.

FIG. 22 is a plan view of a door opening / closing mechanism according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a schematic plan view of a substrate processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a schematic plan view of a substrate processing apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram illustrating a substrate loading operation into a conventional substrate processing apparatus.

FIG. 26 is a perspective view of a conventional door opening and closing mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate storage container supply part 2 Substrate processing part 3 Processing unit 4 Substrate transfer robot 10 Moving mechanism part 12 X slide plate 16 Y slide plate 20 Support pin 22 Size detection sensor 30 Rotation mechanism part 34 Rotating plate 39 Support pin 50 Elevation Mechanism part 52 Ball screw 54 Motor 55 Elevating table 70 Door opening / closing mechanism part 71 Fixed plate 84 Door holding plate 85 Pin switching part 86, 87 Positioning pin 90 Integrated cassette 91 Main body 92 Door 93 Key hole 94 Positioning hole 96, 97 Pin hole 115 Latch key rotation mechanism 121 Latch key

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A substrate storage container supply device having an opening closed by a removable door and supplying a substrate storage container storing a plurality of substrates to a substrate supply position for supplying substrates to a substrate processing unit. A removing means for removing the door from the substrate storage container at a door removal position different from the substrate supply position, and supplying the substrate storage container from which the door has been removed by the removing means from the door removing position to the substrate supply position. Moving means for moving to a position, wherein the removing means is disposed at a position which does not interfere with a moving path of the substrate storage container from the door removing position to the substrate supply position by the moving means. Substrate storage container supply device. 2. The moving unit includes: a support unit that supports the substrate storage container; and a rotation unit that rotates the support unit to move the substrate storage container from the door removal position to the substrate supply position. The substrate storage container supply device according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. The substrate supply position and the door removal position are arranged on a circumference centered on a rotation axis of the support portion, and the removal means is at the door removal position outside the circumference. 3. The substrate storage container supply device according to claim 2, wherein the substrate storage container supply device is disposed so as to face an opening of the substrate storage container. 4. The substrate removing device according to claim 2, wherein said removing means is disposed on a side opposite to an opening side of said substrate storage container at said substrate supply position with said supporting portion interposed therebetween. Substrate storage container supply device. 5. The moving means comprises: a support for supporting the substrate storage container; and a linear driving means for linearly moving the support to linearly move the substrate storage container from the door removal position to the substrate supply position. The substrate storage container supply device according to claim 1, further comprising: 6. The substrate supply position and the door removal position are arranged on a predetermined straight line, and the removal means is provided at an opening of the substrate storage container at the door removal position on the side of the predetermined straight line. The substrate storage container supply device according to claim 5, wherein the substrate storage container supply device is arranged to face each other.