KR100344752B1 - Stockers and semi-automobiles for hermetically sealed glass substrate cassettes and liquid crystal display device manufacturing apparatus using them - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a clean stocker (7) for a hermetically sealed glass substrate cassette having an openable lid, at least one processing unit (2) for carrying out a process for producing a liquid crystal display device for the glass substrate, and the clean stocker. The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device manufacturing apparatus comprising an automatic transport vehicle (3) for conveying a cassette between (7) and the processing unit (2). The clean stocker 7 is provided with a lid opening and closing mechanism 6 for opening and closing the lid of the cassette. It is possible to realize the space saving of the processing apparatus group, the reduction of the processing apparatus cost, and the suppression of foreign matter adhesion to the glass substrate at low cost and space.

Description

Stocker and automatic transport vehicle for hermetic glass substrate cassette, and liquid crystal display device manufacturing apparatus using them

The present invention provides a stocker for a hermetically sealed glass substrate cassette capable of realizing a space-saving and processing cost reduction of the processing apparatus group for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device and suppressing foreign matter adhesion to the glass substrate at a low cost and space. And an automatic transport vehicle and a liquid crystal display device manufacturing apparatus using the same.

Conventionally, when manufacturing a liquid crystal display device, in order to avoid foreign matters from adhering to the glass substrate as a raw material, the glass substrate is stored or processed in a state in which the glass substrate is stored in a sealed glass substrate cassette having an openable lid. The conveyance to the apparatus group is performed.

As the hermetic glass substrate cassette conventionally used, a slide cassette or the like as shown in Fig. 3 is used. The slide cassette 28 of FIG. 3 is for storing a substrate such as a glass substrate or a reticle, and includes a storage box 22 for accommodating the glass substrate 21, a lid 23, and a flame 26. Consists of. In addition, 24 is an elastic plate for supporting the cover 23, and 25 is an opening / closing lever for moving the cover 23 up and down. In addition, 27 is a belt having one end fixed to the opening / closing lever 25, and the cover 23 by the opening / closing lever 25 prevents injuries when the cover 23 is in close contact. Moreover, in FIG. 4, a single body of the storage box 22 drawn out from the flame 26 is shown.

The cassette 28 containing the glass substrate of FIG. 3 is, for example, in the case of the liquid crystal display device manufacturing apparatus as shown in FIG. 6, stored in the stocker 37 with the lid 23 closed. And, if necessary, taken out from the delivery ports 34 and 35 and conveyed by the automatic transport vehicle 33 (hereinafter referred to as AGV).

When it arrives in front of the predetermined processing apparatus 32, the cover 23 of a cassette is opened by the cover opening / closing mechanism 36 provided in the port P (or entrance / exit entrance) of each processing apparatus 32, and the glass inside a cassette is opened. The board | substrate 21 is taken out and a predetermined process is performed.

As the lid opening / closing mechanism 36, for example, a horizontal moving mechanism having a lead member 41 and an operation lever 41a as shown in FIG. 5 is used.

When opening and closing the cassette 28 of FIG. 3 using the cover opening / closing mechanism 36 shown in FIG. 5, first, the cover opening / closing mechanism 36 including the withdrawal member 41 is formed in the storage box 22. It is engaged with the side part and moves to the left side of the drawing.

At this time, the operation lever 41a collides with the opening / closing lever 25 to rotate the opening / closing lever 25 in the clockwise direction, thereby causing the lid 26 to float upward as a whole.

Then, the operation lever 41a moves over the opening / closing lever 25 in the open position by elastic action, and the cover opening / closing mechanism 36 moves to the left to be stopped by an unillustrated locking member installed in the storage box 22. do.

Next, after stopping at the position of this latching member, the lid opening / closing mechanism 36 is slightly moved upward in the figure. Then, an unillustrated member provided on the side of the storage box 22 presses the rotary roller 41b downward, so that the rotary roller 41b and the operation lever 41a are counterclockwise about the rotation point 41c. Is rotated.

Thereby, the operation lever 41a and the opening / closing lever 25 become a height relationship which does not interfere with each other.

Subsequently, the drawing member 41 pulls out the storage box 22 including the glass substrate 21 and conveys it in the right direction in the drawing.

Since the operating lever 41a and the opening / closing lever 25 do not interfere as described above, when the operating lever 41a is moving to the right, the opening / closing lever 25 is not changed and the lid 26 is in an open state. Keep it.

In this way, the horizontal moving mechanism 40 returns to a state of being slightly raised in the vertical direction to the reference position in the horizontal direction.

At this time, in the case where the glass substrate 21 after the treatment is stored in the cassette 28, an operation opposite to the above-described procedure may be performed.

However, in the conventional liquid crystal display device manufacturing apparatus, since the cover opening and closing mechanism is provided in each processing apparatus, there exists a problem that a processing apparatus must be enlarged. In particular, in recent years, there is a tendency for large screens with respect to liquid crystal display devices, and accordingly, the cover opening / closing mechanism and the processing apparatus including the cover opening / closing mechanism are also increasingly large.

Moreover, with this enlargement, the manufacturing cost of each processing apparatus also increases.

On the other hand, if a cassette with a cover and a cover opening / closing mechanism are not employed, there is a problem that a large amount of foreign matter adheres to the glass substrate. In particular, a large amount of foreign matter is attached to the glass substrate for the large screen which is seen recently. Attachment of foreign matters causes a decrease in production yield.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and the hermetically sealed glass substrate cassette can realize the space saving of the processing apparatus group, the reduction of the cost of the processing apparatus, and the suppression of foreign matter adhesion to the glass substrate at a low cost and space. A liquid crystal display device manufacturing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises a stocker for a hermetically sealed glass substrate cassette having an openable lid, and a glass. At least one processing unit for performing a process for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device with respect to the substrate, and an AGV for conveying a cassette between the stocker and the processing unit,

The stocker is provided with a cover opening and closing mechanism for opening and closing the cover of the cassette.

It is preferable that two exit ports of the stocker are set, and the cover opening / closing mechanism is provided in each exit port.

An apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to aspect 2 of the present invention includes a stocker for a hermetically sealed glass substrate cassette having an openable lid, at least one processing unit for performing a process for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device to the glass substrate, and AGV for conveying the cassette between the stocker and the processing unit,

The AGV is characterized by comprising a cover opening and closing mechanism for opening and closing the cover of the cassette.

According to the present invention, a cover opening and closing mechanism for opening and closing a cover of a hermetically sealed glass substrate cassette, which is conventionally provided in each of the processing units, is provided to either the stocker or the AGV, so that the cover opening and closing mechanism is common. With this feature, the cover opening and closing mechanism can be eliminated in each processing section. As a result, it is possible to reduce the space of the processing apparatus group, reduce the cost of the processing apparatus, and suppress the adhesion of foreign matter to the glass substrate. It can be realized in space.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Explanatory drawing which shows one Example of the liquid crystal display device manufacturing apparatus of Claim 3.

2 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of a liquid crystal display device manufacturing apparatus according to claim 6. FIG.

3 is a perspective view of a substrate cassette;

4 is a perspective view of the storage box of FIG.

5 is a perspective view of the cover opening and closing mechanism.

6 is a plan view of a conventional liquid crystal display device manufacturing apparatus.

7 is a perspective view of a door type cassette.

<Explanation of symbols for main parts of drawing>

1: 2 processing unit 3: automatic return vehicle (AGV)

6: cover opening and closing mechanism 7: clean stocker

Next, with reference to the drawings, a stocker and AGV for the hermetically sealed glass substrate cassette of the present invention and a liquid crystal display device manufacturing apparatus using the same will be described in detail.

1 is an explanatory view showing an embodiment of the liquid crystal display device manufacturing apparatus of claim 3, Figure 2 is an explanatory view showing an embodiment of the liquid crystal display device manufacturing apparatus of claim 6;

The apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device shown in FIG. 1 includes a clean stocker 7 for storing a hermetically sealed glass substrate cassette (eg, a conventional slide cassette shown in FIG. 3) and a glass substrate. On the other hand, it is comprised by the some process part 2 for performing the process for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device, and the AGV 3 for conveying a cassette between the said clean stocker 7 and the process part 2.

Moreover, the clean stocker 7 is equipped with the cover opening / closing mechanism 6 for opening and closing the cover of the said cassette. The lid opening / closing mechanism 6 may include, for example, a lid opening / closing mechanism for a sliding cassette as shown in FIG. 5, or a lid opening / closing mechanism (not shown) applicable to a door-type cassette as shown in FIG. 7. Can be used.

In the door type cassette of FIG. 7, the rod 39 is attached to the top of the door 37, the rod 39 is rotatably supported on the top of the cassette 40, and the door 37 and the cassette 40 are provided. Magnet 38 is installed on the opposite side of the). The door 37 is closed by the magnetic force of the magnet 38. The cover opening / closing mechanism can open the door 37 until it is fully opened by applying the rotational force in the opening direction to the shaft bar 39 or the door 37. On the other hand, when the rotational force is removed in the half-open state, the door 37 is naturally closed by the magnetic force of the magnet 38.

In addition, the present invention is not particularly limited to the structure of the sealed glass substrate cassette having a lid capable of opening and closing and the lid opening and closing mechanism for opening and closing the lid, and various conventionally known forms can be adopted. .

Moreover, the manufacturing apparatus of this embodiment is provided with the conveyance controller 1 for giving AGV a conveyance instruction | command and the blocking control between each AGV.

By the structure which provided the cover opening / closing mechanism 6 in the clean stocker 7, as mentioned above, in the stocker of this Example and the liquid crystal display device manufacturing apparatus using the same, the cover opening / closing mechanism can be removed by each processing part 2. . As a result, the processing unit 2 can achieve a significant space saving. Therefore, when manufacturing the processing part 2, a significant reduction in manufacturing cost can also be achieved. Moreover, suppression of foreign matter adhesion to the glass substrate can be realized at low cost and space.

In the liquid crystal display device manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 1, two outlets are provided in the clean stocker 7, and the cover opening / closing mechanism 6 is provided in each outlet 4 and 5. Therefore, while the cover of the cassette can be opened by the cover opening / closing mechanism 6 of one of the outlets 4 and 5, the cover of the cassette can be opened by the cover opening / closing mechanism 6 of the other outlet. The waiting time of 3) can be reduced, and the production efficiency is improved.

In addition, since a plurality of AGVs are provided, the cassette can be simultaneously transferred from the stocker to the plurality of processing apparatuses or vice versa, so that the transfer efficiency can be significantly improved.

In the liquid crystal display device manufacturing apparatus shown in Fig. 1, since the operation status of the manufacturing apparatus (state of the station) and AGV conveyance control are centrally controlled by the conveyance controller 1, the capability of the apparatus and the conveyance capability of the AGV are maximized. Can improve the effect.

At this time, as the processing apparatus 2, a processing apparatus conventionally known, for example, a CVD apparatus, a photolithography apparatus, an etching apparatus, etc. can be mentioned.

The apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device shown in FIG. 2 includes a clean stocker 7 containing a closed glass substrate cassette (eg, a conventional slide cassette shown in FIG. 3) having an openable lid and a glass substrate. Is composed of a plurality of processing units 2 for performing a process for producing a liquid crystal display device and an AGV 3 for conveying a cassette between the clean stocker 7 and the processing unit 2. It has become common with the manufacturing apparatus of FIG. However, the AGV 3 has a lid opening / closing mechanism 6 for opening and closing the lid of the cassette in place of the clean stocker 7. Other components with the same reference numerals as those of FIG. 1 are assumed to be common to the manufacturing apparatus of FIG.

With the structure which provided the cover opening / closing mechanism 6 in AGV3 as mentioned above, in the stocker of this Example and the liquid crystal display device manufacturing apparatus using the same, the cover opening / closing mechanism can be removed by each processing part 2. As a result, the processing unit 2 can achieve a significant space saving. As a result, when the processing unit 2 is manufactured, a significant reduction in manufacturing cost can be achieved. In addition, suppression of foreign matter adherence to the glass substrate can be realized at low cost and space.

According to the present invention, the cover opening and closing mechanism can be removed from the processing apparatus, and as a result, the processing apparatus group can achieve significant space saving. As a result, when manufacturing the processing apparatus, a significant reduction in manufacturing cost can be achieved. In addition, suppression of foreign matter adherence to the glass substrate can be realized at low cost and space.

Claims (3)

A stocker for a hermetically sealed glass substrate cassette having an opening and closing cover, at least one processing unit for carrying out a process for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device for the glass substrate, and an automatic transport lane for conveying the cassette between the stocker and the processing unit Done, And the stocker is provided with a cover opening / closing mechanism for opening and closing the cover of the cassette. The method of claim 1, Two outlets of said stocker are provided, The said cover opening and closing mechanism is provided in each outlet, The liquid crystal display device manufacturing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. A stocker for a hermetically sealed glass substrate cassette having an opening and closing cover, at least one processing unit for carrying out a process for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device for the glass substrate, and an automatic transport lane for conveying the cassette between the stocker and the processing unit Done, And said cover is provided with a cover opening / closing mechanism for opening and closing the cover of said cassette.