KR100675557B1 - Apparatus for transferring substrates and system for treating substrates using the apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an apparatus for transferring a substrate to / from a processing unit and controlling a substrate in a manufacturing process of a flat panel display, and a substrate processing system using the same.

The substrate transfer apparatus of the present invention includes an inclination converting member for converting the support plate on which the conveyor member is installed into a horizontal state or an inclined state. The inclination converting member includes a hinge portion for supporting one end of the support plate at one end of the base, and a driving part for elevating the other end of the support plate with the axial part as the axis. The drive unit includes a cylinder and a link for eccentricity correction connecting the piston rod of the cylinder and the other end of the support plate.

Description

Substrate transfer apparatus and substrate processing system using the apparatus {APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING SUBSTRATES AND SYSTEM FOR TREATING SUBSTRATES USING THE APPARATUS}

1 is a view schematically showing a conveyor unit for transferring a general substrate;

2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a substrate processing system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a plan view showing the configuration of the substrate transfer apparatus of FIG. 2;

4 is a side view showing the substrate transport apparatus in a horizontal state;

5 is a side view showing the substrate transfer apparatus in an inclined state.

* Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

120: substrate transfer device

122: base

124: support plate

130: conveyor member

132: feed shaft

133: roller

134: drive member

140: inclination conversion member

142: hinge part

144 drive unit

146: cylinder

148: link

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate transfer apparatus and a substrate processing system using the same, and more particularly, to an apparatus for transferring a substrate to / from a processing unit and controlling the inclination of the substrate in a flat panel display manufacturing process, and a substrate using the same. To a processing system.

Recently, information processing devices have been rapidly developed to have various types of functions and faster information processing speeds. This information processing apparatus has a display device for displaying the operated information. Until now, a cathode ray tube monitor has been mainly used as a display device, but in recent years, with the rapid development of semiconductor technology, the use of a flat panel display which is light and occupies small space is rapidly increasing. There are various types of flat panel displays, and among them, liquid crystal displays having low power consumption and volume and low voltage driving type are widely used.

In order to fabricate these liquid crystal display devices, a plurality of unit processes are performed on a glass substrate to form a pattern. In the process of etching, washing or drying, the substrate is formed by placing the substrate on a plurality of feed rollers. . In these processes, the substrate may be placed at an inclined angle so that uniform processing is performed on the entire surface. To this end, the substrate must be transferred to the processing chamber at an angled angle. For this purpose, the inclination of the substrate transferred to the conveyor is generally made as follows.

The conveyor unit has lift pins 30 which are lifted and lowered between the rotating shafts 42 and the shafts 42 which are inclined at a predetermined angle as shown in FIG. 1, and in the state in which the lift pins 30 are lifted, the substrate ( 10 is lifted on the lift pins 30 by the arm 20. Subsequently, as the lift pins 30 descend, the substrate 10 rests on the rollers 44 into which the shaft 42 is inserted, and the substrate 10 flows into the process chamber while the roller 44 rotates.

However, according to the above-described method, since the substrate is placed directly on the inclined rollers 44, there is a problem of large bending of the substrate 10, and the substrate transferred by the arm 20 is transferred to the processing chamber through the conveyor unit. Until this time, it takes a lot of time because it must go through the step of being transferred to the conveyor by the arm 20, the lifting pins 30 are raised and lowered, and then the shafts 42 rotate. put) is reduced.

 It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate transfer apparatus of a new type and a substrate processing system using the same that can stably adjust the inclination of the substrate.

The substrate transfer apparatus for achieving the above technical problem is a base; A support plate installed on the base; A conveyor member installed on the support plate and to which the substrate is conveyed; And an inclination converting member installed between the base and the support plate and converting the support plate into a horizontal state or an inclined state.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the inclination converting member includes a hinge portion supporting one end of the support plate at one end of the base; A driving part for elevating the other end of the support plate with the axial part as the axis; The drive unit is installed on the other end of the base and the cylinder having a piston rod, one end is installed on the piston rod of the cylinder, the other end is installed on the other end of the support plate for linkage for eccentricity correction according to the inclination change of the support plate It includes.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the inclination converting member further includes a shock absorber for mitigating the shock generated during the lowering of the piston rod of the cylinder.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the link comprises: a first fixing portion coupled to the piston rod of the cylinder and having a first axis of rotation; A second fixing part coupled to the other end of the support plate and having a second axis of rotation; And a connection part rotatably coupled to the first rotating shaft of the first fixing part and the second rotating shaft of the second fixing part.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the conveyor member is a feed shaft installed in parallel along the conveying direction of the substrate, a drive member for rotating the conveying shaft, and the feed so that the substrate is placed on the conveying shaft It has a plurality of rollers installed on the feed shaft.

A substrate manufacturing system for achieving the above technical problem comprises a processing chamber in which a substrate treatment process is performed in a state in which the substrate is inclined; A substrate transfer apparatus installed at an inlet side through which the substrate is introduced into the processing chamber and at an outlet side through which the substrate is discharged from the processing chamber; The substrate transfer device transfers the substrate by converting from the horizontal state to the inclined state, or transfers the substrate by converting from the inclined state to the horizontal state.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the substrate transfer apparatus includes a base; A support plate installed on the base; A conveyor member installed on the support plate and to which the substrate is conveyed; And an inclination converting member installed between the base and the support plate and converting the support plate into a horizontal state or an inclined state; The conveyor member includes a conveying shaft installed in parallel along a conveying direction of the substrate, a driving member for rotating the conveying shafts, and a plurality of rollers provided on the conveying shaft so as to be conveyed in a state where the substrate is placed on the conveying shaft. Include them.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the inclination converting member includes a hinge portion supporting one end of the support plate at one end of the base; A driving part for elevating the other end of the support plate with the axial part as the axis; The drive unit is installed on the other end of the base and the cylinder having a piston rod, one end is installed on the piston rod of the cylinder, the other end is installed on the other end of the support plate for linkage for eccentricity correction according to the inclination change of the support plate It includes.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the inclination converting member further includes a shock absorber for mitigating the shock generated during the lowering of the piston rod of the cylinder, the link is coupled to the piston rod of the cylinder and A first fixing part having a first rotating shaft; A second fixing part coupled to the other end of the support plate and having a second axis of rotation; And a connection part rotatably coupled to the first rotating shaft of the first fixing part and the second rotating shaft of the second fixing part.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5. In the drawings, the same reference numerals are given to components that perform the same function.

The embodiments of the present invention may be modified in various forms, and the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited by the embodiments described below. This embodiment is provided to more completely explain the present invention to those skilled in the art.

In this embodiment, the substrate is for manufacturing a flat panel display (FPD) device, and the FPD is a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display (PDP), a vacuum fluorescent display (VFD), or a field emission (FED). Display), ELD (Electro Luminescence Display).

2 is a schematic block diagram of a substrate processing system 100 in accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2, the substrate processing system 100 has a processing chamber 110, a substrate transfer device 120, and an arm (not shown 180) installed at the inlet and outlet sides of the processing chamber, respectively.

The treatment chamber 110 may include an etching part, a washing part, a drying part, and the like in which a predetermined process such as an etching, a washing process, a drying process, or the like is performed on the substrate. Alternatively, however, various other processes may be performed in the processing chamber 110. In the processing chamber 110 where the process of etching, washing, drying, etc. is performed, the transfer of the substrate may be performed by a general transfer system (not shown) having shafts and rollers. The process proceeds in the process chamber 110 so that the entire surface of the substrate is uniformly etched (or cleaned), and the substrate is formed at a predetermined angle to prevent chemical liquids or deionized water from remaining on the upper surface of the substrate. It is common to be transferred in the photographic state.

To this end, the substrate transfer device 120 is disposed at the inlet side and the outlet side of the processing chamber 110, respectively.

The substrate transfer apparatus 120 adjacent to the inlet side of the process chamber 110 is a portion for inclining the substrate w transferred from the outside at an angle and transferring the substrate to the process chamber 110. In addition, the substrate transfer apparatus 120 adjacent to the exit side of the process chamber 110 is a portion for maintaining the substrate is completed horizontally in the process chamber 110, and transfers the substrate to the outside. Since the structure of the substrate transfer apparatus 120 is the same, the substrate transfer apparatus 120 for transferring the substrate into the process chamber will be described in the present embodiment.

3 is a plan view schematically illustrating a substrate transfer apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are views illustrating a substrate transfer apparatus when the conveyor member is in a horizontal state and the conveyor member is inclined, respectively. to be.

3 and 4, the substrate transfer apparatus 120 includes a base 122, a support plate 124, a conveyor member 130, and an inclination converting member 140. The inclination converting member has a driving portion consisting of a cylinder and a link, and a hinge portion.

The support plate 124 is positioned above the base 122. The support plate 124 is provided with a conveyor member 130 on which the substrate is placed and to which the substrate is conveyed.

The conveyor member 130 includes a plurality of conveying shafts 132 installed in parallel along the conveying direction of the substrate, a driving member 134 and a plurality of conveying shafts 132 for rotating the conveying shafts 132. Rollers 133.

Each of the transfer shafts 132 is rotatably installed on a bracket 126 provided at both ends of the support plate 124, and pulleys 136 are installed at each of the transfer shafts 132. Adjacent pulleys 136 may be connected to each other by a belt 138, and one of the pulleys 136 may be connected by a belt and a pulley 136 rotated by a motor 139. However, unlike this, a motor may be coupled to each feed shaft 132, and the feed shaft 132 may be rotated by each motor. The substrate is placed on the rollers 133. When the motor 139 is driven, rotational force is transmitted to the feed shaft 132 and the rollers 133 through the pulley 136 and the belts 138, so that the substrate placed on the rollers 133 is in one direction. Is moved to.

Meanwhile, the substrate w is placed on the conveyor member 130 in a horizontal state at all times. This is because, if the substrate is placed on the inclined conveyor member, the substrate may be largely bent. When the substrate w is placed on the conveyor member 130, the conveyor member 130 is inclined at an inclination of about 10 degrees in a horizontal state by the operation of the inclination converting member 140. The substrate is transferred into the process chamber 110 while maintaining the inclination of 10 degrees. The conveyor member 130 is converted to an angle equal to the angle at which the substrate is inclined in the processing chamber 110.

In order to transport the substrate w in an inclined state, the inclination of the support plate 124 must be adjusted, and the inclination of the support plate 124 is converted by the inclination converting member 140.

One end of the support plate 124 is rotatably supported by the hinge part 142 (also referred to as a rotating bearing) of the inclination converting member 140, and the other end of the support plate 124 is supported by the driving unit 144 to be lifted and lowered. . The support plate 124 is inclined at a predetermined angle (0 to 10 degrees) with respect to the axial part 142 as the driving unit 144 moves up and down. The driving unit 144 has a cylinder 146 installed at the other end of the base 122 and a link 148 for transmitting a force from the piston rod 146a of the cylinder to the other end of the support plate 124. The link 148 is a first fixing part 148a (bottom) installed on the piston rod 146a of the cylinder, a second fixing part 148b (upper part) installed on the other end of the support plate, and a connection part connecting them. (148c). The first fixing part 148a has a first rotating shaft x1 connected to one end of the connecting part 148c, and the second fixing part 148b has a second rotating shaft connected to the other end of the connecting part 148c. x2). As shown in FIG. 4, when the link 148 is tilted 5 degrees in a horizontal state, and the support plate 124 is tilted 10 degrees by the up operation of the cylinder as shown in FIG. 5, according to the rotation angle thereof. The slope of the link 148 is 15 degrees.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the support plate 124 is inclined 10 degrees by an up operation of the cylinder 146, the link 148 corrects an eccentricity due to the inclination change of the support plate 124. By helping the smooth rotation of the support plate 124. The link is tilted 15 degrees. In other words, the link 148 smoothly converts (transfers) the linear movement of the cylinder 146 into the rotational movement of the support plate 124. If the link 148 is removed and the piston rod of the cylinder is directly connected to the bottom of the support plate, the piston rod is linearly moved and the other end of the support plate is rotated so that a serious twist in the interconnect portion occurs. In addition, in severe cases, it may also occur that the inclination of the support plate becomes impossible.

As such, when the cylinder 146 of the inclination converter 140 is up, the support plate 124 has an inclination, and when the cylinder is down, the support plate 124 is horizontal. As a result, the substrate placed on the rotating shaft is also inclined at a predetermined angle.

On the other hand, the shock generated during the lowering of the piston rod 148a of the cylinder 146 is buffered by a shock absorber 190 installed in the cylinder.

Referring to the substrate transfer step in the substrate transfer apparatus 120 according to the present invention sequentially.

The substrate is transferred to the upper portion of the transfer shaft 132 of the conveyor member 130 by the arm in a horizontal state. Subsequently the arm is lowered and the substrate is placed on the rollers 133. After the cylinder 146 is up, the support plate 124 is thereby inclined while rotating at a predetermined angle about the hinge portion 142. The substrate has a slope required before entering the process chamber 110 and is then transferred into the process chamber 110. For reference, the substrate may be adjusted while the substrate is inclined while being transferred, or may be transferred after the substrate is inclined in the stationary state. Of course, since the substrate is finished in the process chamber is transferred to the inclined state, the inclination is adjusted in the substrate transfer apparatus disposed on the exit side of the process chamber.

On the other hand, the present invention is a substrate transfer device and a substrate processing system using the same configuration having the above configuration can be variously modified and can take various forms. It is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific forms referred to in the foregoing description, but rather includes all modifications, equivalents and substitutions that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. It must be understood.

In the above, the substrate transfer apparatus and the substrate processing system using the same according to the present invention have been shown in the configuration and operation according to the above description and drawings, but this is merely described for example and various within the scope without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. Of course, change and change are possible.

As described above, the present invention has the following effects. First, it is possible to greatly reduce the time required to transfer the substrate, there is an effect that can increase the throughput. Second, as the support plate is rotated, the distortion between the cylinder and the support plate is alleviated by the link, which enables stable inclination change.

Claims (9)

In the substrate transfer device: Base; A support plate installed on the base; A conveyor member installed on the support plate and to which the substrate is conveyed; And It is installed between the base and the support plate, including a tilt conversion member for converting the support plate in a horizontal state or inclined state; The inclination converting member A hinge portion supporting one end of the support plate at one end of the base; It includes a drive unit for elevating the other end of the support plate with the axial part as the axis, The driving unit A cylinder installed at the other end of the base and having a piston rod, One end is installed on the piston rod of the cylinder, the other end is installed on the other end of the support plate characterized in that it comprises a link for eccentricity correction according to the inclination change of the support plate. delete The method of claim 1, The inclination converting member Substrate transfer apparatus further comprises a shock absorber for mitigating the impact generated during the lowering of the piston rod of the cylinder. The method of claim 1, The link is A first fixing part coupled to the piston rod of the cylinder and having a first axis of rotation; A second fixing part coupled to the other end of the support plate and having a second axis of rotation; And a connection part rotatably coupled to the first rotation shaft of the first fixing part and the second rotation shaft of the second fixing part. The method of claim 1, The conveyor member includes a conveying shaft installed in parallel along a conveying direction of the substrate, a driving member for rotating the conveying shafts, and a plurality of rollers provided on the conveying shaft so as to be conveyed in a state where the substrate is placed on the conveying shaft. The substrate transfer apparatus characterized by having these. In a system for manufacturing a substrate, A processing chamber in which a substrate processing step is performed while the substrate is inclined; A substrate transfer apparatus installed at an inlet side through which the substrate is introduced into the processing chamber and at an outlet side through which the substrate is discharged from the processing chamber; The substrate transfer apparatus transfers the substrate by converting from the horizontal state to the inclined state, or transfers the substrate by converting from the inclined state to the horizontal state. The method of claim 6, The substrate transfer device Base; A support plate installed on the base; A conveyor member installed on the support plate and to which the substrate is conveyed; And It is installed between the base and the support plate, including a tilt conversion member for converting the support plate in a horizontal state or inclined state; The conveyor member includes a conveying shaft installed in parallel along a conveying direction of the substrate, a driving member for rotating the conveying shafts, and a plurality of rollers provided on the conveying shaft so as to be conveyed in a state where the substrate is placed on the conveying shaft. Substrate processing system comprising a. The method of claim 7, wherein The inclination converting member A hinge portion supporting one end of the support plate at one end of the base; A driving part for elevating the other end of the support plate with the axial part as the axis; The driving unit A cylinder installed at the other end of the base and having a piston rod, One end is installed on the piston rod of the cylinder, the other end is provided on the other end of the support plate, the substrate processing system, characterized in that it comprises a link for eccentricity correction according to the inclination change of the support plate. The method of claim 8, The inclination converting member Further comprising a shock absorber for mitigating the impact generated during the lowering of the piston rod of the cylinder, The link is coupled to a piston rod of the cylinder and having a first axis of rotation; A second fixing part coupled to the other end of the support plate and having a second axis of rotation; And a connection part rotatably coupled to the first rotation shaft of the first fixing part and the second rotation shaft of the second fixing part.

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