KR101021729B1 - Stocker for depositing glass substrates - Google Patents

Abstract

The stocker for storing the substrate of the present invention improves the structure of the airflow control unit to stabilize the airflow inside the stocker and prevent the inflow of particles, and has a passage formed in the body, and a cassette housed on both sides of the passage. A stock storage stocker provided with a plurality of shelves to be stacked and provided with a plurality of fan filter units for purifying air and supplying the air to an upper portion of the main body. And a first guide part extending in one direction, connected to one side of the first guide part, and bent in a curved shape to be connected to one side of the second guide part to change the airflow and extending in another direction. An air flow guide configured to include a third guide part to stabilize the air flow in the stocker; And an airflow control shutter installed at the rear of the shelf and configured with a plurality of openings for introducing a predetermined amount of air and a plurality of airflow guides to guide the purified air into each shelf to form a constant airflow.

Stocker, stacker, airflow guide, airflow control shutter, air outflow control shutter, airflow control

Description

Board Stock Stoker {STOCKER FOR DEPOSITING GLASS SUBSTRATES}

1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the structure of a typical stocker.

FIG. 2 is a view schematically showing the airflow in the stocker shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing an enlarged portion of the air inlet control shutter of the stocker shown in FIG.

4A is a photograph showing simulation results of internal airflow in the stocker shown in FIG. 1;

4B is an enlarged photograph of part A of the simulation result illustrated in FIG. 4A.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view schematically showing the stocker structure of the present invention.

FIG. 6A is an enlarged perspective view of the airflow guide of the stocker shown in FIG. 5. FIG.

Figure 6b is a perspective view showing an enlarged portion of the airflow control shutter of the stocker shown in FIG.

FIG. 7A is a photograph showing simulation results of internal airflow in the stocker shown in FIG. 5; FIG.

7B is an enlarged photograph of part B of the simulation result illustrated in FIG. 7A.                 

Figure 8 is a perspective view showing a part of the air flow control shutter lower the stocker according to an embodiment of the present invention.

9A and 9B schematically show a conventional stocker running portion.

10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a traveling part of a stocker according to an embodiment of the present invention.

** Description of symbols for the main parts of the drawing **

10,110: Stalker 20,120: Stacker

26,126: exhaust part 30,130: cassette

40,40 ', 140,140': Fan filter unit 60,160: Running part

161: caster 162: wheel frame

170: air flow control shutter 180,180 ': air flow guide

180a, 180b, 180c: guide portion 190: air outflow control shutter

190a, 190b: plate 195a, 195b: through hole

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a stocker for storing a substrate, and more particularly, to a substrate storage suitable for preventing contamination by particles by stabilizing the airflow in the stocker by improving the airflow structure of the exhaust portion of the stocker under the installation of an airflow guide. It's about the stalker.                         

Recently, with increasing interest in information display and increasing demand for using a portable information carrier, a lightweight flat panel display (FPD), which replaces a conventional display device, a cathode ray tube (CRT), is used. The research and commercialization of Korea is focused on. In particular, the liquid crystal display (LCD) of the flat panel display device is an image representing the image using the optical anisotropy of the liquid crystal, is excellent in resolution, color display and image quality, and is actively applied to notebooks or desktop monitors have.

Hereinafter, the liquid crystal display device will be described in detail.

A general liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal display panel including a driving circuit unit, a backlight unit disposed under the liquid crystal display panel to emit light to the liquid crystal display panel, and the backlight unit and the liquid crystal display panel. It consists of a mold frame (case) and a case (supporting).

In particular, the liquid crystal display panel is largely composed of a color filter substrate and an array substrate and a liquid crystal layer formed between the color filter substrate and the array substrate.

In this case, the color filter substrate may distinguish between a color filter including a sub-color filter (red, green, blue) that implements color, and the sub-color filter, and a black matrix that blocks light transmitted through the liquid crystal layer ( black matrix), and a transparent common electrode for applying a voltage to the liquid crystal layer.

In addition, the array substrate is a thin film transistor (TFT) which is a switching element formed in a cross-section of the gate line and the data line, a plurality of gate lines and data lines arranged vertically and horizontally on the substrate to define a plurality of pixel areas. ) And a pixel electrode formed on the pixel region.

The array substrate and the color filter substrate configured as described above are joined to face each other by sealants formed on the outer side of the image display area to form a liquid crystal display panel, and the bonding of the two substrates is formed on the array substrate or the color filter substrate. Is done through the key.

The manufacturing process of the liquid crystal display panel can be largely divided into an array process of forming a switching element on an array substrate, a color filter process of forming a color filter on a color filter substrate, and a cell process. The substrates for the manufacturing of the liquid crystal display panel are to be stored in the stocker for interim processing or temporary storage while being stored in a cassette. .

At this time, the inside of the stocker in which the cassette is temporarily stored should also be kept in an extremely clean state so that the substrate is not contaminated by particles such as fine dust or particles, and thus the stocker storing the cassettes will be described in detail. As follows.

1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the structure of a general stocker, and FIG. 2 is a view schematically showing the airflow in the stocker shown in FIG. 1.

As shown in the figure, the stocker 10 has a box-shaped stocker body 15 having a passage 25 in a predetermined space in the stocker 10 and is formed long in the front-back direction, and both sides of the passage 25 It is provided with a plurality of shelves 16 into which the cassettes 30 containing the substrates are stacked.

At this time, a stacker (20) equipment is located in the passage (25) to move the cassette (30) to the shelf (16) or to draw and transport the cassette 30 that is placed on the shelf (16) I can do it. In addition, the stacker 20 includes driving units 21 and 22 for traveling of the stacker 20 and transporting the cassette 30.

On the other hand, the upper ceiling (ceil) of the stocker main body 15 including the passage 25 (Fan filter unit (FFU) to purify the air and supply the inside of the stocker main body (FFU) ( 40, 40 ') are provided, and an air inlet control shutter 70 is provided at the rear of the shelf 16 to adjust the amount of air introduced therein.

Reference numeral 50 in the drawing indicates an access floor of a clean room in which the stocker 10 is installed.

Air flow in the conventional stocker 10 configured as described above is inside the main body 15 through fan filter units 40 and 40 'installed on the upper side of the stocker main body 15, as indicated by the arrows in FIG. Air flows into the furnace and flows out through the exhaust unit 26 under the stocker 10.

In particular, the air purged through the fan filter unit 40 ′ installed at the upper part of the shelf 16 on which the cassette 30 is stored is introduced into each shelf 16 through the air inlet control shutter 70. And the stacker 20 is collected in the passage 25 is located is discharged to the outside.

At this time, as shown in Figure 3, the air inlet control shutter 70 is formed with a plurality of openings 75 for introducing a predetermined amount of air, by adjusting the opening ratio of the opening 75 (10) The desired amount of air can be introduced into the interior (that is, inside each shelf 16).

However, the air introduced into the shelf 16 through the fan filter unit 40 ′ does not form a stable air flow due to abnormal air flow and various factors such as vortex phenomena, air flow deflection, and the like. The computer simulation results are described below.

4A is a photograph showing a simulation result of the internal airflow in the stocker shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4B is an enlarged view of part A of the simulation result shown in FIG. 4A, and shows the speed and flow of the stocker internal airflow. It is shown by the line (stream line).

As shown in the figure, the air introduced through the fan filter unit 40 'flows in a downward direction at a corner portion through a passage formed in the upper portion of the stocker main body 15, and the air flow flows down. The velocity of the airflow at the corners and the lower part is 4-8 m / s, which is higher than that of the other parts. As a result, an uneven flow of air flows inside the shelf 16.

That is, vortex phenomena appear in the corner portion (part A) of the shelf 16 adjacent to the upper edge of the stocker main body 15 (that is, the region in which the air flow is unstable), so that airflow is stably introduced into the shelf 16. It can be seen that there is no. If particles are generated in the stocker 10 due to some cause, there is a risk that the particles are trapped in the vortex and attached to the surface of the substrate stored in the vortex.

In addition, it can be seen that due to the unstable airflow flow, the airflow flow occurs in the ceiling portion of the shelf 16 located at the upper part, because the density of the stream line is relatively small, that is, air is not properly introduced.

On the other hand, the current stocker 10 lower portion, that is, the exhaust portion 26 is a predetermined opening ratio (for example, the opening ratio of 50%) for the air flowing from the upper fan filter units 40, 40 'to flow to the outside It is processed and installed in a perforated state.

As described above, in the conventional stocker in which the opening ratio of the exhaust part cannot be adjusted, when the airflow flows backward from the lower side of the stocker because it does not correspond to the change of the environmental conditions at the place where the stocker is installed, and the relative sound pressure inside the stocker There is a problem in that the substrate is contaminated due to the introduction of particles suspended from the outside due to the formation of (iii).

The present invention is to solve the above problems, by installing an airflow guide in the top of the stock control shutter and the stocker main body stocker to stabilize the air flow in the stocker to prevent the substrate is contaminated stocker stocker The purpose is to provide.                         

Another object of the present invention is to provide a stocker stocker for preventing storage of particles due to backflow from the stocker by installing an air discharge control shutter under the stocker.

Further objects and features of the present invention will be described in the configuration and claims of the invention which will be described later.

In order to achieve the above object, the substrate storage stocker of the present invention is formed with a passage in the interior of the main body, the both sides of the passage is provided with a plurality of shelves on which the cassette is stored, the main body of the A substrate storage stocker having a plurality of fan filter units for purifying air and supplying the air to the inside of the body, wherein the first guide portion is installed at an upper edge of the stocker body and extends in one direction. The air flow inside the stocker is configured to include a second guide part connected to one side of the first guide part and bent in a curved shape to change the air flow, and a third guide part connected to one side of the second guide part and extending in another direction. Airflow guides to stabilize the flow; And an airflow control shutter installed at the rear of the shelf and configured with a plurality of openings for introducing a predetermined amount of air and a plurality of airflow guides to guide the purified air into each shelf to form a constant airflow.

At this time, the airflow guide has a predetermined width and distance in the form of a thin plate and is connected to one side of the first guide part extending in one direction and the first guide part, and is bent at a predetermined angle to change the airflow flow. And a third guide part connected to one side of the second guide part and extending in another direction at a predetermined distance.                     

In addition, the airflow guide may be made of a material such as metal or plastic, and may be installed on the stocker body in a fastening structure such as a bolt.

On the other hand, installed in the lower portion of the stocker to discharge the air introduced through the upper fan filter unit to the outside, and may further include an air outflow control shutter is formed with a plurality of openings whose opening ratio is adjusted according to the amount of air introduced. have.

At this time, the air flow control shutter has a plurality of openings are formed in each of the upper and lower plates in close contact, by sliding one of the upper and lower plates to adjust the opening ratio by matching or partially matching the openings The amount of air exhausted can be controlled.

In addition, a stacker for transferring a cassette may be additionally installed in the stocker inner passage, wherein the stacker transmits power to the wheel frame, the caster and the driving unit bonded to and contact the outer portion of the wheel frame to the wheel frame. It may further include a running portion composed of a shaft.

At this time, the running portion of the stacker may increase the area of contact between the wheel frame and the caster to reduce the crack due to deterioration of the use of the contact portion.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described a preferred embodiment of the stocker storage substrate according to the present invention.

5 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the stocker structure of the present invention.

As shown in the drawing, the stocker 110 has a box-shaped stocker body 115 having a passageway 125 in a predetermined space in the front and rear direction, and the substrates are provided at both sides of the passageway 125. A plurality of shelves 116 are provided to accommodate the cassettes 130 stored therein.

At this time, the stacker 120 is located in the passage 125 to move the cassette 130 to the shelf 116 or to draw and transport the cassette 130 stored on the shelf 116. It is. In addition, the stacker 120 includes driving units 121 and 122 for traveling of the stacker 120 and transporting the cassette 130.

On the other hand, the upper ceiling of the stocker main body 115 including the passage 125 is provided with a plurality of fan filter units (140, 140 ') for purifying the outside air to the interior of the stocker main body 115, The upper side (not shown) of the passage 125 and the rear of the shelf 116 is provided with an airflow control shutter 170 for adjusting the amount of air flowing in. For reference, the fan filter units 140 and 140 'are air purifiers used in the clean room, and serve to allow air absorbed by the fan to flow into the clean room through the filter.

In the figure, reference numeral 150 denotes the bottom of the clean room in which the stocker 110 is installed.

Air flow in the stocker 110 configured as described above is the air purified through the fan filter unit (140, 140 ') installed on the top of the stocker main body 115 through the air flow control shutter 170 to the main body ( 115) flows into the inside (ie, the passage 125 or inside each shelf 116) and flows out through the exhaust 126 under the stocker 110.

In this case, in the conventional stocker, an air inlet control shutter is installed at the rear of each shelf to stabilize the airflow by adjusting the amount of air introduced into the shelf, but as described above, the airflow flow can be completely controlled. Without this, in the present invention, the airflow guide 180 is installed in the upper corner region of the stocker main body 115 where the airflow is unstable.

That is, as shown in Figure 6a, the airflow guide 180 has a predetermined width and is connected to one side of the first guide portion 180a, the first guide portion 180a extending parallel to a certain distance and curved It is composed of a second guide portion 180b which is bent to change the air flow and a third guide portion 180c connected to one side of the second guide portion 180b and extending in parallel for a predetermined distance.

In this case, the second guide portion 180b may be bent at about 90 degrees to change the flow of airflow, and the airflow guide 180 may be formed of a material such as metal or plastic to fasten a bolt or the like. It may be attached to the stocker body 115 through.

In addition, in order to smoothly induce airflow flow into the shelf 116, the airflow control shutter 170 includes a plurality of openings 175 and respective shelves 116 for introducing a predetermined amount of air, as shown in FIG. The air flow guide 180 'controls the flow of air flowing into the inside.

That is, the pressure of the upper and lower parts of the stocker main body 115 is adjusted through the opening ratio of the opening 175 formed in the air flow control shutter 170 so that the air flow flows stably in the shelf 116. The airflow guide 180 ′ formed at 175 guides the flow of air into the shelf 116 to allow the airflow to stably flow without vortex.

Unlike the conventional stocker, the air flowing into the upper shelf 116 through the fan filter unit 140 'forms a stable airflow without vortex, and with reference to the computer simulation results of the airflow. The explanation is as follows.

FIG. 7A is a photograph showing a simulation result of the internal airflow in the stocker shown in FIG. 5, and FIG. 7B is an enlarged view of part B of the simulation result shown in FIG. 7A, and shows the speed and flow of the stocker internal airflow. It is represented by a line.

As shown in the figure, the air introduced through the fan filter unit 140 ′ flows by bending downward at an edge portion through an air passage formed at the top of the stocker main body 115, and the speed of the air is rapidly accelerated. By installing the airflow guide 180 at the corner portion where the pressure drop occurs, it can be seen that the backflow phenomenon and the vortex phenomenon that occurred at the corner portion disappear and the airflow is stably flowing.

That is, the vortex phenomenon sharply decreases in the corner portion (part B) of the shelf 116 adjacent to the upper edge of the stocker main body 115 (that is, the region where the air flow is unstable), so that the airflow stably flows into the shelf 116. It can be seen that.

In addition, it can be seen that the density of the stream lines in all the shelves 116 is constant compared to the prior art, thereby forming a smooth air flow.

On the other hand, the stocker 110, the lower exhaust portion 126 is provided with an air outlet tank shutter that can adjust the aperture ratio for the air flowing from the upper fan filter unit (140, 140 ') flows outward .

As shown in FIG. 8, the air leakage control shutter 190 has through holes 195a and 195b formed in close contact upper and lower plates 190a and 190b, respectively. Sliding movement of any one of the 190a, 190b can be adjusted to adjust the amount of air discharged by adjusting the aperture ratio in a manner to match or partially match the through holes (195a, 195b). At this time, in the present embodiment, the through-holes 190a and 190b are configured in the form of circles, but may be configured in any other form (ie, ellipses, polygons, etc.) to facilitate air leakage.

In addition, the air outflow control shutter 190 may be configured to include an opening of any shape in which the opening ratio is adjusted to one plate.

In the state where the air flows through the air leakage control shutter 190 to the bottom of the stocker 110, the airflow does not occur inside the stocker 110 and smoothly flows out to the exhaust part 126 of the lower part. Could. That is, for example, when a phenomenon in which airflow is concentrated inside the stocker 110 decreases the opening ratio of the air leakage control shutter 190 and reduces the amount of air discharged, a positive pressure is provided in the stocker 110. It is formed to be able to eliminate the airflow deflection phenomenon.

As such, the air leakage control shutter 190 may block the air flow in a portion of the back flow from the lower side of the stocker 110 while being appropriate for the amount of air introduced by the upper (ceiling) fan filter units 140 and 140 '. The feedback function serves to keep the airflow inside the stocker 110 stable.                     

In the substrate storage stocker 110 having the airflow control structure of the present invention configured as described above, the stacker 120 equipment accommodates the stacker 120 when the worker instructs the user to operate in the standby state during the storage. The cassette 130 is transported and stored, and when the worker releases the order by operation, the cassette is placed on the shelf 116 to be shipped out of the shelf 116 on which the stacker 120 is stored. After withdrawing 130, it is transferred to the next process by a transfer robot (not shown).

At this time, the lower portion of the stacker 120 is formed with a driving unit 160 for driving the stacker 120 back and forth to the desired shelf 116.

However, the traveling portion 60 of the conventional stacker equipment is largely as shown in Figs. 9A and 9B, the wheel frame 62, caster 61 and shaft 63 It consists of. That is, a bonding material is applied to the outer surface of the wheel frame 62 made of aluminum, and the caster 61 made of urethane material is wound thereon to be processed.

At this time, the contact portion between the wheel frame 62 and the caster 61 is in contact with the straight structure in the contact surface 65 is small so that the crack occurs in the contact portion 65 over time They fall apart from each other, thereby causing a problem in that the driving unit 60 needs to be replaced periodically.

As described above, the stacker driving unit according to the embodiment of the present invention reduces the crack occurring between the wheel frame and the caster when the equipment is used for a long time.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a traveling part of a stocker according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and illustrates a part of a stacker running part having an improved contact structure between the wheel frame and the caster.

As shown in the figure, the stacker driving unit 160 is largely composed of a wheel frame 162, a caster 161 and a shaft 163.

That is, a caster 161 of urethane material is bonded to the wheel frame 162 made of aluminum, and the wheel shaft 163 is connected to the wheel frame 162 to transmit power of a driving unit (not shown). A ball bearing 164 is provided between the wheel frame 162 and the shaft 163.

For reference, the ball bearing 164 is a mechanical element that serves to rotate the shaft while fixing the shaft (회전) of the rotating machine to a certain position and supporting the weight of the shaft and the load applied to the shaft.

At this time, when the grooved portion 165 of the wheel frame 162 and the caster 161 is processed by the groove, the area bonded in the same space is relatively widened, and thus the area bonded is widened. As a result, the adhesive force becomes higher. As a result, cracks due to deterioration of use of the adhesive part are reduced, and the life of the driving part 160 is increased.

As such, as long as the bonding area between the wheel frame and the caster of the driving unit is widened, the contact portion of the wheel frame and the caster may be formed in any uneven form.

Many details are set forth in the foregoing description but should be construed as illustrative of preferred embodiments rather than to limit the scope of the invention. Therefore, the invention should not be defined by the described embodiments, but should be defined by the claims and their equivalents.

As described above, the airflow control structure of the stocker stocker according to the present invention is installed inside the stocker by installing an airflow control shutter having an airflow guide formed at the rear of the shelf on which the cassette is placed. It provides the effect of stably inducing airflow.

In addition, by installing an air inlet control shutter at the lower exhaust portion of the stocker to control the discharge of air to the lower portion of the stocker to prevent the air flow from falling inside the stocker to prevent substrate contamination by particles introduced into the stocker.

In addition, by configuring the bonded area between the wheel frame and the caster of the stacker running portion to be widened, the crack due to the deterioration of the use of the adhesive portion is reduced and the life of the running portion is increased.

Claims (8)

A passage is formed inside the main body, and a plurality of shelves are provided on both sides of the passage to accommodate cassettes stored therein, and a plurality of fans for purifying air and supplying the upper part of the main body to the inside of the main body. In the stocker for substrate storage in which the filter unit is installed, It is installed on the upper edge of the stocker body, the first guide portion extending in one direction, connected to one side of the first guide portion and bent in a curved shape to change the airflow flow on one side of the second guide portion An airflow guide connected to and configured to include a third guide part extending in another direction to stabilize the airflow inside the stocker; And Substrate storage is installed in the rear of the shelf, the substrate storage including a plurality of openings for introducing a constant amount of air and a plurality of air flow guides composed of a plurality of air flow guides to guide the purified air into each shelf to form a constant air flow Stalker. According to claim 1, wherein the airflow guide is installed on the upper edge of the stocker main body that the pressure drop is rapidly accelerated by the speed of the air flowing through the fan filter unit is generated in the backflow phenomenon and the vortex phenomenon Storing substrate storage, characterized in that to prevent. The stocker of claim 1, wherein the airflow guide is made of a material such as metal or plastic, and is installed on the stocker body in a fastening structure such as a bolt. According to claim 1, It is installed in the lower portion of the stocker and discharges the air introduced through the upper fan filter unit to the outside, and the air outflow control shutter is formed with a plurality of openings are adjusted according to the amount of air introduced Stoker for substrate storage, characterized in that it comprises a. [5] The opening ratio of claim 4, wherein a plurality of openings are formed in the upper and lower plates in close contact with each other, and the opening ratio is adjusted by sliding one of the upper and lower plates to match or partially match the openings. Substrate storage stocker, characterized in that to adjust the amount of air discharged by adjusting the. The stocker of claim 1, further comprising a stacker for transferring a cassette to the stocker inner passage. 7. The stacker of claim 6 wherein the stacker is Wheel frame; A caster bonded to and in contact with an outer portion of the wheel frame; And Substrate storage stocker further comprises a driving portion consisting of a shaft for transmitting the power of the drive unit to the wheel frame. 8. The stocker of claim 7, wherein the traveling portion of the stacker widens the contact area between the wheel frame and the caster to reduce cracks due to deterioration of use of the traveling portion of the stacker.

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