KR101185532B1 - Apparatus for transferring substrate and method using thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate transfer apparatus and a transfer method using the same, and in particular, a transfer stage is configured by arranging a plurality of unit transfer units such that a loader arm flows into the transfer stage, and the unit transfer unit is adjacent to a neighboring unit transfer unit. By installing the auxiliary air jetting unit that can be lowered, the auxiliary air jetting unit is raised by lifting the board when the loader arm retracts after loading the board, thereby reducing the loading time by reducing the loading time and reducing the loading time of the substrate loading / unloading device. Elimination can lower manufacturing costs.

Board, Loading, Unloading, Inspection, Transfer, Air, Floating, Floating

Description

Substrate transfer device and transfer method using the same {APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING SUBSTRATE AND METHOD USING THEREOF}

The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for transferring a substrate, and in particular, the transfer stage is configured by arranging a plurality of unit transfer units so that the loader arm flows into the transfer stage, and between the unit transfer unit and the neighboring unit transfer unit The present invention relates to a substrate transfer device and a transfer method using the same, by installing an auxiliary air jetting unit capable of raising and lowering to raise the auxiliary air jetting unit to lift the substrate when the substrate is loaded and retracted from the loader arm.

In general, a flat panel display (FPD) is an interface between an electronic device and a person, and converts electrical information signals output from various electronic devices into optical information signals, so that humans can recognize numbers and letters through vision. Is a device for displaying patterned information such as figures, figures, and images. In particular, its thickness is only a few centimeters and only a few millimeters, so it is easy to design light weight and thin, and has advantages such as high quality and low power consumption. Is released.

Such a display device may have scratches or various stains formed on the substrate in a manufacturing process, and a display substrate inspection apparatus is used for the purpose of reducing scratch rate by inspecting scratches and various stains. For example, In-Line FPD Automatic Optical Inspection captures an image of an object to be inspected using an optical lens and a CCD camera while guiding a TFT LCD substrate, a display substrate such as a PDP, a color filter, etc. It is a device that detects various defects that a user wants to find by applying a processing algorithm. In order to perform a role as an inspection system, such inspection equipment can perform a repair process that accurately locates and detects a detected defect and finds and restores the detected defect.

1 is a view showing a typical display substrate transfer device.

The display substrate transfer apparatus is an apparatus for transferring by using an air slide method, and when the substrate 1 is loaded on the transfer stage 40 at a loading / unloading position of the transfer apparatus by a loader arm, The substrate is scanned by a plurality of vision cameras 10 installed in the camera installation frame 20 to inspect the pattern defects. At this time, the transfer stage 40 is to support the substrate 1 by injecting air in an air-floating method, the gripper 41 is provided in the longitudinal direction in the center of the transfer stage 40, the gripper 41 ) Is installed so as to be movable along the transfer guide 41a and the transfer guide 41a installed at the center of the transfer stage 40, and connected to a vacuum generating unit (not shown) to vacuum-adsorb the supported substrate 1. And a drive module 41c for moving the vacuum pad 41b.

A plurality of vision cameras 10 for inspecting the pattern of the substrate are installed on the camera mounting frame 20, and the camera mounting frame 20 is a frame support 30 formed on a transfer device for transporting the substrate 1. Is installed on.

2 shows a side view of the loader arm and the loading / unloading device.

The loader arm 50, which is responsible for conveying the substrate 1 to the conveying apparatus using the air slide method and conveying it to the outside, is placed in the loading / unloading position of the conveying apparatus, and the substrate loading / unloading. The device 60 supports the substrate 1 in the loading / unloading position of the conveying device.

The loader arm 50 moves left and right horizontally in the drawing in order to transfer the substrate 1 to the loading / unloading position of the substrate transfer device and transports it to the outside, and to the loading / unloading position of the substrate transfer device. The installed substrate loading / unloading device 60 performs vertical movement up and down by the lift pin 61.

In the process of loading the substrate, when the substrate 1 carried by the loader arm 50 moves to the loading / unloading position, the substrate loading / unloading device 60 is raised to thereby the substrate 1 Is seated. At this time, the lift pin 61 of the substrate loading / unloading device 60 is coated with a predetermined material or sprayed with air in order to prevent the lower surface scratch of the substrate due to the lower surface contact of the substrate 1. Provide support.

Then, the substrate loading / unloading device 60 is lowered to float the substrate 1 on the transfer stage 40. At this time, the vacuum pad 41b vacuum-adsorbs the substrate 1, and then the transfer guide ( It moves along 41a) and is conveyed to the vision camera 10 side.

However, such a conventional transfer apparatus increases the lift time of the lift pin when the substrate is seated and loads the substrate on the transfer stage, thereby increasing the cycle time due to the lift pin lifting, and causing interference with the vision camera when the lift pin is lifted. Therefore, the inspection time is increased because the frame on which the vision camera is installed is increased, and manufacturing costs are increased due to the installation of the substrate loading / unloading device.

In addition, since the center of the substrate is supported by the air discharged from the transfer stage, such a transfer device may sag as the size increases, which makes it difficult to accurately scan through a vision camera, thereby making it impossible to inspect pattern defects. There is another problem.

The present invention is to solve the above problems, the transfer stage is configured by arranging a plurality of unit transfer unit so that the loader arm flows into the transfer stage, it is possible to raise and lower between the unit transfer unit and the neighboring unit transfer unit By installing an auxiliary air jet unit, the auxiliary air jet unit is raised to lift the substrate when the loader arm retracts after loading the board, thereby reducing the loading time by relatively shortening the inspection time and removing the substrate loading / unloading device. It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate transfer apparatus and a transfer method using the same, which can lower manufacturing costs relatively.

In addition, the present invention is to install the auxiliary air injection unit between the auxiliary unit transfer unit and the neighboring unit transfer unit, respectively, the position corresponding to the vision camera to increase the flotation force to the auxiliary air injection unit when scanning the substrate through the vision camera Another object of the present invention is to provide a substrate transfer apparatus and a transfer method using the same, by which the substrate is supported to prevent the substrate from sagging or shake to perform precise transfer.

According to an aspect of the present invention,

A loader arm responsible for transferring the substrate and conveying it to the outside; A conveying stage formed by a plurality of unit conveying units and supporting the substrate carried from the loader arm by ejecting air in an upward direction; A gripper installed in a central portion of the transfer stage in a longitudinal direction and adsorbing the substrate supported by the transfer stage using vacuum pressure and then moving along the transfer stage; A plurality of vision cameras installed on a movement path of the substrate on the transfer stage to inspect a pattern of the substrate; And a unit transfer unit of the transfer stage and a neighboring unit transfer unit, which are carried in and transported by the loader arm and the substrate is lifted when passing through the vision camera to inject air to lift the flotation force of the substrate. It characterized in that it comprises an auxiliary air injection unit to increase.

At this time, the mutual separation distance between the unit transfer unit of the transfer stage and the neighboring unit transfer unit is formed to be wider than the width of the loader arm so that the loader arm is introduced into the inside to seat the substrate.

In addition, the auxiliary air injection unit is formed of a rectangular parallelepiped inside, the air plate and a plurality of air injection holes for air injection on the upper surface; A plurality of rod bars provided with an air supply passage for supplying air to the air plate, for raising and lowering the air plate; And lifting means for supporting a lower end of the rod bar and lifting the rod bar up and down.

Here, the air plate of the auxiliary air injection unit is a position where the reference position is lower than the height of the upper surface of the transfer stage, the rising position is the same height as the upper surface of the transfer stage.

Preferably, the lifting means is an air cylinder.

The auxiliary air jet unit is installed at a position corresponding to the loader arm and a position corresponding to the vision camera, respectively.

According to another aspect of the present invention,

A transfer method using the substrate transfer apparatus, comprising: supplying air to the transfer stage when the loader arm is introduced between the unit transfer units of the transfer stage and the substrate is loaded; Raising said auxiliary air injection unit when said loader arm retracts between unit transfer units of said transfer stage; Supplying air to the auxiliary air jet unit to float the substrate; The gripper sucks the floating substrate using vacuum pressure; And the gripper moves along the transfer stage and passes through the vision camera.

According to the substrate transfer apparatus of the present invention and a substrate transfer method using the same, the transfer stage is configured by arranging a plurality of unit transfer units so that the loader arm flows into the transfer stage, and the unit transfer unit and neighboring unit transfer Auxiliary air jet unit that can move up and down is installed between the units to raise the auxiliary air jet unit to raise the substrate when the loader arm is retracted after loading the board, thus reducing the loading time by reducing the loading time and loading the substrate / The removal of the unloading device has the advantage of lowering the manufacturing cost relatively.

Further, according to the present invention, the auxiliary air jet unit is installed between the auxiliary unit transport unit and the neighboring unit transport unit, which are positions corresponding to the vision camera, respectively, and raises the auxiliary air jet unit when the substrate is scanned through the vision camera. There is another advantage of being able to perform precise transfers by preventing the substrate from sagging or shaking by flotation.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the substrate transfer apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the following description of the present invention, detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear. Terms to be described later are terms defined in consideration of functions in the present invention, and may vary according to intentions or customs of users or operators. Therefore, the definition should be based on the contents throughout this specification.

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the substrate transfer apparatus according to the present invention, Figure 4 is a partial perspective view showing the configuration of the substrate transfer apparatus according to the present invention, Figure 5 is an auxiliary of the transfer stage of the substrate transfer apparatus according to the present invention 6 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the air injection unit, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the auxiliary air injection unit in the substrate transfer apparatus according to the present invention.

3 to 6, the substrate transfer apparatus 100 according to the present invention includes a loader arm 110, a transfer stage 120, a gripper 130, a vision camera 140, and an auxiliary air jet. Unit 150.

First, the loader arm 110 loads the substrate 1 to the transfer stage 120, and unloads the substrate 1 of the transfer stage 120 to both sides of the transfer stage 120 to be transported to the outside. Each is installed.

In addition, the transfer stage 120 is formed by the arrangement of the plurality of unit transfer units 121 in a rectangular shape, and supports the substrate 1 loaded from the loader arm 110 by blowing air upward. Here, the plurality of unit transfer unit 121 is formed in a row in the moving direction of the substrate 1 by the length of the transfer stage 120, the plurality of rows are spaced apart from each other in the width direction of the substrate 1 do. At this time, the mutual separation distance D1 of the unit transfer unit 121 of the transfer stage 120 and the neighboring unit transfer unit 121 is the loader arm 110 is introduced into the loader to load the substrate 1 Preferably, the width of the arm 110 is greater than that of the width W1. Here, each unit transfer unit 121, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the substrate 1 is placed on the upper side, the support plate on the upper side to support the substrate 1 to be placed at a constant height ( 123). The flotation plate 123 includes a plurality of nozzles 125 arranged in a uniform fashion throughout the upper surface of the transfer stage 120, and through the plurality of nozzles 125, the air has a constant strength upward. Spray into.

In addition, the gripper 130 is installed to be moved back and forth in the longitudinal direction between the unit transfer unit 121 and the unit transfer unit 121 located in the center of the unit transfer unit 121 of the transfer stage 120 is transported The substrate 1 supported by the stage 120 is absorbed using vacuum pressure and then moved back and forth. At this time, the gripper 130 is a transfer guide 131 installed between the unit transfer unit 121 and the unit transfer unit 121 located in the center of the unit transfer unit 121 of the transfer stage 120, and the transfer guide 131 A vacuum pad 133 which is installed to be moved back and forth from the top, is connected to a vacuum generating unit (not shown), and vacuum suctions the supported substrate 1, and a driving module 135 which moves the vacuum pad 133. Is made of.

In addition, the vision camera 140 is installed in the camera mounting frame 141 on the movement path of the substrate 1 on the transfer stage 120. Here, the vision camera 140 may be rotatable as part of the method for inspecting even a minute portion of the substrate 1.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the auxiliary air jet unit 150 is formed of an empty rectangular parallelepiped, and an air plate 152 having a plurality of air jet holes 151 formed thereon for air jet. And an air supply passage 153 for supplying air to the air plate 152, a plurality of rod bars 154 for raising and lowering the air plate 152, and a lower end of each rod bar 154. And lifting means 155 for lifting and lowering the rod bar 154. Here, the air plate 152 of the auxiliary air injection unit 150 has a reference position L1, that is, the raised position is the same height as the upper surface height L2 of the transfer stage 120, and the lowered position L3 is conveyed. It is preferable that the height is lower than the upper surface height (L2) of the stage 120, the installation position is installed at the position corresponding to the loader arm 110 and the position corresponding to the vision camera 140, respectively. At this time, the lifting means 155 is preferably an air cylinder, but may be applied to a motor, cam, hydraulic cylinder, etc., depending on the selection, any application of raising and lowering the rod bar 154 may be applied.

Hereinafter, the substrate transfer method using the substrate transfer apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

7A and 7B are explanatory views showing the operation state of the auxiliary air jet unit when the substrate is brought into the substrate transfer apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 8 is an auxiliary camera when the substrate passes through the vision camera of the substrate transfer apparatus according to the present invention. 9A to 9D are explanatory views showing the operation state of the auxiliary air injection unit when the substrate is conveyed to the substrate transfer device according to the present invention.

First, the loader arm 110 on which the substrate 1 is mounted is lowered between the unit transfer unit 121 and the unit transfer unit 121 of the transfer stage 120. At this time, the falling height of the substrate 1 is a height that is not interviewed with the upper surface of the transfer stage 120.

At the same time, the air is supplied from an air supply means (not shown), such as a separate compressor, to the transfer stage 120 to supply air through the nozzle 125 formed in the support plate 123 of each unit transfer unit 121. Is sprayed upwards, which causes the substrate 1 to float.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 7A, when the loader arm 110 descends, the lifting means 155 of the auxiliary air injection unit 150 is operated to lower the load bar 154 so that the air plate 152 is loaded on the loader arm. Lower to a height without interference with (110). At this time, the auxiliary air injection unit 150 is supplied with air from an air supply means (not shown), such as a separate compressor, into the air supply passage 153 of the rod bar 154.

As shown in FIG. 7B, when the loader arm 110 retreats between the unit transfer units 121 of the transfer stage 120, the lifting bar 155 of the auxiliary air injection unit 150 operates the rod bar. By raising 154, the air plate 152 is raised to the height of the support plate 123 of the unit transfer unit 121. At this time, the ascending time of the auxiliary air injection unit 150 is a time when the loader arm 110 does not interfere with each other.

In addition, when the ascending of the auxiliary air injection unit 150 is completed, air is supplied to the air supply passage 153 of the rod bar 154 from an air supply means such as a separate compressor, and again, the air is supplied to the air plate 152. It is injected to the substrate 1 side through the air injection hole 151 to increase the floating force of the substrate 1 to complete the loading of the substrate 1.

When the loading is completed, the gripper 130 vacuum-adsorbs the substrate 1, and when the vacuum adsorption is completed, the auxiliary air injection unit 150 is maintained at the current position as shown in FIG. 7B, and air is continuously supplied. .

Then, the gripper 130 is moved along the transfer stage 120 to pass through the vision camera 140 due to the auxiliary air jet unit 150 which is maintained in an elevated state as shown in FIG. 8. Buoyancy is doubled Then, when the vision camera 140 scans the substrate 1, the falling or shaking of the substrate 1 is prevented.

Subsequently, when the pattern defect inspection by the vision camera 140 is finished, the inspected substrate 1 is unloaded, and the method is performed as follows.

First, when the substrate 1 is transferred by the gripper 130 to the unloading position, the auxiliary air jet unit 150 maintains the reference position as shown in FIG. 9A.

Then, when the loader arm 110 is advanced between the unit transfer units 121 of the transfer stage 120, the auxiliary air injection unit 150 is lowered as shown in FIG. 9B. At this time, the descending time point of the auxiliary air injection unit 150 is a time point that does not interfere with the loader arm 110 to advance.

Then, the loader arm 110 is raised while unloading the substrate 1, and at the same time, the auxiliary air jet unit 150 is raised to the reference position.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 9D, the loader arm 110 transfers the substrate 1 to the outside to end the unloading process.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. It is to be understood, however, that the present invention is not limited to the specific forms referred to in the description, but rather includes all modifications, equivalents, and substitutions within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Should be.

Although the present invention has described the transfer of various substrates applied to an FPD manufacturing apparatus, the present invention can also be used in semiconductor equipment.

1 is a view showing a typical display substrate transfer device,

Figure 2 is a side view of the loader arm and the loading / unloading device of the substrate transfer apparatus of FIG.

3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a substrate transfer apparatus according to the present invention;

Figure 4 is a partial perspective view showing the configuration of the substrate transfer apparatus according to the present invention,

Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the auxiliary air jet unit of the transfer stage of the substrate transfer apparatus according to the present invention,

6 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the auxiliary air jet unit of the substrate transfer apparatus according to the present invention;

7A and 7B are explanatory views showing an operating state of the auxiliary air jet unit when the substrate is loaded into the substrate transfer device according to the present invention;

8 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation state of the auxiliary air jet unit when the substrate passes through the vision camera of the substrate transfer device according to the present invention;

9A to 9D are explanatory diagrams showing an operating state of the auxiliary air jet unit during conveyance of the substrate to the substrate transfer apparatus according to the present invention;

DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCE NUMERALS

1: substrate 110: loader arm

120: transfer stage 121: unit transfer unit

123: flotation plate 125: nozzle

130: gripper 140: vision camera

150: auxiliary air injection unit 151: air injection hole

152: air plate 153: air supply passage

154: load bar 155: lifting means

Claims (7)

A loader arm responsible for transferring the substrate and conveying it to the outside; A conveying stage formed by a plurality of unit conveying units and supporting the substrate carried from the loader arm by ejecting air in an upward direction; A gripper installed in a central portion of the transfer stage in a longitudinal direction and adsorbing the substrate supported by the transfer stage using vacuum pressure and then moving along the transfer stage; A plurality of vision cameras installed on a movement path of the substrate on the transfer stage to inspect a pattern of the substrate; And It is installed between the unit transfer unit of the transfer stage and the neighboring unit transfer unit is formed of an empty rectangular parallelepiped to increase the lifting force of the substrate when carrying / carrying the substrate by the loader arm and the vision camera And an air plate having a plurality of air injection holes for air injection on the upper surface, the reference position of which is the same height as the upper surface of the transfer stage, and the lowering position of which is lower than the upper surface of the transfer stage; An auxiliary air injection unit comprising an air supply passage for supplying air, the plurality of rod bars for elevating the air plate, and an elevating means for supporting a lower end of the rod bar and for elevating the rod bar; Substrate transfer apparatus, characterized in that. The method of claim 1, The mutual separation distance between the unit transfer unit of the transfer stage and the neighboring unit transfer unit, And the loader arm is formed to be wider than the width of the loader arm so as to flow inward to seat the substrate. delete delete The method of claim 1, The lifting means, Substrate transfer apparatus, characterized in that the air cylinder. The method of claim 1, The auxiliary air injection unit, And a substrate transfer apparatus installed at a position corresponding to the loader arm and a position corresponding to the vision camera, respectively. In the transfer method using the substrate transfer apparatus of claim 1, Supplying air to the transfer stage when the loader arm is introduced between the unit transfer units of the transfer stage and the substrate is loaded; Raising said auxiliary air injection unit when said loader arm retracts between unit transfer units of said transfer stage; Supplying air to the auxiliary air jet unit to float the substrate; The gripper sucks the floating substrate using vacuum pressure; And And the gripper moves along the transfer stage and passes through the vision camera.

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