KR101511963B1 - Cassette supplying system - Google Patents

Abstract

A cassette feeding system is disclosed. A cassette supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a conveyance balancing unit installed on a ceiling of a process room where a chamber is provided, for conveying a cassette; A cassette transfer unit arranged in an upper region of the chamber for transferring the cassette so as to carry the cassette up and down through a cassette entrance provided at the upper portion of the chamber; And a cassette transporting unit for transporting the cassette from one side to the other side between the transport truck unit and the cassette transfer unit and loading or unloading the cassette to or from the transport truck unit or cassette transfer unit.

Description

[0001] Cassette supplying system [0002]

The present invention relates to a cassette supply system, and more particularly, to a cassette supply system capable of economically utilizing a space in a process room by supplying a cassette to a chamber by utilizing a large space existing in an upper area of the chamber in the process room ≪ / RTI >

An organic light emitting display (OLED), which is one of the flat panel display devices, is a cemented carbide type display device which realizes a color image by self-emission of an organic substance. In view of its simple structure and high light efficiency, Has attracted attention as a promising display device.

The organic light emitting display OLED includes an anode, a cathode, and organic layers interposed between the anode and the cathode. Here, the organic layers include at least a light emitting layer and may further include a hole injecting layer, a hole transporting layer, an electron transporting layer, and an electron injecting layer in addition to the light emitting layer.

The organic electroluminescent display device can be divided into a polymer organic electroluminescent device and a low molecular weight organic electroluminescent device depending on an organic film, particularly a material forming the light emitting layer.

In order to realize a full color, a light emitting layer must be patterned. In this case, a direct patterning method using FMM (Fine Metal Mask, hereinafter referred to as a mask), a method using LITI (Laser Induced Thermal Imaging) A method using a color filter may be applied.

When a large-size OLED is manufactured by applying a mask method, a so-called horizontal type upward deposition method in which a substrate and a patterned mask are horizontally disposed in a chamber and then is deposited can be applied.

The horizontal upward deposition method is a method of aligning a substrate horizontally arranged on a bottom surface of a chamber and a mask and then coalescing them, and depositing an organic material on a large substrate in a horizontal state.

However, as the size of the OLED increases, the size and weight of the mask are becoming larger and larger. In this case, since the mask is deflected in the direction of gravity, it is difficult to closely adhere the mask to the substrate. There is a difficult problem.

Therefore, techniques for depositing a substrate and a mask in a vertical direction and then cementing the substrate and a mask for depositing the organic material are studied, and Applicants have already filed a number of these techniques, some of them being registered and being applied.

On the other hand, it is necessary to supply a mask into the chamber regardless of the horizontal and vertical form described above, so that the corresponding process through the mask, for example, the deposition process for the substrate, can proceed.

At this time, the mask may be supplied alone, but may be supplied in a cassette state while being loaded in the cassette, and a cassette handling apparatus is used for supplying the cassette.

However, the conventional cassette handling apparatuses are not economical to utilize the space in the process room, and the layout of the periphery of the chamber may become complicated, which may make it difficult to construct the automation.

Actually, considering the process room, considering that the upper area of the chamber is not widely used, it is possible to solve various problems that have been caused in the past by constructing a cassette supply system utilizing such a space Technology development is required.

Korea Patent Office Application No. 10-2005-0011334

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a cassette that can be adapted to various process environments because it can handle the cassette from the top, It is possible to economically utilize the space in the process room and simplify the layout of the periphery of the chamber, thereby providing a cassette supply system that can be easily automated.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cassette supply system optimized for transferring a cassette having a high weight.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a conveyance apparatus comprising: a conveyance balancing unit installed on a ceiling of a process room where a chamber is provided and conveying a cassette; A cassette transfer unit disposed in an upper region of the chamber to transfer the cassette so that the cassette can be carried up and down through a cassette entrance provided at an upper portion of the chamber; And a cassette transporting unit for transporting the cassette from one side to the other side between the transporting truck unit and the cassette transfer unit and loading or unloading the cassette to or from the transfer truck unit or the cassette transfer unit A cassette feeding system may be provided.

The cassette transfer unit comprises: a cassette station part on which the cassette is seated; A cassette grip lifting and lowering module for gripping the cassette mounted on the cassette station and moving up and down with respect to the cassette station; And a lift supporting module provided at the cassette station and supporting the cassette grip elevating and lowering module movably in the vertical direction.

The cassette gripping and elevating module includes: an upper main body coupled to the elevating support module to be movable relative to the elevating support module; And a lower main body portion holding the cassette.

The cassette grip lifting and lowering module may further include a rotary servo disposed between the upper main body and the lower main body to rotate the lower main body with respect to the upper main body.

Wherein the lower main body portion comprises: a gripper selectively gripping a gripping bracket provided in an upper region of the cassette; And a gripper driving unit for driving the gripper such that the gripper is gripped or released from the gripping bracket.

The elevating support module includes: at least one first moving block coupled to the upper main body; And a first moving block transporting unit that moves the first moving block relative to the first moving block and vertically transports the first moving block.

The elevating support module includes at least one second moving block coupled to the first moving block transporting unit; And a second moving block transporting unit for moving the second moving block relative to the first moving block and vertically moving the second moving block.

The first moving block transporting unit and the second moving block may be coupled such that the first moving block is disposed on the second moving block.

The cassette station part is provided with an ascending and descending access port for allowing the cassette to be inserted into and unloaded from the lower end thereof, and the first moving block transfer part can be ascended and descended through the ascending and descending access port.

The cassette station unit includes: a base plate for supporting the elevation support module; A plurality of vertical frames coupled to the base plate at one side and a ceiling frame bar installed at the ceiling area of the process room to support the elevation support module; And a plurality of horizontal frames coupled to the plurality of vertical frames so as to be spaced apart from each other along the circumferential direction of the plurality of vertical frames.

The cassette station unit may further include a support table coupled to at least one of the plurality of vertical frames or the plurality of horizontal frames to support an edge area of the cassette.

The cassette transport unit includes a cassette handling robot for handling the cassette; And a transport platform installed on a ceiling of the process room adjacent to the cassette station and supporting the cassette handling robot in a spaced apart position from the ground.

The cassette handling robot includes a robot body; A robot arm unit which is rotatably and translationally movable with respect to the robot main body and which draws or draws the cassette to or from the conveyance truck unit; And a robot main body transferring unit coupled to the transfer platform and transferring the robot main body to the transfer caravan unit.

The robot main body transfer part may include a pair of LM guide parts spaced apart from each other on an upper surface of the transport platform and guiding the robot body to move forward or backward.

And a buffer station unit disposed adjacent to the cassette transport unit for temporarily storing the cassette in the process of transporting the cassette to the conveyance truck unit or the cassette transfer unit.

The buffer station unit may include a seating table coupled to an upper surface of the buffer station unit to support the cassette.

The chamber is a deposition chamber for depositing an organic light emitting display (OLED) through the mask. The cassette may be a mask cassette on which a plurality of masks are stacked.

According to the present invention, since the cassette can be handled from the upper part, it can be adapted to various process environments, and in particular, by supplying the cassette to the chamber by utilizing the large space existing in the upper area of the chamber in the process room, It can be used economically.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to adaptively cope with a work environment having a space limitation due to a separation distance between a chamber and a cassette station disposed in an upper region of the chamber, thereby safely transferring a cassette having a high weight.

1 is a schematic structural diagram of a cassette supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the cassette transfer unit, the cassette transport unit and the buffer station portion of Fig. 1;
3 is a perspective view of the cassette transport unit of Fig.
Figure 4 is a side view of Figure 3;
5 is a front view of the buffer station portion of FIG.
6 is a front view of the cassette transfer unit of Fig.
7 is a front view of the cassette gripping and elevating module of Fig.
Fig. 8 is a view showing the supporting stand of the cassette station part of Fig. 6. Fig.
9 is a perspective view illustrating a lifting support module according to an embodiment of the present invention.
10 is a perspective view showing a state in which the first moving block conveyance portion of FIG. 9 is lowered below the base plate;
11 is a front view of the elevation support module of Fig.
12 is a side view of the elevation support module of Fig.
13 is a view illustrating a process of supplying a cassette to an upper portion of a chamber by a cassette supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In order to fully understand the present invention, operational advantages of the present invention, and objects achieved by the practice of the present invention, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like reference symbols in the drawings denote like elements.

2 is a perspective view of a cassette transfer unit, a cassette transfer unit, and a buffer station unit of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the cassette transfer unit of Fig. Fig. 4 is a side view of Fig. 3, Fig. 5 is a front view of the buffer station unit of Fig. 2, Fig. 6 is a front view of the cassette transfer unit of Fig. 2, and Fig. 7 is a front view of the cassette gripping and elevating module of Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing a lifting and supporting module according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the cassette station of FIG. FIG. 12 is a side view of the elevation support module of FIG. 9, and FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the elevation support module of FIG. 9 when the cassette supply system according to the embodiment of the present invention To the upper portion of the chamber.

In this embodiment, the chamber is an evaporation chamber in which a deposition process of an organic light emitting display (OLED) is performed through a mask (not shown) stored in a cassette.

However, the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Thus, the chamber may be a chamber for deposition of flat panel display elements other than OLED, i.e. LCD and PDP. In addition, the chamber may be a variety of process chambers or vacuum chambers in which a mask may be used in addition to the vapor deposition chamber.

In the upper region of the chamber 1, a cassette entrance 2 through which the cassette 3 enters and leaves is formed. A door for opening and closing the cassette entrance 2 is coupled to the cassette entrance 2 and the door is automatically opened and closed when the cassette 3 is moved in and out.

The cassette 3 is a kind of box in which a plurality of masks are stacked. A plurality of masks can be arranged in one cassette 3. [ A plurality of slots (3a) are provided in the cassette (3) so as to prevent the masks from colliding with each other or overlapping each other. The slots 3a may be disposed at the same position on opposite inner sidewalls of the cassette 3.

1 to 12, a cassette supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a conveyance unit 100 installed on a ceiling of a process room where a chamber 1 is provided, for conveying a cassette 3, And a cassette 3 which is disposed in the upper region of the chamber 1 and which allows the cassette 3 to be carried in or out through the cassette entrance 2 provided at the upper portion of the chamber 1, The cassette 3 is transported from one side to the other side between the transfer unit 100 and the cassette transfer unit 300 and the cassette 3 is transferred to the transfer carriage unit 100 or the cassette transfer unit 300 3 in the process of conveying the cassette 3 to the conveyance truck unit 100 or the cassette transfer unit 300 disposed adjacent to the cassette transfer unit 200 A buffer for receiving the cassette 3 to temporarily store the cassette 3, And a presentation unit (400).

The conveyance truck unit 100 is orbitally moved along a running rail (not shown) installed in a ceiling in the process room, and is transported to a desired destination, and then loaded / unloaded to a predetermined position.

In the cassette supply system according to the present embodiment, an OHS (Over Head Shuttle) type conveyance truck unit 100 is applied for stably transporting the mask cassette 3 of a heavy weight for a large OLED.

In the OHS-type conveyance truck unit 100 according to the present embodiment, four traveling wheels are simultaneously mounted on a running rail, and the vehicle body is less vibrated than the OHT type.

Therefore, even if a cassette with a high weight is loaded, stable running is possible and the traveling speed restriction due to vibration is small.

However, the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, the conveyance truck unit 100 may be an OHT (Overhead Hoist Transport) type conveyance truck unit 100 according to the size and weight of the object to be transported.

The role of unloading the cassette 3 from the conveyance truck unit 100 and supplying it to the chamber 1 when the conveyance truck unit 100 loaded with the cassette 3 reaches the upper region of the chamber 1, The transport unit 200 and the cassette transfer unit 300 take charge.

Hereinafter, the cassette transport unit 200 according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to Figs. 2 to 4. Fig.

The cassette transportation unit 200 includes a cassette handling robot 210 for handling the cassette 3 and a transportation platform 220 for supporting the cassette handling robot 210 from the ground so as to be spaced apart from the upper part of the processing room.

In the present embodiment, the transport platform 220 is connected to the ceiling frame bar B mounted on the ceiling of the process room with four vertical frames 312 provided in the edge region of the transport platform 220, Respectively.

The cassette handling robot 210 is provided so as to be rotatable and translational relative to the robot main body 211 and the robot main body 211 so as to feed the cassette 3 to the conveyance carriage unit 100 or the cassette transfer unit 300, And a robot main body transferring unit 217 for transferring the robot main body 211 to approach or away from the transfer bogie unit 100. [

The robot body 211 includes a robot body upper portion 212 to which the robot arm portion 216 is coupled, a robot body lower portion 213 movably coupled to the robot body transfer portion 217, And a raising and lowering portion 215 for raising and lowering the robot body lower portion 213.

The elevating part 215 may be constituted by a hydraulic cylinder or a voice coil motor which realizes linear motion.

The robot arm portion 216 is rotatably coupled to the robot body 211. The robot arm unit 216 includes a turntable 216a rotatably coupled to the upper portion 212 of the robot body in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction, A pair of first arms 216b which are rotationally driven so as to be proximate to or spaced from each other in the range of the first arm 216b and the pair of first arms 216b linked to the other ends of the pair of first arms 216b, And a fork portion 216d coupled to an end portion of the pair of second arms 216c to support the lower portion of the cassette 3 in contact with the pair of second arms 216c.

The operation of the fork portion 216d will be briefly described as follows. When the pair of first arms 216b are rotated in the clockwise or counterclockwise direction with their other ends being close to each other, a pair of second arms 216c linked thereto, So that the fork portion 216d moves forward while being in close contact with the first arm 216b. Conversely, when the other ends of the pair of first arms 216b are rotated apart from each other, the fork portion 216d is moved backward.

The robot main body transfer unit 217 may be a pair of LM guide units 217 which are separated from each other and coupled to each other on the upper surface of the transfer platform 220. The LM guide unit includes a drive motor (not shown in detail in FIG. 3) and a plurality of LM blocks 217a horizontally moving on the LM guide in a ballscrew manner.

The plurality of LM blocks 217a are coupled to robot brackets 214 provided on both sides of the robot body lower portion 213, respectively. As the plurality of LM blocks 217a horizontally move on the LM guide 217b, the robot main body 211 approaches or is spaced away from the carriage carriage unit 100. [

In this embodiment, the driving motor and the ball screw type guide are applied to the LM guide unit 217, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. The present invention is not limited to the belt type, LM Guide of < / RTI >

With this configuration, the cassette transport unit 200 unloads the cassette 3 loaded on the transporting carriage unit 100 and loads the cassette 3 on the cassette transfer unit 300 or vice versa on the cassette transfer unit 300 3) can be unloaded and loaded onto the conveyance carriage unit 100.

2 and 5, the cassette 3 unloaded from the conveyance truck 100 or the cassette transfer unit 300 is transferred to the buffer station unit 400 by the cassette transport unit 200 It may be loaded.

The buffer station unit 400 is a place for temporarily storing the cassette 3 in the process of transporting the cassette 3 to the conveyance truck unit 100 or the cassette transfer unit 300.

The buffer station unit 400 reserves the cassette 3 when transport delay of the conveyance truck unit 100 or temporary maintenance of the specific equipment is required, thereby preventing the entire mask deposition process from being stopped.

The buffer station unit 400 according to the present embodiment is similar to the transport platform 220 of the cassette transport unit 200 in that four vertical frames 312 are coupled to a ceiling frame bar B mounted on a ceiling, And a seating table 410 capable of supporting and holding the cassette 3 is provided on the inside thereof.

The buffer station unit 400 according to the present embodiment is arranged on the opposite side of the cassette transfer unit 300 with the cassette 3 transfer unit 200 interposed therebetween, But may be disposed at any position adjacent to the cassette transport unit 200.

On the other hand, the cassette transfer unit 300 is configured such that the cassette 3 loaded on the inside by the cassette handling robot 210 is supplied to the chamber 1 through the cassette entrance 2 provided in the upper part of the chamber 1, And discharges the empty cassette 3 without the chamber 1 from the chamber 1.

6 to 12, the cassette transfer unit 300 includes a cassette station unit 310 on which the cassette 3 is seated, and a cassette unit 310 on which the cassette 3 seated on the cassette station unit 310 is gripped, A cassette holding and elevating module 320 which is driven to move up and down with respect to the station unit 310 and a lifting and supporting module 330 which is provided on the cassette station unit 310 and supports the cassette holding and elevating module 320 movably in the vertical direction ).

The cassette station part 310 is a place where the cassette 3 transported from the cassette transport unit 200 is seated and transferred to the upper part of the chamber 1 again.

The cassette station unit 310 includes a base plate 311 having an inlet port 311a through which the cassette 3 is vertically loaded and ejected from the ceiling frame bar B installed on the ceiling, A plurality of vertical frames 312 coupled at both ends to support the base plate 311 away from the ground, a plurality of horizontal frames (not shown) coupled to the periphery of the plurality of vertical frames 312, 313).

In this embodiment, the cassette station part 310 is provided with four vertical frames 312 in the edge region, and each vertical frame 312 is provided with four supporting stands 314 forming a rectangular composition.

The cassette 3 which has been drawn into the cassette station portion 310 by the robot arm portion 216 of the cassette transportation unit 200 is seated on the support carriage 314 (see Fig. 8).

The cassette mounted on the support carriage 314 is then gripped by the cassette gripping and lifting module 320 to be transported along with the first moving block transporting portion 332 to be described later through the access port 311a of the base plate 311 And can be vertically moved in and out of the base plate 311.

The cassette holding and lifting module 320 includes an upper main body portion 321 and a lower main body portion 322 which are relatively rotated relative to each other as portions for gripping the cassette 3. [

The upper main body 321 is provided with a detachable coupling bracket 321a which is detachably coupled to the lifting and supporting module 330 and the lower main body 322 is provided with a grip 322a for gripping the cassette 3 And a rotary servo 323 is provided between the upper main body 321 and the lower main body 322.

Here, the rotary servo 323 generates power for rotating the lower main body portion 322 with respect to the upper main body portion 321.

The rotary servo 323 allows the cassette station part 310 to move the cassette 3 up and down by interference of the supporting table 314 and to move the cassette 3 in the cassette entrance 2 The cassette 3 can be moved up and down by aligning it.

The gripper 322a is selectively gripped by the gripping bracket 3b provided in the upper region of the cassette 3. [

In this embodiment, since four gripping brackets 3b are provided at different positions on the cassette 3, four grippers 322a are also provided corresponding to the gripping brackets 3b. Of course, such matters are only one example, and the scope of the present invention can not be limited to these numbers.

The gripper 322a is movably coupled by a gripper driving unit (not shown) provided inside the lower main body 322.

The gripper driving unit is connected to the gripper 322a to drive the gripper 322a to grip or ungrip the gripping bracket 3b.

Although not shown in the gripper driving part, the gripper driving part can be applied to a configuration such as a combination of a linear motor, a cylinder, an actuator, a motor and a ball screw.

When the gripper 322a is disposed in the region of the gripping bracket 3b, the gripper driving portion can grip the gripping bracket 3b by moving the gripper 322a.

The lifting and supporting module 330 is configured to move the cassette 3 up and down and is coupled to the attaching and detaching bracket 321a of the upper main body 321 of the cassette holding and lifting module 320 A first moving block 331 for moving the first moving block 331 along the up and down direction and a first moving block 332 for moving the first moving block 331 in a vertical direction while the first moving block 331 is movably coupled to the first moving block 331, A second moving block 333 coupled to the block transporting unit 332 and a second moving block transporting unit 333 transporting the second moving block 333 along the vertical direction, (334).

In this embodiment, the second moving block conveyance units 334 are provided in a pair and are coupled to the vertical frame 312 of the cassette station unit 310, respectively.

Of course, in the present embodiment, the second moving block transfer portion 334 is coupled to two vertical frames 312 adjacent to the cassette transfer unit 200 (see FIG. 2) The position and the number of the second moving block transfer part 334 in the cassette station part can be appropriately changed in design.

The second moving block transfer unit 334 moves the second moving block 333 in the vertical direction within the space of the cassette seating unit formed by the base plate 311 and the vertical frame 312. At this time, the first moving block transfer part 332 is coupled to the second moving block 333 and can be moved up and down together with the second moving block 333. Here, the second moving block 333 is coupled to one end region of the first moving block transporting portion 332 so that the other end of the first moving block transporting portion 332 can be lowered down to the maximum extent.

In the present embodiment, the second moving block 333 is coupled to each of the second moving block transfer portions 334, but a plurality of the second moving blocks 333 may be coupled.

The first moving block transfer part 332 is also provided in a pair corresponding to the pair of the second moving block transfer parts, and the sides of the first moving block transfer part 332 are coupled to the second moving block 333. At this time, the first and second moving blocks 332 are disposed opposite to each other, and the first moving blocks 331 coupled to the first moving block transfer unit 332 are disposed to face each other.

In this manner, both side portions of the attaching / detaching coupling bracket 321a of the upper main body portion 321 are detachably coupled to the pair of first moving blocks 331 disposed opposite to each other.

Accordingly, the first moving block conveyance unit 332 moves up and down the cassette holding and elevating module 320 coupled to the first moving block by moving the first moving block 331 in the vertical direction.

The first moving block transporting unit 332 and the second moving block transporting unit 334 may be constituted by a combination of the driving motor M, the LM guide, and the ball screw member, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto , The first moving block, and the second moving block 333 can be moved.

In the present embodiment, the first moving block transfer part 332 is relatively short in length compared to the second moving block transfer part 334, but unlike the present embodiment, the upper part of the chamber 1 and the cassette station part 310 The length of the first moving block transfer part 332 may be appropriately extended according to the distance between the first moving block transfer part 332 and the first moving block transfer part 332.

The lifting and supporting module 330 descends the first moving block conveying part 332 to a position below the base plate 311 in the longitudinal direction of the second moving block conveying part 334 and then moves the first moving block conveying part 332, The cassette holding unit 320 is lowered along the longitudinal direction of the chamber 1 so that the cassette holding unit 310 can effectively cope with the space limitation due to the separation distance between the chamber 1 and the cassette station unit 310 located in the upper region of the chamber 1, (3) can be stably transferred.

Referring to Fig. 13, the operation of the cassette supply system having such a configuration will be described below.

The process of feeding the mast cassette 3 into the deposition chamber 1 is as follows. First, the conveyance unit 100 on which the cassette 3 is loaded is moved along a track rail installed on the ceiling of the process room, As shown in Fig.

Next, the door (not shown) of the conveyance truck unit 100 is opened and the cassette handling robot 210 approaches the conveyance truck unit 100 by the robot body conveyance unit 217 of the cassette conveyance unit 200, The fork portion 216d of the arm portion 216 unloads the cassette 3 from the conveyance carriage unit 100. [

Next, the cassette handling robot 210 places the cassette 3 on the supporting stand 314 of the cassette station unit 310. [ At this time, the robot main body 211 returns to the home position again by the robot main body transfer unit 217, and the robot arm unit 216 moves up / down with respect to the robot main body 211 by the turntable 216a and the elevating / Up and down and rotate to handle the cassette 3.

Next, the cassette gripping and lifting module 320 is down by the first moving block transporting unit to grip the upper portion of the cassette 3. At this time, the gripper driving unit moves the gripper 322a so that it can be accurately gripped to the gripping bracket 3b.

The cassette gripping and lifting module 320 grips the upper portion of the cassette 3 and is then raised by the first moving block transporting portion and then moved to a rotary servo (not shown) The lower main body portion 322 is rotated at a predetermined angle with respect to the upper main body portion 321. [

Next, the second moving block transfer part 332 of the lifting and supporting module 330 is moved down through the entry / exit port 311a of the base plate 311 by the second moving block transfer part 334.

Next, the door provided at the upper part of the chamber 1 is opened, and the cassette gripping and elevating module 320 is moved by the first moving block transferring part 332 to the chamber (not shown) after the insertion direction of the cassette 3 is aligned by the rotary server 1 to the cassette entrance 2 of the cassette.

Conversely, the process of discharging the cassette inside the chamber 1 can be reversed in the above-described operation.

According to the present embodiment having such a structure and operation, since the cassette can be handled from the upper side, it can be adapted to various process environments, and in particular, utilizing the wide space existing in the upper region of the chamber in the process room, The space in the clean room can be economically utilized. Further, it is possible to effectively cope with the space limitation according to the distance between the chamber and the cassette station part in the upper region of the chamber, and to reliably transfer the cassette with a high weight.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Accordingly, such modifications or variations are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims.

1: chamber 2: cassette entrance
3: Cassette 3a: Slot
3b: gripping bracket 100: conveying truck unit
200: cassette transport unit 210: cassette handling robot
211: robot main body 214: robot bracket
215: elevating portion 216: robot arm portion
216a: turntable 216b: first arm
216c: second arm 216d: fork portion
217: Robot main body transferring part 217a: LM block
217b: LM Guide 300: Cassette transfer unit
310: cassette station part 311: base plate
311a: ascending / descending access port 312: vertical frame 313: horizontal frame 314:
320: cassette holding lift module 321: upper main body part
321a: detachable coupling bracket 322:
323: Rotary servo 330: Lift /
331: first moving block 332: first moving block conveying part
333: second moving block 334: second moving block transporting part
400: buffer station part 410: seating table

Claims (17)

A conveying and balancing unit installed on a ceiling of a process room where a chamber is provided for conveying a cassette;
A cassette transfer unit disposed in an upper region of the chamber to transfer the cassette so that the cassette can be carried up and down through a cassette entrance provided at an upper portion of the chamber; And
And a cassette transporting unit for transporting the cassette from one side to the other side between the transporting truck unit and the cassette transfer unit to load or unload the cassette to or from the transporting truck unit or the cassette transfer unit,
The cassette transfer unit
A cassette station part on which the cassette is seated;
A cassette grip lifting and lowering module for gripping the cassette mounted on the cassette station and moving up and down with respect to the cassette station; And
And a lifting and lowering support module provided at the cassette station and supporting the cassette grip lifting and lowering module movably in a vertical direction. delete The method according to claim 1,
The cassette gripping and elevating module includes:
An upper main body coupled to the elevation support module to be movable relative to the elevation support module; And
And a lower main body portion for holding the cassette. The method of claim 3,
The cassette gripping and elevating module includes:
And a rotary servo disposed between the upper main body and the lower main body to rotate the lower main body with respect to the upper main body. The method of claim 3,
The lower main body portion
A gripper selectively gripping a gripping bracket provided in an upper region of the cassette; And
And a gripper driving unit for driving the gripper so that the gripper is gripped or released from the gripping bracket. The method of claim 3,
The elevation support module includes:
At least one first moving block coupled to the upper body portion; And
And a first moving block transporting unit for moving the first moving block relative to the first moving block and vertically moving the first moving block. The method according to claim 6,
The elevation support module includes:
At least one second moving block coupled to the first moving block transport section; And
Further comprising: a second moving block transporting unit for moving the second moving block relative to the second moving block, and for transporting the second moving block along the up and down direction. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the first moving block transfer unit and the second moving block are coupled such that the first moving block and the second moving block intersect the second moving block. 8. The method of claim 7,
The cassette station part is provided with a lifting / lowering access port so that the cassette can be moved into /
And the first moving block transfer part is moved up and down through the ascending and descending access port. The method according to claim 1,
The cassette station unit includes:
A base plate for supporting the elevation support module;
A plurality of vertical frames coupled to the base plate at one side and a ceiling frame bar installed at the ceiling area of the process room to support the elevation support module; And
And a plurality of horizontal frames coupled to the plurality of vertical frames so as to be spaced apart from each other along the circumferential direction of the plurality of vertical frames. 11. The method of claim 10,
The cassette station unit includes:
Further comprising a support table coupled to at least one of the plurality of vertical frames or the plurality of horizontal frames to support an edge area of the cassette. The method according to claim 1,
The cassette transport unit includes:
A cassette handling robot for handling the cassette; And
And a conveying platform installed on a ceiling of the process room next to the cassette station and supporting the cassette handling robot in a spaced apart position from the ground. 13. The method of claim 12,
The cassette handling robot includes:
A robot body;
A robot arm unit which is rotatably and translationally movable with respect to the robot main body and which draws or draws the cassette to or from the conveyance truck unit; And
And a robot main body transferring unit coupled to the transfer platform for transferring the robot main body to the transfer caravan unit. 14. The method of claim 13,
The robot main body transfer unit
And a pair of LM guide parts disposed on the top surface of the transport platform and spaced apart from each other to guide the robot body in a straight forward or backward movement. A conveying and balancing unit installed on a ceiling of a process room where a chamber is provided for conveying a cassette;
A cassette transfer unit disposed in an upper region of the chamber to transfer the cassette so that the cassette can be carried up and down through a cassette entrance provided at an upper portion of the chamber; And
And a cassette transporting unit for transporting the cassette from one side to the other side between the transporting truck unit and the cassette transfer unit to load or unload the cassette to or from the transporting truck unit or the cassette transfer unit,
Further comprising a buffer station unit disposed adjacent to the cassette transport unit and temporarily storing the cassette by receiving the cassette in a process of transporting the cassette to the conveyance truck unit or the cassette transfer unit, Supply system. 16. The method of claim 15,
The buffer station unit,
And a seating table coupled to an upper surface of the buffer station unit for seating and supporting the cassette. The method according to claim 1,
The chamber is a deposition chamber for depositing an organic light emitting display (OLED) through a mask,
Wherein the cassette is a mask cassette on which a plurality of the masks are loaded.

Images