KR19990076131A - Glass Substrate Collision Avoidance Device for Dry Equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention discloses a glass substrate anti-collision apparatus of dry equipment. According to the present invention, the laser sensor 10 composed of the light emitting unit 11 and the light receiving unit 12 is attached to the rear portion of the atmospheric arm 71 of the atmospheric robot 7, and the sensing passage 72, which is a laser moving passage, is atmospheric. It is formed along the interior of the arm 71. The signal sensed by the laser sensor 10 is processed by the sensor controller 20 and then input to the main controller 30 that controls the operation of the entire dry equipment. The main controller 30 sends a control signal to the standby robot controller 40 to prevent the atmospheric arm 71 from entering the cassette 8 while the glass substrate is stored in the cassette 8 so that the glass substrate stands by. The situation where it collides with the arm 71 and is broken is prevented.

Description

Glass Substrate Collision Avoidance Device for Dry Equipment

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an apparatus for preventing glass substrate collision of dry equipment, and more particularly, to an apparatus for preventing a glass substrate carried between a reaction chamber and a load lock chamber of dry equipment from colliding with a cassette.

In general, the load lock chamber of dry equipment is a chamber into which the glass substrate is to wait before loading or unloading the glass substrate into the reaction chamber. These chambers are divided into inlet load lock chambers waiting before entry and exit load lock chambers to wait for a while in consideration of rapid temperature difference after the export.

A schematic block diagram of a conventional reaction chamber and a load lock chamber is shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 1, two reaction chambers 3 are connected to both sides of the inlet load lock chamber 1, and an outlet load lock chamber 2 is connected to the front of the inlet load lock chamber 1. . Gates 5 are provided between the chambers 1, 2, 3. On the other hand, the inlet load lock chamber 1 is provided with the robot 6 which selectively carries in / out of a glass substrate with each reaction chamber 3.

At the exit side of the exit load lock chamber 2, a conveyance chamber 4 through which the glass substrate is conveyed is provided, and the glass substrate is temporarily placed at an entrance of the conveyance chamber 4, that is, the position adjacent to the exit load lock chamber 2. The standby robot 7 which waits in the holding state is arrange | positioned. Two cassettes 8 in which the glass substrates are stacked are stored in the transfer chamber 4. A gate 5 is also provided between the standby robot 7 and the exit load lock chamber 2.

By the way, conventionally, the atmospheric arm of the atmospheric robot enters the cassette while holding the glass substrate, and there is a problem that a situation in which a collision with the inner substrate of the cassette or the glass substrate previously stored in the cassette occurs frequently.

An object of the present invention is to detect the presence of the glass substrate in the cassette in the atmospheric arm, to prevent the situation that the glass substrate and the atmospheric arm collide.

1 is a view showing a layout relationship between a general load lock chamber and a reaction chamber

Figure 2 is a block diagram schematically showing a glass substrate collision avoidance apparatus according to the present invention

3 is a view showing the installation position of the laser sensor which is the main part of the present invention;

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the movement path of the laser emitted from the laser sensor which is the main part of the present invention

-Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawing-

7-Standby Robot 8-Cassette

10-laser sensor 11-light emitter

12-Receiver 20-Sensor Controller

30-Main Controller 40-Standby Robot Controller

71-Atmosphere 72-Sensing Path

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises the following configuration.

The cassette in which the glass substrate is housed is placed in the conveying chamber of the dry equipment, and the glass substrate is brought into and out of the cassette at the exit of the conveying chamber toward the load lock chamber of the dry equipment, and also before being brought into the load lock chamber. A standby robot is placed that will put it on standby for a while. The atmospheric robot is provided with an atmospheric arm parallel to the glass substrate housed in the cassette, and the atmospheric arm carries the glass substrate into and out of the cassette. A laser sensor having a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion is attached to the atmospheric arm, and a sensing passage for sensing the laser sensor is formed along the length direction inside the entire atmospheric arm. The electrical signal of the laser sensor is input to the sensor controller, and the output signal of the sensor controller is input to the main controller which controls the overall operation of the dry equipment. The control signal of the main controller is input to the controller of the standby robot, thereby controlling the operation of the standby arm according to the presence of the glass substrate.

According to the present invention having the above-described configuration, the laser emitted from the light emitting portion of the laser sensor is irradiated along the sensing passage, and if there is a glass substrate in the cassette, the laser reflected from the glass substrate is accepted at the light receiving portion. After the electrical signal is input to the main controller through the sensor controller, the main controller outputs a control signal to stop the standby arm to the controller of the standby robot.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 2 is a block diagram schematically showing a glass substrate collision preventing apparatus according to the present invention, Figure 3 is a view showing the installation position of the laser sensor which is the main part of the present invention, Figure 4 is a foot in the laser sensor which is the main part of the present invention It is a perspective view which shows the movement path of a laser beam.

As shown in Fig. 2, a laser sensor 10 for detecting the presence of a glass substrate in the cassette is attached to the atmospheric arm, and the laser sensor 10 has a light emitting portion 11 and a light receiving portion 12. The electrical signal sensed by the laser sensor 10 is input to the sensor controller 20, and the signal output from the sensor controller 20 is input to the main controller 30 that controls the operation of the entire dry equipment. The main controller 30 transmits a control signal to the controller 40 of the standby robot according to the input signal, thereby controlling the operation of the standby arm according to the presence or absence of a glass substrate.

More specifically, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the cassette 8 is placed on the stage 9 and clamped, and the standby robot 7 is disposed on the side of the stage 9. . The atmospheric arm 71 is rotatably connected on the atmospheric robot 7, in particular the atmospheric arm 71 is in parallel with the glass substrate.

The laser sensor 10 is attached to the rear part of the atmospheric arm 71, and a sensing passage 72 in which the laser emitted from the laser sensor 10 is moved to the glass substrate side and reflected again has a length inside the atmospheric arm 71. Formed along the direction. The sensor controller 20 installed on the standby robot 7 is connected to the laser sensor 10 with a cable 50. On the other hand, the standby robot controller is provided in the standby robot 7.

Hereinafter, the operation of this embodiment configured as described above will be described in detail.

The atmospheric arm 71 is arrange | positioned at the predetermined position in the cassette 8 at a predetermined distance with the glass substrate settled. The laser emitted from the light emitting portion 11 of the laser sensor 10 is irradiated along the sensing passage 72 to enter the cassette 8. If the glass substrate is present in the portion irradiated with the laser, the laser reflected from the glass substrate is again moved along the sensing passage so that the light receiving unit 12 detects it.

The laser sensor 10 outputs this to the sensor controller 20 as an electric signal, and the sensor controller 20 inputs this signal to the main controller 30. The main controller 30 sends a control signal to the standby robot controller 40 to stop the operation of the standby arm 71. That is, the atmospheric arm 71 is prevented from entering the cassette 8 while holding the glass substrate.

That is, the operator does not enter the cassette 8 until the operator removes the glass substrate in the cassette 8 or the atmospheric arm 71 moves up and down to the cassette 8 at a different height. . Therefore, the collision situation between the atmospheric arm 71 and the glass substrate is prevented.

As described above, according to the present invention, if the glass substrate is present in the cassette 8 at the height where the atmospheric arm 71 enters, the laser sensor 10 detects this and prevents the atmospheric arm 71 from operating. By controlling, the situation where the glass substrate collides with the atmospheric arm 71 and is damaged can be prevented.

On the other hand, the present invention is not limited to the above-described specific preferred embodiments, and various changes can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the gist of the invention claimed in the claims. will be.

Claims (1)

A glass robot in a cassette disposed in a conveyance chamber of dry equipment and a standby robot for bringing in / out other glass substrates into and out of the load lock chamber of the dry equipment disposed adjacent to the conveyance chamber. As a device for preventing the collision of atmospheric cancer, A laser sensor installed at a rear portion of the atmospheric arm, the laser sensor including a light emitting unit emitting a laser and a light receiving unit receiving a reflected laser beam; A path through which the laser beam emitted from the laser sensor reciprocates in a cassette direction, the sensing path being formed along the entire inner longitudinal direction of the atmospheric arm; A sensor controller configured to output an electrical signal sensed by the laser sensor; A main controller which receives an electrical signal output from the sensor controller and outputs a signal for controlling the operation of the standby robot according to the input signal; And a standby robot controller configured to receive an output signal of the main controller and control the operation of the standby arm.