KR20060110195A - Substrate cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a substrate cassette for storing a substrate equipped with a stable support bar coupling structure to keep and carry the substrates more stably. The cassette comprises at least one support bar(150) that connects upper and lower plates by approaching in parallel to the support frame bar(126) inside the substrate storage space. The support bar(136) is then fixedly coupled to the support frame bar(126) by bolts(140). The support frame bar(126) has two bolt holes(127) and a pair of bolt grooves(137). To fix the support bar(136) onto he support bar(150), a spacer bar(160) interposed between support bars(136) is used. Desirably, the spacer bar(160) is a flange pipe forming lugs(162,164).

Description

Substrate cassette

1 is a perspective view of a typical substrate storage cassette.

Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a coupling structure for the support frame bar and the support bar of a typical substrate storage cassette.

3 is a perspective view of a cassette for storing a substrate according to the present invention;

Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a coupling structure for the support frame bar and the support bar of the substrate storage cassette according to the present invention.

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line V-V of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG. 4; FIG.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100: cassette 102: entrance surface

104,106: Upper and lower plates 108,110: Both sides

112: rear 122,124: first and second frame bars

126: support frame bar 127: bolt ball

128: vertical plane 129,130: bent surface

132,134: first and second slot pin 136: support bar

137: bolt groove 140: bolt

150: support rod 160: gap retaining rod

162,164: Rugs

The present invention relates to a cassette for storing a substrate. More specifically, the present invention relates to a cassette for storing a substrate, and more specifically to a ceiling and a bottom surface consisting of upper and lower plates, and three vertical surfaces connecting them, having both sides and a rear surface of the rear surface. In particular, the present invention relates to a stable coupling structure of a support bar for supporting a substrate, wherein the cassette for storing a substrate provides a substrate storage space.

In recent years, as the society enters the information age, the display field for visually displaying electrical signal information has been rapidly developed, and in response to this, various types of various types of light, thin, and low power consumption have excellent characteristics. The flat panel display device (FPD) is introduced to quickly replace the existing cathode ray tube (CRT).

Specific examples of the flat panel display include a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), a field emission display (FED), and an electroluminescent display. (Electro luminescence Display device: ELD) and the like, each of which is essentially equipped with a flat display panel bonded to each other after interposing a unique layer of fluorescent or polarizing material between a pair of transparent substrate.

Recently, in particular, an active matrix type in which pixels, which are basic units of image expression, are arranged in a matrix on each of these flat panel display panels and individually controlled by switching elements such as thin film transistors (TFTs). In this case, the flat panel display device manufacturing process exposes a selected portion of the thin film deposition process to form a thin film of a predetermined material on the surface of the substrate. A photolithography process, an etching process for removing the exposed thin film portion to implement a desired thin film pattern, and a number of processes such as cleaning, bonding, and cutting are included.

On the other hand, during the manufacturing process of such a flat panel display device, the substrate to be processed is stored and transported in plural units to save time and effort, and a cassette is used as a storage case for this. It is the smallest unit of substrate storage and transportation in the manufacturing process.

1 is a perspective view of a general substrate storage cassette (hereinafter, referred to as a cassette: 10), which shows a shape of a hexahedron box having an appearance of approximately one surface, and a surface of which a double opening may be carried / exported. The entrance face 12 is made up.

More specifically, the general cassette 10 includes the upper and lower plates 14 and 16 constituting the upper and lower horizontal surfaces serving as the ceiling and the floor, and the entrance face 12 opened by connecting the corresponding edges of the upper and lower plates. It consists of three vertical planes forming a substrate storage space. The three vertical planes have two side surfaces 18 and 20 facing each other under the assumption that the entrance surface 12 is the front side, and the rear side of the rear surface facing the entrance surface 12. It is divided into (22).

In this case, the upper and lower plates 14 and 16 each have a rectangular shape similar to the substrate, and the rear surface 22 including both side surfaces 18 and 20 is formed of rod-shaped frame bars arranged at predetermined intervals. In particular, at least one of the first and second frame bars 32 and 34 constituting both sides 18.20 has first and second slots having a vertical pitch that protrude horizontally in a direction facing each other. Pins 42 and 44 are provided in equal numbers, and at least one support frame bar 36 constituting the rear surface 22 has the same pitch as the first and second slot pins 42 and 44. A plurality of support bars 46 protrude horizontally toward the inlet surface 12.

Accordingly, the substrate is accommodated in each layer by a support bar 46 supporting both edges by the first and second slot pins 42 and 44 corresponding to each other and simultaneously supporting the substrate.

On the other hand, in recent years, as the area of the flat panel display rapidly increases, the size of the substrate is also increasing. As a result, the weight of the substrate increases significantly, and the support bar 46 substantially supporting the entire load in the cassette is supported. ) 'S role is becoming important.

However, since the support structure of the support bar 46 is not stable, a general cassette has a phenomenon in which the support bar 46 sags in the direction of gravity when stored for a long time. The phenomenon is frequent. In this case, considering that a plurality of substrates are stored in a plurality of layers in the cassette, when one of the substrates is dropped, it is directly connected to a large accident that damages the entire substrate.

That is, Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of a portion of a typical cassette, a view showing an exploded view of one support frame bar 36 and any support bar 46 coupled thereto, the support frame bar as shown Two bolts 50 are inserted through the 36 and inserted into the support bar, respectively.

In other words, in the support frame bar 36 of the general cassette, two bolt holes 37 for each layer are perforated in front and rear, and a pair of bolt grooves 47 are indented in the rear end surface of the support bar 46 which is in close contact therewith. The formed bar, the support frame bar 36 is in close contact with the rear end surface of the support bar 46 and then coupled using two bolts 50 inserted through the bolt hole 37 into the bolt groove 47. I'm making it. At this time, the support frame bar 36 has a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is a K-shaped shape.

However, the coupling structure of the support frame bar 36 and the support bar 46 maintains a relatively strong support force in the horizontal force, but the vertical support force in the gravity direction is very fragile. Therefore, the general cassette has a phenomenon in which the support bar 46 is struck down when the substrate is stored for a long time, which is a direct cause of breakage of the substrate, resulting in waste of cost and resources.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and provides a cassette that can be stored and transported more stably by providing a stable coupling structure of the support bar for supporting the substrate across each layer in the cassette. Its purpose is to.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a vertical and vertical plane, and the three vertical planes connecting the vertical and horizontal planes having both sides and the rear of the rear substrate to provide a front opening entrance surface and the substrate storage space therein A storage cassette, comprising: at least one support rod connecting the upper and lower horizontal surfaces in parallel with the rear surface in the substrate storage space; It provides a cassette for storing the substrate comprising a plurality of support bars fixed to the rear by a constant pitch on the back so that the rear end is projected horizontally toward the entrance surface in the state fixed through the support rod.

At this time, characterized in that it further comprises a gap retaining rod interposed between each of the support bar in the state penetrated by the support bar, the gap retaining rod is characterized in that the flange pipe form each upper and lower end forming a lug do.

In addition, the rear surface is characterized in that composed of at least one support frame bar having a one-to-one correspondence with the support bar, in this case the support frame bar and the vertical plane facing the rear end of the support bar facing the entrance surface; And a pair of bending surfaces that protrude toward both sides of the inlet surface along both edges of the vertical plane to surround both sides of the bottom of the support bar, and the support rods are paired with the vertical plane of the support frame bar. It is characterized in that it is located between the bending surfaces of the.

In addition, the both sides are each characterized by consisting of at least one of the first and second frame bar, in this case, at the same pitch as the predetermined pitch and horizontally projecting in a direction facing each other from each of the first and second frame bar It further comprises a plurality of first and second slotted pins.

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

3 is a perspective view showing a substrate storage cassette (hereinafter simply referred to as a cassette: 100) according to the present invention, the overall shape of which connects the upper and lower horizontal planes of the rectangle facing up and down and their corresponding edges, respectively. It includes three vertical planes, and as a result, while defining the substrate storage space therein, the other one of the vertical plane is opened to form an approximately hexahedral box shape forming the entrance surface (102).

More specifically, first, the top and bottom horizontal planes of the cassette 100 according to the present invention consist of rectangular top and bottom plates 104 and 106 similar to substrates, respectively, and serve as ceiling and floor, respectively.

Next, the three vertical planes connecting the three corresponding edges of the upper and lower plates 104 and 106 are respectively opposite both sides 108 and 110 and the entrance face 102, assuming that the open inlet face 102 is the front. The rear side 112 of the rear facing the bar is divided into, both sides 108, 110 of the rod-shaped at least one first and second frame bar 122, 124 connecting the upper and lower play 104, 106, respectively, while maintaining a predetermined interval The back 112 may also be formed of at least one support frame bar 126 that connects the upper and lower plates 104 and 106, respectively, while maintaining a predetermined interval.

Therefore, it is easy to check whether the substrate is accommodated in any direction.

In addition, the first and second frame bars 122 and 124 each have a first and second slot pins 132 and 134 which protrude horizontally in a direction facing each other and are lined with a predetermined pitch up and down to classify each layer. 126 has a plurality of support bars 136 protruding horizontally toward the inlet surface 102 and arranged up and down to achieve the same pitch as the first and second slot pins (132, 134). Accordingly, both edges of the substrate for each layer are supported by the support bar 136 as if they cross the rear surface of the substrate while the first and second slot pins 132 and 134 span the substrate.

At this time, the support bar 136 of the cassette 100 according to the present invention is characterized in that the vertical support force in the gravity direction represented by the substrate load is greatly increased to maintain a stable horizontal state. 4 is a perspective view showing an exploded view of the coupling relationship between the support frame bar 126 and the arbitrary support bar 136 of FIG. 5 and cross-sectional views of the VV and VI-VI lines shown here, respectively. Explain.

First, the cassette 100 according to the present invention includes at least one support rod 150 connecting the upper and lower plates 104 and 106 in parallel with the support frame bar 126 in the substrate storage space, and the support bar 136. Is fixedly coupled to the support frame bar 126 in a state in which the rear end of each of the supporting rods 150 is fixed through. Therefore, the mechanical element for supporting the support bar 136 in the cassette 100 according to the present invention becomes two parts of the support frame bar 126 and the support bar 150, and these are particularly defined along the longitudinal direction of the support bar 136. It is arranged at intervals to show strong bearing capacity against gravity force.

In this case, in order to fix the support bar 136 to the support frame bar 126, a plurality of bolts 140 inserted through the support frame bar 126 and inserted into the support bar 136 may be used. In 126, two bolt holes 127 for each floor are perforated in front and rear, and a pair of bolt grooves 137 are indented in the rear end surface of the support bar 136, respectively. Therefore, the rear end surface of the support bar 136 may be in close contact with the inner surface of the support frame bar 126, and then fixed by two bolts 140 inserted through the bolt hole 127 into the bolt groove 137.

Next, in order for the support bar 136 to be fixed to the support bar 150, the gap retaining rod 160 interposed between the support bars 136 for each floor in a state penetrated by the support bar 150 may be used. The gap retaining rod 160 may preferably have a flange pipe shape in which lugs (162, 164) are formed by relatively expanding the diameter of the upper and lower ends.

Therefore, the gap between the retaining rods 160 between each support bar 136 can be fixed to the support bar 136 horizontally with respect to the support rod 150 without using a separate coupling member such as a bolt. However, if necessary, a separate bolt may be used to penetrate the lugs of the gap retaining rod 160 between two layers closely contacting each support bar 136.

On the other hand, in the cassette 100 according to the present invention, as the support rod 150 is located in the substrate storage space, the substrate storage depth may vary substantially. In order to prevent this, the support frame bar 126 has an inlet surface 102. The front face is opened so that a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction may have a U shape.

That is, as shown in the drawing, the support frame bar 126 of the cassette 100 according to the present invention has an entrance surface 102 unlike a conventional vertical cross section having a K-shape in the longitudinal direction to have a predetermined width in front and rear. It can have a vertical plane 128, the rear end of the support bar 136 is in close contact with each other and two bent surfaces (129, 130) vertically bent in the longitudinal direction toward the front at both edges thereof, resulting in a predetermined space therein The cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is shown to have a c-shape opened toward the inlet surface 102.

In addition, the spacing holding rods 160 including the supporting rods 150 are positioned in the predetermined space, and thus the storage depth of the substrate is substantially the same as that of the support frame bar having a conventional ㅁ -shaped cross section (see 36 in FIG. 2). Do.

Therefore, in the cassette according to the present invention, the support bar has a very strong supporting force in the vertical direction including the horizontal direction, and thus the support bar is prevented from being struck down even if the substrate is stored for a long time.

As a result, it is possible to reduce the cost and resource waste by reducing the possibility of unnecessary substrate damage.

Claims (8)

A cassette for storing a substrate having an upper and lower horizontal plane and three vertical planes connecting the upper and lower horizontal planes, each having a rear surface at both sides and a rear side thereof to provide an open entrance surface at the front and a substrate storage space therein. At least one support rod connecting the upper and lower horizontal planes in close proximity to the rear surface in the substrate storage space; A plurality of support bars fixedly coupled to the rear surface at a first pitch so that the rear ends of the supporting rods protrude horizontally toward the entrance surface in a state where the rear end is penetrated and fixed; Substrate storage cassette comprising a. The method of claim 1, Spacing holding rods interposed between the support bars while being penetrated by the supporting rods Substrate storage cassette further comprising. The method of claim 2, The gap retaining rod is a cassette for a substrate author in the form of a flange pipe, each upper and lower end forming a lug. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein The back side is a cassette for storing the substrate consisting of at least one support frame bar corresponding to the support bar one-to-one. The method of claim 4, wherein The support frame bar and the vertical plane facing the inlet surface and the rear end of the support bar is in close contact; And a pair of bent surfaces which are bent and protruded toward the entrance surface along both edges of the vertical plane to surround both sides of the bottom of the support bar. The method of claim 5, And the support rod is positioned between the vertical plane of the support frame bar and a pair of bent surfaces. The method of claim 1, And the two sides each having at least one first and second frame bars. The method of claim 7, wherein And a plurality of first and second slot pins protruding horizontally in a direction facing each other from each of the first and second frame bars while forming the same pitch as the first pitch.

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