KR20090076023A - Up/down lift system equipped with sliding buffer conveyor - Google Patents

Abstract

A vertical transport system of physical distribution with a sliding buffer conveyor is provided to control process time in the upper and lower layers of equipment because the elevator and buffer conveyor are included and vertical handling time of physical distribution is adjusted. A vertical transport system of physical distribution with a sliding buffer conveyor comprises an elevator which comprises plural elevator arms, wherein a substrate is positioned and moves vertically, plural buffer arms(101), a sliding buffer conveyor comprising a pair of buffers, and a driving unit(300) which operates so that the buffer is opened from side to side.

Description

Up / Down Lift System Equipped With Sliding Buffer Conveyor}

1 is a schematic front view of a two-layer LCD substrate cleaner applied with a vertical transport system of logistics.

2 is a schematic plan view of a substrate cleaner for an LCD to which a sliding buffer conveyor of the present invention is applied, showing a state where the buffer is closed.

3 is a schematic plan view of a substrate cleaner for an LCD to which a sliding buffer conveyor of the present invention is applied, showing a state in which a buffer is opened.

4 is a view showing in detail the sliding buffer conveyor, the drive unit and the partition.

5A to 5F schematically show the order in which the buffer and the elevator operate when the substrate is lowered.

6A to 6F schematically show the order in which the buffer and the elevator operate when the substrate is raised.

Brief description of the main symbols in the drawing

10: substrate 100: sliding buffer conveyor

101: buffer arm 200: elevator

201: elevator arm 300: drive part

400: partition 401: opening

Field of invention

The present invention relates to a vertical transport system for logistics having a buffer conveyor for transporting an object such as a substrate up and down in equipment having a two-layer structure. More specifically, the present invention relates to a vertical conveying system equipped with a sliding buffer conveyor that can reduce the load on the buffer shaft and increase the dust generation problem as the size of the substrate increases.

Background of the Invention

With the trend toward larger LCD substrates, equipment such as scrubbers are becoming larger. As these devices become larger, equipment having a vertical structure, that is, a two-layer structure, is adopted to increase the efficiency of the space occupied by the equipment.

1 is a schematic front view of a LCD substrate cleaner having a two-layer structure, in which a process zone for discharging and discharging the substrate is installed at a central portion thereof to move the substrate up and down. Up / down lifts are installed.

However, the up / down lift, which is a conventional up and down conveying system, consists only of an elevator system. Since elevators move up and down at a constant speed, they often do not coincide with the processing speed of the substrate, thereby causing inconvenience that the working time in the process zone and the transportation time in the elevator do not match with each other. This inconvenience has resulted in a delay in work, resulting in lowered yields, or incapable of performing sufficient work in the process zone, resulting in reduced performance of the product.

For example, in a conventional up and down conveying system using only an elevator, when the substrate moves downstairs, the next substrate must be transported or stopped at low speed in the process zone before the elevator returns upstairs. Accordingly, the conditions, tack time, transport speed, etc. of modules installed on each floor must be limited. As a method for resolving these drawbacks, the present applicant has been registered in the patent No. 711005 by developing a vertical transport system of logistics having an elevator and a buffer conveyor.

However, in the system for rotating and opening the buffer arm in the vertical direction, as the substrate is enlarged, the rotating shaft does not endure the load and rotates in the vertical direction as the substrate is enlarged. There is a drawback that the driving part is located in the conveying area of the substrate, causing the internal dust problem.

Accordingly, the present inventors have developed a sliding buffer conveyor capable of reducing the load and minimizing the dust generation problem by allowing the buffer to be opened to the left and right, placing the driving part outside, and installing a partition wall between the driving part and the conveying area.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a vertical conveying system of a logistics provided with a sliding buffer conveyor capable of horizontal sliding opening.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a vertical transport system for logistics in which the buffer conveyor is not damaged even when the substrate is enlarged.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a vertical transport system for logistics in which dust caused by opening of the buffer conveyor does not occur in the substrate transport area.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an up-and-down transport system of logistics that can control the process time in the upper and lower layers of the equipment by adjusting the up and down transportation time of the logistics having an elevator and a buffer conveyor.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a vertical conveying system of logistics provided with a buffer conveyor so as to receive the next substrate even while the substrate moves up and down.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a vertical conveying system equipped with a buffer conveyor that can increase the work efficiency and improve the performance of the product.

The above and other objects of the present invention can all be achieved by the present invention described below.

Summary of the Invention

The vertical conveying system of the logistics provided with the sliding buffer conveyor of the present invention is composed of a plurality of elevator arms (elevator arm) and the substrate is repeatedly composed of an elevator, a plurality of buffer arms (buffer arm) to move up and down repeatedly A sliding buffer conveyor comprising a pair of buffers, the elevator arm being opened left and right to move up and down and closed to receive a substrate, and a drive unit located outside the conveying area and driven to open the buffer from side to side; And the buffer arms are staggered with each other so that they pass through the staggered passage.

In addition, it is preferable that a partition wall having a plurality of openings through which a buffer arm can pass is provided between the driving unit and the conveying region so that dust generated in the driving unit does not contaminate the substrate conveying region.

The elevator arm is also positioned above the buffer arm when the buffer arm is opened to descend to the elevator receiving the substrate and when the buffer arm is closed to receive the substrate from the elevator arm so that the substrate is moved by the horizontally moving buffer arm. It is desirable to avoid damage.

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

Detailed Description of the Invention

1 is a schematic front view of a two-layer LCD substrate cleaner having a logistics conveyor system equipped with a buffer conveyor according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are plan views thereof.

As shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the LCD substrate cleaner is provided with a process zone for processing the LCD substrate in the center thereof, and an up / down lift for moving the substrate up and down on the left and right sides. ) Is installed.

In other words, the substrates loaded on the cassette are received by the transfer robots one by one into the process zone, and the cleaning process starts at the upper layer. When the work on the upper floor is completed, it moves to the up / down lift on the right side and descends, and is then put into the lower process zone. When the work on the lower floor is completed, the motor moves to the up / down lift on the left side and ascends, and then is again put into the process zone of the upper floor, and then discharged out by the transfer robot. Receiving the substrates loaded in the cassette into the process zone one by one by a transfer robot, and discharging the processed substrate in the process zone is a technique that has been applied in the conventional apparatus, It can be easily implemented by those skilled in the art.

In the present invention, the sliding buffer conveyor 100 is installed on the upper and lower conveying system represented by the up / down lift.

The sliding buffer conveyor consists of a pair of buffers, each buffer consisting of a plurality of buffer arms 101. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing a pair of buffers in a closed state, and FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing a pair of buffers in an open state.

In the case of Patent No. 711005, the buffer arm 101 is vertically rotated and opened about the rotation axis. As the substrate is enlarged, the buffer arm is also enlarged, causing a problem that the rotation axis does not endure the load of the buffer arm and is distorted. In addition, since the rotation opening method is used, the driving unit located on the rotation shaft is positioned in the transport region of the substrate, and there is a problem in that dust is generated in the substrate transport region by rotation, thereby contaminating the substrate.

However, in the present invention, a pair of buffers have a structure in which the elevator arm is opened horizontally left and right to move up and down to the center portion thereof and closed to receive the substrate, thereby reducing the load due to the buffer opening, thereby reducing the conventional rotating shaft. It can prevent the wrong problem.

In addition, as the size of the substrate increases in size, the space occupied by the transporting system has become a problem to secure a working space. However, as shown in FIG. Since the space can be used within the space, the space occupied by the conventional transport system does not occur.

4, the sliding buffer conveyor 100, the driving unit 300, and the partition wall 400 of the present invention are shown in detail. The driving unit 300 for driving the buffer is located outside the transport area A, and The partition 400 is provided between the conveyance areas. At this time, an opening 401 is formed in the partition wall so that the buffer arm 101 can penetrate.

By separating the conveyance area A and the drive part 300 by such a partition, it is possible to prevent dust generated in the drive part from contaminating the substrate in the conveyance area.

The elevator 200 applied to the up and down conveying system of logistics according to the present invention operates together with the sliding buffer conveyor so that the sliding buffer conveyor receives the substrate 10 continuously, and the elevator continuously moves the received substrate up and down. It is made up of a plurality of elevator arms (201).

First, the principle of lowering the substrate 10 in the right up / down lift will be described. 5A to 5F schematically show the order in which the buffer and the elevator operate when the substrate 10 is lowered.

As shown in Fig. 5A, the substrate 10 is transported and received from the process zone with the pair of buffers closed. When the substrate is received, the elevator 200 rises (FIG. 5B) and the substrate is received on the elevator arm 201 (FIG. 5C). At this time, the elevator arms 201 are alternately positioned between the buffer arms 101.

When the substrate is completely received, the pair of buffers are opened in parallel to left and right as shown in Fig. 5D. At this time, the substrate 10 is supported by the elevator arm 201 in a horizontal state, it is preferred that the elevator arm is located slightly above the buffer arm. This is because the substrate is not damaged by the buffer arm 101 and it is not easy to place the elevator arm and the buffer arm on the same plane.

When the pair of buffers are completely opened, the elevator receiving the substrate is lowered to the lower floor portion and is in a state as shown in Fig. 5E.

The substrate 10 lowered to the lower layer is prepared to be introduced into the lower process zone, and the pair of buffers are closed as shown in FIG. 5F. The closed buffer receives the next substrate, and the elevator from which the substrate is discharged repeats the above operation while moving to the upper portion.

The substrate 10 processed in the process zone of the lower layer moves to the up / down lift on the left side. The principle of raising the substrate in the up / down lift on the left is as follows. 6A to 6F schematically show the order in which the buffer and the elevator operate when the substrate is raised.

As shown in Fig. 6A, the substrate 10 processed in the process zone is received on the elevator arm 201 with a pair of buffers open, and when the substrate is completely received, the substrate 10 is moved to the upper portion by the elevator. It moves to the state as shown in FIG. 6B. In the state of Fig. 6B, the elevator stops and the pair of buffers are closed. At this time, the substrate 10 is supported by the elevator arm 201 in a horizontal state, it is preferable that the elevator arm is located slightly higher than the buffer arm so that the substrate is not damaged by the buffer arm 101.

The pair of buffers are closed to a state as shown in Fig. 6C, and the elevator arm 201 is lowered so that the substrate 10 is placed on the buffer arm 101 as shown in Fig. 6D. At this time, the elevator arms 201 are alternately positioned between the buffer arms 101 while the pair of buffers are closed.

The substrate 10 placed on the buffer is discharged out of the lift (FIG. 6E), the elevator descends to the lower portion to receive the next substrate (FIG. 6F), and the elevator receiving the substrate moves to the upper portion and returns to the state of FIG. 6A. Repeat the above operation.

The present invention can be applied to both a lift carrying a semiconductor, FPD (LCD, PDP, organic EL) and the like in the equipment consisting of a two-layer structure of the upper and lower layers. In addition, the vertical conveying system equipped with the buffer conveyor of the present invention can be applied to all the equipment to process in the structure of the upper and lower layers by using a chemical as well as a cleaner for cleaning the substrate.

The present invention is equipped with an elevator and a buffer conveyor can adjust the processing time in the upper and lower layers of the equipment by adjusting the up and down transport time of the logistic, can receive the next substrate even while the substrate is moving up and down, the upper and lower floors It is not necessary to slow down the transport speed and stop the board in the process zone of the process zone, and it can receive the board continuously and move it up and down, improve the work efficiency and improve the performance of the product, especially the horizontal sliding opening By providing a sliding buffer conveyor that is possible, the drive shaft of the buffer conveyor is not damaged, and the driving part is located outside the substrate conveying area, and a partition wall is provided so that dust caused by the opening of the buffer conveyor does not occur in the substrate conveying area. It has the effect of the invention.

Simple modifications and variations of the present invention can be readily used by those skilled in the art, and all such variations or modifications can be considered to be included within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (3)

An elevator 200 made up of a plurality of elevator arms 201 and repeatedly moving up and down with the substrate positioned thereon; A sliding buffer conveyor (100) consisting of a plurality of buffer arms (101) and a pair of buffers opened to the left and right to move the elevator arm up and down and closed to receive a substrate; And A driving unit 300 located outside the carrying area and driving to open the buffer from side to side; And vertically shifting the elevator arm and the buffer arm so as to cross each other so as to cross each other. The sliding buffer conveyor of claim 1, further comprising: a partition wall 400 positioned between the driving unit and the conveying area and having a plurality of openings 401 through which the buffer arm can pass. Up and down conveying system of equipped logistics. The elevator arm of claim 1 or 2, wherein the elevator arm is less than the buffer arm when the buffer arm 101 is opened to lower the elevator receiving the substrate and when the buffer arm is closed to receive the substrate from the elevator arm. The upper and lower conveyance system of the logistics provided with a sliding buffer conveyor, characterized in that located in the upper portion.

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