KR20090086047A - Substrate conveyance device and substrate conveyance method - Google Patents

Abstract

A substrate transfer device preventing the deformation of the substrate and a substrate transferring method are provided to makes the establishment area of the substrate transfer device small and to perform the return and inspection efficiently and rapidly. A substrate transfer device comprises a flotation stage(3), a guide rail(4), and a substrate sending part. The flotation stage elevates the substrate. The guide rail extends as the sending direction of substrate on the straight line. The substrate sending part independently moves along the guide rail. The substrate sending part comprises a first substrate transfer module(5) and a second substrate transfer module(6). The substrate sending part accepts the substrate returned to the upstream of the sending direction. The first substrate transfer module returns the substrate to the downstream side of the sending direction. The second substrate transfer module returns the substrate to the downstream side of the sending direction.

Description

Substrate conveying apparatus and substrate conveying method {SUBSTRATE CONVEYANCE DEVICE AND SUBSTRATE CONVEYANCE METHOD}

TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to the board | substrate conveying apparatus which conveys board | substrates, such as a flat panel display (FPD), and a board | substrate conveyance method, for example, More specifically, while receiving a board | substrate among several board | substrate conveyance parts. It relates to the technology to convey.

Conventionally, in the process of manufacturing and inspecting a substrate such as a flat panel display, a method of blowing air from the lower side to float the substrate and supporting and transporting the substrate in a non-contact state has been adopted (for example, , Patent Documents 1 to 3).

As for the board | substrate conveying apparatus of patent document 1, the pair of guide rails which hold | position the floating stage and is arrange | positioned are arranged side by side in three sets in the board | substrate conveyance direction (carrying side from a conveyance side), and the conveyance end part (substrate) which supports the front-end | tip of a board | substrate The supporting portion) is configured to move on each guide rail.

And in the board | substrate conveying apparatus of the said patent document 1, when a pair of conveyance end of an upstream side (loading side) carries in to the position which receives a board | substrate, a pair of the downstream side (exporting side) which waited at this receiving position. The conveyance end of the substrate is moved under the substrate and the substrate is sucked from the rear surface, thereby conveying the substrate while passing between the guide rails.

As for the substrate processing apparatus of patent document 2, the 2nd guide rail is arrange | positioned in the board | substrate conveyance direction in parallel with the 1st guide rail on the one side of one side of a floating stage, and the other one side which opposes. Moreover, the 1st board | substrate conveyance part is provided in the 1st guide rail, and the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part is provided so that a movement is possible, respectively.

And the substrate processing apparatus of the said patent document 2 supports only the one side of a board | substrate by a 1st board | substrate conveyance part in the 1st section from a carrying in position to a coating start position, Both sections support the substrate by the first and second substrate transfer sections in the second section, and only one side of the substrate is supported by the second substrate transfer section in the third section from the application end position to the carry-out position, and the substrate is upstream. It is conveyed from the side to the downstream side.

As for the board | substrate conveying apparatus of patent document 3, the guide rail is arrange | positioned along one edge of a floating stage, A single board | substrate conveyance part is formed in this guide rail so that a movement is possible from the carrying-in side of a board | substrate to a carrying-out side, Suction support is carried and the board | substrate is conveyed from the upstream side (import side) to the downstream side (export side).

[Patent Document 1]

International Publication No. 03/086917

[Patent Document 2]

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-237482

[Patent Document 3]

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-112626

However, as in the substrate transfer device described in Patent Document 1, when both the front end of the substrate is adsorbed and supported, the substrate must be adsorbed and supported in the narrow region of the front end, so that the substrate is carried on the side (hereinafter referred to as "upstream side"). When the substrate is passed from the carrying side to the carry-out side (hereinafter referred to as the "downstream side"), there is a problem that the alignment of the substrate is misaligned because the suction support force is small. This misalignment occurs remarkably as the conveying distance becomes longer.

Moreover, when the guide rails are arrange | positioned on both sides of a floating stage like the board | substrate conveying apparatus of the said patent document 1, and the substrate processing apparatus of the said patent document 2, and both sides of an edge part of a board | substrate are supported and conveyed, both guide rails are carried out. If the parallelism is not shown with high accuracy, the substrate is deformed at the time of conveyance due to an abnormality in the parallelism of the guide rail. If the substrate is deformed in this manner, when the substrate inspection or the like is carried out during substrate transportation, the inspection accuracy is adversely affected.

In addition, when the guide rails are arranged on both sides of the floating stage, the whole apparatus becomes large, and there arises a problem that the installation area cannot be made small.

In addition, when the guide rail is provided along one side of the floating stage as in the substrate transfer apparatus described in Patent Document 3, and the substrate is transported while supporting one side circumference of the substrate by a single substrate transfer unit, the substrate transfer unit carries one substrate. After conveying and finishing from an upstream side to a downstream side, when carrying a new board | substrate again, it is necessary to return to a loading position. In this case, it is not possible to accept a new substrate and perform pre-processing such as alignment until the substrate currently being transported is finished and finished, resulting in a problem that the tact time in conveyance and inspection cannot be shortened.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, the object of the present invention is to provide a substrate conveying apparatus and a substrate conveying method capable of efficiently conveying and inspecting a substrate in a short time with high accuracy and at the same time reducing the installation area of the substrate conveying apparatus. It is.

MEANS TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM In order to solve the said subject, the board | substrate conveying apparatus of this invention is the floating stage which raises a board | substrate, the guide rail extended in a straight line in the conveyance direction of the said board | substrate, and the plurality which can move independently of each other along this guide rail. 1st board | substrate conveyance part which includes two board | substrate conveyance parts, and receives the said board | substrate conveyed to the upstream side of the said conveyance direction, and conveys the received board | substrate to the downstream side of the said conveyance direction, and this 1st It is set as the structure containing the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part which receives the said board | substrate from a board | substrate conveyance part, and conveys the received board | substrate to the downstream side of the said conveyance direction.

In order to solve the said subject, the board | substrate conveyance method of this invention is downstream of the said conveyance direction by the 1st board | substrate conveyance part which moves along the guide rail extended linearly in the conveyance direction of the said board | substrate. The substrate is transferred from the first substrate transfer portion to the second substrate transfer portion that is transported to the side and can move independently of the first substrate transfer portion along the guide rail, and the received substrate is transferred to the second substrate. It conveys to the downstream side of the said conveyance direction by a conveyance part.

In the present invention, since the plurality of substrate transfer portions move on the guide rails extending in a straight line, deformation of the substrate due to abnormalities in the parallelism of the guide rails can be prevented, and the guide rails are arranged only on one side of the floating stage. The whole board | substrate conveyance apparatus can be made small.

In addition, since the plurality of substrate conveyance portions move independently of each other, the substrate conveyance portion received by the substrate transfer portion to another substrate conveyance portion can move to a position to receive a new substrate even before the other substrate conveyance portion finishes the conveyance. It is also possible to shorten the tact time.

Therefore, according to this invention, a board | substrate can be efficiently conveyed and inspected with high precision in a short time, and the installation area of a board | substrate conveying apparatus can be made small.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiment of this invention is described, referring drawings.

<Example 1>

1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate transfer apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion A of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the first substrate transfer section 5 of the substrate transfer apparatus 1, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion B of FIG. 3. FIG. 5: is a schematic block diagram which looked at the said 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 from the board | substrate conveyance direction.

FIG. 6: is a perspective view which shows the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 of the said board | substrate conveyance apparatus 1, and FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the C part of FIG.

In FIG. 1, the board | substrate conveyance apparatus 1 extends linearly in the floating stage 3 which raises the glass substrate 2 which manufactures FPD as a board | substrate, and the conveyance direction (arrow D) of the glass substrate 2 2 sets of guide rails 4 to be made, the first board | substrate conveyance part 5 (refer FIG. 3-FIG. 5) as a some board | substrate conveyance part which can move independently along each other along this guide rail 4, and 2 board | substrate conveyance part 6 (refer FIG. 6 and FIG. 7), etc. are provided. And the guide rail 4 is the guide rail which integrally comprised two linear motor track | arrangements which arranged the several magnet plate in the predetermined pitch, and integrally. This guide rail 4 can also be integrally comprised with the linear guide which guides the board | substrate conveyance parts 5 and 6 linearly paralleled to one linear guide track | orbit.

The floating stage 3 is provided by placing a plurality of floating plates 3a for floating the glass substrate 2 by, for example, air. The floating plate 3a located in the board | substrate carrying-in area | region P1 (upstream side) and board | substrate carrying out area P6 (downstream side) mentioned later is formed in the elongate rectangle, and the longitudinal direction is provided in parallel in the board | substrate conveyance direction D. . Moreover, these floating plates 3a are laid in the width direction of the floating stage 3 with a predetermined gap G for each floating plate 3a.

Then, the floating plate 3a in the inspection region (process region P5) is formed in an elongated rectangle, and its longitudinal direction is arranged in a plurality of rows without a gap orthogonal to the substrate conveyance direction D. FIG.

The guide rail 4 is arrange | positioned on the conveyance shaft frame 7 provided only in one side of the floating stage 3 parallel to the board | substrate conveyance direction (arrow D).

The 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 was positioned to the reference position by the alignment mechanism which does not show the glass substrate 2 conveyed to the board | substrate loading area P1 located in the upstream of the conveyance direction (arrow D). It receives in the state and conveys this received glass substrate 2 to the downstream side of a conveyance direction (arrow D). In addition, the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 receives the glass substrate 2 positioned from the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5, and conveys this received glass substrate 2 to the downstream side of a conveyance direction (arrow D). Doing.

Each of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 and the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 is an up-and-down mechanism as board | substrate support part 5a, 6a, support part 5b, 6b, slider 5c, 6c, and a vertical direction moving means. 5d and 6d, and connection parts 5e and 6e. On the lower surface of each slider 5c, 6c, the linear motor which drives on the linear motor track | orbit of the guide rail 4 is attached.

The board | substrate support parts 5a and 6a adsorb | suck and support the back surface of the glass substrate 2 by the vacuum adsorption through the air tube which is not shown in figure. And in order to support the glass substrate 2 by the board | substrate support part 5a, 6a, it is not limited to the vacuum suction of the back surface of the glass substrate 2, For example, even if the glass substrate 2 is inserted and supported, Alternatively, the surface of the glass substrate 2 may be vacuum adsorbed.

As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 6, the support parts 5b and 6b are mutually spaced so that it may be located in three places of a front part, a center part, and a rear end part along one side of the rectangular glass substrate 2 Three are arrange | positioned at each board | substrate conveyance part 5 and 6, respectively. Although mentioned later in detail, the board | substrate support part 5a, 6a which supports the periphery of one side of the glass substrate 2 when the glass substrate 2 is handed over to each support part 5b, 6b is alternately on a straight line. A plurality or a plurality of sets are arranged at predetermined intervals to be aligned.

As shown in FIG. 5, the support part 5b of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 is the vertical part 5b-1 extended in a perpendicular direction, and the horizontal part 5b-2 extended in a horizontal direction. L-shaped cross-section bent to form a. The horizontal portion 5b-2 extends in the direction spaced apart from the floating stage 3 from the lower end of the vertical portion 5b-1. Eight board | substrate support parts 5a are being fixed to the upper side of the vertical part 5b-1. As shown in FIG.3 and FIG.4, these eight board | substrate support parts 5a are arrange | positioned at intervals with two adjacent (one set) board | substrate support parts 5a and 5a at four places.

Each support part 6b of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 is eight arm part 6f which fixes each board | substrate support part 6a, and the vertical part extended in a perpendicular direction, as shown to FIG. 6 and FIG. It consists of 6g-1 and the support plate 6g which forms the cross-sectional L-shape bent by the horizontal part 6g-2 extended in a horizontal direction.

The horizontal portion 6g-2 of the supporting plate 6g extends from the lower end of the vertical portion 6g-1 to the floating plate 3 side as opposed to the supporting portion 5b of the first substrate transfer section 5. It is.

The arm part 6f is extended in the horizontal direction orthogonal to a conveyance direction (arrow D), the board | substrate support part 6a is fixed to the front end side, and the base end side is the horizontal part 6g-2 of the support plate 6g. It is fixed to the upper surface. Although mentioned later in detail, the arm part 6f should just extend in the direction which intersects a conveyance direction (arrow D), and does not need to extend in the horizontal direction orthogonal to a conveyance direction (arrow D).

The eight board | substrate support parts 6a supported by the said eight arm parts 6f are the same as the board | substrate support part 5a of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5, and two adjacent (one set) board | substrate support parts 6a, 6a) is arrange | positioned at four places at intervals.

Here, four sets (eight) of the board | substrate support part 5a arrange | positioned at each support part 5b of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5, and each support part 6b of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 (arm part ( Four sets (eight) of the board | substrate support parts 6a arrange | positioned at 6f)) are arrange | positioned so that one set may be aligned one by one in parallel in a board | substrate conveyance direction alternately in the receiving position of the glass substrate 2.

The slider 5c of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 and the slider 6c of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 are substantially L-shaped, respectively in planar view, and two sets of guide rails 4 It is arrange | positioned independently above and movably. Each of the sliders 5c and 6c is formed by cutting an elongated rectangular plate into two parts, that is, the slider 5c of the first substrate transfer part 5 is second from the rear end on the conveying direction (arrow D) side. The protrusion part which protrudes to the board | substrate conveyance part 6 side, and the slider 6c of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 protrudes to the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 side from the front end of a conveyance direction (arrow D) side. Have

And the slider 5c of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5, and the slider 6c of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 are the parts in which the board | substrate support part is arrange | positioned at the position to which the glass substrate 2 is handed over. These are located next to each other in the width direction of the guide rail 4. Thus, in the position where the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 and the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 are handed over of the glass substrate 2, the part in which the board | substrate support part is arrange | positioned is mutually the width of the guide rail 4 mutually. Replace side by side in the direction. In this case, each of the substrate support portions 5a and 6a disposed in the first substrate transfer portion 5 and the second substrate transfer portion 6 is shifted and replaced so as not to interfere with each other, and coupled to each other when receiving the substrate. Are aligned in a straight line.

In addition, the sliders 5c and 6c linearly move along the guide rail 4 by linear motor drive. Incidentally, the driving method of the sliders 5c and 6c is not limited to linear motor driving, and for example, belt driving, ball screw driving or the like can be used using a motor or the like as another driving source.

The upper and lower mechanisms 5d and 6d support the glass substrate 2 which floats the substrate support parts 5a and 6a by relatively moving the substrate support parts 5a and 6a in the vertical direction through the support parts 5b and 6b. It is possible to move to the position to be made and the position which retreated from there.

And 5 d of upper and lower mechanisms of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 are provided in the slider 5c, as shown in FIG. 4, and 6 d of upper and lower mechanisms of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 are shown in FIG. As mentioned above, it is provided in the movable plate 6k of the horizontal mechanism 6j mentioned later.

As shown in FIG. 4, the connection part 5e of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 is the support part side connection part 5h fixed to the support part 5b, and the slider side connection part 5i fixed to the slider 5c. The upper and lower mechanisms 5d are sandwiched and one pair is arranged. The support part side connection part 5h is connected to the slider side connection part 5i so that a slide movement is possible according to the vertical movement of the support part 5b by the vertical mechanism 5d.

As shown in FIG. 7, the connection part 6e of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 is the support plate side connection part 6h fixed to the support plate 6g, and the movable fixed to the movable plate 6k mentioned later. It consists of plate side connection part 6i, and arrange | positions one pair by pinching 6 d of upper and lower mechanisms. The support plate side connection part 6h is connected to the movable plate side connection part 6i so that sliding movement is possible according to the up-and-down movement of the support part 6b by the up-and-down mechanism 6d.

The 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 is equipped with the horizontal mechanism 6j as a width direction movement means which moves each support part 6b to the glass substrate 2 side. This horizontal mechanism 6j is comprised from the movable plate 6k, the two rails 61, the fixed plate 6m, and the drive part 6n.

As described above, the upper and lower mechanisms 6d and the connecting portions 6e are fixed to the movable plate 6k. The movable plate 6k can slide two rails 61 fixed on the fixed plate 6m by the ball screw drive of the drive part 6n.

The drive part 6n is arrange | positioned on the fixed plate 6m, and moves the board | substrate support part 6a in the horizontal direction through the movable plate 6k, and moves the board | substrate support part 6a of the lower part of the glass substrate 2 below. It moves to the position which retracted out of the adsorption | suction position and the glass substrate 2 which does not interfere with the board | substrate support part 5a (refer FIG. 9). Before the retraction operation to the outside, the upper and lower mechanisms 6d are driven to lower the substrate support 6a to a position that does not interfere with the rear surface of the glass substrate 2.

And in this embodiment, although the board | substrate support part 6a is moved in the direction orthogonal to a conveyance direction (arrow D) by the horizontal mechanism (width direction moving means) 6j, it is orthogonal to a conveyance direction (arrow D). Any other mechanism may be used as long as it can be shifted in the direction.

In addition, in this embodiment, although the example which installs the horizontal mechanism 6j only in the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 was demonstrated, even if it installs only in the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5, or the 1st board | substrate conveyance part ( 5) and the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 may be provided.

As shown in FIG. 1, the board | substrate conveyance apparatus 1 is the gantry 8 arrange | positioned so that the floating stage 3 and the conveyance shaft frame 7 may be over, and the board | substrate processing part arrange | positioned at this gantry 8 Have As a board | substrate process part, the board | substrate test provided with the imaging parts 9 and 10, the mirrors 11 and 12, and the illumination part which are not shown in figure, for example, to test the glass substrate 2 manufactured by the manufacturing process of FPD. There exists a board | substrate inspection apparatus, such as an apparatus and a color filter. Moreover, in addition to a board | substrate inspection apparatus, the board | substrate process part may be the various types of manufacturing apparatuses which manufacture the resist coating apparatus which manufactures a TFT glass substrate, an exposure apparatus, a developing apparatus, and a color filter substrate.

The gantry 8 is supported by a pair of gantry support 13 (only one side shown) which clamps the floating stage 3 and the conveyance shaft frame 7 and opposes.

Hereinafter, the conveyance method of the glass substrate 2 is demonstrated.

8 is a schematic plan view of the substrate transfer device 1 for explaining the receipt of the inspection target substrate 2. In addition, in FIG. 8, although shown in two positions which move the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 and the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6, respectively in order to make it easy to demonstrate, in a present Example, a 1st board | substrate is shown. The conveyance part 5 and the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 are each arrange | positioned one by one.

9 is an enlarged view of main portions of the first substrate transfer part 5 and the second substrate transfer part 6, and the substrate support part 6a of the second substrate transfer part 6 supports the glass substrate 2. It is the same as that of part A (FIG. 2) of FIG. 1 except that it evacuates from the position to make.

First, the glass substrate 2 is carried in from the other apparatus to the board | substrate loading area P1 of the board | substrate conveyance apparatus 1 shown in FIG. In the board | substrate loading area P1, the glass substrate 2 is positioned in a reference position by the alignment means not shown.

Next, the glass substrate 2 is supported by the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 (substrate support part 5a) which waited in the position of the board | substrate loading area P1. Specifically, the 5D of upper and lower mechanisms of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 raise the board | substrate support part 5a which made it fall to the position which supports the glass substrate 2. Thereafter, the support of the glass substrate 2 is started by vacuum adsorption through an air tube (not shown).

And while supporting the glass substrate 2 by the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 (substrate support part 5a), it conveys to the test | inspection start area | region P2, passes the 1st test position P3 and the 2nd test position P4, and is mentioned above. The glass substrate 2 is imaged by the imaging sections 9, 10 and the like.

After conveying the glass substrate 2 to the test | inspection end area P5 which passed the 2nd inspection position P4, in the state which supported the glass substrate 2 by the board | substrate support part 5a of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5, The glass substrate 2 is supported by the board | substrate support part 6a of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 waiting in the test | inspection end area | region P5. And after the board | substrate support part 6a of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 supports the glass substrate 2, and completes taking over, the support by the board | substrate conveyance part 5a of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 is completed. Release it.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, the glass substrate by the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 is the board | substrate support part 6a of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 at the time of waiting in the test | inspection end area | region P5. It exists in the position (position which retracted from the position below the glass substrate 2) which does not prevent the conveyance of (2). And when the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 arrives to test | inspection end area P5 (position to receive the glass substrate 2), as shown in FIG. 2, the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part is carried out by the horizontal mechanism 6j. The board | substrate support part 6a of (6) is moved below the glass substrate 2. Thereafter, the vertical support mechanism 6d raises the substrate support 6a to the position of supporting the glass substrate 2 to start vacuum adsorption.

In this way, when the board | substrate support part 6a of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 completes support of the glass substrate 2, the vacuum suction of the board | substrate support part 5a of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 is released, By the mechanism 5d, the board | substrate support part 5a of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 is evacuated (falling) from the position which supports the glass substrate 2.

And the board | substrate stop part which supports and stops the glass substrate 2 from the lower side is arrange | positioned at the floating plate 3, and the position which is handed over of the glass substrate 2 WHEREIN: The 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 via the said board | substrate stop part. The glass substrate 2 may be exchanged from the (substrate support part 5a) to the second substrate transfer part 6 (substrate support part 6a).

Next, the glass substrate 2 is conveyed to the board | substrate carrying out area P6 by the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6, and the glass substrate 2 is carried out with another apparatus etc .. After the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 releases support of the glass substrate 2 in test | inspection end area P5 (that is, after receiving the glass substrate 2 to the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6), a new In order to receive the glass substrate 2, it moves to the board | substrate loading area position P1. Similarly, the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 which conveyed and finished the glass substrate 2 in board | substrate carrying out area P6 is also moved to test | inspection end area P5, and is made to wait.

And depending on an inspection aspect, it is also possible to make the glass substrate 2 reciprocate to one or both of 1st inspection position P3 and 2nd inspection position P4, and to let it pass multiple times. In addition, without waiting the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 in test | inspection end area P5, as shown in FIG. 1, it is made to wait in the test | inspection start area P2, and the glass substrate 2 is conveyed by the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6. You can also think about doing inspection.

In addition, when either of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 or the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part produces an adsorption error, it guides in the state which integrated the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 and the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 integrally. You may make the glass substrate 2 convey all the areas of the board | substrate carrying-in area | region P1, the test | inspection area | region (processing area) P2-P5, and the board | substrate carrying out area P6 by moving on the rail 4 top. In addition, when the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 produces an adsorption error, it evacuates this 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 to the board | substrate loading area P1 which does not prevent the movement of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6, and The substrate support part 5a may be evacuated downward so as not to interfere with the substrate support part 6a, and the second substrate transfer part 6 may be moved on the guide rail 4 in this state. Similarly, when the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 has an adsorption error, evacuate this 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 to the board | substrate carrying out area P6 which does not prevent the movement of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5, and Alternatively, the substrate support part 6a may be evacuated downward so as not to interfere with the substrate support part 5a, and the first substrate transfer part 5 may be moved on the guide rail 4 in this state.

In addition, although the board | substrate conveyance part was demonstrated as two of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 and the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 in this Example, the glass substrate 2 was handed over using 3 or more board | substrate conveyance parts. You may do so.

In addition, although the example which used the board | substrate conveying apparatus 1 for the test | inspection apparatus which image-captures the glass substrate 2 was demonstrated in this Example, the board | substrate conveying apparatus 1 enlarges the designated test | inspection position, such as a microscope, with the naked eye. It is used for the substrate conveyance of the micro inspection or review inspection which observes the defect inspection of the glass substrate 2, the defect correction apparatus which corrects the defect detected by the inspection apparatus, or the board | substrate manufacturing apparatus which manufactures various board | substrates for manufacturing FPD. It is also possible.

In addition to the rectangular glass substrate, the substrate to be processed may be another substrate such as a color filter constituting the FPD or a resinous transparent substrate.

In the present embodiment described above, since the plurality of substrate transfer sections 5 and 6 move on the common guide rail 4 extending in a straight line along one side of the substrate transfer path, both sides of the substrate transfer path as in the prior art. Compared to the case where a pair of guide rails are disposed in the guide rail, deformation of the inspected substrate 2 caused by an abnormality in the parallelism of the guide rails can be prevented, and the guide rail 4 is provided only on one side of the floating stage 3. Since it arrange | positions, the whole board | substrate conveyance apparatus 1 can be made small.

In addition, since the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 and the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 move independently of each other, the 1st board | substrate conveyance which received the board | substrate 2 used as the process object to the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 was conveyed. The part 5 can move to the position which receives the new board | substrate 2 before the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 conveys and finishes, and shortens the tact time in conveyance and a process (inspection). can do.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the substrate 2 to be processed can be efficiently transported and processed (inspected) in a short time with high accuracy, and the installation area of the substrate transfer device 1 can be reduced.

In addition, in the present Example, the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 and the said 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 have board | substrate support parts 5a and 6a which support the board | substrate 2, and receive the board | substrate 2, Substrate 2 by the substrate support part 6a of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 in the state which supported the board | substrate 2 by the board | substrate support part 5a of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 in the crossing position. The substrate by the substrate support portion 5a of the first substrate transfer portion 5 after starting the support of the substrate and completing the support of the substrate 2 by the substrate support portion 6a of the second substrate transfer portion 6. The support of (2) is released.

Therefore, since the positioned board | substrate 2 can be handed over to the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 in the state which carried out the adsorption support of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5, the board | substrate 2 is not shifted. ) Can be passed and can be conveyed while passing the substrate 2 with high positioning accuracy.

And the several board stop part which supports and stops the test | inspection board | substrate 2 from a lower side is arrange | positioned in the floating stage 3, and the glass substrate 2 which was injured by the said some board | substrate stop part is supported and stopped from a lower surface. Even if the test | inspection board | substrate 2 is handed over to the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 from the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 in the state made it, the glass substrate 2 which floated stably can be handed over.

In addition, in the present Example, the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 and the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 move the said board | substrate support part 5a, 6a by moving the board | substrate support part 5a, 6a to an up-down direction, It has the up-down mechanism (up-down direction moving means) 5d, 6d which moves to the position which supports the test | inspection board | substrate 2, and the position which retracted from it.

Therefore, interference between the first substrate transfer section 5 and the second substrate transfer section 6 can be prevented, and therefore, the substrate 2 can be efficiently handed over and transported in a short time.

In addition, in the present Example, the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 (at least one of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 and the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6) carries out the board | substrate support part 6a by the guide rail 4, and, as shown in FIG. It has a horizontal mechanism (width direction moving means) 6j which moves to the width direction of the width direction. Therefore, the interference of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 and the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 can be prevented effectively, and the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 and the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 are made into the board | substrate. In the receiving position of (2), the guide rail 4 can be aligned in the width direction, and each can support the board | substrate 2 over the wide range of a conveyance direction (arrow D). Therefore, the board | substrate 2 can be conveyed with high precision.

In addition, in the present Example, the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 (at least one of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 and the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6) supports the board | substrate support part 6a, and conveyance direction ( It has the arm part 6f extended in the direction which intersects with arrow D).

In addition, in the present Example, the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 and the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 are a position where the board | substrate 2 is handed over, at least one part mutually in the width direction of the guide rail 4, respectively. Located side by side.

In addition, in this embodiment, four sets (eight) of the board | substrate support part 5a arrange | positioned at each support part 5b of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5, and each support part 6b of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 are carried out. The four sets (eight) of the board | substrate support parts 6a arrange | positioned to (arm part 6f) are arrange | positioned so that one set may alternately arrange | position at the receiving position of the board | substrate 2. As shown in FIG.

In addition, in this embodiment, the slider 5c of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 and the slider 6c of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 are the board | substrate 2 in the receiving position, except the protrusion part. The part (at least the part in which the board | substrate support parts 5a and 6a are arrange | positioned) is located side by side in the width direction of the guide rail 4.

Thereby, each of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 and the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 can support the test | inspection board | substrate 2 over a wide range of a conveyance direction (arrow D), without interference. . Therefore, the board | substrate 2 can be conveyed with high precision.

In addition, in the present Example, the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 receives the board | substrate 2 imaged (processed) by the imaging parts 9 and 10 (substrate processing part) from the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5. have. Therefore, at the time of conveyance of the board | substrate 2 from the test | inspection end area P5 to the board | substrate carrying out area P6, the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 can be returned to the board | substrate loading area P1, and the board | substrate 2 can be conveyed in a short time. have.

In addition, in the present Example, the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 and the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 are moving along the common guide rail 4. Therefore, the position shift of the board | substrate 2 can be prevented effectively compared with using a some guide rail like the prior art, and the board | substrate 2 can be conveyed with high precision.

And the guide rail 4 is comprised by arranging two guide rails by which the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 and the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 are each arrange | positioned in a straight line, and the said The test target board 2 can be moved in a short time even by passing the test target board 2 from the first board transport section 5 to the second board transport section 6 at a connection position between two guide rails. It is possible to obtain the above-mentioned effect which can carry out with high precision and can make footprint of the board | substrate conveyance apparatus 1 small.

<First Modified Example of One Embodiment>

FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of a portion A of FIG. 1 according to a modification of the embodiment. FIG.

Two (one set) of board | substrate support parts 5a-1 and 5a-2 located in the rear end of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 'as an edge part of the board | substrate conveyance direction (arrow D) are FIG. End support part 6p which is located in the rear end of the board | substrate conveyance direction (arrow D) of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 ', and assists the edge part of a glass substrate in assisting position in the receiving position. And the substrate support 6a-1.

Width L1 in the board | substrate conveyance direction (arrow D) of the edge part support part 6p of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 'is at the rear end of the board | substrate conveyance direction (arrow D) of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5'. It is narrower than the width L2 in the board | substrate conveyance direction (arrow D) of two board | substrate support parts 5a-1 and 5a-2 which are located. Moreover, it is preferable to make width L1 of the edge part support part 6p narrower than half of the width L2 of two board | substrate support parts 5a-1 and 5a-2.

The support plate 6g 'of the support part 6b' extends rearward of the board | substrate conveyance direction (arrow D) than the said one Example, and the end support part 6p is installed in the rear end of the support plate 6g '. It supports and supports the corner part of the rear end in the board | substrate conveyance direction (arrow D) of the glass substrate 2. The end support part 6p is formed with the flat pad which has a long elongate flat surface in the direction orthogonal to a conveyance direction, and is formed with the same resin material as a board | substrate support part so that a scratch may not arise in a glass substrate.

Moreover, although the board | substrate support part 5a of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 and the board | substrate support part 6a of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 support the glass substrate 2 by adsorption | suction, 6p of end support parts 6p ) Can be supported by an auxiliary support member such as a flat pad, pin or roller, in addition to the adsorption support by the adsorption pad, as long as it can support the corner portion of the rear end in the substrate conveyance direction (arrow D) of the glass substrate 2. do.

And also in this modification, the four sets (eight) board | substrate support part 5a arrange | positioned at each support part 5b of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 ', and the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6' of Four sets (8) of board | substrate support parts 6a arrange | positioned at each support part 6b '(arm part 6f) are arrange | positioned so that one set may be alternately arrange | positioned at the receiving position of the glass substrate 2. .

In addition, in the said Example, the slider 6c is a state in which the fixed plate 6m of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 located in the upstream of the glass substrate 2 was loaded with the slider 6c in part. It is fixed at. On the other hand, in this modification, the fixed plate 6m of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 'located in the upstream of the glass substrate 2 has the slider 6c' back to a board | substrate conveyance direction (arrow D). It is fixed to the slider 6c 'in the state which fully loaded on the slider 6c' by lengthening with.

And since the board | substrate conveyance part 6 'located in the downstream of the glass substrate 2 also has the same structure, description is abbreviate | omitted here.

In this modified example demonstrated above, the board | substrate conveyance direction (arrow D of 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 '(one board | substrate conveyance part of 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5' and 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 ') (arrow D 1 set of board | substrate support parts 5a-1 and 5a-2 arrange | positioned at the end corresponding to the rear end side (or front-end side) of the glass substrate 2 in the position of the glass substrate 2 at the receiving position. The end support part 6p (auxiliary support part, holding support part) and board | substrate which are located in the rear end (or front-end | tip) of the board | substrate conveyance direction (arrow D) of 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 '(another board | substrate conveyance part). It is located between the supports 6a-1. In addition, the width L1 in the board | substrate conveyance direction (arrow D) of the edge part support part 6p (auxiliary support part, holding support part) is the edge part (tip) of the board | substrate conveyance direction (arrow D) of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 '. Or it is narrower than width L2 in the board | substrate conveyance direction (arrow D) of one set of board | substrate support parts 5a-1 and 5a-2 located in the back end. In addition, in this modification, the edge part support part 6p supports the corner part of the front end and the rear end of the glass substrate 2 located outside than the other board | substrate conveyance part 6 '.

Here, when the end support part 6p of this modification is not provided, the glass substrate 2 will protrude from the board | substrate support part 6a-1 located in the rear end (or front-end | tip) of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 here. Supports the substrate by the length L2 of the two substrate support portions 5a-1 and 5a-2 positioned at the rear end of the substrate conveyance direction (arrow D) of the first substrate transfer portion 5 '(strictly, The gap between the portions 5a and 6a, the length between the rear end of the glass substrate 2 and the support portion 5a-1 is also included), and the corner portion of the glass substrate 2 cannot be supported, so that the glass substrate ( It becomes impossible to suppress the bent state of 2).

On the other hand, in this modification, since the end support part 6p of width L1 shorter than the width L2 of the said one set of board | substrate support parts 5a-1 and 5a-2 was arrange | positioned, it is supported by the board | substrate support parts 5a and 6a. It becomes possible to reliably support the corner part of the glass substrate 2 which becomes impossible, and can suppress the curved state of the corner part of the glass substrate 2. Moreover, by adsorbing and supporting the both ends of the one side of the glass substrate 2 in each board | substrate conveyance part 5 ', 6', the position shift of the glass substrate 2 can be effectively prevented, and therefore, The glass substrate 2 can be conveyed more accurately.

And in this modification, although the edge part of the glass substrate 2, the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 ', and the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6' was demonstrated as a rear end, the 1st board | substrate conveyance part arrange | positioned downstream is carried out. In the case of, it can be understood as changing the shear. In this case, the curved state of the front end of the glass substrate 2 can be corrected by the end support part 6p of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6 'arrange | positioned downstream.

In addition, in this modification, the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 'is used as one board | substrate conveyance part of a 1st board | substrate conveyance part, and a 2nd board | substrate conveyance part, and the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6' is used as another board | substrate conveyance part. ) Has been described as an example, but on the contrary, it is also possible to use the second substrate transfer portion as one substrate transfer portion and the first substrate transfer portion as the other substrate transfer portion.

In addition, in this modification, since the end support part 6p supports the test | inspection board | substrate 2 non-adsorption, the adsorption mechanism can be omitted in the end support part 6p, but the end support part 6p is attracted by adsorption | suction. The test substrate 2 may be supported. Moreover, if the edge part support part 6p can support the corner part of the glass substrate 2 of the area | region which the board | substrate support part of the opposite side fell after passing the glass substrate 2, the rod of several mm-about 20 mm width | variety ) Or a pin with a diameter of several mm to 20 mm.

Second Modification of One Embodiment

Fig. 14 is a schematic plan view showing the substrate support portions 15a and 16a according to the second modification of the embodiment.

In this modification, the board | substrate support part 15a arrange | positioned at each support part 15b of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 15 ', and each support part 16b of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 16 (16g of support plates) The board | substrate support part 16a arrange | positioned at the arm part 16f fixed to () is arrange | positioned so that it may be arranged one by one, not alternately arranged one by one in the delivery position of the glass substrate 2, and one by one. In addition, the board | substrate support parts 15a and 16a of this modification form a long rectangle in a board | substrate conveyance direction (arrow D) in planar view. The other structure of this modification is substantially the same as the said 1st modification.

One board | substrate support part 15a-1 located in the far end corresponding to the rear end of the board | substrate conveyance direction (arrow D) of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 15 located in the upstream of the glass substrate 2 is shown in FIG. The end part which is located in the last end corresponding to the rear end of the board | substrate conveyance direction (arrow D) of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 16 located in the upstream side of the glass substrate 2 in the receiving position of the shown glass substrate 2 It is located between the support part 16p and the board | substrate support part 16a-1 located in the rear end side.

The width L11 in the substrate conveyance direction (arrow D) of the end support portion 16p of the second substrate conveyance portion 16 is located at the rear end of the first substrate conveyance portion 15. It becomes smaller than width L12 in a board | substrate conveyance direction (arrow D).

In addition, the space | interval L13 of the board | substrate support part 15a-1 located in the rear end of the board | substrate conveyance direction (arrow D) of the glass substrate 2, and the rear end of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 15 is the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 15 It becomes narrower than the width | variety L12 of the board | substrate support part 15a-1 located in the rear end of ().

Here, when the width L12 of the board | substrate support part 15a-1 located in the rear end of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 15 is 50 mm-about 150 mm, the width L11 of the edge part support part 16p is, for example, The distance L13 of the board | substrate support part 15a-1 located in the rear end of the glass substrate 2 and the rear end of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 15 is made into several mm-about 20 mm, Preferably it is about 10 mm, for example. Although it should just be about 20 mm-30 mm, each width L11, L12, and space | interval L13 are not limited to said value.

Also in this modified example demonstrated above, the board | substrate support part 15a-1 located in the rear end of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 15 similarly to the said 1st modified example is in the position to which the glass substrate 2 is handed over, It is located between the end support part 16p of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 16, and the board | substrate support part 16a-1. In addition, the width | variety L11 in the board | substrate conveyance direction (arrow D) of the edge part support part 16p is the board | substrate conveyance direction (arrow D) of the board | substrate support part 15a-1 located in the rear end of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 15. As shown in FIG. It is narrower than width L12 in. In addition, the end support part 16p supports the corner part of the rear end in the board | substrate conveyance direction (arrow D) of the glass substrate 2.

Therefore, according to this modification, the bent state of the corner part of the glass substrate 2 can be corrected similarly to the said 1st modification. Moreover, by adsorb | supporting the both ends of one side of the glass substrate 2 by each board | substrate conveyance part 15 and 16, the position shift of the test | inspection board | substrate 2 can be effectively prevented, and therefore, The board | substrate 2 to be inspected can be conveyed more accurately.

And in this modification, although the edge part of the glass substrate 2, the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 15, and the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 16 was demonstrated as a rear end, in the 1st board | substrate conveyance part arrange | positioned downstream, You may change it as a tip and understand. In this case, the curved state of the front end of the glass substrate 2 can be corrected by the end support part 16p of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 16 arrange | positioned downstream. In addition, if the end support part 6p can support the corner part of the glass substrate 2 of the area | region which the board | substrate support part of the opposite side fell after passing the glass substrate 2, the rod member of several mm-20 mm width, It may be supported by a pin of several mm to 20 mm in diameter.

<Third modified example of one embodiment>

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a first substrate transfer part 5 '' according to the third modification of the embodiment, and FIG. 16 is a second substrate transfer part 6 according to the third modification of the embodiment. '') Is a perspective view.

Three support parts 5b which support the board | substrate support part 5a of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 "shown in FIG. 15, and the board | substrate support part 5a of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6" shown in FIG. The three support parts 6b which support) are located in three places of a front part, a center part, and a rear end part in the board | substrate conveyance direction (arrow D) of the glass substrate 2 similarly to one Example mentioned above. It is arrange | positioned at intervals from each other so that possible.

Substrate support part 5a ", 6a 'supported by support part 5b", 6b "located in the center among three support parts of each board | substrate conveyance part 5", 6 ". ') Is a non-adsorption support part which supports the test | inspection board | substrate 2 by non-adsorption. On the other hand, the board | substrate support part 5a, 6a supported by the support part 5b, 6b located in the upstream and downstream side in the board | substrate conveyance direction (arrow D) of the glass substrate 2 is the glass substrate 2 It is an adsorption support part which supports by adsorption. Thus, the non-adsorption support part 5a "is located between the support parts 5b located in the upstream and downstream side in the board | substrate conveyance direction (arrow D) of the glass substrate 2, and the non-adsorption support part 6a '. ') Is located between the support parts 6b located on the upstream side and the downstream side in the substrate conveyance direction (arrow D) of the glass substrate 2.

And the two support parts 5b, 5b, 6b, and 6b which support the adsorption support parts 5a and 6a are always sheared in the board | substrate conveyance direction (arrow D) of the board | substrate 2 to be examined in the position to which it receives. Although it does not need to be located in a part and a rear end part, by arrange | positioning so that it may be located in a front part and a rear end part, the glass substrate 2 can be stably supported.

In this modified example explained above, the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 "and the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6" are non-adsorption support part 5a "which supports the glass substrate 2 by non-adsorption, 6a ", the center part along one side of the glass substrate 2 is supported by non-adsorption support part 5a" and 6a ". In this way, by replacing the support portion supporting the central portion of the glass substrate 2 with the non-adsorption support portions 5a &quot; and 6a &quot;, the structure is complicated and expensive adsorption support ( The number of 5a and 6a is reduced to achieve cost reduction, and the glass is supported by the non-adsorption support portions 5a '' and 6a '' of the central portion of the glass substrate 2 located on the upstream and downstream sides. The board | substrate 2 can be conveyed stably.

In addition, in this modification, you may make non-adsorption support part 5a "and 6a" in at least one of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 5 "and the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 6". . In addition, the support parts 5b "and 6b" support the adsorption support parts 5a and 6a by being located between the some support parts 5b and 6b which support the some adsorption support parts 5a and 6a. It becomes possible to widen the space | interval of support part 5b, 6b to make. By arranging the non-adsorption support portion between the adsorption support portions in this way, the adsorption mechanism can be made simpler, and the glass substrate 2 between the adsorption support portions 5a and 6a is horizontally supported to increase the adsorption effect. At the same time, the glass substrate can be conveyed stably.

In addition, in this modification, the two (plural pieces) support parts 5b and 6b which support the adsorption support parts 5a and 6a are a board | substrate conveyance direction (arrow D in the position which is received by the test | inspection board | substrate 2). It is located in the front end part (upstream side) and the rear end part (downstream side) of the glass substrate 2 in (). Therefore, by adsorbing and supporting the glass substrate 2 by the adsorption support parts 5a and 6a in the front part and the back end part of one side, the position shift of the test | inspection board | substrate 2 can be effectively prevented, therefore, The board | substrate 2 to be inspected can be conveyed more accurately.

In this modified example, an example in which each of the supporting portions 5b and 6b supports only one of the suction supporting portions 5a and 6a and the non-adsorbing supporting portions 5a '' and 6a '' has been described. Each support part 5b, 6b may support both the adsorption support part 5a, 6a and the non-adsorption support part 5a ", 6a". In that case, in the board | substrate support part which supports the center side of the to-be-tested board | substrate 2 of the non-adsorption support parts 5a "and 6a" rather than the board | substrate support part which supports the end side of the test | inspection board | substrate 2 You just need to increase the number relatively.

<Other Embodiments>

10 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate transfer device 21 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11: is a perspective view which shows the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 25 and the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 26 of the said board | substrate conveyance apparatus 21, and FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of the E part of FIG.

In FIG. 10, the board | substrate conveying apparatus 21 extends linearly in the floating stage 23 which raises the glass substrate 22 which manufactures FPD as a board | substrate, and the conveyance direction (arrow D) of the glass substrate 22. As shown in FIG. Two sets of guide rails 24, the first substrate conveyance part 25 and the second substrate conveyance part 26 (plural substrate conveyance parts) which can move independently of each other along this guide rail 24 Etc. are provided.

The floating stage 23 is provided by placing a plurality of floating plates 23a for floating the glass substrate 22 by, for example, air. The floating plate 23a of this embodiment is formed in elongate rectangle, and the longitudinal direction is provided in parallel with the conveyance direction (arrow D) of the glass substrate 22. As shown in FIG. In addition, the floating plate 23a is laid in the width direction of the floating stage 23 with a predetermined gap G for each floating plate 23a.

The guide rail 24 is arrange | positioned on the conveyance shaft frame 27 provided below the floating plate 23a in the conveyance path of the floating stage 23. As shown in FIG. And if the position of the guide rail 24 (carrier shaft frame 27) is in the floating stage 23 (inside of the width direction), it may be anywhere, but center is preferable preferably. By providing the guide rail 24 (the conveyance shaft frame 27) in the conveyance path of the floating stage 23, the width | variety of the board | substrate conveyance apparatus 1 can be made small similarly to the width | variety of the glass substrate 2.

The 1st board | substrate conveyance part 25 receives the glass substrate 22 conveyed to the upstream side of a conveyance direction (arrow D), and conveys this received glass substrate 22 to the downstream side of a conveyance direction (arrow D). . In addition, the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 26 receives the glass substrate 22 from the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 25, and conveys this received glass substrate 22 to the downstream side of a conveyance direction (arrow D).

Each of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 25 and the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 26 is an up-and-down mechanism as board | substrate support part 25a, 26a, support part 25b, 26b, slider 25c, 26c, and a vertical movement means. 25d and 26d, and connection parts 25e and 26e.

The board | substrate support parts 25a and 26a adsorb | suck and support the back surface of the glass substrate 22 by the vacuum adsorption through the air tube which is not shown in figure. The board | substrate support part 25a, 26a of this embodiment protrudes from the clearance gap G of the floating plate 23a by the height of the glass substrate 22 in order to adsorb | suck and support the back surface of the glass substrate 22. As shown in FIG. And like the said embodiment, in order to support the glass substrate 22 by the board | substrate support part 25a, 26a, it is not limited to the vacuum suction of the back surface of the glass substrate 22, For example, a glass substrate ( 22) The front and rear ends may be sandwiched and supported.

As shown to FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, the support parts 25b and 26b are arrange | positioned in two places of the front end and the rear end of the sliders 25c and 26c so that they may be located in the front end and the rear end of the glass substrate 22, respectively. Each support part 25b, 26b supports four board | substrate support parts 25a and 26a.

Support portions 25b and 26b of the first substrate transfer part 25 and the second substrate transfer part 26 are vertical portions 25b-1 and 26b-1 extending in the vertical direction as shown in FIG. A cross-sectional L-shaped shape bent into horizontal portions 25b-2 and 26b-2 extending in the horizontal direction is formed.

The horizontal portions 25b-2 and 26b-2 disposed at the front end of the sliders 25c and 26c and the horizontal portions disposed at the rear end face each other from the lower ends of the vertical portions 25b-1 and 26b-1. It is extended.

Two board | substrate support parts 25a and 26a are respectively fixed to the upper part of the side surface of the vertical part 25b-1 and 26b-1. These board | substrate support parts 25a and 26a are arrange | positioned at two places with two (one set) board | substrate support parts 25a and 26a.

The slider 25c of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 25 and the slider 26c of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 26 which mutually form substantially the same shape mutually oppose each other, and of two sets of guide rails 24 It is divided by one and extended in a conveyance direction (arrow D). And the slider 25c of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 25 has the protrusion part 25c-1 which protrudes to the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 26 side from the rear end of the conveyance direction (arrow D) side, and has a 2nd board | substrate The slider 26c of the conveyance part 26 has the protrusion part 26c-1 which protrudes toward the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 25 side from the front end of the conveyance direction (arrow D) side. Further, recesses 25c-2 and 26c-2 corresponding to the protruding portions 25c-1 and 26c-1 are formed in the first and second substrate transfer parts 25 and 26. have.

And the slider 25c of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 25 and the slider 26c of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 26 are mutually at the position which the glass substrate 22 receives, Located side by side in the width direction.

And as for the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 25 and the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 26, the glass substrate 22 is effective, if at least one part is aligned in the width direction of the guide rail 24 like the said Example. You can pass it.

The sliders 25c and 26c move along the guide rail 24 by linear motor drive. As the driving methods of the sliders 25c and 26c, as described in the above-mentioned embodiments, the belt driving, the ball screw driving, and the like are not limited to the linear motor driving, for example, using a motor or the like as another driving source. Can also be used.

The up-and-down mechanism 25d, 26d moves the board | substrate support part 25a, 26a to the up-down direction through the support part 25b, 26b, and the rising position which supports the glass substrate 22 with the board | substrate support part 25a, 26a. It is possible to move to the retracted position which descended from there. The upper and lower mechanisms 25d and 26d are provided in the sliders 25c and 26c.

Although the connecting portions 25e and 26e are not clearly shown in FIG. 12, the support side connection portions fixed to the support portions 25b and 26b and the slider side connection portions fixed to the sliders 25c and 26c are similar to those of the above embodiment. A pair of upper and lower mechanisms 25d and 26d are sandwiched. The support part side connection part and the slider side connection part are slidably connected with each other in accordance with the up-and-down movement of the branch parts 25b and 26b by the up-and-down mechanism 25d, 26d.

The board | substrate conveying apparatus 21 has the two gantry 28 and 28 arrange | positioned so that the floating stage 23 may be crossed, and the different board | substrate processing part in which these are arrange | positioned at the gantry 28 and 28. As shown in FIG. As a substrate processing part, the automatic macro inspection apparatus and line provided with the imaging | photography parts 29 and 30, the mirrors 31 and 32, and the illumination part which are not shown in figure which perform the inspection of the glass substrate 22 manufactured at the FPD manufacturing process, for example. The automatic pattern inspection apparatus which has arrange | positioned several sensor cameras is attached.

The gantry 28, 28 is supported by the pair of gantry support part 33 (only one side shown) which clamps the floating stage 23 and opposes.

Since the receiving of the glass substrate 22 in a present Example is the same as that of the said one Example, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

First, the alignment means which is not shown in figure positions the glass plate 22 carried in to the board | substrate conveying apparatus 21 from another apparatus to a reference position.

Next, the glass substrate 22 is supported by the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 25 (substrate support part 25a) which waited in the board | substrate loading area. Specifically, the 25 d of up-and-down mechanisms of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 25 are made to raise the board | substrate support part 25a which made it fall to the position which supports the glass substrate 22. As shown in FIG. Thereafter, the back surface of the glass substrate 22 is adsorbed and supported by vacuum adsorption through an air tube (not shown).

And the glass substrate 22 is test | inspected by the above-mentioned automatic macro inspection apparatus and automatic pattern inspection apparatus, moving the glass substrate 22 toward a downstream side by the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 25. As shown in FIG.

After inspecting the glass substrate 22 by passing under the gantry 28, 28, in the state which supported the glass substrate 22 by the board | substrate support part 25a of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 25, The glass substrate 22 is supported by the board | substrate support part 26a of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 26 which waited in the test | inspection end position. And after the board | substrate support part 26a of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 26 adsorbs-supports the back surface of the glass substrate 22, adsorption support by the board | substrate conveyance part 25a of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 25 is carried out. Release it.

Specifically, the board | substrate support part 26a of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 26 is a position which does not prevent the conveyance of the glass substrate 22 by the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 25 at the time of waiting (glass substrate ( 22) from the supporting position, i.e., the lowered position. And when the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 25 arrives at the test | inspection end position (the position which receives the glass substrate 22), the board | substrate support part 26a is opened by the up-and-down mechanism 26d, and the glass substrate 22 is removed. It raises to the position to support, and vacuum adsorption is started.

In this way, when support of the glass substrate 22 of the board | substrate support part 26a of the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 26 is completed, vacuum suction by the board | substrate support part 25a of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 25 is cancelled | released, The glass substrate is retracted by 25d of upper and lower mechanisms by retracting (falling) the board | substrate support part 25a of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 25. FIG.

Next, the glass substrate 22 is conveyed to the board | substrate carrying out position by the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 25, and the glass substrate 22 is carried out by another apparatus etc .. In order to receive the new glass substrate 22, the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 25 which released support of the glass substrate 22 moves to a board | substrate loading position, and waits. Similarly, the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 26 which received the glass substrate 22 in the board | substrate carrying out position is moved to the test | inspection area, and is made to wait.

In addition, in the present Example, although the board | substrate conveyance part was demonstrated as two of the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 25 and the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 26, three or more board | substrate conveyance parts were used to test | inspect the board | substrate 22. You may pass it. For example, an elongate rectangular slider is provided on the guide rail 24 so as to run, and an L-shaped slider and an inverted L-shaped slider are respectively configured to sandwich the rectangular slider. In this case, the L-shaped slider and the reverse L-shaped slider are divided and moved to the downstream region side and the upstream region side in the conveying direction with respect to the rectangular slider.

In the present embodiment described above, since the plurality of substrate transfer sections 25 and 26 move on the guide rails 24 extending in a straight line, a pair of guide rails are arranged on both sides of the substrate transfer path as in the prior art. In contrast, since the deformation of the substrate due to the abnormality in the parallelism of the guide rails can be prevented and the guide rails 24 need not be disposed outside the floating stage 23, the entire substrate transfer apparatus 21 ( Width direction) can be made small.

In addition, since the 1st board | substrate conveyance part 25 and the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part 26 move independently of each other, the board | substrate conveyance part which received the glass substrate 22 to another board | substrate conveyance part is conveyed and terminated by another board | substrate conveyance part. It can move to the position which receives the new glass substrate 22 previously, and can shorten the tact time in conveyance and inspection.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the glass substrate 22 can be efficiently transported and inspected with high precision in a short time, and at the same time, the installation area of the substrate transport apparatus 21 can be reduced.

In addition, in this embodiment, the guide rail 24 is arrange | positioned in the floating stage 23 (inside of the width direction). Therefore, it is not necessary to arrange the guide rail 24 (the conveyance shaft frame 27) outside the floating stage 23, and the installation area of the board | substrate conveyance apparatus 21 can be made smaller.

1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate transfer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion A of FIG. 1.

3 is a perspective view showing a first substrate transfer unit of the substrate transfer apparatus according to the embodiment.

4 is an enlarged view of a portion B of FIG. 3.

It is a schematic block diagram which looked at the 1st board | substrate conveyance part which concerns on the said Example from the board | substrate conveyance direction.

6 is a perspective view illustrating a second substrate transfer unit of the substrate transfer apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of part C of FIG. 6.

Fig. 8 is a schematic plan view showing a substrate conveying apparatus for explaining the receiving of a substrate under test according to the embodiment.

9 is an enlarged view of main portions of the first substrate transfer portion and the second substrate transfer portion according to the embodiment.

10 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate transfer device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

It is a perspective view which shows the 1st board | substrate conveyance part and the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part of the board | substrate conveyance apparatus which concerns on the said other Example.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of portion E of FIG. 11.

13 is an enlarged view of a portion A of FIG. 1 according to a modification of the embodiment.

14 is a schematic plan view of the substrate supporter according to the second modification of the embodiment.

15 is a perspective view showing a first substrate transfer unit according to a third modification of the embodiment.

Fig. 16 is a perspective view showing a second substrate transfer unit according to a third modification of the embodiment.

 [Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings]

1: substrate transfer device

2: test substrate

3: injury stage

3a: floating plate

4: guide rail

5: 1st board | substrate conveyance part

6: 2nd board | substrate conveyance part

5a, 6a: substrate support

5b, 6b: support

5c, 6c: slider

5d, 6d: up and down mechanism

5e, 6e: connection

5h: Support side connection

5i: Slider side connection

6f: dark

6g: support plate

6h: support plate side connection

6i: movable plate side connection

6j: level mechanism

6k: movable plate

6l: rail

6m: fixed plate

6n: drive section

6p: end support

7: carrier shaft frame

8: gantry

9, 10: imaging unit

11, 12: mirror

13: gantry support

15: first substrate transfer unit

16: second substrate transfer section

15a, 16a: substrate support

15b, 16b: support

16f: dark

16g: support plate

16p: end support

D: substrate conveyance direction

G: gap

P1: Board Loading Position

P2: inspection start position

P3: first inspection position

P4: second inspection position

P5: Test End Position

P6: Board Unloading Position

21: substrate transfer device

22: inspection target board

23: injury stage

23a: floating plate

24: guide rail

25: first substrate transfer part

26: second substrate transfer part

25a, 26a: substrate support

25b, 26b: support

25c, 26c: slider

25d, 26d: up and down mechanism

25e, 26e: connection

25h, 26h: support side connection

25i, 26i: Slider side connection

27: carrier shaft frame

28: gantry

29, 30: imaging unit

31, 32: mirror

33: gantry support

Claims (22)

A floating stage for floating the substrate, A guide rail extending in a straight line in the conveyance direction of the substrate, It includes a plurality of substrate carriers that can move independently of each other along the guide rail, The plurality of substrate conveyance units receive the substrate conveyed to an upstream side in the conveyance direction, and simultaneously receive the substrate from the first substrate conveyance unit that conveys the received substrate to a downstream side of the conveyance direction, and the first substrate conveyance unit. At the same time, it includes a second substrate conveying unit for conveying the received substrate to the downstream side in the conveying direction, Substrate transfer device. The method of claim 1, The said guide rail is arrange | positioned at one side of the said floating stage, The board | substrate conveying apparatus. The method of claim 1, The said guide rail is arrange | positioned in the said floating stage. The method of claim 1, The said 1st board | substrate conveyance part and the said 2nd board | substrate conveyance part have a board | substrate support part which supports the said board | substrate, The said 1st board | substrate conveyance part and the position in which the said board | substrate is received by the said 2nd board | substrate conveyance part are received, In the state which supported the said board | substrate by the board | substrate support part of 1 board | substrate conveyance part, the support of the said board | substrate was started by the board | substrate support part of said 2nd board | substrate conveyance part, and the support of the said board | substrate was started by the board | substrate support part of said 2nd board | substrate conveyance part. Subsequently, the board | substrate conveying apparatus which releases support of the said board | substrate by the board | substrate support part of the said 1st board | substrate conveyance part. The method of claim 1, The floating stage has a substrate stop for supporting and stopping the substrate from below, The said 1st board | substrate conveyance part and the said 2nd board | substrate conveyance part have a board | substrate support part which supports the said board | substrate, The said board | substrate in the position to which the said board | substrate is received by the said 1st board | substrate conveyance part and the said 2nd board | substrate conveyance part, After releasing the support of the substrate by the substrate supporting portion of the first substrate conveyance portion in the state of supporting and stopping the substrate by the stop portion, and releasing the support of the substrate by the substrate supporting portion of the first substrate conveyance portion, The board | substrate conveying apparatus which starts support of the said board | substrate by the board | substrate support part of a said 2nd board | substrate conveyance part. The method according to claim 4 or 5, The said 1st board | substrate conveyance part and the said 2nd board | substrate conveyance part move the said board | substrate support part to an up-down direction, and the up-down direction moving means which moves the said board | substrate support part to the position which supports the said board | substrate, and the position which retracted from it. Substrate conveying apparatus which has. The method according to claim 4 or 5, At least one of the said 1st board | substrate conveyance part and the said 2nd board | substrate conveyance part has a width direction movement means which moves the said board | substrate support part to the width direction of the said guide rail. The method according to claim 4 or 5, At least one of the said 1st board | substrate carrying part and the said 2nd board | substrate carrying part has a arm part which supports the said board | substrate support part, and extends in the direction which cross | intersects in the said conveyance direction. The method of claim 1, The said 1st board | substrate conveyance part and the said 2nd board | substrate conveyance part are board | substrate conveying apparatuses in which at least one part is located next to each other in the width direction of the said guide rail in the position which the said board | substrate receives. The method of claim 9, The said 1st board | substrate conveyance part and the said 2nd board | substrate conveyance part have a some said board | substrate support part, At least one of the plurality of substrate support portions of the first substrate transfer portion is a plurality of substrate support portions of the second substrate transfer portion at a position where the substrate is received by the first substrate transfer portion and the second substrate transfer portion. The substrate conveyance apparatus which supports the said board | substrate in between. The method of claim 9, The said 1st board | substrate conveyance part and the said 2nd board | substrate conveyance part have the slider which moves along the said guide rail, The slider of the said 1st board | substrate conveyance part and the slider of a said 2nd board | substrate conveyance part are a width | variety of the said guide rail at least one part mutually at the receiving position of the said board | substrate by the said 1st board | substrate conveyance part and the said 2nd board | substrate conveyance part. The board | substrate conveyance apparatus located in parallel with a direction. The method of claim 1, Further comprising a substrate processing unit for processing the substrate, The said 2nd board | substrate conveyance part is a board | substrate conveying apparatus which receives the board | substrate processed by the said board | substrate process part from the said 1st board | substrate conveyance part. The method of claim 1, The said 1st board | substrate conveyance part and the said 2nd board | substrate conveyance part move along a common said guide rail. The method of claim 1, The guide rail is made of a plurality of guide rails aligned in a straight line, The first substrate transfer part and the second substrate transfer part move along the guide rails different from each other; The said 2nd board | substrate conveyance part is a board | substrate conveying apparatus which receives the said board | substrate from the said 1st board | substrate conveyance part in the connection position between these some guide rails. The method of claim 10, One or more board | substrate support parts located in the edge part of the said conveyance direction of one board | substrate conveyance part among the said 1st board | substrate conveyance part and the said 2nd board | substrate conveyance part are made by the said 1st board | substrate conveyance part and the said 2nd board | substrate conveyance part. In the position to which the said board | substrate is received, it is located between the board | substrate support part located in the edge part of the said conveyance direction of the other board | substrate conveyance part, and the board | substrate support part adjacent to it, The width | variety in the said conveyance direction of the board | substrate support part located in the said edge part of the said other board | substrate conveyance part is narrower than the width in the conveyance direction of 1 or 2 or more board | substrate support parts located in the said edge part of the said one board | substrate conveyance part, Substrate transfer device. The method of claim 15, The board | substrate conveyance apparatus which is located in the said edge part of the said other board | substrate conveyance part supports the edge part in the said conveyance direction of the said board | substrate. The method of claim 1, At least one of the said 1st board | substrate conveyance part and the said 2nd board | substrate conveyance part has a some adsorption support part which supports the said board | substrate by adsorption, and a nonadsorption support part which supports the said board | substrate by non-adsorption, The said non-adsorption support part is a board | substrate conveying apparatus located between the said some adsorption support part. The method of claim 17, At least one of the said 1st board | substrate conveyance part and the said 2nd board | substrate conveyance part has a some support part which supports a plurality of said adsorption support parts, and a support part which supports a plurality of said non-adsorption support parts, The support part which supports the said some non-adsorption support part is located between the some support parts which support the said some adsorption support part, The board | substrate conveying apparatus. The method of claim 18, A plurality of support parts for supporting the plurality of adsorption support parts include a support part and a rear end positioned at the leading end in the conveying direction of the substrate at a position where the substrate is delivered by the first substrate transfer part and the second substrate transfer part. The substrate conveyance apparatus containing the support part located in the. The floated board | substrate is conveyed to the downstream side of the said conveyance direction by the 1st board | substrate conveyance part which moves along the guide rail extended linearly in the conveyance direction of the said board | substrate, Receiving the substrate from the first substrate transfer portion to a second substrate transfer portion that can move independently of the first substrate transfer portion along the guide rail, The substrate conveyance method of conveying the said received board | substrate to the downstream side of the said conveyance direction by the said 2nd board | substrate conveyance part. The method of claim 20, After starting support of the said board | substrate by the said 2nd board | substrate carrying part in the state which supported the said board | substrate by the said 1st board | substrate carrying part, and starting support of the said board | substrate by a said 2nd board | substrate carrying part, The board | substrate conveying method which receives the said board | substrate from the said 1st board | substrate conveyance part, and passes the said board | substrate to the 2nd board | substrate conveyance part by releasing support of the said board | substrate by 1 board | substrate conveyance part. The method of claim 20, The board | substrate conveying method which receives the said board | substrate from the said 1st board | substrate carrying part to the said 2nd board | substrate carrying part in the state in which the said 1st board | substrate carrying part and the said 2nd board | substrate carrying part are located in the width direction of the said guide rail in at least one part. .

Images