TWI753324B - Substrate transfer device and coating device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a substrate transfer device and a coating device that can smoothly transfer a substrate to a platform that supports a substrate by applying a buoyant force from below, and prevent poor transfer or damage to the substrate. In the substrate conveyance apparatus of the present invention, when the horizontal direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the substrates is defined as the width direction, the substrate support stage has the most upstream in the conveyance direction at a position different from the conveyance rollers in the widthwise direction in plan view The side end portion is an extension portion extending at least to the position of the rotation axis of the conveying roller, and the height of the upper surface of the extending portion is the same as that of the substrate support surface and is connected to the substrate support surface. When the front end of the substrate reaches a position downstream of the rotation axis of the transfer roller in plan view, the elevating mechanism lowers the transfer roller to the lower position, thereby transferring the substrate from the transfer roller to the substrate support stage.

Description

Substrate transfer device and coating device

The present invention relates to a substrate conveying apparatus for conveying a substrate in a horizontal posture, and more particularly, to a technique for transferring a substrate conveyed by rollers to a stage for ejecting gas. Furthermore, the substrates include semiconductor substrates, photomask substrates, liquid crystal display substrates, organic electroluminescence (Electroluminescence, EL) display substrates, plasma display substrates, and Field Emission Display (FED) Substrates, substrates for optical discs, substrates for magnetic sheets and substrates for magneto-optical discs, etc.

In the manufacturing process of electronic components such as semiconductor devices and liquid crystal display devices, in order to realize processing of the substrates, a process of conveying the substrates in a horizontal posture is often employed. Among them, there is one in which the substrate is supported in a state where a buoyant force is applied to the substrate from below by blowing gas from the upper surface of a level and flat platform.

For example, the technique described in Patent Document 1 relates to an apparatus for applying a treatment liquid to a substrate. In the above-described technique, the coating liquid is applied to the substrate in a state where the substrate is floated on the stage from which the gas is ejected. The conveyance of the substrate to the stage is performed by a roller (roller) conveyor that is in contact with the lower surface of the substrate. [Prior Art Literature] [Patent Literature]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent No. 5346643 [The problem to be solved by the invention]

With the increase in size and thickness of the substrate, maintenance of the posture of the substrate in the conveyance path has become a problem. For example, when the substrate is partially supported from below, there is a problem that other parts are deflected downward than the supported part. The method of applying buoyancy from below can cope with such a problem and keep the substrate in a flat state. However, when the substrate is placed on the stage, the same problem can arise. That is, the front-end|tip part of the board|substrate conveyed by the conveyor hangs down, and there exists a possibility that it may collide with the upstream side end surface in the conveyance direction in a stage. As a result, there is a problem of delay in conveyance of the substrate and damage to the substrate.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object thereof is to provide a technology that can smoothly transfer a substrate to a platform that supports a substrate by applying a buoyant force from below, and prevents poor transfer or damage to the substrate.

[Means of Solving Problems]

One embodiment of the present invention is a substrate conveying device that conveys a substrate in a horizontal orientation, and in order to achieve the object, the substrate conveying device includes a conveying roller that supports the substrate from below and rotates so as to move in a horizontal direction. conveying the substrate; a substrate supporting stage having a horizontal flat surface arranged adjacent to the downstream side of the conveying roller in the conveying direction of the substrate, that is, a substrate supporting surface, and receiving the substrate conveyed by the conveying unit, and ejecting gas from the substrate support surface to apply buoyancy to and support the substrate from below; and an elevating mechanism for raising and lowering the conveying roller to move the conveying roller between an upper position and a lower position, the The upper position is that the upper end of the conveyance roller is above the upper surface of the substrate supporting platform, and the lower position is that the upper end of the conveying roller is lower than the upper surface of the substrate supporting platform. Here, when the horizontal direction perpendicular to the conveying direction is defined as the width direction, the substrate support stage has an extension part extending partially toward the upstream end of the conveying direction, and is related to the conveying in plan view. At different positions of the rollers in the width direction, the most upstream end portion of the extending portion in the conveying direction extends at least to the position of the rotation axis of the conveying roller, and the height of the upper surface of the extending portion is the same as the height of the upper surface of the extending portion. The substrate support surfaces are identical and connected to the substrate support surfaces. Further, the substrate is conveyed by the conveying roller positioned at the upper position by the elevating mechanism until the front end portion of the substrate in the conveying direction in a plan view is closer to the conveying roller than the rotational axis of the conveying roller. At the downstream position in the conveyance direction, after that, the elevating mechanism lowers the conveyance roller to the lower position, thereby transferring the substrate from the conveyance roller to the substrate support platform.

In the invention constituted as described above, the transfer of the substrate from the conveyance rollers that convey the substrates to the substrate support platform is realized not by conveying the substrates in the conveyance direction, but by the lowering of the conveyance rollers. Specifically, it is as follows. In addition, hereinafter, the terms "upstream" and "downstream" are used in relation to the conveyance direction of the substrate by the conveyance roller unless otherwise specified.

In this invention, the board|substrate support stage which applies a buoyancy force to a board|substrate from below and supports a board|substrate has an extension part extended at least to the position of the rotation axis of a conveyance roller in the conveyance direction of a board|substrate. The upper surface of the extension is connected to the substrate support surface of the substrate support platform, and their heights are also the same. And the board|substrate is conveyed by the conveyance roller positioned in the upper position to the position which exceeds the rotation axis position of a conveyance roller when the front-end|tip part of the said board|substrate is planar view. At the time point, the front end portion of the substrate moves to the downstream side of the most upstream end portion of the extension portion.

That is, at this time, the substrate and the extension portion are partially overlapped in plan view. However, at this point in time, the conveyance roller is in the upper position, and the upper end of the conveyance roller is located above the substrate support surface and the upper surface of the extension portion. Therefore, the lower surface of the substrate supported by the conveyance roller is also positioned above the support surface and the upper surface of the extension portion, and the substrate does not come into contact with the substrate supporting platform. In other words, at the time point, the front end portion of the substrate is located above the substrate support platform including the extension portion.

Therefore, when the conveyance roller is lowered from the above state, the front end portion of the substrate is mounted on the upper surface of the extension portion connected to the substrate support surface. That is, the transfer of the board|substrate from the conveyance roller to the board|substrate support platform can be implemented by the descending of a conveyance roller, without conveying a board|substrate in a conveyance direction. Therefore, the front end portion of the substrate can be prevented from coming into contact with the substrate support platform or the end surface of the extension portion in advance. [Effect of invention]

As described above, according to the present invention, the substrate can be smoothly conveyed to the substrate support platform that supports the substrate by applying a buoyant force from below, without causing poor transportation or damage to the substrate due to contact between the front end of the substrate and the end surface of the platform.

1 : is a figure which shows typically the whole structure of the coating apparatus which is one Embodiment of the board|substrate conveyance apparatus of this invention. In addition, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the coating apparatus viewed from vertically above. The coating apparatus 1 is a slit coater that applies a coating liquid to the upper surface Sf of the substrate S conveyed in a horizontal posture from the left-hand side toward the right-hand side in FIG. 1 . In addition, in the following figures, in order to clarify the arrangement relationship of each part of the apparatus, the conveying direction of the substrate S is referred to as "X direction", and the horizontal direction from the left-hand side to the right-hand side in FIG. 1 is referred to as "+X direction". , and the opposite direction is referred to as the "-X direction". In addition, the front side of the device in the horizontal direction Y orthogonal to the X direction is referred to as "-Y direction", and the rear side of the device is referred to as "+Y direction". Furthermore, the upper direction and the lower direction of the vertical direction Z are called "+Z direction" and "-Z direction", respectively.

First, the outline of the structure and operation|movement of the said coating apparatus 1 is demonstrated using FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, and after that, the more detailed structure of each part is demonstrated. In addition, the basic structure and operation principle of the coating apparatus 1 are the same as those described in the said patent document 1 (Japanese Patent No. 5346643). Therefore, in the present specification, detailed descriptions are omitted for constituents that are applicable to the respective constituents of the coating apparatus 1 as described in the above-mentioned well-known literatures, and those whose structures can be easily understood from the descriptions in these literatures. The characteristic part of this embodiment is mainly demonstrated.

In the coating apparatus 1 , the input conveyor 100 , the input transfer unit 2 , the floating platform unit 3 , the output transfer unit 4 , and the output conveyor 110 are closely arranged in this order along the conveyance direction Dt (+X direction) of the substrate S. As will be described in detail below, a conveyance path of the substrate S extending in the substantially horizontal direction is formed by these. In addition, in the following description, when the positional relationship is shown in relation to the conveyance direction Dt of the substrate S, “upstream in the conveyance direction Dt of the substrate S” may be simply referred to as “upstream”, and “substrate S” may be simply referred to as “upstream”. "Downstream in the conveyance direction Dt of S" is simply referred to as "downstream". In the above example, when viewed from a certain reference position, the (-X) side corresponds relatively to "upstream", and the (+X) side relatively corresponds to "downstream".

The substrate S to be processed is carried into the input conveyor 100 from the left-hand side in FIG. 1 . The input conveyor 100 includes a roller conveyor 101 and a rotation drive mechanism 102 that rotationally drives the roller conveyor 101 , and conveys the substrate S in the downstream (+X) direction in a horizontal posture by the rotation of the roller conveyor 101 . The input transfer unit 2 includes a conveyor having a plurality of conveying rollers 21, and a rotation/elevation drive mechanism 22 having a function of rotationally driving the conveyor and a function of raising and lowering the conveyor. The substrate S is further conveyed in the (+X) direction by rotating the conveyance rollers 21 . Moreover, the vertical direction position of the board|substrate S is changed by raising and lowering the conveyance roller 21. The board|substrate S is transferred from the input conveyor 100 to the floating platform part 3 by the input transfer part 2 comprised as mentioned above.

The floating platform part 3 includes a flat plate-shaped platform divided into three parts along the conveyance direction Dt of the substrate. That is, the floating platform portion 3 includes an inlet floating platform 31, a coating platform 32, and an outlet floating platform 33, and the upper surfaces of these platforms form a part of the same plane. The upper surfaces of the inlet floating platform 31 and the outlet floating platform 33 are provided with a plurality of ejection holes in a matrix shape, and the ejection holes eject the compressed air supplied from the floating control mechanism 35, and the ejection holes are discharged by the buoyancy exerted by the ejected air flow. The substrate S is floated. In this way, the lower surface Sb of the substrate S is supported in a horizontal posture in a state in which it is separated from the upper surface of the stage. The distance between the lower surface Sb of the substrate S and the upper surface of the stage, that is, the floating amount can be set to, for example, 10 to 500 micrometers.

On the other hand, on the upper surface of the coating stage 32, ejection holes for ejecting compressed air and suction holes for suctioning air between the lower surface Sb of the substrate S and the upper surface of the stage are alternately arranged. The distance between the lower surface Sb of the substrate S and the upper surface of the coating platform 32 is precisely controlled by controlling the ejection amount of the compressed air from the ejection hole and the suction amount from the suction hole by the floating control mechanism 35 . Thereby, the vertical direction position of the upper surface Sf of the board|substrate S which passed the upper direction of the application|coating stage 32 is controlled to predetermined value.

In addition, an ejector pin (not shown) is disposed on the entrance floating platform 31 , and an ejector pin driving mechanism 34 for raising and lowering the ejector pin is provided on the floating platform portion 3 . In addition, an adapter plate 39 is attached to the upstream end portion of the inlet floating platform 31 , that is, the end portion on the (−X) direction side which is the left side in FIG. 1 . The detailed structure and function of the adapter plate 39 will be described later, but the adapter plate 39 is provided for the purpose of smoothly transferring the substrate S from the input transfer unit 2 to the inlet floating platform 31 .

The board|substrate S carried into the floating platform part 3 via the input transfer part 2 is conveyed to the entrance floating platform 31 by applying the propulsive force in the (+X) direction by the rotation of the conveyance roller 21. The inlet floating platform 31, the coating platform 32, and the outlet floating platform 33 support the substrate S in a floating state, but do not have a function of moving the substrate S in the horizontal direction. The substrate S in the floating platform portion 3 is transported by the substrate transporting portion 5 arranged below the entrance floating platform 31 , the coating platform 32 , and the exit floating platform 33 .

The substrate transfer unit 5 includes a suction pad mechanism 51 that supports the substrate S from below by partially abutting the peripheral edge portion of the lower surface of the substrate S, and a suction/running control mechanism 52 . The suction/travel control mechanism 52 has a function of applying a negative pressure to suction pads and suction grooves (both not shown) of suction members provided on the upper end of the suction cup mechanism 51 to suction and hold the substrate S, and a function of making the suction cup mechanism 51 reciprocate in the X direction. Features. In a state in which the chuck mechanism 51 holds the substrate S, the lower surface Sb of the substrate S is positioned higher than the upper surface of each stage of the floating stage portion 3 . Therefore, the substrate S is sucked and held by the suction cup mechanism 51 at the peripheral portion, and the entire horizontal posture is maintained by the buoyancy applied from the floating platform portion 3 .

The suction cup mechanism 51 holds the substrate S carried in from the input transfer unit 2 to the floating table section 3 , and in this state, the suction cup mechanism 51 moves in the (+X) direction, thereby passing the substrate S from above the entrance floating table 31 . The upper part of the coating platform 32 is conveyed to the upper part of the outlet floating platform 33 . The conveyed substrate S is transferred to the output transfer unit 4 arranged on the (+X) side of the exit floating platform 33 .

The output transfer unit 4 includes a roller conveyor 41 and a rotation/elevation drive mechanism 42 having a function of rotationally driving the roller conveyor 41 and a function of raising and lowering the roller conveyor 41 . By rotating the roller conveyor 41 , a propulsive force in the (+X) direction is applied to the substrate S, and the substrate S is further conveyed along the conveyance direction Dt. Moreover, the vertical direction position of the board|substrate S is changed by raising and lowering the roller conveyor 41. And the board|substrate S is transferred to the output conveyor 110 from the upper direction of the exit floating platform 33 by the output transfer part 4.

The output conveyor 110 includes: a roller conveyor 111; and a rotary drive mechanism 112 for rotationally driving the roller conveyor 111; the rotation of the roller conveyor 111 further conveys the substrate S in the (+X) direction, and finally sends out to the coating outside of device 1. In addition, although the input conveyor 100 and the output conveyor 110 may be provided as a part of the structure of the coating apparatus 1, you may be a member independent of the coating apparatus 1. Moreover, for example, the board|substrate sending-out mechanism of the other unit provided in the upstream of the coating apparatus 1 can be used as the input conveyor 100. In addition, the substrate receiving mechanism of another unit provided on the downstream side of the coating apparatus 1 can be used as the output conveyor 110 .

On the conveyance path of the board|substrate S conveyed in this way, the application|coating mechanism 7 for apply|coating the coating liquid to the upper surface Sf of the board|substrate S is arrange|positioned. The coating mechanism 7 includes a nozzle unit 70 including a nozzle 71 that is a slit nozzle. In the nozzle 71, the coating liquid is supplied from the coating liquid supply part 78, and the coating liquid is discharged from the discharge port 711 which faces downward from the lower part of the nozzle and has a slit-shaped opening with the Y direction as the longitudinal direction.

The nozzle 71 can be moved and positioned in the X direction and the Z direction by the positioning mechanism 73 . The nozzle 71 is positioned at a coating position above the coating platform 32 by the positioning mechanism 73 (a position indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 1 ). The coating liquid is ejected from the nozzle 71 positioned at the coating position, and is coated on the substrate S conveyed from the coating stage 32 . In this way, the coating liquid is applied to the substrate S.

In addition, the coating apparatus 1 is provided with a control unit 9 for controlling the operation of each part of the apparatus. The control unit 9 includes a memory element that stores a predetermined control program or various data, an arithmetic element such as a central processing unit (CPU) that causes each part of the device to perform predetermined operations by executing the control program, and is responsible for the communication between the user and the user. Or the interface components of the information exchange of external devices, etc.

Hereinafter, the mechanical configuration of the coating apparatus 1 will be further described with reference to FIG. 2 . Regarding several mechanisms, a more detailed structure can be understood by referring to the description of the aforementioned Japanese Patent No. 5346643 . In addition, in FIG. 2, description of the roller which the input conveyor 100 etc. have is abbreviate|omitted.

The nozzle unit 70 of the coating mechanism 7 includes a nozzle 71 and a positioning mechanism 73 that moves the nozzle 71 and positions it at a predetermined position. As shown in FIG. 2 , the positioning mechanism 73 has a bridge structure. Specifically, the positioning mechanism 73 has a structure in which both end portions in the Y direction of a beam member 731 extending in the Y direction above the floating platform portion 3 are supported by a pair of column members 732 and 733 erected upward from the base 10 . Elevating mechanisms (not shown) constituted by, for example, a ball screw mechanism are attached to the column members 732 and 733 , respectively, and the (-Y) side and (+Y) side end portions of the beam member 731 are raised and lowered by these elevating mechanisms. Freely supported. The beam member 731 moves in the vertical direction (Z direction) while maintaining the horizontal posture due to the interlocking of the elevating mechanism in accordance with the control command from the control unit 9 .

The column members 732 and 733 are configured to be movable in the X direction on the base 10 . Specifically, a pair of travel guide rods 81L and 81R extending in the X direction are attached to the upper surfaces of the (+Y) side and (−Y) side end portions of the base 10 , respectively. In addition, sliders (not shown) are attached to the lower parts of the column members 732 and 733 , and the sliders are engaged with the travel guides 81L and 81R. Thereby, the positioning mechanism 73 is supported movably in the X direction. The positioning mechanism 73 further includes a suitable drive mechanism (not shown) such as a linear motor and a ball screw mechanism controlled by the control unit 9 . Therefore, the movement of the nozzle unit 70 in the X-direction and the Z-direction can be realized by the operation of each part of the positioning mechanism 73 according to the control command from the control unit 9 .

The nozzle 71 is attached to the lower part of the center of the beam member 731 of the nozzle unit 70 so that the discharge port 711 ( FIG. 1 ) faces downward. As a result, the positioning mechanism 73 moves the nozzle unit 70 according to the control command from the control unit 9, whereby the nozzle 71 moves in the X direction and the Z direction, thereby enabling positioning to a predetermined position according to the progress of the operation process.

In addition, the base 10 is provided with a pair of travel guides 87L and 87R. The suction cup mechanism 51 for conveying the substrate S above the floating table portion 3 is engaged with these travel guides 87L and 87R to be movable in the X direction.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of an input transfer unit. As shown in FIG. 3( a ), the input transfer unit 2 includes a conveyor including a plurality of conveyance rollers 21 . More specifically, the plurality of conveyance rollers 21 are arranged in the conveyance direction Dt (X direction) and in the width direction (Y direction) orthogonal to the conveyance direction Dt, respectively. In the above example, two conveyance rollers are arranged in the X direction, and four conveyance rollers are arranged in the Y direction, but the number of arrangements of the conveyance rollers is not limited to this. Hereinafter, when it is necessary to distinguish the conveyance rollers 21 arranged in the X direction, the upstream side in the conveyance direction Dt, that is, the one on the (−X) direction side (upstream side conveyance roller), is denoted by reference numeral 211, and the The downstream side, that is, the one on the (+X) direction side (downstream side conveyance roller) is denoted by reference numeral 212 .

The conveyance rollers 21 ( 211 , 212 ) are rotated in the direction of the arrow Dr shown in the drawing around the rotation axis indicated by the dashed-dotted line in the drawing by the operation of the rotation/elevation driving mechanism 22 , respectively. By rotating the conveyance roller 21 as mentioned above, the board|substrate S conveyed from the input conveyor 100 side can be conveyed further to the input float platform 31 side.

The adapter plate 39 is being fixed to the upstream side end surface 31b of the input floating platform 31 in the conveyance direction Dt. The adapter plate 39 has a connecting portion 391 and a protruding portion 392. The connecting portion 391 has approximately the same length as the input floating platform 31 in the width direction (Y direction), and the protruding portion 392 extends from the connecting portion 391 to the upstream direction. (-X) direction extension. The upper surface 39a of the adapter plate 39 including the connecting portion 391 and the protruding portion 392 and the upper surface 31a of the inlet floating platform 31 have the same height and form the same plane. That is, the upper surface 31a of the inlet floating platform 31 and the upper surface 39a of the adapter plate 39 form a single plane connected. Similar to the upper surface 31a of the inlet floating platform 31, the upper surface 39a of the adapter plate 39 is provided with a gas ejection hole, and the ejected gas can apply buoyancy to the substrate S from below.

The protruding portion 392 is provided at a position different from the conveyance roller 212 on the downstream side in the width direction (Y direction). Therefore, the protrusions 392 extend so as to enter between the plurality of conveyance rollers 212 arranged at intervals in the width direction. In the above example, a total of three protrusions 392 are provided in the space between the four conveyance rollers 212 arranged in the Y direction. In other words, the adapter plate 39 is extended to the upstream side by cutting out a portion corresponding to the position of the conveyance roller 212 so as to avoid interference with the conveyance roller 212 .

FIG.3(b) is the side view which looked at the input transfer part 2 in the Y direction. The conveying roller 21 is moved between an upper position indicated by a solid line in the figure and a lower position indicated by a broken line by the rotation/elevation drive mechanism 22 . At the upper position indicated by the solid line, the upper end of the conveyance roller 21 protrudes upward from the upper surface 39 a of the adapter plate 39 and the upper surface 31 a of the inlet floating platform 31 . At the lower position indicated by the dotted line, the upper end of the conveying roller 21 is retracted to the lower position than the height of the upper surface 39a of the adapter plate 39 and the upper surface 31a of the inlet floating platform 31 indicated by the dotted line.

On the other hand, in the X direction, the upstream end portion 392a of the adapter plate 39 (more strictly, the protruding portion 392 ) extends beyond the position of the rotation axis of the downstream side conveyance roller 212 indicated by the two-dot chain line further upstream. Furthermore, in principle, the upstream end portion of the adapter plate 39 only needs to extend to at least the position of the rotation axis of the downstream conveying roller 212 .

Furthermore, in the above-described example, the adapter plate 39 formed separately from the inlet floating platform 31 is fixed to the upstream end surface 31b of the inlet floating platform 31, but instead, the following modifications may be employed.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a modification example in place of the adapter plate. In the modified example shown in FIG. 4( a ), the upstream end portion of the inlet floating platform 131 partially protrudes further upstream to become the protruding portion 139 . As described above, the protrusions may also be formed as integral members with the inlet floating platform. In addition, in the modification shown in FIG.4(b), there is no part corresponding to a connection part, and only the part corresponding to a protrusion part is fixed to the entrance floating platform 31 in the form of another member 239. Also by these structures, the transfer of the board|substrate S demonstrated below can be performed.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of substrate transfer in the present embodiment. Moreover, FIG. 6 is a figure which shows typically the state of each part of the apparatus being conveyed. 5 shows the flow of the operation until the substrate S, which is the target of the coating process, is loaded into the input conveyor 100 of the coating apparatus 1 and transferred to the floating platform 3 via the input transfer unit 2 . As for the subsequent operations, the contents of operations described in, for example, Patent Document 1 can be applied, and therefore, descriptions thereof are omitted here.

The conveyance roller 21 is preliminarily positioned at the upper position by the rotation/elevation drive mechanism 22 (step S101 ). When the substrate S as a processing object is carried into the input conveyor 100 from the outside of a transfer robot or a pre-processing device (step S102 ), as shown in FIG. 6( a ), the substrate S is rotated by the roller conveyor 101 . S is conveyed in the conveyance direction Dt, that is, the (+X) direction (step S103 ).

When the board|substrate S arrives at the input transfer part 2, the board|substrate S may be conveyed by the rotation of the conveyance roller 21 (step S104). While the conveyance is continued in this manner, when the sensor (not shown) detects that the front end portion Sa of the conveyed substrate S has reached a predetermined "transfer position" (step S105 ), it is temporarily stopped at that time point. transfer (step S106 ).

As shown in FIG.6(b), the "transfer position" is the position of the board|substrate S when the front-end|tip part Sa of the board|substrate S reaches the appropriate position on the downstream side rather than the position of the rotation axis of the conveyance roller 212 indicated by the dashed-dotted line . At this time, the lower surface of the substrate S is supported by the conveyance rollers 21 , and the front end portion Sa of the substrate S is slightly protruded downstream from the upper end of the conveyance rollers 212 . When the upper end of the conveyance roller 21 is positioned above the state of the roller conveyor 101 , the substrate S is in a state where the front end Sa of the substrate S is pushed up by the conveyance roller 21 .

On the other hand, the adapter plate 39 extends to the upstream side from the position of the rotation axis of the conveyance roller 212 . Therefore, when viewed from above, the substrate S and the interposer 39 are partially overlapped in the X direction at this time. The upper end of the conveying roller 212 at the upper position is located above the upper surface 39a of the adapter plate, so the substrate S does not contact the adapter plate 39, and the front end Sa of the substrate S is located above the adapter plate 39. In other words, the front end of the adapter plate 39 enters below the substrate S.

The conveyance roller 21 is lowered from the above state to the lower position (step S107 ). As a result, as shown in FIG. 6( c ), when the lower surface Sb of the substrate S descends to the height of the upper surface 39 a of the adapter plate 39 , the support by the conveyance rollers 21 is completed, and it becomes the front end of the substrate S thereafter. The state where the part Sa is supported by the adapter plate 39 . That is, the transfer of the substrate S from the conveyance roller 21 to the entrance floating platform 31 is realized. Furthermore, gas is ejected from the upper surface 39a of the adapter plate. Therefore, the board|substrate S does not contact|abut on the upper surface 39a of the interposer board, but is supported in the state which floated slightly from the upper surface 39a of the interposer board with a predetermined gap therebetween.

After the conveyance roller descends, the roller conveyor 101 of the input conveyor 100 rotates again, and the conveyance of the board|substrate S is restarted (step S108). Thereby, as shown in FIG.6(d), the board|substrate S is conveyed further in (+X) direction, and the front-end|tip part Sa advances from the upper surface 39a of the adapter board to the upper surface 31a of the entrance floating platform. Then, similarly to the technique described in Patent Document 1, after the substrate S is transferred from the input transfer unit 2 to the entrance floating platform 31 , it is transferred by the suction cup mechanism 51 . For example, the suction cup mechanism 51 can be brought into the gap between the conveyance roller 21 lowered to the lower position and the substrate lower surface Sb, and the substrate S can be held by the suction cup mechanism 51 .

As described above, in the transfer of the substrate S from the input transfer unit 2 to the floating table unit 3 in the present embodiment, the transfer is not performed by moving the substrate S in the transfer direction Dt, but the transfer plate 39 enters the transfer plate 39 . In the state below the board|substrate S, it transfers by lowering the conveyance roller 21 which supports the board|substrate S. Therefore, the problem that the front end part Sa of the board|substrate S is conveyed in the state which drooped, which may generate|occur|produce in the transfer by conveyance, is eliminated, and it contacts with the end surface of the stage.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a support mechanism of the conveying system. In the coating apparatus 1 , the floating platform portion 3 including the inlet floating platform 31 , the coating mechanism 7 , and the like are mainly configured to be installed on the solid base 10 . On the other hand, the input transfer unit 2 is mechanically separated from the base 10 . Specifically, the conveyance roller 21 and the motor 221 that rotates the conveyance roller 21 are attached to the elevating frame 222 . The elevating frame 222 is supported by the elevating mechanism 223 in a freely elevating manner. The elevating mechanism 223 is supported by the base portion 20 . The motor 221 , the elevating frame 222 , and the elevating mechanism 223 integrally function as the rotation/elevating drive mechanism 22 in this embodiment.

The base portion 20 is constituted as a structure independent of the base 10 . Furthermore, the adapter plate 39 is fixed to the inlet floating platform 31 . That is, the adapter plate 39 is supported by the base 10 via the inlet floating platform 31 and is mechanically separated from the input transfer unit 2 .

Assuming that when the adapter plate 39 is integrally supported with the input transfer unit 2 , the adapter plate 39 and the inlet floating platform 31 are supported by mutually independent support mechanisms. Therefore, the adapter plate 39 and the inlet floating platform 31 are supported by mutually independent support mechanisms. The vibration caused a positional deviation between the adapter plate 39 and the inlet floating platform 31 . In particular, the accumulated positional deviation accompanying the long-term operation may cause a gap between the adapter plate 39 and the inlet floating platform 31, or a level difference in the vertical direction between the two. Such a situation hinders smooth conveyance of the substrate S, and causes conveyance failure or damage to the substrate S. As shown in FIG.

In order to avoid this problem, in the present embodiment, by fixing the adapter plate 39 to the inlet floating platform 31 or integrating them, the vibration accompanying the operation of the input transfer unit 2 is prevented from being caused to the adapter plate 39 and the connection between them. The positional relationship of the entrance floating platform 31 has an influence. Thereby, the problem of collision with the step difference when the substrate S is transferred from the adapter plate 39 to the inlet floating platform 31 can be avoided. Moreover, as shown in FIG.4(a), when a protrusion part and an input floating platform are integrally formed, such a problem does not arise essentially.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another modification of the adapter plate. FIG. 8( a ) is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a modification. In addition, FIG.8(b) is the side view, and FIG.8(c) is a front view. As shown in FIG. 8( a ), in the modified example, the free rollers 395 are provided on the upstream end surfaces 392 a of the respective protruding portions 392 of the adapter plate 39 . More specifically, the free roller 395 is rotatably attached to the support member 396 , and the support member 396 is fixed to the (−X) direction side end surface 392 a of the protruding portion 392 . The free roller 395 is free to rotate without being connected to a drive source.

As shown in FIG. 8( b ), when viewed from the side, the upper end of the free roller 395 is arranged at the same height as the height of the upper surface of the adapter plate 39 and the inlet floating platform 31 indicated by the dotted line or higher than the The height is lower than the height of the upper end of the conveyance roller 21 ( 212 ) located at the upper position indicated by the two-dot chain line.

As shown in FIG. 8( c ), the free rollers 395 configured as described above are not supported by the conveyance rollers 212 in the width direction (Y direction) of the substrate S conveyed by the conveyance rollers 212 from below. Abut. Thus, the portion can be prevented from being bent downward and sagging further below the upper surface 39 a of the adapter plate 39 .

When the substrate S is conveyed in a state where the lower surface Sb of the substrate S is positioned below the upper surface 39a of the interposer plate, the front end of the substrate S collides with the end surface 392a of the interposer plate 39 at this portion. Such a problem can be avoided by using the free rollers 395 to assist in supporting the substrate S.

Here, for the purpose of explaining the principle, an example in which one free roller 395 is provided with respect to one protruding portion 392 is used, but a plurality of free rollers 395 may be provided at positions shifted in the width direction with respect to one protruding portion 392 . In addition, the free roller 395 may be arranged not only on the end face of the protruding portion 392 but also at an appropriate position on the substrate conveyance path as needed. Thereby, the deflection of the board|substrate S conveyed can be further reduced, and stable conveyance and the smooth transfer from the input transfer part 2 to the floating platform part 3 can be implemented.

As described above, the coating apparatus 1 of the above-described embodiment is an apparatus including an embodiment of the "substrate transfer apparatus" of the present invention as a part of the configuration, and is also an embodiment of the "coating apparatus" of the present invention. In the above-described embodiment, the downstream side of the conveyance rollers 21, that is, the downstream side conveyance roller 212 functions as the "conveyance roller" of the present invention, while the rotation/elevation drive mechanism 22 functions as the "elevation mechanism" of the present invention function. In addition, the floating platform part 3, especially the entrance floating platform 31 functions as a "substrate supporting platform" of the present invention. Moreover, the upper surface 31a of the said entrance floating platform 31 corresponds to the "substrate support surface" of this invention.

In addition, in the said embodiment, the adapter plate 39 functions as an "extension part" and a "sub-platform" of this invention. Moreover, the base 10 and the base part 20 function as a "platform support part" and a "conveyance system support part" of this invention, respectively. In addition, the free roller 395 functions as an "auxiliary roller" of the present invention. In addition, both the input conveyor 100 and the suction cup mechanism 51 can function as the "sub-conveyance mechanism" of the present invention. Moreover, the application|coating platform 32 functions as a "buoyancy application part" of this invention.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications other than those described above can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the transfer of the substrate S in the above-described embodiment, the transfer is stopped when the front end Sa of the substrate S slightly protrudes from the upper end of the transfer roller 212, and the substrate S is transferred by lowering the transfer roller 212. However, the conveyance may be further continued, for example, the conveyance may be stopped at the time point when the front end portion Sa of the substrate S enters the entrance floating platform 31 from the adapter plate 39 .

Even in this case, the front end Sa of the substrate S that has passed the upper end of the conveyance roller 212 can be lifted and supported by the adaptor plate 39 when the tip portion Sa of the substrate S has passed the upper end of the conveyance roller 212, so that smooth conveyance can be performed. However, in such a case, it is desirable to provide the free rollers 395 at appropriate positions in order to prevent the substrate S hanging down due to deflection between the conveying rollers in the width direction from contacting the end surfaces of the protruding portions 392 .

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the protruding portion 392 of the adapter plate 39 extends to a position slightly upstream of the rotational axis of the conveyance roller 212 . The protruding portion may be further extended, for example, may be extended to the vicinity of the rotation axis of the upstream side conveyance roller 211 .

In addition, the coating apparatus 1 of the above-described embodiment is assumed to be an apparatus for coating a resist liquid on a substrate such as a glass substrate or a semiconductor substrate, but the type of the substrate and the type of the fluid to be ejected are not limited to these but are arbitrary. For example, the fluid is not limited to a liquid, and may be a gas. In addition, the present invention is not limited to coating, and the present invention can be applied to a substrate transfer apparatus for transferring substrates for other purposes.

As mentioned above, although the specific embodiment was illustrated and demonstrated, in the board|substrate conveyance apparatus of this invention, for example, the extension part may be a structure which injects gas from an upper surface, and applies a buoyancy force to a board|substrate from below. According to such a configuration, the substrate transferred from the transfer roller can be transported to the substrate support stage in a state where the extension portion floats.

In addition, for example, the elevating mechanism may be configured to lower the conveyance roller while the rotation of the conveyance roller is stopped after the conveyance roller conveys the substrate. According to such a configuration, the transfer of the substrate from the conveyance roller to the extending portion can be realized only by the raising and lowering of the conveyance roller without accompanying movement in the conveyance direction. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the substrate from coming into contact with the extension portion or the end face of the substrate supporting platform.

In addition, for example, the extension portion may be a sub-table connected to the most upstream end portion of the substrate support table in the conveyance direction. Alternatively, the substrate support platform may be partially extended to the upstream side in the conveying direction to form an extension portion. As described above, the extension portion can be realized by any of the structure formed integrally with the substrate support platform and the structure formed separately and connected to the substrate support platform. Thereby, the upper surface of the extension part and the upper surface of the board|substrate support platform can be connected, and smooth conveyance of a board|substrate can be achieved.

Here, when the extension portion is provided as a sub-table independent of the substrate supporting table, the sub-table may be configured to have, for example, a connecting portion and a protruding portion that are connected to the most upstream end portion of the substrate supporting table. The protrusions are provided adjacent to each other and have approximately the same length in the width direction as the substrate support table, and the protrusions partially protrude from the connection portion toward the upstream side in the conveyance direction. According to such a configuration, the upper surface of the connection portion and the upper surface of the substrate support platform can be regarded as one body, and thus, it can function substantially as the configuration in which the end portion of the substrate support platform is extended to form the extension portion.

In addition, it is preferable that the sub-table includes a stage support part that supports the substrate support stage, and a conveyance system support part which is constituted as a member independent from the stage support part and supports the conveyance roller and the elevating mechanism, and the sub-stage is supported by the stage support part via the board support stage . Vibration is generated during the operation of the conveyance roller and the support portion of the conveyance roller accompanying the rotation and raising and lowering. When such vibration is transmitted to the sub-table, a slight positional deviation may occur between the sub-table and the substrate support table. Therefore, when a level difference occurs between the upper surfaces of the two, there is a possibility that the conveyance of the substrate is hindered. To avoid this, the secondary platform is preferably supported by a platform support that is independent of the transport system support.

In addition, for example, a plurality of conveyance rollers may be provided at positions shifted in the width direction, and an extension portion may be provided between the plurality of conveyance rollers. According to such a configuration, by supporting the plurality of locations in the width direction of the substrate by the plurality of conveying rollers, the substrate can be supported and conveyed in a posture close to a level. Moreover, by providing the extension part between these conveyance rollers, the transfer of the board|substrate from the conveyance roller to the extension part can be performed more smoothly.

In addition, for example, auxiliary rollers may be provided on the upstream side of the most upstream end of the extension in the conveying direction, and the height of the upper end of the auxiliary roller is the same as or higher than the upper surface of the extension. The upper surface of and lower than the upper end of the conveying roller positioned at the upper position. According to such a configuration, the lower surface of the substrate that is not supported by the conveying rollers that convey the substrate is supported by the auxiliary roller, so that the deflection of the substrate can be suppressed, and the contact between the substrate and the extension that may occur due to the deflection can be avoided in advance. end face collision.

In addition, for example, a sub-conveying mechanism may be included that conveys the substrates transferred to the substrate support stage in the conveying direction. According to such a configuration, even after the conveyance roller is lowered to the lower position and the conveyance force with respect to the substrate is no longer exerted, the substrate can be conveyed in the conveyance direction.

In addition, the present invention can be implemented, for example, as a coating apparatus including a substrate transport apparatus having the sub transport mechanism, and an upper surface facing the substrate disposed opposite to the upper surface of the substrate transported by the sub transport mechanism. A nozzle that sprays the coating liquid on the surface. According to such a structure, since the coating liquid is supplied from the nozzle to the board|substrate conveyed stably for the above-mentioned reason, a homogeneous coating film can be formed on the upper surface of a board|substrate.

For example, a buoyancy applying part may be provided which is arranged below the nozzle, and which ejects gas to the lower surface of the substrate conveyed by the sub-transport mechanism and passes through the position facing the nozzle, thereby applying buoyancy to the substrate from below. According to such a configuration, the substrate supported in the floating state is coated. Therefore, for example, compared with the case where coating is performed by mechanically supporting the lower surface side of the substrate, the substrate at the time of coating can be maintained in a flatter state, and the quality of the coating film can be improved. In such a case, the substrate support platform of the substrate transfer apparatus can also function as a buoyancy applying portion, and a buoyancy applying portion dedicated to the coating process may be provided independently of the substrate support platform for transferring. [Industrial Availability]

This invention can be suitably applied to the board|substrate conveyance apparatus which supports and conveys a board|substrate while giving a buoyancy force to a board|substrate from below. For example, it is applicable to the conveyance system of the coating apparatus which apply|coats a coating liquid to the surface of the said board|substrate while raising a board|substrate in a horizontal attitude|position. Moreover, this invention can be suitably applied to the apparatus which conveys a board|substrate in a horizontal attitude|position for various purposes.

1: Coating device (substrate conveying device) 2: Input transfer part 3: Floating Platform Department 4: Output transfer part 5: Substrate conveying section 7: Coating mechanism 9: Control unit 10: Abutment (platform support part) 20: Base part (conveyor system support part) 21, 211, 212: conveying rollers 22: Rotation/lifting drive mechanism (lifting mechanism) 31, 131: Entrance floating platform (substrate support platform) 31a: Substrate support surface/upper surface of inlet floating platform 31b: Upstream side end face 32: Coating platform (buoyancy application part) 33: Export floating platform 34: Ejector pin drive mechanism 35: Floating control mechanism 39: Adapter plate (extension part, sub-platform) 39a: Upper surface of the adapter board 41, 101, 111: Roller Conveyors 42: Rotation / lift drive mechanism 51: Suction cup mechanism (sub-transport mechanism) 52: Adsorption/travel control mechanism 70: Nozzle unit 71: Nozzle 73: Positioning mechanism 78: Coating liquid supply part 81L, 81R, 87L, 87R: Travel Guide 100: Input conveyor (auxiliary conveying mechanism) 102, 112: Rotary drive mechanism 110: Output conveyor 139: Protrusion 221: Motor 222: Lifting frame 223: Lifting mechanism 239: Other Components 391: Connector 392: Protrusion 392a: Upstream end/face 395: Free Roller (Auxiliary Roller) 396: Support member 711: spout 731: Beam Components 732, 733: Column members Dr: Arrow Dt: conveying direction S: substrate S101, S102, S103, S104, S105, S106, S107, S108: Steps Sa: Front end of substrate Sb: the lower surface of the substrate Sf: upper surface of substrate

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of a coating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the coating apparatus viewed from vertically above. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of an input transfer unit. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a modification example in place of the adapter plate. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of substrate transfer in the present embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing the state of each part of the apparatus being conveyed. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a support mechanism of the conveying system. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another modification of the adapter plate.

31: Entrance floating platform (substrate support platform)

31a: Substrate support surface/upper surface of inlet floating platform

39: Adapter plate (extension, sub-platform)

39a: Upper surface of the adapter board

101: Roller Conveyor

211, 212: conveying rollers

Dt: conveying direction

S: substrate

Sa: Front end of substrate

Sb: the lower surface of the substrate

Claims (12)

A substrate conveying device that conveys a substrate in a horizontal posture, and the substrate conveying device includes: a conveying roller that supports the substrate from below and rotates, thereby conveying the substrate in a horizontal direction; A horizontal flat surface arranged adjacent to the downstream side of the conveying roller in the conveying direction of the substrate, that is, a substrate supporting surface, receives the substrate conveyed by the conveying unit, and ejects gas from the substrate supporting surface to face the substrate from below. The substrate exerts buoyancy and supports; the lifting mechanism lifts and lowers the conveying roller to move the conveying roller between an upper position and a lower position, where the upper end of the conveying roller is higher than the substrate supporting platform The upper surface of the base plate is further above, and the lower position is that the upper end of the conveying roller is further below the upper surface of the substrate supporting platform; the platform supporting part supports the substrate supporting platform; and the conveying system supporting part serves as a The stage support part is constituted by an independent member, and supports the conveyance roller and the elevating mechanism; and when a horizontal direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction is defined as a width direction, the substrate support stage has a direction toward the conveyance direction. The extension part extending partially at the upstream end in the conveyance direction is at a position different from the conveyance roller in the width direction in plan view, and the extension part extends at least at the most upstream end in the conveyance direction up to the position of the rotation shaft of the conveying roller, the height of the upper surface of the extending portion is the same as that of the substrate supporting surface and is connected to the substrate supporting surface, The extension portion is supported by the platform support portion together with the substrate supporting platform, and the substrate is transported by the transport roller positioned at the upper position of the elevating mechanism until the transport of the substrate in plan view. The front end portion in the direction reaches a downstream position in the conveyance direction with respect to the rotation axis of the conveyance roller, and thereafter, the elevating mechanism lowers the conveyance roller to the lower position, thereby removing the substrate from the conveyance direction. The transfer roller is handed over to the substrate support platform. The substrate transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the extending portion ejects gas from an upper surface to apply buoyancy to the substrate from below. The substrate conveying device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein after the conveying roller conveys the substrate, the elevating mechanism causes the conveying roller to stop rotating the conveying roller decline. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the extension portion is a sub-table connected to the most upstream end portion of the substrate support table in the transfer direction. The substrate transfer device according to claim 4, wherein the sub-table has a connecting portion and a protruding portion, and the connecting portion is provided adjacent to an end portion on the most upstream side of the substrate supporting table, and the width direction The length of the upper part is approximately the same as that of the substrate support platform, and the protruding part is directed from the connecting part toward the carrying platform. The upstream side in the feed direction partially protrudes. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the substrate support platform is partially extended to the upstream side in the transfer direction to form the extension portion. The substrate conveyance apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein a plurality of the conveyance rollers are provided at positions shifted in the width direction, and the extension is provided between the plurality of conveyance rollers Department. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, further comprising a sub-transfer mechanism that transfers the substrate after being handed over to the substrate support platform in the transfer direction. A substrate conveying device that conveys a substrate in a horizontal posture, and the substrate conveying device includes: a conveying roller that supports the substrate from below and rotates, thereby conveying the substrate in a horizontal direction; A horizontal flat surface arranged adjacent to the downstream side of the conveying roller in the conveying direction of the substrate, that is, a substrate supporting surface, receives the substrate conveyed by the conveying unit, and ejects gas from the substrate supporting surface to face the substrate from below. The substrate is buoyant and supported; a platform support part supports the substrate support platform; and a conveyance system support part is constituted as a component independent of the platform support part, and supports the conveyance roller and the elevating mechanism; and when the horizontal direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction is defined as the width direction, the substrate support platform has an upstream end portion partially extending toward the conveyance direction The extension portion of the extension portion is at a position different from that of the conveyance roller in the width direction in plan view, and the most upstream end portion of the extension portion in the conveyance direction extends at least to the position of the rotation axis of the conveyance roller. the height of the upper surface of the extension portion is the same as that of the substrate support surface and is connected to the substrate support surface, and the extension portion is connected to the most upstream end portion of the substrate support platform in the conveying direction The sub-platform has a connecting portion and a protruding portion, the connecting portion is disposed adjacent to the most upstream end of the substrate supporting platform, and the length in the width direction is substantially the same as that of the substrate supporting platform the protruding portion partially protrudes from the connecting portion toward the upstream side in the conveying direction, the sub-table is supported by the table supporting portion via the substrate supporting table, and is positioned on the sub-table by the elevating mechanism The conveyance roller at the upper position conveys the substrate until the front end portion of the substrate in the conveyance direction in a plan view reaches a downstream position in the conveyance direction relative to the rotation axis of the conveyance roller, and thereafter, the The elevating mechanism lowers the conveyance roller to the lower position, thereby transferring the substrate from the conveyance roller to the substrate support platform. A substrate conveying device, which conveys a substrate in a horizontal posture, and the substrate conveying device comprises: A conveyance roller supports and rotates the substrate from below, thereby conveying the substrate in a horizontal direction; a substrate support stage has a horizontal flat surface arranged adjacent to the downstream side of the conveyance roller in the conveyance direction of the substrate A substrate support surface, which is a substrate support surface, receives the substrate conveyed by the conveying unit, and ejects gas from the substrate support surface to apply buoyancy to and support the substrate from below; and an elevating mechanism that elevates the conveyance roller to The conveyance roller moves between an upper position where the upper end of the conveyance roller is higher than the upper surface of the substrate support platform, and a lower position where the upper end of the conveyance roller is higher than the upper surface of the substrate support platform. The upper surface of the substrate supporting platform is further downward; and when the horizontal direction orthogonal to the conveying direction is defined as the width direction, the substrate supporting platform has an upstream end portion partially extending toward the conveying direction The extension portion of the extension portion is at a position different from that of the conveyance roller in the width direction in plan view, and the most upstream end portion of the extension portion in the conveyance direction extends at least to the position of the rotation axis of the conveyance roller. the height of the upper surface of the extension portion is the same as that of the substrate support surface and connected to the substrate support surface, and is provided at the upstream side of the extension portion in the conveying direction relative to the most upstream end portion of the extension portion There are auxiliary rollers, the height of the upper end of the auxiliary roller is the same as or higher than the upper surface of the extension part and lower than the upper end of the conveying roller positioned at the upper position, The conveying roller of the elevating mechanism positioned at the upper position conveys the substrate until a front end portion of the substrate in the conveying direction in a plan view reaches a distance higher than the The rotation axis of the conveying roller is located further downstream in the conveying direction, and then the elevating mechanism lowers the conveying roller to the lower position, thereby transferring the substrate from the conveying roller to the Substrate support platform. A coating apparatus comprising: the substrate conveying apparatus according to claim 8; and a nozzle arranged to face an upper surface of the substrate conveyed by the sub conveying mechanism, and ejecting a coating liquid toward the upper surface of the substrate. The coating apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising a buoyancy applying portion disposed below the nozzle for applying the buoyancy force applied to the coating device conveyed by the sub-conveying mechanism and passing through a position facing the nozzle. Gas is ejected from the lower surface of the substrate to apply buoyancy to the substrate from below.

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