WO2009151046A1

WO2009151046A1 - Stocker

Info

Publication number: WO2009151046A1
Application number: PCT/JP2009/060516
Authority: WO
Inventors: 希遠石橋; 賢輔平田
Original assignee: 株式会社Ihi
Priority date: 2008-06-11
Filing date: 2009-06-09
Publication date: 2009-12-17
Also published as: CN102026892A; CN102026892B; JP5251980B2; JPWO2009151046A1; TW201008851A; TWI379802B

Abstract

A stocker wherein presence of chambers enables even less air cleaning devices than the conventional art to eliminate occurrence of calm portions or stagnation in the flows of air on the downstream sides of the opening portions of the chambers. Consequently, even the less air cleaning devices than the conventional art are capable of preventing occurrence of a failure, thereby decreasing in costs for construction and management of a manufacturing factory.

Description

stocker

The present invention relates to a stocker having a storage unit having a carry-in port on the front side of a shelf, and more particularly to a stocker having an air purifier that filters air and supplies the filtered air.
This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-153176 for which it applied to Japan on June 11, 2008, and uses the content here.

In manufacturing factories for semiconductor devices, display panels, etc., stockers for temporarily storing the above products and their materials are used.
In the manufacture of semiconductor devices, display panels and the like, the greater the number of dust in the manufacturing plant, the easier the production yield and the like, and the reliability of the product greatly decreases. Therefore, in the manufacturing factory as described above, in order to suppress the number of dust in the factory to a predetermined number or less, it is an indispensable condition to provide an air cleaning device in the manufacturing factory or the apparatus in the factory. .
For these reasons, the stocker has a storage unit for storing the object to be stored and an air cleaning device for supplying filtered air to the storage unit in order to avoid the above-described problems. .
For example, the following Patent Document 1 is presented as a prior art document disclosing a stocker provided with one air cleaning device for one storage unit.
Japanese Patent No. 3156666 (page 8, FIG. 1)

By the way, in said prior art, the air filtered by the air purifier is supplied to the said storage part. However, in the flow of the supplied air, it should be avoided as much as possible that no wind and stagnation occur. This is because when a windless portion or stagnation occurs, dust collects in the portion, and the dust causes the above-described problems.
On the other hand, in recent years, displays such as monitors for televisions and personal computers have become larger, and accordingly, display panels and their materials (glass substrates, etc.) have also become larger. And the storage part for storing these products and materials is also increasing in size. As a result, as shown in Patent Document 1, if only one air cleaning device is provided for one storage unit, a space where air does not reach sufficiently in the storage unit is generated, that is, the air is cleaned by the air cleaning device. There is a limit to the range that can be supplied. Therefore, there is a possibility that a portion of stagnation and stagnation occur in the flow of supplied air, and the above-described problems may occur.
For this reason, conventionally, in a manufacturing factory for large-sized products, a plurality of air purifiers are installed adjacent to each other in one storage unit, so that no air is generated or stagnation occurs in the supplied air flow. I was trying not to.
However, the above-described air purifier is expensive, and there is a problem in that the number of air purifiers installed increases the construction and operation costs of the manufacturing plant.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and in a manufacturing factory for large-sized products, the number of air cleaning devices to be installed is relatively reduced from the number required conventionally, and the manufacturing factory A stocker that can reduce the construction and operation costs of

The present invention employs the following means in order to solve the above problems.
That is, the present invention is a stocker having, as a first solving means related to a stocker, a storage unit having a carry-in port on the front side of a shelf and an air purifier for filtering air and supplying the filtered air. The first wall portion having a chamber on the back side of the shelf and facing the storage portion of the chamber is provided with a plurality of openings, and the second wall portion of the chamber facing the first wall portion is provided with a chamber. A means is provided in which an air purifier for supplying air is provided.

By adopting such means, in the present invention, a plurality of air purifying devices are installed in one storage unit without being adjacent to each other, and the number of air purifying devices to be installed is the number required conventionally. Even if it is reduced more, the presence of the chamber not only corresponds to the size of the air supply port in the air cleaning device, but also the other range, corresponding to the opening of the chamber. Air can also be supplied to the portion to be operated.
Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the generation of no wind and stagnation in the air flow on the downstream side of the opening of the chamber.

Further, as the second solving means related to the stocker, a means is adopted in which, in the first solving means, the air purifier is arranged in a distribution based on the dust generation characteristics in the shelf and the storage unit.
By adopting such means, in the present invention, the air purifying device is intensively arranged at a position where the filtered air can be supplied to a place where dust is easily generated in the shelf and the storage unit. Therefore, it is possible to increase the flow rate of the air supplied to the above location, to eliminate the generation of no wind and stagnation, and to allow dust to flow efficiently.
In addition, the said dust generation characteristic in a shelf and a storage part refers to distribution of the generation probability of dust.

Further, as a third solving means relating to the stocker, a means is adopted in which the openings are arranged in a distribution based on the dust generation characteristics in the shelf and the storage part in the first solving means.
By adopting such means, in the present invention, the opening portion is intensively arranged at a predetermined position on the first wall portion corresponding to a portion where dust is likely to be generated in the shelf and the storage portion.
Therefore, it is possible to increase the flow rate of the air supplied to the above location, to eliminate the generation of no wind and stagnation, and to allow dust to flow efficiently.

Further, as a fourth solving means relating to the stocker, a means is adopted in which, in the first solving means, the diameter of the opening is formed with a size based on the dust generation characteristics in the shelf and the storage unit.
By adopting such means, in the present invention, the diameter of the opening at a predetermined location on the first wall portion corresponding to a portion where dust is likely to be generated in the shelf and the storage portion is increased.
Therefore, it is possible to increase the flow rate of the air supplied to the above location, to eliminate the generation of no wind and stagnation, and to allow dust to flow efficiently.

Further, as a fifth solving means relating to the stocker, a means is adopted in which, in the first solving means, the air cleaning device is a fan filter unit.
By adopting such means, the present invention uses a fan filter unit in which a fan having a function of introducing and supplying air and a filter having a function of filtering air are integrally formed.
Therefore, the space occupied by the air cleaning device can be reduced, and as a result, the space in the manufacturing factory can be saved.

Further, as a sixth solving means relating to the stocker, in the first solving means, a plurality of shelves and storage units are provided, and a chamber is provided in a size across the plurality of shelves and storage units. Is adopted.
By adopting such means, in the present invention, since one chamber is provided on the back side of the shelf with a size that spans a plurality of shelves and storage units, each chamber of each shelf and storage unit has a chamber. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost of the chamber and the labor for installing the chamber when constructing the factory.

According to the stocker according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.
As described above, in the present invention, even if the number of air purifiers installed is relatively smaller than the number required in the prior art, the presence of the chamber allows the opening of the chamber to be reduced. In the air flow on the downstream side, it is possible to eliminate generation of windless portions and stagnation.
Therefore, in the present invention, since the occurrence of the above-mentioned problems can be prevented with fewer air purifiers than in the past, it is possible to reduce the construction and operation costs of manufacturing factories, especially manufacturing factories for large products. it can.

It is a perspective view of the stocker in this embodiment. It is a side view of the stocker in this embodiment. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the chamber of FIG. 2 and its surroundings. It is A arrow directional view of FIG. It is the result of the simulation regarding the air flow inside and outside the stocker S in this embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS S ... Stocker, 1 ... Shelf, 11 ... Storage part, 12 ... Carry-in port, 5 ... Chamber, 51 ... 2nd fan filter unit (air purifier), 52 ... 1st wall part, 52A ... 1st opening part (opening) Part), 52B ... 2nd opening part (opening part), 53 ... 2nd wall part

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a stocker S in the present embodiment.
The stocker S in the present embodiment is installed in a display panel manufacturing factory. The stocker S includes a shelf 1 and a stacker crane 2.

The shelf 1 has a storage unit 11 for storing a cassette C that can store a plurality of display panel products or materials (glass substrates, etc.). In addition, a plurality of storage units 11 are provided in the extending direction of the following guide rails 21 on a horizontal plane, and two or more storage units 11 are provided in the vertical direction. The shelf 1 is composed of a columnar member and does not have a wall surface or the like.

The stacker crane 2 is provided on the floor of a manufacturing plant and is provided on two guide rails 21 extending in parallel along the shelf 1 and on the guide rail 21 so as to be able to travel along the guide rail 21. The traveling carriage 22, the guide frame 23 having a substantially rectangular frame shape in a front view in which the lower end side is connected to the traveling carriage 22 and is erected in the vertical direction, and the elevation that is supported inside the guide frame 23 so as to be movable up and down. A table 24 and a transfer device 25 such as a slide fork provided on the lifting table 24 are provided.
In the following description, the arrangement direction of the shelves 1 on the horizontal plane is defined as the X direction, the direction orthogonal to the X direction on the horizontal plane is defined as the Y direction, and the direction orthogonal to the XY plane is defined as the Z direction.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the stocker S in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the stocker S includes a stocker ceiling portion 4 and a chamber 5 in addition to the components shown in FIG. 1. A stocker space S1 is formed by the stocker ceiling portion 4, the chamber 5 and the floor of the manufacturing factory, and this stocker space S1 is distinguished from the stocker external space S2 which is the outer space. A shelf 1 and a stacker crane 2 are installed in the stocker space S1. The stacker crane 2 is provided at the center of the stocker space S1, and the two guide rails 21 are installed extending in the X direction.

The shelf 1 is installed so as to face each other with the guide rail 21 interposed therebetween and to extend in the X direction. The shelf 1 is provided with a storage unit 11 for storing the cassette C, and the storage unit 11 is formed in two or more stages in the Z direction. The storage unit 11 has a carry-in port 12 on the front side of the shelf 1 (the side where the stacker crane 2 is present).
The stocker ceiling part 4 is formed in a plate shape, and has a hole (not shown) penetrating in the thickness direction at the center. In the hole, a first fan filter unit 41 (hereinafter referred to as a first fan) integrally configured with a fan for supplying air for generating a downflow in the stocker space S1 and a filter for filtering the air. 41).

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the chamber 5 in FIG. 2 and its surroundings, and FIG. 4 is a view as viewed in the direction of arrow A in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the chamber 5 includes a first wall portion 52, a second wall portion 53, a support column 55, and a restriction plate 56. The first wall portion 52 is formed in a plate shape and is installed facing the storage portion 11. The second wall portion 53 is formed in a plate shape and is disposed to face the first wall portion 52. In the case of this embodiment, the space | interval of the 1st wall part 52 and the 2nd wall part 53 is formed at about 100 mm. The 1st wall part 52 and the 2nd wall part 53 are the magnitude | sizes which straddle the some storage part 11 to a X direction, and to straddle the two-stage storage part 11 to a Z direction.

As for the 1st wall part 52 and the 2nd wall part 53, those upper end sides are connected with the stocker ceiling part 4, and those lower end sides are connected with the control board 56. FIG. A chamber space 54 that is a space closed by the first wall portion 52, the second wall portion 53, the stocker ceiling portion 4, and the restriction plate 56 is formed.
The restricting plate 56 is formed in a plate shape and extends from the lower end portion of the second wall portion 53 to below the storage portion 11.
The column 55 is connected to the first wall 52 and the second wall 53 at the lower end side and is erected in the Z direction while being connected to the floor of the factory. Moreover, the support | pillar 55 is formed in columnar shape, and does not have a wall surface etc.

The second wall 53 is formed with a plurality of holes (not shown) penetrating in the thickness direction, and one second fan filter unit 51 (air purifier) is provided for each of the holes. Device, hereinafter referred to as second fan 51). The 2nd fan 51 is installed in the location which opposes the upper end part and lower end part of each storage part 11, is extended in the X direction and installed in 4 rows. The second fan 51 has an air supply port 51 </ b> A for supplying air to the chamber space 54.

The first wall 52 is formed with a plurality of first openings 52A and a plurality of second openings 52B penetrating in the thickness direction by punching. The first opening 52A and the second opening 52B are uniformly distributed on the first wall 52 and are formed with the same size. In the case of this embodiment, the ratio of the area of the opening part of the 1st opening part 52A and the 2nd opening part 52B with respect to the area of the surface facing the storage part 11 of the 1st wall part 52 is about 60%.
The first opening 52A is provided in a portion of the first opening 52 facing the air supply port 51A of the second fan 51. On the other hand, the second opening 52B is provided in a portion of the second wall 52 other than the portion facing the air supply port 51A.

Due to the transfer operation of the cassette C by the stacker crane 2 which will be described later, dust is generated around the storage unit 11. And especially the location which the dust generate | occur | produces, the upper end part of the storage part 11 in which the transfer apparatus 25 of the stacker crane 2 is inserted, a lower end part, etc. are mentioned, for example. From this, in this embodiment, based on said dust generation characteristic, the 2nd fan 51 is emphasized in the location which opposes an upper end part and a lower end part among the peripheral parts of each storage part 11 on the 2nd wall part 53. FIG. Installed.
As shown in FIG. 4, two second fans 51 are installed on the second wall portion 53 at two locations facing the upper end of each storage unit 11 and two at locations facing the lower end. Yes.

Next, the operation / action of the stocker S in this embodiment will be described. First, the transfer operation | movement of the cassette C by the stacker crane 2 of the stocker S in this embodiment is demonstrated.
The traveling carriage 22 includes a driving device (not shown) and can move in the X direction along the guide rail 21. By the operation of the drive device, the stacker crane 2 moves horizontally with respect to the carry-in port 12 of the storage unit 11 that performs transfer. The lifting platform 24 includes a lifting device (not shown). By the operation of the lifting device, the lifting platform 24 moves up and down with respect to the carry-in port 12 of the storage unit 11 that performs transfer. By this horizontal movement and up-and-down movement, the transfer device 25 is operated at a predetermined position on the front side of the shelf 1, and the cassette C is transferred to and from the storage unit 11.

Next, in this embodiment, the operation / action of the stocker S related to the air flow in the stocker space S1 will be described.

The filtered air is supplied to the chamber space 54 by the operation of the second fan 51. The supplied air passes through the first opening 52A and the second opening 52B of the first wall 52, and is supplied to the stocker space S1.
Here, as described above, the first opening 52A is provided in a portion facing the air supply port 51A of the second fan 51, and the second opening 52B is a portion other than the portion facing the air supply port 51A. Is provided. As a result, since the pressure distribution in the chamber 5 is maintained substantially uniform due to the flow resistance of the first opening 52A and the second opening 52B, the supplied air is supplied to the first opening 52A and the second opening 52A. 52B is supplied to the stocker space S1 at a substantially uniform flow rate.
In other words, the air supplied from the first opening 52A and the second opening 52B maintains a sufficient flow rate so as not to generate a windless portion or stagnation in the storage unit 11 and its peripheral part of the stocker space S1, and the stocker space. Supplied to S1.

The air supplied to the stocker space S1 from the first opening 52A and the second opening 52B of the chamber 5 passes through the storage unit 11 and its peripheral part, and from the back side of the shelf 1 to the front side (the stacker crane 2 exists). Side).
Therefore, the supplied air causes the dust present in the storage unit 11 and its peripheral part to flow.
Furthermore, the air that has flowed from the back side to the front side of the shelf 1 merges with the downflow generated by the first fan 41 and flows downward in the Z direction in the central portion of the stocker space S1.

Since the column 55 supporting the chamber 5 is formed in a columnar shape, the stocker space S1 and the stocker external space S2 are connected at a place where only the column 55 exists. Since the air in the stocker external space S2 is supplied to the stocker space S1 by the second fan 51, the air pressure in the stocker external space S2 is lower than the air pressure in the stocker space S1. Therefore, the air in the vicinity of the floor of the factory in the stocker space S1 flows into the stocker external space S2 through a place where only the support column 55 exists. At this time, the restricting plate 56 prevents the flowing air from flowing backward to the storage unit 11 side.
The air containing dust that has flowed into the stocker external space S <b> 2 is sucked and filtered by the operation of the second fan 51 and is supplied again into the chamber 5.

Finally, the results of a simulation regarding the air flow inside and outside the stocker S using the same conditions as in the present embodiment will be shown. FIG. 5 shows the result of simulation regarding the air flow inside and outside the stocker S in the present embodiment.

The shading in FIG. 5 indicates the flow rate of air, and the light color indicates a large flow rate. Moreover, the arrow in FIG. 5 has shown the direction where air flows. As a result, the flow velocity of the air supplied to the stocker space S1 is relatively large in the peripheral part of the cassette C installed in the storage unit 11, particularly in the space between the back side and the front side of the shelf 1. Is shown.
That is, the air supplied from the chamber 5 to the storage unit 11 side causes the peripheral part of the cassette C installed in the storage unit 11 to move from the back side to the front side of the shelf 1 to generate no wind and stagnation. It is flowing without any problems.
As described above, even if the second fans 51 are arranged in four rows in the Z-axis direction on the back side of the shelf 1 and extending in the X direction as described above, no wind is generated in the stocker space S1. It can be seen that no part or stagnation has occurred.

Therefore, according to the above-described embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
In the present embodiment, a plurality of air purifiers are installed without being adjacent to each other, and only four second fans 51 are provided for one storage unit 11. However, the presence of the chamber 5 supplies air to the stocker space S1 not only from the first opening 52A facing the air supply port 51A but also from the second opening 52B existing in the other range. be able to.
For this reason, in the present embodiment, it is possible to eliminate the generation of windless portions and stagnation in the air flow on the downstream side of the first opening 52A and the second opening 52B of the chamber 5.

As a result, in the present embodiment, the number of second fans 51 to be installed in the manufacturing factory for large-sized products can be relatively reduced from the number required conventionally, and the construction and operation costs of the manufacturing factory can be reduced. Can be reduced.

Next, in the present embodiment, the second fan 51 is intensively arranged at a location facing a portion that is likely to generate dust by the transfer operation of the cassette C. Therefore, in this embodiment, the flow rate of the air supplied to the said part can be increased, the generation | occurrence | production of a no wind part and stagnation can be eliminated, and dust can be flowed efficiently.

In the present embodiment, the second fan filter unit 51 is used as the air cleaning device. Therefore, in this embodiment, a space occupied by the air purifier is obtained by using a fan filter unit in which a fan having a function of introducing and supplying air and a filter having a function of filtering air are integrally formed. As a result, the space in the manufacturing plant can be saved.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the 1st wall part 52 and the 2nd wall part 53 are formed in the magnitude | size which straddles the several storage part 11 to a X direction, and straddles the two-stage storage part 11 to a Z direction. Yes. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is not necessary to provide the chamber 5 for each stage of the storage unit 11, and the manufacturing cost of the chamber 5 and the labor of installing the chamber 5 at the time of factory construction can be reduced.

Note that the operation procedures shown in the above-described embodiment, or the shapes and combinations of the components are examples, and can be variously changed based on process conditions, design requirements, and the like without departing from the gist of the present invention. is there.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, four second fans 51 are provided for one storage unit 11, but this number is not airflow downstream of the first opening 52 </ b> A and the second opening 52 </ b> B of the chamber 5. The amount may be appropriately increased or decreased within a range that does not cause stagnation.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the 2nd fan 51 is mainly installed in the location which opposes an upper end part and a lower end part among the peripheral parts of each storage part 11, dust generation in the shelf 1 and the storage part 11 is carried out. The distribution and arrangement location may be changed as appropriate based on the characteristics.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the 1st opening part 52A and the 2nd opening part 52B which are formed in the 1st wall part 52 are distributed uniformly, based on the dust generation characteristic in the shelf 1 and the storage part 11 You may change distribution and arrangement | positioning location suitably.
For example, the first opening portion 52A or the second opening portion 52B is distributed in a large amount at the portion of the first wall portion 52 that faces the portion that is likely to generate dust by the transfer operation of the cassette C, and thus is supplied to the portion. This can increase the flow rate of air and eliminate the occurrence of windless parts and stagnation. Therefore, dust can be efficiently flowed.

In the above embodiment, the first opening 52A and the second opening 52B formed in the first wall 52 have the same diameter, but the shelf 1 and the storage unit 11 have the same diameter. The size may be changed as appropriate based on the dust characteristics. Further, the first opening 52A and the second opening 52B may have any shape such as a circle, an ellipse, and a polygon.
For example, by increasing the diameter of the first opening 52A or the second opening 52B formed at a location facing the portion of the first wall 52 that is likely to generate dust by the transfer operation of the cassette C, the above-mentioned The flow rate of the air supplied to the part can be increased, and the generation of no wind part and stagnation can be eliminated. Therefore, dust can be efficiently flowed.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the 1st wall part 52A and the 2nd opening part 52B are formed in the plate-shaped member by punching, the 1st wall part 52 flows to the flow of air. The shape may be a shape that causes resistance. For example, a plurality of meshes formed by knitting a wire or the like may be stacked.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the space | interval of the 1st wall part 52 and the 2nd wall part 52 is formed at about 100 mm, there is no wind in the downstream of the 1st opening part 52A and the 2nd opening part 52B of the chamber 5. This part may be changed as appropriate within a range that does not cause stagnation.

In the above embodiment, the fan filter unit is used as the air cleaning device, but other air cleaning devices may be used.

In the above embodiment, the stocker S is installed in a display panel manufacturing factory, but it may be installed in other manufacturing factories. Further, the number of storage units of the stocker S may be appropriately changed according to the manufacturing factory or the manufacturing process.

The present invention is a stocker, and even if the number of installed air purifiers is relatively reduced from the number required in the past, the presence of the chamber allows the air flow downstream of the opening of the chamber. In the flow, the generation of windless parts and stagnation can be eliminated. Therefore, in the stocker of the present invention, the occurrence of the above-mentioned problems can be prevented even with an air purifier having a smaller number than before, so that the construction and operation costs of a manufacturing factory (particularly a manufacturing factory for a large product) are reduced. Can do.

Claims

A storage unit having an entrance on the front side of the shelf;
An air purifier for filtering air and supplying filtered air,
Having a chamber on the back side of the shelf,
The first wall portion facing the storage portion of the chamber is provided with a plurality of openings.
A stocker provided with the air purifier for supplying air into the chamber on a second wall portion of the chamber facing the first wall portion.
The stocker according to claim 1, wherein the air cleaning device is arranged in a distribution based on dust generation characteristics in the shelf and the storage unit.
The stocker according to claim 1, wherein the openings are arranged in a distribution based on dust generation characteristics in the shelf and the storage unit.
The stocker according to claim 1, wherein a diameter of the opening is formed based on a dust generation characteristic in the shelf and the storage unit.
The stocker according to claim 1, wherein the air cleaning device is a fan filter unit.
2. The stocker according to claim 1, wherein the shelf and the storage unit are provided in a plurality of stages, and the chamber is provided in a size straddling the plurality of stages of the shelf and the storage part.