JPH02111489A - Substrate cleaning equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the accuracy of a washing operation and the productivity of substrates by taking in and discharging the substrates in a horizontal position and washing the substrates while erecting the substrates upright and injecting a high-pressure washing liquid thereto. CONSTITUTION:The body 1 of the washing device is installed internally with an endless chain conveyor 4 which detains many carriers 5, a washing chamber 7 which washes the substrates mounted to the carrier 5 by injecting the washing liquid from many nozzles 8, a changing mechanism 10 which turns the substrates 6 from horizontal to perpendicular or from perpendicular to horizontal, and a lifting mechanism 11 which rises or lowers the changing mechanism 10. The substrates 6 are taken in a horizontal state and are mounted perpendicularly on the carrier 5 by the changing mechanism 10 and the lifting machine 11. After the substrates are washed, the substrates are discharged again in the horizontal state. The accuracy of the washing is, therefore, high and the matching property between the fore and after stages is obtd. The productivity is thus enhanced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a substrate cleaning apparatus, and more particularly to a substrate cleaning apparatus suitable for continuously, rapidly and highly accurately cleaning high-density mounted substrates.

[Conventional technology]

Conventional cleaning devices for articles include those that simply immerse the items to be cleaned in a cleaning tank, those that clean by swinging them up and down, left and right, those that clean using ultrasonic waves, and those that spray high-pressure cleaning liquid through a nozzle. There are some known products that are used for cleaning.

Regarding this type of cleaning equipment, please refer to the Field Product Handbook ``FIEL, which changes the flow of cleaning technology''.
D original product series J (JAPAN FIE
LD C○,, LTD,).

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

Conventional cleaning equipment that uses immersion, shaking, ultrasonic waves, etc. does not take into account the use of the kinetic energy of the cleaning liquid, so a complete cleaning effect cannot be expected, especially if the object to be cleaned is a substrate. In this case, as the mounting density of boards has increased, residual solder scum and foreign metal particles have become a factor in board defects such as short circuits.

On the other hand, those that spray high-pressure cleaning liquid through a nozzle make full use of the kinetic energy of the cleaning liquid, making it possible to precisely clean even the minute parts of the substrate.
If a liquid pool forms in the cleaning section, the effectiveness will be reduced by half, so it is necessary to prevent the liquid pool from occurring. For this reason, it is desirable that the substrate be placed vertically so that the liquid sprayed from the nozzle can easily flow down. However, in the pre- and post-cleaning processes, it is advantageous to handle the substrate horizontally, and it is necessary to devise ways to obtain the above-mentioned posture that facilitates cleaning while maintaining productivity, that is, consistency with the previous and subsequent processes. . Furthermore, since it is sprayed under high pressure, cleaning solution mist and highly concentrated steam are likely to be generated, especially when organic solvents such as trichloroethane are used, which not only increases running costs but also has the potential to pollute the workplace environment and the atmosphere. It is necessary to devise a structure that prevents the steam generated during cleaning from leaking outside. It cannot be said that these points have been sufficiently considered in conventional nozzles that spray high-pressure cleaning liquid.

The purpose of the present invention is to satisfy precision cleaning performance, high speed, and compatibility with upstream and downstream process equipment in a substrate cleaning apparatus that uses a high-pressure cleaning injection method, and to prevent cleaning solvent vapor from leaking out of the apparatus. It is in.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides substrates that are mounted in a large number of carriers supported by an endless conveyor and circulated, and while passing through a cleaning chamber provided in the middle of the circulation path, a large number of nozzles are used. Assuming a substrate cleaning device that cleans each surface of the substrate by spraying a cleaning liquid onto each side of the substrate, and assuming that the main body of the cleaning device has a completely sealed structure, it also requires a means for horizontally taking in the substrate from the outside, and a means for taking in the substrate from the outside in a horizontal state. means for rotating the cleaned substrate from horizontal to vertical and guiding it to the carrier; means for removing the cleaned substrate from the carrier and rotating from vertical to horizontal; and means for rotating the cleaned substrate from vertical to horizontal; Provide a means for evacuation.

[For production]

The loading/unloading of substrates into and out of the main body of the cleaning device can be carried out with the substrate in a horizontal position, making the work 5 easy.
It has excellent compatibility with the pre- and post-cleaning processes, and since cleaning is performed by holding the substrate vertically and spraying cleaning liquid onto each surface of the substrate from multiple nozzles, there is no formation of liquid pools. The cleaning effect is extremely good. Furthermore, the main body of the cleaning device has a completely sealed structure, so even if cleaning solvent vapor is generated.

It does not leak outside, and prevents pollution of the environment and air.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an embodiment of the substrate cleaning apparatus according to the present invention, in which (a) is a plan view and (b) is a sectional view taken along line 8-A'. Device body 1. It is roughly divided into a substrate loading section 2 and a substrate discharging section 3.

The cleaning device main body 1 forms a completely sealed hollow structure,
An endless chain conveyor 4 with a large number of carriers 5 locked therein is installed, and substrates 6 are attached to the carriers 5 so that they can be circulated within the main body of the cleaning apparatus. A cleaning chamber 7 is provided in a part of the cleaning device main body 1,
A large number of cleaning nozzles 8 are arranged on the wall surface of the cleaning chamber 7, and a high-pressure cleaning liquid is sprayed from multiple directions onto the substrate 6 passing through the cleaning chamber 7 to clean the substrate. Furthermore, inside the cleaning apparatus main body 1, there is a conversion mechanism 10 for rotating the substrate 6 from horizontal to vertical or from vertical to horizontal. A lifting mechanism 11 for raising or lowering the conversion mechanism 10 is installed. Details of the converting mechanism 10 and the lifting mechanism 11 will be described later.

The substrate loading unit 2 transfers the substrate 6 to the conversion mechanism 1 in the cleaning device main body 1.
0, and is composed of a conveyor 9 for taking in substrates. The substrate ejection section 3 is a section that ejects the substrate 6 from the cleaning apparatus main body 1, and has the same structure as the substrate intake section 2. In addition, the conversion rule mechanism 10 and the elevating mechanism 11 are as follows:
They are installed corresponding to the board removal section 2 and the board ejection section 3, respectively.

An outline of the operation shown in FIG. 1 will be explained below. When the substrate 6 is placed on the conveyor 9 provided in the substrate loading section 2, the substrate 6 is sent in the direction of the arrow and taken into the cleaning apparatus main body 1.
It is inserted into the conversion plate 10-1 of the conversion mechanism 10. In the conversion mechanism 10, when the board 6 is inserted into the conversion plate 10-1,
The primary elevating mechanism 11 that rotates the conversion plate 10-1 from horizontal to vertical is operated, lowering the entire conversion mechanism 10 and lowering the conversion plate 10-1 by an H height. Subsequently, the conversion board 10-
The substrate 6 is lowered by a distance H2 by a lid portion provided on the carrier 5, which will be described later, and is guided by the guide plate 5-2 of the carrier 5 and comes into contact with the stopper 5-1. When the substrate 6 is attached to the carrier 5, the entire conversion mechanism 10 is raised by the lifting mechanism 11, and then the conversion mechanism 10 returns the conversion plate 10-1 from vertical to horizontal in preparation for insertion of the next substrate.

On the other hand, the substrate 6 accommodated in the carrier 5 is transported together with the carrier 5 by the chain conveyor 4, and while passing through the cleaning chamber 7, is cleaned by high-pressure cleaning liquid sprayed from a large number of cleaning nozzles 8. Since the substrate 6 is now standing vertically, the cleaning liquid sprayed from the nozzle 8 immediately flows down.

No puddles will occur. When the substrate 6 passes through the cleaning chamber 7 and reaches the position of the substrate discharge section 3, the substrate 6 is first moved to the H2 The substrate rises by H1 and is removed from the carrier 5, and then further rises by H1 to remove the substrate from the carrier 5.
Finally, the substrate rotates from vertical to horizontal, and is sent and discharged in the direction of the arrow by the conveyor provided in the substrate discharge section 3.

Next, the conversion mechanism 1-0, the lifting mechanism 11, and the carrier 5 will be explained in more detail.

FIG. 2 shows the detailed structure of the conversion mechanism 10 and the lifting mechanism 11, in which (a) is a partially sectional front view, and (b) is a side view. Further, FIG. 3 shows the conversion plate 10- of the conversion mechanism 10.
1 shows a detailed structure of the lifter section provided in FIG. 1, in which (a) shows a side view and (b) shows a front view.

The conversion mechanism 10 includes a pair of left and right conversion plates 10-1 attached to a shaft 11-3, a coupling plate 10-1a that connects the left and right conversion plates 10-1, and a pair of stopper portions arranged at an interval of a width A. 10-2, the lid part 10 fixed to the coupling plate 1O-1a
-3, head 11-2 supporting shaft 11-3. Axis 11-
It consists of a drive motor 11-4 attached to one end of 3.

The lifter section 1o-3 is composed of a lift cylinder 1O-3a, a piston rod 1O-3b, and a beam 1O-3c, and the lift cylinder 10-3a is fixed to a coupling plate 1O-1a. The stopper part 10-2 is a stopper cylinder lO-
2a and stopper (stopper piston rond) 10-2b
The stopper 1O-2b constitutes a lifter portion 10-3. It is attached to both ends of a beam 1O-3c extending from the lower end of the piston rod 1O-3b. Lifting mechanism 1
1 is a lifting cylinder 1l-1a, a piston rod 11-1
The upper end of the piston rod 1l-1b is fixed to the head 11-2. 11-5 is a point piece, and 11-6 and 11-7 are sensor switches.

FIG. 4 shows a plan view of the carrier 5. The carrier 5 includes a pair of left and right frames 5-3 supported by a chain conveyor.
, a fixed stopper 5-1 attached to the frame 5-3
and a guide plate 5-2. The fixed stopper 5-1 has a width B (from the bottom of the frame 5-3, B < A
) to prevent the board 6 inserted into the guide plate 5-2 from falling. The guide plate 5-2 guides the substrate when it is transferred from the conversion mechanism 10 to the carrier and holds the substrate when the carrier is transferred.

First, the operation when inserting a board will be explained. Conversion mechanism 1
When the substrate 6 is inserted into the conversion plate 10-1 of No. 0, the stopper cylinder 1O-2a of the stopper portion 1-0-2 is operated to cause the stopper 1O-2b to protrude. Next, the drive motor 11
-4 and rotate the conversion plate 10-1 until it becomes vertical. This rotation causes the conversion plate 10-1 to
It stops when it comes into contact with 1-6. In this state, the substrate 6 descends due to its own weight until it hits the stopper 1O-2b and stops. That is, the substrate 6 changes from horizontal to vertical,
The state is such that it is supported by the stopper 1O-2b. Next, the lifting cylinder 11-18 of the lifting mechanism 11 is operated to lower the entire converting mechanism 1o by H□ (see FIG. 1) together with the head 11-2 fixed to the piston rod 1l-1b. Next, a coupling plate 10 that connects the pair of conversion plates 10-1
The lift cylinder 1O-3a of the lifter section 10-3 attached to -1a operates, and the stopper 1O-2b is lowered by H2 by the piston rod 10-3b.

Accordingly, the substrate 6 supported by the stopper 1O-2b is guided by the guide plate 5-2 of the carrier 5 due to its own weight, descends, and comes into contact with the stopper 5-1 on the carrier side and stops. At the same time, the operation of the lift cylinder 10-3a is also
The point piece 11-5 stops when it comes into contact with the sensor switch 11-7. FIG. 4 shows the state of the lifter section 10-3 of the conversion mechanism 1o at this time.

Moreover, the carrier 5 and the lifter part 10- in this state MA
3 is shown in FIG.

Next, the return operation will be explained. Stopper 1O-2b
When the lowering of the lift cylinder 1O-2a is completed, the stopper cylinder 1O-2a is operated in the reverse direction, and the stopper 1O-2b is retracted to release the locked state, and then the lift cylinder 1O-3a is operated in the reverse direction.
Pull up the stopper 1O-2b by H2 and lifter part 10
-Restore to original. Next, the lifting cylinder 1l-1a is operated in reverse to raise the entire conversion mechanism 10 by H□.

Subsequently, the drive motor 11-4 is operated, and the conversion plate 10-1
from vertical to horizontal. Note that the operation at the time of substrate ejection is basically the same as this return operation, so a description thereof will be omitted.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the substrate cleaning apparatus of the present invention,
The board is taken in horizontally, converted internally to vertical position, mounted on a carrier, continuously sent to the cleaning chamber, sprayed with high-pressure cleaning liquid to be cleaned, and then discharged in a completely reverse operation to the one taken in. , it is possible to clean the substrate in a posture (vertical position) with good cleaning performance while maintaining consistency with the previous and subsequent processes. Furthermore, since the main body of the cleaning device is completely unsealed, cleaning solvent vapor does not leak out of the device.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an embodiment of a substrate cleaning apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a specific configuration diagram of a conversion mechanism and a lifting mechanism, and FIG. 3 is a specific configuration diagram of a lifter section in the conversion mechanism. 4
The figure is a concrete configuration diagram of the carrier, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the relationship between the beam lid part and the carrier. 1...Cleaning device main body, 2...Substrate loading section, 3...
Substrate discharge section, 4... Chain conveyor, 5... Carrier, 6... Substrate, 7... Cleaning chamber, 8...
Cleaning nozzle, 9...Intake/discharge conveyor. 10... Conversion mechanism, 11... Lifting mechanism, 11-
4... Drive motor. Figure 1': No. 3 "ZAr 2Sp Q 4R? Yellow color*
Figure 3

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A means for supporting a large number of carriers on which substrates are mounted and transporting the carriers endlessly, and a means for discharging a cleaning liquid from a number of nozzles onto each surface of the substrate mounted on the carriers, located in the middle of the transport path of the carriers. means for injecting the substrate, means for horizontally taking in the substrate from the outside, means for rotating the taken substrate from horizontal to vertical and guiding it to the carrier, and transporting the cleaned substrate from the carrier. A substrate cleaning apparatus comprising: a means for removing the substrate and rotating the substrate from a vertical to a horizontal state; and a means for discharging the horizontally rotated substrate to the outside. (2) The substrate cleaning apparatus according to claim (1), wherein at least the parts other than the means for taking in the substrate from the outside and the means for discharging the substrate to the outside have a sealed structure.