JPH0245323B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus for transporting a photomask or reticle for manufacturing semiconductor devices.

In recent years, in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, demands for reliability in mass production, etc. have been increasing. This requirement is particularly high for highly integrated devices such as LSI. Generally, glass substrates such as photomasks or reticles are used to manufacture such LSIs. A circuit pattern is drawn on this photomask (hereinafter simply referred to as a mask) or reticle.

Usually, several types or more of these circuit patterns are required to make one LSI chip. A mask or reticle is used for printing by being brought into close contact with the wafer to be printed in the contact method, or by being placed over the wafer at a slight distance from the wafer in the proximity method. However, as mentioned earlier, manufacturing one LSI chip requires several types of circuit patterns, that is, multiple masks or reticles, which must be replaced every time exposure and printing are performed. Become. As described above, devices for automatically exchanging masks or reticles one after another, such as automatic mask conveyance devices, have been proposed.

In this device, a plurality of masks are stored in a cartridge, and the cartridge is moved up and down to select a specific mask, taken out from the cartridge, and transported to a predetermined position. Note that a similar device has been proposed for conveying a reticle.

However, if there is dust or scratches on the mask or reticle, it will naturally be printed as a pattern error in the circuit, which will not only reduce the reliability of the device but also, in the worst case, cause disconnections or short circuits in the circuit pattern. invite. Therefore, if dust or scratches are found on the mask or reticle, immediately remove the mask or reticle and maintain it. Replace with the same type.) Work is required. However, with conventional conveyance devices, this work was all done manually.

In this way, it is not desirable for dust prevention to directly handle the mask or reticle manually. In addition, when putting a mask or reticle in and out of a cartridge for transportation, the mask or reticle may be used as a holding member, etc.
This is undesirable because it causes scratches and dust. The reason why it is necessary to take sufficient precautions against dust and scratches is that masks and reticles are expensive and it takes time to manufacture them. However, in conventional devices, the mask and reticle are attached to the cartridge with them exposed, so it is difficult to easily replace the mask and reticle in the cartridge for maintenance, considering dirt and dust from the human body. It had

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate conveyance device that can store substrates such as masks or reticles so that they can be exchanged without having to be handled manually, and can convey arbitrary substrates at high speed and reliably as needed. do.

In order to achieve this purpose, in the present invention, a substrate 10 such as a mask or a reticle is housed,
A predetermined space is provided between the case bodies 2 and 3 in which openings 9 are formed at positions for loading and unloading in a substantially horizontal direction, and the lower wall surface 3c and the upper wall surface 2 of the case body, which are provided inside the case bodies. In the transport device, the cassette case is equipped with a plurality of cassette cases including a holding portion 3a that holds the peripheral portion of the substrate so as to form a cassette case, and the substrate is taken out from inside the cassette case and transported. case,
a cartridge which is removably mounted in the vertical direction with the openings aligned in one direction and spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction; having a thickness d smaller than the lower surface side cavity t of the substrate in the cassette case; a horizontal conveyance member that enters almost horizontally through the opening; a horizontal movement mechanism that moves the horizontal conveyance member in the horizontal direction; and a horizontal movement mechanism that moves the horizontal conveyance member into any one of the plurality of cassette cases. a vertical movement mechanism 30 that moves the cartridge and the horizontal movement mechanism relative to each other in the vertical direction so as to face the opening; and a vertical movement mechanism 30 that is attached to the height of the horizontal conveyance member and an end of the cartridge in the vertical direction. a first detection means that outputs a detection signal when the relative distance in the vertical direction to the height of the lower side sky in the first cassette case becomes _l0 ; the first detection means is reset in response to the detection signal; and a counter that measures the number of pulses corresponding to the relative movement amount in the vertical direction of the vertical movement mechanism with the reset position as the origin; when each of the plurality of cassette cases is numbered in order in the vertical direction, input means for inputting a case number n; said n identified based on said input number, said relative distance and said interval;
In order to make the center height of the lower surface side space in the second cassette case and the center of the horizontal conveying member in the height direction almost equal to each other, the relative movement amount L from the origin of the vertical movement mechanism is adjusted. a control means for determining and operating the vertical movement mechanism in accordance with the amount of relative movement; a height of a holding surface attached to a part of the horizontal transport member and holding the substrate of the horizontal transport member; The difference between the height of the bottom surface of the board in the n-th cassette case is h+(t-d)/
2 (where h is a constant), the second detection means 50 outputs a detection signal to the control means.

After roughly moving the vertical movement mechanism in accordance with the predetermined relative movement amount, the control means may be configured to move the holding surface of the horizontal conveyance member in response to a detection signal from the second detection means. and the lower surface of the substrate in the n-th cassette case are accurately positioned to (t-d)/2, and the horizontal movement mechanism is operated to move the horizontal conveyance member to the n-th substrate. The horizontal conveyance member is moved relatively upward (t-d)/in the cassette case by entering the center of the lower surface side space inside the cassette case without contacting the surrounding area, and activating the vertical movement mechanism. The substrate is received from the holder after being moved by a certain amount greater than 2.

Specifically speaking, the cassette case has an opening 9 for horizontally loading and unloading boards.
and a holding part (step part 3) that holds the peripheral part of the board.
a) is formed. This holding portion forms a predetermined space on each of the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate housed in the cassette case. Sky below the board
is provided so that a horizontal transfer member (transfer arm 16) can enter therein, and an opening on the top surface is provided so that the horizontal transfer member can slightly lift the substrate from the holding section. Thereby, when the transfer arm 16 pulls the substrate out of the cassette case, the substrate is moved out so that it does not slide against anything inside the case.

This cassette case has cartridges 14 and 15.
The cartridge and the transport arm 16 are mounted at a predetermined height position of the vertical moving means 30, 32 to 37.
is moved relatively vertically by . At this time, the transport arm 16 is
The cartridge may be moved up and down relative to the transport arm 5, or conversely, the cartridge may be moved up and down relative to the transport arm.

And the transfer arm 16 and the cartridge 14,1
5, that is, the positional relationship in the height direction with the cassette case is determined by the limit switch 4 constituting the first detection means.
0 and a counter that counts the drive pulses of the pulse motor 37. This first detection means detects the height position of the transport arm relative to the cartridge, for example, with the origin being when the transport arm 16 is located at the highest position relative to the cartridges 14 and 15.

On the other hand, a limit switch 50 is provided as a second detection means to detect whether or not the transfer arm 16 has reached a predetermined height position relative to the lower surface of the substrate in the cassette case. Furthermore, a control means for controlling the sequence in an integrated manner is provided. The control means (calculator, etc.) monitors only the above counter,
The vertical movement means 30, 32 to 37 move the transport arm 1 until the counted value corresponds to a desired height position of the cassette case given in advance.
After driving 6 in the vertical direction, limit switch 5
In response to the detection signal of 0, the vertical movement means is operated to more precisely position the transfer arm 16 at the empty position on the lower surface of the substrate.

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

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dustproof cassette that can be attached to a conveyance device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Usually, the size of a mask or reticle is standardized to specific dimensions. Further, the circuit pattern is drawn with a predetermined margin provided around the mask or reticle.

Now, the mask or reticle (hereinafter collectively referred to as the glass substrate) is a dustpan-shaped bottom lid 3 in FIG.
is stored inside. This bottom cover 3 has an opening end surface 9.
There is a wall around the area as shown in the figure. Two steps 3a and 3b are provided at the top of this wall. The step portion 3a holds the edge of the glass substrate.
Further, an upper lid 2 is attached to the bottom lid 3 on the opposite side of the opening end surface 9, and is provided with a hinge 7 so as to be openable and closable as shown by arrow A in the figure.
is fitted into the stepped portion 3b of the wall of the bottom lid 3 to close the top surface of the bottom lid 3. Furthermore, a door member 1 (hereinafter referred to as the opening/closing member 1) is attached to the opening end surface 9 side of the upper lid 2 via a hinge 6 so as to be rotatable with respect to the upper lid 2 as shown by arrow B in the figure. There is.

The upper lid 2 rotates and fits into the stepped portion 3b, and the opening/closing member 1 closes the opening end surface 9, so that the glass substrate is stored in a substantially hermetically sealed state.
Further, a groove 8 is provided in the end face of the opening/closing member 1 as shown in the figure in order to operate in conjunction with a conveyance device to be described later. Furthermore, projections 4, 5 are provided on the outer surface of the wall of the bottom cover 3 for holding the cassette in a predetermined position on the transport device. The functions of the protrusions 4 and 5 will also be described in detail later.

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of the cassette with the top lid 2 closed and the opening/closing member 1 opened. Top lid 2
As described above, the glass substrate (not shown) is placed on the step portion 3b, and the glass substrate (not shown) is placed on the step portion 3a. Since the opening/closing member 1 is provided so as to be openable/closable by a hinge 6, in order to prevent the opening/closing member 1 from opening accidentally, a second
Insert the magnet 13 as shown in the figure. If the opening/closing member 1 is made of synthetic resin, a magnetic material is fixed to the surface facing the magnet 13, which is the back surface of the opening/closing member 1 in FIG. In this embodiment, the back surface of the opening/closing member 1 and the opening end surface 9 need to be in close contact with each other, so the magnet 13, magnetic material, etc. are buried slightly below the surface that is in close contact with them, so that their surfaces are not exposed. do not have.

Figure 3 shows a glass substrate stored in a cassette.
FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state in which the upper lid 2 is closed. By placing the end portion of the glass substrate 10 on the step portion 3a, a predetermined space is formed on each of the upper and lower surfaces of the glass substrate 10. That is, by making the height of the step portions 3a and 3b larger than the thickness of the glass substrate 10, a predetermined gap can be formed between the top cover 2 and the glass substrate 10, and the gap can be formed from the bottom portion 3c of the bottom cover 3. Depending on the height to the stepped portion 3a, the glass substrate 10
A predetermined gap can be formed between the bottom portion 3c and the bottom portion 3c. Further, a magnet 12 is embedded in a predetermined position of the stepped portion 3b as shown in the figure to prevent the top cover 2 from being opened inadvertently. As described above, when the top cover 2 is made of synthetic resin, the magnetic body 11 is embedded in a position facing the magnet 12 that is in close contact with the stepped portion 3b. A plurality of these magnets 12 and magnetic bodies 11 are provided at predetermined positions on the step portion 3b.

To store a glass substrate in a cassette as described above, first open the top cover 2 as shown in FIG. 1 and place the glass substrate on the step 3a of the inner wall of the bottom cover 3. Then, by closing the upper lid 2 and closing the opening/closing member 1, the glass substrate is stored in a substantially hermetically sealed state. If this cassette is installed in a cartridge such as a transport device, when the mask or reticle is replaced due to dirt, dust, etc., the entire cassette can be replaced. It has the advantage of being difficult to adhere to.

Next, a description will be given of an apparatus for mounting a plurality of cassettes, taking out glass substrates from the cassettes, and transporting them.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a cartridge section that holds a plurality of cassettes, a transport arm that takes out glass substrates, and a drive mechanism thereof. A column 43 is provided in parallel on the fixed base 18 for fixing the cartridge 15 and a plurality of cartridges 14 in a line as shown in the figure. Cartridge 1
4 and 15 have grooves formed on opposite sides thereof, into which the protrusions 4 and 5 of the cassette as described above are fitted. As mentioned earlier, the protrusions 4 and 5 are provided at predetermined positions on the cassettes, so when the protrusions 4 and 5 fit into the grooves of the cartridges 14 and 15, all the cassettes are aligned. become. A plurality of cartridges 14 are provided depending on the thickness of each cassette, which will be described in detail later.

The U-shaped vertically moving member 30 moves the cartridge 1
The cartridge 15 is attached to the side wall of the cartridge 15 so that it can freely move only up and down along guide rails (not shown) provided in the height direction of the cartridge 15 . A belt 34 is provided in the cartridge 15 via pulleys 32 and 33 on the back side of the groove in which the cassette is mounted. The pulley 32 is placed on the top of the cartridge 15,
The pulley 33 is provided at the bottom, and the rotation of the pulley 33 is controlled by a worm gear 36 and a worm wheel 35.
This is done by the rotation of the motor 37 via the . The rotation of the pulley 33 is then transmitted to the pulley 32 by the belt 34. In order to prevent each pulley and the belt 34 from slipping, irregularities are provided on the inner side of the belt 34 and on the outer circumferential surface of the pulleys so as to mesh with each other. In addition, the vertically moving member 30
is connected to the belt 34 on the inside thereof, and is moved up and down by the feed of the belt 34, that is, by the rotation of the motor 37.

A horizontal guide member 31 extending in a direction orthogonal to the height direction of the cartridge 15 is fixed to the vertically moving member 30. This horizontal guide member 3
1 is also provided with a U-shaped horizontal movement member 41, which is movable only horizontally along a guide rail (not shown) provided on the horizontal guide member 31.
Although not shown in FIG. 4, the horizontal guide member 3
A belt and a pulley are also provided on the inner side 31a of the vertically moving member 30, and the horizontally moving member 41 is moved as described above by a motor (not shown) attached to the vertically moving member 30. A transport arm 16 on which a glass substrate is placed via a support member 42 is provided on the horizontal movement member 41 so as to face the cassette. The transfer arm 16 has a fork shape as shown in FIG. 4, with fork portions 16a and 16b facing toward the cassette opening/closing member 1. Further, an intake hole 17 is provided above the fork parts 16a, 16b for sucking the back surface of the glass substrate with vacuum, and the interval between the fork parts 16a, 16b is wider than the pattern drawing area on the glass substrate. It is formed like this. Hereinafter, the vertical movement by the vertically moving member 30 described above will be referred to as a movement in the Z direction, and the horizontal movement by the horizontally moving member 41 will be referred to as a movement in the X direction.

By configuring as described above, the transport arm 16 can freely move in the Z direction and the X direction by controlling each motor.

There are two limit switches on the pulley 32 side and the pulley 33 side of the cartridge 15 to limit the movement of the vertically moving member 30, and on the horizontal guide member 3 side.
1 is also provided with two limit switches for limiting the movement of the horizontally moving member 41, respectively.

As mentioned earlier, each cassette opening/closing member 1
A groove 8 is provided in the side surface of the holder. This groove 8
is engaged with an opening/closing device for opening/closing the opening/closing member 1. This opening/closing device consists of an opening/closing mechanism section 26 shown in FIG. 4, and an air cylinder 27 that provides driving force for opening/closing. The opening/closing mechanism section 26 is attached to the vertical movement member 30 and moves together in the Z direction.

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view of the opening/closing mechanism section 26 seen from the side. This figure shows the state in which the vertically moving member 30 is moved by the motor 37 to a predetermined position corresponding to an arbitrary cassette. Air cylinder 2
A slide member 24 having a U-shaped notch 24a at the bottom is fixed to the piston 25 of No. 7. A ball 22a formed at the tip of the lever 22, which is supported by the shaft 19, is fitted into the notch 24a. This shaft 19 is connected to the support member 23
It is rotatably installed. Furthermore, a lever 21 is fixed to the opposite side of the shaft 19, and an opening/closing pin 20 that can be engaged with the groove 8 of the cassette is attached to the tip of the lever 21.
is provided. The length and diameter of the opening/closing pin 20 are determined so that it does not come into contact with the inside of the groove 8 when the opening/closing member 1 is closed as shown in the figure. The state of the lever 22, shaft 19, lever 21, etc. is as shown in the perspective view of FIG. 6, and when the lever 22 rotates clockwise around the shaft 19,
The opening/closing pin 20 also rotates clockwise. Therefore, the fifth
In the figure, when the air cylinder 27 is activated and the slide member 24 moves to the right from the position shown in the figure,
The ball 22a moves to the right while being fitted into the notch 24a, and the lever 22 rotates clockwise, causing the opening/closing pin 20 to also rotate clockwise.

Furthermore, since the vertical movement member 30 and the transport arm 16 always move in the Z direction, the difference between the height of the transport arm 16 from the fixed base 18 and the height of the shaft 19 from the fixed base 18 is always constant. be.
Although not shown in the embodiment, when the opening/closing pin 20 is engaged with the groove 8 as shown in FIG.
It is placed in advance so as to face the cassette between the glass substrate 10 and the bottom part 3c of the bottom cover 3 shown in the figure. Since the groove 8 is provided to pass through the end of the opening/closing member 1, the opening/closing pin 20 can be moved to any cassette in the state shown in FIG.

Then, when the air cylinder 27 is activated and the ball 22a moves to the right in FIG.
0 clockwise rotation opens the cassette opening/closing member 1 to approximately 90° from the position shown in FIG.

When the opening/closing member 1 is opened as described above, the horizontal moving member 41 shown in FIG.
a and 16b are inserted into the cassette. As described above, when the air cylinder 27 is activated and the cassette opening/closing member 1 is opened, the fork portions 16a, 1
The height of the cassette 6b from the fixed base 18 is approximately at the center of the gap below the glass substrate of the cassette. Therefore, the fork parts 16a, 16b
is inserted into the space below the glass substrate in the cassette. This situation is shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the cassette containing the glass substrate 10, viewed from above, and the upper lid 2, opening/closing member 1, etc. are omitted. As described above, the glass substrate 10 is held at the end by the stepped portion 3a. Further, the glass substrate 10 leaves a predetermined margin around the circuit pattern 1.
0a is drawn. Therefore, the fork portion 16a,
16b is inserted so as to be able to contact the surface corresponding to this margin. Further, as is clear from FIG. 7, the fork portions 16a and 16b are attached to the glass substrate 1.
0, that is, into the space between the glass substrate 10 and the bottom part 3c of the bottom cover 3 shown in FIG. Therefore, the step portion 3a and bottom portion 3c shown in FIG.
The height of the surface of the fork portion 16 of the transfer arm 16 is
The thickness is set to be larger than the thickness of a and 16b. This is to prevent the fork parts 16a and 16b from rubbing the bottom cover 3 of the glass substrate 10 when inserted under the glass substrate 10.

When the fork portions 16a and 16b are inserted into the cassette to a predetermined position in this manner, the transport arm 16 is moved upward by the drive of the motor 37. Then, the fork parts 16a and 16b come into contact with the blank space on the back surface of the glass substrate 10, and at the same time vacuum suction is also performed by the suction hole 17. The transport arm 16 further moves upward slightly and then stops. This is a necessary operation to slightly lift the glass substrate 10 from the step portion 3a. Therefore, the gap between the glass substrate 10 and the upper lid 2 shown in FIG. 3 is determined at least according to this lifting amount. The glass substrate 10 thus lifted is transported out of the cassette by moving the transport arm 16 in the direction of pulling it out from the cassette. After that, the air cylinder 27
operates to close the opening/closing member 1. The glass substrate 10 is then sent to an exposure device for printing and an inspection device for masks and reticles. thus,
The glass substrate 10 that has been processed is placed back into the cassette by a reverse operation to the previous take-out operation.

As described above, by creating a cassette with a predetermined space formed on the top and bottom surfaces of the glass substrates and by carrying out the transport operation as shown in the example, the glass substrates can be slid and inserted. Prevents you from falling out.

Note that the transport arm 16 as shown in FIG.
It only moves in the direction and Z direction. Therefore, the glass substrate can only be transported up and down after being removed from the cassette. Therefore, in order to transport the glass substrate to an exposure device or an inspection device, it is usually necessary to move the glass substrate in directions orthogonal to each of the Z direction and the X direction. This orthogonal direction is defined as the Y direction, and the conveyance device is defined as a loader mechanism. The loader mechanism, which will be described in detail later, is provided at the top of the device shown in FIG.

As mentioned above, when the vertically moving member 30 moves up and down and stops at an arbitrary cassette position, the cassette opening/closing member 1 is opened by the opening/closing pin 20, and then the fork portion 16a of the transport arm 16,
16b is inserted into the cassette. At this time, it is sufficient that the fork parts 16a and 16b are inserted into the space below the glass substrate in the cassette without sliding.
For example, when the fork parts 16a and 16b are inserted, it is conceivable that the fork parts 16a and 16b slide on the back surface of the glass substrate due to an error in the amount of movement caused by elongation and contraction of the belt 34 that drives the vertically moving member 30. Therefore, in the device of the embodiment, the fork portions 16a, 16
A mechanism for detecting the height of the transport arm relative to the glass substrate is provided so that the transfer arm b is reliably inserted into the space below the glass substrate without sliding.

This detection mechanism will be explained with reference to FIG. 8th
The figure is a partial sectional view showing the relationship between the transport arm 16 and the position of the cassette. Although the opening/closing member 1 provided on the upper lid 2 of the cassette is in an open state, it is omitted in the figure. When the horizontal movement member 41 moves toward the cassette as described above, the transport arm 16 is moved by the support member 42 to the position shown in FIG. 8. That is, the tip of the fork portion 16b moves to a position slightly inserted beyond the opening end surface 9 of the cassette and then stops.

The transport arm 16 is attached to the support member 42 via a hinge 51, and is rotatably provided around the hinge 51. In addition, the stopper member 52 functions to prevent the transport arm 16 from rotating clockwise from the position shown in the figure, and to determine the horizontality of the transport arm 16 so that it is approximately parallel to the glass substrate in the cassette. . In the state shown in FIG. 8, the transport arm 16 is in contact with the stopper member 52 due to its own weight. Also, the limit switch 50 is connected to the transfer arm 16.
This detects the counterclockwise rotation of the As mentioned above, the tip of the fork portion 16b is slightly inserted into the cassette and then stopped, but the insertion amount of this tip is shorter than the length from the side end surface of the glass substrate 10 to the opening end surface 9. is desirable.
In this way, the positioning of the transport arm 16 when moving up and down only needs to be between the inner surface of the top cover 2 of the cassette and the bottom part 3c of the bottom cover 3, and positioning accuracy is not necessary.

Next, the operation of determining the correct position (between the glass substrate 10 and the bottom part 3c) from the state shown in FIG. 8 will be explained. In this state, first of all, the vertically moving member 3
Move 0 slightly downward. Then, the support member 42 also moves downward, but at this time, the tip of the fork portion 16b catches on the bottom portion 3c of the cassette. When the support member 42 is further moved downward, the transfer arm 16 is separated from the stopper member 52, the limit switch 50 is opened or closed, and the transfer arm 16 is slightly rotated counterclockwise as shown by the arrow in the figure. To detect. This detection is performed by a detection circuit (not shown) that detects a change in the state of the limit switch 50. Next, the downward movement of the transport arm 16 is stopped in accordance with the output of this detection circuit.

The state at this time is shown in FIG. As shown, the fork portion 16b is attached to the bottom 3c of the cassette or is slightly inclined. The amount of inclination at this time is always set to a constant value depending on the mounting position of the limit switch 50 with respect to the transport arm 16. Therefore, the tip of the stopper member 52 and the bottom 3 of the cassette
The height difference h with respect to c is always a predetermined value. That is, the limit switch 50 detects this difference h and operates to stop the downward movement of the transport arm 16. When the difference h is detected in this way, the transport arm 16 moves upward. This amount of movement is a predetermined amount. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, the thickness of the fork portion 16b (16a is the same) is d,
Assuming that the distance between the glass substrate 10 and the bottom portion 3c is t, since t>d is determined as mentioned above, the amount of upward movement of the transfer arm 16 from the position shown in FIG. 9 is approximately h+(t-d). )/2, the fork portions 16b and 16a are located approximately at the center of the space between the glass substrate 10 and the bottom portion 3c. In the above equation, the difference h, the thickness d, and the interval t are all predetermined constant values. Therefore, in order to accurately determine the height of the fork portions 16b and 16a relative to the cassette from the state shown in FIG. 9, it is sufficient to move the transport arm 16 upward by a certain amount according to the above formula.

In this way, once the height of the transport arm 16 is determined,
After that, as described above, attach the fork parts 16a and 16b.
The glass substrate 10 is inserted into the cassette and the glass substrate 10 is taken out. Note that the opening end surface 9 side of the bottom portion 3c serves to define a reference position spaced apart from the back surface of the glass substrate by a distance t for this positioning.

By the way, as mentioned earlier, in order to hold the cassette, the cartridge 14, which has grooves into which the protrusions 4 and 5 provided on the side surfaces of the cassette fit, is used.
15 is required. However, if the cassettes are pillar-shaped cartridges that are simply provided with grooves, it is difficult to remove a specific cassette from the cartridge when stacked as shown in FIG. Therefore, in this embodiment, the cartridge 14 is divided into individual cassettes as shown in FIG. Each of the divided cartridges has a lock member composed of a hinge, a spring member, and the like. This situation is shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram simply showing how one cassette is attached to or removed from the cartridges 14, 15. When the cassettes are piled up, plate members 14a and 15a on which the protrusions 4 and 5 of the cassettes are placed are placed between the cartridges 14 and 15 so that the cassettes do not come into contact with each other and maintain a certain distance as shown in FIG. A plurality of grooves are provided at regular intervals. The cartridge 14 is provided with a locking member 14c as shown in the figure. This lock member 14
c is rotatable around the hinge 14b, and is biased in the direction of the arrow by a spring or the like (not shown). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, if the locking member 14c is opened so that the protruding part 4 of the cassette is engaged with the groove of the cartridge 15, and the cassette body is rotated so that the engaged part is centered. , the cassette can be installed and removed individually. At this time, even if the opening/closing pin 20 is engaged with the groove 8 of the opening/closing member 1 of the cassette, since the cassette rotates around the engaging part of the cartridge 15 and the protrusion 4 as shown in the figure, this opening/closing pin 20 is also removed from the groove 8.

By housing the mask or reticle alone in the cassette as described above, it can be easily attached to or removed from the cartridge by hand. In other words, if a mask or reticle becomes unusable due to scratches, dust, etc., the whole cassette can be replaced on the spot, allowing you to work without touching the mask or reticle directly as in the past, and eliminating the possibility of dust adhesion. The effect of prevention is extremely large.

Next, the loader mechanism described above will be described. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a loader mechanism located above the apparatus shown in FIG. 4.

As mentioned above, the transport arm 16 carries the glass substrate 1
0 is loaded and taken out of the cassette by driving the horizontal moving member 41. Thereafter, the opening/closing mechanism section 26 operates to close the opening/closing member 1. FIG. 4 shows the state at that time. The loader mechanism includes a loader guide member 60 arranged to connect the upper part of the cartridge 15 and the support column 43, and a loader movement that is movable along a guide rail (not shown) provided in the longitudinal direction of the loader guide member 60. Part 6
1, a rotor section 62 located above the transport arm 16 on the distal end side of the loader moving member 61, and the like. Inside 60a of the loader guide member 60, a drive system similar to the pulleys 32, 33 and belt 34 provided on the back side of the cartridge 15 described above is housed, and the belt is fed by a motor.
(Not shown) The loader moving member 61 is the loader guide member 6
0 via a U-shaped member 61a, and the member 61a is provided with a plurality of rollers so that it can move only in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 11 along the aforementioned guide rail (not shown). There is. Further, the loader section 62 is provided on the tip side of the loader moving member 61, and the loader section 62 has a box shape as shown in the figure.
The position thereof is arranged at a predetermined distance from the loader guide member 60. That is, the transport arm 16 is placed almost directly above the position where the glass substrate 10 is placed and taken out from the cassette.

A support plate 63 having a substantially similar shape to the glass substrate 10 is suspended inside the loader section 62 . Four claw members 65a, 65b, 65c, and 65 are pivotably supported at positions corresponding to the four sides of the support plate 63 by shafts (not shown) parallel to each side.
d are provided respectively. In addition, simply the claw member 6
5, the claw members 65a, 65b, 65
c, 65d shall be collectively referred to. Also,
Pistons of four air cylinders 67 engage with the portions of the claw members 65 that protrude above the support plate 63, respectively, to swing the claw members 65. Furthermore, rollers 69 are rotatably provided at the portions of the claw members 65 that protrude below the support plate 63, respectively. The roller 69 is provided so that its rotation axis is parallel to each side of the support plate 63, as shown by the claw member 65a in the figure. The operation of the claw member 65 will be described in detail later, but since the circumferential surface of the roller 69 comes into contact with the glass substrate 10 when sandwiching it from four directions, the roller 69 does not damage the end surface of the glass substrate 10. It is made of synthetic resin such as

Note that the claw member 65 is constantly biased by a spring member (not shown) so that the roller 69 portion opens outward. In addition, four air cylinders 67
are operated by air from a common air tube (not shown), and the air cylinders 67 are operated at the same time. Furthermore, the claw members 65a, 65b are prevented from closing inward at the roller 69 portion by the operation of the air cylinder 67 by stoppers 66a, 66b. The claws 65c and 65d are not subject to such restrictions.

Below the support plate 63 provided with the claws 65, air cylinders 67, etc., a suction plate 64, which is approximately the same size as the glass substrate 10, is suspended from the support plate 63 via a spring member (not shown). There is. Therefore, the suction plate 64 is provided so as to be elastically displaceable with respect to the support plate 63. The back surface of the suction plate 64 is provided with suction holes around the periphery for vacuum suction with which the top surface of the glass substrate 10 comes into contact. The positions of the intake holes are provided in the blank area outside the pattern drawing area of the glass substrate 10, but in the embodiment, as shown in the figure, four intake pipes 68 corresponding to the positions of the intake holes penetrate the support plate 63. and is fixed to the intake plate 64. Each intake pipe 68 is connected to each other by a pipe (not shown),
The vacuum suction operation of the glass substrate 10 is performed simultaneously.

Next, the glass substrate 10 placed on the transfer arm 16
The operation of transferring the data to the loader unit 62 is shown in FIGS.
This will be explained according to FIG. A transport arm 16 that takes out a desired glass substrate 10 from an arbitrary cassette.
moves a predetermined amount in the horizontal direction and stops at the position shown in FIG. At the same time, the opening/closing mechanism section 26 operates to close the opening/closing member 1 of the cassette. This predetermined amount of movement in the horizontal direction is such that the glass substrate 10 placed on the transfer arm 16
It is set to be almost directly below 4.

After that, the transport arm 16 is raised. At this time,
The transport arm 16 is attached to a suction plate 64 as shown in FIG.
It stops slightly below. Also, at this time, the vacuum suction on the transfer arm 16 side is stopped. Next, operate the air cylinder 67 as shown in FIG.
Close the roller 69 part inward. Then, the roller 69 comes into contact with the end surface of the glass substrate 10, but at the same time, the loader section 62 of the glass substrate 10
Perform positioning against. This positioning is determined by the aforementioned stoppers 66a, 66b. That is, even if the air cylinder 67 operates,
Since the upper portions of the support plate 63 of the claw members 65a, 65b are locked by the stoppers 66a, 66b, the roller 69 portions of the claw members 65a, 65b do not close inward beyond a predetermined value. Therefore,
The rollers 6 provided on the claw members 65a and 65b
The reference position of the glass substrate 10 is determined by the circumferential surface 9 . In addition, since the claw members 65a and 65b are respectively provided at mutually orthogonal peripheral portions of the support plate 63, the mutually orthogonal end face portions of the glass substrate 10 abut against the rollers 69 of the claw members 65a and 65b. , horizontal positioning of the glass substrate 10 becomes possible. Furthermore, the claw members 65c, 65
d, the roller 69 portion closes inward as far as the stroke of the piston of the air cylinder 67 allows, so the glass substrate 10 is urged by the rollers 69 of the claw members 65a, 65b and chucked.

At this time, the abutment position between the roller 69 and the end surface of the glass substrate 10 is such that the shaft 69a of the roller 69 and the glass substrate 10 are approximately horizontal, as shown in FIG. Therefore, the claw 65 is attached to the glass substrate 10.
The length of the claw 65 below the support plate 63 may be determined so that the end face of the claw 65 is held in its mouth as shown in FIG. 14. Also, as shown in FIG. 11, the protrusion 70 below the roller 69 of the pawl 65
protrudes inside the circumferential surface of the roller 69 (on the glass substrate 10 side) as shown in FIG. This protrusion 7
0 is for preventing the glass substrate 10 from falling off when it comes out of contact with the roller 65.

When the positioning and chucking are completed as described above, the transport arm 16 is raised by the slight gap between the suction plate 64 and the glass substrate 10, as shown in FIG. At this time, the glass substrate 10
contacts the suction plate 64, but since the suction plate 63 is attached to the support plate 63 via the leaf spring 71 as described above, the suction plate 64 moves slightly upward, causing a large amount of damage to the glass substrate 10. No locking force is applied. Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 15, since the roller 69 is checking the end face portion of the glass substrate 10, the roller 69 rotates slightly as the glass substrate 10 rises slightly. At the same time, vacuum suction is performed by the suction holes provided on the back surface of the suction plate 64, that is, the surface in contact with the glass substrate 10, as described above. Although the glass substrate 10 and the suction plate 64 are shown to be in close contact with each other in FIG. A portion is slightly raised and is in close contact with the glass substrate 10. Therefore, the suction plate 64 does not come into contact with the pattern drawing area.

Further, as mentioned earlier, the vertically moving member 30 that moves the transport arm 16 up and down is connected to the cartridge 15.
A limit switch 40 is provided at the top of the cartridge 15 to detect when the top of the cartridge has been reached. This limit switch 40 is shown in FIG.
With the arrangement shown in FIG. 11, it is provided to operate in the state shown in FIG. 15, that is, when the glass substrate 10 comes into contact with the suction plate 64 and further rises slightly. Therefore, the raising of the transport arm 16 may be stopped by operating the limit switch 40. Next, the transport arm 16 is lowered by a certain amount and stopped as shown in FIG. 16. This is to prevent the transport arm 16 from colliding with each other when the loader section 62 moves in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in FIG.

As described above, the glass substrate 10 placed on the transport arm 16 is transferred to the loader section 62. When the delivery is completed, the loader section 62 moves in the direction of the arrow as shown in FIG. There is a belt (not shown) driven by a motor on the inside 60a of the loader guide member 60, and the loader moving member 61 is conveyed to a baking device or an inspection device for dust, scratches, etc. as the belt is fed. Note that the transport arm 16 remains stopped at the position shown in FIG. 17 until the loader section 62 moves and chucks the glass substrate 10 again.

The configuration and operation of the transport device according to the embodiment of the present invention have been described above, and each motor for moving the transport arm 16 and the loader section 62 may be a pulse motor in order to improve the precision of positioning, etc. Therefore, the motor 37 (shown in FIG. 4) that raises and lowers the transfer arm 16 is the Z motor, the motor that moves the transfer arm 16 horizontally is the X motor, and the motor that moves the loader section 62 is the Y motor. Assume that the rotation amount of each motor is controlled by the number of pulses. In addition, the limit switch 40 and the limit switch 5 described above are also included.
0 operation is detected, and the sequence of the operation of each air cylinder, the drive of the motor, etc. is determined according to the program of the small computer. Therefore, the simplest flowcharts of the main parts of this program are shown in FIGS. 18 and 19. 1st
FIG. 8 is a flowchart 200 when taking out a glass substrate from a cassette, and FIG. 19 is a flowchart 3 when storing a glass substrate into a cassette.
It is 00.

Therefore, let us consider a case where the transport arm 16 operates from a position as shown in FIG. In FIG. 18, the transport arm 16 performs an arm raising operation. That is, a pulse signal is applied from the computer to the Z motor to raise the transport arm 16. At this time, the calculator reads the state of the limit switch 40 that limits the upper limit of movement of the arm 16 between the pulses of the pulse signal. Then, when the arm 16 rises the most and the limit switch 40 closes, the calculator stops outputting pulse signals to the Z motor. The vertical position of the arm 16 at this time is defined as the origin. At this time, the counter in the calculator is reset. This counter is, for example, an up-down counter that counts the number of pulses of a pulse signal sent to the Z motor, and the number of pulses is a value proportional to the amount of rise and fall of the arm 16. Next, the calculator inputs the address of the cassette from the input device, that is, the number of the required cassette from the top of the stack of cassettes. This input device allows the operator to specify the address arbitrarily, or to automatically specify the addresses sequentially. The calculator calculates the distance from the origin of arm 16 to its cassette according to this address. Then, a signal with the number of pulses based on the calculation result is applied to the Z motor. At this time, the Z motor is rotated in the opposite direction to that described above. The arm 16 thus descends and stops in front of a predetermined cassette. Note that the approximate value of this amount of descent L is calculated by the following formula.

L=lc(n-1)+lc n: Address of the required cassette (from top to bottom, n
= 1, 2...) lc: Distance between cassettes lo: Distance from the origin to the back surface of the glass substrate in the cassette at address 1. Therefore, the calculator outputs the number of pulses proportional to the calculated value L to the Z motor. . The relationship between the number of pulses and the value L is a ratio determined in advance by the amount of rotation of the motor per pulse, the ratio of the worm gear to the wheel, and the like.

When the arm 16 is positioned in front of a predetermined cassette, a cassette opening operation is then performed to open the opening/closing member 1 of the cassette. In this operation, as described above, the air cylinder changes the opening/closing member 1 from the closed state to the open state at an angle of approximately 90°.

Next, the arm 16 moves toward the cassette,
An arm positioning operation is performed to adjust the arm height to an appropriate amount as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. At this time, the calculator outputs a predetermined number of pulses to the X motor to move the arm 16 to the position shown in FIG.
move. Then, in order to lower the arm 16 slightly as described above, the calculator sequentially inputs the state of the limit switch 50 while outputting a pulse signal in the direction of lowering the arm 16 to the Z motor. Then, at the moment when the state of the limit switch 50 changes (for example, from closed to open), the calculator stops outputting the pulse signal in the downward direction, and immediately after that, the arm 16 rises slightly, as described above. . This slight increase is approximately h+(t-
d) is a constant amount expressed as /2, and the calculator outputs a pulse signal to the Z motor in the direction in which the arm 16 rises. The number of pulses of the pulse signal is, of course, proportional to h+(t-d)/2.

The calculator then outputs a pulse signal to the X motor that causes arm 16 to move toward the cassette. The number of pulses at this time is also a predetermined constant number. Then, when the fork portion of the arm 16 is located below the glass substrate, the calculator further outputs a certain number of pulses to the Z motor so that the arm 16 slightly lifts the glass substrate. When the height of the arm 16 is determined in this manner, the calculator stores the count value of the counter described above. Then, the calculator outputs a predetermined pulse signal to the X motor to move the arm 16 out of the cassette, and the glass substrate is removed. Further, after the cassette closing operation for closing the cassette opening/closing member 1 is performed, the calculator outputs a pulse signal to the Z motor to raise the arm 16 again toward the origin. The glass substrate taken out of the cassette as described above is delivered to the loader section 62 as described above. Furthermore, when the transfer is completed, the arm 16 is on standby at a slightly lowered position.

Next, referring to FIG. 19, the operation of storing a glass substrate in a cassette will be explained.

When the loader section 62 comes directly above the waiting arm 16, the calculator outputs a pulse signal to the Z motor to raise the arm 16. At this time, the calculator also inputs the state change of the limit switch 40 at the same time. Then, when the state of the limit switch 40 changes, the calculator stops outputting pulse signals to the Z motor and the counter is reset. Then, a receiving operation is performed in which the glass substrate is transferred from the loader section 62 to the arm 16. This is done by stopping the aforementioned vacuum suction of the loader section 62, stopping the operation of the air cylinder, and opening the four claws.

When the receiving operation is completed, the arm 16 starts vacuum suction of the glass substrate. and arm 16
descends to the cassette from which the glass substrate is taken out. At this time, the calculator outputs a pulse signal to the Z motor to lower the arm 16, but
At the same time, the number of pulses of the pulse signal is compared with the stored value proportional to the arm height stored earlier. Then, when the two match, the output of the pulse signal is stopped. Thereafter, a cassette opening operation is performed to open the cassette closing member 1. moreover,
The calculator outputs a predetermined pulse signal to the X motor to move the arm 16 toward the cassette, and then outputs a pulse signal to the Z motor to lower the arm 16 slightly. The glass substrate is thus held by the step within the cassette, and the arm 16 is placed at the proper height determined by the arm positioning operation described above. Thereafter, the arm 16 is pulled out of the cassette to complete the glass substrate storage operation, and then the cassette close operation is performed to complete the series of steps.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, various changes can be made to the positioning mechanism of the transport arm, the shape of the cassette, etc. Next, we will briefly discuss these changes.

In the embodiment, the transport arm is moved up and down to take out the required glass substrate from the cassette, but of course the cartridge with the cassette attached may be moved up and down. Furthermore, the conveyance device shown in the embodiment can be applied as is to a conventional cartridge that holds a plurality of glass substrates as is. At that time, as shown in Figure 20,
Stepped portion 10 provided on the inner wall of the cartridge 100
1 and 102 are made to protrude slightly inward so that only the edge of the glass substrate 10 is placed thereon, so that the transport arm can enter the underside of the glass substrate 10. Further, the thickness of the step portions 101 and 102 is also made larger than the thickness of the transfer arm. Furthermore, when the transfer arm performs height positioning, a protrusion 1 is used to pull the tip of the fork part to set the reference position.
03 and 104 may be provided on the opening side of the stepped portions 101 and 102. In Fig. 20, the protrusions are provided at only one step, but each step has 10 protrusions.
3,104 are provided.

Note that if the distance between the glass substrates is not so narrow and the thickness of the step portions 101 and 102 is considerably larger than the thickness of the transfer arm, only one of the protrusions 103 and 104 is sufficient.
Further, in order to determine the height of the transfer arm, a limit switch is used to detect that the transfer arm has swung upward, but a vacuum detector (vacuum sensor) may also be used for this detection. In that case, as shown in FIG. 21, a small block 105 is provided where the limit switch was located,
The upper end surface portion 105a of the block 105 is brought into close contact with the back surface of the transfer arm 16. Furthermore, an airtight chamber 105b is formed inside the block 105,
The tube 106 lowers the air pressure in the airtight chamber 105b. Then, the transport arm 16 swings around the shaft 51 to move the upper end surface 105a of the block 105.
The moment the airtight chamber 105b is separated from the air, the pressure in the airtight chamber 105b rises to almost atmospheric pressure. Therefore, by providing a vacuum sensor at the tip of the tube 106 and detecting this pressure change, it becomes possible to position the transfer arm. Incidentally, at this time, the transfer arm is vacuum-adsorbed to the block 105, which has the advantage of preventing the transfer arm from swinging inadvertently.

Furthermore, in the embodiment, the driving force for opening and closing the opening/closing member of the cassette is provided by an air cylinder.
It can also be a solenoid. Further, although the opening/closing member and the opening/closing pin are engaged with each other through a groove, this may be formed by a protrusion other than the groove, for example, depending on the opening/closing mechanism. Furthermore, it is also possible to provide an electromagnet in place of the opening/closing pin, provide a magnetic material at the end of the opening/closing member, operate the electromagnet at the required cassette, and attract the magnetic material to open the opening/closing member. .

In addition, the timing for opening and closing the cassette opening/closing member is such that in the sequence explained in the example, the transport arm is raised or lowered to the front of the required cassette, and then the transport arm is moved horizontally toward the cassette. It goes without saying that even during horizontal movement, the transfer arm can be opened and closed at a point where the tip of the fork portion slightly protrudes from inside the cassette.

As described above, in the present invention, the relative height position between the horizontal transport member and the cartridge to which the cassette case containing the substrate is attached is detected with reference to the origin within the transport device. Therefore, the vertical movement required to bring the horizontal transport member to face the opening of the desired cassette case is performed at high speed, and the amount of fine movement needed to precisely position the horizontal transport member within the gap on the bottom surface of the substrate is also extremely small. There is an effect that can be avoided. Of course, when the horizontal conveying member enters the cassette case, it does not damage the substrate.
Also, when replacing any board, you only need to remove the entire cassette case from the cartridge, so if another case is attached to the cartridge,
There is no need to touch the circuit boards in other cassette cases, and a good dust-proof condition can be maintained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a dustproof cassette that can be attached to a transport device according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of its main parts, and Fig. 3 shows a state in which glass substrates are stored in the cassette and the top cover is closed. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the transfer arm and its drive mechanism; FIG.
The figure is a partial cross-sectional view of the opening/closing mechanism, Figure 6 is an enlarged view of its main parts, Figure 7 is a plan view showing the fork section inserted under the glass substrate, and Figure 8 is a front view of the detection mechanism. , Fig. 9 is an explanatory diagram of its operation, Fig. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the lock member, Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the loader mechanism, and Figs. 12 to 16 are explanations of the operation of transferring the glass substrate to the loader section. Figure 17 is a perspective view showing the loader mechanism with a glass substrate loaded, Figure 18 is a flowchart for taking out a glass substrate from a cassette, and Figure 19 is a flowchart for storing a glass substrate in a cassette. , FIG. 20 is a perspective view of a cartridge holding a plurality of glass substrates, and FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a transfer arm when a vacuum detector is used. [Explanation of symbols of main parts] 10... Glass substrate, 14, 15... Cartridge, 16... Transfer arm, 30... Vertical moving member, 41... Horizontal moving member, 40, 50... Limit switch.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A case body that houses a substrate such as a mask or a reticle and has an opening formed at a position where it can be taken in and out in a substantially horizontal direction, and a case body provided inside the case body,
A plurality of cassette cases each comprising a holding part that holds the peripheral portion of the board so that a predetermined space is formed between the lower wall surface and the upper wall surface of the case body are installed, and the cassette case is A transport device for taking out and transporting the substrate from inside the cassette case, comprising: a cartridge to which the cassette case is removably mounted vertically at predetermined intervals with the openings aligned in one direction; a lower surface side of the substrate in the cassette case; a horizontal conveying member having a thickness smaller than that of the air and entering the lower side air almost horizontally through the opening; a horizontal movement mechanism that moves the horizontal conveying member in the horizontal direction; a vertical movement mechanism that moves the cartridge and the horizontal movement mechanism relative to each other in the vertical direction in order to cause the transport member to face the opening of any one of the plurality of cassette cases; A detection signal is output when the relative distance in the vertical direction between the height of the member and the height of the lower side sky in the first cassette case attached to the vertical end of the cartridge reaches a predetermined value. 1 detection means; a counter that is reset in response to the detection signal and measures the number of pulses corresponding to the relative movement amount in the vertical direction of the vertical movement mechanism with the reset position as the origin; each of the plurality of cassettes; an input means for inputting the number n of a desired cassette case when the cases are sequentially numbered in the vertical direction; the n-th cassette case being identified based on the input number, the relative distance and the interval; In order to make the center height of the inner lower surface side space and the center of the horizontal conveyance member in the height direction almost equal, the relative movement amount of the vertical movement mechanism from the origin is determined, and the relative movement amount of the vertical movement mechanism is determined. a control means for operating the vertical movement mechanism in accordance with the amount of movement; a height of a holding surface that is attached to a part of the horizontal transport member and holds the substrate of the horizontal transport member; and a control means for operating the vertical movement mechanism in accordance with the amount of movement; The difference between the height of the bottom surface of the substrate in h+(t-d)/2 (however, h
is a constant, t is the size of the space on the lower surface side of the substrate in the cassette case, and d is the thickness of the horizontal conveyance member), a second detection means outputs a detection signal to the control means; , the control means roughly moves the vertical movement mechanism in accordance with the predetermined relative movement amount, and then moves the holding surface of the horizontal conveyance member and the The difference in height from the bottom surface of the board in the nth cassette case is (t-
d) Accurately position the transport member at /2, operate the horizontal movement mechanism, enter the horizontal transport member into the center of the lower side cavity in the n-th cassette case without contacting the periphery, and move the horizontal transport member to the vertical position. The substrate is received from the holding section after the horizontal conveying member is moved relatively upward within the cassette case by a certain amount larger than (t-d)/2 by operating a moving mechanism. A device for transporting substrates. 2. The vertical movement mechanism is provided so as to be movable up and down along a guide rail extending in the vertical direction integrally with a base member that fixes the cartridge, and the horizontal movement mechanism is provided with a horizontal guide member provided on the vertical movement mechanism. 2. The conveying device according to claim 1, further comprising: a horizontally moving member that moves horizontally along the horizontal guide member, and the horizontally moving member is attached to the horizontally moving member.