JPH10109751A - Substrate transfer arm and substrate transfer method using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] Even when a substrate is warped upward or downward, the substrate can be kept in contact with only the pad without directly contacting the transfer arm, and the displacement of the substrate can be prevented. Provided are a transfer arm and a substrate transfer method using the transfer arm. SOLUTION: A glass comprising: a transfer arm main body 1 having a notch S formed therein and a plurality of pads 2 provided on an upper surface; and a transfer arm main body transfer section for transferring the transfer arm main body 1. A substrate transport arm for transporting the substrate 3, wherein the pad 2 is disposed substantially along at least outer edges 4, 7 of the transport arm body 1 and peripheral edges 5, 6 of the notch S; A transfer arm.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate transfer arm (hereinafter, referred to as a transfer arm) and a substrate transfer method using the same. More specifically, even when the substrate is warped upward or downward, the transfer arm which can maintain the state of contacting the pad without directly contacting the transfer arm with the transfer arm and prevent the displacement of the substrate, and using the same. The present invention relates to a substrate transfer method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a transfer arm of a liquid crystal display element manufacturing apparatus has a structure in which a rubber pad is provided on a plate-shaped transfer arm main body, and a substrate is horizontally placed on the pad. The transfer arm is used as a means for transferring a glass substrate to each chamber by, for example, a sputtering device. FIG. 8 shows an example of a conventional transfer arm.
8, reference numeral 21 denotes a substantially Y-shaped transfer arm body made of a metal such as aluminum alloy, SUS, or ceramic; 24, a first arm; 25, a second arm;
Is an installation table, and the respective components are connected so as to be able to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise around rotation axes X, Y, Z on a horizontal plane. FIG. 5 is an enlarged plan view of the transfer arm body 21.
22 is a rubber pad. Reference numeral 23 denotes a glass substrate transferred by the transfer arm body 21.

The rubber pads 22 are arranged in a straight line substantially along the respective axes near the center of the _two arm portions A ₁ and A ₂ of the substantially Y-shaped transfer arm body 21.

A substrate transfer method using the transfer arm body 21 shown in FIG. 9 is performed as follows.

First, as shown in FIG. 5, a glass substrate 23 is horizontally placed on a pad 22 on a transfer arm body 21. Next, as shown in FIG. 8, the transfer arm body 21, the first arm 24, and the second arm 25 are rotated clockwise or counterclockwise around the rotation axes X, Y, and Z on a horizontal plane. Then, the glass substrate 23 is transported to a predetermined position. The glass substrate 23 is
The glass substrate 23 is held on the transfer arm main body 21 by a frictional force generated between the transfer arm main body 21 and the glass substrate 23.

[0006]

However, as shown in FIG. 6, when the chromium film is formed on the glass substrate 23, the glass substrate 23 is warped downward due to the residual stress or the like. I have a love. Even if the downwardly warped glass substrate 23 is placed on the transfer arm main body 21, the glass substrate 23 does not come into contact with the pad 22, but comes into contact with the inner edges 21 a and 21 b of the transfer arm main body 21. Since the frictional force between the transfer arm body 21 made of a metal such as an aluminum alloy and the glass substrate 23 is smaller than the frictional force between the rubber pad 22 and the glass substrate 23, the holding force of the glass substrate 23 is reduced. . As a result, the glass substrate 23 sometimes shifts as shown by a two-dot chain line (23a) in FIG.

[0007] As shown in FIG. 7, for example, when a film is formed on the surface of the glass substrate 23 by a plasma CVD method, the glass substrate 23 is largely warped upward due to a residual stress or the like. There is a case. The upwardly warped glass substrate 23 is provided on the outer edges 21c and 21d of the transfer arm body 21.
In the same manner as described above, so that the glass substrate 23
Is reduced, and as a result, the glass substrate 23 may be displaced as shown at 23a in FIG.

The present invention has been made in order to solve such a problem, and even when a substrate is warped upward or downward, the substrate can be kept in contact with only a pad without directly contacting the transfer arm. It is another object of the present invention to provide a transfer arm capable of preventing a substrate from shifting and a substrate transfer method using the transfer arm.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided a transfer arm comprising:
A transfer arm body having at least a cutout or opening formed therein and a plurality of pads provided on an upper surface thereof, and a transfer arm body transfer unit for transferring the transfer arm body; Wherein the pad is disposed substantially along at least an outer edge of the transfer arm main body and a periphery of the notch or opening.

When the width of the substrate placed on the transfer arm body is W, the pads are arranged at intervals of 150 to 400 mm along the outer edge of the transfer arm body, and It is preferable that the pads are arranged at intervals of 150 to 400 mm along the periphery of the opening, and the height H of the pads satisfies 1 mm ≦ H ≦ 4 mm.

Preferably, the transfer arm body has a substantially Y-shape.

It is preferable that the transfer arm body has a lattice shape by forming a plurality of openings having a rectangular shape.

Preferably, the pad is further provided between an outer edge of the transfer arm body and a periphery of the notch or opening.

Preferably, at least about 8 to 12 pads are provided.

According to the method of transporting a substrate of the present invention, a plurality of pads are formed so that notches or openings are formed in at least a part thereof and a plurality of pads are always in contact with only the pads even if the substrate being transported warps upward or downward. The substrate is mounted on the transfer arm main body provided in (1), and then the transfer arm main body on which the substrate is mounted is transferred to a predetermined position.

In the transfer arm according to the present invention, since the pads are disposed substantially along at least the outer edge of the transfer arm body and the periphery of the notch or opening in the transfer arm body, the transferred board is Even when the substrate warps upward or downward, the substrate is always held by a predetermined frictional force, so that there is no problem such as displacement of the substrate.

For example, when the substrate to be transported is warped downward, a portion relatively close to the center of the substrate contacts a pad arranged along the periphery of the notch or opening of the transport arm body, Since it does not come into contact with the transfer arm main body, the substrate can be firmly held using the frictional force between the substrate and the pad.

On the other hand, when the substrate to be conveyed is warped upward, the portions near both ends of the substrate come into contact with pads arranged along the outer edge of the transfer arm body, and the transfer arm body has Since there is no contact, the substrate can be firmly held using the frictional force between the substrate and the pad.

[0019]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a transfer arm and a substrate transfer method using the same according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is an enlarged plan view of a substantially Y-shaped transfer arm body showing one embodiment of the transfer arm of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the transfer arm body taken along line II-II of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing a state in which the glass substrate is warped downward. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II of the transfer arm main body in FIG. FIG. 11 is an enlarged plan view of a transfer arm main body having a substantially lattice shape showing another embodiment of the transfer arm of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a transfer arm main body 1 provided with a plurality of pads 2 on an upper surface, which is a characteristic part of the transfer arm of this embodiment. In addition, 3 is a glass substrate to be conveyed.

Although not shown in FIG. 1, the transfer arm of this embodiment includes a transfer arm main body transfer section for transferring the transfer arm main body 1. As the transfer section of the transfer arm main body, a conventionally used transfer section is employed. For example, each component of the first arm 24, the second arm 25, and the installation table 26 shown in FIG. A mechanism connected so as to be able to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise around X, Y, Z, or a mechanism for performing horizontal horizontal transfer linearly is employed.

The transfer arm body 1 is made of a light and rigid metal such as aluminum alloy or stainless steel,
It is a substantially Y-shaped support made of ceramic or the like. The glass substrate 3 is easily placed on another work table or a conveyor between the _two arm portions A ₁ and A _2. , A notch S is formed.

The pad 2 is made of a material such as rubber, which generates a high frictional force with the glass substrate 3 (or a substrate made of another material) to be conveyed. The pad 2 is disposed in contact with outer edges 4, 7 of the transfer arm main body and peripheral edges 5, 6 of the notch. The pad 2 does not necessarily have to be in contact with the outer edges 4 and 7 of the transfer arm body 1 and the peripheral edges 5 and 6 of the cutout. Alternatively, if the transfer arm body 1 does not come into contact with the transfer arm body 1 when it is warped downward, it may be disposed substantially along the outer edges 4 and 7 and the peripheral edges 5 and 6 of the cutouts.

The shape of the pad 2 is not particularly limited in the present invention, and an appropriate shape such as a rectangle other than the illustrated circle can be adopted.

When the glass substrate 3 is transferred using the transfer arm shown in FIG. 1, the substrate 3 is placed at a predetermined position on the transfer arm main body 1, and then the transfer arm on which the glass substrate 3 is placed. The transfer is performed by transferring the main body 1 to a predetermined position by a transfer arm main body transfer section (not shown).

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, when the glass substrate 3 to be conveyed is warped downward, a portion relatively close to the center of the glass substrate 3 is located on the periphery of the notch S of the transfer arm body 1. The contact between the glass substrate 3 and the pads 2a, 2b is firmly held by using the frictional force between the glass substrate 3 and the pads 2a, 2b because the contact is made with the pads 2a, 2b disposed along and not with the transfer arm body 1. Can be.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, when the glass substrate 3 to be transferred is warped upward, portions near both ends of the glass substrate 3 are arranged along the outer edge of the transfer arm body 1. Since the contact is made with the provided pads 2c and 2d and not with the transfer arm body 1, the glass substrate 3 and the pads 2c,
The glass substrate 3 can be firmly held by using the frictional force between 2d.

Next, the relationship between the width W of the glass substrate 3 and the intervals S ₁ and S ₂ between the pads 2 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, when the width of the glass substrate 3 placed on the transfer arm main body 1 is W, the pad 2 moves along the outer edges 4 and 7 of the transfer arm main body 1. interval G ₁ is 150-4
The pad 2 is arranged so as to be about 00 mm, and the gap G ₂ is 150 along the peripheral edges 5 and 6 of the notch S.
４００400 mm, and the pads 2 are arranged such that the height H (see FIG. 2) of the pads 2 satisfies the relationship of 1 mm ≦ H ≦ 4 mm, thereby increasing the residual stress. Even when the glass substrate 3 is greatly warped upward or downward when the film is formed on the glass substrate, the glass substrate 3 can stably maintain the state of contact with the pad 2. .

In the above embodiment, the transfer arm main body 1 has been described as an example having a substantially Y-shape. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various shapes may be adopted. .

As another example of the shape, it is also possible to adopt a transfer arm body 1 having a lattice shape by forming a plurality of openings P having a rectangular shape as shown in FIG. In this case, if the pad 2 is disposed in contact with the outer edge of the transfer arm main body 1 and the periphery of the opening P, the same operation as in the above embodiment can be achieved, and the glass substrate 3 is greatly warped. Even so, the glass substrate 3 always contacts the pad 2 and does not touch the transfer arm 1, so that the glass substrate 3 can be stably held. The pad 2 does not necessarily need to be in contact with the outer edge of the transfer arm body 1 and the periphery of the opening P, and must be in contact with the transfer arm body 1 when the glass substrate 3 warps upward or downward. For example, it may be disposed substantially along the outer edge and the periphery of the opening.

If the pad 2 is further disposed between the outer edge of the transfer arm body 1 of the glass substrate 3 and the periphery of the notch or opening, the glass substrate 3 is hardly warped. The holding force in the flat state can be further improved.

If at least about 8 to 12 pads 2 are provided, the pads 2 are provided substantially evenly on the outer edge of the transfer arm body 1 and the periphery of the notch or opening.
This is preferable because a holding force can be evenly applied to each part of the glass substrate 3.

In this embodiment, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display element has been described as an example of a substrate to be conveyed. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a substrate made of plastic or the like may be used. By the transfer arm of the present invention, the transfer can be performed while performing the same operation as that of the present embodiment.

[0034]

According to the present invention, even when the substrate is warped upward or downward, the substrate can be kept in contact with the pad without directly contacting the transfer arm, and the displacement of the substrate can be prevented. it can. Further, since the substrate is less likely to be displaced, the transport speed can be further increased, and as a result, the production time when manufacturing a liquid crystal display element can be shortened.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged plan view of a substantially Y-shaped transfer arm main body showing one embodiment of a transfer arm of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of the transfer arm main body of FIG. 1, and is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing a state where a glass substrate is warped downward.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the transfer arm main body of FIG. 1 taken along the line II-II, and is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing a state in which a glass substrate is warped upward.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view of a transfer arm main body having a substantially lattice shape showing another embodiment of the transfer arm of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged plan view of a conventional transfer arm main body.

6 is a cross-sectional view of the transfer arm body taken along line VI-VI of FIG. 5, illustrating a state where the glass substrate is warped downward.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI of the transfer arm body of FIG. 5, showing a state in which the glass substrate is warped upward.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the overall configuration of a transfer arm.

9 is a plan view showing a state in which the substrate on the transfer arm main body in FIG. 5 has shifted.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Transport arm main body 2, 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d Pad 3 Glass substrate 4, 7 Outer side edge 5, 6 Perimeter S Notch P Opening

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A transfer arm body having a notch or opening formed at least in part and having a plurality of pads provided on an upper surface thereof, and a transfer arm body transfer unit for transferring the transfer arm body. A substrate transport arm for transporting a substrate, wherein the pad is disposed substantially along at least an outer edge of the transport arm main body and a periphery of the notch or opening. Transfer arm. 2. When the width of a substrate placed on the transfer arm main body is W, the pads are arranged at intervals of 150 to 400 mm along an outer edge of the transfer arm main body, and 2. The substrate transfer arm according to claim 1, wherein the pads are arranged at intervals of 150 to 400 mm along the periphery of the notch or the opening, and the height H of the pad is 1 mm ≦ H ≦ 4 mm. 3. 3. The substrate transfer arm according to claim 1, wherein the transfer arm main body has a substantially Y-shape. 4. The substrate transfer arm according to claim 1, wherein the transfer arm body has a lattice shape by forming a plurality of openings having a rectangular shape. 5. The substrate transfer arm according to claim 1, wherein the pad is further provided between an outer edge of the transfer arm main body and a periphery of the notch or opening. 6. The substrate transfer arm according to claim 1, wherein at least about 8 to 12 pads are provided. 7. A plurality of pads are provided on the upper surface so that a notch or an opening is formed in at least a part of the above-mentioned part, and even if the substrate to be conveyed warps upward or downward, the substrate always contacts only the pads. A substrate transfer method, comprising: mounting the substrate on the transfer arm body provided, and transferring the transfer arm body on which the substrate is mounted to a predetermined position.