JPH10275845A - Substrate transfer device and processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] The present invention provides a liquid crystal display device,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a transport device that can easily cope with such a situation. In a transfer apparatus for transferring a substrate in a predetermined direction, a support roller (8) arranged at predetermined intervals along the substrate transfer direction and supporting the lower surface of the substrate with a predetermined width.
, A drive source 26 for rotating and driving the transport shaft to transport the substrate in a predetermined direction, and a support roller disposed above the transport shaft with their axes parallel to each other.
A pair of pressing rollers 15 for pressing both ends in the width direction of the upper surface of the substrate supported by the roller, a pressing shaft 11 provided slidably in the axial direction, and the pressing roller according to the width dimension of the substrate. And an engaging body 47 which slides and positions along the axial direction of the holding shaft.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate transport apparatus for transporting a substrate such as a liquid crystal glass substrate and a semiconductor wafer, and a substrate processing apparatus using the transport apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a manufacturing process of a liquid crystal display device or a semiconductor device, there is a process that requires cleaning a glass substrate for a liquid crystal or a semiconductor wafer as a substrate with high cleanliness. As a method of cleaning such a substrate, there are a dip method in which a plurality of substrates are immersed in a cleaning liquid and a single-wafer method in which a cleaning liquid is sprayed toward a substrate to wash one by one. In addition to this, a single-wafer method that is advantageous in terms of cost is often used.

[0003] As one of the single-wafer systems, there is known a cleaning system in which a substrate is transported by a transport device and a cleaning liquid is sprayed from upper and lower surfaces of the substrate by a shower nozzle to perform cleaning. The transfer device has a processing chamber, in which a plurality of transfer rollers are rotatably provided at predetermined intervals along the transfer direction of the substrate, and these transfer rollers are driven to rotate. And the substrate is transported.

When a cleaning liquid is sprayed onto a substrate transferred by a transfer roller, the substrate is shifted by the pressure of the cleaning liquid.
In some cases, the substrate cannot be transported reliably. Therefore, in order to prevent the transferred substrate from shifting and moving, the substrate is transferred by pressing both ends in the width direction of the upper surface of the substrate with a pressing roller.

There are various sizes of substrates. For this reason, a so-called flat roller having a predetermined length in the axial direction is used as the transport roller, so that it can cope with a change in size.

[0006] However, the flat roller is attached to the presser roller.
If the size change can be handled by using a roller, the pressing roller presses the circuit pattern formed on the upper surface of the substrate, thereby causing damage to the substrate or contact with the substrate. Inconveniences such as an increase in area and contamination of the upper surface of the substrate occur.

Therefore, a roller having a width in contact with the substrate as small as possible is used as the pressing roller as compared with the flat roller, and only the both ends where the pattern in the width direction of the substrate is not formed are pressed. It is desired. However, when a press roller having a small width is used, when the size of the substrate is changed, it is necessary to position the press roller according to the size.

Therefore, in order to be able to cope with a plurality of types of substrates having different sizes, a transfer device having a structure capable of slidingly positioning the holding roller in the width direction of the substrate in accordance with a change in size is required. .

[0009]

As described above, when the substrate is conveyed by pressing both ends in the width direction of the upper surface of the substrate, not only the substrate is simply conveyed, but also the pattern of the upper surface of the substrate is changed according to the size change. In some cases, the pressing roller has to be slid and positioned so that the both ends where no is formed can be reliably pressed.

The present invention provides a substrate transfer apparatus and a processing apparatus in which a pressing roller can be automatically slid and positioned so that both ends in the width direction of the upper surface thereof can be pressed according to a change in the size of the substrate. Is to do.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transfer device for transferring a substrate in a predetermined direction, wherein the support device is arranged along the transfer direction of the substrate and supports the lower surface of the substrate with a predetermined width. A transport shaft provided with a roller, driving means for rotating the transport shaft to transport the substrate in a predetermined direction, and a support roller disposed above the transport shaft with their axes parallel to each other. A pair of pressing rollers for pressing both ends in the width direction of the upper surface of the substrate supported by the roller, and a pressing shaft provided slidably in the axial direction, and the pressing roller according to the width dimension of the substrate. Positioning means for sliding and positioning along the axial direction of the presser shaft.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the positioning means includes an engaging member that engages with an engaging portion formed on the pressing roller, and the engaging member is provided on the pressing shaft. And a drive mechanism for driving along the axial direction and positioning at a predetermined position.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate while transporting the substrate in a predetermined direction, a processing chamber, and a lower surface of the substrate disposed in the processing chamber along a direction in which the substrate is transported. A transport shaft provided with a support roller for supporting the substrate in a predetermined width dimension; a driving unit disposed outside the processing chamber for rotating the transport shaft to transport the substrate in a predetermined direction; and the transport shaft. A pair of press rollers, which are disposed with their axes parallel to each other and press both ends in the width direction of the upper surface of the substrate supported by the support rollers, and are provided slidably in the axial direction; Positioning means disposed outside the processing chamber for positioning the pressing roller by sliding the pressing roller along the axial direction of the pressing shaft in accordance with the width dimension of the substrate.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a presser shaft is disposed above the transport shaft on which the support roller is provided with its axis parallel to the axis, and the presser roller is slidably provided on the presser shaft. ,
Since the press roller can be slid and positioned along the axis of the press shaft according to the width of the substrate,
Both ends of the upper surface of the conveyed substrate can be reliably pressed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the engaging body engaged with the holding roller can be positioned at a predetermined position along the axial direction of the holding shaft by the driving mechanism, so that the size of the substrate is changed. However, both ends of the upper surface of the substrate can be reliably pressed by the pressing roller.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, even if the size of the substrate conveyed in the processing chamber is changed, both ends in the width direction of the upper surface of the substrate can be reliably pressed, and the conveyance shaft By providing a mechanism for positioning the drive means and the press roller by sliding them outside the chamber, it is possible to prevent dust generated in a mechanical slide portion from adhering to the substrate in the chamber, and furthermore, to prevent the chemical solution Thereby, corrosion of the slide portion can be prevented.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 5 is a plan view of a processing apparatus for cleaning a substrate W such as a glass substrate for liquid crystal or a semiconductor wafer, for example, in a partially sectioned and partially omitted manner.
This processing apparatus has a processing chamber 1. The processing chamber 1 is formed in a box shape, and has a carry-in port 2 on one end face and a carry-out port 3 on the other end face. The substrate W sent from the carry-in port 2 is transported to the carry-out port 3 by a transport device described later, during which the substrate W is processed, for example, the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate W are transferred from a cleaning nozzle (not shown). Cleaning is performed by a cleaning liquid or a cleaning brush to be sprayed.

The transfer device has a plurality of transfer shafts 5 arranged in parallel at predetermined intervals along the transfer direction of the substrate W. Both ends of the transport shaft 5 penetrate the side wall of the processing chamber 1 and are formed separately on the outside of the side walls.
, And are rotatably supported by first bearings 6 as shown in FIG.

The portion penetrating the side wall of the transport shaft 5 is a seal.
Is sealed in a liquid-tight manner by the
Flat roller type support rollers 8 each having a predetermined length in the axial direction are provided at both ends of the portion located in the processing chamber 1. The substrate W is conveyed by contacting the support roller 8 at both ends in the width direction of the lower surface. The support roller 8 is formed of a fluorine-based synthetic resin, and the support roller 8 may have a length that supports the entire length of the substrate W in the width direction.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a holding shaft 11 is disposed in the processing chamber 1 at a position corresponding to the transfer shaft 5 with its axis parallel. Both ends of each holding shaft 11 pass through the side wall of the processing chamber 1 and are rotatably supported by a second bearing 12. A portion penetrating the side wall of the holding shaft 11 is sealed by a seal member 13 in a liquid-tight manner.

The first bearing 6 and the second bearing 12 are held by a support member 14 erected outside the side wall of the processing chamber 1. The processing chamber 1 of the presser shaft 11
Presser rollers 15 are provided at both ends of
Are provided so as to be slidable along the axial direction and non-rotatable by a key (not shown). The holding roller 15 is made of a fluorine-based synthetic resin as shown in FIG.
a and the small diameter portion 15b are continuously provided.

A mounting groove 17 to which a pressing ring 16 made of an elastic material such as rubber having excellent chemical resistance is attached is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the large diameter portion 15a. A mating groove 18 is formed. In the engagement groove 18, a pressing roller 15 is slid in the axial direction of the pressing shaft 11 to be positioned at a predetermined position.
The zero engaging body 47 is engaged. The pressing ring 16 comes into contact with both ends in the width direction of the upper surface of the substrate W conveyed by the support roller 8 with a predetermined pressure.

One ends of the transport shaft 5 and the holding shaft 11 project from the first bearing 6 and the second bearing 12, respectively.
As shown in FIG. 1, a first gear 21 and a second gear 22 made of spur gears meshing with each other are fitted to the protruding ends. Further, a helical gear 21a is provided on the transport shaft 5.
And a third gear 23 made of a pinion meshes with the helical gear 21a.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the machine chamber 1a on the outer side of the side wall of the processing chamber 1 has its axis perpendicular to the transport shaft 5 and both ends are rotatable by third bearings 25. A supported drive shaft 24 is provided.
4 is fitted with the third gear 23. A driven sprocket 29 is fitted to one end of the drive shaft 24.

A drive source 26 is provided on the outer surface of the machine room 1a as shown in FIG. A drive sprocket 27 is fitted on the output shaft of the drive source 26. A chain 28 is stretched between the driving sprocket 27 and the driven sprocket 29. Therefore, the driving source 26
Operates and the drive sprocket 27 is driven to rotate,
The drive shaft 24 is driven to rotate via a chain 28 and a driven sprocket 29. When the drive shaft 24 rotates, the helical gear 21 is driven by the third gear 23 linked therewith.
a, the first gear 21 is rotated through
The second gear 22 meshed with the first gear 21 is the first gear 21.
And rotate in the opposite direction.

When the first and second gears 21 and 22 rotate, the transport shaft 5 and the presser shaft 11 are interlocked with the rotation of the first and second gears 21 and 22, so that the support roller 8 provided on these shafts 5 and 11 and the presser The substrate W having the upper and lower surfaces sandwiched by the rollers 15 is conveyed in a predetermined direction. That is, since the substrate W is transported with the upper and lower surfaces sandwiched by the supporting roller 8 and the pressing roller 15 to which the driving force is applied, even if an external force is applied to the substrate W, the transport direction, the speed, etc. Is not impaired.

For example, in the case of a processing apparatus for cleaning the substrate W with a brush, the external force applied to the substrate W increases because the cleaning brush rotates in contact with the substrate W. Is not impaired.

On the other hand, the positioning device 20 is disposed in each of the machine chambers 1a and 1b formed on the side of the processing chamber 1 (the state of being disposed in the machine chambers 1a and 1b is not shown). The provided press rollers 15 at one end and the other end in the axial direction are respectively slid in the axial direction for positioning.

Since the pair of left and right positioning devices 20 have the same configuration, only one will be described below. That is, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the positioning device 20 includes the machine room 1a,
1b. A first base plate 32 is horizontally supported on the upper end of the gantry 31. A first cylinder 33 is arranged at the center of the upper surface of the base plate 32 in the width direction so that the axis is parallel to the axis of the presser shaft 11 in the same direction. On both sides of the first cylinder 33, a pair of first guide bodies 34 are arranged in parallel.

Above the base plate 32, a first movable plate 35 is provided.
Is arranged. A pair of first sliders 36 slidably engaged with the respective first guides 34 are provided on the lower surface of the first movable plate 35. Further, a first tongue piece 37 is vertically provided on the lower surface of the first movable plate 35,
The rod 33a of the first cylinder 33 is connected to the first tongue piece 37. Therefore, when the rod 33a of the first cylinder 33 is driven, the first movable plate 35 is driven in the forward direction by the stroke indicated by S1 in FIG.

On the upper surface of the first movable plate 35, a second cylinder 38 is provided at a substantially central portion in the width direction with the axis thereof substantially parallel to the first cylinder 33. This second
A pair of second guides 39 are arranged in parallel on both sides of the cylinder 38. The second guide 39 has a pair of second sliders 4 provided on the lower surface of the second movable plate 41.
2 are slidably engaged.

A second tongue 43 is suspended from the lower surface of the second movable plate 41, and the second tongue 43 is connected to the rod 38 a of the second cylinder 38. Therefore, when the rod 38a of the second cylinder 38 is driven, the second movable plate 41 is moved to the position indicated by S2 in FIG.
Is driven in the same forward direction as the first movable plate 35. In this embodiment, S1 <S2
Is set to

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, holders 44 are provided on the lower surfaces of both ends in the width direction of the second movable plate 41, and one end of a mounting shaft 45 is fixed to each holder 44. ing. Each mounting shaft 45 passes through the side wall of the processing chamber 1. This penetrating portion is slidably sealed by a seal material 46 in a liquid-tight manner.

An engaging body 47 is attached to a tip of the mounting shaft 45 projecting into the processing chamber 1. As shown in FIG. 4, the lower end of the engagement body 47
A plurality of engagement recesses 48 are formed at the same intervals as those described above. Then, as shown in FIG.
Are engaged with the engaging grooves 18 of the press roller 15.
Therefore, when the engaging body 47 is driven in the forward direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 2, the press roller 15 provided on the press shaft 11 slides along the press shaft 11 in conjunction with the movement. It has become.

Next, the operation of the processing apparatus having the above configuration will be described. First, according to the size of the substrate W, the positioning ring 20 of the pressing roller 15 is positioned by the positioning device 20 so as to press portions of the upper surface of the substrate W on both ends in the width direction where the circuit pattern is not formed. I do. The positioning device 20 includes a first cylinder 33 and a second cylinder 38.
By this, the engaging body 47 can be advanced in two stages.

That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the engaging body 47 operates the first cylinder 33 and the second cylinder 38 at a first position shown by a solid line and does not operate the second cylinder 38. A second position shown by a dashed line advanced by a distance of stroke S2, and a third position shown by a dashed line also advanced by operating a first cylinder 33 to a distance of stroke (S2 + S1). The press roller 15 can be positioned in conjunction with the movement.

Therefore, the pressing roller 15 can press and hold the upper surfaces of both ends in the width direction of the three types of substrates W having different width dimensions. The lower surface of the substrate W is supported by a support roller 8 provided on the transport shaft 5. The support roller 8 is a flat roller having a predetermined length in the axial direction. Therefore, even if the size of the substrate W is changed,
Both ends in the width direction of the lower surface of the substrate W of each size can be supported. When the support roller 8 is a flat roller, the contact length with the substrate W is increased and the substrate W may be contaminated, but the contact with the support roller 8 is on the lower surface of the substrate W. Therefore, there is no particular problem.

When the press roller 15 is positioned in accordance with the width of the substrate W, the drive source 26 is operated and the transport shaft 5 is moved.
And the presser shaft 11 are rotated, and the loading port 2 of the processing chamber 1 is rotated.
Supplies a substrate W of a predetermined size. Thereby,
The substrate W supplied into the processing chamber 1 is conveyed in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 5 while the both ends in the width direction are sandwiched between the support roller 8 and the pressing ring 16 provided on the holding roller 15. You.

That is, since the positioning roller 20 allows the pressing roller 15 provided on the pressing shaft 11 to be slid and positioned, even if the size of the substrate W is changed, it is easy and reliable to change the size. Can be handled.

Thus, the loading port 2 of the processing chamber 1
The cleaning process (not shown) is performed before the substrate W supplied from is carried out from the carry-out port 3. When the cleaning process of the substrate W is performed with, for example, a cleaning brush, a large external force is applied to the substrate W.

However, the transport shaft 5 and the holding shaft 11 provided with the supporting roller 8 and the holding roller 15 sandwiching the upper and lower surfaces of both ends in the width direction of the substrate W are respectively driven by the driving source 2.
6, the substrate W can be reliably transported by the driving force without the transport state being impaired by the external force.

Dust may be generated due to mechanical frictional forces of the bearings 6 and 12 rotatably supporting the transport shaft 5 and the holding shaft 11, the drive source 26, the first to third gears 21 to 23, and the like. The portion marked with is provided outside the processing chamber 1.

Therefore, the dust generated in each of the above portions does not adhere to the substrate W transported in the processing chamber 1, so that the substrate W processed in the processing chamber 1 is not contaminated.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be modified without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, the engaging body is driven stepwise using a first cylinder and a second cylinder as positioning means for positioning the presser roller. However, the engaging body is driven using a linear motor or a driving screw. May be driven steplessly. In short, any structure may be used as long as the engagement body can be positioned at a predetermined position according to the size of the substrate.

[0045]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the presser shaft is arranged above the transport shaft on which the support roller is provided with its axis parallel to the conveying shaft, and the presser roller can slide on the presser shaft. The press roller can be slid along the axial direction of the press shaft according to the width of the substrate.

Therefore, even if the size of the substrate to be conveyed is changed, both ends of the upper surface of the substrate can be reliably pressed by the pressing roller, and the positioning of the pressing roller is automatically performed. It can be carried out. That is, it is possible to easily and reliably cope with a change in the size of the substrate.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the engaging member engaged with the press roller can be positioned at a predetermined position along the axial direction of the press shaft by the drive mechanism. Therefore, even if the size of the substrate is changed, not only can both ends of the upper surface of the substrate be reliably pressed by the press roller, but also the press roller can be reliably positioned with a simple configuration.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, even if the size of the substrate conveyed in the processing chamber is changed, both ends in the width direction of the upper surface of the substrate can be reliably pressed.
Moreover, by providing a mechanism for positioning by sliding the driving means of the transport shaft and the press roller, outside the chamber,
It is possible to prevent dust generated in the mechanical slide portion from adhering to the substrate in the chamber, and further prevent the slide portion from being corroded by a chemical solution.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged sectional view of a part of a processing chamber showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the relationship between a positioning device and a press roller.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the positioning device.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a part of an engaging body and a press roller.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a cross section of a part of the processing chamber with the presser shaft removed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Processing chamber 5 ... Conveying shaft 8 ... Supporting roller 11 ... Holding shaft 15 ... Holding roller 18 ... Engaging groove (engaging part) 20 ... Positioning device (positioning means) 21-22 ... Gear (drive means) 26: drive source (drive means) 33: first cylinder (drive mechanism) 38: second cylinder (drive mechanism) 47: engagement body W: substrate

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] April 23, 1997

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0011

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transfer device for transferring a substrate in a predetermined direction, wherein the lower surface of the substrate is arranged at a predetermined interval along a transfer direction of the substrate and has a predetermined width. A transport shaft provided with a support roller for supporting, a driving means for rotating the transport shaft to transport the substrate in a predetermined direction, and a drive shaft disposed above the transport shaft with their axes parallel to each other. A pair of holding rollers for holding both ends in the width direction of the upper surface of the substrate supported by the support roller are provided so as to be slidable in the axial direction, and the holding roller is adapted to the width of the substrate. And positioning means for slidably positioning the pressing shaft along the axial direction of the pressing shaft.

[Procedure amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0013

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0013] The invention according to claim 3, disposed in the substrate processing apparatus for processing while conveying the substrate in a predetermined direction, a processing chamber, at predetermined intervals along the conveying direction of the substrate in this process Chan in Bas above A transport shaft provided with a support roller for supporting the lower surface of the substrate with a predetermined width dimension, and a driving means disposed outside the processing chamber and rotating the transport shaft to transport the substrate in a predetermined direction. A pair of pressing rollers are provided slidably in the axial direction above the transport shaft, and are arranged so that their axes are parallel to each other and press both ends in the width direction of the upper surface of the substrate supported by the supporting rollers. And a positioning means disposed outside the processing chamber for positioning the pressing roller by sliding the pressing roller along the axial direction of the pressing shaft in accordance with the width dimension of the substrate. To be

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A transfer device for transferring a substrate in a predetermined direction, the transfer device having a support roller disposed at a predetermined interval along a transfer direction of the substrate and supporting a lower surface of the substrate with a predetermined width. A shaft, driving means for rotating the transport shaft to transport the substrate in a predetermined direction, and an upper surface of the substrate which is arranged above the transport shaft so that their axes are parallel to each other and supported by the support roller A pair of pressing rollers for pressing both end portions in the width direction of the pressing shaft, the pressing shaft being slidably provided in the axial direction, and the pressing roller being disposed along the axial direction of the pressing shaft according to the width dimension of the substrate. A substrate transport device comprising: a positioning means for positioning by sliding. 2. The positioning means according to claim 1, further comprising: an engaging member which engages with an engaging portion formed on said holding roller, and driving said engaging member along an axial direction of said holding shaft to move said engaging member at a predetermined position. 2. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a positioning drive mechanism. 3. A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate while transporting the substrate in a predetermined direction, comprising: a processing chamber; and a lower surface of the substrate disposed in the processing chamber at a predetermined interval along a transport direction of the substrate. A transport shaft provided with a support roller for supporting the substrate in a width dimension; a driving unit disposed outside the processing chamber for rotating the transport shaft to transport the substrate in a predetermined direction; A pair of press rollers, which are disposed so that their axes are parallel to each other and press both ends in the width direction of the upper surface of the substrate supported by the support roller, are provided slidably in the axial direction; And a positioning means disposed outside the processing chamber for positioning the holding roller by sliding the holding roller along an axial direction of the holding shaft in accordance with a width dimension of the substrate.