JP3613564B2 - Suction stage for thin strip work - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a suction stage for a thin strip-shaped workpiece.
[0002]
[Prior art]
When a thin belt-like workpiece is coated with a resin, exposed with an exposure device, or printed with a printing device, or when a thin strip-like workpiece product is inspected, the workpiece is stepped and a predetermined area is predetermined. It is necessary to hold the surface in a uniform plane.
[0003]
Conventionally, Japanese Patent No. 2777835 discloses the use of a stage having a plurality of vacuum suction holes as the work holding means. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-232113 discloses the use of a substrate stage having a porous material when the use of such a stage is not preferred.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Recently, a synthetic resin film, which is a thin belt-like workpiece, has an extremely thin thickness of 25 μm to 50 μm , and the thin workpiece is held by a stage having a plurality of vacuum suction holes disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2777835. In this case, there is a problem that dents are generated in a plurality of vacuum suction holes and the smoothness is impaired.
[0005]
Further, if the sintered metal porous material substrate stage described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-232113 is used, the above-mentioned problem can be avoided even if the workpiece has a thin strip shape, but before and after the substrate stage in the workpiece conveyance direction. Is equipped with a lifting roller, and after the step conveyance of one area, when the lifting roller is lowered to place the thin strip work on the upper surface of the substrate stage, it is held while embracing air, so it is held on a uniform plane Sometimes it is not done.
[0006]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a suction stage that can hold a thin strip-shaped workpiece that has been step-conveyed in a region at a predetermined plane in a uniform plane.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The thin film-like workpiece suction stage of the present invention that achieves the above object has a structure having a plate-like continuous airway in contact with a stage main body having a recess, the lower surface of which is in close contact with the bottom surface of the recess, and the upper surface thereof is the recess. together allowed to fitted so as not to protrude from the suction port of the suction pipe connecting the vacuum means is made of direct contact with the central portion of the lower surface of the structure having the plate-like continuous airway from below the stage body . With this configuration, the thin strip-shaped workpiece is sequentially held concentrically from the central portion thereof, so that it is reliably held on a uniform plane.
[0008]
When the suction stage is used in an exposure apparatus, the exposure temperature is high energy, so the temperature of the workpiece rises and there is a risk of transfer displacement due to thermal expansion. However, a cooling mechanism should be provided in the stage body. If so, there is no such fear.
[0009]
Note that the cross-sectional shape of the suction port of the suction tube is preferably a reduced similarity of the plan view of the structure having a plate-like continuous airway, and the sintered body is preferably used as the structure having the continuous airway.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
[0011]
FIG. 1 is a front view of a thin band-shaped workpiece suction stage according to the present invention applied to an exposure unit, wherein 1 is a film that is a thin band-shaped workpiece, and 2 is a stage body. The recess formed in the stage body 2 has a structure 3 having a plate-like continuous airway, for example, a sintered metal plate, whose lower surface is in close contact with the bottom surface of the recess, and whose upper surface is extremely far from the recess. It is fitted so that it does not protrude. Reference numeral 4 denotes a suction tube, and the suction port is provided so as to be in direct contact with the lower surface of the sintered metal plate from below the stage body 2. Reference numeral 5 denotes a three-way valve for switching between compressed air or the atmosphere and the vacuum pump 6.
[0012]
Elevating rollers 7 and 8 are disposed before and after the stage main body 2 in the workpiece conveyance direction, and an exposure unit 9 and a mask 10 are disposed above the rollers.
[0013]
According to such an exposure unit, after the exposure processing of a predetermined region is completed, the three-way valve 5 is switched from the vacuum pump 6 side to the compressed air or atmospheric side, and the elevating rollers 7 and 8 and the mask 10 are raised to form a thin belt The workpiece 1 is step-conveyed. When the next region reaches a predetermined position, the elevating rollers 7 and 8 are lowered, and the three-way valve 5 is switched from the compressed air or atmosphere side to the vacuum pump 6 side so that the thin object 1 has a plate-like continuous airway. It sucks and holds on the structure 3. Next, the mask 10 is lowered to a predetermined position, and the mask 10 and the thin strip-shaped workpiece 1 are aligned, and then a predetermined exposure process is performed.
[0014]
If exposure light in the exposure machine is high energy, the temperature of the workpiece during exposure rises, and there is a risk of transfer displacement due to thermal expansion, as shown in FIGS. It is desirable to dispose the cooling mechanism 70. As the cooling mechanism 70, for example, a cooling plate in which a cooling water passage 71 is formed can be used. Reference numeral 72 denotes an O-ring for sealing.
[0015]
Next, the case where the adsorption stage of the thin strip-shaped workpiece of the present invention is applied to a roll-to-roll system exposure apparatus will be described with reference to FIG.
[0016]
The thin strip-shaped workpiece 1 unwound from the unwinding device 20 is conveyed to the suction stage through the buffer unit 30. The buffer unit 30 is composed of a pair of guide rollers 31, 32, a box body 33 that is open at the top, and an upper limit level sensor 34 and a lower limit level sensor 35 that are attached to the sides of the box body. A suction blower 37 is connected to the bottom via a suction pipe 36.
[0017]
A grip feed unit 40, a buffer unit 50, and a winding device 60 are disposed behind the suction stage along the conveyance direction of the thin strip-shaped workpiece 1. The grip feed unit 40 is composed of a fixed grip 41 and a moving grip 42, and the moving grip 42 is moved left and right by a feed screw 44 that is rotated by a drive motor 43.
[0018]
Buffer unit 50 includes a pair of guide rollers 5 2, 5 3, and the box body of the upper open, is composed of an upper limit level sensor 54 and lower limit level sensor 55 mounted to the side of the box body, the box body A suction blower 57 is connected to the bottom of the first through a suction pipe 56.
[0019]
In such a roll-to-roll type exposure apparatus, when the exposure processing of a predetermined area is completed, the fixed grip 41 of the grip feed unit 40 is opened and the moving grip 42 is closed to dispose the thin object 1 in a predetermined distance. Let it be transported. Since the operation of the suction stage unit is the same as described above, the description thereof is omitted.
[0020]
When the thin belt-like workpiece 1 is conveyed by a predetermined distance, the lower end of the loop in the buffer unit 30 rises. When the lower end is positioned above the upper limit level sensor 34, the unwinding device 20 is activated, and the position of the lower limit level sensor 35 is reached. When this occurs, the operation of the unwinding device 20 stops. On the other hand, when the lower end of the loop of the thin strip-shaped workpiece 1 reaches the position of the lower limit level sensor 55 in the buffer unit 50 at the rear stage, the winding device 60 operates to wind up the thin strip workpiece, and the lower end of the loop is the upper limit level sensor 54. When the position is reached, the operation of the winding device 60 stops.
[0021]
【The invention's effect】
According to the suction stage of the thin strip-like workpiece of the present invention, the lower surface of the structure having a plate-like continuous airway is closely attached to the bottom surface of the recess, and the upper surface does not protrude from the recess. together allowed to fitted as suction port of the suction pipe connecting the vacuum means, so that direct contact from below the stage body on the lower surface center portion of the structure having the plate-like continuous airway, the thin strip-shaped workpiece There is an effect that it can be held in a uniform plane at a predetermined position.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front view of a thin band-shaped workpiece suction stage according to the present invention applied to an exposure unit.
FIG. 2 is a front view in which a thin band-like workpiece suction stage according to another embodiment of the present invention is applied to an exposure unit.
FIG. 3 is a view taken along arrow AA in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a front view in which a suction stage for a thin strip-like workpiece according to the present invention is applied to a roll-to-roll type exposure apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Thin strip | belt-shaped workpiece | work 2 Stage body 3 Structure which has a plate-like continuous airway 4 Suction pipe 5 Three-way valve 6 Vacuum pump 7, 8 Lifting roller

Claims (4)

A structure having a plate-like continuous airway is fitted to a stage body having a recess so that its lower surface is closely attached to the bottom surface of the recess and its upper surface does not protrude from the recess, and suction is connected to a vacuum means. A suction stage for a thin belt-like workpiece in which a suction port of a tube is in direct contact with a lower center portion of a structure having the plate-like continuous airway from below the stage main body. The thin film-like workpiece suction stage according to claim 1, wherein a cooling mechanism is disposed in the stage main body. The suction stage for a thin belt-like workpiece according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a cross-sectional shape of the suction port of the suction pipe is a reduced similarity of the plan view of the structure having the plate-like continuous airway. The thin-band workpiece adsorption stage according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the structure having a plate-like continuous airway is a sintered metal.

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