JP4905362B2 - Drive device and substrate transfer system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a drive device and a substrate transfer system.

  In general, in a manufacturing process of a thin film solar cell or the like, a silicon film is formed on a glass substrate, and a substrate transport apparatus that holds a plurality of glass substrates vertically at a predetermined interval is used. In addition, a substrate transfer system that uses this substrate transfer apparatus to automate the film forming process of the glass substrate is used.

  Conventionally, as such a substrate transport system, a configuration as disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. The substrate transfer device used in this substrate transfer system includes a plurality of detachable plate-like substrate holders, and is mounted on a carrier so that each substrate holder is parallel to the vertical direction. . The substrate holding part includes a guide bar fixed in parallel to the left and right sides of the rectangular outer frame, an upper clamp part in which clips for clamping the substrate upper part are attached to a support plate fixed at both ends to the guide bar, A substrate attachment / detachment mechanism having a lower clamp part with a clip for clamping the lower part of the substrate attached to a support plate attached to the guide bar so that both ends thereof can be moved. The lower clip portion clamps the lower end to hold the substrate.

Moreover, the substrate is attached to and detached from the substrate transfer device by an automatic substrate attaching and detaching device, and the position of the upper clamp portion and the lower clamp portion is detected by a sensor in a state where the substrate holding portion taken out from the carrier is leveled. By moving the cylinder device to this detection position and pushing each clip from the top, the clip is opened and the substrate is released, and when the cylinder device is separated from each clip, the clip is closed and the substrate is held. ing. Then, the suction pad transports the substrate with the substrate released, and the processed substrate and the substrate before processing are exchanged.
As described above, the substrate transfer apparatus that repeatedly passes through the high-temperature / vacuum processing apparatus and the room-temperature atmosphere in the film forming process is not normal when the drive source of the substrate attaching / detaching mechanism is directly mounted on the substrate transfer apparatus. The substrate is attached and detached by an external automatic substrate attaching and detaching device.
Japanese Patent No. 3243044

By the way, taking out the substrate holding portion as described above and attaching / detaching the substrate by the automatic substrate attaching / detaching apparatus complicates the production process and complicates / enlarges the substrate transfer system. It is conceivable that the substrate can be held and released by a driving force supplied from the outside, and a force receiving portion that receives a driving force from an external driving device is provided in a part thereof.
However, each substrate transport device has a non-uniform position of the force receiving portion due to errors that occur during assembly, positioning errors that occur when attaching and detaching the substrate, and thermal expansion due to heat treatment. There is a problem that it is difficult to transmit the driving force optimally to the board attaching / detaching device.

  The present invention has been proposed in view of the above, and a driving device capable of reliably transmitting a driving force to a driven object even when the receiving force portion of the driven object is displaced, and a substrate transport using the same The purpose is to provide a system.

The drive device according to the present invention employs the following means in order to solve the above problems.
A driving device according to the present invention is a driving device that supplies a rotational driving force from the outside to a driven force receiving portion that is stopped in proximity, and an engaging portion that can be engaged with the receiving force portion; An alignment portion connected to the engagement portion, an advance / retreat portion that advances and retracts the engagement portion and the alignment portion toward the driven object, and an advance / retreat direction of the engagement portion and the alignment portion And a rotating part that is rotatable around an axis parallel to the axis.

  As a result, even if the force receiving portion to be driven is displaced with respect to the engaging portion, this is aligned and engaged with the force receiving portion.

  Further, the aligning portion moves the engaging portion in a direction different from the advancing / retreating direction by the advancing / retreating portion by engaging the engaging portion with the receiving force portion, so that the rotating shaft of the receiving force portion In contrast, the rotation axis of the engaging portion is made to coincide.

  In the substrate transfer system according to the present invention, the substrate transfer apparatus includes a substrate attachment / detachment mechanism that holds and transfers the substrate and that releases the substrate by a rotational driving force supplied from the outside, and the substrate transfer 3. The substrate transport system comprising: a drive device that is disposed in the vicinity of a transport path of the device and that supplies a rotational driving force to the substrate attaching / detaching mechanism from the outside. 4. The driving device is used.

  As a result, the engaging portion of the driving device is aligned and engaged with the substrate attaching / detaching mechanism and rotates.

  In the substrate transfer device, the substrate attaching / detaching mechanism is disposed at a predetermined interval in the normal direction of the main surface of the substrate, and the driving device is a force receiving portion disposed at each end of the substrate attaching / detaching mechanism. A plurality are arranged at the same intervals as the predetermined intervals so as to correspond to the positions.

  Accordingly, a plurality of substrates can be mounted in a compact manner and can be transported, and each substrate attaching / detaching device can be driven reliably.

  According to the driving device of the present invention, the advancing / retreating part moves the engaging part toward the driven object, and the engaging part is engaged with the driven force receiving part of the driven object and is engaged and rotated. Since it moves, a driving force can be reliably transmitted to the driven object. Moreover, since it does not rotate in the state which engaged incompletely, it can prevent that a load generate | occur | produces in a force receiving part and can prevent damage to a power receiving part.

  In addition, since the engaging portion and the force receiving portion are aligned by moving the engaging portion toward the driven object and engaging the force receiving portion, the alignment is reliably performed with a simple configuration. be able to.

  Further, since the engaging portion of each driving device is aligned and engaged with the force receiving portion of the substrate attaching / detaching mechanism, a driving force for attaching / detaching the substrate can be reliably supplied to the substrate attaching / detaching mechanism.

  In addition, a plurality of substrates can be compactly mounted and transported, and each substrate attaching / detaching device can be driven reliably, so that a plurality of substrates can be processed simultaneously and automatically, improving productivity. Can be made.

Hereinafter, embodiments of a drive device and a substrate transfer system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a substrate transfer apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
In the figure, the transport direction of the substrate transport apparatus is the X direction, the array direction of the substrate holders is the Y direction, and the vertical direction is the Z direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the board | substrate conveyance apparatus 1 is provided with the trolley | bogie 2 which has the wheel 2a, and can slide on the rail laid along the manufacturing line. This substrate transfer apparatus 1 constitutes a substrate transfer system A, and after a plurality of substrates P mounted at a substrate mounting position are transferred into a film forming apparatus and a silicon thin film is formed on the substrate P, It is transported to the substrate removal position.

  The substrate transport apparatus 1 includes six substrate holders 10, and the substrate holders 10 have a predetermined interval in the direction (Y direction) orthogonal to the transport direction (X direction) on the carriage 2. Are arranged in parallel to the vertical direction (Z direction).

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the substrate holding unit 10.
As shown in FIG. 2, the substrate holding unit 10 holds the substrate P on the holding frame 11 to carry it, and includes a clamp shaft 13 that is rotatably supported by the holding frame 11, and the clamp shaft. 13 is provided with a substrate attaching / detaching mechanism 16 including a clamp arm 14 that is attached to 13 and presses and holds the periphery of the substrate P, and a coil spring 15 that biases the clamp shaft 13 in the substrate pressing direction.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a main part of the substrate attaching / detaching mechanism 16.
The holding frame 11 has an opening 11a that is slightly smaller than the substrate P, and a clamp shaft 13 is disposed along the periphery of the opening 11a. A mounting pad 12 for mounting the substrate P is disposed at the lower end of the opening 11 a of the holding frame 11.

  The clamp shaft 13 is rotatably supported by a support arm 17 fixed to the holding frame 11. Further, the clamp shafts 13 orthogonal to each other are engaged with each other by bevel gears 18 attached to the ends of the two clamp shafts.

Further, the clamp shaft 13 that is vertically attached has a lower end that extends to the bottom of the holding frame 11 to form a force receiving portion 13A.
The force receiving portion 13A is rotated by a driving device 20 (described later) when the substrate transport apparatus 1 is at the mounting position or the taking-out position of the substrate P. A thin plate-like space 13a that communicates with the Y-direction is formed, and a pair of inner wall surfaces that face each other in the Y direction are formed in a tapered shape so that they narrow as they progress upward from the lower surface.

  The clamp arm 14 is a U-shaped member and is fixed to the clamp shaft 13 at a predetermined interval. A ring-shaped member made of rubber, resin, or the like is provided at the tip of the clamp arm 14 to prevent the substrate P from being damaged.

The coil spring 15 urges the clamp arm 14 in the direction of pressing the substrate P. One end is fixed to the holding frame 11 and the other end is fixed to the clamp shaft 13 in a state where an initial torsion angle is given. Has been. The coil spring 15 always urges the clamp arm 14 in the direction toward the opening 11a around the clamp shaft 13.
In the present embodiment, two coil springs 15 are attached to one clamp shaft 13. Further, the force receiving portion 13A rotates about 180 degrees.

  With such a configuration, the board attaching / detaching mechanism 16 can open and close the clamp arm 14 by rotating the force receiving portion 13A. That is, the substrate P placed on the mounting table 12 is pressed so that the clamp arm 14 presses against the holding frame 11 to hold the substrate P, and the force receiving portion 13A is rotated by the external driving device 20. As a result, the clamp arm 14 is opened against the spring force so that the substrate P can be taken out.

FIG. 4 is a view showing the substrate attaching / detaching device 19 constituting the substrate transport system A, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II in FIG. The central axis of the drive device 20 is O.
As shown in FIG. 4, the substrate attaching / detaching device 19 is provided at the substrate mounting position and the substrate taking-out position. When the substrate transport device 1 stops upward, the substrate attaching / detaching mechanism 16 of each substrate holding unit 10 is not moved. Thus, a rotational driving force is supplied to attach and detach the substrate P. The substrate attaching / detaching device 19 includes a drive unit 20U on each side surface in the X direction.
The drive unit 20U includes six drive devices 20 accommodated in a box-shaped casing 20K.

As shown in FIG. 5, the driving device 20 is arranged so as to substantially correspond to the positions of the six force receiving portions 13 </ b> A included in the substrate transport apparatus 1 stopped at a predetermined position.
The driving device 20 includes a driving force transmitting portion 20a that can be aligned and engaged with the force receiving portion 13A, and an air cylinder 20b that can be expanded and contracted in the Z direction and rotated about a central axis O parallel to the Z axis. I have.

6A and 6B are diagrams illustrating the driving force transmission unit 20a, in which FIG. 6A is a front view, FIG. 6B is a right side view, and FIG. 7 is an assembly configuration diagram of the driving force transmission unit 20a. It is. In addition, the driving force transmission part 20a which makes the rotating shaft of the engaging part 32 Oa is a first member 21 movable in the X direction and the Y direction, a second member 22 movable in the Y direction, and an air cylinder 20b. The first slider unit 25 provided between the first member 21 and the second member 22 and the first member 21 are provided with a third member 23 that is fixedly connected to the rod 40 in detail. A second slider unit 26 is provided between the first member 22 and the second member 22. Moreover, the 1st member 21 and the spring plunger 27 attached to the 3rd member 23 2 each are provided.

  The first member 21 is provided on the upper part of the driving force transmission unit 20a, and the disk-shaped member is substantially symmetrical with respect to a central line orthogonal to the central axis O in the Y direction. The base part 31 as if it was cut out in an arc shape and the engaging part 32 protruding in the Z direction from the main surface 31a of the base part 31 are integrally molded.

The base part 31 has a mounting plate 31b protruding in the X direction from both side surfaces facing away from each other in the X direction, and a circular hole penetrating in the Y direction is formed in the mounting plate 31b.
The engaging portion 32 is a flat plate having an upper end formed in a taper shape, and the engaging portion 32 and the mounting plate 31b are formed along the same XZ plane. The upper portion of the engaging portion 32 can engage with the upper side of the space 13a formed in the force receiving portion 13A.

The second member 22 is provided so as to be sandwiched between the first member 21 and the third member 23, and has a substantially disc-shaped base portion 33 and both end surfaces of the base portion 33. Two force receiving columns 33a formed on the periphery so as to protrude in the Z direction are integrally formed.
The force receiving column 33a has a quadrangular cross section on the XY plane, is formed point-symmetrically with respect to the central axis 0 on both end surfaces of the base portion 33, and the force receiving column 33a on one end surface. Is formed so as to be shifted by 90 degrees from the force receiving column 33a on the other end face.

The third member 23 is provided at the lower portion of the driving force transmission portion 20a, and is a base portion 34 substantially the same as the base portion 31, and a cylinder protruding in the Z direction from the back surface 34a of the base portion 34. The fixed portion 35 having a shape is integrally molded.
The base portion 34 has mounting plates 34b that protrude in the Y direction from both side surfaces facing away from each other in the Y direction, and a circular hole penetrating in the X direction is formed in the mounting plate 34b.

  The first slider unit 25 includes a slider 25s and a rail 25r. The slider 25s is on the back surface (−Z direction) of the first member 21, and the rail 25r is an upper end surface (+ Z direction) of the second member 22. The first member 21 can move relative to the second member 22 in the Y direction.

  The second slider unit 26 includes a slider 26s and a rail 26r. The slider 26s is on the lower end surface (−Z direction) of the second member 22, and the rail 26r is the main surface (+ Z direction) of the third member 23. ) Respectively. With such a configuration, the second member 22 can move relative to the third member 23 in the X direction.

  That is, the first member 21 can move in the XY direction with respect to the third member 23, and the base portion 31 of the first member 21, the first slider unit 25, the second member 22, The second slider unit 26 and the third member 23 function as the alignment portion 36 of the engaging portion 32.

  The spring plunger 27 is configured such that a spring is provided inside a hollow bolt, and the other end of a rod-like member 27a inserted into the bolt and fixed at one end to the spring is exposed to the outside. is there. The spring plunger 27 is fixed to each through-hole formed in the mounting plate 28b of the first member 21 and the mounting plate 31b of the third member 23, and one end of each rod-shaped member 27a contacts the force receiving column 33a. It touches.

  With such a configuration, when the first member 21 moves in the Y direction with respect to the second member 22, the second member receives a reaction force of one spring plunger 27 fixed to the mounting plate 28b of the first member 21. When 22 moves in the X direction with respect to the third member 23, the reaction force of one spring plunger 27 fixed to the mounting plate 31b of the third member 23 is received.

Returning to FIG. 4, the air cylinder 20 b includes a rod 40, a cylinder 41, and a rotating portion 43 disposed in the lower portion.
The rod 40 can be expanded and contracted in the Z direction from the state accommodated in the cylinder 41, and the fixing portion 35 of the third member 23 in the driving force transmitting portion 20 a is fixed to the tip of the rod 40. That is, the rod 40 can advance and retract the driving force transmission unit 20a in the Z direction.

  The rotating portion 43 is disposed at the lower portion of the cylinder 41 and is fixed to the casing 20K. The rotating portion 43 can rotate the rod 40 and the cylinder 41 around the central axis O. That is, the rotation part 43 can rotate the engaging part 32 around the rotation axis Oa.

Next, operations of the driving device 20 and the substrate transport system A having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIG. 8 which is an operation explanatory diagram of the driving force transmission unit 20a.
First, the substrate transport apparatus 1 is positioned at a predetermined position of the substrate mounting position in order to mount the substrate P on the substrate attaching / detaching mechanism 16. At this time, the substrate transfer device 1 is located above the substrate attachment / detachment device 19 and the force receiving portion 13A is located at a position substantially corresponding to each drive device 20 of the drive unit 20U.

  Next, each driving device 20 of the driving device unit 20U extends the rod 40 and advances the driving force transmitting portion 20a toward the force receiving portion 13A located above. Here, it is assumed that the rotation axis Oj of the force receiving portion 13A and the rotation axis Oa of the engaging portion 32 are shifted in the X direction and the Y direction due to positioning errors.

As the engagement portion 32 advances in the Z-axis direction, the X-direction component of the reaction force received from the taper portion acts on the second slider unit 26 via the engagement portion 32 and the like, so that the slider 26s moves the rail 26r through the rail 26r. By sliding in the direction, the engaging portion 32 connected thereto moves in the X direction.
That is, the rotation axis Oa in the engaging portion 32 moves in the X direction by the resistance generated when the engaging portion 32 engages with the force receiving portion 13A.
Further, the Y-direction component of the reaction force received from the tapered portion of the engaging portion 32 acts on the first slider unit 25 by the advancement of the engaging portion 32 in the Z-axis direction, so that the slider 25s moves the rail 25r in the Y direction. And the engaging portion 32 connected to this moves in the Y direction. That is, the rotation axis Oa in the engaging portion 32 moves in the Y direction.

  That is, as the engaging portion 32 advances, the rotation axis Oa of the engaging portion 32 is aligned with the rotation axis Oj of the force receiving portion 13A, and the upper side of the engaging portion 32 is the internal space of the force receiving portion 13A. Engage with the upper side of 13a.

  In this state, the rotation portion 43 is driven, and the rotation driving force is reliably supplied to the force receiving portion 13A to rotate the shaft shaft 13. When the shaft 13 rotates, the clamp arm 14 is opened, and the substrate P is placed on the placement pad 12 by a handling device (not shown) in this state.

  Thereafter, by rotating the rotating portion 43 in the reverse direction, the clamp arm 14 is closed and the substrate P is held by the substrate attaching / detaching mechanism 16. At this time, the rod 40 can be contracted and the clamp arm 14 can be closed by the urging force without rotating the rotating portion 43 in the reverse direction. In this way, the substrate P is held.

  Then, when the rod 40 is contracted to disengage the force receiving portion 13A and the engaging portion 32, the engaging portion 32 is engaged with the engaging portion by the reaction force that the spring plunger 27 receives from the force receiving column 33a. The 32 rotational axes Oa are returned to the reference position where they overlap the central axis O.

  After the rod 40 is reduced, the substrate transfer apparatus 1 performs a film forming process on the substrate P held along the production line, and after that, the substrate transfer apparatus 1 performs a process similar to the substrate mounting position after being transferred to the substrate take-out position. The substrate P is taken out by a handling device (not shown).

  As described above, according to the driving device 20, the air cylinder portion moves the engaging portion 32 toward the force receiving portion 13A, and the engaging portion 32 is engaged with the force receiving portion 13A. In addition, since it rotates, the driving force can be reliably transmitted to the substrate attaching / detaching mechanism 16. Further, since the driving force is not transmitted incompletely, it is possible to prevent a load from being generated in the force receiving portion 13A.

  Further, since the engaging portion 32 and the force receiving portion 13A are aligned by moving the engaging portion 32 toward the substrate transport apparatus 1 and engaging with the force receiving portion 13A, the alignment portion 36 and The driving force can be reliably transmitted with a simple and lightweight configuration like the driving device 20.

  Further, since the engaging portions 32 of the respective driving devices 20 are aligned and engaged with the force receiving portions 13A of the plurality of substrate attaching / detaching mechanisms 16, the driving force for attaching / detaching the substrate P is applied to the substrate attaching / detaching mechanism 16. Can be reliably supplied.

  In addition, a plurality of substrates are compactly mounted and transported, and each substrate attaching / detaching device is reliably driven, so that a plurality of substrates can be processed simultaneously and automatically, thereby improving productivity. be able to.

Note that the operation procedure shown in the above-described embodiment, or the shapes, materials, combinations, and the like of each component are examples, and can be variously changed based on design requirements and the like without departing from the gist of the present invention. is there.
For example, in this embodiment, the substrate attachment / detachment device 19 is provided at both the substrate mounting position and the substrate removal position. However, if this is configured to be movable and the production line is configured to be U-shaped, one substrate attachment / detachment is possible. The substrate can be attached and detached with the device 19.

In addition, the shape of the engaging portion can be changed as appropriate according to the shape of the force receiving portion, such as a cross-shaped structure when viewed from the top surface (viewed from the + Z direction to the −Z direction).
In the above-described embodiment, the rotating part and the advancing / retreating part are integrally configured using the air cylinder 20b, but these may be used separately.

It is a schematic block diagram of the drive device 1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the board | substrate holding | maintenance part 11 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the principal part of the board | substrate attachment / detachment mechanism 16 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the board | substrate attachment / detachment apparatus 19 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is II sectional drawing in FIG. 4 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the driving force transmission part 20a which concerns on embodiment of this invention, Comprising: Fig.6 (a) is a front view, FIG.6 (b) is a right view. It is an assembly lineblock diagram of driving force transmission part 20a concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the driving force transmission part 20a which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Board | substrate conveyance apparatus 13A ... Power receiving part 16 ... Board | substrate attachment / detachment mechanism 20 ... Drive apparatus 31a ... Main surface 31b ... Mounting plate 32 ... Engagement part 36 ... Centering part 40 ... Rod (advance / retreat part)
43 ... rotating part P ... substrate Oa ... rotation axis Oj ... rotation axis

Claims (4)

A driving device that supplies a rotational driving force from the outside to a force receiving portion of a driven object that is stopped in proximity,
An engaging portion engageable with the force receiving portion;
An alignment portion coupled to the engagement portion;
An advancing / retreating part for advancing / retreating the engaging part and the alignment part toward the driven object;
A rotating part capable of rotating the engaging part and the aligning part around an axis parallel to the advancing and retracting direction ,
The alignment portion includes a third member connected to the advance / retreat portion, a second member movably provided in a first direction relative to the third member, and the first member relative to the second member. A first member that is provided so as to be movable in a second direction orthogonal to the direction and that has the engagement portion; and before the second member moves when the second member moves relative to the third member A first spring plunger that is urged to return to the reference position, and when the first member moves relative to the second member, the first member is returned to the reference position before the movement. A drive device comprising: a second spring plunger for biasing .   The aligning portion moves the engaging portion in a direction different from the advancing / retreating direction by the advancing / retreating portion by engaging the engaging portion with the receiving force portion, and relative to the rotation axis of the receiving force portion. The drive device according to claim 1, wherein rotation axes of the engaging portions are made to coincide with each other. With holding and transporting the substrate, the substrate transfer device comprising a substrate detaching mechanism releasing of the substrate is performed by the rotation driving force supplied from the outside, turning driving force from the outside to the front Stories substrate removal mechanism A substrate transport system comprising:
A substrate transport system using the drive device according to claim 1 or 2 as the drive device. In the substrate transfer device, the substrate attaching / detaching mechanism is disposed at a predetermined interval in the normal direction of the main surface of the substrate,
The plurality of drive devices are arranged at the same interval as the predetermined interval so as to correspond to positions of force receiving portions arranged at respective end portions of the substrate attaching / detaching mechanism. The substrate transfer system described in 1.

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