JP5561664B2 - Lift pin mechanism - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a lift pin mechanism that supports a substrate to be processed from below when processing the substrate to be processed, and more particularly to a lift pin mechanism that is suitable for heat treatment of a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display, a semiconductor wafer, or the like.

  In the case of a substrate to be processed such as a glass substrate for liquid crystal display, a film substrate, or a semiconductor wafer, a coating film is formed on the surface thereof and subjected to a drying process. In this case, the substrate to be processed is supported by lift pins from the lower side during the heat treatment or the like.

  For example, in the manufacture of a liquid crystal display, a coating film is applied to a glass substrate constituting the liquid crystal display and dried. When drying the coating film, a coating film drying furnace having a lift pin mechanism is used. It is done. In this coating film drying furnace, the glass substrate is supported by the lift pins and heated to high temperature to dry the coating film. At this time, the overheated lift pins are newly processed and the cooled glass substrate is heated. Abutting on the back surface and locally heating may adversely affect the coating film.

  Various improvements have been proposed to eliminate the adverse effects on the coating film due to local heating caused by the contact of the lift pins. An example of this is cited document 1.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the conventional coating film drying furnace described in the cited document 1 includes a hot plate heater 2 and a drying chamber 3, which are sequentially arranged in a five-stage drying chamber. 3, 3, ... are formed. A transport port 4 is provided on the side surface of the drying chamber 3, and a transport door 5 for opening and closing the transport port 4 is provided.

  The glass substrate 6 is taken in and out of the drying chamber 3 by a transfer robot 7 that has received the glass substrate 6 sent from the previous process. The transfer robot 7 moves up and down according to the transfer port 4 of each drying chamber 3 and includes an arm 8 extending from the transfer port 4 into the drying chamber 3, and the glass substrate 6 is placed on the arm 8. Then, it is carried into the drying chamber 3.

  The glass substrate 6 is formed in a rectangular shape, and a coating film 9 is printed on the upper surface 6a thereof.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the feeding means 10 is provided on the upper surface of the hot plate heater 2, which is the bottom surface of the drying chamber 3. The feeding means 10 includes a support pin 11 that is in contact with and supported by the lower surface of the glass substrate 6 carried in from the transport port 4, and a moving pin 12. The moving pin 12 is attached to a vertical air cylinder 13 that moves the tip 12a of the moving pin 12 vertically to a position lower and higher than the tip 11a of the support pin 11. The vertical air cylinder 13 is attached to a horizontal air cylinder 14 which is a horizontal expansion / contraction mechanism that moves in the horizontal direction.

  Thereby, the drying operation of the glass substrate 6 is performed as follows.

  The glass substrate 6 is placed on the arm 8 of the transfer robot 7 and is carried into the drying chamber 3. A carry-in door 5 is opened at the transport port 4 of the drying chamber 3. The glass substrate 6 supported on the arm 8 is carried into the drying chamber 3 from the transport port 4, the arm 8 is lowered, and the glass substrate 6 is placed on the support pins 11. Next, the carry-in door 5 is closed (state shown in FIG. 3A). The inside of the drying chamber 3 is controlled to a set temperature by the hot plate heater 2.

  Next, the moving pin 12 is raised by the vertical air cylinder 13, and the contact of the bottom surface of the glass substrate 6 is switched from the support pin 11 to the moving pin 12 (the state of FIG. 3B).

  Next, the vertical air cylinder 13 and the moving pin 12 are moved by the horizontal air cylinder 14 (the state moved to the right in FIG. 3C) to move the glass substrate 6, and the moving pin 12 is lowered by the vertical air cylinder 13. (State of FIG. 3D), the glass substrate 6 is placed on the support pins 11. Next, the moving pin 12 is returned to the original position (the state shown in FIG. 3E).

  This cycle is set as one cycle, and this cycle is repeated many times during the drying time. This cycle is less likely to occur as the moving pin 12 moves faster, but it takes about 4 to 8 seconds depending on the thickness of the coating film.

  Perform this cycle or reverse cycle (Fig. 3 (e)-> Fig. 3 (d)-> Fig. 3 (c)-> Fig. 3 (b)-> Fig. 3 (a)) so that the trace of the pin is less likely to occur. Yes.

In addition, there is also a glass substrate that is alternately supported by lift pins and fixing pins so that pin marks or the like are not generated. An example of this is described in cited document 2. Specifically, when the substrate is carried into the processing chamber, the lift pin is raised to a predetermined position, the substrate is placed on the lift pin, and the lift pin is lowered. When the lift pins are lowered, the substrate is transferred from the lift pins to the fixed pins at a position where the upper end portion of the fixed pins contacts the lower surface of the substrate. And the upper end part of a lift pin stops in the position which does not contact the lower surface of a board | substrate. When the decompression of the processing chamber is started and the processing is completed, the lift pin rises again, receives the substrate from the fixed pin, and raises it to a predetermined position. In this way, the same position of the substrate is not continuously held by the pins so that pin marks or the like are not generated.
JP 2006-61755 A JP-A-10-76211

  However, in the coating film drying furnace of Patent Document 1, the glass substrate 6 is lifted and shifted by the moving pin 12 and placed on the supporting pin 11, but the heated supporting pin 11 and moving pin are moved by the series of operations. 12 contacts the back surface of the glass substrate 6 for several seconds, and the glass substrate 6 is overheated.

  At this time, there is no problem if the heat conductivity is poor due to the thickness or material of the glass substrate 6 and it is difficult to transfer heat to the coating film 9 on the upper surface of the glass substrate 6, but the glass substrate 6 is thin or heat conductive. If the rate is good, heat is transmitted to the coating film 9, resulting in uneven drying and pin marks.

  Moreover, in the vacuum drying apparatus of patent document 2, although it is the structure of supporting and drying different positions of the lower surface of a glass substrate alternately with a fixing pin and a lift pin, since it only supports alternately with two points, it is glass. If the substrate is thin or the thermal conductivity is good, the heat is transmitted to the coating film, which causes adverse effects such as uneven drying and pin marks.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a lift pin mechanism that minimizes the influence on the substrate to be processed by the pins that are supported by contact.

In order to solve such a problem, the present invention is a lift pin mechanism provided with lift pins for supporting a substrate to be processed from the lower side thereof, and (1) different support regions for the substrate to be processed. A plurality of elevating pin units disposed below the substrate to be processed; (2) each elevating pin unit is (2-1) a plurality of elevating pins supported so as to be vertically movable ; (2-2) A cam mechanism that is provided corresponding to each of the lifting pins and that lifts and lowers the lifting pins in contact with the corresponding lower end of the lifting pins. (2-3) Each cam , wherein the vertical movement of each of the lifting pins is interlocked so as to be repeated, and the substrate to be processed is supported at a set height by the lifting pins that protrude most upward. Drive mechanism And a drive unit that drives the vertical movement of each lifting pin by the lifting means , and (3) arranging the plurality of lifting pin units in a row at intervals, and A plurality of rows are provided at intervals in the orthogonal direction of the rows, and (4) the drive units of the plurality of lift pin units in the same row are each subjected to a common drive source motion, and corresponding cam mechanisms of the lift means are provided. It is characterized by being driven .

  With the above configuration, the plurality of lifting pin units disposed below the substrate to be processed lifts the lifting pins one by one or two or more at the same time and sequentially, and the upper end of each lifting pin is By contacting the lower surface of the processing target substrate, the processing target substrate is supported by the lift pins.

  When the substrate to be processed is heat-treated, heat from the heated elevating pins is not easily transmitted to the substrate to be processed, and it is possible to reliably prevent the surface of the substrate to be processed from becoming uneven or pin marks. Can do.

It is a perspective view which shows the lift pin mechanism concerning 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic side view which shows the conventional drying furnace for coating films. It is a schematic diagram which shows operation | movement of the moving pin of the conventional drying furnace for coating films. It is a principal part enlarged view which shows the lift pin mechanism concerning 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows operation | movement by arranging the A, B, C, D arrow cross section of FIG. 4 at the space | interval of each raising / lowering pin for convenience. It is the top view which looked at the lift pin mechanism concerning 1st Embodiment of this invention from the upper side of the hot plate. It is a front view which shows the lift pin mechanism concerning 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a principal part enlarged view which shows the cam mechanism of the lift pin mechanism concerning 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the thermal expansion absorption means of the lift pin mechanism concerning 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the modification of 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the lift pin mechanism concerning 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the lift pin mechanism concerning 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a side view which shows the eccentric cam which concerns on the modification of this invention. It is a side view which shows the linear cam which concerns on the modification of this invention. It is a front view which shows the lift pin mechanism which concerns on the modification of this invention. It is a side view which shows the cam mechanism and vacuum chamber of the lift pin mechanism concerning embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  21 Lift Pin Mechanism, 22 Lift Pin Unit, 23 Lift Pin, 24 Lifting Means, 25 Drive Unit, 26 Glass Substrate, 27 Shaft Part, 28 Head, 29 Spring, 30 Cam Mechanism, 31 Connecting Shaft, 32 Coupling, 34 Container , 35 camshaft, 36 eccentric cam, 38 drive motor, 39 motor connecting shaft, 40 control unit, 43 hot plate, 44 insertion hole, 45 base plate.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described. The lift pin mechanism of the present invention is an apparatus improved so as to minimize the influence on the processing target substrate by the pins that contact the processing target substrate and support the processing target substrate. This effect may be heat, static electricity, or the like. Here, an example in which the influence of heat is eliminated will be described. Specifically, a coating film drying furnace similar to the prior art will be described as an example. For this reason, a process target board | substrate turns into a glass substrate by which the coating film was given to the upper surface. In addition, since the whole structure of the drying furnace for coating films is the same as that of a prior art, it demonstrates here centering on a lift pin mechanism.

[First Embodiment]
As shown in FIG. 1, the lift pin mechanism 21 is a mechanism for supporting the glass substrate 26 (see FIG. 4) from below. The lift pin mechanism 21 includes a plurality of elevating pin units 22 arranged below the glass substrate 26 over the entire area of the glass substrate 26.

  The lifting / lowering pin unit 22 includes four lifting / lowering pins 23 as a set, and raises or lowers one or more of the lifting / lowering pins 23 one by one or two at a time in order. It is an apparatus for abutting and supporting the lower surface of the glass substrate 26.

  Specifically, the lifting pin unit 22 includes a lifting pin 23, a lifting means 24, and a drive unit 25.

  The elevating pins 23 are a material for supporting the glass substrate 26 from below while being supported so as to be movable up and down. The elevating pin 23 includes a shaft portion 27 and a head portion 28. The shaft portion 27 is a portion that is supported so as to move up and down and moves up and down by the lifting means 24. The head portion 28 is a portion that is provided integrally with the lower end portion of the shaft portion 27 and that abuts on an eccentric cam 36 of the elevating means 24 described later and follows the cam surface. When the head portion 28 comes into contact with and follows the cam surface of the eccentric cam 36, the elevating pin 23 moves up and down along the shape of the cam surface. The lift pins 23 are provided with springs 29 (see FIG. 4) as necessary. The spring 29 urges the elevating pin 23 downward so that the elevating pin 23 pushed up by the eccentric cam 36 moves up and down following the cam surface of the eccentric cam 36.

  The elevating means 24 is a device for moving the elevating pin 23 up and down. The elevating means 24 includes a cam mechanism 30, a connecting shaft 31, and a coupling 32.

  The cam mechanism 30 is a device for raising and lowering the lifting pin 23 by contacting the head 28 at the lower end of the lifting pin 23. As shown in FIGS. 1, 4, and 5, the cam mechanism 30 includes a camshaft 35 that is rotatably supported in the container 34, and four eccentric cams 36 provided on the camshaft 35. ing. All of the four eccentric cams 36 have a circular cam surface on the outer periphery, and are arranged by changing the eccentric direction by 90 degrees sequentially from the cam at one end thereof. Thus, the four elevating pins 23 are pushed up one by one from the one end in order, and are in contact with and supported by the back surface of the glass substrate 26.

  The connecting shaft 31 is connected to the camshaft 35 and is a shaft for transmitting torque from the drive unit 25.

  The coupling 32 is a member for connecting the connecting shafts 31 to each other and a motor connecting shaft 39 of the driving motor 38 to be described later and the connecting shaft 31. The coupling 32 includes a connecting hole 32A in which the motor connecting shaft 39 and the connecting shaft 31 are fitted in the center of the cylindrical main body. The connecting shaft 31 and the like are inserted into the connecting hole 32A and their tips are screwed. Fix and connect with 32B.

  The drive unit 25 includes a drive motor 38 and a motor connecting shaft 39. The drive motor 38 is a motor that drives the cam shaft 35 of the cam mechanism 30. The drive motor 38 is connected to a control unit 40 that controls the drive motor 38. The control unit 40 is a device for adjusting the speed at which the elevating means 24 is driven. The control part 40 is comprised as an independent apparatus which controls only the drive motor 38, or is integrated as a part of control part (not shown) which controls the whole drying furnace for coating films. The control unit 40 can control the drive motor 38 to adjust the rotational speed of the eccentric cam 36 of the camshaft 35. Specifically, the controller 40 can set the rotational speed of the eccentric cam 36 from 0.2 second / time to several seconds / time. The control unit 40 includes a controller such as an inverter that adjusts the number of rotations by finely controlling the voltage and frequency applied to the motor.

  The motor connection shaft 39 is a shaft for connecting the drive motor 38 and the camshaft 35. The motor connecting shaft 39 is rotatably supported on a support plate 46 of a base plate 45 described later. The drive motor 38 and the camshaft 35 are connected via a motor connecting shaft 39, a coupling 32, and a connecting shaft 31.

In the lift pin mechanism 21 having the above-described configuration, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the lift pin unit 22 forms one lift pin, and the lift pin unit 22 as the lift pin is placed in the drying chamber of the coating film drying furnace. A plurality of substrates are disposed below the hot plate 43 as a processing target substrate . The hot plate 43 is a heating device for heating the glass substrate 26 installed on the upper side thereof. The lift pin mechanism 21 is provided below the hot plate 43. Specifically, the cam mechanism 30 of the lift pin mechanism 21 is disposed in a substantially equal interval, with a total of 20 cam mechanisms 30 in the vertical direction and 4 in the horizontal direction. Four insertion holes 44 are provided at positions corresponding to the cam mechanisms 30 of the hot plate 43, and the lifting pins 23 of the lifting pin unit 22 are inserted into the insertion holes 44, respectively.

Each cam mechanism 30 is connected by a coupling 32. Here, four cam mechanisms 30 corresponding to the size of the glass substrate 26 are connected by a coupling 32 and driven by one drive motor 38. The four linked cam mechanisms 30 are arranged in parallel in five rows corresponding to the size of the glass substrate 26, and are arranged at almost equal intervals on the entire lower surface of the hot plate 43. . A number of cam mechanisms 30 corresponding to the size of the hot plate 43 are connected by a coupling 32 to freely configure an arbitrary size.

  A plurality of fixing pins 43 </ b> A are provided on the upper side surface of the hot plate 43. The fixing pin 43 </ b> A is a pin used for heating the glass substrate 26 placed near the hot plate 43.

  The lift pin mechanism 21 is attached to the base plate 45. The base plate 45 is supported by an elevating mechanism (not shown) so as to be movable up and down. When the lift pin mechanism 21 is moved up and down by this lifting mechanism, the glass substrate 26 inserted into the drying chamber of the coating film drying furnace and supported by the lifting pins 23 is moved up and down. Thereby, the distance of the glass substrate 26 and the hot plate 43 is adjusted according to each drying process. On the base plate 45, a support plate 46 that rotatably supports the motor connecting shaft 39 is provided.

[Operation]
The lift pin mechanism 21 configured as described above operates as follows.

  First, the hot plate 43 in the drying chamber of the coating film drying furnace is heated to a set temperature. Along with this, the elevating pins 23 inserted into the insertion holes 44 of the hot plate 43 are also heated.

  In this state, the glass substrate 26 is inserted into the drying chamber and placed on the lift pins 23 extending to the upper side surface of the hot plate 43.

  At this time, the eccentric cam 36 of the elevating means 24 is rotated at the set rotational speed by the drive motor 38 of the drive unit 25. By the rotation of the eccentric cam 36, the four lifting pins 23 are lifted and lowered one by one. Since the four eccentric cams 36 are shifted by 90 degrees, each time the camshaft 35 rotates 90 degrees, each lifting pin 23 moves up and down sequentially, and the tip of the lifting pin 23 is the back surface of the glass substrate 26. The glass substrate 26 is supported by contacting the glass substrate 26.

  Here, the camshaft 35 is rotated at a speed of 0.2 seconds / time. Thereby, the four raising / lowering pins 23 are contacting and supporting the back surface of the glass substrate 26 in order and every 0.05 second. The rotation speed of the camshaft 35 is selected to be an optimum value according to various conditions such as the temperature of the elevating pins 23, the number of elevating pins 23, the dimensions of the glass substrate 26, and the like.

  This operation is performed by all of the 20 cam mechanisms 30 arranged on the lower side of the hot plate 43, and the glass substrate 26 is in contact with the glass substrate 26 every 0.05 seconds at 20 positions on the back surface thereof. It is supported by lifting pins 23 whose contact position changes.

  Thereby, the glass substrate 26 inserted in the drying chamber of the coating film drying furnace in a cooled state is in direct contact with the heated heating pin 23 and heated by the lifting pin 23. The glass substrate 26 is in contact with the glass substrate 26 for only a moment within 0.05 seconds within one round of 0.2 seconds, so that the heat of the elevating pins 23 is not easily transmitted to the glass substrate 26, and the coating film on the upper surface of the glass substrate 26 Is not heated locally.

  When the glass substrate 26 is heated and the temperature rises to the same or the same level as the lift pins 23, the rotational speed of the camshaft 35 is slowed or stopped.

  The lift pin mechanism 21 is a lifting mechanism for the base plate 45 and is appropriately adjusted to a set height in each process. For example, in the latter half of the drying process, the glass substrate 26 is heated close to the hot plate 43 from the state shown in FIG. 5A to the state supported by the fixing pins 43A shown in FIG. In some cases, the glass substrate 26 is directly placed on the upper surface of the hot plate 43 and heated.

  When the drying process in the coating film drying furnace is completed, the glass substrate 26 is carried out to the outside, the next glass substrate 26 is carried in, and the drying process is repeated.

  During maintenance, the cam mechanism 30 at an arbitrary position is selectively repaired or replaced. In this case, the front and rear couplings 32 of the cam mechanism 30 to be maintained are removed, and the cam mechanism 30 is repaired or replaced.

[effect]
As described above, the cam mechanism 30 of the lifting pin unit 22 disposed on the lower side of the glass substrate 26 raises and lowers the four lifting pins 23 one by one in order, and each lifting pin 23 Since the glass substrate 26 is supported by contacting the upper end of the glass substrate 26 with the lower surface of the glass substrate 26, heat from the heated elevating pins 23 is less likely to be transmitted to the glass substrate 26, and it is ensured that uneven drying, pin marks, etc. occur Can be prevented. Thereby, the vacuum baking process can be omitted.

  Since the controller 40 controls the number of rotations of the drive motor 38 to control the up / down speed of the up / down pins 23 by the eccentric cam 36, the upper end of the up / down pins 23 and the lower surface of the glass substrate 26 are in contact with each other. Time can be adjusted freely. Thereby, it can adjust to the optimal rotation speed of the eccentric cam 36 according to various conditions.

  The lift pin mechanism 21 can be freely adjusted in size with respect to the hot plates 43 having different sizes by connecting a plurality of cam mechanisms 30 with couplings 32. The arrangement density of the cam mechanism 30 can also be adjusted freely.

  Further, the cam mechanisms 30 of the elevating means 24 are connected by the coupling 32 by a number corresponding to the size of the glass substrate 26 (here, four), and the number corresponding to the size of the glass substrate 26 (here 5). Therefore, the lift pin mechanism 21 in which the cam mechanism 30 is disposed at an optimal position can be easily configured with respect to the glass substrates 26 of various sizes. Since the four cam mechanisms 30 connected by the coupling 32 are driven by one drive motor 38, the number of drive motors 38 can be reduced.

  Further, at the time of maintenance, the cam mechanism 30 can be removed and maintained by removing the couplings 32 before and after the cam mechanism 30 to be maintained, so that workability during maintenance is improved.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  The lift pin mechanism of the present embodiment is provided with a thermal expansion absorbing means that absorbs a shift caused by thermal expansion of the hot plate 43. Conventionally, the hole into which the elevating pin 23 is inserted is enlarged to absorb the thermal expansion of the hot plate 43. On the other hand, the lift pin mechanism of the present embodiment is adapted to be absorbed by the thermal expansion absorbing means. In the lift pin mechanism of the present embodiment, the configuration other than the thermal expansion absorbing means is the same as that of the lift pin mechanism 21 of the first embodiment, and therefore, the thermal expansion absorbing means will be mainly described here.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the thermal expansion absorbing means 51 is constituted by an electromagnet 52 that absorbs a shift due to thermal expansion. The electromagnet 52 includes a coil 54 incorporated in the upper drive unit 53, a power supply 55, and a switch 56. The lifting pin 23 is made of a magnetic material, and its head 28 is electromagnetically coupled to the electromagnet 52. The upper drive unit 53 is provided with a lower drive unit 58 via a connecting rod 57, the connecting rod 57 is supported so as to be movable up and down, and the upper drive unit 53 and the lower drive unit 58 follow the eccentric cam 36. It is designed to move up and down.

  The upper side surface of the upper drive unit 53 and the lower side surface of the head 28 of the elevating pin 23 are formed in a flat surface shape. As a result, the upper drive unit 53 and the head portion 28 of the elevating pin 23 can be reliably electromagnetically coupled to each other and can be easily shifted along the contact surfaces. Yes.

  The thermal expansion absorbing means 51 of the lift pin mechanism configured as described above operates as follows.

  Prior to the heat treatment, the hot plate 43 is heated to a set temperature. At that time, the hot plate 43 thermally expands as the temperature rises. This thermal expansion increases in proportion to the distance from the center position. Specifically, the cam mechanisms 30 at the four corners of the hot plate 43 are displaced the most. In contrast, the shift of the lifting pin unit 22 near the center of the hot plate 43 is small.

  For this reason, with the heating of the hot plate 43, the switch 56 is turned off, and the electromagnetic coupling between the head 28 of the elevating pin 23 and the electromagnet 52 is released. Thereby, the head 28 and the upper drive part 53 of the raising / lowering pin 23 shift | deviate like FIG. When the hot plate 43 reaches the set temperature, since there is no further thermal expansion, the switch 56 is turned on to electromagnetically couple the head portion 28 of the elevating pin 23 and the electromagnet 52. Thereby, the expansion of the hot plate 43 is absorbed.

  Other operations are the same as those of the lift pin mechanism 21 of the first embodiment.

  As described above, the electromagnetic coupling between the head 28 of the elevating pin 23 and the electromagnet 52 is temporarily released until the hot plate 43 reaches the set temperature as the hot plate 43 is heated. Therefore, it is possible to absorb the displacement of the lift pins 23 due to the above.

  Here, the electromagnet 52 is used to electromagnetically couple the head 28 of the lifting pin 23 and the electromagnet 52, but a permanent magnet may be used.

  In this case, as shown in FIG. 10, the head 28 of the elevating pin 23 is composed of an N-pole or S-pole permanent magnet. Further, the upper drive unit 53 is composed of an S-pole or N-pole permanent magnet instead of the coil 54. The contact surfaces of each other are flat.

  Thereby, the shift | offset | difference accompanying thermal expansion is absorbed by the mutual shift | offset | difference of the said flat surface contact surface. This utilizes the characteristics of the permanent magnet. When the N-pole and S-pole permanent magnets are coupled to each other, a very strong force is required in the direction to separate them, but they can be shifted with a slight force in the direction along the contact surface. The permanent magnets that are in contact with each other on the flat surface-like contact surfaces absorb the displacement due to thermal expansion by the mutual displacement of the flat surface-like contact surfaces, thereby reliably connecting the upper and lower directions.

  Also in this case, the same operations and effects as those of the second embodiment can be achieved.

  The permanent magnet may be used only on either the head 28 side or the upper drive unit 53 side of the lifting pin 23 and the other may be a magnetic body.

  Furthermore, an electromagnet may be used instead of the permanent magnet. In this case, unlike the case of the second embodiment, it is used in the same manner as the permanent magnet.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  The lift pin mechanism of this embodiment uses a linear motion cam instead of the eccentric cam 36 of the cam mechanism 30 of the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the cam mechanism 61 includes a linear cam 62 and a driven portion 63.

  The linear motion cam 62 is composed of a flat bar that reciprocates in the horizontal direction. A mountain-shaped cam surface for moving the elevating pin 23 up and down is formed on the upper side surface of the flat bar-like linear motion cam 62. By adjusting the shape of the mountain-shaped cam surface, the speed and amount of movement of the elevating pins 23 are set. The linear cam 62 is connected to a drive unit (not shown) by a connecting rod 65. This drive part is comprised by the mechanism which reciprocates, and makes the linear motion cam 62 reciprocate.

  The driven portion 63 includes a roller portion 66 and a vertically moving piece portion 67. The roller part 66 is rotatably supported by the lower end part of the up-and-down moving piece part 67. The vertically moving piece 67 is supported to be vertically movable. Thereby, when the roller part 66 rotates along the mountain-shaped cam surface of the linear cam 62, the up-and-down moving piece part 67 moves up and down to raise and lower the lifting pin 23.

  The follower 63 is attached to each lifting pin 23. Four followers 63 are arranged in accordance with the four lifting pins 23.

  In the lift pin mechanism configured as described above, the linear motion cam 62 is reciprocated by the drive portion, and the roller portion 66 of the driven portion 63 is rotated along the chevron-shaped cam surface along with this, and the vertical moving piece is moved. The part 67 moves up and down to raise and lower the elevation pin 23.

  Further, the linear motion cam 62 reciprocates to move the four driven parts 63 up and down in order and to raise and lower the four lifting pins 23 in order. Thereby, the glass substrate 26 is supported like the raising / lowering pin 23 of the said 1st Embodiment.

  Also in this case, the same operation and effect as the first embodiment can be obtained.

  In each of the above embodiments, the drying operation by heating in the coating film drying furnace has been described as an example, and the lift pin mechanism for suppressing the influence of heat has been described. Other factors such as static electricity are also conceivable. Even in the case of other factors such as static electricity, the adverse effect on the substrate to be processed can be eliminated by the lift pin mechanism 21 of each of the above embodiments. In the case of static electricity, the charge can be dispersed by the lift pins 23.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the case where four lifting pins 23 are provided has been described as an example, but needless to say, two, three, or five or more pins may be used. The number is determined according to various conditions such as the size of the glass substrate 26 to be supported and the number of lift pin mechanisms 21 installed. The number of eccentric cams 36 is adjusted according to the number of the lifting pins 23.

  In each of the embodiments described above, a thin pin with a sharp tip is used as the lift pin 23. However, the shape of the lift pin 23 is not limited to a thin pin with a sharp tip, and is moved up and down by the lift pin unit 22. All existing pins that can be used can be used.

  In the first embodiment, a rotating cam is used as a means for moving the lifting pin 23 up and down. In the third embodiment, a linear cam is used, but it goes without saying that another cam mechanism such as an end face cam may be used. . If it is the cam mechanism of the structure which can move the raising / lowering pin 23 up and down, there can exist an effect | action and effect similar to said each embodiment.

  In the case of an end face cam, the lift pins 23 are not arranged in series in the same manner as in the above embodiments, but are arranged along a circle.

  Moreover, in the said 1st Embodiment, although the cam surface of the outer periphery of the eccentric cam 36 was circular, it cannot be overemphasized that other shapes, such as an ellipse, may be sufficient. By appropriately adjusting the shape of the eccentric cam 36, the amount of movement and movement of the elevating pin 23 up and down, the contact time with the glass substrate 26, and the like are appropriately set.

  In the first embodiment, the four elevating pins 23 are in contact with and supported by the back surface of the glass substrate 26 one by one from one end thereof. You may make it move the above up and down simultaneously and sequentially. Moreover, although the four raising / lowering pins 23 were raised / lowered in order from the one end, the order to raise / lower may be different. For example, you may raise / lower in other order, such as raising / lowering in order of 1st, 4th, 2nd, 3rd. The time during which the elevating pins 23 are in contact with the back surface of the glass substrate 26 can also be easily set by changing the shape of the eccentric cam 36.

  In the first embodiment, the controller 40 can set the rotational speed of the eccentric cam 36 from 0.2 seconds / time to several seconds / time. It is desirable to increase the number of rotations as much as possible to shorten the contact time of one lifting pin 23 to the glass substrate 26. For this reason, it is desirable to increase the number of lifting pins 23 while increasing the rotation of the camshaft 35.

  In the above-described embodiment, the eccentric cam 36 is configured using a perfect circular rotating plate, but is not limited to a perfect circle and may have other shapes. For example, as shown in FIG. 13, the eccentric cam 70 may be configured to include a circular arc portion 71 concentric with the rotation center in a part of the outer peripheral shape thereof. Further, the arc portion 71 is set so as to partially overlap the adjacent eccentric cams 70.

  Thereby, when the eccentric cam 70 is rotated, the elevating pins 23 are moved up and down along the outer peripheral shape of the eccentric cam 70. Specifically, the elevating pin 23 is raised by the rotation of the eccentric cam 70, stops at the upper end position at the arc portion 71, and descends after passing the arc portion 71.

  When the four eccentric cams 70 are rotated by the connecting shaft 31, one of the two adjacent lifting pins 23 is raised by the preceding eccentric cam 70 and stops at the upper end position of the arc portion 71. After that it descends. Immediately before the lowering, the other of the two adjacent lifting pins 23 is lifted by the following eccentric cam 70, and the two lifting pins 23 are simultaneously moved to the upper end position at a portion where the eccentric cam 70 partially overlaps. Ascend to support the glass substrate 26. Immediately after this, one raising / lowering pin 23 descend | falls, the other raising / lowering pin 23 stops in an upper end position, and if it passes the circular arc part 71, it will descend | fall.

  This is done in cooperation with the four lift pins 23 adjacent to each other. In the case of the lift pin 23 at the end, the lift pin 23 at one end and the lift pin 23 at the other end cooperate with each other. As a result, one of the two adjacent lifting pins 23 always supports the glass substrate 26. As a result, any one of the plurality of lifting pins 23 always comes into contact with the glass substrate 26 and can stably support the glass substrate 26.

  In the above-described embodiment, the linear cam 62 is formed in a mountain shape and the apex thereof is provided, and the elevating pin 23 rises before this apex and descends after the apex. good. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 14, the linear cam 72 has a flat surface portion 73 formed at the apex portion of the mountain shape.

Further, the flat surface portion 73 is set to a length that can simultaneously contact the roller portions 66 of at least two adjacent lifting pins 23 among the plurality of lifting pins 23 arranged. You may set to the length which the roller part 66 of the three or more raising / lowering pins 23 can contact simultaneously.

  Accordingly, when the linear motion cam 72 is moved, each lifting pin 23 is lifted and lowered by the linear motion cam 72, stops at the upper surface position at the flat surface portion 73, and supports the glass substrate 26. Each lifting pin 23 descends again after passing the flat surface portion 73. At this time, the roller portions 66 of the two adjacent lifting pins 23 simultaneously become the upper end positions near both ends of the flat surface portion 73, and the two lifting pins 23 support the glass substrate 26 at the same time. Immediately after this, one raising / lowering pin 23 descend | falls, the other raising / lowering pin 23 stops in an upper end position, and if it passes the flat surface part 73, it will descend | fall.

  This is done in cooperation with the four lift pins 23 adjacent to each other. As a result, one of the two adjacent lifting pins 23 always supports the glass substrate 26. As a result, any one of the plurality of lifting pins 23 always comes into contact with the glass substrate 26 and can stably support the glass substrate 26.

  Also in this case, the same operations and effects as in the above embodiment can be achieved.

  In the said embodiment, although the process in a vacuum is not considered, this invention is applicable also to the process in a vacuum. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 15, O-rings 75 are respectively attached to the upper and lower ends of the hole through which the shaft portion 27 of the lift pin 23 passes in the hot plate 43. The O-ring 75 is fixed by an existing technique such as a ring groove or a washer. The O-ring 75 is made of an annular sealing material that can be inserted into the hole of the hot plate 43. The hole of the hot plate 43 is sealed by the O-ring 75, and the shaft portion 27 of the elevating pin 23 is passed through the central hole of the O-ring 75.

  A side wall 76 is integrally provided on the upper side of the hot plate 43, and is attached to the upper end of the side wall 76 with a top plate 77. The side wall 76 and the top plate 77 are sealed with an O-ring 78. Thereby, a vacuum chamber 79 is formed by the hot plate 43, the side wall portion 76, and the top plate 77. Processing such as vacuum baking and vacuum drying is performed in the vacuum chamber 79.

  Also in this case, the same operations and effects as in the above embodiment can be achieved.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the lift pin mechanism 21 is provided alone has been described as an example. However, the lift pin mechanism 21 and the existing feeding unit may be combined. The glass substrate 26 is lifted by existing feeding means and moved by 1 mm, for example. Then, the glass substrates 26 are alternately supported by the four lifting pins 23 of the lift pin mechanism 21. Thereby, the frequency | count of contact to the same location of the raising / lowering pin 23 which contacts the back surface of the glass substrate 26 can be decreased, and the damage to the back surface of the glass substrate 26 by the contact of the raising / lowering pin 23 can be reduced significantly. .

  In particular, when the feeding means and the lift pin mechanism 21 are operated alternately, the elevating pins 23 do not contact the same location on the back surface of the glass substrate 26 twice, so that the elevating pins 23 contact the back surface of the glass substrate 26. Damage can be minimized.

  Further, when the glass substrate 26 is moved, the glass substrate 26 may be reciprocated by changing the moving pitch. For example, it may be moved to the one side with a 1 mm pitch by the feeding means and then moved to the other side with a 0.8 mm pitch. Further, as a direction in which the glass substrate 26 is moved by the feeding unit, the glass substrate 26 may be moved by appropriately combining not only the front-rear direction but also the left-right direction.

Claims (9)

A lift pin mechanism having lifting pins that support and support the substrate to be processed from below,
A plurality of lifting pin units disposed below the processing target substrate so as to have different support areas for the processing target substrate;
Each lifting pin unit is
A plurality of lifting pins supported so as to be movable up and down ;
Provided corresponding to each of the lifting pins, and provided with a cam mechanism that contacts the lower end of the corresponding lifting pin and lifts the lifting pin, and the lifting pins that protrude most upward are sequentially and repeatedly. Ascending and descending movement of each of the elevating pins so as to replace, elevating means for supporting the substrate to be processed at a set height by the elevating pins protruding most upward ,
A drive unit that drives each cam mechanism and drives the vertical movement of each lift pin by the lift means ;
A plurality of the lifting pin units are arranged in a row at intervals, and such a row is provided in a plurality of rows at intervals in the orthogonal direction of the rows,
A lift pin mechanism characterized in that drive units in a plurality of the lift pin units in the same row each receive a motion of a common drive source and drive a cam mechanism of a corresponding lift means . The lift pin mechanism according to claim 1 ,
A cam mechanism of the elevating means includes a rotating plate-shaped eccentric cam;
A lift pin mechanism characterized in that the eccentric cam has a circular arc part for maintaining a protruding amount of the lifting pin corresponding to an equal distance from the rotation center at a part of an outer peripheral shape thereof. The lift pin mechanism according to claim 2 ,
A lift pin mechanism characterized in that the arc portions of adjacent eccentric cams are partially overlapped to form a period in which the protruding amounts of adjacent lift pins are the same . The lift pin mechanism according to claim 1 ,
A cam mechanism of the elevating means includes a linear cam;
The lift pin mechanism, wherein the linear cam has a flat surface portion at a peak portion of the mountain shape. The lift pin mechanism according to claim 4 ,
The lift pins characterized in that the flat surface portions of the adjacent linear cams are set to a length that can be in contact with the adjacent lift pins at the same time, and a period in which the protruding amounts of the adjacent lift pins are the same is formed. mechanism. The lift pin mechanism according to claim 1,
A lift pin mechanism, wherein the drive unit includes a control unit that adjusts a speed of driving the elevating means. The lift pin mechanism according to claim 1 ,
Each said raising / lowering pin was equipped with the thermal expansion absorption means which absorbs the shift | offset | difference of the direction of the said raising / lowering pin along the surface of the said hot plate accompanying the thermal expansion of the hot plate which heats the said process target board | substrate. Lift pin mechanism. The lift pin mechanism according to claim 7 ,
The thermal expansion absorbing means electromagnetically couples the contact surfaces with each other with a flat surface, and temporarily disengages the thermal contact to displace the contact surfaces with each other. lift pin mechanism, wherein the benzalkonium comprises an electromagnet which absorbs said corresponding deviation in the direction along the surface of the hot plate of the lift pin due to thermal expansion of the hot plate which heats the target substrate. The lift pin mechanism according to claim 7 ,
Corresponding to the thermal expansion of a hot plate that heats the substrate to be processed, wherein the thermal expansion absorbing means is electromagnetically coupled with the contact surfaces thereof being flat and one of which is an N pole and the other is an S pole. A lift pin mechanism comprising a permanent magnet or an electromagnet that absorbs the displacement of the elevating pin in the direction along the surface of the hot plate by the displacement of the flat contact surface.

Images