JP2010254432A - Liftably carrying device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liftably carrying device capable of quickly liftably carrying a carrying object. <P>SOLUTION: This liftably carrying device 1 is provided for carrying the carrying object 4 to a different height position by lifting the carrying object 4, and has an upper side support 10 and a lower side support arranged in parallel in the vertical direction and a lifting means 50 for lifting the carrying object 4 between the upper side support 10 and the lower side support. The upper side support 10 and the lower side support have a pair of support members 12 for respectively supporting both side under surfaces of the carrying object carried in the horizontal direction. The upper side support 10 has a retreat means for retreating a support member 12 so as not to interfered with the carrying object when lifting the lifting means 50. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an elevating / conveying apparatus that elevates and lowers a conveyed object such as a pallet mounted with a substrate to different height positions.

  In film forming apparatuses such as vacuum evaporation apparatus, CVD apparatus, ion plating apparatus, sputtering apparatus, etc., a tray on which a substrate is mounted is loaded from an upper position, a thin film is formed on the surface of each substrate, and then discharged from a lower position. A batch-type configuration is conventionally known. For example, in the film forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, the loaded substrate mounting tray is horizontally conveyed to pass through the film forming chamber, and then lowered in the auxiliary chamber so as to pass through the film forming chamber again. It is configured to transport horizontally and discharge the tray below the loading position.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-131232

  For this type of film forming apparatus, the tray discharged from the lower position is conveyed upward, the substrate after film formation on the tray is replaced with a new substrate, and the tray is loaded again from the upper position. For this purpose, a lifting and lowering conveying device is used. For example, the lifting and lowering conveying device provided in the auxiliary chamber disclosed in Patent Document 1 is provided such that a holding plate having a large number of conveying rollers along the conveying direction supports both sides of the tray. Is supported by the elevating means so as to be movable up and down. Each conveying roller is configured so that a driving force can be transmitted from the outside of the auxiliary chamber via the driving shaft, and a detachable joint is provided at the tip of the driving shaft, so that the driving shaft is raised and lowered while the holding plate is raised and lowered. The engagement state can be released.

  However, the elevating / conveying apparatus having such a configuration cannot raise the holding plate after the tray received from the film forming apparatus to the holding plate is lowered until the tray completely enters the film forming apparatus again. For this reason, there is a problem in that the tray cannot be loaded and received quickly. In particular, when a large number of substrates are mounted on the tray, the length of the tray in the transport direction becomes long, and thus the standby time required for tray transport cannot be ignored.

  Then, this invention aims at provision of the raising / lowering conveying apparatus which can raise / lower a to-be-conveyed body rapidly.

  The object of the present invention is an elevating and conveying apparatus that elevates and lowers a to-be-conveyed body to different height positions, and includes an upper support and a lower support that are arranged in parallel in the vertical direction, and the upper support. Elevating means for elevating and lowering the object to be conveyed with the lower support, and the upper support and the lower support each support a pair of lower surfaces on both sides of the object to be conveyed in the horizontal direction. The upper support is achieved by an elevating / conveying device provided with a retracting means for retracting the supporting member so as not to interfere with an object to be conveyed when the elevating / lowering means is raised.

  In this lifting and lowering conveying apparatus, the retracting means extends in a horizontal orthogonal direction with respect to the conveying direction of the object to be conveyed, supports a supporting shaft that supports the supporting member, rotates along a horizontal plane, and a tip portion engages with the supporting shaft. It is possible to provide a rotating arm that moves the support shaft forward and backward by combining them. The support member is preferably a roller that is rotatably supported by the support shaft.

  The upper support and the lower support can support a tray on which a plurality of substrates are mounted as an object to be conveyed. In this configuration, it is preferable to further include a substrate transport mechanism that replaces the substrates mounted on the tray in a state where the tray is supported by the upper support.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the raising / lowering conveying apparatus which can raise / lower a conveyed body rapidly can be provided.

It is a schematic plan view of the raising / lowering conveying apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a front view of the arrow A direction of the raising / lowering conveying apparatus shown in FIG. It is a principal part enlarged view of a raising / lowering conveying apparatus. It is a principal part side view of a board | substrate conveyance mechanism. It is a schematic plan view for demonstrating the procedure of mounting and taking-out of the board | substrate with respect to a tray.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a lifting and lowering conveying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view in the direction of arrow A in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the elevating / conveying apparatus 1 is disposed so as to face the front surface 2 a of the film forming apparatus 2 such as a CVD apparatus, and is at different height positions on the front surface 2 a of the film forming apparatus 2. The upper support body 10 and the lower support body 110 are provided at substantially the same height as the formed charging section 2b and discharging section 2c.

  The upper support 10 includes a pair of support units 11, 11 erected so as to support both sides in the transport direction of the tray 4 made of a carbon plate or the like to be transported. Each support unit 11 includes a plurality of support rollers 12 that support the lower surface of the tray 4, and the support rollers 12 support shafts so that the tray 4 can be horizontally conveyed toward the input unit 2 b of the film forming apparatus 2. 13 is rotatably supported. A concave groove 12a is formed along the circumferential direction on the surface of the support roller 12, and the concave groove 12a engages with a guide rib (not shown) protruding from the lower surface of the tray 4, so that the tray 4 is predetermined. Can be conveyed in the direction.

  The lower support 110 is configured similarly to the upper support 10 and includes a pair of support units 111 and 111 so as to support both sides of the tray 4 in the transport direction. Each support unit 111 includes a plurality of support rollers 112 that support the lower surface of the tray 4. The lower support member 110 guides the tray 4 discharged from the discharge unit 2c of the film forming apparatus 2 in the direction opposite to the transport direction of the upper support member 10.

  FIGS. 3A and 3B are enlarged views of main parts of the support units 11 and 111 of the upper support body 10 and the lower support body 110 as viewed from the film forming apparatus 2 side. The support roller 12 is supported by a support shaft 13 that extends in a horizontal orthogonal direction with respect to the conveyance direction of the tray 4 (direction passing through the drawing). The support shaft 13 extends through a side wall 14 and a holding plate 16 attached to the side wall 14 via a bracket 15, and an engaging portion 17 including a pair of sandwiching pieces 17 a and 17 b is provided at the tip. Is provided. Heat-resistant bushings 18 and 19 are interposed between the support shaft 13 and the side wall 14 and the holding plate 16, respectively. The heat-resistant bushings 18 and 19 support the support shaft 13 so that the support shaft 13 can rotate and advance and retract in the axial direction. To do.

  The support shaft 13 is provided with a driven gear 20, and this driven gear 20 is arranged so as to mesh with a drive gear 22 provided on a rotary shaft 21 that is rotatably supported between the side wall 14 and the holding plate 16. ing. The drive gear 22 is formed in a cylindrical shape that is long in the axial direction, and the meshing state is maintained even if the position of the driven gear 20 changes as the support shaft 13 advances and retreats. The rotating shaft 21 is provided with a sprocket 23. The sprocket 23 is provided corresponding to each of the plurality of support rollers 12 and is rotationally driven via a chain 24 by operation of a drive motor (not shown).

  Further, the upper support body 10 includes a plurality of rotating arms 26 that are rotatably disposed along a vertical plane by a rotating shaft 25. Each rotation arm 26 includes a cam follower 27 that is arranged to freely roll at the tip, and the cam follower 27 is interposed between the sandwiching pieces 17 a and 17 b of the corresponding engagement portion 17, thereby rotating the rotation arm. The support shaft 13 advances and retreats by the rotation of 26. The rotating shaft 25 is provided with an operation plate 28 that protrudes in a direction different from that of the rotating arm 26. A long hole 28a is formed in the operation plate 28, and a protruding piece 29b provided at the tip of the rod 29a of an actuator 29 such as an air cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder engages with the long hole 28a. The revolving arm 26 is rotated through the operating plate 28 and the rotating shaft 25 by the advance and retreat. The actuator 29 is configured to be rotatable with respect to the bracket 30. The pivot shaft 25, the pivot arm 26, the cam follower 27, the operation plate 28, and the actuator 29 function as a retracting unit for retracting the support roller 12.

  The support unit 111 of the lower support 110 also has the same configuration as the support unit 11 of the upper support 10. That is, the support roller 112 is supported by a support shaft 113 that extends in a horizontal orthogonal direction with respect to the transport direction of the tray 4 (direction passing through the drawing). The support shaft 113 extends through a side wall 114 and a holding plate 116 attached to the side wall 114 via a bracket 115, and an engaging portion 117 including a pair of sandwiching pieces 117a and 117b is provided at the tip. Is provided. Heat-resistant bushings 118 and 119 are interposed between the support shaft 113, the side wall 114, and the holding plate 116, respectively. The heat-resistant bushings 118 and 119 support the support shaft 113 so that the support shaft 113 can rotate and advance and retreat in the axial direction. To do.

  The support shaft 113 is provided with a driven gear 120, and this driven gear 120 is disposed so as to mesh with a drive gear 122 provided on a rotary shaft 121 that is rotatably supported between the side wall 114 and the holding plate 116. ing. The drive gear 122 is formed in a cylindrical shape that is long in the axial direction, and the meshing state is maintained even if the position of the driven gear 120 changes due to the advancement and retraction of the support shaft 113. In addition, a sprocket 123 is provided on the rotating shaft 121. The sprocket 123 is provided corresponding to each of the plurality of support rollers 112 and is rotationally driven through a chain 124 by the operation of a drive motor (not shown).

  In addition, the lower support 110 includes a plurality of rotating arms 126 that are rotatably disposed along a vertical plane by a rotating shaft 125. Each rotation arm 126 includes a cam follower 127 that is rotatably arranged at the tip, and the cam follower 127 is interposed between the sandwiching pieces 117a and 117b of the corresponding engagement portion 117, whereby the rotation arm is provided. The support shaft 113 moves forward and backward by the rotation of 126. The rotating shaft 125 is provided with an operating plate 128 that protrudes in a direction different from that of the rotating arm 126. A long hole 128a is formed in the operation plate 128, and a protruding piece 129b provided at the tip of the rod 129a of an actuator such as an air cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder engages with the long hole 128a. As a result, the rotating arm 126 rotates via the operating plate 128 and the rotating shaft 125. In FIG. 3, the cylinder and the bracket that supports the cylinder are not shown. The pivot shaft 125, the pivot arm 126, the cam follower 127, the operation plate 128, and the actuator also function as a retracting unit for retracting the support roller 112.

  The lifting / lowering conveying apparatus 1 of this embodiment includes a lifting / lowering apparatus 50 that moves the tray 4 up and down. As shown in FIG. 2, the lifting device 50 includes a lifting table 52 supported on the upper end of a ball screw 51 protruding from the main body 50 a, and the upper surface of the lifting table 52 is heat resistant to contact the lower surface of the tray 4. A plurality of sex jacks 53 are arranged in a matrix. The elevating table 52 moves up and down along the guide member 54 when the screw shaft of the ball screw 51 is rotated by driving of a drive motor (not shown), and the tray 4 supported by the jack 53 is placed on the upper support. 10 and the lower support 20 can be raised and lowered. The raising / lowering mechanism of the raising / lowering table 52 is not limited to the thing of this embodiment, The other structure which can be stopped in desired height positions, such as a raising / lowering cylinder, may be sufficient.

  According to the elevating and conveying apparatus 1 having the above configuration, the support rollers 12 and 112 included in the upper support 10 and the lower support 110 protrude inward from the side wall 14 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3B, by rotating the rods 29a and 129a of the hydraulic cylinder from the position shown in FIG. 3B, the rotation arms 26 and 126 are rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow B. Move in the C direction. Thereby, when raising / lowering the tray 4 with the raising / lowering apparatus 50, since the support rollers 12 and 112 can be retracted and interference with the tray 4 can be prevented, the raising / lowering conveyance of the tray 4 can be performed rapidly.

  For example, in FIG. 2, when the support roller 12 of the upper support 10 is protruded, the tray 4 is supported by the support roller 12 as shown by the broken line in FIG. The tray 4 can be loaded into the film forming apparatus by driving the support roller 12 even when it is lowered to a position substantially the same as 110 (position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 2), and the tray discharged from the film forming apparatus 4 is acceptable. Accordingly, the tray 4 can be loaded and received simultaneously with the film forming apparatus, and the tray 4 can be transported quickly and efficiently. In particular, when the length of the tray 4 in the transport direction is long, the time required for the entire tray 4 to be put into the film forming apparatus cannot be ignored. The effect compared with the configuration becomes more remarkable.

  The tray 4 received by the lower support 110 is in a state where the lifting table 52 is substantially at the same height as the upper support 10 in a state where the support roller 12 of the upper support 10 is retracted (a state indicated by a solid line in FIG. 2). By raising the position to (a position indicated by a broken line in FIG. 2), the substrate on the tray 4 can be replaced while the tray 4 is supported by the lift table 52. Since the entire lower surface of the tray 4 is supported by the heat-resistant jack 53, it is possible to prevent the tray 4 from being bent during the replacement work, and to reliably take out the substrate after film formation and mount a new substrate. Can do. After the replacement work is completed, the above procedure can be repeated by projecting the support roller 12 of the upper support 10 and lowering the lifting table 52.

  In the present embodiment, not only the support roller 12 of the upper support 10 but also the support roller 112 of the lower support 110 are configured to be retractable. In order to retract the support roller 112 of the lower support 110, for example, the tray 4 is paid out due to occurrence of a defect or trouble, so that the tray 4 is moved to a payout position below the receiving position from the film forming apparatus 2. This can be done when lowering.

  The lifting / lowering transport apparatus 1 of this embodiment includes a substrate transport mechanism for performing the work of replacing the substrates on the tray 4 as described above as an additional component. As shown in FIG. 2, the substrate transport mechanism 60 is provided on the ceiling portion 8a of the frame body 8 formed in a gate shape, and a tray is formed along a rail (not shown) formed on the ceiling portion 8a. 4 is provided so as to be movable in the conveyance direction (direction passing through the drawing).

  The substrate transport mechanism 60 includes a holding body 62 that can attach and detach a substrate, and a hydraulic cylinder 64 that supports the holding body 62 so as to be movable up and down. On the other hand, the holding body 62 can be approached or separated. In the holding body 62, a plurality of holding portions arranged in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction are formed in two rows, and FIG. 2 illustrates the substrate holding portions 62a in the front side (film formation apparatus side) row. ing. The substrate holding part 62a is configured so that the substrate can be attached and detached with a suction cup. On the other hand, the substrate holding portions 62b in the opposite row are constituted by Bernoulli chucks as shown in a side view in FIG. 4, and a plurality of protrusions 622b arranged along the outer periphery of the lower surface of the disk-shaped member 621b, An air introduction pipe 623b. The air introduced into the disk-shaped member 621b from the air introduction tube 623b is ejected radially toward the outer periphery, and can pass through the minute gap between the protrusion 622b and the substrate 6b, thereby adsorbing the substrate 6b. . The row of substrate holders 62a composed of suction cups is used for substrate transport before film formation, and the row of substrate holders 62b composed of Bernoulli chucks is used for substrate transport after film formation.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate transport mechanism 60 having the above configuration includes a substrate carry-in conveyor 70 and a carry-out conveyor 72 arranged in the vicinity of the lift transport device 1, and a tray 4 mounted on the lift transport device 1. The substrate 62 can be replaced by moving the holding body 62 horizontally and vertically. An example of this procedure will be described based on the schematic plan view shown in FIG.

  In the elevating and conveying apparatus 1, the tray 4 received from the film forming apparatus 2 is raised by the elevating apparatus 50, so that the substrate 6 b after film formation is placed on the tray 4 as shown in FIG. The elevating and lowering conveying device 1 is arranged in a matrix so as to form a row in a direction orthogonal to the horizontal conveying direction. On the other hand, the carry-in conveyor 70 and the carry-out conveyor 72 are installed so as to convey the substrates in the same direction as the rows of the substrates 6b on the tray 4, and the substrates 6a before film formation are arranged in a row on the carry-in conveyor 70. ing. The holding body 62 sucks and holds the row of the substrates 6a before film formation on the carry-in conveyor 70 by a substrate holding portion 62a made of a suction cup.

  Next, the holding body 62 is moved to the position shown in FIG. 5B, and the first row of the substrates 6b after film formation on the tray 4 is sucked and held by the substrate holding portion 62b made of Bernoulli chuck. Next, the holding body 62 is moved to the position shown in FIG. 5C, the adsorption of the substrate holding portion 62a is released, and the row of the substrates 6a before film formation is mounted on the tray 4.

  Then, the holding body 62 is moved, the substrate 6a before film formation on the carry-in conveyor 70 is adsorbed again by the substrate holding section 62a, and then the holding body 62 is moved to the position shown in FIG. The suction of the part 62 b is released, and the row of the substrates 6 b after film formation is mounted on the carry-out conveyor 72. Thereafter, the holding body 62 is moved to the position shown in FIG. 5E, and the second row of the substrates 6b after film formation on the tray 4 is sucked and held by the substrate holding portion 62b.

  That is, the substrate transport mechanism 60 adsorbs the substrate 6b after film formation on the tray 4 by the holding body 62, and after the substrate 6a before film formation is mounted in a space vacated by this adsorption, Before the substrate 6b is placed on the carry-out conveyor 72, the substrate 6a before film formation on the carry-in conveyor 70 is sucked. Therefore, the substrate 6b heated to a high temperature by the film forming apparatus 2 can be held for a long time by the substrate holding portion 62b made of a Bernoulli chuck and cooled by the jet air, and the substrate 6b can be sufficiently cooled during transportation. Can do.

  As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was explained in full detail, the specific aspect of this invention is not limited to the said embodiment. For example, in this embodiment, the elevating and conveying apparatus is used for loading and receiving with the film forming apparatus, but the elevating and conveying apparatus of the present invention is not limited to such an application, for example, The present invention can be applied to various processing apparatuses having different inlet and outlet height positions, such as a curing furnace and a drying furnace. The transported body may also be other than the tray depending on the application. Further, when a transport mechanism for the transported body is provided on the apparatus side, the support rollers 12 and 112 of the upper support body 10 and the lower support body 110 are not necessarily configured to be driven by a chain or the like. There is no need to be.

  In this embodiment, the upper support body 10 and the lower support body 110 are configured to support the transported body by the support rollers 12 and 112. Support members other than the support rollers 12 and 112 may be used as long as the transport body can be reliably discharged and received.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lifting conveying apparatus 4 Tray 10 Upper side support body 11 Supporting unit 12 Supporting roller 110 Lower side supporting body 111 Supporting unit 112 Supporting roller 50 Lifting apparatus 60 Substrate conveyance mechanism

Claims (4)

A lifting and lowering conveying device that raises and lowers the object to be conveyed and conveys it to different height positions,
An upper support and a lower support, which are arranged in parallel in the vertical direction, and an elevating means for moving up and down the transported body between the upper support and the lower support,
The upper support body and the lower support body include a pair of support members that respectively support the lower surfaces on both sides of the transported body that is transported in the horizontal direction.
The up-and-down conveying apparatus, wherein the upper support includes a retreating means for retreating the support member so as not to interfere with the object to be conveyed when the elevating means is raised. The retracting means extends in a horizontal orthogonal direction with respect to the transport direction of the transported body, and supports the support member by rotating along a horizontal plane and engaging a tip portion with the support shaft. The raising / lowering conveyance apparatus of Claim 1 provided with the rotation arm which advances / retreats an axis | shaft. The elevating / conveying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the support member is a roller rotatably supported by the support shaft. The upper support and the lower support can support a tray on which a plurality of substrates are mounted as a transported object,
The elevating / conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a substrate transporting mechanism that replaces a substrate mounted on the tray in a state where the tray is supported by the upper support.

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