JP2001007187A - Substrate transportation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate transportation device which prevents the scar and the dust adhesion of a glass substrate and can suppress peeling/charging. SOLUTION: A substrate transportation device is used for transporting or positioning a substrate 101 in the manufacture process or a planar display panel where a substrate 101 formed of glass or plastic is made to be a base. It is provided witch a stage 1 having a plane part where the substrate 101 is placed, plural holes 2 which are dispersed and made in the plane part, and a gas supply source 8 which properly supplies gas constituted of air or inert gas G to the holes 2. At the time of attaching/detaching the substrate 101 to/ from the plane part of the stage 1, gas G is supplied to the holes 2 from the gas supply source 3, gas G is introduced between the substrate 101 and the plane part, and the substrate 101 is floated from the plane part.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate transfer apparatus used for transferring or positioning a substrate in a manufacturing process of a flat display panel based on a substrate made of glass or plastic.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art To clarify the background of the present invention, an example of a flat display panel will be briefly described with reference to FIG. As shown, the flat display panel includes a substrate 101 serving as a base, a substrate 102 facing the substrate 101, and an electro-optical material 103 held between the two. Substrate 10
Reference numerals 1 and 102 are made of glass or plastic. As the electro-optical material 103, for example, a liquid crystal material is often used. On the lower substrate 101 serving as a base, a pixel array unit 104 and a drive circuit unit are formed integrally by using a semiconductor technology. The drive circuit section is divided into a vertical drive circuit 105 and a horizontal drive circuit 106. In addition, a terminal portion 107 for external connection is formed in an upper part of a peripheral portion of the substrate 101. The terminal portion 107 is connected to a vertical drive circuit 105 and a horizontal drive circuit 106 via a wiring 108. Pixel array unit 1
04 has a row-shaped gate wiring 109 and a column-shaped signal wiring 11.
0 is formed. The pixel electrode 11 is located at the intersection of both wirings.
1 and a thin film transistor 112 for driving the same.

In order to manufacture the above-mentioned flat display panel, it is necessary to convey or position the substrate 101 at any time during the manufacturing process. FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view and a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a conventional substrate transfer device. As shown in the figure, the substrate transfer apparatus includes a stage 1 having a flat portion on which a substrate 101 to be processed is placed, a suction pad 8 for sucking the substrate 101 onto the flat portion of the stage 1, And a cylinder 9 for positioning the substrate 101. After the substrate 101 made of glass or plastic is slid and moved on the stage 1 by the power of the cylinder 9, the substrate 101 is fixed by a plurality of suction pads 8 dispersed on the flat surface of the stage 1.

[0004]

In recent years, the size of flat-panel display panels has been rapidly increasing.
A glass plate having a size of 00 mm × 700 mm and a thickness of 0.7 mm is used. When handling large-area substrates with the above-mentioned conventional substrate transport device, the weight of the glass substrate itself causes problems such as scratches and dust adhesion due to friction during transport and positioning, which can be solved in managing quality. Is an issue to be addressed. When the glass substrate is moved at the time of positioning, charging occurs due to friction generated between the glass substrate and the stage. In addition, when vacuum suction is performed on the glass substrate 101 with the suction pad 8, the stage 1 and the glass substrate 101 are brought into close contact with each other. In order to take out the glass substrate brought into close contact by the charging or vacuum suction from the stage, it is necessary to push up the glass substrate with a lifter pin (not shown) penetrating the stage 1 from below to above. At this time,
So-called peeling charging occurs, which adversely affects the quality of the flat display panel. Static electricity generated by peeling charging may cause damage or destruction of a thin film transistor integrated on a glass substrate.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate transfer apparatus capable of preventing a glass substrate from being scratched or adhering dust and further suppressing peeling charging. . The following measures were taken in order to achieve this purpose. That is, the substrate transfer device according to the present invention is used for transferring or positioning the substrate in a manufacturing process of a flat display panel based on a substrate made of glass or plastic, and the flat surface on which the substrate is placed. A stage having a portion, a plurality of through-holes dispersed and opened in the plane portion, and a gas supply source for appropriately supplying a gas composed of air or an inert gas to the through-hole, at least the plane of the stage When the substrate is attached to and detached from the portion, the gas is supplied from the gas supply source to the through hole to introduce the gas between the substrate and the flat portion, thereby removing the substrate. It is characterized in that it floats from a flat surface. Preferably, a groove is formed in the plane portion of the stage around the through hole, and the gas flowing out of the through hole is received in the groove to promote the floating of the substrate. Also preferably, a charge elimination gas generator for generating charge elimination gas is provided, and the charge of the substrate is prevented by adding the charge elimination gas to the gas and supplying the gas to the through hole. More preferably, a pipe for supplying the gas from the gas supply source to the plurality of through holes is divided into two or more systems, and the flow rate of the gas can be adjusted for each system.

According to the present invention, the stage for transporting or positioning the substrate for the display panel is provided with an air discharge through-hole for floating the substrate by a very small amount, thereby suppressing the frictional resistance between the glass substrate and the stage. be able to. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the glass substrate from being scratched or adhered to dust. In addition, the air discharge holes are arranged at equal intervals, and for example, a ring-shaped groove is provided around each of the holes, thereby forming an air reservoir and reducing the resistance when the substrate is separated from the stage. Further, by forming such a ring-shaped groove, it is possible to prevent peeling charging when the substrate is separated from the stage. In addition, it is generated when the glass substrate is attached to or detached from the stage by using the static elimination gas generator (ionizer) to flow the static elimination gas (ionized gas) together with the substrate levitation gas (air) into the air. Neutralized static electricity, and as a result, charging can be prevented.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view and a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a first embodiment of a substrate transfer device according to the present invention. For easy understanding, parts corresponding to those of the conventional substrate transfer apparatus shown in FIG. 4 are denoted by corresponding reference numerals. As shown in the drawing, the present substrate transfer apparatus is used for transferring or positioning the substrate 101 in a manufacturing process of a flat display panel based on a substrate 101 made of glass or plastic. For example, the substrate transfer device is used in a process of cleaning a substrate made of a glass plate or the like, a process of inspecting a substrate on which thin film transistors and the like are integrally formed, and the like. Furthermore,
It is used when transferring a glass substrate between processes. The present substrate transfer apparatus basically includes a stage 1 having a flat surface on which a substrate 101 is placed, a plurality of through holes 2 dispersed and opened in the flat surface, and a gas comprising air in each through hole 2. Or a gas supply source 3 for appropriately supplying an inert gas. The stage 1 is made of, for example, stainless steel, and its plane portion is mirror-polished. The through-holes 2 are formed in the stage 1 and have openings distributed in a lattice pattern on a plane portion of the stage 1. In the present embodiment, a total of 15 through holes 2 are arranged at equal intervals in three columns and five rows and five rows.
A large glass substrate having a size of 0 mm × 700 mm can be mounted. Each row of the through holes 2 is connected to each other by a communication pipe 4 and is commonly connected to a gas supply source 3 via an external pipe. The gas supply source 3 includes, for example, an air compressor, and supplies the gas G to each of the through holes 2 via the above-described pipe and the communication pipe 4. As the gas G, an inert gas such as nitrogen gas can be used in addition to air (air). When particularly high cleanliness is required, it is preferable to use an inert gas such as nitrogen gas instead of air. Although not shown, in some cases, the cylinder shown in FIG.
Perform the above operations. With this configuration, when the substrate 101 is attached to and detached from the plane portion of the stage 1, the gas G is supplied from the gas supply source 3 to each through hole 2, and the gas G is supplied between the substrate 101 and the stage plane portion. Then, the substrate 101 is lifted from the plane portion.

In this embodiment, a ring-shaped groove 6 is formed around each through hole 2 in the plane portion of the stage 1. The ring-shaped groove 6 receives the gas G flowing out from each through-hole 2 and promotes the floating of the substrate 101. Further, the present embodiment is provided with the static elimination gas generator 5 for generating the static elimination gas 7, and by adding the static elimination gas 7 to the gas G and supplying the gas G to each through-hole 2, the separation charge of the substrate 101 is prevented. . The static elimination gas generator 5 includes an ionizer and supplies a static elimination gas 7 containing ions. The ions have a function of immediately neutralizing the static electricity of the glass substrate 101 generated by the separation charging.

As described above, in the present invention, in order to supply air to the stage 1, the through holes 2 for discharging air are provided. In addition, the glass substrate 10
A ring-shaped groove 6 serving as an air reservoir is provided in order to make it easier to float. Thus, the glass substrate 1
When attaching and detaching the stage 01 to and from the stage 1, air is discharged, and the glass substrate 101 can be floated by a minute amount. As a result, it is possible to prevent the glass substrate 101 from being scratched or adhering dust. In addition, the charge of the glass substrate 101 is prevented by discharging the charge removing gas 7 generated by the charge removing gas generator 5 to the glass substrate 101 side together with air.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view and a sectional view showing an example of a second embodiment of the substrate transfer apparatus according to the present invention. To facilitate understanding, parts corresponding to those in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by corresponding reference numerals. In this embodiment, a pipe for supplying air from the gas supply source 3 to the plurality of through holes 2 is divided into two or more systems, and a valve V capable of adjusting the flow rate of the gas G is attached to each system. In this example, the pipes are divided into five systems corresponding to the through holes 2 arranged in five rows. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In the present embodiment, the glass substrate 1
There is an advantage that the flow rate or the discharge pressure of the air and the static elimination gas can be adjusted in each system according to the state of warpage or the like. Thereby, the floating amount of the glass substrate 101 can be made uniform over the entire surface of the stage 1. Generally, the distribution of warpage of a glass substrate has a certain tendency depending on a process or the like. This warpage distribution is measured in advance, and the flow rate of each piping system is adjusted according to the measurement result. Thereby, even if the substrate includes warpage deformation, it is possible to apply a substantially uniform levitation force to the whole, so that the glass substrate can be stably attached and detached.

[0011]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By providing a through hole for air discharge, a ring-shaped groove, and the like on a stage for carrying and positioning, there is an effect that scratches and dust adhesion of the substrate can be prevented. In addition, there is an effect that the charge of the substrate can be prevented by flowing the charge removing gas together with the air. Further, by adjusting the air discharge amount in accordance with the warp state of the substrate, there is an effect that a uniform levitation force can be applied to the entire substrate.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view and a cross-sectional view illustrating a first embodiment of a substrate transfer device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view and a cross-sectional view illustrating a second embodiment of the substrate transfer device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view illustrating an example of a flat display panel handled by the substrate transfer device.

FIG. 4 is a plan view and a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a conventional substrate transfer device.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Stage, 2 ... Through-hole, 3 ... Gas supply source, 4 ... Communication pipe, 5 ... Static electricity removal gas generator, 6 ...
・ Ring-shaped groove, 7: static elimination gas, 101: substrate,
G: gas.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A substrate transfer device used for transferring or positioning a substrate in a manufacturing process of a flat display panel based on a substrate made of glass or plastic, the device having a flat portion on which the substrate is placed. A stage, a plurality of through-holes dispersed and opened in the plane portion, and a gas supply source for appropriately supplying a gas made of air or an inert gas to the through-hole, and at least with respect to the plane portion of the stage. When the substrate is attached or detached, the gas is supplied from the gas supply source to the through-hole to introduce the gas between the substrate and the flat portion, thereby causing the substrate to be removed from the flat portion. A substrate transfer device characterized by being lifted from a surface. 2. The flat portion of the stage has a groove formed around the through hole, and receives the gas flowing out of the through hole into the groove to promote the floating of the substrate. 2. The substrate transfer device according to claim 1, wherein: 3. A discharging gas generator for generating a discharging gas, wherein the charging of the substrate is prevented by adding the discharging gas to the gas and supplying the gas to the through hole. Item 2. The substrate transfer device according to Item 1. 4. A pipe for supplying the gas from the gas supply source to the plurality of through holes is divided into two or more systems, and a flow rate of the gas can be adjusted for each system.
The substrate transfer device according to any one of the preceding claims.