JP5300288B2 - Substrate transfer apparatus and substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technology for conveying various substrates to be processed (hereinafter simply referred to as “substrates”) such as semiconductor wafers, glass substrates for liquid crystal display devices, glass substrates for PDPs, and glass / ceramic substrates for magnetic / optical disks. .

  A process for developing an exposed substrate is known as one of the steps for producing a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device. FIG. 10 is a view for explaining the conveyance of the substrate 190 in the conventional developing device 100. In the developing device 100, a plurality of transport rollers 131 and 141 arranged in parallel with each other conveys the substrate 190 in a predetermined horizontal direction (+ X direction), and develops a developing process by depositing a developer on the substrate 190 (see FIG. (Paddle development processing).

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 10A, in the conventional developing device 100, the developer is deposited on the substrate that is conveyed at high speed in a horizontal posture in the liquid layer forming chamber 130 (liquid layer formation). Then, after the substrate 190 formed with the liquid layer is transferred from the liquid layer forming chamber 130 to the posture changing chamber 140, the transfer of the substrate 190 is once stopped in the posture changing chamber 140. Then, the posture of the substrate 190 is converted from a horizontal posture to an inclined posture in the posture changing chamber 140 (not shown), and the developer on the substrate 190 is drained. Note that such a developing device 100 is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-151620.

  In the developing device 100, the plurality of transport rollers 131 in the processing progress chamber and the plurality of transport rollers 141 in the posture changing chamber include motors 132 and 142 as drive sources, respectively, and the motors 132 and 142 are controlled independently. Is done. Thus, since the substrate 190 can be efficiently carried into the liquid layer forming chamber 130 from the outside without being limited by the processing time in the posture changing chamber 140, the throughput of the developing device 100 is improved.

  When the substrate 190 is transferred between the transport rollers 131 and 141 controlled independently in this way, as described in Patent Document 2, for example, the substrate 190 is transported between the transport rollers 131 and 141. It is necessary to match the conveyance speed. Therefore, in order to match the transport speeds of the transport rollers 131 and 141, an operation of moving (delivering) the substrate 190 at a constant speed is performed.

  10B and 10C are diagrams showing the relationship between the position of the front end of the substrate 190 in the developing device 100 and the conveyance speed of the substrate 90 at that time. The horizontal axes (positions) of (B) and (C) coincide with the respective positions in the transport direction of the developing device 100 shown in (A), and a position L100 indicated by a thick dotted line in FIG. The center position between the liquid layer forming chamber 130 and the posture changing chamber 140 is shown.

  For example, as shown in (B), after changing the conveyance speed of the substrate 190 from the high speed (speed V101) to the low speed (speed V102) in the liquid layer forming chamber 130, the attitude conversion chamber driven at a constant low speed. A transport operation such as moving the substrate 190 to the 140 transport rollers 141 is performed. Alternatively, as shown in (C), the substrate is transferred between the transfer rollers 131 and 141 at a constant high speed (speed V101a) from the liquid layer forming chamber 130 to the posture changing chamber 140, and then transferred in the posture changing chamber 140. The speed is changed from high speed (speed V101a) to low speed (speed V102a). By controlling the operations of the transport rollers 131 and 141 in this way, the transport speed when the substrate 190 is delivered can be easily matched.

JP 2005-197325 A JP-A-6-239440

  However, in the example shown in FIG. 10B, in the liquid layer forming chamber 130 and the posture changing chamber 140, the substrate transport time (including time for development processing) at a low speed (speed V102) is included. There is a problem that the throughput of the developing device 100 is lowered because the length becomes longer than necessary. On the other hand, in the example shown in FIG. 10C, the region where the substrate 90 moves at a high speed (speed V101a) becomes relatively long, and the time required for shifting to the low speed (speed V102a) is shortened. It is necessary to ensure. Although this point can be solved by increasing the transport distance of the substrate 190, there is a problem that the size of the developing device 100 is increased.

  Further, in recent years, the size of a substrate to be processed has increased with the increase in the size of liquid crystal displays. For this reason, the amount of the developer accumulated on the substrate 190 is also large, and the influence of the inertial force acting on the developer due to a change in the speed of the substrate 190 (for example, deceleration from high speed to low speed) becomes large. Yes. Therefore, in order to change the transport speed of the substrate 190 more gently, the transport distance of the substrate 190 also becomes longer and the size of the apparatus tends to be longer.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a transport technique that can efficiently change the transport speed of a substrate in the middle without increasing the size of the apparatus.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention of claim 1 is a substrate transfer device that changes the transfer speed of a substrate while conveying the substrate on a conveyor, wherein the first conveyer conveys the substrate in a predetermined direction, and arranged in series in the predetermined direction with respect to the first conveyor, a second conveyor for the substrate conveyor transport, and the first substrate by a conveyor transport speed, each independently and the transport speed of the substrate by the second conveyor And a control means for controlling, from the time when the front end of the substrate conveyed by the first conveyor reaches the second conveyor until the rear end of the substrate separates the first conveyor. Changing the substrate transport speed by the first conveyor in a time series from the first speed to the second speed in at least a part of the time period during the delivery period of the substrate, In the delivery period even without the transport speed of the substrate by the second conveyor, and performs the synchronous control of matching the conveying speed of the substrate by the first conveyor.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the substrate transport apparatus according to the invention of claim 1, wherein the control means sets the transport speed of the substrate by the first conveyor in the time period including the delivery period. The speed relationship is changed from the first speed to the second speed so as to have an S-shaped curve.

A third aspect of the present invention is the substrate transfer apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, wherein the control means sets the first speed when the speed between the first speed and the second speed is an intermediate speed. The substrate transfer speed by one conveyor is changed from the first speed to the intermediate speed so that the time-speed relationship becomes a first substantially S-curve, and during the predetermined time including the delivery period, after an intermediate speed, the time from the intermediate speed to the second speed - with the speed relationship varied to a second substantially S-shaped curve, the transport speed of the substrate by the second conveyor, at least said predetermined It is characterized in that it is matched with the substrate transfer speed by the first conveyor during the period of time.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus for performing processing while transporting a substrate on which an upper surface of a processing liquid is deposited, the liquid filling means for depositing the processing liquid on the upper surface of the substrate, and the liquid A substrate transfer apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which horizontally transfers a substrate piled up by the piling means.

  The invention of claim 5 is the substrate processing apparatus according to the invention of claim 4, further comprising posture changing means for changing the posture of the substrate stopped on the second conveyor to an inclined posture, The control unit temporarily stops the substrate conveyed by the second conveyor when the posture changing unit changes the posture of the substrate.

  According to invention of Claim 1 thru | or 5, by changing a conveyance speed using the delivery period in which a board | substrate moves the boundary of a 1st conveyor and a 2nd conveyor, and a board | substrate is delivered between both conveyors. Efficient transport can be performed without lengthening the transport path of the substrate processing apparatus.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent a sudden inertial force from acting on the conveyed product by adjusting the speed along the S-shaped curve. As a result, the substrate can be prevented from being damaged or misaligned.

  According to the invention of claim 3, by synchronizing the transport speed of the second conveyor while the transport speed of the first conveyor is at a constant intermediate speed, the transport speed can be synchronized with high accuracy.

  According to the invention of claim 5, the processing liquid accumulated on the substrate can be discarded efficiently.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<1. First Embodiment>
<1.1. Configuration and Function>
FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing a developing device 1 in the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 1, for the sake of illustration and explanation, the Z-axis direction is defined as the vertical direction and the XY plane is defined as the horizontal plane, but these are defined for convenience in order to grasp the positional relationship. The directions described below are not limited. The same applies to the following drawings.

  The developing device 1 mainly includes a liquid layer forming unit 3, a posture changing unit 4, and a control unit 8, and functions as a substrate processing device that performs a developing process while horizontally transporting a square substrate 90. Note that the substrate 90 to be processed is not limited to a square shape, and a circular shape (including an elliptical shape) or a polygonal shape substrate other than a square shape can be processed.

[Liquid layer forming part 3]
The liquid layer forming unit 3 mainly includes a plurality of transport rollers 31, a motor 32, a developer supply nozzle 33, and a substrate detection sensor 34 (34a, 34b, 34c). These configurations are provided in a chamber (not shown) having a carry-in port and a carry-out port for the substrate 90.

  The transport roller 31 has a longitudinal direction in the direction (Y direction) perpendicular to the transport direction (+ X direction) of the substrate 90, and has a plurality of (four in the present embodiment) disk shape connected by a shaft. It has a substrate support portion 311 (similar to the substrate support member 411 of the posture changing portion 4 shown in FIG. 2). In the liquid layer forming unit 3, a plurality of (five in FIG. 1) transport rollers 31 having such a configuration are arranged in parallel along the transport direction. The motor 32 is connected to the respective shafts of the transport rollers 31, and by driving the motor 32, the power is transmitted to the shafts to rotate the transport rollers 31 in a predetermined direction. As a result, the substrate 90 supported by the upper end of the substrate support portion of the transport roller 31 is conveyed by a conveyor in a predetermined direction. The motor 32 is controlled based on a drive signal (pulse control signal) sent from the control unit 8 described later.

  The developer supply nozzle 33 is provided at a predetermined position above the transport roller 31 and upstream of the liquid layer forming unit 3 in the transport direction, and a predetermined processing liquid (development) is formed on the upper surface of the substrate 90 being transported. The developer is accumulated on the upper surface of the substrate 90. The developer supply nozzle 33 is connected via a supply pipe 331 to a developer tank (not shown) in which the developer is stored, and the developer is supplied from the developer tank. The supply of the developer from the developer tank is controlled by the control unit 8 described later.

  The substrate detection sensor 34 is a contact-type pendulum sensor. Although a detailed description of the configuration of the contact-type pendulum sensor is omitted, in this embodiment, for example, a pendulum sensor disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-314072 can be applied. The substrate detection sensor 34 is not limited to a contact type sensor, and may be a non-contact type sensor (for example, an optical sensor).

  The substrate detection sensor 34 a detects that the front end of the substrate 90 to be transported has reached a position near the carry-in port of the liquid layer forming unit 3. Moreover, the board | substrate detection sensors 34b and 34c each detect that the front end of the board | substrate 90 conveyed reached | attained the predetermined position near the carrying-out port. Information detected by the sensors on the substrate 90 is transmitted to the control unit 8. The control unit 8 controls the conveyance speed of the substrate 90 by the conveyance roller 31, the supply amount of the developer from the developer supply nozzle 33, and the like.

[Attitude conversion unit 4]
The posture conversion unit 4 mainly includes a plurality of transport rollers 41, a motor 42, a roller inclined unit 43, and substrate detection sensors 44 (44a, 44b).

  The transport roller 41 has the same shape as the transport roller 31 in the liquid layer forming unit 3, and supports the substrate 90 from below with a disk-shaped substrate support member 411. And also in the attitude | position conversion part 4, such a conveyance roller 41 is arrange | positioned in parallel along a conveyance direction, and conveys the board | substrate 90 in a conveyance direction. That is, the transport roller 41 group is arranged in series so as to be adjacent to the transport roller 31 group in the transport direction. Thereby, the conveyance path of the substrate 90 is formed by the conveyance roller 31 group and the conveyance roller 41 group.

  The motor 42 is connected to the respective shafts of the transport rollers 41, and when the motor 42 is driven, the power is transmitted to the shafts to rotate the transport rollers 41 in a predetermined direction. Accordingly, the substrate 90 supported by the upper end of the substrate support member 411 is transported in the (+ X) direction in FIG. The control of the motor 42 is performed based on a drive signal (pulse control signal) sent from the control unit 8 described later.

  Next, the posture changing mechanism of the substrate 90 by the posture changing unit 4 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram when the state in which the transport roller 41 is inclined is viewed from the downstream side in the transport direction. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing the developing device 1 with the conveying roller 41 inclined.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the roller inclined portion 43 is provided below the roller shaft support portion 412 that supports the shaft from the left and right while allowing the shaft of the transport roller 41 to rotate, and is biased to one side ( In this embodiment, the roller shaft support portion 412 is supported from below (on the (+ Y) side). The roller inclined portion 43 is provided with a pneumatic cylinder, although details are omitted, and the conveying roller 41 is inclined with respect to the horizontal plane by extending the arm 431 upward (in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 2). (See FIG. 3). Thereby, the posture of the substrate 90 stopped on the transport roller 41 is changed from the horizontal posture to the inclined posture, and the developer accumulated on the upper surface of the substrate 90 can be discharged and discarded (liquid drained). Note that the operation of the roller inclined portion 43 is controlled by the control portion 8.

  The substrate detection sensor 44 (44a, 44b) detects that the front end of the substrate 90 to be transported has passed a predetermined position and controls the detection information in the same manner as the substrate detection sensor 34 in the liquid layer forming unit 3. It is a contact-type pendulum sensor that transmits to the unit 8. Of course, the substrate detection sensor 44 may also be a non-contact type sensor. The control unit 8 controls the conveyance speed of the substrate 90 by the conveyance roller 41 and the expansion / contraction operation of the arm 431 of the roller inclined portion 43 based on the detection information of the substrate 90.

[Control unit 8]
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing connections between the control unit 8 and each unit of the developing device 1. The control unit 8 is mainly connected to the motors 32 and 42, the developer supply nozzle 33 (specifically, a pump of the developer tank not shown), the roller inclined unit 43, and the substrate detection sensors 34 and 44 by electrical wiring. ing. The control unit 8 includes a motor control unit 81 that drives and controls the motors 32 and 42, a nozzle control unit 82 that controls the supply amount of the developer from the developer supply nozzle 33, and a roller tilt control unit 83 that controls the roller tilt unit 43. Is mainly provided. Based on the detection information of the substrate 90 transmitted from the substrate detection sensors 34 and 44, the control unit 8 discharges the developer from the developer supply nozzle 33, the conveyance speed of the substrate 90 by the conveyance rollers 31 and 41, and the conveyance roller. 41 is controlled.

  The motor control unit 81 can also control the driving of the motors 32 and 42 independently, and can also perform synchronous control for controlling the driving of the motor 42 in accordance with the driving of the motor 32. Although details are omitted here, for example, a mechanism for synchronous control disclosed in Patent Document 2 can be applied to the control unit 8 of the present embodiment.

  The above is the description of the configuration and functions of the developing device 1. Next, the operation of the developing device 1 will be described.

<1.2. Operation>
FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the developing device 1. 5A is the same as FIG. 1, and FIG. 5B is a diagram showing the relationship between the position of the front end of the substrate 90 in the developing device 1 and the conveyance speed of the substrate 90 at that time. . In the following, the transport speed of the transport rollers 31 and 41 means the traveling speed of the substrate 90 when the substrate 90 is actually transported, and the substrate 90 is not transported (that is, the substrate 90). (When the transport rollers 31 and 41 are rotating in a state in which the transport rollers 31 and 41 are not mounted), the traveling speed of the substrate 90 when the substrate 90 is transported (actually, the transport rollers 31 and 41 A value calculated from the rotation speed or the like).

  First, when the substrate 90 is carried into the liquid layer forming unit 3 from the outside (not shown), first, the substrate detection sensor 34a detects the entry of the substrate 90 at the position L1, and transmits the detection information to the control unit 8. . The control unit 8 that has received the detection information starts to rotate the transport roller 31 by driving the motor 32.

  Further, at the same time (or slightly delayed), supply of the developer from the developer supply nozzle 33 is started under the control of the control unit 8, and a liquid layer of the developer is formed on the upper surface of the substrate 90. . In addition, the conveyance speed of the board | substrate 90 at this time is set to speed V1. This speed V1 is a high speed, but is a speed at which a liquid layer can be formed.

  Next, when the front end of the substrate 90 reaches the position L2, the substrate detection sensor 34b disposed at the position L2 detects the substrate 90, and the detection information is transmitted to the control unit 8. Thereby, the control unit 8 stops the supply of the developer from the developer supply nozzle 33.

[Deceleration control]
Further, when the front end of the substrate 90 reaches the position L3, the substrate detection sensor 34c detects the substrate 90, and the detection information is transmitted to the control unit 8. Thereby, the control unit 8 starts the deceleration control of the motor 32 so that the conveyance speed of the substrate 90 by the conveyance roller 31 is decelerated from the high speed (speed V1) to the low speed (speed V2). More specifically, as shown in FIG. 5B , the conveyance speed of the substrate 90 is decelerated so that the change in speed at the start of deceleration and at the end of deceleration is moderate. This deceleration control will be further described with reference to FIG .

FIG. 6 is a time chart relating to the conveyance speed of the conveyance rollers 31 and 41. Here, FIG. 6A is a time chart corresponding to the conveying roller 31, and FIG. 6B is a time chart corresponding to the conveying roller 41. Note that the time on the horizontal axis in FIGS. 6A and 6B coincides with each other in the upper and lower positions.

  The time for the substrate 90 to reach the position L3 (see FIG. 5) corresponds to the time T11 in FIG. That is, at time T11, the control unit 8 starts the deceleration control of the transport roller 31 described above. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 6A, in the period P11 (time T11 to time T12), the control unit 8 determines the transport speed of the substrate 90 by the transport roller 31 and the time-speed relationship is S. It is changed in a time series so as to form a character curve (a slow curve of speed change at the start and end of deceleration). At time T12, the deceleration control ends, and the conveyance speed of the substrate 90 by the conveyance roller 31 is set to the speed V2.

  More specifically, since the differential coefficient in the “time-speed” relationship indicates acceleration, “the time-speed relationship is an S-curve” in the deceleration process means that the absolute value of the negative acceleration is smooth. This corresponds to the fact that the deceleration rate is increased (that is, the deceleration rate is increased smoothly), and thereafter the absolute value of the negative acceleration is decreased, and the deceleration rate is decreased smoothly. However, an S-shaped curve may be approximately realized by a broken line pattern instead of a complete curve.

  Note that the speed V2 is a speed at which the development processing sufficiently proceeds in relation to the conveyance time. The values of the speeds V1 and V2 are appropriately determined according to the transport distance of the substrate 90 in the developing device 1.

  Further, details of the deceleration control mechanism of the control unit 8 in the present embodiment are omitted, but for example, a control mechanism disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-127492 can be applied.

  By controlling the conveyance speed of the conveyance roller 31 to be reduced as described above, it is possible to prevent an inertial force from acting suddenly on the substrate 90 and the developer on the substrate 90 when the conveyance speed is changed. The liquid layer formed on the substrate 90 can be appropriately maintained. Thereby, the occurrence of uneven development can be suppressed. Further, the substrate 90 can be prevented from being damaged.

Next, the control unit 8 drives and rotates the transport roller 41 by driving the motor 42 before the front end of the substrate 90 reaches the upper end of the transport roller 41 on the most upstream side in the transport direction. At this time, the rotation speed of the conveyance roller 41 is controlled (synchronized control) to be the same as the rotation speed of the conveyance roller 31. Next, the synchronization control of the conveyance speed when the substrate 90 is transferred between the conveyance rollers 31 and 41 will be described with reference to FIG .

[Synchronous control]
As shown in FIG. 6B, at time T13 (time between time T11 and time T12), the control unit 8 starts accelerating the transport speed of the transport roller 41 toward the speed V4. The speed V4 is an intermediate speed between the speed V1 (high speed) and the speed V2 (low speed), and is a target value (synchronization start speed) when the transport rollers 31 and 41 are synchronized. The value of the speed V4 may be set in advance by the operator, but may be automatically set by the control unit 8 according to the situation, for example.

  When the transport speed of the transport roller 41 reaches the speed V4 by the time T15 when the substrate 90 reaches the transport roller 41, the speed is maintained until the transport speed of the transport roller 31 reaches the speed V4. When the transport speeds of the transport rollers 31 and 41 reach the speed V4 at time T14 (when they coincide), the control unit 8 causes the motors 32 and 41 so that the transport speeds of the transport rollers 31 and 41 become substantially the same (match). 42 is synchronously controlled.

  When the time T14 at which the synchronization control is started elapses, at the time T15 (between the time T14 and the time T12), the front end of the substrate 90 reaches the upper end of the transport roller 41 at the most upstream in the transport direction. Thereafter, at time T <b> 16, the rear end of the substrate 90 is separated from the upper end of the transport roller 31 on the most downstream side in the transport direction. Therefore, the period from the time T15 to the time T16 is a delivery period of the substrate 90 between the two sets of transport rollers 31 and 41.

  At time T <b> 17, the control for synchronizing the transport rollers 31 and 41 by the control unit 8 is completed, and the transport roller 41 is driven at the speed V <b> 2 while the rotational drive of the transport roller 31 is stopped.

  That is, in the period P12 shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 8 matches the transport speeds of the transport rollers 31 and 41 as indicated by the hatched area. The period P12 includes a time T15 for the front end of the substrate 90 to reach the transport roller 41 and a time T17 for the rear end of the substrate 90 to be separated from the transport roller 31. Therefore, when the substrate 90 is moved between the liquid layer forming unit 3 and the posture changing unit 4, since the conveyance speeds of the conveyance rollers 31 and 41 are matched, the substrate 90 can be delivered smoothly.

  The above is the description of the synchronous control of the conveyance speed when the substrate 90 is transferred between the conveyance rollers 31 and 41.

[Attitude change operation]
Returning to FIG. 5 again, when the front end of the substrate 90 reaches the position L5 in the low speed state of the speed V2, the control unit 8 reduces the transport speed of the transport roller 41 to a value smaller than the speed V2. When the front end of the substrate 90 reaches the position L6, the control unit 8 stops the conveyance of the substrate 90 by the conveyance roller 41. Further, the control unit 8 drives the roller tilting portion 43 to tilt the transport roller 41 and remove the developer accumulated on the substrate 90 (see FIG. 2 or FIG. 3). The operations of the posture conversion unit 4 are performed from time T18 to time T19 in FIG.

  Next, the control unit 8 drives the motor 42 to pay out the substrate 90 stopped at the position L6 from the posture conversion unit 4 at the speed V3 while keeping the inclined posture. Note that the developing device 1 is connected to a cleaning mechanism (not shown), and the discharged substrate 90 is appropriately cleaned by the cleaning mechanism to remove excess developer.

  The above is the description of the operation of the developing device 1 in the present embodiment.

<1.3. Effect>
According to the present embodiment, the transport roller 31 of the liquid layer forming unit 3 that supplies the developer onto the substrate 90 and the transport roller 41 of the posture changing unit 4 for performing the development process are controlled independently. As a result, the substrate 90 can be transported at a transport speed suitable for each processing, and the throughput of the developing device 1 can be improved.

  In addition, while the speeds of the transport roller 31 and the transport roller 41 are matched, at least a part of the delivery period (time T15 to time T16) of the substrate 90 between the two sets of rollers (in this example, part of it) By carrying out deceleration control of the conveyance speed in a period P11 (time T11 to time T12) including a certain time T15 to time T12), a time for development processing is ensured without increasing the conveyance distance of the substrate 90. be able to.

<2. Second Embodiment>
In the first embodiment, the transfer speed of the substrate 90 when the substrate 90 is transferred from the liquid layer forming unit 3 to the posture changing unit 4 is changed so as to draw one S-curve in time series. Realized by that. However, the control for matching the transport speed of the transport roller 41 with the transport speed of the transport roller 31 that changes in real time can be performed approximately. However, the front end of the substrate has two pairs of transport rollers 31 and 41. When the boundary is crossed, not only the speed of both the transport rollers 31 and 41 but also the acceleration must be a finite value (a non-zero value) and the two transport rollers 31 and 41 must be aligned. The accuracy of the synchronous control is limited.

  Therefore, in the second embodiment, a method for accurately performing the synchronization control will be described. Note that the specific configuration of the developing device 1 of the present embodiment is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, so the description of the overlapping portions will be omitted and the differences will be mainly described. The same applies to the following embodiments.

<2.1. Operation>
FIG. 7 is a time chart relating to the conveyance speed of the conveyance rollers 31 and 41 in the second embodiment. Here, FIG. 7A is a time chart corresponding to the transport roller 31, and FIG. 7B is a time chart corresponding to the transport roller 41.

  Here, the period P20 (time T21 to time T24) shown in FIG. 7A corresponds to the period P11 shown in FIG. 6A in the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, the transport speed of the substrate 90 by the transport roller 31 is changed (decelerated) so as to draw one S-curve in time series in the period P11. In the period P20, a constant speed period P22 (time T22 to time T23) in which the substrate 90 is transported at a speed V5 (intermediate speed) between the speed V1 and the speed V2 is provided for a predetermined time.

  First, at time T21 (time T21 to time T22), when the front end of the substrate 90 reaches the position L3 (see FIG. 5), the control unit 8 decelerates the conveyance speed of the conveyance roller 31 from the speed V1 to the speed V5. Deceleration control is performed. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 7A, in the period P21, the control unit 8 changes the conveyance speed of the conveyance roller 31 from the speed V1 so that the time-speed relationship becomes an S hour curve. Change (decelerate) to V5. Then, the substrate 90 is transported while maintaining the speed V5 for a predetermined time (during the period P22).

  When a predetermined time (period P22) elapses, the control unit 8 again controls the transport speed of the transport roller 31 from V4 toward the speed V2. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 7A, in the period P23 (time T23 to time T24), the control unit 8 changes the conveyance speed of the conveyance roller 31 to the following as in the period P21. According to the S-shaped curve, the speed V4 is changed (decelerated) from the speed V4. Then, the conveyance speed of the conveyance roller 31 is maintained at the speed V <b> 2 during the time T <b> 24 to time T <b> 25 (the time after the substrate 90 is separated from the conveyance roller 31).

[Synchronous control]
On the other hand, the transport roller 41 is controlled by the control unit 8 as follows so as to match the transport speed of the transport roller 31. That is, as shown in FIG. 7B, the motor 42 is driven at a time T26 that is earlier than the time T22 (when the transport speed of the transport roller 31 reaches the speed V5 ), and the transport speed of the transport roller 31 is the speed. Before the time T22 to reach V5 elapses, the conveyance speed of the conveyance roller 41 is made to reach the speed V5. Thereby, the developing device 1 can match the transport speeds of the transport roller 31 and the transport roller 41 at time T22.

  Further thereafter, the control unit 8 performs synchronous control while matching the speeds of the transport rollers 31 and 41. Thereby, at time T24, the conveyance speed of the conveyance roller 41 becomes the speed V2. Then, the developing device 1 transports the substrate 90 at the speed V2 until the front end of the substrate 90 reaches the position L5 (see FIG. 5).

Here, in the example illustrated in FIG. 7, the time T <b> 27 is a time for the front end of the substrate 90 to reach the upper end of the transport roller 41 at the most upstream in the transport direction of the posture conversion unit 4. The time T28 is a time during which the rear end of the substrate 90 is separated from the upper end of the transport roller 31 located on the most downstream side in the transport direction of the liquid layer forming unit 3. The control unit 8 synchronously controls the transport roller 31 and the transport roller 41 in the period P24 (time T22 to time T25), and one substrate 90 of the substrate 90 straddling the transport roller 31 and the transport roller 41 is controlled. The delivery period (time T27 to time T28) is included in the period P24. Therefore, the substrate 90 can be smoothly transferred between the liquid layer forming unit 3 and the posture changing unit 4.

  In addition, as a setting method of speed V5 which starts a synchronization, you may set beforehand by an operator and the structure which the control part 8 determines according to a condition may be sufficient. The same applies to the method of setting the shape of the S-shaped curve, the deceleration time (periods P21 and P23), and the time for maintaining the speed V5 (period P22).

  Here, the operation (posture changing operation and the like) of the developing device 1 after time T25 is the same as that in the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted. The above is the description of the operation of the developing device 1 in the present embodiment.

<2.2. Effect>
According to the present embodiment, in the time zone (period P24) including the delivery period (time T27 to time T28) of the substrate 90, synchronous control of speed between the two pairs of transport rollers 31, 41 is performed. When the speed of the transport roller 31 is changed from the speed V1 (high speed) to the speed V2 (low speed), a period for transporting the substrate 90 at an intermediate speed (speed V5) is provided for a predetermined time. As a result, the conveyance speed of the conveyance roller 41 can be easily matched with the conveyance roller 31 operating at a constant speed (speed V5), so that the synchronization control of the conveyance rollers 31 and 41 by the control unit 8 is performed with high accuracy. be able to.

  In particular, in this embodiment, since the synchronous control before and after the delivery period (time T27 to T28) of the substrate 90 between the two sets of transport rollers 31 and 41 is performed along the S-shaped curve, respectively. The substrate 90 is delivered stably without a sudden change in acceleration during the period.

<3. Third Embodiment>
In the above embodiment, when the substrate 90 is transferred between the liquid layer forming unit 3 and the posture changing unit 4, the deceleration control is performed to change the transport speed of the transport roller 31 so as to draw an S-curve in time series. However, the deceleration control method is not limited to this.

  FIG. 8 is a time chart relating to the conveyance speed of the conveyance rollers 31 and 41 in the third embodiment. Here, FIG. 8A is a time chart corresponding to the conveyance roller 31, and FIG. 8B is a time chart corresponding to the conveyance roller 41.

<3.1. Operation>
[Deceleration control]
A period P31 (time T31 to time T32) illustrated in FIG. 8A is a period in which control for reducing the conveyance speed of the conveyance roller 31 is performed. The period illustrated in FIG. 6A in the first embodiment. This is the period corresponding to P11. In the first embodiment, the conveyance speed of the conveyance roller 31 is changed (decelerated) in the period P11 so that the time-speed relationship becomes an S-curve, but in the present embodiment, in the period P31, Deceleration control is performed to decelerate the conveyance speed at a constant rate (that is, at a constant acceleration).

  That is, when the front end of the substrate 90 reaches the position L3 at time T31 (see FIG. 5), the control unit 8 decelerates the conveyance speed of the conveyance roller 31 from the speed V1 to the speed V2 at a constant rate. Performs deceleration control. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 8A, in the period P31, the control unit 8 changes the transport speed of the transport roller 31 from the speed V1 to the speed V2 so that the time-speed relationship is a straight line. Change (decelerate). When the transport speed reaches the speed V2 at time T32, the control unit 8 maintains the transport speed of the transport roller 31 at the speed V2 and advances the developing process on the substrate 90.

[Synchronous control]
On the other hand, the transport roller 41 is controlled by the control unit 8 as follows so as to synchronize with the transport speed of the transport roller 31. That is, as shown in FIG. 8B, at time T33, the control unit 8 drives the motor 42, and the transport speed of the transport roller 41 is set to a speed V6 (intermediate speed between the speed V1 and the speed V2). Accelerate to Then, the control unit 8 sets the transport speed of the transport roller 41 to the speed V6 before the time T34 (the time when the transport speed of the transport roller 31 becomes the speed V6), and maintains the speed V6 until the time T34.

  Further, when the conveyance speed of the conveyance roller 31 reaches the speed V6 (time T34), the control unit 8 performs synchronous control for matching the conveyance speeds of the conveyance rollers 31 and 41, and also performs deceleration control for the conveyance speed of the conveyance roller 41. I do. Therefore, at time T32, the transport speed of the transport roller 41 is also set to the speed V2, and the developing device 1 transports the substrate 90 at the speed V2 until the front end of the substrate 90 reaches the position L5 (see FIG. 5). It will be.

  Here, in the example illustrated in FIG. 8, the time T <b> 36 indicates the time for the front end of the substrate 90 to reach the upper end of the transport roller 41 that is the most upstream in the transport direction of the posture conversion unit 4. A time T37 indicates a time during which the rear end of the substrate 90 is separated from the upper end of the transport roller 31 located on the most downstream side in the transport direction of the liquid layer forming unit 3. Here, as shown in FIG. 8, in the period P32 from time T34 to time T35, synchronous control in which the transport speeds of the transport roller 31 and the transport roller 41 are matched is performed. That is, the delivery period (time T36 to time T37) in which one substrate 90 spans the transport roller 31 and the transport roller 41 is included in the period P32 in which synchronization control is performed. Therefore, the substrate 90 can be smoothly transferred between the liquid layer forming unit 3 and the posture changing unit 4.

  Note that the operation of the developing device 1 after the time T35 (posture changing operation and the like) is the same as that in the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted. The above is the description of the operation of the developing device 1 in the present embodiment.

<3.2. Effect>
When the transport roller 31 is decelerated as in the example shown in FIG. 8A, a relatively large inertial force acts on the developer accumulated on the substrate 90 at times T31 and T32. Special control (control for changing the transport speed of the transport rollers 31 and 41 so as to draw an S-curve in a time series) is not required, so that the apparatus cost of the developing device 1 can be suppressed.

  Moreover, since the conveyance speed of the conveyance roller 31 is decelerated at a constant rate, it becomes easy to align the conveyance speed of the conveyance roller 41 with the conveyance speed of the conveyance roller 31 with high accuracy.

  The deceleration control as described above can also be applied to the second embodiment. More specifically, the conveyance speed of the conveyance roller 31 is constant during the periods P21 and P23 shown in FIG. Control may be performed to decelerate at a rate of.

<4. Fourth Embodiment>
In the embodiment described above, the transport roller 41 is tilted by the roller tilting portion 43 to change the posture of the substrate 90 from the horizontal posture to the tilted posture, so that the developer accumulated on the substrate 90 is drained. It was explained that this was done (see FIGS. 2 and 3). However, the mechanism for changing the posture of the substrate 90 is not limited to this.

  FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view of the posture changing unit 4a in the fourth embodiment. The posture conversion unit 4a includes an upper and lower roller unit 45 that can be moved up and down by an elevating mechanism (not shown). The upper and lower roller portions 45 are provided with a plurality of support members extending upward with a predetermined interval, and rollers 451 are provided on the upper ends of the support members, respectively. The upper and lower roller portions 45 are normally disposed below the transport roller 41 and are moved upward to convert the substrate 90 from a horizontal posture to an inclined posture. Thereby, the developer accumulated on the substrate 90 can be drained.

<5. Modification>
Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, it has been described that the substrate 90 is transported by a plurality of transport rollers 31 and 41 arranged in parallel. Of course, the substrate transport mechanism may be realized by conveyor transport using an endless belt.

  Further, in the second embodiment, it has been described that the timing at which the control unit 8 causes the conveyance speed of the conveyance roller 41 to reach the speed V4 is before the time T22 (see FIG. 7B). However, the timing at which the conveyance speed of the conveyance roller 41 reaches the speed V4 is not limited to this, and may be, for example, time T22 or any time between time T22 and time T23.

  In general, in the present invention, the conveyance speeds of the two conveyors may be matched only during the board delivery period, or during a period including other than the delivery period. On the other hand, the deceleration period may include the entire board delivery period or may be a part thereof. In contrast to the above embodiments, the present invention can also be applied to speed increase control when the speed of the substrate is increased between two conveyors.

  Further, the number of substrate detection sensors 34 and 44 and the positions to be arranged are not limited to those described above, and the design can be changed as appropriate. For example, in order to more accurately measure the conveyance speed of the substrate 90 by the conveyance roller 31, a plurality of sensors are arranged at a predetermined position downstream of the liquid layer forming unit 3, and deceleration control (for example, control in the period P11 in FIG. 6) is performed. ) To obtain the speed of the substrate 90 that decelerates. It is also effective to perform the synchronization control of the transport roller 41 based on the acquired value.

  In the above embodiment, the conveyance speed of the conveyance roller 41 is made to reach the synchronization start speed (speeds V4, V5, V6) in advance before starting the synchronization control. However, the present invention is not limited to this. What is necessary is just to reach | attain before the conveyance speed of the conveyance roller 31 becomes the said synchronous start speed at least.

  In the second embodiment, only one period of constant speed during the deceleration control is provided. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of periods for conveying at a constant speed are provided. Also good. In this case, since many timings for starting the synchronization of the transport roller 41 are provided, the degree of freedom in selecting the synchronization control by the control unit 8 is increased.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, it has been described that the posture conversion units 4 and 4a tilt the posture of the substrate 90 by pushing up the end surface side parallel to the conveyance direction of the substrate 90 upward. However, the tilting method of the substrate 90 is not limited to this, and for example, by pushing up the downstream end (+ X side end) (or the upstream end (−X side end)) of the substrate 90 in the transport direction. The posture of the substrate 90 may be inclined with respect to the horizontal plane.

  In the above-described embodiment, the development processing apparatus has been described exclusively. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can be applied to other substrate processing apparatuses. For example, the present invention can be applied to a device that supplies pure water, an etching solution, a stripping solution, or a predetermined gas from a nozzle to the substrate 90, or a device that irradiates light to a substrate to be transported.

1 is a schematic side view showing a developing device 1 in the present embodiment. It is a figure when the state which inclined the conveyance roller 41 is seen from the conveyance direction downstream. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing the developing device 1 in a state in which a conveying roller 41 is inclined. 3 is a block diagram showing connections between a control unit 8 and each unit of the developing device 1. FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the developing device 1. 6 is a time chart regarding the conveyance speed of the conveyance rollers 31 and 41. It is a time chart regarding the conveyance speed of the conveyance rollers 31 and 41 in 2nd Embodiment. It is a time chart regarding the conveyance speed of the conveyance rollers 31 and 41 in 3rd Embodiment. It is a schematic perspective view of the attitude | position conversion part 4a in 4th Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating conveyance of the board | substrate 190 in the conventional developing device 100. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Developing device 3 Liquid layer forming part 31, 41 Conveyance roller 32, 42 Motor 33 Developer supply nozzle 34, 44 Substrate detection sensor 4, 4a Attitude changing part 42 Motor 43 Roller inclined part 45 Upper and lower roller part 8 Control part 90 Substrate

Claims (5)

A substrate transfer device that changes the transfer speed of a substrate while conveying the substrate,
A first conveyor that conveys the substrate in a predetermined direction;
Arranged in series in the predetermined direction with respect to the first conveyor, a second conveyor for the substrate conveyor transport,
Control means for independently controlling the substrate conveyance speed by the first conveyor and the substrate conveyance speed by the second conveyor;
With
The control means includes
In at least part of the time period during the delivery period of the substrate from when the front end of the substrate conveyed by the first conveyor reaches the second conveyor to when the rear end of the substrate separates the first conveyor , Changing the conveyance speed of the substrate by the first conveyor from the first speed to the second speed in time series,
At least in the delivery period, the substrate transfer apparatus performs synchronous control to match the substrate transfer speed by the second conveyor with the substrate transfer speed by the first conveyor. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1,
The control means includes
In the time zone including the delivery period, the substrate transport speed by the first conveyor is changed from the first speed to the second speed so that the time-speed relationship has an S-curve. Substrate transport device. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 2,
The control means includes
When the speed between the first speed and the second speed is an intermediate speed,
The conveyance speed of the substrate by the first conveyor is
The time-speed relationship is changed from the first speed to the intermediate speed so as to be a first substantially S-curve, and the intermediate speed is set for the predetermined time including the delivery period. the second speed up to the time from - with the speed relationship varied to a second substantially S-shaped curve,
The conveyance speed of the substrate by the second conveyor is as follows:
A substrate transfer apparatus that matches the substrate transfer speed by the first conveyor during at least the predetermined time. A substrate processing apparatus for processing while conveying a substrate on which an upper surface is filled with a processing liquid,
Liquid depositing means for depositing the processing liquid on the upper surface of the substrate;
The substrate transfer apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the substrate stacked by the liquid stacking means is transported horizontally.
A substrate processing apparatus comprising: The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4,
Posture changing means for changing the posture of the substrate stopped on the second conveyor to an inclined posture;
Further comprising
The control means includes
The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the substrate transported by the second conveyor is temporarily stopped when the posture changing means changes the posture of the substrate.

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