JP5755351B2 - Substrate processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for processing a glass substrate used, for example, in a liquid crystal display device.

  In the manufacturing process of a liquid crystal display device, a step of etching a thin glass substrate, a step of removing a resist used as a mask after the etching process, and a substrate contaminated after the etching step or the peeling step with a cleaning liquid There is a cleaning process. In such substrate processing steps, a single-wafer method is often employed in which substrates are processed while being conveyed one by one.

  In the case of processing a substrate by a single wafer method, a processing apparatus is known in which a processing liquid is ejected from a shower nozzle to the upper or lower surface or upper surface of the substrate while the substrate is transported, or a cleaning brush is contacted.

  Such a processing apparatus has a chamber, and a transport apparatus for transporting the substrate along a predetermined direction is provided in the chamber. In addition, when a plurality of processing apparatuses are used to sequentially transfer a substrate, a transfer apparatus for transferring a substrate from an upstream processing apparatus to a downstream processing apparatus is also used between adjacent processing apparatuses.

  In the transport apparatus, a plurality of transport shafts are rotatably provided at predetermined intervals along the transport direction of the substrate. A plurality of transport rollers are provided on the transport shaft at predetermined intervals in the axial direction. The substrate is transported by transport rollers by rotationally driving the transport shaft.

  In a transport apparatus used in a processing apparatus, when the lower surface of the substrate is simply supported by a plurality of transport rollers, the substrate is removed from the processing liquid or the cleaning brush when the processing liquid is sprayed onto the substrate or the cleaning brush is brought into contact with the substrate. Depending on the resistance received, it may not be possible to smoothly convey at a constant speed, or both ends of the substrate may flutter and be damaged.

  Therefore, when transporting the substrate, not only the lower surface of the substrate is supported by the transport roller provided on the transport shaft, but also the lower surface of the end of the substrate is supported by the end support roller, and is supported by the end support roller. In other words, the upper surface of the end portion of the substrate is held by an upper roller.

  As a result, even if the substrate to be transported receives resistance from the processing liquid or the cleaning brush, the substrate is reliably transported at a constant speed, and both ends of the substrate are prevented from flapping and being damaged. . Such prior art is disclosed in Patent Document 1.

  In the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 1, an upper roller shaft is rotatably supported with its axis parallel to the transport shaft above both axial ends of the transport shaft. One end of the upper roller shaft that protrudes outward from the widthwise end of the substrate is rotatably supported by a bearing, and the other end positioned above the widthwise end of the substrate has the transfer There is provided an upper roller for holding the upper surface of the end portion of the substrate whose end lower surface is supported by the end support roller of the shaft.

  Furthermore, a weight is provided in the middle of the upper roller shaft so as to be movable in the axial direction and fixed at an arbitrary position. The weight is moved and positioned with respect to the axial direction of the upper roller shaft so that the upper roller can set a holding force for pressing and holding the upper surface of the end portion of the substrate.

  In addition, the setting of the holding force for pressing the upper surface of the end portion of the substrate by the upper roller is performed at the initial setting when assembling the upper roller or when the thickness of the substrate conveyed by the conveying device is changed. Done.

JP 2006-306596 A

  By the way, in the case where the weight of the upper roller shaft is shifted to set the holding force by which the upper roller presses and holds the upper surface of the end portion in the width direction of the substrate, the weight of the upper roller shaft is set according to the weight of the weight. The amount of deformation (the amount of deflection) must be increased or decreased.

  In order to greatly change the deflection amount of the upper roller shaft depending on the weight of the weight, it is necessary to increase the weight of the weight or lengthen the upper roller shaft provided outside the end in the width direction of the substrate. . However, an increase in weight and an increase in the length of the upper roller shaft are both unfavorable because they both increase the size of the transport device.

  Moreover, if the holding force is set by adjusting the deflection amount of the upper roller shaft according to the mounting position of the weight, it is difficult to finely adjust the deflection amount of the upper roller shaft. There are cases where the holding force of the part cannot be set precisely.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate transport apparatus in which the holding force for pressing and holding the upper surface of the end portion in the width direction of the substrate by the upper roller can be set precisely.

The present invention provides a substrate processing apparatus in which a processing liquid is sprayed from a nozzle or processed by bringing a cleaning brush into contact with the substrate while conveying the substrate in a predetermined direction.
A plurality of transport shafts that are rotatably supported by transport bearings at both ends in the axial direction and arranged in parallel at predetermined intervals with the axis intersecting the transport direction of the substrate;
A plurality of transport rollers provided on the transport shaft and supporting the lower surface of the substrate;
An upper roller shaft rotatably supported via an upper roller bearing supported by a bracket with an axis line facing the upper side of the conveying shaft in parallel with the conveying shaft;
An upper roller that is provided on the upper roller shaft and presses the upper surface of the end in the width direction of the substrate;
Have
The bracket is formed with a notch opened at the upper end, and the holder holding the upper roller bearing is slidable in the notch and the height of the holder relative to the bracket is set. attached via a setting means capable of,
The holder is a T-shaped holder having a center portion and a pair of connecting portions projecting outward from the upper portions on both sides in the width direction of the center portion, and both side surfaces of the center portion are the brackets of the bracket. The substrate processing apparatus is slidably engaged with the notch .

  According to this invention, the first load adjusting roller having the outer peripheral surface formed on the first inclined surface is provided on the conveying shaft, and the upper roller shaft has the outer peripheral surface at a position corresponding to the first load adjusting roller. A second load adjustment roller formed on the second inclined surface that is inclined in the opposite direction at the same angle as the first inclined surface and is in contact with the first inclined surface is provided.

  Then, the first load adjusting roller and the second load adjusting roller are relatively moved in the axial direction to adjust the contact degree between the first inclined surface and the second inclined surface. Since the pressing force on the upper surface of the end portion of the substrate is set, the pressing force can be precisely set by the first inclined surface and the second inclined surface.

The longitudinal cross-sectional view which follows the conveyance direction of the board | substrate of the conveying apparatus which shows one Embodiment of this invention. The longitudinal cross-sectional view which follows the direction which cross | intersects the conveyance direction of the board | substrate of a conveying apparatus. The enlarged view which shows the one end part of the conveyance axis | shaft in which the top roller axis | shaft was provided. The disassembled perspective view which shows the attachment structure of the bearing for conveyance which supports a conveyance axis | shaft, and the 1st bearing for upper mounting which supports an upper roller shaft.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  The processing apparatus of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes a chamber 1. The chamber 1 has a carry-in port 2 at one end in the longitudinal direction and a carry-out port 3 at the other end, and a transport device C for transporting the substrate W is provided inside. The transfer device C has a plurality of transfer shafts 4 provided to be rotatable at predetermined intervals with respect to the longitudinal direction of the chamber 1. Each transport shaft 4 is provided with a plurality of transport rollers 5 at predetermined intervals in the axial direction.

  As shown in FIG. 3, each conveyance shaft 4 is rotatably supported at both ends by a conveyance bearing 6 (only one is shown). A worm wheel 7 is fitted to one end of each of the plurality of transport shafts 4. A worm wheel 7 provided on the conveying shaft 4 meshes with a worm gear 8. The worm gear 8 is fitted on a driven shaft 9 arranged along the longitudinal direction of the chamber 1.

  The driven shaft 9 is provided with a driven pulley (not shown), and a chain 14 is stretched between the driven pulley and the driving pulley 13 fitted to the rotating shaft 12a of the driving source 12 shown in FIG. . As a result, when the drive pulley 13 is rotationally driven by the drive source 12, the transport shaft 4 provided with the worm wheel 7 is rotationally driven via the driven shaft 9 in accordance with the rotation. .

  A sprocket (not shown) is provided at one end of each transport shaft 4. A chain (not shown) is stretched on each sprocket. Thereby, when the transport shaft 4 provided with the worm wheel 7 is driven to rotate, the other transport shaft 4 is interlocked with the rotation.

  The drive source 12 is controlled by a control device (not shown) so that the rotation direction of the drive pulley 13 can be rotated in the normal rotation direction, the reverse rotation direction, and the normal rotation direction and the reverse rotation direction alternately. ing.

  A glass-made rectangular substrate W used in the liquid crystal display device is carried in from the carry-in port 2 of the chamber 1. The substrate W loaded into the chamber 1 is transported while being supported by the transport roller 5 provided on the transport shaft 4 on the lower surface.

  The transport shaft 4 is provided with the transport rollers 5 at predetermined intervals in the axial direction, and the lower surfaces of both end portions in the width direction of the substrate W are formed of the same material as the transport rollers 5 in the same shape. It is supported by a roller 5a. As shown in FIG. 3, an O-ring 5b formed of an elastic material having chemical resistance is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the transport roller 5, but the O-ring is not attached to the end support roller 5a. Not worn.

  As shown in FIG. 1, among the plurality of transport shafts 4, a plurality of, for example, three transport shafts 4 positioned in the middle of the transport direction of the substrate W in the chamber 1 are respectively connected to the transport shaft 4 and the axis. An upper roller shaft 16 that is opposed in parallel is disposed. The upper roller shaft 16 has one end positioned above the end in the width direction intersecting the transport direction of the substrate W and the other end protruding outward from the end in the width direction of the substrate W.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the upper roller shaft 16 is rotatably supported by a first upper bearing 17 in the middle in the axial direction. The first upper bearing 17 is provided on the first bracket 18 together with the conveying bearing 6. As shown in FIG. 4, the first bracket 18 has a notch 18a opened at the upper end, and the notch 18a has a groove 6a formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof. It is supported together.

The lower end of the second bracket 19 is connected and fixed by a screw 24 to the upper end of the portion of the first bracket 18 where the notch 18 a is formed. The lower end portion of the second bracket 19 is engaged with a groove 6 a formed on the outer peripheral surface of the conveying bearing 6.

  The second bracket 19 is formed with a notch 19a opened at the upper end, and a T-shaped holder 21 holding the first upper bearing 17 is attached to the notch 19a. .

  The holder 21 has a central portion 21a and a pair of connecting portions 21b protruding outward from the upper portions on both sides in the width direction of the central portion 21a. Grooves 22a are formed on both side surfaces of the central portion 21a, and the grooves 22a are slidably engaged with the notches 19a of the second bracket 19.

  A pair of connecting portions 21b of the holder 21 are formed with screw holes 21c penetrating in the vertical direction. A height adjusting screw 22 provided with a lock nut 23 is screwed into the screw hole 21c. The tip of the height adjusting screw 22 screwed into the screw hole 21c protrudes from the lower end surface of the connecting portion 21b and comes into contact with the upper end surface of the second bracket 19.

  Therefore, if the screwing amount of the adjusting screw 22 is adjusted, the height of the holder 21 held by the second bracket 19, that is, the first upper bearing 17 that supports the upper roller shaft 16 is adjusted. The height can be set.

  An upper roller 25 is provided at one end of the upper roller shaft 16 located above the widthwise end of the substrate W. The upper roller 25 is made of a chemical-resistant material such as a fluororesin, and a mounting groove 25a is formed on the outer peripheral surface.

  An O-ring 25b formed of an elastic material having chemical resistance such as a fluororesin is attached to the mounting groove 25a. The O-ring 25b provided on the upper roller 25 elastically presses the upper surface of the end portion in the width direction of which the lower surface is supported by the end support roller 5a of the substrate W.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the upper roller shaft 16 is rotatably supported by a second upper bearing 26 at the other axial end. The second upper bearing 26 is accommodated in a holder 27, and this holder 27 is screwed and fixed to the upper end of an L-shaped second bracket 28 having one end connected to the first bracket 18. ing.

  The second upper bearing 26 is attached to the second bracket 28 so that the axial center of the second upper bearing 17 is the same as that of the first upper bearing 17.

  A first load adjusting roller 31 is provided on the transport shaft 4 so as to be movable in the axial direction at a portion located outward from the end in the width direction of the substrate W. A second load adjustment roller 32 is provided so as to be movable in the axial direction at a position corresponding to the first load adjustment roller 31 in the middle of the upper roller shaft 16 in the axial direction.

  The first and second load adjustment rollers 31 and 32 are formed with screw holes 31a and 32a penetrating in the radial direction, and set screws 31b and 32b are screwed into the screw holes 31a and 32a, respectively. The distal ends of the set screws 31b and 32b are in pressure contact with the outer peripheral surfaces of the transport shaft 4 and the upper roller shaft 16, respectively, to fix the load adjusting rollers 31 and 32 so that they cannot move. Therefore, each of the load adjustment rollers 31 and 32 can be fixed at an arbitrary movement position with respect to the axial direction of the transport shaft 4 and the upper roller shaft 16.

  The outer peripheral surface of the first load adjustment roller 31 is formed on a first inclined surface 34 that is inclined with respect to the axial direction, and the outer peripheral surface of the second load adjustment roller 32 is the first inclined surface with respect to the axial direction. The second inclined surface 35 is inclined in the same direction as the surface 34 at the same angle.

  The first inclined surface 34 and the second inclined surface 35 are in contact with each other. Accordingly, one or both of the first load adjustment roller 31 and the second load adjustment roller 32, or only the second load adjustment roller 32 in this embodiment, is shown in FIG. 3 as the first load adjustment roller 31. If the movement is made in this direction, the contact length between the first inclined surface 34 and the second inclined surface 35 increases in accordance with the amount of movement.

  Thereby, one end portion of the upper roller shaft 16 provided with the second load adjusting roller 32 formed with the second inclined surface 35 is bent upward, and the upper roller 25 provided at the one end portion is Displace upward. That is, the pressing force on the upper surface of the end portion of the substrate W by the O-ring 25b provided on the upper roller 25 is reduced.

  Conversely, if the second load adjusting roller 32 is moved in the direction opposite to the direction indicated by the arrow, the second inclined surface 35 descends along the first inclined surface 34 in accordance with the amount of movement.

  As a result, one end provided with the upper roller 25 of the upper roller shaft 16 is displaced downward, and the amount of bending upward of the one end decreases, so that the substrate by the O-ring 25b of the upper roller 25 is reduced. The pressing force against the upper surface of the end portion of W increases.

  That is, when the thickness of the substrate W changes or the external force applied to the substrate W changes when the substrate is cleaned, the overlapping degree of the inclined surfaces 34 and 35 of the pair of load adjustment rollers 31 and 32 is changed. By adjusting the above, the pressing force for pressing the upper surface of the end portion of the substrate W by the upper roller 25 can be set according to the thickness and the external force applied to the substrate W.

  A plurality of positioning lines 37a to 37n are formed on the first inclined surface 34 of the first load adjusting roller 31 at intervals of, for example, 1.0 mm from the center in the axial direction upward in the inclined direction.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the axial end of the second inclined surface 35 of the second load adjusting roller 32 is aligned with the positioning line 37a located at the lower end in the inclined direction, the outer periphery of the end support roller 5a is The inclination angles of the first and second inclined surfaces 34 and 35 are set so that the interval between the surface and the outer peripheral surface of the upper roller 25 is a predetermined interval, for example, 0.3 mm.

  Then, by moving the upper roller 25 at an interval of one of the positioning lines 37a to 37n, the interval between the outer peripheral surface of the upper roller 25 and the outer peripheral surface of the end support roller 5a is 0.1 mm. It is set so as to increase in increments.

  Therefore, if the degree of contact in the axial direction between the first inclined surface 34 of the first load adjusting roller 31 and the second inclined surface 35 of the second load adjusting roller 32 is adjusted by the positioning lines 37a to 37n. The distance between the outer peripheral surface of the end support roller 5a and the outer peripheral surface of the upper roller 25 can be set with a desired accuracy.

  When the distance between the outer peripheral surface of the end support roller 5a and the outer peripheral surface of the upper roller 25 is adjusted by relatively shifting the first load adjusting roller 31 and the second load adjusting roller 32 in the axial direction. The tip of the height adjusting screw 22 is positioned above the lower end surface of the connecting portion 21 b of the holder 21. Accordingly, the holder 21 provided with the first upper bearing 17 that supports the middle portion of the upper roller shaft 16 is movable in the vertical direction along the notch 19a of the second bracket 19. It becomes a state.

  In this state, if the first and second load adjusting rollers 31 and 32 are relatively moved in the axial direction, one end portion side where the upper roller 25 of the upper roller shaft 16 is provided in accordance with the movement. Displaceable in the vertical direction.

  When the distance between the outer peripheral surface of the end support roller 5a and the outer peripheral surface of the upper roller 25 has been adjusted, the height adjusting screw 22 is in this state and the lower end is the upper end surface of the second bracket 19. If the screw is screwed up to a position where it contacts, the distance between the outer peripheral surfaces of the upper roller 25 and the end support roller 5a does not become smaller than the value set by the first and second load adjusting rollers 31, 32. To be maintained.

  Liquid draining rollers 38 and 39 are provided on portions of the conveying shaft 4 and the upper roller shaft 16 close to the inner surface of the side wall of the chamber 1. The liquid draining rollers 38 and 39 prevent the processing liquid supplied to the substrate W in the chamber 1 from flowing through the shafts 4 and 16 to the outside.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the end of the transport shaft 4 that protrudes outside the chamber 1 and the portion of the upper roller shaft 16 that protrudes outside the chamber 1 mesh with each other. Spur gears 41 and 42 are provided.

  As a result, the rotation of the conveying shaft 4 is transmitted to the upper roller shaft 16 via the spur gears 41 and 42 in the upper roller shaft 16. That is, the upper roller shaft 16 is driven to rotate in the direction opposite to the conveying shaft 4.

  According to the transport apparatus configured as described above, the outer peripheral surface of the end support roller 5a that supports the lower surfaces of both ends in the width direction of the substrate W according to the thickness of the substrate W transported into the chamber 1, and the above The distance from the outer peripheral surface of the upper roller 25 that supports the upper surface of the portion of the substrate W whose lower surface is supported by the end support roller 5a is set.

  That is, the second load adjusting roller 32 provided on the upper roller shaft 16 is relatively moved in the axial direction with respect to the first load adjusting roller 31 provided on the conveying shaft 4, and the first load is adjusted. The axial contact length between the first inclined surface 34 of the adjusting roller 31 and the second inclined surface 35 of the second load adjusting roller 32 is determined by a positioning line 37a provided on the first inclined surface 34. Set based on ~ 37n.

  Thereby, the interval between the outer peripheral surface of the end support roller 5a and the outer peripheral surface of the upper roller 25 can be set in units of 0.1 mm. That is, the distance between the outer peripheral surface of the end support roller 5 a and the outer peripheral surface of the upper roller 25 can be ensured according to the thickness of the substrate W.

  If the space between the outer peripheral surface of the end support roller 5a and the outer peripheral surface of the upper roller 25 can be secured according to the thickness of the substrate W, the both ends in the width direction of the substrate W are connected to the end support roller 5a. The outer peripheral surface and the O-ring 25b provided on the outer peripheral surface of the upper roller 25 can be reliably held.

  Therefore, it is possible to prevent the both ends in the width direction of the substrate W from being fluttered and damaged at the time of transportation, and the external force applied to the substrate W from being smoothly transported at a constant speed. In addition, since the upper surface of the end portion of the substrate W is elastically held by the O-ring 25b formed of an elastic material provided on the outer peripheral surface of the upper roller 25, both ends in the width direction of the substrate W are also thereby. Thus, the substrate W can be reliably held and the substrate W can be transported reliably.

  In the above embodiment, the upper roller shaft is provided above the one end and the other end of the transport shaft. However, the upper roller shaft has the same length as the transport shaft, and The upper roller may be provided so as to be opposed to the upper side, and the upper roller may be provided at both ends of the upper roller shaft at positions facing the end support rollers provided on the conveying shaft. That is, the upper roller shaft only needs to be provided at least above one end and the other end of the transport shaft.

4 Conveying shaft 5 Conveying roller 6 Conveying bearing 16 Upper roller shaft 17 Upper roller bearing 19 Bracket 19a Notch portion 21 Holder 21a Central portion 21b Connecting portion 22 Height adjusting screw 25 Upper roller 31 First load adjusting roller 32 Second load adjusting roller 34 First inclined surface 35 Second inclined surface 37n Positioning line

Claims (2)

In the substrate processing apparatus formed by spraying the processing liquid from the nozzle or processing by contacting the cleaning brush while transporting the substrate in a predetermined direction,
A plurality of transport shafts that are rotatably supported by transport bearings at both ends in the axial direction and arranged in parallel at predetermined intervals with the axis intersecting the transport direction of the substrate;
A plurality of transport rollers provided on the transport shaft and supporting the lower surface of the substrate;
An upper roller shaft rotatably supported via an upper roller bearing supported by a bracket with an axis line facing the upper side of the conveying shaft in parallel with the conveying shaft;
An upper roller that is provided on the upper roller shaft and presses the upper surface of the end in the width direction of the substrate;
Have
The bracket is formed with a notch opened at the upper end, and the holder holding the upper roller bearing is slidable in the notch and the height of the holder relative to the bracket is set. attached via a setting means capable of,
The holder is a T-shaped holder having a center portion and a pair of connecting portions projecting outward from the upper portions on both sides in the width direction of the center portion, and both side surfaces of the center portion are the brackets of the bracket. A substrate processing apparatus slidably engaged with a notch . The setting means, the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the height adjustment screw to be screwed into a threaded hole provided in the connecting portion of the holder.

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