JPH11145269A - Sealed substrate cassette and manufacturing device, using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sealed substrate cassette which is of a sealed type for avoiding deposing of floating dust, etc., to a substrate housed inside, has a cover opening mechanism which can be manufactured simply and inexpensively and a good sealing property, and avoids producing dust due to rubbing of the cover, when opened/closed or depositing it to the substrate if it is produced a little. SOLUTION: A cassette comprises a parallelepiped body 1 having pairs of support members 4 opposed inside with rack pieces 8 projecting with specified spacing to form hold grooves 9 and cover 2 slidably openable which hermetically closes the opening of the body when closing, vertical slide rails 5 at the outer faces of both side plates 11 of the body 1 near the opening for guiding the cover from an open state to a close state, slide members 6 at the inner faces of the slide plates 13 extending back to at both the sides of a surface plate 12 of the cover, and a packing 7 at one of contacted portions of the cover and body, when the cover closes the opening.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a sealed substrate cassette and a method of manufacturing a device using the same, and more particularly, to a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display, a glass substrate for a plasma display, and a ceramic substrate for a hybrid IC. The present invention relates to a hermetically sealed substrate cassette used for separating and supporting substrates such as a glass substrate for a thermal head so as not to be in contact with each other and storing or transporting the substrates, and a device manufacturing method using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a plurality of pairs of support members, in which rectangular frame plates are vertically spaced apart and arranged in parallel with each other, and a holding groove for supporting a substrate by projecting a shelf at predetermined intervals, are provided. A substrate cassette having a structure in which the holding grooves are attached to the upper and lower frames so as to face each other has already been provided. In such a substrate cassette, both sides of the substrate are inserted into the holding grooves of the plurality of pairs of support members, and are horizontally supported by shelf pieces, and are used for transportation between manufacturing processes.

For example, a liquid crystal display using this type of substrate is manufactured by forming transparent electrodes and very small liquid crystal cells at a high density on a glass substrate. Adhering to the surface increases the probability of defective products,
In addition, the tendency is spurred by the recent increase in screen size. Therefore, in the manufacturing process of a liquid crystal display or the like, it is desirable to increase the cleanliness during the process as much as possible in order to improve the yield. Particularly important processes require a class 10 cleanliness. However, all processes are class 10
In a large clean room, the cost is extremely high and is not industrially feasible. In a normal manufacturing process and a transport path, the degree of cleanness is about class 100.

[0004] In the process of manufacturing such a liquid crystal display, a substrate cassette used for transporting substrates is vertically framed so as to prevent floating dust and dust from adhering to the uppermost substrate in a clean room or during transportation. Some are provided with plates, but they are completely incomplete in terms of preventing the adhesion of floating dust and the like. When temporarily storing substrates, the substrate cassette is also stored in a clean case that can be hermetically sealed, which has a certain effect in preventing the adhesion of floating dust and the like. When the substrate cassette is taken out of the case and set at a predetermined position of the manufacturing apparatus, not only the same problem as described above occurs, but also the work of taking the substrate cassette in and out of the clean case and handling it are troublesome. In addition, when the lid of the clean case is opened and closed, a new problem occurs that dust is generated by rubbing the rotating part or the sliding part of the lid, and the dust adheres to the substrate.

[0005]

Therefore, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 9-115997, the present applicant has formed therein a storage groove for holding a substrate in multiple stages, and formed an opening on one side. There has been proposed a cassette in which a door can be opened and closed by a rotation support shaft on both sides of an upper portion of the opening with respect to a cassette body whose periphery is hermetically closed. However, since the door is opened and closed with respect to the cassette body, a large space for opening and closing the door is required, and opening and closing by the loader unit of each process device is impossible.

In view of the above situation, the present invention is to solve the problem by using a closed type so that floating dust and dirt do not adhere to the substrate housed therein, and the opening and closing mechanism of the lid is simple. In addition, it can be manufactured at low cost and has good hermeticity, does not generate rubbing dust when opening and closing the lid, or does not adhere to the substrate even if it is slightly generated, and has a space for opening and closing the lid. An object of the present invention is to provide a small closed substrate cassette and a method of manufacturing a device using the closed substrate cassette.

[0007]

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a plurality of pairs of support members having holding grooves for projecting a shelf at predetermined intervals and supporting a substrate are formed therein. A rectangular parallelepiped cassette body which is provided in an opposed state and has a closed peripheral surface except for an opening for taking in and out a substrate provided on one surface, and a lid body which is capable of slidably opening and closing the opening of the cassette body and sealing when closed. A vertical slide rail for guiding the lid from an open state to a closed state is provided on an outer surface of the both sides of the cassette body near the opening, and a rearward slide rail is provided on both sides of the surface plate of the lid. A sliding member that slides in the slide rail is provided on the inner surface of the extended side plate, and one of the portions where the lid and the periphery of the cassette body come into contact when the opening is closed by the lid. With packing To constitute a closed type cassette board.

Further, in the present invention, the slide rail has a guide groove which is open upward, and an introduction groove is provided at an upper end of the guide groove in parallel with an edge of the opening, and the guide groove is provided below the guide groove. A moving groove is provided by setting the distance parallel to the edge of the opening and the distance to the opening edge larger than the distance between the introduction groove and the opening edge, and further providing a moving groove between the introducing groove and the moving groove. And a vertically inclined groove inclined downward and rearward at the lower end of the moving groove. The sliding member is a pair of upper and lower roller bearings rolling in the guide groove. The packing is provided so as to be pressed against the front surface of the lid when closed at the front end surface around the opening of the cassette body. preferable.

In the state where the lower roller bearing is in contact with the rear wall surface in the moving groove and the upper roller bearing is in contact with the rear wall surface in the introduction groove, the back surface of the front plate of the lid is the packing. Is set not to touch.

An arc-shaped recess is formed near the upper end of the guide groove of the guide groove and behind the guide groove, and the lower roller bearings on both sides of the lid are respectively engaged with the recess. The cassette body has a structure in which the rear of the surface plate is placed on the upper frame plate, and the lid can be stored at the top of the cassette main body, and the lid is stored when the opening is opened.

Further, an annular groove having a dovetail-shaped cross-sectional shape with a narrow opening edge is formed in a front end surface around the opening of the cassette body, and an annular packing is mounted on the annular groove, and a lid is provided. When the body is opened and closed, the packing does not come off even if the face plate slides on the packing.

The slide rail has an engagement groove that has a deep upper end and a shallow lower end on the outer surface, and a linearly continuous engagement groove in the middle between the upper and lower slide rails. Attaching, attaching a lower frame member to the lower edge of the opening, further attaching a side frame member from both sides of the lower frame member to the lower end of the slide rail,
A packing is mounted on the upper surface of the upper frame member along the longitudinal direction, and a packing is mounted on the upper surfaces of the lower frame member and both side frame members in a U-shape in plan view along the longitudinal direction of each member, Extends the side plate rearward from both side edges of the surface plate, extends the upper surface plate placed on the upper frame member rearward from the upper edge, and extends from the lower edge of the surface plate and the lower edge of both side surface plates. A sealing plate to be placed outwardly on the lower frame member and both side frame members is extended, and furthermore, the upper end is thicker so as to be engaged with the engaging groove on the rear inner side surface of the both side plates in close contact with the lower end. It is also possible to use a thin and protruding sliding member consisting of a linearly continuous ridge in the middle.

The cassette body has a holding groove formed between the upper frame plate and the lower frame plate, between both side edges, at a predetermined interval to protrude the shelf pieces to support the substrate. A plurality of pairs of supporting members are connected, and a pair of stopper members for holding a rear edge of the substrate are connected between a rear end opposite to the opening side, thereby forming a frame portion. When the both side plates and the back plate are attached in a sealed state around the opening except the opening, the open cassette and the sealed cassette can be configured by using the frame portion having the common structure.

Further, the present invention provides a method of manufacturing a device such as a TFT-LCD, which comprises the steps of: forming a metal film such as a Cr film and an Al film by sputtering; a conductive film such as an ITO film; Storage of the substrate after the film or SiN film is formed, scrubber cleaning for the purpose of removing foreign substances, further drying process, resist coating, exposure and development to form a pattern, substrate after photolithography process In the panel process of bonding the TFT substrate and the color filter substrate after completing the array process, storing the substrate after removing and cleaning the resist and carrying the substrate between each process, etc. Wash the color filter substrate and store it before applying an alignment film such as polyimide, using the sealed substrate cassette. Method for manufacturing a composed device is intended to provide.

Further, the present invention provides a method of manufacturing a device such as a TFT-LCD using the closed substrate cassette in place of a clean stocker in a 1000 class clean room in a process of manufacturing the device. It is.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a sealed substrate cassette of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 6 show details of the cassette.
Denotes an opening, 4 denotes a support member, 5 denotes a slide rail, 6 denotes a slide member, and 7 denotes a packing.

The closed-type substrate cassette according to the present invention comprises a cassette body 1 and a lid 2 capable of horizontally storing a substrate (not shown) such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display in a vertically multistage manner. The cassette main body 1 is a rectangular parallelepiped box having a peripheral surface closed except for an opening 3 for taking out and taking out a substrate provided on one surface, and a lid 2 slides the opening 3 of the cassette main body 1 to open and close. It is free and sealed when closed.

More specifically, the cassette body 1 has a peripheral surface closed except for an opening 3 provided on one surface, and a plurality of pairs of support members 4 and 4 are provided on both inner sides thereof in opposition to each other. Are formed at predetermined intervals to form holding grooves 9 for supporting the substrate, and a pair of stopper members 10, 10 for abutting the substrate on the inner rear portion. It has a structure provided. Vertical slide rails 5 and 5 for guiding the lid 2 from the open state to the closed state are provided on the outer surfaces of the both side plates 11 and 11 of the cassette body 1 near the opening 3. The support member 4 is provided on the side plate 11.
In addition, the stopper member 10 may be integral with or separate from a back plate (not shown). The lid 2 has side plates 13, 13 extending rearward on both sides of a surface plate 12 covering the opening 3, and slides inside the slide rail 5 on the inner surface of each side plate 13. A sliding member 6 is provided. When the opening 3 of the cassette main body 1 is closed by the lid 2, a packing 7 is provided on one of the contact portions around the surface plate 12 of the lid 2 and the opening 3 of the cassette main body 1. . In the present embodiment, the annular packing 7 is provided around the front end surface 14 around the opening 3 of the cassette main body 1 so as to be pressed against the rear surface of the surface plate 12 of the lid 2 when closed.

The slide rail 5 has a guide groove 15 which is open upward on the outer surface, and an introduction groove 15A is provided at the upper end of the guide groove 15 in parallel with the edge of the opening 3 and below the guide groove 15A. The moving groove 15B is provided by setting the distance parallel to the edge of the opening 3 and the distance from the edge of the opening 3 larger than the distance between the introduction groove 15A and the edge of the opening 3.
Further, the gap between the introduction groove 15A and the movement groove 15B and the movement groove 1
Upper inclined groove 15C inclined downward and rearward at the lower end of 5B
And a lower inclined groove 15D. Here, the guide groove 15 of the slide rail 5 may be opened downward from the lower inclined groove 15D, and is more preferable because opening the door downward prevents dust and the like from collecting. The sliding member 6 is a pair of upper and lower roller bearings 16, 16 rolling in the guide groove 15. When the lid 2 is closed, the upper and lower inclined grooves 15 C, 15 are respectively provided.
D is provided. The inclination angle of the upper inclined groove 15C and the lower inclined groove 15D with respect to the vertical line is set to about 45 degrees. However, if this angle becomes smaller, the angle between the surface plate 12 of the lid 2 and the packing 7 becomes smaller. Slippage occurs between them, and if the angle becomes larger, the adhesion force of the lid 2 due to its own weight decreases. Therefore, the inclination angle of the upper inclined groove 15C and the lower inclined groove 15D with respect to the vertical line is 30 degrees or more.
The range is determined in consideration of the weight of the lid 2 and the elasticity of the packing 7 in the range of 60 degrees.

More specifically, the cassette body 1 comprises:
As shown in FIG. 2, a rectangular upper frame plate 17 and a lower frame plate 18 are provided.
And a plurality of pairs of the supporting members 4 and 4 are connected between both side ends thereof, and a pair of stopper members 10 and 10 are provided between rear ends opposite to the opening 3 side.
Are connected to each other to form a frame portion 1A, and the side plates 11, 11 and a back plate (not shown) are attached to the frame portion in a sealed state. The above-mentioned frame portion 1A can be used as an open-type substrate cassette by itself. Then, the two side plates 11,
11, the slide rails 5 and 5 are attached to the outer surface of the upper frame plate 17 and the lower frame plate 18, respectively.
Frame members 19, 19 are attached to the side ends to form the opening 3 by the slide rails 5, 5 and the frame members 19, 19, and the front end surface 14 whose periphery is closed by their front end surfaces. doing. An annular groove 20 is formed in the slide rails 5, 5 and the front end surfaces 14 of the frame members 19, 19 so as to surround the opening 3, and the packing 7 is fitted or a combination of fitting and bonding is used. The packing 7 is attached so as to partially protrude from the front end face 14. here,
As the packing 7, a tube made of a soft elastic material such as a silicon-based or fluorine-based resin or rubber, an O-ring,
It is possible to use a T-type or I-type sealing material. Here, the cross-sectional shape of the annular groove 20 is preferably a dovetail shape with a narrow opening edge so that the packing 7 mounted in the annular groove 20 does not easily come off.

The cover 2 has a surface plate 12 of a size and size capable of covering the opening 3.
Side plates 13 and 13 are extended rearward on both side edges of the, and reinforcing plates 21 and 21 are extended forward on the upper and lower edges, and a handle 22 is provided at the center of the upper reinforcing plate 21. Here, an inner surface interval between the both side plates 13 and 13 is set to be slightly larger than an outer surface interval between the slide rails 5 and 5 provided in the cassette body 1, and the groove width of the guide groove 15 is set to be equal to the roller bearing 16. The roller bearings 16, 16 projecting inwardly from the upper and lower portions of the side plate 13 roll in the guide grooves 15 of the slide rail 5. In the present invention, “sliding” is a broad concept including not only the relative movement of the two members in contact with each other, but also the rolling of the roller bearing 16 in the guide groove 15. Here, if the slide rail 5 is formed of a slidable resin such as a fluorine-based resin, a guide pin, a rod, or a projection can be employed instead of the roller bearing 16.

Further, in a state where the lower roller bearing 16 is in contact with the rear wall surface in the moving groove 15B and the upper roller bearing 16 is in contact with the rear wall surface in the introduction groove 15A, the surface plate of the lid 2 is 12 is the packing 7
While the lid 2 is moved up and down along the opening 3 of the cassette body 1, the lid 2 is prevented from rubbing with each other at portions other than the guide grooves 15 and the roller bearings 16, so that rubbing dust is prevented. And preventing the packing 7 from coming off.

In order to close the opening 3 of the cassette body 1 with the lid 2, the lower roller bearing 16 is connected to the guide groove 1 of the slide rail 5 while the lid 2 is vertical.
5 from above, and rolling in the introduction groove 15A, then passing through the upper inclined groove 15C and rolling in the moving groove 15B, and then rolling the upper roller bearing 16 into the introduction groove 1
Insert into 5A and roll down. When the lid 2 moves, the surface plate 12 of the lid 2 does not contact the packing 7 but reaches a position substantially covering the opening 3. After that, the upper and lower roller bearings 16, 16 are respectively connected to the upper inclined groove
5C and the lower inclined groove 15D, and the cover 2 is slightly lowered while moving backward, that is, the upper inclined groove 15C and the lower inclined groove 15D.
The lid 2 moves parallel to the rear and obliquely downward along the inclination of, so that the back surface of the surface plate 12 comes into close contact with the packing 7. Then, the back surface of the front plate 12 maintains the state in which the packing 7 is pressed against the rear plate 2 by the weight of the lid 2.

On the other hand, in order to open the opening 3 of the cassette body 1 by sliding the lid 2 upward, the lid 2 is first pulled up.
6 and 16 move along the upper inclined groove 15C and the lower inclined groove 15D so that the back surface of the surface plate 12 of the lid 2 separates from the packing 7, and then the roller bearing 16 above the introduction groove 15
A, the lower roller bearing 16 is
After rolling along B, the upper roller bearing 16 falls out of the introduction groove 15A, and then the lower roller bearing 16 passes through the upper inclined groove 15C, and then rolls through the introduction groove 15A and comes out upward. The opening 3 is fully opened. Here, as shown in FIG. 6, the lid 2 after the opening 3 is opened has a lower roller bearing 16, 16 on both sides formed at the upper end of both slide rails 5 behind the introduction groove 15A. While each is locked in the arc-shaped concave portion 15E,
The rear of the surface plate 12 is placed on the upper frame plate 17 and stored on the upper part of the cassette body 1. As described above, since the lid 2 is for opening and closing the front opening 3 of the cassette body 1 up and down, no extra space for opening and closing the lid 2 on the front side of the cassette body 1 is required. .

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Also in the present embodiment, a plurality of pairs of support members 4, 4 in which holding pieces 9,... Are formed by projecting shelf pieces 8,. A rectangular parallelepiped cassette body 1 having a closed peripheral surface except for an opening 3 for loading and unloading substrates provided in the cassette body 1
And a lid 2 that allows the opening 3 of the cassette body 1 to be slidably opened and closed and hermetically closed when closed. The lid 2 is opened to the outer surfaces of both side plates 11 of the cassette body 1 near the opening 3. Up and down slide rails 5 and 5 for guiding from the state to the closed state are provided, and side plates 13 and 13 extending rearward on both sides of the surface plate 12 of the lid 2.
Sliding member 6 that slides in the slide rail 5 on the inner surface of
When the opening 3 is closed by the lid 2, the lid 2
The basic structure in which the packing 7 is provided at one of the portions where the periphery of the opening 3 of the cassette body 1 comes into contact with the cassette body 1 is the same as that of the first embodiment described above. Omitted.

In the present embodiment, a position near the opening 3 of the both side plates 11, 11 of the cassette body 1, for example, from the opening 3 to 1
The slide rails 5 and 5 are mounted vertically at the rear position of 00 mm, and the upper frame member 23 is mounted on the upper frame plate 17 between the upper ends of the slide rails 5 and 5. The frame member 24 is attached, and the side frame members 25, 25 are attached from both side ends of the lower frame member 24 to the lower end of the slide rail 5. And
On the upper surface of the upper frame member 23, a fitting groove 26 for mounting the packing 7 is formed along the longitudinal direction, and on the upper surfaces of the lower frame member 24 and both side frame members 25, 25 along the longitudinal direction of each member. The fitting groove 27 is formed in a U-shape in plan view. The outer surface of the slide rail 5 has an engagement groove 28 whose upper end is deeper and whose lower end is shallower, and whose middle is linearly continuous.

On the other hand, the lid 2 has side plates 13, 13 extending rearward from both side edges of the surface plate 12, and an upper surface plate 29 extending rearward from the upper edge. 22
A sealing plate 30 extending outwardly from the lower edge of the surface plate 12 and the lower edges of the side plates 13, 13, and extending outward from the lower edges of the side plates 13, 13. Sliding members 6 and 6 that engage with the projection 5 are provided in a protruding manner. The sliding member 6 has a thick upper end, a thin lower end, and a straight line in the middle so that when the opening 3 is closed by the lid 2, the sliding member 6 is completely engaged with the engaging groove 28 in a tightly contact state. Continuous ridge 31
It is.

In order to close the opening 3 of the cassette body 1 with the cover 2, the cover 2 is dropped from above along the opening 3 of the cassette body 1 so that the side plates 13, 13 are located outside the side plates 11, 11 of the cassette body 1, and the ridges 31, 31 are inserted into the engagement grooves 28, 28 of the slide rails 5, 5, respectively.
9 is in pressure contact with the packing 7 of the upper frame member 23, and each sealing plate 30 at the lower end is in pressure contact with the packing 7 of the lower frame member 24 and the side frame members 25, 25. It engages in a state. Here, when the opening 3 of the cassette body 1 is slidably opened and closed by the lid 2, the ridge 31 is used.
And the engaging groove 28 slide, but even if a little dust is generated by the sliding, the sliding rail 5 and the sliding member 6
Is set at the rear position on the side of the opening 3, so that dust generated on the substrate (not shown) accommodated in the cassette body 1 does not adhere. Further, in the present embodiment, the protrusion 31 and the engagement groove 28 are simply engaged in close contact with each other, and the packing 7 does not exist in this portion.
By the engagement between the ridge 31 and the engagement groove 28, the flow resistance of the air passing through the engagement portion increases, and if there is no pressure difference between the inside and outside of the cassette body 1, the cassette body 1 and the lid 2
There is no air flowing between them.

The method of using the closed-type substrate cassette of the present invention will be briefly described below. First, the cassette of the present invention
In the process of manufacturing a TFT-LCD, a substrate after forming a metal film such as a Cr film and an Al film, a conductive film such as an ITO film by a sputtering method, or an amorphous silicon film or a SiN film by a CVD film forming method. Storage, followed by a scrubber cleaning for the purpose of removing foreign substances, and further a drying process. The substrate was stored after the photolithography process of continuously forming a pattern by resist coating, exposure, and development. Further, the resist was removed and washed. It can be used for later storage of substrates, transport of substrates between processes, and the like. Further, the cassette of the present invention is a process for manufacturing a TFT-LCD,
In the panel process of bonding the TFT substrate and the color filter substrate after the completion of the array process, the TFT substrate and the color filter substrate can be washed and used for storage before applying an alignment film such as polyimide.

[0030]

According to the sealed substrate cassette of the present invention and the device manufacturing method using the same as described above,
The following remarkable effects are exhibited.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the glass substrate for the liquid crystal display is accommodated in the cassette main body, and the opening thereof is sealed with the lid. There is no sticking, and the lid slides up and down with respect to the cassette body, but the sliding part is on both sides of the slide rail provided on the outer surface near the opening of both side plates of the cassette body and the surface plate of the lid. Since it is a sliding member provided on the inner surface of the side plate extending rearward, even if rubbing dust is generated at this sliding portion, there is no danger of sticking to the substrate inside the cassette main body, Thereby, the yield of the liquid crystal display and the like is improved. Further, since the lid slides up and down with respect to the cassette body, no extra space is required on the front side of the cassette body for opening and closing the lid. In other words, a cassette with a lid that slides up and down has a minimum opening and closing space for the lid, and can be opened and closed by the loader unit of each process device. Therefore, the cassette can be transported in a sealed state during the transport from the storage to the process apparatus and the apparatus, so that the transport path is not affected by contamination such as foreign matter. Therefore, the cleanliness of the cassette transport path and the crane room for temporarily storing the cassettes may be of a poor level of class 1000 or more, and the equipment cost of the clean room can be reduced. Further, by increasing the airtightness, it is possible to prevent gaseous contaminants such as organic molecules and ions from adhering to the substrate. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of spots after the water line due to a change in the contact angle of the substrate due to the adhesion of an organic substance or the like, and a stable process can be performed. Further, the storage time limit between processes can be set longer, and the line operation can be flexibly performed.

According to the second aspect, when the lid is slid up and down with respect to the cassette body, the upper and lower roller bearings roll in the guide groove of the slide rail, so that the guide is smooth. When the opening is closed by the lid, the upper and lower roller bearings move rearward by the upper inclined groove and the lower inclined groove due to the weight of the lid when the opening is closed by the lid. The force in the pressing direction always acts, and the sealed state can be maintained.

According to the third aspect, when the lid body is slid up and down with respect to the cassette body, the cassette body and the lid body do not come into contact with each other at portions other than the guide grooves of the slide rail and the roller bearings, so that they are rubbed. Since there is no generation of dust and the packing is pressed against the surface plate only at the last stage of the slide in which the opening is sealed with the lid, the opening and closing operation of the lid is smoother and the sealing performance is excellent.

According to the fourth aspect, when the opening is opened, the lower roller bearings on both sides of the lid are respectively engaged with the arc-shaped concave portions, and the rear of the surface plate is placed on the upper frame plate. The lid can be temporarily stored at the top of the cassette body.

According to the fifth aspect, even if the surface plate slides with respect to the packing when the lid is opened and closed, the packing does not come off.

According to the sixth aspect, when the lid is opened and closed, any part of the lid does not slide with respect to the packing, and the opening and closing operation of the lid is performed with respect to the engagement groove of the slide rail. The structure is very stable because the sliding member composed of the ridge provided on both side plates of the lid slides, and is extremely stable.The sealing structure by the lid presses the packing by its own weight, Since the structure is formed by engagement in a state of close contact with the ridge, it can be reliably sealed.

According to the seventh aspect, since the open type cassette and the closed type cassette can be configured using the frame portion having the common structure, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

According to the eighth and ninth aspects of the present invention, when the sealed substrate cassette is used in a process of manufacturing a device such as a TFT-LCD, a clean room in a substrate storage room and a substrate transfer path between processes. Degree is class 1
Since it can be reduced to about 000, the equipment cost can be greatly reduced, thereby contributing to a reduction in the manufacturing cost of a device such as a TFT-LCD.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially omitted overall perspective view showing a first embodiment of a sealed substrate cassette of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a frame portion of the cassette body.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the structure of the mounting portion of the packing.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a state in which the opening is being closed by a lid.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a main part showing a state in which an opening is closed by a lid.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a state where the lid is opened and placed on the upper portion of the cassette main body.

FIG. 7 is a partially omitted overall perspective view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a main part in the same manner.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cassette main body 1A Frame part 2 Lid 3 Opening 4 Support member 5 Slide rail 6 Sliding member 7 Packing 8 Shelf piece 9 Holding groove 10 Stopper member 11 Side plate 12 Surface plate 13 Side plate 14 Front end surface 15 Guide groove 15A Introducing groove 15B Moving groove 15C Upper inclined groove 15D Lower inclined groove 15E Recess 16 Roller bearing (sliding member) 17 Upper frame plate 18 Lower frame plate 19 Frame member 20 Annular groove 21 Reinforcement plate 22 Handle 23 Upper frame member 24 Lower frame member 25 Side Frame members 26, 27 Fitting groove 28 Engaging groove 29 Top plate 30 Seal plate 31 Ridge (sliding member)

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (72) Inventor Noriaki Ishio 997 Miyoshi, Nishigoshi-cho, Kikuchi-gun, Kumamoto Prefecture Inside Advanced Display Co., Ltd.

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of pairs of support members having holding grooves for supporting a substrate by projecting shelf pieces at predetermined intervals are provided in the interior thereof in opposition to each other, and an opening for loading and unloading the substrate is provided on one surface. A rectangular parallelepiped cassette main body having a closed peripheral surface excluding a portion thereof, and a lid body which is slidably openable and closable at an opening of the cassette main body and which is hermetically closed when the cassette main body is closed. And a vertical slide rail that guides the lid from an open state to a closed state, and slides inside the slide rail on an inner surface of a side plate extending rearward on both sides of a surface plate of the lid. A seal for a hermetically sealed substrate, wherein a sliding member is provided, and packing is provided on one of the portions where the lid and the periphery of the opening of the cassette body come into contact when the opening is closed by the lid. 2. The slide rail has a guide groove which is open upward, an introduction groove is provided at an upper end of the guide groove in parallel with an edge of the opening, and an end of the opening is provided below the guide groove. A moving groove is provided by setting the distance between the introduction groove and the opening edge parallel to the edge and larger than the distance between the introduction groove and the opening edge. At the lower end, a vertically inclined groove inclined downward and rearward is formed, and the sliding member is a pair of upper and lower roller bearings rolling in the guide groove, each of which is a vertically inclined groove when the lid is closed. It is provided to be located in,
2. The sealed substrate cassette according to claim 1, wherein the packing is provided around the front end surface of the periphery of the opening of the cassette body so as to be pressed against the rear surface of the front plate of the lid when closed. 3. The rear surface of the lid body contacts the packing in a state in which the lower roller bearing contacts the rear wall surface in the moving groove and the upper roller bearing contacts the rear wall surface in the introduction groove. 3. The sealed substrate cassette according to claim 2, wherein the cassette is set so as not to contact. 4. An arc-shaped recess is formed near the upper end of the guide groove of the guide groove and behind the guide groove, and lower roller bearings on both sides of the lid are respectively engaged with the recess. 4. The sealed substrate cassette according to claim 2, wherein the rear of the surface plate is placed on the upper frame plate, and the lid can be stored at an upper portion of the cassette body. 5. An annular groove having a cross-sectional shape of a dovetail groove with a narrow opening edge is formed in a front end surface around an opening of the cassette body, and an annular packing is mounted on the annular groove. Item 4. The sealed substrate cassette according to item 2 or 3. 6. The slide rail has an engagement groove that has a deep upper end and a shallow lower end on an outer surface, and a linearly continuous engagement groove in the middle between the two slide rails. At the same time, a lower frame member is attached to the lower edge of the opening, and side frame members are further attached from both side ends of the lower frame member to the lower ends of the slide rails. A packing is mounted, packing is mounted on the upper surface of the lower frame member and both side frame members in a U-shape in a plan view along the longitudinal direction of each member, and the lid is a side plate rearward from both side edges of the surface plate. Along with the extension, an upper surface plate to be mounted on the upper frame member is extended rearward from the upper edge, and the upper surface plate is mounted on the lower frame member and the both side frame members outward from the lower edge of the surface plate and the lower edge of both side surface plates. The sealing plate to be placed is extended, and 2. The sealing device according to claim 1, wherein a sliding member having a thicker upper end, a thinner lower end, and a linearly continuous ridge is protruded from the side surface so as to be tightly engaged with the engaging groove. Type substrate cassette. 7. The cassette body has a holding groove formed between the upper frame plate and the lower frame plate and between both side ends, at which a shelf is projected at predetermined intervals to support the substrate. A plurality of pairs of supporting members are connected, and a pair of stopper members for holding a rear edge of the substrate are connected between a rear end opposite to the opening side, thereby forming a frame portion. 7. The sealed substrate cassette according to claim 1, wherein both side plates and a back plate are attached in a sealed state around the opening except for the opening of the portion. 8. In a process of manufacturing a device such as a TFT-LCD, a Cr film and an Al film are formed by a sputtering method.
Storage of a substrate after forming a metal film such as a film, a conductive film such as an ITO film, or an amorphous silicon film or a SiN film by a CVD film forming method, then scrubber cleaning for the purpose of removing foreign substances, and further a drying process. Performing the resist coating exposure exposure and development to form a pattern, storage of the substrate after the photolithography process, storage of the substrate after removing and washing the resist, and transport of the substrate between each process, and the like, and The panel step of bonding the TFT substrate and the color filter substrate after the completion of the arraying step, wherein the TFT substrate and the color filter substrate are washed and stored before applying an alignment film such as polyimide. A method for producing a device, comprising using the closed substrate cassette according to any one of the above. 9. In a process of manufacturing a device such as a TFT-LCD, a device using the sealed substrate cassette according to claim 1 instead of a clean stocker in a 1000 class clean room. Production method.