JP2848783B2 - Brush cleaning equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for rotating a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display, a glass substrate for a photomask, and a substrate for an optical disk (hereinafter, referred to as a "substrate") by rotating a brush on the substrate surface. The present invention relates to a brush cleaning device that cleans a substrate surface in a state where the brush bristles slightly abut on the substrate surface.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional brush cleaning apparatus of this type, for example, a brush attached to the tip of a swing arm is standby at a standby position outside an outer peripheral edge of a rotatably supported substrate. By swinging the swing arm,
The brush is configured to be movable between a standby position and a central portion of the substrate surface. The brush is configured to be rotatable (rotatable) with respect to the tip of the swing arm.

According to this conventional device, the swing arm is swung in the forward direction, the brush waiting at the standby position is moved to the center of the substrate surface, and the brush bristles are in contact with the substrate surface. Or, in a state of being slightly lifted from the substrate surface, rotating the brush, rotating the substrate, swinging the swing arm in the opposite direction to move the brush from the center of the substrate surface to the outer peripheral edge direction, The entire surface of the substrate is cleaned with a brush. When the cleaning is completed, the swing arm is swung in the reverse direction, and the brush is moved to the standby position to be in a standby state to prepare for the next cleaning of the substrate.

[0004]

However, the prior art having such a structure has the following problems. In the conventional apparatus, only one brush attached to the tip of the swing arm is in a standby position, and the surface of the substrate is sequentially cleaned using the brush.
For example, when cleaning using multiple types of brushes,
First, a brush (for example, a nylon brush) used for the first cleaning is attached to the tip of the swing arm, and the cleaning (rough cleaning) is performed by the brush by the above-described operation. Then, the brush is removed from the tip of the swing arm, and instead, another type of brush (for example, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) brush) is attached to the tip of the swing arm, and the operation described above is performed. Then, the brush cleaning (finish cleaning)
It is necessary to carry out a procedure of performing such a procedure, and it is necessary to perform a brush replacement or the like, which requires a great deal of work for the operator, and there is a problem that the processing throughput is poor.

[0005] Further, for example, even when the same type of brush is used to clean the surface of a substrate, the conventional apparatus uses
Since a single brush is used continuously, the bristle of the brush is quickly worn. If the bristles of the brush are worn, the brush must be replaced, but this brush replacement operation is troublesome. In the conventional apparatus, as described above, by continuously using a single brush, the bristles of the brush are quickly worn, the brush replacement period is shortened, and the troublesome brush replacement operation must be frequently performed. There is also a problem.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides a brush cleaning apparatus capable of automatically selecting a desired brush from a plurality of brushes and performing brush cleaning of a substrate surface. With the goal.

[0007]

The present invention has the following configuration in order to achieve the above object. That is, the present invention provides a brush cleaning device for cleaning the surface of the substrate with a brush while rotating the substrate, wherein a plurality of brushes which are waiting at a standby position outside an outer peripheral edge of the substrate,
Moving means for selecting an arbitrary brush from the plurality of brushes waiting at the standby position and moving the selected brush between the standby position and the substrate surface.

[0008]

The operation of the present invention is as follows. A plurality of brushes (of the same type or a plurality of types) are waiting at the waiting position. At the time of washing, the moving means selects an arbitrary brush from a plurality of brushes waiting at the standby position,
The selected brush is moved to the substrate surface, and cleaning with the brush is performed. When the cleaning is completed, the brush is moved to the standby position by the moving means and is on standby.

In the case of cleaning using a plurality of types of brushes, a plurality of types of brushes are made to stand by at a standby position, and the moving means sequentially selects each type of brush in accordance with the cleaning order and uses each type of brush. Washing is performed in that order.

In the case of cleaning using the same type of brush, a plurality of brushes of the same type are made to stand by at a standby position, and the moving means selects the brushes in rotation and uses them for cleaning. Thereby, the life of each brush can be extended.

[0011]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view showing a schematic configuration of a brush cleaning device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway side view of a main part, and FIG.
It is a figure which shows the structure of the board | substrate rotation support stand, and the state of the brush cleaning of the rotating board | substrate. 4A and 4B are a plan view and a side view showing a configuration of a substrate rotation support base for a circular substrate such as a semiconductor wafer and a state of brush cleaning of a rotating substrate.
FIGS. 4C and 4D are plan views showing a configuration of a substrate rotation support base of a rectangular substrate such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display, and a state of brush cleaning of a rotating substrate, and a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. FIG.

In the apparatus of this embodiment, a plurality of brushes 1 for brush-cleaning the surface of a rotatably supported substrate W (a circular substrate is shown in FIG. 2) are provided at the tip of a brush arm 2 respectively. And rotatably mounted on the surface of the substrate W (a rotation center CP) and a standby position outside the outer peripheral edge of the substrate W. And a moving means that moves by.

As shown in FIG. 4, the substrate W is supported, for example, by vacuum suction, on a turntable 102 attached to a tip of a rotary shaft 101 rotated by a motor (not shown) with its surface facing upward. The substrate W is configured to be rotated about the CP. When the substrate W is a rectangular substrate, as shown in FIGS. 4C and 4D, a substrate protection plate for forming the same plane as the surface of the substrate W (a concave portion having the same shape as the rectangular substrate W is formed). 103) is the turntable 10
2 above. Note that reference numeral 104 in FIG.
Denotes a notch for inserting a claw of the transfer robot when the rectangular substrate W is loaded / unloaded into the concave portion of the substrate protection plate 103.

Each of the brushes 1 waiting at the standby position
Is the standby pot T in a state of being lowered to the height of the lowering position L.
Inserted in P. Each brush 1
Are provided with a plurality of nozzles SN for injecting the cleaning liquid into the hairs 1a. Each brush 1 is rotated (rotated) at the tip end of the brush arm 2 by the rotation of the electric motor 3 attached to each brush arm 2 being transmitted by the belt 4 (see FIG. 3). Is configured. When each of the brushes 1 is waiting at the standby position, the brush 1 is inserted into the standby pot TP, and the cleaning liquid is sprayed from each of the nozzles SN while rotating, thereby cleaning the bristles 1a of the brushes 1. It should be noted that in the figure,
Indicates a discharge drain for discharging the cleaning liquid after cleaning.

A support block 6 is integrally attached to the base end of each of the brush arms 2, and a rotating shaft 7 is integrally connected to one end of the support block 6. (Including the electric motor 3),
The brush support arm 5 is supported by the support block 6 and the rotating shaft 7.
Is configured.

In this embodiment, these brush support arms 5
Is selected, and the standby position and the rotation center CP of the substrate W are set around a swing fulcrum P to be described later.
And a desired brush 1 is selected from the plurality of brushes 1 and used for brush cleaning. The moving mechanism for selectively swinging the brush support arm 5 corresponds to the moving means in the present invention. The structure of the moving mechanism will be described below.

The rotation shaft 7 of each brush support arm 5 is supported by an arm rotation support 8 so as to be rotatable about the axis of the rotation shaft 7. Further, the respective arm rotation supports 8 are supported on a common movable frame 9 via guide rails 10 so as to be vertically movable in a straight line.

The movable frame 9 is a stationary device frame 1
The rack 13 provided on the movable frame 9 is supported by a movable rail 9 via a guide rail 12 attached to the motor 1 and is engaged with a pinion 15 driven by an electric motor 14 capable of rotating forward and reverse. The arm rotation support 8 is configured to move in the parallel direction by forward and reverse driving of the motor 14.

A lifting frame 17 which is vertically moved by two air cylinders 16a and 16b connected in series is provided on the side of the arm rotation support 8, and the lifting frame 17 A movable bracket 19 that is moved by a cylinder 18 in a vertical direction is provided. An upper part of the movable bracket 19 is provided with a support shaft 20a rotatable around a swing fulcrum P at a predetermined position, and a lower part of the support shaft 20a is provided with a drive arm 20 which is swingable about the swing fulcrum P. Have been.

On the upper surface of the support block 6 of each of the brush support arms 5, a conical engaging recess 21 is formed on the axis of the rotating shaft 7 so as to be conical.
An engagement pin 22 is protruded at a position away from the side.

On the other hand, on the lower surface of the drive arm 20, a conical engagement projection 23 is provided so as to be coaxial with the swing fulcrum P and protrude from the swing fulcrum P to correspond to the engagement pin 22. Engaging hole 24 is formed. Then, one brush support arm 5 arbitrarily selected is positioned by the movable frame 9, the electric motor 14, etc., such that the axis of the rotating shaft 7 of the brush support arm 5 is located immediately below the swing fulcrum P of the drive arm 20. When the drive arm 20 is moved to a predetermined position, the drive arm 20 is lowered with respect to the brush support arm 5 so that the engagement recess 21 of the brush support arm 5 and the engagement pin 22 engage the drive arm 20. Projection 23 and engagement hole 2
4 to engage the drive arm 20 and the brush support arm 5 integrally, and the axis of the rotation shaft 7 of the brush support arm 5 is
And a centering engagement mechanism for positioning so as not to be displaced in the horizontal direction.

The support shaft 20a of the drive arm 20 is mounted on the movable bracket 19 and is capable of rotating forward and backward.
Are linked to each other via a timing belt 26,
By rotating the electric motor 25 in the forward and reverse directions, the arbitrary brush support arm 5 engaged and held by the drive arm 20 as described above is swung about a swing support point P defined at a predetermined position. 5 can be moved between the standby position outside the outer peripheral edge of the substrate W and the rotation center CP of the substrate W.

A positioning projection 27 is provided on the lower surface of the support block 6, while a positioning recess 28 is provided on the upper surface of the movable frame 9, so that each brush support arm 5 waits at the lowered position L. In this case, the positioning projections 27 and the positioning recesses 28 are engaged with each other so as to be positioned and held in a fixed posture.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. (1) In the initial state, as shown by the solid lines in FIGS. 1 and 2,
All the brushes 1 are retracted to standby positions outside the outer peripheral edge of the substrate W, and the arm rotation support 8 is also standby at the lowered position. Each brush support arm 5 waiting at the lowering position L is positioned and held in a fixed posture by the engagement between the positioning projection 27 and the positioning recess 28. In this standby state, the bristles 1a of the brushes are washed with the washing liquid while being rotated by the electric motors 3 in the standby pots TP provided at the fixed positions.

(2) In cleaning the brush, first, the movable frame 9 is horizontally moved by the electric motor 14 so that the brush support arm 5 of the desired brush 1 is located at the pivot point P, that is, directly below the drive arm 20. Move.

(3) Next, as shown in the partially cutaway side view of FIG. 5, the rod 18a of the air cylinder 18 is extended,
By lowering the movable bracket 19 and the lowering of the driving arm 20 accompanying the moving bracket 19, the selected brush supporting arm 5 is engaged with the driving arm 20. Accordingly, the rotation shaft 7 serving as a swing fulcrum when the brush support arm 5 is swung so that the brush 1 to be used is located at the rotation center CP of the substrate W coincides with the swing fulcrum P of the drive arm 20. Are positioned so that The rotation of the electric motor 3 of the brush support arm 5 of the selected brush 1 is stopped, and the rotation of the brush 1 is stopped.

(4) Thereafter, as shown in a partially cutaway side view of FIG. 6, each rod 16 of the air cylinders 16a and 16b is
Both x and 16y are extended, and the lifting frame 17 is raised. In the initial stage, the contact portion 31 provided on the lifting frame 17 abuts on the upper end projection 32 of the arm rotating support 8 from below, and the brush support arm 5 selected by this contacts the driving arm 20 with the lifting frame 17. It is clamped up and down with the contact part 31. In this clamp state, the lifting frame 17 is further raised, and as shown in FIG.
Is raised together with the arm rotation support 8 to the upper limit position H.

(5) Next, the electric motor 25 is rotated forward,
The drive arm 21 is swung in a clockwise direction in FIG. 2 by a predetermined angle, and the selected brush 1 is moved to above the rotation center CP of the substrate W supported on the turntable 102.

(6) Next, the air cylinders 16a, 16b
Are contracted together and the brushes 1a are lowered so that the bristles 1a of the brush 1 come into contact with the surface of the substrate W. When brush cleaning is performed while the bristles 1a of the brush 1 are slightly lifted from the surface of the substrate W, the air cylinder (the book cylinder) of the air cylinders 16a and 16b which has the larger stroke of the expansion and contraction of the rods 16x and 16y is used. In the embodiment, 1
6a), only the rod 16x is contracted, and the brush 1 is
May be lowered to a position M (a position slightly higher than the lowering position L).

(7) In this state, the substrate W is moved to the rotation center CP.
Rotate around and drive the electric motor 3
The brush 1 is rotated (rotated).

(8) While supplying the cleaning liquid to the surface of the substrate W from a nozzle (not shown), the electric motor 25 is rotated in the reverse direction, and the brush 1 is moved from the rotation center CP to the outer peripheral side of the substrate W as shown in FIG. The substrate W is moved to the position EP, and the entire surface of the substrate W is brush-cleaned. In cleaning the rectangular substrate W, when the brush 1 approaches the outer peripheral side position EP,
The brush 1 operates so as to once come out from the short side of the rectangular substrate W to the side of the substrate W and ride on the surface of the substrate W again. In the present embodiment, the brush 1 is shown in FIGS. As shown,
Since the substrate protection plate 103 is provided and the periphery of the substrate W and the surface of the substrate W are formed on the same plane, when the brush 1 rides on the surface from the side of the substrate W, the brush 1 Of the brush 1 due to the collision of the hairs 1a of the brush 1
a can be prevented, and the hairs 1a of the brush 1 collide with the edge of the substrate W to generate particles (particles).
The cleaning effect can be prevented from lowering.

(9) When the brush cleaning is completed, the brush 1
The air cylinder 1 that stopped rotating and contracted the rod
The rods of 6a and 16b (when the brush 1 is lowered to the position M, only the air cylinder 16a) are extended, the brush support arm 5 and the brush 1 are raised and retracted to the upper limit position H, and then the electric motor 25 is reversed. The brush support arm 5 is moved back and forth to the standby position, and the air cylinders 16a and 16a are moved in the state where the brush support arm 5 is at the standby position.
The rods 16x and 16y of b are contracted together to raise and lower the frame 17
Is lowered to the lower limit, and the rod 18a of the air cylinder 18 is contracted.
And the drive arm 20 is raised and returned, and the drive arm 20
And the brush support arm 5 is disengaged. Then, the rotation of the brush 1 is restarted. Thus, the brush 1 used for brush cleaning is inserted into the standby pot TP, and the bristles 1a of the brush 1 are washed with the cleaning liquid while rotating. When the brush 1 to be used is changed thereafter, the movable frame 9 is appropriately driven to
The above operation is performed by selecting the brush support arm 5 connected to 0.

According to the present embodiment, a plurality of types of brushes 1, for example, a brush 1 made of nylon bristles 1a and PVA
In the case of cleaning using the brushes 1 of the bristles 1a, the brushes 1 of each type are previously attached to the end portions of the brush arms 2 of the brush support arms 5 to stand by at standby positions. Is performed in the order of cleaning to perform brush cleaning. For example, in the case of performing rough cleaning with a nylon brush and then finishing cleaning with the PVA brush 1, first select the brush support arm 5 to which the nylon brush 1 is attached. And then roughly cleaned with the brush 1, and then PVA
The brush supporting arm 5 to which the brush 1 is attached can be selected to perform the final cleaning with the brush 1, and there is no need to replace the brush during the cleaning with each brush 1.

In the case where only the same type of brush 1 (for example, nylon) is used for cleaning, the same type of brush 1 is previously attached to the tip of the brush arm 2 of each brush support arm 5, and the standby position is set. If these brushes 1 are rotated and used sequentially for brush cleaning, the bristles 1a of each brush 1 are less likely to be worn, and the life of the brush 1 can be extended.

In addition, by using a plurality of brushes 1 in order for brush cleaning, a time from when a certain brush 1 is used for cleaning to when the next brush 1 is used for cleaning (time during which the brush 1 stands by at a standby position). Can be sufficiently cleaned during this time, the life of the brush 1 can be sufficiently extended, and the brush cleaning can be performed while the bristles 1a of the brush 1 are not sufficiently cleaned. And does not lower the cleaning effect. Further, if brush cleaning is performed continuously, brush 1
When performing the brush cleaning of each substrate W while sufficiently performing the cleaning of the hairs 1a, the brush 1 needs to be kept at a standby position for a predetermined time in the conventional apparatus. This cannot be performed, and the throughput of the process is reduced. However, in this embodiment, such inconvenience can be solved.

If the brush cleaning is performed only by bringing the bristles 1a of the brush 1 into contact with each other, the apparatus is configured such that the bristles 1a of the brush 1 abut on the surface of the substrate W at the height of M. It may be. Note that this modified example and the following modified examples can be similarly modified in the second and third embodiment devices described later.

In the above embodiment, the bristle 1 of the brush 1
a and the height of the brush 1 at the standby position are both set to the descending position L, and the brush 1 can be displaced at three levels of height.
Brush 1 and the height at which the bristles 1a are brought into contact with the surface of the substrate W
Is different from the height at the standby position, the height of the brush 1 is set at four levels (the height L at which the brush 1 stands by at the standby position, the height at which the bristles 1a of the brush 1 abut on the surface of the substrate W, and the height of the brush 1). When the bristles 1a are displaced at a height slightly floating above the surface of the substrate W and at a height H) at which the brush 1 swings, for example, as shown in FIG. The cylinders 16c are connected in series, and each air cylinder 16c is connected.
rods 16x, 16y, 16z of a, 16b, 16c
Can be constituted by a combination of expansion and contraction.

Next, the structure of the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a side view showing the configuration of the device of the second embodiment. The differences from the first embodiment are as follows.

That is, a connecting arm 40 is provided at the lower end of the rotating shaft 7 of the brush supporting arm 5 so as to center and engage the driving arm 20, and a contact portion for clamping the rotating shaft 7 in cooperation with the driving arm 20. 41 is the lifting frame 1
9 is independently driven up and down by an air cylinder 42. The other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the description is omitted by attaching the same figure numbers.

Next, the structure of the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 9 is a side view showing the configuration of the third embodiment, FIG. 10 is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a main part. The differences from the first embodiment are as follows.

That is, a plurality of brush support arms 5 supporting the brush 1 are provided so as to be swingable around swing support points Q1, Q2, Q3 defined at different predetermined positions, respectively. An arm rotating support 8 rotatably supporting a rotating shaft 7 connected to the base end of the supporting arm 5 is supported on the apparatus frame 50 via a guide rail 51 so as to be movable up and down. A drive arm 20 for selecting the brush 1 to be used is provided on the side portion so as to be swingable around a fixed swing fulcrum R.

A support shaft 52 provided at the base end of the drive arm 20 is connected to two air cylinders 16a connected in series.
The swing fulcrum R is attached to the lifting frame 17 which is raised and lowered by the
An arm 53 extending from the support shaft 52 and an electric motor 25 installed on the lifting frame 17 are linked and connected to each other via a link mechanism 54, and are driven by the motor 25 in forward and reverse directions. 20 is configured to traverse above the group of brush support arms 5.

A roller 55 with a V-groove is attached to the upper portion of each brush support arm 5 near the base end so as to be rotatable around the vertical axis. A pair of left and right guide rails 57 are provided so as to be able to move back and forth in the direction, and the guide rails 57 that have been moved forward are engaged with the rollers 55. The other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the description is omitted by attaching the same figure number.

According to the third embodiment, the operation is as follows. (1) The drive arm 20 swings above the group of brush support arms 5 waiting at the lowering position L, thereby selecting the brush support arm 5 of the brush 1 to be used, and
7 is moved forward to engage and support the roller 55 of the target brush support arm 5.

(2) Extend the air cylinders 16a and 16b together to raise the lifting frame 17, and move the brush support arm 5 selected for engagement to the upper limit position H.

(3) Next, the brush 1 of the brush support arm 5 which is engaged and supported by swingingly driving the drive arm 20 is moved to the substrate W
Is moved to above the rotation center CP. In this case, the difference in the swing fulcrum between the brush support arm 5 and the drive arm 20 is absorbed by the relative rolling between the guide rail 57 and the roller 55.

(4) Thereafter, both air cylinders 16a, 1
6b (or one of the air cylinders 16a) is contracted to lower the brush support arm 5 by a predetermined amount and bring the bristles 1a of the brush 1 into contact with (or slightly lift) the surface of the substrate W. Perform brush cleaning.

Next, the structure of a device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 12 is a partially cutaway side view showing the configuration of the fourth embodiment, and FIG.
Is a plan view thereof, FIG. 14 is a partially cutaway side view showing a configuration of a swing arm, and FIG. 15 is a sectional view showing a configuration of a standby pot.

In the first to third embodiments, the desired brush support arm 5 is selected from the plurality of brush support arms 5 to which the brushes 1 are attached, so that the plurality of brushes 1 can be selected. And the desired brush 1 to the substrate W
Is configured to be selectively moved between the rotation center CP and the standby position. However, in the fourth embodiment, only the plurality of brushes 1 are kept at the standby position and Of the plurality of brushes 1 is selectively moved between the rotation center CP of the substrate W and the standby position using the swing arm.

More specifically, one swing arm 61 is provided which is swung around a swing fulcrum S on the side of the substrate W rotatably supported in the same configuration as in FIG. Moving arm 6
1, a plurality of brushes 1 waiting in a standby pot TP provided in a standby position are selectively taken out and supported, and the brush 1 is moved to the standby position and the substrate W
Is configured to move between the rotation center CP.

In the present embodiment, the following mechanism for raising / lowering / oscillating the oscillating arm 61 corresponds to the moving means in the present invention.

The base end of the swing arm 61 is attached to the tip of an arm support shaft 62 whose axis coincides with the swing support point S. The arm support shaft 62 is erected on a base 63 so as to be rotatable and vertically movable, and the rotation of an electric motor 65 is transmitted via a belt 64 on the base end side thereof. Can swing around the swing fulcrum S.

An air cylinder 66 is provided below the arm support shaft 62, and a rod 66a of the air cylinder 66 is provided.
A push-up member 67 is integrally connected to the distal end of the air cylinder 66. By extending the rod 66a of the air cylinder 66,
The lower part of the arm support shaft 62 is pushed up, and the swing arm 61 is raised. A stopper 68 is provided on the arm support shaft 62.
The stopper 68 comes in contact with the support base 69 to restrict the lowering position of the arm support shaft 62. Further, the arm support shaft 62 is connected to the air cylinder 7.
It is configured to be able to extend and contract by the expansion and contraction of the zero rod 70a.

At the tip of the swing arm 61, a brush chuck 71 is provided. This brush chuck 71
Is rotatably mounted below the tip of the swing arm 61, the rotation of the electric motor 73 is transmitted via the belt 72, and the brush 1 supported by the brush chuck 71 is rotated (rotated) as described later. It is configured to be.

At the tip of the brush chuck 71, four claws 74 are attached so as to be openable and closable in a cross direction.
The groove 1b provided on the upper side surface in the circumferential direction is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG.
It is configured to support.

The pawls 74 are configured to swing about a fulcrum 75, and the disk-shaped member 76 at the base end of each pawl 74 is constantly urged upward by a compression coil spring 77. The pawls 74 are always urged in the closing direction. On the other hand, above the member 76, a pressing shaft 79 is attached to the tip end, and a drive shaft 81 that can move up and down via a bearing 80 that slides only in the vertical direction inside the brush chuck 71 is provided. The drive shaft 81 is moved up and down by the expansion and contraction of a rod 82a of the air cylinder 82, and the rod 82a of the air cylinder 82 is extended and the drive shaft 81 is lowered, whereby each member 76
The support plate 78 is depressed through the opening and each claw 74 is opened.

Next, the structure of the standby pot TP will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIG. This standby pot TP is provided with a plurality of standby cups 91 along the swing locus of the brush chuck 71 of the swing arm 61. Each standby cup 91
The brush 1 is housed so that the groove 1b of the brush 1 projects from above and the bristles 1a of the brush project from below. Each standby cup 91
Is rotatably attached to the standby pot TP, and is configured such that the rotation of the electric motor 92 is transmitted to each standby cup 91 via belts 93, 94, and 95. Further, the standby pot TP is provided with a plurality of nozzles SN for jetting the cleaning liquid, and the bristles 1a of each brush 1 while rotating each of the standby brushes 1 stored in each standby cup 91 are rotated.
.. Can be cleaned. Note that FIG.
In the middle, the symbol HD indicates a discharge drain for discharging the cleaning liquid after cleaning.

Next, the operation of the apparatus of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
3 will be described. (1) In the initial state, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG.
The swing arm 61 is waiting above the waiting pot TP. At this time, the stopper 68 of the arm support shaft 62 is in contact with the support base 69, the rod 70a of the air cylinder 70 is extended, and the arm support shaft 62 is extended. The brush 1 is stored in each of the standby cups 91 of the standby pot TP, and in this standby state,
While the brushes 1 are rotated by the electric motor 92, the bristles 1a of the brushes are cleaned with the cleaning liquid.

(2) In cleaning the brush, first, the electric motor 65 is driven, and the brush chuck 71 of the swing arm 61 is moved to the desired cup 1 among the brushes 1 stored in the standby cup 91 of the standby pot TP. The swing arm 61 is swung so as to be positioned above. Then, the electric motor 92 is stopped to stop the rotation of each brush 1, the rod 82 a of the air cylinder 82 is extended to open each claw 74 of the brush chuck 71, and further, the rod 70 a of the air cylinder 70 is expanded and contracted to form an arm. The support shaft 62 is contracted to lower the brush chuck 71, and then the rod 82 a of the air cylinder 82 is contracted to close the claws 74 of the brush chuck 71 and hold the desired brush 1 with the brush chuck 71,
The brush 1 held by extending the rod 70a of the air cylinder 70 is taken out from the standby cup 91 upward. When the removal of the desired brush is completed, the electric motor 92 is driven again to resume the cleaning of the bristles 1a of the other brushes 1 waiting in the standby pot TP.

(3) Next, the rod 6 of the air cylinder 66
6a, the arm support shaft 62 is lifted upward, and in this state, the electric motor 65 is rotated forward to rotate the swing arm 61.
Is swung, and the brush 1 taken out is moved to the rotation center C of the substrate W.
Move above P.

(4) Next, the rod 6 of the air cylinder 66
6a is contracted, and the brush 1 is lowered. At this time, the stopper 68 is in contact with the support base 69, so that the brush 1 can be maintained at a predetermined height during the subsequent brush cleaning. When the stopper 68 is in contact with the support base 69, the bristles 1a of the brush 1 are in contact with the surface of the substrate W (or the bristles 1a of the brush 1 are in contact with the surface of the substrate W). The stopper 68, the support base 69, and the like are adjusted so as to slightly float from the position. When the cleaning is performed by switching between cleaning in which the bristles 1a of the brush 1 are in contact with the surface of the substrate W and cleaning in a state where the bristles 1a of the brush 1 are slightly lifted from the surface of the substrate W, For example, instead of the air cylinder 70, two air cylinders may be connected in series so that the arm support shaft 62 can be expanded and contracted in two stages. As shown in FIG. 16, a support portion 69 is provided with a contact portion 200 which can be moved up and down.
The height of the brush 1 when the stopper 68 abuts on the abutting portion 200 may be made different by raising and lowering 00 by expansion and contraction of the rod 201a of the air cylinder 201.

(5) While the height of the brush 1 is adjusted, the substrate W is rotated around the rotation center CP,
The brush 1 is rotated (rotated) by driving the electric motor 73.

(6) Then, while supplying the cleaning liquid from the nozzle NZ to the surface of the substrate W, the electric motor 65 is rotated in reverse, and as shown in FIG. The substrate W is moved to the EP, and the entire surface of the substrate W is brush-cleaned.

(7) When the brush cleaning is completed, the motor 7
3, the rotation of the brush 1 is stopped, the rod 66a of the air cylinder 66 is extended, and the arm support shaft 62 is stopped.
Is lifted, and in this state, the electric motor 65 is rotated in the reverse direction, and the swing arm 61 is swung so as to move the brush 1 to a position above the standby cup 91 from which the brush 1 is taken out. Then, the electric motor 92 of the standby pot TP is stopped, and then the rod 70 a of the air cylinder 70 is contracted, the arm support shaft 62 is contracted, and the brush 1 is lowered and stored in the standby cup 91. And the air cylinder 8
The rod 82a of the second cylinder is extended to open the claws 74 of the brush chuck 71 to release the support of the brush 1, and the rod 70a of the air cylinder 70 is extended to raise the brush chuck 71. Wait until washing. When the brushes 1 used for cleaning are stored in the standby cup 91, the electric motor 92 is rotated to restart the cleaning of the bristles 1a of each brush 1. After that, when the brush 1 to be used is changed, the above operation is repeated.

According to this embodiment, in addition to the effects described in the first embodiment, only the brush 1 is on standby in the standby pot 91. There is no need to perform a complicated operation such as removing the brush 1 from an arm or the like, and the burden on the operator can be reduced.

In the apparatus of the fourth embodiment, the positional relationship between the substrate W and the standby pot TP is provided on the opposite side with respect to the swing fulcrum S.
When the swing arm 61 moves between the standby position of the brush 1 and the rotation center CP of the substrate W as in the first embodiment described above, the swing arm 61
It may be provided at a position where it is rotated by 0 °. In the above-described first to third embodiments, the positional relationship between the substrate W and the standby pot TP is changed to the opposite side with respect to the swing fulcrum P (see FIGS. 1 and 2) as in the fourth embodiment. Or the standby pot TP may be provided on the side of the substrate W.

[0067]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, a plurality of brushes are waiting at the standby position, and the moving means selects an arbitrary brush from the brushes standby at the standby position. Since it is configured to move between the standby position and the substrate surface, for example, when cleaning using a plurality of types of brushes, a plurality of types of brushes are made to stand by at the standby position, according to the cleaning order, The moving means can sequentially select each type of brush and perform cleaning with each brush, during which time the operator does not need to perform cumbersome operations such as brush replacement, and furthermore, improves the throughput of the cleaning process. Can be done.

When cleaning is performed using the same type of brush, a plurality of brushes of the same type are made to stand by at a standby position, and the moving means selects these brushes in rotation and uses them for cleaning. The service life of each brush can be extended, and the replacement period of the worn brush can be extended.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view showing a schematic configuration of a brush cleaning device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the first embodiment device.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway side view of a main part of the first embodiment device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a substrate rotation support base and a state of brush cleaning of a rotating substrate.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway side view for explaining the operation of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway side view for explaining the operation of the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a modified example of the first embodiment device.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing the configuration of the second embodiment apparatus.

FIG. 9 is a side view showing the configuration of the third embodiment device.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the device of the third embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a main part of the third embodiment device.

FIG. 12 is a partially cutaway side view showing the configuration of the device of the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of the device of the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a partially cutaway side view showing the configuration of the swing arm of the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a standby pot of the device of the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a modification of the device of the fourth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Brush 3, 14, 25, 65, 73 ... Electric motor 5 ... Brush support arm 16a, 16b, 18, 42, 66, 70, 82 ...
Air cylinder 20: Drive arm 61: Swing arm 71: Brush chuck P, Q1 to Q3, S: Swing fulcrum TP: Standby pot

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-58-182234 (JP, A) JP-A-61-39523 (JP, A) JP-A-3-53524 (JP, A) 41131 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model 2-45632 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Application 2-47142 (JP, U) (58) Fields surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B08B 1/00-11 / 04 H01L 21/304

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A brush cleaning apparatus for cleaning a surface of a substrate with a brush while rotating a substrate, comprising: a plurality of brushes waiting at a standby position outside an outer peripheral edge of the substrate; Moving means for selecting an arbitrary brush from a plurality of brushes and moving the selected brush between the standby position and the substrate surface.