JP5190303B2 - Conveying device and processing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport apparatus that transports a large transport target such as an FPD, and a processing apparatus that performs processing on the transport target including the transport apparatus.

  In the manufacturing process of a flat panel display (FPD) typified by a liquid crystal display (LCD), a so-called multi-panel is provided with a plurality of processing chambers for performing predetermined processing such as etching, ashing, and film formation on an FPD substrate under vacuum. A chamber type processing apparatus is used.

  Such a processing apparatus has a transfer chamber provided with a transfer apparatus for transferring an FPD substrate (conveyed body) and a plurality of processing chambers provided around the transfer chamber. The FPD substrate is carried into each processing chamber from the carrying chamber using a carrying device, and the processed substrate is carried out from the processing chamber to the carrying chamber. A load lock chamber is connected to the transfer chamber, and a plurality of substrates can be processed while maintaining the processing chamber and the transfer chamber in a vacuum state when loading and unloading the substrate on the atmosphere side. Such a multi-chamber type processing apparatus is described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, for example. Further, Patent Document 2 describes a transport device provided with a pick that slides further on a slide arm as a transport device.

  In such a processing apparatus, when the FPD substrate is carried into the processing chamber, the FPD substrate is placed on a pick on the slide arm of the transport device, for example, and the slide arm and the pick are placed on a mounting table in the processing chamber. Advance above. Next, the lifting pins are projected from the mounting table, the FPD substrate is transferred from the pick to the lifting pins, and the pick and the slide arm are retracted from the processing chamber into the transfer chamber. Next, the elevating pins are lowered to place the FPD substrate on the mounting table.

On the other hand, when the FPD substrate is carried out of the processing chamber, the FPD substrate on the mounting table is raised by the lifting pins, and the slide arm and the pick are advanced from the transfer chamber into the processing chamber. Next, the elevating pins are lowered to transfer the FPD substrate from the elevating pins to the pick. Next, the pick and slide arm are retracted into the transfer chamber.
JP-A-9-223727 JP 2007-73540 A

  In recent years, the size of FPD substrates has been increasing, and accordingly, the size of each chamber in the processing apparatus has been increased, and the substrate transfer stroke (transfer distance between chambers) by the transfer device tends to be longer. At present, the substrate transport stroke reaches 5 m, but in the future it will exceed 5 m.

  If the substrate transport stroke becomes long, the advance and retreat stroke of the slide arm and pick must be lengthened accordingly. As the advance / retreat stroke becomes longer, the transfer device must be enlarged.

  Even if the size of the transport device is increased, it is always required to improve and maintain the transport accuracy and transport speed. A moment is applied to the slide arm of the transfer device and the base on which the slide arm is placed during the advance / retreat operation, the lifting / lowering operation, or the turning operation. As the slide arm and base become larger, the moment increases. For this reason, the slide arm or the base itself is bent, twisted, or distorted, which affects the conveyance accuracy. In order to suppress these bending, twisting, and distortion, if the advance / retreat speed, the lifting / lowering speed, or the turning speed is slowed, the transport speed is affected.

  As described above, in the current transport apparatus, it is difficult to achieve both the increase in size of the FPD substrate, that is, the transport target, and the maintenance and improvement of transport accuracy and transport speed.

  An object of this invention is to provide the conveying apparatus which can make the to-be-conveyed object large size and the maintenance improvement of a conveyance precision and a conveyance speed, and the processing apparatus using the conveying apparatus.

In order to solve the above-described problem, a transport device according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a lower slide base, an upper slide base, and a lower slide base that have a slide portion and are arranged in at least two stages up and down. A lower pick that slides a slide portion of the base, advances and retracts with respect to the lower slide base, and conveys a conveyed object; and is disposed between the lower pick and the upper slide base; An upper pick that slides the slide portion, advances and retreats with respect to the upper slide base and conveys the object to be transported, and a plurality of frames that connect the lower slide base and the upper slide base to each other ; The lower slide base, the upper slide base, and the plurality of frames constitute a box-shaped structure, and the upper pick is Serial was hanging down configuration to the upper slide base.

  The processing apparatus which concerns on the 2nd aspect of this invention is a processing apparatus which processes to-be-processed object, Comprising: The conveying apparatus which concerns on the said 1st aspect is used for the conveying apparatus which conveys a to-be-processed object.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a transport apparatus capable of achieving both the increase in size of a transported body and the maintenance and improvement of transport accuracy and transport speed, and a processing apparatus using the transport apparatus.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Throughout the drawings to be referred to, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  In this description, reference is made to an example in which the transfer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is used as a transfer apparatus of a multi-chamber processing apparatus including a plasma etching apparatus that performs plasma etching on an FPD substrate G. I will explain.

  Examples of the FPD include a liquid crystal display (LCD), an electroluminescence (EL) display, a plasma display panel (PDP), and the like.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a processing apparatus using a transfer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view schematically showing the inside of the processing apparatus shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the processing apparatus 1 includes a plurality of processing chambers 10, a transfer chamber 20 connected to the processing chambers 10, and a load lock chamber 30 connected to the transfer chamber 20. . In this example, the transfer chamber 20 is rectangular, and three processing chambers 10 and one load lock chamber 30 are connected to four sides of the rectangular transfer chamber 20 one by one.

  An opening that communicates between each processing chamber 10 and the transfer chamber 20, between the transfer chamber 20 and the load lock chamber 30, and between the load lock chamber 30 and the outside air atmosphere is hermetically sealed. In addition, gate valves 22 configured to be openable and closable are respectively inserted.

  Two cassette indexers 41 are provided outside the load lock chamber 30, and cassettes 40 for accommodating FPD substrates G are placed thereon. The cassette 40 can be moved up and down by an elevating mechanism 42. In these cassettes 40, for example, an unprocessed substrate G is stored in one of them and a processed substrate G is stored in the other.

  A support base 44 is disposed between the two cassette indexers 41, and a transport mechanism 43 is disposed on the support base 44. The transport mechanism 43 includes picks 45 and 46 that are provided in two upper and lower stages, and a base 47 that supports the picks 45 and 46 so as to be able to move forward, retract, and turn. The transport mechanism 43 transports the FPD substrate G between the cassette 40 and the load lock chamber 30.

  The transfer chamber 20 is a vacuum chamber and can be held in a predetermined reduced pressure atmosphere. As shown in FIG. 2, a transfer device 50 is disposed in the transfer chamber 20. The transfer device 50 transfers the FPD substrate G between the load lock chamber 30 and the three processing chambers 10. Details of the transport device 50 will be described later.

  The load lock chamber 30 is also a vacuum chamber, and can be maintained in a predetermined reduced pressure atmosphere like the transfer chamber 20. The load lock chamber 30 delivers the FPD substrate G between the cassette 40 under an atmospheric pressure environment and the transfer chamber 20 under a reduced pressure environment. For this reason, atmospheric pressure and pressure reduction are repeated. Further, the load lock chamber 30 is provided with a substrate housing portion 31 in two upper and lower stages (only the upper stage is shown in FIG. 2), and a buffer 32 for supporting the FPD substrate G is provided in each substrate housing portion 31. A positioner 33 for aligning the FPD substrate G is provided.

  The processing chamber 10 is also a vacuum chamber. An example of the processing chamber 10 is shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the processing chamber 10. The processing chamber 10 shown in FIG. 3 shows an example of a plasma etching apparatus. As shown in FIG. 3, the processing chamber 10 has, for example, a rectangular tube shape made of aluminum whose surface is anodized (anodized). A susceptor (substrate mounting table) 101 on which an FPD substrate G is mounted is provided at the bottom of the processing chamber 10. In the susceptor 101, elevating pins 130 for loading and unloading the FPD substrate G are inserted so as to be elevable. The lift pins 130 are raised to the transfer position above the susceptor 101 when the FPD substrate G is transferred, and are otherwise immersed in the susceptor 101. The susceptor 101 is supported on the bottom of the processing chamber 10 via an insulating member 104, and includes a metal base material 102 and an insulating member 103 provided on the periphery of the base material 102.

  A power supply line 123 for supplying high-frequency power is connected to the base material 102 of the susceptor 101, and a matching unit 124 and a high-frequency power source 125 are connected to the power supply line 123. For example, high frequency power of 13.56 MHz is supplied from the high frequency power supply 125 to the susceptor 101.

  Above the susceptor 101, there is provided a shower head 111 that faces the susceptor 101 in parallel and functions as an upper electrode. The shower head 111 is supported on the upper portion of the processing chamber 10, has an internal space 112 inside, and has a plurality of discharge holes 113 for discharging processing gas on the surface facing the susceptor 101. The shower head 111 is grounded and constitutes a pair of parallel plate electrodes together with the susceptor 101.

A gas inlet 114 is provided on the upper surface of the shower head 111. A processing gas supply pipe 115 is connected to the gas inlet 114, and a processing gas supply source 118 is connected to the processing gas supply pipe 115 via a valve 116 and a mass flow controller 117. A processing gas for etching is supplied from the processing gas supply source 118. As the processing gas, a gas usually used in this field, such as a halogen-based gas, an O ₂ gas, or an Ar gas, can be used.

  An exhaust pipe 119 is formed at the bottom of the processing chamber 10, and an exhaust device 120 is connected to the exhaust pipe 119. The exhaust device 120 includes a vacuum pump such as a turbo molecular pump, and is configured to be able to evacuate the processing chamber 10 to a predetermined reduced pressure atmosphere. A substrate loading / unloading port 121 is provided on the side wall of the processing chamber 10, and the substrate loading / unloading port 121 can be opened and closed by the gate valve 22 described above. Then, the FPD substrate G is carried in and out by the transfer device 50 in the transfer chamber 20 with the gate valve 22 opened.

  Each component of the processing apparatus 1 is controlled by a process controller 170 including a microprocessor shown in FIG. Connected to the process controller 170 is a user interface 171 including a keyboard for an operator to input commands for managing the processing device 1, a display for visualizing and displaying the operating status of the processing device 1, and the like. . The process controller 170 has a control program for realizing various processes executed by the processing device 1 under the control of the process controller 170, and a control program for causing the processing device 1 to execute a predetermined process according to processing conditions. That is, a storage unit 172 in which recipes and various databases are stored is connected. The storage unit 172 has a storage medium, and recipes and the like are stored in the storage medium. The storage medium may be a hard disk or a semiconductor memory, or may be a portable medium such as a CD-ROM, DVD, or flash memory. Recipes and the like are read from the storage unit 172 according to instructions from the user interface 171 as necessary, and are executed by the process controller 170, so that desired processing in the processing apparatus 1 is performed under the control of the process controller 170. Is called.

  Processing operations in the processing apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described below.

  First, the picks 45 and 46 of the transport mechanism 43 are driven to advance and retract, and two FPD substrates G from one cassette 40 that stores unprocessed FPD substrates G are loaded into a two-stage substrate storage chamber of the load lock chamber 30. Carry in 31.

  After the picks 45 and 46 are retracted, the gate valve 22 on the atmosphere side of the load lock chamber 30 is closed. Thereafter, the inside of the load lock chamber 30 is evacuated, and the inside is depressurized to a predetermined degree of vacuum. After the evacuation is completed, the substrate G is pressed using the positioner 33 to align the FPD substrate G.

  After the alignment as described above, the gate valve 22 between the transfer chamber 20 and the load lock chamber 30 is opened, and the substrate accommodating portion 31 of the load lock chamber 30 is used by using the transfer device 50 in the transfer chamber 20. The accommodated FPD substrate G is received, loaded into the processing chamber 10, and the FPD substrate G is placed on the susceptor 101.

  Thereafter, the gate valve 22 is closed, and the inside of the processing chamber 10 is evacuated to a predetermined vacuum level by the exhaust device 120. Next, the valve 116 is opened, and the processing gas is supplied from the processing gas supply source 118 to the internal space 112 of the shower head 111 via the processing gas supply pipe 115 and the gas inlet 114 while adjusting the flow rate by the mass flow controller 117. Then, it is uniformly discharged to the FPD substrate G through the discharge holes 113, and the inside of the processing chamber 10 is controlled to a predetermined pressure while adjusting the exhaust amount.

  In this state, a predetermined processing gas is introduced into the chamber 10 from the processing gas supply source 118, and high frequency power is applied to the susceptor 101 from the high frequency power source 125, and the susceptor 101 as the lower electrode and the shower head 111 as the upper electrode, A high-frequency electric field is generated between them to generate plasma of a processing gas, and the FPD substrate G is etched by this plasma.

  After performing the etching process in this way, the application of the high frequency power from the high frequency power supply 125 is stopped, and the introduction of the processing gas is stopped. Then, the processing gas remaining in the processing chamber 10 is exhausted, and the FPD substrate G is raised to the transfer position by the lift pins 130. In this state, the gate valve 22 is opened, and the FPD substrate G is unloaded from the processing chamber 10 to the transfer chamber 20 using the transfer device 50.

  The FPD substrate G carried out of the processing chamber 10 is transferred to the load lock chamber 30 and is stored in the cassette 40 by the transfer mechanism 43. At this time, it may be returned to the original cassette 40 or may be accommodated in the other cassette 40.

  A series of operations as described above are repeated for the number of FPD substrates G accommodated in the cassette 40, and the processing is completed.

  Next, the transfer device 50 disposed in the transfer chamber 20 will be described in detail.

  4 is a perspective view schematically showing a transport device according to an embodiment, FIG. 5A is a front view seen from the arrow 5A side in FIG. 4, and FIG. 5B is a side view seen from the arrow 5B side in FIG. It is.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 5B, the transport device 50 according to the embodiment advances and retreats with respect to the lower slide base 51a and the lower slide base 51a and the upper slide base 51b that are arranged in at least two stages up and down. A lower pick 52a, an upper pick 52b that advances and retreats with respect to the upper slide base 51b, and a plurality of frames that connect the lower slide base 51a and the upper slide base 51b to each other, in this example, three frames 53a to 53c. Prepare. The shape of the frame is a rectangle in this example. Hereinafter, in this specification, the frame is referred to as a rectangular frame.

  The lower slide base 51a and the upper slide base 51b are long and have slide portions 54a and 54b, respectively.

  The lower pick 52a slides on the slide portion 54a of the lower slide base 51a, and moves and retreats a not-shown transported body (for example, an FPD substrate). Similarly, the upper pick 52b slides on the slide portion 54b of the upper slide base 51b, and advances and retracts a transported body (not shown) for transport. The upper pick 52b is disposed between the lower pick 52a and the upper slide base 51b. The lower pick 52a and the upper pick 52b have base portions 55a and 55b, respectively, and a plurality of long support members extending in a fork shape horizontally from the base portions 55a and 55b, in this example, five support members 56a and 56b. It has. FIG. 6A shows a state in which the lower pick 52a has advanced with respect to the lower slide base 51a, and FIG. 7A shows a state in which the upper pick 52b has advanced with respect to the upper slide base 51b.

  The lower slide base 51a, the upper slide base 51b, and the rectangular frames 53a to 53c are connected to each other to form a box-shaped structure. In this example, the rectangular frames 53a to 53c are a horizontal member 57a fixed to the lower slide base 51a, a horizontal member 57b fixed to the upper slide base 51b, both ends of the horizontal member 57a, and both ends of the horizontal member 57b. Are combined with vertical members 57c and 57d that fix each other. Of course, the rectangular frames 53a to 53c may be frame-shaped and formed of an integral member.

  In this example, the lower slide base 51a and the upper slide base 51b are provided so as to be opposed to each other in the vertical direction. The ends of the lower slide base 51a and the upper slide base 51b opposite to the advance direction of the lower pick 52a and the upper pick 52b are connected by a connecting member 53d and fixed to each other.

  In this example, the vertical relationship between the lower slide base 51a and the lower pick 52a is different from the vertical relationship between the upper slide base 51b and the upper pick 52b. Specifically, in this example, the lower pick 52a is placed on the lower slide base 51a, whereas the upper pick 52b is suspended from the upper slide base 51b.

  Examples of the box-shaped structure include, for example, the tips of the lower slide base 51a and the upper slide base 51b so that bending, twisting, distortion, and the like generated in the lower slide base 51a and the upper slide base 51b are suppressed. A box-shaped rigid structure configured by connecting and fixing at least three points of the part A, the central part B, and the rear end part C using at least three rectangular frames 53a to 53c. good. The upper slide base 51b is preferably connected to the inside of the rectangular frames 53a to 53c.

The box-shaped structure is connected to the drive mechanism 58 as shown in FIG. 5B. The drive mechanism 58 turns (θ) and moves up and down (z) the box-shaped structure. Thereby, the conveyance apparatus 50 can perform a turning operation and an elevating operation. The drive mechanism 58 is controlled by the transport control unit 59.
The conveyance control unit 59 is controlled by the process controller 170 described above.

  Further, in the transport device 50, slide portions 60a and 60b are formed on the support member 56a of the lower pick 52a and the support member 56b of the upper pick 52b, respectively. On the support member 56a, there is provided a lower slide pick 61a that advances and retreats with respect to the lower pick 52a. Similarly, an upper slide pick 61b that advances and retreats with respect to the upper pick 52b is also provided on the support member 56b. The lower slide pick 61a slides on the slide portion 60a of the support member 56a. Similarly, the upper slide pick 61b slides on the slide portion 60b of the support member 56b. Each of the lower slide pick 61a and the upper slide pick 61b has base portions 62a and 62b (see FIG. 5A in particular), and a plurality of long support members extending in a fork shape horizontally from the base portions 62a and 62b. Then, five support members 63a and 63b are provided. A transported body (not shown) is supported by the support members 63a and 63b. FIG. 6B shows a state in which the lower slide pick 61a has advanced with respect to the lower pick 52a, and FIG. 7B shows a state in which the upper slide pick 61b has advanced with respect to the upper pick 52b.

  As described above, in the transport apparatus 50, the lower slide pick 61a is provided on the upper support member 56a of the lower pick 52a placed on the lower slide base 51a, and the upper slide pick 61b is located below the upper slide base 51b. The lower pick 52a and the lower slide pick 61a, or the upper pick 52b and the upper slide pick 61b advance in a two-stage slide. As a result, the transfer target supported by the support member 63a or 63b, for example, the FPD substrate G is advanced and transferred.

  Here, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the transfer device 50 is used in the processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 and the like, and the transferred object is a large-sized transferred object such as an FPD substrate G, for example. In this case, the transport stroke L becomes very long. For this reason, when the lower slide pick 61a or the upper slide pick 61b slides to the maximum extent, the transport device 50 is in a very long cantilever state. In this state, a large moment is applied to the lower slide base 51a and the upper slide base 51b, and deformation such as bending, twisting, or distortion is likely to occur. In particular, when the transport target is a large FPD substrate G having a rectangular planar shape and the length of the shortest side of the rectangle being 2800 mm or more, the transport stroke L reaches 5 m or more. For this reason, the lower slide base 51a and the upper slide base 51b are likely to be deformed.

  However, the transport device 50 connects the rectangular frames 53a to 53c to the lower slide base 51a and the upper slide base 51b, and the lower slide base 51a, the upper slide base 51b, and the rectangular frames 53a to 53c constitute a box-shaped structure. doing. For this reason, even when the transport stroke L becomes long, the deformation of the lower slide base 51a and the upper slide base 51b can be suppressed.

  Further, as the transport stroke L becomes longer and the size of the transported body advances, the lower slide base 51a and the upper slide base 51b themselves must be increased in size. When the lower slide base 51a and the upper slide base 51b are increased in size, for example, a large moment is easily applied during the advance / retreat operation, the lifting / lowering operation, or the turning operation, and the deformation becomes easy. Further, there is a possibility that the lower slide base 51a or the upper slide base 51b may be deformed by its own weight.

  Also in these circumstances, according to the transport device 50, the lower slide base 51a and the upper slide base 51b constitute a box-shaped structure together with the rectangular frames 53a to 53c. Therefore, even if the lower slide base 51a and the upper slide base 51b are enlarged, the deformation can be suppressed.

  Thus, according to the conveying apparatus 50, since the lower slide base 51a and the upper slide base 51b can be made difficult to deform | transform, the deterioration of the conveyance precision accompanying the enlargement of the conveyance stroke L and the enlargement of a to-be-conveyed body is suppressed. can do.

  Further, since the lower slide base 51a and the upper slide base 51b are not easily deformed, it is possible to maintain and improve the transport speed such as the advance / retreat speed, the ascending / descending speed, or the turning speed.

  As described above, according to the transport device 50 according to the embodiment, it is possible to obtain a transport device capable of satisfying both an increase in size of a transported body and maintenance and improvement of transport accuracy and transport speed.

  Furthermore, the conveyance apparatus 50 which concerns on one Embodiment is provided with the multistage slide type pick with a slide pick which slides as a pick. In this example, a two-stage slide type pick having a lower slide pick 61a and an upper slide pick 61b that slide further on the lower pick 52a and the upper pick 52b is illustrated.

  For example, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the transport stroke L in the case of the multi-stage slide pick is a distance Lm that the lower layer pick 52a or the upper layer pick 52b has moved to the lower layer slide pick 61a or the upper layer slide pick 61a. The distance Ls by which the slide pick 61b is further slid is added. Accordingly, in the state where the pick has advanced, the distance from the leading end of the transport device 50 to the leading end of the pick, that is, the pick length at the time of advancement is substantially “Lm + Ls”. The pick length “Lm + Ls” at the time of advance is the transport stroke L.

  On the other hand, when the pick is retracted, the slide pick 61a or 61b is overlaid on the pick 52a or 52b. Accordingly, the distance Ls that the slide pick 61a or 61b slides is superimposed on the distance Lm that the pick 52a or 52b has moved. For this reason, the pick length at the time of retraction is substantially “Lm”, and can be made shorter by the distance “Ls” than the pick length at the time of advance, that is, the transport stroke L.

  As described above, according to the transport device 50, the pick is a multi-stage slide type pick, and the slide pick 61a or 61b is overlapped with the pick 52a or 52b at the time of retraction so that the pick length at the time of retraction can be conveyed. It can also be made shorter than the stroke L, and the enlargement of the conveyance apparatus 50 accompanying the enlargement of a to-be-conveyed body can also be suppressed.

  Furthermore, when the pick is a multi-stage slide type pick, the distance at which it advances and retreats is preferably shortened as the pick at the tip. At the time of advancement, the pick gets a larger moment as it goes to the tip. For this reason, it will be in the situation where it is easy to change as the pick of the tip.

  Such a situation can be suppressed by shortening the distance to advance and retreat as the pick at the tip.

  In the transport device 50, for example, as illustrated in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the distance Ls for the lower slide pick 61a to advance and retract is shorter than the distance Lm for the lower pick 52a to advance and retract. Similarly, the distance Ls for the upper slide pick 61b to advance and retract is shorter than the distance Lm for the upper pick 52b to advance and retract.

  In order to make the transport stroke L longer than the pick length at the time of retraction, it may be considered that the slide base 51a or 51b is moved. However, in this case, the size Sg of the gate opening 121 is increased, and for example, a large gate valve 22 is required.

  On the other hand, according to the transfer device 50, the slide bases 51a and 51b are not moved in the horizontal direction from the transfer chamber 20, and the picks 52a and 52b whose thickness in the vertical direction is thinner than the slide bases 51a and 51b, and the slide The picks 61a and 61b are moved in the horizontal direction. For this reason, the size Sg of the gate opening 121 may be smaller than that of the transfer device that moves the slide base 51a or 51b. Therefore, there is no need for the large gate valve 22, and it is possible to obtain an advantage that the manufacturing cost of the transfer device itself accompanying the increase in size of the transfer target can be suppressed.

  Next, an example of a drive mechanism that drives the pick and the slide pick will be described.

  For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5B, the transport device 50 includes a lower drive mechanism 70a and an upper drive mechanism 70b. The lower drive mechanism 70a drives the lower pick 52a and the lower slide pick 61a. Similarly, the upper drive mechanism 70b drives the upper pick 52b and the upper slide pick 61b.

  9A and 9B are cross-sectional views schematically showing an example of the drive mechanism. 9A shows a state in which the pick and slide pick are retracted, and FIG. 9B shows a state in which the pick and slide pick have advanced.

  As shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, in the transport apparatus 50 according to this example, the lower drive mechanism 70a includes a first main drive unit 71a and a first sub drive unit 72a, and the upper drive mechanism 70b Two main drive units 71b and a second sub drive unit 72b are provided. The first and second main drive units 71a and 71b advance and retract the lower pick 52a and the upper pick 52b, respectively, and the first and second sub drive units 72a and 72b respectively move the lower slide pick 61a and the upper slide pick 61b. Advance and evacuate.

  Further, in this example, the first sub drive unit 72a is attached to the base 55a, for example, and the first sub drive unit 72a is configured to move together with the lower pick 52a. Similarly, the second sub drive unit 72b is attached to the base 55b, for example, and the second sub drive unit 72b is configured to move together with the upper pick 52b.

  The first and second sub drive units 72a and 72b cause the slide picks 61a and 61b to advance and retract individually regardless of the advance and retract operations of the picks 52a and 52b by the first and second main drive units 71a and 71b. You may comprise as follows.

  In addition, the first and second sub-driving units 72a and 72b move the slide picks 61a and 61b to advance and retract in conjunction with the advance and retreat operation of the picks 52a and 52b by the first and second main driving units 71a and 71b. It may be configured. When the slide picks 61a and 61b are advanced and retracted in conjunction with the advance and retract operation of the picks 52a and 52b, the picks 52a and 52b and the slide picks 61a and 61b can be moved simultaneously, so that, for example, the conveyance speed is improved. The advantage that it is possible can be obtained.

  Hereinafter, an example of a drive mechanism in which the slide picks 61a and 61b can advance and retract in conjunction with the advance and retract operation of the picks 52a and 52b will be described.

  10 and 11 are perspective views schematically showing an example of a drive mechanism that can drive a pick and a slide pick in conjunction with each other. 10 shows a state in which the pick and slide pick are retracted, and FIG. 11 shows a state in which the pick and slide pick have advanced.

  In the following description, attention is focused on the lower drive mechanism 70a that drives the lower pick 52a and the lower slide pick 61a.

  The upper drive mechanism 70b is not particularly illustrated, but only the mounting positions of the lower drive mechanism 70a described below, for example, the upper pick 52b and the upper slide pick 61b with respect to the second sub drive portion 72b are reversed. Yes, it can be configured similarly. Therefore, the description is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the first main drive portion 71a is provided on the lower slide base 51a. The first main drive unit 71 a is driven by a motor 80 belonging to the drive mechanism 58 (see FIG. 5B), and rotates with a first pulley (drive pulley) 81, and the first drive accompanying the rotation of the first pulley 81. A second pulley (driven pulley) 83 that rotates via a force transmission member 82 (for example, a toothed belt, a specific example is a timing belt), the first driving force transmission member 82, and the lower pick 52a; And a first clamp member 84 that moves with the movement of the first driving force transmission member 82 to advance and retract the lower pick 52a. In this example, the first clamp member 84 is connected and fixed to the base 55a of the lower pick 52a.

  The first sub driving unit 72 a is provided on the base 90. In this example, the base 90 is connected and fixed to the base 55a of the lower pick 52a. The first sub-driving unit 72a includes a rotating third pulley (driving pulley) 91 and a second driving force transmission member 92 (for example, a toothed belt, as a specific example, as the third pulley 91 rotates. The fourth pulley (driven pulley) 93 that rotates via the timing belt), the second driving force transmission member 92, and the lower slide pick 61a are connected, and the second driving force transmission member 92 moves as the second driving force transmission member 92 moves. And a second clamp member 94 for advancing and retracting the lower slide pick 61a. In this example, the third pulley 91 rotates with the movement of the lower pick 52a, and the second clamp member 94 is connected and fixed to the base 62a of the lower slide pick 61a.

  Furthermore, in this example, a pair of idlers (idle pulleys) 96 that rotate as the first driving force transmission member 82 moves are further provided. The pair of idlers 96 move with the movement of the first driving force transmission member 82, that is, the movement of the lower pick 52a, while rotating with the movement of the first driving force transmission member 82 (see FIG. 11). In this example, one pulley constituting the pair of idlers 96 is engaged with a first driving force transmission member 82, for example, a toothed belt. The idler 96 meshing one pulley with the toothed belt moves in the direction opposite to the traveling direction of the toothed belt while rotating as the toothed belt moves.

  Further, in the present example, the third pulley 91 rotates as the idler 96 rotates. Furthermore, since the first sub-driving unit 72a is provided on the base 90 attached to the lower pick 52a, the third pulley 91 moves together with the movement of the idler 96.

  Further, in this example, a speed reducer 97 is interposed between the pair of idlers 96 and the third pulley 91. By interposing the speed reducer 97, the lower slide pick 61a moves by the amount decelerated with respect to the movement amount of the lower pick 52a. Such a configuration is effective, for example, when the distance to advance and retract the lower slide pick 61a is shorter than the distance to advance and retract the lower pick 52a.

  Next, the operation will be described.

  When the motor 80 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow D shown in FIG. 11, the first pulley 81 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow E, and the first driving force transmission member 82 starts moving in the direction indicated by the arrow F.

  When the first driving force transmission member 82 moves, the first clamp member 84 connecting the first driving force transmission member 82 and the lower pick 52a moves, and the lower pick 52a advances in the direction indicated by the arrow G. Guide members 85 are interposed between both sides of the upper surface of the lower slide base 51a and the lower surface of the base 55a of the lower pick 52a. For this reason, the direction in which the lower pick 52a advances is defined as the direction in which the guide member 85 advances. The first sub driving unit 72a is provided on a base 90 connected and fixed to the lower pick 52a. For this reason, the 1st sub drive part 72a moves with the lower pick 52a.

  Further, when the first driving force transmission member 82 moves, the idler 96 starts to move in the direction indicated by the arrow I while rotating in the direction indicated by the arrow H.

  When the idler 96 is moved and rotated, the third pulley 91 that is directly rotated or rotated via the speed reducer 97 as the idler 96 is rotated moves together with the base 90 while the arrow moves. Rotate in the direction indicated by J. When the third pulley 91 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow J, the second driving force transmission member 92 starts to move in the direction indicated by the arrow K.

  When the second driving force transmission member 92 moves, the second clamp member 94 that connects the second driving force transmission member 92 and the lower slide pick 61a moves, and the lower slide pick 61a advances in the direction indicated by the arrow L. Let A guide member 95a is interposed between both sides of the upper surface of the base 90 and the lower surface of the base 62a of the lower slide pick 61a, and further, the upper surface of the support member 56a of the lower pick 52a and the support member of the lower slide pick 61a. Thin guide members 95b are interposed between the lower surface of 63a. The direction in which the lower slide pick 61a advances is defined as the direction in which the guide members 95a and 95b advance.

  Further, when the motor 80 is rotated in the direction opposite to the direction indicated by the arrow D, the operation opposite to the above operation is performed, and the lower pick 52a and the lower slide pick 61a can be retracted.

  Thus, according to the drive mechanism shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the pick and the slide pick can be driven in conjunction with each other.

  Although the present invention has been described according to one embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. Further, the above-described embodiment is not the only embodiment of the present invention.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the transport mechanism having a slide pick that slides and moves is used as the pick that supports the substrate. However, other transport mechanisms such as a pick of a scalar transport mechanism having a joint may be used. .

  Moreover, although the said embodiment demonstrated the case where the conveyance in a vacuum was performed, it is not restricted to this, It is also possible to apply to the conveying apparatus which conveys in air | atmosphere.

  Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to the etching apparatus. However, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the etching process and can be applied to other processes such as film formation.

  In the above embodiment, the multi-chamber type apparatus has been described as an example. However, the present invention can be applied to a single-chamber type apparatus having only one processing chamber.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which an FPD substrate is used as a carrier to be transported has been described. However, the carrier to be transported is not limited to an FPD substrate, and may be another substrate such as a semiconductor wafer.

The perspective view which shows roughly the processing apparatus using the conveying apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention Horizontal sectional view schematically showing the inside of the processing apparatus shown in FIG. Sectional view showing an example of a processing chamber The perspective view which showed roughly the conveying apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment 5A is a front view seen from the arrow 5A side in FIG. 4, and FIG. 5B is a side view seen from the arrow 5B side in FIG. 6A is a diagram showing a state where the lower pick has advanced, and FIG. 6B is a diagram showing a state where the lower slide pick has advanced. 7A is a diagram showing a state in which the upper pick has advanced, and FIG. 7B is a diagram showing a state in which the upper slide pick has advanced. FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B are diagrams showing a state in which a transported object is being transported. 9A and 9B are sectional views schematically showing an example of a drive mechanism. The perspective view which showed roughly an example of the drive mechanism which can drive a pick and a slide pick interlockingly The perspective view which showed roughly an example of the drive mechanism which can drive a pick and a slide pick interlockingly

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Processing chamber, 20 ... Transfer chamber, 30 ... Load lock chamber, 50 ... Transfer apparatus, 51a ... Lower slide base, 51b ... Upper slide base, 52a ... Lower pick, 52b ... Upper pick, 53a-53c ... Rectangular frame, 54a, 54b ... slide part, 55a, 55b ... base part, 56a, 56b ... support member, 57a, 57b ... horizontal member, 57c, 57d ... vertical member, 58 ... drive mechanism, 59 ... transport control part, 60a, 60b ... slide 61a ... Lower slide pick, 61b ... Upper slide pick, 62a ... Base, 62b ... Base, 63a, 63b ... Support member, 70a ... Lower drive mechanism, 70b ... Upper drive mechanism, 71a, 71b ... Main drive portion, 72a , 72b ... sub-driving unit, 80 ... motor, 81 ... first pulley, 82 ... first driving force transmitting member, 83 ... second pooh 84 ... 1st clamp member, 85 ... Guide member, 90 ... Base, 91 ... 3rd pulley, 92 ... 2nd driving force transmission member, 93 ... 4th pulley, 94 ... 2nd clamp material, 95 ... Guide member, 96 ... idler, 97 ... reducer, G ... substrate for FPD.

Claims (11)

A lower slide base having an upper and lower slide base, and having an upper and lower slide base.
A lower pick that slides the slide portion of the lower slide base, advances and retreats with respect to the lower slide base, and conveys the object to be conveyed;
An upper pick that is disposed between the lower pick and the upper slide base, slides the slide portion of the upper slide base, advances and retreats with respect to the upper slide base, and conveys the object to be conveyed;
A plurality of frames connecting the lower slide base and the upper slide base to each other;
Equipped with,
The lower slide base, the upper slide base, and the plurality of frames constitute a box-shaped structure, and the upper pick is suspended from the upper slide base . The box-shaped structure is configured by connecting at least three frames of at least three points of a front end portion, a center portion, and a rear end portion of the lower slide base and the upper slide base. The transport apparatus according to claim 1 . The upper slide base, conveying device according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that it is connected to the inside of the plurality of frames. The said lower pick and the said upper pick convey a to-be-conveyed object mutually different, The conveying apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-3 characterized by the above-mentioned. The lower pick and the upper pick have a slide part,
A lower slide pick that supports the object to be transported, slides on a slide portion of the lower pick, and advances and retreats with respect to the lower pick;
The apparatus further comprises an upper slide pick that supports a transported body different from the transported body, slides a slide portion of the upper pick, and advances and retreats with respect to the upper pick. The conveyance apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-4 . The distance to advance and retract the lower slide pick is shorter than the distance to advance and retract the lower pick,
The transport apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein a distance of the upper slide pick to advance and retract is shorter than a distance of the upper pick to advance and retract. A lower drive mechanism for driving the lower pick and the lower slide pick;
An upper drive mechanism for driving the upper pick and the upper slide pick, and
The lower drive mechanism includes a first main drive unit that advances and retracts the lower pick, and a first sub drive unit that advances and retracts the lower slide pick,
The said upper drive mechanism is equipped with the 2nd main drive part which advances and retracts the said upper pick, and the 2nd sub drive part which advances and retracts the said upper slide pick, The Claim 5 or Claim 6 characterized by the above-mentioned. Conveying device. The first sub-drive unit is configured to move together with the lower pick;
The transport apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the second sub driving unit is configured to move together with the upper pick. The first sub drive unit is configured to advance and retract the lower slide pick in conjunction with the advance and retract operation of the lower pick by the first main drive unit;
According to claim 8, wherein the second auxiliary drive unit, characterized in that the interlocking to the upper pick advancing retracting operation by the second main driving unit is configured the upper slide pick so as to advance retracting Transport device. The transport apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9 , wherein a planar shape of the transported body is a rectangle, and a length of a shortest side of the rectangle is 2800 mm or more. A processing apparatus for processing a workpiece,
Wherein the conveying device as claimed in any one of claims 10, processing apparatus characterized by using a transfer device for transferring the object to be processed.

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