JP3623685B2 - Heat treatment equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a hot air heating type heat treatment apparatus for performing heat treatment of a glass substrate for flat panel display or a plate-like workpiece such as an electronic component using the substrate.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In order to perform heat treatment of a plate-like object such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device in an atmosphere gas such as nitrogen (N ₂ ), a heat treatment apparatus that heats the plate-like object to be treated with hot air in a heating chamber is used. .
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the conventional heat treatment apparatus, there is a problem that a temperature difference occurs in the plate-like workpiece between the upstream side and the downstream side of the hot air, and the heating temperature of the plate-like workpiece becomes uneven.
[0004]
Moreover, when processing a plate-shaped to-be-processed object in a lot unit (For example, 20 pieces in the case of the glass substrate for liquid crystal display devices), it heat-processes in the state supported by the rack in the heating chamber. After the heat treatment is completed, a plurality of plate-like objects to be processed are taken out from the rack one by one by a transfer device having a robot or the like, but it takes a long time. Therefore, the temperature of the heating chamber has been lowered to cope with the lack of heat resistance of the transfer device. If it does so, when processing the plate-shaped to-be-processed object of another lot after that, it is necessary to raise the temperature of a heating chamber. However, due to such temperature rise and fall, the temperature distribution characteristics in the heating chamber deteriorate, the heat storage energy in the furnace is lost, and the processing time becomes longer. Further, an auxiliary device such as a fin cooler for rapidly cooling the heating chamber is required so that the time required for cooling does not become long. Further, when a thermal expansion due to a rapid temperature change occurs in a high efficiency particulate filter (HEPA) filter that is normally used as a hot air filter, the degree of cleanliness is reduced because dust is generated from the glass fibers constituting the filter medium.
[0005]
Further, when processing the plate-like object to be processed in lot units, it is taken in and out of the heating chamber in a state of being accommodated in the cassette, and is heat-treated in the state of being accommodated in the cassette. When such a cassette is used, there is a need for a transfer device that takes a plate-shaped workpiece into and out of the cassette and a transfer device that takes the cassette into and out of the heat treatment device, which raises costs and increases the installation area. Further, when a heat treatment system including a plurality of heat treatment apparatuses is configured, it is necessary to operate both transfer apparatuses while managing the treatment state of each heat treatment apparatus, so that the operation is complicated.
[0006]
An object of this invention is to provide the heat processing apparatus which can solve the said problem.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The heat treatment apparatus of the present invention includes a heating chamber, a means for generating hot air for heating the plate-shaped object to be processed in the heating chamber, a dust removal filter for passing the hot air, and a plurality of plate-shaped objects in the heating chamber. A support that can support the processed object in the vertical direction with a thickness direction as the vertical direction, means for rotationally driving the support around the vertical axis, and each plate-like substrate supported by the support Means for circulating hot air so as to be blown to the workpiece from the lateral direction, and the hot air in the heating chamber flows from upstream to downstream along the front and back surfaces of the plate-like workpiece. Is formed with a hot air passage for returning the hot air that has reached the downstream to the upstream .
[0008]
According to the configuration of the present invention, it is possible to prevent a temperature difference from occurring in the plate-like workpiece between the upstream side and the downstream side of the hot air, average the heating temperature of the plate-like workpiece, and a plurality of plate-like workpieces. The processed material can be efficiently heated without uneven heating temperature.
[0009]
A cooling chamber communicating with the heating chamber; means for reciprocating the support between the heating chamber and the cooling chamber; and an opening / closing mechanism for a connection port between the heating chamber and the cooling chamber; It is preferable that the cooling chamber is arranged in parallel in the vertical direction.
Thereby, after moving a support body from a heating chamber to a cooling chamber, a plate-shaped to-be-processed object can be taken out from a support body and can be cooled. Therefore, even when the plate-shaped workpiece is removed from the support, the heating chamber can always be maintained at the processing temperature, or the temperature rise time to the processing temperature can be shortened by reducing the temperature drop from the processing temperature. Change can be eliminated. Further, the support only needs to reciprocate between the heating chamber and the cooling chamber, and high accuracy is not required for positioning and speed of the reciprocation. Therefore, the mechanism for reciprocating the support does not require a complicated configuration and does not require a complicated operation even when a plurality of heat treatment apparatuses are operated simultaneously. Further, since there is no need to cool the heating chamber, a quenching fin cooler, a cooling water utility, or the like is not necessary. Furthermore, since the plate-like workpiece can be taken in and out of the support at around room temperature, the heat resistance of the transport device is not necessary. And an installation area can be made as small as possible by arrange | positioning a heating chamber and a cooling chamber so that it may be paralleled up and down.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The hot-air heating type heat treatment system 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 covers three hot-air heating type heat treatment devices 2 arranged in parallel in the lateral direction, a single transfer device 4, and the heat treatment device 2 and the transfer device 4. And a cover 6.
[0011]
Each heat treatment apparatus 2 includes a heating chamber 13 constituted by the internal space of the furnace body 12 supported by the support base 11, and a cooling chamber 14 that communicates with the heating chamber 13 through a connection port 12 a on the bottom surface of the furnace body 12. A rack 15 that is a support for supporting the plate-like object 3 such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, and hot air that heats the plate-like object 3 supported by the rack 15 in the heating chamber 13. A generated hot air heating mechanism 16, a dust removal filter 17 that passes the hot air, a moving mechanism 18 that linearly reciprocates the rack 15 between the heating chamber 13 and the cooling chamber 14, and the rack 15 up and down And a rotation mechanism 19 that rotates around the direction axis.
[0012]
The cooling chamber 14 is constituted by a space below the furnace body 12, whereby the heating chamber 13 and the cooling chamber 14 are arranged in parallel vertically. In this cooling chamber 14, the plate-like workpiece 3 can be cooled. As shown in FIG. 3, a blower fan unit 31a and an exhaust fan unit 31b are provided so as to sandwich the cooling chamber 14 as means for forcibly air-cooling the plate-like object 3 to be processed.
[0013]
In the heating chamber 13 and the cooling chamber 14, the rack 15 supports a plurality of plate-like objects 3 to be taken out one by one in the horizontal direction, and supports the thickness direction in the vertical direction with a vertical interval. For example, what is supported through a claw protruding from the support can be used.
[0014]
The hot air heating mechanism 16 generates and circulates hot air that heats the plate-like object 3 in the heating chamber 13. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, an inner wall 21 is provided inside the heating chamber 13. A hot air passage is formed between the front and rear surfaces and the upper surface of the inner wall 21 and the inner surface of the furnace body 12. The rack 15 can be disposed inside the inner wall 21, and a heater 22 and a hot air circulation fan 23 are attached to the furnace body 12 behind the inner wall 21. A HEPA filter is attached to the rear surface of the inner wall 21 as the filter 17, and a plurality of ventilation holes 25 are formed on the front surface. As shown by arrows in FIG. 1, the atmosphere of nitrogen or the like in the heating chamber 13 heated by the heater 22 is circulated by the fan 23, so that each plate shape supported by the rack 15 via the filter 17. The hot air is blown to the workpiece 3 from the lateral direction. The hot air flows along the front and back surfaces of each plate-like object 3, and then reaches the heater 22 through the vent 25 and is heated again. The filter 17 is a low-cost filter that generates dust from the glass fiber constituting the filter medium when thermal expansion due to a rapid temperature change occurs.
[0015]
The rotating mechanism 19 includes a rotating table 19a that supports the rack 15, a supporting table 19b of the rotating table 19a, and an actuator 19c that rotationally drives the rotating table 19a about the vertical axis. The rotation of the turntable 19a may be continuous rotation or intermittent rotation. The support base 19b is sized to close the connection port 12a. As a result, the plate-like object 3 supported by the rack 15 can be rotated about the vertical direction intersecting in the horizontal direction, which is the direction of blowing hot air to the plate-like object 3.
[0016]
As shown in FIG. 1, the moving mechanism 18 includes a slider 41 that is linearly reciprocated vertically by a support base 41 disposed in the cooling chamber 14 and a drive mechanism 43 supported by the support base 41. 42. The drive mechanism 43 is constituted by a pneumatic cylinder, for example. The moving direction of the slider 42 coincides with the parallel direction of the heating chamber 13 and the cooling chamber 14. The rack 15 is supported by the slider 42 via the rotation mechanism 19. The reciprocating movement of the slider 42 causes the rack 15 together with the rotating mechanism 19 to be disposed in the cooling chamber 14 as indicated by a solid line in FIG. 1 and to be disposed in the heating chamber 13 as indicated by a two-dot chain line. And positioned.
[0017]
A heat retaining shutter 51 is provided as a mechanism for opening and closing the connection port 12a. The heat retaining shutter 51 can be driven by a driving device (not shown) between a position where the connection port 12a is closed as shown by a solid line in FIG. 1 and a position where the connection port 12a is opened as shown by a two-dot chain line. It is said that.
[0018]
The transport device 4 supports the plate-like object 3 to be supported by the rack 15 in the cooling chamber 14 and also serves as a mechanism for taking out the plate-like object 3 supported by the rack 15 in the cooling chamber 14. And an elevating mechanism 62 that elevates and lowers the robot 61 between the solid line position and the two-dot chain line position in FIG. 1, and the robot 61 and the elevating mechanism 62 are driven laterally along the parallel direction of the heat treatment apparatus 2. And a mechanism 63. The robot 61 has a support fork 61 a for the plate-like object 3 and an extendable arm 61 b for the fork 61 a, and puts the plate-like object 3 in and out of the rack 15. The lifting mechanism 62 moves the robot 61 up and down. The traveling mechanism 63 positions the robot 61 and the lifting mechanism 62 at positions facing the rack 15.
[0019]
As shown in FIG. 1, a cassette 20 that is transported from another process is disposed on the side of the cover 6. A plurality of plate-like workpieces 3 are supported by the cassette 20 at intervals in the vertical direction so that they can be taken out one by one in the horizontal direction. The transport device 4 positions the robot 61 and the elevating mechanism 62 at positions facing the cassette 20 by the traveling mechanism 63, supports the plate-like workpiece 3 on the cassette 20, and is supported by the cassette 20. The plate-like workpiece 3 can be taken out.
[0020]
The cover 6 is provided with an openable and closable opening facing the cassette 20. An internal air cleaning device 71 is attached to the cover 6.
[0021]
When heat treatment is performed with the above configuration, the connection port 12a of each furnace body 12 is closed by the heat retaining shutter 51, the inside of the heating chamber 13 is maintained at the processing temperature (for example, 230 ° C.) by the hot air heating mechanism 16, and the rack 15 is cooled. Place in chamber 14. Next, the plate-like object 3 is taken out from the cassette 20 by the transport device 4 and then supported by the rack 15. Next, the connection port 12 a is opened, and the rack 15 is moved into the heating chamber 13 by the moving mechanism 18. Then, the connection port 12 a is closed by the support base 19 b of the rotation mechanism 19. Thereafter, the plate-like object 3 is heated by the hot air heating mechanism 16. During this heating, the rack 15 is rotated about the vertical axis by the rotation mechanism 19 as shown in FIG. When the heat treatment is finished, the rotation of the rack 15 is stopped, the rack 15 is moved into the cooling chamber 14 by the moving mechanism 18, and the connection port 12 a is closed again by the heat retaining shutter 51. In the cooling chamber 14, the plate-like object 3 is allowed to cool to, for example, 200 ° C., and then forcibly air-cooled by the blower fan unit 31 a and the exhaust fan unit 31 b. The cooling air for forced air cooling is blown from the lateral direction along the parallel direction of the heat treatment apparatus 2 to the plate-like workpiece 3 supported by the rack 15 in the cooling chamber 14. After that, the plate-like object 3 is taken out from the rack 15 by the transport device 4 and then supported by the cassette 20.
[0022]
According to the above configuration, by rotating the rack 15 around the vertical axis in the heating chamber 13, the plate-like workpiece 3 is rotated around the vertical axis, and the plate is moved upstream and downstream of the hot air. It is possible to prevent the temperature difference from occurring in the object to be processed 3 and to average the heating temperature of the plate object 3. In particular, since the plate-like object 3 is supported by the rack 15 with the thickness direction being the vertical direction and spaced apart vertically, and hot air is blown from the lateral direction, the plurality of plate-like objects 3 are heated by the rotation. It can be heated efficiently without temperature deviation. Further, since the heating chamber 13 and the cooling chamber 14 are arranged in parallel vertically, the area required for the installation of both the chambers 13 and 14 is approximately ½ that when both the chambers are arranged in the horizontal direction, and the installation of the system 1 The area can be made as small as possible. Furthermore, after the rack 15 is moved from the heating chamber 13 to the cooling chamber 14, the plate-like object 3 can be taken out of the rack 15 and cooled. Therefore, even when the plate-shaped workpiece 3 is taken out from the rack 15, the heating chamber 13 is always maintained at the processing temperature, or the temperature rise time to the processing temperature can be shortened by reducing the temperature drop from the processing temperature. Thereby, the temperature distribution characteristics in the heating chamber 13 can be improved, the processing time can be shortened, the cost can be reduced, and a rapid temperature change can be eliminated to improve the cleanliness when the HEPA filter 17 is employed. Further, since it is not necessary to cool the heating chamber 13, a quenching fin cooler, a cooling water utility, etc. are unnecessary, and the plate-like workpiece 3 can be taken in and out of the rack 15 near room temperature. The cost can be suppressed. Further, the rack 15 only needs to be reciprocated by the moving mechanism 18 between the heating chamber 13 and the cooling chamber 14, and high accuracy is not required for positioning and speed of the reciprocating movement. Therefore, the moving mechanism 18 does not require a complicated configuration, and does not require a complicated operation even when operating a plurality of heat treatment apparatuses 2 at the same time. Further, the plate-like object 3 supported by the rack 15 in the cooling chamber 14 is allowed to cool to about 200 ° C. to prevent breakage, and thereafter forced air cooling can reduce the cooling time.
[0023]
In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment. For example, the number of hot air heating type heat treatment apparatuses is not limited. The cooling chamber may not be covered with the cover. Moreover, it is not limited to the blowing direction of the hot air to the plate-like object to be processed, as long as the plate-like object to be rotated does not rotate around the blowing direction.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, the heating temperature of the plate-like workpiece can be averaged, the installation area is made as small as possible, and the temperature distribution characteristics in the heating chamber are improved without complicating the operation and structure. In addition, it is possible to provide a heat treatment apparatus that can shorten the processing time, prevent breakage of the plate-like workpiece, reduce the cost, and improve the cleanliness when using the HEPA filter.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a heat treatment system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan sectional view of a heat treatment system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Explanation of]
2 Heat treatment apparatus 3 Plate-like workpiece 12a Connection port 13 Heating chamber 14 Cooling chamber 15 Rack 16 Hot air heating mechanism 18 Moving mechanism 19 Rotating mechanism 51 Thermal insulation shutter

Claims (1)

A heating chamber;
Means for generating hot air for heating the plate-shaped object in the heating chamber;
A filter for dust removal that passes the hot air,
A support body capable of supporting a plurality of plate-like objects to be processed in the heating chamber, with the thickness direction being an up-down direction and spaced vertically;
Means for rotationally driving the support around the vertical axis;
Means for circulating hot air so that each plate-like object supported by the support is blown from the lateral direction ;
A cooling chamber leading to the heating chamber,
Means for reciprocating the support between the heating chamber and the cooling chamber;
An opening and closing mechanism of the connection port between the heating chamber and the cooling chamber;
Means for forcibly air-cooling the plate-like object in the cooling chamber ,
The hot air in the heating chamber is assumed to flow from upstream to downstream along the front and back surfaces of the plate-like workpiece,
Inside the heating chamber, a hot air passage is formed to return the hot air that has reached the downstream to the upstream ,
A heat treatment apparatus in which the heating chamber and the cooling chamber are arranged in parallel vertically .

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