WO2011016369A1 - Pneumatic levitation-type substrate conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

A pneumatic levitation-type substrate conveying device (1) comprises: support sections (3) arranged side-by-side with predetermined spacings therebetween in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction and jetting air to maintain a substrate (10) in a levitated position; and a conveyance section (6) for conveying in the conveyance direction the substrate (10) which is being levitated above the support sections (3). The pneumatic levitation-type substrate conveying device (1) is provided with a drive section (9) which , while the substrate (10) having been sent to a predetermined position by the conveyance section (6) is being levitated above the support sections (3), rotates the substrate (10) about the center thereof. Ball-equipped supports (14) for supporting the substrate (10) are provided to at least some of the positions between adjacent support sections (3), said positions being those through which the corners of the substrate (10) pass when the substrate (10) is rotated at the predetermined position. The configuration prevents the substrate (10) from being cracked or damaged, and, as a result, the throughput of products is improved.

Description

Air floating substrate transfer device

The present invention relates to an air floating substrate transport apparatus, and more particularly to an air floating substrate transport apparatus that rotates a substrate within the apparatus.

In recent years, an air levitation type substrate support device that supports a glass substrate in a floating state by spraying high-pressure air from below the glass substrate has been used as an apparatus for processing a glass substrate used in a liquid crystal panel. ing. As a prior document disclosing such a substrate support apparatus, there is JP 2008-147293 A.

The substrate support apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-147293 includes an X-direction moving device, a θ-direction rotating device, an air levitation device, and the like. In this substrate support device, the temperature of the air supplied to the air levitation device is kept constant, thereby suppressing the temperature change of the substrate to prevent the expansion and contraction of the substrate and improving the processing accuracy of the substrate processing. .

JP 2008-147293 A

Generally, as described in FIG. 1 of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-147293, the air levitation apparatus is disposed at a predetermined interval in a direction orthogonal to the substrate transport direction. This is because the substrate is transported by the robot arm when the substrate is carried into or out of the substrate support device. The robot arm has a comb-like arm, and the air levitation device interferes with the robot arm when the substrate is loaded or unloaded by arranging the air levitation device at an interval larger than the width of the teeth. To prevent it.

In the substrate support device described in Patent Document 1, the substrate is rotated by a θ direction rotation device in order to perform alignment processing. At this time, the substrate is rotated while the substrate is levitated by the air levitation device. However, since the air levitation device is arranged at an interval as described above, air is injected onto the rotating substrate. There are places that are not attached.

When the air is not sprayed around the corner of the substrate, deflection due to the weight of the substrate occurs around the corner of the substrate. Further, when the air spraying is unbalanced at the end portion of the substrate, the end portion of the substrate is supported while being inclined. When the substrate is rotated in a state where the corner of the substrate is bent or when the end of the substrate is inclined and supported, the corner of the substrate contacts the upper part of the air levitation device. There is a case. In this case, since the substrate is cracked or scratched and becomes a defective product, there is a problem that the yield of the product is lowered.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and suppresses the generation of cracks or scratches on the substrate caused by the substrate contacting the air levitation device when the substrate is rotated while the substrate is levitated. An object of the present invention is to provide an air levitation type substrate transfer device capable of improving the yield of products.

The air levitation type substrate transport device according to the present invention is a device for transporting a substrate in a state of being floated by spraying air onto a rectangular substrate from below. In this air levitation type substrate transport apparatus, a plurality of support portions that are arranged in parallel with each other at a predetermined interval in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction, and which blows air and maintains the substrate in a levitated state. A transport unit that sends the substrate floating above the support unit in the transport direction. In addition, the air levitation type substrate transfer device includes a drive unit that rotates the substrate sent to a predetermined position by the transfer unit around the center of the substrate while floating above the support unit. An auxiliary support portion that supports the substrate at a height when the substrate is floated at least at a part of a position between adjacent support portions through which corner portions of the substrate pass when the substrate rotates at the predetermined position. Is provided.

According to the above configuration, when the substrate is rotated in a floating state, the corner portion of the substrate can be supported by the auxiliary support portion at a position where the air between the support portions is not ejected. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of deflection at the corner portion of the substrate and the support of the end portion of the substrate being inclined. As a result, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of cracks or scratches on the substrate due to the substrate coming into contact with the support portion, and to improve the product yield.

Preferably, in the air levitation type substrate transport apparatus, the substrate is transported at a position between the support portions and through which the corner portion of the substrate passes when the substrate rotates at the predetermined position. An auxiliary support portion is provided at a position farthest from the center of the substrate in a direction orthogonal to the direction.

In this case, since the corner of the substrate where air is not sprayed can be supported by the auxiliary support portion at the position where the air is sprayed most unbalanced to the edge of the substrate, the corner of the substrate is not bent. Generation | occurrence | production and tilting and supporting the edge part of a board | substrate can be suppressed effectively.

Preferably, the auxiliary support portion supports the substrate at a height in a state where the substrate is levitated by the support portion. In this case, it is possible to prevent the bending of the corner portion of the substrate and to support the end portion of the substrate with an inclination.

Preferably, the auxiliary support part is movable in the vertical direction. In this case, when the substrate is rotated, the auxiliary support portion is positioned at a height for supporting the substrate, and the auxiliary support portion is lowered so as to be separated from the substrate except when the substrate is rotated. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the robot arm that transports the substrate from interfering with the auxiliary support portion when the substrate is carried into or out of the air floating substrate transport apparatus.

Preferably, in the air levitation type substrate transport apparatus, when the substrate is rotated, the auxiliary support portion is raised so that the auxiliary support portion is positioned at a height for supporting the substrate, and after the rotation of the substrate is completed, A control unit for lowering the auxiliary support unit so as to be separated from the control unit. In this case, since the operation of the drive unit and the operation of the auxiliary support unit can be synchronized by the control unit, the substrate can be processed efficiently and the processing tact time can be shortened.

In the air levitation type substrate transport apparatus according to the present invention, the auxiliary support portion may have a ball bear that supports the substrate by a sphere that can rotate in all directions. In this case, the corners of the substrate can be reliably supported by supporting the lower surfaces of the corners of the substrate with the vertices of the balls of the ball bear. Therefore, even when the rotation speed when rotating the substrate increases, the substrate can be reliably prevented from coming into contact with the upper portion of the support portion.

Alternatively, the auxiliary support portion may have an air nozzle that blows air from below to support the substrate. In this case, by blowing air from the air nozzle onto the lower surface of the corner portion of the substrate, the substrate corner may bend without being in direct contact with the substrate, and the end portion of the substrate is inclined and supported. Can be prevented. Therefore, it is possible to prevent scratches or contact marks from being generated on the lower surface of the substrate.

According to the present invention, when the substrate is rotated in a floating state, the corner portion of the substrate can be supported by the auxiliary support portion at a position where the air between the support portions is not ejected. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of deflection at the corner portion of the substrate and the support of the end portion of the substrate being inclined. As a result, it is possible to prevent the substrate from being cracked or damaged due to the substrate coming into contact with the support portion, and to improve the product yield.

It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the air floating type board | substrate conveyance apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state by which the board | substrate was conveyed by the process part in the air levitation type substrate conveying apparatus which concerns on the embodiment. It is a top view which shows the state by which the board | substrate was processed in the predetermined position. It is a top view which shows the state in which the board | substrate is rotated by the drive part. It is a top view which shows the state by which the board | substrate was rotated 90 degrees by the drive part. It is a top view which shows the state in which the board | substrate was rotated slightly by the drive part. FIG. 5 is a view of an end portion on a short side of the substrate of FIG. FIG. 5 is a view of the VI part of FIG. 4 as viewed from the front side in the substrate transport direction when the auxiliary support part is not provided. It is a top view which shows the state in which the board | substrate which completed the process is rotated. It is the top view which showed the position which provides a ball bear. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the ball bear which concerns on the same embodiment. It is a side view which shows the state in which the ball bear is supporting the corner | angular part of a board | substrate. It is a side view which shows the state in which the ball bear is waiting. It is a side view which shows the state in which the board | substrate is rotated using an air nozzle as an auxiliary | assistant support part. It is a side view which shows the state by which the board | substrate is supported by the air nozzle of a modification. It is a side view which shows the state which the air nozzle of a modification is waiting.

Hereinafter, an air levitation type substrate transfer apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an air levitation type substrate transfer apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where the substrate is transferred to the processing unit in the air floating substrate transfer apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the air floating substrate transport apparatus of the present embodiment, the substrate 10 is transported in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 2 so that the state shown in FIG. 1 is changed to the state shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the air floating substrate transport apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention causes a rectangular substrate 10 to float by blowing air onto the upper surface of a base 2 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape. A plurality of support portions 3 are provided to maintain the state. The rectangle includes a rectangle and a square.

Each of the plurality of support portions 3 is spaced apart from each other in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the substrate 10 so as not to interfere with a robot arm (not shown) that carries the substrate 10 into the air floating substrate transport apparatus 1. They are arranged in parallel. Further, each of the plurality of support portions 3 is disposed with a slight gap therebetween in the transport direction of the substrate 10. In the present embodiment, the support portions 3 are arranged in 7 rows in the transport direction of the substrate 10 and 10 rows in the direction orthogonal to the 10 transport direction of the substrate. However, the placement of the support portions 3 is not limited thereto.

In a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the substrate 10, a guide unit 5 including a guide rail and a ball screw (not shown) that serve as a movement path of the holding unit 4 that holds the substrate 10 outside the support unit 3 arranged on the outermost side. Is formed. The two guide portions 5 are formed so as to face each other and are arranged in parallel with the transport direction of the substrate 10.

A holding unit 4 that holds the substrate 10 is disposed on the upper surface of each guide unit 5, and in this embodiment, the corners of the substrate 10 are held and transported by the two holding units 4. Since the two holding portions 4 can translate and move in the transport direction, the substrate 10 can be transported while maintaining the alignment of the substrate 10. A conveyance unit 6 is constituted by the guide unit 5 and the holding unit 4. The substrate 10 floating above the support unit 3 is sent by the transport unit 6 in the transport direction.

The two pillars 11 having a quadrangular prism shape are arranged so as to face both side surfaces on the long side of the base 2 on the front end side in the transport direction of the substrate 10 in the air floating substrate transport apparatus 1. A transverse beam 12 having a quadrangular prism shape is disposed on the upper side of each column 11 so as to bridge between the two columns 11.

A processing unit 13 is provided on the side surface of the horizontal beam 12 to irradiate and expose light downward. Since the processing unit 13 is formed to be longer than the width of the substrate 10, the entire width direction of the substrate 10 conveyed below the processing unit 13 can be processed at a time.

In order to process the substrate 10 by the processing unit 13, the substrate 10 is sent to a predetermined position by the transport unit 6. A drive unit 9 that rotates the substrate 10 around the center of the substrate 10 as a rotation center is disposed below the center position of the substrate 10 sent to a predetermined position. The drive unit 9 includes a chucking 7 for attracting the lower surface of the substrate 10 to grasp the substrate 10, a shaft portion 8 in which a pipe for sucking or ejecting air from the upper surface of the chucking 7 is formed, And a drive control unit (not shown) connected to the unit 8.

On the upper surface of the chucking 7, an opening (not shown) is formed which communicates with the pipe of the shaft 8 and serves as an air passage. When the substrate 10 is sucked, air is sucked from the opening while the lower surface of the substrate 10 and the upper surface of the chucking 7 are in contact with each other. When removing the suction of the substrate 10, air is injected from the opening. After the rotation of the substrate 10 is completed, the driving unit 9 slightly descends below the substrate 10 and stands by. Next, when the substrate 10 is rotated, the drive unit 9 is controlled by the drive control unit so that the upper surface of the chucking 7 rises until it contacts the lower surface of the substrate 10.

The chucking 7 of the present embodiment is formed from two linear portions orthogonal to each other. However, the shape of the chucking 7 is not limited to this, and a plane for grasping the substrate 10 may be formed on the upper surface. . When the drive unit 9 grasps the substrate 10 and rotates, the substrate 10 is rotated in a state of floating above the support unit 3.

The ball bear 14 which is an auxiliary support part which supports the board | substrate 10 in at least one part of the position between adjacent support parts 3 through which the corner | angular part of the board | substrate 10 at the time of the board | substrate 10 rotating in said predetermined position passes. Is provided. The arrangement of the ball bears 14 in this embodiment will be described later.

Hereinafter, in order to explain the purpose of disposing the ball bear 14 of the present embodiment, the operation of the air floating substrate transfer apparatus will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate 10 carried into the air levitation substrate transport apparatus 1 is maintained in a state of being floated by receiving the air ejected from the support portion 3 on the lower surface. As shown in FIG. 2, the substrate 10 is transported to a predetermined position below the processing unit 13 by the transport unit 6.

FIG. 3A is a plan view showing a state in which the substrate is processed at a predetermined position. FIG. 3B is a plan view illustrating a state in which the substrate is rotated by the driving unit. FIG. 3C is a plan view showing a state in which the substrate is rotated by 90 ° by the driving unit.

In this embodiment, a photo-curable resist is formed on the upper surface of the substrate 10 and it is necessary to expose the peripheral portion of the substrate 10. Therefore, first, as shown in FIG. 3A, both end portions 15 on the long side of the substrate 10 are exposed by light irradiated from the processing unit 13. When exposing, both ends 15 may be exposed simultaneously, or each end may be exposed separately.

After the exposure of both ends 15 is completed, it is necessary to expose both ends on the short side that are not exposed. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3B, the substrate 10 is rotated by the drive unit 9 while being floated above the support unit 3. As shown in FIG. 3C, the rotation by the drive unit 9 is completed in a state where the substrate 10 is rotated by 90 °. In this state, since both ends on the short side of the substrate 10 are arranged in parallel with the processing unit 13 shown in FIG. 2, both ends on the short side of the substrate 10 are irradiated by light emitted from the processing unit 13. Can be exposed. When exposing, both ends on the short side of the substrate 10 may be exposed simultaneously, or each end may be exposed separately.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a state in which the substrate is slightly rotated by the drive unit. As shown in FIG. 4, when the substrate 10 is slightly rotated from the state where the substrate 10 is arranged so that the longitudinal direction of the substrate 10 coincides with the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the substrate 10, Two regions are generated at both ends on the short side.

The first region 16 is a region where the support portion 3 exists below the substrate 10 and air is blown from the support portion 3 to the lower surface of the substrate 10. The second region 17 is a region where the support portion 3 does not exist below the substrate 10 and air is not sprayed from the support portion 3 to the lower surface of the substrate 10. As described above, the first region 16 and the second region 17 are generated at both ends on the short side of the substrate 10, whereby the substrate 10 is supported by blowing air at both ends on the short side of the substrate 10. Is unbalanced.

FIG. 5 is a view of the short side end of the substrate of FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, at both ends of the short side of the substrate 10, the height at which the substrate 10 is supported differs depending on the position and is inclined depending on the amount of air 18 ejected from the support portion 3. Yes. Further, since air is not sprayed onto the lower surface of the substrate 10 in the second region 17, deflection due to the weight of the corner of the substrate 10 is likely to occur. For example, when the substrate 10 having a long side length of about 3 m and a thickness of 0.7 mm is lifted by 0.5 mm by the support portion 3, a deflection of about 1 mm to 2 mm occurs.

FIG. 6 is a view of the VI portion of FIG. 4 as viewed from the front side in the substrate transport direction when the auxiliary support portion is not provided. As shown in FIG. 6, when the substrate 10 is rotated in a state where the short-side end portion of the substrate 10 is supported while being inclined, or in a state where the corner portion of the substrate 10 is bent. First, the tip of the substrate 10 comes into contact with the upper part of the support 3. In this case, the substrate 10 is cracked or scratched on the lower surface of the substrate 10.

After the processing of both ends on the short side of the substrate 10 is completed, the substrate 10 rotates once from the state where the substrate 10 is transported to the predetermined position, and the longitudinal direction of the substrate 10 and the transport direction of the substrate 10 It is rotated by the drive unit 9 so that the direction orthogonal to is coincident with the direction.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a state where the substrate that has been processed is rotated. As shown in FIG. 7, the short-side end of the substrate 10 immediately before the substrate 10 is placed so that the longitudinal direction of the substrate 10 coincides with the direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the substrate 10. The first region 16 and the second region 17 are generated in each of the above.

Also in this case, as in the case shown in FIG. 4, the support of the substrate 10 by the blowing of air is unbalanced at both ends on the short side of the substrate 10, so that the substrate 10 is supported depending on the position. Different heights are inclined. Further, in the second region 17, since air is not sprayed on the lower surface of the substrate 10, deflection is likely to occur due to the weight of the corner of the substrate 10.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a position where the ball bear is provided. As shown in FIG. 8, in the air floating substrate transfer apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the position of the second region 17 of the substrate 10 shown in FIG. 4 and the second region 17 of the substrate 10 shown in FIG. A ball bear 14 as an auxiliary support portion is disposed at the position.

The reason why the ball bear 14 is arranged at the above position is as follows. While the above position rotates the substrate 10, the air is applied to the lower surface of the corner portion of the substrate 10 in the region where the degree of unbalance of the amount of air blown to the lower surface of the end portion of the substrate 10 is the largest. This is because the position cannot be sprayed. Specifically, in the short section of the short side of the substrate 10 where the above position is located, air between the support portions 3 is ejected in a region where the buoyancy due to air changes abruptly. This is because the position is not.

For this reason, the end of the short side of the substrate 10 is supported most inclined at the above position. In addition, since the short-side end of the substrate 10 is farthest from the center of the substrate 10 fixedly supported by the driving unit 9, the degree of freedom of deformation is large and bending is likely to occur.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the ball bear 14 is a position between the support portions 3, and the substrate 10 is among the positions through which the corners of the substrate 10 pass when the substrate 10 rotates at the predetermined position. Is disposed at a position farthest from the center of the substrate 10 in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction.

In other words, the ball bear 14 is a distance vector from the center of the substrate 10 when the substrate 10 is rotated at the predetermined position to the position between the support portions 3 and the corner portion of the substrate 10 passes. The component in the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the substrate 10 is provided at the position where it becomes the largest.

By disposing the ball bear 14 at the above position, it is possible to effectively suppress the occurrence of deflection at the corner of the substrate 10 and the support of the substrate 10 in an inclined manner on the short side. Can do. As a result, it is possible to prevent the corner portion of the substrate 10 from contacting the upper portion of the support portion 3.

In the present embodiment, the ball bears 14 are arranged in the four second regions 17, but the position and quantity of the ball bears 14 are not limited to this. The ball bear 14 is provided so as to support the substrate 10 at at least a part of the position between the adjacent support portions 3 through which corners of the substrate 10 pass when the substrate 10 rotates at a predetermined position. Just do it.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the ball bear according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, the ball bear 14 according to the present embodiment includes a sphere 19 that contacts the lower surface of the substrate 10 to support the substrate 10, and a storage unit 20 that holds the sphere 19 so as to be rotatable in all directions. It has. The heights of the vertices of all the spheres 19 held by the storage unit 20 are arranged to be the same. In addition, the sphere 19 is held by the housing portion 20 so as to be in rolling contact with the substrate 10 when it comes into contact with the rotating substrate 10.

In this embodiment, in order to make the board | substrate 10 hard to get a damage | wound as the sphere 19, what is resin-coated on the surface of a steel ball is used, but even if a resin sphere is used as the sphere 19 Good.

The accommodating part 20 is formed on the upper surface of the flat support plate 21. In the present embodiment, nine accommodating portions 20 and spheres 19 are formed on the upper surface of the support plate 21, but the number of accommodating portions 20 and spheres 19 that are formed is not limited thereto.

A shaft portion 22 is connected to the lower surface of the support plate 21. The shaft portion 22 is connected to a guide portion 23 formed with a guide rail and a ball screw (not shown). The shaft portion 22 is connected along the guide portion 23 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction. The ball screw of the guide unit 23 is connected by a wiring 24 to a stepping motor 25 that is a control unit that controls driving of the ball screw.

FIG. 10A is a side view showing a state in which the ball bear is supporting the corner portion of the substrate. FIG. 10B is a side view showing a state where the ball bear is waiting. As shown in FIG. 10A, when the substrate 10 is rotated, the ball bear 14 is adjusted so that the height of the top of the sphere 19 coincides with the height of the lower surface of the substrate 10 when the substrate 10 is floated. Is done.

Specifically, when the substrate 10 is rotated, the ball screw of the guide portion 23 is driven by the stepping motor 25 and the shaft portion 22 is raised. When the height of the apex of the sphere 19 coincides with the height of the lower surface of the substrate 10 that is levitated by the support portion 3, the stepping motor 25 stops. The ball bear 14 of the present embodiment supports the substrate 10 at a height in a state where the substrate 10 is floated.

Therefore, it is possible to prevent the bending of the corner portion of the substrate 10 and the support of the substrate 10 with the inclined end on the short side. However, it is only necessary to support the corner portion of the substrate 10 with the ball bear 14 and prevent the substrate 10 and the upper portion of the support portion 3 from coming into contact with each other. There is no need to support it.

As shown in FIG. 10B, when the substrate 10 is not rotated, the ball bear 14 stands by at a position below the lower surface of the substrate 10 in a state where the substrate 10 is lifted. In this waiting state, the ball bear 14 is adjusted so as not to be positioned in the avoidance area 26 where the robot arm or the like enters.

Specifically, after the rotation of the substrate 10 is completed, the ball screw of the guide portion 23 is driven by the stepping motor 25, and the shaft portion 22 is lowered. When the position of the apex of the sphere 19 deviates from the avoidance area 26, the stepping motor 25 stops.

As described above, when the substrate 10 is rotated by the stepping motor 25 which is the control unit, the ball bear 14 is raised so as to be disposed at the support position of the substrate 10, and after the rotation of the substrate 10 is completed, The ball bear 14 is lowered so as to be separated from the substrate 10. Thus, the operation of the drive unit 9 and the operation of the ball bear 14 are synchronized. As a result, the substrate 10 is processed efficiently, and the processing time of the substrate 10 is shortened.

Further, since the lower surface of the corner portion of the substrate 10 is supported by the apex of the sphere 19 of the ball bear 14, the corner portion of the substrate 10 is reliably supported. Therefore, even when the rotation speed when rotating the substrate 10 is increased, the substrate 10 is reliably prevented from coming into contact with the upper portion of the support portion 3.

Hereinafter, an air floating substrate transport apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 2
FIG. 11 is a side view showing a state in which the substrate is rotated using an air nozzle as an auxiliary support portion. Since it is the same as that of Embodiment 1 about structures other than an auxiliary | assistant support part, description is not repeated. As shown in FIG. 11, in the air floating substrate transport apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, an air nozzle 31 is provided as an auxiliary support portion.

The air nozzle 31 is composed of a nozzle part 27 that is a jet outlet for ejecting air 29 and a pipe part 28 in which an air pipe is formed. The piping unit 28 is connected to a pump (not shown) that supplies air 29. The air nozzle 31 is disposed outside the avoidance region 26 between the adjacent support portions 3. Therefore, it is not always necessary to provide the air nozzle 31 with a moving means for moving the air nozzle 31 in the vertical direction, so that the apparatus cost can be reduced.

When the substrate 10 is rotated, air 29 is jetted upward from the nozzle portion 27 of the air nozzle 31. When the substrate 10 is not rotated, the ejection of the air 29 is stopped. With this configuration, the air nozzle 31 can spray the air 29 onto the lower surface of the substrate 10 when the corner portion of the substrate 10 passes above the air nozzle 31. Therefore, in the second region 17 shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 7, the air 29 can be sprayed onto the lower surface of the substrate 10 to eliminate the unbalance of the air spraying. As a result, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of deflection at the corners of the substrate 10 and the tilted support of the short side end of the substrate 10.

Thus, the substrate 10 can be supported without directly contacting the lower surface of the substrate 10 by spraying and supporting the air 29 on the lower surface of the substrate 10 by the air nozzle 31. Therefore, it is possible to prevent scratches and contact marks from being generated on the lower surface of the substrate 10.

FIG. 12A is a side view showing a state where the substrate is supported by a modified air nozzle. FIG. 12B is a side view showing a state in which the modified air nozzle is on standby. As shown in FIG. 12A, the air nozzle 32 which is a modification includes a nozzle portion 27 which is an ejection port for ejecting air 29 and a piping portion 28 in which an air piping is formed. The piping unit 28 is connected to a pump (not shown) that supplies air 29.

The piping part 28 is connected to a guide part 30 in which a guide rail and a ball screw (not shown) are formed. The piping part 28 is slidably connected along the guide part 30 and is moved in the vertical direction by a stepping motor 25 which is a control part.

The modified air nozzle 32 is arranged in the vicinity of the side surface of the support portion 3 through which the substrate 10 passes first in the rotation direction of the substrate 10. Further, the nozzle portion 27 is directed upward in the middle between the support portions 3. In this manner, by arranging the air nozzle 32, the air 29 can be sprayed to a location where the buoyancy due to the air ejected from the support portion 3 is minimized. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent the bending of the corner portion of the substrate 10 and the tilted support of the short side end portion of the substrate 10.

As shown in FIG. 12B, after the rotation of the substrate 10 is completed, the air nozzle 32 is moved down away from the substrate 10. Specifically, the pipe part 28 slides along the guide part 30 by the stepping motor 25 which is a control part, and is lowered until the tip of the nozzle part 27 is located outside the avoidance region 26. At this time, the ejection of the air 29 from the nozzle part 27 is stopped. Thus, except when the substrate 10 is rotated, the air nozzle 32 is kept on standby, so that the robot arm and the air nozzle 32 can be prevented from interfering with each other.

In addition, the said embodiment disclosed this time is an illustration in all the points, Comprising: It does not become the basis of a limited interpretation. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention is not interpreted only by the above-described embodiments, but is defined based on the description of the scope of claims. In addition, meanings equivalent to the claims and all modifications within the scope are included.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Air floating type board | substrate conveyance apparatus, 2 base, 3 support part, 4 holding | maintenance part, 5 guide part, 6 conveyance part, 7 chucking, 8 axial part, 9 drive part, 10 board | substrate, 11 support | pillar, 12 cross beam, 13 process Part, 14 ball bear, 15 both end parts, 16 1st field, 17 2nd field, 18, 29 air, 19 ball, 20 receiving part, 21 support plate, 22 shaft part, 23, 30
Guide part, 24 wiring, 25 stepping motor, 26 avoidance area, 27 nozzle part, 28 piping part, 31, 32 air nozzle.

Claims (7)

An air levitation type substrate transport apparatus (1) for transporting the substrate (10) in a state of being floated by blowing air from below the substrate (10) to a rectangular substrate (10),
A plurality of support portions (3) arranged in parallel to each other at a predetermined interval in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction, and maintaining the substrate (10) in a floating state by blowing out air;
A transport section (6) for sending the substrate (10) floating above the support section (3) in the transport direction;
Drive for rotating the substrate (10) sent to a predetermined position by the transport unit (6) around the center of the substrate (10) in a state of floating above the support unit (3) Part (9),
At least part of the position between the adjacent support portions (3) through which the corner portion of the substrate (10) passes when the substrate (10) rotates at the predetermined position, is placed on the substrate (10). ) Is provided with an auxiliary support part for supporting the air floating substrate transport device (1). Among the positions between the support portions (3), the corners of the substrate (10) pass when the substrate (10) rotates at the predetermined position. The air levitation type substrate transport apparatus (1) according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary support portion is provided at a position farthest from the center of the substrate (10) in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of . The said auxiliary | assistant support part supports the said board | substrate (10) by the height in the state by which the said board | substrate (10) was levitated by the said support part (3), The range of Claim 1 or 2 Air floating substrate transfer device (1). The air floating substrate transfer apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the auxiliary support part is movable in a vertical direction. When rotating the substrate (10), the auxiliary support portion is raised so that the auxiliary support portion is positioned at a height to support the substrate (10), and the rotation of the substrate (10) is completed. The air levitation type substrate transport device (1) according to claim 4, further comprising a control unit (25) for lowering the auxiliary support portion so as to be separated from the substrate (10). The air floating substrate transport according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the auxiliary support portion has a ball bear (14) for supporting the substrate (10) by a sphere rotatable in all directions. apparatus. The said auxiliary support part has an air nozzle (31, 32) which sprays air on the said board | substrate (10) from the downward direction, and supports the said board | substrate (10), In any one of Claims 1-6 The air levitation type substrate transfer device described.

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