JP2003261222A - Walking beam for conveying thin substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a walking beam capable of conveying even a thin substrate such as a solar cell substrate in which an electrode or the like is formed on a central part of the back surface and hence a contact only with a part near the outer periphery is allowed during heat treatment. <P>SOLUTION: The walking beam is used for intermittently conveying the rectangular thin substrate in a heat treatment furnace. The walking beam holds a part near two edges parallel with the conveying direction or two edges orthogonal to the conveying direction, of four edges constituting the outer periphery of the rectangle, on a fixed beam 3, while the thin substrate 1 is stopped. The walking beam holds a part near the other two edges on a movable beam 5 while the thin substrate 1 is moved. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a walking beam used as a transfer means for transferring a thin substrate such as a solar cell substrate in a heat treatment furnace.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a walking beam has been used as an in-furnace transportation means when heat treating a metal.
In recent years, it has come to be used also for drying a thin substrate such as a plasma display panel substrate in a furnace, and at present, its use is also being considered for heat treatment of a solar cell substrate.

The main reason for the expansion of such applications is that the walking beam has a heat capacity higher than that of a mesh belt conveyor which is generally used as an in-furnace transportation means when heat-treating a solar cell substrate. This is because it is small, and it can be expected to greatly reduce the energy cost required for heat treatment and to quickly raise and lower temperature.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a general form of a conventional walking beam. A normal walking beam is composed of a fixed beam 13 fixed to the furnace and a movable beam 15 which is driven with a predetermined stroke and conveys a thin substrate. Support pins 17 and 19 are provided on the respective beams to contact the thin substrate and support the thin substrate.

In this walking beam, first, the movable beam 15 rises as shown in FIG.
The thin substrate 11 placed on the fixed beam 13 is received from the fixed beam 13, further raised, and once stopped at the rising end. Next, the movable beam 15 advances by one stroke and stops while holding the thin substrate 1 as shown in (1) to (3). Then, as in (1), the movable beam 15 descends to deliver the thin substrate 1 to the fixed beam 13, and further descends. ) Return to.

[0006]

In the conventional walking beam, the fixed beam 13 and the movable beam 15 both extend in parallel to the transport direction, and the rectangular thin substrate 1 is provided.
In transporting the substrate 1, both the beams 13 and 15 have a structure in which the substrate 1 is supported at a portion near two sides parallel to the transport direction among the four sides forming the rectangular outer periphery of the substrate 1.

In the walking beam having such a structure, as compared with the fixed beam 13 on the outer side, as shown in FIG.
The movable beam 15 on the inner side holds the substrate 1 at a position closer to the center of the thin substrate 1, but in the case of a thin substrate in which an electrode or the like is formed at the center of the back surface like a solar cell substrate, There is a possibility that the support pins 19 on the movable beam 15 may contact the portion of the back surface of the thin substrate 1 where the electrodes and the like are formed and damage the thin substrate 1.

It should be noted that by reducing the gap a between the outer fixed beam 13 and the inner movable beam 15, the holding position of the movable beam 15 can be moved to the outer periphery of the thin substrate 1 to some extent. When the walking beam is used, the thermal expansion of the beam must be taken into consideration, so there is a limit to reducing the gap a.

Further, the walking beam used to convey the plasma display panel substrate or the like in the furnace in the related art has supporting pins 17 and 19 provided on the beams 13 and 15, respectively.
Since the thin substrate 1 is held in a point contact state with the above, the impact on the thin substrate 1 due to vibration during transportation is large, and when the thin substrate 1 is lightweight, a positional shift occurs during transportation. There was also the problem of being easy.

The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional circumstances, and since an electrode or the like is formed in the central portion of the back surface like a solar cell substrate, the portion near the outer periphery during heat treatment is formed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a walking beam that can transport even a thin substrate that can only be contacted without damage. Another object of the present invention is to provide a walking beam that can reduce the impact on the thin substrate due to vibration during transportation and the positional deviation.

[0011]

According to the present invention, a walking beam used for intermittently transporting a rectangular thin substrate in a heat treatment furnace, the walking beam being used while the thin substrate is stopped. , Of the four sides forming the outer circumference of the rectangle, two sides parallel to the transport direction or two orthogonal to the transport direction
A thin substrate, characterized in that any one of the sides is held on the fixed beam and the other two sides are held on the movable beam while the thin substrate is being moved. A walking beam for transportation is provided.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION As described above, the walking beam of the present invention is used for intermittently transporting a rectangular thin substrate in a heat treatment furnace. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of an embodiment of the present invention.

This walking beam is composed of a fixed beam 3 fixed to the furnace and a movable beam 5 that drives the thin substrate 1 by being driven with a predetermined stroke, as in the conventional case. As long as the thin substrate 1 is stopped, as shown in FIG. 2, a fixed beam is formed through the support member 7 in the vicinity of two sides of the four sides forming the outer periphery of the rectangle that are parallel to the transport direction. 3, while the thin substrate 1 is being moved, as shown in FIG. 3, the vicinity of the other two sides orthogonal to the transport direction is placed on the movable beam 5 via the support member 9. It has a new holding structure for holding.

The basic operation of the beam is similar to that of a conventional walking beam. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the thin substrate 1 is held on the fixed beam 3 and the movable beam 5 starts its operation from a position below the fixed beam 3,
First, the movable beam 5 gradually rises to receive the thin substrate 1 placed on the fixed beam 3 from the fixed beam 3, and the movable beam 5 is positioned above the fixed beam 3 as shown in FIG. Rise until you. Next, the movable beam 5 advances by one stroke in the transport direction while holding the thin substrate 1. Next, the movable beam 5 descends, delivers the thin substrate to the fixed beam 3, further descends, and then retracts by one stroke to return to the initial positional relationship (fixed position) shown in FIG.

By repeating such a cycle, the walking beam is maintained while the thin substrate is stopped, while the portions near the two sides parallel to the transport direction of the substrate are held on the fixed beam. During the movement of the thin substrate, the thin substrate is sequentially and intermittently transported in the heat treatment furnace while holding the vicinity of the two sides orthogonal to the transport direction on the movable beam.

In the present invention, as described above, by dividing the portion of the thin substrate held on the fixed beam near the outer periphery of the thin substrate from the portion of the thin substrate held on the movable beam near the outer periphery of the conventional walking beam. Compared to, it is possible to hold the thin substrate in a region closer to the outer periphery, and since electrodes and the like are formed in the center of the back surface like a solar cell substrate, it is possible to maintain Even thin substrates that can only be contacted can be transported without damage.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the thin substrate 1
Of the four sides forming the outer periphery of the rectangular shape, the two adjacent sides parallel to the carrying direction are held on the fixed beam 3, and the two neighboring sides orthogonal to the carrying direction are held on the movable beam 5. However, on the contrary, the vicinity of two sides orthogonal to the carrying direction is held on the fixed beam 3, and the part near two sides parallel to the carrying direction is held on the movable beam 5. Also has the same effect.

Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG.
Supporting members 7 and 9 are provided above the fixed beam 3 and the movable beam 5, respectively, and the thin substrate 1 is held on each beam via these supporting members 7 and 9. As shown in FIG. 4, these supporting members 7 and 9 have a linear portion 11 extending in the horizontal direction, and by mounting the thin substrate 1 on the linear portion 11, the thin substrate 1 is , The fixed beam 3 and the movable beam 5 can be held in line contact with each other.

As described above, when the thin substrate is held on each beam in line contact, the thin substrate is contacted as compared with the case where the thin substrate is held on the support pin by point contact as in the conventional walking beam. The area becomes large, and the impact on the thin substrate due to the vibration during transportation and the displacement are alleviated.

Such a supporting member can be easily manufactured by bending a wire made of refractory metal into a predetermined shape. The size of the support members and the arrangement interval on the beam can be appropriately determined according to the size and weight of the thin substrate held on the beam.

[0021]

As described above, according to the walking beam of the present invention, it is possible to hold the thin substrate at a portion closer to the outer periphery than in the conventional case, and therefore, like the solar cell substrate, the central portion of the back surface. Since electrodes etc. are formed on
It is possible to convey even a thin substrate that can be contacted only in the vicinity of the outer periphery during heat treatment. Also, by allowing the thin substrate to be held in line contact with the fixed beam and the movable beam, the contact area is increased, and the impact on the thin substrate due to vibrations during transportation and the positional displacement are mitigated. be able to.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a thin substrate is held on a fixed beam.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a thin substrate is held on a movable beam.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a supporting member and a supporting state of a thin substrate by the supporting member.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a general form of a conventional walking beam.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a basic operation of a conventional walking beam.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a holding position of a substrate in a conventional walking beam.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Thin substrate, 3 ... Fixed beam, 5 ... Movable beam, 7 ...
Support member, 9 ... Support member, 11 ... Linear part, 13 ... Fixed beam, 15 ... Movable beam, 17 ... Support pin, 19 ... Support pin.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Yoshio Kondo             2-56 Suda-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi             Nusy Kei Kirntech Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Makoto Takanobu             2-56 Suda-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi             Nusy Kei Kirntech Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 3F036 BA01 BA03 CA04 CB00                 5F051 CA20 CB30

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A walking beam used for intermittently transporting a rectangular thin substrate in a heat treatment furnace, the four sides constituting the outer periphery of the rectangular substrate while the thin substrate is stopped. Of the two sides parallel to the transport direction or the two sides orthogonal to the transport direction, the near site is held on the fixed beam, and the thin substrate is moved while the other two sides are near. A walking beam for transporting thin substrates, characterized in that it is held on a movable beam. 2. The walking beam for transporting a thin substrate according to claim 1, wherein the thin substrate can be held in line contact with a fixed beam and a movable beam.