JP2011114169A - Surface processing apparatus and conveying apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to enable conveyance of workpieces having different width dimensions by a single conveying device.
A levitation stage 10 is divided into a plurality of levitation blocks 14 in the width direction y, and a first levitation block 14E in the width direction y can be installed and removed separately from a levitation block 14F on the second side. To. The first track body 31 is provided on the first side in the width direction y of the levitation stage 10. Plural types of first connection members 31A and 31B having different distances in the width direction y between the adherend portion 35 and the connection portion 34 are prepared. The attached portion 35 of one first connection member 31 selected according to the size of the workpiece 9 is attached to the first track 31 and the first side end of the workpiece 9 is connected to the connecting portion 34. To do.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a surface treatment apparatus that carries a surface treatment unit into a surface treatment unit and performs surface treatment, and then carries out the surface treatment apparatus and a transfer device used for carrying in or carrying out the present invention, and is particularly suitable for a plate-like treatment object such as a glass substrate. The present invention relates to a surface treatment apparatus and a transfer apparatus.

  For example, a conveying device that carries a plate-like object to be processed such as a glass substrate for a flat panel display into or out of a surface treatment unit is generally configured by a roller conveyor (Patent Document 1, etc.). reference). In Patent Document 1, a carry-in roller conveyor is provided on the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the processing stage, and a carry-out roller conveyor is provided on the downstream side. Furthermore, a single-row roller conveyor is provided on each side in the width direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the processing stage. At the time of loading, the object to be processed is transferred from the carrying roller conveyor to the single row roller conveyor and moved to just above the processing stage, and then the single row roller conveyor is lowered to place the object to be processed on the processing stage. To do. At the time of unloading, the single row roller conveyor is lifted to separate the object to be processed from the processing stage, and then the object to be processed is transferred to the unloading roller conveyor and unloaded.

  In Patent Document 2, a levitation stage is used as a transfer device instead of a roller conveyor. The workpiece is levitated and supported by blowing air from the upper surface of the levitation stage. Sliders are provided at both ends in the width direction of the levitation stage, and suction pads that can be raised and lowered are provided on each slider. By adsorbing the suction pad to the back surface of the object to be processed and sliding the slider in the conveying direction, the object to be processed is moved in the conveying direction in a floating state.

JP 2008-63048 A JP 2009-71323 A

  The conveying apparatuses described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are designed to correspond to the workpiece having a specific width dimension. Therefore, in the case of an object to be processed having a plurality of types corresponding to the width dimension, it is necessary to provide a transport device for each width dimension, and the equipment cost increases. An object of this invention is to enable it to convey the to-be-processed object of a different width dimension with one conveying apparatus in view of the said situation.

A transport apparatus for surface treatment according to the present invention is a transport apparatus that transports a plurality of types of workpieces having different dimensions in the width direction one by one to a surface treatment section in a transport direction orthogonal to the width direction. ,
(A) A blowing portion that is divided into a plurality of floating blocks in the width direction and blows out a floating gas is provided on the upper surface of each floating block, and the floating block on the first side in the width direction is arranged in the width direction from the floating block. A levitation stage that can be installed and removed separately from the levitation block on the second side;
(B) a first track body provided at an end portion on the first side of the levitation stage so as to extend in the transport direction;
(C) a second track body provided at the end on the second side of the levitation stage so as to extend in the transport direction;
(D) a plurality of types of first connection members, one selected according to the dimensions, attached to the first track body;
(E) a second connection member provided on the second track body and releasably connected to the second side end of the workpiece;
(F) The first connection member attached to the first track body is connected to the first connection body via the first track body or directly, and is connected to the second connection member via the second track body or directly. A moving mechanism that moves the first connecting member and the second connecting member attached to the first track body in the transport direction in synchronization with each other;
Each of the plurality of types of first connection members includes an adherend portion that is detachably attached to the first track body, and a connection portion that is releasably connected to the object to be processed. The distance in the width direction between the landing portion and the connection portion is different depending on the type of the first connection member.

  The first connecting member is replaced in accordance with the dimension of the workpiece in the width direction. Thereby, irrespective of the dimension of the width direction of a to-be-processed object, the connection part of the 1st connection member on a 1st track body can be made to contact the edge part of the 1st side of a to-be-processed object. Moreover, according to the dimension of the width direction of a to-be-processed object, a floating block is added to the 1st side of the width direction, or the floating block of the 1st side of the width direction is removed. Thereby, a to-be-processed object can be levitation-supported reliably, and interference with the floating block of the 1st side of the width direction and a 1st connection member can be avoided. Therefore, it is possible to transport the workpiece having different width dimensions by one transport device. Therefore, it is not necessary to install a plurality of transfer devices for each size of the object to be processed, and the equipment cost can be suppressed.

The smaller the dimension in the width direction of the object to be processed, the larger the end on the first side is shifted to the second side. Therefore, in the first connection member corresponding to the workpiece having a relatively small size in the width direction, the connection portion is disposed on the second side in the width direction from the adherend portion, and the distance is It is preferable that the dimension in the width direction is larger than the distance of the first connection member corresponding to the workpiece to be processed.
Thereby, the connection part of the 1st connection member attached to the 1st track body is the same width direction position as the edge part of the 1st side of a corresponding processed object irrespective of the size of the width direction of a processed object It can be made to arrange | position to a connection part and the 1st edge part of a to-be-processed object, and it can be made to connect reliably.

  It is preferable that the connection part of the 1st connection member corresponding to the to-be-processed object with a relatively small dimension of the width direction is arrange | positioned away from the said 1st track body to the said 2nd side of the said width direction. The first connecting member extends from the first track body in a cantilever manner. When the connecting portion of the first connecting member interferes with the floating block on the first side in the width direction, the floating block is removed.

It is preferable that the connection portion of each of the first connection members extends from the adherend portion side to the surface treatment portion side along the transport direction.
As a result, when the first connection member is moved to the vicinity of the carry-in port or the carry-out port of the surface treatment unit, the connection unit extends from the end of the first track body on the surface treatment unit side to the back side of the surface treatment unit. Can be put out. Therefore, the workpiece can be reliably inserted into the surface treatment portion. Alternatively, the processed object inside the surface treatment unit and the connection part can be reliably connected and carried out.

It is preferable that the connection portion of each of the first connection members has a suction hole that opens in a contact surface with the workpiece.
Thereby, the connection member can be reliably and easily connected to the object to be processed, and can be easily disconnected.

A surface treatment apparatus according to the present invention includes the above surface treatment transfer device and a surface treatment unit, and the surface treatment unit includes a treatment stage arranged in the conveyance direction with respect to the floating stage, and the treatment stage includes: The stage portion is divided into a plurality of stage portions in the width direction, and the first side stage portion can be installed and removed separately from the second side stage portion from the stage portion.
The stage part on the first side of the processing stage is installed or removed according to the dimension in the width direction of the workpiece. Thereby, the processing stage can be sized according to the object to be processed. Moreover, when the 1st connection member moves to the process stage side, it can avoid interfering with the stage part of the 1st side.

  According to the present invention, an object to be processed having different width dimensions can be transported by one transport device.

It is a top view which shows the surface treatment apparatus provided with the conveying apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention in the state which conveys and processes a large sized to-be-processed object. It is side surface sectional drawing of the said surface treatment apparatus which follows the bent II-II line | wire of FIG. (A) is a top view of the 1st connection member corresponding to a large-sized to-be-processed object. (B) is a top view of the 1st connection member corresponding to a small-sized to-be-processed object. It is front sectional drawing in alignment with the IV-IV line | wire of FIG. 1 which shows a part of conveying apparatus of the said surface treatment apparatus in the state which mounted the to-be-processed object on the floating stage. It is front sectional drawing which shows a part of said conveying apparatus in the state which supported the to-be-processed object floating. It is a top view which shows the surface treatment part of the said surface treatment apparatus in the state which inserted the said 1st, 2nd connection member and spaced apart the to-be-processed object above the processing stage. It is side surface sectional drawing of the said surface treatment apparatus in the state of FIG. It is side surface sectional drawing which shows the said surface treatment apparatus in the state which has arrange | positioned the said 1st, 2nd connection member outside a surface treatment part, and floated and supported the to-be-processed object in the process stage. It is side surface sectional drawing which shows the said surface treatment part in the state which mounted the to-be-processed object in the processing stage. It is a top view which shows the said surface treatment apparatus in the state which conveys and processes a small-sized to-be-processed object.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the surface treatment apparatus 1 includes a surface treatment unit 2 and a transfer device 3. The surface treatment unit 2 and the transfer device 3 are arranged in the transfer direction x. The surface treatment unit 2 is arranged on the forward side (right side in FIGS. 1 and 2) in the transport direction x. The transport device 3 is disposed on the return side (left side in FIGS. 1 and 2) in the transport direction x. The workpiece 9 is carried into the surface treatment unit 2 by the transport device 3, and the surface treatment unit 2 performs surface treatment. The workpiece 9 after the surface treatment is unloaded from the surface treatment unit 2 by the transport device 3.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the to-be-processed object 9 is comprised with the glass for flat panel displays, for example, and has a square flat plate shape. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 10, the workpiece 9 has various sizes. Here, for simplicity, it is assumed that there are two sizes, large and small. When these two sizes of the workpiece 9 are distinguished from each other, the workpiece 9 having a relatively large dimension in the width direction y is denoted by “A”, and the dimension in the width direction y is relatively large. The large workpiece 9 is marked with “B”. The surface treatment apparatus 1 can convey and surface-treat any of a plurality of types of workpieces 9A and 9B having different dimensions in the width direction y.

  The content of the surface treatment is not particularly limited, and may be etching, cleaning, surface modification (hydrophilization, water repellency, etc.), or film formation.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the surface treatment unit 2 includes a treatment head 4, a treatment stage 5, and a chamber 6. An opening / closing gate 6g of the chamber 6 is provided so as to face the transfer device 3 side. A processing head 4 and a processing stage 5 are accommodated in the chamber 6. The processing head 4 is disposed on the upper side in the chamber 6. The processing stage 5 is disposed below the processing head 4 in the chamber 6. A workpiece 9 is placed on the upper surface of the processing stage 5. A processing gas from the processing gas source 8 is blown out of the processing head 4 and comes into contact with the object 9 to be processed. Thereby, the to-be-processed object 9 is surface-treated.

The processing head 4 may include an activating means for activating the processing gas. Examples of the activating means include plasma generating means. The plasma generating means includes at least a pair of electrodes. A plasma space is generated by applying an electric field between these electrodes. A processing gas is introduced into the plasma space. By this. The processing gas can be plasmatized (activated). The plasma space between the electrodes is preferably near atmospheric pressure. Here, the vicinity of the atmospheric pressure refers to a range of 1.013 × 10 ^{4 to} 50.663 × 10 ⁴ Pa, and considering the ease of pressure adjustment and the simplification of the apparatus configuration, 1.333 × 10 ⁴ to 10.664 × 10 ⁴ Pa is preferable, and 9.331 × 10 ^{4 to} 10.9797 × 10 ⁴ Pa is more preferable.

  An activating means may be provided in the processing gas source 8 outside the processing head 4 or may be introduced into the processing head 4 after the processing gas is activated. The processing head 4 may be provided with a processed gas suction nozzle in addition to a processing gas blowing nozzle, and may further be provided with a curtain gas blowing nozzle.

The component of the processing gas is selected according to the processing content. For example, in the water repellent treatment, a fluorine-based gas such as CF ₄ or C ₂ F ₆ is used as a treatment gas component. In hydrophilization and cleaning treatment, nitrogen, oxygen or the like is used as a treatment gas component. The processing gas may contain ozone as a reaction component, and in that case, an ozonizer may be used as the activating means.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the processing stage 5 includes a stage main body 50 and frames 51 to 53. The stage body 50 as a whole has a rectangular shape close to a square in plan view. The dimension in the conveyance direction x and the dimension in the width direction y of the stage main body 50 are slightly smaller (for example, about 5 to 15 mm) than the dimension in the same direction of the large-size workpiece 9A. The stage main body 50 is divided into a main stage portion 54, a side stage portion 55, and a back stage portion 56. The main stage portion 54 has a rectangular shape close to a square in plan view. The main stage portion 54 occupies more than half the area of the stage main body 50. As shown in FIG. 10, the dimension in the conveyance direction x and the dimension in the width direction y of the main stage portion 54 are slightly smaller than the dimension in the same direction of the small-size workpiece 9B.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the side stage portion 55 is attached to the edge on the first side (lower side in FIG. 1) in the width direction y of the main stage portion 54. The stage main body 50 is divided into a main stage portion 54 and a side stage portion 55 in the width direction y. The side stage unit 55 has a rectangular shape extending in the transport direction x. The return side edge of the side stage portion 55 in the transport direction x is flush with the same side edge of the main stage portion 54. The forward end of the side stage portion 55 in the transport direction x extends from the main stage portion 54.

  The back stage unit 56 is attached to the outer edge of the main stage unit 54 in the transport direction x. The back stage unit 56 has a rectangular shape extending in the width direction y. The edge on the second side (the upper side in FIG. 1) opposite to the first side in the width direction y of the back stage part 56 is flush with the edge on the same side of the main stage part 54. A first side edge of the back stage unit 56 is abutted against the side stage unit 55. The side stage part 55 and the back stage part 56 can be installed and removed separately from the main stage part 54, respectively. Therefore, the first stage part 55 in the width direction y can be installed and removed separately from the second stage part 54 from the stage part 55.

  A large number of air holes 57 are provided in the stage main body 50. The air holes 57 are opened on the upper surface of the stage body 50 so as to be uniformly distributed on the upper surface of the stage body 50. The air hole 57 serves as both a floating gas blowing hole and a suction hole for adsorbing the workpiece 9.

  Frames 51, 52, and 53 are attached to the four edges of the stage body 50, respectively. The front frame 51 extends in the width direction y along the edge of the stage body 50 on the opening / closing gate 6g side. The front frame 51 is divided into two (plural) frame portions 51a and 51b in the longitudinal direction. The long frame portion 51 a has the same length as the dimension of the main stage portion 54 in the width direction y, and is attached to the return side edge of the main stage portion 54. The short frame part 51 b has the same length as the dimension of the side stage part 55 in the width direction y, and is attached to the return side edge of the side stage part 55. The short frame portion 51b is connected to the end portion on the first side of the long frame portion 51a so as to be in a straight line. And the short frame part 51b can be separated and removed from the long frame part 51a.

  The side frames 52 are respectively provided at both edges of the stage body 50 in the width direction y and extend in the transport direction x. The length of the side frame 52 is a size obtained by combining the dimension of the stage body 50 in the x direction and the dimensions of the front frame 51 and the back frame 53 in the x direction.

  The back frame 53 extends in the width direction y along the edge of the stage body 50 opposite to the opening / closing gate 6g side. The back frame 53 is divided into two (plural) frame portions 53a and 53b in the longitudinal direction. The long frame portion 53 a has the same length as the dimension of the main stage portion 54 in the width direction y, and is attached to the forward edge of the main stage portion 54. The short frame portion 53 b has the same length as the dimension of the side stage portion 55 in the width direction y, and is attached to the forward edge of the side stage portion 55. The short frame portion 53b is connected to the end portion on the first side of the long frame portion 53a so as to be in a straight line. And the short frame part 53b can be separated and removed from the long frame part 53a.

  Each frame 51, 52, 53 is provided with a positioning convex portion 58. The height of the positioning convex portion 58 is, for example, about 0.7 mm to 1.5 mm.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the front frame 51 is advanced and retracted in the x direction by the frame advancing / retracting mechanism 65 and lifted and lowered by the frame lifting / lowering mechanism 61. As shown in FIG. 1, the pair of side frames 52 are advanced and retracted in the y direction by a frame advance / retreat mechanism 62. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the back frame 53 is advanced and retracted in the x direction by a frame advance / retreat mechanism 63. The frame raising / lowering or advancing / retracting mechanism 61, 62, 63, 65 includes a fluid pressure actuator such as a hydraulic cylinder or a pneumatic cylinder, a slide guide, and the like.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the transport device 3 includes a levitation stage 10, a pair of track bodies 11 and 12, and a gantry 13. The levitation stage 10 and the track bodies 11 and 12 are supported by the gantry 13. The gantry 13 includes a central support portion 13 a that supports the levitation stage 10, and support portions 13 b at both ends in the width direction y that support the track bodies 11 and 12.

  As shown in FIG. 2, an advance / retreat mechanism 20 is provided at the lower part of the gantry 13. The advancing / retracting mechanism 20 includes an advancing / retreating drive unit 21, a guide beam 22, and a sliding unit 23. The advance / retreat drive unit 21 includes an electric motor or a fluid pressure actuator. The guide girder 22 extends in the transport direction x. A sliding portion 23 is provided on the guide girder 22 so as to be slidable in the transport direction x. The mount 13 is connected to the sliding portion 23. The sliding part 23 is slid in the transport direction x by the advance / retreat driving part 21. As a result, the support portions 13a and 13b, and thus the levitation stage 10 and the track bodies 11 and 12 are advanced and retracted in the transport direction x.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the levitation stage 10 includes a plurality of levitation blocks 14. The floating block 14 has a rectangular parallelepiped box shape whose longitudinal direction is in the transport direction x. As shown in FIG. 5, the upper surface plate of the levitation block 14 is made of a carbon porous body having continuous pores, and constitutes a blowing portion 15. A floating gas supply path 16 is connected to the inside of the floating block 14. The levitation gas from the supply path 16 is supplied into the levitation block 14 and is further blown upward through the blowing portion 15. The levitation gas may be air or nitrogen. The blowing portion 15 is not limited to a porous body, and may be configured by a porous plate such as a punching metal.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the floating blocks 14 are aligned in the transport direction x and the width direction y. The three floating blocks 14 arranged in the transport direction x are aligned in a straight line with a slight gap. Although the most outward floating block 14 is shorter than the return and central floating blocks 14, the length of each floating block 14 is not limited to this, and can be arbitrarily set. The parallel number of the floating blocks 14 in the transport direction x is not limited to three, and may be one or two, or four or more. A sufficient space is provided between the floating blocks 14 adjacent in the width direction y. In this embodiment, the parallel number of the floating blocks 14 in the width direction y is eight rows, but is not limited to this, and may be two to seven rows, or nine or more rows.

  As shown in FIG. 4, each floating block 14 is connected to the mount 13 by, for example, bolting. The floating block 14 may be unevenly fitted to the gantry 13. Each floating block 14 can be installed and removed independently from the other floating blocks 14. Accordingly, the first floating block 14E in the width direction y can be installed and removed separately from the second floating block 14 (particularly the adjacent floating block 14F).

  As shown in FIG. 1, endless track bodies 11 and 12 are provided on both sides of the floating stage 10 in the width direction y. The first track body 11 is provided on the first side in the width direction y of the levitation stage 10. The second track body 12 is provided on the second side in the width direction y of the levitation stage 10. These track bodies 11 and 12 are constituted by annular flat belts and extend in the transport direction x.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the gantry 13 is provided with a moving mechanism 40. The moving mechanism 40 includes a driving pulley 41 and a driven pulley 42 provided on the support portions 13b on both sides in the width direction y. The drive pulley 41 is disposed on the return side in the transport direction x, and the driven pulley 42 is disposed on the forward side in the transport direction x. However, the drive pulley 41 is disposed on the forward side in the transport direction x, and the driven pulley 42 is disposed. May be arranged on the return side in the transport direction x. A rotation drive unit 43 is connected to the drive pulleys 41 on both sides in the width direction y. The rotation drive unit 43 includes an electric motor, a timing belt, and the like.

  The first track body 11 is bridged between the pulleys 41 and 42 on the first side in the width direction y. The second track body 12 is bridged between the pulleys 41 and 42 on the second side in the width direction y. The drive pulleys 41 on both sides in the width direction y are rotated in synchronization with each other by the rotation drive unit 43. Thereby, the track bodies 11 and 12 are sent in the conveyance direction x so as to go around between the pulleys 41 and 42. The two track bodies 11 and 12 are sent in synchronization with each other.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, lift mechanisms 17 are provided on support portions 13 b on both sides in the width direction y of the gantry 13. The elevating mechanism 17 is composed of a fluid pressure actuator. By the elevating mechanism 17, the pair of support portions 13 b and thus the pair of track bodies 11 and 12 are raised and lowered.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a first connection member 31 is provided on the upper surface of the first track body 11. A second connection member 32 is provided on the upper surface of the second track body 12. Each connection member 31, 32 includes a base 33 and a connection portion 34, and has a substantially L-shaped flat plate shape. The base portion 33 includes an adherent portion 35 that overlaps with the track bodies 11 and 12 and a protruding portion 36 that protrudes inward in the width direction y from the track bodies 11 and 12. The adherend portion 35 is detachably attached to the track bodies 11 and 12 by bolting or the like. The connection part 34 extends straight from the base part 33 toward the forward side in the transport direction x (the surface treatment part 2 side).

  As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of suction holes 37 are opened on the upper surface of the connection portion 34 at intervals in the longitudinal direction. As shown in FIG. 4, the suction holes 37 merge with each other in the connection members 31 and 32, and continue to the suction path 38 through the protrusion 36.

  The first connecting member 31 is connected to the moving mechanism 40 via the first track body 11. The first connecting member 31 is moved in the transport direction x as the first track body 11 circulates by the moving mechanism 40. Similarly, the second connection member 32 is coupled to the moving mechanism 40 via the second track body 12. The second connecting member 32 is moved in the transport direction x as the second track body 12 is circulated by the moving mechanism 40. When the track bodies 11 and 12 are rotated in synchronization with each other, the connection members 31 and 3 are moved in the transport direction x in synchronization with each other.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of types of first connection members 31 are prepared in the surface treatment apparatus 1 according to the dimension in the width direction y of the workpiece 9. As the width dimension of the workpiece 9 decreases, the protrusion amount of the protrusion 36 of the corresponding first connection member 31 increases, and the connection portion 34 moves to the second side in the width direction y with respect to the adherend portion 35. As a result, the distance in the width direction y (left and right direction in FIG. 3) between the adherend portion 35 and the connection portion 34 increases. Hereinafter, the first connecting member 31 corresponding to the large workpiece 9A is denoted by “A”, and the first connecting member 31 corresponding to the small workpiece 9B is denoted by “B”.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3A, the first connecting member 31A corresponding to the large-size workpiece 9A has the adherend portion 35 and the connection portion 34 at substantially the same position in the width direction y. The connecting portion 34 extends straight from the landing portion 35 to the forward side (downward in FIG. 3) in the transport direction x. The protrusion 36 protrudes from the first track 11 to the second side in the width direction y (to the right in FIG. 3) to the extent that it does not interfere with the floating block 14E.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 3B and 10, the first connecting member 31B corresponding to the small-size workpiece 9B has a dimension in the width direction y of the base portion 33 that is greater than that of the first connecting member 31A. Is also big. The protruding portion 36 protrudes larger than the first connecting member 31A from the first track body 11 to the second side, and reaches the vicinity of the floating block 14F. The connecting portion 34 extends from the protruding end portion of the protruding portion 36 to the forward side in the transport direction x. Therefore, the distance in the width direction y between the adherend portion 35 of the first connection member 31B and the connection portion 34 is larger than the first connection member 31A.

The operation of the surface treatment apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described with a focus on carrying the workpiece 9 into the processing stage 5 and carrying it out of the processing stage 5.
The workpieces 9 are carried into the processing stage 5 one by one by the conveying device 3, surface-treated by the processing head 4, and then carried out by the conveying device 3. As shown in FIG. 1, when processing a large-sized workpiece 9 </ b> A, the first connection member 31 </ b> A is selected from a plurality of types of first connection members 31 </ b> A and 31 </ b> B and attached to the first track body 11. Moreover, the side stage part 55 and the back stage part 56 are installed, and the process stage 5 is made large area. Further, the front frame 51 is lengthened by adding the short frame portion 51 b to the long frame portion 51 a of the front frame 51. Similarly, the back frame 53 is lengthened by adding the short frame portion 53 b to the long frame portion 53 a of the back frame 53.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the height of the track bodies 11 and 12 is adjusted by the elevating mechanism 17 so that the connection members 31 and 32 have the same height as the upper surface of the levitation stage 10. Next, the workpiece 9 is transferred onto the transfer device 3 by a handling device (not shown), the central portion of the workpiece 9 is placed on the upper surface of the levitation stage 10, and a part of both ends in the width direction y is connected. Place on members 31 and 32. The end of the first side in the width direction y of the workpiece 9A is in contact with the upper surface of the connection portion 34 of the first connection member 31A. The end of the second side in the width direction y of the workpiece 9A is in contact with the upper surface of the connection portion 34 of the second connection member 32. Next, the suction hole 37 is evacuated, and the workpiece 9 is sucked to the connecting portion 34. Thereby, both ends of the workpiece 9 are connected to the connection members 31 and 32.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5, levitation gas is blown out from each blowing portion 15 of the levitation stage 10. Further, the track bodies 11 and 12 are slightly raised by the lifting mechanism 17 so that the heights of the connection members 31 and 32 are slightly higher than the upper surface of the levitation stage 10. As a result, the workpiece 9 is lifted and supported by being lifted a little above the floating stage 10.

  As an installation process of the workpiece 9, instead of the above, the floating gas is blown out before the workpiece 9 is installed, and the connection members 31 and 32 are positioned slightly higher than the upper surface of the floating stage 10. Also good. Then, without passing through the state of FIG. 4, as shown in FIG. 5, the workpiece 9 is placed on the floating stage 10 and both ends of the workpiece 9 in the width direction y are connected to the connecting member 31. , 32 may be adsorbed.

  In the chamber 2, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 2, the front frame 51 is moved back to the return side in the x direction by the frame advance / retreat mechanism 65 and separated from the stage body 50, and as shown in FIG. The frame elevating mechanism 61 is lowered so as to be positioned at least below the floating stage 10 and the track bodies 11 and 12. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the pair of side frames 52 are moved backward in the y direction by the corresponding frame advancing / retracting mechanisms 62 and separated from the stage main body 50. Further, the rear frame 53 is moved backward in the x direction by the frame advance / retreat mechanism 63 to be separated from the stage main body 50. Further, the blowing of floating gas from the air hole 57 of the stage main body 50 is started.

  The opening / closing gate 6g is brought into an open state in parallel with the movement of the frames 51 to 53 and the blowing of the floating gas from the stage main body 50 or in parallel. Thereafter, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the advancing / retreating mechanism 20 moves the levitation stage 10 and the track bodies 11 and 12 forward in the transport direction x and inserts them into the open / close gate 6g. The forward end portions of 11 and 12 are positioned in the vicinity of the stage main body 50. Next, the track bodies 11 and 12 are moved in the forward direction by the moving mechanism 40 so that the upper portions thereof are sent to the forward side, and the connection members 31 and 32 integral with the track bodies 11 and 12 are moved forward. As a result, the workpiece 9 is moved forward and inserted into the chamber 6.

  The connection members 31 and 32 are in a state of extending horizontally from the forward side in the transport direction x of the track bodies 11 and 12, that is, from the end on the surface treatment unit 2 side to the back side in the surface treatment unit 2. Thus, the workpiece 9 can be reliably inserted into the surface treatment unit 2 and can be positioned directly above the stage main body 50. At this time, levitation gas is blown out from the air holes 57 to levitate and support the workpiece 9. The flying height d of the workpiece 9 is, for example, about d = 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm, and is smaller than the protruding amount (for example, 0.7 mm to 1.5 mm) of the positioning convex portion 58 of the frames 51 to 53.

  Next, the suction of the connection portion 34 and the workpiece 9 is released. The suction may be released by introducing a positive pressure into the suction hole 37. Then, the track bodies 11, 12 and thus the connection members 31, 32 are slightly lowered by the lifting mechanism 17, and the connection portion 34 is separated from the workpiece 9. Next, as shown in FIG. 8, the moving bodies 40 move the orbitals 11 and 12 in the reverse direction so that the upper portions thereof are sent to the return side, and the connection members 31 and 32 are moved to the return side in the transport direction x. Retreat. At the same time, the advancing / retreating mechanism 20 moves the levitation stage 10 and the track bodies 11 and 12 back to the return side in the transport direction x, and the levitation stage 10 and the track bodies 11 and 12 are moved from the open / close gate 6g to the return side. Thereafter, the open / close gate 6g is closed.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the frame 51 is raised to a height matching the stage main body 50 by the frame lifting mechanism 61. Subsequently, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 9, the four frames 51, 52, and 53 are advanced toward the stage main body 50 by the frame advancing / retracting mechanisms 65, 62, and 63, respectively, and applied to the peripheral side portion of the stage main body 50. . As a result, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 9, the outer peripheral edge of the workpiece 9 in the floating state hits the positioning convex portion 58 of each frame 51, 52, 53. Thereby, the to-be-processed object 9 can be aligned.

Next, the blowing out of the floating air from the air hole 57 is stopped. As a result, the workpiece 9 can be placed on the processing stage 5 as indicated by a solid line in FIG. That is, the central portion of the workpiece 9 is placed on the main stage portion 54, and the outer peripheral portion of the workpiece 9 is placed on the frames 51, 52, 53. Further, the air hole 57 is evacuated to adsorb the workpiece 9 to the processing stage 5.
Then, a processing gas is blown out from the processing head 4 to come into contact with the object 9 to be treated, and the surface treatment of the object 9 is performed.

  After completion of the surface treatment, the four frames 51, 52, 53 are moved backward away from the stage body 50 by the frame advancing / retracting mechanisms 65, 62, 63 (FIG. 6). Subsequently, the frame 51 is lowered by the frame elevating mechanism 61 (FIG. 7), and is positioned below the levitation stage 10 and the track bodies 11 and 12. Further, the open / close gate 6g is opened.

  The height of the track bodies 11 and 12 is adjusted by the elevating mechanism 17 so that the upper surface of the connection members 31 and 32 is slightly lower than the upper surface of the stage main body 50. Then, the advancing / retreating mechanism 20 moves the floating stage 10 and the track bodies 11 and 12 forward in the transport direction x and inserts them into the open / close gate 6g. It is located in the vicinity of the stage main body 50. Next, as shown in FIG. 7, the track bodies 11, 12 are sent to the revolving movement in the forward direction by the moving mechanism 40, and the connecting members 31, 32 are moved forward and inserted into the chamber 6. By extending the connecting members 31 and 32 horizontally from the forward side of the track bodies 11 and 12, that is, from the end on the surface treatment unit 2 side to the back side in the surface treatment unit 2, the processing target in the surface treatment unit 2 is processed. The connecting portion 34 can be positioned below the object 9. Next, the elevating mechanism 17 slightly raises the track bodies 11, 12 and thus the connection members 31, 32, and the upper surface of the connection portion 34 is brought into contact with the lower surface of the end of the workpiece 9. Then, the suction hole 37 is evacuated and the end of the workpiece 9 is sucked to the connection part 34.

Next, floating air is blown out from the air holes 57. At the same time, the track bodies 11 and 12 are further slightly lifted by the lifting mechanism 17, and the connecting members 31 and 32 are positioned slightly above the upper surface of the stage main body 50. Thereby, the workpiece 9 is levitated and supported away from the stage main body 50.
Note that the workpiece 9 may be lifted first by the floating air from the air hole 57, and then the connecting members 31 and 32 may be lifted and the workpiece 9 may be adsorbed to the connecting portion 34. The floating of the workpiece 9 by the floating air from the air hole 57, the raising of the connection members 31 and 32, and the adsorption of the workpiece 9 to the connection portion 34 may be performed simultaneously.

  Next, the levitation stage 10 and the track bodies 11 and 12 are moved backward by the advance / retreat mechanism 20 to the return side in the transport direction x. And the track bodies 11 and 12 are moved in the reverse direction by the moving mechanism 40, and the connecting members 31 and 32 are moved backward to the return side. As a result, the workpiece 9 is sent to the return side in the transport direction x and is discharged onto the transport device 3 from the open / close gate 6g. The flying air is blown out from the blowing unit 15 and the workpiece 9 is floated and supported on the stage main body 50. The workpiece 9 is picked up and carried out by a handling device, for example.

  As illustrated in FIG. 10, when processing a small-sized workpiece 9B, the floating blocks 14E in the first row in the width direction y are removed. 31 A of 1st connection members are removed from the 1st track body 11, and it replaces with this and the 1st connection member 31B is attached to the 1st track body 11. FIG. The attachment position of the adherend portion 35 of the first connection member 31B to the first track body 11 is the same position as the adherend portion 35 of the first connection member 31A. The protruding portion 36 and the connecting portion 34 of the first connecting member 31B largely project in a cantilevered manner from the first track body 11 to the second side, but interference with the floating stage 10 can be avoided by removing the floating block 14E. The second connecting member 32 of the second track body 12 is left as it is. Further, the side stage portion 55 and the back stage portion 56 are removed from the stage main body 50, and the stage main body 50 is constituted by only the main stage portion 54, so that the processing stage 5 has a small area. Furthermore, the short frame part 51b of the front frame 51 is separated from the long frame part 51a and removed, and the front frame 51 is shortened. Similarly, the short frame portion 53b of the back frame 53 is separated from the long frame portion 53a and removed to shorten the back frame 53. As the side stage 55 is removed, the first side frame 52 is moved toward the second side by the frame advance / retreat mechanism 62 by the width dimension of the side stage 55. As the back stage 56 is removed, the back frame 53 is moved toward the return side by the size of the back stage 56 in the x direction by the frame advance / retreat mechanism 63.

  Next, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. At this time, the second side end of the object to be processed 9B is arranged at the same position in the width direction y as in the case of the large-size object to be processed 9A. Thereby, the end part on the second side of the workpiece 9B can be adsorbed and connected to the connection part 34 of the second connection member 32. The end portion on the first side of the workpiece 9B is shifted to the second side in the width direction y as compared with the case of the large workpiece 9A. The connecting portion 34 of the first connecting member 31B is disposed at the same position in the width direction y as the first end portion of the workpiece 9B. Thereby, the edge part of the 1st side of to-be-processed object 9B can be mounted in the upper surface of the connection part 34 of the 1st connection member 31B. And the edge part by the side of the 1st side of to-be-processed object 9B can be attracted | sucked and connected to the connection part 34 of the 1st connection member 31B.

  Subsequently, the object 9B is carried into the surface treatment unit 2 and placed on the main stage unit 54 in the same procedure as that for the large-size object 9A, and surface treatment is performed. After the surface treatment, the object 9B is unloaded from the surface treatment unit 2 in the same procedure as that for the object 9A. At the time of carry-in and carry-out, the first side end portion in the width direction y of the workpiece 9B can be connected to the first connection member 31B, and the second side end portion can be connected to the second connection member 32 for conveyance.

  As described above, according to the surface treatment apparatus 1, a plurality of types of workpieces 9A and 9B having different sizes can be conveyed and subjected to surface treatment. There is no need to install a plurality of transfer apparatuses 3 for each size of the workpiece 9. Therefore, the equipment cost can be suppressed. When changing to a workpiece having a different size, the first connecting member 31 is replaced with a corresponding one. Thereby, the connection part 34 of the 1st connection member 31 is arrange | positioned in the position of the same width direction y as the edge part of the 1st side of the to-be-processed object 9 irrespective of the dimension of the width direction of the to-be-processed object 9. Thus, the connecting portion 34 can be reliably connected to the workpiece 9. Moreover, according to the dimension of the to-be-processed object 9 in the width direction y, the floating block 14E is added to the 1st side of the width direction y, or the floating block 14E is removed from the 1st side of the width direction. Thereby, the to-be-processed object 9 can be lifted and supported reliably, and interference with the 1st side floating block 14E of the width direction y and the 1st connection member 31 can be avoided. Further, the end stages 55 and 56 are installed or removed, and the short frame portions 51a and 53a of the frames 51 and 53 are installed or removed. There is no need to shift the position of the first track body 11 in the width direction y or to remove and replace it with another first track body 11.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
For example, the procedures of the carry-in process and the carry-out process may be changed as appropriate.
The carrying device 3 for carrying in and the carrying device 3 for carrying out may be provided separately. The carrying apparatus 3 for carrying in and the carrying apparatus 3 for carrying out may be arrange | positioned on both sides of the conveyance direction x on both sides of the surface treatment part 2. The transport device 3 according to the present invention may be configured to carry in only and carry out using a separate carry-out device. The transfer device 3 according to the present invention may carry out only carry-out, and carry-in may be carried out by another carry-in device.
Although the dimension of the to-be-processed object 9 in the width direction y was large and small in the embodiment, it may be three or more. In that case, three or more types of first connection members 31 are prepared for each dimension of the workpiece 9 in the width direction y.
In addition to the first connection member 31 on the first side in the width direction y, a plurality of types of second connection members 32 on the second side are prepared corresponding to the dimension in the width direction y of the object 9 to be processed. In addition to the first connection member 31, not only the first connection member 31 but also the second connection member 32 may be replaced according to the dimensions of 9.
The moving mechanism 40 may be directly connected to the connection members 31 and 32. For example, the track bodies 11 and 12 may be rails that extend in the transport direction x, and the moving mechanism 40 may include a slider that is slidably provided on the rail. Connection members 31 and 32 may be detachably attached to the slider.
Not only the floating blocks 14E in the first side row in the width direction y but also the first side plural rows of floating blocks 14 are removed, and an object to be processed having a size smaller than the object 9B is processed. Good. The first connecting member 31 corresponding to the workpiece having a size smaller than the workpiece 9B has a protruding width of the protruding portion 36 larger than that of the first connecting member 31B, and the connecting portion 34 and the adherend portion 35 in the width direction y. The distance is larger than the first connecting member 31B.
The stage main body 50 is not limited to being divided into the three stage portions 54, 55, and 56, and may be divided into four or more stage portions. The front frame 51 is not limited to being divided into two frame portions 51a and 51b, and may be divided into three or more frame portions. The back frame 53 is not limited to being divided into the two frame portions 53a and 53b, and may be divided into three or more frame portions. Thereby, it can respond to the to-be-processed object of three or more types of sizes.
The front frame 51 may not be divided and may be a single one. A plurality of single front frames 51 having different lengths for each size of the workpiece 9 are prepared, and one of the plurality of front frames 51 is selected according to the workpiece 9 to be processed, and the processing stage 5 is selected. You may decide to install. Similarly, the back frame 53 may not be divided and may be a single object. A plurality of single back frames 53 having different lengths for each size of the workpiece 9 are prepared, and one of the plurality of back frames 53 is selected according to the workpiece 9 to be processed, and the processing stage 5 is selected. You may decide to install.

  The present invention is applicable to the manufacture of semiconductor devices and liquid crystal display devices.

x Conveyance direction y Width direction 1 Surface treatment device 2 Surface treatment unit 3 Conveyance device 4 Treatment head 5 Treatment stage 6 Chamber 6g Open / close gate (carrying in / out)
9 Substrate 10 Lifting stage 11 First track body 12 Second track body 13 Mounting base 13a Stage support portion 13b Track body support portion 14 Lifting block 14E First side floating block 14F Adjacent floating block 15 Blowout unit 16 Supply path 17 Lifting mechanism 20 Advance / retreat mechanism 21 Advance / retreat drive part 22 Guide beam 23 Slide part 31 First connection member 32 Second connection member 33 Base part 34 Connection part 35 Adhered part 36 Projection part 37 Suction hole 38 Suction path 40 Movement mechanism 41 Drive pulley 42 Driven pulley 43 Rotation drive unit 50 Stage body 51 Front frame 52 Side frame 53 Back frame 54 Main stage unit 55 Side stage unit (first stage unit)
56 Back stage part 57 Air hole 58 Positioning convex part 61 Frame raising / lowering mechanism 62, 63, 65 Frame advance / retreat mechanism

Claims (6)

A conveying device that conveys a plurality of types of workpieces having different dimensions in the width direction one by one to the surface treatment unit in a conveying direction orthogonal to the width direction,
(A) A blowing portion that is divided into a plurality of floating blocks in the width direction and blows out a floating gas is provided on the upper surface of each floating block, and the floating block on the first side in the width direction is arranged in the width direction from the floating block. A levitation stage that can be installed and removed separately from the levitation block on the second side;
(B) a first track body provided at an end portion on the first side of the levitation stage so as to extend in the transport direction;
(C) a second track body provided at the end on the second side of the levitation stage so as to extend in the transport direction;
(D) a plurality of types of first connection members, one selected according to the dimensions, attached to the first track body;
(E) a second connection member provided on the second track body and releasably connected to the second side end of the workpiece;
(F) The first connection member attached to the first track body is connected to the first connection body via the first track body or directly, and is connected to the second connection member via the second track body or directly. A moving mechanism that moves the first connecting member and the second connecting member attached to the first track body in the transport direction in synchronization with each other;
Each of the plurality of types of first connection members includes an adherend portion that is detachably attached to the first track body, and a connection portion that is releasably connected to the object to be processed. The transport apparatus for surface treatment, wherein a distance in the width direction between the landing portion and the connection portion varies depending on a type of the first connection member.   In the first connection member corresponding to the workpiece having a relatively small size in the width direction, the connection portion is disposed on the second side in the width direction from the adherend portion, and the distance is the width. The surface treatment transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a dimension of the direction is larger than the distance of the first connection member corresponding to the workpiece to be treated.   A connection portion of a first connection member corresponding to an object to be processed having a relatively small size in the width direction is disposed away from the first track body on the second side in the width direction. The transport apparatus for surface treatment according to claim 2.   The said connection part of each said 1st connection member is extended in the said conveyance direction from the said adherence part side to the said surface treatment part side, The any one of Claims 1-3 characterized by the above-mentioned. The surface treatment transport apparatus according to the item.   The surface treatment according to claim 1, wherein the connection portion of each of the first connection members has a suction hole that opens to a contact surface with the object to be processed. Transport device.   The apparatus for surface treatment according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising a surface treatment unit and a surface treatment unit, wherein the surface treatment unit has a treatment stage arranged in the conveyance direction with respect to the levitation stage, The processing stage is divided into a plurality of stage parts in the width direction, and the first side stage part can be installed and removed separately from the second side stage part from the stage part. Surface treatment equipment.

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