Substrate posture changing device and substrate processing device

Abstract

The present invention relates to a posture changing technique for changing a substrate conveyed by a plurality of convey rollers arranged in parallel with each other in a convey direction along a main surface of the substrate between a first posture and a second posture. In a substrate posture changing device of the present invention, narrow spacing of the convey rollers can be achieved. The present invention groups the plurality of convey rollers into a plurality of convey roller groups each consisting of a plurality of convey rollers adjacent to each other in the convey direction. Further, for each convey roller group, both end portions of the convey rollers are supported by a roller support portion so as to be freely rotatable. Further, for each roller support portion, a rotation portion is provided, and the convey rollers are switched between the first posture and the second posture in units of the convey roller groups by rotation of the roller support portion based on the rotation portion. Furthermore, for each roller support portion, a driving portion is provided, a driving force generated by a motor is transmitted to a direct drive roller, and is transmitted to an indirect drive roller via the direct drive roller, and all of the convey rollers supported by the roller support portion are rotated in synchronization.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a posture-changing technique for changing a substrate conveyed by a plurality of transport rollers between a first posture and a second posture, wherein the plurality of transport rollers are arranged parallel to each other in a transport direction along the main surface of the substrate. Here, the substrate includes substrates for semiconductor packaging manufactured using methods such as wafer-level packaging (WLP) and panel-level packaging (PLP), semiconductor wafers, glass substrates for liquid crystal display devices, substrates for FPDs (Flat Panel Displays) of organic EL display devices, substrates for optical discs, substrates for magnetic disks, substrates for optical disc drives, glass substrates for photomasks, substrates for solar cells, etc. Background Technology

[0002] For substrate processing apparatuses that supply processing liquid to the main surface of a substrate conveyed by a plurality of unit rollers (equivalent to the "conveyor rollers" of the present invention) to perform a prescribed processing, it is known that a substrate posture changing device is assembled (e.g., Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-226916: Patent Document 1), which switches the substrate between a horizontal posture and an inclined posture. In this substrate posture changing device, each unit roller is connected to a cylinder. Each cylinder can switch the unit roller between a horizontal posture and an inclined posture by raising and lowering one end of the unit roller in the vertical direction. In such prior art, it is possible to change the posture of a plurality of unit rollers individually between a horizontal posture and an inclined posture. Therefore, the substrate can be conveyed in the following manner: The substrate is carried in with all unit rollers switched to a horizontal posture, and at the moment when the substrate has entered the substrate posture changing device, if all cylinders are actuated, the substrate can be switched from a horizontal posture to an inclined posture. Then, the substrate, maintaining an inclined posture, is conveyed along the conveying direction. After the conveying begins, the cylinders are returned to their original state in the order in which the rear end of the substrate in the inclined posture has passed. Thus, the unit rollers return to a horizontal position in the above sequence, adjusting to the mechanism for receiving the next substrate.

[0003] In recent years, with the increasing size and thinner walls of substrates, there is a need to narrow the spacing between the conveyor rollers in the conveying direction. However, in existing devices with a structure that mounts a cylinder for each unit roller, the reduction in spacing is limited considering the interference between adjacent cylinders. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its object is to enable the narrowing of the spacing of the conveyor rollers in the substrate posture changing device of the present invention, which changes the posture of a substrate conveyed by a plurality of conveyor rollers arranged parallel to each other in the conveying direction along the main surface of the substrate.

[0005] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a substrate posture changing device changes the posture of a substrate being conveyed along a conveying direction by a plurality of conveying rollers arranged parallel to each other along the main surface of the substrate between a first posture and a second posture inclined to the first posture. The device is characterized by comprising: a roller support mechanism that groups the plurality of conveying rollers into a plurality of conveying roller groups, each conveying roller group consisting of a plurality of conveying rollers adjacent to each other in the conveying direction; for each conveying roller group, both ends of the conveying roller constituting the conveying roller group are supported for free rotation by roller support portions corresponding to the conveying roller group; a rotation mechanism that, for each roller support portion, uses a rotation portion integrally provided corresponding to the roller support portion to rotate the roller support portion about a rotation axis parallel to the conveying direction at one end of the conveying roller supported by the roller support portion, thereby switching the conveying roller supported by the roller support portion between the first posture and the second posture; and a drive mechanism that, for each roller support portion, uses a drive portion provided corresponding to the roller support portion to drive the conveying roller supported by the roller support portion. When one of the conveying rollers corresponding to the drive unit is defined as a direct drive roller, and the remaining conveying rollers are defined as indirect drive rollers, each drive unit has: an electric motor that generates a driving force; a power transmission unit on one side that transmits the driving force from the electric motor to one end of the direct drive roller; and a power transmission unit on the other side that transmits the rotational force of the direct drive roller, which rotates using the driving force, to the indirect drive roller at the other end of the direct drive roller.

[0006] Another aspect of the present invention is a substrate processing apparatus, characterized in that it includes: the aforementioned substrate posture changing device; and a processing liquid supply unit that supplies processing liquid to the main surface of the substrate being conveyed by the plurality of conveying rollers along the conveying direction.

[0007] In this invention with such a structure, a plurality of conveyor rollers for conveying a substrate along the conveying direction are grouped into a plurality of conveyor roller groups consisting of a plurality of conveyor rollers adjacent to each other in the conveying direction. Furthermore, each conveyor roller group is provided with a roller support, which supports both ends of the conveyor rollers constituting the group for free rotation. Additionally, each roller support is provided with a rotating portion, and the roller support can rotate about a rotation axis parallel to the conveying direction at one end of the conveyor roller supported by the roller support. Therefore, by rotating the roller support based on the rotating portion, the conveyor rollers can be switched between a first posture and a second posture, on a per-conveyor roller group basis.

[0008] Furthermore, each roller support section is equipped with a drive unit that drives the conveyor rollers supported by that roller support section (i.e., direct drive rollers + indirect drive rollers). More specifically, in each drive unit, the driving force generated by the electric motor is transmitted to the direct drive rollers and then to the indirect drive rollers, causing all conveyor rollers supported by that roller support section to rotate synchronously. Therefore, it is possible to achieve a narrower spacing between the conveyor rollers. The reasons are as follows.

[0009] For example, a power transmission mechanism that transmits the driving force to all conveyor rollers supported by the roller support can be provided at one end of the conveyor roller. In this case, the spacing between the conveyor rollers is limited due to the large size of the power transmission mechanism in the conveying direction. In contrast, as in this invention, by separately providing the power transmission mechanism on both sides of the conveyor roller, it is possible to miniaturize the power transmission mechanism in the conveying direction. As a result, the conveyor rollers supported by the roller support can be arranged with a relatively narrow spacing.

[0010] As described above, according to the present invention, the orientation of the conveyed substrate can be changed by a plurality of conveying rollers arranged with a narrow pitch. Attached Figure Description

[0011] Figure 1 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a substrate processing system equipped with a rinsing section of one embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention.

[0012] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram showing the rinsing section of one embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention.

[0013] Figure 3 This is a top view of the substrate posture changing device when viewed from above.

[0014] Figure 4 This is a diagram of a part of an amplified substrate posture change device.

[0015] Figure 5 This is a diagram showing the structure and operation of the rotating part that switches the posture of the conveyor rollers.

[0016] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures

[0017] 9: Rinsing Unit (Substrate Processing Apparatus)

[0018] 92: Conveyor Roller

[0019] 92a~92h: Conveyor roller assembly

[0020] 93: Substrate posture changing device

[0021] 94: Roller support mechanism

[0022] 94a~94h: Roller support section

[0023] 95a~95h: Drive unit

[0024] 96a~96b: Rotating part

[0025] 97a: Fluid nozzle (treatment fluid supply unit)

[0026] 97b: Spray nozzle (treatment fluid supply unit)

[0027] 951: One-sided power transmission unit

[0028] 952: Power transmission unit on the other side

[0029] 953: Electric motor

[0030] 962: Lifting Unit

[0031] AX: Rotation axis

[0032] G: Substrate

[0033] L: Rinse fluid (treatment fluid)

[0034] X: Conveying direction

[0035] Y: Width direction

[0036] Z: Vertical direction Detailed Implementation

[0037] Figure 1This diagram illustrates an example of a substrate processing system equipped with a rinsing unit of one embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention. The substrate processing system 100 of this embodiment is an apparatus for coating, exposing, and developing a glass substrate G (hereinafter referred to as substrate G) for a liquid crystal display device using a resist solution. The substrate processing system 100 includes: a loading unit 1, a cleaning unit 2, a dehydration and baking unit 3, a coating unit 4, a vacuum drying unit 5, a pre-baking unit 6, an exposure unit 7, a developing unit 8, a rinsing unit 9 (corresponding to an example of the "substrate processing apparatus" of the present invention), a post-baking unit 10, and a loading unit 11. These processing units are arranged adjacent to each other in the above order, and various processes are performed on the substrate G, which is transported by a transport unit (not shown) in the order indicated by dashed arrows, under the control of the control unit 12.

[0038] The loading section 1 loads the substrate G, which will be processed in the substrate processing system 100, into the substrate processing system 100. The cleaning section 2 cleans the substrate G loaded into the loading section 1, removing organic contaminants, metal contaminants, grease, natural oxide film, etc., mainly composed of fine particles. The dehydration and baking section 3 heats the substrate G, and in the cleaning section 2, the cleaning liquid adhering to the substrate G is vaporized, thereby drying the substrate G.

[0039] The coating section 4 uses the upper surface of the worktable to hold the substrate G, which has been dried by the dehydration and baking section 3, and applies a photoresist solution as a coating liquid to the surface of the substrate G. Then, the depressurization drying section 5 uses depressurization to evaporate the solvent of the photoresist solution applied to the surface of the substrate G, thereby drying the substrate G.

[0040] The substrate G, which has undergone vacuum drying in the aforementioned vacuum drying unit 5, is conveyed to the pre-baking unit 6 for heat treatment. The pre-baking unit 6 is a heat treatment unit that heats the substrate G to cure the resist components on its surface. As a result, a thin film of the coating liquid, i.e., a resist film, is formed on the surface of the substrate G.

[0041] Next, the exposure unit 7 exposes the surface of the substrate G on which the resist film is formed. The exposure unit 7 irradiates far-ultraviolet light through a mask with a circuit pattern to transfer the pattern onto the resist film. The developing unit 8 immerses the substrate G, on which the pattern has been exposed in the exposure unit 7, in a developing solution for developing.

[0042] The rinsing unit 9 performs a rinsing process on the substrate G that has undergone development in the developing unit 8. This stops the development process. The rinsing unit 9 includes a substrate orientation change device and a processing liquid supply unit, which supplies a rinsing liquid (one example of the processing liquid) to the upper surface of the substrate G (corresponding to an example of the "main surface" of the present invention). After receiving the substrate G, which is in a horizontal orientation (an example of the "first orientation" of the present invention) with its upper surface facing upwards, the rinsing unit 9, according to a command from the control unit 12, changes the orientation of the substrate G from horizontal to a tilted orientation (an example of the "second orientation" of the present invention). Then, while the substrate G remains in the tilted orientation, the rinsing unit 9 supplies rinsing liquid to the upper surface to perform rinsing, and then moves the substrate G to the post-baking unit 10. Furthermore, similar to conventional devices, the transport rollers that sequentially transport the substrate G in the tilted orientation return to a horizontal orientation to adjust to receive the next substrate G. It should be noted that the structure and operation of the rinsing unit 9 will be described in detail later.

[0043] The post-baking section 10 heats the substrate G, causing the rinsing liquid adhering to the substrate G in the rinsing section 9 to vaporize, thereby drying the substrate G. The substrate G, which has been processed in each processing unit of the substrate processing system 100, is conveyed to the transfer section 11. Then, the substrate G is transferred from the transfer section 11 to the outside of the substrate processing system 100.

[0044] It should be noted that the substrate processing system 100 of this embodiment includes an exposure unit 7, but the exposure unit may be omitted in the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention. In this case, the substrate processing apparatus and the separate exposure apparatus may be used in combination.

[0045] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the rinsing unit 9 of one embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention. Figure 2 In subsequent figures, to clarify their directional relationships, an orthogonal XYZ coordinate system is appropriately added, with the Z direction set as vertical and the XY plane as horizontal. Furthermore, for ease of understanding, the dimensions and quantities of each part are exaggerated or simplified as needed.

[0046] The rinsing section 9 is housed in a frame 91 disposed between the developing section 8 and the post-baking section 10. The frame 91 has a partition plate 911 that divides the developing section 8 and the rinsing section 9; and a partition plate 912 that divides the rinsing section 9 and the post-baking section 10. The partition plate 911 is provided with a passageway 913 for the substrate G to pass through, and the partition plate 912 is provided with a passageway 914 for the substrate G to pass through.

[0047] In the rinsing section 9, a plurality of transport rollers 92 are arranged in the transport direction X along the upper surface of the substrate G. Each transport roller 92 is composed of a rotating shaft 921 and a plurality of substrate support portions 922 fixed to the rotating shaft 921. In this embodiment, in order to cope with the increasing size and thinner wall of the substrate G, the transport rollers 92 are arranged with a narrower spacing than conventional devices (such as the device described in Patent Document 1). In this embodiment, 24 transport rollers 92 are arranged. In addition, a substrate posture changing device 93 is provided to change the posture of the substrate G transported by the transport rollers 92 between a horizontal posture and an inclined posture.

[0048] Figure 3 This is a top view of the substrate posture changing device. Figure 4 This is an enlarged view of a portion of the substrate orientation change device. Figure 4 (a) is an enlarged top view. Figure 4 (b) is an enlarged side view. For example... Figure 3 As shown, the substrate posture changing device 93 includes a roller support mechanism 94 having eight roller support portions 94a to 94h. The roller support portions 94a to 94h are arranged adjacent to each other in this order along the conveying direction X. That is, in this embodiment, the 24 conveying rollers 92 are grouped into eight conveying roller groups 92a to 92h, each consisting of three conveying rollers adjacent to each other in the conveying direction X. The conveying rollers 92 constituting the conveying roller groups 92a to 92h are supported inside the roller support portions 94a to 94h and are allowed to rotate freely. Furthermore, the control unit 12 controls each part of the device as follows: for each roller support portion 94a to 94h, a drive unit 95a to 95h is provided to drive the conveying roller 92, and a rotation unit 96a to 96b is provided to switch the posture of the conveying roller 92. Thus, the substrate posture changing device 93 includes a drive mechanism with drive units 95a-95h and a rotation mechanism with rotation units 96a-96h, enabling control of the drive and posture of the conveyor rollers 92 on a per-conveyor roller group basis. It should be noted that in this embodiment, the substrate posture changing device 93 is controlled by the control unit 12 that controls the entire substrate processing system 100. However, it could also be configured with a dedicated control unit for controlling each part of the rinsing unit 9, which would then control the drive and posture of the conveyor rollers 92 on a per-conveyor roller group basis. Furthermore, since the roller support units 94a-94h, drive units 95a-95h, and rotation units 96a-96h have identical structures, the structure and operation of the roller support units 94a, drive units 95a, and rotation units 96a will be described below, and other reference numerals with the same or equivalent designations will be omitted from the description.

[0049] like Figure 3 as well as Figure 4As shown in (a), the roller support 94a includes a support body 940 with a square tube shape and an opening in the vertical direction Z. Inside the support body 940, partition plates 941 and 942 extending in the X direction are fixedly arranged at intervals in the width direction Y of the substrate G. Three spaces SP1 to SP3 are formed inside the roller support 94a by the partition plates 941 and 942. In addition, three bearings 943 are mounted on each partition plate 941 and 942 in the X direction at the arrangement spacing P of the conveyor rollers 92. Moreover, the two ends of the shaft of the conveyor roller 92 are respectively inserted into a pair of bearings 943 facing each other in the Y direction, and the conveyor roller 92 is rotatably supported by the shaft within the space SP2. Furthermore, a one-sided power transmission unit 951 is arranged in the space SP1 (hereinafter referred to as "one-sided space SP1") located on the (-Y) direction side of the conveyor roller 92, and a other-sided power transmission unit 952 is arranged in the space SP3 (hereinafter referred to as "the other-sided space SP3") located on the (+Y) direction side of the conveyor roller 92. Additionally, a motor 953 is mounted on the side of the support body 940 on the (-Y) direction side. Specifically, the motor 953 is mounted on the opposite side of the conveyor roller 92 across the one-sided power transmission unit 951 and on the outside of the roller support 94a. The one-sided power transmission unit 951, the other-sided power transmission unit 952, and the motor 953 provided in these roller support 94a are structural elements of the drive unit 95a for rotating the conveyor roller 92 constituting the conveyor roller group 92a, which will be described in detail later.

[0050] The roller support 94a, which is equipped with the conveyor roller assembly 92a and the drive unit 95a, is housed within the frame 91 and is rotatably mounted on a rotation axis AX parallel to the conveying direction X, located at one end of the conveyor roller 92, i.e., the (-Y) direction side. A rotating part 96a is mounted on the other side of the roller support 94a, i.e., the (+Y) direction side.

[0051] Figure 5 This diagram illustrates the structure and operation of the rotating part that switches the posture of the conveyor rollers. Figure 5 (a) is a diagram showing the various parts of the rotating section when the conveyor roller is switched to a horizontal position. Figure 5 Figure (b) shows the various parts of the rotating section when the conveyor roller is switched to an inclined position. The rotating section 96a rotates the roller support 94a about the rotation axis AX by raising and lowering the lower surface area on the (+Y) direction side of the roller support 94a in the vertical direction Z, thereby switching the position of the conveyor roller 92 between a horizontal and an inclined position. More specifically, the rotating section 96a includes: a support member 961, which is mounted on the lower surface area and supports the roller support 94a from below; a lifting section 962, which raises and lowers the support member 961; and a connecting block 963, which connects a portion of the support member 961 and the lifting section 962.

[0052] like Figure 5 As shown, the lifting unit 962 includes: a columnar member 962a mounted on the frame 91; a ball screw 962b mounted on the columnar member 962a extending parallel to the vertical direction Z; a motor 962c connected to the lower end of the ball screw 962b; and a bracket 962d screwed to the ball screw 962b. Then, when the motor 962c operates according to a lifting command from the control unit 12, the ball screw 962b rotates, and the bracket 962d rises and falls along the vertical direction Z according to its rotation. The support member 961 is connected to the bracket 962d configured thus via a connecting block 963. More specifically, as... Figure 5 As shown in (a), the support member 961 has a rod shape extending in the vertical direction. Furthermore, when the bracket 962d is in the lower limit position, the central axes of the support member 961 and the connecting rod block 963 are parallel to the vertical direction Z. However, the central axis of the support member 961 is slightly offset from the central axis of the connecting rod block 963 in the (-Y) direction. Moreover, when a lifting command from the control unit 12 is provided to the motor 962c, as... Figure 5 As shown in (b), the bracket 962d rises in the vertical direction Z according to the amount of rotation. As the bracket 962d rises, the end of the roller support 94a on the (+Y) direction side is pushed upwards via the connecting rod block 963 and the support member 961, causing the roller support 94a to rotate about the rotation axis AX. As a result, as... Figure 4 As shown by the single-dotted line in (b), the conveyor roller 92 supported by the roller support 94a changes from a horizontal posture to an inclined posture of several degrees.

[0053] Conversely, in this tilted posture (with the bracket 962d at its upper limit position), if a descent command is given to the motor 962c from the control unit 12, the end of the roller support 94a in the (+Y) direction, along with the connecting rod block 963 and the support member 961, descends as the bracket 962d descends. As a result, the conveyor roller 92 returns to a horizontal posture ( Figure 5 (a)

[0054] return Figure 4 Section (a) describes the structure and operation of the drive unit 95a. The drive unit 95a has a power transmission unit 951 on one side, a power transmission unit 952 on the other side, and a motor 953. The motor 953 is mounted on the outer side of the roller support unit 94a in the (-Y) direction when the rotating shaft 963a is inserted into the space SP1 on one side.

[0055] A power transmission unit 951 is disposed in one side space SP1. The power transmission unit 951 has a rotating shaft 951a extending in the X direction. The rotating shaft 951a is rotatably supported relative to the roller support unit 94a within the one side space SP1. A helical gear 951c is mounted in the rotating shaft 951a at a position facing the rotating shaft of the motor 953, meshing with a helical gear 951b mounted on the rotating shaft. Therefore, when the motor 953 operates according to the command from the control unit 12, the driving force generated by the motor 953 is transmitted to the rotating shaft 951a via a pair of helical gears 951b and 951c, causing the rotating shaft 951a to rotate. A helical gear 951e is mounted in the rotating shaft 951a at a position facing the end of the rotating shaft 951a on the (-Y) direction side of a conveying roller 92, i.e., one side end of the rotating shaft 921, meshing with a helical gear 951d mounted at that end. Therefore, the rotation of the rotating shaft 951a is transmitted to the rotating shaft 921 of the conveyor roller 92 via a pair of helical gears 951d and 951e, causing the conveyor roller 92 to rotate. In this way, the driving force generated by the motor 953 is transmitted to one conveyor roller 92 via the power transmission section 951 on one side. Figure 4 The conveyor roller located on the (-X) side of (a) is directly driven. Thus, a power transmission unit 951, consisting of a rotating shaft 951a and four helical gears 951b to 951e, directly transmits the driving force of the motor 953 to the aforementioned conveyor roller 92. The conveyor roller 92 that is directly driven is thus called the "direct drive roller". Furthermore, regarding the remaining two (…) of the three conveyor rollers 92… Figure 4 The conveyor roller located on the (+X) side of the direct drive roller in (a) is called the "indirect drive roller" because it is driven via the direct drive roller, as explained below. It should be noted that in one power transmission unit 951, power transmission is achieved via helical gears 951b to 951e, but non-contact power transmission devices such as magnetic gears utilizing the attraction / repulsion of magnets can also be used. Alternatively, other power transmission methods such as gear sets or conveyor belts can also be used. The same applies to the other power transmission unit 952, which will be explained below.

[0056] The (+Y) direction end of the rotation shaft 921 of the direct drive roller, i.e., the other end, is located in space SP3 and connected to the other power transmission unit 952. The other power transmission unit 952 has a rotation shaft 952a extending in the X direction. The rotation shaft 952a is rotatably supported relative to the roller support unit 94a within the other space SP3. At a position in the rotation shaft 952a opposite to the rotation shaft 921 of the direct drive roller, a helical gear 952c is installed in such a way that it meshes with a helical gear 952b mounted on the rotation shaft 921. Therefore, the rotational force of the direct drive roller is transmitted to the rotation shaft 952a via the pair of helical gears 952b and 952c, causing the rotation shaft 952a to rotate. At the ends of the rotating shaft 952a that face the (+Y) direction sides of the two indirect drive rollers (i.e., the other ends of the rotating shaft 921), helical gears 952f and 952g are installed in a manner that meshes with helical gears 952d and 952e mounted at each end. Therefore, the aforementioned rotational force is transmitted to the indirect drive rollers via the helical gears 952d to 952g, and the indirect drive rollers rotate synchronously with the direct drive rollers. Thus, regardless of the orientation of these direct and indirect drive rollers, the substrate G can be conveyed along the conveying direction X.

[0057] Regarding the aforementioned structure and operation, as described above, the other roller support sections 94b-94h, drive sections 95b-95h, and rotating sections 96b-96h are also the same. Therefore, by using the control unit 12 to uniformly control the drive sections 95a-95h and the rotating sections 96a-96h, similar to existing devices, the posture of the substrate G can be changed to a horizontal posture or an inclined posture, and the substrate G can be transported along the transport direction X in either posture. Furthermore, by using the control unit 12 to separately control the drive sections 95a-95h and the rotating sections 96a-96h, the timing of posture changes and the transport speed of the substrate G can be adjusted on a per-roller-group basis. For example, the transport speed can also be changed based on the presence or absence of the substrate G in each roller-group.

[0058] like Figure 2 As shown, the rinsing section 9 is equipped with rinsing liquid nozzles 97a and spray nozzles 97b as a processing liquid supply section for supplying rinsing liquid L to the upper surface of the substrate G conveyed by the aforementioned conveying roller 92. The rinsing liquid nozzles 97a are located near the downstream side of the partition plate 911 in the frame 91. In addition, a plurality of spray nozzles 97b supply rinsing liquid from above the substrate G on the downstream side of the rinsing liquid nozzles 97a. As a result, the upper surface of the substrate G is covered and cleaned by a liquid film of rinsing liquid L.

[0059] As shown above, in this embodiment, the plurality of conveyor rollers 92 used for conveying the substrate G along the conveying direction X are configured to be grouped into eight conveyor roller groups 92a to 92h, and the posture of the conveyor rollers 92 is changed between a horizontal posture and an inclined posture on a unit basis. Therefore, even if the spacing P between adjacent conveyor rollers 92 is reduced, the rotating parts 96a to 96h used for switching the posture of the conveyor rollers 92 can reliably prevent interference between them.

[0060] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the drive of the conveyor rollers 92 is controlled on a unit basis, with each conveyor roller group as a unit. More specifically, each roller support 94a-94h is provided with a drive unit 95a-95h. Moreover, in each drive unit 95a-95h, the driving force generated by the motor 953 is transmitted to the direct drive roller at one end (-Y direction side) and to the indirect drive roller 92I via the direct drive roller at the other end (+Y direction side), and the three conveyor rollers 92 rotate synchronously. That is, by providing a power transmission unit 951 on one side and a power transmission unit 952 on the other side, which function as a power transmission mechanism, respectively, on one side and the other side of the conveyor rollers 92, the power transmission mechanism in the conveying direction X can be miniaturized. As a result, the three conveyor rollers 92 driven by a single motor 953 can be arranged at a relatively short spacing P, enabling not only the existing substrate G but also large and thin-walled substrates G to be moved and conveyed.

[0061] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications other than those described can be made without departing from its spirit. For example, in the above embodiments, a conveyor roller group is composed of three adjacent conveyor rollers, but the number of conveyor rollers constituting the conveyor roller group is not limited to three, and may also be two or four or more.

[0062] In addition, in the above embodiments, the number of conveying rollers in the conveying roller groups 92a to 92h is the same, but the number of conveying rollers between conveying roller groups can also be different.

[0063] In addition, in the above embodiment, a ball screw drive is used as the drive source for raising and lowering the lower surface area of ​​the (+Y) direction side of the roller support 94a to 94h in the vertical direction Z, but other drive sources such as the cylinder described in Patent Document 1 may also be used.

[0064] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, all the conveying rollers 92 arranged in the rinsing section 9 correspond to the "probable conveying rollers" of the present invention, but it is also possible to configure a portion of all the conveying rollers 92 to correspond to the "probable conveying rollers" of the present invention. For example, it is also possible to configure all the conveying rollers 92 except for the conveying roller 92 located below the rinsing liquid nozzle 97a to correspond to the "probable conveying rollers" of the present invention.

[0065] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to the rinsing section 9 that performs rinsing treatment on the substrate G that has undergone development treatment, but the present invention can also be applied to... Figure 1 The cleaning section 2 is included. In addition to these cleaning sections 2 and rinsing sections 9, the present invention can be applied to all substrate conveying devices that convey substrates by a plurality of conveying rollers and all substrate processing devices equipped with such substrate conveying devices.

[0066] This invention is applicable to all posture change techniques for changing a substrate between a first posture and a second posture by a plurality of conveying rollers arranged parallel to each other in a conveying direction along the main surface of the substrate.

Claims

1. A substrate posture changing device, wherein the posture of a substrate being conveyed along a conveying direction by a plurality of conveying rollers arranged parallel to each other along the main surface of the substrate is changed between a first posture and a second posture inclined to the first posture, characterized in that, have: The roller support mechanism groups the plurality of conveying rollers into a plurality of conveying roller groups, each conveying roller group consisting of a plurality of conveying rollers that are adjacent to each other in the conveying direction. For each conveying roller group, the two ends of the conveying rollers constituting the conveying roller group are supported by roller support portions provided corresponding to the conveying roller group, allowing them to rotate freely. The rotating mechanism, for each of the roller support portions, uses a rotating portion integrally provided with respect to the roller support portion to rotate the roller support portion about a rotating axis parallel to the conveying direction at one end of the conveying roller supported by the roller support portion, thereby switching the conveying roller supported by the roller support portion between the first posture and the second posture; as well as The drive mechanism, for each of the roller supports, uses a drive unit corresponding to that roller support to drive the conveyor roller supported by that roller support. When one of the conveying rollers corresponding to the driving unit is defined as a direct drive roller, and the remaining conveying rollers are defined as indirect drive rollers, each driving unit has: An electric motor generates driving force; A power transmission section on one side transmits the driving force from the electric motor to one end of the direct drive roller; and On the other side, the power transmission unit transmits the rotational force of the direct drive roller, which rotates using the driving force, to the indirect drive roller from the other end of the direct drive roller. The power transmission unit on one side has a rotating shaft, which, when extended along the conveying direction, is rotatably supported relative to the roller support unit. At a first position on the rotating shaft of the power transmission section facing the rotating shaft of the motor, the driving force generated by the motor is transmitted to the rotating shaft of the power transmission section on one side. At a second position on the rotating shaft of the power transmission section on one side, which is orthogonal to and faces one end of the direct drive roller, the driving force transmitted to the rotating shaft of the power transmission section on one side is transmitted to the direct drive roller.

2. The substrate posture changing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, For each roller support, the conveying roller, the power transmission unit on one side, and the power transmission unit on the other side corresponding to the roller support are disposed inside the roller support, and the motor corresponding to the roller support is mounted on the outside of the roller support on the opposite side of the conveying roller through the power transmission unit on one side.

3. The substrate posture changing device according to claim 2, characterized in that, Each of the rotating parts has a lifting part that raises and lowers the roller support on the other end side of the conveying roller supported by the roller support corresponding to the rotating part. The posture of the substrate is switched to the second posture by raising the roller support based on the lifting part, and the posture of the substrate is switched to the first posture by lowering the roller support based on the lifting part.

4. The substrate posture changing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, have: The control unit controls a plurality of the drive units to change the conveying speed of the substrate for each of the roller support units.

5. The substrate posture changing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The power transmission unit on one side has: The first helical gear is mounted on the rotating shaft of the electric motor. The second helical gear, in a state of meshing with the first helical gear, is installed at the first position on the rotating shaft of the power transmission unit on one side. The third helical gear is installed at the second position on the rotating shaft of the power transmission section on one side. The fourth helical gear, in engagement with the third helical gear, is mounted at one end of the direct drive roller.

6. A substrate processing apparatus, characterized in that, have: The substrate posture changing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5; and The processing liquid supply unit supplies processing liquid to the main surface of the substrate, which is conveyed by the plurality of conveying rollers along the conveying direction.

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