Pipe arrangement processing apparatus and pipe arrangement processing method

Abstract

To suppress charging of a pipe arrangement at processing time of the pipe arrangement constituting a substrate processing apparatus.SOLUTION: A pipe arrangement processing apparatus that performs processing of a pipe arrangement constituting a substrate processing apparatus comprises: a processor that performs processing of the pipe arrangement by contacting with the pipe arrangement; and a static elimination part that eliminates charge of the pipe arrangement during processing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a piping processing apparatus and a piping processing method. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a plastic pipe processing device that includes a pipe holding mechanism that holds a plastic pipe, and an expanding tool that is inserted axially into the end of the plastic pipe held by the pipe holding mechanism to expand the diameter of the end. This processing device includes a driving mechanism that manually drives the expanding tool in the axial direction toward the end of the plastic pipe to insert the expanding tool into the end of the plastic pipe, and a fixing mechanism that fixes the position of the expanding tool when it is inserted into the end of the plastic pipe. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2012-232513 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The technology according to the present disclosure suppresses charging of pipes constituting a substrate processing apparatus during processing of the pipes. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] One aspect of the present disclosure is a piping processing apparatus that processes piping constituting a substrate processing apparatus, The processing tool includes a processing tool that processes the pipe by contacting the pipe, and a static elimination unit that eliminates static electricity from the pipe during processing. Effect of the Invention

[0006] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to suppress charging of pipes constituting a substrate processing apparatus during processing of the pipes. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an outline of a configuration of a resist coating apparatus according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is a side view showing an outline of a configuration of a piping processing device according to an embodiment; [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the pipe processing device. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the pipe processing apparatus (a view of the apparatus from above). [Diagram 5] 1A to 1C are diagrams for explaining a method for enlarging a diameter of a pipe using a pipe processing device. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an example of the arrangement of ionizers. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of the flow of air blown out from an ionizer by arrows. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an arrangement region of an ionizer. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a side view showing another configuration example of the piping processing device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] In the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices, etc., there is a process of forming a resist film for pattern formation on the surface of a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a "wafer"), etc. In this process, a resist liquid is discharged from a nozzle unit onto the center of a wafer held on a spin chuck, and the resist liquid discharged from the nozzle unit is supplied from a resist liquid supply source such as a bottle that stores the resist liquid.

[0009] In the supply path of the resist liquid, multiple pipes are used, and joints are also used to connect the pipes to each other. Usually, when attaching a pipe to a joint, it is necessary to enlarge the diameter of the end of the pipe using an enlargement tool. The enlargement tool is, for example, a cylindrical member having a small diameter part and a large diameter part. The small diameter part of the enlargement tool is inserted from the end face of the pipe, and then the enlargement tool is further pushed into the pipe to insert the large diameter part of the enlargement tool into the end of the pipe. This causes the pipe to be enlarged.

[0010] Incidentally, when the expanding tool is pushed into the pipe, the pipe may become charged due to friction between the inner peripheral surface of the pipe and the outer peripheral surface of the expanding tool. In particular, since the pipe constituting the substrate processing apparatus in which various processes are performed on the wafer and the expanding tool are both made of a resin material, the pipe is easily charged during the expanding process. In addition, since the charged pipe attracts particles present in the surrounding environment, particles are likely to adhere to the outer peripheral surface and inner peripheral surface of the pipe end after the diameter is expanded. For this reason, when using a charged pipe, it takes time to clean the pipe.

[0011] Therefore, the technology disclosed herein suppresses charging of pipes constituting a substrate processing apparatus during processing of the pipes.

[0012] The piping processing apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings, and an example of a substrate processing apparatus in which the piping is used will be described first. Note that in this specification and the drawings, elements having substantially the same functional configurations are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicated explanations will be omitted.

[0013] <Resist Coating Equipment> FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing an outline of the configuration of a resist coating apparatus, which is an example of a substrate processing apparatus according to this embodiment.

[0014] The resist coating apparatus 100 has a processing vessel 101 whose interior can be sealed. A loading / unloading port (not shown) for a wafer W is formed on a side surface of the processing vessel 101.

[0015] A spin chuck 102 serving as a substrate holding part for holding a wafer W is provided within the processing vessel 101. The spin chuck 102 can be rotated at a predetermined speed by a chuck driving part 103 having an actuator such as a motor, and can rotate the wafer W held by the spin chuck 102. The chuck driving part 103 is provided with an elevation driving mechanism such as a cylinder, and the spin chuck 102 can be raised and lowered freely.

[0016] Further, in the processing vessel 101, a cup 104 is provided, which is disposed outside the spin chuck 102 and surrounds the wafer W held by the spin chuck 102. The cup 104 includes an outer cup 105 that receives and collects liquid scattered or dropped from the wafer W, and an inner cup 106 that is positioned on the inner periphery side of the outer cup 105.

[0017] An opening 107 is formed in the upper surface of the outer cup 105, through which the wafer W passes when the wafer W is transferred to and from the spin chuck 102. Furthermore, a nozzle unit 108 that ejects a resist liquid onto the wafer W is provided in the processing vessel 101 so as to be movable vertically and horizontally.

[0018] The nozzle unit 108 is connected to a resist liquid supply source (not shown), such as a bottle storing resist liquid, via a plurality of pipes 109. The pipes 109 are formed of a resin material, such as a fluororesin, for example, PFA. In the supply path of the resist liquid from the resist liquid supply source to the nozzle unit 108, joints 110 that connect the plurality of pipes 109 to each other are appropriately provided.

[0019] The piping processing device described below is a device for expanding the diameter of piping 109 in order to attach piping 109 to joint 110. Note that, in this embodiment, resist coating apparatus 100 is exemplified as the substrate processing apparatus in which piping 109 is used, but the substrate processing apparatus may be an apparatus other than resist coating apparatus 100, such as a developing apparatus or a cleaning apparatus. In other words, the piping to be processed by the piping processing apparatus described below is a piping used in the substrate processing apparatus.

[0020] <Piping processing equipment> Fig. 2 is a side view showing an outline of the configuration of the piping processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the piping processing apparatus 1 as seen from the front. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the piping processing apparatus 1 (as seen from above). The X direction, Y direction, and Z direction in each drawing are perpendicular to each other.

[0021] The piping processing device 1 includes a diameter expansion device 10 as a processing device for expanding the diameter of the piping, a clamping mechanism 20 as a holding part for holding the piping to be processed, and an ionizer 30 as a static elimination part for eliminating static electricity from the piping.

[0022] The diameter expander 10 is a device that expands the diameter by advancing a cylindrical diameter expander 11 having a small diameter portion 11a and a large diameter portion 11b in the axial direction (positive side in the X direction) of a pipe held by a clamp mechanism 20. For ease of explanation, in this specification, the near side in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of Fig. 2 (negative side in the Y direction) may be referred to as the "right side," and the far side in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of Fig. 2 (positive side in the Y direction) may be referred to as the "left side."

[0023] The diameter expanding tool 10 comprises a main body 12 and a gripping part 13 attached to the main body 12. The main body 12 incorporates a drive mechanism (not shown) for moving the above-mentioned diameter expanding tool 11 forward within a rectangular parallelepiped housing. The gripping part 13 extends downward from the rear of the main body 12, and an operator can grasp the gripping part 13 with one hand.

[0024] An operating lever 14 is provided in front of the grip part 13, extending diagonally downward and forward from the main body part 12, and an operator holding the grip part 13 can hook his / her finger on the operating lever 14 and pull it towards himself / herself (negative side in the X direction). A biasing mechanism (not shown) for returning the operating lever 14 to its initial position is built into the main body part 12, and when the force applied to the operating lever 14 pulled towards himself / herself is weakened, the operating lever 14 moves forward and returns to its initial position.

[0025] As shown in Figures 2 and 4, a mounting rod 15 to which the diameter expander 11 is attached is provided at the front of the main body 12. In the diameter expander 10 of Figure 3, the mounting rod 15 is in a removed state. The mounting rod 15 advances or retreats by a drive mechanism (not shown) built into the main body 12. The drive mechanism is configured to operate in conjunction with the operation of the above-mentioned operating lever 14, so that the mounting rod 15 advances in conjunction with the operation of the operating lever 14 being pulled backward, and retreats in conjunction with the operation of the operating lever 14 returning to its initial position.

[0026] A support 16 for fixing a clamp mechanism 20 is attached below the mounting rod 15 at the front of the main body 12. The support 16 extends further forward from the front surface of the main body 12, and the clamp mechanism 20 is located at the front end of the support 16.

[0027] The clamp mechanism 20 includes a fixed clamp 21 and a movable clamp 22 disposed above the fixed clamp 21 .

[0028] 3, fixed clamp 21 is formed with semi-cylindrical recess 21a that opens upward, and recess 21a extends in the front-rear direction (X direction) of piping processing apparatus 1. Moreover, movable clamp 22 is formed with semi-cylindrical recess 22a that opens downward, and recess 22a extends in the front-rear direction of piping processing apparatus 1 similarly to recess 21a. Recess 21a of fixed clamp 21 and recess 22a of movable clamp 22 are positioned opposite each other, and the two recesses 21a, 22a form a cylindrical space for clamping and fixing the piping.

[0029] A lock lever 23 is provided at the end of the movable clamp 22 on the negative side in the Y direction as a connector for fixing the movable clamp 22 to the fixed clamp 21. The upper end of the lock lever 23 is fixed to the movable clamp 22 by a connecting pin (not shown) so that the X direction serves as a rotation axis, and the lock lever 23 is configured to be rotatable within the YZ plane with the connecting pin as the rotation axis. When the lock lever 23 is lowered, the end of the movable clamp 22 on the negative side in the Y direction and the fixed clamp 21 are fixed to each other, and when the lock lever 23 is raised, the fixed state between the end of the movable clamp 22 on the negative side in the Y direction and the fixed clamp 21 is released.

[0030] The end of the movable clamp 22 on the positive side in the Y direction is fixed to the fixed clamp 21 by a connecting pin (not shown) so that the X direction serves as the rotation axis, and the movable clamp 22 is configured to be rotatable within the YZ plane with the connecting pin as the rotation axis.

[0031] When clamping a pipe with the clamp mechanism 20 configured in this manner, the lock lever 23 is raised to open the movable clamp 22, the pipe is placed in the recess 21a of the fixed clamp 21, and the pipe can be fixed by closing the movable clamp 22 and lowering the lock lever 23. When removing the pipe from the clamp mechanism 20 after the diameter expansion process, the lock lever 23 is raised to open the movable clamp 22, and the pipe can be removed.

[0032] The specific configuration of the holding part that holds the pipe is not limited to the configuration of the clamp mechanism 20 described in this embodiment. In other words, the holding part for the pipe only needs to have a configuration capable of holding the pipe.

[0033] The ionizer 30 is a blower-type static eliminator that emits air as a gas containing ions for static elimination. An outlet 31 from which air containing ions is emitted is formed in the front part of the ionizer 30, and when a switch (not shown) of the ionizer 30 is turned ON, air containing ions is emitted forward from the outlet 31, and when the switch is turned OFF, the emission of air containing ions stops. A power cable 32 is connected to the rear part of the ionizer 30, and the power cable 32 is connected to an external power source (not shown).

[0034] The ionizer 30 is attached to the right side surface of the main body 12 of the diameter expander 10. The method of fixing the ionizer 30 to the diameter expander 10 is not particularly limited, but it is fixed, for example, by bolt fastening via a bracket (not shown).

[0035] The configuration of the ionizer 30 is not limited to that described in this embodiment, and any known ionizer can be used.

[0036] The above is the configuration of the piping processing apparatus 1. Next, a diameter expansion processing method using this piping processing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0037] 5(a), the pipe 109 is fixed by the clamp mechanism 20. When the pipe 109 is fixed to the clamp mechanism 20, it is preferable to turn on the ionizer 30 in advance. This allows air containing ions released from the ionizer 30 to come into contact with the clamp mechanism 20, and makes it possible to eliminate electricity from the pipe 109 even if the pipe 109 becomes charged before or during the fixing operation.

[0038] Next, as shown in Fig. 5(b), the operator grasps the gripping portion 13 of the diameter expander 10 and pulls the operating lever 14 toward himself. The attachment rod 15 advances in conjunction with the movement of this operating lever 14, and the small diameter portion 11a of the diameter expander 11 attached to the tip of the attachment rod 15 is inserted from the end face of the pipe 109. After that, by pulling the operating lever 14 further toward himself, the large diameter portion 11b following the small diameter portion 11a is inserted into the end face of the pipe 109. As a result, the inner diameter of the pipe end is expanded so as to be equal to the outer diameter of the large diameter portion 11b.

[0039] When expanding the diameter of the pipe 109, the pipe 109 may become charged due to friction between the outer peripheral surface of the expanding tool 11 and the inner peripheral surface of the pipe 109, but in the pipe processing device 1, air containing ions for discharging is emitted forward from the ionizer 30. That is, according to the diameter expansion method of this embodiment, the pipe 109 can be expanded while discharging the end of the pipe 109 by applying air containing ions to the end of the pipe 109, so that the pipe 109 can be prevented from being charged during the diameter expansion. This makes it possible to prevent particles from adhering to the inner peripheral surface of the pipe 109, and to shorten the cleaning time for the pipe 109.

[0040] (Example of ionizer placement) In the example shown in Fig. 4, the ionizer 30 is disposed on the right side (negative side in the Y direction) of the diameter expander 10, but the ionizer 30 may be disposed on the left side (positive side in the Y direction) of the diameter expander 10 as shown in Fig. 6, for example. Also, for example, the ionizer 30 may be disposed on both the right and left sides of the diameter expander 10. However, as shown in Fig. 4, when the lock lever 23 of the clamp mechanism 20 is disposed in the area on the right side of the diameter expander 10, it is preferable to also dispose the ionizer 30 on the right side of the diameter expander 10. The reason for this is as follows.

[0041] 7 is a diagram in which arrows are used to diagrammatically show the flow of wind blown out from ionizer 30, that is, the flow of air containing ions. Note that part of the configuration of diameter expander 10 is not shown in FIG.

[0042] First, in the clamp mechanism 20 in which the lock lever 23 is provided on the right side of the movable clamp 22, when comparing the width from the piping 109 to the left end of the clamp mechanism 20 with the width to the right end, the width to the right end where the lock lever 23 is provided is longer.

[0043] For this reason, when the ionizer 30 is disposed on the right side of the expander 10 as shown in FIG. 7(a), the wind emitted forward from the ionizer 30 hits the clamp mechanism 20 and has difficulty reaching the rear side of the clamp mechanism 20 (the positive side in the X direction).

[0044] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7(b), when the ionizer 30 is disposed on the left side of the expander 10, at least a portion of the air released forward from the ionizer 30 passes through the left side of the clamping mechanism 20 and tends to flow to the rear side of the clamping mechanism 20.

[0045] When the flow of air to the rear side of the clamp mechanism 20 is obstructed, it is possible to suppress the flying up of particles present in the environment on the rear side of the clamp mechanism 20. For this reason, from the viewpoint of suppressing the flying up of such particles and suppressing adhesion of particles to the surface of the pipe 109, it is preferable that the outlet 31 of the ionizer 30 is located in the region of the installation side of the lock lever 23 between the installation side and the non-installation side.

[0046] In other words, as shown in Fig. 8, when the clamp mechanism 20 is divided into two regions A and B with the pipe axis direction C of the pipe 109 when the clamp mechanism 20 is viewed from above as the boundary line, it is preferable that the outlet 31 of the ionizer 30 is located in the wider region. For example, in Fig. 8, the width of the region B where the lock lever 23 is provided is wider than the width of the region A, so it is preferable that the outlet 31 is also located in the region B. Note that the pipe axis direction C of the pipe 109 clamped by the clamp mechanism 20 coincides with the center line of the cylindrical diameter expansion tool 11, so the above-mentioned boundary line is also the center line of the diameter expansion tool 11.

[0047] (Other configuration examples) The ionizer 30 may be configured to be capable of adjusting the air volume, ion concentration, and the like. Also, as shown in FIG. 9, for example, a control unit 40 for controlling the operation of the ionizer 30 may be built into the main body 12 of the diameter expander 10 to execute control for adjusting the air volume, ion concentration, and the like during a series of diameter expansion steps. The control unit 40 is, for example, a computer equipped with a CPU, memory, and the like, and has a program storage unit (not shown). The program storage unit stores various programs including commands for controlling the air volume adjustment, ion concentration adjustment, and the like described below.

[0048] The air volume is adjusted, for example, as follows: First, before the piping is fixed to the clamp mechanism 20, the ionizer 30 is turned on and air containing ions is released at a first air volume. Then, when the worker lowers the lock lever 23 to fix the piping, when the worker grips the gripping portion 13 of the diameter expander 10, or when the operator pulls the operating lever 14 toward himself, the air volume is adjusted to a second air volume higher than the first air volume.

[0049] That is, by controlling the air volume during diameter expansion processing to be larger than the air volume during non-processing, the static elimination ability of the ionizer 30 can be increased only during diameter expansion processing, when the pipe is likely to be charged. In other words, before the diameter expansion processing, when the pipe is relatively unlikely to be charged, the static elimination ability of the ionizer 30 can be suppressed to save energy. In addition, by suppressing the air volume before the diameter expansion processing, the flying up of particles present around the pipe processing apparatus 1 can also be suppressed.

[0050] The ion concentration adjustment control is performed in the same manner as the above-mentioned ion concentration adjustment control. That is, first, the ionizer 30 is turned on before the pipe is fixed to the clamp mechanism 20, and air containing ions at a first ion concentration is released. After that, the ion concentration is adjusted to a second ion concentration higher than the first ion concentration, triggered by the operator lowering the lock lever 23 to fix the pipe, gripping the gripping portion 13 of the diameter expander 10, or pulling the operation lever 14 toward himself.

[0051] That is, by controlling the ion concentration during the diameter expansion process to be higher than the ion concentration during non-processing, it is possible to increase the static electricity removal capacity of the ionizer 30 only during the diameter expansion process when the pipe is likely to be charged. In other words, before the diameter expansion process when the pipe is relatively unlikely to be charged, the static electricity removal capacity of the ionizer 30 can be suppressed to save energy.

[0052] The schematic configuration of the piping processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment and the diameter expansion processing method using the piping processing apparatus 1 have been described above.

[0053] In the above-described piping processing apparatus 1, the clamp mechanism 20 as a holding part is fixed to the diameter expander 10, but the clamp mechanism 20 does not have to be included as a component of the piping processing apparatus 1. For example, it is also possible to fix the piping to the clamp mechanism 20 fixed to a workbench (not shown), and have an operator bring the piping processing apparatus 1 equipped with the diameter expander 10 and ionizer 30 close to the end of the piping to perform diameter expansion processing.

[0054] In the above embodiment, the forward and backward movements of the diameter expansion tool 11 are performed in conjunction with the operation lever 14 operated by the operator, but the forward and backward movements of the diameter expansion tool 11 may be performed automatically. For example, the diameter expansion device may be configured so that the diameter expansion tool advances when the operator presses a switch after fixing the pipe to the clamp mechanism 20.

[0055] In the above description, the diameter expansion process is exemplified as an example of the pipe processing, but the type of processing is not limited to the diameter expansion, and other processing such as cutting of the pipe may be used. In the above description, the ionizer 30 is used as the static eliminator, but the configuration of the static eliminator is not particularly limited as long as the static eliminator can eliminate static electricity during processing of the pipe.

[0056] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative and not restrictive in all respects. The above embodiments may be omitted, substituted, or modified in various forms without departing from the scope of the appended claims, the configuration examples belonging to the technical scope of the present disclosure described below, and the gist thereof. For example, the components of the above embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. From such an arbitrary combination, the actions and effects of each of the components related to the combination can be obtained as a matter of course, and other actions and effects that are obvious to a person skilled in the art from the description of this specification can be obtained.

[0057] In addition, the effects described in this specification are merely explanatory or exemplary and are not limiting. In other words, the technology according to the present disclosure may achieve other effects that are apparent to a person skilled in the art from the description of this specification in addition to or in place of the above effects.

[0058] Note that the following configuration examples also fall within the technical scope of the present disclosure. (1) A piping processing device for processing piping constituting a substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a processing tool that processes the pipe by contacting the pipe; and a static elimination unit that eliminates static electricity from the pipe during processing. (2) A holding portion for holding the piping is provided, The piping processing apparatus according to (1), wherein the processing tool is configured to contact the piping held by the holding portion and process the piping. (3) The piping processing apparatus according to (1) or (2), wherein the charge removal unit is an ionizer that emits a gas containing ions to a portion where the processing tool and the piping contact each other. (4) The processing tool is a diameter expanding tool for expanding the diameter of a pipe end portion, The piping processing apparatus according to (3), wherein the static electricity removal unit is attached to the diameter expander and is positioned so that the gas comes into contact with the end of the piping. (5) The static electricity removing unit has an outlet for discharging the gas, The piping processing device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein when the holding portion is divided into two regions with the axial direction of the piping fixed to the holding portion as viewed from above as a boundary line, the outlet is located in the wider of the two regions. (6) Further comprising a control unit for controlling the operation of the static eliminator, The static electricity removing unit has a configuration capable of adjusting the air volume of the gas, The control unit executes control to adjust the gas flow rate so that the gas flow rate when the piping is being processed is greater than the gas flow rate when the piping is not being processed. (7) Further comprising a control unit for controlling the operation of the static eliminator, The static electricity removing unit has a configuration capable of adjusting the concentration of ions, The control unit executes control to adjust the ion concentration so that the ion concentration during processing of the piping is higher than the ion concentration during non-processing of the piping. (8) A piping processing method for processing piping constituting a substrate processing apparatus, comprising the steps of: A pipe processing method comprising: processing the pipe while removing static electricity from the pipe, using a processing tool that processes the pipe by contacting the pipe. (9) A piping processing method according to (8), in which the piping is processed while an ionizer attached to the processing tool applies a gas containing ions to the portion where the processing tool and the piping contact each other. (10) The piping processing method according to (9), wherein the processing tool is a diameter expander that expands the diameter of a piping end, and the piping is processed while the gas is applied to the piping end. (11) The piping processing method according to (9) or (10), in which the static electricity is removed by making the flow rate of the gas larger while the piping is being processed than while the piping is not being processed. (12) The pipe processing method according to any one of (8) to (11), wherein the static electricity is removed by setting an ion concentration while the pipe is being processed higher than the ion concentration while the pipe is not being processed. [Explanation of symbols]

[0059] 1 Piping processing equipment 10 Expander 30 Ionizer 100 Resist coating device 109 Piping

Claims

1. A piping processing device that processes piping constituting a substrate processing apparatus, a processing tool that processes the pipe by contacting the pipe; and a static elimination unit that eliminates static electricity from the pipe during processing.

2. A holding portion for holding the piping is provided, The piping processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the processing tool is configured to come into contact with the piping held by the holding part to process the piping.

3. The piping processing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the charge removing unit is an ionizer that emits a gas containing ions to a portion where the processing tool and the piping contact each other.

4. The processing tool is a diameter expanding tool for expanding a diameter of a pipe end portion, The piping processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the static electricity removing unit is attached to the diameter expanding device and is disposed so that the gas comes into contact with the end of the piping.

5. The static electricity removing unit has an outlet for discharging the gas, 5. The piping processing device according to claim 3, wherein when the holding portion is divided into two regions with the axial direction of the piping fixed to the holding portion as viewed from above as a boundary line, the outlet is located in the wider of the two regions.

6. A control unit for controlling the operation of the static eliminator is further provided. The static electricity removing unit has a configuration capable of adjusting the air volume of the gas, 5. The piping processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the control unit executes control to adjust the flow rate of the gas so that the flow rate of the gas while the piping is being processed is greater than the flow rate of the gas while the piping is not being processed.

7. A control unit for controlling the operation of the static eliminator is further provided. The static electricity removing unit has a configuration capable of adjusting the concentration of the ions, The piping processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the control unit executes control to adjust the ion concentration while the piping is being processed so that the ion concentration is higher than the ion concentration while the piping is not being processed.

8. A piping processing method for processing piping constituting a substrate processing apparatus, comprising the steps of: A pipe processing method comprising: processing the pipe while removing static electricity from the pipe, using a processing tool that processes the pipe by contacting the pipe.

9. The piping processing method according to claim 8 , further comprising the step of processing the piping while applying a gas containing ions to a portion where the processing tool and the piping come into contact with each other by an ionizer attached to the processing tool.

10. 10. The piping processing method according to claim 9, wherein the processing tool is a diameter expander that expands a diameter of an end portion of a pipe, and processes the pipe while applying the gas to the end portion of the pipe.

11. The piping processing method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the static electricity is removed by setting a flow rate of the gas larger while the piping is being processed than while the piping is not being processed.

12. The pipe processing method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the charge removal is performed by setting an ion concentration while the pipe is being processed to be higher than the ion concentration while the pipe is not being processed.

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