Substrate unloader

Abstract

To provide a substrate unloader which can reduce a footprint by a simple configuration.SOLUTION: A substrate unloader 1 includes: a substrate storage unit 12 for storing a substrate 3 conveyed from a device at a front stage in one or more magazines 5 which store a non-defective substrate and a defective substrate and are aligned in a vertical direction; a lifting driving part 13 for moving the substrate storage unit 12 in a vertical direction; a reception part 14 for receiving quality information indicating the quality of the substrate 3 stored in the one or more magazines 5; and a control part 15 for controlling the substrate storage unit 12 and the lifting control part 13 so that the non-defective substrate and the defective substrate are stored in the one or more magazines 5 in a distinguishable manner. Due to such the configuration, the magazines 5 are aligned in the vertical direction, and accordingly can reduce a footprint, and not the magazines 5 but the substrate storage unit 12 is moved in the vertical direction, and accordingly can make its configuration more simple.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a substrate unloader that accommodates a substrate in a magazine.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, in a substrate unloader that accommodates a substrate conveyed from a preceding device such as a substrate inspection device in a magazine, a good substrate is accommodated in a magazine for good substrates, and a defective substrate is accommodated in a magazine for defective substrates (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Conventionally, for example, as shown in the plan views of FIGS. 7A and 7B, a good magazine 5a in which good substrates are accommodated and a defective magazine 5b in which defective substrates are accommodated are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction. With conventional substrate unloaders 101 and 102, good substrates are accommodated in the good magazine 5a and defective substrates are accommodated in the defective magazine 5b. For example, in the conventional substrate unloader 101 shown in FIG. 7A, substrates are directly accommodated in the good magazine 5a and the defective magazine 5b by the substrate unloader 101, respectively. On the other hand, the conventional substrate unloader 102 shown in FIG. 7B first accommodates the substrate in the defective magazine 5b, and if the substrate is a good substrate, the substrate is pushed out of the defective magazine 5b and accommodated in the good magazine 5a. The substrate unloader 102 shown in FIG. 7B is the substrate unloader disclosed in the above Patent Document 1.

[0005] However, in the conventional substrate unloaders 101 and 102, since the good product magazine 5a and the defective product magazine 5b are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction, there is a problem that the overall footprint increases accordingly. Further, in the conventional substrate unloaders 101 and 102, since the good product magazine 5a and the defective product magazine 5b are each lifted and lowered to accommodate the substrate at the target position, it is necessary to provide two elevation mechanisms, and there is also a problem that the apparatus becomes complicated and the cost increases.

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a substrate unloader that can accommodate good and defective substrates in a magazine with a simpler configuration and can make the overall footprint smaller.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] To achieve the above object, a substrate unloader according to an aspect of the present invention includes a substrate storage unit that stores a substrate conveyed from a preceding apparatus in one or more magazines arranged side by side in the vertical direction and accommodating good and defective substrates, a lifting drive unit that moves the substrate storage unit in the vertical direction, a reception unit that receives pass / fail information indicating whether a substrate stored in one or more magazines is good or defective, and a control unit that controls the substrate storage unit and the lifting drive unit so that good and defective substrates are stored in one or more magazines in a distinguishable manner. With such a configuration, by arranging one or more magazines in the vertical direction, the overall footprint can be made smaller compared to the conventional example. Further, since the substrate storage unit is moved in the vertical direction instead of moving two magazines in the vertical direction respectively, a simpler configuration can be achieved.

[0008] Further, in the substrate unloader according to one aspect of the present invention, the one or more magazines include one or more good-product magazines for accommodating good-product substrates and one or more defective-product magazines for accommodating defective-product substrates, and the control unit may control the substrate accommodation unit and the lifting drive unit so that the good-product substrates are accommodated in the one or more good-product magazines and the defective-product substrates are accommodated in the one or more defective-product magazines. With such a configuration, good-product substrates and defective-product substrates can be accommodated in different magazines respectively.

[0009] Further, in the substrate unloader according to one aspect of the present invention, each of the one or more magazines is for accommodating both good-product substrates and defective-product substrates, and the control unit controls the substrate accommodation unit and the lifting drive unit so that both the good-product substrates and the defective-product substrates are accommodated in one magazine, and further includes an accommodation position information output unit that outputs accommodation position information indicating the accommodation positions where the good-product substrates are accommodated and the accommodation positions where the defective-product substrates are accommodated in the one or more magazines. With such a configuration, good-product substrates and defective-product substrates can be accommodated in a mixed state in one magazine. Therefore, efficient accommodation of substrates can be realized. Further, by outputting the accommodation position information, it becomes possible to know where the good-product substrates and the defective-product substrates are accommodated in the magazine in which the substrates are accommodated.

[0010] Further, in the substrate unloader according to one aspect of the present invention, it may further include a storage unit that stores the number of substrates that can be accommodated in each of the one or more magazines, and a full output unit that outputs that the magazine is full when the number of substrates accommodated in the magazine by the substrate accommodation unit reaches the number of substrates that can be accommodated corresponding to the magazine. With such a configuration, in response to the output indicating that the magazine is full, the full magazine can be replaced with an empty magazine.

Advantages of the Invention

[0011] According to the substrate unloader according to one aspect of the present invention, the configuration can be made simpler than in the conventional example, and the overall footprint can be made smaller.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5A

Figure 5B

Figure 6

Figure 7A

Figure 7B

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] Hereinafter, the substrate unloader according to the present invention will be described using embodiments. In the following embodiments, components and steps denoted by the same reference numerals are the same or corresponding, and repeated description may be omitted. The substrate unloader according to the present embodiment moves a substrate storage unit for storing substrates in a magazine in the vertical direction to store the substrates in magazines arranged side by side in the vertical direction.

[0014] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the substrate unloader 1 according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a schematic side view for showing each mechanism of the substrate unloader 1, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the substrate storage unit 12, FIG. 4 is a view for explaining the pushing-out operation of the substrate 3 by the pushing-out unit 122, and FIG. 5A is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the substrate unloader 1. In the schematic side view of FIG. 2, for convenience of explanation, some components of the substrate unloader 1 are omitted or shown in perspective. Further, in the present embodiment, for convenience of explanation, as shown in FIG. 1, in the substrate unloader 1, the direction in which the substrate 3 is pushed into the good substrate magazine 5a or the defective substrate magazine 5b is referred to as the x-axis direction, the vertical direction (vertical direction) is referred to as the z-axis direction, and the direction orthogonal to the x-axis direction and the z-axis direction may be referred to as the y-axis direction. It is assumed that the x-axis direction and the y-axis direction are each a horizontal direction.

[0015] The substrate unloader 1 according to the present embodiment is configured to store the substrate 3 in the good substrate magazine 5a in which good substrates are stored and the defective substrate magazine 5b in which defective substrates are stored, and includes a storage unit 11, a substrate storage unit 12, a lifting drive unit 13, a reception unit 14, a control unit 15, and a full output unit 16. Further, if necessary, it may include a good substrate magazine mounting table 51a on which the good substrate magazine 5a and the defective substrate magazine mounting table 51b on which the defective substrate magazine 5b are respectively placed. When the good substrate magazine 5a and the defective substrate magazine 5b are not particularly distinguished, they may also be referred to as the magazine 5.

[0016] The substrate 3 may be, for example, a circuit board or a printed circuit board, or other substrates. Also, a circuit board or a printed circuit board is usually a mounting board on which components such as electronic components are mounted. This is because a determination of whether the substrate 3 is good or defective is made. Further, the substrate 3 may be, for example, a single-sided substrate, a double-sided substrate, or a multilayer substrate.

[0017] The magazine 5 may be provided with a pair of support portions 55 that support both end portions of the substrate 3 in a horizontal posture inside a box-shaped body having a pair of opposing openings, arranged one above the other in the vertical direction. The magazine 5 may be, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped shape having a pair of opposing side plates, and an upper plate and a bottom plate that connect the upper and lower ends of both side plates, respectively, and having opposing openings. Note that the magazine 5 having a box shape with a pair of opposing openings may mean that the magazine 5 includes at least such a box shape. Further, a plurality of support portions 55 extending in the horizontal direction may be provided side by side on the inner surface side of the side plate in the vertical direction. Note that the support portion 55 may support the substrate 3 only at the ends of the opposing sides of the rectangular substrate 3. This is to enable the substrate 3 on which components are mounted to be accommodated in the magazine 5 as well. Inside the magazine 5, both end portions of the substrate 3 are placed on a pair of support portions 55 at the same height, whereby the substrate 3 is accommodated in the magazine 5 in a horizontal posture.

[0018] The magazine 5 may be configured to accommodate only substrates 3 of a specific size, for example, or may be configured to change the size of the substrates 3 to be accommodated. In the latter case, for example, the distance between the opposing side plates may be changed. Further, as an example, a plurality of magazines 5 connected in the vertical direction may be used as one magazine 5.

[0019] In the storage unit 11, the storage capacity, which is the number of substrates 3 that can be accommodated in one or more magazines 5, is stored. This storage capacity may be the maximum number of substrates 3 that can be accommodated in the magazine 5. For example, when a pair of support portions 55 are arranged side by side in the vertical direction in the interior of a certain magazine 5, the storage capacity may be N. N is an integer of 2 or more. On the other hand, in the case where the substrate 3 on which components are mounted is accommodated in the magazine 5 and one substrate 3 is accommodated for each of the plurality of stages of the support portions 55, the storage capacity may be reduced accordingly. As an example, in a magazine 5 with N = 30, when one substrate 3 is accommodated for every two stages of the support portions 55, the storage capacity may be 15.

[0020] For example, when the number of substrates that can be accommodated is different for each magazine 5 in which the substrate 3 is accommodated in the substrate unloader 1, every time the magazine 5 is set in the substrate unloader 1, it is preferable that the number of substrates that can be accommodated in that magazine 5 is stored in the storage unit 11. If not, that is, when the number of substrates that can be accommodated is the same for a plurality of magazines 5, when the first magazine 5 is set in the substrate unloader 1, it may be sufficient that the number of substrates 3 accommodated in that magazine 5 is stored in the storage unit 11 only once. Note that the number of substrates that can be accommodated in the good product magazine 5a and the number of substrates that can be accommodated in the defective product magazine 5b may be the same, for example, or may be different. In the latter case, it is preferable that the number of substrates that can be accommodated in the good product magazine 5a and the defective product magazine 5b are respectively stored in the storage unit 11. Usually, since it is considered that there are more good product substrates than defective substrates, for example, the number of substrates that can be accommodated in the good product magazine 5a may be larger than the number of substrates that can be accommodated in the defective product magazine 5b.

[0021] The process by which the number of substrates that can be accommodated is stored in the storage unit 11 is not limited. For example, the number of substrates that can be accommodated may be stored in the storage unit 11 via a recording medium, or the number of substrates that can be accommodated transmitted via a communication line or the like may be stored in the storage unit 11, or the number of substrates that can be accommodated input via an input device may be stored in the storage unit 11. Also, information other than the number of substrates that can be accommodated, for example, may be stored in the storage unit 11. The storage unit 11 is preferably realized by a non-volatile recording medium, but may also be realized by a volatile recording medium. The recording medium may be, for example, a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, or the like.

[0022] The substrate storage unit 12 stores the substrate 3 conveyed from the preceding-stage apparatus in one or more magazines 5 arranged side by side in the vertical direction, where the good substrates and the defective substrates are stored. In the present embodiment, as described above, the case where the one or more magazines 5 are a good-product magazine 5a for storing good substrates and a defective-product magazine 5b for storing defective substrates will be mainly described. The preceding-stage apparatus may be, for example, a substrate inspection apparatus that inspects the substrate 3. In the present embodiment, the case where the substrate storage unit 12 stores the substrate 3 conveyed by the conveying unit 7 from the preceding-stage apparatus in the magazine 5 will be mainly described. The substrate storage unit 12 may have, for example, a conveying unit 121 that conveys the substrate 3 received from the conveying unit 7 to the vicinity of the opening of the magazine 5, and a pushing-out unit 122 that pushes out the substrate 3 conveyed by the conveying unit 121 into the magazine 5. The detailed configuration of the substrate storage unit 12 will be described later.

[0023] The lifting drive unit 13 moves the substrate storage unit 12 in the vertical direction. As an example, the lifting drive unit 13 includes a frame 130, a motor 131 fixed to the frame 130, a drive pulley 132 driven by the motor 131, a driven pulley 133 disposed above the drive pulley 132, a belt 134 wound around the drive pulley 132 and the driven pulley 133, a pair of guides 135 fixed to the frame 130 and extending in the vertical direction, a pair of sliders 136 moving vertically along the pair of guides 135, and a base 137 fixed to the pair of sliders 136 and the belt 134 respectively and moving vertically together with the pair of sliders 136 in response to the rotation of the belt 134. Further, the substrate storage unit 12 may be fixed to the base 137. When the lifting drive unit 13 is configured in this way, the drive pulley 132 is rotated by the motor 131, so that the belt 134 rotates. In response to the rotation of the belt 134, the slider 136 and the base 137 move vertically, so that the substrate storage unit 12 fixed to the base 137 moves vertically. The lifting drive unit 13 can move the substrate storage unit 12 to the positions of the substrate storage unit 12a and the substrate storage unit 12b shown by the dashed lines in FIG. 2, for example.

[0024] It goes without saying that the lifting drive unit 13 may have other configurations. Instead of the drive pulley 132, the driven pulley 133, and the belt 134, for example, a drive gear, a driven gear, and a chain wound around both gears may be used. Further, it goes without saying that the substrate storage unit 12 may be moved vertically by other mechanisms such as a rack and pinion or a ball screw.

[0025] The reception unit 14 receives pass / fail information indicating the quality of the substrate 3 stored in one or more magazines 5 by the substrate storage unit 12. The reception unit 14 may receive, for example, pass / fail information that is the result of substrate inspection from a substrate inspection apparatus. The pass / fail information may be, for example, information indicating both the pass and fail of the substrate 3, or information indicating only one of them. When the pass / fail information is information indicating both the pass and fail of the substrate 3, for all the substrates 3 stored in the magazine 5, pass / fail information indicating that the substrate 3 is a good substrate or pass / fail information indicating that the substrate 3 is a defective substrate will be received. When the pass / fail information is information indicating only one of the pass and fail of the substrate 3, among the substrates 3 stored in the magazine 5, only for the good substrates, pass / fail information indicating that the substrate 3 is a good substrate will be received, or only for the defective substrates, pass / fail information indicating that the substrate 3 is a defective substrate will be received. Even in this case, since the pass / fail of the substrate 3 is indicated by whether the pass / fail information is received or not, the pass / fail information can be considered as information indicating the pass / fail of the substrate 3. In the present embodiment, the case where the pass / fail information is information indicating both the pass and fail of the substrate 3 will be mainly described.

[0026] The reception unit 14 may receive, for example, information other than the pass / fail information. The reception unit 14 may receive, for example, after the full output unit 16 outputs that the magazine 5 is full, that the full magazine 5 has been replaced with an empty magazine 5. The reception unit 14 may receive, for example, information transmitted via a wired or wireless communication line, or may receive information input from an input device (for example, a touch panel, a keyboard, a button, etc.). Note that the reception unit 14 may or may not include a device (for example, a communication device or an input device, etc.) for performing the reception. Also, the reception unit 14 may be realized by hardware or may be realized by software such as a driver for driving a predetermined device.

[0027] The control unit 15 controls the substrate storage unit 12 and the lifting drive unit 13 so that one or more magazines 5 can separately accommodate good substrates and defective substrates in a distinguishable manner. In the present embodiment, as described above, the case where the control unit 15 controls the substrate storage unit 12 and the lifting drive unit 13 so that good substrates are stored in the good magazine 5a and defective substrates are stored in the defective magazine 5b will be mainly described. For example, when the substrate storage unit 12 stores the substrate 3, which is a good substrate, in the good magazine 5a, the control unit 15 raises and lowers the substrate storage unit 12 by the lifting drive unit 13 so that the height of the substrate 3 placed on the transport unit 121 of the substrate storage unit 12 becomes the empty storage location in the good magazine 5a. Then, the substrate storage unit 12 may store the substrate 3 placed on the transport unit 121 in the empty storage location in the good magazine 5a. The same control may be performed when the substrate 3, which is a defective substrate, is stored in the defective magazine 5b.

[0028] For example, the control unit 15 may manage information for identifying the storage positions where the substrates 3 are stored in each magazine 5. As an example, the information may be stored in the storage unit 11. Then, the control unit 15 may control the substrate storage unit 12 or the like so that the substrate 3 is stored in the storage position in the magazine 5 where the substrate 3 is not stored, that is, the empty storage position. Further, for example, the control unit 15 uses correspondence information that associates information for identifying the storage position of the substrate 3 in the magazine 5, such as information indicating the order of the storage positions from the upper side or the lower side, such as "first" or "second", with the vertical distance from the reference position of the magazine 5 to the storage position, so that the height of the substrate 3 held by the substrate storage unit 12 becomes the same as the height of the storage position for storing the substrate 3 in the magazine 5. The control unit 15 raises and lowers the substrate storage unit 12 by the lifting drive unit 13, and then the substrate storage unit 12 stores the substrate 3 in the magazine 5. The reference position of the magazine 5 may be, for example, the position of the bottom surface of the magazine 5. The correspondence information may be stored in the storage unit 11, for example.

[0029] Further, the control unit 15 may determine, for example, whether the number of substrates 3 accommodated in the magazine 5 has reached the maximum number of accommodatable substrates stored in the storage unit 11 corresponding to that magazine 5. In this way, when there is no space to accommodate the substrate 3 in the magazine 5, that is, when the magazine 5 is full, this can be detected. Note that the control unit 15 may obtain the number of substrates 3 accommodated in each magazine 5 by using information for identifying the accommodation positions where the substrates 3 are accommodated, for example, for each magazine 5. That is, the number of substrates 3 accommodated in the magazine 5 may be obtained by using the information managed by the control unit 15. When there are a plurality of magazines 5 in which the substrates 3 are accommodated, the control unit 15 may make such a determination for each magazine 5.

[0030] When the number of substrates 3 accommodated in the magazine 5 by the substrate accommodation unit 12 reaches the maximum number of accommodatable substrates corresponding to that magazine 5, the full output unit 16 may output that the magazine 5 is full. In response to this output, for example, an operator may replace the full magazine 5 with an empty magazine 5. As an example, the full output unit 16 may output information for identifying the full magazine 5. For example, the output of the information for identifying the full magazine 5 may be the output indicating that the magazine 5 is full. As described above, whether the number of substrates 3 accommodated in the magazine 5 has reached the maximum number of accommodatable substrates corresponding to that magazine 5 may be determined by the control unit 15.

[0031] Here, this output may be, for example, a display on a display device (such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display), a transmission via a communication line to a predetermined device, an audio output by a speaker, a light output such as lighting of a warning lamp, or a delivery to other components. In the present embodiment, when the number of substrates 3 accommodated in the magazine 5 is equal to the accommodatable number corresponding to the magazine 5, the case where the display lamp 161 is lit will be mainly described. Note that the full output unit 16 may or may not include a device that performs output (such as a display device, a communication device, the display lamp 161, etc.). Further, the full output unit 16 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by software such as a driver that drives those devices.

[0032] Next, the detailed configuration of the substrate accommodation unit 12 will be described. As described above, the substrate accommodation unit 12 has a transport unit 121 and a push-out unit 122, and may further include an adjustment unit 123, an entrance side sensor 124, and an exit side sensor 125 as required.

[0033] The transport unit 121 transports the substrate 3 transported by the transport unit 7 in the positive direction of the x-axis. For example, it has a motor 121a, a drive pulley 121b driven by the motor 121a, four driven pulleys 121c, and a pair of transport units 121e arranged at intervals in the y-axis direction, with a belt 134 wound around the drive pulley 121b and the four driven pulleys 121c, and may also have a width adjustment unit 121f for adjusting the width of the pair of transport units 121e in the y-axis direction. The width adjustment unit 121f may move at least one of the pair of transport units 121e in the y-axis direction in response to the rotation of the motor by a mechanism such as a ball screw. In the pair of transport units 121e, a pair of belts 121d are provided at intervals in the y-axis direction, and both can transport both ends of the substrate 3 in the x-axis direction. In this way, since the pair of transport units 121e used for transporting the substrate 3 are arranged at intervals in the y-axis direction, for example, a substrate 3 on which components are mounted can also be transported.

[0034] The extrusion part 122 extrudes the substrate 3 from the substrate accommodation unit 12 and accommodates it in the magazine 5. For example, it may include a rod-shaped contact part 122a that is rotatably supported by a rotating shaft whose proximal end extends in the y-axis direction, a rotation restricting member 122b, and a uniaxial actuator 122c that moves the support part that rotatably supports the contact part 122a in the x-axis direction. The uniaxial actuator 122c may be, for example, an air cylinder or a solenoid, or other uniaxial actuators. Also, in FIG. 4(a), the contact part 122a is biased in the counterclockwise direction, and the counterclockwise rotation of the contact part 122a is restricted by the rotation restricting member 122b. When the support part of the contact part 122a is moved in the positive direction of the x-axis by the uniaxial actuator 122c, the contact part 122a will move away from the rotation restricting member 122b, and as shown in FIG. 4(b), the lower end of the contact part 122a rotates by the biasing force until it is in a position below the substrate 3. Note that the contact part 122a shall not rotate any further. Also, when the contact part 122a is further moved in the positive direction of the x-axis by the uniaxial actuator 122c, as shown in FIG. 4(c), the contact part 122a contacts the end of the substrate 3, and the substrate 3 is extruded from the substrate accommodation unit 12 in the positive direction of the x-axis and moved into the interior of the magazine 5. In this way, the substrate 3 will be accommodated inside the magazine 5. After the substrate 3 is accommodated, when the uniaxial actuator 122c returns the contact part 122a to its original position, as shown in FIG. 4(a), the contact part 122a hits the rotation restricting member 122b and rotates in the clockwise direction, and accordingly, the lower end side of the contact part 122a will move upward. Then, the next substrate 3 can be conveyed by the conveying part 121.

[0035] The adjustment part 123 adjusts the position of the extrusion part 122 in the y-axis direction. That is, the extrusion position of the substrate 3 in the y-axis direction will be changed by the adjustment part 123. It is preferable that the extrusion position of the substrate 3 is adjusted to be near the center of the substrate 3 in the y-axis direction.

[0036] The entrance side sensor 124 and the exit side sensor 125 are sensors for detecting the end portions of the substrate 3 in the x-axis direction of the substrate 3. Both sensors may be, for example, reflective photoelectric sensors for detecting the end portions of the substrate 3, or other sensors capable of detecting the end portions of the substrate 3. The end portions of the substrate 3 detected by the entrance side sensor 124 and the exit side sensor 125 may be the front ends of the substrate 3 in the conveyance direction, that is, the x-axis direction. When the entrance side sensor 124 and the exit side sensor 125 are reflective photoelectric sensors, for example, when the light from the light emitting element of the photoelectric sensor is reflected by the end portion of the substrate 3 and received by the light receiving element, the end portion of the substrate 3 may be detected. According to the detection results of the end portions of the substrate 3 by the entrance side sensor 124 and the exit side sensor 125, the conveyance of the substrate 3 in the x-axis direction by the conveyance unit 121 may be controlled. For example, when the front end of the substrate 3 in the conveyance direction is detected by the entrance side sensor 124, the conveyance of the substrate 3 in the positive direction of the x-axis by the conveyance unit 121 may be controlled to be performed. Also, when the front end of the substrate 3 in the conveyance direction is detected by the exit side sensor 125, the conveyance by the conveyance unit 121 may be stopped. Thereafter, the substrate housing unit 12 may be moved up and down by the elevating drive unit 13 so that the height of the substrate 3 held in the substrate housing unit 12 becomes the height of the housing position of the substrate 3, and the conveyance of the substrate 3 in the positive direction of the x-axis by the conveyance unit 121 may be controlled. The conveyance of the substrate 3 may be performed, for example, until the front end of the substrate 3 in the conveyance direction reaches near the opening of the magazine 5. Thereafter, the extrusion of the substrate 3 by the extrusion unit 122 may be controlled to be performed. In this way, the substrate 3 will be housed in the magazine 5. Note that these controls may be performed by the control unit 15.

[0037] Next, the operation of the substrate unloader 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6. (Step S101) The reception unit 14 determines whether or not it has received the pass / fail information. If it has received the pass / fail information, it proceeds to step S102. If not, it repeats the process of step S101 until it receives the pass / fail information.

[0038] (Step S102) The control unit 15 determines whether the front end of the substrate 3 in the conveyance direction is detected by the entrance side sensor 124. If the front end of the substrate 3 is detected, the process proceeds to step S103. Otherwise, the process of step S102 is repeated until the front end of the substrate 3 is detected.

[0039] (Step S103) The control unit 15 controls the conveyance unit 121 of the substrate storage unit 12 to convey the substrate 3 in the positive direction of the x-axis until the front end of the substrate 3 in the conveyance direction is detected by the exit side sensor 125. More specifically, the control unit 15 may drive the motor 121a of the conveyance unit 121 until the front end of the substrate 3 is detected by the exit side sensor 125.

[0040] (Step S104) The control unit 15 determines whether the magazine 5 for accommodating the substrate 3 is full. If it is full, the process proceeds to step S105. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S107. The control unit 15 determines the magazine 5 for accommodating the substrate 3 based on, for example, the pass / fail information received by the reception unit 14, and determines that the magazine 5 is full when the number of substrates 3 stored in the determined magazine 5 is equal to the maximum number of substrates that can be stored in that magazine 5, which is stored in the storage unit 11.

[0041] (Step S105) The full output unit 16 outputs that the magazine 5 is full. The full output unit 16 may also output information for identifying the magazine 5 that has become full. For example, the full output unit 16 may output information indicating whether the good product magazine 5a has become full or the defective product magazine 5b has become full.

[0042] (Step S106) The reception unit 14 determines whether it has received notification that the replacement of the magazine 5 has been completed. If it has received notification that the replacement of the magazine 5 has been completed, the process proceeds to step S107. Otherwise, the process of step S106 is repeated until it receives notification that the replacement of the magazine 5 has been completed.

[0043] (Step S107) The control unit 15 controls the lifting drive unit 13 to lift the substrate storage unit 12 so that the position for accommodating the new substrate 3 in the magazine 5 is at the height of the substrate 3 held by the substrate storage unit 12.

[0044] (Step S108) The control unit 15 controls the transport unit 121 of the substrate storage unit 12 to transport the substrate 3 in the positive direction of the x-axis until the front end of the substrate 3 in the transport direction is near the opening of the magazine 5. After that, the control unit 15 controls the uniaxial actuator 122c of the pushing-out unit 122 of the substrate storage unit 12, and moves the contact portion 122a in the positive direction of the x-axis, thereby pushing out the substrate 3 held by the substrate storage unit 12 toward the magazine 5 and accommodating it inside the magazine 5. After the accommodation, the control unit 15 controls the uniaxial actuator 122c to return the contact portion 122a to the initial position.

[0045] (Step S109) The control unit 15 controls the lifting drive unit 13 so that the vertical height of the substrate storage unit 12 becomes the initial position. The initial value of the substrate storage unit 12 may be, for example, a vertical position capable of receiving the substrate 3 transported by the transport unit 7. Then, it returns to Step S101.

[0046] Note that the order of the processes in the flowchart of FIG. 6 is an example, and if the same result can be obtained, the order of each step may be changed. For example, after the leading end side of the substrate 3 is detected by the entrance side sensor 124, the acceptance unit 14 may accept the pass / fail information. Also, in the flowchart of FIG. 6, when accommodating a new substrate 3, it shows the case of determining whether the magazine 5 is full, but it may not be so. For example, after the substrate 3 is accommodated, that is, after Step S108, it may be determined whether the magazine 5 in which the substrate 3 is accommodated is full, and if it is full, that fact may be output. Also, in the flowchart of FIG. 6, the process ends due to a power-off or a processing end interrupt.

[0047] Next, the operation of the substrate unloader 1 according to the present embodiment will be described using a specific example. In this specific example, it is assumed that the substrate 3 that has been inspected by the substrate inspection apparatus is conveyed by the conveyance unit 7, and the substrate unloader 1 accommodates the conveyed substrate 3 in the good product magazine 5a or the defective product magazine 5b. First, when the inspection of the substrate 3 by the substrate inspection apparatus is completed, the pass / fail information, which is the inspection result, is transmitted to the substrate unloader 1. The pass / fail information is received by the reception unit 14 and passed to the control unit 15 (step S101). Also, the inspected substrate 3 is conveyed to the substrate unloader 1 by the conveyance unit 7. When the front end of the conveyed substrate 3 is detected by the entrance side sensor 124, the control unit 15 drives the conveyance unit 121 of the substrate accommodation unit 12 to convey the substrate 3 in the positive direction of the x-axis, and when the front end of the substrate 3 is detected by the exit side sensor 125, the conveyance is stopped (steps S102 and S103).

[0048] Next, the control unit 15 determines the magazine 5 for accommodating the substrate 3 based on the pass / fail information received from the reception unit 14. In this case, it is assumed that the pass / fail information indicates that the substrate 3 is a good product substrate. Then, the control unit 15 reads out the maximum number of substrates that can be accommodated in the good product magazine 5a stored in the storage unit 11, and determines whether the number of substrates 3 that have been accommodated in the good product magazine 5a until then is equal to the maximum number of substrates that can be accommodated (step S104). In this case, it is assumed that the number of substrates 3 accommodated in the good product magazine 5a is less than the maximum number of substrates that can be accommodated. Then, the control unit 15 specifies the accommodation position of the new substrate 3 in the good product magazine 5a. For example, the accommodation position of the new substrate 3 may be specified so that the substrates 3 are accommodated in order from the upper side or the lower side of the good product magazine 5a.

[0049] After that, the control unit 15 drives the lifting drive unit 13 to lift the substrate storage unit 12 so that the vertical position of the substrate 3 held by the substrate storage unit 12 becomes the specified storage position in the good product magazine 5a (step S107). Then, the control unit 15 controls the transport unit 121 of the substrate storage unit 12 to transport the substrate 3 until the front end of the substrate 3 is near the opening of the good product magazine 5a. Further, the control unit 15 controls the extrusion unit 122 to extrude the substrate 3 placed on the belt 121d of the transport unit 121 in the positive direction of the x-axis, and stores the substrate 3 in the good product magazine 5a (step S108). After the substrate 3 is stored, the control unit 15 returns the 1-axis actuator 122c of the extrusion unit 122 to the initial position. Also, the control unit 15 drives the lifting drive unit 13 to lift the substrate storage unit 12 to a height at which the substrate 3 can be received from the transport unit 7 (step S109). In this way, the substrates 3 transported from the previous device are sequentially stored in the magazine 5.

[0050] When the number of substrates 3 stored in the good product magazine 5a is equal to the number that can be stored, the control unit 15 instructs the full output unit 16 to output that the good product magazine 5a is full. Then, in response to the instruction, the full output unit 16 lights up the indicator lamp 161 to indicate that the good product magazine 5a is full (step S105). In response to the lighting of the indicator lamp 161, the operator replaces the full good product magazine 5a with an empty good product magazine 5a and inputs to the substrate unloader 1 that the good product magazine 5a has been replaced. Then, the input is received by the reception unit 14 and passed to the control unit 15 (step S106). Then, the control unit 15 performs control for storing the substrate 3 in the good product magazine 5a (steps S107 to S109).

[0051] As described above, according to the substrate unloader 1 of the present embodiment, since the substrate 3 is accommodated in one or more magazines 5 arranged vertically, the overall footprint can be reduced, and the substrate 3 can be accommodated in the magazine 5 in a space-saving manner. Further, in a conventional substrate unloader, in order to raise and lower the good product magazine 5a and the defective product magazine 5b respectively, it is necessary to provide two elevation mechanisms, resulting in a problem that the apparatus becomes complicated and the cost increases. On the other hand, in the substrate unloader 1 according to the present embodiment, since the substrate accommodation unit 12 is raised and lowered instead of the magazine 5, the configuration of the lifting drive unit 13 can be made simpler compared to the conventional one, and the cost can also be reduced. Also, as in the conventional case, the good substrate and the defective substrate can be accommodated in the magazine 5 so as to be distinguishable from each other.

[0052] Further, when the magazine 5 for accommodating the substrate 3 is full, by outputting that fact, for example, an operator can replace the full magazine 5 with an empty magazine 5.

[0053] In the present embodiment, the case where the substrate 3 is accommodated in one good product magazine 5a and one defective product magazine 5b arranged side by side in the vertical direction has been mainly described, but this is not necessary. The substrate 3 may be accommodated in one or two or more good product magazines 5a and one or two or more defective product magazines 5b arranged side by side in the vertical direction. Usually, it is considered that there are more good substrates than defective substrates. Therefore, as an example, the substrate 3 may be accommodated in two or more good product magazines 5a and one defective product magazine 5b arranged side by side in the vertical direction.

[0054] Also, in this embodiment, the case where the good substrate and the defective substrate are respectively stored in the good magazine 5a and the defective magazine 5b has been mainly described, but this is not necessary. Both the good substrate and the defective substrate may be stored in a single magazine 5. In this case, each of the one or more magazines 5 in which the substrate 3 is stored may store both the good substrate and the defective substrate. Also, in this case, the number of magazines 5 in which the substrate 3 is stored may be, for example, one or two or more. As described above, when the good substrate and the defective substrate are mixed and stored in a single magazine 5, it becomes impossible to determine whether the substrate 3 stored in the magazine 5 is a good substrate or a defective substrate. Therefore, information indicating the storage positions of both may be output. In this case, for example, the control unit 15 may control the substrate storage unit 12 and the lifting drive unit 13 so that both the good substrate and the defective substrate are stored in a single magazine 5. Also, as shown in FIG. 5B, the substrate unloader 1 may further include a storage position information output unit 17.

[0055] The storage position information output unit 17 may output storage position information indicating the storage positions where the good substrates are stored and the storage positions where the defective substrates are stored in one or more magazines 5. The storage position information only needs to indicate, as a result, the storage positions where the good substrates are stored and the storage positions where the defective substrates are stored. Therefore, for example, when the substrate 3 is stored in each of all the storage positions in the magazine 5, the storage position information may be information indicating only the storage positions where the good substrates are stored, or may be information indicating only the storage positions where the defective substrates are stored. For example, even if the storage position information is information indicating only the storage positions where the good substrates are stored, it is indirectly indicated that the defective substrates are stored in the storage positions where the good substrates are not stored.

[0056] The accommodation position information may be generated, for example, by the control unit 15. When the control unit 15 controls the substrate accommodation unit 12 and the lifting drive unit 13 to accommodate the substrate 3 in the magazine 5, it may generate accommodation position information that associates information for identifying the accommodation position with pass / fail information indicating the pass / fail of the substrate 3 accommodated at that accommodation position. Then, the generated accommodation position information may be output by the accommodation position information output unit 17. Note that the information for identifying the accommodation position may be, for example, information such as "first", "second", etc. indicating the order of the accommodation positions from the upper or lower side of the magazine 5, information indicating the vertical distance from the reference position in the magazine 5 to the accommodation position, or other information that can identify the accommodation position. Further, the information for identifying the accommodation position may also include, for example, information for identifying the magazine 5. That is, the accommodation position information may be, for example, information in which information for identifying the magazine 5, information for identifying the accommodation position in that magazine 5, and pass / fail information indicating the pass / fail of the substrate 3 accommodated at that accommodation position are associated with each other.

[0057] Also, when both good substrates and defective substrates are mixed and accommodated in one magazine 5, the control unit 15 may arrange the good substrates and the defective substrates to be adjacent to each other in the vertical direction and accommodated together. Therefore, when the control unit 15 accommodates the substrate 3 in a certain magazine 5, for example, it may control the substrate accommodation unit 12 and the lifting drive unit 13 so that the good substrates are accommodated in order from the accommodation position at the upper end, and the defective substrates are accommodated in order from the accommodation position at the lower end. Or, the good substrates may be accommodated in order from the accommodation position at the lower end, and the defective substrates may be accommodated in order from the accommodation position at the upper end. By doing so, in the magazine 5, the good substrates and the defective substrates will be accommodated together, and the operation of taking out only the good substrates or only the defective substrates from that magazine 5 will become easier.

[0058] The accommodation position information output unit 17 may output, for example, the accommodation position information regarding the magazine 5 that has become full when the magazine 5 becomes full and is replaced, or may output the accommodation position information regarding the accommodated substrate 3 each time the substrate 3 is accommodated.

[0059] Here, this output may be, for example, a display on a display device (such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display), a transmission via a communication line to a predetermined device, printing by a printer, voice output by a speaker, storage in a recording medium, or delivery to other components. Note that the accommodation position information output unit 17 may or may not include a device for performing the output (such as a display device or a communication device). Further, the accommodation position information output unit 17 may be realized by hardware or by software such as a driver for driving those devices.

[0060] Also, in the present embodiment, the case where the substrate unloader 1 includes the full output unit 16 has been mainly described, but this is not necessary. When it is not necessary to output that the magazine 5 is full, the substrate unloader 1 may not include the full output unit 16. Further, when it is not necessary to output that the magazine 5 is full, in the storage unit 11, the accommodable number may not be stored, and when it is not necessary to store other information in the storage unit 11, the substrate unloader 1 may not include the storage unit 11.

[0061] Also, in the above embodiment, each process or each function may be realized by being centrally processed by a single device or a single system, or may be realized by being distributedly processed by a plurality of devices or a plurality of systems.

[0062] Also, in the above embodiment, each component may be constituted by dedicated hardware, or for components that can be realized by software, they may be realized by executing a program. For example, each component can be realized by a program execution unit such as a CPU reading and executing a software program recorded in a recording medium such as a hard disk or a semiconductor memory. At the time of its execution, the program execution unit may execute the program while accessing the storage unit or the recording medium.

[0063] In addition, the above embodiments are examples for specifically implementing the present invention and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention. The technical scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims rather than the description of the embodiments, and it is intended that changes within the literal scope of the claims and the scope of equivalent meanings are included.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0064] 1 Substrate unloader 3 Substrate 5 Magazine 5a Good product magazine 5b Defective product magazine 11 Storage unit 12 Substrate housing unit 13 Lifting drive unit 14 Reception unit 15 Control unit 16 Full output unit 17 Housing position information output unit

Claims

1. A substrate storage unit that stores the substrate conveyed from the preceding device in one or more magazines arranged side by side in the vertical direction, in which good substrates and defective substrates are stored; A lifting drive unit that moves the substrate storage unit in the vertical direction; A reception unit that receives pass / fail information indicating whether the substrate stored in the one or more magazines is good or defective; A substrate unloader comprising: a control unit that controls the substrate storage unit and the lifting drive unit so that good substrates and defective substrates are stored in the one or more magazines in a distinguishable manner.

2. The one or more magazines include one or more good product magazines in which good substrates are stored and one or more defective product magazines in which defective substrates are stored. The control unit controls the substrate storage unit and the lifting drive unit so that good substrates are stored in the one or more good product magazines and defective substrates are stored in the one or more defective product magazines. The substrate unloader according to claim 1.

3. Each of the one or more magazines stores both good substrates and defective substrates. The control unit controls the substrate storage unit and the lifting drive unit so that both good substrates and defective substrates are stored in one magazine, The substrate unloader according to claim 1, further comprising a storage position information output unit that outputs storage position information indicating the storage positions where good substrates and defective substrates are stored in the one or more magazines.

4. A storage unit that stores the maximum number of substrates that can be stored in each of the one or more magazines; A full output unit that outputs that the magazine is full when the number of substrates stored in the magazine by the substrate storage unit reaches the maximum number of substrates that can be stored in the corresponding magazine. The substrate unloader according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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