Substrate transport method

Abstract

To provide a substrate transport method in which a substrate is efficiently inverted and both sides are processed by using first transport means and second transport means.SOLUTION: First transport means and second transport means each include a rotatable substrate holding unit and a drive unit. A substrate transport method includes a carry-in step of placing the substrate in the processing unit by the first transport means, a flip step of lifting the substrate from the processing unit with the substrate holding unit by the second transport means, rotating the substrate holding unit to hold it on the substrate holding unit of the first transport means, and placing the substrate in the processing unit by the first transport means, and a carry-out step of transporting the substrate out by the second transport means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a substrate transport method for efficiently transporting a substrate. [Background technology]

[0002] Circuit boards incorporating electronic components are widely used in computers and related equipment, medical equipment, industrial robots, transportation equipment, etc. In recent years, the density of electronic components and wiring mounted on circuit boards has increased significantly, and double-sided circuit boards with electronic components and wiring on both sides and multi-layer circuit boards with electronic components arranged on multiple layers have become widespread. Double-sided circuit boards and multi-layer circuit boards are manufactured by performing many precise manufacturing processes on both sides of the board.

[0003] In the manufacturing process of double-sided or multilayer boards, a single substrate may be subjected to the same processing on each side using the same processing equipment. If the processing equipment itself does not have an inversion mechanism, performing the same processing on each side of a single substrate requires a process of removing the substrate from the processing equipment, inverting it upside down, and then placing it back into the processing equipment. Robots equipped with articulated arms are often used in the process of inverting the substrate upside down. Patent Document 1 discloses a substrate transport method in which a robot equipped with an articulated arm is used in the process of inverting the substrate.

[0004] In order to place a robot equipped with an articulated arm, a certain area is required, taking into account the range of motion of the articulated arm. However, depending on the layout of the substrate processing equipment, it may be difficult to secure an area around the processing equipment to place the robot. Therefore, a new method is needed to efficiently transport substrates and turn them upside down during transport. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-21934 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned current situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide a new transport method that efficiently transports a substrate and turns over the substrate during transport. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The substrate transport method of the present invention is a substrate transport method in which a substrate is transported to a processing section by a first transport means and a second transport means, and both surfaces of the substrate are processed. The first transport means and the second transport means used in the substrate transport method of the present invention are equipped with a substrate holding section that can rotate at least 90°, and a drive section that moves the substrate holding section in vertical and horizontal directions. The substrate transport method of the present invention includes: a loading step in which the first transport means places the substrate in the processing section; an inversion step in which the second transport means lifts the substrate from the processing section using the substrate holding part, rotates the substrate holding part to hold it on the substrate holding part of the first transport means, and the first transport means places the substrate in the processing section; a carrying-out step in which the second transport means carries out the substrate; The present invention is characterized by the following features.

[0008] The present invention also provides a substrate transport method in which a pair of substrates are transported by a first transport means and a second transport means, and both surfaces of the two substrates are processed. The first transport means and the second transport means used in the substrate transport method of the present invention each include a substrate holder that can rotate at least 90°, and a drive unit that moves the substrate holder in vertical and horizontal directions. The substrate transport method of the present invention includes: a first loading step in which a first transport means places a first substrate in a first processing section; a second loading step in which the first transport means places the second substrate in the second processing section; a first inversion step in which the second transport means lifts the first substrate from the first processing unit using the substrate holding part, rotates the substrate holding part to hold it on the substrate holding part of the first transport means, and the first transport means places the first substrate in the first processing unit; a second inversion step in which the second transport means lifts the second substrate from the second processing unit using the substrate holding part, rotates the substrate holding part to hold it on the substrate holding part of the first transport means, and the first transport means places the second substrate in the second processing unit; a first unloading step in which the second transport means unloads the first substrate; a second unloading step in which the second transport means unloads the second substrate; The present invention is characterized by the following features.

[0009] In a substrate transport method in which substrates are transported in pairs and both surfaces of the two substrates are processed, it is preferable that a loading means for loading the substrates, a first processing unit, a second processing unit, and an unloading means for unloading the substrates are aligned in a row, rails are arranged below the loading means, the first processing unit, the second processing unit, and the unloading means, and the first transporting means and the second transporting means move horizontally along the rails.

[0010] The substrate transport method of the present invention further includes a step of aligning the substrate on the processing section, and it is preferable that the alignment step is a step of measuring the position of the substrate using a photoelectric sensor arranged at at least one corner of the target position of the substrate and adjusting the position of the substrate. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] In the substrate inversion step of the substrate transport method of the present invention, two transport means consisting of a first transport means and a second transport means lift the substrate from the processing section, invert the substrate, and place the substrate back in the same processing section. The movements of the transport means are composed of linear up and down movement, linear horizontal movement, and uniaxial rotational movement, making it possible to invert the substrate with simpler movements than with an articulated robot.

[0012] In the substrate inversion process of the substrate transport method of the present invention, a first transport means moves from the loading to the processing section, and a second transport means moves from the processing section to the unloading, thereby shortening the travel distance of each transport means and enabling substrates to be transported more efficiently and quickly.

[0013] In the substrate transport method of the present invention, the substrate loading step, the substrate inverting step, and the substrate unloading step can all be performed by the first transport means and the second transport means disposed above the substrate manufacturing apparatus. Therefore, there is no need to provide a special area for the transport means around the substrate manufacturing apparatus, and the degree of freedom in the layout of the substrate manufacturing apparatus can be increased. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a front view schematically showing a target portion of a substrate manufacturing apparatus in which a substrate transfer method of the present invention is carried out. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a top view schematically showing a target portion of a substrate manufacturing apparatus in which the substrate transfer method of the present invention is carried out. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a side view of the substrate holding portion of the transport means. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a front view showing the positions and postures of the first conveying means and the second conveying means in the reversing step. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] The "substrate" transported by the transport method of this embodiment is a plate-shaped component used in electronic devices. The transport method of this embodiment can be particularly suitably applied to part of the manufacturing process of printed wiring boards. The transport method of this embodiment can be applied to substrates made of various materials, such as glass epoxy substrates, ceramic substrates, and metal substrates. Furthermore, the transport method of this embodiment can be applied to the manufacture of double-sided substrates and multilayer substrates, and is not limited by the size of the substrate.

[0016] The following describes a method for sequentially carrying out the steps of loading a substrate, turning the substrate upside down, and unloading the substrate by applying the substrate transport method of the present invention. The following embodiments are merely examples of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0017] In the description of this embodiment, descriptions of relative positions and directions such as "left and right," "vertical and horizontal," and "front and back" correspond to the positions and directions on the drawings used in the description. In addition, regarding the vertical positional relationship, something that is relatively higher in the vertical direction is referred to as "upper," and something that is relatively lower is referred to as "lower."

[0018] Circuit board manufacturing equipment configuration 1 shows an embodiment of a substrate manufacturing apparatus 1 to which the substrate conveying method of the present invention is applied. The substrate manufacturing apparatus 1 described in this embodiment is part of a printed wiring board manufacturing apparatus, and conveys a rectangular substrate 4. FIG. 1 is a front view showing part of the substrate manufacturing apparatus 1. FIG. 2 is a side view showing part of the substrate manufacturing apparatus 1. The substrate manufacturing apparatus 1 is equipped with a first conveying means 2a, a second conveying means 2b, a carrying-in means 5, substrate processing units 6 and 7, and a carrying-out means 8.

[0019] The carry-in means 5 is a transport device that carries in the substrate 4 and supplies it to the first transport means 2a. The carry-out means 8 is a transport device that receives the processed substrate 4 from the second transport means 2b and carries it out to the next process. The carry-in means 5 and the carry-out means 8 can be used in combination with a conveyor, an elevator, etc.

[0020] Although not essential, the carry-in means 5 can be provided with a positioning means at the substrate supply position where the substrate 4 is transferred to and from the first transport means 2a. One example of the positioning means is a pair of photoelectric sensors 9 arranged on both ends of the substrate supply position of the carry-in means 5. By detecting whether or not the substrate 4 blocks the light of the photoelectric sensors 9, it becomes possible to accurately measure the center position of the substrate 4 and perform positioning.

[0021] The processing units 6 and 7 are devices that perform a printing process on the substrate 4 to manufacture a printed wiring board. The process of manufacturing a printed wiring board includes many steps, including the application of a dry film, and the processing units 6 and 7 of this embodiment are manufacturing devices that perform one or more of these manufacturing steps. The processing units 6 and 7 of this embodiment can perform processing on the top surface of the substrate at the position where the substrate is supplied. Alternatively, the processing units 6 and 7 can be equipped with a conveyor or elevator (not shown) and can move the supplied substrate before processing.

[0022] The first transport means 2a and the second transport means 2b each include substrate holders 21a, 21b and drive units 22a, 22b. An example of a suitable shape of the substrate holder 21a of the first transport means 2a is shown in FIG. 3. In this embodiment, the second transport means 2b has the same configuration as the first transport means 2a. The following mainly describes the structure and function of the first transport means 2a, and a redundant description of the second transport means 2b will be omitted.

[0023] Hereinafter, the first conveying means 2a and the second conveying means 2b will be collectively referred to as conveying means 2.

[0024] Substrate holding unit 21a is equipped with a plurality of suction pads 25a. Suction pads 25a are arranged at positions facing at least two sides of the periphery of substrate 4. Each suction pad 25a is connected to vacuum means 26a, and is able to hold and transport substrate 4 by suction. Hereinafter, the imaginary surface on which substrate 4 is suction-held, defined by the tips of suction pads 25a, will be referred to as the "substrate holding surface."

[0025] Substrate holder 21a is rotatably connected to rotation shaft 22a. Substrate holder 21a can rotate by at least 90° using rotation shaft 22a. By rotating, substrate holder 21a can hold the substrate at any angle, from a horizontal position to a position where the substrate is standing vertically.

[0026] The substrate holder 21a is supplied with power from a drive unit 23a and is capable of moving up and down. The rotation shaft 22a is also supplied with power from the drive unit 23a and is capable of rotation. All operations of the transport means 2 are automatically controlled by a program stored in a control computer (not shown).

[0027] The most preferred arrangement of the carry-in means 5, the processing units 6 and 7, and the unloading means 8 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In the most preferred embodiment, the carry-in means 5, the processing units 6 and 7, and the unloading means 8 are aligned in a row. Rails 11 are disposed below the carry-in means 5, the processing units 6 and 7, and the unloading means 8. A drive unit 23a is mounted on the rails 11. The substrate holder 21a and the rotation shaft 22a are supported by columns fixed to the drive unit 23a, and the transport means 2 is disposed above the carry-in means 5, the processing units 6 and 7, and the unloading means 8. As the drive unit 23a moves left and right on the rails 11, the substrate holder 21a and the rotation shaft 22a move together above the carry-in means 5, the processing units 6 and 7, and the unloading means 8.

[0028] The above is the basic configuration of the substrate manufacturing apparatus 1. To the transport means 2, mechanisms for holding and transporting can be added as appropriate depending on the type and size of the substrate 4 to be manufactured.

[0029] Basic configuration of substrate transport method The basic method of transporting the substrate 4 in this embodiment will be described in the order of steps.

[0030] (Step 1) Delivery process The substrate holder 21 a of the first transport means 2 a lifts and moves the substrate 4 from the carry-in means 5 , and places the substrate 4 in the processing section 6 . (Step 2) Reversal process Substrate holding unit 21b of second transport means 2b lifts substrate 4 from processing unit 6 after the first processing in processing unit 6. Drive unit 23b of second transport means 2b rotates substrate holding unit 21b by 90° by rotating rotation shaft 22b. At this time, substrate 4 held on the substrate holding surface of substrate holding unit 21b is in a vertically standing state.

[0031] Next, the substrate holding part 21a of the first transport means 21a rotates 90° and moves vertically and horizontally. The first transport means 21a aligns the substrate holding surface of the substrate holding part 21a with the position of the substrate 4 held by the substrate holding part 21b. The positions and postures of the first transport means 2a and the second transport means 2b at this time are shown in Figure 4.

[0032] Substrate holder 21a of first transport means 2a suctions the side of substrate 4 that is not being held by second transport means 2b. Second transport means 2b releases the suction of the substrate, and first transport means 2a receives substrate 4 from second transport means 2b. First transport means 2a places substrate 4 again in processing section 6. Substrate 4 placed in processing section 6 has been turned upside down, with the side that was the top face before the inversion step now becoming the bottom face, and the side that was the bottom face now becoming the top face.

[0033] (Step 3) The second transport means 2 b lifts the substrate 4 that has been subjected to the second treatment in the treatment means 6 from the treatment means 6 and carries it out to the carrying-out means 8 .

[0034] The above is the basic method for transporting the substrate 4 in this embodiment. In the method for transporting the substrate in this embodiment, the first transport means 2a and the second transport means 2b perform linear horizontal or vertical movement and uniaxial rotational movement, thereby enabling the substrate 4 to be quickly turned upside down and transported.

[0035] It is also possible to further process both sides of the substrate 4 after processing on both sides in the processing section 7. In this case, the unloading step of step 3 is not performed, and after step 2, the substrate 4 is carried from the processing section 6 to the processing section 7 using the second transport means 2b. Then, as additional steps, a step of turning the substrate upside down using the first transport means 2a and the second transport means 2b, and a step of unloading the substrate 4 using the second transport means 2b are performed.

[0036] Preferred embodiment for transporting substrates in pairs As a preferred embodiment of the substrate transfer method of the present invention, a substrate transfer method in which two substrates are transferred in a set by first transfer means 2a and second transfer means 2b will be described below in steps 1' to 6'. By transferring two substrates in a set, the time required for transfer is shorter than when transferring substrates one by one, and the substrates can be efficiently supplied to each of the two processing units 6 and 7, allowing both sides of the substrates to be processed.

[0037] In the following description, in order to distinguish between the two substrates being transported, the first substrate will be referred to as substrate 4a and the second substrate will be referred to as substrate 4b, but both have the same shape. In this embodiment, the first transport means 2a and the second transport means 2b move along rails 11 in all steps.

[0038] (Step 1') First loading process The first transport means 2 a lifts the substrate 4 a from the carry-in means 5 and places the substrate 4 in the processing section 6 . (Step 2') Second loading process The first transport means 2a lifts the substrate 4b from the carry-in means 5 and places the substrate 4 in the processing section . (Step 3') First inversion process The second transport means 2b lifts the substrate 4a, which has undergone the first processing in the processing means 6, from the processing means 6, rotates the substrate holder 21b by 90°, and causes the substrate 4a to be held by the substrate holder 21a of the first transport means 2a. The first transport means 2a places the substrate 4a in the processing means 6. (Step 4') Second inversion step The second transport means 2b lifts the substrate 4b, which has undergone the first processing in the processing means 7, from the processing means 7, and rotates the substrate holder 21b by 90° to have the substrate 4b held by the substrate holder 21a of the first transport means 2a. The first transport means 2a places the substrate 4b in the processing means 7. (Step 5') First removal process The second transport means 2b transports the substrate 4a, which has been subjected to the second treatment in the treatment section 6, to the unloading means 8. (Step 6') Second removal process The second transport means 2b carries out the substrate 4b, which has been subjected to the second processing in the processing section 7, from the processing section 7 to the carrying-out means 8.

[0039] In the substrate transfer method of this embodiment, all steps can be performed by the first transfer means 2a and the second transfer means 2b arranged above the substrate manufacturing apparatus 1. Therefore, there is no need to provide a special area around the substrate manufacturing apparatus 1 for arranging the transfer devices.

[0040] Furthermore, in the substrate transport method of this embodiment, the case where substrates are transported in pairs has been described, but if there are three or more processing sections, the number of steps can be increased so that three or more substrates are transported in pairs.

[0041] While specific examples of the present invention have been described in detail above based on the embodiments, these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the claims. The claimed technology includes various modifications and variations of the specific examples exemplified above. For example, steps in the transport method can be added or omitted depending on the number of processing sections and the shape of the substrate to be transported. Furthermore, the shape and configuration of the transport device can be modified as appropriate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0042] 1. Conveyor device 2a First conveyance means 2b Secondary means of transportation 21a, 21b Board holding part 22a, 22b Drive unit 23a, 23b Rotation axis 25 suction pads 26 Vacuum means 4 boards 5. Means of transport 6 Processing section (first processing section) 7 Processing section (second processing section) 8 Export means 9 Sensors 11 Rail

Claims

1. A substrate transport method in which a substrate is transported to a processing section by a first transport means and a second transport means, and both surfaces of the substrate are processed, comprising: the first transport means and the second transport means each include a substrate holder that can rotate at least 90°, and a drive unit that moves the substrate holder in vertical and horizontal directions; a carry-in step in which the first transport means places the substrate in the processing section; an inversion step in which a second transport means lifts the substrate from the processing section using the substrate holding part, rotates the substrate holding part to hold it on the substrate holding part of the first transport means, and the first transport means places the substrate in the processing section; a carrying-out step in which the second carrying means carries out the substrate.

2. A substrate transport method for transporting a pair of substrates by a first transport means and a second transport means, and performing processing on both surfaces of the two substrates, comprising: the first transport means and the second transport means each include a substrate holder that can rotate at least 90°, and a drive unit that moves the substrate holder in vertical and horizontal directions; a first carrying-in step in which the first transport means places a first substrate in a first processing section; a second carrying-in step in which the first transport means places a second substrate in a second processing section; a first inversion step in which the second transport means lifts the first substrate from the first processing unit using the substrate holding part, rotates the substrate holding part to hold it on the substrate holding part of the first transport means, and the first transport means places the first substrate in the first processing unit; a second inversion step in which the second transport means lifts the second substrate from the second processing unit using the substrate holding part, rotates the substrate holding part to hold it on the substrate holding part of the first transport means, and the first transport means places the second substrate in the second processing unit; a first unloading step in which the second transport means unloads the first substrate; a second unloading step in which the second transport means unloads the second substrate; A substrate transport method comprising:

3. a carry-in means for carrying in the substrate, the first processing unit, the second processing unit, and a carry-out means for carrying out the substrate are arranged in a line, a rail is disposed below the loading means, the first processing section, the second processing section, and the unloading means; 3. The substrate transport method according to claim 2, wherein the first transport means and the second transport means move horizontally along the rails.

4. The method further includes aligning the substrate on the processing section, 3. A substrate transport method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the alignment step is a step of measuring the position of the substrate using a photoelectric sensor arranged at at least one corner of the target position of the substrate and adjusting the position of the substrate.

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