Elevation Driving Unit Vertical Dimension Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing substrate processing apparatuses are bulky in the vertical direction due to the placement of the servo motor and shaft below the base, leading to increased dimensions when multiple units are stacked.
Innovation Solution
The elevation/lowering driving unit is reconfigured with the driving source and elevating/lowering head positioned above the base plate, allowing the entire unit to be housed within the chamber, and using a rotation transmitting unit such as rack and pinion teeth or a vertically extending thread shaft to transmit rotation, which reduces the vertical dimension by positioning the driving source at the side of the elevating/lowering head.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If the servo motor and shaft are positioned below the base plate, then the elevation/lowering mechanism can be implemented, but the vertical dimension of the apparatus becomes large
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional arrangement by positioning the driving source above the base plate instead of below it. The driving source is mounted on the ceiling plate, and the shaft extends upward to connect to the elevating/lowering head, completely reversing the traditional downward-extension configuration and achieving compact vertical dimensions
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions the driving source from a vertical-below-base arrangement to a horizontal-above-base arrangement. By mounting the driving source on the ceiling plate and extending the shaft upward, the mechanism utilizes the vertical space above the chamber rather than requiring space below the base plate, effectively changing the dimensional utilization
2Productivity
If multiple substrate processing units are stacked, then space utilization improves, but the overall vertical dimension increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
By inverting the driving source position to above the base plate, the patent eliminates the need for extended vertical space below each unit, enabling tighter stacking of multiple units without increasing the overall facility height
Solution Approach 2:
The driving source and shaft are nested within the chamber volume by positioning them above the base plate, allowing the elevation/lowering mechanism to occupy space that would otherwise be unused, thereby enabling more units to be stacked in the same vertical envelope
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration significantly reduces the vertical dimension of the substrate processing apparatus, enabling more units to be stacked without increasing overall height, thus optimizing space usage.
Implementation Method 1
using a rotation transmitting unit such as rack and pinion teeth or a vertically extending thread shaft to transmit rotation
Implementation Method 2
vertically extending thread shaft to transmit rotation
Data Source
AI summary
A substrate processing apparatus includes a chamber, a substrate holding unit, an elevated/lowered member, and an elevation/lowering driving unit. The chamber includes a base plate having an upper surface that defines a housing space. The substrate holding unit is housed in the housing space, is placed on the upper surface of the base plate, and holds a substrate. The elevated/lowered member is elevated and lowered inside the housing space. The elevation/lowering driving unit drives the elevation and lowering of the elevated/lowered member. The elevation/lowering driving unit includes a driving source, disposed higher than a lower surface of the base plate, and an elevating/lowering head, which is connected to a guard and is moved vertically by the driving source within a movable range in which an entirety of the head is positioned higher than the lower surface of the base plate.