Substrate Buffer Mechanism for Continuous Transport
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional substrate treating apparatuses face inefficiencies due to standby periods when main transport mechanisms cannot transfer substrates directly to receivers, leading to delays and reduced treatment quality, particularly in coating and heat-treating processes.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a buffer system adjacent to the receiver, allowing substrates to be temporarily held and transferred between main transport mechanisms, ensuring continuous operation and preventing delays in coating and heat-treating processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the main transport mechanism waits for the receiver to be available before transferring substrates, then substrate transfer accuracy is maintained, but productivity decreases due to standby periods
Solution Approach 1:
The buffer performs preliminary substrate storage in advance of the actual transfer operation. When the receiver is unavailable, substrates are temporarily placed in the buffer ahead of time, allowing the transport mechanism to continue operating without waiting for receiver availability, thus eliminating standby periods while maintaining transfer accuracy when the receiver becomes available
Solution Approach 2:
The buffer acts as an intermediary element between the main transport mechanism and the receiver. It mediates the transfer process by temporarily holding substrates when the receiver is occupied, allowing the transport mechanism to maintain its operation cycle without direct dependency on receiver availability, thereby resolving the contradiction between reliable transfer and productivity
2Manufacturing precision
If the main transport mechanism stands by when the receiver is occupied, then substrate placement precision is ensured, but treatment timeliness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Substrates are preliminarily positioned in the buffer when the receiver is unavailable, maintaining placement precision requirements while avoiding treatment delays. The buffer serves as a temporary precise holding location that does not compromise the final precision requirement for receiver placement
Solution Approach 2:
The buffer mediates between the transport mechanism and receiver by providing an intermediate storage location that preserves substrate placement precision. It allows the system to maintain timing requirements for treatment while ensuring precision is achieved when substrates are ultimately transferred to the receiver
3Device complexity
If direct transfer from main transport mechanism to receiver is required, then system simplicity is maintained, but adaptability decreases when receiver occupancy issues arise
Solution Approach 1:
The transfer system is segmented into two distinct functional components: the main transport mechanism for substrate movement and the buffer for temporary storage, separate from the receiver. This segmentation allows the system to handle receiver occupancy issues independently while maintaining the overall simplicity of the transport structure
Solution Approach 2:
The buffer serves as an intermediary component that enhances the system's adaptability to receiver occupancy conditions. It provides flexibility in handling various occupancy scenarios without requiring complex control logic or structural modifications to the main transport mechanism, thus maintaining system simplicity while improving adaptability
Data Source
AI summary
The invention provides coating units, heat-treating units, and a first main transport mechanism for transporting substrates to each of these treating units. The substrates are transferred from the first main transport mechanism to a second main transport mechanism through a receiver. When a substrate cannot be placed on the receiver, this substrate is placed on a buffer. Thus, the first main transport mechanism can continue transporting other substrates. The other substrates in the treating units are transported between the treating units without delay, to receive a series of treatments including coating treatment and heat treatment as scheduled. This prevents lowering of the quality of treatment for forming film on the substrates.