Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor section – Endless conveyor
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-16
2001-06-05
Bidwell, James R. (Department: 3651)
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor section
Endless conveyor
C198S626500
Reexamination Certificate
active
06241079
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a device for conveying substrates through a substrate processing plant.
Devices of this kind are known for moving substrates, especially CDs, through cooling and drying devices. The substrates are placed into baskets moving on a circular path or into slots provided in circular devices. Such carousel transporting devices, however, have great dimensions and require large size drive devices so that such known devices are cost-intensive. Furthermore, loading of such carousel transporting devices with substrates, respectively, removal of substrates therefrom, is difficult and requires high constructive expenditures.
For devices of the aforementioned kind it is also known to employ a screw conveyor which rotates and moves forward the substrates positioned in the conveying path. This has, however, the disadvantage that a relative movement between the screw conveyor and the substrates occurs, generating friction which causes particles to be rubbed off and thus results in contamination.
From DE 43 41 634 A1, upon which the present invention is based, a device for transporting disk-shaped substrates in a substrate treatment device is known in which three toothed belts are provided with which the substrates can be conveyed through the treatment device. This device, however, is designed for only a single substrate shape and size and cannot be adapted to different specifications, such as, for example, different substrate sizes.
From U.S. Pat No. 4,947,784 a device for transferring wafers from a first wafer securing device (wafer cassette) into a second wafer securing device (wafer boat) is known. Such a so-called handling device for wafers is not designed for transporting wafers through a treatment device and is not suitable for this purpose.
From DE 195 30 858 C1 a handling device is known in which the wafers are transported by suction plates. The handling device of DE 195 29 945 A1 realizes gripping and securing of flat substrate by an inner gripping device, wherein the gripping device engages a hole provided at the interior of the substrates, with the gripping device supported at the edge of the inner hole.
It is an object of the invention to improve a device known from DE 43 41 634 A1 such that an adaptation of the device to different specifications, for example, different substrate sizes, is possible in a simple manner.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The aforementioned object is inventively solved by the features of claim
1
. By providing an adjustable spacing of the lateral transport belts relative to one another and/or to the base transport belt, not only an adaption of the device to the respective specifications, especially to different substrate sizes, but also a readjustment of the spacings required for a reliable securing and transporting of the substrates is possible in a simple manner.
A further preferred embodiment of the invention is that the angle between the transport planes of the two lateral transport belts and the transport plane of the base transport belt can be changed. In this manner, an optimal adjustment of the support locations of the substrates transported on the transport belts is possible. Furthermore, it is also possible to adapt the device with simple means to different substrate shapes or substrate sizes, be it round or rectangular shapes. For rectangular substrates, the angle between the transport planes of the lateral transport belts and the transport plane of the base transport belt is preferably 90°.
The invention therefore has the object to provide a device for movement of substrates through a substrate treatment device with which a carousel-type movement of the substrate on a circular path or substrate wear can be avoided and a constructively simple, space-saving, and easily manipulated device is possible.
The aforementioned object is inventively solved by a base transport belt and two lateral transport belts which respectively have cutouts for a vertical receiving action for the substrates. Due to the inventive features, i.e., using three transport belts, a linear movement of the substrates results with the advantage that the device is very simple, space-saving, and wear-free, and furthermore can be adjusted easily to the respective requirements, for example, the size of the substrate.
According to an especially advantageous embodiment of the invention, the cutouts for vertically receiving the substrates are embodied as intermediate spaces of teeth at the transport belt provided in the form of a toothed belt. Such toothed belts can be manufactured inexpensively.
For adapting the inventive transport device the spacing of the lateral transport belts to the base belt can be changed. By adjusting the lateral transport belts to the base belt, an adaptation of the device to different substrate sizes is possible in a simple manner.
In the case of round substrates, such as, for example, CDs or DVDs, it is especially advantageous when the transport planes of the two lateral transport belts have an angle of greater than 90° to the transport plane of the base transport belt. This allows an easy insertion into and removal of the substrates from the inventive transport device, whereby however the supporting action of the substrates in the transport device is safe and secure.
The transport belts are preferably guided about guide pulleys and drive wheels which are embodied especially as gear wheels when the transport belts or at least one of the transport belts on the side facing away from the transport surface, i.e., its drive side, is embodied as a toothed belt. A toothed design of the transport belts on both sides is therefore very advantageous.
Another very advantageous embodiment of the invention resides in that each one of the three transport belts is guided in its own transport belt device and is driven by its own drive unit. In this manner, the individual transport belt devices are individual units so that the arrangement, adaptation, and alignment of the transport belts to different substrates is possible.
It is very advantageous to provide the drive units of the three transport belts such that they operate synchronously to one another. This results not only in a uniform drive velocity for all three transport belts, but also in a synchronous alignment of the cutouts for receiving the substrates. Instead of such a synchronous control, it is also possible to provide the drives of the three transport devices, respectively, the three transport belts with a common gear box, for example, a play-free gear box, in order to ensure a synchronous movement of three drive belts, respectively, their cutouts for receiving the substrates. The gear box can also be driven by a drive common to all three transport belts.
The transport belts or at least parts of the transport belts which are in contact with the substrates, are preferably comprised of a special material that prevents contamination, such as Teflon, or a material which is not sensitive to contamination, respectively, can be easily cleaned.
Loading and/or unloading of the inventive transport device, respectively, the three transport belts with substrates, is preferably carried out with suction grippers and/or inner grippers, which engage the edge of the inner hole of, for example, CDs. Such gripping devices are simple and prevent the subsequent contamination of the substrates after the treatment process.
The inventive transporting device is especially advantageous in connection with substrate drying devices or cooling devices which are used especially in the production of CDs.
The term substrate is to include all disk-shaped treatment objects, i.e., not only CDs, including audio CDs, ROM-CDs, so called recordable CDs (CDRs), digital video disks (DVDs) etc., but also masks for producing semiconductor components, display units etc.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4217977 (1980-08-01), Tam
patent: 4795022 (1989-01-01), Simmons
patent: 4925012 (1990-05-01), Guntensperger
patent: 4938649 (1990-07-01), Horst et al.
patent: 4947784 (1990-08-01), Nishi
patent: 5611858 (1997-03-01), Ze
Mahner Bernd
Weber Klaus
Bidwell James R.
Robert W. Becker & Associates
Steag Hamatech AG
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