Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor section – Reciprocating conveying surface
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-14
2001-06-19
Valenza, Joseph E. (Department: 3651)
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor section
Reciprocating conveying surface
C198S468400, C198S468600
Reexamination Certificate
active
06247579
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transfer apparatus for transferring an angular substrate or plate, such as a glass substrate or plate for use in a liquid crystal display, for example, and a transfer method thereof.
2. Description of Prior Art
Conventionally, a glass substrate or plate for use in the liquid crystal display is obtained by cutting one large-sized piece of glass plate or substrate, after treating it with processes of applying photo-resist thereon, drying, and further exposing and developing thereof, into glass substrates of sizes as required for a final product.
For applying various types of processes upon such a large-sized glass plate, after completing a process at one process station, it must be transferred to another process station by means of a transfer apparatus.
FIGS.
7
(
a
) and (
b
) show a plan view and a side view, respectively, of the conventional transfer apparatus, wherein the transfer apparatus is constructed so that hooks
101
. . . are provided on a pair of transfer arms
100
for supporting an angular substrate W at a lower side surface portion thereof.
For transferring the angular substrate W with use of such the transfer apparatus as mentioned above, the transfer arms
100
are arranged to be spaced further apart from each other than the width of the substrate, the height of the apparatus is adjusted so that the hooks
101
. . . of the transfer arms come to be a little bit lower than the angular substrate W which is supported by supporting jigs
102
, such as pins, chucks, etc., and next the transfer arms
100
are moved in a horizontal direction so as to move the hooks
101
. . . to a position below the angular substrate W. Thereafter, the transfer arms
100
are lifted up, or alternatively the supporting jigs
102
are lowered, so that the angular substrate W is supported by the hooks
101
. . . and under that condition, the angular substrate W is transferred to the next station by moving the transfer arms
100
.
However, the glass substrate or plate for use in the liquid crystal display is thin, having a thickness of, for example, 0.7 mm, has a large planar surface area, and flexes or distorts under it's own weight when suspended in a horizontal plane, hanging downward at the central portion thereof, as shown in FIG.
7
(
b
) In this condition the substrate sometimes interferes with the jigs so that the substrate cannot be transferred, or the flexing brings about a crack in the substrate.
Particularly in recent years the size of the display portion of the typical liquid crystal display has had a tendency to be manufactured to be larger, while at the same time it has become common that a glass plate or substrate having one side exceeding 1.000 mm in length before the cutting thereof is utilized. For example, lifting the glass substrate having the sizes 960 mm×1.100 mm×0.7 mm by means of the conventional transfer apparatus, the substrate is bent or distorted by about 100 mm from the substrate plane at the central portion thereof.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, for the purpose of dissolving the problems mentioned above, there is provided a substrate transfer apparatus for transferring an angular substrate, comprising:
a pair of transfer arms, being movable in a horizontal direction to be opened or closed, and being movable by sliding in the horizontal direction, each of said pair of transfer arms comprising:
a first holding portion for holding the angular substrate from below, at periphery portion being perpendicular to a transfer direction thereof; add
a second holding portion for holding the angular substrate from below, at periphery portion being parallel to the transfer direction thereof.
With such a structure, the curvature at the central portion of the substrate can be suppressed in amount, the substrate can be prevented from interfering with other member(s) and occurrence of cracking therein may be prevented.
In the transfer apparatus as defined in the above, said first and second holding portions are provided in such sizes that they suspend the angular substrate at as close as possible to four complete sides thereof, thereby enabling elevation and transfer of the substrate with a minimum amount of curvature at the central portion thereof.
Also, though the apparatus may be structured such that the pair of transfer arms move only in a horizontal direction while chucks or pins for supporting the substrate move upward or downward, however, by making said pair of transfer arms movable upward or downward, a transfer apparatus of good efficiency and flexibility can be achieved.
Also, with the apparatus being structured such that said pair of transfer arms or a portion of said pair of transfer arms being adjacent to each other are overlapping in a vertical direction, the effective utilization of space can be achieved.
Further, according to the present invention, there is provide a substrate transfer method of employing the substrate transfer apparatus defined in any of the above, comprising the following steps:
supporting an angular substrate from below by means of a supporting jig;
positioning the pair of transfer arm at an elevated position relative to the angular substrate under the condition mentioned above, and opening or separation of the pair of transfer arms to be separated by a distance being greater than a corresponding dimension of the angular substrate, said distance and dimension being oriented in a direction of transfer;
positioning the pair of transfer arms at a lower position relative to the angular plate, and thereafter closing the pair of transfer arms so as to move the transfer arms or portions thereof to be beneath (within the dimension of) the angular substrate, and further lowering the angular substrate with respect to the pair of transfer arms, thereby causing the substrate to rest at a lower periphery portion thereof on the first and second holding portions of the pair of transfer arms; and
sliding the pair of transfer arms which hold the angular substrate to move the same, after positioning the supporting jig to be below the pair of transfer arms and thus avoiding interference or collision between the supporting jig and any of the transfer arms upon movement of the latter.
Further, for positioning the pair of transfer arms at a position relatively higher than the angular substrate and also for separating or opening them and for closing or moving them closer to each other with respect to the size of the angular substrate in a direction oriented with the transfer direction, either both or one of the pair of transfer arms may be operated (moved).
REFERENCES:
patent: 3973665 (1976-08-01), Giammanco
patent: 4501352 (1985-02-01), Yanagisawa et al.
patent: 4534695 (1985-08-01), Stump et al.
patent: 4558984 (1985-12-01), Garrett
patent: 4738577 (1988-04-01), Schalberger
patent: 9-270383 (1997-10-01), None
patent: 10-132465 (1998-05-01), None
Fujiyama Shigemi
Nishibata Mikio
Sagoh Hirohito
Merchant & Gould P.C.
Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Co., Ltd
Valenza Joseph E.
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