US-12617626-B2 - Roller structure including bearing structure at one side for transporting product

US12617626B2US 12617626 B2US12617626 B2US 12617626B2US-12617626-B2

Abstract

The present invention relates to a roller structure used in mechanical conveying systems. A roller structure includes a roller bar that rotates for transporting a product arranged thereon for transporting the product in one direction, a block fixing part coupled to the roller bar to fix the roller bar on one end part (a first end part) of the roller bar, and a bearing structure part that maintains straightness of the rotation of the roller bar during operation of the roller bar while maintaining the roller bar on another end part (a second end part) opposite to the roller bar.

Inventors

Kihong Ryu
Jaeho SHIN

Assignees

S.E.A CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20240605
Priority Date: 20240109

Claims (8)

1 . A roller structure used to transport a product, the roller structure comprising: a roller bar configured to allow the product to be arranged thereon and to rotate for transporting the product in one direction; a block fixing part coupled to the roller bar to fix the roller bar on a first end part which is one end part of the roller bar; and a bearing structure part configured to maintain straightness of the rotation of the roller bar during operation of the roller bar while maintaining the roller bar on a second end part which is another end part opposite to the one end part of the roller bar, wherein the roller bar includes a rotation shaft to rotate for transporting the product, and the bearing structure part includes a first ring part arranged to surround the rotation shaft and a second ring part arranged to surround the first ring part, wherein the first ring part is formed of polyetheretherketone (PEEK), and the second ring part is formed of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UPE).
2 . The roller structure of claim 1 , wherein the roller structure is arranged inside an apparatus in which processing processes of the product are performed, and the bearing structure part is configured to allow a movement of the roller bar in at least a first direction while the processing processes are performed.
3 . The roller structure of claim 2 , wherein the first direction is an upward direction which is a direction in which the product is disposed, and the bearing structure part is arranged on a connection structure part including an empty side in the first direction so that the bearing structure part is movable in the first direction inside the apparatus.
4 . The roller structure of claim 3 , wherein the connection structure part includes a hole part in which the bearing structure part is arranged, and the bearing structure part is arranged to be movable in the first direction inside the hole part.
5 . The roller structure of claim 1 , wherein the first ring part and the second ring part are respectively formed of materials different from each other.
6 . The roller structure of claim 1 , wherein the block fixing part includes a block in which a hole through which the rotation shaft passes is formed, and the rotation shaft passes through the block and is connected to a drive gear for rotating the roller bar.
7 . The roller structure of claim 6 , wherein on the first end part, the drive gear is engaged with a gear mounted on a drive bar configured to rotate for the rotation of the roller bar, and the roller bar is arranged perpendicular to the drive bar and is configured to rotate according to the rotation of the drive bar.
8 . A substrate processing apparatus comprising the roller structure of claim 1 , with the roller structure including a plurality of roller structures, wherein the product is a substrate, and each roller bar of the plurality of roller structures is configured to rotate in cooperation with each other to transport the substrate.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS A claim for priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 is made to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0003811 filed Jan. 9, 2024, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD Embodiments of the present disclosure described herein relate to a roller structure for transporting a product used in a substrate processing apparatus for processing a product such as a substrate and, more particularly, to a roller structure including a bearing structure at one side of the roller structure. BACKGROUND A substrate processing apparatus, such as a wet station, for processing various substrates for producing wafers for semiconductor or cells for solar cells includes a roller structure for transporting a substrate which is a product to be processed. Such a processing apparatus is configured to process a product by using various types of chemicals, depending on the process of product processing. For example, a wet station is able to perform substrate cleaning and etching processes. In addition, the product processing apparatus is configured to process a product in a relatively high temperature environment depending on the type or characteristics of the process. Meanwhile, the roller structure included in the processing apparatus may be damaged or deformed depending on repeated performance of the process or a harsh environment inside the processing apparatus. Damage and deformation of the roller structure may cause unnecessary vibration of the substrate being transported on roller bars of the roller structure or cause the substrate to deviate from a designated path. This may lead to a decrease in the yield of a final product. Therefore, it is important to configure the roller structure so that the roller structure operates properly even during repeated processes or in harsh environments inside the processing apparatus. Korean Patent No. 10-0923476 (registered on Oct. 19, 2009) discloses a device of a Schmid-type inline roller structure as a device for transporting a circuit board as a flexible planar material. The information described above is for illustrative purposes only, may include contents that do not constitute part of the prior art, and may not include what the prior art may suggest to those skilled in the art. SUMMARY In one embodiment, the present disclosure may provide a roller structure used to transport a product such as a substrate in a substrate processing apparatus, etc., wherein the roller structure includes a roller bar that rotates to transport a product disposed on the roller bar in one direction, a block fixing part coupled to the roller bar to fix the roller bar at one end part (a first end part) of the roller bar, and a bearing structure part configured to maintain the straightness of the rotation of the roller bar during operation of the roller bar while maintaining the roller bar at another end part (a second end part) on the opposite side of the roller bar. According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a roller structure used to transport a product, the roller structure including a roller bar that allows the product to be arranged thereon and rotates for transporting the product in one direction, a block fixing part coupled to the roller bar to fix the roller bar on a first end part which is one end part of the roller bar, and a bearing structure part that maintains straightness of the rotation of the roller bar during operation of the roller bar while maintaining the roller bar on a second end part which is another end part opposite to the one end part of the roller bar. The roller structure may be arranged inside an apparatus in which processing processes of the product are performed, and the bearing structure part may allow a movement of the roller bar in at least a first direction while the processing processes are performed. The first direction may be an upward direction which is a direction in which the product is disposed, and the bearing structure part may be arranged on a connection structure part including an empty side in the first direction so that the bearing structure part is movable in the first direction inside the apparatus. The connection structure part may include a hole part in which the bearing structure part is arranged, and the bearing structure part may be arranged to be movable in the first direction inside the hole part. The roller bar may include a rotation shaft to rotate for transporting the product, and the bearing structure part may include a first ring part arranged to surround the rotation shaft, and a second ring part arranged to surround the first ring part. The first ring part and the second ring part may be respectively formed of materials different from each other. The first ring part may be formed of polyetheretherketone (PEEK), and the second ring part may be formed of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UPE). The block f