Patent ID: 7266887

Claim:
A method of transporting substrates as part of a component mounting operation which is for positioning the substrates, when placed and held on a substrate holding base, at a substrate mounting region and mounting components onto the substrates so as to offer the substrates as component-mounted substrates, said method comprising: using a substrate feed holder to hold a substrate at a first substrate position, with said substrate having been transported to said first substrate position along a transportation direction, and with said first substrate position, a second substrate position, a third substrate position, and a fourth substrate position being arranged sequentially next to each other; positioning said substrate, while held by said substrate feed holder, at a height position above said second substrate position, and positioning a substrate discharge holder at a height position above said third substrate position, by moving said substrate feed holder and said substrate discharge holder separately in a vertical direction and moving said substrate feed holder and said substrate discharge holder in an integrated state along said substrate-transportation direction; moving said substrate holding base, which is holding a component-mounted substrate in said substrate mounting region, to said third substrate position; discharging said component-mounted substrate from said substrate holding base by moving said substrate discharge holder downward, using said substrate discharge holder to hold said component-mounted substrate, and then moving said substrate discharge holder, along with said component-mounted substrate, upward to a higher height position; then moving said substrate holding base to said second substrate position; feeding said substrate to said substrate holding base by moving said substrate feed holder downward and releasing said substrate from said substrate feed holder; and moving said substrate holding base to which said substrate has been fed to said substrate mounting region, while moving said component-mounted substrate held by said substrate discharge holder to said fourth substrate position in an integrated state with said substrate feed holder along said substrate-transportation direction.