JP4228245B1 - Articulated robot - Google Patents

Abstract

An articulated robot that reduces the space occupied by an articulated robot while reducing the moment load acting on a support portion of a moving mechanism provided in a column.
A hand unit 8 is connected to the hand unit 8 and includes at least two or more rotary joints 3, 4, and 5. The hand unit 8 swivels so as to move in one direction and translates vertically. A horizontal articulated upper arm 21, a lower arm 22 disposed opposite to the upper arm 21 and having the same structure as the upper arm 21, two moving mechanisms 11 for moving each arm up and down, a moving mechanism and each arm And two support members 10 for connecting the two. The joint 4 of the upper arm 21 turns so as to approach the column 12 when moving from the take-out position of the work 9 to the contracted position. Further, the joint portion 4 of the lower arm 22 turns to move away from the column 12 when moving from the take-out position of the work 9 to the contracted position.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an articulated robot that takes a thin plate-like work such as a liquid crystal glass substrate or a semiconductor wafer into and out of a stocker.

Two conventional articulated robots have been proposed.
A first articulated robot has been proposed in which the turning radius of the articulated robot is reduced when the pedestal is rotated by offsetting the rotation center of the shoulder joint and the rotation center of the pedestal (for example, Patent Document 1).
A frog-leg type robot has been proposed as the second articulated robot (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
As shown in FIG. 4, the conventional first articulated robot 1 includes two sets of arms 2 that are rotatably connected by joints 3, 4, and 5 to transmit a rotational force from a rotational drive source and perform a desired operation. The rotation center axis | shaft of the joint part 3 of the base end provided in two sets of arms 2 is comprised up and down (or axial direction).
The articulated robot 1 is provided with two sets of arms 2, one arm drive type device 2 is used for supplying and the other is used for taking out, and the supply operation of the workpiece 9 and the extraction operation of another workpiece 9 are performed simultaneously. It is possible.
Further, the conventional articulated robot 1 is configured such that the hand portion 8 that holds the workpiece 9 by the arm 2 can be linearly moved in the direction of taking out and supplying the workpiece 9 indicated by an arrow X in the drawing.
In addition, the conventional articulated robot 1 includes a moving member 11 (hereinafter, referred to as an up-and-down moving member 11) that moves the support member 10 provided with the arm 2 up and down, so that the vertical position of the arm 2 can be adjusted. It is said. The pedestal 13 of the up and down moving member 11 is rotatably provided so that the direction can be changed by turning the articulated robot 1.
Further, in the articulated robot 1 of the present embodiment, the base 13 is mounted on the base 14 in the direction indicated by the arrow Y in the drawing, that is, in the direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the hand portion 8 and the vertical moving direction of the support member 10. The position of the up-and-down moving member 11 can be adjusted.
Further, the two sets of arms 2 provided in the conventional articulated robot 1 have, for example, a plurality of joint portions, that is, the articulated robot 1 is configured as a horizontal articulated robot. The arm 2 in this embodiment includes a first arm 6 (hereinafter referred to as the upper arm 6), a second arm 7 (hereinafter referred to as the forearm 7) connected to the upper arm 6, and a work 9 connected to the forearm 7. And a hand portion 8 for holding the.
The base end of the upper arm 6 is connected to the support member 10 via a drive shaft, and constitutes a rotatable joint 3 (hereinafter referred to as a shoulder joint 3). This shoulder joint 3 becomes the joint 3 at the base end of the arm 2. Further, the distal end of the upper arm 6 and the proximal end of the forearm 7 are connected via a drive shaft to constitute a rotatable joint 4 (hereinafter referred to as an elbow joint 4). Further, the tip of the forearm 7 and the hand portion 8 are connected via a drive shaft to constitute a rotatable joint portion 5 (hereinafter referred to as a hand joint portion 5). It arrange | positions so that it may face in the up-down direction so that the rotation center axis | shaft of the shoulder joint part 3 may be coaxial.
The arm 2 rotates the shoulder joint 3, the elbow joint 4, and the hand joint 5 by a rotation drive source (not shown), and moves the hand 8 in the workpiece take-out / supply direction. At this time, in the arm 2, due to the mechanism, the hand portion 8 faces in one direction, the extended position where the upper arm 6 and the forearm 7 are fully extended, and the contracted position where the upper arm 6 and the forearm 7 are folded. The telescopic movement is performed so as to move in a straight line.
Next, a second conventional articulated robot will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, the arm 101 is connected to the first arm 111 (hereinafter referred to as the upper arm 111), the second arm 112 (hereinafter referred to as the forearm 112) connected to the upper arm 111, and the workpiece connected to the forearm 112. And a hand unit 113 for holding 109.

The base end of the upper arm 111 is connected to the drive shaft of the base 102 to form a rotatable joint 114 (hereinafter referred to as a shoulder joint 114). Further, the distal end of the upper arm 111 and the proximal end of the forearm 112 are connected via a drive shaft to constitute a rotatable joint portion 115 (hereinafter referred to as an elbow joint portion 115). Further, the front end of the forearm 112 and the columns 117a and 117b, which are the bases of the hand portion 113, are connected to each other via a drive shaft to constitute a rotatable joint portion 116 (hereinafter referred to as a hand joint portion 116).
JP-A-2001-274218 (pages 4 to 5, FIGS. 1 and 2) JP-A-11-333768 (page 4, FIG. 4)

Articulated robots for loading and unloading thin plate-like workpieces such as glass substrates for liquid crystals and semiconductor wafers into the stocker are required to be processed in a short time as the number of substrates to be processed increases and the number of substrates to be processed increases. For this reason, it is a big problem for the robot to realize high speed and high accuracy even though the equipment itself is increased in size until the stocker on which the substrate is arranged reaches the ceiling. In addition, since these robots operate in a clean room, the articulated robots have a small footprint in order to increase the placement density of manufacturing equipment, and turn so that there is no interference with equipment placed in the factory. It is also desired to reduce the radius.
In addition, the number of LCD substrates and semiconductor wafers produced is increasing year by year, and in order to increase productivity, substrates are placed from the ground to a height that reaches the factory ceiling, and robots Therefore, there is a demand for expansion of the pass line that can take in and out the substrate in the stocker and transport throughput. However, the robot is made higher in order to widen the pass line, and various ideas are made to reduce the footprint, but problems such as breakage of mechanical parts due to high-speed driving also occur.
The conventional first articulated robot supports the moving mechanism provided in the column in order to drive the elbow joints of the two arms arranged above and below to extend in the opposite direction to the column. A large moment load is applied to the part, and when the number of processed substrates that increase year by year is repeatedly operated, the support part of the moving mechanism has a problem of fatigue due to excessive load, and is frequently maintained. There has been a problem that annual production throughput is reduced because maintenance is required.
In addition, the conventional second articulated robot has a problem that when both arms contract, both elbow joints protrude left and right symmetrically, and the turning radius region of the double arm robot becomes large. Furthermore, the U-shaped column protrudes toward the outside of the turning center at the upper part of the base so that the two hand parts do not come into contact with each other, and the turning radius of the double arm robot becomes even larger. . In addition, the U-shaped column is heavy, and there is a problem that the double arm type robot becomes large.

  On the other hand, it is necessary to provide sufficient space around the double-arm robot so that it does not hit other devices, and it is necessary to increase the size of the large clean room and the accompanying purification equipment. Become high. Further, there has been a problem that the space occupied by the double arm type robot in the clean room becomes large.

Next, a case where the two arms of the second articulated robot are replaced with the arms of the first articulated robot will be considered. In this case, it is possible to reduce the moment load acting on the support portion of the moving mechanism provided in the column by turning one arm inward. However, since one arm goes inward, it is assumed that the elbow joint of the arm and the column come into contact with each other. To avoid this, the column is placed within the turning radius of the elbow joint of the arm by lengthening the support member. It will not be. At this time, in order for the hand part to face in one direction and put the substrate in the stocker in and out, the center of rotation of the support members of the arms arranged above and below must coincide with each other, and the support members of the arm that goes around are long. There is a need to. As a result, the turning radius of the articulated robot is increased, resulting in a problem that an occupied space is increased.
The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an articulated robot that reduces the space occupied by the articulated robot while reducing the moment load acting on the support portion of the moving mechanism provided in the column. The purpose is to provide.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is configured as follows.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a hand portion for placing the transferred object, is connected to the hand part, comprising at least two rotary joints, on the hand unit is expanded or contracted to move in one direction a pair of articulated arms which is placed under a moving mechanism for moving in the vertical direction is attached to the column, a support member for connecting the pair of articulated arms and moving mechanism, provided in the moving mechanism In the multi-joint robot comprising a pedestal having a turning function, one of the pair of multi-joint arms is such that the hand unit reciprocates between a contracted position and an extended position of the multi-joint arm. In this case, the elbow joint part of the one articulated arm turns in a horizontal direction and approaches the column, and the other articulated arm of the pair of articulated arms has the hand part of the articulated joint. A When reciprocates between an extended position from the contraction position of the arm, the elbow joint of the one articulated arm is intended to pivot in a direction away from the horizontal a and the column.
The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the moving mechanism is arranged in the column in the same direction as the extension direction of the articulated arm, and one support member of the pair of support members arranged in the moving mechanism is: It is formed to project in a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the articulated arm and the moving direction of the moving mechanism, and the other support member is formed in a shape extending forward in the extending direction.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the support member of the lower arm of the pair of multi-joint arms does not interfere with the pedestal when the support member is moved to the lowest position of the column by the moving mechanism. It is formed in a shape offset in the moving direction of the part.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the rotary joints respectively connected to the pair of support members are arranged at positions offset in the extension direction of the multi-joint arm.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, any one of the rotary joints connected to the pair of support members is disposed at a position that is relatively offset in the moving direction of the hand portion.
The invention according to claim 6, wherein the rotary joint is arranged on the upper side of the rotary joint are coupled respectively to the pair of the support members with respect to the rotary joint of the lower, of said articulated arm It is arranged at a position offset in the extension direction.
Invention according to claim 7, pre-Symbol the rotation center of the rotary joint of each respectively disposed on a pair of support members, and the center of rotation of the hand portion, the rotation center of the base of the moving direction of the hand-side shaft It is formed so as to be offset so as to coincide with the line.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, when the positional relationship between the rotation center of the rotary joint, the rotation center of the hand unit, and the rotation center of the pedestal is moved so as to retract the hand unit, The rotation center of the rotary joint, the rotation center of the pedestal, and the rotation center of the hand unit are arranged in this order on the axis related to the movement direction from the front .

According to the invention described in claim 1, any one of the articulated arms arranged vertically is configured such that when the hand unit reciprocates between a contracted position and an extended position of the articulated arm, Since the elbow joint of the articulated arm moves in a horizontal direction and moves closer to the column as the hand moves, the support is provided on the moving mechanism provided in the column. Since the acting moment load can be reduced and the problem of fatigue due to excessive load does not occur, the need for frequent maintenance is eliminated and the annual production throughput is improved.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the moving mechanism is arranged in the column in the same direction as the extension direction of the articulated arm, and any one support member of the articulated arm arranged in the moving mechanism is The extension of the articulated arm is formed so as to protrude in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the moving mechanism, and the other support member of the articulated arm is formed in a shape extending forward in the extension direction. Since dust generated from the sliding part does not directly deposit on the liquid crystal substrate or semiconductor wafer, contamination of the liquid crystal substrate or semiconductor wafer can be reduced and the production yield of the substrate or wafer can be improved. . Further, the support member can move to the lowermost surface of the vertical movement mechanism without colliding with the pedestal, and the movable range can be widened. For this reason, even if the height of the stocker for loading and unloading the liquid crystal substrate and semiconductor wafer is not increased, the liquid crystal substrate and the semiconductor wafer can be arranged below the stocker. Since the range can be widened, many can be arranged. For this reason, the productivity of the entire factory can be improved.
According to the invention according to any one of claims 3 to 6, the mechanical component provided in the rotary joint by arranging the rotary joint of the support member arranged above and below at a relatively offset position. Since the maintenance can be performed without removing the articulated arm itself, the throughput considering the maintenance time is improved and the productivity is increased.
According to the invention described in claim 6 or 7, the rotation center of the rotary joint arranged on the support member, the rotation center of the hand portion, and the rotation center of the pedestal coincide with each other on the axis of the movement direction of the hand portion. When the hand comes to the position where the liquid crystal substrate or the semiconductor wafer is pulled in, it is swung without protruding from the turning radius of the substrate or the wafer even if it is swung by the rotation function of the pedestal. Because it can, the footprint can be reduced and the robot can be placed so that there is no interference with the equipment placed in the factory. Also, since the center of rotation of the hand and the center of rotation of the pedestal coincide with each other on the axis, the load on the board and the hand acts evenly. In other words, the substrate can be transported at high speed and with high accuracy.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a top view of the articulated robot of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of the articulated robot of the present invention.
The articulated robot 1 of the present invention is provided with two sets so that the arms 2 that are rotatably connected by the joint portions 3, 4, 5 and transmit the rotational force from the rotational drive source and perform a desired operation are opposed to each other. . Further, the hand portion 8 that holds the workpiece 9 by the arm 2 is configured to be linearly movable in the direction of taking out and supplying the workpiece 9 indicated by an arrow X in the drawing. That is, the hand portion 8 faces one direction and reciprocates between the contracted position of the arm 2 and the extended position. At that time, as the hand portion 8 moves, the joint portion 4 of the upper arm 21 pivots so as to approach the column 12 in the horizontal direction to move the workpiece 9 from the take-out position (extension position of the upper arm 21) of the upper arm 21. It moves to the contracted position. Further, the joint portion 4 of the lower arm 22 pivots away from the column 12 in the horizontal direction as the hand portion 8 moves, and the workpiece 9 is removed from the take-out position (extension position of the upper arm 21) of the upper arm 21. It moves to the contracted position.
Further, the relationship between the rotation center axes of the base joints 3 provided in the two arms 2 is as follows. As shown in FIG. 2, the work 9 is taken out and supplied to the base joint 3 of the lower arm 22. The joint portion 3 at the base end of the upper arm 21 is arranged so as to be displaced in the direction. For this purpose, the support member 10 to which the joint portion 3 at the base end of the upper arm 21 is attached is removed from the vertically moving member 11 attached to the column 12 in the direction in which the hand portion 8 is taken out and supplied, that is, the extension direction of the upper arm 21. It is formed in a shape extending forward. By adopting such a configuration, even if the joint portion 4 of the upper arm 21 turns so as to approach the column 12, it can turn without contacting the column 12. Further, by turning so that the joint portion 4 of the upper arm 21 approaches the column 12, the moment load acting on the support portion (not shown) provided on the vertical movement member 11 provided in the column 12 can be reduced. In addition, since the conventional turning radius of the articulated robot is not increased, the space occupied by the articulated robot is not increased.
Further, the column 12 is provided with an up and down moving member 11 for moving the support member 10 provided with the arm 2 up and down so that the up and down position of the arm 2 can be adjusted. The pedestal 13 of the up and down moving member 11 is rotatably provided so that the direction can be changed by turning the articulated robot 1. Here, the vertical movement member 11 is arranged in the same direction as the movement direction of the hand portion 8, that is, the direction in which the work 9 is taken out and supplied (the extension direction of the arm 2), and the support member 10 of the lower arm 22 is the vertical drive mechanism 11. Projecting in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the hand portion 8 and connected to the joint portion 3 at the base end of the arm 2. Further, when the arm 2 is moved downward by the up-and-down moving member 11, as shown in FIG. 1, the moving direction of the hand portion 8, that is, the take-out / feeding direction of the work 9 (the extending direction of the arm 2) ) Is offset.
The portion of the present invention that differs from Patent Document 1 is that the support member 10 that connects the vertical movement member 11 and the joint portion 3 at the base end of the lower arm 22 protrudes so as to be orthogonal to the movement direction of the hand portion, and the lower arm 22. The support member 10 to be connected to the base 13 is formed so as to be offset in the moving direction of the hand portion so as not to interfere with the pedestal 13, and is shifted in the direction of taking out and supplying the workpiece 9 with respect to the joint portion 3 at the base end of the lower arm 22. The joint portion 3 at the base end of the upper arm 21 is arranged on the upper arm 21, and the joint portion 4 of the upper arm 21 pivots so as to approach the column 12 in the horizontal direction as the hand portion 8 moves. 9 is a portion that moves from the take-out position 9 (extension position of the upper arm 21) to the contraction position of the upper arm 21.

Next, the operation will be described. The two sets of arms 2 provided in the articulated robot 1 of the present invention have, for example, a plurality of joints, that is, the articulated robot 1 is configured as a horizontal articulated robot. The arm 2 in the present embodiment has a structure similar to that of the conventional arm 2.
The base end of the upper arm 6 is connected to the support member 10 via a drive shaft, and constitutes a rotatable shoulder joint 3. This shoulder joint 3 becomes the joint 3 at the base end of the arm 2. Further, the distal end of the upper arm 6 and the proximal end of the forearm 7 are connected via a drive shaft to constitute a rotatable elbow joint 4. Moreover, the front-end | tip of the forearm 7 and the hand part 8 are connected via the drive shaft, and the rotatable hand joint part 5 is comprised.
The arm 2 rotates the shoulder joint 3, the elbow joint 4, and the hand joint 5 by a rotation drive source (not shown), and moves the hand 8 in the workpiece take-out / supply direction. At this time, in the arm 2, due to the mechanism, the hand portion 8 faces in one direction, the extended position where the upper arm 6 and the forearm 7 are fully extended, and the contracted position where the upper arm 6 and the forearm 7 are folded. The telescopic movement is performed so as to move in a straight line.

Here, the turning radius of the articulated robot 1 of the present embodiment will be described using the lower arm 22. 3 is designed so that the center of the workpiece 9 held by the hand portion 8 coincides with the rotation center of the base 13 at the contracted position of the arm 22 shown in FIG. Further, the pedestal 13 is rotated by offsetting the rotation center of the shoulder joint portion 3, the rotation center of the hand joint portion 5, and the rotation center of the pedestal 13 so as to coincide with the axis of the movement direction of the hand portion 8. The turning radius of the articulated robot 1 can be reduced by preventing the elbow joint part 4 and the hand part 8 from protruding from the minimum area circle 15 required around the articulated robot 1 when performing the operation.
Next, the vertical operation will be described with reference to FIG. The arm 2 is attached to the support member 10 and moves to the vertical movement member 11 in the vertical direction according to a command from a controller (not shown). As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, when the support member 10 moves downward, the support member 10 has a shape offset in the moving direction of the hand 8 so that the support member 10 does not collide with the base 13. It is possible to move down to the moving position of the lowest point of the moving member 11.
In the present invention, an articulated robot having a shoulder joint, an elbow joint and a rotating joint of a hand joint has been described. However, a multi-joint robot with a fixed hand joint portion naturally has the same operations and effects. is there.

Top view of an articulated robot showing an embodiment of the present invention Front view of an articulated robot showing an embodiment of the present invention The figure which shows the turning radius of the articulated robot which shows the Example of this invention A perspective view of a conventional first articulated robot Top view of a conventional second articulated robot

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Articulated robot 2 Arm 21 Upper arm 22 Lower arm 3 Shoulder joint part 4 Elbow joint part 5 Hand joint part 6 Upper arm 7 Forearm 8 Hand part 9 Work 10 Support member 11 Vertical movement mechanism 12 Column 13 Base 14 Base 15 Minimum area Circle

Claims (8)

A hand portion for mounting a conveyed object, a pair of articulated arms which are placed underneath on the hand unit comprises at least two rotary joints are connected to the hand part expands and contracts to move in one direction A moving mechanism that is attached to the column and moves in the vertical direction; a pair of support members that respectively connect the pair of articulated arms and the moving mechanism; and a pedestal having a turning function provided in the moving mechanism; In an articulated robot consisting of
One articulated arm of the pair of articulated arms is configured such that the elbow joint part of the one articulated arm moves when the hand part reciprocates between the contracted position and the extended position of the articulated arm. Swivel horizontally and close to the column,
The other multi-joint arm of the pair of multi-joint arms has an elbow joint portion of the one multi-joint arm when the hand portion reciprocates between a contracted position and an extended position of the multi-joint arm. An articulated robot characterized in that it turns in a horizontal direction and away from the column . Before Symbol moving mechanism, wherein arranged in the column to the stretching direction and the same direction of the articulated arm, one of the support members of the arranged the pair of support members in the moving mechanism, extension of the articulated arm formed protruding in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the direction and the moving mechanism, the other support member is articulated according to claim 1, characterized in that it is formed by extending the forward direction of elongation shape robot. The support member of the lower arm of the pair of articulated arms is offset in the moving direction of the hand portion so as not to interfere with the pedestal when moved to the lowest position of the column by the moving mechanism. articulated robot according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that formed. The multi-joint according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the rotary joints connected to the pair of support members are arranged at positions offset in an extension direction of the multi-joint arm. Articulated robot. 4. The device according to claim 1, wherein any one of the rotary joints connected to the pair of support members is disposed at a position that is relatively offset in a moving direction of the hand unit . 5. The articulated robot according to item 1 . Of the rotary joints connected to the pair of support members , the rotary joint arranged on the upper side is arranged at a position offset in the extension direction of the multi-joint arm with respect to the lower rotary joint. The articulated robot according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein The rotation center of the rotary joint of each respectively disposed in front Symbol pair of support members, and the center of rotation of the hand part, so that the rotation center of the pedestal is offset so as to coincide with the axis of the moving direction of the hand portion The articulated robot according to claim 1, wherein the articulated robot is formed as follows. The rotation center of the rotary joint, and the center of rotation of the hand portion, the positional relationship between the center of rotation of said pedestal, when moving to draw the hand portion, on the axis of the moving direction of the hand unit the center of rotation of the rotary joint from the extended position, the center of rotation of the pedestal, articulated robot according to claim 7, characterized in that it is formed so as to be arranged in the order of the center of rotation of the hand unit.

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