JP7530792B2 - Industrial robot hand, industrial robot - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an industrial robot hand and an industrial robot equipped with the same.

Conventionally, industrial robots that transport objects such as semiconductor wafers are known. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a wafer transport mechanism equipped with a holder that holds a wafer. In this wafer transport mechanism, the holder includes a holder body, a number of suction pads that are arranged on the holder body and generate negative pressure by spraying air to adsorb the wafer in a non-contact manner, and a friction member that is arranged on the holder body and has a friction surface that comes into contact with the adsorbed wafer.

Patent Document 2 describes a wafer transport method for transporting a disk-shaped wafer to a vertical placement groove using a wafer gripping hand. This wafer transport method includes the steps of the wafer gripping hand gripping the wafer at at least three fulcrums on the edge of the wafer, the wafer gripping hand gripping the wafer moving so that the wafer is positioned above the vertical placement groove in a vertical position, the wafer gripping hand releasing its grip on the wafer and supporting the wafer at two fulcrums on the edge of the wafer, and the wafer gripping hand supporting the wafer moving downward until the edge of the wafer enters the vertical placement groove.

JP 2005-142462 A International Publication No. 2016/05641

Depending on the semiconductor wafer manufacturing device, it may be necessary to transport a semiconductor wafer rotated 180 degrees. To handle such cases, industrial robots are known that have a mechanism for rotating the transport object 180 degrees while holding it. In an industrial robot having such a mechanism, for example, when a method of mechanically gripping the edge of a semiconductor wafer is adopted as a method for holding the semiconductor wafer, the mechanism for gripping the semiconductor wafer must also be rotated together with the semiconductor wafer. This results in a complex structure for rotating the hand. Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 do not disclose a specific mechanism for rotating the transport object.

The object of the present invention is to provide an industrial robot hand that can transport a wafer while rotating and has low manufacturing costs, and an industrial robot equipped with the same.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the hand of an industrial robot comprises a mounting section having a wafer mounting surface on which an edge surface abutment member for the wafer is provided , a rotating section capable of rotating while supporting the mounting section, an axis member that rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the rotating section when the direction of the rotation axis of the rotating section is a first direction and that can move in the first direction relative to the rotating section , and a pressing section fixed to the tip of the axis member for pressing the edge surface of the wafer mounted on the mounting section, wherein the center of the rotation axis of the rotating section and the axis center of the axis member coincide with each other, and when the axis member moves in the first direction toward the wafer, the pressing section fixed to the axis member presses the edge surface of the wafer toward the edge surface abutment member .

An industrial robot according to one aspect of the present invention includes the hand, an arm that supports the hand, and an arm support that supports the arm.

The present invention provides an industrial robot hand that can transport a wafer while rotating and has low manufacturing costs, as well as an industrial robot equipped with the hand.

1 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of a manufacturing system according to an embodiment of the present invention from the front side. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of the manufacturing system shown in FIG. 1 from above. FIG. 2 is a side view of the horizontal articulated robot shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a side view of the horizontal articulated robot shown in FIG. 3 in a state where an arm support part is raised. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the horizontal articulated robot shown in FIG. 3 . 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining the internal structure of the holding portion shown in FIG. 3 . FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the internal structure of the holding portion shown in FIG. 3. 6 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of a support portion of the hand shown in FIG. 5 . 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 8 . 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. 9. 6 is an enlarged side view of the hand as viewed in the direction A of FIG. 5 . 10A and 10B are diagrams showing a preferred configuration example of the hand shown in FIG. 9 .

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

(Overall configuration of the manufacturing system)
Fig. 1 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of a manufacturing system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention from the front side. Fig. 2 is a diagram for explaining the schematic configuration of the manufacturing system 1 shown in Fig. 1 from the top side.

The manufacturing system 1 of this embodiment is a semiconductor manufacturing system for manufacturing semiconductors. This manufacturing system 1 is equipped with a processing unit 4 having multiple processing devices 3 that perform predetermined processing on semiconductor wafers 2 (hereinafter referred to as "wafers 2"). The processing unit 4 is constructed over multiple floors, with multiple processing devices 3 installed on each floor. The manufacturing system 1 also includes a horizontal articulated robot 5 (hereinafter referred to as "robot 5") that is installed on each floor of the processing unit 4 and transports the wafers 2 into and out of the processing devices 3. The wafers 2 of this embodiment are objects to be transported by the robot 5.

In the following description, the X direction in Fig. 1 etc., which is perpendicular to the up-down direction, is referred to as the "left-right direction", and the Y direction in Fig. 1 etc., which is perpendicular to the up-down direction and the left-right direction, is referred to as the "front-to-back direction". The front-to-back direction constitutes the first direction. Additionally, the X1 direction side of the left-to-right direction is referred to as the "right" side, the opposite X2 direction side is referred to as the "left" side, the Y1 direction side of the front-to-back direction is referred to as the "front" side, and the opposite Y2 direction side is referred to as the "rear" side.

As shown in FIG. 1, the processing section 4 of this embodiment has two floors. One robot 5 is installed on each of the first floor and the second floor of the processing section 4. The robot 5 is installed inside the processing section 4. In addition, for example, six processing devices 3 are installed on each of the first and second floors of the processing section 4. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, three processing devices 3 are installed in two locations on each of the first and second floors of the processing section 4, with a predetermined distance between them in the front-rear direction, and are arranged adjacent to each other in the left-right direction. In addition, each processing device 3 is equipped with a wafer placement section 6 on which a wafer 2 is placed.

The robot 5 is installed between three processing devices 3 arranged at the front and three processing devices 3 arranged at the rear on each of the first and second floors of the processing section 4. The robot 5 is also installed at the center position of the processing section 4 in the left-right direction on each of the first and second floors of the processing section 4. A fixed frame 7 for fixing the robot 5 is provided on each of the first and second floors of the processing section 4, and the robot 5 is fixed to the fixed frame 7.

The manufacturing system 1 includes a lifting device 12 having two storage sections 10, 11 in which a plurality of wafers 2 are stored. The lifting device 12 is installed on the right end side inside the processing section 4. The lifting device 12 is also arranged at approximately the same position as the robot 5 in the front-to-rear direction. This lifting device 12 is fixed to a fixed frame 7. The manufacturing system 1 includes a horizontal articulated robot 13 (see FIG. 1; hereinafter, referred to as "robot 13") arranged so that the lifting device 12 is sandwiched between the robot 5 in the left-to-right direction when viewed from the top-to-bottom direction. The robot 13 is installed outside the processing section 4 and arranged at approximately the same position as the lifting device 12 in the front-to-rear direction. Note that the robot 13 is not shown in FIG. 2.

(Structure of horizontal articulated robot)
Fig. 3 is a side view of the robot 5 shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a side view of the robot 5 shown in Fig. 3 in a state in which the arm support unit 17 is elevated. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the robot 5 shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a schematic view for explaining the internal structure of the holding unit 18 shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the internal structure of the holding unit 18 shown in Fig. 3.

The robot 5 is a three-link arm type robot. The robot 5 includes two hands 14, 15 on which the wafer 2 is mounted, an arm 16 to which the hands 14, 15 are rotatably connected at their tip ends and which moves horizontally, an arm support part 17 to which the base end of the arm 16 is rotatably connected, and a holding part 18 that holds the arm support part 17 so that it can be raised and lowered. The robot 5 also includes a hand drive mechanism 19 that rotates the hands 14, 15 relative to the arm 16, and an arm drive mechanism 20 that drives the arm 16 (see Figure 3). The robot 5 also includes an arm lifting mechanism 21 that lifts and lowers the arm support part 17 relative to the holding part 18 (see Figures 6 and 7).

The arm 16 is composed of a first arm section 24 whose base end is rotatably connected to the arm support section 17, a second arm section 25 whose base end is rotatably connected to the tip side of the first arm section 24, and a third arm section 26 whose base end is rotatably connected to the tip side of the second arm section 25. That is, the arm 16 has three arm sections which are connected to be rotatable relative to one another. The first arm section 24, the second arm section 25, and the third arm section 26 are formed hollow. The arm support section 17, the first arm section 24, the second arm section 25, and the third arm section 26 are arranged in this order from the bottom in the vertical direction.

The hands 14 and 15 are formed so that their shape when viewed from the top and bottom is approximately Y-shaped. The hands 14 and 15 are arranged so that the base end portion of the hand 14 and the base end portion of the hand 15 overlap in the top and bottom directions. The hand 14 is arranged on the upper side, and the hand 15 is arranged on the lower side. The base end portions of the hands 14 and 15 are rotatably connected to the tip side of the third arm section 26. The upper surfaces of the tip portions of the hands 14 and 15 are mounting surfaces on which the wafer 2 is mounted, and one wafer 2 is mounted on the upper surfaces of the tip portions of the hands 14 and 15. The hands 14 and 15 are arranged above the third arm section 26.

Note that the hand 15 is not shown in FIG. 2. Furthermore, when the robot 5 of this embodiment is operating, the hand 14 and the hand 15 may overlap in the vertical direction, but in most cases the hand 14 and the hand 15 do not overlap in the vertical direction. For example, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 2, when the hand 14 is inside the processing device 3, the hand 15 has rotated toward the arm support part 17 and is not inside the processing device 3. The rotation angle of the hand 15 relative to the hand 14 at this time is, for example, 120° to 150°.

The holding unit 18 is formed in a substantially rectangular box shape. The upper and lower end faces of the holding unit 18 are planes perpendicular to the up-down direction. In addition, the front and rear side faces of the holding unit 18 are planes perpendicular to the front-to-back direction, and the left and right side faces of the holding unit 18 are planes perpendicular to the left-to-right direction. As described above, the robot 5 is fixed to the fixed frame 7 of the processing unit 4. In this embodiment, the front side face of the holding unit 18 is fixed to the fixed frame 7. That is, the front side face of the holding unit 18 is fixed to the processing unit 4.

The arm support section 17 is formed in a substantially rectangular box shape. The upper end surface and the lower end surface of the arm support section 17 are planes perpendicular to the vertical direction. In addition, the front and rear side surfaces of the arm support section 17 are planes perpendicular to the front-rear direction, and the left and right side surfaces of the arm support section 17 are planes perpendicular to the left-right direction. The base end side of the first arm section 24 is rotatably connected to the upper end surface of the arm support section 17. The arm support section 17 is disposed behind the holding section 18, and the arm support section 17 and the holding section 18 are offset in the front-rear direction. In addition, the arm support section 17 can be raised and lowered along the rear side surface of the holding section 18. The height (vertical length) of the arm support section 17 is lower than the height (vertical length) of the holding section 18.

3, the arm drive mechanism 20 includes a first drive mechanism 27 that rotates the first arm portion 24 and the second arm portion 25 together so that the arm 16 expands and contracts, and a second drive mechanism 28 that rotates the third arm portion 26 relative to the second arm portion 25. The first drive mechanism 27 includes a motor 30, a reducer 31 for reducing the power of the motor 30 and transmitting it to the first arm portion 24, and a reducer 32 for reducing the power of the motor 30 and transmitting it to the second arm portion 25. The second drive mechanism 28 includes a motor 33, and a reducer 34 for reducing the power of the motor 33 and transmitting it to the third arm portion 26. The first drive mechanism 27 rotates the first arm portion 24 and the second arm portion 25 so that the connection portion between the second arm portion 25 and the third arm portion 26 moves linearly on a virtual line parallel to the left-right direction.

The motor 30 is disposed inside the arm support 17. The reducer 31 constitutes a joint that connects the arm support 17 and the first arm 24. The reducer 32 constitutes a joint that connects the first arm 24 and the second arm 25. The motor 30 and the reducer 31 are connected via a pulley and a belt (not shown), and the motor 30 and the reducer 32 are connected via a pulley and a belt (not shown). The motor 33 is disposed inside the second arm 25. The reducer 34 constitutes a joint that connects the second arm 25 and the third arm 26. The motor 33 and the reducer 34 are connected via a gear train (not shown).

The hand drive mechanism 19 includes a motor 35, a reducer 36 for reducing the power of the motor 35 and transmitting it to the hand 14, a motor 37, and a reducer 38 for reducing the power of the motor 37 and transmitting it to the hand 15. The motors 35, 37 and the reducers 36, 38 are disposed inside the third arm portion 26. The base end side of the hand 14 and the reducer 36 are connected via a pulley and a belt (not shown), and the base end side of the hand 15 and the reducer 38 are connected via a pulley and a belt (not shown).

As shown in Figures 6 and 7, the arm lifting mechanism 21 includes a ball screw 39 arranged with the vertical direction as the axial direction, a motor 40 that rotates the ball screw 39, a nut member 41 that engages with the ball screw 39, and a guide rail 42 and a guide block 43 that guide the arm support part 17 in the vertical direction. This arm lifting mechanism 21 is disposed inside the holding part 18.

The ball screw 39 is rotatably held by a frame 44 that constitutes a part of the holding section 18. A pulley 45 is fixed to the lower end side of the ball screw 39. The motor 40 is fixed to the frame 44. A pulley 46 is fixed to the output shaft of the motor 40. A belt 47 is stretched between the pulleys 45 and 46. The guide rail 42 is fixed to the frame 44. The guide rail 42 is arranged so that the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 42 coincides with the up-down direction. In this embodiment, the guide rail 42 is fixed to two locations on both the left and right ends of the frame 44.

The nut member 41 is fixed to a fixing member 48 (see FIG. 7) that is fixed to the front side of the arm support portion 17. The guide block 43 is also fixed to the fixing member 48. The fixing member 48 is formed with a protrusion 48a that protrudes rearward, and the rear end surface of the protrusion 48a is fixed to the front side of the arm support portion 17. The fixing member 48 is covered by a cover 49 that constitutes part of the holding portion 18. The cover 49 is formed with a slit-shaped arrangement hole 49a in which the protrusion 48a is arranged.

The arm lifting mechanism 21 raises and lowers the arm support section 17 between the lower limit position of the arm support section 17 shown in FIG. 3 and the upper limit position of the arm support section 17 shown in FIG. 4. When the arm support section 17 is lowered to the lower limit position, the upper end surface of the holding section 18 is higher than the lower surface of the first arm section 24, as shown in FIG. 3. Specifically, the upper end surface of the holding section 18 is higher than the lower surface of the base end portion of the first arm section 24 that is rotatably connected to the upper end surface of the arm support section 17.

In addition, when the arm support portion 17 is lowered to the lowest position, the upper end surface of the holding portion 18 is lower than the lower surface of the third arm portion 26. In this embodiment, when the arm support portion 17 is lowered to the lowest position, the upper end surface of the holding portion 18 is slightly lower than the upper surface of the second arm portion 25. In other words, when the arm support portion 17 is lowered to the lowest position, the upper end surface of the holding portion 18 is between the upper surface and the lower surface of the second arm portion 25 in the vertical direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, the robot 13 includes two hands 52, 53 on which wafers 2 are mounted, an arm 54 to which the hand 52 is rotatably connected at its tip end, an arm 55 to which the hand 53 is rotatably connected at its tip end, an arm support section 56 to which the base ends of the arms 54, 55 are rotatably connected, and a main body section 57 that holds the arm support section 56 so that it can be raised and lowered. Multiple wafers 2 can be mounted on the hands 52, 53.

The robot 13 also includes a hand drive mechanism (not shown) that rotates the hand 52 relative to the arm 54, a hand drive mechanism (not shown) that rotates the hand 53 relative to the arm 55, an arm drive mechanism (not shown) that drives the arm 54, an arm drive mechanism (not shown) that drives the arm 55, an arm support drive mechanism (not shown) that rotates the arm support 56 relative to the main body 57, and an arm lifting mechanism (not shown) that raises and lowers the arm support 56 relative to the main body 57.

As described above, when viewed from the top and bottom, the robot 13 is arranged so that the lifting device 12 is sandwiched between the robot 13 and the robot 5 in the left-right direction. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the robot 13 is arranged so that the lifting device 12 is sandwiched between the robot 13 and the robot 5 installed on the first floor of the processing section 4 in the left-right direction. This robot 13 loads and unloads the wafers 2 into and from the storage sections 10 and 11.

(Details of hand configuration)
The detailed configuration of the hands mounted on the robot 5 and robot 13 will be described below. The hands mounted on the robot 5 and robot 13 may all have the same configuration. Below, the detailed configuration of the hand will be described by taking the hand 14 of the robot 5 as an example. FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the support portion 14b of the hand 14 shown in FIG. 5, and is a view showing a partial cross section of the support portion 14b. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 8. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. 9. FIG. 11 is an enlarged side view of the hand as seen in the direction A in FIG. 5. In this specification, "fixing" refers to a state in which two members to be fixed are firmly integrated together by adhesion, press fitting, bolting, etc.

As shown in FIG. 5, the hand 14 is formed to be approximately linearly symmetrical about a predetermined axis when viewed from the top-bottom direction. The hand 14 includes a wafer mounting portion 14a on which the wafer 2 is mounted, and a support portion 14b that supports the wafer mounting portion 14a at its base end. The tip side of the wafer mounting portion 14a is formed in a bifurcated shape, and the shape of the wafer mounting portion 14a when viewed from the top-bottom direction is approximately Y-shaped. The wafer mounting portion 14a is formed in a flat plate shape.

The "radial direction" described below refers to the radial direction of the wafer 2 (the direction from each point on the outer periphery of the wafer 2 toward the center) when the wafer 2 is mounted on the wafer mounting section 14a so that the surface (front and back surfaces) of the wafer 2 is parallel to the upper surface of the wafer mounting section 14a. The "radial inner side" refers to the center side of the wafer 2. The "radial outer side" refers to the outer periphery side of the wafer 2. Direction A shown in Figure 5 is a direction perpendicular to the radial direction and the up-down direction.

An end surface abutment member 141 having a first abutment surface 141b1 against which the end surface (outer peripheral surface) of the wafer 2 abuts and a second abutment surface 141a1 against which the back surface of the wafer 2 abuts is fixed to the upper surface of the tip side of the bifurcated wafer mounting part 14a. That is, two end surface abutment members 141 are fixed to the wafer mounting part 14a. Wafer mounting members 142 on which the wafer 2 is mounted are fixed to two places on the upper surface of the base end side of the wafer mounting part 14a. The wafer 2 is mounted on the end surface abutment member 141 and the wafer mounting member 142. An opening 143 is provided between the two wafer mounting members 142 aligned in the left-right direction on the base end side of the wafer mounting part 14a.

11, the end surface abutment member 141 is composed of a base 141a having a substantially triangular shape when viewed in the vertical direction, and a protruding portion 141b protruding upward from the radially outer end of the base 141a. The base 141a is arranged so that one apex of the substantially triangular shape faces the center of the wafer 2. The upper surface of the base 141a is a second abutment surface 141a1 against which the back surface of the wafer 2 abuts. The second abutment surface 141a1 is an inclined surface that slopes downward from the radially outer side toward the radially inner side. The radially inner side surface of the protruding portion 141b is a first abutment surface 141b1 against which the end surface of the wafer 2 abuts. The first abutment surface 141b1 is a surface that extends obliquely upward from the radially outer edge of the second abutment surface 141a1. The first contact surface 141b1 is an inclined surface that slopes from the radially outer side toward the radially inner side at an inclination angle θ2.

8 and 9, the support unit 14b includes a housing 14K, a rotating unit 144 partially housed in the housing 14K, a pressing unit 145 supported by the rotating unit 144 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction, and a columnar shaft member 146 partially housed in the housing 14K and extending in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 9, the housing 14K contains an air cylinder 149 constituting the first driving unit, a movable member 148 fixed to the movable part (piston rod) of the air cylinder 149, a bearing 147 into which the shaft member 146 is inserted, a position detection mechanism 153, a motor 150 constituting the second driving unit, a pulley 151 connected to the rotating shaft 150a of the motor 150, and a belt 152 stretched between the pulley 151 and the pulley 144c of the rotating unit 144.

The rotating part 144 includes a fixing member 144a, a substantially cylindrical rotating member 144b constituting a first tubular member, a substantially cylindrical pulley 144c, and a substantially cylindrical spline nut 144d. As shown in FIG. 9, the fixing member 144a includes a flat upper surface portion 144u parallel to the front-rear and left-right directions, and a side surface portion 144s extending downward from the rear end of the upper surface portion 144u. A through hole 144s1 is formed in the side surface portion 144s, penetrating in the front-rear direction. The front end of the rotating member 144b is fitted into the through hole 144s1. As shown in FIG. 8, the fixing member 144a is fixed to the base end of the wafer mounting part 14a and supports the wafer mounting part 14a.

The rotating member 144b is rotatably fitted into an opening 14Ka formed at the front end of the housing 14K via a bearing 14A. A part of a spline nut 144d into which a shaft member 146 is inserted is fitted into the inner periphery of the rotating member 144b. This fitting fixes the inner periphery of the rotating member 144b and the outer periphery of the spline nut 144d. A part of the spline nut 144d that is outside the rotating member 144b is fitted into the inner periphery of the pulley 144c.

As shown in FIG. 10, the shaft member 146 is inserted into the inner periphery of the spline nut 144d so as to be movable in the front-rear direction. Three recesses 144d2 (engaged portions) are formed on the inner periphery 144d1 of the spline nut 144d and are spaced equally apart in the circumferential direction. The shaft member 146 is a so-called spline shaft, and its outer periphery 146a is formed with protrusions 146b (engaging portions) that engage with each recess 144d2 of the spline nut 144d. The shaft member 146 is configured to be freely rotatable about the shaft center CP1.

When the motor 150 shown in Fig. 9 is operated, its power is transmitted to the pulley 144c, and the rotating part 144 consisting of the pulley 144c, the rotating member 144b, the spline nut 144d, and the fixed member 144a rotates integrally. Since the recessed part 144d2 and the protruding part 146b are engaged with each other, this rotational motion causes the shaft member 146 to rotate together. In other words, the rotation axis of the rotating part 144 (the rotation axis AL shown in Fig. 5) and the axis center CP1 which is the rotation axis of the shaft member 146 coincide with each other.
In addition, the same operation can be achieved by providing a convex portion (engaged portion) on the inner surface 144d1 of the spline nut 144d and providing a concave portion (engaging portion) on the outer surface 146a of the shaft member 146 that engages with this convex portion.

As shown in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9, the pressing part 145 includes a cylindrical roller 145a, which constitutes a pressing member, and whose outer diameter changes in the axial direction, and a roller support member 145b, which supports a rotation shaft 145c of the roller 145a. The rotation shaft 145c of the roller 145a extends in the vertical direction. The roller support member 145b rotatably supports the roller 145a at its front end. The rear end of the roller support member 145b is supported by a fixing member 144a, which constitutes the rotating part 144, so as to be movable in the front-rear direction. A recess 145b1 is formed on the rear end surface of the roller support member 145b. The front end of the shaft member 146 is fixed to the bottom surface of the recess 145b1. The fixing member 144a is disposed within the recess 145b1.
When the motor 150 is operated and the rotating part 144 and the shaft member 146 rotate integrally around the same rotation axis, the wafer mounting part 14a supported by the rotating part 144 and the pressing part 145 fixed to the shaft member 146 also rotate in conjunction with this. This allows the wafer 2 mounted on the wafer mounting part 14a to be rotated 180 degrees or 90 degrees.

As shown in FIG. 9, the outer peripheral surface 145a1 of the roller 145a is a tapered surface whose diameter increases from the back side to the front side (from bottom to top) of the wafer 2 mounted on the wafer mounting section 14a. In other words, the outer peripheral surface 145a1 of the roller 145a is a tapered surface whose diameter increases from the tip side to the base end side of the rotation shaft 145c. In this way, the outer peripheral surface 145a1 is an inclined surface that is inclined at an inclination angle θ1 with respect to the end face of the wafer 2 mounted on the wafer mounting section 14a.

As shown in FIG. 9, a bearing 147 is fixed to the rear end of the shaft member 146. The bearing 147 is fixed to the rear end face of the shaft member 146. In other words, the position of the bearing 147 in the front-to-rear direction relative to the shaft member 146 is fixed, and the bearing 147 moves integrally with the shaft member 146. The movable member 148 is fixed to the bearing 147. A detection plate 153a of the position detection mechanism 153 and a piston rod of the air cylinder 149 are fixed to the movable member 148.

When the air cylinder 149 is operated, its power is transmitted to the bearing 147 via the movable member 148, and the shaft member 146 moves together with the bearing 147. This allows the pressing portion 145 fixed to the shaft member 146 to move in the forward and backward directions, making it possible for the roller 145a to press the edge of the wafer 2. By operating the air cylinder 149, the pressing portion 145 moves linearly between a pressing position where the roller 145a contacts the edge of the wafer 2 and presses the wafer 2 toward the first contact surface 141b1, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 5, and a retracted position where the roller 145a retracts away from the edge of the wafer 2, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 5. Position P1 shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 indicates the position of the movable member 148 when the pressing portion 145 is in the pressing position.

The position detection mechanism 153 includes a detection plate 153a and two sensors 153b arranged in front and behind. The sensor 153b is a transmission type optical sensor having a light emitting element and a light receiving element arranged to face each other. The detection plate 153a is formed with a light shielding portion for blocking the light emitting element and the light receiving element of the sensor 153b. When the pressing portion 145 is in the pressing position, the light shielding portion blocks the light emitting element and the light receiving element of the front sensor 153b out of the two sensors 153b, and when the pressing portion 145 is in the retracted position, the light shielding portion does not block the light emitting element and the light receiving element of each of the two sensors 153b. In addition, when the pressing portion 145 moves forward from the pressing position with the wafer 2 not mounted on the wafer mounting portion 14a, the light shielding portion blocks the light emitting element and the light receiving element of each of the two sensors 153b. This makes it possible to detect whether a wafer 2 is mounted on the wafer mounting section 14a and whether the pressing section 145 is in the pressing position or the retracted position based on the output of the two sensors 153b.

(General Operation of the Manufacturing System)
In the manufacturing system 1, a cassette (not shown) that contains a plurality of wafers 2 is disposed to the right of the robot 13, and the robot 13 transports the wafers 2 between this cassette and the accommodation units 10, 11. When the robot 13 loads or unloads the wafers 2 into or from the accommodation unit 10, the accommodation unit 10 is lowered to its lowest position. The robot 5 installed on the second floor of the processing unit 4 transports the wafers 2 between the processing device 3 installed on the second floor of the processing unit 4 and the accommodation unit 10. At this time, the accommodation unit 10 is raised to its highest position. The robot 5 installed on the first floor of the processing unit 4 transports the wafers 2 between the processing device 3 installed on the first floor of the processing unit 4 and the accommodation unit 11.

(Main effects of this embodiment)
According to the above-described hand 14, the rotating part 144 supporting the wafer mounting part 14a rotates around the axial center CP1 of the shaft member 146 that is movable in the front-rear direction to grip the wafer 2, thereby rotating the wafer 2. This makes it possible to simplify the structure of the hand 14, reduce the size and weight of the hand 14, and reduce the manufacturing costs of the hand 14.
9, for example, a configuration is assumed in which the entire hand 14 is rotated around an axis extending in the front-rear direction. In this configuration, the housing 14K also needs to be rotated, and it is not easy to route the internal piping and wiring of the housing 14K. In contrast, with the hand 14, it is possible to rotate only the rotating part 144, the shaft member 146, the pressing part 145, and the wafer mounting part 14a, without rotating the housing 14K. This allows the internal structure of the housing 14K to be simplified.
Furthermore, even when the motor 150 is operated to rotate the rotating portion 144, the shaft member 146, the pressing portion 145, and the wafer mounting portion 14a, the bearing 147 allows the shaft member 146 to rotate. Therefore, the bearing 147 does not move in any direction other than the front-rear direction within the housing 14K. In other words, the wafer 2 can be rotated without moving the motor 150 and the movable member 148 that drive the shaft member 146 using the bearing 147, and the position detection mechanism 153 that detects the position of the movable member 148. This allows the hand 14 to be manufactured at low cost and with a long life.

In addition, in the hand 14, the outer peripheral surface 145a1 of the roller 145a is a tapered surface. This makes it possible to prevent the end surface of the wafer 2 from floating up along the outer peripheral surface 145a1 of the roller 145a when the wafer 2 mounted on the wafer mounting section 14a is pressed by the roller 145a. In addition, in the hand 14, the first abutment surface 141b1 of the end surface abutment member 141 is an inclined surface that is inclined toward the radial inside of the wafer 2 mounted on the wafer mounting section 14a. This makes it possible to prevent the end surface of the wafer 2 from floating up along the first abutment surface 141b1 of the end surface abutment member 141 when the wafer 2 mounted on the wafer mounting section 14a is pressed by the roller 145a. This makes it possible to reliably hold the wafer 2 and prevent the wafer from falling.
In particular, even if the front surface of the wafer 2 faces vertically due to the rotation of the wafer mounting part 14a, the tapered shape of the outer circumferential surface 145a1 of the roller 145a and the inclined shape of the first contact surface 141b1 of the end surface contact member 141 can suppress the movement of the wafer 2 in the falling direction. Therefore, the wafer 2 can be firmly prevented from falling.

Other Embodiments
The above-described embodiment is one example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

In the embodiment described above, the relationship between the rotation axis AL (see FIG. 5) of the rotating part 144 and the thickness of the wafer 2 mounted on the wafer mounting part 14a was not mentioned. However, as shown in FIG. 12, it is preferable to align the vertical position of the rotation axis AL of the rotating part 144 (which coincides with the axial center CP1 of the shaft member 146) with the central position CP2 in the thickness direction (vertical direction) of the wafer 2 mounted on the wafer mounting part 14a. In this way, the rotation operation of the wafer 2 can be performed stably.

In the above embodiment, the storage unit 11 is fixed to the columnar member 60, and the storage unit 10 arranged above the storage unit 11 can be raised and lowered between the first and second floors of the processing unit 4. In addition, for example, the storage unit 10 arranged above the storage unit 11 may be fixed to the columnar member 60, and the storage unit 11 may be raised and lowered between the first and second floors of the processing unit 4. In this case, the storage unit 10 is fixed at a position where the robot 5 installed on the second floor of the processing unit 4 can carry the wafer 2 into and out of the storage unit 10. In addition, in this case, the robot 13 is arranged so that the lifting device 12 is sandwiched between the robot 13 and the robot 5 installed on the second floor of the processing unit 4 in the left-right direction. That is, in this case, the robot 13 is arranged at the same height as the second floor of the processing unit 4. In this case, the storage unit 10 is the second storage unit.

In the embodiment described above, the lifting device 12 includes the storage section 11, but the lifting device 12 does not have to include the storage section 11. In this case, the lifting mechanism 61 raises and lowers the storage section 10 between a position where the robot 5 installed on the second floor of the processing section 4 can load and unload the wafer 2 into and from the storage section 10, and a position where the robot 5 installed on the first floor of the processing section 4 can load and unload the wafer 2 into and from the storage section 10. In this case, for example, the wafer 2 after being processed by the processing device 3 installed on the first floor of the processing section 4 can be stored in the storage section 10 and transported directly to the second floor of the processing section 4.

In the embodiment described above, the processing section 4 is configured to have two floors, but the processing section 4 may be configured to have one floor. In this case, the lifting device 12 is not required. The processing section 4 may be configured to have three or more floors. For example, the processing section 4 may be configured to have three floors.
In this case, for example, the lifting device 12 is provided with, in addition to the storage units 10 and 11, a storage unit that can be raised and lowered between the first and third floors of the processing unit 4, and is provided with, in addition to the lifting mechanism 61, a lifting mechanism that raises and lowers this storage unit between the first and third floors of the processing unit 4.

In addition, when the processing section 4 is configured as a three-story building, the lifting mechanism 61 may raise and lower the storage section 10 between the first and third floors of the processing section 4. That is, the storage section 10 may be raised and lowered to a position where the robot 5 installed on the second floor of the processing section 4 can carry the wafer 2 into and out of the storage section 10, and to a position where the robot 5 installed on the third floor of the processing section 4 can carry the wafer 2 into and out of the storage section 10. Furthermore, when the processing section 4 is configured as a three-story building, the storage section 10 may be fixed, the storage section 11 may be raised and lowered between the first and second floors of the processing section 4, and the lifting device 12 may be provided with a storage section that rises and falls between the second and third floors of the processing section 4.

In the embodiment described above, when the arm support portion 17 is lowered to the lowest position, the upper end surface of the holding portion 18 is located between the upper surface of the second arm portion 25 and the lower surface of the second arm portion 25 in the vertical direction. In addition, for example, when the arm support portion 17 is lowered to the lowest position,
The upper end surface of the holding portion 18 may be located between the upper surface of the first arm portion 24 and the lower surface of the base end portion of the first arm portion 24 in the vertical direction. In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the front side surface of the holding portion 18 is fixed to the fixed frame 7 of the processing portion 4, but the bottom surface of the holding portion 18 may be fixed to the floor surface of each floor of the processing portion 4. In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, two hands 14, 15 are attached to the tip side of the third arm portion 26, but the number of hands attached to the tip side of the third arm portion 26 may be one.

In the above embodiment, six processing devices 3 are installed on each of the first and second floors of the processing section 4, but five or less or seven or more processing devices 3 may be installed on each of the first and second floors of the processing section 4. Also, in the above embodiment, processing devices 3 are arranged on both the front and back of the robot 5, but processing devices 3 may be arranged on only one side of the robot 5. Also, in the above embodiment, the manufacturing system 1 is a semiconductor manufacturing system for manufacturing semiconductors, but the manufacturing system 1 may be a system for manufacturing items other than semiconductors. That is, the robot 5 may transport objects other than the wafer 2, such as glass substrates, for example.

This specification describes at least the following items. Note that the corresponding components in the above-mentioned embodiment are shown in parentheses, but are not limited to these.

(1)
A hand (hand 14) of an industrial robot (robot 5),
a mounting portion (wafer mounting portion 14a) on which a wafer (wafer 2) is mounted;
A rotating part (rotating part 144) configured to support the mounting part and to be rotatable around an axis extending in a first direction (front-rear direction);
a pressing unit (pressing unit 145) supported by the rotating unit so as to be movable in the first direction and capable of pressing an end surface of the wafer mounted on the mounting unit;
A shaft member (shaft member 146) fixed to the pressing portion and configured to be movable in the first direction,
The shaft member is rotatable in conjunction with the rotation of the rotating part,
A hand of an industrial robot in which the rotation axis (rotation axis AL) of the rotating part coincides with the axis center (axis center CP1) of the shaft member.

According to (1), the movement of the shaft member in the first direction causes the pressing part to grip the wafer, and the rotation of the rotating part causes the wafer gripped by the gripping action to rotate (rotate the orientation of the wafer surface by 90 degrees or 180 degrees). In this way, the rotating part rotates around the axial center of the shaft member that is movable in the first direction to perform the gripping action, and the rotation action is performed. This simplifies the structure of the hand, making it possible to reduce the size and weight of the hand and the manufacturing costs of the hand.

(2)
A hand of the industrial robot according to (1),
The rotating portion supports the pressing portion so as to be freely movable in the first direction, and is a hand of an industrial robot including: a fixing member (fixing member 144a) fixed to the mounting portion; a first cylindrical member (rotating member 144b) fixed to the fixing member and into which the shaft member is inserted; and a second cylindrical member (spline nut 144d) fixed to the inner surface of the first cylindrical member and having an engaged portion (recess 144d2) that engages with an engaging portion (convex portion 146b) provided on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft member.

According to (2), the rotation of the held wafer can be achieved without rotating the part that houses the drive unit that drives the shaft member and the rotating part. Since the above-mentioned parts do not rotate, it is possible to simplify the routing of the piping and wiring required for the drive unit and prevent wear due to the rotation of these piping and wiring. This makes it possible to reduce the cost of the hand and extend its lifespan.

(3)
A hand of the industrial robot according to (2),
A bearing (bearing 147) into which the shaft member is inserted and whose position in the first direction with respect to the shaft member is fixed;
a first driving unit (air cylinder 149) that moves the bearing in the first direction to move the shaft member in the first direction;
A second drive unit (motor 150) that rotates the first cylindrical member to rotate the rotating unit and the shaft member in conjunction with each other.

According to (3), the position of the bearing does not change even if the mounting part rotates. Therefore, the rotational operation can be realized without rotating the first drive part. Furthermore, if a mechanism is provided that detects the moving position of the pressing part by detecting the position of the member fixed to the bearing, the rotational operation can be realized without rotating this mechanism. This makes it possible to reduce the cost of the hand and extend its lifespan.

(4)
A hand of the industrial robot according to (3),
a movable member (movable member 148) fixed to the bearing and moved in the first direction by the first driving unit;
A position detection mechanism (position detection mechanism 153) that detects the position of the movable member in the first direction.

According to (4), the mounting part can be rotated without rotating the position detection mechanism. This makes it possible to reduce the cost of the hand and extend its life.

(5)
A hand of the industrial robot according to (4),
A housing (housing 14K) that rotatably supports the first cylindrical member,
A hand of an industrial robot, wherein the first driving unit, the second driving unit, the bearing, and the position detection mechanism are housed within the housing.

According to (5), the rotation of the held wafer can be achieved without rotating the housing. This allows the structure inside the housing to be simplified, making it possible to reduce the cost of the hand and extend its lifespan. In addition, because the housing, which tends to be thicker than the mounting part, is not rotated, there is no need for excess space around the hand. As a result, flexibility can be added to the design of industrial robots.

(6)
A hand of an industrial robot according to any one of (1) to (5),
A hand of an industrial robot in which the central position (central position CP2) in the thickness direction of the wafer mounted on the mounting portion coincides with the axial center (axial center CP1) of the shaft member.

(6) allows the wafer to be rotated stably.

(7)
A hand of an industrial robot according to any one of (1) to (6);
An arm (arm 16) supporting the hand;
and an arm support portion (arm support portion 17) that supports the arm.

1 Manufacturing system 2 Wafer (semiconductor wafer)
3 Processing device 4 Processing section 5 Robot (horizontal articulated robot)
10 Storage section 11 Storage section (second storage section)
12 Lifting device 14, 15 Hand 14a Wafer mounting portion 144 Rotating portion 145 Pressing portion 145a Roller 145a1 Outer circumferential surface 146 Shaft member AL Rotation axis CP1 Shaft center CP1
Reference Signs List 16 Arm 17 Arm support section 18 Holding section 19 Hand drive mechanism 20 Arm drive mechanism 21 Arm lift mechanism 24 First arm section 25 Second arm section 26 Third arm section 27 First drive mechanism 28 Second drive mechanism 61 Lift mechanism

Claims (7)

A hand of an industrial robot,
a mounting section having a wafer mounting surface on which an end surface abutment member for the wafer is provided ;
A rotation unit capable of rotating while supporting the mounting unit;
a shaft member that rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the rotating part and can move in the first direction relative to the rotating part when the direction of the rotation axis of the rotating part is a first direction ;
a pressing portion fixed to a tip of the shaft member and configured to press an end surface of the wafer mounted on the mounting portion;
Equipped with
The center of the rotation axis of the rotating portion and the axis of the shaft member are aligned,
When the shaft member moves in the first direction toward the wafer, the pressing portion fixed to the shaft member presses the edge surface of the wafer toward the edge surface contact member.
Industrial robot hand. The hand of the industrial robot according to claim 1,
The rotating portion supports the pressing portion so as to be freely movable in the first direction, and includes a fixing member fixed to the mounting portion, a first tubular member fixed to the fixing member and having the shaft member inserted therein, and a second tubular member fixed to the inner surface of the first tubular member and having an engaged portion that engages with an engaging portion provided on the outer surface of the shaft member. A hand of an industrial robot according to claim 2,
a bearing into which the shaft member is inserted and whose position in the first direction relative to the shaft member is fixed;
a first drive unit that moves the bearing in the first direction to move the shaft member in the first direction;
A hand of an industrial robot comprising: a second drive unit that rotates the first cylindrical member to rotate the rotating unit and the shaft member in conjunction with each other. A hand of an industrial robot according to claim 3,
a movable member fixed to the bearing and moved in the first direction by the first driving unit;
and a position detection mechanism for detecting the position of the movable member in the first direction. A hand of an industrial robot according to claim 4,
a housing that rotatably supports the first cylindrical member,
A hand of an industrial robot, wherein the first driving unit, the second driving unit, the bearing, and the position detection mechanism are housed within the housing. A hand of an industrial robot according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A hand of an industrial robot, wherein the central position in the thickness direction of the wafer placed on the placement portion coincides with the axial center of the shaft member. A hand of an industrial robot according to any one of claims 1 to 6;
An arm supporting the hand;
and an arm support portion that supports the arm.

Images