CN219726303U

CN219726303U - Manipulator positioning device

Info

Publication number: CN219726303U
Application number: CN202321358547.XU
Authority: CN
Inventors: 王周杰; 张明辉; 权汉钊
Original assignee: Lezi Xinchuang Semiconductor Equipment Shanghai Co ltd
Current assignee: Lezi Xinchuang Semiconductor Equipment Shanghai Co ltd
Priority date: 2023-05-31
Filing date: 2023-05-31
Publication date: 2023-09-22
Anticipated expiration: 2033-05-31

Abstract

The utility model relates to a manipulator positioning device, comprising: the back of the mounting plate is provided with a positioning component; the synchronous centering assembly comprises two synchronous belt idler wheels arranged on the back surface of the mounting plate, a synchronous belt wound between the two synchronous belt idler wheels and two connecting pieces; the two connecting pieces are respectively connected with a first side and a second side which are opposite in moving direction of the synchronous belt; the first ends of the two scale rods are respectively connected with the two connecting pieces, and the second ends penetrate through the mounting plate and extend to the front surface of the mounting plate and are higher than the front surface of the mounting plate; the reference assembly comprises a sliding groove arranged on the front surface of the mounting plate and a reference block in sliding connection with the sliding groove, and the reference block is higher than the front surface of the mounting plate; the two scale bars are respectively positioned at two sides of the chute and are arranged in axisymmetric mode relative to the chute. The manipulator positioning device and the manipulator positioning method improve the teaching efficiency and the teaching precision of the end effector.

Description

Manipulator positioning device

Technical Field

The utility model relates to the field of wafer transmission equipment, in particular to a manipulator positioning device.

Background

Robots are widely used in wafer transfer equipment, particularly in front end modules (EFEM) for wafer fabrication, and more particularly, to transfer wafers by a wafer transfer robot. During installation and debugging of the EFEM, the positions of the various units of the EFEM need to be adjusted and set. The method also comprises teaching and adjusting the space position of the wafer taken and placed by the end effector of the manipulator. In the transfer process of the semiconductor transfer apparatus, wafers in the wafer cassette are carried into the manufactured apparatus by an end effector of the robot. Since the pod cannot be opened manually by a person, a system capable of automatically opening the pod, called a wafer loading system, is required.

Currently, there are several methods for adjusting the end effector 10. The method comprises the following steps: and placing the wafer box and the wafer which need to be taken and placed under the actual working condition in place, and judging the relative position between the end effector and the wafer by naked eyes. As shown in fig. 6, the center formed by the two suction points of the end effector 10 needs to coincide with the center O of the wafer 20. Fig. 7 shows a wafer loading system having a wafer loading platform with a set of scribe lines centered horizontally with respect to the wafer. In use, the wafer is 49mm higher in the vertical direction than the face of the wafer loading platform 30.

The method comprises the steps of firstly placing a wafer box on a wafer loading platform, placing a wafer at a position where the wafer needs to be taken in the wafer box, gradually approaching the wafer by controlling an end effector of a robot, and finally visually inspecting a proper position. In this case, after the wafer cassette and the wafer are placed, the wafer cassette serves as a standard member, so that the center of the wafer and the center of the scribe line are concentric, the wafer is positioned 49mm higher than the wafer loading platform surface, and then the end effector 10 is adjusted so that the relative position between the end effector 10 and the wafer meets the requirements. The method has no reliable reference object due to naked eye observation, long debugging time and poor adjustment precision. Meanwhile, under the actual working condition, the wafer box shields the wafer and the end effector 10 to a certain extent. This also makes adjustment of the end effector 10 more difficult.

The second method is as follows: a tool with a bottom resembling a wafer cassette can be placed on the wafer loading platform 30 with various measured datum levels on top of the tool. The spatial position of the end effector is ensured by measuring the position of the reference surfaces to the end effector.

In the case of the second method, the wafer cassette and the wafer are not directly used, but the relative position between the end effector 10 and the tool is known in advance by calculating the dimensions in advance. As long as the position between the end effector 10 and the tool is ensured to be accurate, the position between the end effector and the wafer loading system can be ensured to be accurate. And indirectly judging whether the position of the end effector is correct or not by comparing the theoretical distance with the actual distance. Compared with the method, the method has the advantages that the accuracy is improved, but repeated measurement is needed, so that the adjustment efficiency is low and the time is long.

The two-field method has the problems of long teaching time, low efficiency and low precision of the manipulator end effector. In actual operation, the situations such as deviation or collision of the wafer transmission position caused by improper debugging are easy to occur.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the above problems and improve the teaching efficiency and precision of the end effector, the present utility model proposes a manipulator positioning device, comprising:

the back of the mounting plate is provided with a positioning component;

the synchronous centering assembly comprises two synchronous belt idler wheels arranged on the back surface of the mounting plate, a synchronous belt wound between the two synchronous belt idler wheels and two connecting pieces;

the two connecting pieces are respectively connected with a first side and a second side which are opposite in moving direction of the synchronous belt;

the first ends of the two scale rods are respectively connected with the two connecting pieces, and the second ends penetrate through the mounting plate and extend to the front surface of the mounting plate and are higher than the front surface of the mounting plate;

the reference assembly comprises a sliding groove arranged on the front surface of the mounting plate and a reference block in sliding connection with the sliding groove, and the reference block is higher than the front surface of the mounting plate;

the two scale bars are respectively positioned at two sides of the chute and are arranged in axisymmetric mode relative to the chute.

Further, a hole for the scale rod to pass through is formed in the mounting plate.

Further, a first scale is arranged on the side edge of the sliding groove.

Further, the back is provided with a guide rail, two sliding blocks are connected to the guide rail in a sliding mode, and the two connecting pieces are connected with the two sliding blocks respectively.

Further, the guide rail is arranged parallel to the synchronous belt.

Further, the reference block surface is provided with a second scale.

Further, the surface of the scale bar is provided with a third scale.

The manipulator positioning device comprises the following steps:

fixing the positioning device on the surface of the wafer loading platform;

coarse tuning the end effector to a relatively centered position;

pushing the scale bars and the end effector until both scale bars are contacted with two sides of the end effector;

pushing the reference block until the reference block is contacted with the top of the end effector, and adjusting the horizontal plane of the end effector until the three positions of the end effector contacted with the reference block and the two scale bars are in high consistency;

the reference block is moved to a predetermined position and the end effector is moved to contact the reference block at its top.

Further, the method further comprises the following steps:

moving the scale bars until one of the scale bars contacts one side of the end effector;

moving the end effector to a position close to the symmetry axis on the side where the scale bars are not contacted, pushing the scale bars again to enable the two scale bars to be contacted with the two sides of the end effector respectively

The manipulator positioning device provided by the utility model improves the teaching efficiency and precision of the end effector.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a positioning device of the present utility model;

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the positioning device of the present utility model;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the positioning device of the present utility model;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged front view of the positioning device of the present utility model;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the positioning device of the present utility model;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of an end effector carrying a wafer;

fig. 7 is a schematic view of a wafer loading system.

Detailed Description

The following describes the manipulator positioning device and method according to the present utility model in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and detailed description. The advantages and features of the present utility model will become more apparent from the following description. It should be noted that the drawings are in a very simplified form and are all to a non-precise scale, merely for the purpose of facilitating and clearly aiding in the description of embodiments of the utility model. For a better understanding of the utility model with objects, features and advantages, refer to the drawings. It should be understood that the structures, proportions, sizes, etc. shown in the drawings are for illustration purposes only and should not be construed as limiting the utility model to the extent that any modifications, changes in the proportions, or adjustments of the sizes of structures, proportions, or otherwise, used in the practice of the utility model, are included in the spirit and scope of the utility model which is otherwise, without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof.

The utility model aims to solve the problems of low teaching efficiency and poor teaching precision of the traditional end effector. As shown in fig. 1 to 5, the present utility model proposes a manipulator positioning device, comprising: a mounting plate 1 having a front face and a rear face, said rear face being provided with a positioning assembly 11; the synchronous centering assembly comprises two synchronous belt idler wheels 12 arranged on the back surface of the mounting plate 1, a synchronous belt 13 wound between the two belt idler wheels 12 and two connecting pieces 14; the two connecting pieces 14 are respectively connected with the first side and the second side of the synchronous belt 13, which have opposite moving directions, so that the two connecting pieces 14 respectively move reversely along with the first side and the second side of the synchronous belt 13; the first end of each scale rod 16 is respectively connected with the corresponding connecting piece 14, and the second end passes through the mounting plate 1 and extends to the front surface of the mounting plate 1 and is higher than the front surface; a reference assembly 17 comprising a chute 18 arranged on the front surface of the mounting plate 1 and a reference block 17 slidably connected with the chute 18, wherein the reference block 17 is higher than the front surface of the mounting plate 1; the two scale bars 16 are respectively located at two sides of the chute 18, and are axisymmetric with respect to the chute 18. Preferably, there are three positioning assemblies 11, and the structural features of each positioning assembly 11 are identical to the bottom features of the wafer cassette, so that this arrangement ensures that the mounting plate 1 is placed on the wafer loading platform 30 in the same manner as the wafer cassette.

The diameters of the two synchronous belt idler wheels 12 of the synchronous centering assembly are the same, the synchronous belt 13 does not have larger elastic deformation, and when the two synchronous belt idler wheels 12 rotate, the movement directions of the two sides of the synchronous belt 13 are opposite and the movement rates are the same. The two connecting pieces 14 connected with the synchronous belt 13 can move reversely at the same speed, and further drive the two scale bars 16 to move reversely at the same speed. In other preferred embodiments, a guide rail 15 is further disposed on the back of the mounting plate 1 and parallel to the direction of the synchronous belt 13, two sliding blocks 151 are slidably connected to the guide rail 15, each sliding block 151 is fixedly connected to one connecting piece 14, and the two connecting pieces 14 slide smoothly with the aid of the sliding blocks 151.

As shown in fig. 3, since the two scale bars 16 are disposed in axisymmetric relation to the chute 18 and the two scale bars 16 move reversely at the same rate with each of the links 14, the two scale bars 16 are in axisymmetric state at any time. The end effector 10 is also an axisymmetric structure, when the end effector 10 is positioned, the end effector 10 is placed between the two scale bars 16, and the two scale bars 16 are moved to be respectively contacted with two sides of the end effector 10, at this time, the symmetry axis of the end effector 10 coincides with the chute 18, that is, the end effector 10 is located at the center position in the Y-axis direction.

In other preferred embodiments, as shown in fig. 3, the mounting plate 1 is provided with a hole 19 through which the scale bar 14 passes, and the hole 19 is elongated, so that a space is reserved for the scale bar 16 to move. Of course the scale bar 16 could extend from the back to the front in other ways as long as it is ensured that the two scale bars 14 move in opposite directions at the same rate.

The reference assembly is mainly used for positioning the end effector in the X-axis direction, as shown in fig. 3, and when in use, the reference block 17 is pushed to a designated position along the chute 18, and then the end effector is moved 10 to the top of the end effector to contact with the reference block 17, so that the positioning in the X-axis direction can be completed.

In other preferred embodiments, graduations 181 or marks are provided alongside the chute 18 for calibration of the position of the reference block 17.

The two scale bars 16 and the reference block 17 are mainly relied on as calibration references in the Z-axis direction, and when the end effector 10 is contacted with the two scale bars 16 and the reference block 17, the contacted three positions can determine the plane of the end effector 10. When the three positions are identical, the surface of the end effector 10 is horizontal, and the end effector 10 can be adjusted in the Z-axis direction according to the height of the three positions.

In a preferred embodiment, the surfaces of the scale bar 16 and the reference block 17 are provided with scales or marks to facilitate the calibration reference in the Z-axis direction.

The end effector provided by the utility model is used for positioning, and comprises the following steps:

fixing the positioning device on the surface of the wafer loading platform 30;

coarse end effector 10 to a relatively centered position;

pushing the two scale bars 16 to move and moving the end effector 10 in the Y-axis direction until the two scale bars 16 are respectively contacted with two side surfaces of the end effector 10, thereby completing the adjustment of the end effector 10 in the Y-axis direction;

pushing the reference block 17 until contacting the end effector 10, adjusting the horizontal plane of the end effector 10 until the three positions of the end effector 10 contacting the reference block 17 and the two scale bars 16 are in high agreement, and completing the adjustment of the end effector 10 in the Z-axis direction;

the reference block 17 is moved to a predetermined position, and the end effector 10 is moved in the X-axis direction until it contacts the reference block 17, completing the adjustment of the end effector 10 in the X-axis direction. The end effector position at this time is the final position, and the end effector 10 position at this time is fixed and stored.

Wherein, the adjustment of the end effector 10 in the Y-axis direction can be further subdivided into the following steps:

pushing the scale bars 16 until one of the scale bars 16 contacts one side of the end effector 10; since the two scale bars 16 are axisymmetric at any time, the side of the scale bar 16 that first encounters the end effector 10 is the side that is offset, and the end effector 10 can be adjusted to the axial position by adjusting the end effector 10 to the side that does not encounter the scale bar 16. This step allows the direction of the offset of the end effector 10 to be observed by the human eye.

The end effector 10 is pushed to a position close to the symmetry axis, and the scale bars 16 are pushed again so that the two scale bars 16 are respectively contacted with both sides of the end effector 10.

In conclusion, the manipulator positioning device solves the problems of low teaching efficiency and poor precision of the traditional end effector; the positioning device has a self-centering function in the Y-axis direction, repeated measurement can be reduced, and scales which are beneficial to observation can be arranged on the scale rod and the reference block, so that the measurement is convenient.

While the present utility model has been described in detail through the foregoing description of the preferred embodiment, it should be understood that the foregoing description is not to be considered as limiting the utility model. Many modifications and substitutions of the present utility model will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing. Accordingly, the scope of the utility model should be limited only by the attached claims.

Claims

1. A robot positioning device, comprising:

the back of the mounting plate (1) is provided with a positioning assembly (11);

the synchronous centering assembly comprises two synchronous belt idler wheels (12) arranged on the back surface of the mounting plate (1), a synchronous belt (13) wound between the two belt idler wheels (12) and two connecting pieces (14); the two connecting pieces (14) are respectively connected with a first side and a second side which are opposite in moving direction of the synchronous belt (13);

the first ends of the two scale bars (16) are respectively connected with the two connecting pieces (14), and the second ends penetrate through the mounting plate (1) and extend to the front surface of the mounting plate and are higher than the front surface of the mounting plate;

the reference assembly comprises a sliding groove (18) arranged on the front surface of the mounting plate and a reference block (17) in sliding connection with the sliding groove (18), and the reference block (17) is higher than the front surface of the mounting plate (1); the two scale bars (16) are respectively positioned at two sides of the chute (18) and are arranged in axisymmetric manner relative to the chute (18).

2. The manipulator positioning device according to claim 1, wherein the mounting plate (1) is provided with a hole (19) through which the scale bar (16) passes.

3. The manipulator positioning device according to claim 1, wherein the side of the chute (18) is provided with a first scale (181).

4. The manipulator positioning device according to claim 1, wherein a guide rail (15) is arranged on the back of the mounting plate (1), two sliding blocks (151) are slidably connected to the guide rail (15), and the two connecting pieces (14) are respectively connected with the two sliding blocks (151).

5. Manipulator positioning device according to claim 4, wherein the guide rail (15) is arranged parallel to the timing belt (13).

6. A manipulator positioning device according to claim 1, wherein the reference block (17) is provided with a second scale on its surface.

7. The manipulator positioning device according to claim 1, wherein the scale bar (16) surface is provided with a third scale.