JP2001300873A - Closed link robot device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a closed link robot device having a wide movable range for a hand, having the small size, hardly causing dust, and suitable for a clean work environment. SOLUTION: This closed link robot device is provided with a motor supporting part 3 laterally provided with a second motor 4 and a third motor 5, a first arm 7 coupled by a gear with the driving side of the second motor 4, a second arm 9 rotatably connected to the tip of the first arm 7 through a pin 8, a third arm 10 coupled by a gear with the driving side of the third motor 5, a fourth arm 12 rotatably connected to the tip of the third arm 10 through a pin 11 and having the tip rotatably connected to the intermediate part of the second arm 9 through a pin 13, a fourth motor 14 provided on the tip of the second arm 9, a hand 6 connected to the driving side of the fourth motor 14, and a first motor 2 for horizontally rotating the motor supporting part 3. The motor supporting part 3, the first arm 7, the second arm 9, the third arm 10 and the fourth arm 12 form a closed link, and the second arm 9 and the fourth arm 12 are bent inward into the V shape.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a closed-link robot apparatus which can be used in various industrial fields such as conveying, assembling, and inspecting articles such as photomasks. The present invention relates to a closed-link robot device that generates less dust.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a proposal has been made as a closed link robot apparatus as described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-193287. In this robot apparatus, a first link, a second link, a third link, and a fourth link are sequentially rotatably connected to each other, and a first link and a fourth link are rotatably connected to a base to form a closed link. A hand is attached to the connection between the third link and the fourth link.

A first belt transmission mechanism along the first link, a second belt transmission mechanism along the second link, a third belt transmission mechanism along the third link, and a fourth belt transmission mechanism along the fourth link. Belt transmission mechanisms are provided side by side. The first motor is connected to the drive side of the first belt transmission mechanism, and the second motor is connected to the drive side of the fourth belt transmission mechanism. Further, a third motor for rotating and driving the hand is arranged near the base-side rotation axis on the first link, and a fourth motor for raising and lowering the hand is arranged near the base-side rotation axis on the fourth link. I have.

[0004]

However, in this closed-link robot apparatus, the movable range of the hand is not yet sufficiently wide, and the first to fourth links and the first to fourth belt transmission mechanisms are provided side by side. In addition, since a tension applying mechanism for each belt is required, the entire apparatus becomes large. Moreover, since the belt is used as the driving force transmitting means, there is a problem that the belt is deteriorated and dust is generated, and a clean working environment cannot be obtained.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a closed-link robot apparatus which solves the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, has a wide movable range of the hand, is small, and is suitable for a clean working environment with little dust generation. It is in.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a first means of the present invention is to provide a motor supporting portion which horizontally and supports a second motor such as a stepping motor and a third motor; A first arm gear-coupled to the driving side of the motor, a second arm rotatably connected to the tip of the first arm via a pin, and a gear coupling to the driving side of the third motor; The third arm is rotatably connected to a distal end of the third arm via a pin, and the distal end is the second arm.
A fourth pivotally connected via a pin in the middle of the arm
An arm, a fourth motor such as a stepping motor provided at the tip of the second arm, a hand connected to the drive side of the fourth motor, and a first motor that rotates the motor support in the horizontal direction. A closed link is formed by the motor support portion, the first arm, the second arm, the third arm, and the fourth arm, and the second arm and the fourth arm are formed in a “<” shape inward toward each other. It is characterized by being formed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the hand is adjusted by the fourth motor so that a predetermined attitude (horizontal attitude) of the hand is maintained. It is characterized by the following.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a closed link robot device,
2 is a side view of the robot apparatus, FIG. 3 is a front view when the hand is set upright, and FIGS. 4 to 7 are side views of the robot apparatus showing various positions of the hand.

As shown in FIG. 2, a first motor 2 for rotating the entire robot in a horizontal direction (θ direction) is provided on a base 1. A second motor 4 and a third motor 5 are horizontally mounted and supported by a motor support 3 provided on the movable portion side of the first motor 2. The second motor 4 and the third motor 5 are driven synchronously, and the hand 6 Move in the X and Z directions as indicated by the arrows. Therefore, the first motor 2 and the second motor 4
And the third motor 5 moves the hand 6 in the X direction and Y direction.
It can move arbitrarily in the (θ) direction and the Z direction.

The drive side of the second motor 4 is gear-coupled to the first arm 7 via a speed reducer (not shown), and the distal end of the first arm 7 is connected to the base end of the second arm 9 via a pin 8. It is rotatably connected to the unit.

The driving side of the third motor 5 is gear-coupled to a third arm 10 via a speed reducer (not shown), and the distal end of the third arm 10 is connected to the base end of a fourth arm 12 via a pin 11. It is rotatably connected to the unit. Further, the fourth arm 1
The distal end of the second arm 7 is rotatably connected to an intermediate portion near the distal end of the second arm 7 via a pin 13. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, a closed link is formed by the motor support 3, the first arm 7, the second arm 9, the fourth arm 12, and the third arm 10. Second arm 9 and fourth arm 1
2 are formed in the shape of a "ku" so as to face each other inward.

The first arm 7, the second arm 9, the third arm
As shown in FIG. 1, the arms 10 and the fourth arm 12 have symbols (7a, 7b), (9a, 9b),
As shown in (10a, 10b) and (12a, 12b), two sheets are arranged side by side and connected to each other by pins 8, 11, 13 and the like.

A fourth motor 14 is attached to the tip of the second arm 9, and the hand 6 is connected to the movable side of the fourth motor 14, so that the horizontal state of the hand 6 is always maintained by the fourth motor 14. . The photomask holding member 15 is detachably mounted on the hand 6, and the photomask holding member 15 can hold and release the photomask 17 by the operation of the chucking mechanism 16 mounted on the hand 6. The photomask 17 is used, for example, for manufacturing a semiconductor wafer.

As the motors 2, 4, 5, and 14, high-precision AC absolute servomotors capable of controlling the rotation angle are used. Also, as shown by a dashed line in FIG.
A pin 1 for connecting the second arm 9 and the fourth arm 12 on an imaginary straight line connecting the center of the pin 8 and the center of the fourth motor 14
3 are arranged.

By rotating and driving the first motor 2, the hand 6 is positioned in the θ (Y) direction, and
The X of the hand 6 is controlled by the synchronous driving of the motor 4 and the third motor 5.
The movement in the direction and the Z direction (movement in an oblique direction) is possible.
When the hand 6 is directly connected to the second arm 9, the horizontal posture of the hand 6 is broken by the driving of the second motor 4 and the third motor 5. The collapse of the horizontal posture is corrected by the fourth motor 14, and the horizontal posture of the hand 6 is maintained. Note that FIG.
It is also possible to arbitrarily adjust the angle of the hand 6 as necessary, for example, just above the robot device as shown in FIG.

The solid line in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 show a state in which the hand 6 has moved to the right as viewed in the drawing, that is, a state in which the photomask 17 has been inserted into the processing chamber 19 from the insertion opening 18 as shown in FIG. ing. 2 and FIG. 5 show a state where the hand 6 is on the left side of the drawing, that is, a state before the photomask 17 is inserted (or a state where the photomask 17 is taken out of the processing chamber 19). . When the hand 6 moves from the position indicated by the two-dot chain line to the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 2 (or moves from the position indicated by the two-dot chain line to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line), the hand 6 and the photomask holding member are adjusted by adjusting the fourth motor 14. 15. The photomask 17 is inserted or removed from the insertion port 18 while maintaining the horizontal state.

FIG. 6 shows a state in which the arms 7, 9, 10, and 12 are extended upward, and the hand 6 is maintained in a horizontal state. FIG. 7 shows a state in which the first arm 7 and the third arm 10 are lowered to the base 1 side. Since the second arm 9 and the fourth arm 12 are formed in a “<” shape, the hand 6, the second arm 9 and the fourth arm 12 remain in the motor support 3, the second motor 4 and the third arm.
There is no interference with the motor 5 or the like. Therefore, hand 6
Can be lowered sufficiently.

In this embodiment, the photomask holding member 15 is attached to the hand 6, but the present invention is not limited to this, and other holding members, operation ends,
Another holding member such as a measuring end can be detachably attached.

[0019]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, as described above,
A motor support for supporting the second motor and the third motor, a first arm gear-coupled to a drive side of the second motor,
A second arm rotatably connected to a tip of the first arm via a pin, a third arm gear-coupled to the drive side of the third motor, and a pin connected to a tip of the third arm. A fourth arm rotatably connected via a pin, a tip end of which is rotatably connected to the middle of the second arm via a pin, and a fourth motor provided at a tip end of the second arm. A hand connected to the drive side of the fourth motor, and a first motor for rotating the motor support, wherein the motor support, the first arm, the second arm, the third arm, and the fourth arm A closed link is formed, and the second arm and the fourth arm are formed in a “<” shape inward toward each other.

Therefore, since the belt is not used for the drive transmission means unlike the conventionally proposed ones, the belt is not deteriorated or dusted, which is suitable for a clean working environment, and has a simple structure and can be reduced in size.

Further, since the second arm and the fourth arm are formed in a "<" shape toward each other, when the hand is lowered, the second arm and the fourth arm are connected to the second motor,
The movable range of the hand is extended without interfering with the third motor, the motor support, and the like.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the posture of the hand (for example, the horizontal posture) can be maintained by the fourth motor, the second motor and the third motor are rotationally driven. Even when the hand is moved, the posture of the hand can always be kept constant, and the operability is good.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a closed link robot device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the robot device.

FIG. 3 is a front view when the hand is set upright.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the robot device in a state where the hand is moved to the right side.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the robot device in a state where the hand has been moved to the left side.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the robot device in a state where the hand is moved upward.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the robot device in a state where the hand has been moved downward.

[Description of Signs] 1 Base 2 First motor 3 Motor support 4 Second motor 5 Third motor 6 Hand 7 First arm 8, 11, 13 pin 9 Second arm 10 Third arm 12 Fourth arm 14 Fourth Motor 15 Photomask holding member 16 Chucking mechanism 17 Photomask 18 Insertion port 19 Processing chamber

Claims (2)

[Claims] A motor supporting portion for supporting a second motor and a third motor; a first arm gear-coupled to a driving side of the second motor; A second arm movably connected, a third arm gear-coupled to the drive side of the third motor, and a pivotally connected distal end of the third arm via a pin; A fourth arm rotatably connected via a pin in the middle of the second arm, a fourth motor provided at a distal end of the second arm, and a hand connected to a drive side of the fourth motor And a first motor for rotating the motor support, wherein a closed link is formed by the motor support, the first arm, the second arm, the third arm, and the fourth arm, and the second arm and the fourth arm are provided. Are formed in the shape of a “ku” toward each other. Closed link robot apparatus according to claim. 2. The closed link robot device according to claim 1, wherein the fourth motor is adjusted so that a predetermined posture of the hand can be maintained.