JP2005319550A - Balancer device, device equipped with the same, vertically rotatable robot, and thin plate-like object manufacturing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a robot which has a motor section small in size, light in weight, and reduced in noise, and a balancer small in size, and achieves energy saving and weight reduction thereof. <P>SOLUTION: According to the configuration of the robot, when the balancer such as a plate spring, which can obtain a large stress upon generation of a small displacement, is provided on a rotatable arm in the vicinity of a joint, the balancer exerts a strong assisting stress at a lower angle at which a large rotating torque is required. Therefore when the arm is assisted to rotate up to 60 degrees by combining the motor and a balancer device with each other, a torque not more than 1/2 of conventionally required torque is required to rotate the arm through the entire rotation zone, to thereby achieve minimization of the motor and weight reduction of the robot. Further by providing a dust removing means for the balancer, in addition to shielding of a joint section by a magnetic fluid, high cleanliness of the balancer is maintained. The balancer device is applicable to assisting various types of vertically rotatable devices in a clean room. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a device having a vertical rotation type member for painting, welding, conveyance and the like, particularly a vertical rotation type robot, having a balancer device for assisting vertical movement. In particular, the present invention relates to a robot for transporting a thin plate such as a semiconductor wafer, a liquid crystal display, an organic electroluminescence display, a plasma display glass substrate, and the like, and further relates to a thin plate manufacturing apparatus incorporating the robot of the present invention.

  Conventionally, most robots for painting and welding are of the vertical rotation type, and have been used for conveying thin plate products such as silicon wafers and glass substrates. These thin plates are used for manufacturing semiconductor chips, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), organic electroluminescence displays (ELDs), plasma displays (PDPs), etc., and are transported in clean rooms and clean booths. Recently, especially as LCDs and PDPs become larger, the glass substrates used for these are larger and have an area 2 to 8 times that of large display products.

  As in conventional welding robots and construction machines, there is a method in which the vertical movement (Z-axis operation) depends on a bending / extension operation by a vertical rotation articulated arm group and is rotated by a hydraulic cylinder or an air cylinder. Further, in the clean room robot, in addition to the Z-axis operation using a ball screw, as proposed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-265924, a motor unit and a speed reducer are incorporated in a joint to generate dust generated from them. The method of confinement is common. When used outside a clean room, as an example of using a balancer for assisting the Z-axis bending and stretching operation, it is proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-228884 and, like a painting robot shown in FIGS. There is also an example incorporating an assisting spring.

  FIG. 1 shows an industrial robot having a conventional balancer device, in which a turning unit on a base, a first arm that rotates vertically by a first motor unit, and a vertical rotation through a link by a second motor unit. A working device is provided at the tip of the second arm that is driven and three motor parts (not shown) arranged in the rear part of the second arm. Here, the balance device assists the vertical movement of the first arm, which is the heaviest of the movable parts, by the control of the air supply unit.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the balancer of the conventional example is separated from the air supply unit through a supply / exhaust pipe attached to the side of the cylinder in a chamber provided with a spring having a small elastic coefficient and separated by a spring at the bottom of the cylinder. When the controlled compressed air is press-fitted, the rod contracts, and assists the motor unit to rotate the first arm upward. In other words, the balance device assists the output of the first motor unit by the spring and the air pressure.

JP-A-11-265924 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-228884

  Conventionally, there are many small robots that do not require large power in a clean room. In recent years, large robots particularly required for manufacturing liquid crystal panels have become large and long, for example, like the balancer 5 of FIG. When the balancer becomes large, the balancer must be connected to the rotating arm at an acute angle, and the output of the balancer must be designed to be large.

  In addition, the balancer where the friction part is exposed was not used due to problems of oil leakage and dust generation from the vicinity of the rod. Therefore, it is not used for the same reason as the hydraulic cylinder in the balance room for use in the clean room. For the above-described reasons, recent large-sized robots for clean rooms are generally built with a motor and a speed reducer in the joint, as proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-265924.

  In addition, since the in-joint motor unit built-in type bending robot requires the largest rotational force at the first rise from the principle of reverse lever, even if there is the balancer, the motor unit is required to have a large output, A large motor must be attached to the joint. For this reason, the parts that support the strength of the arm, the strength of the joint, and the like also increase, and the weight of the entire robot increases. This means that if the robot moves left and right (X-axis) on the floor or back and forth (Y-axis), a large motor unit that requires strong foundation work and high power to support the heavy robot There was a problem that the equipment cost and running cost were high.

  Further, in FIG. 1, in order to operate a large balancer device efficiently, the supply air pressure is controlled by using an air supply unit and the motor unit is assisted, but by providing such a control device. This increases the complexity of the structure and the cost, and the speed of response change of the pneumatic pressure cannot be increased, so that it cannot move quickly and is not necessarily a good solution.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present inventor has proposed a device that reduces power for a vertical motion (Z-axis motion) in which a load requiring large energy and its own weight move (Z-axis motion), that is, a truly effective balancer. As a result of intensive studies from the idea that the development of the apparatus is important, the present invention has been achieved. That is, in the present invention, first, the first member and the second member that move toward and away from each other,
A balancer device having a balancer coupled to the two members and assisting the separation movement of the first member, wherein the balancer assists a part of the separation movement range of the first member. A device was developed.

  In the present invention, as one type of the balancer device, the approaching and separating movement is a vertical rotation movement, and a connection member concentrically connected or fixed to the vertical rotation axis, and one end of the connection member A balancer having the other end connected to the second member, an arc-shaped elongated hole centered on the concentric shaft provided on the connecting member, and a pin fitted into the arc-shaped elongated hole, The balancer device according to claim 1, wherein the pin is connected or fixed to one end of the first member or the balancer.

The assisting rotation angle is determined by the length of the arc-shaped elongated hole and the rotation angle of the connecting member. From the minimum angle to the maximum angle to assist, the pin is located at one end position of the arc-shaped elongated hole to assist the rotation of the first member, and the first member rotates beyond the assistance range. In that case, the pin then freely moves relative to the arcuate slot.
Here, one end of the balancer is connected to the connecting member, but the connecting place is not particularly limited except for the concentric shaft with the arm, and can be connected to a place where it is easy to arrange by design. Preferably, when it is located outside the elongated circular arc hole when viewed from the concentric axis, the arm is assisted with a greater force according to the principle of leverage.

  As another type, the present invention provides a balancer device having a balancer comprising at least a cylindrical part having an attachment part, an elastic body part, and a rod having an attachment part fixed to the elastic body restraining part. We have also developed a balancer device in which a space is provided in which the body restraining part moves away from the elastic body part and freely moves inside the cylindrical part. In the balancer device, in the assistance range of the movement of the first member, the compressed elastic body portion pushes out the rod through the elastic body restraining portion to extend the balancer, and the balancer device extends beyond the assistance range. When the member moves, it moves freely in the space inside the cylindrical portion.

  As an application field of the balancer device of the present invention, there is a large robot. That is, a first member that rotates vertically to move up and down, a second member that shares the central axis of the vertical rotation, at least one motor unit that rotates the arm, and the arm A robot having a working device provided at the upper end of the arm or an upper end of another vertical rotation arm and means for controlling all the movable parts is provided with any of the above-described balancer devices. .

  In the robot of the present invention, the first member refers to an arm, a link, a link device for driving the link, or the like. Further, as the second member, there are a base and other arms, a support for installing the working device, a link different from the above-mentioned link, and the like. The pin is a member fixed to either the arm, the link, or the rod end of the balancer, and transmits the repulsive stress of the balancer to these.

  Here, the balancer includes at least a cylinder having an end for connecting to an arm or a lower base or upper work table of a robot, an elastic body, and a rod having a connecting end fixed to a spring holding portion. . As the elastic body, a metal or ceramic coil spring, a strip spring, air sealed in a cylinder, rubber, or the like can be used. Here, a steel spring is preferable because it can be maintenance-free. Among the springs, a disc spring is most preferable because it generates a large stress with a small amount of displacement. The mounting portion provided on the cylinder is usually fixed to the bottom outside the cylinder, but may be fixed to the side of the cylinder. In general, the balancer must have the entire length within the radius of motion. However, it is preferable to provide a shaft-like mounting portion for rotating the balancer on the side of the cylinder, because a larger assisting extension distance of the balancer can be obtained.

  The torque required for the rotation of the vertical rotation arm for mounting the balancer of the present invention will be considered as a function of the rotation angle with respect to the horizontal plane. The torque F required to rotate the arm is determined by the relationship with the rotation angle θ, and is expressed as F = W cos θ (W = maximum torque applied to the joint). The range of the vertical rotation of the arm assisted by the balancer is preferably assisted by more than half of the total load, that is, assisted from -45 degrees to 70 degrees of the arm rotation angle. When the angle is less than −45 degrees, the connecting portion between the connecting member and the balancer interferes with a base or the like connecting the other connecting portion and cannot rotate. If the angle exceeds 70 degrees, the load required for rotation is small, and there is no problem with only a drive unit such as a motor, and there is no need to assist. Usually, it is preferable that the assistance range is from -30 degrees to 60 degrees because the balancer can be reduced in size. In addition, when the arm rotation angle range is 0 to 90 degrees, if the assistance range is between 0 and 60 degrees, the balancer can be further miniaturized and can be applied to many joints, and is practically effective. There is. Further, the maximum rotation angle of the arm is generally up to 90 degrees, and in this case, it is preferable to set it to about 88 degrees in order to start the next contraction operation of the second arm 2. However, in the present invention, since the rotation by the motor is combined, the maximum rotation angle of the arm can be extended from 90 degrees to 180 degrees by designing a long circular arc hole provided in the connecting member. it can.

  The rotation of the arm that exceeds these ranges depends only on the motor unit. The motor unit may be directly connected to the shaft of the rotary joint or indirectly connected by a belt / pulley or gear. In the range from the minimum assistance angle to the maximum assistance angle, the balancer contributes to the lower angle by the force of both the balancer and the motor unit, and the motor unit contributes to the higher angle. In a range where the balancer does not contribute to the rotation, the pin fixed to the arm moves through the arc-shaped elongated hole to guide to the maximum rotation angle. The motor unit refers to a motor part that combines a motor alone or a reduction gear, and is a known electric motor as the motor, and a known servo motor or stepping motor is particularly preferable. The mounting part of the vertical rotation motor part is preferably close to the base in order to reduce the weight of the lifting part and shorten the wiring distance. However, when there are a plurality of vertical rotation joints, two or more motors are provided. May be mounted. At this time, the motor may be installed in the joint, but the motor may be attached to a part away from the joint, and the torque may be transmitted using transmission parts such as a belt, a pulley, a gear, and a chain.

  The stress generated by the balancer at the aforementioned minimum assistance angle can be arbitrarily determined in balance with the load. Here, it is preferable that the stress exerted by the balancer at the aforementioned minimum assistance angle is equivalent to the load at the rotating joint. However, the load increases or decreases depending on the structure of the working device and the presence / absence of accessory parts, and the stress generated by the balancer can be slightly less than the load. The changing torque is dealt with by adjusting the output of the motor unit connected to the rotating joint.

  Since the robot of the present invention is used in a clean environment required by a manufacturing process such as a semiconductor or a flat panel display, attention must be paid to dust generation even for the balancer. Therefore, the air entering and exiting the cylinder as the balancer rod expands and contracts can be filtered by a filter provided at the entrance. In addition, two ports can be provided in the cylinder, and air in the cylinder can be exhausted from one port to a dust-free area, and clean environment air can be introduced and ventilated from the other port. Therefore, a vent can also be provided in the spring holding part.

  The balancer of the present invention has a cylindrical shape including a cylindrical portion having an attachment portion, an elastic body portion, and a rod having a spring restraining portion on the opposite side of the attachment portion, and not only the bottom portion of the cylindrical portion. Further, a pivot shaft-like attachment portion can be moved and provided on the side surface. Thereby, even if it is small, a cylinder can be lengthened and the expansion-contraction distance of a rod can also be taken large.

  The robot according to the present invention includes all robots having a work device provided at the upper end of an assisting arm or the tip of another vertical rotation arm. Here, the working device includes a device that conveys various objects, particularly a thin plate-like object, a coating device, a welding device, an assembling device, a screwing device, and the like, which are generally called a working head. In addition, the present invention can include known elements and means such as bearings in addition to control means using a computer or mechanical device.

  Next, in the present invention, a robot that is applied to assist the rotational movement of the arm that vertically rotates the novel balancer as described above, or a robot that assists a part of the rotation range by a known balancer is arranged. Includes thin plate manufacturing equipment. This thin plate manufacturing equipment is equipment provided with the robot of the present invention, a cassette for loading a substrate, a table for placing the cassette, a substrate processing apparatus, and the like. In addition, there are cases where substrates are stored in various containers instead of cassettes, transported, and placed on a table such as a load port, or a robot operating space in a clean environment. Here, the thin plate includes all thin plate-like objects such as a silicon wafer, a glass substrate, a compound semiconductor substrate, or a thin plate-like product using these. The processing apparatus includes a plasma CVD apparatus, a plasma ashing apparatus, a plasma RIE apparatus, a resist coating apparatus, an exposure apparatus, a developing apparatus, a thermal oxidation apparatus, a heat treatment apparatus, a vapor deposition apparatus, a plating apparatus, and a reactive mechanical polishing apparatus. Say.

  Further, the balancer device of the present invention can assist the rotation of the vertically rotating member in another clean environment device. For example, there are opening and closing of a horizontal lid and a vertical lid in a vacuum chamber apparatus for plasma and a transfer machine, a wet apparatus for spin coating, development, wet etching, and the like. Furthermore, the balancer device of the present invention can be applied to a general crane device or the like regardless of a clean environment.

  In a robot having an assisting device using a balancer and a rotating motor part in the rotating joint for rotating the arm of a vertical rotating robot, the torque required to rotate the arm upward in the vicinity of the horizontal is maximized. . Therefore, if a part of the rotation angle range including the vicinity of the horizontal is assisted by the balancer, the load on the rotation motor unit can be greatly reduced, and the energy saving effect is very large. When the rotation angle is 60-70 degrees or more, the required torque is less than half that of the horizontal case, and no assistance is required. Since the required torque can be reduced, the motor unit can also be reduced in size, its weight can be reduced, and the noise of the motor can also be reduced.

  In addition, the balancer of the present invention supports the arm only up to 70 degrees as compared with the conventional full-angle assist type balancer, so that the expansion / contraction distance of the rod is short, the balancer itself can be miniaturized, and the entire robot can be designed compactly. Further, the connecting plate having the small balancer and the arc-shaped elongated hole can be arranged at right and left sides with respect to the arm to be assisted by the balancer, and the effect of assistance is increased. Furthermore, since the balancer is small, these can be arranged in a plurality of vertical rotation joints, which contributes to energy saving and weight reduction of the robot.

  The balancer used in the present invention is expected to generate dust due to friction between the internal spring and the spring restraint portion against the inner wall of the cylinder. Guarantees cleanliness without spraying. Also, since the motion device adopts a vertical rotation type and a horizontal rotation type instead of a friction slide type, the motor can be sealed with a known magnetic fluid at the rotation part, and there is a risk of dust generation. Even if the bearings and bearings are placed in the arm or robot body, there is no problem if the dust is exhausted from the body to a harmless place, and a clean specification can be realized.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the robot 40 of the present invention. The first arm 1 is vertically rotated by the motor unit 3 and the assistance of the balancer device 32 connected to the base 10 and the first arm 1 having the joint portion 23 a as a rotation axis. The balancer device 32 assists from the horizontal position of the first arm 1 to a position of 60 degrees as described in detail in FIG. At this time, in FIG. 3, the 1st arm 1, the link 4a, the base 10, and the link drive part 7 form a parallel link, and the torque of the motor part 3 is transmitted to the link 4b. The second arm 2 having the same length as the first arm 1 is connected to the second arm 2 by the action of the link 4b and the link driving unit 7 with the vertical rotation joint 23b provided at the other end of the first arm 1 as an axis. The abutment 8 provided at the upper end is moved up and down vertically while being kept horizontal by the principle of the parallel link. On the abutment 8, the third arm 20, the support cylinder 19, the fourth arms 21 a and 21 b, the end effectors 22 a and 22 b, the turning unit 9, the tilt device 18, and the third arm 20 are provided and are not shown. A working device 24 including a motor unit, a pulley, and a belt is disposed.
The end effectors 22a and 22b, which are superposed with a height difference, are alternately expanded and contracted linearly in the same direction by the above-described components and control means (not shown), and the first arm 1 and the second arm 2 are vertically rotated. Along with the operation, a thin plate such as a flat panel display or a substrate for the same is placed and conveyed.

  In the present invention, the balancer may be disposed at a plurality of joints. 4 (a) and 4 (b) have three vertical rotary joints, one in the vicinity of the upper and lower vertical rotary joints 23a and 23c, and one in the center of the vertical rotary joint 23b. This is an example of a robot provided with four balancer devices 32 of the present invention in total, two in the vicinity. FIG. 4A is a right side view of the robot, and the rotation assistance device of the first arm 1 in the vicinity of the vertical rotation shaft 23a in which the motor unit 3 is incorporated is the same as that in FIG. One of the balancers 5 that assists the rotation of the vertical rotation joint 23b is to connect the cylinder side mounting portion 29a to the first arm 1, and the pin 31 is fixed to the rod 13 at a right angle to the mounting portion 29b of the rod 13 of the balancer. The pin 31 is fitted and connected to an arc-shaped elongated hole 30 provided in the connecting member 17. In this example, a motor unit (not shown) is provided in the vertical rotation joint 23b, and the bending motion of the first arm 1 and the second arm 2 is driven together with the motor 3 attached to the lower vertical rotation joint 23a. The connecting member 17 is fixed to the shaft of the vertical rotation joint 23b, and this shaft passes through the first arm 1 and the second arm 2 and is fixed to the joint portion of the second arm 2, so that the rotation of the second arm 2 is performed. Assist the movement. The shaft of the vertical rotation joint 23b is driven by the motor unit (not shown).

  FIG. 4B is a left side view of the robot provided with the balancer 5 of the present invention having the same three vertical turning joints as in FIG. 4A as viewed from the back side of the sheet of FIG. Here, the other balancer 5 provided in the vicinity of the vertical rotation joint 23b is connected to the second arm 2 at its end, and the end of the rod 13 of the balancer is connected to the link 4b. The balancer 5 used here is shown in FIG. 9 to be described later. After the disc spring 12b is fully extended, the spring holding portion 14 and the rod 13 are freely moved in the cylinder 11 and are not assisted. When the motor unit 3 on the back side of the vertical rotation joint 23a and the motor unit in the vertical rotation joint 23b (not shown) are activated and the robot 40 starts up, the first arm 1 and the second arm 2 rotate upward. The link 4a provided in parallel with this pushes the link device 7 concentric with the vertical rotation joint 23b, and the link device 7 pushes the link 4b provided in parallel with the second arm 2 to support it. The base 8 is pushed to raise the second arm 2. Here, the balancer 5 is arranged to push the parallel movement of the link 4b, and assists the rotation of the second arm 2.

The balancer device 32 shown in the vicinity of the vertical rotation joint 23c in FIG. 4B will be described. Here, the abutment 8 and the upper part of the second arm 2 are connected by the balancer 5 and the connecting member 17 to assist the rotation of the second arm 2. The link 4b raises and lowers the abutment 8 with the rotation of the link drive unit 7, but the balancer device 32 connected to the abutment 8 and the second arm 2 assists the upward rotation. As a result, the vertical rotation joint 23c not provided with the motor unit 3 rises vertically while the abutment 8 remains horizontal.
In FIGS. 4A and 4B, the balancer device 32 is disposed at all three vertical rotation joints, but may be disposed at any one or two locations.

  For example, in FIG. 5, the balancer device 32 according to the present invention has an arcuate length applied to the balancer 5, the connecting member 17, the pin 31 fixed to the first arm 1 to be driven, and the connecting member 17 for guiding the pin 31. A structure consisting of the holes 30 is indicated. Furthermore, the balancer 5 includes a cylinder 11 having a spring 12 (not shown) and having a mounting portion 29a, a spring pressing portion 14 in the cylinder, and a rod 13 fixed to the spring pressing portion 14 and having a mounting portion 29b on the opposite side. Consists of. Here, the motor unit 3 is configured by combining a reduction gear (not shown) and a servo motor.

  As a representative example of the assistance device of the present invention, FIG. 5 shows the balancer device 32 and the motor unit 3 provided between the first arm 1 and the base 10 in the vicinity of the vertical rotation joint 23a. The arc central axis of the arc-shaped long hole 30 formed in the connecting member 17 is concentric with the base 10 together with the rotation center of the connecting member 17 and the vertical rotation joint 23a which is the rotation center of the first arm 1. It is connected to. The connecting member 17 rotates vertically as long as the arc-shaped elongated hole 30 and the pin 31 fixed to the first arm 1 allow. The rod end of the balancer 5 is connected to a fixed shaft 34 provided on the connecting member 17, and the other end on the cylinder side is connected to a fixed shaft 33 provided at the lower part of the base 10. In this embodiment, the pin 31 is supported by the lowest part of the arc-shaped elongated hole 30 from the lowest angle of 0 degrees (horizontal) to 60 degrees, and the first arm 1 is directed upward with the motor unit 3 being assisted. Rotate. When the maximum assistance angle exceeds 60 degrees, the first arm 1 is rotated by the force of the motor unit 3 alone. At this time, since the balancer 5 does not extend above the maximum angle, the pin 31 is guided in the arc-shaped elongated hole 30 in a free state so as not to pull the first arm 1. In this embodiment, the pin 31 fixed to the first arm 1 moves in the arc-shaped elongated hole 30 from the maximum angle of 60 degrees to 88 degrees.

  As an example of the present invention, FIG. 6 shows the operation state of the rotation of the second arm 2 and the assistance of the balancer device 32 in the vicinity of the vertical rotation joint 23c under the work device 24 of the robot 40 in FIG. FIG. 6A shows a case where the working device 24 is in the horizontal position at the lowest position, and the rod 13 of the balancer 5 compresses the hidden spring most in the cylinder 11 and is not exposed. At this time, the pin 31 fixed to the second arm 2 comes into contact with the uppermost end of the arc-shaped elongated hole 30, and the balancer connected to the end of the connecting member 17 applies the greatest stress to the second arm 2 through the pin 31. Is overloaded. In FIG. 6B, in a situation where the second arm 2 forms an angle θ between 0 degrees and 60 degrees in the horizontal direction due to the stress transmitted by the link 4 b, the pin 31 is located at the uppermost end of the arc-shaped elongated hole 30. The rotation of the second arm 2 is assisted by the extension of the rod 13 of the balancer 5 while keeping the contact. Here, the balancer 5 assists the rotation angle θ between 0 degrees and 60 degrees, as in FIG. FIG. 6C shows a case where the rotation angle θ of the second arm 2 exceeds 60 degrees. In this situation, the rod 13 of the balancer 5 is extended to the maximum, the abutment 8 is rotated so as to be kept horizontal only by the stress transmitted by the link 4 b, and the pin 31 fixed thereto is fitted in the arc-shaped elongated hole 30. Accordingly, the connecting member 17 rotates up to 88 degrees about the vertical rotation joint 23c and the concentric axis.

  The balancer 5 of the present invention is used in a clean environment. FIG. 7 as an example shows a cross-sectional view of the balancer 5 also shown in FIG. 5, and a ventilation structure can be provided so that dust is not emitted into a clean environment. The balancer 5 includes a cylinder 11, an internal spring 12 b, and a rod 13 fixed to the spring holding portion 14. When the rod moves, air enters and exits the cylinder 11. At this time, since the spring 12b is rubbed to generate dust, fresh air is sucked from the intake port 26, and the exhaust pipe 28 is evacuated to exhaust the dust-free external environment. FIG. 7 shows the internal structure of the balancer 5. Here, a plurality of disc springs 12b are housed in the cylinder 11 as springs, and a vent hole 16b is provided in the spring restraining portion 14 connected to the disc spring 12b, so that the air entering from the intake port 26 has a gap between them. It reaches the exhaust pipe 28 through the vicinity of 12b and is discharged. The attachment portions 29a and 29b of the balancer 5 are connected to any one of a base, an abutment, an arm, and a link, but are allowed either up or down.

  FIG. 8 shows a balancer according to the present invention, in which a filter 27 is attached to one intake port, and the ventilation port 16 through which air enters and exits as the rod moves. The filter used here preferably blocks 99.99% or more of dust having a particle diameter of 0.1 μm or more. HEPA filter, ULPA filter, membrane ultra filter, metal fine particle sintered body, ceramic sintered body, various fine particles A known material such as a porous adhesive may be used.

  FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the balancer 5 of the present invention in which the attachment portion 29d is attached to the side portion of the cylinder 11. Compared to the distance between the rod end mounting portion 29b and the cylinder mounting portion 29d, the length of the cylinder 11 and the rod 13 can be increased, which corresponds to a case where a long assistance distance is required. A large amount of disc spring 12b is used in the cylinder 11 to realize the extension distance of the rod 13 and a large stress at the time of contraction. Here, as in FIG. 8, a filter 27 is attached to the vent hole 16 so that dust is not generated in a clean environment.

  FIG. 10 shows another example of the balancer device 32 of the present invention. Here, while the disc spring 12b is compressed, the assisting force is exerted, but after the extension, the rod to which the spring restraining portion 14 is fixed has a space 35 in which the cylinder 11 can freely reciprocate. It is. The same action can be performed without using the arc-shaped elongated hole 30 and the pin 31 as in the balancer device shown in FIG.

  FIG. 11 shows a robot using the balancer 5 of the present invention shown in FIG. 9 with the cylinder 11 and the rod 13 having a large length. Here, the first arm 1 can be lowered to below horizontal (negative angle), and a coating gun is attached to the tip of the second arm 2 as an example of the working device 24. This robot can rotate the first arm 1 in a range from −30 degrees to 120 degrees, and assists rotation from −30 degrees to 60 degrees. 11, the arc-shaped long hole 30 of the connecting member 17 is designed so that the first arm 1 can be rotated up to 120 degrees (not shown) beyond the vertical (90 degrees), that is, 30 degrees on the left side toward the paper surface. Has been. However, if the first arm 1 is rotated beyond 90 degrees, the first arm 1 falls down due to its own weight. Therefore, the output of the motor unit provided in the vertical rotation joint 23 needs to be automatically reversed at 90 degrees.

  In general, the repulsive stress of a spring is proportional to the contraction distance, and therefore the stress can be calculated by obtaining the contraction distance. In FIG. 12, the center of the rotation axis (23a in FIG. 5) of the first arm 1 having the rotation radius R is O, the center of the attachment portion (33 in FIG. 5) to the base 10 of the balancer 5 is Q, and the first. If the central position of the pin 31 attached to the arm 1 (34 in FIG. 5) is P, the angle of the OQ with respect to the horizontal OH is α, and the rotation angle of the first arm 1OP with respect to the horizontal OH is θ, the variable is the length of the balancer. The distance OP and the distance OQ are constant at the length PQ and the rotation angle θ. When the point P in FIG. 12 is moved on the circumference of the radius R and the distance PQ is calculated in the figure, PQ is a very loose curve with respect to θ in the range of the rotation angle θ of −45 degrees to 70 degrees. It can be seen that it can be approximated to a straight line. Since the compression amount of the length PQ is directly proportional to the repulsion stress of the balancer, the rotational torque applied to the first arm 1 can be regarded as a substantially straight line with respect to the rotational angle θ.

  FIG. 13 shows the required torque of the motor. Here, when the rotation angle θ is 0 degree, the balancer assistance torque is made to coincide with the required torque when there is no conveyed object. Assuming that the torque at which the arm in the horizontal position starts to rotate is 1, the torque necessary for the rotation of the arm is represented as cos θ, and is the curve “total lift” in FIG. On the other hand, the assisting torque of the balancer changes linearly as described above, and if the design is such that θ is 60 degrees and the spring of the balancer is extended, the assisting force is zero here. " Therefore, the assistance of the balancer is ab in FIG. 13, and the torque to be output by the motor is bc. If this is again drawn as a curve “motor”, it can be understood that the output of the motor may be less than or equal to ½ of the maximum value. . In this embodiment, the motor is designed so as to exert an electromagnetic brake action when the rotation of the arm stops. The lift here refers to a force acting upward generated by the torque of the motor or the repulsive force of the balancer.

  FIG. 14 shows an example in which the case of the robot shown in FIG. 11 is considered and calculated in the same manner as described above. The balancer assists the entire 90 degree range from -30 degrees to 60 degrees out of the total movable range of 150 degrees, with arm rotation angle θ ranging from -30 degrees (straight line 0E) to 120 degrees (straight line 0F). To do. Here, the required torque for rotating the arm at −30 degrees is matched with the assist torque of the balancer. Similarly, the assisting torque of the balancer is ab, the torque to be output by the motor is bc, and it can be understood that θ may be about 60% or less of the maximum value over a range of −30 degrees to 120 degrees.

  FIG. 15 shows an example of a resist film developing apparatus for a large-sized flat display panel, which is one of the clean environment processing apparatuses 60 provided with the above-described new balancer apparatus 32. Since the development is a liquid processing step, the lid 59 is attached to the upper portion so that the developer does not leak. The lid 59 is opened and closed in the range from horizontal (0 degrees) to 75 degrees around the vertical rotation shaft 23d fixed to the lid 59, the tip of the link 4c provided on the opposite side of the lid 59, and the processing device. 50 is driven by expansion and contraction of an air cylinder 43 connected to a mounting base 44 provided at the lower part of the main body. Since the air cylinder 43 is expanded and contracted by introducing compressed air having a substantially constant pressure through pipes provided at the upper and lower ends of the cylindrical portion, the force for pulling the link 4c is also substantially constant.

  Therefore, in order to assist the rotation of the lid 59 by the air cylinder 43, the balancer device 32 is provided in the vicinity of the rotation shaft in this example. That is, the connecting member 17 is connected to the vertical rotating shaft 23d and the concentric shaft so as to independently rotate. A pin 31 fitted in an arc-shaped elongated hole 30 provided in the connecting member 17 is fixed to a mounting portion 29a at the tip of the rod 13 of the balancer 5 at a right angle, and the mounting portion 29b of the cylinder 11 of the balancer 5 is a main body of the processing device 50. Connect to Here, the balancer 5 assists the pin 31 in contact with the upper end of the arc-shaped elongated hole 30 from 0 degrees to 45 degrees in the initial rotation of the lid 59, and the air cylinder 43 alone links the link 4c from 45 degrees to 75 degrees. The lid 59 is rotated by pulling.

  The present invention also includes a thin plate manufacturing apparatus equipped with the robot 40 having the above-described novel balancer device 32. For example, in the manufacturing process of the liquid crystal panel shown in FIG. 16, the cassette 53 placed on the cassette table 54 and containing large glass substrates on a plurality of shelves, the robot 40 of the present invention, and the processing device 50 are arranged in this order. Place them side by side. Furthermore, the apparatus arranged above is housed in a clean booth 55 having a filter unit 52 having a blower, and a cassette 53 housing a large glass substrate is not shown through a clean booth door 58 provided in the vicinity thereof. It is carried in and out by the cassette carrying device. Clean air supplied from the filter unit 52 is supplied into the clean booth 55 while maintaining a laminar flow state, and is discharged from an exhaust port 56 provided below the clean air.

  The robot 40 of the present invention is installed on a carriage 42 and guided by a rail 41 (referred to as an X axis) so that it can move in front of a plurality of cassette stands 54. Under such a clean environment, the robot 40 inserts the end effector 22b between the shelves of the cassette 53 by linear movement (Y direction), lifts it a little (Z axis direction), and places the glass substrate 57 thereon. Then, the end effector 22b that is interlocked by rotating the third arm 20 is pulled out from the cassette 53, and the end effector is rotated 180 degrees by rotating the swivel unit 9 in a state where 22a and 22b overlap (referred to as a home position). Then, the robot 40 is moved to the front of the processing device 50 on the X axis. Waiting for the processing device door to open, the end effector 22b does not extend and the end effector 22a is moved straight, the Z-axis is lifted up a little, the processed glass substrate in the processing device 50 is placed on 22a, and linearly reaches the home position. In return, instead, the end effector 22b is extended, and a new glass substrate 57 is inserted and placed in the processing device 50. When the end effector 22b is returned to the home position, the processing device door closes and processing starts. The end effectors 22a and 22b are rotated 180 degrees again in a state where they overlap each other, move on the X axis as necessary, and go to the front of the predetermined cassette 53, and the processed substrate is processed into the cassette 53. Storing. The glass substrate is processed by repeating the above series of operations.

  In FIG. 16, the cassettes 53 are stacked in two stages. However, if there are problems with strength and weight when the cassettes are large, they may be divided into three stages and stacked one above the other. Conversely, if there is no problem in strength, it may be one stage. Further, a plurality of cassette stands 54 can be provided in the back of the sheet. Examples of the processing apparatus 50 include a resist coating apparatus, an exposure apparatus, a developing apparatus, a chemical etching apparatus, a plasma CVD apparatus, a plasma ashing apparatus, a plasma RIE apparatus, a heat treatment apparatus, a thermal oxidation apparatus, and a metal deposition apparatus. In addition, as a clean environment, a clean room may be used in which a clean booth 55 is not used and a device other than a thin plate manufacturing facility of class 100 or less for 0.3 μm dust can be installed. However, it is preferable to install the clean booth 55 in a clean room of about 0.3 μm class 100 and to maintain a highly clean environment of 0.1 μm class 10 or less.

  The present invention provides a robot 40 that is large, energy-saving, and compatible with a clean environment by a new balancer device 32 using a new or known balancer 5. As a result, not only as a conventional robot for painting and welding, but also in the manufacturing process of 6th generation, 7th generation and 8th generation LCD panels, which have become increasingly large in recent years, and the manufacturing process of large plasma displays. Used and contributes to their manufacture. In the present invention, not only the robot 40 but also a manufacturing facility for a thin plate-like object in a clean environment is provided. In addition, when a disc spring is used in the balancer 5 of the present invention, a large stress change can be obtained with respect to a small displacement, and in addition to being optimal for assistance of the vertical rotation device of the present invention, a dust generation prevention device is provided. The clean balancer 5 can also be applied to various devices in a clean room, for example, assistance for opening and closing a horizontal lid. The balancer device 32 of the present invention can also be applied to assistance for construction machines, painting robots, assembly robots, and other rotating heavy machine parts that do not require clean specifications.

A perspective view of an example of a robot having a conventional balancer Sectional view of an example of a conventional balancer The perspective view of an example of the robot which has the balancer of this invention Side view of an example of a robot having a balancer of the present invention The perspective view of an example of the balancer device of the present invention Operational diagram of another example of the balancer device of the present invention Sectional drawing of an example of the balancer of this invention The perspective view of the other example of the balancer of the present invention Sectional drawing of the other example of the balancer of this invention Sectional drawing of the other example of the balancer of this invention Side view of another example of a robot having a balancer of the present invention Balancer length calculation chart The graph showing the balancer assistance force and required torque of an example of the present invention The graph showing the balancer assistance force and required torque of another example of the present invention The side view of the example of the apparatus for clean environments which has the balancer of this invention Side view of thin plate manufacturing equipment of the present invention

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 1st arm 2 2nd arm 3 Motor part 4 Link 5 Balancer 6 Air supply unit 7 Link drive part 8 Abutment 9 Turning part 10 Base 11 Cylinder 12 Spring 13 Rod 14 Spring restraint part 15 Supply / exhaust pipe 16 Vent 17 Connecting member 18 Tilt device 19 Support cylinder 20 Third arm 21 Fourth arm 22 End effector 23 Vertical rotation joint 24 Working device 25 Bolt / nut 26 Air inlet 27 Filter 28 Exhaust pipe 29 Mounting portion 30 Arc-shaped elongated hole 31 Pin 32 Balancer device 33 Fixed shaft 34 Connecting member fixed shaft 35 Space 40 Robot 41 Rail 42 Cart 43 Air cylinder 44 Mounting base 45 Air piping 50 Processing device 51 Processing device door 52 Filter unit 53 Cassette 54 Cassette stand 55 Clean booth 56 Exhaust port 57 Glass Substrate 58 Clean booth door 59 60 clean environment for processing device 61 cassette table

Claims (12)

A first member and a second member that move toward and away from each other;
In the balancer device having a balancer connected to the two members and assisting the separation movement of the first member,
The balancer device assists a part of the separation movement range of the first member. The approaching and separating movements are vertical pivoting movements,
A connecting member connected or fixed concentrically to the vertical rotation shaft;
A balancer having one end connected to the connecting member and the other end connected to the second member;
A circular arc-shaped hole centered on the concentric shaft provided on the connecting member;
It consists of a pin that fits into the arc-shaped elongated hole,
The balancer device according to claim 1, wherein the pin is connected or fixed to one end of the first member or the balancer. In a balancer device having a balancer composed of at least a cylindrical part having an attachment part, an elastic body part, and a rod having an attachment part fixed to the elastic body holding part,
The balancer device according to claim 1, wherein a space is provided in which the elastic body restraining portion can move freely inside the cylindrical portion away from the elastic body portion. The balancer device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the elastic body portion of the balancer includes at least one disc spring. The approaching and separating movements are vertical pivoting movements,
The balancer according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein an angle range of the vertical rotation of the assisted first member is -45 degrees to +70 degrees with respect to a horizontal position. apparatus. A first member that pivots vertically to move up and down;
A second member sharing a central axis of vertical rotation with the first member;
At least one motor unit for rotating the first member;
A working device provided at an upper end of the first member or an upper end of another vertically rotating member;
A robot having at least means for controlling the movement of the motor unit,
A robot comprising the balancer device according to claim 1. At least in a cylindrical balancer composed of a cylindrical part having an attachment part, an elastic body part, and a rod fixed to the spring holding part and having an attachment part,
A pipe for guiding the air discharged from the inside of the cylindrical part to the dust-independent region;
A balancer having an intake port provided on a side surface of the cylindrical part. At least in a cylindrical balancer composed of a cylindrical part having an attachment part, an elastic body part, and a rod fixed to the spring holding part and having an attachment part,
A balancer, wherein a filter is provided in an air vent that enters and exits the inside of the cylindrical portion. At least in a cylindrical balancer composed of a cylindrical part having an attachment part, an elastic body part, and a rod fixed to the spring holding part and having an attachment part,
A balancer, wherein a mounting portion that is a rotation shaft is provided on a side surface of the cylindrical portion.   A clean environment device comprising the balancer according to claim 7.   The robot according to claim 6, comprising the balancer according to claim 7. A thin plate manufacturing apparatus, comprising the robot according to any one of claims 6, 10, and 11.

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