JP2007260862A - Robot - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase rigidity and to restrain upsizing and a rise in cost of a robot. <P>SOLUTION: The robot is furnished with: a hand device 5 to hold a workpiece 12; a horizontally moving mechanism 6 connected to the hand device and to move the hand device in the horizontal direction; and a vertically moving mechanism 7 connected to the horizontally moving mechanism and to move the hand device in the vertical direction, and the robot carries the workpiece placed at a specified place to another place by holding it by moving the hand device in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction by the horizontally moving mechanism and the vertically moving mechanism. The horizontally moving mechanism has a pair of horizontal arms 31, 32, 33, 34 respectively moving the workpiece in the same direction along the horizontal direction, fixes the hand device free to rotate against one of the horizontal arm and connects it through a sliding mechanism 8 free to slide and move it in the horizontal direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the horizontal arms against the other horizontal arm. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a robot for transporting a glass substrate for a flat display panel.

In a production process of a liquid crystal display panel or a plasma display panel, a conveyance facility using a robot is often used to convey the material within the production process. In general, a robot takes out a glass substrate as a workpiece stored in a cassette and supplies it to a process device, stores a glass substrate that has been processed in a process step in a cassette, or between conveyors with different heights. It is often used for applications such as conveying (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 5).
Many robots used in such applications have a vertical articulated type or cylindrical coordinate type structure, and are equipped with a hand device with a hand at the tip, often scooping up a glass substrate from below with a hand. Transport. Further, in order to increase the production efficiency of the line, it is required to increase the operation speed of the robot. On the other hand, due to the widespread use of large-sized televisions and the like, the tendency for glass substrates to increase in size has become stronger.

The above robot needs to hold a glass substrate in a cantilevered state because a large glass substrate needs to be stored in a cassette or removed from the cassette, but the robot is subject to a large offset load. It will be.
In addition, in order to insert and remove the hand without interfering with the narrow clearance of the glass substrate stored horizontally in the cassette, the robot can operate with or without the glass substrate placed on the hand. It is necessary to maintain the posture so that the hand is as horizontal as possible regardless of the movement position of the robot, and it is also necessary to reduce the vibration of the hand due to the movement of the robot.

JP 11-33951 A Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-238779 JP 2002-210684A JP 2004-106167 A JP 2005-32942 A

  However, in the inventions described in Patent Documents 1 to 5, the hand device that holds the glass substrate is supported by one arm that moves the hand device up and down and one arm that moves the hand device horizontally. Therefore, the weight of the hand device and the weight of the glass substrate all act on these arms, and in order to make the robot operate with high accuracy, a robot with a large reduction gear and bearings for each joint of the robot is adopted. However, there is a problem that the robot becomes larger and the cost is increased. Although a method of forming the hand with a special material having high rigidity is also conceivable, there is a problem that the cost increases because the material cost increases.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a robot that can increase rigidity and suppress an increase in size and cost of the robot.

  The invention described in claim 1 is a hand device that grips a workpiece, a horizontal movement mechanism that is connected to the hand device and moves the hand device in a horizontal direction, and is connected to the horizontal movement mechanism. A vertical movement mechanism for moving in the vertical direction, and by using the horizontal movement mechanism and the vertical movement mechanism, the hand device is moved in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction to grip a workpiece placed in a predetermined place. In the robot for transporting to another place, the horizontal movement mechanism has a pair of horizontal arms movable in the same direction along the horizontal direction, and the hand device can be rotated with respect to one horizontal arm. It is fixed and connected to the other horizontal arm via a slide mechanism that is slidable in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the horizontal arm. And butterflies.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hand device that grips a workpiece, a horizontal movement mechanism that is connected to the hand device and moves the hand device in a horizontal direction, and is connected to the horizontal movement mechanism. A vertical movement mechanism for moving in the vertical direction, and by using the horizontal movement mechanism and the vertical movement mechanism, the hand device is moved in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction to grip a workpiece placed in a predetermined place. In the robot for transporting to other places, the horizontal movement mechanism has a pair of horizontal arms that can move in the same direction along the horizontal direction, and each of the horizontal arms is provided with the hand device. It is characterized by being individually operable.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the robot according to the second aspect, the hand devices can be connected to each other.

According to the first aspect of the invention, since the hand device is supported by the pair of horizontal arms, the sum of the weight of the hand device and the weight of the work gripped by the hand device is distributed to each horizontal arm. As a result, the moment load acting on each horizontal arm can be reduced as compared with the case where the hand device is supported by one horizontal arm as in the prior art, so that the rigidity of the robot can be increased. That is, a more compact size horizontal arm, a smaller reduction gear and a bearing can be used, and a robot having sufficient strength and rigidity to transport a large workpiece can be obtained. Therefore, it is possible to obtain approximately twice the strength (especially moment load resistance) and rigidity compared with the case of transporting with only one horizontal arm of the same structure. , Bearings, etc.) can be employed, and robot downsizing and cost reduction are possible.
In addition, since one of the pair of horizontal arms is connected via the slide mechanism, the load applied to the horizontal arm can be released by the slide mechanism due to the moment load and the movement amount between the horizontal arms. As a result, the deflection and deformation of the horizontal arm can be suppressed.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since each horizontal arm is provided with a hand device and each hand device can be operated individually, a relatively large work can be obtained by operating each hand device in synchronization. In addition to being able to convey, relatively small workpieces can also be conveyed by operating only one hand device. In addition, since two workpieces can be conveyed simultaneously, the work efficiency can be improved with one robot.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, since a relatively large work can be transported by connecting and operating the hand devices, a single robot can transport work of different sizes. Versatility can be improved.

Hereinafter, the best mode of the robot will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a robot system 100 constructed with a robot 2.
The robot system 100 is used when producing a liquid crystal display panel or a plasma display panel used for a large-sized thin television or the like. The production of display panels is performed in the clean room 1 in order to avoid product quality defects due to the adhesion of dust. In order to transport these display panels and their materials in the production process, a robot is installed in the clean room 1. 2 is arranged. The robot 2 takes out the glass substrates 12 stored in the cassettes 11 stacked in multiple stages and supplies the glass substrates 12 to the process apparatus, and stores the glass substrates 12 that have been processed in the process steps in the cassette 11. It is used for applications such as conveying between conveyors with differences.

The robot system 100 includes a robot 2 used in the clean room 1 and a control device 4 that controls the operation of the robot 2.
(Clean room)
The clean room 1 has an environment in which contact with the outside air is blocked by the partition 1a, and laminar clean air is supplied from one or more air supply devices 13 provided on the ceiling toward the floor surface. Yes. The air supply device 13 is a general-purpose fan filter unit that passes air sucked from outside through a filter to remove dust and the like, and sends clean air that satisfies a predetermined standard from above to below in the clean room 1. I care.
On the floor surface of the clean room 1, there is provided a dust storage unit 14 that draws the dust generated in the clean room 1 and discharges it to the outside of the clean room 1. Above the dust storage unit 14, a dust storage unit is provided. A grating 15 that guides the dust to the dust storage unit 14 is provided.

A plurality of cassettes 11 are stacked in multiple stages on the floor surface of the clean room 1, and each cassette 11 stores a glass substrate 12 as a work used for production of a display panel.
In the clean room 1, a conveyor device 16 is provided at a position facing the cassette 11 with the robot 2 interposed therebetween. The conveyor apparatus 16 conveys the glass substrate 12 taken out from the cassette 11 by the robot 2 to the process apparatus. The conveyor device 16 may play a role of transporting the glass substrate 12 that has been processed in the process step toward the robot 2 in order to store the glass substrate 12 in the cassette 11.
Note that the cassette 11 and the conveyor device 16 are disposed within the operation range of the robot 2.

(robot)
The robot 2 is fixed to the floor of the clean room 1. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the robot 2 is provided at the uppermost portion, and a hand device 5 that holds the glass substrate 12 and a horizontal movement mechanism that is connected to the hand device 5 and moves the hand device 5 in the horizontal direction. 6 and a vertical movement mechanism 7 that is connected to the horizontal movement mechanism 6 and moves the hand device 5 in the vertical direction. Then, the robot 2 holds the glass substrate 12 placed in a predetermined place (for example, the cassette 11) by moving the hand device 5 in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction by the horizontal movement mechanism 6 and the vertical movement mechanism 7. To another place (for example, the conveyor device 16).

(Vertical movement mechanism)
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the robot 2 includes a base frame 21 fixed to the floor, and one end of an upper and lower arm 22 is connected to the base frame 21. One end of the upper and lower arms 22 is rotatably connected to the base frame 21, and the upper and lower arms 22 are rotated about one end by a vertical movement motor 23 provided on the base frame 21, and the other end is an arc-shaped locus. Works to draw.
One end of an upper and lower arm 24 is connected to the other end of the upper and lower arm 22. One end of the upper and lower arms 24 is rotatably connected to the other end of the upper and lower arms 22, and the upper and lower arms 24 are rotated about one end by a vertical movement motor 25 provided at the other end of the upper and lower arms 22. The other end operates so as to draw an arc-shaped trajectory.
Therefore, the vertical movement mechanism 7 is configured by including the vertical arms 22 and 24 and the vertical movement motors 23 and 25.

(Horizontal movement mechanism)
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a turning base 26 is provided at the other end of the upper and lower arms 24 so as to be rotatable with respect to the upper and lower arms 24. The turning base 26 can maintain its posture in a constant state by the operation of the link 27 and the link 28.
A turning frame 29 is provided on the turning base 26 so as to be rotatable with respect to the turning base 26. The turning frame 29 is turned on the turning base 26 by a turning motor 30 provided on the turning base 26. It has become.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, one end of each of a pair of horizontal arms 31 and 32 is connected to the upper surface of the revolving frame 29 so as to be able to revolve. At the other end of the horizontal arm 31, one end of the horizontal arm 33 is pivotably provided on the upper surface of the horizontal arm 31. At the other end of the horizontal arm 33, a wrist frame 35 is pivotably provided on the upper surface of the horizontal arm 33. A pedestal 36 is connected to the upper surface of the wrist frame 35, and a bracket 50 of the hand device 5 is fixed to the upper surface of the pedestal 36.

At the other end of the horizontal arm 32, one end of the horizontal arm 34 is pivotably provided on the upper surface of the horizontal arm 32. At the other end of the horizontal arm 34, a wrist frame 37 is pivotably provided on the upper surface of the horizontal arm 34. A base 81 is fixed to the upper surface of the wrist frame 37 as shown in FIG. Two guide rails 82 extending in a straight line in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the horizontal arm 34 are provided side by side on the upper surface of the base 81. The guide rail 82 is provided with four fitting members 83 which are provided on the lower surface of the bracket 50 and fit into the guide rail 82 so that the guide rail 82 can slide or relatively slide. . These fitting members 83 are fitted into the guide rails 82 two by two.
Therefore, the slide mechanism 8 is configured by including the base 81, the guide rail 82, and the fitting member 83.

The horizontal arms 31 and 33 and the wrist frame 35 are configured to be linked by a horizontal movement motor 38 (see FIG. 5), and the horizontal arms 32 and 34 and the wrist frame 37 are linked by a horizontal movement motor 39 (see FIG. 5). Is configured to do.
Accordingly, the horizontal movement mechanism 6 is configured by including the turning frame 29, the turning motor 30, the horizontal arms 31 to 34, the wrist frames 35 and 37, and the horizontal movement motors 38 and 39.

(Hand device)
As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the hand device 5 is connected to the wrist frame 33, and is fixed to the upper surface of the bracket 50 and the bracket 50, and a plurality of forks 51 and 52 that grip the glass substrate 12 from below. , 53.
The forks 51, 52, 53 are formed in a thin plate shape extending in a substantially horizontal direction, and a plurality of suction pads 51a, 52a, 53a are provided on the top surfaces of the forks 51, 52, 53 at predetermined intervals. That is, the hand device 5 moves so as to scoop up from the lower surface side of the glass substrate 12 accommodated in the cassette 11 and sucks the glass substrate 12 with vacuum pressure by the suction pads 51a, 52a, 53a. It can be gripped.

(Control device)
As shown in FIG. 1, the control device 4 is connected to the robot 2 by a cable 40 and is provided outside the clean room 1. That is, the operator can carry the glass substrate 12 by the robot 2 by operating the control device 4 from outside the clean room 1 without entering the clean room 1.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the robot system 100 having the control device 4.
The control device 4 includes a CPU 41 that executes each process in accordance with a process program related to operation control of the robot 2, and a memory 42 that stores a process program, process data, and the like for executing each process.
The memory 42 includes a program area 43 in which a control program 43p necessary for controlling the operation of the robot 2 is stored, a data area 44 in which data necessary for controlling the operation of the robot 2 is stored, and various works. A memory, a counter, and the like are provided, and a work area 45 where each process is performed is formed.
The control device 4 is connected to the vertical movement motors 23 and 25, the turning motor 30, the horizontal movement motors 38 and 39, and the hand device 5, and the drive control of each part based on the operation input by the user or the control program 43p. Is done.

<Robot motion and its effects>
According to the above embodiment, the robot 2 drives the horizontal movement motors 38 and 39 in synchronism, and the robot 2 operates under the condition that the horizontal arms 31 and 33 and the horizontal arms 32 and 34 operate in the same direction at the same speed. Then, a predetermined operation of holding and transporting the glass substrate 12 by the hand device 5 is performed.
Here, the load due to the weight of the hand device 5 and the weight of the glass substrate 12 is applied to the horizontal arm 33 and the horizontal arm 31 from the pedestal 36 through the wrist frame 35 and from the slide mechanism 8 through the wrist frame 37 to the horizontal arm. 34 and the horizontal arm 32.

That is, since the hand device 5 is supported by the pair of horizontal arms 31 to 34, the sum of the weight of the hand device 5 and the weight of the glass substrate 12 held by the hand device 5 is distributed to the horizontal arms 31 to 34. Thereby, since the moment load which acts on each horizontal arm 31-34 can be reduced compared with the case where the hand apparatus 5 is supported by one horizontal arm like before, the rigidity of the robot 2 can be improved. . That is, the robot 2 having sufficient strength and rigidity to transport the large glass substrate 12 by using smaller reduction gears and bearings with the horizontal arms 31 to 34 having a more compact size.
Therefore, it is possible to obtain approximately twice the strength (especially moment load resistance) and rigidity compared to the case of transporting with only one horizontal arm of the same structure. , Bearings, etc.) can be employed, and the robot 2 can be downsized and reduced in cost.
In addition, since one of the pair of horizontal arms 31 to 34 is connected via the slide mechanism 8, a difference in moment load and movement amount between the horizontal arms 31 and 33 and the horizontal arms 32 and 34, Since the load applied to the horizontal arms 31 to 34 due to the operation error can be released by the slide mechanism 8, the deflection and deformation of the horizontal arms 31 to 34 can be suppressed.

<Modification>
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, like the robot 2A shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the hand devices 70 and 90 may be provided for each horizontal arm. Further, the hand devices 70 and 90 having such a mechanism may be connectable.
Specifically, the hand device 70 is provided on the wrist frame 35 at one end of the horizontal arm 33 via a pedestal 36, and is fixed to the bracket 73 and the upper surface of the bracket 73 like the hand device 5, and is a glass substrate. And a plurality of forks 71 and 72 for holding 12 from below.
The forks 71 and 72 are formed in a thin plate shape extending in a substantially horizontal direction, and a plurality of suction pads 71a and 72a are provided on the upper surfaces of the forks 71 and 72 at predetermined intervals. That is, the hand device 70 moves so as to scoop up from the lower surface side of the glass substrate 12 accommodated in the cassette 11, and the glass substrate 12 is gripped by the suction pads 71 a and 72 a by vacuum pressure. Be able to.

The hand device 90 is provided on the wrist frame 37 at one end of the horizontal arm 34 via the slide mechanism 8. Like the hand device 5, the hand device 90 is fixed to the bracket 93 and the upper surface of the bracket 93. And a plurality of forks 91 and 92 for gripping.
The forks 91 and 92 are formed in a thin plate shape extending in a substantially horizontal direction, and a plurality of suction pads 91a and 92a are provided on the upper surfaces of the forks 91 and 92 at predetermined intervals. That is, the hand device 90 moves so as to scoop up from the lower surface side of the glass substrate 12 accommodated in the cassette 11, and the glass substrate 12 is gripped by the suction pads 91 a and 92 a by vacuum pressure. Be able to.

  The bracket 73 of the hand device 70 and the bracket 93 of the hand device 90 are configured to be connectable to each other, and function as one bracket by being connected. In addition, although connection members 10 such as bolts and nuts are used for connection, the connection members 10 are not limited to these and can be freely changed.

  By configuring the robot 2A as described above, as shown in FIG. 6, when the relatively large glass substrate 12 is conveyed, the bracket 73 and the bracket 93 are connected by the fastener 10, thereby It can be used as one large hand device with a fork. As shown in FIG. 7, when it is desired to transport a relatively small substrate in a large amount in a short time, the connection between the bracket 73 and the bracket 93 is released, and the horizontal arms 31 to 34 are moved to the horizontal movement motor 38, By individually driving at 39, the conveyance capacity per unit time of the glass substrate 12a can be almost doubled.

In the above embodiment, the pair of horizontal arms (the horizontal arms 31 and 33 and the horizontal arms 32 and 34) are driven by separate horizontal movement motors 38 and 39, but are driven by the same motor. May be.
Further, the hand device 5 is fixed to the wrist frame 37 via two rows of guide rails 82 that can move in a direction that is horizontal and orthogonal to the operation of the horizontal axis. As long as there is not, it is good also as one line of guide rails. Furthermore, you may add the guide rail which can be linearly moved in a horizontal axis operation direction.
In addition, the number of horizontal arms and the number of forks of the hand device are arbitrary and can be freely changed.

The figure which shows the outline | summary of the robot system which has a robot. The perspective view from the upper direction of a robot. The perspective view from the downward direction of a robot. The perspective view from the upper part which carried out the cross sectional view of some hand apparatuses. The block diagram which shows the structure of a robot. The perspective view from the top in the state which connected the bracket in the modification of a robot. The perspective view from the top in the state which made the bracket mutually independent in the modification of a robot.

Explanation of symbols

2 Robot 2A Robot 5 Hand device 6 Horizontal movement mechanism 7 Vertical movement mechanism 8 Slide mechanism 31 Horizontal arm 32 Horizontal arm 33 Horizontal arm 34 Horizontal arm 70 Hand device 90 Hand device 12 Glass substrate (workpiece)

Claims (3)

A hand device for gripping a workpiece;
A horizontal movement mechanism connected to the hand device and moving the hand device in a horizontal direction;
A vertical movement mechanism that is connected to the horizontal movement mechanism and moves the hand device in the vertical direction;
In the robot that moves the hand device in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction by the horizontal movement mechanism and the vertical movement mechanism to grip a workpiece placed in a predetermined place and convey it to another place.
The horizontal movement mechanism has a pair of horizontal arms that can move in the same direction along the horizontal direction,
The hand device is rotatably fixed to one horizontal arm and connected to the other horizontal arm via a slide mechanism that can slide in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the horizontal arm. A robot characterized by that. A hand device for gripping a workpiece;
A horizontal movement mechanism connected to the hand device and moving the hand device in a horizontal direction;
A vertical movement mechanism that is connected to the horizontal movement mechanism and moves the hand device in the vertical direction;
In the robot that moves the hand device in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction by the horizontal movement mechanism and the vertical movement mechanism to grip a workpiece placed in a predetermined place and convey it to another place.
The horizontal movement mechanism has a pair of horizontal arms that can move in the same direction along the horizontal direction,
Each horizontal arm is provided with the hand device,
A robot characterized in that each hand device can be operated individually.   The robot according to claim 2, wherein each hand device is connectable.

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