JPH05199B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a robotic device that operates in a clean room such as that used in semiconductor manufacturing.

Background technology and its problems The semiconductor manufacturing process is carried out in a clean room to improve the performance and yield of semiconductors, but in order to improve the cleaning effect, the clean room is unmanned and equipped with resist coating machines, exposure machines, and developing machines. machine,
It is conceivable to use a robot to operate machines such as an etching machine in each process and transport the chipper frame between each process. In this case, the robot performs the work according to pre-programmed procedures, but it is very cumbersome to enter the programming language one by one on the operation console in an unprogrammed state (during teaching) or in an emergency. . Further, when the robot is moving far from the operation console, it is practically difficult to send operating commands while observing the operating state of the robot, and appropriate commands cannot be given.

Purpose of the Invention The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to directly and easily give operation commands to a robot, thereby causing it to perform interrupt operations outside of the program as necessary. It makes it possible.

Summary of the Invention The clean room robot device of the present invention moves the robot along a plurality of work devices arranged in a straight line in the clean room, and at a predetermined work position, the robot receives operation commands based on a predetermined program from a control computer. The first instruction means is provided for instructing the user to perform a predetermined task.

Furthermore, the robot has a data port that can detect light and directs work command information outside the program to the data using a remote control unit from a monitoring room that is separated from the clean room by a light-transmitting partition. and second command means for directly operating the robot without using a control computer. With this configuration,
Even if the robot is moving far away, it is possible to directly monitor its movements and give operation commands without receiving commands from the operation console, making it possible to easily and reliably perform tasks outside of the program.

Example The present invention will be described below with reference to drawings of embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a semiconductor manufacturing process to which the clean room robot apparatus of the present invention is applied. Inside the manufacturing room, a clean room 1 and a monitoring room 2 are separated by a transparent partition wall 3. An operation console 4 is provided in the monitoring room 2 as a first command means, and the operator 5 sends operation commands to a control computer (not shown) through key input from the console 4, and from this control computer each semiconductor manufacturing device 6a is controlled. , 6b, 6c, . . . and the robot 7 are given operation commands based on a predetermined program.

The semiconductor manufacturing devices 6a, 6b, 6c, . . . may be, for example, a resist coating device in a resist process, an exposure device, a developing device, and a check device attached to these devices. These manufacturing devices 6a, 6b, . . . are arranged side by side, and guide rails 8, 9 are provided at the top to move the robot 7 along the longitudinal direction.
The carriage 10 of the robot 7 is self-propelled in the direction of arrow A by a field device of a linear pulse motor installed along these guide rails 8 and 9 and an armature built into the carrier, and is positioned at a predetermined position. be done. The main body of the robot 7 is moved up and down in the direction of arrow B by a vibration raising mechanism provided in the carriage 10, and each joint of the robot 7 is moved up and down in the direction of arrow C, D, E,
It is rotatable in the F direction, and the manipulator 11 at the tip is controlled by a pulse motor provided at each joint so that it performs the required operation.

Air in the clean room 1 is introduced through a filter 12 on the ceiling, and is then introduced into the clean zone 1 through a filter 13 installed along guide rails 8 and 9.
4, and is further blown from above each device 6a, 6b, . . . through a filter 15 so as to form an air curtain. With this air cleaning system, dust (metal powder, etc.) that is easily generated from moving parts and sliding parts when the robot 7 is working or moving is collected in the clean zone 14, and together with the unmanned system, the clean room 1 is kept extremely clean. is obtained.

In order to minimize the number of sliding parts, the control computer 15 and the robot 7 are connected by an optical transmission line as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, command data from the control computer 15 is transmitted to each manufacturing device 6a,
It is conveyed to b, 6c... Further, at each positioning point of the robot 7 along the guide rails 8, 9 in FIG. 1, there are optical data ports 17a, 17b, 17c...
... is placed and the robot 7 is positioned at its working position, the optical data port 1 of the robot 7
8 are these optical data ports 17a, 17b...
to face. In this state, the control computer 15
Control information is sent from the robot 7 to the robot 7, and necessary monitor data is sent back from the robot 7 to the control computer 15, so that the robot work is controlled according to a predetermined program.

When the robot 7 is to perform work outside the program, operation commands can be given to the robot 7 through the control computer 15 by key input from the operation console 4 shown in FIG. The operation of the operation sole 4 is complicated and requires skill, and if the robot 7 to be controlled from the operation sole 4 is moving away from the robot 7, it is necessary to visually monitor the robot 7 and make appropriate adjustments. Giving motion commands becomes substantially difficult.

Therefore, in the present invention, the operator 5 directly faces the robot 7 across the partition wall 3, and uses the first remote control unit 19 to directly issue operation commands to the optical data board 20 of the robot 7 as shown in FIG. A second command means is provided for giving the command. The operation commands include a command to interrupt program work, a command to rotate each joint, a command to operate the manipulator 11, a command to move the robot carriage 10, and the like. These operation commands are sent to the remote control unit 19.
It is issued by selecting one of the operation modes and turning it on or off on the operation panel.

In this case, infrared light is used as the command information issued from the remote control unit 19 so as not to affect the resist process, but in semiconductor manufacturing processes other than the resist process, visible light is used as an information transmission medium. It can be used as

Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention provides a robot in a clean room with a data port that can detect light, and gives operation commands to the robot from a place across the clean room through a light-transmitting partition using a remote control unit. Therefore, even if the robot is far away from the operation console when the robot's moving lie extends in a straight line along the work equipment, you can directly face the robot and monitor its movements while issuing unprogrammed movement commands. etc. can be applied directly from outside the clean room. Therefore, work outside the program, such as emergency situations or teaching, can be reliably and easily performed regardless of the work position of the robot.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a semiconductor manufacturing process to which the clean room robot apparatus of the present invention is applied;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing information transmission paths between the control computer, robot, and remote control unit. The symbols used in the drawings are as follows: 1...Clean room, 2...Monitoring room, 3...Partition wall, 4...
...Operation console, 6a, 6b, 6c
...Semiconductor manufacturing equipment, 7...Robot, 8,9...
...Guide rail, 10...Carriage, 11...
Manipulator, 15... Control computer, 1
7a, 17b, 17c...Optical data port, 18
. . . optical data port, 19 . . . remote control unit, 20 . . . optical data port.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A robot is moved along a plurality of working devices arranged in a straight line in a clean room, and at a predetermined work position, a control computer gives an operation command based on a predetermined program to the robot to perform a predetermined operation. and a light-sensitive data port provided on the robot, the robot is programmed using a remote control unit from a monitoring room separated by a light-transmitting partition from the clean room. and second command means for directly operating the robot without using a control computer by projecting external work command information toward the data port.