JPH0671087U - Master / slave robot - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] (Correction) [Purpose] To flexibly respond to changes in the layout of the wafer manufacturing line and ensure the mounting of the wafer cassette on the line. [Structure] A master / slave robot used in a clean room such as a wafer manufacturing line is operated by a worker while directly monitoring the mounting state of a wafer cassette, and the master robot is controlled by a transparent dust seal cover for controlling the slave robot. It is integrally configured on the moving carriage 1 via 8.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a master / slave robot that carries a wafer cassette in a clean room, for example, in a semiconductor factory.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 Dust is a major enemy in a clean room, for example, in a semiconductor factory, and the number of dust in the air is adjusted to be below a certain level. In particular, even more stringent conditions are required in the equipment for processing semiconductor wafers, so the process of loading a cassette containing wafers into the equipment must be automated. However, even though there are automatic transfer robots that transfer wafer cassettes for automation, the layout of the equipment is frequently changed in semiconductor factories due to changes in the manufacturing process, so conventional automatic transfer robots immediately change the layout. It was difficult to deal with it, and eventually it was done by humans.

[0003]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 As described above, in semiconductor factories, the layout of equipment is frequently changed with the change of manufacturing process, so it is difficult for a conventional fully automated transfer robot to immediately respond to the change of layout. Therefore, a manipulator that can be directly operated by humans is required, but since humans generate a large amount of dust, it is necessary to take measures to prevent the dust from adversely affecting the product. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to allow a human to directly operate the wafer cassette transfer robot and to prevent the dust generated by the human from adversely affecting the product.

[0004]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the master part and the slave part are integrated on the moving carriage with the transparent dust seal cover sandwiched between them, and the operator operates the master inside the dust seal cover to operate the slave.

[0005]

[Action]

 With the above means, the operator can freely move the movable carriage by pushing the movable carriage from the inside of the dust seal cover. The manipulator can be moved freely by operating the master on the operation panel while checking the position of the work through the transparent dust seal cover. The dust seal cover prevents dust generated by the operator from flowing out in the front direction (the direction in which the wafer cassette is located).

[0006]

【Example】

 Hereinafter, a specific embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The mobile trolley 1 has a robot drive mechanism and a control device inside a frame 3, a sleeve 4 is mounted on the upper surface, and casters 2 are mounted on the lower surface. Can move freely on the floor. The frame 3 covers the casters 2, the drive mechanism, and the control device with a slight gap from the floor surface to prevent dust generated due to friction between the casters 2 and the floor surface from scattering around. A gripper 5 for holding a wafer or a wafer cassette is attached to the tip of the slave 4 having an airtight articulated robot arm. Also, in the clean room, there is a downflow of air flow from the ceiling to the floor to remove dust floating in the air, so the cross section of slave 4 has raindrops and streamline cross sections so as not to disturb the downflow. There is. A transparent dust seal cover 8 is sandwiched between the rear surface of the frame 3 and an operation panel 6 to which a master 7 such as a joystick to be operated by an operator is attached. A dust seal cover 8 is arranged between the movable carriage 1 and the worker to prevent dust generated by the operator from flowing toward the wafer cassette. Similarly to the slave 4, the dust seal cover 8 also has a straight line in the vertical direction and arcuate sides to cover the worker so as not to disturb the downflow.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment, in which flexible suction pipes 10, 10 communicating with each arm of the slave 4 are provided. The other ends of the suction pipes 10 and 10 are connected to a scavenging box 11, and an induction fan 12 is fixed to the upper surface of a partition plate 13 in the scavenging box 11. A filter 14 is provided at a position higher than the casters 2 in a space formed by the lower surface of the partition plate 13 and the frame 3. A louver 15 that is open to the operator side is provided below the dust seal cover 8 between the lower surface of the partition plate 13 and the floor surface. When the attracting fan 12 is rotated, the dust generated in each arm of the slave 4 is sucked into the scavenging box 11 through the suction pipes 10 and 10, and the dust is removed by the filter 14, and then the louver 15 opened in the dust seal cover 8. It is exhausted from the inside to the clean room and rides the downflow that flows in the clean room.

[0008]

[Effect of device]

 As described above, according to the present invention, a mobile master / slave robot can be directly operated by the operator while confirming the work status, so it is flexible even when the layout of various devices is changed or the work content is changed. Can correspond to. Further, by adopting the dust seal cover, it is possible to prevent the dust generated by the worker from entering the device, and it is possible to improve the product yield.

[0009]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a specific embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a specific embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Mobile Cart 2 Casters 3 Frame 4 Slave 5 Gripper 6 Control Panel 7 Master 8 Dust Seal Cover 9 Wafer Cassette 10 Suction Pipeline 11 Scavenging Box 12 Induction Fan 13 Partition Plate 14 Filter 15 Louver

Claims (4)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A master unit in which an operator issues a control command,
A master-slave robot that comprises a multi-joint type slave unit that performs work in response to control commands, characterized in that the master unit and the slave unit are integrally configured on a movable carriage. 2. The master / slave robot according to claim 1, wherein a transparent dust seal cover is arranged between the master unit and the slave unit. 3. The arms of the slave section are made airtight, suction pipes communicating with the arms, airtight scavenging boxes connected to the suction pipes, and attractors installed in the scavenging boxes via partition plates. The master / slave robot according to claim 1 or 2, comprising a fan and a filter provided below the attraction fan. 4. The master / slave robot according to claim 3, wherein an exhaust louver is provided below the filter of the dust seal cover.