JPH1177566A - Thin board conveying robot - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thin board conveying robot which conveys especially a board arranged vertically and enlarged, so as to house it horizontally or vertically. SOLUTION: A conveying robot 1 has an arm body 7 rotatable to a machine board 3, and a hand 10 provided at the front end of the arm body 7 and to absorb a base board. The hand 10, and the second arm 9 of the arm body 7, are connected by a coupling 14 by which the hand 10 can rotate in the three axial directions. The coupling 14 has a coupling main body 15 having a wall part 15a and an axis; a shaft supported by the wall part 15a; and a support member 19 supported rotatable to the shaft; and the coupling connection of the hand 10 is provided rotatable around the axial center to the support member 19 through the axis. And the hand 10 is rotated in the horizontal direction to the second arm 9 by a driving motor 13, rotated around the hand axial center by a motor 21, and rotated in the vertical direction of the second arm 9 by a motor 23.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transfer robot for transferring a thin substrate such as a glass substrate or a liquid crystal substrate from a current position to a next process position. The present invention relates to a robot for transporting a thin substrate that can be sucked and transported.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Thin substrates (hereinafter, referred to as substrates) such as glass substrates and liquid crystal substrates are usually mounted on cassettes which can be stored in a plurality of stages in a vertical direction, and face the cassettes in order to perform each processing in the next step. The robot was transported to the next process by a transport robot having a hand part which was arranged and bendable and stretched. A conventional transfer robot has a hand configured such that an arm portion rotatably arranged on a machine base is bendable and stretchable, and a hand configured to be rotatable in a horizontal direction with respect to the arm portion at a tip of the arm portion. In addition, the hand is configured to suck and transport substrates arranged in the cassette in the vertical direction.

[0003]

However, when the demand for printed circuit boards increases with the increase in demand for computers, electronic devices, and the like, the above-mentioned boards have become larger. Weight increases,
Even if it is formed thin, it deforms so that the central portion bends downward when it is maintained in a horizontal state. Therefore, in a conventional robot that transports a substrate in a state where the substrate is arranged in a horizontal direction, there is a possibility that a suction failure occurs between the hand and the substrate. In particular, when the substrate is transported to the next step, it is necessary to store the substrate at an accurate position, and a positioning operation has been performed during the transport. However, when the suction failure occurs, the exact position is shifted. for that reason,
When a large-sized substrate is transported by a robot, it is necessary to arrange the substrate vertically (in a vertical direction) in advance instead of being arranged in a horizontal direction so as not to bend the substrate. Therefore, it has become impossible to cope with the conventional robot.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and in order to adsorb and transport a conventional substrate or a large-sized substrate, any horizontally or vertically arranged substrate can be used. It is an object of the present invention to provide a transfer robot that can move to a substrate from a direction and transfer by suction.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A thin substrate transfer robot according to the present invention is configured as follows to solve the above-mentioned problems. That is, this is a thin substrate transfer robot for transferring the thin substrate placed at the current position to the next process position, and a thin substrate transfer robot for transferring the thin substrate placed at the current position to the next process position. The thin substrate arranged in the horizontal or vertical direction is changed in direction and transported so as to be stored in the horizontal or vertical direction.

This transfer robot is a thin substrate transfer robot having a bendable arm that is rotatably disposed on a machine base and a hand that is supported by the arm and that sucks the thin substrate. The hand is disposed so as to be rotatable in the horizontal direction with respect to the arm portion, and is configured to be rotatable around an axis in the hand traveling direction. Is configured to be rotatable in the vertical direction with respect to

Further, the transfer robot is a transfer robot for a thin substrate having an arm portion rotatably disposed on a machine base and capable of bending and extending, and a hand supported by the arm portion for sucking the thin substrate. A coupling means having a shaft perpendicular to the arm is provided on the arm, and the coupling comprises a hand support for supporting the hand rotatably about a traveling axis of the hand. A shaft member that rotatably supports the hand supporting portion in the vertical direction with respect to the arm portion; a driving unit that rotatably drives the shaft portion of the joint unit; It is characterized by comprising drive means for rotating and driving about an axis, and drive means for rotating the support member in a direction perpendicular to the arm portion.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the transfer robot 1 according to the present embodiment has a machine base 3, a base 5 that can be moved up and down with respect to the machine base 3, and can rotate with respect to the base 5. And an arm body 7 and a hand 10 to be arranged.

The arm body 7 has a first arm 8 adjacent to the base 5 and a second arm 9 pivotally supported by the first arm 8. The hand 10 is connected via a joint 14 that can rotate in three axial directions at the tip of the hand 10. The driving of the arm body 7 is performed by driving means (not shown) arranged in the machine base 3, and the first
The arm 8 and the second arm 9 are configured to be bendable and extendable by a belt and a pulley (not shown) connecting the first arm 8 and the second arm 9.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the hand 10 sucks and supports the substrate, and a fork-shaped substrate suction portion 11 is formed.
And the base part of the substrate suction part 11, and the shaft part 12 a
And a joint connecting portion 12 having Then, the shaft portion 12a of the joint connecting portion 12 is rotatably supported by the joint portion 14. The substrate suction section 11 has a plurality of suction holes (not shown) for sucking the substrate.

As shown in FIG. 3, the joint portion 14 has upper and lower walls 15a and 15a at both ends, and a shaft 15b which is connected and supported orthogonally to the second arm 9 at a lower portion. 15, a shaft 17 rotatably supported by the wall 15a, and a support member 19 fixedly supported by the shaft 17 and rotatably supporting the shaft 12a of the joint connecting portion 12 along the axis. A motor 21 supported on the rear end face of the support member 19 and rotatably driving the shaft portion 12a about the axis via a motor shaft 21a; and a support member 19 supported by one wall portion 15a of the joint body portion 15. And a motor 23 that is rotatable about a shaft 17 in a vertical direction via a motor shaft 23a.

The support member 19 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a hole 19a to which the shaft 17 is fixed is formed in the lower part, and the joint connecting part 12 of the hand 10 is inserted into the upper part of the hole 19a via a bearing. The hole 19b is formed in a direction orthogonal to the hole 19a. The lower surface of the support member 19 is formed in an arc shape so as not to interfere with the bottom surface of the joint body 15 when the support member 19 rotates around the shaft 17.

In this embodiment, the shaft portion 15b of the joint body 15 is inserted through the second arm 9 as described above, and
A pulley 25 is fixed in the arm 9. And the second
The pulley 25 is connected via a belt 26 to a pulley 25 fixed to a motor shaft 13 a of the drive motor 13 attached to the upper surface of the arm 9.

Therefore, the hand 10 moves up and down with respect to the machine base 3 and rotates in the horizontal direction.
Of the second arm 9 by the motor 13 (see FIG. 5A).
It rotates about the axis of the hand 10 (see FIG. 5B),
The motor 23 can rotate the second arm 9 so as to be orthogonal to the vertical direction (FIG. 5C).

Therefore, the robot 1 configured as described above
Means that even when the substrates are stored horizontally in the cassette,
Even if the hand is arranged vertically, it can be taken out by inverting the hand according to the state of the substrate.
For example, FIGS. 6 to 9 show the states in which the substrate W is at the original position and the states in which the substrate W is conveyed from the original position and arranged at the next process position. In this figure, a cassette for accommodating the substrates is omitted.

In FIG. 6, as in the prior art, a substrate W arranged vertically in the horizontal direction is arranged in a horizontal state in the next step. The substrate suction part moves below one substrate W to be conveyed by the extension of the substrate W, and moves upward after being positioned below the substrate W to suction the substrate W. After further rising slightly, the arm body 7 is bent. To move the hand 10 backward. At this time, if necessary, the motor 13 may be driven to rotate the hand 10 in the horizontal direction with respect to the second arm 9. Then, the substrate W is transported to the next step while being kept horizontal, and is stored in the cassette by extending the arm body 7.

In FIG. 7, a substrate W larger in size than the conventional one, which is arranged in a horizontal direction, is sucked and conveyed and stored in a horizontal direction in a vertical direction. As in the case of 6, the substrate W is sucked and taken out. Thereafter, the motor 21 is driven to connect the hand 10 to the joint connecting portion 1.
The second shaft portion 12a rotates 90 ° about the axis thereof. Then, the substrate suction part 11 of the hand 10 is vertically inverted together with the substrate W. Then, the arm body 7 is appropriately rotated with respect to the machine base 3, and the drive motor 13 is driven to rotate the hand 10 with respect to the second arm 9. Then, after being moved to a position facing the next process position, it is stored in the cassette in that state.

In FIG. 8, a large substrate W arranged vertically in the vertical direction is stored in the vertical state as it is, and the hand 10 arranged in the horizontal state is driven by the motor 23 so that the second arm Rotate 90 ° downward with respect to 9. Then, in order to make the substrate suction part 11 parallel to the substrate W, the motor 21 is driven to drive the shaft part 12 a of the joint connecting part 12.
90 ° about the axis of the substrate W, and the substrate W
Then, the substrate W is sucked and taken out upward. Then, the arm 7 is rotated with respect to the machine base 3 or the motor 13 is driven to rotate the hand 10 in the horizontal direction with respect to the second arm 9 to move to the position facing the position of the next step. Then, it is stored from above in the next step.

Further, in the case of FIG. 9, the substrate W arranged vertically in the horizontal direction is housed vertically in the vertical direction, and the hand 10 arranged in the horizontal state is 9 around the axis of shaft 12a
The substrate W is inverted by 0 °, and moves to take out the substrate W in that state. When the hand 10 that has sucked the substrate W returns to the original position at one end, the motor 23 is driven to turn the hand 10 downward 90 °. Then, the substrate W is stored in the cassette from above the next process cassette.

As described above, the hand 10 is appropriately rotated by the drive of the drive motor 13, the motor 21, and the motor 23. No matter what direction the substrate W is arranged, it can be taken out. FIG.
Each of the forms shown in FIG. 9 is one form, and the hand 10 can be attracted to the substrate W in forms other than those described above.

The shape and structure of the joint of the transfer robot according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, especially if a joint portion that can rotate in three axial directions is formed between the hand and the arm body. . For example, a shaft 17 that is rotated by a motor 23 on a shaft portion 12a of the joint connecting portion 12 of the hand 10 is used.
May be formed so as to penetrate through the intermediate portion of the joint member. Further, instead of the shaft 17, at both ends of the support member 19, outwardly directed shaft portions are formed so as to be supported by the wall portion 15a of the joint body 15. You may comprise.

Further, a shaft may be formed integrally with the substrate suction portion 11 of the hand 10 so as to be supported by the support member 19.

The bending and extension operation of the arm body 7 is not performed by connecting the first arm 8 and the second arm 9 with a pulley and a belt, but by rotating the second arm 9 to the first arm 8. This may be performed by providing a motor that drives the motor.

[0025]

The transfer robot according to the present invention is a thin substrate transfer robot for transferring a thin substrate placed at the current position to a next process position, and transfers the thin substrate placed horizontally or vertically. , And is configured to be transported so that it can be stored in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction. Therefore, when a particularly large-sized substrate is transported, the substrate arranged in the vertical direction can be turned in the horizontal or vertical direction and transported to the next step.

This transfer robot is a transfer robot for a thin substrate which has an arm portion rotatably arranged on a machine base and which can be bent and stretched, and a hand which is supported by the arm portion and sucks the thin substrate. The hand is disposed so as to be rotatable in the horizontal direction with respect to the arm portion, and is configured to be rotatable around an axis in the hand traveling direction. Is configured to be rotatable in the vertical direction. Then, the hand is rotated in either direction to move to a position where the hand can face a substrate arranged in the vertical direction. Thereafter, the substrate is suctioned and conveyed and taken out, and the hand is turned again in any direction to adjust the substrate to a state of being stored in the next step. Therefore, this transfer robot can change the direction of a vertically arranged substrate in the horizontal or vertical direction and transfer it to the next step, especially when transferring a large-sized substrate.

Further, the robot is a robot for transporting a thin substrate having an arm portion rotatably disposed on the machine base and capable of bending and extending, and a hand supported by the arm portion for sucking the thin substrate. A joint supporting means having a shaft perpendicular to the arm, provided on the arm, wherein the joint means supports the hand rotatably around a traveling axis of the hand, A shaft member that rotatably supports the hand support in the vertical direction with respect to the arm, a driving unit that rotatably drives the shaft of the joint unit, and a traveling axis that moves the hand. And a driving means for rotating the support member in a direction perpendicular to the arm portion. Then, when sucking the substrate arranged in the horizontal direction, the arm is driven to bend and stretch, and the hand is moved by rotating the shaft of the joint main body, and the arm is arranged in the vertical direction. When sucking a substrate, the arm is driven to bend and stretch,
The hand is moved by pivoting the hand in the axial direction or pivoting the hand support in the direction perpendicular to the arm. Therefore, this transfer robot can change the direction of a vertically arranged substrate in the horizontal or vertical direction and transfer it to the next step, especially when transferring a large-sized substrate.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a transfer robot according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing each inverted state of the hand in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a view showing a transfer state of a substrate arranged in each state by the robot of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a view showing a transfer state of a substrate arranged in each state by the robot of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a view showing a transfer state of the substrate arranged in each state by the robot of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a view showing a transfer state of the substrate arranged in each state by the robot of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Robot 3 ... Machine stand 7 ... Arm part 8 ... 1st arm 9 ... 2nd arm 10 ... Hand 11 ... Substrate adsorption | suction part 12 ... Joint connection part 13 ... Drive motor (drive means) 14 ... Joint part (joint means) 15 Joint body part 15b Shaft part 17 Shaft 19 Support member (hand support part) 21 Motor (drive means) 23 Motor (drive means)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A thin substrate transfer robot for transferring a thin substrate placed at a current position to a next process position, wherein the thin substrate placed in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction is provided.
A thin-substrate transfer robot characterized in that the transfer is performed such that the direction is changed so that the transfer can be performed in a horizontal or vertical direction. 2. A thin substrate transfer robot, comprising: an arm portion rotatably disposed on a machine base and capable of bending and stretching; and a hand pivotally supported by the arm portion to suck a thin substrate. Is arranged so as to be rotatable in the horizontal direction with respect to the arm portion, and is configured to be rotatable around an axis in the hand advancing direction. A robot for transporting a thin substrate, wherein the robot is configured to be rotatable. 3. A thin substrate transfer robot, comprising: an arm portion rotatably disposed on a machine base and capable of bending and extending; and a hand supported by the arm portion for sucking the thin substrate. A joint means having a shaft perpendicular to the arm part, the joint means supporting the hand rotatably about a traveling axis of the hand, and the hand support. A shaft member that supports the unit rotatably in the vertical direction with respect to the arm unit; and a driving unit that rotatably drives the shaft unit of the joint unit;
A thin substrate comprising: a driving unit that rotationally drives the hand around a traveling axis; and a driving unit that rotationally drives the support member in a direction perpendicular to the arm. Transfer robot.