KR20080001633A - Industrial robot - Google Patents

Abstract

An industrial robot is provided to cool a driving source as a main heating source of a loading place or capable of filling heat effectively by forming a topical cooling device for cooling the driving source. An industrial robot comprises arm units(3), and a loading place(4). The loading place, which is placed near the corresponding arm unit, has a driving source for operating the arm units and a topical cooling device for cooling the driving source. The arm units and the loading unit are installed in a chamber in pressure atmosphere. The driving source and the topical cooling device are mounted on each corresponding arm unit. The topical cooling device consists of a cooling unit for winding a heat pipe wherein compressed air flows on the driving source.

Description

Industrial Robots {Industrial robot}

1 is a schematic plan view of an industrial robot according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view taken along the line AA ′ of FIG. 1. FIG.

3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an enlarged motor storage chamber (motor housing portion).

4 shows a control operation of the ON / OFF operation of the cooling operation according to the detection of the cooling start required temperature by the first temperature detection sensor 12 and the second temperature detection sensor 13. A flowchart showing a series of flows of the forced stop motion of the industrial robot 1 in accordance with the detection of the industrial robot stop temperature.

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an enlarged motor storage chamber and an arm in FIG. 2. FIG.

6 is a schematic plan view and a schematic side view of an industrial robot of (double arm) type having two arms.

[Description of the code]

l, 30: industrial robot 2: anticipation

3: arm 3a: first arm

3b second arm 3c: hand

3c1, 3c2, 3c3: support column 4: motor compartment

5: motor compartment 5r: ceiling of the motor compartment

6: arm drive motor 6t: upper end of the arm drive motor

7: vacuum chamber 8: aluminum pipe

9: cooling means 10: solenoid valve

11: pedestal 12, 13: 1st, 2nd temperature detection sensor

14 hollow shaft 15, 22: bearing

16: bellows 17, 18: timing pulley

19: timing belt 20: reducer for arm drive

21: arm rotation shaft 23, 24: magnetic seal

25: resin tube

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an industrial robot, and more particularly, to an industrial robot used in a reduced pressure atmosphere such as a liquid crystal manufacturing device or a semiconductor manufacturing device.

In an industrial robot provided in a chamber under a reduced pressure atmosphere (more specifically, under vacuum), it is important to remove heat generated from a motor or the like assembled in the industrial robot.

A technology for removing heat generated in an industrial robot installed in a chamber under a reduced pressure atmosphere (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as a "vacuum chamber"). Patent document 1 introduces a cooling mechanism that allows a cooling gas to circulate to every corner. Referring to the cooling mechanism shown in FIG. 1 of the same document 1 with reference to the same reference numerals, the supply of the cooling gas is the pre-empty regulator 35 and the operation for converting the electrical signal into a pressure signal. It is performed from the lower part of the industrial robot R from the air sending apparatus 31 through the valve 33. As shown in FIG. On the other hand, discharge of this cooling gas is carried out through the operation valve 34 from the exhaust port provided in the vicinity of the front-end | tip part (6th shaft system in FIG. 2 of the same document 1 of the same document 1), and the vacuum apparatus for industrial robots ( By forced evacuation in accordance with 32). Thus, by supplying a cooling medium from the lower part (one end side) of the industrial robot R, and exhausting the cooling medium from the vicinity of the front end (the other end side) of the same industrial robot R, the cooling gas is everywhere in the inside of the industrial robot R. It is supposed to circulate until.

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-84692 (paragraphs 0024 to 0025, FIGS. 1 and 2)

However, according to a review by the inventors, it has been found that it is difficult to perform sufficient cooling in the cooling mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 1. In particular, in the case of an industrial robot which is rotatably connected by a joint part and transmits rotational power by a driving source, and performs an operation of turning the arm part to make a desired motion, or an industrial robot that performs an operation of reciprocating the arm part, It has been found that the problem of cooling occurs more remarkably.

For example, in an industrial robot that performs swinging operation, a drive source for swinging the arm portion on the arm portion for the purpose of performing the swing movement (rotation movement) with higher accuracy (more specifically, There is a technical desire to approach and arrange an arm drive motor). Naturally, the same technical demand exists also in the industrial robot which performs the operation | movement which reciprocates an arm part. In this case, the arm part of the industrial robot is provided in a vacuum chamber, and the arm part is also in a vacuum (decompression atmosphere) state. On the other hand, the storage chamber in which the drive source is accommodated needs to be filled with air to cool the drive source. By the way, when trying to arrange | position the drive source to the arm part of an industrial robot, it is necessary to arrange a storage chamber in a vacuum chamber. Here, since heat generated from the drive source cannot propagate by air, it is difficult to radiate heat into the vacuum chamber, and thus heat tends to stay in the storage chamber, resulting in a lack of cooling of the drive source. That is, heat dissipation of the drive source is performed by heat conduction and air conduction between the metals, but air exists inside the storage chamber in which the drive source is accommodated, but the outside of the storage chamber is vacuumed. For this reason, cooling by air in a vacuum chamber cannot be desired. Moreover, as a result of approaching and arrange | positioning an arm part and a drive source, a drive source is installed in the upper part of a storage chamber in many cases. For this reason, the heat generated from the drive source is moved upward in the storage chamber to easily stay around the drive source.

The problem of lack of cooling of the said drive source becomes more remarkable when the storage chamber is made small in order to reduce the size of an industrial robot. That is, as the storage chamber becomes smaller, heat generated from the drive source is more likely to stay in the storage chamber. Here, when air-cooling the inside of a storage chamber in order to surely cool a drive source, it is necessary to increase the circulation amount of cooling air. The circulation of such a large amount of cooling air leads to an increase in the cooling cost.

In the chamber under a reduced pressure, when a process involving heat generation is performed, such as a CVD (chemical vapor deposition method) process used for manufacturing ICs or the etching process used for manufacturing photoresist films, In addition to the heat generated by the driving source, there is also an effect of heat generated in the chamber. For this reason, raising the cooling efficiency of a drive source becomes more important.

This invention is made | formed in order to solve the said subject, The objective is providing the industrial robot which can perform the cooling of the drive source for operating an arm part more efficiently and reliably in the industrial robot provided in the chamber under reduced pressure atmosphere. It is in doing it.

Under the above-mentioned object, the present inventors have diligently studied and, as a result, have devised a local cooling mechanism for cooling the drive source serving as the main heat generating source, and have found that the above problems can be solved.

That is, the gist of the present invention includes an arm part and a storage compartment arranged near the arm part and containing a driving source for operating the arm part, wherein the arm part and the storage chamber are installed in a chamber under a reduced pressure atmosphere. And a local cooling mechanism for cooling the drive source in the storage chamber.

According to the present invention, by providing a local cooling mechanism for cooling the drive source, cooling of the drive source which is a main heat generating source and easy to become full of heat in the storage chamber can be performed efficiently and at low cost.

Moreover, in the industrial robot of this invention, it is preferable to have a plurality of said arm parts, and to provide a drive source and a local cooling mechanism for every arm part.

According to the present invention, by having a plurality of arm portions, it is possible to enter and exit flat plate members such as glass in a short time from the processing apparatus.

Moreover, in the industrial robot of this invention, it is preferable that the said local cooling mechanism has the cooling means formed by winding the heat pipe which can distribute compressed air to the said drive source.

According to the present invention, since the heat pipe through which compressed air flows through the body of the drive source is rotated to form the cooling means, heat exchange between the drive source and the cooling means can be easily performed. In addition, in this invention, the pipe used for cooling is called "heat pipe."

In the case of using the cooling means, it is preferable that one end side of the heat pipe is released in the storage chamber so that the compressed air flowing through the heat pipe flows into the storage chamber.

According to the present invention, since one end of the heat pipe is released in the motor storage chamber, compressed air is discharged from the one end side into the storage chamber, and cooling of the entire storage chamber can be performed.

In the case of using the cooling means, when the temperature detecting sensor detects that the local cooling mechanism has a temperature detecting sensor and the circumference of the drive source has reached a cooling start required temperature, the cooling means is provided with the compressed air. It is also preferable to start distribution and to have a control mechanism which stops the operation of the said industrial robot when the said temperature detection sensor detects that the circumference | surroundings of the said drive source reached the industrial robot stop temperature.

According to the present invention, since the ambient temperature of the driving source can be detected, the on / off of the compressed air and the operation of the industrial robot can be stopped. Therefore, the operating safety of the industrial robot can be further improved while suppressing the cooling cost at low cost.

Moreover, in the industrial robot of this invention, it is preferable to perform a CVD (chemical vapor deposition method) process or an etching process in the chamber under the said reduced pressure atmosphere.

According to the present invention, since the temperature around the drive source is easily increased due to the heat generation by the CVD process or the etching process performed in the chamber, the significance of intensively cooling the drive source is increased.

Moreover, in the industrial robot of this invention, it is preferable that the said arm part is a rotatable arm part or the reciprocating arm part.

According to the present invention, since the local cooling mechanism for intensively cooling the drive source is provided in the storage chamber, the drive source can be freely laid out freely. For this reason, the structure of various types of arm parts can be realized.

According to the industrial robot of the present invention, it is possible to more reliably cool the driving source for operating the arm portion provided in the chamber under a reduced pressure atmosphere. Moreover, the industrial robot with low cooling cost is provided efficiently.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Next, the form for implementing this invention is demonstrated based on drawing. In addition, the industrial robot of this invention is not limited to the following description and drawing in the range which has the technical characteristic. In addition, in the following description, although the motor (arm drive motor) generally used as a drive source is demonstrated to an example, it cannot be overemphasized that the drive source used for this invention is not limited to a motor. In addition, the storage chamber which accommodates a drive source is called the "motor storage chamber" by demonstrating a motor using an example. Similarly, the part where a drive source is accommodated in a storage chamber is called "motor accommodating part."

[First embodiment]

1 is a schematic plan view of an industrial robot according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The industrial robot 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a type in which an arm part performs a pivoting operation, and a motor storage chamber 4 in which a rotatable arm part 3 and an arm driving motor for rotating the arm part 3 are stored. ) And a base 2 for supporting the arm portion 3 and the motor storage chamber 4.

The arm part 3 is comprised from the 1st arm 3a, the 2nd arm 3b, and the hand 3c. Although not shown in FIG. 1, between the first arm 3a and the motor storage chamber 4, between the first arm 3a and the second arm 3b, and the hand 3c. A joint part is provided between the 2nd arm 3b, respectively. The first arm 3a, the second arm 3b, and the hand 3c are rotatably connected via the joint.

On the hand 3c, flat members, such as a glass substrate for liquid crystals, are mounted. And the flat member mounted on the hand 3c is conveyed by controlling the movement (turning) of the 1st arm 3a, the 2nd arm 3b, and the hand 3c.

As described above, the motor storage chamber 4 houses an arm driving motor (not shown in FIG. 1) for driving the arm portion 3. Moreover, in the motor accommodating chamber 4, the arm drive motor is accommodated in the motor accommodating part 5. The motor accommodating part 5 is specifically provided in the motor accommodating chamber 4 for the miniaturization of the motor accommodating chamber 4 as a whole.

The motor accommodating chamber 4 is arrange | positioned in the vicinity of the arm part 3, as shown in FIG. Specifically, in FIG. 1, the motor storage chamber 4 is provided adjacent to the first arm 3a. By arranging the arm driving motor and the arm part 3 which are accommodated in the motor storage chamber 4 in close proximity, it is easy to carry out the turning operation of the arm part 3 more precisely. The rotation mechanism of the arm part 3 is mentioned later.

The motor storage chamber 4 and the arm part 3 are arrange | positioned in the vacuum chamber (not shown in FIG. 1). When the member conveyed by the hand 3c is a glass substrate for liquid crystal, since the etching process for photoresist manufacture is normally performed in a vacuum chamber, the temperature in a vacuum chamber tends to rise. For this reason, the use of the local cooling mechanism which intensively cools the arm drive motor is significant.

The configuration of the vacuum chamber and the like will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2: shows typical sectional drawing in the AA 'surface of FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view which expanded the motor accommodating chamber (motor accommodating part). Here, in FIG. 2, 3, the same code | symbol is used about the same element as FIG. In addition, in the typical sectional drawing of FIGS. 2 and 3, in order to understand this invention, the detail of the apparatus regarding the rotation mechanism and the vertical mechanism of the motor storage chamber 4 and the hollow rotating shaft 14, and the rotation mechanism of the arm part 3 are shown. The detailed description of the apparatus is omitted. As such a rotating mechanism and a vertical mechanism, a mechanism well known to those skilled in the art can be appropriately used.

The arm part 3 and the motor storage chamber 4 are provided in the vacuum chamber 7 as shown in FIG. 2, and the base 2 is provided outside (in the air) of the vacuum chamber 7 . As a result, the size of the unit installed in the vacuum chamber 7 of the industrial robot 1 can be made compact while increasing the rotational accuracy of the arm part 3, and the vacuum chamber 7 is also designed compactly. It becomes easy to do it.

The motor storage chamber 4 is provided on the hollow rotating shaft 14. Although description is abbreviate | omitted in FIG. 2, in order to perform the up-down movement and the rotation operation | movement of the arm part 3 and the motor storage chamber 4, the vertical rotation mechanism and the rotation mechanism are provided in the hollow rotating shaft 14. As shown in FIG. As such a vertical movement mechanism and a rotation mechanism, those well known to those skilled in the art can be used, so the description thereof is omitted here. Moreover, the bellows 16 is made to expand and contract with the shanghai east of the hollow rotating shaft 14. Furthermore, by providing the hollow rotating shaft 14 and the base 2 as separate bodies, a gap is formed between the hollow rotating shaft 14 and the base 2. In this gap, the bearings 15 are provided at two positions above and below, but as shown in FIG. 2, the magnetic seal 23 is formed at the portion enclosed with the bearings 15 so that air does not leak from the gap into the vacuum chamber 7. ) Is installed. Thereby, the sealing property between the hollow rotating shaft 14 and the base 2 can be ensured, and the thing which does not interfere with manufacture in the vacuum chamber 7 is eliminated. Then, the vertical movement and rotation of the hollow rotating shaft 14 cause the motor storage chamber 4 and the arm 3 to move and rotate.

In the present embodiment, the motor storage chamber 4 refers to a region above the hollow rotating shaft 14 and the base 2 and below the arm portion 3 (the region enclosed by the dotted line in FIG. 2). . The motor storage chamber 4 is filled with air, and an arm driving motor 6 for rotating the arm portion 3 is provided. Specifically, the arm drive motor 6 is provided in the motor accommodating portion 5 of the motor accommodating chamber 4. And around the arm drive motor 6, the cooling means 9 which wound the aluminum pipe 8 as a heat pipe in a spiral form is formed (refer FIG. 3). The upper end 9a (one end side) of the aluminum pipe 8 constituting the cooling means 9 is released inside the motor storage chamber 4. On the other hand, the lower end 9b (the other end side) of the aluminum pipe 8 which comprises the cooling means 9 is connected to the flexible resin tube 25 (refer FIG. 3). And this resin tube 25 is connected to the solenoid valve 100 (refer FIG. 2). Further, a flexible resin tube 25 is also connected between the solenoid valve 10 and the compressed air generating device (not shown in FIG. 2) outside the base 2. It goes without saying that the aluminum pipe 8 may be used as it is instead of the flexible resin tube 25. On the contrary, even if it is a resin pipe, if heat exchange with the arm drive motor 6 can be ensured to some extent, it can be used as a heat pipe.

Intensive cooling of the arm drive motor 6 is performed as follows. That is, the compressed air which flowed in from the compressed air generating apparatus (not shown in FIG. 2) provided outside the base 2 raises the inside of the resin tube 25 toward the motor storage chamber 4. The compressed air flows upward through the inside of the aluminum pipe 8 in a spiral direction via the lower end 9b of the aluminum pipe 8 constituting the cooling means 9, and then the aluminum constituting the cooling means 9. It flows out into the motor storage chamber 4 from the upper end 9a of the pipe 8. Here, by passing compressed air through the aluminum pipe 8 of the cooling means 9, heat exchange is performed between the cooling means 9 and the arm drive motor 6. As a result, the arm drive motor 6 is concentratedly cooled. Thus, in the industrial robot 1 shown in FIG. 2, the local cooling mechanism has cooling means 9 through which compressed air flows.

Compressed air flowing in a spiral upward direction in the aluminum pipe 8 constituting the cooling means 9 is provided from the upper end 9a of the aluminum pipe 8 constituting the cooling means 9 from the motor storage chamber 4. Spill out. The compressed air which flowed out flows to the base 2 after circulating inside the motor storage chamber 4 (see FIG. 3). By circulating air in such a motor storage chamber 4, the temperature of the motor storage chamber 4 is also easy to be kept low.

The arrangement relationship between the arm drive motor 6 and the motor accommodating portion 5 is set as follows. That is, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, in the motor accommodating part 5 in which the arm drive motor 6 was accommodated in the motor accommodating chamber 4, the motor accommodating part 5 It is preferable to set the distance G from the ceiling 5r of the upper end 6t of the arm drive motor to 1 / lO or less of the height L of the motor accommodating part 5. More specifically, it is preferable to design the distance G to 2 cm or less.

Thereby, miniaturization of the motor storage chamber 4 can be achieved. However, since the ceiling 5r of the motor accommodating portion 5 and the arm driving motor 6 come close to each other, the heat generated by the arm driving motor 6 is transferred to the ceiling 5r of the motor accommodating portion 5. It becomes easy to stay in the neighborhood. As a result, the temperature of the arm drive motor 6 rises easily. Therefore, securing the cooling of the arm drive motor 6 becomes more important, and the significance of performing intensive cooling by the cooling means 9 becomes larger.

On the other hand, from the ceiling 5r of the motor accommodating part 5 to the upper end 6t of the arm driving motor 6 so that the arm drive motor 6 does not contact the ceiling 5r of the motor accommodating part. The distance G is usually 1/40 or more of the height L of the motor housing portion 5. Specifically, the distance G is usually 5 mm or more.

In addition, "the distance from the ceiling of a motor accommodating part to the upper end of an arm drive motor" is the distance between the ceiling 5r of the motor accommodating part 5, and the upper end 6t of the arm driving motor 6. Is the corresponding distance in the smallest part. That is, in the industrial robot 1 of FIG. 3, since the ceiling 5r of the motor accommodating part 5 and the upper end 6t of the arm drive motor 6 are also planar, the said distance is constant. However, in an actual industrial robot, the case where the ceiling of a motor accommodating part and the upper end of an arm drive motor do not become a plane, respectively can also be considered. In this case, in the part where the ceiling of the motor accommodating part and the upper end of the arm driving motor approach most, the distance between the ceiling of the motor accommodating part and the upper end of the arm driving motor is "from the ceiling of the motor accommodating part. Distance to the upper end of the arm driving motor ”. In addition, "the height of a motor accommodating part" means the maximum distance from the bottom of a motor accommodating chamber to a ceiling in the area | region in which an arm drive motor exists in a motor accommodating chamber.

Next, the control mechanism using the 1st, 2nd temperature detection sensors 12 and 13 as a temperature detection sensor is demonstrated. As shown in FIG. 3, the pedestal 11 is provided in the arm driving motor 6. And the 1st temperature detection sensor 12 for detecting a cooling start temperature, and the 2nd temperature detection sensor 13 for detecting the stationary temperature of the industrial robot 1 are provided on the pedestal 11. As shown in the same figure, the 1st temperature detection sensor 12 and the 2nd temperature detection sensor 13 are arm drive motors 6, in order to detect the temperature of the arm drive motor 6 precisely. It is arranged in the vicinity of. By using the first and second temperature detection sensors 12 and 13 and the solenoid valve 10, the flow of compressed air to the cooling means 9 (cooling of the arm drive motor 6) is turned on and off. The control and the operation of stopping the operation of the industrial robot 1 are performed.

Control of on / off of the compressed air to the cooling means 9 is performed as follows. First, when the 1st temperature detection sensor 12 for detecting a cooling start temperature detects cooling start required temperature (for example, 40 degreeC), the solenoid valve 10 opens and the inflow of compressed air to the cooling means 9 is carried out. Initiate. Thereby, heat exchange is performed between the arm drive motor 6 and the cooling means 9, and the temperature of the arm drive motor 6 falls. And when the 1st temperature detection sensor 12 detects that the ambient temperature became below cooling start required temperature (for example, 40 degreeC) by cooling of the arm drive motor 6, a solenoid valve ( Compressed air is blocked by the operation of 10). By the above operation, cooling is performed only when cooling of the arm drive motor 6 is needed, and cooling cost can be reduced.

On the other hand, the forced stop of the industrial robot 1 is performed as follows. For example, when an unexpected situation such as a failure of the compressed air generating device or the solenoid valve 10, or a long time use exceeding the specification of the industrial robot 1 occurs, the arm driving motor 6 is kept at a high temperature (e.g., For example, high temperature exceeding 80 degreeC), and the case where the industrial robot 1 is in a dangerous state can also be considered. Therefore, in the industrial robot 1, when the circumference | surroundings of an arm drive motor reach | attains the high temperature as mentioned above (industrial robot stop temperature), and the 2nd temperature detection sensor 13 detects this, an error is outputted. The operation of the industrial robot 1 is forcibly stopped. The forced stop of the industrial robot 1 may be stopped by the second temperature detecting sensor 13 at the same time as detecting the industrial robot stop temperature (for example, 80 ° C). In addition, when the whole operation of the industrial robot 1 consists of several operation steps, and the industrial robot 1 operates one operation step among these operation steps, it is an industrial robot to the position which complete | finishes the operation step. There is also a method of forcibly stopping after operating (1). For the convenience of returning the industrial robot 1, it is preferable to use the latter forced stop method.

The control flow of the control mechanism using the 1st, 2nd temperature detection sensors 12 and 13 is demonstrated using FIG. 4 shows a control operation of on / off of the cooling operation according to the detection of the cooling start required temperature by the first temperature detection sensor 12 and detection of the industrial robot stop temperature by the second temperature detection sensor 13. It is a flowchart which shows a series of flow of the forced stop operation | movement of the industrial robot 1 which follows. Specifically, FIG. 4 shows a method of starting and stopping the cooling operation by inflow and stop of compressed air by opening and closing of the solenoid valve 10 described above, and forcibly terminating the industrial robot 1.

When the operation of the industrial robot 1 is started, as shown in FIG. 4, by the second temperature detection sensor 13 in step F1, the circumference of the arm driving motor 6 is set to the industrial robot stop temperature (example). For example, 80 ° C.) is detected. As long as the 2nd temperature detection sensor 13 does not detect 80 degreeC (as long as the 2nd temperature detection sensor 13 is turned off), it progresses to step F2. In step F2, the 1st temperature detection sensor 12 detects whether the circumference | surroundings of the arm drive motor 6 has reached cooling start required temperature (for example, 40 degreeC). Here, unless the 1st temperature detection sensor 12 detects 40 degreeC, the 1st temperature detection sensor 12 will maintain the OFF state, and cooling will not be performed (the solenoid valve 10 is closed, Cooling stop ”). On the other hand, when the 1st temperature detection sensor 12 detects 40 degreeC, the solenoid valve 10 will open, the inflow of compressed air into the cooling means 9 will start, and cooling of the arm drive motor 6 will begin. (The "cooling start" state).

Thereafter, the flow returns to step F1, and unless the second temperature detection sensor 13 detects 80 ° C, step F1 → step F2 → cooling start (continued) or cooling stop (continued in the stopped state) → step 1 Is repeatedly performed. However, when it is detected in step F2 that the ambient temperature of the arm drive motor 6 is 40 ° C. or lower by the first temperature detection sensor 12, the solenoid valve 10 is closed to allow inflow of compressed air. Shut off the system (“cooling stop” state). On the other hand, despite the cooling operation being performed or due to an unforeseen situation such as failure of the solenoid valve 10, the second temperature detection sensor 13 is 80 ° C in step F1 (industrial robot stop). When the temperature) is detected, the second temperature detection sensor 13 is turned on, and an error output is output to the software of the industrial robot 1 to forcibly stop the industrial robot 1.

Next, the rotation of the arm part 3 by the arm drive motor 6 is demonstrated. FIG. 5: shows typical sectional drawing which expanded the motor storage chamber and the arm part in FIG. In FIG. 5, the same code | symbol is used about the same element as FIG. In addition, in the typical cross section of FIG. 5, for the purpose of showing the characteristic structure of FIG. 5 clearly, it is not the rotation mechanism of the arm drive motor 6 and the 1st arm 3a (arm part 3). Description of predetermined elements is omitted as appropriate.

The timing pulley 17 is connected to the arm drive motor 6 as shown in FIG. On the other hand, the timing pulley 18 is also connected to the arm rotating shaft 21 via the arm drive reducer 20. The arm rotation shaft 21, the arm drive reducer 20, and the timing pulley 18 constitute a joint portion of the arm portion 3 (first arm 3a). And the timing pulley 17 and the timing pulley 18 hang the timing belt 19 for transmitting the power of the arm drive motor 6 side to the arm rotation shaft 21 side.

Rotation of the arm part 3 (1st arm 3a) is performed as follows. That is, the driving force according to the rotation of the arm driving motor 6 is transmitted to the timing pulley 18 and the arm drive reducer 20 via the timing pulley 17 and the timing belt 19. Since the arm drive reducer 20 is directly connected to the arm rotation shaft 21, the driving force is decelerated by the predetermined reduction ratio in the arm drive reducer 20 and transmitted to the arm rotation shaft 21. As a result, the arm rotating shaft 21 rotates. In this way, the rotational force by the arm drive motor 6 is transmitted to the arm part 3, and the arm part 3 performs a desired operation.

In addition, as the arm rotating shaft 21 is made rotatable, a gap is formed between the arm rotating shaft 21 and the outer wall of the motor storage chamber 4. Although the bearing 22 is provided in two places in this clearance, the magnetic seal 24 is installed in the part enclosed with the bearing 22 so that air may not leak in a vacuum chamber (not shown in FIG. 4) from this clearance. It is. Thereby, the sealing property between the arm rotation shaft 21 and the motor storage chamber 4 can be ensured, and there is no problem that the production in the vacuum chamber is disturbed.

Main effect of this embodiment

According to the industrial robot 1 shown in this embodiment, each of the following effects also becomes easy to express. (1) For example, it becomes easy to reduce the drive connecting parts such as the shaft and the gear pulley, and (2) the arm part 3 and the arm driving motor 6 as the driving source can be approached. 3) can improve the operation accuracy, (3) the rigidity of the drive system is easy to speed up, and (4) when the drive source is the arm drive motor (6), the inertia is small and small Since the motor becomes easy to use, the cost can be reduced at a low cost. (5) It is easy to wire a member for connection between the motor storage chamber 4 and other parts, and it is easy to disassemble, and it is easy to disassemble the bellows and the magnetic seal. It is easy to replace the regular replacement parts, and (6) the degree of freedom of the layout of the arm drive motor 6 is high, so that various operating mechanisms of the arm part 3 are easily achieved.

Second Embodiment

The following describes another preferred embodiment of the industrial robot of the present invention. It is preferable that the industrial robot of this invention has a some arm part, and is provided with a drive source (more specifically, an arm drive motor) and a local cooling mechanism for every arm part. The specific example of such an industrial robot is shown in FIG.

6 shows a schematic plan view and a schematic side view of an industrial robot of (double arm) type having two arms. Specifically, Fig. 6A shows a schematic plan view of an industrial robot of double arm type. FIG. 6B is a schematic side view of the double arm type industrial robot of FIG. 6A. In addition, in FIG. 6, the same code | symbol is used about the same element as FIG. 1, 2, 3, 5. FIG.

The industrial robot 30 has two arm parts 3, as shown in FIG. And each arm part has an arm drive motor (not shown in FIG. 5). Corresponding to each arm driving motor, the motor accommodating portion 5 in which the arm driving motor is accommodated is provided in the two motor accommodating chambers 4. By adopting the structure of such a double arm, it becomes possible to enter and exit flat members, such as glass, in a short time from a processing apparatus.

Third Embodiment

In the said 1st Embodiment and 2nd Embodiment, although the rotatable type was used as an arm part, in this invention, an arm part is not limited to the rotatable type. For example, you may use the slide type which can reciprocate as an arm part. In this embodiment, such a slide type arm part is used. Specifically, in this embodiment, the storage chamber in which the slide-type arm part and the drive source for reciprocating this arm part were accommodated is provided in the vacuum chamber.

An example of an industrial robot using a slide type arm part, comprising: a first arm reciprocating with a work holding part for holding a work; and a second arm connecting the first arm to reciprocate in the same direction as the first arm. The form which comprises an arm part is mentioned. And the reciprocating motion of this arm part is performed by providing the control apparatus which moves the arm part to a predetermined coordinate position, prioritizing the operation | movement of the said 1st arm. If the cooling of the driving source (for example, the motor) for moving the arm portion is performed locally, efficient and reliable cooling of the driving source is possible while ensuring the high precision operation of the arm portion.

Since the structure other than the said arm part should just be the same as that of the said 1st embodiment and 2nd embodiment fundamentally, description here is abbreviate | omitted.

[etc]

As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated using specific embodiment, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment. Although application examples of the present invention are considered in various ways, some of them are introduced below.

For example, the industrial robot of the present invention can be used as an apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor. Specifically, it can be used as an industrial robot which conveys a semiconductor substrate. In the semiconductor manufacturing process, a thin film of silicon or the like is formed on the substrate by a CVD (chemical vapor deposition method) process. Therefore, the temperature in a vacuum chamber becomes easy to rise, and the meaning of using the local cooling mechanism of this invention becomes large.

In addition, in the said embodiment, the aluminum pipe is used as a cooling means which comprises a local cooling mechanism. This comprehensively considers the thermal conductivity, rigidity, processing characteristics and the like of aluminum. However, when the local cooling mechanism of the present invention is formed of a heat pipe, the material of the heat pipe is not limited to aluminum. Copper, brass, etc. can also be used as materials other than aluminum.

Further, the local cooling mechanism has been described as an example of cooling using compressed air in the above embodiment, but the coolant is not limited to air, and water or antifreeze may be used. Moreover, it goes without saying that the cooling means can be used not only by winding the heat pipe in a spiral shape but also in various forms. For example, you may use the cooling means which adds a jacket to the external shape of a drive source (for example, a motor) like a water-cooled engine.

The industrial robot of the present invention is effective as an industrial robot used in a reduced pressure atmosphere, for example, a liquid crystal manufacturing device or a semiconductor manufacturing device.

Claims (9)

Having an arm part and a storage compartment arranged near the arm part and containing a driving source for operating the arm part; The arm portion and the storage chamber are installed in a chamber under a reduced pressure atmosphere, An industrial robot, wherein the storage chamber is provided with a local cooling mechanism for cooling the drive source. The method according to claim 1, The industrial robot which has a plurality of said arm parts, and equips each said arm part with a drive source and a local cooling mechanism. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The said local cooling mechanism is an industrial robot characterized by having cooling means formed by winding the heat pipe which can distribute the compressed air to the said drive source. The method according to claim 3, The heat pipe has an industrial robot, wherein one end of the heat pipe is released in the storage chamber so that the compressed air circulated in the heat pipe flows out into the storage chamber. The method according to claim 3 or 4, The local cooling mechanism has a temperature detection sensor, When the temperature detection sensor detects that the required temperature for cooling start has reached the periphery of the drive source, the flow of the compressed air is started to the cooling means, and the periphery of the drive source has reached the industrial robot stop temperature. An industrial robot, comprising: a control mechanism for stopping the operation of the industrial robot when a detection sensor is detected. The method according to claim 1, An industrial robot, which is subjected to a CVD (chemical vapor deposition method) process or an etching process in the chamber under the reduced pressure atmosphere. The method according to claim 1, And the arm portion is a rotatable arm portion or a reciprocating arm portion. The method according to claim 4, The compressed air flows upward through the inside of the heat pipe in a spiral direction through a lower end of the heat pipe, and then flows out from the upper end of the heat pipe into the motor storage chamber. . The method according to claim 5, The temperature detecting sensor includes a first temperature detecting sensor for detecting a cooling start temperature for cooling the inside of the storage chamber, and a second temperature detecting sensor for detecting a stop temperature of the industrial robot. Industrial robot.

Images