TWI700765B - Method for transferring a workpiece with a transfer apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A transfer apparatus including a frame, multiple arms connected to the frame, each arm having an end effector and an independent drive axis for extension and retraction of the respective arm with respect to other ones of the multiple arms, a linear rail defining a degree of freedom for the independent drive axis for extension and retraction of at least one arm, and a common drive axis shared by each arm and configured to pivot the multiple arms about a common pivot axis, wherein at least one of the multiple arms having another drive axis defining an independent degree of freedom with respect to other ones of the multiple arms.

Description

Method of transferring workpieces with transfer equipment

The exemplary embodiment relates generally to robotic systems and particularly to robotic handling equipment.

For example, in the semiconductor manufacturing industry, workpieces or semiconductor substrates can be processed in linear tool systems and/or group tool systems with parallel substrate holding stations. Generally, in these systems with side-by-side substrate holding stations, semiconductor manufacturers require independent radial robots that can transfer substrates to and from side-by-side substrate holding stations at approximately the same time or independently. Generally, this has been accomplished by providing two transfer arms with a spacing between the transfer arms, the spacing being approximately the same as the spacing between juxtaposed substrate holding stations. These transfer arms can be mounted on the bottom arm or linear rail. These transfer arms can also use linear drives to extend and retract the arms to and from the substrate holding station.

It would be advantageous to provide a single robot configured with two juxtaposed independent arms, each arm configured to operate on a common axis of rotation while having independent rotation motor actuation along respective radial axes. It would also be advantageous to provide a single robot configured with two independent arms, each arm configured to operate on a common axis of rotation while having independent rotation motor actuations along respective radial axes.

102E‧‧‧Load lock

100E1‧‧‧end

100E2‧‧‧end

R1‧‧‧Retractable

R2‧‧‧Retractable

210E‧‧‧End effector

211E‧‧‧End effector

212E‧‧‧End effector

213E‧‧‧End effector

GM1‧‧‧Guide member

GM2‧‧‧Guide member

GM3‧‧‧Guide member

GM4‧‧‧Guide member

510E‧‧‧Encoder

520E‧‧‧Encoder

BE1‧‧‧One end

BE2‧‧‧The opposite end

BE3‧‧‧One end

BE4‧‧‧The opposite end

810EM‧‧‧End effector extension member

811EM‧‧‧End effector extension member

812EM‧‧‧End effector extension member

813EM‧‧‧End effector extension member

810E‧‧‧End effector

813E‧‧‧End effector

811E‧‧‧End effector

812E‧‧‧End effector

SP‧‧‧End effector seating plane

100A‧‧‧Processing equipment

100B‧‧‧Processing equipment

100C‧‧‧Processing equipment

100D‧‧‧Processing equipment

100F1‧‧‧Small Noodles

100S1‧‧‧ side

100S2‧‧‧ side

100F8‧‧‧Small Noodles

100F2‧‧‧Small Noodles

100F3‧‧‧Small Noodles

101‧‧‧Atmosphere front end

102‧‧‧Vacuum load lock

102A‧‧‧Vacuum load lock

102B‧‧‧Vacuum load lock

102C‧‧‧Vacuum Load Lock

102D‧‧‧Vacuum load lock

103‧‧‧Vacuum back end

104‧‧‧Transfer unit module

104’‧‧‧Transfer unit module

104"‧‧‧Transfer unit module

104'''‧‧‧Transfer unit module

105‧‧‧Load port module

106‧‧‧Mini environment

107‧‧‧Load port

108‧‧‧Robot

110‧‧‧Controller

110A‧‧‧controller

110B‧‧‧controller

123A‧‧‧Sensor

123B‧‧‧Sensor

125A‧‧‧Transportation room

125B‧‧‧Transportation room

125C‧‧‧Transportation room

125D‧‧‧Transportation room

125‧‧‧Transportation room

130‧‧‧Processing station

130T1‧‧‧Parallel processing station

130T2‧‧‧ Parallel processing station

130S‧‧‧Single processing station

143‧‧‧Boom

144‧‧‧Linear bracket

200‧‧‧Drive

200F‧‧‧Frame

200FI‧‧‧Inside

201‧‧‧Drive

201’‧‧‧Drive

210‧‧‧Transfer arm

210B‧‧‧Bottom member

210R‧‧‧Rotor

210S‧‧‧Stator

211‧‧‧Transfer arm

211B‧‧‧Bottom member

212‧‧‧Transfer arm

213‧‧‧Transfer arm

214‧‧‧Linear sliding arm

215‧‧‧SCARA arm

216‧‧‧frog leg arm

217‧‧‧Leapfrog Arm

218‧‧‧Double symmetrical arms

220R‧‧‧Rotor

220S‧‧‧Stator

250‧‧‧Bottom member

250P‧‧‧Internal room

250C‧‧‧Outer cover

251‧‧‧Drive

251F‧‧‧Frame

251F2‧‧‧Second frame member

251F1‧‧‧First frame member

251M‧‧‧Opening

251’‧‧‧Drive

251F’‧‧‧Frame

252‧‧‧Drive

252F‧‧‧Frame

252’‧‧‧Drive

270‧‧‧Z axis drive

270C‧‧‧Support

275‧‧‧Telescopic seal

276‧‧‧Magnetic fluid seal

277‧‧‧Magnetic fluid seal

280‧‧‧Simplified harmonic drive motor

280S‧‧‧Drive shaft

281‧‧‧Shell

282‧‧‧Rotation drive unit

290‧‧‧Lead

296‧‧‧Encoder

300P‧‧‧Internal room

310‧‧‧Linear rail or sliding rail

310A‧‧‧The first linear rail or slide rail

310B‧‧‧Second linear rail or slide rail

311A‧‧‧The first linear rail or slide rail

311‧‧‧Linear rail or slide rail

311B‧‧‧Second linear rail or slide rail

320‧‧‧First drive motor

320S‧‧‧Sealed

321‧‧‧Second drive motor

321S‧‧‧Sealed

330A‧‧‧band

330B‧‧‧band

331A‧‧‧band

332B‧‧‧Drive pulley

332A‧‧‧Driven pulley

333A‧‧‧Drive pulley

333B‧‧‧Driven pulley

331B‧‧‧band

370‧‧‧Drive shaft

371‧‧‧Encoder

400‧‧‧Bridge member

410A‧‧‧Linear rail or slide rail

410B‧‧‧Linear rail or slide rail

410‧‧‧Pulley

411‧‧‧Pulley

412‧‧‧Transmission components

420‧‧‧Pulley

421‧‧‧Pulley

422‧‧‧Transmission components

510S‧‧‧Ball screw

510M‧‧‧Motor

510C‧‧‧Ball nut adapter or coupler

510‧‧‧Drive motor

520S‧‧‧Ball screw

520M‧‧‧Motor

520C‧‧‧Ball nut adapter or coupler

520‧‧‧Linear Motor

550‧‧‧Bottom member

550F‧‧‧Frame

550C‧‧‧Removable cover

550CS‧‧‧Sealing component

551‧‧‧Internal Room

560‧‧‧Telescopic or sealed support member

560M‧‧‧Installation components

560S‧‧‧Gap member

560B‧‧‧Telescopic seal

560SP‧‧‧Shaft

561‧‧‧Expandable or sealed support member

561M‧‧‧Mounting components

561S‧‧‧Gap member

561B‧‧‧Telescopic seal

561SP‧‧‧Shaft

565A‧‧‧Sealing component

565B‧‧‧Sealing component

566A‧‧‧Interface

566B‧‧‧Interface

566S‧‧‧Sealing component

575A‧‧‧Hole or opening

575B‧‧‧Hole or opening

588A‧‧‧Linear rail

588B‧‧‧Linear rail

597‧‧‧Tide falling or retaining member

599‧‧‧Arrow

600‧‧‧Rotating drive unit

600F‧‧‧Frame or shell

601‧‧‧Rotation drive unit

601F‧‧‧Frame or shell

605‧‧‧Transfer arm

606‧‧‧Transfer arm

610‧‧‧First drive motor

610S‧‧‧Stator

610R‧‧‧Rotor

620‧‧‧Second drive motor

620S‧‧‧stator

620R‧‧‧Rotor

640‧‧‧External drive shaft

645‧‧‧Coaxial drive shaft assembly

650‧‧‧Internal drive shaft

660‧‧‧Sealed

733A‧‧‧Drive pulley

733B‧‧‧Drive pulley

734A‧‧‧Idler

734B‧‧‧Idler

735A‧‧‧Idler

735B‧‧‧Idler

740‧‧‧Belt or belt

741‧‧‧belt or belt

800‧‧‧Drive

801‧‧‧Drive

801’‧‧‧Drive

810‧‧‧Single-stage linear sliding arm

811‧‧‧Single-stage linear sliding arm

812‧‧‧Single-stage linear sliding arm

813‧‧‧Single-stage linear sliding arm

850‧‧‧Drive

851‧‧‧Frame

851C1‧‧‧Shell or cover

851M‧‧‧Hole or opening

851C3‧‧‧Cover

851C2‧‧‧Cover

851C1’‧‧‧Shell

852‧‧‧Frame

853‧‧‧Transmission Department

860‧‧‧Sealed Motor Department

860S‧‧‧Sealing components

861‧‧‧Supporting member

901‧‧‧Middle space or opening

910A‧‧‧Idler

910B‧‧‧Idler

920‧‧‧Pulley

921‧‧‧Drive pulley

930‧‧‧Linear rail or guide member

931‧‧‧Linear rail or guide member

940‧‧‧Bracket or arm support

940M‧‧‧Arm mounting part

940B1‧‧‧Belt or belt

940B2‧‧‧Belt or belt

941‧‧‧Bracket or arm support

941M‧‧‧Arm mounting part

941B1‧‧‧Belt or belt

941B2‧‧‧belt or belt

973‧‧‧ Opening

974‧‧‧Open

997‧‧‧Sealing Department

998‧‧‧Sealing part

1000‧‧‧Fixed supporting member

1100‧‧‧Drive

1100D‧‧‧Drive shaft

1104‧‧‧Transfer unit module

1110‧‧‧Linear drive motor

1130‧‧‧Pivoting shell

1150‧‧‧Bottom member

1150’‧‧‧Bottom member

1200‧‧‧Drive

1200S‧‧‧Drive shaft

1200B‧‧‧Bearing

1220‧‧‧Pivoting housing

1250‧‧‧Sealed drive housing

1251‧‧‧Sealed drive housing

The above-mentioned aspects and other features of the embodiment of the present disclosure are described in the following description with reference to the drawings, in which: FIGS. 1A-1D are schematic diagrams of substrate processing equipment according to aspects of the embodiment of the present disclosure; FIGS. 1E and 1F are based on 1A-1D are schematic diagrams of parts of the substrate processing equipment in the aspect of the embodiment of the disclosure; FIGS. 2A-2D are schematic diagrams of the substrate handling equipment according to the aspect of the embodiment of the disclosure; FIG. 2E is the schematic diagram of the substrate handling equipment according to the aspect of the disclosure Fig. 2F-2J are schematic diagrams of the carrying arm according to the embodiment of the disclosure; Figs. 3A-3E are the substrate shown in Fig. 2A-2D according to the aspect of the embodiment of the disclosure A schematic diagram of a part of the conveying equipment; FIGS. 3F and 3G are schematic diagrams of the driving cross section according to the aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure; FIGS. 4A-4B are the substrate transfer shown in FIGS. 2A-2D according to the aspect of the embodiment of the disclosure A schematic diagram of a part of the equipment; FIGS. 5A-5C are schematic diagrams of the substrate handling equipment according to the aspect of the embodiment of the disclosure; FIGS. 5D and 5E are the substrate handling shown in FIGS. 5A-5C according to the aspect of the embodiment of the disclosure A schematic diagram of a part of the equipment; FIGS. 6A-6B are schematic diagrams of the substrate handling equipment according to the aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure; FIGS. 7A-7B are schematic diagrams of the substrate handling equipment according to the aspect of the embodiment of the disclosure; FIG. 7C is based on A schematic diagram of a substrate handling device according to an embodiment of the disclosure; FIGS. 8A-8B are schematic diagrams of a substrate handling device according to an aspect of the embodiment of the disclosure; FIGS. 9A-9F are FIG. 8A according to the aspect of the embodiment of the disclosure -8B is a schematic diagram of a part of the substrate handling equipment shown in the disclosure; FIGS. 10A-10B are schematic diagrams of the substrate handling equipment according to the aspect of the embodiment of the disclosure; FIGS. 11A-11D are the substrate handling aspects according to the aspect of the disclosure The schematic diagram of the equipment; and FIGS. 12A-12C are schematic diagrams of the substrate handling equipment according to aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[Content and Implementation of the Invention]

1A-1D are schematic diagrams of substrate processing equipment according to aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure. Although the aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings, it should be understood that the aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure can be implemented in many forms. Moreover, any suitable size, shape or type of elements or materials can be used.

The processing equipment 100A, 100B, 100C, and 100D such as, for example, a semiconductor tool station are displayed according to the aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure. Although the semiconductor tool station is shown in the figure, the aspect of the disclosed embodiment described in the text can be applied to any tool station or application using a robot arm. In one aspect, the processing equipment 100A, 100B, 100C, 100D is shown as having a group tool configuration (for example, having a substrate holding station connected to the central chamber), while in other aspects, the processing equipment may be a linear configuration tool, However, the aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure can be applied to any suitable tool station. The equipment 100A, 100B, 100C, 100D generally includes an atmosphere front end 101, at least one vacuum load lock 102, 102A, 102B, and a vacuum back end 103. The at least one vacuum load lock 102, 102A, 102B can be coupled to any suitable port or opening of the front end 101 and/or the rear end 103 in any suitable configuration. For example, in one aspect, the at least one load lock 102, 102A, and 102B can be arranged side by side in a common horizontal plane as seen in FIGS. 1B-1C. In another aspect, at least one load lock may be configured in a grid format such that at least two load locks 102A, 102B, 102C, 102D are arranged in columns (for example, with spaced horizontal planes) and rows (for example, with spaced apart The vertical plane) and the configuration shown in Figure 1E. In other aspects, the at least one load lock may be a single row load lock 102 as shown in FIG. 1A. In another aspect, the at least one load lock 102, 102E can be stacked in a row arrangement as shown in FIG. 1F. It should be understood that although the load lock system is explained on the end 100E1 or the small face 100F1 of the handling room 125A, 125B, 125C, 125D, in other aspects, one or several load locks can be configured in the handling room 125A, 125B, 125C , 125D on any number of sides 100S1, 100S2, ends 100E1, 100E2 or facets 100F1-100F8. Each of the at least one load lock may also include one or more wafer/substrate resting planes WRP (Figure 1F) in which the substrate is held on a suitable support in the respective load lock. In other aspects, the tool station can have any suitable configuration. The components of each of the front end 101, at least one load lock 102, 102A, 102B, and the back end 103 may be connected to the controller 110, which may be part of any suitable control architecture such as, for example, group architecture control. The control system can be a closed-loop controller with a main controller, a group controller, and an autonomous remote controller, such as disclosed in US Patent No. 7,904,182 issued on March 8, 2011 under the name "Scalable Motion Control System" , Its entire content is incorporated into the text as a reference. In other aspects, any suitable controller and/or control system can be used.

In one aspect, the front end 101 usually includes a load port module 105 and a mini environment 106 such as, for example, an equipment front end module (EFEM). The load port module 105 can be a box opener/load tool standard (BOLTS) interface that complies with SEMI standards E15.1, E47.1, E62, E19.5 or E1.9 for 300mm load ports, front openings or Bottom opening box/container and box. In other aspects, the load port module can be configured as 200mm wafer/substrate interface, 450mm wafer/substrate interface or any other suitable substrate interface, such as, for example, larger or smaller semiconductor wafer/substrate, flat panel display The flat panel, solar panel, marking sheet or any other suitable objects. Although three load port modules 105 are shown in FIGS. 1A-1D, any suitable amount of load port modules can be incorporated into the front end 101 in other aspects. The load port module 105 can be configured to receive the substrate carrier or cassette C from an overhead transport system, an unmanned transport vehicle, a personal transport vehicle, a rail vehicle, or any other suitable transport method. The load port module 105 can be connected to the mini environment 106 through the load port 107. The load port 107 can allow the substrate to pass between the substrate cassette and the mini environment 106. The mini-environment 106 generally includes any suitable transfer robot 108, which may incorporate one or several aspects of the disclosed embodiments described herein. In one aspect, the robot 108 may be a rail-mounted robot, for example, US Patent No. 6,002,840 issued on December 14, 1999; US Patent No. 8,419,341 issued on April 16, 2013, and issued on January 19, 2010 Of US Patent No. 7,648,327, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In other aspects, the robot 108 may be substantially similar to the back end 103 described in the text. The mini environment 106 can provide a controlled clean area for substrate transfer between multiple load port modules.

At least one vacuum load lock 102, 102A, 102B can be positioned and connected between the mini environment 106 and the back end 103. In other aspects, the load port 105 can be substantially directly coupled to at least one load lock 102, 102A, 102B or the transfer chamber 125A, 125B, 125C, 125D, wherein the substrate carrier C is pumped back to the transfer chamber 125A, The vacuum and substrate of 125B, 125C, and 125D are directly transferred between the substrate carrier C and the load lock or transfer chamber. In this aspect, the substrate carrier C can act as a load lock so that the processing vacuum of the transfer chamber extends into the substrate carrier C. As can be appreciated, if the substrate carrier C is substantially directly coupled to the load lock through a suitable load lock, any suitable transfer equipment can be set in the load lock or enter the carrier C in other ways for transferring the substrate to and from the substrate Carriage C. Note that the term "vacuum" as used herein can mean a high vacuum such as 10 ^-5 Torr or below, where the substrate is being processed. At least one load lock 102, 102A, 102B generally includes an atmosphere and vacuum slot valve. The slotted valve of the load locks 102, 102A, 102B (and for the processing station 130) can provide environmental isolation, used to evacuate the load lock after loading the substrate from the front end of the atmosphere and vent the lock with an inert gas such as nitrogen Keep the vacuum in the handling chamber. As described in the text, the slotted valves of the processing equipment 100A, 100B, 100C, 100D can be positioned on the same plane, different vertical stacking planes, or a combination of slotted valves positioned on the same plane and slotted valves positioned on different vertical stacking planes (As described above with respect to the load ports) to adjust the transfer of substrates to and from at least the processing station 130 and the load locks 102, 102A, 102B coupled to the handling chambers 125A, 125B, 125C, and 125D. The at least one load lock 102, 102A, 102B (and/or the front end 101) may also include an aligner or any other suitable substrate measuring equipment for aligning the fiducial point of the substrate to the required position for processing. In other aspects, the vacuum load lock can be positioned at any suitable position of the processing equipment and have any suitable configuration.

The vacuum rear end 103 generally includes transfer chambers 125A, 125B, 125C, 125D, one or more processing stations 130, and any appropriate number of transfer unit modules 104, which include one or more states that may include the disclosed embodiments described herein. One or several transfer robots. The handling chambers 125A, 125B, 125C, 125D can have any suitable shape and size, which, for example, complies with the SEMI standard E72 rules. The transfer unit module 104 and one or more transfer robots will be described below and can be at least partially positioned in the transfer chamber 125A, 125B, 125C, 125D to transfer the substrate to the load lock 102, 102A, 102B (or in the load Between the box C of the port) and different processing stations 130. In one aspect, the transfer unit module 104 can be removed from the transfer chambers 125A, 125B, 125C, and 125D as a module unit so that the transfer unit module 104 complies with SEMI standard E72 rules.

The processing station 130 may operate on the substrate through various deposition, etching or other types of processes to form circuits or other required structures on the substrate. Standard processes include but are not limited to thin film processes, which use vacuum such as plasma etching or other etching processes, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), plasma vapor deposition (PVD), implantation such as ion implantation, measurement, Rapid thermal processing (RTP), dry strip atomic layer deposition (ALD), oxidation/diffusion, nitride formation, vacuum lithography, epitaxy (EPI), wire bonding machine and other thin film processing using vaporization or vacuum pressure. The processing station 130 is communicably connected to the transfer chambers 125A, 125B, 125C, 125D in any suitable manner, such as through a slotted valve SV, to allow substrates to be transferred from the transfer chamber 125 to the processing station 130 and vice versa. The slotted valve SV of the handling chamber 125 can be configured to allow dual (for example, more than one substrate processing stations located in a common housing) or parallel processing stations 130T1, 130T2, single processing station 130S, and/or stacked processing modules/loads Lock (Figure 1E and 1F).

Note that when one or more arms of the transfer unit module 104 are aligned with the predetermined processing station 130, the substrate goes to and from the processing station 130, and is coupled to the load locks 102, 102A, and 125D of the handling chambers 125A, 125B, 125C, and 125D. The transfer of 102B (or cassette C) may occur. According to the aspect of the disclosed embodiments, one or several substrates can be transferred to respective predetermined processing stations 130 individually or substantially simultaneously (for example, such as when the substrates are selected/placed from parallel or tandem processing stations as shown in Figure 1B, 1C and 1D). In one aspect, the transfer unit module 104 can be mounted on the boom 143 (see, for example, FIG. 1D) or the linear support 144, such as described in the following documents, filed under the name "processing equipment" on October 18, 2013 US provisional patent application 61/892,849, filed on November 15, 2013 under the name "Processing equipment", US provisional patent application 61/904,908 filed on November 15, 2013 under the name "Substrate Processing Equipment" The international patent application PCT/US13/25513, the entire content of which is incorporated into the text for reference.

2A-2D, in one aspect, the transfer unit module 104 includes one or more driving parts 200, 201 and at least one transfer arm 210, 211, 212, 213. At least one driving part 200, 201 may include a common driving part 200, which includes a frame 200F that accommodates one or more Z-axis driving parts 270 and rotation driving parts 282. The interior 200FI of the frame 200F can be sealed in any suitable manner as described below. In one aspect, the Z-axis drive may be any suitable drive configured to move at least one transfer arm 210, 211, 212, 213 along the Z-axis. The Z-axis drive system is explained as a spiral drive in FIG. 2E but in other aspects the drive can be any suitable linear drive such as a linear actuator, a piezoelectric motor, and the like. The rotation driving part 282 may be configured as any suitable driving part such as, for example, a simple harmonic driving part. For example, the rotation driving part 282 may include any suitable amount of simple harmonic driving motors 280. In one aspect, the rotation driving part 282 shown in FIG. 2E includes a simple harmonic drive motor 280 for driving the shaft 280S. However, in other aspects, the driving part may include any appropriate amount of simple harmonic drive motors corresponding to, for example, , Any appropriate drive shaft in the coaxial drive system. The simple harmonic drive motor 280 can have a high-capacity output bearing so that the components of the magnetic fluid seals 276, 277 are coaxially supported by the simple harmonic drive motor 280 with sufficient stability and clearance rate and support at least partially in the transfer unit module 104 Need to rotate T and stretch R during the movement. Note that the magnetic fluid seals 276, 277 may include several components that form a substantially concentric coaxial seal as will be described below. In this example, the rotation driving portion 282 includes a housing 281 that houses the driving motor 280 in a manner substantially similar to that described in the following patents, such as US Patent Nos. 6,845,250, 5,899,658, 5,813,823, and 5,720,590, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. The magnetic fluid seals 276, 277 can be tolerated to seal the drive shaft 280S in the drive shaft assembly. Note that the drive shaft 280S may also have a hollow structure (for example, with a hole running longitudinally along the center of the drive shaft) to allow the lead wire 290 or any suitable item to be connected to, for example, another one mounted to the drive 200 through the drive assembly. A driving part (for example, such as the driving part 201) and/or at least one transfer arm 210, 211, 212, 213.

In one aspect, the housing 281 may be mounted to the bracket 270C coupled to the Z-axis drive 270 such that the Z-axis drive moves the bracket (and the housing 281 located thereon) along the Z axis. As can be appreciated, in order to seal the controlled atmosphere, at least one of the transfer arms 210, 211, 212, 213 operates inside the self-driving 200 (which can be operated in an ATM environment with atmospheric pressure) may include one or more of the above-mentioned magnetic fluid seals 276, 277 and telescopic seal 275. The telescopic seal 275 may have one end coupled to the bracket 270C and the other end coupled to any suitable part of the frame 200F1, so that the interior 200FI of the frame 200F is connected to the at least one transfer arm 210, 211, 212, 213 therein. Control atmosphere isolation.

In this aspect, the drive shaft 280S can be coupled to the drive portion 201 for rotating the drive portion 201 around the common axis CAX shared by each of the at least one transfer arm 210, 211, 212, 213 at the arrow T direction. Here, the driving part 201 may include a bottom member 250 and at least one driving part 251 and 252. In this aspect, there are two driving parts 251, 252, but in other aspects, any suitable amount of driving parts can be provided. The bottom member 250 includes a frame forming an internal chamber 250P. Each driving part 251, 252 also includes frames 251F, 252F forming an internal chamber 300P, and the internal chamber 300P is in sealed communication with the internal chamber 250P of the bottom member 250. As can be appreciated, each driving portion 251, 252 may include any suitable port, which may be sealed by, for example, any suitable outer cover 250C. As seen in FIG. 2B, the bottom member 250 may include first and second ends such that the driving portions 251, 252 are hermetically coupled to each of these ends. The driving part can be arranged at any suitable angle β relative to each other so that the extension/reduction axis of the arm mounted on it can extend through the ports of the transfer chamber 125A, 125B, 125C, 125D where the arms are located. For example, in one aspect, the angle β (which may be equivalent to the angle between the extension/retraction axis of the driving parts 251, 252) may be substantially the same as or equal to the angle α of the small face 100F1-100F8 of the transfer chamber 125A (Figure 1A). In other aspects, the angle β may be about 0 so that the extension/retraction axis (and the arm mounted thereon) of the driving part are substantially parallel to each other for extending through, for example, the transfer chamber 125B (FIG. 1B), 125C ( Figure 1C) and 125D (Figure 1D) side by side. In still other aspects, the angle β may be adjustable (manually or through automation, as described below) so that the extension/retraction axis of the driving parts 251, 252 can have any suitable angle β relative to each other. For example, the angle β may be adjusted between the angles of 0 and θ for extending through the port of the transfer chamber 125C (FIG. 1C) and/or for automatic workpiece centering as described below. In still other aspects, the angle β and/or the spacing between the driving parts can be fixed so that the arms of the transfer unit module 104 can be rotated through the common driving shaft CAX and independently extended or operated by each driving part 251, 252 And it extends through the port of the transfer module with beveled end face. The bottom member 250 can have any suitable length L1 to separate the shafts of the extension/retraction R1 and R2 of each driving part 251, 252 by a fixed distance. The fixed distance can meet or otherwise meet the matching requirements imposed by the system tool configuration ( For example, the distance between the ports of the module where the transfer unit module 104 is located).

Referring also to FIGS. 3A-3G, the driving parts 251 and 252 will be described about the driving part 251. It should be understood that the driving part 252 may be substantially similar to the driving part 251. As shown above, the driving part 251 includes a frame 251F, which may be a first frame member 251F1 and a second frame member 251F2 that are hermetically coupled to each other in any suitable manner. In other aspects, the frame may have any suitable configuration and be composed of any appropriate amount of frame components. The frame 251F may include holes or openings 251M configured to mount the frame 251F to the bottom member 250 in any suitable manner so that the internal chamber 300P of the driving part 251 is in sealed communication with the internal chamber 250P of the bottom member 250 so that the common atmosphere environment is shared. Between the internal chambers 250P and 300P and the inside of the housing 281 of the driving unit 200. In this aspect, the driving part 251 may be configured to support and drive the two transfer arms 212, 213. In other aspects, the driving part 251 may be configured to support and drive any suitable amount of transfer arms. The driving part 251 may include a first linear rail or sliding rail 310A, 310B (usually linear rail or sliding rail 310) and a second linear rail or sliding rail 311A, 311B (usually linear rail or sliding rail 311), for configuration To define the degree of freedom of the independent drive shafts for extending and retracting each of the respective transfer arms 212, 213. In this aspect, the driving part includes a first driving motor 320 and a second driving motor 321 for driving the respective arms 212 and 213 through, for example, a pulley drive transmission. Although the motor is explained as a rotary motor, in other aspects, any suitable motor and/or suitable drive transmission can be used, such as, for example, a direct linear motor, a linear piezoelectric electric motor, a linear induction motor, a linear synchronous motor, a brush Or brushless linear motors, linear stepping motors, linear servo motors, reluctance motors, etc. Examples of suitable linear motors are described in the following patents. For example, US Patent Application No. 13/286,186 filed on October 31, 2011 entitled "Linear Vacuum Robot with Z Motion and Articulated Arm", June 13, 2011 U.S. Patent Application No. 13/159,034 with the name "Substrate Processing Equipment" filed in Japan, and U.S. Patent No. 7,901,539, with the file name "Apparatus and Method for Carrying and Processing Substrates" issued on March 8, 2011, 2012 US Patent No. 8,293,066 was issued on October 23 under the name "Equipment and Method for Carrying and Processing Substrates", and on April 16, 2013 in the United States under the name "Linear Vacuum Robot with Z Motion and Articulated Arm" Patent No. 8,419,341, U.S. Patent No. 7,575,406 for "Substrate Processing Equipment" issued on August 18, 2009, and U.S. Patent No. 7,959,395 for "Substrate Processing Equipment" issued on June 14, 2011, and its entire contents Incorporated into the text as a reference.

The first and second driving motors 320 and 321 may be simple harmonic driving substantially similar to the driving motor 280 but in other aspects, the driving motors 320 and 321 may be any suitable driving motors. Each drive motor 320, 321 may have a separate seal 320S, 321S, such as a magnetic fluid seal for sealing the hole in the frame 251, and the drive shaft 370 of the motor 320, 321 extends through the frame 251 for coupling in any suitable manner To the respective driving pulleys 332B, 333A. The driving pulleys 332B, 333A can be coupled to the respective driven pulleys 332A, 333B in any suitable manner, such as through one or more belts. For example, the driving pulley 332B may be coupled to the driven pulley 332A through belts 330A, 330B. The driving pulley 333A can be coupled to the driven pulley 333B through belts 331A and 331B. The belts 330A, 330B, 331A, and 331B may be any suitable belts such as those described below, for example, the US Provisional Patent Application No. 61/869,870 filed on August 26, 2013 entitled "Basic Handling Equipment" The entire content is incorporated into the text for reference. As can be appreciated, the drive shaft described herein can have any suitable encoder, such as encoders 371, 296, 371 for detecting the position of the respective drive motor and transmitting one or several signals to any suitable controller, such as for example , The controller 110 is used to control the transfer unit module 104. As can also be appreciated, the sealed interior of the driving parts 251, 252 and the bottom member 250 allows the driving motors 320, 321 of each driving part 251, 252 to be located in an atmosphere separate from the environment in which the transfer arms 210-213 operate, or otherwise sealed . The sealed interior of the driving parts 251, 252 and the bottom member 250 may also allow a line or pipe route from the driving part 200 to the driving part 201.

2A-2D and 4A-4B again, the transfer arms 210-213 will be described with respect to the driving part 252 according to the aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure. In this aspect, the transfer arms 210-213 have a telescopic configuration but in other aspects, the transfer arms 210-213 may have any suitable configuration. Moreover, in this aspect, each driving part 251, 252 includes two telescopic arms 210-213, but in other aspects, any suitable amount of transfer arms can be provided on each driving part 251, 252. In this aspect, each transfer arm 210-213 includes bottom members 210B, 211B and end effectors 210E, 211E, and the end effectors 210E, 211E are movably coupled to respective bottom members 210B, 211B. Each bottom member 210B, 211B can have any suitable transmission and can be configured to drive the interior of the end effector along the extension/retraction axis. The inside of the bottom member may be exposed to the environment where the transfer arm operates but may include any suitable seal such as an air seal to prevent any particles from entering the environment or contacting the work piece being carried in the environment. Note that each end effector described herein includes an end effector seating plane SP in which the substrate is located when held by the end effector (FIG. 2D). The bottom member 210B may be movably coupled to the driving part 252 through the linear rails 310A and 310B so as to be movable relative to the driving part 252. The bottom member 211B may be movably coupled to the driving part 252 through the linear rails 311A and 311B so as to be movable relative to the driving part 252. Each arm 210, 211 has a degree of freedom defined by a separate rail so that the linear rails are parallel to each other defined by the degree of freedom of each transfer arm 210 and 211 (for example, the transfer plane of the end effector is set on the other Above). As can be appreciated, the transfer arms 212, 213 have similar degrees of freedom. As can also be appreciated, the degree of freedom defined by the linear rail arm 211 may be the same plane as the degree of freedom defined by the linear rail arm 212 (for example, the end effector of each transfer arm 211, 212 is located on the same plane ), and the degree of freedom defined by the linear rail by the arm 210 may be the same plane as the degree of freedom defined by the linear rail by the transfer arm 213 (for example, the end effector of each transfer arm 210, 213 is located on the same plane).

The bottom members 210B, 211B can be arranged side by side on the driving portion 252 to couple the bottom member 210B to at least one of the belts 330A, 330B, so that when the motor 320 drives the belts 330A, 330B, the bottom member 210B and the belts 330A, 330B At least one is driven in the direction of extension/retraction R together. The bottom member 211B is coupled to at least one of the belts 331A, 331B, so that when the motor 321 drives the belts 331A, 331B, the bottom member 211B and at least one of the belts 331A, 331B are driven in the direction of extension/retraction R together. In other aspects, the bottom members may have any suitable spatial arrangement relative to each other.

The bottom member 210B may include linear rails or sliding rails 410A, 410B, and is at least partially disposed inside the bottom member where the end effector 210E is movably installed for relative rotation of the bottom member 210B and the driving portion 252. The pulleys 410, 411, 420, 421 are rotatably installed at the end or any other suitable position within the interior of the respective bottom members 210B, 211B. One or several belts (similar to the above), a single continuous endless belt/belt, or any other suitable transmission member 412, 422 can be coupled to each of the pulleys 410, 411, 420, 421, respectively. In one aspect, each transmission member 412, 422 can be grounded to the frame 252F of the driving portion 252 so that the relative movement between the bottom members 210B, 211B and the frame 252F drives the respective transmission members 412, 422. The end effector 211E can be coupled to the transmission member 412 so that when the bottom member 211B moves in the direction of arrow R, the end effector also moves relative to the bottom member 211B at any suitable transmission ratio defined by the pulleys 410 and 411. The direction of arrow R. Similarly, the end effector 210E can be coupled to the transmission member 412 so that when the bottom member 210B moves in the direction of the arrow R, the end effector also has any suitable transmission ratio defined by the pulleys 420 and 421 relative to the bottom member. 210B moves in the direction of arrow R. As can be appreciated, the bridging member 400 can be provided on one of the end effectors such as the end effectors 211E, 212E so that the end effectors 211E, 212E can be positioned on the other end effector of the respective driving parts 251, 252 The upper part of 210E and 213E simultaneously allows the end effectors to pass each other up and down.

As shown above, the transfer arm system described here is explained as a telescopic arm (or a sliding arm as described below) for exemplary purposes only. However, in other aspects, the transfer arm may be any suitable transfer arm such as that used for the linear sliding arm 214 shown in FIG. 2G. In other aspects, the arms may be SCARA arms 215 (FIG. 2H) or other suitable arms with any suitable arm linkage mechanism. Suitable examples of arm linkage mechanisms can be found in the following patents, for example, US Patent No. 7,578,649 issued on August 25, 2009, US Patent No. 5,794,487 issued on August 18, 1998, and May 24, 2011 U.S. Patent No. 7,946,800, U.S. Patent No. 6,485,250 issued on November 26, 2002, U.S. Patent No. 7,891,935 issued on February 22, 2011, U.S. Patent No. 8,419,341 issued on April 16, 2013, and November 10, 2011 U.S. Patent Application No. 13/293,717 filed for "Dual-arm Robot" and U.S. Patent Application No. 13/861,693 filed for "Linear Vacuum Robot with Z Motion and Articulated Arm" on September 5, 2013 , Its entire content is incorporated into the text as a reference. In the aspect of the disclosed embodiment, at least one transfer arm can come from the conventional SCARA (Selectively Compliant Articulated Robot Arm) design, which includes an upper arm, a driven forearm and a forced end effector, or comes from a telescopic arm or Any other suitable arm design. Suitable examples of transfer arms can be found in the following patents. For example, US Patent Application Nos. 12/117,415 and 2010 filed on May 8, 2008 entitled "Substrate handling equipment with multiple mobile arms using mechanical switch mechanisms" US Patent No. 7,648,327 issued on January 19, the entire content of which is incorporated herein for reference. The operation of the transfer arm can be independent of each other (for example, the extension/retraction of each arm is independent of the other arms), can be operated through an out-of-position switch, or can be operated in any suitable way to connect so that the arms share at least A common drive shaft. In other aspects, the transfer arm can have any other desired configuration, such as the frog leg arm 216 (FIG. 2F) configuration, the leapfrog arm 217 (FIG. 2J) configuration, the double symmetrical arm 218 (FIG. 21) configuration State and so on. Suitable examples of transfer arms can be found in the following patents, US Patent No. 6,231,297 issued on May 15, 2001, US Patent No. 5,180,276 issued on January 19, 1993, US Patent No. 6,464,448 issued on October 15, 2002, U.S. Patent No. 6,224,319 issued on May 1, 2001, U.S. Patent No. 5,447,409 issued on September 5, 1995, U.S. Patent No. 7,578,649 issued on August 25, 2009, U.S. Patent No. issued on August 18, 1998 5,794,487, U.S. Patent No. 7,946,800 issued on May 24, 2011, U.S. Patent No. 6,485,250 issued on November 26, 2002, U.S. Patent No. 7,891,935 issued on February 22, 2011, and the name of the case filed on November 10, 2011 US Patent Application No. 13/293,717 for "dual-arm robot" and US Patent Application No. 13/270,844 for "Coaxial Drive Vacuum Robot" filed on October 11, 2011, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference .

5A-5E, the transport unit module 104' is explained according to the aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure. The handling unit module 104' is substantially similar to the aforementioned handling unit module 104 and includes driving parts 200, 201'. Here, the driving part 201' includes a bottom member 550 having a frame 550F forming an internal chamber 551. In one aspect, the inner chamber 551 may include a removable cover 550C and any suitable sealing member 550CS for sealing the interface between the outer cover 550C and the frame 550F when the outer cover 550C and the frame 550F are paired. The internal chamber may communicate with the inside of the driving part 200 in a manner substantially similar to that described above. In this aspect, the driving parts 251, 252 may be movably mounted to the bottom member 550 of the driving part 201' in any suitable manner to provide the arms of the driving parts 251, 252, which have an extension/retraction R relative to the arm. The shaft has a degree of freedom of bevel.

In one aspect, the driving part may include telescopic or sealing support members 560, 561 for movably supporting each of the driving parts 251, 252. Each of the telescopic members 560, 561 may include gap members 560S, 561S, which are movably connected to the mounting members 560M, 561M in any suitable manner such as through telescopic seals 560B, 561B. The mounting members 560M, 561M are configured to be coupled to the frame 550F in any suitable manner so that the gap members 560S, 561S are inserted at least partially into the internal chamber 551 through respective holes or openings 575A, 575B. In one aspect, any suitable sealing members 565A, 565B can be arranged between the mounting members 560M, 561M and the frame 550F for maintaining the sealed environment in the internal chamber 551. In one aspect, the telescopic seals 560B, 561B can be made of any suitable material and have any suitable configuration to provide axial support in the X and Z directions of the gap members 560S, 561S, for example. In other aspects, the gap members 560S, 561S may be axially supported by any suitable means such as linear rails, sleeves, bearings, etc., which are at least partially located in the internal chamber 551 and sealed from the environment where the arm operates. For example, the frame 550F may include one or more linear rails 588A, 588B arranged in the inner chamber 551 (FIG. 5E). Each gap member 560S, 561S can be fixedly mounted to or includes one or several guide rail members GM1, GM2, GM3, GM4, and is configured such that the gap members 560S, 561S linearly move along the linear rail in the direction of arrow 599 and pass through the linear rail. Rails 588A and 588B are supported in the X and Z directions.

Each gap member 560S, 561S includes an interface 566A, 566B, and is configured to couple the gap member 560S, 561S to the respective driving portion 251, 252 in any suitable manner so that the internal passage IP of the gap member 560S, 561S promotes the internal chamber 551 and The atmosphere communication between the internal chambers 300P of the respective driving parts 251 and 252 allows, for example, the passage of wires and pipelines between the bottom member 550 and the respective driving parts 251 and 252. As can be appreciated, any suitable damp or holding member 597 can be provided in the internal chamber 551 for holding or otherwise fixing the moving side of any wire, pipeline, etc. passing through the internal passage IP of the gap member 560S, 561S. In one aspect, any suitable sealing member 566S can be arranged between the interfaces 566A, 566B and the respective frames 251F, 252F so that the internal atmosphere of the internal chambers 551, 300P can be sealed in the environment where the transfer arm operates.

Each gap member 560S, 561S may include a shaft portion 560SP, 561SP, which forms an internal passage IP and extends through the holes 575A, 575B at least partially into the internal chamber 551 of the bottom member 550. One or more drivers 510, 520 can be configured in any suitable manner in the bottom member 550 for dividing linear motion (for example, along the Y axis in the direction of arrow 599) to at least one gap member 560S, 561S and coupling to The driving parts 251, 252. As can be appreciated, the movement of the driving parts 251, 252 in the direction of the arrow 599 also provides movement of the transfer arms 210-213 mounted to the driving parts 251, 252. In one aspect, the drivers 510 and 520 may be any suitable linear drivers such as ball screw drivers having motors 510M, 520M, ball screws 510S, 520S driven by the motors, and ball nuts conveyed along the ball screws. The ball nut can be integrated or otherwise coupled to the ball nut adapter or coupler 510C, 520C. The couplers 510C, 520C are fixedly connected to the respective gap members 560S, 561S and include a ball nut for engaging the ball screw so that the gap members 560S, 561S are coupled to the respective drivers 510, 520. In one aspect, the couplers 510C, 520C are coupled to, for example, one or more guide members GM1, GM2, GM3, GM4 of the respective gap members 560S, 561S. In other aspects, the couplers 510C, 520C can be substantially It is directly coupled to or integrated with the shaft portions 560SP, 561SP of the respective gap members 560S, 561S. Here, the drive shafts of the respective drivers 510 and 520 are arranged substantially along the Y axis (for example, substantially parallel to the direction of movement 599 of the gap members 560S, 561S) so that when the ball screw rotates, the couplers 510C, 520C Move the ball screw in the direction of arrow 599 to move the respective gap members 560S and 561S in the direction of arrow 599. Although the drivers 510 and 520 are described as linear ball screw drivers, in other aspects, these drivers can be direct drive linear motors, linear piezoelectric electric motors, linear induction motors, linear synchronous motors, brushes or brushless linear motors , Linear stepper motor, linear servo motor, reluctance motor or any other suitable linear drive. In other aspects, the rotary motor can be configured to drive the gap members 560S, 561S (and the arm located thereon) in the direction of arrow 599 through any suitable transmission member.

Although the driving part 201' is illustrated as having two linear actuators 510, 520 in FIGS. 5A-5E for moving the transfer arms 210-213 relative to each other and/or the bottom member 550 along the Y axis in the direction of the arrow 599, In other aspects, the driving part 201 ′ may be configured with a linear driver so that only one driving part 251, 252 can move relative to the bottom member 550 and/or other driving parts 251, 252 along the Y axis. As can be appreciated, the movement of one or more driving parts 251, 252 provides for changing the distance D between the extension/retraction R1 and R2 axes of the driving part 251, 252 or the extension/retraction R1 and R2 of the respective axes and rotation The distance between the common axis of CAX is D1, D2. The displacement of one or several axes of extension/retraction R1 and R2 can allow when the transfer arm 210-213 picks or places the workpiece to the processing station 130, such as between the small surfaces of the handling modules 125A, 125B, 125C, and 125D. Automatic workpiece centering and/or independent workpiece configuration adjustment when the position of the workpiece holding station changes. For example, referring to FIG. 1B, the driving part 200 may rotate the bottom member 550 so that the axes of extension/retraction R1, R2 face the processing stations 130T1, 130T2. One or more axes of extension/retraction R1 and R2 can be moved along the Y axis in the direction of arrow 599 for aligning the extension/retraction axis and the workpiece holding station at one or the other according to any suitable automatic workpiece centering program or calculation. Several processing stations 130T1 and 130T2. For example, one or more sensors 123A, 123B can be arranged adjacent to the respective processing stations 130T1, 130T2 for detecting one or more characteristics of the workpieces carried by the arms 210-213. The one or more sensors 123A, 123B can transmit any suitable signal to, for example, any suitable controller such as the controller 110 for determining the center of the workpiece S. The controller 110 can control one or more drives of the transfer unit module 104' to configure the respective shaft systems of extension/retraction R1 and R2 so that the center of the workpiece S is aligned with the predetermined position of the workpiece holding station of the processing station 130T1, 130T2 quasi. In one aspect, the two axes of extension/retraction can be shifted for automatic workpiece centering and/or independent workpiece configuration adjustments, for example, between the small faces of the transfer modules 125A, 125B, 125C, and 125D. . In other aspects, the linear motor 520 is operable to move the driving part 251 to displace the unique axis of the extension/retraction R1 so that the center of the workpiece S is aligned with the predetermined position of the workpiece holding station in the processing station 130T1. In another aspect, the linear motor 510 is operable to move the driving part 252 to align the shaft system of only extending/retracting R2 with the workpiece holding station in the processing station 130T2. Suitable examples of automatic workpiece centering can be found in the following documents. For example, US Patent Application Nos. 13/617,333 and April 2011 filed on September 14, 2012 called "Wafer Center Search with Karman Filter" The US Patent No. 7,925,378 was issued on 12th, entitled "Processing equipment centered by workpieces in transit", and US Patent No. 7,859,685 was issued on December 28, 2010, entitled "Wafer Center Search with Charge Coupled Device" , US Patent No. 8,270,702 issued on September 18, 2012 called "Wafer Center Search with Karman Filter", US Patent No. 7,792,350 issued on September 7, 2010 called "Wafer Center Search", US Patent No. 7,894,657 issued on February 22, 2011 entitled "Wafer Center Search", US Patent No. 8,125,652 issued on February 28, 2012 entitled "Wafer Center Search with Charge Coupled Device", and US Patent No. 8,253,945 was issued on August 28, 2012, entitled "Wafer Center Search with Charge Coupled Device". The entire content is incorporated into the text for reference. As can be appreciated, one or more encoders 510E, 520E substantially similar to the above can be provided to detect the position of the drive motors 510, 520 and/or the arms 210-213 (and the workpieces held thereon) along the Y axis The displacement is used to realize the automatic workpiece centering and/or independent workpiece configuration adjustment when the position of the workpiece holding station between the small faces changes.

6A and 6B, the transfer unit module 104" is explained based on the aspect of the disclosed embodiment. The transfer unit module 104" may be substantially similar to the aforementioned transfer unit module 104'. In this aspect, the rotation driving parts 600 and 601 are coupled to the telescopic members 560 and 561 in a manner substantially similar to the aforementioned driving parts 251 and 252. One or more suitable transfer arms 605, 606 (such as the transfer arms described above in relation to FIGS. 2F-2J or any other suitable transfer arms that can be driven by a rotating motor) can be drive-mounted to each of the rotating drive parts 600, in any suitable manner. 601. In this aspect, each rotation driving part 600, 601 includes a frame or housing 600F, 601F, a first drive motor 610, and a second drive motor 620 mounted to the frame 600F, 601F in any suitable manner. The motor configuration can be a coaxial motor configuration as shown or in other aspects, and the motors can be arranged in parallel. The drive motor may be any suitable motor, such as, for example, a piezoelectric electric motor, an induction motor, a synchronous motor, a brush or brushless motor, a linear stepping motor, a servo motor, a reluctance motor, a simple harmonic drive motor, and the like. The first motor 610 may include a stator 610S and a rotor 610R. The second motor 620 may include a stator 620S and a rotor 620R. In this aspect, the coaxial drive shaft assembly 645 is at least partially rotatably supported in the frames 600F, 601F in any suitable manner such as, for example, substantially non-contact (for example, with a self-bearing motor) or with any suitable bearing. . The coaxial drive shaft assembly 645 includes an outer drive shaft 640 and an inner drive shaft 650. The rotor 610R can be coupled to the outer drive shaft 640 in any suitable manner so that when the rotor 610R rotates, the drive shaft 640 rotates therewith. In other aspects, any suitable amount of drive motors can be provided in each of the rotary driving parts 600 and 601 for driving any suitable amount of drive shafts. In one aspect, the rotors 610R, 620R and the drive shaft assembly 645 can be arranged in an environment where the transfer arms 605 and 606 operate. Any suitable seal 660, such as potting, can be arranged between the stators 610S, 620S and their respective rotors 610R, 620R to isolate the stators or seal the environment in which the transfer arms 605, 606 operate and are arranged in and drive The inside of the part 200 and the bottom member 550 are in a common atmosphere environment. In other aspects, one or more magnetic fluid seals may be provided around each drive shaft 640, 650 for the environment where the transfer arms 605, 606 are operated to seal the rotor 210R, 220R and the stator 210S, 220S. Suitable examples of the rotary drive unit can be found in the following documents. For example, the United States Patent Application No. 13/270,844 filed on October 11, 2011 under the name "Coaxial Drive Vacuum Robot", and filed on October 5, 2012 U.S. Patent Application No. 13/646,282 for "Robot Drive Using Magnetic Mandrel Bearings", issued on February 24, 1998, U.S. Patent No. 5,720,590 entitled "Articulated Arm Transfer Device", issued on May 4, 1999 U.S. Patent No. 5,899,658 with the name "Articulated Arm Transfer Device", U.S. Patent No. 5,813,823 with the name "Articulate Arm Transfer Device" issued on September 29, 1998, and the U.S. Patent No. 5,813,823 issued on October 9, 2012 with the name "Used "Robot Drive with Magnetic Mandrel Bearing" US Patent No. 8,283,813, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. In other aspects, one or more of the driving parts 600, 601 (or any of the other driving parts 251, 252, 251', 252', 850, and 851 described in the text) may also include a Z-axis drive 600Z, 601Z is configured to move one or more arms attached to the arms relative to the other driving parts 600 and 601.

Referring now to FIGS. 7A-7C, the transfer unit module 104'" is explained based on the aspect of the disclosed embodiment. The transfer unit module 104"' may be substantially similar to the transfer unit module 104 described above. In this aspect, the driving parts 251', 252' may include a driving system having pulleys substantially parallel to the seat plane of the end effectors 210E-213E, and the driving motors 320, 321 of each arm 210-213 are positioned at Bottom member 201'. The driving part 251' will be explained with reference to FIG. 7A, however, it should be understood that the driving part 252' is substantially similar to the driving part 251'. The driving part 251' includes a frame 251F' which can have any suitable size, shape and/or configuration. Although the frame 251F' is illustrated as a flat plate for exemplary purposes, in other aspects, the frame 251F' may include any suitable outer cover for accommodating the drive transmission so that the outer cover is configured to substantially prevent any damage caused by the drive transmission. The particles enter the environment with arms. The frame 251F' may include any suitable rails or guide members similar to the above-mentioned transfer unit modules 104, 104' on which the respective bottom members 210B, 211B are movably mounted. Each driving motor 320, 321 may include a driving shaft, which is coupled to a respective driving pulley 733A, 733B for driving the respective belts or belts 740, 741, which may be substantially similar to the above. As can be appreciated, any suitable idlers 734A, 734B, 735A, 735B can be provided and mounted to the frame 251F' for guiding the belts or belts 740, 741 adjacent to the respective bottom members 210B, 211B so that the belts or belts can be as described above The method is fixedly coupled or anchored to the bottom member for driving the respective arms 210, 211. As can also be appreciated, the bottom member 201' may be suitably sealed, such as the outer cover 250C, so that the motor system is located in the same atmospheric environment as the driving part 200. Although two driving parts are shown to be installed to the bottom member 201' in FIG. 7A, in other aspects, about two driving parts can be installed to the bottom member 201'. For example, Figure 7C illustrates a single drive unit with two arms mounted to the bottom 201'. As can be appreciated, the single driving part shown in FIG. 7C may be substantially similar to the three-axis driving described above. In one aspect, one drive shaft of the three-axis drive can be coupled to the pulley for extending/retracting the drive arm 210, and one of the three-axis drive can be coupled to the frame 251F for the rotating arms 210 and 211 'As a unit, and one shaft driven by three shafts can be coupled to the pulley for extending/retracting the driving arm 211.

Referring now to FIGS. 8A-9D, the transfer unit module 104'" is explained based on the aspect of the disclosed embodiment. The transfer unit module 104"' may be substantially similar to the transfer unit module 104 described above. In this aspect, the driving parts 800 and 801 are configured with single-stage linear sliding arms 810-813. In this aspect, each driving portion 800, 801 includes a frame 851, 852 having a sealed motor portion 860 and a transmission portion 853. The driving parts 800 and 801 will be described with respect to the driving part 801, but it should be understood that the driving part 800 is substantially similar and may be in the opposite direction as shown in Fig. 8A. The sealed motor part 860 may include a housing or an outer cover 851C1 fixedly mounted to the frame 851 and configured to accommodate the motors 320 and 321. The housing 851C1 can be sealed to the frame with any suitable sealing member 860S so that the motors 320 and 321 are arranged in the atmosphere environment common to the atmosphere environment in the driving part 200. In a manner substantially similar to the above, the housing 851C1 may include a hole or opening 851M configured to mount the housing 851C1 to the sealing support member 560 in any suitable manner, such as the above. As can be appreciated, the housing 851C1 can be constructed of any suitable material and configured to support (for example, when coupled to the sealing support member 560), the frame 851, the drive assembly, any of the arms 812, 813 and the arms 812, 813. Artifact. The motors 320, 321 can be mounted to the frame 251 in any suitable manner so that, for example, the magnetic fluid seal 320S of the respective motors 320, 321 seals the respective openings 973, 974 in the frame 851 through which the drive shaft 370 extends to maintain the seal. The sealed atmosphere in the motor section 860.

One or more linear rails or guiding members 930, 931 can be mounted to the frame 851 in the transmission portion 853 in any suitable manner to define the degree of freedom of the independent drive shaft of at least one arm 812, 813. In this aspect, there are two guide rails 930, 931 arranged along the X axis or the extension/retraction R axis of the arms 812, 813. However, in other aspects, any appropriate amount of rails can be provided for guiding Any appropriate amount of arms. The bracket or arm supports 940, 941 can be mounted to respective rails so as to be supported by the rails and movable along the X axis (for example, along the axis of extension/retraction R). In this aspect, the bracket 940 is movably installed to the guide rail 930 and the bracket 941 is movably installed to the guide rail 931. Each bracket may include arm mounting parts 940M, 941M to which respective arms 812, 813 are fixedly attached. The brackets 940 and 941 can be configured in any suitable manner so that one bracket 940 and 941 allows the other of the brackets 940 and 941 to pass along the axis of extension/retraction R. The bracket 940 can be coupled to the motor 320 and the bracket 941 can be coupled to the motor 321 via any suitable drive transmission (or vice versa). In one aspect, the driving pulley 921 may be coupled to the shaft 370 of the motor 320 such that the driving pulley 921 rotates when the shaft 370 rotates. The idler pulleys 910A, 910B may be substantially arranged at opposite ends of the guide rails 930, 931 and configured so that one or more belts or belts may at least partially surround the idler pulleys 910A, 910B. Referring also to FIGS. 9E and 9F, one or more belts or belts 940B1, 940B2 (eg, substantially similar to those described above) can couple the driving pulleys 920, 921 to the respective brackets 940, 941. For example, referring to the driving pulley 921 and the bracket 940, the first belt/belt 940B1 may be fixedly coupled to the pulley 921 at one end BE1 of the belt/belt 940B1. The belt/belt 940B1 may at least partially surround the idler 910A and extend to the bracket 940 such that the other opposite end BE2 of the belt/belt 940B1 is fixedly coupled to the bracket 940. The second belt/belt 940B2 may be fixedly coupled to the pulley 921 at one end BE3 of the belt/belt 940B2. The belt/belt 940B2 may at least partially surround the idler pulley 910B and extend to the bracket 940 (for example, from a direction opposite to the first belt/belt 940B1) so that one of the first and second belts/belts 940B1, 940B2 The bracket is pulled up and the other belt/belt 940B1, 940B2 pushes the bracket) so that the opposite end BE4 of the belt/belt 940B2 is fixedly coupled to the bracket 940. The same is that as for the bracket 941, the first belt/belt 941B1 may be fixedly coupled to the pulley 920 at one end of the belt/belt 941B1. The belt/belt 941B1 may at least partially surround the idler 910A and extend to the bracket 941 such that the other opposite end of the belt/belt 941B1 is fixedly coupled to the bracket 941. The second belt/belt 941B2 may be fixedly coupled to the pulley 920 at one end of the belt/belt 941B2. The belt/belt 941B2 may at least partially surround the idler pulley 910B and extend to the bracket 941 (for example, from a direction opposite to the first belt/belt 941B1) so that one of the first and second belts/belts 941B1, 941B2 The bracket is pulled up and the other belt/belt 941B1, 941B2 pushes the bracket) so that the opposite end of the belt/belt 941B2 is fixedly coupled to the bracket 941.

In one aspect, the transmission part 853 can be exposed to the atmosphere where the arms 812, 813 operate but can include one or more outer covers to substantially prevent any particles generated by the belt/belt, pulley, and/or bracket/rail from entering the Environment and contact the workpiece held by the arms 812, 813. In one aspect, the outer cover 851C3 can be placed on at least a part of the transmission part 853, such as on at least a part of the driving pulleys 920 and 921. The outer cover 851C3 may include a sealing portion 998 disposed adjacent to the guide rails 930 and 931. The outer cover 851C2 can also be placed on the guide rails 930, 931 and configured so that the brackets 940, 941 span their respective guide rails 930, 931. The outer cover 851C2 may include a sealing portion 997 such that the sealing portions 997 and 998 extend toward each other. In one aspect, a space or opening 901 can be provided between the sealing portions 997, 998 so that the arm mounting portions 940M, 941M of the brackets 940, 941 can extend through the space or opening 901 for connecting to respective arms 812, 813 and so that the respective arms 812 and 813 are arranged above each other. The sealing portions 997 and 998 can form an air seal to substantially contain any particles in the outer covers 851C2 and 851C3 while allowing the arms 812 and 813 to extend/retract.

In other aspects, the one or more carriages can be substantially directly driven by any suitable linear motors such as those described above. For example, in one aspect, the transmission part 853 can operate with its own arms 812 and 813, so that the common atmosphere is shared between the transmission part 853 and the driving part 200 in a manner substantially similar to that described above with respect to the sealed motor part 860 . The guide rails 930 and 931 may be disposed outside the transmission part and include brackets 940 and 941 and an outer cover including sealing parts 997 and 998. Each bracket may have a magnetic follower attached to it, which is through the magnetic coupling between the magnetic follower and the magnetic drive in a manner substantially similar to that described in the following documents through, for example, the transmission part 853 The wall or outer cover is magnetically driven by a magnetic active member, for example, US Patent Nos. 7,901,539, 8,293,066, 8,419,341 and US Patent Application No. 13/286,186, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. In other aspects, each bracket 940, 941 may include a magnetic roller, which is driven by a linear array of motor coils arranged in the sealed atmosphere of the transmission part 853 in a manner substantially similar to that described above, for example, US Patent Nos. 7,575,406, 7,959,395 and US Patent Application No. 13/159,034, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

In one aspect, each arm 810-813 includes an end effector 810E-813E, which is coupled to a respective bracket 940, 941 through a substantially rigid arm or end effector extension member 810EM-813EM. For example, the substantially rigid arm portions 810EM-813EM may be fixedly coupled to the respective arm mounting portions 940M, 941M of the respective brackets 940, 941 in any suitable manner, such as through mechanical fasteners. The end effectors 810E-813E are fixedly coupled to the respective substantially rigid arms 810EM-813EM in any suitable manner, such as through mechanical fasteners. In other aspects, the substantially rigid arm portions 810EM-813EM and the respective end effectors 810E-813E may have a single-piece structure. In other aspects, the substantially rigid arm portions 810EM-813EM, the respective end effectors 810E-813E, and the respective brackets 940 and 941 may have a single-piece structure.

As can be seen from the above, each end effector 810E-813E extends/contracts independently along the respective axes of extension/retraction R1, R2. As can also be seen from the above, each of the driving parts 800, 801 can move independently of the other of the driving parts 800, 801 along the Y axis to change the distance D or the distance between the respective axes of extension/retraction R1 and R2. Change the distance D1, D2 (see Figure 5A) of one or several axes of extension/contraction relative to the common axis of the rotating CAX, in a manner similar to the above, for example, for small transfer modules 125A, 125B, 125C, 125D Automatic workpiece centering and/or independent workpiece configuration adjustment when the position of the workpiece holding station between the faces changes. 10A and 10B, in one aspect, one of the driving parts 800, 801 can move along the Y axis and/or the common axis CAX relative to the other driving part 800, 801, while the other driving part 800, 801 has relative It is fixed distance D1, D2 on the common axis CAX and cannot move along the Y axis. For example, the driving part 800 may be movably mounted to the bottom member 550 through the sealing support member 560 so as to move along the Y axis through the driver 510 disposed in the bottom member 550. The driving part 801 may be fixedly mounted to the bottom member 550 through the fixed support member 1000, wherein the fixed support member is configured to allow at least the atmosphere communication between the motor part 860 and the driving part 200 to be sealed.

11A and 11B, one or more of the driving parts 800, 801' can be pivoted relative to the other of the driving parts 800, 801' for changing the angle β between the axes of extension/retraction R1, R2 and It is used to allow automatic workpiece centering and/or independent workpiece configuration adjustment for, for example, changes in the position of the workpiece holding station between the small faces of the transfer modules 125A, 125B, 125C, and 125D. For example, the transfer unit module 1104 that may be substantially similar to the one or more transfer unit modules described above may include a bottom member 1150 that is substantially similar to the bottom member 550. In this aspect, the midsole member 1150 may be configured to be coupled to the driving portion 800 in any suitable manner such as, for example, through the fixing support member 1000. The bottom member 1150 may also be configured for coupling with the driving portion 801' (which may be substantially similar to the driving portion 801 described above). Here, the bottom member may include any suitable driver 1100 (which may be substantially similar to one or more of the above drivers 280, 320, 321, 610, 620). The drive shaft 1100D may extend through the wall of the bottom member 1150 for coupling to the housing 851C1' (which may be substantially similar to the housing 851C1 described above) so that the drive part 801 and the arms 812, 813 can pivot about the common axis X1 at the arrow The direction of T2 is used to change the angle β. As can be appreciated, the one or more workpieces held by the driving part 800 can pass through. For example, rotating two driving parts as a unit around the axis CAX for centering, while the one or more workpieces held by the driving part 801' can pass through The drive unit 800' is rotated around the axis X1 to perform centering.

In other aspects, as can be seen in FIG. 11C, the driving portion 800' (which may be substantially similar to the driving portion 801') and the driving portion 801' are both pivotally mounted to the bottom member 1150' (which may be substantially Similar to the bottom member 1150), each driving part is configured to pivot in each direction T1, T2 about the respective axis X1, X2 through the respective driver 1100 to change the angle β. Here, for example, the automatic workpiece centering and/or independent workpiece placement adjustment for the position change of the workpiece holding station between the small faces of the transfer modules 125A, 125B, 125C, and 125D can be adjusted by rotating each drive unit 800', 801 'Up to any predetermined amount to be executed. In one aspect, the two driving parts can rotate as a unit around the axis CAX, and the one or more workpieces held by the driving parts 800', 801' can be rotated around the respective axes X1, X2 by one or more The two driving parts 800' and 801' are centered.

In other aspects, the movement of one or several arms 810-813 along the Y axis can also be provided together with the rotation of the same or several driving parts 800 and 801. For example, referring to FIG. 11D, the bottom member is configured to be coupled to the housing 851C1 through the sealing support member 560 so as to be movable along the Y axis. In other aspects, the housing 851C1 may be coupled to the bottom member 1150 through the fixed support member 1000. The pivoting housing 1130 (which may be substantially similar to the housing 851C1') may be pivotally coupled to the bottom member 1150 in a manner substantially similar to that described above with respect to FIGS. 11A-11C. The housing 1130 may have a hole to which the sealing support member 561 is coupled and may include a linear drive motor 1110 in a manner substantially similar to that described above with respect to the bottom member 550. The driving part 801 may be coupled to the sealing support member 861 through the housing 851C1 in a manner substantially similar to that described above. In other aspects, both the driving parts 800 and 801 can be mounted to the pivot housing 1130 in any suitable manner.

12A and 12B, in one aspect, one or more sealed drive portion housings 1250, 1251 of the drive portion 800, 801 can be configured to be rotatably coupled to the drive portion 200 about a common axis CAX so that one or more Each drive unit 800, 801 can be pivoted around a common axis CAX for changing the angle β and allowing automatic workpiece centering and/or the position change of the workpiece holding station between the small faces of the transfer modules 125A, 125B, 125C, 125D Or independent workpiece configuration adjustment. For example, the housing 1251 (which may be substantially similar to the aforementioned housing 851C1) may be substantially directly coupled to the drive shaft 280S of the driving part 200 so that the housing 1251 and the drive shaft 280S rotate together when the drive shaft 280S rotates. The housing 1250 (which may be substantially similar to the aforementioned housing 851C1) is rotatably mounted to the housing 1251 about the common axis CAX. For example, any suitable driver 1200 (such as the aforementioned 280, 320, 321, 610, 620) may be configured in the housing 1251. The housing 1251 may include a hole through which the drive shaft 1200S extends and the housing 1250 may include a hole to which the drive shaft 1200S is coupled. As can be appreciated, any suitable seals (such as those described above) can be arranged around the drive shaft between the drive 1200 and the housing 1251 and between the drive shaft 1200S and the housing 1250 to maintain the seals in the housing 1250, 1251 and the drive unit 200 Atmosphere environment. In one aspect, any suitable bearing 1200B may also be provided between the housings 1250 and 1251, and in other aspects, bearings may not be included so that the housing 1250 is supported by the coupling between the drive shaft 1200S and the driver 1200 and the housing 1251. Here, the driver 280 and the driver 1200 can be operated independently so that the driving part can pivot relative to each other about the common axis CAX in any suitable manner for changing the angle β. In other aspects, one or more driving parts 800, 801 can move along the Y axis. For example, referring to FIG. 12C, the pivot housing 1220 (which may be substantially similar to the pivot housing 1130) may be arranged such that the housing 851C1 of the driving portions 800, 801 is sealed through the supporting member in a manner substantially similar to that described above with respect to FIG. 11D 560 is coupled to the pivot housing 1220. Here, the pivoting housing 1220 and/or the housing 1250, 1251 allow the adjustment of the rotation angle β, and the movement of the one or more driving parts 800, 801 along the Y axis allows the extension/retraction of the axes of R1 and R2 and the adjustment The distances D1 and D2 between the common axis CAX are used for automatic workpiece centering and/or independent workpiece configuration adjustment for, for example, changes in the position of the workpiece holding station between the small faces of the transfer modules 125A, 125B, 125C, and 125D.

In one aspect, referring to FIGS. 11A-12C, any appropriate amount of controllers 110A, 110B can be configured in the transfer unit module described in the text. In one aspect, there may be a controller for transferring one or more drives in the unit module. These controllers 110A, 110B can be connected to the controller 110 or any other suitable controller. As mentioned above, in one aspect, the controllers 110A, 110B may be part of the group control structure, while in other aspects, the controller may have any suitable structure.

According to one or several aspects of the disclosed embodiments, a transfer device includes: a frame; a plurality of arms connected to the frame, each arm having an end effector and an independent drive shaft for each arm of the plurality of arms Expansion and contraction relative to the others; a linear rail that defines the degree of freedom of the independent drive shaft for the expansion and contraction of at least one arm; and a common drive shaft, which is shared by each arm and configured to make the multiple arms Pivoting around a common pivot axis; wherein at least one of the plurality of arms having another drive shaft defines an independent degree of freedom relative to the other of the plurality of arms.

According to one or several aspects of the disclosed embodiments, the other drive shafts defining the independent degrees of freedom have an included angle with respect to the shaft used for expansion and contraction.

According to one or several aspects of the disclosed embodiments, other drive shaft systems defining the independent degrees of freedom are configured so that the independent degrees of freedom are coplanar with the seating plane of the end effector.

According to one or several aspects of the disclosed embodiments, other drive shaft systems defining the independent degrees of freedom are configured so that the independent degrees of freedom have an included angle with respect to other independent degrees of freedom.

According to one or several aspects of the disclosed embodiments, other drive shafts defining the independent degrees of freedom are configured to make the independent degrees of freedom parallel to the other independent degrees of freedom.

According to one or several aspects of the disclosed embodiments, the transfer device further includes a second common drive shaft configured to move the plurality of arms in a coordinated manner around the common shaft.

According to one or several aspects of the disclosed embodiments, other drive shafts perform automatic workpiece centering.

According to one or several aspects of the disclosed embodiments, the other drive shafts perform independent workpiece configuration adjustments for changes in the position of the workpiece holding station.

According to one or several aspects of the disclosed embodiments, the plurality of arms are telescopic arms.

According to one or several aspects of the disclosed embodiments, a transfer device includes: a frame; a plurality of arms connected to the frame, each arm having an end effector and an independent drive shaft for the extension and contraction of the respective arms In order to carry the workpiece into and out of a transfer room; the linear drive shaft defines another degree of freedom for at least one arm, which is the same plane as the seating plane of the end effector; and a common drive shaft, which is shared by each arm And configured to make the plurality of arms pivot around a common pivot axis; wherein at least one of the plurality of arms having another drive shaft defines an independent degree of freedom relative to the other of the plurality of arms.

According to one or several aspects of the disclosed embodiments, the other drive shafts defining the independent degrees of freedom have an included angle with respect to the shaft used for expansion and contraction.

According to one or several aspects of the disclosed embodiments, other drive shaft systems defining the independent degrees of freedom are configured so that the independent degrees of freedom are coplanar with the seating plane of the end effector.

According to one or several aspects of the disclosed embodiments, other drive shaft systems defining the independent degrees of freedom are configured so that the independent degrees of freedom have an included angle with respect to other independent degrees of freedom.

According to one or several aspects of the disclosed embodiments, other drive shafts defining the independent degrees of freedom are configured to make the independent degrees of freedom parallel to the other independent degrees of freedom.

According to one or several aspects of the disclosed embodiments, the transfer device further includes a second common drive shaft configured to move the plurality of arms in a coordinated manner around the common shaft.

According to one or several aspects of the disclosed embodiments, the independent degrees of freedom perform automatic workpiece centering.

According to one or several aspects of the disclosed embodiments, the independent degree of freedom performs independent workpiece configuration adjustment for the position change of the workpiece holding station.

According to one or several aspects of the disclosed embodiments, the plurality of arms are telescopic arms.

According to one or several aspects of the disclosed embodiments, a transfer device includes: a frame to form a sealed chamber with a chamber atmosphere; a plurality of arms connected to the frame and arranged in the sealed chamber, each arm having an extension and The independent driving shafts of the respective arms are retracted; a first driving part is arranged outside the sealed chamber and connected to the plurality of arms for moving the plurality of arms around a common axis; and a second driving part is arranged in the sealed chamber Part, the second driving part includes a sealed housing configured to maintain a sealing atmosphere different from the atmosphere of the chamber; wherein the sealed housing has a first sealing part including a first drive shaft for the first degree of freedom of at least one arm; and The second sealing part is in sealed communication with the first sealing part and includes a second drive shaft for the second degree of freedom of at least one arm.

According to one or several aspects of the disclosed embodiments, at least one of the arms includes a second degree of freedom independent of the drive shaft for extending and contracting the respective arms.

According to one or several aspects of the disclosed embodiments, the second degree of freedom performs automatic workpiece centering.

According to one or several aspects of the disclosed embodiments, the second degree of freedom performs independent workpiece configuration adjustment for the position change of the workpiece holding station.

According to one or several aspects of the disclosed embodiments, the sealed housing includes an opening in the sealed housing, and the second sealing portion communicates with the first sealing portion through the opening.

According to one or several aspects of the disclosed embodiments, at least one of the first and second degrees of freedom has an angle with respect to the axes of extension and contraction of the respective arms.

According to one or several aspects of the disclosed embodiments, at least one of the first and second degrees of freedom is the same plane as the seating plane of the end effector.

According to one or several aspects of the disclosed embodiments, at least one of the first and second degrees of freedom has an angle with respect to the other independent degrees of freedom.

According to one or several aspects of the disclosed embodiments, at least one of the first and second degrees of freedom is parallel to the other independent degrees of freedom.

According to one or several aspects of the disclosed embodiments, the first driving portion includes a common rotating drive shaft configured to rotate the plurality of arms around the common rotating shaft.

According to one or several aspects of the disclosed embodiments, the plurality of arms are telescopic arms.

It should be understood that the above description only illustrates aspects of the disclosed embodiments. Various substitutions and modifications can be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the aspect of the disclosed embodiments. Therefore, the aspect of the disclosed embodiment is intended to include all such substitutions, modifications, and changes that fall within the scope of the additional request item. Moreover, the mere fact that different features are described in mutually different subsidiary or independent items does not indicate that the combination of these features cannot be used to advantage, and this combination remains within the scope of the aspect of the present invention.

The scope of patent application is the following requested:

104‧‧‧Transfer unit module

125B‧‧‧Transportation room

200‧‧‧Drive

201‧‧‧Drive

210‧‧‧Transfer arm

211‧‧‧Transfer arm

212‧‧‧Transfer arm

213‧‧‧Transfer arm

250C‧‧‧Outer cover

300P‧‧‧Internal room

Claims (29)

A method for transferring a workpiece with a transfer device, the method comprising: providing a frame of the transfer device; providing a plurality of arms connected to the frame to pivot around a common pivot axis, each arm having an end effector and an independent drive A shaft is used for the expansion and contraction of the respective arms relative to the other of the plurality of arms along the axis of expansion and contraction; a linear rail is provided to define the degree of freedom of the independent drive shaft for the expansion and contraction of at least one arm; And by the common drive shaft of the common motor shared by each arm, each arm is attached to the common motor to output a common torque, and the common torque defines the common drive shaft common to each arm, so that the common The motor uses the common drive shaft as a unit to pivot the plurality of arms around the common pivot axis; wherein at least one of the plurality of arms has another drive shaft relative to the other of the plurality of arms Define independent degrees of freedom. Such as the method of item 1 in the scope of the patent application, wherein the other drive shaft system defining the independent degree of freedom has an included angle with respect to the shaft used for expansion and contraction. Such as the method of item 1 of the scope of the patent application, wherein other drive shaft systems defining the independent degree of freedom are configured such that the independent degree of freedom is in the same plane as the seating plane of the end effector. Such as the method of item 1 of the scope of the patent application, wherein other drive shaft systems defining the independent degree of freedom are configured such that the independent degree of freedom is relative to other The independent degrees of freedom have an included angle. For example, in the method of item 1 of the scope of the patent application, the other drive shafts defining the independent degree of freedom are configured to make the independent degree of freedom parallel to the other independent degrees of freedom. For example, the method of item 1 in the scope of the patent application further includes: using a second common drive shaft to move the plurality of arms in a coordinated manner around a common shaft. For example, the method of item 1 in the scope of patent application further includes: performing automatic workpiece centering by other drive shafts. For example, the method of item 1 in the scope of the patent application further includes: performing independent workpiece configuration adjustment for the position change of the workpiece holding station through other drive shafts. Such as the method of item 1 in the scope of patent application, wherein the plurality of arms are telescopic arms. A method for transferring a workpiece with a transfer device, the method comprising: providing a frame of the transfer device; providing a plurality of arms connected to the frame to pivot around a common pivot axis, each arm having an end effector and an independent drive A shaft is used to extend and contract the respective arms along the axis of extension and contraction to carry the workpiece in and out of the handling room; a linear drive shaft is provided, which defines another degree of freedom for at least one arm, which is connected to the end effector The seating plane is the same plane; and the plurality of arms are pivoted about the common pivot axis by a common drive shaft shared by each arm; wherein at least one of the plurality of arms has another drive shaft opposite to For that The other of the multiple arms define independent degrees of freedom. Such as the method of item 10 in the scope of the patent application, wherein the other drive shaft system defining the independent degree of freedom has an angle with respect to the shaft used for expansion and contraction. For example, the method of claim 10, wherein the other drive shafts defining the independent degree of freedom are configured such that the independent degree of freedom is in the same plane as the seating plane of the end effector. For example, the method of claim 10, wherein other drive shaft systems defining the independent degree of freedom are configured such that the independent degree of freedom has an included angle with respect to the other independent degrees of freedom. For example, in the method of claim 10, the other drive shaft systems defining the independent degree of freedom are configured to make the independent degree of freedom parallel to the other independent degrees of freedom. For example, the method of item 10 of the scope of the patent application further includes: by means of a second common drive shaft, the plurality of arms move in a coordinated manner around a common shaft. For example, the method of item 10 of the scope of patent application further includes: performing automatic workpiece centering by the independent degree of freedom. For example, the method of item 10 in the scope of the patent application further includes: by virtue of the independent degree of freedom, performing independent workpiece configuration adjustment for the position change of the workpiece holding station. Such as the method of claim 10, wherein the plurality of arms are telescopic arms. A method for transferring a workpiece with a transfer device, the method comprising: providing a frame, the frame being arranged in a sealed room with a room atmosphere; A plurality of arms connected to the frame are provided to pivot around a common pivot axis and are arranged in the sealed chamber, each arm has an independent drive shaft for extending and retracting a respective arm; a first drive part is provided, and is configured Outside the sealed chamber and connected to the plurality of arms to move the plurality of arms around a common axis; and providing a second driving part arranged inside the sealed chamber, the second driving part including a sealed housing configured to maintain different In the sealed atmosphere of the chamber atmosphere; wherein the sealed housing has a first sealing portion, including a first drive shaft, for the first degree of freedom of at least one arm; and a second sealing portion, which is in sealed communication with the first sealing portion and It includes a second drive shaft for the second degree of freedom of at least one arm. Such as the method of claim 19, wherein at least one of the plurality of arms includes a second degree of freedom independent of the drive shaft for extending and retracting the respective arms. For example, the method of item 20 of the scope of patent application further includes: performing automatic workpiece centering by the second degree of freedom. For example, the method of item 20 in the scope of the patent application further includes: performing an independent workpiece configuration adjustment for changing the position of the workpiece holding station through the second degree of freedom. Such as the method of claim 19, wherein the sealed housing includes an opening in the sealed housing, and the second sealing part communicates with the first sealing part through the opening. For example, the method of claim 19, where the first and At least one of the second degrees of freedom has an included angle with respect to the axes of extension and contraction of the respective arms. Such as the method of claim 19, wherein at least one of the first and second degrees of freedom is the same plane as the seating plane of the end effector of the plurality of arms. Such as the method of claim 19, wherein at least one of the first and second degrees of freedom has an angle with respect to the other independent degrees of freedom. Such as the method of claim 19, wherein at least one of the first and second degrees of freedom is parallel to the other independent degrees of freedom. For example, the method of item 19 of the scope of the patent application further includes: using the common rotating drive shaft of the first driving part to make the plurality of arms co-rotate around the common rotating shaft. Such as the method of item 19 in the scope of patent application, wherein the plurality of arms are telescopic arms.

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