TWM647028U - Automatic correction device of robotic arm - Google Patents

Abstract

This new model relates to an automatic correction device for a robotic arm. The main structure includes a robotic arm. The robotic arm is provided with an optical photography mechanism. One side of the robotic arm is provided with a wafer storage mechanism. The wafer storage mechanism is provided with an image. Information code, optical photography mechanism information is connected to an optical identification module, and the optical identification module has an information code analysis unit, an object distance analysis unit, and a wafer center analysis unit. With this, the user can first capture the image information code through the optical photography mechanism to perform the first position correction action of the robot arm, and then let the optical photography mechanism capture the wafer and perform the focusing action to coordinate with the wafer through the object distance analysis unit. The circle center analysis unit calculates the distance between the robot arm and the wafer center point to achieve the second correction effect. In this way, fast and accurate correction actions can be achieved.

Description

Robotic arm automatic correction device

The new invention provides an automatic correction device for a robotic arm with fast and accurate correction actions.

According to reports, since the structure and production of semiconductor wafers are quite precise, the requirements for storage and transportation are also high. When wafers are stored, special storage vehicles are used to store them to suit various types of storage environments, such as vacuum storage or inert gas storage. During transportation, in addition to directly transporting the carrier, the wafer can also be opened and taken out. However, when taking out the internal wafer, most robot arms are used to perform pick-and-place operations to prevent breakage or damage during transportation. Damage condition.

However, before the robot arm can pick and place, it needs to completely position the distance between the robot arm and the wafer carrier in order to correctly perform the pick and place action. The positioning action can be divided into automatic or manual ways to pick and place. If the movement is manual, relevant distance information can be provided through visual inspection or mechanical measurement to assist the user in positioning the robotic arm. When an automated robotic arm is picking and placing, multiple sensors and various types of measurements are used to correctly position the robotic arm.

If the positioning action is not accurate enough, various situations may occur when the robot arm picks and places, increasing the probability of defective products. However, to perform positioning operations correctly, multiple sensors are required to cooperate with each other, which will increase the cost of use.

Therefore, how to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems and deficiencies is the direction that the applicant of the present invention and relevant manufacturers engaged in this industry are eager to study and improve.

Therefore, in view of the above shortcomings, the creator of this new model collected relevant information, evaluated and considered it from many parties, and used his many years of experience in this industry to design this simple-to-use mechanism through continuous trial production and modification. The patentee of a new type of automatic correction device for robotic arms with complete correction actions.

The main purpose of this new model is to use optical photography mechanisms to achieve simple and accurate correction effects.

In order to achieve the above purpose, the main structure of the present invention includes: a robotic arm, a wafer storage mechanism provided on one side of the robotic arm, an image information code provided on the wafer storage mechanism, and a wafer storage mechanism provided on the robotic arm. There is an optical photography mechanism on the top, an optical recognition module that connects the optical photography mechanism with information, an information code analysis unit located in the optical recognition module, an object distance analysis unit located in the optical recognition module, and an information code analysis unit located in the optical recognition module. Wafer center analysis unit in the optical identification module.

With the above structure, when the user wants to use the robotic arm to take out the wafer, the robotic arm can automatically perform corrective actions. First, the image information code is captured through the optical photography mechanism, and the image information code is analyzed through the information code analysis unit to obtain the relevant position information, so that the robot arm can perform the first corrective action.

When the first correction operation is performed, the approximate position of the wafer storage mechanism can be known. At this time, the optical photography mechanism can focus on one of the wafers in the wafer storage mechanism, and the object distance analysis unit can be used , through the focal length of the lens in the optical photography mechanism and the distance between the lens and the photosensitive imaging position in the optical photography mechanism, the wafer distance between the optical photography mechanism and the wafer is calculated. After the wafer distance is calculated, the wafer center analysis unit is used to calculate the distance between the robot arm and the center point of the wafer through the distance between the robot arm and the optical photography mechanism, the wafer distance, and the width of the wafer. , thereby achieving the second correction action, so as to have a complete correction effect, and the wafer pick-and-place action can be carried out.

In this way, through the above method, the robotic arm can quickly and accurately complete the correction action, and it can be achieved only by using the shooting action, so that the complete and fast correction action can be achieved at a lower cost.

Through the above technology, we can overcome the problems of high cost or poor accuracy of conventional correction methods, and achieve the practical progress of the above advantages.

1: Robot arm

11:Warp sensor

12: Distance sensor

2: Wafer storage mechanism

21:Image information code

3: Optical photography mechanism

4: Optical identification module

41: Information code analysis unit

42:Object distance analysis unit

43: Wafer center analysis unit

W:wafer

x: vertical distance

y: distance

o:wafer distance

The first figure is a three-dimensional perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The second figure is a structural block diagram of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The third figure is a schematic diagram of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The fourth figure is a schematic diagram of the focal length of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The fifth figure is a schematic diagram of the center calculation of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a three-dimensional perspective view of yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of warpage detection according to yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 8 is a three-dimensional perspective view of another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of distance detection according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 10 is a three-dimensional perspective view of another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned purposes and effects, the technical means and structures adopted by the present invention are described in detail below with respect to the preferred embodiments of the present invention in order to facilitate a complete understanding.

Please refer to Figures 1 to 5, which are three-dimensional perspective views to center calculation schematic diagrams of the preferred embodiments of the present invention. It can be clearly seen from the figures that the new model includes:

A robotic arm 1, taking as an example a robotic arm 1 that can be controlled by a computer and used for picking up, placing and driving wafers;

A wafer storage mechanism 2 provided on one side of the robot arm 1, taking storage equipment for storing wafers as an example;

An image information code 21 provided on the wafer storage mechanism 2, taking QR CODE as an example;

An optical photography mechanism 3 provided on the robotic arm 1. The optical photography mechanism 3 in this embodiment is a camera using a charge-coupled device (CCD);

An optical recognition module 4 that is information-connected to the optical photography mechanism 3 and the robotic arm 1, and takes as an example a processor that is connected to the optical photography mechanism 3 and receives the captured image;

An information code analysis unit 41 located in the optical identification module 4;

An object distance analysis unit 42 provided in the optical identification module 4; and

A wafer center analysis unit 43 is provided in the optical identification module 4. The information code analysis unit 41, object distance analysis unit 42, and wafer center analysis unit 43 in this embodiment are all based on the software in the optical identification module 4. As an example.

Through the above description, we can understand the structure of this technology, and based on the corresponding cooperation of this structure, we can have the advantage of achieving fast and accurate correction actions at a lower cost, and the detailed explanation will be explained below.

The user can first set the image information code 21 on the wafer storage mechanism 2, and when using the robot arm 1 to pick up the wafer, a corrective action needs to be performed first to accurately pick up the wafer storage mechanism 2. wafer inside.

In this way, the optical photography mechanism 3 can be used to capture the image information code 21 first, and the image information code 21 can be analyzed through the information code analysis unit 41 in the optical identification module 4 to obtain relevant position information (such as the wafer storage mechanism 2 For the relative direction of the robot arm 1), the first corrective action is performed.

After the first correction operation is performed, the approximate position of the wafer storage mechanism 2 can be determined, so that the optical photography mechanism 3 can be used to photograph the wafers in the wafer storage mechanism 2 and focus on the wafer to be taken out. superior. At this time, the object distance analysis unit 42 can perform calculation and analysis through the thin lens imaging formula (1/o+1/i=1/f), and this formula is a mathematical formula that is currently available.

The calculation method can be used as shown in the fourth figure. The distance between the lens in the optical photography mechanism 3 and the focused object (wafer) is o. The distance between the lens in the optical photography mechanism 3 and the photosensitive imaging position in the optical photography mechanism 3 is i, the focal length of the lens of the optical photography mechanism 3 is f, where the focal length (f) of the lens of the optical photography mechanism 3 is the data that is known when the lens is installed or purchased, and the lens in the optical photography mechanism 3 and the optical photography mechanism 3 The distance (i) between the photosensitive imaging positions in is the distance that will be known after focusing. In this way, the distance o between the lens in the optical photography mechanism 3 and the focused object (wafer) can be calculated through the above formula, and Since the lens is at the front end of the optical photography mechanism 3, it can be directly used as the distance between the optical photography mechanism 3 and the wafer, and is defined as the wafer distance o in this case.

After calculating the above-mentioned wafer distance, as shown in Figure 5, since the optical photography mechanism 3 is directly installed on the upper side of the robot arm 1, the distance between the optical photography mechanism 3 and the robot arm 1 can be directly known. The vertical distance x, so that ^the wafer center analysis unit 43 can first ^calculate the distance from the robot arm ¹ to The distance y at the edge of the wafer (that is, the focus point of the optical photography mechanism 3), and the radius (d) of the wafer are known data before grabbing, but there is no limit to it, and it can also be determined by the above-mentioned optical When the photographing mechanism 3 captures the image information code 21 to obtain the relevant position information, it also reads and obtains the radius (d) of the wafer, and transmits it to the wafer center analysis unit 43 . In this way, adding the distance y between the above-mentioned robot arm 1 and the edge of the wafer plus the radius (d) of the wafer, we can know the distance between the robot arm 1 and the center point of the wafer, thereby achieving the second correction effect. .

After the above two corrections, the robot arm 1 can automatically perform the clamping action based on the calculated distance between the robot arm 1 and the center point of the wafer, and the entire correction process only requires one optical photography. The mechanism 3 cooperates with an image information code 21 and then calculates it through the optical recognition module 4 to complete the calculation. In this way, cost savings can be achieved through a simple structure, and the overall action only needs to be shot and related calculations can be completed, which can also greatly improve the time and efficiency of correction.

Please refer to the sixth and seventh figures at the same time, which are three-dimensional perspective views and warpage detection schematic diagrams of yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention. It can be clearly seen from the figures that this embodiment is different from the above-mentioned embodiment. They are similar, except that a warp sensor 11 is provided on the robot arm 1 , and the warp sensor 11 in this embodiment is a laser sensor as an example.

As can be seen from the above embodiment, the distance from the robot arm 1 to the center of the wafer has been calculated. Based on this distance, we only need to add the length of the radius of the last wafer W to roughly estimate the distance from the robot arm 1 to the wafer. distance from the bottom of the storage mechanism 2, and if the length measured after the rebound of the laser emitted by the warpage sensor 11 is less than the above distance, it can be determined that the wafer W is blocked due to warpage. Warping the laser path of the sensor 11 reduces the possibility of fragmentation due to contact with the warped part when clamping the wafer W.

Please refer to the eighth and ninth figures at the same time, which are three-dimensional perspective views and spacing detection schematic diagrams of another preferred embodiment of the present invention. It can be clearly seen from the figures that this embodiment is different from the above-mentioned embodiment. The difference is similar, except that the robot arm 1 is provided with a distance sensor 12 , and the distance sensor 12 in this embodiment is a thin distance sensor as an example.

When the robot arm 1 extends into the wafer storage mechanism 2 to perform a clamping action, the distance between the robot arm 1 and the upper and lower wafers W can be sensed through the distance sensor 12 to prevent collisions due to too small distances.

Please also refer to Figure 10, which is a three-dimensional perspective view of another preferred embodiment of the present invention. It can be clearly seen from the figure that this embodiment is similar to the above-mentioned embodiment, except for the mechanical arm 1. A distance sensor 12 and a warp sensor 11 are also provided.

This allows the robot arm 1 of this case to have the effects of warpage detection and distance detection at the same time, which means that the warp sensor 11 and the distance sensor 12 can be set at the same time to improve the safety of this case during use.

However, the above descriptions are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and do not limit the patent scope of the present invention. Therefore, any simple modifications and equivalent structural changes made using the contents of the description and drawings of the present invention should be treated in the same way. It is included in the patent scope of this new model and is hereby stated.

To sum up, the automatic correction device of the robot arm of this new model can surely achieve its effect and purpose when used. Therefore, this new model is a new model with excellent practicality and meets the application requirements for a new patent. The application must be filed in accordance with the law. , I hope that the review committee will approve this model as soon as possible to protect the creator's hard work. If the review committee of Jun Bureau has any doubts, please feel free to send a letter for instructions. The creator will do its best to cooperate. I feel that it will be convenient.

1: Robot arm

2: Wafer storage mechanism

21:Image information code

3: Optical photography mechanism

4: Optical identification module

Claims (5)

An automatic correction device for a robotic arm, which mainly includes: a robotic arm; A wafer storage mechanism, the wafer storage mechanism is located on one side of the robotic arm; An image information code, the image information code is provided on the wafer storage mechanism; An optical photography mechanism, the optical photography mechanism is installed on the robotic arm; An optical recognition module, which is information-connected to the optical photography mechanism and the robotic arm; An information code analysis unit, the information code analysis unit is located in the optical recognition module and is used to analyze the image information code to obtain relevant position information; An object distance analysis unit, the object distance analysis unit is located in the optical identification module and is connected to the information code analysis unit, and the object distance analysis unit is based on the focal length of the lens in the optical photography mechanism, and the relationship between the lens and the The distance between the photosensitive imaging positions in the optical photography mechanism is calculated by calculating the wafer distance between the optical photography mechanism and the wafer in the wafer storage mechanism; and A wafer center analysis unit, the wafer center analysis unit is located in the optical identification module and is connected to the information code analysis unit to determine the distance between the robot arm and the optical photography mechanism, the wafer distance, and the width of the wafer, and calculate the distance between the robot arm and the center point of the wafer. The automatic correction device for a robotic arm as described in item 1 of the patent application, wherein the robotic arm is provided with a warp sensor. The automatic correction device for a robotic arm as described in item 1 of the patent application, wherein the robotic arm is provided with a distance sensor. For example, in the automatic correction device of a robotic arm described in item 1 of the patent application, the object distance analysis unit performs calculation and analysis actions through a thin lens imaging formula. For example, in the automatic correction device of a robotic arm described in item 1 of the patent application, the wafer center analysis unit calculates the distance between the robotic arm and the center point of the wafer through the calculation of trigonometric functions.

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