Industrial robot

• US 10,226,863 B2
• Filed: 06/17/2016
• Issued: 03/12/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nidec Sankyo Corporation (Nidec Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nidec Sankyo Corporation (Nidec Corporation)
• Inventors: Yazawa, Takayuki, Masuzawa, Yoshihisa, Tanabe, Tomoki, Watanabe, Hirokazu
• Primary Examiner(s): Sample, Jonathan L
• Application Number:
  US15/185,950
• Publication Number:
  US 20160368137A1
• Time in Patent Office: 998 Days
• Field of Search: 700245-264
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 11/0095 Manipulators transporting wafers
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 19/002 using counterweights
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 19/0054 Cooling means
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 21/005 Clean rooms
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/042 comprising an articulated arm
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/126 Rotary actuators
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67742 Mechanical parts of transfer devices robots in general in B25J
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/23 Electric motor
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/25 Gearing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/48 Counterbalance
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/20317 including electric motor

Abstract

The present invention is to provide an industrial robot, which is placed in vacuum for use, capable of efficiently cooling down hand- or arm-driving motors which are arranged inside the arm in air. The industrial robot is provided with a motor for rotating a second arm unit with respect to a first arm unit, a motor for rotating a hand with respect to the second arm unit, a reduction gear for reducing the rotation of the motor and transmitting it to the second arm unit, and a reduction gear for reducing the rotation of the motor and transmitting it to the hand; the hand and the arm are placed in vacuum. The reduction gears and are coaxially arranged so that the center of rotation of the second arm unit with respect to the first arm unit coincides with the axial centers of the reduction gears. The interior space of the hollow first arm unit is kept at atmospheric pressure in which the motors and the reduction gears are arranged.

Claims

1. A method for returning an industrial robot to an original position, comprising:

providing a manufacturing system comprising a transfer chamber, a plurality of process chambers connected to the transfer chamber, and the industrial robot, the industrial robot comprising;

a plurality of arm units, the plurality of arm units being rotatably linked to each other;

a hand rotatably linked to an end arm of the plurality of arm units;

a plurality of arm-driving motors for rotating the plurality of arm units; and

a hand-driving motor for rotating the hand;

in response to the industrial robot stopping and losing its coordinates, observing coordinates of a center of rotation of the hand with respect to the end arm and setting coordinates of a temporary current position of the industrial robot which has stopped with its coordinates lost by inputting the coordinates of the center of rotation of the hand with respect to the end arm into a portable teaching operation terminal connected to the industrial robot;

controlling the plurality of arm-driving motors and hand-driving motor to move the industrial robot to a predetermined position, the predetermined position being a position where the hand is removed from plurality of process chambers; and

controlling the plurality of arm-driving motors and hand-driving motor to move the industrial robot to the original position from the predetermined position.

2. The method for returning an industrial robot to an original position as set forth in claim 1,

wherein, when viewed in the top-bottom direction which is the axial direction of the rotation of the hand, the hand moves in a straight line to take an object-to-be-handled into the process chamber or to take the object-to-be-handled out of the process chamber;

in the moving the industrial robot, the industrial robot is made to perform a linear interpolation move so that the hand is moved in the direction, in which the hand was moving during the time of taking the object-to-be-handled in and out, as viewed in the top-bottom direction.

3. The method for returning an industrial robot to an original position as set forth in claim 1,

wherein, in the setting coordinates of a temporary current position, the coordinates representing a temporary current position of the center of rotation of the hand viewed in the top-bottom direction can be set by either coordinates of a cylindrical coordinate system or coordinates of a rectangular coordinate system, which are specified in a plane orthogonal to the top-bottom direction which is the axial direction of the rotation of the hand, and the coordinates representing a temporary current position of the center of rotation of the hand viewed in the top-bottom direction are set by the coordinates of the cylindrical coordinate system or the coordinates of the rectangular coordinate system.

4. The method for returning an industrial robot to an original position as set forth in claim 1,

wherein the industrial robot is provided with an operation member to operate the industrial robot in the moving step;

and

in the moving the industrial robot, the industrial robot is operated by a jogging operation by which the industrial robot moves while an operator of the industrial robot is operating the operation member and stops when the operator stops operating the operation member.