CONVEYING SYSTEM

• US 20130195584A1
• Filed: 11/29/2012
• Published: 08/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Yaskawa Denki
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Yaskawa Denki
• Inventors: FURUICHI, Masatoshi, KIMURA, Yoshiki, MATSUO, Tomohiro, KUSAMA, Yoshihiro
• Granted Patent: US 9,272,413 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 414/217
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/042 comprising an articulated arm
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1664 characterised by motion, path, trajectory planning
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/677 for conveying, e.g. between different workstations
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67766 Mechanical parts of transfer devices robots in general in B25J
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/02 Arm motion controller
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/15 Jointed arm

Abstract

A conveying system according to an embodiment includes a robot and a controller. The controller includes a switching unit. The robot includes an arm unit formed of a hand and a plurality of arms connected rotatably with respect to one another, and a base unit. An arm on a rear end side is connected to the base unit rotatably about a rotation axis, and the hand is rotatably connected to an arm on a front end side. The switching unit switches cylindrical coordinate control for controlling the arm unit such that a trajectory of the hand overlaps with any one of lines radiating from the rotation axis and rectangular coordinate control for controlling the arm unit such that the trajectory of the hand overlaps with none of the lines at a predetermined timing.

Claims

1. A conveying system comprising:

a robot that includes an arm unit formed of a hand and a plurality of arms connected rotatably with respect to one another, and a base unit, an arm on a rear end side being connected to the base unit rotatably about a rotation axis and the hand being rotatably connected to an arm on a front end side; and

a controller that controls a motion of the robot, wherein

the controller comprises a switching unit that switches cylindrical coordinate control for controlling the arm unit such that a trajectory of the hand overlaps with any one of lines radiating from the rotation axis and rectangular coordinate control for controlling the arm unit such that the trajectory of the hand overlaps with none of the lines at a predetermined timing.

2. The conveying system according to claim 1, wherein the conveying system has:

a first transfer position that is a transfer position for a workpiece accessible by the hand under the cylindrical coordinate control; and

a second transfer position that is a transfer position for a workpiece accessible by the hand under the rectangular coordinate control, and

the switching unit switches, when the hand is moved between the first transfer position and the second transfer position, the cylindrical coordinate control and the rectangular coordinate control at a timing when the hand is positioned at a position other than the first transfer position and the second transfer position.

3. The conveying system according to claim 2, wherein the switching unit switches, when the hand is moved between the first transfer position and the second transfer position, the cylindrical coordinate control and the rectangular coordinate control at a timing when the hand is positioned at a standby position corresponding to each of the transfer positions.

4. The conveying system according to claim 2, wherein the switching unit switches, when the hand is moved between the first transfer position and the second transfer position, the cylindrical coordinate control and the rectangular coordinate control at a timing when the arm unit is in a reference posture.

5. The conveying system according to claim 2, wherein

the arm unit comprises:

the hand;

a second arm whose rear end is connected to the base unit; and

a first arm whose front end is connected to the hand, and

the controller comprises a selecting unit that derives, when the hand is moved between the first transfer position and the second transfer position, a plurality of candidate postures serving as candidates for a posture of the arm unit at a subsequent transfer position and selects one of the candidate postures with which a change amount from a posture of the arm unit at a present transfer position is the smallest as the posture of the arm unit at the subsequent transfer position.

6. The conveying system according to claim 3, wherein

the arm unit comprises:

the hand;

a second arm whose rear end is connected to the base unit; and

a first arm whose front end is connected to the hand, and

the controller comprises a selecting unit that derives, when the hand is moved between the first transfer position and the second transfer position, a plurality of candidate postures serving as candidates for a posture of the arm unit at a subsequent transfer position and selects one of the candidate postures with which a change amount from a posture of the arm unit at a present transfer position is the smallest as the posture of the arm unit at the subsequent transfer position.

7. The conveying system according to claim 4, wherein

the arm unit comprises:

the hand;

a second arm whose rear end is connected to the base unit; and

a first arm whose front end is connected to the hand, and

the controller comprises a selecting unit that derives, when the hand is moved between the first transfer position and the second transfer position, a plurality of candidate postures serving as candidates for a posture of the arm unit at a subsequent transfer position and selects one of the candidate postures with which a change amount from a posture of the arm unit at a present transfer position is the smallest as the posture of the arm unit at the subsequent transfer position.

8. The conveying system according to claim 5, wherein the selecting unit derives two candidate postures whose angles between the first arm and the second arm are different from each other and selects one of the two candidate postures with which a change amount from an angle between the first arm and the second arm at the present transfer position is smaller as the posture of the arm unit at the subsequent transfer position.

9. The conveying system according to claim 6, wherein the selecting unit derives two candidate postures whose angles between the first arm and the second arm are different from each other and selects one of the two candidate postures with which a change amount from an angle between the first arm and the second arm at the present transfer position is smaller as the posture of the arm unit at the subsequent transfer position.

10. The conveying system according to claim 7, wherein the selecting unit derives two candidate postures whose angles between the first arm and the second arm are different from each other and selects one of the two candidate postures with which a change amount from an angle between the first arm and the second arm at the present transfer position is smaller as the posture of the arm unit at the subsequent transfer position.

11. The conveying system according to claim 2, further comprising:

a conveyance room in which the robot is arranged and that keeps atmosphere of an area in which the robot conveys a workpiece clean, wherein

the conveyance room is provided with a load port arranged at the first transfer position and a plurality of load ports arranged at the second transfer position in a manner parallel to a planar wall.

12. The conveying system according to claim 3, further comprising:

a conveyance room in which the robot is arranged and that keeps atmosphere of an area in which the robot conveys a workpiece clean, wherein

the conveyance room is provided with a load port arranged at the first transfer position and a plurality of load ports arranged at the second transfer position in a manner parallel to a planar wall.

13. The conveying system according to claim 4, further comprising:

a conveyance room in which the robot is arranged and that keeps atmosphere of an area in which the robot conveys a workpiece clean, wherein

the conveyance room is provided with a load port arranged at the first transfer position and a plurality of load ports arranged at the second transfer position in a manner parallel to a planar wall.

14. The conveying system according to claim 5, further comprising:

a conveyance room in which the robot is arranged and that keeps atmosphere of an area in which the robot conveys a workpiece clean, wherein

the conveyance room is provided with a load port arranged at the first transfer position and a plurality of load ports arranged at the second transfer position in a manner parallel to a planar wall.

15. The conveying system according to claim 6, further comprising:

a conveyance room in which the robot is arranged and that keeps atmosphere of an area in which the robot conveys a workpiece clean, wherein

the conveyance room is provided with a load port arranged at the first transfer position and a plurality of load ports arranged at the second transfer position in a manner parallel to a planar wall.

16. The conveying system according to claim 7, further comprising:

a conveyance room in which the robot is arranged and that keeps atmosphere of an area in which the robot conveys a workpiece clean, wherein

the conveyance room is provided with a load port arranged at the first transfer position and a plurality of load ports arranged at the second transfer position in a manner parallel to a planar wall.

17. The conveying system according to claim 8, further comprising:

a conveyance room in which the robot is arranged and that keeps atmosphere of an area in which the robot conveys a workpiece clean, wherein

the conveyance room is provided with a load port arranged at the first transfer position and a plurality of load ports arranged at the second transfer position in a manner parallel to a planar wall.

18. The conveying system according to claim 9, further comprising:

a conveyance room in which the robot is arranged and that keeps atmosphere of an area in which the robot conveys a workpiece clean, wherein

the conveyance room is provided with a load port arranged at the first transfer position and a plurality of load ports arranged at the second transfer position in a manner parallel to a planar wall.

19. The conveying system according to claim 10, further comprising:

a conveyance room in which the robot is arranged and that keeps atmosphere of an area in which the robot conveys a workpiece clean, wherein

the conveyance room is provided with a load port arranged at the first transfer position and a plurality of load ports arranged at the second transfer position in a manner parallel to a planar wall.

20. A conveying system comprising:

a robot that includes an arm unit formed of a hand and a plurality of arms connected rotatably with respect to one another, and a base unit, an arm on a rear end side being connected to the base unit rotatably about a rotation axis and the hand being rotatably connected to an arm on a front end side; and

control means for controlling a motion of the robot, wherein

the control means switches cylindrical coordinate control for controlling the arm unit such that a trajectory of the hand overlaps with any one of lines radiating from the rotation axis and rectangular coordinate control for controlling the arm unit such that the trajectory of the hand overlaps with none of the lines at a predetermined timing.