Protective device for clean robot

• US 6,343,242 B1
• Filed: 06/11/2001
• Issued: 01/29/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Yaskawa Denki
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Yaskawa Denki
• Inventors: Murakami, Satoshi, Yamashita, Shinji, Nomura, Akihiro, Satou, Shinobu, Suzuki, Takeo, Tamai, Masafumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuchlinski, Jr., William A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Marc, McDieunel, Marc, McDieunel
• Application Number:
  US09/807,418
• Time in Patent Office: 232 Days
• Field of Search: 700/245, 700/260, 375/254, 901/9, 901/34, 901/45, 901/47, 901/50, 370/508, 370/516, 370/517, 318/568.11
• US Class Current: 700/245
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 13/088 with position, velocity or acceleration sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1676 Avoiding collision or forbidden zones
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67742 Mechanical parts of transfer devices robots in general in B25J

Abstract

The invention relates to a protective device for a clean robot that includes a base 7 in which actuators 4 and 5 for driving a robot arm 3 are accommodated; a translational guide 8 for causing the base 7 to travel in a rectilinear direction; and a robot controller 10 that drives and controls the drive motor 4A and 5A of the robot arm 3 and an actuator 9 of the translational guide 8; wherein the protective device further includes acceleration sensors 11, which are disposed in the base 7 and are provided in respective axes so that they can detect an impact, when the clean robot 1 interferes with a surrounding substance, as vibration acceleration in the three-dimensional directions; an interference detecting device 13 that outputs a pulse when the detection signals of the acceleration sensors 11 of the respective axes exceed the threshold values that will become standards; and the first AND circuit that converts signals outputted from the interference detection means of the respective axes to interference signals, and the drive motors 4A and 5A for the robot arm 3 and the actuator for driving the translation guide 8 are stopped; whereby it is possible to prevent an internally incorporated speed reducer in the robot from being damaged.

Claims

1. In a clean robot including robot arms for holding fork for receiving and transferring wafer substance at the tip ends thereof, and turning, extending and contracting in the horizontal direction;

a base disposed at the lower part of said robot arm and internally accommodates an actuator consisting of a drive motor for driving said robot arm and a speed reducer coupled to said drive motor;

a translational guide provided so that it rectilinearly moves said base in the horizontal direction; and

a robot controller for driving and controlling said robot arms and translational guide,

a protective device for a clean robot, comprising;

a signal processing circuit that comprises;

acceleration sensors that are disposed inside said base and provided in respective axes so that they detect an impact, which is given by interference of said clean robot with any surrounding substance, as a vibration acceleration in three-axis directions orthogonal to each other;

interference detection means that are provided in contact with the acceleration sensors of the respective axes and outputs a pulse signal when the detection signal of said acceleration sensors exceeds a certain threshold value;

a first AND circuit for converting the signals, which are outputted from the interference detection means of the respective axes, to interference signals;

wherein after the interference signals outputted from said signal processing circuit are transmitted to said robot controller, and the drive motor of said actuator is stopped.

2. The protective device for a clean robot according to claim 1,

wherein said interference detection means includes;

a buffer amplifier converting acceleration signals from said acceleration sensor with respect to impedance;

a band-pass filter for discriminating the frequency band of output signals of the vibration acceleration that is impedance-converted by the buffer amplifier;

an amplifier for amplifying the output signals of said band-pass filter;

first and second comparators for comparing the output signals of the vibration acceleration, which are amplified by said amplifier, with the upper limit signal and lower limit signal of the vibration acceleration, which become said threshold values; and

a second AND circuit for converting the signals compared by said two comparators to signals, which output interference when the signals exceed any one of the threshold values.

3. The protective device for a clean robot according to claim 1 or 2,

wherein a latch circuit, which holds a pulse signal from said interference detection means for longer than the sampling time of said robot controller, between said first AND circuit and said robot controller, and all the interference detecting signals are detected by said robot controller.