Transport apparatus, control method for the same, and vacuum processing system

• US 7,645,112 B2
• Filed: 06/28/2005
• Issued: 01/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ulvac Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Ulvac Incorporated
• Inventors: Yuyama, Junpei, Minami, Hirofumi, Koike, Toshio, Kawaguchi, Takafumi, Ago, Kenji
• Primary Examiner(s): UNDERWOOD, DONALD W
• Application Number:
  US11/167,584
• Publication Number:
  US 20050286993A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,659 Days
• Field of Search: 414/744.5, 901/15, 901/28, 901/29, 744/900.1, 744/900.5, 744/900.6
• US Class Current: 414/744.5
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1065 with parallelograms
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67742 Mechanical parts of transfer devices robots in general in B25J
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/20305 Robotic arm
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/20329 Joint between elements

Abstract

A transport apparatus which can properly transmit a rotary driving force of a rotating motor to a transport arm and can correctly detect an angle of rotation of a rotary driving shaft, thereby transporting an object to be transported in a transport unit to a correct position. The transport apparatus includes: a housing having an airtight structure; first to third driving shafts that are provided in the housing to be independently rotatable around a predetermined coaxial rotary shaft; permanent magnets arranged at predetermined positions of the first to third driving shafts, respectively; and electromagnetic coils provided in the housing to correspond to the respective permanent magnets. Driving currents are supplied to the electromagnetic coils based on predetermined information, so as to move the first to third driving shafts. The object to be transported is transported by first and second linkages fixed to the first to third driving shafts.

Claims

1. A transport apparatus for transporting a predetermined object comprising:

a housing having an airtight structure, arranged to be attached to and in communication with a lower part of a vacuum chamber;

first, second, and third driving shafts that are provided in the airtight structure of the housing to be independently rotatable around a predetermined coaxial rotary shaft;

permanent magnets arranged at predetermined positions of the first, second, and third driving shafts in the airtight structure of the housing, respectively;

first, second, and third electromagnetic stators provided in the airtight structure of the housing to correspond to the respective permanent magnets, wherein said first, second, and third electromagnetic stators are attached to an inside of a wall in the airtight structure of the housing;

a driving means configured to supply driving currents to the first, second, and third electromagnetic stators based on predetermined information; and

a movable arm assembly configured to be driven by the first, second, and third driving shafts to transport a predetermined object to be transported, wherein the housing is arranged to be attached to and in communication with the lower part of a vacuum chamber in an airtight manner by an extensible bellows and contains a vertical moving mechanism for moving the movable arm assembly in a vertical direction.

2. The transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the movable arm assembly includes:

a first link mechanism including paired arms that are fixed to two of the first, second, and third driving shafts, the first link mechanism being provided with a first transport unit for transporting the object to be transported; and

a second link mechanism including paired arms that are fixed to two of the first, second, and third driving shafts, the second link mechanism sharing at least one of the paired arms with the first link mechanism, the second link mechanism being provided with a second transport unit for transporting the object to be transported, and

the first and second transport units are able to move beyond the coaxial rotary shaft without interfering with each other.

3. The transport apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

each of the first and second link mechanisms is formed by a parallel four-bar link mechanism that operates in a horizontal direction, and is provided with a dead point escape mechanism for allowing that link mechanism to pass through a dead point at which an angle formed by the paired arms of that link mechanism is 180 degrees.

4. The transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the driving means further comprising:

angle sensors for detecting angles of rotation of the first, second, and third driving shafts, respectively, and this driving means is configured to control the rotation of each of the first, second, and third driving shafts based on the result obtained by the angle sensors.

9. The transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first, second and third electromagnetic stators are entirely molded.

12. The transport apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the mold is made of an adhesive.

5. A method for controlling a transport apparatus for transporting a predetermined object, the transport apparatus comprising:

a housing having an airtight structure, arranged to be attached to and in communication with a lower part of a vacuum chamber;

first, second, and third driving shafts that are provided in the airtight structure of the housing to be independently rotatable around a predetermined coaxial rotary shaft;

permanent magnets arranged at predetermined positions of the first, second, and third driving shafts in the airtight structure of the housing, respectively;

first, second, and third electromagnetic stators provided in the airtight structure of the housing to correspond to the respective permanent magnets, wherein said first, second, and third electromagnetic stators are attached to an inside of a wall in the airtight structure of the housing;

a driving means configured to supply driving currents to the first, second, and third electromagnetic stators based on predetermined information; and

a movable arm assembly configured to be driven by the first, second, and third driving shafts to transport a predetermined object to be transported, wherein the housing is arranged to be attached to and in communication with the lower part of a vacuum chamber in an airtight manner by an extensible bellows and contains a vertical moving mechanism for moving the movable arm assembly in a vertical direction,

the method comprising the step of rotating paired arms of each of first and second link mechanisms of the movable arm assembly, driven by the first and second driving shafts, respectively, around the coaxial rotary shaft in the same direction by the same angle, thereby rotating first and second transport units associated with the paired arms of each of the first and second link mechanisms, respectively, around the coaxial rotary shaft.

6. A method for controlling a transport apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising the step of:

rotating the paired arms of one of the first and second link mechanisms around the coaxial rotary shaft in opposite directions to each other by the same angle, and

rotating the paired arms of the other of the first and second link mechanisms around the coaxial rotary shaft in the same direction by the same angle to move one of the first and second transport units toward a straight line passing through the coaxial rotary shaft.

7. A method for controlling a transport apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising the step of:

when the first and second transport units are allowed to move to a rotatable region, rotating the paired arms of each of the first and second link mechanisms around the coaxial rotary shaft in opposite directions to each other by the same angle respectively, so as to move the first and second transport units toward the rotatable region;

when one of the first and second transport units has reached the rotatable region, rotating the paired arms of the link mechanism including a reaching transport unit around the coaxial rotary shaft in the same direction by the same angle in order to rotate the reaching transport unit around the coaxial rotary shaft in the rotatable region; and

rotating the paired arms of the other link mechanism including a non-reaching transport unit around the coaxial rotary shaft in opposite directions to each other by the same angle to further move the non-reaching transport unit toward the rotatable region.

10. The method for controlling a transport apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the first, second and third electromagnetic stators are entirely molded.

13. The method for controlling a transport apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the mold is made of an adhesive.

8. A vacuum processing system comprising:

a transport chamber having a transport apparatus for transporting predetermined object, the transport apparatus comprising;

a housing having an airtight structure, arranged to be attached to and in communication with a lower pan of a vacuum chamber;

first, second, and third driving shafts that are provided in the airtight structure of the housing to be independently rotatable around a predetermined coaxial rotary shaft;

permanent magnets arranged at predetermined positions of the first, second, and third driving shafts in the airtight structure of the housing, respectively;

first, second, and third electromagnetic stators provided in the airtight structure of the housing to correspond to the respective permanent magnets, wherein said first, second, and third electromagnetic stators are attached to an inside of a wall in the airtight structure of the housing;

a driving means configured to supply driving currents to the first, second, and third electromagnetic stators based on predetermined information; and

a movable arm assembly configured to be driven by the first, second, and third driving shafts to transport a predetermined object to be transported, wherein the housing is arranged to be attached to and in communication with the lower part of a vacuum chamber in an airtight manner by an extensible bellows and contains a vertical moving mechanism for moving the movable arm assembly in a vertical direction; and

at least one vacuum processing chamber that is connected with the transport chamber through the extensible bellows and is configured to receive the predetermined object to be processed from the transport apparatus and hand it over to the transport apparatus.

11. The vacuum processing system according to claim 8, wherein the first, second and third electromagnetic stators are entirely molded.

14. The vacuum processing system according to claim 11, wherein the mold is made of an adhesive.