Double arm substrate transport unit

• US 6,669,434 B2
• Filed: 11/16/2001
• Issued: 12/30/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Tazmo Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Tazmo Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Namba, Hirotoshi, Kobiki, Takahiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Lillis, Eileen D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): LOWE, MICHAEL S
• Application Number:
  US09/988,959
• Publication Number:
  US 20020066330A1
• Time in Patent Office: 774 Days
• Field of Search: 414/744.5, 414/941, 414/936, 414/222.09, 414/226.01, 414/226.04, 414/744.1, 414/744.4, 901/15, 901/8
• US Class Current: 414/744.5
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/042 comprising an articulated arm
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67742 Mechanical parts of transfer devices robots in general in B25J
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/20305 Robotic arm

Abstract

A double arm substrate transport unit for transporting a work piece, such as a semiconductor wafer, includes a robotic arm formed of a first forearm supported by the tip part of a base arm so as to be freely rotatable. A first end effector on which a work piece is placed is supported by the tip part of the first forearm so as to be freely rotatable. A second forearm is supported by the tip part of the base arm so as to be freely rotatable is attached above the first forearm so as to overlap the first forearm. A second end effector on which a work piece is placed is supported by the tip part of the second forearm so as to be freely rotatable.

Claims

1. A double arm substrate transport unit for transporting a work piece, comprising:

a base arm supported by a base so as to be freely rotatable;

a first forearm supported by a tip part of said base arm so as to be freely rotatable;

a first end effector on which a work piece is placeable, said first end effector being supported by a tip part of the first forearm so as to be freely rotatable;

a second forearm supported by the tip part of the base arm so as to be freely rotatable, said second forearm being attached to said base arm above the first forearm; and

a second end effector on which a work piece is placeable, said second end effector being supported by a tip part of the second forearm so as to be freely rotatable.

2. The double arm substrate transport unit according to claim 1, wherein the first forearm and the second forearm have a same arm length, share a common rotational axis above the base arm and are independently rotatable in planes at different height positions.

3. The double arm substrate transport unit according to claim 2, further comprising motors connected to rotational axes of respective arms and the end effectors.

4. A double arm substrate transport unit for transporting a work piece, comprising:

a base;

a base arm supported by the base so as to be freely rotatable;

a first forearm supported by a tip part of said base arm so as to be freely rotatable;

a first end effector on which a work piece is placeable, said first end effector being supported by a tip part of the first forearm so as to be freely rotatable;

a second forearm supported by the tip part of the base arm so as to be freely rotatable, said second forearm being attached to said base arm above the first forearm; and

a second end effector on which a work piece is placeable, said second end effector being supported by a tip part of the second forearm so as to be freely rotatable; and

three independent motors being disposed within the base placed in the lower portion of the unit,

said first motor being provided so as to rotate a first support rod that serves as a rotational axis of the base arm,

said second motor being provided so as to rotate a second support rod having a same axis as the rotational axis of the base arm such that torque is conveyed to a fourth support rod integrally fixed to the second forearm via a first transmission means provided within the base arm and, thereby, rotates the second forearm, the fourth support rod being provided within a fifth support rod that is hollow, that has a same axis as a rotational axis of the second forearm and that is fixed to the base arm so as to be non-rotatable,

said third motor being provided so as to rotate a third support rod provided within the second support rod so that the torque is conveyed to a sixth support rod integrally fixed to the first forearm via a second transmission means provided within the base arm and, thereby, rotates the first forearm, the sixth support rod having a same axis as the rotational axis of the first and second forearms,

a third transmission means being provided within the first forearm so that the fifth support rod that is hollow and the rotational axis of the first end effector convey rotations of which the rotational speed ratio is 1;

2, the fifth support rod that is hollow being provided at the tip part of the base arm so as to have a same axis as the rotational axis of the first and second forearms in order to have the fourth support rod as the center, and

a fourth transmission means being provided within the second forearm so that the fifth support rod that is hollow and the rotational axis of the second end effector convey rotations of which the rotational speed ratio is 1;

2.

5. The double arm substrate transport unit according to claim 4, further comprising control means for controlling the first, second and third motors, said control means being operable to rotate and synchronize the first and second motors in the same direction and to rotate the third motor in a direction opposite to the direction in which the first and second motors rotate at the same rotational speed as that of the first and second motors, whereby a work piece placed on the tip of the first end effector translates in a direction radiating from the base arm rotational axis and, at the same time, a work piece placed on the tip of the second end effector moves around a circle of which the center is on the base arm rotational axis so as to be transported in a direction radiated from the base arm rotational axis.

6. The double arm substrate transport unit according to claim 4, further comprising control means for controlling the first, second and third motors, said control means being operable to rotate and synchronize the first and third motors in the same direction and to rotate the second motor in a direction opposite to the direction in which the first and third motors rotate at the same rotational speed as that of the first and third motors, whereby a work piece placed on the tip of the second end effector translates in a direction radiating from the base arm rotational axis and, at the same time, a work piece placed on the tip of the first end effector moves around a circle of which the center is on the base arm rotational axis so as to be transported in a direction radiated from the base arm rotational axis.

7. The double arm substrate transport unit according to claim 4, further comprising control means for controlling the first, second and third motors, said control means being operable to rotate and synchronize the first, second and third motors in the same direction, whereby the first and second end effectors become rotatable in an arbitrary rotational direction having the base arm rotational axis as the center while maintaining the angles formed by the base arm and the first and second forearms.

8. The double arm substrate transport unit according to claim 4, further comprising control means for controlling the first, second and third motors, said control means being operable to control the first motor and the second or third motor to rotate in an asynchronous manner, whereby a work piece placed on the first end effector or the second end effector is moved to a targeted transport position through an arbitrary track.

9. The double arm substrate transport unit according to claim 4, further comprising control means for controlling the first, second and third motors, said control means being operable to control the second and the third motors to synchronize and to rotate in the same direction and to control the first motor to rotate in a direction opposite to the direction in which the second and the third motors rotate or in an asynchronous manner with the rotation of the second and third motors, whereby a work piece placed on the first end effector and a work piece placed on the second end effector are transported through the same track in different planes.