JPS6062477A - Carrier robot for wafer cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Application of the Invention] The present invention relates to robots, and particularly to a wafer cassette transport robot suitable for transporting wafer cassettes in a clean room in a semiconductor manufacturing factory.

[Background of the invention]

Traditionally, the transportation of wafer cassettes in clean rooms at semiconductor manufacturing plants has been done manually, which has led to high costs and low reliability of work, and the work is usually operated in three shifts, 24 hours a day, which places a heavy burden on the workers. was there.

[Purpose of the invention]

An object of the present invention is to mechanize the conventional manual conveyance work and prevent dust generation in a clean room.

[Summary of the invention]

In recent years, when constructing unmanned factories, various parts transport robots have appeared on the market to connect between each process. The transport robot according to the present invention has a function limited to transporting wafer cassettes in a clean room where IO production is performed, has a simple configuration, does not take up much space when not in use, and can perform transport work according to instructions from a central computer. The aim was to create a rocker-shaped structure with one arm, a video camera, and an optical space communication device.

[Embodiments of the invention]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the appearance of a robot according to the present invention. The main body 1 is a locker-like box, and inside thereof, a total of 24 shelves 2 having openings on the front side are arranged, for example, 4 rows horizontally and 6 stages high. A groove 3 is formed between the shelf 2 and the main body 1, and the arm 19 moves up and down along the groove 3.

Four wheels 4 are arranged at the four corners of the lower part of the main body 1, and each wheel 4 can independently rotate forward, reverse, and steer. In addition to the wafer cassette 18, the shelf 2 stores various hands 17 depending on one work purpose and batteries for driving the device.

FIG. 4 shows the appearance of the arm 19. Arms include side arm shaft, side arm 11, side slider 13, mini arm 14. It is composed of an Eni slider 15 and an arm end 16. The side arm 11 is rotatable around a side arm shaft 12. The side arm shaft can be moved up and down with respect to the guide rail 5 provided in the section 3,
The side slider 13 is movable left and right with respect to the side arm 11.

The mini arm 14 is rotatable in a horizontal plane relative to the side slider 13, and the mini slider 15 is movable back and forth relative to the mini arm 14.

The arm end 16 is rotatable in a plane perpendicular to the mini slider 15. A video camera with a forward view is attached to the arm end 16.

Further, a hand 17 is attached to the wafer cassette 1.
8 can be held in the hand 17. The hand 17 can be easily connected to and disconnected from the arm end 16.

An optical space communication window 21 is installed in the side slider 13 facing forward, and communicates information with various types of equipment installed on the floor.

With the above configuration, the arm end 16 can move up and down, left and right one direction, and rotate about the up and down axis, the left and right axis, and the front and back axis.

FIG. 5 shows the upper right part of the main body 1. The flannel shutter η blinks when the robot 51 changes direction, and the headlight example lights up when the robot 51 moves to the right in the figure. The microphone 5 captures the human voice, and a portion of the speaker provides responses and attention to the human. A bumper knife is made of foamed resin, for example, and has a contact switch made of a conductive rubber sheet attached to its surface to detect when a person or object hits it. The cover 31 is made of transparent plastic.

Inside the cover 31, a video camera attached to an arm folded into the groove 3 faces to the right and monitors the front in the running direction of the 10-bot 51.

Thus, the optical space communication window 21 faces upward and communicates information with the optical space communication device 41 (FIG. 6) arranged on the ceiling.

FIG. 6 shows the system configuration of the transfer robot configured as described above. The video information inputted from the video camera is subjected to binary f-value processing by the video pattern recognition circuit 43 and inputted to the control section 49 .

Same (the audio signal input from the microphone section is binarized by the audio pattern recognition circuit a and input to the control section 49. The signal from the bumper phantom contact switch is input to the control section 49. The 041 report is sent to the control unit 49 by the encoder 45 attached to the arm.
is input. Further, the pressure signal from the pressure sensor 46 of the hand 17 is input to the control section 49, and the weight signal from the hand overlay sensor 47 is also input to the control section 49 manually.

The control unit 49 judges the input signal and outputs an appropriate output signal. That is, the control unit 49 sends a blinking signal to the headlight example and flasher n. Further, in response to a command signal from the control unit 49, the voice synthesis circuit generates a voice signal and makes some of the speakers sound. Furthermore, the control unit 49 sends signals for forward/reverse rotation, speed instructions, and steering instructions to the wheels 4, and sends drive instruction signals to the arm plate and hand 17. Optical signals are exchanged between the optical space communication 9.41 installed on the ceiling and the optical space communication window 21, and the signal from the optical space communication window 21 is input to the control unit 49; A signal is sent from the optical space communication window 21 to the optical space communication window 21. The optical space communication window 21 performs optical space communication not only with the optical space communication device 41 but also with equipment 42 installed on various floors.

FIG. 7 shows the work place of this transfer robot.

First, the work of the robot 51 will be explained. A large number of robots 51 are lined up in the parking lot 52. The robot 51 has a box-like shape, and the arm flaps are stored in the grooves 3 at the top of the shelf 2 by rotating them upward around the side arm shafts, so the robot robots 51 are closely aligned with each other. ing.

Instructions from the central computer that controls all the robots 51 are given as optical signals to the optical space communication windows 21 of each robot 51 from the optical space communication devices 41 arranged in large numbers on the ceiling of the passageway 57 and the parking lot 52. . The robot 51 receives the work instruction and moves by driving the wheels 4. First, the user goes to the hand storage area 53 and attaches the hand 17 necessary for the work to the arm end 16. In the case of work requiring a plurality of different hands 17, the necessary hands 17 are stored on the shelf 2. Next, go to the wafer cassette storage area where wafers waiting to be processed are stored, store several wafer cassettes 18 on the shelf 2, and check the processed wafer cassettes 1 from the equipment 55.
8 and store it on shelf 2. On the other hand, the carried wafer cassette 18 is taken out from the shelf 2 and placed in the wafer processing equipment 55.
Set to . The processed wafer cassette 18 is set in the next wafer processing equipment 55 or returned to the wafer cassette storage area diagram awaiting work.

We will explain how to replace the power source battery when it becomes discharged. Move to the battery storage area 56 and place the used No. 1 No. 17 on Shelf 2.
Store it in. Then, a hand 17 dedicated to grasping the battery of the electric device kJk56 is attached to the arm end 16, and this hand 17 returns the discharged batteries stored in the shelf 2 to the battery storage 56, where they are charged. Store the batteries on shelf 2. When the battery is placed on the shelf 2, the connector is connected and power can be supplied to the robot 51. After the work route R, the charged batteries are loaded and the vehicle returns to the parking lot 52.

The iR# operation for placing the above-mentioned wafer cassette 18 on the shelf 2 will be explained in detail. The target position of the wafer cassette 18 in the wafer cassette storage area 54 is given by the optical communication device 41 . Therefore, the wheels 4 are driven and steered to stop the bot 51 at a predetermined position ii'<, +koguchi I on the Geno 1-Cassette Location Map. Then, move the side arm to the fifth
Rotate from the storage position shown in the figure and pull it out from the top of the shelf 2, and move the side arm 11 along the guide rail 5 to a predetermined height.
Raise and lower. Next, the site slicer 13 is moved left and right to a predetermined left and right position, and the wafer cassette 18 in the wafer cassette storage area is captured by a video camera. Side arm shaft 12 and side arm 11, sightslider 13 and mini arm 14. mini slider 1
By rotating the arm end 5 and the arm end 16 relative to each other, the arm end 16 is rotated relative to the wafer cassette 1.
Make it parallel to 8.

And side arm 11, side slider 13° mini arm 14. By rotating the arm end 16 vertically, horizontally, and horizontally, rotating the vertical axis, and rotating the longitudinal axis, the throat 17 is placed in a position where the wafer cassette 18 can be easily grasped. . mini slider 1
5 and closing the throat 17: thus grasping the wafer cassette 18. The side arm 11 is lifted slightly above the guide rail 5 to move the mini slider 15 backward. Side arm shaft 12 and side arm 11. By slightly rotating the sight slider 13 and the mini arm 14, and the mini slider 15 and the arm end 16, the arm end 16 is rubbed parallel to the shelf 2. After that, the mini-arm 14 is rotated 180 degrees so that the wafer cassette 18 gripped by the throat 17 and the shelf 2 are opposed to each other. Side arm 11. When the site slider 13 is moved to face the wafer cassette 18 to the target shelf 2, and the mini slider 15 is advanced, the wafer cassette 18 is placed in the target shelf 2, and then the weight sensor 47 that measures the side arm 11 When the signal indicates that the signal is /%, the side arm 11 is moved backwards, and the hand 17 is moved left and right to move the mini slider 15 backward. Then, the mini arm 14 is rotated 180 degrees. As a result, one process of putting the Ueno 1-case/throat 18 onto the shelf 2 is completed.

Moving the wafer cassette 18 from shelf 2 to 1+3 ('p +
1. It is almost the opposite of Kami Koki. Next, the discovery of a harmful object in front of the vehicle while the vehicle is traveling will be explained. In Fig. 5, if the video camera is attached to the upper part of the arm, the path 57 and the
Recognizes Yotsuya's robot 51. It+, which captured the abnormal image, requests the central computer for the standard image to determine its location by optical communication, and then sends the abnormal image and standard image (
The robot 51 compares the images with the elephant and recognizes each image.

If the robot 51 is unrecognizable, the central computer reports to the supervisor, and the video camera image of the robot is transmitted via optical communication, and the supervisor recognizes it on the video monitor. The robot 51 can be remotely controlled by a supervisor. The above-mentioned standard video is taken by moving the robot 51 when the layout of the facility is changed.

The optical space communication device 41 is composed of a scattering type T/ED and a PD, and emits light with the same illuminance in all directions with respect to the floor surface, and can receive light from the floor surface in all directions.

In addition, the optical space communication window 21 is composed of a focusing type f, ED, and PD, and emits light from the LED in only one direction, and receives only light in the same direction.1, so as to maximize the light intensity. The direction is automatically adjusted and the direction is the optical space communication device 41.
It looks like this.

The clean room of a semiconductor manufacturing factory, where the robot 51 works, has the following characteristics. (1) Since there is no garbage, the video camera 20. The IP destination optical space communication window 1 does not get dirty (the interior is bright and the illuminance is stable, so image recognition is easy and it is less affected by external light. (2) The floor is flat, so the traveling device is It is simple. (3) Since it is isolated from the outside, it does not harm unrelated people when the robot 51 runs out of control. 4) There is no garbage (because the temperature is constant, the life of the robot 51 is long).

(5) Since the ceiling is low and has a substantially constant height, it is easy to install the optical space communication device 41 on the ceiling.

According to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a wafer cassette transfer robot for use in the clean room at a relatively low cost, reduce dust generation caused by humans in the clean room, reduce work errors made by a single person, and determine where the wafer cassette is currently located. can be managed by a central computer, and labor costs account for 0 in production costs.

This has the effect of significantly reducing air conditioning costs.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, the wafer cassette transport work is mechanized, and dust generation in the clean room can be prevented.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 3 are a front view, a side view, and a bottom view, respectively, showing an embodiment of a transfer robot according to the present invention. Figure 4 is a bird's-eye view of the arm viewed diagonally from above to the right, Figure 5 is a bird's-eye view of the transfer robot in running state seen from diagonally above to the right, Figure 6 is a system configuration diagram, and Figure 7 is a diagram of the transfer robot. This is a detailed map of the work area. 1...Body, 2...Shelf, 3...Groove, 4...
...Wheel 5...Guide rail, 11...
... Side arm, 12... Side arm shaft, 13... Side slider. 14...Mini arm, 15...Mini writer, 16...Arm end, 17...Hand, 18...Wafer cassette, 19...
Arm, 20...Video camera, 21...Optical space communication window, n...Flasher-1...Bumper, Required...Headlight, Section...Microphone , Kan...Speaker, 31...Cover, 4
1...Optical space communication device, 42...Equipment, Qi...
...Video pattern recognition circuit, Akira...Audio pattern recognition circuit, 45...Encoder, 46...
・ Pressure sensor, 47... Weight sensor, 4
8...Speech synthesis circuit, 4...Control unit,
51...Robot, 52...Parking lot, 53
...Hand storage area, 54...Wafer cassette storage area, 55...Wafer processing equipment, Seki...
Battery field, 57...Aisle 10B21 +2 figures 4 figures 5 figures 6 figures

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1.Equipped with a hand that grasps a wafer cassette, a video camera, and an optical space communication device, which consists of an arm that can freely take a three-dimensional device, a shelf that stores the wafer cassette, and a running wheel, and each of the above components. A wafer cassette transfer robot characterized by having a control section that controls.