Substrate conveying apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10864643-B2
Application number	US-201816494506-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 14, 2018
Priority date	Mar 16, 2017
Publication date	Dec 15, 2020
Grant date	Dec 15, 2020

Abstract

A substrate conveying apparatus includes: a substrate grasping hand; a first holding member provided at a tip end portion of the substrate grasping hand and including a plurality of first jaw portions; a second holding member provided at a base end portion of the substrate grasping hand and including a plurality of second jaw portions; a first sensor provided at the base end portion of the substrate grasping hand and configured to emit light or ultrasound and detect substrates; and a controller configured to make the first sensor emit the light or the ultrasound toward spaces each between the adjacent substrates and determine whether or not the substrates are normally held.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A substrate conveying apparatus comprising:
a substrate grasping hand;
a first holding member provided at a tip end portion of the substrate grasping hand and configured to hold substrates;
a second holding member provided at a base end portion of the substrate grasping hand and configured to hold the substrates;
a first sensor provided at the base end portion of the substrate grasping hand and configured to emit light or ultrasound to detect the substrates; and
a controller, wherein:
a thickness direction of the substrate is defined as a first direction;
a direction from the base end portion of the substrate grasping hand toward the tip end portion of the substrate grasping hand is defined as a second direction;
a direction perpendicular to both the first direction and the second direction is defined as a third direction;
the first holding member includes a plurality of first jaw portions arranged at predetermined intervals along the first direction;
the second holding member includes a plurality of second jaw portions arranged at predetermined intervals along the first direction;
the substrate conveying apparatus is configured to hold the plurality of substrates by the plurality of first jaw portions and the plurality of second jaw portions;
the first sensor is configured to emit the light or the ultrasound toward the second direction; and
the controller makes the first sensor emit the light or the ultrasound toward spaces each between the adjacent substrates and determines whether or not the substrates are normally held.

2. The substrate conveying apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a regression reflector provided at the first holding member so as to be opposed to the first sensor, wherein
the controller makes the first sensor emit the light or the ultrasound toward the space between the adjacent substrates and determines based on the light or the ultrasound reflected by the regression reflector whether or not the substrates are normally placed.

3. The substrate conveying apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a first drive unit configured to move the first sensor along the first direction.

4. The substrate conveying apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a second drive unit configured to move the first jaw portions and the second jaw portions along the first direction, wherein
the controller controls the second drive unit to change intervals each between the adjacent substrates.

5. The substrate conveying apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein when the intervals each between the adjacent substrates are changed, the first sensor emits the light or the ultrasound toward a space between the adjacent substrates, the space being different from the space to which the first sensor emits the light or the ultrasound before the intervals are changed.

6. The substrate conveying apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the first sensor is provided at one of the second jaw portions.

7. The substrate conveying apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein:
a regression reflector provided at the first holding member so as to be opposed to the first sensor is provided at a highest one of the first jaw portions; and
the first sensor is provided at a highest one of the second jaw portions.

8. The substrate conveying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:
when the controller makes the first sensor emit the light or the ultrasound toward the space between the adjacent substrates, and the first sensor detects the light or the ultrasound, the controller determines that the substrates are normally held; and
when the controller makes the first sensor emit the light or the ultrasound toward the space between the adjacent substrates, and the first sensor does not detect the light or the ultrasound, the controller determines that at least one of the substrates is abnormally held.

9. The substrate conveying apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a second sensor provided at the base end portion of the substrate grasping hand and configured to emit the light or the ultrasound toward the third direction to detect the substrates while moving along the first direction, wherein
the controller makes the second sensor emit the light or the ultrasound at a predetermined first position and determines whether or not the substrates are normally held.

10. The substrate conveying apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein:
when the controller makes the second sensor emit the light or the ultrasound at the first position, and the second sensor does not detect the light or the ultrasound, the controller determines that the substrates are normally held; and
when the controller makes the second sensor emit the light or the ultrasound at the first position, and the second sensor detects the light or the ultrasound, the controller determines that the substrates are abnormally held.

11. The substrate conveying apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a first camera provided at the base end portion of the substrate grasping hand and arranged such that a photographing direction of the first camera is directed in the second direction, wherein:
the first camera takes an image of the plurality of substrates held by the plurality of first jaw portions and the plurality of second jaw portions and outputs a taken video image information piece to the controller; and
the controller determines based on a first video image information piece whether or not the substrates are normally held, the first video image information piece being the video image information piece input from the first camera.

12. The substrate conveying apparatus according to claim 11 , further comprising a storage unit configured to store first positional information pieces that are positional information pieces of the plurality of substrates that are normally held, wherein
the controller compares the first video image information piece with the first positional information pieces to determine whether or not the substrates are normally held.

13. The substrate conveying apparatus according to claim 11 , further comprising a second camera provided at the base end portion of the substrate grasping hand and arranged such that a photographing direction of the second camera is directed in the third direction, wherein:
the second camera takes an image of the plurality of substrates held by the plurality of first jaw portions and the plurality of second jaw portions and outputs a taken video image information piece to the controller; and
the controller determines based on a second video image information piece whether or not the substrates are normally held, the second video image information piece being the video image information piece input from the second camera.

14. The substrate conveying apparatus according to claim 13 , further comprising a storage unit configured to store second positional information pieces that are positional information pieces of the plurality of substrates that are normally held, wherein
the controller compares the second video image information piece with the second positional information pieces to determine whether or not the substrates are normally held.

15. The method according to claim 14 , wherein the substrate conveying apparatus includes a first camera provided at the base end portion of the substrate grasping hand and arranged such that a photographing direction of the first camera is directed in the second direction,
the method further comprising:
(E) making the first camera take an image of the plurality of substrates held by the plurality

Assignees

• Kawasaki Heavy Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Yoshida Tetsuya
• Fukushima Takayuki
• Kinoshita Shinya
• Matsuoka Shogo

Classifications

• H10P72/7608

  characterised by a plurality of separate clamping members, e.g. clamping fingers · CPC title

• H10P72/7606

  characterised by edge clamping, e.g. clamping ring · CPC title

• H10P72/7602

  the wafers being placed on a robot blade or gripped by a gripper for conveyance · CPC title

• H10P72/3202

  Mechanical details, e.g. rollers or belts · CPC title

• H10P72/0606 Primary

  Position monitoring, e.g. misposition detection or presence detection · CPC title