Substrate transfer apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12334387-B2
Application number	US-202017623487-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 28, 2020
Priority date	Jun 28, 2019
Publication date	Jun 17, 2025
Grant date	Jun 17, 2025

Abstract

A substrate transfer apparatus includes a base, an arm, an end effector provided at a tip of the arm and having first and second tip portions that are bifurcated, a light emitting unit, a light receiving unit, and a control device controlling an operation of the arm. The control device controls an operation of the arm so that light straightly traveling through a tip of the end effector scans edges of a plurality of substrates accommodated in a front opening unified pod (FOUP), and compares shape patterns of a measured waveform of an output value continuously changed in the light receiving unit with shape patterns of a reference waveform for comparison according to a relative positional relationship between the light and substrate during the operation of the arm and diagnoses at least one of a state of the substrate, the FOUP, and the end effector based on a comparison result.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A substrate transfer apparatus comprising:
a base;
a robot arm mounted on the base;
an end effector provided at a tip of the robot arm and having a first tip portion and a second tip portion that are bifurcated;
a light emitting unit configured to emit light from the first tip portion toward the second tip portion;
a light receiving unit configured to convert detection light into an output value continuously changed depending on an amount of received light traveling through a space between the first tip portion and the second tip portion and incident on the second tip portion; and
a control device controlling an operation of the robot arm,
wherein the control device
controls an operation of the robot arm so that light traveling through a tip of the end effector scans edges of a plurality of substrates accommodated in a front opening unified pod (FOUP), and
compares shape patterns of a measured waveform of the output value continuously changed in the light receiving unit with shape patterns of a reference waveform for comparison according to a relative positional relationship between the light and the substrate during the operation of the robot arm and diagnoses at least one of a state of the substrate, a state of the FOUP, and a state of the end effector based on a comparison result.

2. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control device compares a shape pattern in one section with a shape pattern in another section of the measured waveform, and determines that a surface of the substrate is inclined in the one section in a case where the shape pattern in the one section does not coincide with the shape pattern in the other section.

3. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control device
compares shape patterns of a measured waveform measured this time with shape patterns of a measured waveform for comparison measured last time, and
determines that a surface of the substrate is inclined in one section of the measured waveform measured this time in a case where a shape pattern in the one section of the measured waveform measured this time does not coincide with a shape pattern in one section of the measured waveform for comparison measured last time.

4. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control device
compares the shape patterns of the measured waveform measured this time with the shape patterns of the measured waveform for comparison measured last time, and
determines that the FOUP is inclined in a case where shape patterns in all sections of the measured waveform do not coincide with shape patterns in all sections of the measured waveform for comparison.

5. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a plurality of the FOUPs are arranged at different positions, and
the control device
compares shape patterns of a measured waveform measured in one FOUP with shape patterns of a measured waveform for comparison measured in the other FOUPs, and
determines that the one FOUP is inclined in a case where shape patterns in all sections of the measured waveform measured in the one FOUP do not coincide with shape patterns in all sections of the measured waveform for comparison measured in the other FOUPs.

6. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the control device
compares the shape patterns of the measured waveform measured this time with the shape patterns of the measured waveform for comparison measured last time in a state where an inclination of the FOUP is corrected, and
determines that the end effector is inclined in a case where shape patterns in all sections of the measured waveform measured this time do not coincide with shape patterns in all sections of the measured waveform for comparison measured last time.

7. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control device
compares the shape patterns of the measured waveform measured this time with the shape patterns of the measured waveform for comparison measured last time, and
determines that at least one of intensity of light of the light emitting unit and light receiving sensitivity of the light receiving unit decreases in a case where output values in all the sections of the measured waveform measured this time are lower than output values in all the sections of the measured waveform for comparison measured last time.

8. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a display device displaying a diagnosis result.

9. A substrate transfer apparatus comprising:
a base;
a robot arm mounted on the base;
an end effector provided at a tip of the robot arm and having a first tip portion and a second tip portion that are bifurcated;
a light emitting unit configured to emit light from the first tip portion toward the second tip portion;
a light receiving unit configured to convert detection light into an output value continuously changed depending on an amount of received light traveling through a space between the first tip portion and the second tip portion and incident on the second tip portion; and
a control device controlling an operation of the robot arm,
wherein the control device
controls the operation of the robot arm so that light traveling through a tip of the end effector scans a target in a horizontal direction with respect to the target and measures a position of the target in the horizontal direction based on a measured waveform of the output value continuously changed in the light receiving unit according to a relative positional relationship between the light and the target during the operation of the robot arm.

10. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the position of the target is a position of a center or a position of an edge of the target in a horizontal direction.

11. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the target is a substrate accommodated in an FOUP and having a disk shape.

Assignees

• Kawasaki Heavy Ind Ltd
• Kawasaki Robotics Usa Inc

Inventors

• Yoshida Masaya
• Tanaka Yuji
• Nakahara Hajime

Classifications

• H10P72/3402

  Mechanical parts of transfer devices · CPC title

• H10P72/0608

  of substrates stored in a container, a magazine, a carrier, a boat or the like · CPC title

• H10P72/53

  using optical controlling means · CPC title

• H10P72/7602 Primary

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

• H10P72/3411

  involving loading and unloading of wafers · CPC title