Coaxial drive vacuum robot

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9656386-B2
Application number	US-201113270844-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 11, 2011
Priority date	Oct 8, 2010
Publication date	May 23, 2017
Grant date	May 23, 2017

Abstract

A robotic transport apparatus including a drive system including at least one harmonic motor assembly, at least one drive shaft coupled to the at least one harmonic motor assembly, at least one robotic arm mounted to the at least one drive shaft, where the robotic arm is located inside a sealed environment, and at least one atmospheric isolation seal seated on an output surface of the drive system and forming an atmospheric barrier disposed so that the at least one drive shaft extends through the atmospheric barrier into the sealed environment and the at least one harmonic motor assembly is located outside the sealed environment, wherein the robotic transport apparatus is a high capacity payload transport apparatus.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A robotic transport apparatus comprising:
a drive system including at least one harmonic motor assembly;
at least one drive shaft coupled to the at least one harmonic motor assembly;
at least one robotic arm mounted to the at least one drive shaft, where the robotic arm is located inside a sealed environment; and
at least one atmospheric isolation seal seated on an output surface, that is distinct from and engaged to the at least one drive shaft, of the drive system and forming an atmospheric barrier disposed so that the at least one drive shaft extends through the atmospheric barrier into the sealed environment and the at least one harmonic motor assembly is located outside the sealed environment;
wherein the robotic transport apparatus is a heavy payload capacity transport apparatus and wherein a portion of the at least one harmonic motor assembly is configured as a seating surface for the at least one atmospheric isolation seal.

2. The robotic transport apparatus of claim 1 wherein the atmospheric isolation seal is a ferrofluidic seal.

3. The robotic transport apparatus of claim 1 wherein an output portion of the at least one harmonic motor assembly is sealingly isolated from an input portion of the harmonic motor assembly.

4. The robotic transport apparatus of claim 1 wherein the at least one harmonic motor assembly includes a first harmonic motor assembly and a second harmonic motor assembly being linearly arranged and having a common axis of rotation and the at least one drive shaft includes a first and second coaxial drive shaft assembly.

5. The robotic transport apparatus of claim 4 wherein the first and second harmonic motor assemblies are configured to substantially maintain a concentricity of the first and second drive shafts for providing a gap in which the at least one atmospheric isolation seal is disposed.

6. The robotic transport apparatus of claim 4 further comprising a third drive shaft concentrically located with the first and second drive shafts and a third harmonic motor assembly is coupled to the third drive shaft.

7. The robotic transport apparatus of claim 1 wherein the at least one drive shaft includes a feedthrough configured for the passage of wires through the at least one drive shaft, where the at least one drive shaft forms a coaxial drive shaft assembly.

8. The robotic transport apparatus of claim 1 wherein the robotic arm comprises a sliding end effector arrangement.

9. The robotic transport apparatus of claim 1 wherein the drive system includes a Z-axis drive motor.

10. The robotic transport apparatus of claim 1 wherein the robotic transport apparatus is configured to carry a payload of about one kilogram to about twenty kilograms, a payload of about fifteen kilograms to about twenty kilograms, a payload of about fifteen kilograms, or a payload of about twenty kilograms.

11. A robotic transport apparatus comprising:
a drive system including at least one harmonic motor assembly including a coaxial drive spindle with at least two drive shafts and corresponding motor rotors and motor stators; and
at least one linearly sliding transport arm mounted to the coaxial spindle, where the coaxial motor assembly is coupled to the at least one linearly sliding transport arm through the coaxial spindle and configured to substantially directly drive the at least two drive shafts for effecting movement of the at least one linearly sliding transport arm;
wherein the coaxial drive spindle is in a sealed environment and the motor stators and motor rotors of the harmonic motor assembly are isolated outside the sealed environment and all seals sealing the coaxial drive spindle within the sealed environment are static seals.

12. The robotic transport apparatus of claim 11 wherein the at least one linearly sliding transport arm comprises a linearly sliding end effector arrangement.

13. The robotic transport apparatus of claim 11 wherein the at least one linearly sliding transport arm includes at least two end effectors stacked one above the other and a base member where each end effector is slidably mounted to the base member independently of other ones of the at least two end effectors.

14. The robotic transport apparatus of claim 11 wherein the robotic transport further includes a Z-axis drive motor.

15. The robotic transport apparatus of claim 11 wherein the drive system includes a housing holding the sealed environment, a stator and a rotor for each drive shaft and at least one static isolation barrier, where the stator, rotor and isolation barrier are disposed within the housing and the at least one static isolation barrier is configured to seal the stators from the sealed environment within the housing such that the stators are located outside the sealed environment and an interior of the housing remains open to the sealed environment.

16. A substrate processing apparatus comprising:
a frame having a casing defining a sealed atmosphere that is sealed from an external atmosphere; and
a substrate transport apparatus connected to the frame, the substrate transport apparatus including a triaxial drive system including a harmonic motor assembly coupled to at least three drive shafts sealed within the sealed atmosphere and the harmonic motor assembly is located outside the sealed atmosphere; and
a transport arm coupled to the drive system, the transport arm including a base member and at least one substrate holder configured to support heavy payloads, the at least one substrate holder being slidably mounted to the base member so that the at least one substrate holder is linearly slidable relative to the base member where the coupling between each of the base member and the at least one substrate holder of the transport arm and the drive system is a substantially direct drive coupling to each of the at least three drive shafts effecting a rotation and extension of the transport arm.

17. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 16 wherein the drive system includes coaxial drive shafts where one of the coaxial drive shafts is substantially directly coupled to the base member for rotating the base member about a drive axis of rotation and other ones of the coaxial drive shafts are substantially directly coupled to respective ones of the at least one substrate holder for effecting sliding movement of the respective one of the at least one substrate holder independent of other ones of the at least one substrate holder.

18. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 16 wherein the at least one substrate holder includes supports that are slidingly coupled to the base member, the supports being configured to form at least part of a labyrinth seal.

19. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 18 further comprising shield members coupled to the base member, the shield members being configured to interface with the supports to form at least part of the labyrinth seal.

20. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 16 wherein the at least one substrate holder comprises at least two substrate holders disposed in a stacked configuration.

Assignees

• Caveney Robert T
• Gilchrist Ulysses
• Brooks Automation Inc

Inventors

• Caveney Robert T
• Gilchrist Ulysses

Classifications

• H10P72/3302 Primary

  Mechanical parts of transfer devices · CPC title

• B25J9/042 Primary

  comprising an articulated arm · CPC title

• B25J11/0095

  Manipulators transporting wafers · CPC title

• H01L21/67742

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H10P72/3402

  Mechanical parts of transfer devices · CPC title