17452results about "Cranes" patented technology

Surgical accessories are presented in vivo and used by surgical tools in the surgical site to perform additional tasks without the need to remove the tools from the surgical site for tool change or instrument loading. Examples of in vivo accessories include fastening accessories such as surgical clips for use with a clip applier, single working member accessories such as a blade which can be grasped and manipulated by a grasping tool for cutting, sheath accessories that fit over working members of a tool, flow tubes for providing suction or introducing a fluid into the surgical site, and a retraction member resiliently biased to retract a tissue to expose an area in the surgical site for treatment. The accessories can be introduced into the surgical site by a dedicated accessory introducer, or can be supported on the body of a surgical tool inserted into the surgical site and be manipulated using another surgical tool in the surgical site. The accessory introducer can be resiliently biased to bias the accessories toward a predetermined position in the surgical site.

In most cases, a hot, corrosive atmosphere is created in, for example, a semiconductor wafer processing chamber. When an arm including belts, such as steel belts, is moved into such a semiconductor wafer processing chamber, the belts are exposed to the hot, corrosive atmosphere. Belts, such as steel belts, have limited heat resistance and corrosion resistance and the hot, corrosive atmosphere in the processing chamber shortens the life of the belts. A carrying device of the present invention has a frog leg type arm (3) and a wafer holder (4) connected to the frog leg type arm (3). The wafer holder (4) is pivotally connected to front end parts of a first front arm (8A) and a second front arm (8B) by coaxial joints (10). The wafer holder (4) is linked to the first front arm (8A) and the second front arm (8B) by a posture maintaining linkage (5) including two antiparallel linkages capable of controlling the turning of the wafer holder (4) relative to the first and the second front arms (8A, 8B).

Methods and apparatus are provided for the use of a dual Selective Compliant Assembly Robot Arm (SCARA) robot. In some embodiments two SCARAs are provided, each including an elbow joint, wherein the two SCARAs are vertically stacked such that one SCARA is a first arm and the other SCARA is a second arm, and wherein the second arm is adapted to support a first substrate, and the first arm is adapted to extend to a full length when the second arm supports the first substrate, and wherein the first substrate supported by the second arm is coplanar with the elbow joint of the first arm, and the second arm is further adapted to move concurrently in parallel (and/or in a coordinated fashion) with the first arm a sufficient amount to avoid interference between the first substrate and the elbow joint of the first arm. Numerous other embodiments are provided.

A wafer transfer blade including a body including metal oxide and configured to support a wafer, and an adsorbing part on the body, the adsorbing part having at least one therein and configured to apply vacuum pressure to attach the wafer on the body may be provided. The body may include metal oxide to prevent static electricity.

The robot arm of the present application is a robot arm that transports semiconductor wafers. The robot arm includes a hand, a lower arm link, and an upper arm link. The hand is connected to the lower arm link via a first joint. The upper arm link is connected to the lower arm link via a second joint. In the robot arm of the present application, the lower arm link is capable of being separated at a location between the first joint and the second joint.

One sensor constituted of a light emission element and a light-receiving element is provided in a path through which a wafer is transferred. The sensor is positioned so that the wafer passes through an area between the light emission element and the light-receiving element. Coordinates of the center of the wafer are calculated based on encoder values obtained when the wafer starts passing through the sensor and when the wafer completes passing through the sensor, position data of wafer transfer means corresponding to the encoder value, and the diameter of the wafer; and thereby the amount of positional deviation of the center of the wafer from a reference position is calculated.

An intelligent modular hybrid robot arm system is usable with mobile robots, and is applicable to stationary industrial arms. The intelligent modular hybrid robot arm system provides a large work envelope and a controlled and directed rotational movement for a flexible snake robot arm. The intelligent modular hybrid robot arm system has the ability to change end effector tools and sensors. The platform computers have the ability to interact with other subsystems for coordinated as well as independent tasks. The flexibly snake robot arm can be covered with a flexible sensor network, or “skin”. The intelligent modular hybrid robot arm system can manage its energy use, stores the arm in a compact shape and uses a central support tube offering unobstructed arm access to all sectors of its working envelope.

A drive section for a substrate transport arm including a frame, at least one stator mounted within the frame, the stator including a first motor section and at least one stator bearing section and a coaxial spindle magnetically supported substantially without contact by the at least one stator bearing section, where each drive shaft of the coaxial spindle includes a rotor, the rotor including a second motor section and at least one rotor bearing section configured to interface with the at least one stator bearing section, wherein the first motor section is configured to interface with the second motor section to effect rotation of the spindle about a predetermined axis and the at least one stator bearing section is configured to effect at least leveling of a substrate transport arm end effector connected to the coaxial spindle through an interaction with the at least one rotor bearing section.

A portable drilling rig apparatus includes a rig floor having a pedestal structure thereon, the pedestal structure comprising a lower pivot point and a lower attachment point and wherein the pedestal structure is configured to be rotated to a vertical position about the lower pivot point. The drilling rig further includes a mast structure having a mast pivot point at a lower end of the mast structure wherein the mast pivot point is configured to be pinned to an upper pivot point of the pedestal structure.

A method for setting a safe work area and a rated load in a swing type work machine, as well as a swing type work machine which utilizes the said method, are disclosed. An area where a strength-based safe work area which is established taking the strength of a swing member into account and a stability-based safe work area which is established taking the stability of the work machine into account overlap each other, is set as a safe work area to be used actually. Likewise, out of a strength-based rated load which is set taking the strength of the swing member into consideration and a stability-based rated load which is set taking the stability of the work machine into consideration, the lower one is set as a rated load to be used actually. Using the safe work area and rated load thus obtained, there are made a safety control and an appropriate display. According to this method, in a swing type work machine such as a crane, it is possible to establish a safe work area and a rated load both matching the actual hoisting capacity of the work machine.

The inventive control system, as typically embodied, includes sensing mechanisms, a computational processing unit, and an algorithm for processing inputs and generating outputs to control a rotating pedestal crane equipped with a Rider Block Tagline System (RBTS). Typical inventive embodiments uniquely feature a processing algorithm that distributes various control modes that operate not only through the crane's hoisting, luffing, and slewing mechanisms but also through the crane's RBTS; the inventive algorithm thereby effectuates motion compensation and pendulation damping with respect to the crane. This algorithmic allocation of control represents a more efficient crane anti-pendulation methodology than conventional methodologies; in particular, the inventive methodology exerts significantly greater control of the payload while exacting significantly less burden upon the hoisting, luffing, and slewing mechanisms of the crane.

A substrate transport apparatus having a drive section and a scara arm operably connected to the drive section to move the scara arm. The scara arm has an upper arm and at least one forearm. The forearm is movably mounted to the upper arm and capable of holding a substrate thereon. The upper arm is substantially rigid and is adjustable for changing a predetermined dimension of the upper arm.

An embodiment of an apparatus useful for up-righting a wind turbine pillar at an offshore installation location includes a barge having first and second towers and an open area therebetween and which extends downwardly to the offshore installation location. At least two pulling lines extend from the towers to the pillar and are useful to assist in moving the pillar into a generally up-right orientation between the towers and lowering the pillar downwardly through the open area to the offshore installation location.

A substrate processing apparatus including a frame, a first arm coupled to the frame at a shoulder axis having a first upper arm, a first forearm and at least one substrate holder serially and rotatably coupled to each other, a second arm coupled to the frame at the shoulder axis where shoulder axes of rotation of the arms are substantially coincident, the second arm having a second upper arm, a second forearm and at least one substrate holder serially and rotatably coupled to each other, and a drive section connected to the frame and coupled to the arms, the drive section being configured to independently extend and rotate each arm where an axis of extension of the first arm is angled relative to an axis of extension of the second arm substantially at each angular position of at least one of the first arm or the second arm.

A dual arm robot assembly has two arms each having a set of joint/link pairs that, in conjunction with an actuator assembly, define at least three degrees of freedom to provide independent horizontal translation and rotation of a distalmost link. A vertical motion mechanism is also provided.

An object picking system for picking up, one by one, a plurality of objects. The system includes a detecting section detecting, as an image, an object to be picked, among a plurality of objects placed in a manner as to be at least partially superimposed on each other; a storage section storing appearance information of a predetermined portion of a reference object having an outward appearance identical to an outward appearance of the object to be picked; a determining section determining, in the image of the object to be picked detected by the detecting section, whether an inspected portion of the object to be picked, corresponding to the predetermined portion of the reference object, is concealed by another object, based on the appearance information of the reference object stored in the storage section; a control section deciding a picking motion for the object to be picked and outputting a control signal of the picking motion, based on a determination result of the determining section; and a picking mechanism performing the picking motion on the object to be picked in accordance with the control signal output from the control section.

A mobile robot has a predetermined size of large, medium, small or back-packable. The mobile robot includes a chassis, drive system components, power components, a main processor, a communication system and a power and data distribution system. The chassis has a predetermined size of large, medium, small or back-packable. Drive system components are operably attached to the chassis and power components are operably connected to the drive system components and the power and data distribution system. Each drive system component has a predetermined size that is compatible with the chassis. The main processor, the communication system and the power and data distribution system are all operably connected together and operably connected to the traction components and the power components. The main processor, the communication system, and the power and data distribution system are all compatible with the predetermined size of the chassis and at least one other size.