Workpiece handling robot

Abstract

A wafer handling robot (100) is disclosed for transporting workpieces. The robot includes a base (102) comprising a rigid backbone (112) for providing stability to the robot. The base further includes a mast (116), a linear drive system (122) for translating the mast, and a shoulder drive system (120) for rotating the mast. The shoulder drive system includes a harmonic drive reduction system (138) for providing output rotation of the mast for rotation with the mast, and a distal link (106) rotatably mounted to the proximal link. An end effector (108) for supporting workpieces is rotationally mounted to the distal end of the distal link. An elbow drive (150) is mounted to the proximal link, extending down into the mast section, for driving rotation of the distal link with respect to the proximal link.

Description

[0001] This application claims priority to US Provisional Patent Application 60 / 116,077, filed January 15, 1999, and US Provisional Patent Application 60 / 116,446, filed January 19, 1999. technical field [0002] The present invention relates to robots for transferring workpieces, such as semiconductor wafers, between processing tools or a processing tool and a workpiece storage location, and in particular to a precision workpiece handling having a robust, scalable and easily configurable structure robot. Background technique [0003] The introduction of workpiece handling robots into semiconductor manufacturing processes represents a marked advance in the field of automation over manual and earlier transfer equipment used to move wafers between various process tools and / or workpiece storage locations. An important feature of conventional workpiece handling robots is the ability to quickly and precisely approach a workpiece from a f...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

While these robots are well known, they employ complex mechanisms that are expensive to manufacture and difficult to maintain

Another disadvantage with such robots is that they are generally built to precise specifications and it is not possible to change or scale the lengths of the various elements or the overall dimensions of the robot without sacrificing positional accuracy and performance

This creates considerable limitations for different applications that often require components of different sizes

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