A novel robotic arm structure for holding wafers
By combining an electric push rod and a compression spring, the problems of high trace space and wear in the clamping finger mechanism are solved, enabling dynamic adjustment of clamping force and ensuring cleanliness, and adapting to clamping of different wafer thicknesses.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- ADTECH SHENZHEN TECH
- Filing Date
- 2025-07-10
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-03
AI Technical Summary
Existing technologies for clamping finger mechanisms require high wiring space, are prone to wear and air leakage during long-term operation, have non-adjustable clamping force, affect cleanliness, and have low adaptability.
It adopts a combination of electric push rod and compression spring. The electric push rod drives the guide rod to move linearly within the bearing, realizing dynamic adjustment of clamping force. The clamping position is fed back through slotted switch and position sensor, reducing the wiring space requirement and wear.
It reduces the space requirements for wiring, avoids cable wear, improves service life, enables adaptive clamping for different wafer thicknesses, and ensures cleanliness.
Smart Images
Figure CN224445986U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This utility model relates to the field of semiconductor equipment technology, specifically to a novel robotic arm structure for holding wafers. Background Technology
[0002] With social development and technological advancements, robots have been widely applied in production and daily life, replacing or assisting humans in various tasks. Especially in recent years, with the rapid development of the semiconductor industry, to meet domestic demand for chips using various process technologies, robots such as atmospheric robots and vacuum robots are now widely used in the semiconductor industry to replace workers in tasks such as loading and unloading wafers and wafer assemblies.
[0003] In the structure of an atmospheric hand robot, the fingers are a crucial component, directly contacting the wafer. These fingers can be categorized into friction-type fingers, vacuum-adhesive fingers, Bernoulli-type fingers, and gripping fingers. Among these, the gripping finger mechanism is more complex and has a greater impact on the overall operational stability of the robotic arm.
[0004] Currently, most gripping fingers use cylinders for gripping power. Two air lines supply the cylinders, and the solenoid valves controlling the cylinders are typically located inside the robotic arm body. Each cylinder has two sets of magnetic switches that provide feedback on its position. Furthermore, the gripping force of the cylinders remains constant throughout the robotic arm's operation. Because of the two air lines supplying the cylinders and the two magnetic switch wires, these four lines need to be routed from the finger's internal space to the robot's body. This places high demands on the wiring space, especially since the internal space of the finger is very confined and frequently involves rotational movements. Prolonged operation can lead to wear and leaks.
[0005] Secondly, the piston-like movement of the cylinder is a frictional action, which can cause dust to spill out and affect the cleanliness. Using a clean cylinder would also be very expensive.
[0006] Since wafers of the same size can have various thicknesses, different clamping forces need to be set for different wafers. The cylinder clamping force is constant and cannot be automatically adjusted. It requires stopping the machine and manually adjusting it. It cannot adjust the clamping force and has low adaptability. Summary of the Invention
[0007] The purpose of this invention is to propose a novel robotic arm structure for holding wafers, aiming to solve the technical problems in the prior art, such as high space requirements for wiring, easy wear and air leakage during long-term operation, dust overflow, and inability to adjust the clamping force.
[0008] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention proposes a novel robotic arm structure for clamping wafers, characterized in that it comprises: a clamping mechanism portion and a base portion;
[0009] The clamping mechanism is located above the base portion, which includes a finger base and fingers for supporting the wafer.
[0010] The clamping mechanism includes a first guide rod that can move linearly under a drive. The front end of the first guide rod has a contact roller that can push against the wafer and can rotate freely. The middle part of the first guide rod is encased in a first bearing. The end of the first guide rod is connected to a connecting seat, which has a trigger baffle. Below the trigger baffle is a slotted switch. The other end of the connecting seat is connected to a second guide rod. The upper part of the second guide rod is placed in a second bearing. The second guide rod has a compression spring. The end of the second guide rod has a push seat, which has a third bearing. One side of the push seat is connected to an electric push rod.
[0011] In this specific embodiment, the finger has a Y-shaped structure, with four wafer holders on the upper surface of the finger, and two front wafer holders symmetrically fixed at the front end, and a rear wafer holder fixed at the opposite rear end.
[0012] In this specific embodiment, the base portion is also electrically connected to an external robotic arm.
[0013] In this specific embodiment, the contact roller is fixedly mounted on the roller fixing seat, the roller fixing seat is located on the finger base, and the front end of the first guide rod is fixedly connected to the roller fixing seat.
[0014] In this specific embodiment, the first bearing, the second bearing, and the third bearing are all linear bearings, wherein the first bearing, the second bearing, and the third bearing enable the first guide rod and the second guide rod to move linearly.
[0015] In this specific embodiment, the first bearing is fixed to the finger base by a shaft retaining ring, and the second bearing is fixedly installed on a fixed seat, which is fixed to the finger base.
[0016] In this specific embodiment, the trigger baffle moves linearly together with the connecting seat, which is fixed on the finger base, thereby triggering the slotted switch. The slotted switch is provided with a first wire outlet.
[0017] In this specific embodiment, the second guide rod is a shoulder structure used to hold the first spring stop plate, and the compression spring acts on the first spring stop plate.
[0018] In this specific embodiment, the third bearing is simultaneously sleeved on the lower part of the second guide rod, slides up and down along the second guide rod, and the top of the third bearing pushes the compression spring to extend and retract, while the bottom of the third bearing is provided with a second spring stop plate.
[0019] In this specific embodiment, the push base and the electric push rod are connected by an end pin, the end of the electric push rod is connected to a tail pin, the tail pin is fixed on the finger base, a position sensor is provided inside the electric push rod, and a second cable outlet is provided at the electric push rod.
[0020] This utility model discloses a novel robotic arm structure for holding wafers, which has at least the following beneficial effects:
[0021] 1. By setting a first cable outlet and a second cable outlet, one of which is the cable outlet for the electric push rod and the other is the cable outlet for the slotted switch, the wiring difficulty of this utility model is reduced, the space requirements for wiring are reduced, excessive wear of the cable is avoided, and the service life of this utility model is increased.
[0022] 2. Power is output through an electric push rod. When clamping the wafer, the electric push rod retracts, driving the second guide rod and the first guide rod to move linearly within the first, second, and third bearings. The first guide rod then pushes the contact roller forward to clamp the wafer. When releasing the wafer, the electric push rod extends, and the contact roller disengages from the wafer. This avoids the wear and particle separation caused by using a cylinder, which would affect cleanliness.
[0023] 3. By setting a compression spring, the clamping force can be dynamically adjusted by the compression spring. At the same time, the electric push rod can automatically adjust the running distance to control the compression amount of the compression spring, which can adapt to the robot arm's clamping of wafers with different thicknesses.
[0024] 4. By setting a slotted switch, the position of the finger clamping the wafer can be fed back; by setting a sensor, the position of the finger detaching from the wafer can be fed back. Attached Figure Description
[0025] The above and other objects, features, and advantages of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will become readily apparent upon reading the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, several embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated by way of example and not limitation, and like or corresponding reference numerals denote like or corresponding parts, wherein:
[0026] Figure 1 This is an overall schematic diagram of a new type of robotic arm structure for holding wafers;
[0027] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a new type of robotic arm structure for holding wafers before the wafer is held.
[0028] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a novel robotic arm structure for holding wafers after the wafer is held in place.
[0029] Figure 4This is a partial schematic diagram of a novel robotic arm structure for holding wafers;
[0030] Figure 5 This is a partial cross-sectional view of a new type of robotic arm structure used to hold wafers.
[0031] In the attached image:
[0032] 100. Clamping mechanism; 200. Base; 101. Contact roller; 102. Roller fixing seat; 103. First guide rod; 104. First bearing; 105. Connecting seat; 106. Second bearing; 107. Fixing seat; 108. Second guide rod; 109. First spring stop; 110. Compression spring; 111. Push seat; 112. Third linear bearing; 113. Second spring stop; 114. End pin; 115. Electric push rod; 116. Tail pin; 117. Trigger stop; 118. Slotted switch; 201. Finger base; 202. Finger; 203. Wafer; 204. Wafer holder. Detailed Implementation
[0033] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this disclosure will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of this disclosure. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this disclosure without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this disclosure.
[0034] Traditional gripping finger mechanisms are complex and have a significant impact on the overall stability of the robotic arm. They cannot adjust the gripping force when handling wafers of different sizes, resulting in low adaptability. In addition, the piston-like movement of the cylinder is a frictional action, which can cause dust to spill out and affect cleanliness. Using clean cylinders would also be very expensive.
[0035] In view of this, such as Figures 1-5 As shown, a novel robotic arm structure for clamping wafers includes a clamping mechanism portion 100 and a base portion 200, with the clamping mechanism portion 100 located above the base portion 200.
[0036] Furthermore, the base portion 200 includes a finger base 201 and fingers 202, with the fingers 202 used to support the wafer 203. Specifically, the fingers 200 have a Y-shaped structure, but can be configured into different shapes depending on actual needs. In this embodiment, the upper surface of the fingers 200 is provided with four wafer holders 204, with two front wafer holders 204 symmetrically fixed at the front end and a rear wafer holder 204 fixed at the opposite rear end, but not limited to four wafer holders 204. The base portion 200 is also electrically connected to an external robotic arm.
[0037] Furthermore, the clamping mechanism portion 100 is provided with a first guide rod 103, which can move linearly under driving action. The front end of the first guide rod 103 is provided with a contact roller 101 that can push against the wafer 203, and the contact roller 101 can rotate freely. Specifically, the contact roller 101 is fixedly mounted on a roller fixing seat 102, which is fixedly connected to the finger base 201. In this embodiment, the contact roller 101 is located at the front end of the roller fixing seat 102, facilitating better contact with the wafer 203. Specifically, when clamping the wafer 203, the contact roller 101 moves forward to clamp the wafer 203; when releasing the wafer 203, the contact roller 101 disengages from the wafer 203.
[0038] Furthermore, the front end of the first guide rod 103 is fixedly connected to the roller fixing seat 102, so that the first guide rod 103 can push the roller fixing seat 102, thereby driving the contact roller 101 to move forward and backward. The middle part of the first guide rod 103 is wrapped in the first bearing 104. The first bearing 104 is a linear bearing, and the first guide rod 103 moves linearly within the first bearing 104.
[0039] Furthermore, the end of the first guide rod 103 is connected to a connecting seat 105, and the connecting seat 105 is provided with a trigger baffle 117, with a slotted switch 118 below the trigger baffle 117. Specifically, the trigger baffle 117 moves linearly together with the connecting seat 105, which is fixed to the finger base 201, thereby triggering the slotted switch 118. The slotted switch 118 has a first wire outlet (not shown). In this embodiment, when the first guide rod 103 moves forward, it pulls the trigger baffle 117 on the connecting seat 105 upward, triggering the slotted switch 118 located below the trigger baffle 117 to work and providing a position signal in this state. At the same time, by setting the first wire outlet, the wiring difficulty of this utility model is reduced, the space requirements for wiring are lowered, excessive wear of the cable is avoided, and the service life of this utility model is increased.
[0040] Furthermore, the other end of the connecting seat 105 is connected to the second guide rod 108. Specifically, the upper part of the second guide rod 108 is placed inside the second bearing 106, which is a linear bearing, and the second guide rod 108 moves linearly within the second bearing 106.
[0041] Furthermore, a compression spring 110 is provided on the second guide rod 108. The second guide rod 108 has a shoulder structure for engaging the first spring stop 109, and the compression spring 110 acts on the first spring stop 109. By providing the compression spring 110, the clamping force can be dynamically adjusted by the compression spring 110, which can adapt to the gripping of wafers 203 with different thicknesses by the robot arm.
[0042] Furthermore, the second guide rod 108 has a push seat 111 at its end, and a third bearing 112 is sleeved inside the push seat 111. The third bearing 112 is also sleeved on the lower part of the second guide rod 108 and slides up and down along the second guide rod 108. The top of the third bearing 112 pushes the compression spring 110 to extend and retract, and a second spring baffle 113 is provided at the bottom of the third bearing 112.
[0043] Specifically, in this embodiment, the first bearing 104, the second bearing 106, and the third bearing 112 are all linear bearings, wherein the first bearing 104, the second bearing 106, and the third bearing 112 enable the first guide rod 103 and the second guide rod 108 to move linearly. The first bearing 104 is fixed to the finger base 201 by a shaft retaining ring, and the second bearing 106 is fixedly mounted on a fixing seat 107, which is fixed to the finger base 201.
[0044] Furthermore, an electric push rod 115 is connected to one side of the push base 111. The push base 111 and the electric push rod 115 are connected by an end pin 114. The end of the electric push rod 115 is connected to a tail pin 116, which is fixed to the finger base 201. A position sensor (not shown) is provided inside the electric push rod 115. A second cable outlet (not shown) is provided at the electric push rod 115. By setting the second cable outlet as the cable outlet of the electric push rod 115, the wiring difficulty of this utility model is reduced, the space requirement for wiring is reduced, excessive wear of the cable is avoided, and the service life of this utility model is increased. The electric push rod 115 provides power output. When clamping the wafer 203, the electric push rod 115 retracts, causing the second guide rod 108 and the first guide rod 103 to move linearly within the first bearing 104, the second bearing 106, and the third bearing 112. When releasing the wafer 203, the electric push rod 115 extends, and the contact roller 101 disengages from the wafer 203, thus avoiding wear and particle separation caused by using a cylinder to push, which would affect the cleanliness.
[0045] The specific working principle is as follows: When the finger 202 clamps the wafer 203, the electric push rod 115 retracts and acts on the push seat 111 through the end pin 114. The push seat 111 drives the third bearing 112 fixed thereon to slide on the second guide rod 108, thereby squeezing and compressing the spring 110. The force of the compressed spring 110 pushes the first spring stop 109, thereby pushing the second guide rod 108 to slide in the second bearing 106. Since the second guide rod 108, the connecting seat 105 and the first guide rod 103 are fixedly connected, the first guide rod 103 is driven to slide in the first bearing 104. At the same time, the first guide rod 103 pushes the contact roller 101 forward to clamp the wafer 203.
[0046] When wafer 203 is released, electric push rod 115 extends and acts on push seat 111 via end pin 114. Push seat 111 drives third bearing 112 fixed thereon to slide in the opposite direction on second guide rod 108. Push seat 111, through second spring stop 113, further pushes second guide rod 108 to slide in the opposite direction within second bearing 106. Since second guide rod 108, connecting seat 105 and first guide rod 103 are fixedly connected, first guide rod 103 is driven to slide in the opposite direction within first bearing 104. At the same time, first guide rod 103 pushes contact roller 101 to retract and disengage from wafer 203.
[0047] In the foregoing description of this specification, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, the terms "fixed," "installed," "connected," or "linked" should be interpreted broadly. For example, the term "linked" can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; or it can refer to the internal communication of two components or the interaction between two components. Therefore, unless otherwise expressly limited in this specification, those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances.
[0048] Based on the above description in this specification, those skilled in the art will also understand that terms used, such as "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "length," "width," "thickness," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "axial," "radial," "circumferential," "center," "longitudinal," "transverse," "clockwise," or "counterclockwise," are terms indicating orientation or positional relationships based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings of this specification. They are only for the purpose of facilitating the explanation of the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not imply that the devices or elements involved must have the specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, the above-mentioned orientation or positional relationship terms should not be understood or interpreted as limitations on the present invention.
[0049] Furthermore, the terms "first" or "second," etc., used in this specification to refer to numbers or ordinal numbers are for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating, explicitly or implicitly, relative importance or specifying the number of indicated technical features. Therefore, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of that feature. In the description of this specification, "a plurality of" means at least two, such as two, three, or more, unless otherwise explicitly specified.
[0050] While various embodiments of the invention have been shown and described herein, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that such embodiments are provided by way of example only. Many modifications, alterations, and alternatives will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and essence of the invention. It should be understood that various alternatives to the embodiments of the invention described herein may be employed in the practice of the invention. The appended claims are intended to define the scope of protection of the invention and therefore cover modular compositions, equivalents, or alternatives within the scope of these claims.
Claims
1. A novel robot structure for holding a wafer, characterized by, include: Clamping mechanism and base; The clamping mechanism is located above the base portion, which includes a finger base and fingers for supporting the wafer. The clamping mechanism includes a first guide rod that can move linearly under a drive. The front end of the first guide rod has a contact roller that can push against the wafer and rotate freely. The middle part of the first guide rod is encased in a first bearing. The end of the first guide rod is connected to a connecting seat, which has a trigger baffle. Below the trigger baffle is a slotted switch. The other end of the connecting seat is connected to a second guide rod. The upper part of the second guide rod is placed in a second bearing. A compression spring is provided on the second guide rod. The end of the second guide rod has a push seat, which has a third bearing fitted inside. One side of the push seat is connected to an electric push rod.
2. The novel robot structure for holding a wafer according to claim 1, wherein The finger has a Y-shaped structure, and four wafer holders are provided on the upper surface of the finger. Two front wafer holders are symmetrically fixed at the front end, and a rear wafer holder is fixed at the opposite rear end.
3. The novel robot structure for holding a wafer according to claim 1, wherein The base portion is also electrically connected to the external robotic arm.
4. The novel robot structure for holding a wafer according to claim 1, wherein The contact roller is fixedly mounted on the roller fixing seat, which is located on the finger base, and the front end of the first guide rod is fixedly connected to the roller fixing seat.
5. The novel robot structure for holding a wafer according to claim 1, wherein The first bearing, the second bearing, and the third bearing are all linear bearings, wherein the first bearing, the second bearing, and the third bearing cause the first guide rod and the second guide rod to move linearly.
6. The novel robotic arm structure for holding wafers according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first bearing is fixed to the finger base by a shaft retaining ring, and the second bearing is fixedly installed on a fixed seat, which is fixed to the finger base.
7. The novel robot structure for holding a wafer according to claim 1, wherein The trigger baffle moves linearly together with the connecting seat, which is fixed on the finger base, thereby triggering the slotted switch. The slotted switch is provided with a first wire outlet.
8. The novel robot structure for holding a wafer according to claim 1, wherein The second guide rod has a shoulder structure, which is used to hold the first spring stop plate, and the compression spring acts on the first spring stop plate.
9. The novel robot structure for holding a wafer according to claim 1, wherein The third bearing is simultaneously sleeved on the lower part of the second guide rod, slides up and down along the second guide rod, and the top of the third bearing pushes the compression spring to extend and retract, while the bottom of the third bearing is provided with a second spring stop plate.
10. The novel robot structure for holding a wafer according to claim 1, wherein The push base and the electric push rod are connected by an end pin. The end of the electric push rod is connected to a tail pin, which is fixed to the finger base. A position sensor is provided inside the electric push rod, and a second cable outlet is provided at the electric push rod.