Device manufacturing apparatus, device manufacturing method, teaching position adjustment method, and computer-readable recording medium

Abstract

A robot system, an apparatus manufacturing device, a method for manufacturing an apparatus, a teaching position adjustment method, and a computer-readable recording medium. The robot system of the present invention includes: a robot including a robot arm portion and a robot hand portion rotatably connected to the robot arm portion; and a control unit that controls the operation of the robot. A marking portion is provided on the robot hand portion, and the marking portion is centered on an imaginary axis passing through the robot hand portion and is used to measure the rotation angle of the robot hand portion. The control unit includes a storage unit that stores information related to a plurality of teaching positions for controlling the operation of the robot. In a state where the robot hand portion is set at a specified position, the control unit corrects, based on the information measured using the marking portion and including information related to the rotation angle of the robot hand portion, at least two of the information related to the plurality of teaching positions stored in the storage unit, respectively, for the information related to the position of the robot hand portion.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional of a patent application for an invention titled "Robot, Robot System, Equipment Manufacturing Device, Equipment Manufacturing Method, and Teaching Position Adjustment Method", with an application date of December 20, 2018 and an application number of 201811560350.8. Technical Field

[0002] The present invention relates to a robot. Background Art

[0003] Recently, in a production line of an organic EL display device that has attracted attention as a flat panel display device, a robot having a hand connected to a multi-joint arm of a link mechanism is used to transport a substrate and / or a mask to a processing chamber (e.g., a film formation chamber), a passage chamber, a buffer chamber, a mask storage chamber, etc.

[0004] When initially setting a robot in a production line, or when replacing a robot arm or a robot hand for the purpose of maintaining the robot arm or the robot, in order for such a robot to transport a substrate or a mask to a correct target position, a teaching operation for the starting point and steps (transport track) of the transport action for teaching the robot is performed before the start of the transport action.

[0005] As a teaching method for a robot, a method in which an operator holds the robot hand and directly teaches a standby position or a transport position of a substrate or a mask, a method in which an operator operates the robot through an operation panel to sequentially specify a position that becomes the starting point of the transport action, etc. are generally well-known.

[0006] Information related to the standby position and transport position of the robot hand taught through the teaching operation is stored in the control mechanism of the robot, and during an actual transport action, the robot reproduces the transport action according to the stored standby position and transport position information.

[0007] Generally, teaching of the standby position of the robot and the transport position for handing over a substrate / mask is manually performed by an operator. That is, the operator visually confirms the operation of the robot and manually performs the teaching operation, so a high level of proficiency is required for the operator and the teaching operation takes time. Summary of the Invention

[0008] Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0009] In the technology described in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-251968), the positions of the robot hand of the robot in the X direction and the Y direction are measured, but the control of the robot cannot be performed with high precision.

[0010] The present invention is used to solve such problems, and its object is to provide a robot, a robot system, a device manufacturing apparatus, a method for manufacturing a device using the device manufacturing apparatus, and a method for adjusting a teaching position that can perform control with high precision.

[0011] Solution to the problem

[0012] The robot system of the present invention includes: a robot including a robot arm portion and a robot hand portion rotatably connected to the robot arm portion; and a control portion that controls the operation of the robot. A marking portion is provided on the robot hand portion, and the marking portion is centered on an imaginary axis passing through the robot hand portion and is used to measure the rotation angle of the robot hand portion. The control portion includes a storage portion that stores information related to a plurality of teaching positions for controlling the operation of the robot. The control portion, in a state where the robot hand portion is set at a specified position, corrects the information related to the position of the robot hand portion for at least two of the information related to the plurality of teaching positions stored in the storage portion, respectively, based on the information measured using the marking portion and including information related to the rotation angle of the robot hand portion.

[0013] Effects of the invention

[0014] According to the present invention, by measuring the rotation angle of the robot hand portion, the robot can be controlled with high precision. Description of the drawings

[0015] Figure 1 It is a schematic view of a part of a production line of an organic EL display device.

[0016] Figure 2 It is a schematic view of the robot system of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 3 It is a schematic view of the robot system for adjusting the teaching position of the present invention. Detailed implementation manners

[0018] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments and examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the following embodiments and examples illustratively show preferred structures of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to these structures. In addition, in the following description, the hardware structure and software structure of the device, the processing flow, manufacturing conditions, size, material, shape, etc. do not mean that the scope of the present invention is limited thereto unless specifically stated.

[0019] <Electronic device production line>

[0020] Figure 1 It is a top view schematically showing a part of the structure of a production line of an electronic device.

[0021] Figure 1 The production line is used for manufacturing, for example, display panels of organic EL display devices for smartphones. In the case of a display panel for a smartphone, for example, after forming an organic EL film on a substrate of full size (about 1500 mm × about 1850 mm) or half-cut size (about 1500 mm × about 925 mm), the substrate is cut to produce a plurality of small-sized panels.

[0022] Generally, as Figure 1 shown, the film forming unit 1 of the production line of the organic EL display device includes a plurality of film forming chambers 11 for processing (for example, film forming) a substrate 10, a plurality of mask storage chambers 12 for storing masks before and after use, and a transfer chamber 13 disposed in the center thereof.

[0023] In the transfer chamber 13, the substrate 10 is transferred between the plurality of film forming chambers 11, and a robot 14 for transferring masks is provided between the film forming chamber 11 and the mask storage chamber 12. The robot 14 is, for example, a robot having a structure in which a robot hand for holding the substrate 10 is mounted on a multi-joint arm. Refer to Figure 2 The structure of the robot 14 of the present invention will be described in detail. In the present embodiment, an example in which the robot 14 is a transfer robot for transferring substrates and masks will be described, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and it can also be applied to other robots.

[0024] A film forming device (also referred to as an evaporation device) is provided in each film forming chamber 11. In the film forming device, the evaporation material stored in the evaporation source is heated and evaporated by a heater, and is evaporated onto the substrate via a mask. A series of film forming processes such as the handover of the substrate 10 with the robot 14, the adjustment (alignment) of the relative positions of the substrate 10 and the mask, the fixing of the substrate 10 onto the mask, and film forming (evaporation) are automatically performed by the film forming device. The film forming device may also be of a dual stage type having two mounting tables. In the dual stage type film forming device, while the substrate 10 loaded on one mounting table is being formed, the alignment of the other substrate 10 loaded on the other mounting table is performed.

[0025] In the mask storage chamber 12, the masks used in the film forming process in the film forming chamber 11 and the used masks are stored in two boxes separately. The robot 14 transfers the used mask from the film forming chamber 11 to the box in the mask storage chamber 12, and transfers a new mask stored in the other box in the mask storage chamber 12 to the film forming chamber 11.

[0026] On the film forming unit 1 of the production line of the organic EL display device, a passage chamber 15 and a buffer chamber 16 are connected. The passage chamber 15 transfers the substrate 10 from the upstream side to the film forming unit 1 in the flow direction of the substrate 10, and the buffer chamber 16 is used to transfer the substrate 10 that has completed the film forming process in the film forming unit 1 to other film forming units on the downstream side. The robot 14 in the transfer chamber 13 receives the substrate 10 from the passage chamber 15 on the upstream side and transfers it to one of the film forming chambers 11 in the film forming unit 1. In addition, the robot 14 receives the substrate 10 that has completed the film forming process in the film forming unit 1 from one of the plurality of film forming chambers 11 and transfers it to the buffer chamber 16 connected to the downstream side.

[0027] In this way, the robot 14 transfers the substrate and the object to be transferred such as a mask between various chambers arranged around the transfer chamber 13.

[0028] Refer to Figure 1 The film forming unit 1 of the present invention has been described, but the film forming unit 1 of the present invention is not limited thereto, and it may have other types of chambers, and the arrangement between the chambers may also be changed.

[0029] Hereinafter, the structure of the robot system including the robot 14 will be described.

[0030] <Robot System>

[0031] Figure 2 Illustratively show the structure of the robot system including the robot 14.

[0032] In the following description, an XYZ coordinate system is used in which the direction parallel to the rotation axis of the connection part between the robot arm part and the robot hand part of the robot 14 is the Z axis. When the direction of the Z axis is set as the third direction, either the direction of the X axis or the Y axis perpendicular to it is set as the first direction, and the other direction is set as the second direction. In addition, θ is used to represent the rotation angle centered on the Z axis direction, and the rotation direction centered on the Z axis direction is used as the rotation angle direction.

[0033] The robot system of the present invention includes a robot 14 and a control unit 25 for controlling the operation of the robot 14.

[0034] The robot 14 includes a base part 21 provided on the bottom surface of the transfer chamber 13, a shaft part 22 extending from the base part 21 in the vertical direction or the Z axis direction (the third direction) and capable of moving in the Z axis direction, and a robot arm part 23 rotatably connected to the shaft part 22. In Figure 2In (a), a robot 14 having a robot arm portion 23 is illustrated. However, the robot 14 can also have two or more robot arm portions 23. Thereby, the transfer efficiency of the substrate 10 and the mask can be improved, and the process time can be shortened.

[0035] The robot arm portion 23 can have a structure in which a plurality of arms are connected via joints so as to be rotatable relative to each other. For example, the robot arm portion 23 can include a first arm 231 rotatably connected to a shaft portion 22 at one end, and a second arm 232 rotatably connected to the other end of the first arm 231 at one end. In Figure 2 In (a), a structure in which two arms are rotatably connected to each other via a joint portion is illustrated. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and a structure in which two arms can be expanded and contracted by relatively sliding in the longitudinal direction of the arms can also be provided. Although the case where the first arm 231 is rotatably connected to the shaft portion 22 has been described, the present invention is not limited thereto. The first arm 231 can also be fixedly connected to the shaft portion 22, and instead, the shaft portion 22 itself can be rotated.

[0036] A robot hand portion 24 is rotatably provided at the other end of the second arm 232. The robot hand portion 24 has a structure on which a substrate and a mask can be placed. Although not illustrated in Figure 2 , in order to stably support the substrate, the robot hand portion 24 can have a plurality of support portions extending in a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of the robot hand portion 24 (the direction from the connection portion with the robot arm toward the free end of the robot hand). On the substrate / mask placement surface of the robot hand portion 24, fluorine coating or the like can be performed to prevent damage to the substrate 10. In addition, in order to prevent the substrate 10 from moving or falling on the robot hand portion 24 during transfer, a holding mechanism such as a gripping unit can also be included.

[0037] The robot 14 of the present invention having such a structure can perform linear movement, rotational movement, and a combined movement thereof of the substrate or the mask placed on the robot hand portion 24 by adjusting the rotation angle of the first arm 231 centered on the shaft portion 22, the angle between the first arm 231 and the second arm 232, the angle between the second arm 232 and the robot hand portion 24, and the height of the shaft portion 22, and can move the substrate or the mask to any desired position on the XYZ coordinate system.

[0038] A marking portion 241 for measuring the rotation angle or the position offset amount in the rotation angle direction of the robot hand portion 24 at a specified position (for example, the origin position described later) is formed on the robot hand portion 24 of the robot 14 of the present invention. For the specific structure and function of the marking portion 241, refer to Figure 3 described later.

[0039] The robot system of the present invention includes a control unit 25 that controls the operation of the robot 14. The control unit 25 can be implemented by a computer having a processor, a memory, a storage, I / O, etc. For example, the control unit 25 includes a storage unit 251 that stores a program for controlling the transfer operation of the robot 14, and a processor 252 that executes the program stored in the storage unit 251 to control the robot 14. As the computer, a general personal computer can be used, or an embedded computer or a PLC (programmable logic controller) can be used. Alternatively, part or all of the functions of the control unit 25 can also be constituted by a circuit such as an ASIC or an FPGA. In the present embodiment, the case where the control unit 25 is provided separately from the robot 14 is described, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the robot 14 can also have the control unit 25.

[0040] In the storage unit 251, information related to a plurality of teaching positions (standby positions and transfer positions) for controlling the transfer operation of the robot 14 can be stored. The control unit 25 performs control based on the information related to the teaching positions stored in the storage unit 251 so that the robot hand 24 can move to the corresponding positions.

[0041] As Figure 2 As shown in (b), the robot 14 includes a first arm drive unit 2311 for rotating the axis of the first arm 231, a second arm drive unit 2321 for rotating the axis of the second arm 24, a robot hand drive unit 242 for rotating the axis of the robot hand 24, and a lifting drive unit 221 for vertically driving the shaft portion 22.

[0042] Each of such drive units includes a servo motor (not shown) and a power transmission mechanism (not shown). Rotational power is transmitted from the servo motor to the axis of the first arm 231, the axis of the second arm 232, and the axis of the robot hand 24 via the power transmission mechanism, whereby the first arm 231, the second arm 232, and the robot hand 24 rotate respectively.

[0043] The lifting drive unit 221 is provided in the base portion 21 of the robot 14 and is implemented by a ball screw mechanism including a rotary motor. For example, the lifting drive unit 221 includes a lead screw shaft, a ball nut configured to be screwed with the lead screw shaft, and a rotary motor configured to rotate the lead screw shaft. In this case, the shaft portion 22 is fixed to the ball nut and moves up and down together with the ball nut as the lead screw shaft rotates.

[0044] The control unit 25 can perform feedback control on each drive unit by obtaining information related to the angular position of the first arm 231, the angular position of the second arm 232, the angular position of the robot hand 24, and the height of the shaft unit 22 from these drive units. Thereby, the robot hand 24 can move to the taught position with high precision.

[0045] <Teaching of the robot>

[0046] As described with reference to Figure 1 As described above, the robot 14 transports the substrate 10 between the plurality of film forming chambers 11 and the passage chamber 15 or the buffer chamber 16 in the film forming unit 1.

[0047] Taking the case where the substrate 10 is transported from the passage chamber 15 to the first film forming chamber 11a by the robot 14 as an example, from the first standby position where the robot arm unit 23 of the robot 14 contracts (i.e., the joints of the robot arm unit 23 bend to reduce the angle between the first arm and the second arm) and the free end of the robot hand 24 points to the passage chamber 15, the robot arm unit 23 is extended into the take-out position on the substrate mounting table in the passage chamber 15 (this position becomes the taught position relative to the passage chamber), the substrate 10 on the substrate mounting table in the passage chamber 15 is received, the robot arm unit 23 is retracted again, and the first standby position is returned to.

[0048] Next, the robot arm unit 23 rotates around the shaft unit 22 and moves to the second standby position where the free end of the robot hand 24 points to the first film forming chamber 11a (which becomes another taught position). In this state, the robot arm unit 23 is extended again and moved to the position where the substrate is carried into the first film forming chamber 11a (the taught position relative to the first film forming chamber), thereby carrying the substrate into the first film forming chamber 11a. After that, the robot hand 24 returns to the second standby position.

[0049] Such conveyance operations of loading / unloading the substrate are repeated until all the film forming processes in the film forming unit 1 are completed and the substrate is transferred to the buffer chamber 16 on the downstream side of the flow of the substrate. In order to smoothly complete such conveyance operations performed by the robot 14, information related to the standby positions in the film forming unit 1 and the loading / unloading positions of the substrate 10 is stored as taught position information in the storage unit 251 of the control unit 25.

[0050] The operation of teaching the position information related to the taught position (for example, the X, Y, Z, θ coordinate values of this position) to the robot 14 (the operation of measuring this position and storing it in the storage unit 251 of the control unit 25) is called a teaching operation, which is performed by the operator when the robot 14 is installed in the film forming unit 1 or when the robot arm unit 23 or the robot hand 24 is removed or replaced for maintenance.

[0051] The teaching operation is carried out as follows. That is, the operator moves the robot 14 little by little through the operation panel. At the same time, the robot hand 24 is moved to each teaching position. Based on the information related to the rotation angle of the first arm 23 centered on the shaft portion 22, the rotation angle between the first arm 231 and the second arm 232, the rotation angle between the second arm 232 and the robot hand 24, and the position in the Z-axis direction of the shaft portion 22 at the teaching position, the coordinate value of the teaching position is calculated and stored in the control unit 25. At this time, each rotation angle value, etc. are obtained from the drive unit 2311 of the shaft of the first arm 231, the drive unit 2321 of the shaft of the second arm 232, the drive unit 242 of the shaft of the robot hand 24, and the lifting drive unit 221 of the shaft portion 22.

[0052] Such a teaching operation is usually carried out as follows. That is, the operator manually operates the operation panel to rotate or extend / contract the robot arm portion 23 and / or the robot hand 24 of the robot 14. However, it is also possible to guide the robot hand 24 to the target position by using the guiding portions provided at each teaching position and obtain the position information of that position. In addition, the teaching operation can also be carried out in such a way that the mark provided on the robot hand 24 that has moved to the target position is recognized by the sensor to obtain the coordinate value of the teaching position.

[0053] In addition, when the relative relationship between the chambers is fixed, for example, when the teaching positions (substrate loading / unloading positions) in each chamber are substantially at the same distance from the shaft portion 22 of the robot 14 (that is, when arranged on an arc centered on the robot 14), it is also possible to utilize the relative positional relationship between these chambers to quickly carry out the teaching operation for other chambers (teaching positions).

[0054] In addition, the teaching operation is generally carried out in a state where the substrate 10 is not placed on the robot hand 24, but it is also possible to carry out the teaching operation in a state where the substrate 10 is placed on the robot hand 24. Thereby, correct teaching conforming to the actual conveyance situation can be carried out.

[0055] <Robot System for Adjusting Teaching Position>

[0056] Hereinafter, referring to Figure 3 A robot system for adjusting the teaching position (standby position and conveyance position) according to the present invention will be described.

[0057] After the initial setup of the robot 14 or the maintenance of the robot arm unit 23 / robot hand unit 24, when actually using the robot 14 to transfer the substrate or mask, there may be a situation where the robot arm unit 23 and the robot hand unit 24 collide with other parts constituting the production line. For example, during the process of transferring the substrate 10 or the mask to each chamber by the robot 14 in the film forming unit 1, sometimes the robot hand unit 24 or the like may collide with the substrate holders, substrate placement tables or substrate support parts such as the film forming chamber 11, the passage chamber 15, and the buffer chamber 16, and may also collide with the mask storage box in the mask storage chamber 12 or the mask support part in the box.

[0058] If a mechanical impact is applied to the robot hand unit 24 and the robot arm unit 23 or the like, the robot hand unit 24 and the robot arm unit 23 themselves may be deformed, and the joint parts between them can also be deformed.

[0059] For example, even if no collision occurs, due to the enlargement of the substrate, the robot hand unit 24 itself may be deformed due to the weight of the substrate 10, or the joint part may be deformed due to the continuous load applied to the joint part of the robot 14. Sometimes the moving position of the robot hand unit 24 may be different from that at the initial teaching.

[0060] In this case, even if the control unit 25 issues a command to move the robot hand unit 24 to the teaching position to the drive units of each joint part and the lifting drive unit 221 based on the information related to the teaching position stored in the storage unit 251, the robot hand unit 24 does not move to the teaching position but moves to a position offset from now on. That is, even if the substrate 10 held by the robot hand 24 is to be moved to the teaching positions (standby position and transfer position) stored in the control unit 25, the substrate does not move to the position assumed during teaching but moves to a position offset in the X, Y, Z, and θ directions. Due to such a position offset, the possibility of collision with other devices on the production line during the transfer of the substrate or mask further increases. Moreover, it will also cause adverse conditions for the processing of the substrate (for example, film formation).

[0061] In particular, different from the semiconductor substrate with a circular shape, in the case of the rectangular substrate used in the organic EL display, the position offset of the substrate in the rotation angle direction (θ direction) centered on the Z axis has a greater impact on the film forming process in the film forming unit 1. Therefore, when the position offset of the robot hand unit 24 or the like in the rotation angle direction occurs due to the collision of the robot 14 or the like, it is necessary to adjust it.

[0062] In the prior art, if it is determined that a position shift occurs in the robot hand 24 or the like due to a collision of the robot 14 or the like, the transfer operation of the robot 14 is performed at a position different from the position taught during teaching or on a different trajectory, and then the teaching operation is performed again for all the teaching positions (transfer positions such as standby positions and loading / unloading positions) in the film forming unit 1.

[0063] However, in the production line of the organic EL display device, the teaching positions of the robot 14 include: positions for placing the substrate and the mask in the processing chamber (film forming chamber) disposed around the transfer chamber where the robot 14 is provided, positions for storing the used and unused masks in the mask storage chamber 12, positions for transferring the substrate in the passage chamber 15 and the buffer chamber 16, etc. Therefore, the teaching operation for each position is quite time-consuming.

[0064] Moreover, during a unit time period, sometimes the robot 14 has two robot arms 23, whereby more transfer operations can be performed. For each teaching position, teaching must be performed separately in the atmosphere open state and the vacuum state. Therefore, in a large production line, up to dozens of teaching operations are required, and dozens of hours are spent on the teaching operation, and there is a problem that the production line stops during this period.

[0065] In the present invention, in the case of a position shift of the robot 14, especially the robot hand 24, due to a collision of the robot 14 or the like, instead of performing the re-teaching operation for all the teaching positions in the film forming unit 1, the position shift amount of the robot hand 24 at a specified position (in this embodiment, it is called the origin position, and the origin position can also be, for example, the transfer position of the substrate / mask in a specific chamber) is measured, and based on this, the position information of other multiple teaching positions is corrected. Thereby, the teaching operation for other multiple teaching positions can be omitted, and the time spent on the re-teaching operation can be shortened.

[0066] As Figure 3 shown, the robot system 30 of the present invention for this purpose includes a robot 14, a control unit 25, and a detection mechanism 31.

[0067] A marking portion 241 for measuring the rotation angle of the robot hand 24 or the position shift amount in the rotation angle direction of the robot hand 24 is provided on the robot hand 24 of the robot 14. The rotation angle here is the rotation angle centered on an imaginary axis passing through the robot hand 24 in parallel with the Z axis.

[0068] The marking unit 241 includes a plurality of marks arranged along the length direction of the robot hand 24 (in the direction from the connection part with the robot arm part 23 towards the free front end of the robot hand 24) in such a manner that it can measure the position offset in the rotational angle or the rotational angle direction (θ direction) centered on the imaginary axis passing through the robot hand 24. In Figure 3 (a), a structure in which the marking unit 241 has two marks (the first mark and the second mark) is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and it may also have three or more marks. In addition, the present invention is not limited to the structure in which a plurality of marks are arranged on a straight line along the length direction of the robot hand 24, as long as the displacement between the plurality of marks has a component along the length direction of the robot hand 24. However, in this case, since the image processing of the detection mechanism 31 described later may become more complicated, it is preferable that a plurality of marks are arranged on a straight line along the length direction of the robot hand 24.

[0069] In the present embodiment, the marks of the marking unit 241 are cross marks formed on the robot hand 24, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and they may also be marks of any other shape.

[0070] In addition, as another embodiment, as Figure 3 shown in (b), the marking unit 241 of the present invention may also be a linear mark extending along the length direction of the robot hand 24.

[0071] In this way, as the marking unit 241, by using a plurality of marks arranged along the length direction of the robot hand 24 (that is, in the direction from the connection part with the second arm 232 towards the free front end of the robot hand 24) or a linear mark extending in the length direction of the robot hand 24, it is possible to measure not only the position offset of the robot hand 24 in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, but also the rotational angle centered on the imaginary axis passing through the robot hand 24 or the position offset in the rotational angle direction. At this time, the rotational angle of the robot hand 24 centered on the imaginary axis passing through the robot hand 24 is measured by the angle formed by the line segment connecting a plurality of marks (the first mark and the second mark) or the linear mark with respect to the imaginary reference line.

[0072] In Figure 3 , a structure in which the robot hand 24 is composed of one finger is illustrated, but the robot hand 24 may also be composed of two-forked fingers. In this case, the marking unit 241 is provided on any one of the two fingers.

[0073] The detection mechanism 31 of the robot system 30 of the present invention can measure the position offset of the robot hand 24 in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the rotational angle direction centered on the imaginary axis passing through the robot hand 24 by detecting the marking unit 241 of the robot hand 24.

[0074] The detection mechanism 31 is set at a position corresponding to the marking portion 241 at the origin position so that the marking portion 241 can be detected in a state where the robot hand 24 is set at the origin position (for example, at the substrate carry-out position in the chamber 15). For example, when the origin position is the substrate carry-out position of the passage chamber 15, the detection mechanism 31 is set at a position where the marking portion 241 can be detected below the substrate stage of the passage chamber 15. As the detection mechanism 31, as will be described later, when using a camera for photographing, a transparent window can be provided on the bottom surface of the passage chamber 15, and the camera for photographing can be provided outside it, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the camera for photographing can also be provided inside the passage chamber 15.

[0075] The detection mechanism 31 is preferably, for example, a plurality of cameras 311 for photographing that can photograph individual marks and detect the positions of individual marks when the marking portion 241 includes a plurality of individual marks, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and as long as the positions of individual marks can be detected, other mechanisms can also be used.

[0076] In this way, by forming the marking portion 241 from a plurality of individual marks arranged along the length direction of the robot hand 24, and forming the detection mechanism 31 from a plurality of cameras that can measure the positions of these individual marks, the rotation angle and the position offset amount of the robot 24, particularly the position offset amount in the rotation angle direction, can be measured.

[0077] That is, before the robot 14 has a position offset due to a collision or the like (for example, after the initial teaching operation), the robot hand 24 is set at the origin position, and each mark of the marking portion 241 is detected by the detection mechanism 31, so that information related to the position of the robot hand 24 (reference position information, first information) can be obtained when the robot hand 24 is set at the origin position. In particular, in the present invention, since the marking portion 241 includes a plurality of marks arranged along the length direction of the robot hand 24, the position (rotation angle) in the rotation angle direction centered on the imaginary axis passing through the robot hand 24 can be measured. Therefore, the reference position information at least includes information related to the position of the robot 24 in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the rotation angle direction centered on the imaginary axis passing through the robot hand 24, and the reference position information is stored in the storage portion 251 of the control portion 25. Information related to the position of the robot hand 24 in the Z-axis direction can be measured by another laser sensor and a camera for photographing that are separately provided below the robot hand 24 and separated from the robot hand 24.

[0078] After that, in the case where a position shift occurs due to a collision of the robot 14 or the like, control is performed to reset the robot hand 24 to the origin position again (even if such control is performed, due to deformation or the like caused by a collision or the like, the robot hand 24 cannot move to the origin position before the collision). The detection mechanism 31 detects each of the markers of the marker portion 241 again, thereby obtaining the position information of a plurality of markers after the collision. Based on the position information of the plurality of markers thus obtained again, the position information of the robot hand 24 is obtained again, and the position information of the robot hand 24 (second information) obtained again is compared with the reference position information stored in the storage unit 251, so as to obtain the position offsets (ΔX, ΔY, Δθ) in the X-axis direction, Y-axis direction, and the rotational angle direction about the imaginary axis passing through the robot hand 24 before and after the collision. Similarly, the position offset (ΔZ) in the Z-axis direction of the robot hand 24 is obtained by comparing the reference position information in the Z-axis direction stored in the storage unit 251 in advance and the information related to the position in the Z-axis direction after the collision.

[0079] That is, in the present invention, before the position of the robot hand 24 shifts, the detection mechanism 31 detects the position of the marker portion 241 of the robot hand 24, calculates the reference position of the robot hand 24, and stores it in the control unit 25 in advance. Then, in the case where a position shift occurs due to a collision of the robot hand 24 or the like, after performing control to reset the robot hand 24 to the origin position again, the detection mechanism 31 detects the shifted position of the marker portion 241 again. Thus, the shifted position of the robot hand 24 is calculated, and based on the difference between the calculated position and the reference position, the position offsets (ΔX, ΔY, Δθ) of the robot hand 24 are calculated.

[0080] On the other hand, by arranging a plurality of detection mechanisms 31 in a manner corresponding to a plurality of markers and respectively detecting the markers by the detection mechanisms 31, instead of the method of specifying the positions of the markers, after obtaining image data by photographing a plurality of markers with one detection mechanism 31, for example, a camera for photographing having a field of view capable of photographing a plurality of markers, information related to the positions of the respective markers can be obtained through image processing.

[0081] Such a method for detecting the position of the marker portion 241 can also be applied to the case where the marker portion 241 is a linear marker 2412 extending along the length direction of the robot hand 24.

[0082] For example, as Figure 3 shown in (b), a camera 312 having a relatively wide field of view angle is provided below the teaching position of the passage chamber 15 serving as the origin position as the detection mechanism 31.

[0083] After the robot hand 24 is set at the origin position, the linear mark 2412 formed on the robot hand 24 is photographed by the camera 312 serving as the detection mechanism 31 to obtain a photographed image of the linear mark. For the obtained photographed image, image processing is performed based on an image processing unit (not shown) of the control unit 25 or an image processing unit provided separately from the control unit 25, and the positions of the robot hand 24 in the X-axis direction, Y-axis direction, and rotation angle direction are calculated. The calculated position information is stored as information on the reference position of the robot hand 24 in the storage unit 251 of the control unit 25.

[0084] When the position of the robot hand 24 is offset due to a collision or the like, after performing control for setting the robot hand 24 at the origin position again, the linear mark 2412 of the robot hand 24 is photographed by the camera 312, image processing of the photographed image is performed, and the position of the robot hand 24 is measured again. Based on the information related to the position measured again of the robot hand 24 and the information related to the reference position pre-stored in the storage unit 251, the position offset amounts (ΔX, ΔY, Δθ) of the robot hand 24 in the X-axis direction, Y-axis direction, and / or rotation angle direction are calculated. Thereby, the position offset amount of the robot hand 24 before and after the collision can be obtained.

[0085] In this way, when calculating the position offset amount by performing image processing on the image of the mark portion 241 (image of multiple marks, image of a linear mark) obtained by one camera 312, the visual field range of the camera 312 determines the adjustable range of the teaching position described later. That is, by using a camera 312 with a wide visual field range, the adjustable range of the transfer position can be expanded.

[0086] In the present embodiment, the substrate carry-out position through the chamber 15 among the multiple teaching positions in the film forming unit 1 is set as the origin position for measuring the position offset amount of the robot hand 24. This is because, generally, among the multiple teaching positions in the film forming unit 1, the transfer position through the chamber 15 is the position farthest from the shaft portion 22 of the robot 14 (that is, the position corresponding to the state where the robot arm portion 23 and the robot hand 24 are most extended), and the position offset amount caused by the collision of the robot hand 24 becomes the largest. In addition, in the case of the passage chamber 15, different from the film forming chamber 11 where the evaporation source is provided at the lower part of the chamber, it also has the advantage that it is easy to arrange the detection mechanism 31 below the substrate stage.

[0087] However, the origin position of the present invention is not limited to the substrate unloading position of chamber 15, and can also be a transfer position in other chambers (e.g., a film deposition chamber, a buffer chamber, a mask storage chamber), or any position in the transfer chamber (e.g., a standby position in the transfer chamber). By setting the origin position to any one of the multiple standby positions in the transfer chamber, the setting of the detection mechanism 31 becomes easier. Furthermore, the origin position of the present invention can also be a third position that is not the teaching position of the film deposition unit 1.

[0088] Thus, according to the present invention, by using a detection mechanism such as a camera to detect multiple marks formed along the length direction of the robot hand or a linear mark extending along the length direction of the robot hand, the position offset amount (especially, the position offset amount in the rotation angle direction centered on the imaginary axis passing through the robot hand 24) of the robot hand at a specified position caused by the collision of the robot hand or the like is measured, and based on the measured position offset amount, the information related to other multiple teaching positions (standby position and transfer position) of the transfer operation is corrected. Thereby, without performing re-teaching operations for other multiple teaching positions, the equipment can be re-operated only through the confirmation operation of the teaching position, and the time spent on re-teaching can be significantly shortened.

[0089] <Adjustment Method of Teaching Position and Manufacturing Method of Equipment>

[0090] Hereinafter, a method for adjusting other multiple teaching positions in the film deposition unit 1 based on the position offset amount at the origin position of the robot hand 24, and a method for manufacturing equipment such as an organic EL display device using this method will be described.

[0091] First, multiple teaching positions (transfer positions and standby positions) where the substrate 10 should be transferred are taught to the robot 14. That is, the position information of the multiple transfer positions and standby positions is stored as teaching position information in the storage unit 251 of the control unit 25 (S1).

[0092] The robot hand 24 of the robot 14 is set at the origin position, which is one of the multiple teaching positions (S2). Then, the detection mechanism 31 detects the mark portion 241 of the robot hand 24, and the position information of the robot hand 24 calculated based on the detection result is stored as the reference position information (first information) of the robot hand 24 in the storage unit 251 of the control unit 25 (S3).

[0093] After that, in the case where a position shift occurs in the robot hand 24 due to deformation or the like generated in the robot 14 due to collision with other parts of the film forming unit 1 during conveyance, etc., in order to measure the amount of this position shift, control (S4) for resetting the robot hand 24 to the origin position is performed. That is, information on the origin position is input to the drive unit of the robot 14. However, due to deformation or the like generated by collision or the like, the robot hand 24 cannot move to the origin position before the collision and moves to a position shifted from now on. The position of the robot hand 24 that has moved to the shifted position is measured again by detecting the marking portion 241 of the robot hand 24 by the detection mechanism 31 (S5).

[0094] The control unit 25 calculates the amount of position shift of the robot hand 24 before and after the collision based on the information related to the re-measured position of the robot hand 24 and the information related to the reference position pre-stored in the storage unit 251 of the control unit 25. According to the structure of the present invention, it is possible to measure not only the amount of position shift in the X-axis direction (first direction) and the Y-axis direction (second direction), but also the amount of position shift in the θ direction (rotation angle direction). Similarly, the amount of position shift in the Z-axis direction of the robot hand 24 is also measured.

[0095] The control unit 25 compares the measured amount of position shift with thresholds respectively predetermined for the X-axis direction, Y-axis direction, Z-axis direction, and θ direction. If it is determined that the amount of position shift in any one of the X-axis direction, Y-axis direction, Z-axis direction, and θ direction exceeds the threshold for that direction, the control unit 25 corrects the position information of the plurality of teaching positions stored in the storage unit 251 based on the amount of position shift in that direction.

[0096] For example, the amount of position shift in this direction calculated by the control unit 25 is added to or subtracted from the position information in the corresponding direction of other teaching positions to correct the position information of the corresponding teaching position.

[0097] If the position information of all the teaching positions has been corrected, the robot 14 is made to operate based on the corrected teaching positions, and thereby it is confirmed whether the robot hand 24 can exactly move to the target position without colliding with other parts of the film forming unit 1 by the correction of the teaching positions. If it is confirmed that the robot 14 can perform the conveyance operation to the plurality of teaching positions without problems, the conveyance of the substrate / mask based on the robot 14 is started again.

[0098] Thus, according to the teaching position adjustment method of the present invention, after the robot 14 collides with other parts of the film forming unit 1 or the like, instead of performing teaching operations on all of the plurality of teaching positions, only the position offset amount of the robot hand 24 at the origin position is measured, and correction for other teaching positions is performed. Thereby, the time taken for re-teaching operations after the collision of the robot 14 can be significantly shortened.

[0099] In the present embodiment, the case where the position of the robot hand 24 is offset due to a collision or the like and the position of the marking portion 241 is measured again after performing control for setting the robot hand 24 at the origin position has been described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. Even if there is no collision or the like, after performing control for setting the robot hand 24 at the origin position, the position of the robot hand 24 may be measured again after the robot 14 has been used for a certain period of time or more. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the situation where the robot 14 collides with other parts of the film forming unit 1 due to deformation of the joint portion or the like caused by continuous use of the robot 14.

[0100] The above-described embodiment represents an example of the present invention. The present invention is not limited to the structure of the above-described embodiment, and may be appropriately modified within the scope of the present technical idea.

[0101] Description of Reference Numerals

[0102] 1: Film forming unit

[0103] 11: Film forming chamber (processing chamber)

[0104] 12: Mask storage chamber

[0105] 13: Transfer chamber

[0106] 14: Robot

[0107] 15: Passage chamber

[0108] 16: Buffer chamber

[0109] 22: Shaft portion

[0110] 23: Robot arm portion

[0111] 24: Robot hand

[0112] 25: Control portion

[0113] 31: Detection mechanism

[0114] 241: Marking portion

Claims

1. An apparatus manufacturing device, wherein, Comprising: A plurality of chambers; And A robot system for transporting an object to be transported between the plurality of chambers, The robot system comprising: A robot including a robot arm portion and a robot hand portion rotatably connected to the robot arm portion; And A control unit for controlling the operation of the robot, The control unit includes a storage unit that stores information related to a plurality of teaching positions for controlling the operation of the robot, The control unit corrects at least two of the information related to the plurality of teaching positions stored in the storage unit and different from the position other than the specified position based on the information related to the position of the robot hand portion measured in a state where the robot hand portion is set at the specified position, The plurality of chambers include a processing chamber for processing a first object to be transported, a second object to be transported storage chamber for storing a second object to be transported, a passage chamber on the upstream side in the flow direction of the first object to be transported, and a buffer chamber on the downstream side in the flow direction, A measuring mechanism is provided in the passage chamber, and the measuring mechanism is used to measure the position of the robot hand portion at the specified position.

2. A method for manufacturing a device, which uses the device manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, conveys a substrate based on information related to a plurality of teaching positions stored in the storage unit, and processes the substrate to manufacture a device, wherein, The method for manufacturing the device includes: A position information acquisition stage of setting the robot hand portion at a specified position and acquiring information related to the position of the robot hand portion; and A teaching position correction stage of correcting at least two of the information related to the plurality of teaching positions stored in the storage unit and different from the position other than the specified position based on the information related to the position of the robot hand portion acquired in the position information acquisition stage.

3. The method for manufacturing the device according to claim 2, wherein, The position information acquisition stage is a stage of setting the robot hand portion at the specified position and acquiring information related to the position of the robot hand portion in any direction of the rotation angle direction, the first direction, and the second direction, the first direction intersects the rotation axis of the rotation angle, and the second direction intersects the rotation axis and the first direction.

4. The method for manufacturing a device according to claim 2, wherein, It further includes an initial position storage stage of pre-storing first information in the storage unit before the position information acquisition stage, the first information being related to the position of the robot hand portion measured in a state where the robot hand portion is set at the specified position.

5. The method for manufacturing a device according to claim 4, wherein, It further includes a position offset amount acquisition stage of acquiring the position offset amount of the robot hand portion based on the first information stored in the storage unit in the initial position storage stage and the information related to the position of the robot hand portion acquired in the position information acquisition stage.

6. The method for manufacturing a device according to claim 2, wherein The specified position is one of the plurality of teaching positions, The above-described method for manufacturing a device further includes a position offset amount acquisition stage. In the position offset amount acquisition stage, based on the information related to the teaching position stored in the storage unit and the information related to the position of the robot hand measured in the state where the robot hand is set at the specified position, the position offset amount of the robot hand is acquired.

7. The method for manufacturing a device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein In the teaching position correction stage, when the position offset amount acquired in the position offset amount acquisition stage exceeds a specified threshold, based on the position offset amount, at least two of the information related to the other multiple teaching positions different from the specified position among the information related to the multiple teaching positions stored in the storage unit are corrected.

8. A teaching position adjustment method, which is the teaching position adjustment method in the device manufacturing apparatus described in claim 1, wherein, The above-described teaching position adjustment method includes: A position information acquisition stage, in which the robot hand is set at a specified position, and information related to the position of the robot hand is acquired; and A teaching position correction stage, based on the information related to the position of the robot hand acquired in the position information acquisition stage, at least two of the information related to the other multiple teaching positions different from the specified position among the information related to the multiple teaching positions of the robot hand stored in the storage unit are corrected.

9. The teaching position adjustment method according to claim 8, wherein, The position information acquisition stage is a stage in which the robot hand is set at the specified position and information related to the position in any one of the rotational angle direction, the first direction, and the second direction of the robot hand is acquired. The first direction intersects the rotation axis of the rotational angle, and the second direction intersects the rotation axis and the first direction.

10. The teaching position adjustment method according to claim 8, wherein, It further includes an initial position storage stage. Before the position information acquisition stage, first information related to the position of the robot hand measured in the state where the robot hand is set at the specified position is pre-stored in the storage unit.

11. The teaching position adjustment method according to claim 10, wherein, It further includes a position offset amount acquisition stage. In the position offset amount acquisition stage, based on the first information stored in the storage unit in the initial position storage stage and the information related to the position of the robot hand acquired in the position information acquisition stage, the position offset amount of the robot hand is acquired.

12. The teaching position adjustment method according to claim 11, wherein, In the teaching position correction stage, when the position offset amount acquired in the position offset amount acquisition stage exceeds a specified threshold, based on the position offset amount, at least two of the information related to the other multiple teaching positions different from the specified position among the information related to the multiple teaching positions stored in the storage unit are corrected.

13. The teaching position adjustment method according to claim 8, wherein the specified position is one of the multiple teaching positions. The above teaching position adjustment method further includes a position offset amount acquisition stage. In the above position offset amount acquisition stage, based on the information related to the teaching position stored in the above storage unit and the information related to the position of the robot hand measured in the state where the robot hand is set at the specified position, the position offset amount of the robot hand is acquired.

14. The teaching position adjustment method according to claim 13, wherein, In the above teaching position correction stage, when the position offset amount acquired in the above position offset amount acquisition stage exceeds a specified threshold, at least two of the information related to the above plurality of teaching positions stored in the above storage unit are corrected based on the above position offset amount.

15. A computer-readable recording medium recording a program for causing a computer to execute a teaching position adjustment method in a device manufacturing apparatus, wherein the above teaching position adjustment method is the teaching position adjustment method according to any one of claims 8 to 14.

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