Devices, systems, and methods for variable amplitude end effectors

Abstract

An apparatus, system, and method for providing a variable width end effector. The variable width end effector may include: two arms, each arm for holding a portion of a held element; two pairs of support rails, each pair of support rails being uniquely mechanically associated with one of the two arms, wherein the horizontal of one pair of support rails is staggered with a second horizontal of the other pair of support rails on a vertical axis, and wherein the staggered pairs of support rails are staggered with each other; and a motor capable of driving a belt mechanically associated with each of the two arms, wherein actuation of the motor drives the belt to cause each of the two arms to move synchronously across a corresponding pair of support rails in the pairs of support rails, thereby changing the width between the two arms.

Description

[0001] Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] This international application claims priority to U.S. Application No. 63 / 027,037, filed May 19, 2020, entitled "Apparatus, System and Method for Variable Width End Actuator", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, as set forth in their entirety. Technical Field

[0003] This disclosure relates to a picking and placing end effector, and more specifically to an apparatus, system, and method for providing a swath actuator module. Background Technology

[0004] The use of robotics is well established as a manufacturing means, particularly in applications where human handling is inefficient and / or ineffective—for example, during semiconductor wafer processing. Current practice involves using end effectors to automate the handling of substrate components, such as wafers or thin films. These end effectors have arms for holding the components, and are connected to a drive automation unit that is part of a processing unit performing a process in a production line.

[0005] These automated work units, such as semiconductor process automation units, are becoming more versatile and therefore must handle substrate components with greater variation. Consequently, these end effectors may face challenges in assembling into very small boxes while simultaneously transporting very large wafers reliably. Inevitably, costs necessitate trade-offs to achieve these often conflicting goals, especially when maintaining the changing dimensions of components such as semiconductor wafers.

[0006] Known solutions for end effector arms requiring variable distances to serve substrates of various sizes and weights typically involve swapping arms of different sizes and / or arms of variable widths (or changing the tooling between arms). Of course, to switch out an arm or tool, the end effector must be stopped, and thus the function provided by the end effector in its working cell must cease. Therefore, the working cell to which the end effector belongs must be stopped. This stop must extend for a period comparable to the time required to cut off the arm and / or the effector tool. Needless to say, such interruptions to the workflow are not only inconvenient but also costly for the processing line, thus increasing the cost of the output product.

[0007] Therefore, an improved end effector is needed that can be adjusted to provide varying operating widths. Summary of the Invention

[0008] Some embodiments are and include means, systems, and methods for providing a variable width end effector. A variable width end effector may include: two arms, each arm for holding a portion of a held element; two pairs of support rails, each pair of support rails being uniquely mechanically associated with one of the two arms, wherein the horizontal of one pair of support rails is staggered with a second horizontal of the other pair of support rails on a vertical axis, and wherein the staggered pairs of support rails are staggered with each other; and a motor capable of driving a belt mechanically associated with each of the two arms, wherein actuation of the motor drives the belt to cause each of the two arms to move synchronously across a corresponding pair of support rails in the pairs of support rails, thereby changing the width between the two arms.

[0009] Therefore, this disclosure provides at least one improved apparatus, system, and method for an improved end effector that is adjustable to provide a varying processing width. Attached Figure Description

[0010] Exemplary components, systems, and methods will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are given only as non-limiting embodiments, wherein:

[0011] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an end effector;

[0012] Figure 2A , 2B Figure 2C is a schematic diagram of various aspects of a variable amplitude end effector;

[0013] Figure 3A and 3B This is a schematic diagram of various aspects of a variable amplitude end effector;

[0014] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of various aspects of a variable amplitude end effector; and

[0015] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of various aspects of a variable width end effector. Detailed Implementation

[0016] The accompanying drawings and descriptions provided herein may have been simplified to illustrate aspects relevant to a clear understanding of the apparatuses, systems, and methods described herein, while other aspects that may be found in typical similar apparatuses, systems, and methods have been omitted for clarity. Therefore, those skilled in the art will recognize that other elements and / or operations may be desired and / or necessary for implementing the apparatuses, systems, and methods described herein. However, because such elements and operations are known in the art and do not contribute to a better understanding of this disclosure, a discussion of such elements and operations may not be provided herein for the sake of brevity. Nevertheless, this disclosure is still considered to include all such elements, variations, and modifications to the described aspects that are known to those skilled in the art.

[0017] Implementations are provided throughout this disclosure to make it thorough and fully convey the scope of the disclosed embodiments to those skilled in the art. Numerous specific details, such as examples of specific components, apparatuses, and methods, are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of this disclosure. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that certain specific details disclosed are not required and that embodiments may be implemented in different forms. Therefore, the disclosed embodiments should not be construed as limiting the scope of this disclosure. As mentioned above, in some embodiments, well-known processes, well-known apparatus structures, and well-known technologies may not be described in detail.

[0018] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. For example, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” as used herein may also be intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprising,” “including,” “containing,” and “having” are inclusive and thus specify the presence of the stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof. Unless specifically determined as a preferred or desired order of execution, the steps, processes, and operations described herein should not be construed as requiring them to be performed in the particular order discussed or shown. It should also be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed in place of or in combination with the disclosed aspects.

[0019] When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “above,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, unless otherwise explicitly stated, it may be directly on, above, connected to, or coupled to the other element or layer, or there may be intermediate elements or layers present. Conversely, when an element or layer is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intermediate elements or layers present. Other terms used to describe relationships between elements should be interpreted in a similar manner (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). Furthermore, as used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0020] Furthermore, although the terms first, second, third, etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers, and / or portions, these elements, components, regions, layers, and / or portions should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one element, component, region, layer, or portion from another. Therefore, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms, when used herein, do not imply order or sequence. Thus, without departing from the teachings of the embodiments, the first element, component, region, layer, or portion discussed below may be referred to as the second element, component, region, layer, or portion.

[0021] This disclosure addresses the problem of handling very small wafers (e.g., in the 50-75 mm size range) and larger wafers (e.g., in the 200-300 mm size range) with a single end effector. More specifically, the disclosed variable width end effector can handle wafers ranging in size from 50 mm to 300 mm, as well as filmframes up to 330 mm. This capability is provided by using a variable width adjustment arm in the embodiment.

[0022] Specifically, in the implementation, the variable width between the adjusting arms is provided within a small (relative to the adjustable distance) main housing package. For example, the disclosed end effector can provide 190 mm or more of usable arm travel within a main housing width of only 240 mm. This variation in width can be provided using removable and replaceable configurable modular arms.

[0023] To provide maximum boom travel within a minimal housing size, this disclosure utilizes two pairs of stacked and staggered linear support rails separately mounted within the main housing. The stacking and staggered movement of the boom bases reduces the overall width of the main housing by allowing the support slides to pass over each other, preferably one over the top of the other, and thus requires less width within the main housing to accommodate the moving boom bases.

[0024] In one embodiment, one pair of support rails can be fixed to the main housing, while another pair of support rails is offset from the first pair and can be mounted on a support plate structure. The support plate structure is also adjustable on the pitch axis of the end effector. This adjustability allows the wafer arm, which can extend at a distance from the far end of the housing, to remain horizontal relative to each other. Pitch adjustment can consist of a pair of ramps and an instrument screw, which can even achieve leveling at minute intervals.

[0025] To move the arm, as an example, implementations can use motors such as stepper motors or servo motors. Motor position feedback, such as using a linear sliding resistance scale, can send an output, such as an analog output, to a controller such as a 4-axis microcontroller in the end effector block. Due to the high reliability of motor position feedback, such as the consistent resistance reading of the linear sliding resistance scale for any position along the arm's travel path, the control input can be used as an absolute position encoder.

[0026] The selection of components in the disclosed embodiments can be keyed to small form factor, light weight, and high wear resistance. By using these components, very small and inexpensive stepper motors can be used in the embodiments. This, of course, saves weight and space.

[0027] The disclosed variable-width dual-arm structure can be used as a narrow paddle, for example, when the arms are assembled and pitch adjusted for coplanarity, or as a variable-width fork-shaped end effector. The disclosed embodiments may include internal services for fiber optic cabling used for tip mapping of the held wafer, and / or air channels for supplying vacuum to a vacuum cup associated with the arm. The arm can be easily detached at its proximal end and therefore may include interfaces (such as ports) with the aforementioned fiber optic and / or air / vacuum connectors.

[0028] The advantage of the disclosed implementation is that it can handle a wide variety of holding elements, such as wafers or substrates, without tool changes, and therefore avoids the disadvantages of tool or arm changes that are typically associated with the prior art. In other words, the disclosed variable arm width end effector reduces or eliminates the need to stop the machine and thus the work unit for frequent physical tool / arm changes.

[0029] The implementation overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art while also providing a compact size, good weight handling capability, large clamping stroke, and configurable jaw shape and structure. This disclosure provides these advantages in a compact servo-driven gripper that can handle not only wafers and substrates throughout the scope of this disclosure, but also solar cells, solar panels, fuel cell stacks, and the like.

[0030] Although this disclosure is primarily exemplified by way of example of a "dual wrist" robot with two theta flanges, i.e., a set of "stacked" arms providing higher throughput, those skilled in the art will understand from this disclosure that other types of end effectors can be used with the adjustable arm end effector heads disclosed herein. As a non-limiting example, the disclosed embodiments can be used with typical single-head end effectors of the known art.

[0031] Figure 1 A dual-arm semiconductor processing robot 10 with two stacked end effectors 12 is shown. The dual-arm robot 10 allows two end effectors 12 to be stacked one on top of the other, such that each pair of arms 20 can be actuated separately. Therefore, the illustrated system can handle twice the number of holding elements as a typical processing system. Of course, those skilled in the art will understand that the dual-arm system is shown only as an example, and the disclosed embodiment of the stacked, staggered arms 20 can be used in any known end effector system.

[0032] In the illustration, arm 20 is typically replaced by swapping out the entire base box module 22. That is, although the embodiment is shown with a wider film frame arm 20, the illustrated end effector 12 can be used with arms of other widths or depths, but these arms are rigid and interchangeable only by stopping processing operation, removing the entire base box, inserting a new base box module 22 with a different arm associated with it, and restarting the system. The embodiment here does not require removing the entire base box module, but simply allows the arms to move variably to change their width.

[0033] Figure 2A , 2B Figures 2C and 2C illustrate actuation of the main housing 202 to change the width between the arms 210 of the end effector 212. It should be understood that the arm type can be replaced in the illustrated embodiment, and this embodiment can be used with single- or dual-wrist robots; that is, in a dual-wrist embodiment, the illustrated main housing 202 can have multiple stacks, one on top of the other. Each of these multiple main housings can have a pair of arms with variable arm width between them. Of course, in this embodiment, the space above the arms in each pair of arms in the dual-arm group will be very valuable, especially since two stacked arm pairs must be accommodated one on top of the other.

[0034] exist Figure 2A and 2B In the illustration, as a non-limiting embodiment, the arm width 230 can vary between 50 mm and 200 mm. Figure 2A The image shows the closed arm span 230, that is, the arms 210 are essentially together, and... Figure 2B The diagram shows the arms 210 with a width of 190 mm between them. It is noteworthy that, depending on the shape of the arms, the arms 210, when brought together to their maximum extent, can form a paddle shape, and such a paddle shape can be used to grasp small objects or wafers. The separately extending arms 210 are more suitable for accommodating larger wafers or items.

[0035] Arm 210 may include aspects that help hold the object / wafer associated therewith, and this holding aid 240 may utilize or detract from the air or vacuum supply of the autonomous housing, for example, through ports beneath each arm. This holding aid 240 may include, but is not limited to, wedge clamps, vacuum cups, and Bernoulli ports.

[0036] The controller and electronics may be at least partially included in the end effector back end 250, such as Figure 2C As shown more specifically in the diagram. More particularly, as a non-limiting embodiment, the backend 250 may include aspects of the control system, such as a 4-axis programmable drive board with I / O 252; power and air / vacuum input / coupler 254; and a hub 256 for Ethernet / WiFi / Bluetooth communication. The latter can allow each end effector 212 and each set of arms 210 associated with each end effector to be uniquely assigned a network identifier, such as a unique IP address on the network. This can significantly enhance, for example, off-board control capabilities.

[0037] Corresponding to the capabilities provided at rear end 250, these capabilities can have mating elements within the main housing (sealed in Figure 2). For example, power, control signals, air or vacuum, fiber optic lines, etc., can be fed from rear end 250 to the main housing 202, and can also be fed through the main housing 202 to any or both arms 210. However, this feeding is not evident in Figure 2 because the main housing is sealed in these figures. However, some manual adjustments, such as pitch adjustment, can also be located outside the main housing, such as... Figure 2C As shown.

[0038] Figure 3A and 3B The stacking and staggering of dual support rails 302 for each of the right and left arms 210a, b are shown. Although a single rail may be used for each arm in the embodiment, the dual support rails 302 for each arm enhance the robustness, performance and durability of the disclosed embodiment.

[0039] As shown in the figure, the dual-support rails 302 can be “stacked,” that is, offset in height from the “base plate” of the main housing, and can be “staggered,” that is, at least partially overhanging each other. The overhang distance can provide savings in armwidth 230 relative to the total width of the main housing 202, and can further reduce unit weight and spatial interference within each processing unit. For example, a 14 mm overhang is shown in the illustration of Figure 3, but other ranges of overhang can be used without departing from this disclosure.

[0040] For example, the left guide rail 302b is shown mounted to the raised base plate 310. This provides a reference stack. Furthermore, the base plate 310 provides pitch adjustment for the left guide rail 302b (and therefore for the left arm 210b). For example, the base plate 302b could be a “movable hinge” that allows adjustment from the outside of the main housing via one or more left pitch adjusters.

[0041] The entire width of the main housing 202, especially under the tight constraints of the dual-arm end effectors, provides only about 25 mm of overhead on each side. That is, when fully extended, after subtracting the maximum width between the arms 210, only about 25 mm of lateral width of the main housing 202 is available on each side. The support rails 302 for the stacked and staggered arms optimize space savings to maximize the use of this very limited overhead distance.

[0042] Figure 4 A separate arm pitch adjuster 400 on the left side of the main housing 202 is shown, which is capable of adjusting the pitch of the right arm 210b. The right arm 210a is shown, which can be supported by a support arm base plate 410; and a support rail 302a for the right arm 210a is shown, which can receive pressure from the support plate 412 on top of the two double right arm support arms 302a.

[0043] Additionally, the pitch adjuster 400 includes a movable hinge support rod 430, which is bendable along the vertical axis. A cylinder 432 is associated with a lifting screw 434 aligned with the outer end of the movable hinge support rod 430. This cylinder 432 provides pitch adjustment. More specifically, when the lifting screw 434 rotates, the cylinder 432 extends at the end of the pitch adjuster, thereby moving the associated arm 210.

[0044] One or more tension screws 450 may be provided to enable or disable the pitch adjuster 400. More specifically, the tension screws 450 may be loosened to allow pitch adjustment and may then be tightened to lock the corresponding arm 210 in place.

[0045] Figure 5A bottom view of the variable width end effector 212 is shown, with the base plate of the main housing 202 removed. As shown, the movement of the arm 210 can be driven by a motor 502 (e.g., a servo motor), as discussed throughout the text. The arm 210 can be driven by a drive belt 510 associated with the drive motor 502.

[0046] The arms can be stacked at multiple vertical heights within the base housing, with arm movements staggered. The arm movements can be subjected to one or more levels of encoders 514 to allow for consistently accurate positional assessment of the arms. For example, Figure 5 A potentiometer-type analog linear encoder 514 is shown, which can be used as an absolute position encoder. Furthermore, each arm 210 can undergo encoding of its motion. As an example, a right arm encoder drive leg 550 is shown.

[0047] Encoder 514 may be additionally or alternatively associated with a drive motor, a drive belt, a drive mechanism wound with the drive belt, and / or a motor-driven drive mechanism, and / or with the arm itself (as described above). Encoder 514 may be an absolute encoder, i.e., where each encoder position corresponds to a specific arm position, or it may be incremental. As an example, the encoder may be resistance-based.

[0048] As mentioned throughout, the disclosed arm may include various known features, such as vacuum ports, Bernoulli cups, and fiber optic tip mappings. Therefore, supply lines 600 for these features can be disposed through the base housing 202 and can be supplied from the rear end of the end effector to the main housing as needed. Such supply lines 600 may include optical fibers, power, air, or vacuum. These supply lines 600 can be flexibly configured to allow movement of the attached arm.

[0049] therefore, Figure 5 A flexible cable bundle 600 supplying each arm 210 is shown. A pneumatic supply 602 and an optical fiber supply 604 are provided in the illustration. As shown, the optical fiber supply 604 terminates in a splice port 610, and the pneumatic cable 602 terminates in an O-ring port 612. Thus, each arm 210 is interchangeable, and the arm ports mate with the splice port 610 and the O-ring port 612 to receive the optical fiber supply 604 and the pneumatic supply 602, respectively.

[0050] Therefore, in this embodiment, there are no limitations on the arm movement or the total arm travel, as long as the arm travel is less than the full limit of the width of the base housing. In short, the arm can be easily interchanged for various purposes, where any fiber optic, pneumatic, etc., can be simply disconnected and reconnected without any change in the available arm travel. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the arm travel may (or may not) be completely disconnected from the arm pitch adjuster, at least because the two systems, namely pitch and arm travel, can be completely separated in this embodiment. Therefore, this embodiment provides a remedy for the disadvantages of the prior art.

[0051] The foregoing apparatus, systems, and methods may also include control of the various robot and width-varying functions referenced throughout the document. As a non-limiting embodiment, such control may include manual control using one or more user interfaces, such as controllers, keyboards, mice, touchscreens, etc., to allow the user to input instructions to be executed by software code associated with the robot and the systems discussed herein. Additionally, as is well known to those skilled in the art, system control may also be fully automated, for example, where manual user interaction occurs only for the functions referenced in “setting up” and programming; that is, the user may initially program or upload computational code to execute a predetermined sequence of movements and operations discussed throughout the document. In manual or automatic implementations or any combination thereof, the controller may be programmed, for example, to associate known positions of the substrate, the robot, anchor points, and their relative positions.

[0052] It should be understood that the systems and methods described herein can operate and / or be controlled by any computing environment, and therefore the computing environment employed does not limit the implementation of the systems and methods described herein to computing environments with different components and configurations. In other words, the concepts described herein can be implemented in various computing environments using any of a variety of components and configurations.

[0053] Furthermore, the description of this disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosed embodiments. Various modifications to this disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and other variations may be applied to the general principles defined herein without departing from the spirit or scope of this disclosure. Therefore, this disclosure is not intended to limit itself to the embodiments and designs described herein, but is intended to embody the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A variable width end effector, comprising: Two arms, each arm is used to hold a portion of the element being held; Two pairs of support rails, each pair of support rails being uniquely mechanically associated with one of the two arms, wherein the horizontal of one pair of support rails is staggered with the second horizontal of the other pair of support rails on the vertical axis, and wherein the staggered pairs of support rails are staggered with each other in the horizontal direction. An electric motor capable of driving a belt mechanically associated with each of the two arms, wherein actuation of the motor drives the belt to cause each of the two arms to move synchronously across a corresponding pair of support rails in a pair of support rails, thereby changing the width between the two arms; and A pitch adjuster for adjusting the pitch of at least one of the two arms.

2. The variable width end effector according to claim 1, further comprising a main housing surrounding the two pairs of support rails, the motor, and the belt.

3. The variable width end effector according to claim 2, wherein the main housing further includes a feed to each of the arms via pneumatic lines.

4. The variable width end effector according to claim 3, wherein, The pneumatic line is connected to each of the arms via a port.

5. The variable width end effector according to claim 4, wherein, The port includes an O-ring port.

6. The variable width end effector according to claim 3, wherein, The pneumatic lines supply at least one vacuum port on each arm.

7. The variable width end effector according to claim 3, wherein, The pneumatic lines supply at least one Bernoulli cup to each arm.

8. The variable width end effector of claim 2, wherein the main housing further includes a feed to each of the arms via an optical fiber line.

9. The variable width end effector according to claim 8, wherein, The connection of the fiber optic line to each of the arms includes a port.

10. The variable width end effector according to claim 9, wherein, The port includes a splicing port.

11. The variable width end effector according to claim 1, further comprising a rear end opposite to the two arms.

12. The variable width end effector according to claim 11, wherein, The backend includes network connectivity.

13. The variable width end effector according to claim 11, wherein, The backend includes a control board.

14. The variable width end effector according to claim 1, wherein, The synchronized motion is encoded.

15. The variable width end effector according to claim 14, wherein, The encoding is based on resistance.

16. The variable width end effector according to claim 14, wherein, The encoding is an absolute encoding.

17. The variable width end effector according to claim 1, wherein, The width varies between 50mm and 200mm.

18. The variable width end effector according to claim 1, wherein, The pitch adjuster comprises a cylinder driven by a lifting screw.

19. The variable width end effector according to claim 1, wherein, The motor is a servo motor.

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