Wafer transport end effector posture adjustment mechanism, transport system and transport method

Abstract

The present invention provides a wafer handling end effector posture adjustment mechanism, a handling system and a handling method, which relate to the field of wafer handling technology, including: a mounting base assembly, including a first mounting plate, a second mounting plate and a mounting seat; an active adjustment assembly, including an adjustment plate, the adjustment plate is located between the first mounting plate and the second mounting plate and one side of the adjustment plate is connected to an angle tilting device, and also includes several groups of telescopic adjustment devices and several groups of elastic support devices, the adjustment plate and the end effector placed on the adjustment plate are clamped and fixed up and down by the telescopic adjustment device and the elastic support device, so as to realize the pitch and roll movement of the adjustment plate and the end effector relative to the mounting base assembly. Through the above settings, the active adjustment function of the pitch and roll angles of the end effector is realized, the applicability and structural compactness are improved, and the operation stability and adjustment accuracy are guaranteed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of wafer handling technology, and in particular to a wafer handling end effector posture adjustment mechanism, a handling system and a handling method. Background Art

[0002] Semiconductor wafers (especially those 12 inches and above) are extremely thin (e.g., 100-775μm). Slight tilting or mechanical vibration during handling can cause wafer cracking or edge chipping. Therefore, the horizontality of the handling robot's joints is a key indicator for ensuring the robot's motion accuracy and stability. The key lies in ensuring that the end effector is relatively level during product handling.

[0003] At present, most of the relevant wafer pick-and-place robots in the industry ensure the overall levelness through high structural rigidity and precision processing and assembly. This method increases the difficulty of overall design and production and increases development costs. At the same time, it places extremely high requirements on the levelness of each link of picking and placing materials, greatly increasing the design and assembly requirements of peripheral supporting equipment. In addition, the existing wafer pick-and-place robots cannot effectively absorb mechanical vibrations during operation, so that the vibrations are transmitted to the end effector, which produces a rigid impact on the wafers during transportation, which can easily cause wafer resonance and lead to chipping and damage of the wafer edges, and the operation stability and adjustment accuracy are poor. In addition, the existing wafer pick-and-place robots do not have an active angle adjustment function, so they are not suitable for wafer transportation and placement between multiple wafer storage bins with inconsistent levelness or distances, and have poor applicability. Therefore, it is of practical significance to study a new type of wafer transportation end effector posture adjustment mechanism, transportation system and transportation method. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a wafer handling end effector posture adjustment mechanism, a handling system and a handling method to solve the technical problems existing in the prior art.

[0005] The technical solution of the present invention to solve the above technical problems is as follows: a wafer handling end effector posture adjustment mechanism, comprising:

[0006] The mounting base assembly includes a first mounting plate, a second mounting plate and a mounting seat, wherein the first mounting plate and the second mounting plate are arranged parallel to the upper and lower sides of the mounting seat;

[0007] The active adjustment component includes an adjustment plate for supporting the end effector, the adjustment plate is located between the first mounting plate and the second mounting plate and one side of the adjustment plate is connected to the angle tilting device arranged in the mounting seat, and also includes several groups of telescopic adjustment devices installed on the first mounting plate and several groups of elastic support devices installed on the second mounting plate, the telescopic adjustment device has a telescopic rod that moves back and forth up and down and the end portion abuts against the lower surface of the adjustment plate, the elastic support device includes a guide column passed through the second mounting plate and a compression spring sleeved on the guide column, the adjustment plate and the end effector placed on the adjustment plate are clamped and fixed up and down by the telescopic adjustment device and the elastic support device to realize the pitch and roll movement of the adjustment plate and the end effector relative to the mounting base assembly.

[0008] Furthermore, the angle tilting device includes a first connecting member and a second connecting member, the first connecting member is a hollow annular structure, and first platforms are relatively arranged on the upper and lower sides of its inner ring, and the first platform is provided with a first limiting portion, the second connecting member is a hollow annular structure, and second platforms are provided on the upper and lower sides of its outer ring, and the second platform is provided with a second limiting portion adapted to the first limiting portion, the second connecting member is nested in the inner ring of the first connecting member and the planes where the outer circumferences of the two are arranged perpendicular to each other, the outer ring of the first connecting member is interference fit with the roll bearing arranged in the mounting seat, the inner ring of the second connecting member is provided with a pitch bearing, and the adjustment plate is connected to the pitch bearing through the connecting portion.

[0009] Furthermore, the connecting portion includes a reinforcing block connected to the adjusting plate, the reinforcing block being vertically arranged on one side of the adjusting plate and protruding from the upper and lower surfaces of the adjusting plate, the reinforcing block protruding from the lower surface of the adjusting plate being provided with a support block fixedly connected to the lower surface of the adjusting plate, and when the end effector is installed, the end of the end effector abuts against the reinforcing block protruding from the upper surface of the adjusting plate, and two anti-torsion ribs are symmetrically provided on the side of the reinforcing block away from the adjusting plate, the two anti-torsion ribs extend into the first connecting member and are located on both sides of the second connecting member, and a connecting shaft with an interference fit with the pitch bearing is connected between the two anti-torsion ribs.

[0010] Furthermore, when the adjustment plate is parallel to the first mounting plate and the second mounting plate, the distance K1 between the upper surface of the first mounting plate and the lower surface of the adjustment plate, the distance K2 between the lower surface of the second mounting plate and the upper surface of the adjustment plate, the height K3 of the reinforcement block, and the distance K4 between the first platforms oppositely arranged on the upper and lower sides of the first connecting member satisfy the relationship K1:K2:K3:K4=(0.52-0.57):(0.6-0.7):(0.72-0.8):1.

[0011] Furthermore, three groups of telescopic adjustment devices are provided on the first mounting plate, and the three groups of telescopic adjustment devices are arranged in an isosceles triangle, one group of telescopic adjustment devices is located close to the mounting seat, and the remaining two groups of telescopic adjustment devices are arranged horizontally and located away from the mounting seat. Six groups of elastic support devices are provided on the second mounting plate, three groups of elastic support devices are arranged horizontally and located above the group of telescopic adjustment devices close to the mounting seat, and the remaining three groups of elastic support devices are arranged horizontally and located above the two groups of telescopic adjustment devices away from the mounting seat.

[0012] Furthermore, the relationship between the triangular area S1 enclosed by the axes of the telescopic rods of the three groups of telescopic adjustment devices, the rectangular area S2 enclosed by the axes of the guide columns of the six groups of elastic support devices, and the area S3 of the adjustment plate satisfies S1:S2:S3=(0.2-0.25):(0.3-0.35):1.

[0013] Furthermore, the distance between the axis of the telescopic rod of the telescopic adjustment device near the mounting seat and the mounting seat is smaller than the distance between the axis of the guide column of the elastic support device located above it and the mounting seat, and the distance between the two axes is L1;

[0014] The distance between the axis of the telescopic rod of the telescopic adjustment device away from the mounting seat and the mounting seat is greater than the distance between the axis of the guide column of the elastic support device located above it and the mounting seat, and the distance between the two axes is L2;

[0015] L2=(0.4-0.5)L1.

[0016] Furthermore, the end of the telescopic rod of the telescopic adjustment device is configured as a hemispherical structure.

[0017] The present invention also provides a handling system, comprising a main lifting shaft and a plurality of mechanical arms movably connected end to end, wherein the above-mentioned posture adjustment mechanism is provided at the end of the mechanical arm, and the posture adjustment mechanism clamps and fixes the end effector for handling the wafer;

[0018] A wafer storage bin is provided with at least one wafer storage bin, and a plurality of trays arranged in an upper and lower array are arranged on the inner walls on both sides thereof. There is a single wafer storage space between adjacent trays, and the spacing between adjacent trays is 2-2.5 times the thickness of the wafer. Three groups of position sensors arranged in a triangle are provided at the bottom of the wafer storage bin, and a reference plate for measuring the reference angle is stored in the wafer storage bin.

[0019] The present invention also provides a transport method, which uses the above-mentioned transport system and includes the following steps:

[0020] S100: Acquire three spatial points of a reference plate in a storage bin for wafers to be stored by a position sensor, use them as a reference plane, and calculate the angle of the reference plane;

[0021] S200: The end effector picks up the wafer to be transported from the material picking station, and the robotic arm extends to transport the end effector to the entrance of the wafer storage bin to be stored. Based on the obtained reference plane angle, the posture adjustment mechanism is controlled to make an initial adjustment to the tilt angle of the end effector, and the main lifting axis is controlled to position the height so that the wafer can enter the storage space between adjacent trays in the wafer storage bin without contacting the trays.

[0022] S300: The coordinates of three spatial points of the wafer entering the wafer storage space are obtained through the position sensor, which is used as the real-time plane. The real-time plane angle is calculated. According to the difference between the real-time plane angle and the reference plane angle, the posture adjustment mechanism is controlled to perform angle fine-tuning so that when the end effector places the wafer on the tray, the edge of the wafer can contact the tray at the same time.

[0023] S400: The end effector places the wafer on the tray, then exits the wafer storage bin and moves to the retrieval station.

[0024] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0025] (1) The present invention realizes the active adjustment function of the pitch and roll angles of the end effector without manual intervention, which not only solves the problem that the current wafer handling robot relies on high-rigidity structure, precision design and precision assembly of peripheral supporting equipment to ensure safe handling and accurate pick-up and placement, effectively reduces the design complexity and manufacturing cost, but also enables the present invention to be applicable to wafer handling between multiple wafer storage bins with inconsistent parallelism, and solves the problem that the inconsistent parallelism and distance between wafer storage bins lead to inconsistent extension or retraction length of the handling robot arm, resulting in inconsistent end drop and leading to positioning failure, effectively avoids the risk of wafers being damaged during the process of entering and exiting the wafer storage bin, and improves applicability;

[0026] (2) The present invention can effectively absorb mechanical vibrations during the operation of the equipment, effectively solving the problems of poor operational stability and low adjustment accuracy caused by the mechanical vibrations transmitted to the end effector during the operation of the equipment, as well as the problem of wafer resonance causing chipping and damage to the wafer edge. While avoiding the rigid impact on the wafer during the operation of the traditional structure, the present invention ensures operational stability and adjustment accuracy.

[0027] (3) The highly integrated structure of the present invention improves the compactness of the structure, effectively reduces the space occupied by the equipment, and realizes high-precision adjustment in a compact space. Through the above configuration, the present invention is particularly suitable for the handling and placement of wafers with a diameter of more than 12 inches. The efficiency of wafer handling and placement is increased by 50%, while the wafer damage rate during the handling and placement process is reduced to 0.1%. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] In order to more clearly illustrate the specific embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the specific embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0029] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the posture adjustment mechanism provided in Example 1 of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the isometric structure of the posture adjustment mechanism provided in Example 1 of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the connection structure between the angle tilting device and the adjustment plate provided in Example 1 of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 4 for Figure 3 cross-section;

[0033] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of a first connecting member provided in Example 1 of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the second connecting member provided in Example 1 of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 7 A side view of the posture adjustment mechanism provided in Example 1 of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 8 for Figure 7 Middle AA section;

[0037] Figure 9 for Figure 7 Middle BB section;

[0038] Figure 10 A schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of a transport system provided in Example 2 of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the wafer storage bin provided in Example 2 of the present invention.

[0040] Figure numerals: 100, posture adjustment mechanism; 200, handling robot body; 300, wafer storage bin; 1, first mounting plate; 2, second mounting plate; 3, mounting seat; 4, adjustment plate; 5, end effector; 6, angle tilting device; 61, first connecting member; 611, first platform; 6111, first limiting part; 62, second connecting member; 621, second platform; 6211, second limiting part; 63, roll bearing; 64, pitch bearing; 7, telescopic adjustment device; 71, telescopic rod; 8, elastic support device; 81, guide column; 82, compression spring; 9, reinforcement block; 10, anti-torsion rib; 11, main lifting axis; 12, robot arm; 13, tray; 14, position sensor; 15, reference plate; 16, wafer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions of the present invention in conjunction with the embodiments. Obviously, the embodiments described are only some embodiments of the present invention, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0042] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention provided in the drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the invention for which protection is sought, but merely represents selected embodiments of the present invention. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0043] In the present invention, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, terms such as "installed," "connected," "connect," and "fixed" should be understood broadly. For example, they can refer to fixed connections, removable connections, or integration; mechanical connections or electrical connections; direct connections or indirect connections through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to internal connectivity between two components or interactions between two components. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meanings of these terms in the present invention based on the specific circumstances. Furthermore, terms such as "first," "second," and "third" are used solely for descriptive purposes and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0044] In the present invention, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, a first feature being above or below a second feature may include the first and second features being in direct contact, or may include the first and second features being in contact not directly but through another feature between them. Furthermore, a first feature being above, above, and above the second feature includes the first feature being directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. A first feature being below, below, and below the second feature includes the first feature being directly below and obliquely below the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

[0045] Example 1:

[0046] like Figure 1 、 2 As shown in , 7, the present invention provides a wafer handling end effector posture adjustment mechanism, including: a mounting base assembly, including a first mounting plate 1, a second mounting plate 2 and a mounting seat 3, wherein the first mounting plate 1 and the second mounting plate 2 are arranged parallel to the upper and lower sides of the mounting seat 3, and all three are provided with mounting positions;

[0047] The active adjustment component includes an adjustment plate 4 for supporting the end effector 5, the adjustment plate 4 is located between the first mounting plate 1 and the second mounting plate 2 and one side of which is connected to the angle tilting device 6 provided in the mounting seat 3, and also includes several groups of telescopic adjustment devices 7 installed on the first mounting plate 1 and several groups of elastic support devices 8 installed on the second mounting plate 2, the telescopic adjustment device 7 has a telescopic rod 71 that moves back and forth up and down and the end portion abuts against the lower surface of the adjustment plate 4, the elastic support device 8 includes a guide column 81 passed through the second mounting plate 2 and a compression spring 82 sleeved on the guide column 81, the adjustment plate 4 and the end effector 5 placed on the adjustment plate 4 are clamped and fixed up and down by the telescopic adjustment device 7 and the elastic support device 8 to realize the pitch and roll movements of the adjustment plate 4 and the end effector 5 relative to the mounting base assembly, and the active angle adjustment function of the end effector 5 is realized by controlling the extension amount of the telescopic rods of different telescopic adjustment devices. It should be pointed out that the telescopic adjustment device 7 is a pneumatic telescopic cylinder or an electric telescopic cylinder. The present application preferably uses an electric telescopic cylinder, which drives the telescopic rod 71 to move back and forth relative to the first mounting plate 1. It also includes a program control device for transmitting action instructions to the telescopic adjustment device 7 to control the telescopic rod 71 to extend or retract a certain distance, thereby realizing the position adjustment of the adjustment plate 4 and the end effector 5.

[0048] Firstly, the present invention realizes the active adjustment function of the pitch and roll angles of the end effector 5 without manual intervention, which solves the problem that the current wafer handling robot relies on high-rigidity structure, precise design and precise assembly of peripheral supporting equipment to ensure safe handling and accurate pick-up and placement, effectively reduces the design complexity and manufacturing cost, and enables the present invention to be applicable to wafer handling between multiple wafer storage bins with inconsistent parallelism, solves the problem of inconsistent extension or retraction length of the handling robot arm and inconsistent end drop amount resulting in positioning failure due to inconsistent parallelism and inconsistent distance between wafer storage bins, effectively avoids the risk of wafers being damaged in the process of entering and exiting the wafer storage bin, and improves applicability; secondly, the present invention It can effectively absorb mechanical vibrations during the operation of the equipment, effectively solve the problem that the mechanical vibrations during the operation of the equipment are transmitted to the end effector 5, resulting in poor operation stability and low adjustment accuracy, and cause wafer resonance, resulting in chipping and damage to the wafer edge. It avoids the rigid impact on the wafer during the operation of the traditional structure while ensuring operation stability and adjustment accuracy; finally, the highly integrated structure of the present invention improves the compactness of the structure, effectively reduces the space occupied by the equipment, and realizes high-precision adjustment in a compact space; through the above settings, the present invention is particularly suitable for the handling and placement of wafers with a diameter of more than 12 inches. The wafer handling and placement efficiency is increased by 50%, while the wafer damage rate during the handling and placement process is reduced to 0.1%.

[0049] Specifically, such as Figure 3-6As shown, the angle tilting device 6 includes a first connecting member 61 and a second connecting member 62. The first connecting member 61 is a hollow annular structure, and first platforms 611 are relatively arranged on the upper and lower sides of its inner ring. The first platform 611 is provided with a first limiting portion 6111. The second connecting member 62 is a hollow annular structure, and second platforms 621 are arranged on the upper and lower sides of its outer ring. The second platform 621 is provided with a second limiting portion 6211 adapted to the first limiting portion 6111. The second connecting member 62 is nested in the inner ring of the first connecting member 61 and the planes where the outer circumferences of the two are arranged perpendicular to each other. The outer ring of the first connecting member 61 is interference fit with the roll bearing 63 arranged in the mounting seat 3. The inner ring of the second connecting member 62 is provided with a pitch bearing 64. The pitch bearing 64 is interference fit with the inner ring of the second connecting member 62. The adjustment plate 4 is connected to the pitch bearing 64 through the connecting portion. Through the above arrangement, the pitch bearing 64 and the roll bearing 63 form a spatial layout similar to a cross axis, which significantly reduces the structural size and is particularly suitable for compact usage scenarios, so that the angle tilt device 6 can simultaneously achieve pitch and roll movements while achieving compactness. After the first connecting member 61 and the second connecting member 62 are installed, the first platform 611 and the second platform 621 abut against each other. By providing the first platform 611 and the second platform 621, sufficient local structural strength is ensured at the connection position of the first connecting member 61 and the second connecting member 62. By increasing the contact area after installation, stress concentration and damage are avoided. While achieving compactness, the connection rigidity can also be ensured at the same time. The first limiting portion 6111 and the second limiting portion 6211 cooperate to achieve axial and radial limiting between the first connecting member 61 and the second connecting member 62 to ensure the operational stability of the angle tilt device 6. Specifically, the first limiting portion 6111 is a limiting hole opened in the first platform 611, and the second limiting portion 6211 is an integrally formed limiting column connected to the second platform 621.

[0050] Specifically, the connecting portion includes a reinforcing block 9 connected to the adjusting plate 4, and the reinforcing block 9 and the adjusting plate 4 are an integral structure formed by processing. The reinforcing block 9 is vertically arranged on one side of the adjusting plate 4 and protrudes from the upper and lower surfaces of the adjusting plate 4. The reinforcing block 9 protruding from the lower surface of the adjusting plate 4 is provided with a support block fixedly connected to the lower surface of the adjusting plate 4. When the end effector 5 is installed, the end of the end effector 5 abuts against the reinforcing block 9 protruding from the upper surface of the adjusting plate 4. Two anti-torsion ribs 10 are symmetrically provided on the side of the reinforcing block 9 away from the adjusting plate 4. The anti-torsion ribs 10 and the reinforcing block 9 are an integral structure formed by processing. The two anti-torsion ribs 10 extend into the first connecting piece 61 and are located on both sides of the second connecting piece 62. A connecting shaft with an interference fit with the pitch bearing 64 is connected between the two anti-torsion ribs 10. It should be pointed out that the connecting shaft is a well-known technology for those skilled in the art and is not shown in the accompanying drawings. Through the above settings, the end effector 5 can be effectively supported, the force transmission path is optimized, the torsional strength of the connection part is improved, the service life is extended, and it cooperates with the active adjustment component to effectively suppress the transmission of operating vibration to the angle tilting device 6, thereby achieving a balance between structural stiffness and adjustment accuracy.

[0051] Specifically, such as Figure 4 、 5As shown in Figures 7 and 8, when the adjustment plate 4 is parallel to the first mounting plate 1 and the second mounting plate 2, the relationship between the distance K1 between the upper surface of the first mounting plate 1 and the lower surface of the adjustment plate 4, the distance K2 between the lower surface of the second mounting plate 2 and the upper surface of the adjustment plate 4, the height K3 of the reinforcement block 9, and the distance K4 between the first platforms 611 oppositely arranged on the upper and lower sides of the first connecting member 61 satisfies K1:K2:K3:K4=(0.52-0.57):(0.6-0.7):(0.72-0.8):1. The design of the above parameters is very critical. First, under the premise of ensuring that the device described in this application has a large adjustment range, it optimizes the torque distribution, improves the bending strength of the adjustment plate 4, and solves the problem that the adjustment plate 4 is bent and deformed due to uneven torque distribution after being loaded, thereby affecting the adjustment accuracy; secondly, by forming an asymmetric distribution of the upper and lower clamping forces and controlling the rotational inertia of the reinforcement block 9 under the premise of ensuring that the reinforcement block 9 has sufficient torsional strength, it not only effectively avoids the resonance risk caused by stiffness redundancy, but also solves the problem of angle adjustment response delay, ensures operational stability and wafer handling efficiency, and also achieves a balance between the upper push force of the telescopic adjustment device 7 and the pre-tightening force of the elastic support device 8, solves the problem of fluctuation of the gap between the adjustment plate 4 and the mounting base assembly during transportation due to unbalanced stress distribution and shaking and tilting, further ensuring operational stability and wafer handling efficiency; if the distance K1 between the upper surface of the first mounting plate 1 and the lower surface of the adjustment plate 4 and the distance K2 between the lower surface of the second mounting plate 2 and the upper surface of the adjustment plate 4 If K2 is too small (K1 < 0.52K4, K2 < 0.6K4), the application cannot obtain a large pitch angle adjustment range due to limited travel. If K1 and K2 are too large, it will not be conducive to a compact structure and will cause the adjustment plate 4 to shake and tilt due to gap fluctuations, reducing operational stability and adjustment accuracy. If the height K3 of the reinforcement block 9 is too small (K3 < 0.72K4), the stiffness of the reinforcement block 9 is insufficient, increasing the probability of unstable operation. If K3 is too large, the rotational inertia of the reinforcement block 9 will be increased. amount, resulting in a delay in the angle adjustment response; through the limitation of the above parameters, under the premise of ensuring a large adjustment range, the coordinated cooperation of various components can not only achieve a preload deviation of ≤3%, a repeat positioning accuracy of ≤±0.05° for angle adjustment, ensure that the deflection angle error of the end effector 5 is ≤±0.03° during wafer transportation, but also control the radial runout of the pitch bearing 64 and the roll bearing 63 to be reduced to ±3μm during wafer transportation, ensure operational stability and angle adjustment accuracy, and thus ensure transportation efficiency.

[0052] Specifically, such as Figure 1 、 2As shown in , 7, three groups of telescopic adjustment devices 7 are provided on the first mounting plate 1, and the three groups of telescopic adjustment devices 7 are arranged in an isosceles triangle, one group of telescopic adjustment devices 7 is located close to the mounting seat 3, and the remaining two groups of telescopic adjustment devices 7 are arranged horizontally and located away from the mounting seat 3. Six groups of elastic support devices 8 are provided on the second mounting plate 2, three groups of elastic support devices 8 are arranged horizontally and located above the group of telescopic adjustment devices 7 close to the mounting seat 3, and the remaining three groups of elastic support devices 8 are arranged horizontally and located above the two groups of telescopic adjustment devices 7 away from the mounting seat 3. By providing three sets of telescopic adjustment devices 7 and limiting their geometric position arrangement, the load can be evenly distributed to avoid local stress concentration. The two sets of telescopic adjustment devices 7 arranged horizontally at the distal end compensate for the torque difference of the short arm of the proximal set of telescopic adjustment devices 7 through the long lever arm, achieving pitch and roll moment balance, and providing good support for the end of the adjustment plate 4 after being loaded, avoiding the problem of bending and deformation of the adjustment plate 4 and thus affecting the adjustment accuracy. By providing six sets of elastic support devices 8 and coordinating their distribution positions with the telescopic adjustment devices 7, it is ensured that the end effector 5 and the adjustment plate 4 are subjected to uniform force in all directions during pitch and roll, and have sufficient anti-torsion torque and dynamic gap compensation capabilities. It can effectively absorb mechanical vibrations during operation and avoid the impact of mechanical shock on the radial runout and angular adjustment accuracy of the pitch bearing 64 and roll bearing 63 during operation. It can also effectively avoid gap fluctuations caused by insufficient local preload, maintaining stability during operation. Through this arrangement, the present application balances the relationship between geometric constraints, mechanical balance and handling efficiency, further ensuring operational stability and angular adjustment accuracy.

[0053] Specifically, such as Figure 8-9 As shown, the relationship between the triangular area S1 defined by the connection between the axes of the telescopic rods 71 of the three sets of telescopic adjustment devices 7, the rectangular area S2 defined by the connection between the axes of the guide posts 81 of the six sets of elastic support devices 8, and the area S3 of the adjustment plate 4 satisfies S1:S2:S3 = (0.2-0.25):(0.3-0.35):1. By defining this relationship, the arm distribution of the telescopic adjustment device 7 and the elastic support device 8 satisfies torque balance, effectively supporting the adjustment plate 4. This avoids redundant arm action, unbalanced torque distribution, and excessive preload gaps due to excessive area, which can lead to reduced torsional strength and increased deflection of the adjustment plate 4 during operation. It also avoids redundant local clamping force, increased resistance during adjustment of the adjustment plate 4, and delayed adjustment response time due to insufficient area. Furthermore, it avoids abnormal gap fluctuations in the adjustment plate 4 due to insufficient local support.

[0054] Specifically, such as Figure 7As shown, the distance between the axis X1 of the telescopic rod 71 of the telescopic adjustment device 7 near the mounting seat 3 and the mounting seat 3 is smaller than the distance between the axis X2 of the guide column of the elastic support device 8 located above it and the mounting seat 3, and the distance between the two axes is L1;

[0055] The distance between the axis X3 of the telescopic rod 71 of the telescopic adjustment device 7, which is located away from the mounting seat 3, and the mounting seat 3 is greater than the distance between the axis X4 of the guide column of the elastic support device 8 located above it and the mounting seat 3. The distance between the two axes is L2;

[0056] L2=(0.4-0.5)L1.

[0057] Through this setting, the upper force of the telescopic adjustment device 7 and the preload of the elastic support device 8 can be further balanced to achieve a balance between good support and adjustment accuracy to ensure operational stability and adjustment accuracy. If L2 is less than 0.4L1, the adjustment torque of the telescopic adjustment device 7 far away from the mounting seat 3 will be insufficient, the adjustment accuracy will deteriorate and the adjustment response time will be delayed. If L2 is greater than 0.5L1, the probability of preload deviation of the elastic support device 8 will increase, resulting in instability in the operation process and inability to effectively absorb operational vibrations, which in turn leads to a decrease in adjustment accuracy and operational stability.

[0058] Specifically, the end of the telescopic rod 71 of the telescopic adjustment device 7 is configured as a hemispherical structure. Through this configuration, the end of the telescopic rod 71 forms point contact, further promoting uniform stress distribution to ensure adjustment accuracy.

[0059] Example 2:

[0060] like Figure 10 、 11 As shown, the present invention also provides a handling system, including: a horizontal multi-joint handling robot body 200, including a main lifting shaft 11 and a plurality of robot arms 12 movably connected at the end, the posture adjustment mechanism 100 described in Example 1 is provided at the end of the robot arm 12, and the posture adjustment mechanism 100 clamps and fixes the end effector 5 for handling the wafer 16;

[0061] The wafer storage bin 300 is provided with at least one wafer storage bin 300, and a plurality of trays 13 arranged in an upper and lower array are arranged on the inner walls on both sides thereof. There is a storage space for single wafers 16 between adjacent trays 13, and the spacing between adjacent trays 13 is 2-2.5 times the thickness of the wafer 16. Three groups of position sensors 14 arranged in a triangle are provided at the bottom of the wafer storage bin 300, and a reference plate 15 for measuring the reference angle is stored in the wafer storage bin 300. Because the posture adjustment mechanism 100 can actively adjust the pitch and roll angles of the end effector 5 without human intervention, it is suitable for wafer transportation between multiple wafer storage bins 300 with inconsistent parallelism. The three spatial point coordinates of the reference plate 15 are obtained by the displacement sensor, and the reference plane angle is calculated. Based on this angle, the posture adjustment mechanism 100 is used to adjust the angle of the wafer entering the wafer storage bin 300 to ensure that when the wafer is placed, its edge can contact the tray 13 at the same time to avoid damage to the wafer edge, thereby realizing efficient and safe transportation and placement of wafers in a compact space.

[0062] Example 3:

[0063] The present invention also provides a transport method, which uses the transport system described in Example 2 and includes the following steps:

[0064] S100: Acquire three spatial points of the reference plate 15 in the wafer storage bin 300 to be stored by the position sensor 14, use them as a reference plane, and calculate the reference plane angle;

[0065] S200: The end effector 5 picks up the wafer 16 to be transported from the material retrieving station, and the robot arm 12 extends to transport the end effector 5 to the entrance of the wafer storage bin 300 to be stored. Based on the obtained reference plane angle, the posture adjustment mechanism is controlled to perform an initial adjustment on the tilt angle of the end effector 5, and the main lifting axis 11 is controlled to position the height so that the wafer 16 can enter the storage space between adjacent trays 13 in the wafer storage bin 300 without contacting the trays 13;

[0066] S300: The coordinates of three spatial points of the wafer 16 entering the wafer storage space are obtained through the position sensor 14, which is used as a real-time plane. The real-time plane angle is calculated, and according to the difference between the real-time plane angle and the reference plane angle, the posture adjustment mechanism 100 is controlled to perform angle fine-tuning so that when the end effector 5 places the wafer 16 on the tray 13, the edges of the wafer 16 can contact the tray 13 at the same time.

[0067] S400: The end effector 5 places the wafer 16 on the tray 13, then exits the wafer storage bin 300 and moves to the material retrieval station.

[0068] Preferably, after the reference plane angle is calculated, it is automatically saved. When the wafer storage bin 300 is subsequently picked up and placed, the reference plane angle is automatically retrieved, and then the tilt angle of the end effector 5 is initially adjusted. Through this setting, the transportation process is effectively simplified and the transportation efficiency is improved.

[0069] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the above embodiments, or replace some or all of the technical features therein with equivalents. However, these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. Wafer handling end effector posture adjustment mechanism, characterized in that: include: The mounting base assembly includes a first mounting plate, a second mounting plate and a mounting seat, wherein the first mounting plate and the second mounting plate are arranged parallel to the upper and lower sides of the mounting seat; An active adjustment assembly includes an adjustment plate for supporting an end effector, the adjustment plate being located between the first mounting plate and the second mounting plate and having one side thereof connected to an angular tilting device provided in the mounting seat, and further including a plurality of groups of telescopic adjustment devices mounted on the first mounting plate and a plurality of groups of elastic support devices mounted on the second mounting plate, the telescopic adjustment device having a telescopic rod that reciprocates up and down and whose end abuts against a lower surface of the adjustment plate, the elastic support device including a guide column that passes through the second mounting plate and a compression spring that is sleeved on the guide column, the adjustment plate and the end effector placed on the adjustment plate being clamped and fixed up and down by the telescopic adjustment device and the elastic support device, so as to achieve pitch and roll movements of the adjustment plate and the end effector relative to the mounting base assembly; The angle tilting device includes a first connecting member and a second connecting member. The first connecting member is a hollow annular structure, and first platforms are relatively arranged on the upper and lower sides of its inner ring. The first platform is provided with a first limiting portion. The second connecting member is a hollow annular structure, and second platforms are provided on the upper and lower sides of its outer ring. The second platform is provided with a second limiting portion adapted to the first limiting portion. The second connecting member is nested in the inner ring of the first connecting member and the planes where the outer circumferences of the two are arranged perpendicular to each other. The outer ring of the first connecting member is interference fit with the roll bearing arranged in the mounting seat, and the inner ring of the second connecting member is provided with a pitch bearing. The adjustment plate is connected to the pitch bearing through a connecting portion.

2. The wafer handling end effector posture adjustment mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The connecting portion includes a reinforcing block connected to the adjusting plate, the reinforcing block being vertically arranged on one side of the adjusting plate and protruding from the upper and lower surfaces of the adjusting plate, the reinforcing block protruding from the lower surface of the adjusting plate being provided with a supporting block fixedly connected to the lower surface of the adjusting plate, and when the end effector is installed, the end of the end effector abuts against the reinforcing block protruding from the upper surface of the adjusting plate, and two anti-torsion ribs are symmetrically provided on the side of the reinforcing block away from the adjusting plate, the two anti-torsion ribs extend into the first connecting member and are located on both sides of the second connecting member, and a connecting shaft with an interference fit with the pitch bearing is connected between the two anti-torsion ribs.

3. The wafer handling end effector posture adjustment mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that: When the adjustment plate is parallel to the first mounting plate and the second mounting plate, the relationship between the distance K1 between the upper surface of the first mounting plate and the lower surface of the adjustment plate, the distance K2 between the lower surface of the second mounting plate and the upper surface of the adjustment plate, the height K3 of the reinforcement block, and the distance K4 between the first platforms oppositely arranged on the upper and lower sides of the first connecting member satisfies K1:K2:K3:K4=(0.52-0.57):(0.6-0.7):(0.72-0.8):

1.

4. The wafer handling end effector posture adjustment mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: Three groups of telescopic adjustment devices are provided on the first mounting plate, and the three groups of telescopic adjustment devices are arranged in an isosceles triangle, wherein one group of telescopic adjustment devices is located close to the mounting seat, and the remaining two groups of telescopic adjustment devices are arranged horizontally and located away from the mounting seat. Six groups of elastic support devices are provided on the second mounting plate, wherein three groups of elastic support devices are arranged horizontally and located above the group of telescopic adjustment devices close to the mounting seat, and the remaining three groups of elastic support devices are arranged horizontally and located above the two groups of telescopic adjustment devices away from the mounting seat.

5. The wafer handling end effector posture adjustment mechanism according to claim 4, characterized in that: The relationship between the triangular area S1 enclosed by the axes of the telescopic rods of the three sets of telescopic adjustment devices, the rectangular area S2 enclosed by the axes of the guide columns of the six sets of elastic support devices, and the area S3 of the adjustment plate satisfies S1:S2:S3=(0.2-0.25):(0.3-0.35):

1.

6. The wafer handling end effector posture adjustment mechanism according to claim 5, characterized in that: The distance between the axis of the telescopic rod of the telescopic adjustment device near the mounting seat and the mounting seat is smaller than the distance between the axis of the guide column of the elastic support device located above it and the mounting seat, and the distance between the two axes is L1; The distance between the axis of the telescopic rod of the telescopic adjustment device away from the mounting seat and the mounting seat is greater than the distance between the axis of the guide column of the elastic support device located above it and the mounting seat, and the distance between the two axes is L2; L2=(0.4-0.5)L1.

7. The wafer handling end effector posture adjustment mechanism according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that: The end of the telescopic rod of the telescopic adjustment device is configured as a hemispherical structure.

8. A transport system, characterized in that: include: A horizontal multi-joint handling robot body comprises a main lifting axis and a plurality of mechanical arms movably connected end to end, wherein the end of the mechanical arm is provided with a posture adjustment mechanism as described in any one of claims 1 to 7, and the posture adjustment mechanism clamps and fixes an end effector for handling wafers; A wafer storage bin is provided with at least one wafer storage bin, and a plurality of trays arranged in an upper and lower array are arranged on the inner walls on both sides thereof. There is a single wafer storage space between adjacent trays, and the spacing between adjacent trays is 2-2.5 times the thickness of the wafer. Three groups of position sensors arranged in a triangle are provided at the bottom of the wafer storage bin, and a reference plate for measuring the reference angle is stored in the wafer storage bin.

9. A transport method, using the transport system according to claim 8, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: S100: Acquire three spatial points of a reference plate in a storage bin for wafers to be stored by a position sensor, use them as a reference plane, and calculate the angle of the reference plane; S200: The end effector picks up the wafer to be transported from the material picking station, and the robotic arm extends to transport the end effector to the entrance of the wafer storage bin to be stored. Based on the obtained reference plane angle, the posture adjustment mechanism is controlled to make an initial adjustment to the tilt angle of the end effector, and the main lifting axis is controlled to position the height so that the wafer can enter the storage space between adjacent trays in the wafer storage bin without contacting the trays. S300: The coordinates of three spatial points of the wafer entering the wafer storage space are obtained through the position sensor, which is used as the real-time plane. The real-time plane angle is calculated. According to the difference between the real-time plane angle and the reference plane angle, the posture adjustment mechanism is controlled to perform angle fine-tuning so that when the end effector places the wafer on the tray, the edge of the wafer can contact the tray at the same time. S400: The end effector places the wafer on the tray, then exits the wafer storage bin and moves to the retrieval station.

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