A robotic arm

Abstract

The utility model discloses a mechanical arm, including a support platform, on which a base for installing a clamping mechanism is installed through a rotating mechanism; the support platform is installed on a transverse moving member through a longitudinal moving mechanism, and the transverse moving member is installed on a support plate through a transverse moving mechanism, and the transverse moving mechanism is a linear motor, and a guide structure is provided between the transverse moving member and the support plate, and the guide structure is used to guide the transverse moving member during the movement relative to the support plate. In the utility model, the proposed mechanical arm replaces the belt transmission system in the traditional servo motor system through the transverse moving mechanism being a combination of a linear motor and a guide structure, so that the volume of the mechanical arm is reduced, and the number of frictions is reduced, thereby reducing the generation of pollutant particles, thereby improving production capacity and product quality.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of semiconductor wafer conveying equipment, in particular to a mechanical arm. Background Art

[0002] In semiconductor equipment, there is a transmission module that transfers wafers between various process units. In the coating and developing equipment, this transmission module is a robotic arm that can move in four directions: X / Y / Z / θ. The power system of the existing motion mechanism usually uses a servo motor + belt drive system, and the servo motor transmits power to the driven components through a belt.

[0003] When using a servo motor + belt drive system, the belt drive system is a separate power bridge between the power source and the driven object, which increases the size of the drive system. In addition, during the transmission process of the belt drive system, there will be static friction, which will generate excess contamination particles. The particles are adsorbed on the surface of the wafer, causing waste wafers, which to a certain extent affects the production capacity and quality. Utility Model Content

[0004] In order to solve the technical problems existing in the background technology, the utility model proposes a mechanical arm.

[0005] The utility model provides a mechanical arm, comprising a support platform, on which a base for installing a clamping mechanism is installed through a rotating mechanism;

[0006] The support platform is installed on the transverse moving member through a longitudinal moving mechanism, and the transverse moving member is installed on the support plate through a transverse moving mechanism. The transverse moving mechanism is a linear motor. A guide structure is provided between the transverse moving member and the support plate, and the guide structure is used to guide the transverse moving member during its movement relative to the support plate.

[0007] Preferably, the guide structures are provided with at least two groups, at least one group of the guide structures is located above the linear motor, and at least one group of the guide structures is located below the linear motor.

[0008] Preferably, the guide structure includes a guide rail installed on the support plate and a slide groove opened on the transverse moving member, and the slide groove matches the guide rail. In some embodiments, the guide rail is provided with two groups, defined as an upper guide rail and a lower guide rail, the upper guide rail is located above the linear motor, and the lower guide rail is located below the linear motor. The slide groove is also provided with two groups, defined as an upper slide groove and a lower slide groove, the upper slide groove matches the upper guide rail, and the lower slide groove matches the lower guide rail.

[0009] Preferably, the linear motor comprises a stator mounted on the support plate and a mover mounted on the transverse moving member and matching the stator, and a mounting groove for accommodating the mover is formed on the transverse moving member.

[0010] Preferably, a vertical plate is mounted on the transverse moving member, and the longitudinal moving mechanism is mounted on the vertical plate.

[0011] Preferably, a reinforcing plate is further provided between the vertical plate and the transverse moving member, and a surface where the transverse moving member is connected to the reinforcing plate is perpendicular to a surface where the transverse moving member is connected to the vertical plate.

[0012] Preferably, the reinforcing plate is perpendicular to the vertical plate.

[0013] Preferably, the longitudinal movement mechanism is a screw slider mechanism.

[0014] Preferably, the rotating mechanism comprises a rotating motor mounted on the supporting platform, and the base is connected to an output shaft of the rotating motor.

[0015] Preferably, the clamping mechanism is a robot arm, and of course it may be other existing structures that can clamp and release the wafer.

[0016] In the utility model, the proposed robotic arm replaces the belt drive system in the traditional servo motor system through the lateral moving mechanism being a combination of a linear motor and a guide structure, so that the volume of the robotic arm is reduced and the number of frictions is reduced, thereby reducing the generation of polluting particles, thereby improving production capacity and product quality.

[0017] Additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will be given in part in the following description, and in part will become apparent from the following description, or will be learned through the practice of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the utility model;

[0019] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the utility model from another angle;

[0020] Figure 3 This is an enlarged view of the local structure of the connection between the lateral moving member and the support plate of the utility model;

[0021] In the figure: 1. support platform; 2. base; 3. rotating mechanism; 4. transverse moving part; 5. longitudinal moving mechanism; 6. transverse moving mechanism; 60. stator; 61. mover; 7. upper slide rail; 8. lower slide rail; 9. upper slide groove; 10. support plate; 11. slide groove; 12. vertical plate; 13. reinforcement plate; 14. manipulator. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, and examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar symbols throughout represent the same or similar elements or elements with the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present invention, and cannot be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0023] like Figure 1-Figure 3 A robot arm shown includes a support table 1, on which a base 2 is mounted via a rotating mechanism 3, and a clamping mechanism for clamping and releasing a wafer is arranged on the base 2. It should be noted that the clamping mechanism can be a robot 14 in the prior art or other structures that can achieve clamping or releasing of the wafer;

[0024] The support platform 1 is mounted on a transverse moving member 4 via a longitudinal moving mechanism 5, the longitudinal moving mechanism 5 is used to drive the base 2 to move in the vertical direction, and the transverse moving member 4 is mounted on a support plate 10 via a transverse moving mechanism 6, the transverse moving mechanism 6 drives the base 2 to move in the horizontal direction;

[0025] The transverse moving mechanism 6 is a linear motor, the stator 60 of the linear motor is transversely fixed on the support plate 10, the support plate 10 is vertically fixed on the bottom plate, the bottom plate can be installed on the frame, the mover 61 of the linear motor is fixed on the transverse moving member 4, specifically, the transverse moving member 4 is provided with a mounting groove, the mover 61 is installed in the mounting groove and the mover 61 matches the stator 60, the support plate 10 is also provided with an upper slide rail 7 and a lower slide rail 8, the stator 60 is arranged between the upper slide rail 7 and the lower slide rail 8, the upper slide rail 7 is located above the stator 60, and the lower slide rail 8 is located below the stator 60, the transverse moving mechanism 6 is provided with an upper slide groove 9 matching the upper slide rail 7 and a lower slide groove 11 matching the lower slide rail 8;

[0026] It should be noted that in order to ensure the lateral sliding of the lateral moving member 4, other guiding structures can also be used to guide the lateral moving member 4 during the lateral movement process to ensure that the lateral moving member 4 moves horizontally in a straight line. Specifically, a protrusion can be set on the lateral moving member 4, and a guiding structure with a sliding groove matching the protrusion can be opened on the support plate 10.

[0027] This embodiment uses a combination of a linear motor and a guide rail through the lateral moving mechanism 6, thereby eliminating the belt-out system in the traditional servo motor system, thereby reducing the size of the robot arm, reducing friction, and thus reducing the generation of pollutant particles.

[0028] Furthermore, the longitudinal moving mechanism 5 is a screw slider mechanism, which is driven to rotate by a servo motor, a slider is set on the screw, and the support platform 1 is fixed on the slider, so that the manipulator 14 installed on the base 2 can run smoothly in the vertical direction, avoiding the problem of large size of the robot arm caused by the use of a gate structure in the prior art.

[0029] Specifically, in order to ensure stability during movement, a vertical plate 12 is fixed to one side of the transverse moving member 4, and the vertical plate 12 is fixed to the transverse moving member 4 by screws. The longitudinal moving mechanism 5 is installed on the vertical plate 12, and a wiring opening is opened on the vertical plate 12 for wiring the linear motor.

[0030] In order to further increase the stability, a reinforcing plate 13 is also included, the bottom of the reinforcing plate 13 is fixed to the top of the transverse moving member 4, and the reinforcing plate 13 is fixed to the vertical plate 12. Specifically, the reinforcing plate 13 is fixed to the vertical plate 12 by welding or by screws, and the reinforcing plate 13 is perpendicular to the vertical plate 12, and the reinforcing plate 13 is fixed to the transverse moving member 4 by screws. The provision of the reinforcing plate 13 not only increases the strength of the vertical plate 12 but also facilitates the positioning of the vertical plate 12 during installation.

[0031] Specifically, the width of the reinforcing plate 13 gradually increases from top to bottom.

[0032] Furthermore, the rotating mechanism 3 includes a rotating motor installed on the support platform 1, and the base 2 is connected to the output shaft of the rotating motor. The rotating mechanism 3 drives the base 2 to rotate, thereby realizing the rotation of the manipulator 14 installed on the base 2. The rotating mechanism 3 eliminates the belt transmission system in the traditional servo motor system through the rotating motor, thereby reducing the size of the device and reducing the number of frictions, thereby reducing the generation of polluting particles.

[0033] It should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential" and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the referred device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0034] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In the description of the present utility model, the meaning of "plurality" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0035] In the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", "connected", "fixed" and the like should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral one; it can be a mechanical connection, an electrical connection, or communication with each other; it can be a direct connection, or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements, unless otherwise clearly defined. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0036] In the present utility model, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, a first feature being "above" or "below" a second feature may mean that the first and second features are in direct contact, or the first and second features are in indirect contact through an intermediate medium. Moreover, a first feature being "above", "above" or "above" a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly above or 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" or "below" a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly below or obliquely below the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

[0037] The above description is only a preferred specific implementation manner of the present invention, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with the technical field can make equivalent replacements or changes within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention according to the technical scheme and the utility model concept of the present invention, which should be covered by the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A robotic arm, characterized in that: It comprises a support platform (1), on which a base (2) for mounting a clamping mechanism is mounted via a rotating mechanism (3); The support platform (1) is mounted on a transverse moving member (4) via a longitudinal moving mechanism (5); the transverse moving member (4) is mounted on a support plate (10) via a transverse moving mechanism (6); the transverse moving mechanism (6) is a linear motor; a guide structure is provided between the transverse moving member (4) and the support plate (10); the guide structure is used to guide the transverse moving member (4) during movement relative to the support plate (10).

2. The robotic arm according to claim 1, characterized in that: The guide structures are provided with at least two groups, at least one group of the guide structures is located above the linear motor, and at least one group of the guide structures is located below the linear motor.

3. The robotic arm according to claim 1, characterized in that: The guide structure comprises a guide rail installed on the support plate (10) and a slide groove provided on the transverse moving member (4), wherein the slide groove matches the guide rail.

4. The robotic arm according to claim 1, characterized in that: The linear motor comprises a stator (60) mounted on the support plate (10) and a mover (61) mounted on the transverse moving member (4) and matching the stator (60); the transverse moving member (4) is provided with a mounting groove for accommodating the mover (61).

5. The robotic arm according to claim 1, characterized in that: A vertical plate (12) is mounted on the transverse moving member (4), and the vertical moving mechanism (5) is mounted on the vertical plate (12).

6. The robotic arm according to claim 5, characterized in that: A reinforcing plate (13) is also provided between the vertical plate (12) and the horizontal moving member (4), and the surface where the horizontal moving member (4) is connected to the reinforcing plate (13) is perpendicular to the surface where the horizontal moving member (4) is connected to the vertical plate (12).

7. The robot arm according to claim 6, characterized in that: The reinforcing plate (13) is perpendicular to the vertical plate (12).

8. The robotic arm according to claim 1, characterized in that: The longitudinal moving mechanism (5) is a screw slider mechanism.

9. The robotic arm according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rotating mechanism (3) comprises a rotating motor mounted on the supporting platform (1), and the base (2) is connected to the output shaft of the rotating motor.

10. The robotic arm according to claim 1, characterized in that: The clamping mechanism is a robot (14).

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