Mechanical arm with substrate in-position detection function

Abstract

The utility model provides a mechanical arm with a substrate in-position detection function. The mechanical arm comprises a plurality of arm bodies, a plurality of in-position detectors and a control module. The arm bodies are movably arranged in a layered mode and used for bearing a plurality of substrates. The in-seat detectors are arranged beside the arm bodies in a layered mode, and the arm bodies correspond to the in-seat detectors in a one-to-one mode. The control module is electrically connected with the in-seat detector to detect whether each arm body bears the substrate, and the in-seat detector extends into the space where the bottom surface of the substrate is located. According to the mechanical arm provided by the utility model, the in-position detector can extend into the space between the multiple layers of arm bodies so as to detect whether the arm bodies bear the substrate or not.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to a robotic arm, and particularly to a robotic arm with a function of detecting the presence of a substrate on the seat. Background Art

[0002] Whether in the semiconductor manufacturing process or the panel manufacturing process, it is a common automation technology to transport substrates or wafers through a robotic arm.

[0003] However, for a transparent substrate, it is not easy to configure a sensor capable of detecting whether the substrate exists. The reason is that, limited by the physical property that the substrate is transparent, for the existing transmissive optical sensor, its light beam will sense failure due to passing through the substrate.

[0004] Furthermore, a robotic arm usually has multiple arm bodies arranged in layers to carry a larger number of substrates, which is beneficial to mass production. This causes the distance between these arm bodies to be extremely reduced to be beneficial to obtaining a larger substrate carrying capacity in a certain space. In this way, the space available for configuring the sensor is significantly insufficient. Summary of the Utility Model

[0005] The utility model provides a robotic arm, which can extend a presence detector between the arm bodies arranged in multiple layers to detect whether the arm body carries a substrate.

[0006] A robotic arm with a function of detecting the presence of a substrate on the seat according to the utility model includes multiple arm bodies, multiple presence detectors and a control module. The arm bodies are movably arranged in layers and are used to carry multiple substrates. The presence detectors are arranged in layers beside the arm bodies, and the arm bodies and the presence detectors are in one-to-one correspondence with each other. The control module is electrically connected to the presence detectors to detect whether each arm body carries a substrate, wherein the presence detector extends into the space where the bottom surface of the substrate is located.

[0007] In an embodiment of the utility model, the above-mentioned presence detector is a side-illuminated cylindrical contrast fiber optic sensor, which includes a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit, and the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit are located on the same side of the substrate. The substrate is a transparent substrate. The size of the presence detector is smaller than the distance between two adjacent arm bodies.

[0008] In an embodiment of the utility model, it further includes an end effector, which is electrically connected to the control module and includes the above-mentioned presence detector. The arm body includes a connecting piece and a receiving piece. The connecting piece is movably assembled to the end effector, and the receiving piece extends from the connecting piece in a direction away from the end effector. The substrate is carried on the receiving piece. The presence detector is located beside the connecting piece and beside the receiving piece.

[0009] In an embodiment of the present utility model, the above-mentioned arm body further includes a bracket extending from beside the connecting member, and the presence detector is disposed on the bracket.

[0010] In an embodiment of the present utility model, it further includes a swivel base and a linear drive module. The swivel base has a linear track, and the arm body is movably disposed on the linear track through a base. The linear drive module is disposed inside the swivel base and passes through the linear track to connect to the base, so that the linear drive module drives the arm body to move along the track.

[0011] In an embodiment of the present utility model, it further includes a steering mechanism electrically connected to the control module. The steering mechanism includes a steering drive module and the above-mentioned swivel base, and the swivel base is connected to the lifting seat through the steering drive module.

[0012] In an embodiment of the present utility model, it further includes a lifting mechanism electrically connected to the control module. The lifting mechanism includes a lifting drive module, a lifting track, and the above-mentioned lifting seat. The lifting seat is movably coupled to the lifting track and connected to the lifting drive module, so that the lifting drive module drives the lifting seat to move along the lifting track.

[0013] In an embodiment of the present utility model, the above-mentioned end effector further includes a plurality of strip grooves spaced apart from each other. The connecting members of the arm body are respectively correspondingly coupled to the strip grooves to move back and forth in a straight direction. The end effector further includes a connecting rod and a stepping motor. The connecting members are respectively pivotally connected to the connecting rod. The stepping motor is connected to one end of the connecting rod to drive the connecting rod to rotate, and drives the connecting members to move through the rotation of the connecting rod to change the spacing of the receiving members.

[0014] In an embodiment of the present utility model, the spacing between the above-mentioned light emitting unit and the light receiving unit is 12 mm to 15 mm.

[0015] In an embodiment of the present utility model, the relative distance between the above-mentioned presence detector and the substrate is less than or equal to 1.5 mm.

[0016] Based on the above, since the presence detector is disposed beside the multiple arm bodies arranged in layers of the robotic arm, and after the arm body carries the substrate, the presence detector can extend into the space at the bottom surface of the substrate, so it can effectively detect whether the arm body is carrying a substrate. The present novel completes the required detection purpose with a simple structural configuration by means of the presence detector disposed in a narrow space.

[0017] To make the above features and advantages of the present utility model more obvious and understandable, specific embodiments are hereinafter given and described in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings as follows. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a robotic arm according to an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0019] Figure 2 is Figure 1 a schematic exploded view of the robotic arm;

[0020] Figure 3 is Figure 1 a schematic enlarged partial view of the robotic arm;

[0021] Figure 4 is an electrical relationship diagram of related components of the robotic arm;

[0022] Figure 5A is a schematic principle diagram of the light-emitting unit of the occupancy detector;

[0023] Figure 5B is a detection schematic diagram of the substrate corresponding to the occupancy detector;

[0024] Figures 6A to 6C is an actuation schematic diagram of the arm body. Detailed implementation manners

[0025] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a robotic arm according to an embodiment of the present utility model. Figure 2 is Figure 1 a schematic exploded view of the robotic arm. Figure 3 is Figure 1 a schematic enlarged partial view of the robotic arm. At the same time, rectangular coordinates X - Y - Z are provided to facilitate the description of components. Please also refer to Figures 1 to 3 , in this embodiment, the robotic arm 10 includes an arm assembly 100, a lifting mechanism 200 and a steering mechanism 300. The lifting mechanism 200 includes a lifting seat 210, a lifting drive module 220 and a lifting track 230. The lifting seat 210 is movably coupled to the lifting track 230. The lifting drive module 220 is connected to the lifting seat 210 and the lifting track 230 to drive the lifting seat 210 to move along the lifting track 230 (along the Z - axis). The steering mechanism 300 includes a steering seat 310 and a steering drive module 320. Among them, the steering seat 310 is connected to the lifting seat 210 through the steering drive module 320, so that the steering drive module 320 can drive the steering seat 310 to rotate relative to the lifting seat 210 along the Z - axis. The steering seat 310 has a linear track 311. The arm assembly 100 is movably coupled to the linear track 311. And the robotic arm 10 further includes a linear drive module 400 disposed within the steering seat 310. The linear drive module 400 includes, for example Figure 2 driving components such as the motor 410 and the pulley 420 shown in

[0026] , so that the linear drive module 400 can drive the arm assembly 100 to move along the linear track 311 (along the X - axis).The arm assembly 100 includes a plurality of arm bodies 110, an end effector 120, and a base 130. The arm bodies 110 are arranged in layers movably along the Z-axis and are used to carry a plurality of substrates 20 (here, a wafer or a circular substrate is taken as an example, but not limited thereto). The arm bodies 110 are coupled to a linear track 311 on the swivel base 310 through the base 130 and are connected to a linear drive module 400, so that the linear drive module 400 drives the arm assembly 100 to move on the linear track 311. The robotic arm 10 further includes a cassette sensor 500, which is arranged on the swivel base 310 and above the linear track 311 to move with the swivel base 310. After the arm assembly 100 is assembled to the swivel base 310, the cassette sensor 500 and the arm body 110 can be regarded as being on opposite sides of the end effector 120. The robotic arm 10 can first sense the substrates 20 in a cassette (not shown) through the cassette sensor 500, such as sensing the presence or absence, quantity, whether there are protruding, stacked, or inclined substrates 20, etc. Then, the substrates 20 are taken out of or placed into the cassette through the arm body 110.

[0027] Figure 4 It is an electrical connection diagram of relevant components of the robotic arm. Please also refer to Figure 1 、 Figure 3 And Figure 4 The robotic arm 10 further includes a control module CM, which is electrically connected to a lifting drive module 220 of the lifting mechanism 200, a swivel drive module 320 of the swivel mechanism 300, a linear drive module 400, an end effector 120, and a cassette sensor (mapping sensor) 500, so as to facilitate the control module CM to drive the movement of the arm assembly 100 in three-dimensional space through the above-mentioned mechanisms (or modules) to meet the requirement of receiving and sending substrates 20.

[0028] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the end effector 120 of the arm assembly 100 includes a pitch adjustment mechanism and a plurality of in-position detectors 124, where the in-position detectors 124 are electrically connected to the control module CM and are arranged in layers beside the arm body 110. As Figure 3 shown, there is a one-to-one correspondence between the arm body 110 and the in-position detectors 124 in this embodiment. As Figure 3 shown, the substrate 20 on the uppermost arm body 110 has been omitted, and the in-position detector 124 originally located below the omitted substrate 20 is exposed. In other words, when the omitted uppermost substrate 20 is restored, it will substantially cover a part of the in-position detector 124. Accordingly, the in-position detector 124 in this embodiment will substantially extend into the space where the bottom surface of the substrate 20 is located to facilitate detecting whether the arm body 110 is carrying a substrate 20.

[0029] Figure 5A It is a schematic diagram of the principle of the light-emitting unit of the occupancy detector. Figure 5B It is a detection schematic diagram of the substrate corresponding to the occupancy detector. Please also refer to Figure 5A and Figure 5B In this embodiment, the occupancy detector 124 is a side-illuminated cylindrical contrast fiber optic sensor, which includes a light-emitting unit 124a and a light-receiving unit 124b, and the light-emitting unit 124a and the light-receiving unit 124b are located on the same side of the substrate 20, so that as Figure 5B shown, the light-emitting unit 124a generates light rays emitted along a specific angle. After being reflected by the substrate 20, the light rays are received by the light-receiving unit 124b, and the parameter changes between the emitted light rays and the received light rays are compared to determine whether the substrate 20 exists.

[0030] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 3 and Figure 5B In this embodiment, the arm body 110 includes a connecting member 111 and a receiving member 112. The connecting member 111 is movably assembled to the end effector 120. The receiving member 112 extends from the connecting member 111 in a direction away from the end effector 120. The substrate 20 is carried on the receiving member 112. The occupancy detector 124 is located beside the connecting member 111 and beside the receiving member 112. Substantially, the arm body 110 further includes a bracket 113, which extends from beside the connecting member 111 and is stacked. The occupancy detectors 124 are respectively arranged on these brackets 113. Furthermore, in order to enable the occupancy detector 124 to effectively detect the transparent substrate 20 on the arm body 110, the size of the occupancy detector 124 needs to be smaller than the distance between two adjacent arm bodies 110, so as to facilitate reaching into the space at the bottom of the substrate 20. The distance between the light-emitting unit 124a and the light-receiving unit 124b is 12 mm to 15 mm, and the relative distance between the occupancy detector 124 and the substrate 20 is less than or equal to 1.5 mm. Accordingly, as Figure 3 shown, when the substrates 20 are carried on the arm bodies 110, the occupancy detector 124 of this embodiment can smoothly reach into the narrow space of about 4 mm * 19 mm between adjacent substrates 20.

[0031] Figures 6A to 6C It is a schematic diagram of the operation of the arm body. Please also refer to Figures 6A to 6C The above requirements for the conditions of the occupancy detector 124 come from the spacing change of the stacked arm body 110. Here, the connecting members 111A, 111B and the receiving members 112A, 112B of two arm bodies 110 are taken as examples. In this embodiment, the spacing adjustment mechanism of the end effector 120 is composed of a stepping motor 121, a connecting rod 122 and strip-shaped grooves 123a, 123b, where the strip-shaped grooves 123a, 123b are spaced apart from each other (here, Figure 6CTaking the shown strip-shaped grooves 123a and 123b as examples, the connecting members 111A and 111B of the arm body 110 are respectively and correspondingly coupled to the strip-shaped grooves 123a and 123b to move back and forth in a straight direction (up and down). The connecting members 111A and 111B are respectively pivotally connected to the connecting rod 122. The stepping motor 121 is connected to one end of the connecting rod 122 to drive the connecting rod 122 to rotate under the control of the control module CM, and drives the connecting members 111A and 111B to move through the rotation of the connecting rod 122 to change the distances d1 and d2 between the receiving members 112A and 112B, as Figure 6A shown in Figure 6B Figure. In one embodiment, the distance d1 can be 3.775 mm. Since the front diameter of the optical fiber of the presence detector 124 is 1 mm, it is expected that the distance d1 can be further reduced.

[0032] In summary, in the above embodiments of the present invention, a presence detector is provided beside the multiple arm bodies arranged in layers of the robotic arm. After the arm body carries the substrate, the presence detector can extend into the space where the bottom surface of the substrate is located, so that it can effectively detect whether the arm body is carrying a substrate. The present invention completes the required detection purpose with a simple structural configuration by providing a presence detector in a narrow space.

[0033] Furthermore, since the substrate is transparent, the transmissive optical detector is obviously excluded from the requirements of the present invention. In other words, how to configure a useful sensor in the narrow space is the requirement of this case. Accordingly, this case uses a side-illuminated cylindrical contrast optical fiber sensor with the required conditions, which can provide the recognition effect of whether the transparent substrate on the arm body is in place. Therefore, it can further meet the minimum space requirement on the premise of effective recognition.

[0034] Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, not to limit it; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that: they can still modify the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or perform equivalent replacements on some or all of the technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A robotic arm with a substrate presence detection function, characterized in that, Comprising: A plurality of arm bodies, which are movably arranged in layers and are used to carry a plurality of substrates; A plurality of in-seat detectors, which are arranged in layers beside the plurality of arm bodies, and the plurality of arm bodies and the plurality of in-seat detectors are in one-to-one correspondence with each other; And A control module, electrically connected to the plurality of in-seat detectors to detect whether each of the arm bodies carries the substrate, wherein the in-seat detector extends into the space where the bottom surface of the substrate is located.

2. The robotic arm with in-situ substrate detection function according to claim 1, wherein, The in-seat detector is a side-illuminated cylindrical contrast fiber optic sensor, including a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit, and the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit are located on the same side of the substrate. The substrate is a transparent substrate, and the size of the in-seat detector is smaller than the distance between two adjacent arm bodies.

3. The robotic arm with in-situ substrate detection function according to claim 1, wherein It further includes an end effector, which is electrically connected to the control module and includes the in-seat detector. The arm body includes a connecting member and a receiving member. The connecting member is movably assembled to the end effector, and the receiving member extends from the connecting member in a direction away from the end effector. The substrate is carried on the receiving member, and the in-seat detector is located beside the connecting member and beside the receiving member.

4. The robotic arm with in-situ substrate detection function according to claim 3, characterized in that The arm body further includes a plurality of brackets, which respectively extend from beside the connecting member and are stacked, and the plurality of in-seat detectors are respectively arranged on the plurality of brackets.

5. The robotic arm with in-situ substrate detection function according to claim 3, characterized in that, It further includes a swivel base and a linear drive module. The swivel base has a linear track, and the plurality of arm bodies are movably arranged on the linear track through a base. The linear drive module is arranged in the swivel base and passes through the linear track to connect the base, so that the linear drive module drives the plurality of arm bodies to move along the linear track.

6. The robotic arm with in-situ substrate detection function according to claim 5, wherein, It further includes a steering mechanism, which is electrically connected to the control module. The steering mechanism includes a steering drive module and the swivel base, and the swivel base is connected to a lifting seat through the steering drive module.

7. The robotic arm with in-situ substrate detection function according to claim 6, wherein It further includes a lifting mechanism, which is electrically connected to the control module. The lifting mechanism includes a lifting drive module, a lifting track and the lifting seat. The lifting seat is movably coupled to the lifting track and is connected to the lifting drive module, so that the lifting drive module drives the lifting seat to move along the lifting track.

8. The robotic arm with in-situ substrate detection function according to claim 3, wherein, The end effector further includes a plurality of strip-shaped grooves arranged at intervals. The plurality of connecting members of the plurality of arm bodies are respectively correspondingly coupled to the plurality of strip-shaped grooves to move back and forth in a straight direction. The end effector further includes a connecting rod and a stepping motor. The plurality of connecting members are respectively pivotally connected to the connecting rod. The stepping motor is connected to one end of the connecting rod to drive the connecting rod to rotate, and drives the plurality of connecting members to move through the rotation of the connecting rod to change the distance between the plurality of receiving members.

9. The robotic arm with in-situ substrate detection function according to claim 2, characterized in that, The distance between the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit is 12 mm to 15 mm.

10. The robotic arm with in-situ substrate detection function according to claim 1, wherein, The relative distance between the in-seat detector and the substrate is less than or equal to 1.5 mm.

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