Substrate transport robot and method for controlling substrate transport robot

Abstract

To provide a substrate transport robot capable of appropriately performing a substrate transport operation and a method for controlling the substrate transport robot.SOLUTION: A substrate transport robot 100 includes contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 that detect the contact state between a substrate or a detection jig and a substrate holding hand during the transport operation of the substrate or the detection jig to a substrate mounting portion, a tilt mechanism 30 that adjusts the inclination of the substrate holding hand, and a control unit 50 that adjusts the relative inclination between the substrate mounting portion and the substrate holding hand by operating the tilt mechanism 30 on the basis of the detection signals from the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a substrate transport robot and a method for controlling a substrate transport robot. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, substrate transport robots are known. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a substrate transport robot that includes a substrate holding part and a robot arm. The substrate holding part holds a substrate. The robot arm supports the substrate holding part and moves the substrate holding part in a horizontal plane. The substrate transport robot described in Patent Document 1 also includes a contact sensor that detects the substrate holding state. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2003-170382 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, when transporting a substrate as in the substrate transport robot of Patent Document 1, there may be a misalignment between the substrate holding part, which is a substrate holding hand that holds the substrate, and the substrate placement part on which the substrate is placed. In that case, due to the misalignment between the substrate holding hand and the substrate placement part, the substrate transport operation may not be performed properly, and unnecessary force or vibration may be applied to the substrate. In the substrate transport operation, if force or vibration is applied to the substrate, foreign matter may adhere to the surface of the substrate. Such foreign matter may cause abnormalities in the circuit formed on the substrate. In addition, if the substrate transport operation is not performed properly, the transported substrate may be misaligned. Therefore, it is desirable to perform the substrate transport operation properly.

[0005] This disclosure has been made to solve the problems described above, and one object of this disclosure is to provide a substrate transport robot capable of appropriately performing substrate transport operations, and a control method for the substrate transport robot. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A substrate transport robot according to a first aspect of this disclosure comprises a substrate holding hand that holds a substrate or a detection jig simulating a substrate, a contact sensor that detects a contact state between the substrate or detection jig and the substrate holding hand during a transport operation of the substrate or detection jig to a substrate mounting part, a tilt adjustment mechanism that adjusts the tilt of the substrate holding hand, and a control unit that adjusts the relative tilt between the substrate mounting part and the substrate holding hand by operating the tilt adjustment mechanism based on a detection signal from the contact sensor.

[0007] As described above, the substrate transport robot according to the first aspect of this disclosure includes a control unit that adjusts the relative tilt between the substrate placement unit and the substrate holding hand by operating the tilt adjustment mechanism based on a detection signal from the contact sensor. This makes it possible to suppress deviation in tilt between the substrate holding hand and the substrate placement unit by operating the tilt adjustment mechanism based on a detection signal from the contact sensor. This makes it possible to suppress inappropriate substrate transport operations caused by deviation in tilt between the substrate holding hand and the substrate placement unit. As a result, substrate transport operations can be performed appropriately.

[0008] A control method for a substrate transport robot according to a second aspect of this disclosure detects a contact state between a substrate holding hand holding a substrate or a detection jig simulating a substrate and a substrate mounting portion of the detection jig, and adjusts the relative tilt between the substrate mounting portion and the substrate holding hand by operating a tilt adjustment mechanism that adjusts the tilt of the substrate holding hand based on a detection signal detecting the contact state between the substrate holding hand and the substrate or detection jig.

[0009] As described above, the control method for a substrate transport robot according to a second aspect of this disclosure adjusts the relative tilt between the substrate placement part and the substrate holding hand by operating a tilt adjustment mechanism that adjusts the tilt of the substrate holding hand based on a detection signal that detects a contact state between the substrate holding hand and a substrate or a detection jig. In this way, by operating the tilt adjustment mechanism based on a detection signal that detects the contact state, it is possible to suppress deviation in tilt between the substrate holding hand and the substrate placement part. Therefore, it is possible to suppress inappropriate substrate transport operation caused by deviation in tilt between the substrate holding hand and the substrate placement part. As a result, it is possible to provide a control method for a substrate transport robot that can perform appropriate substrate transport operation. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present disclosure, the substrate transport operation can be performed appropriately. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of a substrate transport robot according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a tilt mechanism according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] 4 is a cross-sectional view of the tilt mechanism taken along the vertical direction. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a perspective view for explaining the arrangement of contact sensors in the substrate holding hand. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of a substrate transport robot. [Figure 6] 11A and 11B are schematic diagrams for explaining adjustment of the inclination in the transport operation. [Figure 7] 4 is a flowchart for explaining a control method for a substrate transport robot according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a substrate transport robot according to a second embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a perspective view for explaining an arrangement of contact sensors in the detection jig. [Figure 10]FIG. 13 is a top view for explaining the arrangement of contact sensors on a substrate mounting part according to a first modified example. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a perspective view for explaining a substrate holding hand according to a second modified example. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is a perspective view for explaining a substrate holding hand according to a third modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] [First embodiment] Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0013] The configuration of a substrate transport robot 100 according to a first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 6. In the following, two directions that are approximately perpendicular to each other in a horizontal plane are defined as the X direction and the Y direction, respectively. Also, the up-down direction that is approximately perpendicular to the horizontal plane (XY plane) is defined as the Z direction.

[0014] (Configuration of the substrate transport robot) 1, a substrate transport robot 100 is disposed in a heat treatment apparatus 101. In the heat treatment apparatus 101, the substrate transport robot 100 performs a transport operation of a substrate W between a FOUP 102 (Front Opening Unified Pod) and a substrate placement part 103. The transport operation by the substrate transport robot 100 includes both the loading of the substrate W placed in the FOUP 102 into the substrate placement part 103 and the unloading of the substrate W from the substrate placement part 103 to the FOUP 102. In other words, the transport operation by the substrate transport robot 100 includes the operation of placing the substrate W on the substrate placement part 103 and the operation of removing the substrate W placed on the substrate placement part 103.

[0015] The FOUP 102 is a substrate storage container in which a plurality of substrates W are stored. The substrate placement portion 103 is disposed in the heat treatment device 101, and a plurality of substrates W are placed thereon. In the heat treatment device 101, a heat treatment is performed on the plurality of substrates W placed on the substrate placement portion 103. The substrate placement portion 103 has a columnar holding member 103a that holds the plurality of substrates W aligned along the Z direction, which is the vertical direction. Three holding members 103a are disposed on the substrate placement portion 103 so as to extend along the Z direction. The peripheral portion of each of the plurality of substrates W is held by each of the plurality of claws disposed on the holding member 103a, so that the plurality of substrates W are aligned along the Z direction on the substrate placement portion 103 with their main surfaces facing each other. The substrate W is a semiconductor wafer having a disk-like shape. The substrate W is formed of, for example, silicon, germanium, or quartz glass.

[0016] The substrate transport robot 100 includes a substrate holding hand 10, a drive mechanism 20, and a control unit 50. The drive mechanism 20 includes a blade holding unit 21, a horizontal movement mechanism 22, a rotation mechanism 23, an attachment unit 24, and a lifting mechanism 25. In the substrate transport robot 100 according to the first embodiment, a tilt mechanism 30 is disposed in the drive mechanism 20. The tilt mechanism 30 is an example of an inclination adjustment mechanism.

[0017] The substrate holding hand 10 has a plurality of bifurcated blade members 11 with a tip split into two. The substrate holding hand 10 holds the substrates W using the plurality of bifurcated blade members 11. In the substrate holding hand 10, five blade members 11 are arranged in the Z direction, which is the up-down direction. Each of the five blade members 11 holds one substrate W. The substrate holding hand 10 is a passive hand that holds the substrates W by placing the substrate W on the upper surface in the Z direction of the bifurcated, plate-like blade member 11. The substrate holding hand 10 moves by the operation of a drive mechanism 20.

[0018] The blade holding unit 21 is connected to the base end of the blade members 11 on the opposite side to the two divided tip ends. The horizontal movement mechanism 22 has a support 22a extending in the horizontal direction. The blade holding unit 21 is attached to the support 22a of the horizontal movement mechanism 22 and moves horizontally relative to the support 22a. The horizontal movement mechanism 22 moves the substrate holding hand 10 together with the blade holding unit 21 in the horizontal direction. The horizontal movement mechanism 22 switches between an operation of moving the five blade members 11 of the substrate holding hand 10 together in the horizontal direction and an operation of moving the lowest one of the five blade members 11 in the horizontal direction. The turning mechanism 23 has a rotating shaft unit 23a extending in the Z direction. The supporting body 22a is attached to the rotating shaft unit 23a. The turning mechanism 23 rotates the substrate holding hand 10 together with the supporting body 22a and the blade holding unit 21 in the rotation direction around the Z direction around the rotating shaft unit 23a. The rotating shaft portion 23a is rotated by a motor 23b, which will be described later.

[0019] The tilt mechanism 30 adjusts the inclination of the substrate holding hand 10. The tilt mechanism 30 is disposed between the support 22a and the mounting portion 24. The tilt mechanism 30 tilts the attitude of the substrate holding hand 10 by changing the inclination of the support 22a of the horizontal movement mechanism 22, the blade holding portion 21, and the substrate holding hand 10 relative to the mounting portion 24. That is, the tilt mechanism 30 changes the inclination of the substrate holding hand 10 by changing the inclination of the support 22a and the blade holding portion 21. In addition, the rotation shaft portion 23a is attached to the tilt mechanism 30. The lifting mechanism 25 has a support 25a extending in the Z direction, and the mounting portion 24 is attached to the support 25a. The lifting mechanism 25 moves the mounting portion 24 in the Z direction. That is, the lifting mechanism 25 raises and lowers the substrate holding hand 10 in the Z direction together with the mounting portion 24, the tilt mechanism 30, the rotation mechanism 23, the horizontal movement mechanism 22, and the blade holding portion 21.

[0020] <Tilt mechanism details> As shown in FIG. 2, the tilt mechanism 30 has a plate-shaped lower member 31 arranged below the mounting portion 24 in the Z direction, and an upper member 32 arranged opposite the lower member 31 in the Z direction, which is the up-down direction. The lower member 31 is attached to the mounting portion 24. A support 22a is attached to the upper member 32 via a rotating shaft portion 23a. The support 22a rotates around the rotating shaft portion 23a as an axis of rotation. The tilt mechanism 30 also has three spherical plain bearings 33, 34, and 35 arranged at different positions between the lower member 31 and the upper member 32 when viewed from the Z direction, which is the up-down direction.

[0021] The spherical plain bearing 35 is disposed at the tip of an imaginary center line L that extends from the base end to the tip through the center in the X direction, which is the width direction of the tilt mechanism 30. The spherical plain bearings 33 and 34 are each disposed closer to the base end of the substrate transport robot 100 than the spherical plain bearing 35. Moreover, the spherical plain bearings 33 and 34 are each disposed so as to be line-symmetrical with respect to the imaginary center line L as the axis of symmetry, as viewed from the Z direction. The spherical plain bearings 33 and 34 are disposed at the same height position, higher than the spherical plain bearing 35.

[0022] 3, the spherical plain bearing 35 has an inner ring 35a and an outer ring 35b. The outer ring 35b of the spherical plain bearing 35 is attached to the lower member 31 via an intermediate member 35c, and the inner ring 35a is attached to the upper member 32 via a bolt 35d. The tilt mechanism 30 has two height position adjustment mechanisms 36 and 37 arranged corresponding to two of the spherical plain bearings 33 and 34 out of the three spherical plain bearings 33, 34, and 35. It should be noted that no height position adjustment mechanism is arranged for the spherical plain bearing 35.

[0023] The spherical plain bearing 33 has an inner ring 33a and an outer ring 33b. The inner ring 33a of the spherical plain bearing 33 is attached to the lower member 31 via the intermediate member 33c and the height position adjustment mechanism 36, and the outer ring 33b is attached to the upper member 32. The height position adjustment mechanism 36 has a male screw member 36a and a female screw member 36b. The male screw member 36a is screwed into the female screw member 36b and rotated by a motor 36c described later. The female screw member 36b moves in the Z direction as the male screw member 36a rotates. The female screw member 36b is fitted into the inner hole of the inner ring 33a and attached to the upper member 32 via the spherical plain bearing 33. The height position of the upper member 32 is changed as the female screw member 36b moves in the Z direction.

[0024] The spherical plain bearing 34 has the same configuration as the spherical plain bearing 33. That is, the spherical plain bearing 34 has an inner ring 34a and an outer ring 34b. The inner ring 34a of the spherical plain bearing 34 is attached to the lower member 31 via the intermediate member 34c and the height position adjustment mechanism 37, and the outer ring 34b is attached to the upper member 32. The height position adjustment mechanism 37 has the same configuration as the height position adjustment mechanism 36. That is, the height position adjustment mechanism 37 has a male screw member 37a and a female screw member 37b. The male screw member 37a is screwed into the female screw member 37b and rotated by a motor 37c described later. The female screw member 37b moves in the Z direction by rotating the male screw member 37a. In addition, the female screw member 37b is fitted into the inner hole of the inner ring 34a and attached to the upper member 32 via the spherical plain bearing 34. By moving the female screw member 37b in the Z direction, the height position of the upper member 32 is changed.

[0025] The inclination of upper member 32 relative to lower member 31 is changed by changing the height position of upper member 32 by at least one of height position adjustment mechanisms 36 and 37. Changing the inclination of upper member 32 relative to lower member 31 changes the inclination of support 22a relative to mounting portion 24, thereby tilting the attitude of substrate holding hand 10. Furthermore, when tilting upper member 32 by changing the height position of upper member 32, upper member 32 is tilted while the outer ring of spherical plain bearing 33, 34 or 35 is sliding on the surface of the inner ring, so that upper member 32 can be tilted without being distorted.

[0026] <Configuration of Contact Sensor and Control Unit> As shown in FIG. 4, in the first embodiment, the substrate transport robot 100 includes three contact sensors 41, 42, and 43. The contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 are disposed on the lowest blade member 11 of the plurality of blade members 11 arranged in the vertical direction in the substrate holding hand 10. Note that FIG. 4 illustrates only the lowest blade member 11 of the five blade members 11 in the substrate holding hand 10. The contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 are disposed on three different positions in the substrate holding hand 10 among the positions where the peripheral portion of the substrate W abuts. Specifically, the contact sensors 41 and 42 are disposed on each of the two divided tip portions of the blade member 11 in the substrate holding hand 10. The contact sensor 43 is disposed on the base end portion of the blade member 11 in the substrate holding hand 10. The contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 are arranged on the upper surface of the blade member 11 of the substrate holding hand 10 in the Z direction on which the substrate W is placed, at positions that divide the circumference of the substrate W having a disk-like shape into three parts. The contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 detect the contact state between the substrate W and the substrate holding hand 10 during the transport operation of the substrate W to the substrate placement unit 103. Specifically, each of the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 detects the contact state of whether or not the substrate W is in contact with the substrate holding hand 10. Each of the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 includes a force sensor such as a strain gauge or a piezoelectric sensor. Each of the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 detects the contact force in each of three axial directions that are orthogonal to each other. Each of the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 outputs a detection signal indicating the detection result of the contact state to the control unit 50. The contact sensor 41 is an example of a hand sensor and a distal end sensor, the contact sensor 42 is an example of a hand sensor and a distal end sensor, and the contact sensor 43 is an example of a hand sensor and a proximal end sensor.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 50 controls the operation of each unit of the substrate transport robot 100. Specifically, the control unit 50 controls the horizontal movement mechanism 22, the turning mechanism 23, the lifting mechanism 25, and the tilt mechanism 30 to control the transport operation of the substrate transport robot 100. Specifically, the horizontal movement mechanism 22, the turning mechanism 23, the lifting mechanism 25, the height position adjustment mechanism 36, and the height position adjustment mechanism 37 are provided with motors 22b, 23b, 25b, 36c, and 37c as driving sources, respectively. The control unit 50 controls the motors 22b, 23b, 25b, 36c, and 37c to control the transport operation of the substrate W by the substrate transport robot 100. Each of the motors 22b, 23b, 25b, 36c, and 37c is a servo motor. The control unit 50 also acquires detection signals from the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43.

[0028] The control unit 50 includes a calculation device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), memories such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) and a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a storage device such as a hard disk. The control unit 50 executes control processing by the calculation device based on programs and parameters stored in the storage device. The control unit 50 also includes a main CPU that controls the overall operation of the substrate transport robot 100, and a servo CPU that controls the current supplied to the drive sources including the motors 22b, 23b, 25b, 36c, and 37c.

[0029] In the first embodiment, the control unit 50 adjusts the relative inclination between the substrate placement unit 103 and the substrate holding hand 10 by operating the tilt mechanism 30 based on the detection signals from the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43. The control unit 50 adjusts the relative inclination between the substrate placement unit 103 and the substrate holding hand 10 based on the difference in the change in the detection signals from each of the three contact sensors 41, 42, and 43. The control unit 50 adjusts the relative inclination between the substrate placement unit 103 and the substrate holding hand 10 by acquiring a detection value along one axis in the vertical direction based on the detection signals from the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43. Therefore, the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 may be one or more axis sensors that detect contact forces along at least the vertical direction.

[0030] Specifically, the control unit 50 acquires a detection value of one axis along the Z direction, which is the up-down direction, among the detection results of the contact forces along three axes detected by the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43, based on the detection signals from the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43. For example, the control unit 50 determines whether or not contact with the substrate W has been detected by each of the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 arranged on the substrate holding hand 10, by determining whether or not the detection value of the acquired detection signal is greater than a preset threshold value.

[0031] 6, when the surface on which the substrate W is held in the substrate holding hand 10 is inclined with respect to the mounting surface on which the substrate W is mounted in the substrate mounting part 103, the timings at which the detection signals of the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 change are different from each other in the operation of unloading the substrate W from the substrate mounting part 103. For example, when the tip of the blade member 11 of the substrate holding hand 10 is inclined downward in the up-down direction, the contact sensor 43 detects that it has come into contact with the substrate W before the contact sensors 41 and 42 do in the operation of unloading the substrate W. The control unit 50 detects the relative inclination of the substrate holding hand 10 with respect to the substrate mounting part 103 based on the difference in the timings at which the detection signals of the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 change. When the substrate W is loaded into the substrate mounting part 103, each of the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 detects, as a change in detection signal, that the substrate W held by the substrate holding hand 10 has changed from a contacting state to a non-contacting state with the substrate holding hand 10 as a result of the substrate W being placed on the substrate mounting part 103. Note that only the bottommost one of the five blade members 11 in the substrate holding hand 10 is shown in Fig. 6.

[0032] The control unit 50 controls the operation of the tilt mechanism 30 to eliminate the relative tilt between the substrate placement unit 103 and the substrate holding hand 10. That is, the control unit 50 adjusts the tilt of the blade holding unit 21 relative to the attachment unit 24 by operating the tilt mechanism 30, thereby adjusting the relative tilt of the substrate holding hand 10 to the substrate placement unit 103. The control unit 50 adjusts the tilt of the upper member 32 relative to the lower member 31 by the height position adjustment mechanisms 36 and 37 based on the detection signals from the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43. In this way, the control unit 50 adjusts the relative tilt of the substrate holding hand 10 to the substrate placement unit 103. The control unit 50 eliminates the difference in the change in the detection signals in each of the three contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 by operating the tilt mechanism 30. For example, when the timing of the change in the detection signal in the contact sensor 43 arranged at the base end of the substrate holding hand 10 during the unloading operation of the substrate W is earlier than the timing of the change in the detection signals in the contact sensors 41 and 42 arranged at the tip end, the control unit 50 operates the tilt mechanism 30 to lift the tip end, thereby adjusting the inclination of the substrate holding hand 10. In this way, the control unit 50 operates the tilt mechanism 30 based on the detection signals from each of the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43, thereby reducing the difference in the timing at which the detection signals change.

[0033] For example, when the substrate transport robot 100 is installed or during periodic maintenance, the control unit 50 executes a tilt setting operation for setting a setting value for operating the tilt mechanism 30 based on detection signals from each of the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43. The control unit 50 adjusts the relative tilt between the substrate placement unit 103 and the substrate holding hand 10 through the tilt setting operation. The control unit 50 performs a transport operation of the substrate W relative to the substrate placement unit 103 in a state in which the tilt mechanism 30 has set the tilt of the substrate holding hand 10 to a predetermined magnitude based on the setting value previously set through the tilt setting operation. In the tilt setting operation, for example, the control unit 50 repeatedly performs a load operation of placing the substrate W on the substrate placement unit 103 and an unload operation of holding the substrate W from the substrate placement unit 103 a plurality of times, and adjusts the operation of the tilt mechanism 30 a plurality of times based on the detection signals from the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 acquired during the repeated load and unload operations. For example, the control unit 50 sets a setting value at which the difference in timing of changes in the detection signals from the three contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 becomes smaller than a predetermined threshold value as the adjustment result of the tilt mechanism 30 in the tilt setting operation, and stores the setting value in the storage device. The setting value set as the adjustment result of the tilt mechanism 30 is stored as the setting value of the height position adjustment mechanisms 36 and 37 of the tilt mechanism 30 in the transport operation of the substrate W.

[0034] Furthermore, when a relative tilt between the substrate placement part 103 and the substrate holding hand 10 is detected while a plurality of substrates W are being transported to the substrate placement part 103 based on the setting value set in the tilt setting operation, the control part 50 updates the setting value of the tilt mechanism 30. For example, when a change in the detection signal is detected in some of the plurality of contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 and a predetermined time as a preset threshold has elapsed but no change in the detection signal is detected in all of the plurality of contact sensors 41, 42, and 43, the control part 50 determines that a relative tilt between the substrate placement part 103 and the substrate holding hand 10 has been detected, assuming that the difference in the change in the detection signal is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold. In that case, the control part 50 controls the operation of the tilt mechanism 30 so that the detection signal is changed in the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 from which no change in the detection signal is detected. For example, in an operation of unloading the substrate W, if the contact sensor 43 comes into contact with the substrate W before the contact sensors 41 and 42, only the detection signal from the contact sensor 43 changes. In this case, if the control unit 50 determines that the difference in the changes in the detection signals is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the control unit 50 operates the tilt mechanism 30 so that the detection signal from the contact sensor 43 remains unchanged and the detection signals from the contact sensors 41 and 42 change, and updates the setting value at the time when the detection signals from the contact sensors 41 and 42 change as a new setting value for the operation of the tilt mechanism 30. For example, the control unit 50 sets the operation of the tilt mechanism 30 so that the surface on the upper side in the Z direction of the blade member 11, which is the surface on which the substrate W is placed in the substrate holding hand 10, and the placement surface on which the substrate W is placed in the substrate placement unit 103 are parallel to each other. That is, during the transport operation of the substrate W, the control unit 50 operates the tilt mechanism 30 so that the substrate W held by the substrate holding hand 10 and the substrate W placed on the substrate placement portion 103 are parallel to each other.

[0035] (Method of controlling substrate transport robot) A control method for the substrate transport robot 100 in the first embodiment will be described based on a flowchart with reference to Fig. 7. The control process from step S1 to step S4 is executed by the control unit 50.

[0036] First, in step S1, during the transport operation of the substrate W to the substrate mounting portion 103, detection signals are obtained from the plurality of contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 to detect the contact state between the substrate holding hand 10 and the substrate W.

[0037] Next, in step S2, it is determined whether the difference in the change in the detection signal in each of the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 is smaller than a predetermined threshold value. If it is determined that the difference in the change in the detection signal is smaller than the predetermined threshold value, the control process is terminated. If it is not determined that the difference in the change in the detection signal is smaller than the predetermined threshold value, the process proceeds to step S3.

[0038] In step S3, the tilt mechanism 30 is operated based on the difference in the change in the detection signal in each of the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43, thereby adjusting the relative tilt between the substrate placement part 103 and the substrate holding hand 10. For example, when a change in the detection signal is detected in some of the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43, the tilt mechanism 30 is operated so that a change in the detection signal is detected in the remaining contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 in which no change in the detection signal is detected, thereby eliminating the difference in the change in the detection signal in each of the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43.

[0039] Next, in step S4, the setting value of the tilt mechanism 30 in a state in which the relative tilt between the substrate mounting portion 103 and the substrate holding hand 10 has been adjusted in step S2 is stored.

[0040] [Effects of the first embodiment] The substrate transport robot 100 includes a control unit 50 that adjusts the relative tilt between the substrate placement unit 103 and the substrate holding hand 10 by operating the tilt mechanism 30 as a tilt adjustment mechanism based on detection signals from the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43. This makes it possible to suppress deviation in tilt between the substrate holding hand 10 and the substrate placement unit 103 by operating the tilt mechanism 30 based on detection signals from the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43. This makes it possible to suppress inappropriate transport operation of the substrate W caused by deviation in tilt between the substrate holding hand 10 and the substrate placement unit 103. As a result, the transport operation of the substrate W can be performed appropriately.

[0041] A plurality of contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 are arranged. The control unit 50 adjusts the relative inclination between the substrate placement unit 103 and the substrate holding hand 10 based on the difference in the change in the detection signal of each of the plurality of contact sensors 41, 42, and 43. Here, when detecting the relative inclination between the substrate placement unit 103 and the substrate holding hand 10 using one contact sensor, a contact sensor that detects forces in three mutually perpendicular axial directions is used. When one contact sensor is used, the detection location is one, so that when the substrate W is warped, the accuracy of the detection result is reduced, and it is considered that the accuracy of the adjustment of the relative inclination between the substrate placement unit 103 and the substrate holding hand 10 is reduced. Therefore, by adjusting the relative tilt between the substrate mounting part 103 and the substrate holding hand 10 based on the difference in the change in the detection signal from each of the multiple contact sensors 41, 42, and 43, the tilt can be adjusted more easily and accurately than when the relative tilt between the substrate mounting part 103 and the substrate holding hand 10 is adjusted based on the detection signal from one contact sensor. As a result, the transport operation of the substrate W can be performed more appropriately.

[0042] The substrate transport robot 100 includes contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 arranged on the substrate holding hand 10 as hand sensors for detecting the contact state between the substrate W and the substrate holding hand 10. As a result, since the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 are arranged on the substrate holding hand 10, the relative tilt between the substrate holding hand 10 and the substrate placement part 103 can be adjusted even during the actual substrate W transport operation. Therefore, even if the relative tilt between the substrate holding hand 10 and the substrate placement part 103 changes during the substrate W transport operation, the tilt mechanism 30 can adjust the tilt, so that the substrate W transport operation can be performed more appropriately. In addition, when the substrate W arranged on the substrate placement part 103 is detected by a mapping sensor such as a photoelectric sensor arranged on the substrate holding hand 10, only the front side of the substrate W arranged on the substrate placement part 103 can be detected, and it is difficult to detect the rear side of the substrate W. In contrast, by using the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 arranged on the substrate holding hand 10, not only the front side but also the rear side of the substrate W placed on the substrate placement part 103 can be easily detected, so that the relative inclination between the substrate holding hand 10 and the substrate placement part 103 can be detected with higher accuracy based on the detection results from the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 arranged on the substrate holding hand 10. As a result, the substrate W can be transported more appropriately.

[0043] In the substrate transport robot 100, the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 as hand sensors are disposed at at least three different positions on the substrate holding hand 10 among the positions where the substrate W comes into contact. As a result, the three contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 can detect contact between the substrate W and the substrate holding hand 10 at three different points, and the detection results from the three contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 can easily detect the relative three-dimensional tilt between the substrate holding hand 10 and the substrate placement part 103. As a result, the relative three-dimensional tilt between the substrate holding hand 10 and the substrate placement part 103 can be easily adjusted, and the substrate W transport operation can be more appropriately performed.

[0044] The substrate holding hand 10 has a bifurcated shape with a tip portion split into two. The hand sensor of the substrate holding hand 10 in the substrate transport robot 100 includes contact sensors 41 and 42 disposed at each of the two split tip portions as tip end sensors, and a contact sensor 43 disposed at the base end as a base end sensor. This allows the bifurcated substrate holding hand 10 to more accurately detect the contact state between the substrate W and the substrate holding hand 10 by the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 disposed at positions where the substrate W comes into contact. As a result, the substrate W transport operation can be more appropriately performed using the bifurcated substrate holding hand 10.

[0045] The substrate W has a disk-like shape. The contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 are arranged on the peripheral portion of the disk-like substrate W, one each corresponding to a position that divides the circumference into three. By arranging the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 on the disk-like substrate W, one each corresponding to a position that divides the circumference of the peripheral portion into three, the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 can be arranged at positions farther apart from each other. As a result, the relative inclination of the substrate holding hand 10 with respect to the substrate placement portion 103 can be detected more accurately based on the detection results of the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43, and therefore the substrate W can be transported more appropriately.

[0046] The control unit 50 adjusts the relative tilt between the substrate placement unit 103 and the substrate holding hand 10 by acquiring a detection value of one axis along the up-down direction based on the detection signals from the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43. This makes it possible to prevent the configuration of the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 from becoming complicated, as it is only necessary to configure the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 to detect a detection value of at least one axis, compared to a case in which the control unit 50 is configured to adjust the relative tilt between the substrate placement unit 103 and the substrate holding hand 10 based on detection values ​​of multiple axes. As a result, it is possible to prevent the device configuration of the substrate transport robot 100 from becoming complicated.

[0047] The tilt mechanism 30 as a tilt adjustment mechanism includes a lower member 31, an upper member 32 arranged facing the lower member 31 in the vertical direction, three spherical plain bearings 33, 34, and 35 arranged at different positions from each other when viewed in the vertical direction between the lower member 31 and the upper member 32, and two height position adjustment mechanisms 36 and 37 provided corresponding to the spherical plain bearings 33 and 34, which are two of the three spherical plain bearings 33, 34, and 35. The control unit 50 adjusts the relative tilt between the substrate placement unit 103 and the substrate holding hand 10 by adjusting the tilt of the upper member 32 with respect to the lower member 31 using the height position adjustment mechanisms 36 and 37 based on detection signals from the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43. This makes it possible, by using the three spherical plain bearings 33, 34, and 35 and the two height position adjustment mechanisms 36 and 37, to adjust the relative inclination between the substrate mounting portion 103 and the substrate holding hand 10 without distorting the lower member 31 and the upper member 32 relative to each other, thereby making it possible to more appropriately transport the substrate W.

[0048] The substrate holding hand 10 includes a plurality of blade members 11 each holding a substrate W. The substrate holding hand 10 includes a blade holding section 21 to which the plurality of blade members 11 are connected. The control section 50 adjusts the relative tilt between the substrate placement section 103 and the substrate holding hand 10 by adjusting the tilt of the blade holding section 21 by operating the tilt mechanism 30 as a tilt adjustment mechanism based on detection signals from the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43. This allows the tilt of the blade holding section 21 to be connected to the plurality of blade members 11 to be adjusted collectively by adjusting the tilt of the blade holding section 21 by the tilt mechanism 30. As a result, the device configuration can be prevented from becoming complicated as compared to a case in which the tilt of the plurality of blade members 11 is adjusted separately.

[0049] The control unit 50 adjusts the relative inclination between the substrate placement part 103 and the substrate holding hand 10, which are arranged in the heat treatment device 101 where the heat treatment is performed on the substrate W, based on the detection signals from the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43. Here, the substrate placement part 103 arranged in the heat treatment device 101 may be deformed by the heat treatment on the substrate W. In this case, a deviation occurs in the inclination between the substrate placement part 103 and the substrate holding hand 10. Therefore, by adjusting the relative inclination between the substrate placement part 103 and the substrate holding hand 10 arranged in the heat treatment device 101, the transport operation of the substrate W can be effectively and appropriately performed.

[0050] (Effect of the control method for the substrate transport robot) In the first embodiment, as described above, the control method of the substrate transport robot 100 adjusts the relative tilt between the substrate placement part 103 and the substrate holding hand 10 by operating the tilt mechanism 30 as a tilt adjustment mechanism that adjusts the tilt of the substrate holding hand 10 based on a detection signal that detects the contact state between the substrate holding hand 10 and the substrate W. In this way, by operating the tilt mechanism 30 based on the detection signal that detects the contact state, it is possible to suppress deviation in tilt between the substrate holding hand 10 and the substrate placement part 103. Therefore, it is possible to suppress an inappropriate transport operation of the substrate W caused by deviation in tilt between the substrate holding hand 10 and the substrate placement part 103. As a result, it is possible to provide a control method of the substrate transport robot 100 that can appropriately transport the substrate W.

[0051] The control method of the substrate transport robot 100 detects the contact state between the substrate holding hand 10 and the substrate W by acquiring detection signals from the plurality of contact sensors 41, 42, and 43. The control method of the substrate transport robot 100 adjusts the relative tilt between the substrate placement part 103 and the substrate holding hand 10 by operating the tilt mechanism 30 as a tilt adjustment mechanism based on the difference in the change in the detection signal in each of the plurality of contact sensors 41, 42, and 43. In this way, the relative tilt between the substrate placement part 103 and the substrate holding hand 10 can be accurately adjusted by operating the tilt mechanism 30 to eliminate the difference in the change in the detection signal in each of the plurality of contact sensors 41, 42, and 43. As a result, it is possible to provide a control method of the substrate transport robot 100 that can more appropriately transport the substrate W.

[0052] [Second embodiment] Next, the configuration of a substrate transport robot 200 according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 8 and 9. In the second embodiment, unlike the substrate transport robot 100 of the first embodiment in which the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 are arranged on the substrate holding hand 10, the substrate transport robot 200 has contact sensors 241, 242, and 243 arranged on a detection jig 204. Note that the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and will not be described.

[0053] 8, a substrate transport robot 200 according to the second embodiment, like the substrate transport robot 100 according to the first embodiment, transports a substrate W between a FOUP 102 and a substrate placement part 103 in a heat treatment device 101. The substrate transport robot 200 includes a substrate holding hand 210, a drive mechanism 20, a tilt mechanism 30, and a control part 250.

[0054] The substrate holding hand 210 holds a substrate W, similar to the substrate holding hand 10 of the first embodiment. In the second embodiment, the substrate holding hand 210 holds a detection jig 204 simulating the substrate W in a tilt setting operation described below. Unlike the substrate holding hand 10 of the first embodiment, the substrate holding hand 210 does not have a contact sensor. The other configurations of the substrate holding hand 210 are similar to those of the substrate holding hand 10 of the first embodiment.

[0055] As shown in FIG. 9, in the second embodiment, three contact sensors 241, 242, and 243 are disposed on the detection jig 204. The detection jig 204 has a disk-like shape similar to the substrate W. The contact sensors 241, 242, and 243 are disposed on the detection jig 204 at three different positions among a position where the substrate holding hand 210 abuts and a position where the substrate placement unit 103 abuts. For example, the contact sensors 241, 242, and 243 are disposed on the detection jig 204 at positions where the two split tip ends of the blade member 11 of the substrate holding hand 210 contact the base end. That is, the contact sensors 241, 242, and 243 are disposed at positions where the substrate holding hand 210 abuts and at the peripheral portion of the detection jig 204 having a disk-like shape, one by one, corresponding to positions that divide the circumference into three. The contact sensors 241, 242, and 243 detect the contact state between the detection jig 204 and the substrate holding hand 10 during the transport operation of the detection jig 204 to the substrate placement unit 103. Each of the contact sensors 241, 242, and 243 includes a force sensor such as a strain gauge or a piezoelectric sensor, similar to the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 of the first embodiment, and detects the contact force in each of three mutually orthogonal axial directions. Each of the contact sensors 241, 242, and 243 outputs a detection signal indicating the detection result of the contact state to the control unit 250. For example, each of the contact sensors 241, 242, and 243 outputs a detection signal to the control unit 250 by wireless communication. The contact sensors 241, 242, and 243 are an example of a jig sensor.

[0056] The control unit 250 controls the operation of each unit of the substrate transport robot 200, similar to the control unit 50 in the first embodiment. The hardware configuration of the control unit 250 is similar to that of the control unit 50 in the first embodiment. The control unit 250 adjusts the relative tilt between the substrate placement unit 103 and the substrate holding hand 210 by a tilt setting operation, similar to the control unit 50 in the first embodiment. In the second embodiment, the control unit 250 adjusts the relative tilt between the substrate placement unit 103 and the substrate holding hand 210 by operating the tilt mechanism 30 based on detection signals from the contact sensors 241, 242, and 243.

[0057] In the second embodiment, in a tilt setting operation for setting the operation of the tilt mechanism 30, the control unit 250 acquires detection signals from the contact sensors 241, 242, and 243 by having the substrate transport robot 200 transport the detection jig 204, instead of the substrate W, to the substrate mounting unit 103. The control unit 50 adjusts the relative tilt between the substrate mounting unit 103 and the substrate holding hand 210 based on the difference in the changes in the detection signals from the three contact sensors 241, 242, and 243 acquired during the transport operation of the detection jig 204.

[0058] In addition, the control method of the substrate transport robot 200 according to the second embodiment for adjusting the relative inclination between the substrate mounting portion 103 and the substrate holding hand 210 only detects the detection jig 204 during the transport operation of the detection jig 204, instead of detecting the substrate W during the transport operation of the substrate W, and is otherwise similar to the control method of the substrate transport robot 100 according to the first embodiment.

[0059] [Effects of the second embodiment] The substrate transport robot 200 includes contact sensors 241, 242, and 243 that are disposed on the detection jig 204 and serve as jig sensors that detect a contact state between the detection jig 204 and the substrate holding hand 210. As a result, since the contact sensors 241, 242, and 243 are disposed on the detection jig 204, the relative inclination between the substrate holding hand 210 and the substrate placement unit 103 can be adjusted without disposing a contact sensor on the substrate holding hand 210. Therefore, the relative inclination between the substrate holding hand 210 and the substrate placement unit 103 can be easily adjusted while suppressing the complexity of the configuration of the substrate transport robot 200. As a result, the substrate W transport operation can be appropriately performed while suppressing the complexity of the configuration of the substrate transport robot 200.

[0060] The substrate transport robot 200 includes at least three contact sensors 241, 242, and 243 as jig sensors. The contact sensors 241, 242, and 243 are disposed at at least three different positions among the position where the substrate holding hand 210 contacts and the position where the substrate placement unit 103 contacts on the detection jig 204. As a result, the three contact sensors 241, 242, and 243 can detect contact at three different points, and the detection results from the three contact sensors 241, 242, and 243 can easily detect the relative three-dimensional inclination between the substrate holding hand 210 and the substrate placement unit 103. Therefore, the relative three-dimensional inclination between the substrate holding hand 210 and the substrate placement unit 103 can be easily adjusted, and the substrate W can be more appropriately transported.

[0061] The detection jig 204 has a disk-like shape. The contact sensors 241, 242, and 243 are arranged on the peripheral portion of the detection jig 204 having a disk-like shape, one by one, corresponding to positions that divide the circumference into three. By arranging the contact sensors 241, 242, and 243 on the disk-like detection jig 204, one by one, corresponding to positions that divide the circumference of the peripheral portion into three, the contact sensors 241, 242, and 243 can be arranged at positions that are farther apart from each other. As a result, the relative inclination of the substrate holding hand 210 with respect to the substrate placement unit 103 can be detected with higher accuracy based on the detection results of the contact sensors 241, 242, and 243, so that the substrate W can be transported more appropriately.

[0062] Other effects of the second embodiment are similar to those of the first embodiment. Moreover, the effects of the control method for the substrate transport robot 200 according to the second embodiment are also similar to those of the control method for the substrate transport robot 100 according to the first embodiment, except that instead of detecting the substrate W in the transport operation of the substrate W, the detection jig 204 is detected in the transport operation of the detection jig 204.

[0063] [Variations] It should be noted that the embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative and not restrictive in all respects. The scope of the present disclosure is indicated by the claims, not by the description of the embodiments above, and further includes all modifications (variations) within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims.

[0064] For example, in the above first and second embodiments, an example has been shown in which the relative inclination between the substrate placement part 103 and the substrate holding hands 10 and 210 arranged in the heat treatment device 101 is adjusted by operating the tilt mechanism 30 as the inclination adjustment mechanism, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, the relative inclination between a FOUP as a substrate placement part and the substrate holding hand may be adjusted by operating the inclination adjustment mechanism. Also, the relative inclination between a substrate placement part and the substrate holding hand arranged in a treatment device in which etching treatment or processing other than heat treatment is performed on a substrate may be adjusted. Also, the relative inclination between the substrate holding hand and a substrate placement part such as a load lock part on which a substrate is placed in an EFEM (Equipment Front End Module), or a substrate placement part in an aligner device for adjusting the orientation of a substrate, may be adjusted. That is, in a transport operation between any of FOUPs serving as substrate placement parts, substrate placement parts arranged in a processing device, substrate placement parts such as a load lock part, and substrate placement parts in an aligner device, the relative tilt may be adjusted by operating the tilt adjustment mechanism. Also, in a transport operation between any of FOUPs serving as substrate placement parts, substrate placement parts arranged in a processing device, substrate placement parts such as a load lock part, and substrate placement parts in an aligner device, the relative tilt may be adjusted by operating the tilt adjustment mechanism.

[0065] In the first embodiment, the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 are disposed as hand sensors on the substrate holding hand 10, and in the second embodiment, the contact sensors 241, 242, and 243 are disposed as jig sensors on the detection jig 204. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, the contact sensors may be disposed as placement section sensors on the substrate placement section. For example, as in a first modified example shown in FIG. 10, the contact sensors 341, 342, and 343 may be disposed as placement section sensors on the substrate placement section 303 on which the substrate W is placed. The contact sensors 341, 342, and 343 detect the contact state between the substrate placement section 303 and the substrate W or the detection jig 204, thereby detecting the contact state between the substrate W or the detection jig 204 and the substrate holding hand 310. In FIG. 10, for example, contact sensors 341, 342, and 343 are arranged on a substrate placement part 303 on which a substrate is placed in an EFEM. The contact sensors 341, 342, and 343 are arranged on the substrate placement part 303 at positions that divide the circumference of the disk-shaped substrate W into three parts, similar to the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 of the first embodiment. No contact sensor is arranged on the substrate holding hand 310 that holds the substrate W. Even in this case, the contact sensors 341, 342, and 343 are arranged on the substrate placement part 303 as placement part sensors, and the contact state between the substrate placement part 303 and the substrate W or the detection jig 204 is detected to detect the contact state between the substrate W or the detection jig 204 and the substrate holding hand 310. This allows the relative inclination between the substrate placement part 103 and the substrate holding hand 310 to be adjusted, and the substrate W can be transported appropriately.

[0066] In the above-described first embodiment, the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 as three hand sensors in the substrate holding hand 10 are arranged at positions that divide the circumference of the disk-shaped substrate W into three parts, and in the second embodiment, the contact sensors 241, 242, and 243 as three jig sensors in the detection jig 204 are arranged at positions that divide the circumference of the disk-shaped detection jig 204 into three parts, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, the number of contact sensors may be two or less, or may be four or more. In addition, the position at which the contact sensor is arranged does not have to correspond to the peripheral portion of the substrate or the detection jig. For example, the contact sensor may be arranged at the center of the circle of the substrate or the detection jig.

[0067] In the above first and second embodiments, the blade member 11 in the substrate holding hands 10 and 210 is a passive hand having a bifurcated shape, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, a flat substrate holding hand not having a bifurcated shape may be arranged, such as a substrate holding hand 410 according to a second modified example shown in Fig. 11. Also, instead of a passive hand, a vacuum type hand that adsorbs a substrate, or an active type hand having a chuck that fixes a substrate may be arranged.

[0068] In the above second embodiment, the contact sensors 241, 242, and 243 serving as jig sensors are disposed at positions on the detection jig 204 where the substrate holding hand 210 comes into contact, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, the contact sensors serving as jig sensors may be disposed at positions on the detection jig where the substrate placement portion comes into contact when the detection jig is placed on the substrate placement portion.

[0069] In the above first and second embodiments, the control units 50 and 250 adjust the relative inclination between the substrate placement unit 103 and the substrate holding hands 10 and 210 by acquiring a detection value along one axis along the up-down direction, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, the relative inclination between the substrate placement unit and the substrate holding hands may be adjusted based on detection values ​​along two or three axes.

[0070] In the above first and second embodiments, the tilt mechanism 30 as the tilt adjustment mechanism has three spherical plain bearings 33, 34, and 35 and two height position adjustment mechanisms 36 and 37, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, a tilt adjustment mechanism that does not have a spherical plain bearing may be arranged. Also, the height position adjustment mechanism may not be arranged in the tilt adjustment mechanism. For example, the tilt adjustment mechanism may be arranged to adjust the tilt by arranging a rotation mechanism. Also, the drive source of the tilt adjustment mechanism may be an actuator using a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder, a piezoelectric element, a solenoid coil, a linear motor, or the like.

[0071] In the above-mentioned first and second embodiments, the substrate transport robots 100 and 200 include the horizontal movement mechanism 22 as the drive mechanism 20, and the substrate holding hand 10 is provided with a plurality of blade members 11 each of which holds a substrate W or a detection jig 204, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In the present disclosure, the substrate transport robot may include a robot arm having a plurality of joint shafts as a drive mechanism for moving the substrate holding hand. In that case, the robot arm may be a horizontal multi-joint or a vertical multi-joint. The substrate transport robot may also have a drive mechanism with a parallel link structure. Also, the substrate holding hand 510 may hold one substrate, as in the substrate holding hand 510 according to the third modified example shown in FIG. 12. In the third modified example shown in FIG. 12, the substrate holding hand 510 is attached to a robot arm portion 520 as a drive mechanism. In this case, the tilt mechanism 30 as a tilt adjustment mechanism is disposed, for example, between the tip of the robot arm portion 520 and the substrate holding hand 510. In this case as well, the contact sensor may be disposed in the substrate holding hand 510, the detection jig, or the substrate placement section. Also, a plurality of substrate holding hands each holding one substrate may be disposed. For example, one substrate holding hand each holding one substrate may be disposed on each of a plurality of robot arms.

[0072] In the above first embodiment, the contact sensors 41, 42, and 43 serving as hand sensors are arranged on the bottom blade member 11 among the multiple blade members 11 arranged in a vertical line, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, the hand sensor may be arranged on the top blade member among the multiple blade members arranged in a vertical line, or on the central blade member. Also, the hand sensor may be arranged on each of the multiple blade members.

[0073] In the first embodiment, three contact sensors 41, 42, and 43, which are force sensors, are arranged, and in the second embodiment, three contact sensors 241, 242, and 243 are arranged, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, the contact sensor that detects the contact state may be a mechanical switch. The contact sensor may be a sensor that detects the degree of contact in an analog value, such as a capacitance sensor or a distance sensor. The contact sensor may detect the contact force in one axis direction instead of three axes. Instead of three, two or less or four or more contact sensors may be arranged. In addition, when a contact sensor is arranged on a substrate holding hand that holds multiple substrates, a contact sensor may be arranged on each of the multiple blade members. In that case, for example, when there is one tilt adjustment mechanism, the detection results for each of the multiple blade members may be averaged to operate the tilt adjustment mechanism. In addition, multiple tilt adjustment mechanisms may be arranged so as to correspond to each of the multiple blade members. When a plurality of tilt adjustment mechanisms are arranged to correspond to each of a plurality of blade members, the corresponding tilt adjustment mechanisms may be controlled separately based on the detection results for each of the plurality of blade members.

[0074] In the above first and second embodiments, the control units 50 and 250 that control the operation of each unit of the substrate transport robots 100 and 200 acquire the relative tilt between the substrate holding hand 10 and the substrate placement unit 103 based on the detection signals from the contact sensors 41, 42, 43, 241, 242, and 243, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, a control device separate from the control device that controls the operation of the substrate transport robot may perform arithmetic processing for detecting the relative tilt between the substrate holding hand and the substrate placement unit based on the detection results. Also, the control unit of the substrate transport robot may be configured by one CPU.

[0075] The functions of the elements disclosed herein can be performed using circuits or processing circuits, including general purpose processors, special purpose processors, integrated circuits, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), conventional circuits, and / or combinations thereof, configured or programmed to perform the disclosed functions. Processors are considered processing circuits or circuits because they include transistors and other circuits. In this disclosure, a circuit, unit, or means is hardware that performs the recited functions or hardware that is programmed to perform the recited functions. The hardware may be hardware disclosed herein or other known hardware that is programmed or configured to perform the recited functions. Where the hardware is a processor, which is considered a type of circuit, the circuit, means, or unit is a combination of hardware and software, and the software is used to configure the hardware and / or the processor.

[0076] [Aspects] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the exemplary embodiments described above are examples of the following aspects.

[0077] (Aspect 1) A substrate holding hand that holds a substrate or a detection jig that imitates the substrate; a contact sensor that detects a contact state between the substrate or the detection jig and the substrate holding hand during a transport operation of the substrate or the detection jig to a substrate placement unit; a tilt adjustment mechanism for adjusting the tilt of the substrate holding hand; a control unit that adjusts the relative tilt between the substrate placement unit and the substrate holding hand by operating the tilt adjustment mechanism based on a detection signal from the contact sensor.

[0078] (Aspect 2) The contact sensor is arranged in plurality, 2. The substrate transport robot according to aspect 1, wherein the control unit adjusts a relative tilt between the substrate placement unit and the substrate holding hand based on a difference in a change in the detection signal in each of the plurality of contact sensors.

[0079] (Aspect 3) The substrate transport robot of aspect 1 or aspect 2, wherein the contact sensor includes at least one of a hand sensor arranged on the substrate holding hand and detecting a contact state between the substrate and the substrate holding hand, a jig sensor arranged on the detection jig and detecting a contact state between the detection jig and the substrate holding hand, and a placement section sensor arranged on the substrate placement section and detecting a contact state between the substrate or the detection jig and the substrate holding hand by detecting a contact state between the substrate placement section and the substrate or the detection jig.

[0080] (Aspect 4) the contact sensor includes at least three of the hand sensors; 4. The substrate transport robot according to aspect 3, wherein the hand sensors are disposed at at least three mutually different positions on the substrate holding hand among positions at which the substrate comes into contact.

[0081] (Aspect 5) The substrate holding hand has a bifurcated tip, A substrate transport robot as described in aspect 4, wherein the hand sensor includes a tip sensor disposed at each of the two divided tip portions of the substrate holding hand, and a base sensor disposed at the base portion.

[0082] (Aspect 6) The contact sensor includes at least three of the fixture sensors; A substrate transport robot as described in aspect 3, wherein the jig sensors are arranged at at least three different positions on the detection jig among positions where the substrate holding hand contacts and positions where the substrate mounting part contacts.

[0083] (Aspect 7) The substrate and the detection jig have a disk-like shape, The contact sensor includes: At least three are placed, A substrate transport robot according to any one of aspects 1 to 6, wherein the detection devices are arranged on the peripheral portion of the substrate or the detection jig having a disk-like shape, one at a position that divides the circumference into three parts.

[0084] (Aspect 8) The substrate transport robot of aspect 2, wherein the control unit adjusts the relative inclination between the substrate placement unit and the substrate holding hand by acquiring a detection value along one axis along the vertical direction based on the detection signal from the contact sensor.

[0085] (Aspect 9) The tilt adjustment mechanism includes: A lower member; an upper member disposed opposite the lower member in the up-down direction; Three spherical plain bearings are arranged at different positions between the lower member and the upper member when viewed from the up-down direction; two height position adjustment mechanisms provided corresponding to two of the three spherical plain bearings, respectively; A substrate transport robot as described in any one of aspects 1 to 8, wherein the control unit adjusts the relative inclination between the substrate mounting portion and the substrate holding hand by adjusting the inclination of the upper member relative to the lower member using the height position adjustment mechanism based on a detection signal from the contact sensor.

[0086] (Aspect 10) the substrate holding hand includes a plurality of blade members each of which holds the substrate or the detection jig; a blade holding portion to which the plurality of blade members are connected, A substrate transport robot described in any of aspects 1 to 9, wherein the control unit adjusts the relative tilt between the substrate placement portion and the substrate holding hand by operating the tilt adjustment mechanism to adjust the tilt of the blade holding portion based on a detection signal from the contact sensor.

[0087] (Aspect 11) A substrate transport robot described in any of aspects 1 to 10, wherein the control unit adjusts the relative inclination between the substrate mounting portion, which is arranged in a heat treatment device in which heat treatment is performed on the substrate, and the substrate holding hand based on a detection signal from the contact sensor.

[0088] (Aspect 12) In a transport operation of a substrate or a detection jig simulating the substrate to a substrate placement section, a contact state between a substrate holding hand that holds the substrate or the detection jig and the substrate or the detection jig is detected; A control method for a substrate transport robot, which adjusts the relative tilt between the substrate placement section and the substrate holding hand by operating a tilt adjustment mechanism that adjusts the tilt of the substrate holding hand based on a detection signal that detects the contact state between the substrate holding hand and the substrate or the detection jig.

[0089] (Aspect 13) detecting a contact state between the substrate holding hand and the substrate or the detection jig by acquiring detection signals from a plurality of contact sensors; A control method for a substrate transport robot described in aspect 12, comprising adjusting the relative tilt between the substrate placement portion and the substrate holding hand by operating the tilt adjustment mechanism based on the difference in the change in the detection signal at each of the multiple contact sensors, thereby eliminating the difference in the change in the detection signal at each of the multiple contact sensors. [Explanation of symbols]

[0090] 10, 210, 310, 410, 510 Board holding hand 11 Blade material 21 Blade holder 30 Tilt mechanism (tilt adjustment mechanism) 31 Lower part 32 Upper member 33, 34, 35 Spherical plain bearing 36, 37 Height position adjustment mechanism 41 Contact sensor (hand sensor, tip sensor) 42 Contact sensor (hand sensor, tip sensor) 43 Contact sensor (hand sensor, base end sensor) 50, 250 Control section 100, 200 Substrate transport robot 101 Heat treatment equipment 103, 303 Substrate placement section 241, 242, 243 Contact sensor (jig sensor) 341, 342, 343 Contact sensor (mounting sensor)

Claims

1. A substrate holding hand that holds a substrate or a detection jig that imitates the substrate; a contact sensor that detects a contact state between the substrate or the detection jig and the substrate holding hand during a transport operation of the substrate or the detection jig to a substrate placement unit; a tilt adjustment mechanism for adjusting the tilt of the substrate holding hand; a control unit that adjusts the relative tilt between the substrate placement unit and the substrate holding hand by operating the tilt adjustment mechanism based on a detection signal from the contact sensor.

2. The contact sensor is arranged in plurality, 2 . The substrate transport robot according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit adjusts a relative inclination between the substrate placement unit and the substrate holding hand based on a difference in a change in the detection signal in each of the plurality of contact sensors.

3. 3. The substrate transport robot of claim 1, wherein the contact sensor includes at least one of a hand sensor arranged on the substrate holding hand and detecting a contact state between the substrate and the substrate holding hand, a jig sensor arranged on the detection jig and detecting a contact state between the detection jig and the substrate holding hand, and a placement section sensor arranged on the substrate placement section and detecting a contact state between the substrate or the detection jig and the substrate holding hand by detecting a contact state between the substrate placement section and the substrate or the detection jig.

4. the contact sensor includes at least three of the hand sensors; The substrate transport robot according to claim 3 , wherein the hand sensors are disposed at least three mutually different positions on the substrate holding hand among positions at which the substrate comes into contact.

5. The substrate holding hand has a bifurcated tip, 5. The substrate transport robot of claim 4, wherein the hand sensor includes a tip sensor disposed at each of the two divided tip portions of the substrate holding hand, and a base sensor disposed at the base portion.

6. The contact sensor includes at least three of the fixture sensors; The substrate transport robot according to claim 3 , wherein the jig sensors are arranged at at least three different positions on the detection jig among a position where the substrate holding hand contacts and a position where the substrate placement part contacts.

7. The substrate and the detection jig have a disk-like shape, The contact sensor includes: At least three are placed, 3. The substrate transport robot according to claim 1, wherein the detection means are arranged on a peripheral portion of the substrate or the detection jig having a disk shape, the peripheral portions being arranged at positions that divide a circumference into three.

8. The substrate transport robot of claim 2, wherein the control unit adjusts the relative inclination between the substrate placement unit and the substrate holding hand by acquiring a detection value along one axis along the vertical direction based on a detection signal from the contact sensor.

9. The tilt adjustment mechanism includes: A lower member; an upper member disposed opposite the lower member in the up-down direction; Three spherical plain bearings are disposed at different positions between the lower member and the upper member when viewed from the up-down direction; two height position adjustment mechanisms provided corresponding to two of the three spherical plain bearings, respectively; 3. The substrate transport robot of claim 1, wherein the control unit adjusts the relative inclination between the substrate placement portion and the substrate holding hand by adjusting the inclination of the upper member relative to the lower member using the height position adjustment mechanism based on a detection signal from the contact sensor.

10. the substrate holding hand includes a plurality of blade members each of which holds the substrate or the detection jig; a blade holding portion to which the plurality of blade members are connected, 3. The substrate transport robot of claim 1, wherein the control unit adjusts the relative tilt between the substrate placement portion and the substrate holding hand by operating the tilt adjustment mechanism to adjust the tilt of the blade holding portion based on a detection signal from the contact sensor.

11. 3. The substrate transport robot of claim 1, wherein the control unit adjusts a relative inclination between the substrate mounting unit and the substrate holding hand, the substrate mounting unit being arranged in a heat treatment device in which heat treatment is performed on the substrate, based on a detection signal from the contact sensor.

12. In a transport operation of a substrate or a detection jig simulating the substrate to a substrate placement section, a contact state between a substrate holding hand that holds the substrate or the detection jig and the substrate or the detection jig is detected; A control method for a substrate transport robot, which adjusts the relative tilt between the substrate placement section and the substrate holding hand by operating a tilt adjustment mechanism that adjusts the tilt of the substrate holding hand based on a detection signal that detects the contact state between the substrate holding hand and the substrate or the detection jig.

13. detecting a contact state between the substrate holding hand and the substrate or the detection jig by acquiring detection signals from a plurality of contact sensors; 13. A method for controlling a substrate transport robot as described in claim 12, further comprising the steps of: operating the tilt adjustment mechanism based on a difference in a change in a detection signal in each of the plurality of contact sensors, thereby eliminating the difference in a change in a detection signal in each of the plurality of contact sensors, thereby adjusting a relative tilt between the substrate placement portion and the substrate holding hand.

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