Interference checking method for workpiece conveying robot and interference checking device for workpiece conveying robot

Abstract

To provide an interference checking method for a workpiece conveying robot that can reduce the time to check interference.SOLUTION: An interference checking method for a substrate conveying robot 10 includes pre-processing of, in integrated data ID obtained by integrating robot CAD data CD1 and arrangement region CAD data CD2, excluding an unreachable region R1 where a robot portion D10 constituting the substrate conveying robot 10 cannot reach, from an interference checking object IO for which interference checking is performed as to whether the robot portion D10 interferes with an arrangement region portion D20 constituting an arrangement region 20 where the substrate conveying robot 10 is arranged.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method and device for checking interference of a workpiece transport robot. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there are known robot motion path generation methods for deriving a motion path of a robot. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a robot motion path generation method for deriving a motion path of a robot by simulating the motion path so that the robot does not interfere with obstacles. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-193975 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the robot motion path generation method described in Patent Document 1, a motion path of the robot is derived by simulating it so that the robot does not interfere with obstacles, so there are a large number of objects to be checked for interference to see if the robot will interfere with obstacles, and it takes a relatively long time to check for interference. For this reason, a configuration that can shorten the time required to check for interference is desired.

[0005] This disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and one purpose of this disclosure is to provide an interference checking method for a work transport robot and an interference checking device for a work transport robot that can shorten the time required to check for interference. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, a method for checking interference of a workpiece transport robot according to a first aspect of this disclosure includes: performing preprocessing in integrated data obtained by integrating robot CAD data, which is computer-aided design data of a workpiece transport robot including an end effector that holds a workpiece and a robot arm to which the end effector is attached, and placement area CAD data, which is computer-aided design data of a placement area in which the workpiece transport robot is placed, to exclude unreachable areas that are unreachable by robot parts that constitute the workpiece transport robot from objects to be checked for interference to determine whether the robot parts will interfere with parts of the placement area that constitute the placement area; and performing interference checking using the integrated data in which the unreachable areas have been excluded from objects to be checked for interference by the preprocessing.

[0007] A method for checking interference for a workpiece transport robot according to a first aspect of the present disclosure includes, as described above, performing preprocessing in integrated data obtained by integrating robot CAD data and placement area CAD data to exclude unreachable areas, which are unreachable by a robot portion constituting the workpiece transport robot, from interference check targets for checking whether the robot portion interferes with a placement area portion constituting the placement area where the workpiece transport robot is placed, and performing interference check using the integrated data from which the unreachable areas have been excluded from interference check targets by the preprocessing. This allows the amount of integrated data to be reduced by excluding the unreachable areas from interference check targets in the integrated data by the preprocessing before interference check is performed. In other words, interference check can be performed using integrated data whose amount of data has been reduced by the preprocessing. As a result, the time required for interference check can be shortened.

[0008] In addition, in order to achieve the above object, a robot motion path generation device according to a second aspect of this disclosure performs preprocessing in integrated data that integrates robot CAD data, which is computer-aided design data of a work transport robot including an end effector that holds a workpiece and a robot arm to which the end effector is attached, and placement area CAD data, which is computer-aided design data of a placement area in which the work transport robot is placed, to exclude unreachable areas that cannot be reached by the robot parts that make up the work transport robot from interference confirmation objects that perform interference confirmation to determine whether the robot parts will interfere with the placement area parts that make up the placement area, and is equipped with: a control unit that performs interference confirmation using the integrated data in which the unreachable areas have been excluded from interference confirmation objects by preprocessing; and an input unit that accepts input of information related to interference confirmation.

[0009] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, an interference checking device for a workpiece transport robot performs preprocessing in integrated data that integrates robot CAD data and placement area CAD data to exclude unreachable areas, which are unreachable by a robot portion of the workpiece transport robot, from objects to be checked for interference in determining whether the robot portion will interfere with portions of the placement area in which the workpiece transport robot is placed, and includes a control unit that performs interference checking using the integrated data from which the unreachable areas have been excluded from objects to be checked for interference by the preprocessing. As a result, similar to the interference checking method for a workpiece transport robot according to the first aspect, the amount of integrated data can be reduced by excluding unreachable areas from objects to be checked for interference in the integrated data before interference checking is performed. As a result, similar to the interference checking method for a workpiece transport robot according to the first aspect, the time required for interference checking can be shortened. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present disclosure, as described above, it is possible to provide an interference checking method for a workpiece transport robot and an interference checking device for a workpiece transport robot that can shorten the time required to check for interference. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a plan view illustrating a substrate transport system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a substrate transport robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an interference checking device for a substrate transport robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] 10A and 10B are schematic diagrams for explaining pre-processing in a method for checking interference of a substrate transport robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for checking interference of a substrate transport robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] 10A and 10B are schematic diagrams illustrating integrated data before pre-processing in the method for checking interference of a substrate transport robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] 10A and 10B are schematic diagrams illustrating integrated data after preprocessing in a method for checking interference of a substrate transport robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] 10A and 10B are schematic diagrams illustrating portions of a placement area that are not included in a reachable area in a method for checking interference of a substrate transport robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] 10A and 10B are schematic diagrams illustrating the center of gravity of a placement area portion and the end portion of the placement area portion farthest from the center of gravity in a method for checking interference of a substrate transport robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] 10A and 10B are schematic diagrams illustrating interference check of an outer portion of the robot in the method for checking interference of a substrate transport robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0013] [Interference checking device for substrate transport robots] 1 to 4, an interference checking device 200 for a substrate transfer robot 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. The interference checking device 200 for the substrate transfer robot 10 is a device that checks interference of the substrate transfer robot 10 when deriving an operation path OP of the substrate transfer robot 10 in the substrate transfer system 100 by simulating it based on predetermined conditions. The substrate transfer robot 10 is an example of a work transfer robot.

[0014] (Substrate transport system) As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate transfer system 100 includes a substrate transfer robot 10 and a placement area 20.

[0015] <Configuration of the substrate transfer robot> 1, the substrate transfer robot 10 is a robot that transfers a semiconductor substrate W. The substrate transfer robot 10 includes a hand 11 that holds the semiconductor substrate W, a robot arm 12 to which the hand 11 is attached, and a base 13 that supports the robot arm 12. The semiconductor substrate W and the hand 11 are examples of a workpiece and an end effector, respectively.

[0016] The robot arm 12 is a horizontally articulated robot arm. Specifically, the robot arm 12 includes a first link 12a and a second link 12b. The first link 12a and the second link 12b are arranged along a horizontal plane. The base end of the first link 12a is connected to the base 13 and rotates around a rotation axis A1 relative to the base 13. The base end of the second link 12b is connected to the first link 12a and rotates around a rotation axis A2 relative to the first link 12a. The tip end of the second link 12b is connected to the hand 11. That is, the hand 11 is attached to the tip end of the robot arm 12. The hand 11 rotates around a rotation axis A3 relative to the second link 12b.

[0017] 2, the substrate transport robot 10 includes a lifting mechanism 14 that raises and lowers the robot arm 12. By raising and lowering the robot arm 12 with the lifting mechanism 14, the hand 11 attached to the tip of the robot arm 12 is raised and lowered.

[0018] The substrate transfer robot 10 includes a robot control unit 15 that controls the hand 11, the robot arm 12, and the lifting mechanism 14. The robot control unit 15 controls the hand 11 to hold the semiconductor substrate W. The robot control unit 15 controls the rotation of the first link 12a about a rotation axis A1 relative to the base 13, the rotation of the second link 12b about a rotation axis A2 relative to the first link 12a, and the rotation of the hand 11 about a rotation axis A3 relative to the second link 12b. The robot control unit 15 controls the lifting mechanism 14 to raise and lower the robot arm 12.

[0019] <Configuration of placement area> 1, the placement area 20 is an area where the substrate transfer robot 10 and the semiconductor substrate W are placed. The placement area 20 includes a substrate transfer chamber 21 in which the substrate transfer robot 10 and the semiconductor substrate W are placed, and a plurality of substrate placement sections 22 on which the semiconductor substrates W are placed.

[0020] The substrate transfer chamber 21 is a space into which the semiconductor substrate W is transferred by the substrate transfer robot 10. The interior of the substrate transfer chamber 21 is maintained at atmospheric pressure.

[0021] Each of the plurality of substrate rest parts 22 is connected to the substrate transfer chamber 21. The plurality of substrate rest parts 22 includes a plurality of load ports 22a, a load lock 22b, and an aligner 22c.

[0022] A FOUP (Front Opening Unify Pod), which is a container capable of accommodating a plurality of semiconductor substrates W, is disposed in each of the plurality of load ports 22a.

[0023] The load lock 22b is connected to the substrate transfer chamber 21. The load lock 22b is connected to the substrate transfer chamber VC, which is maintained in a vacuum atmosphere.

[0024] The substrate transfer chamber VC is connected to a substrate processing chamber in which processes such as resist coating and etching are performed on the semiconductor substrate W. In other words, the substrate transfer system 100 is an EFEM (Equipment Front End Module) that transfers the semiconductor substrate W between each FOUP of the multiple load ports 22a and the substrate transfer chamber VC connected to the substrate processing chamber.

[0025] The aligner 22c is a device for performing alignment of the semiconductor substrate W and correcting eccentricity.

[0026] (Configuration of interference checking device for substrate transport robot) 3, the interference checking device 200 of the substrate transport robot 10 includes a control unit 201, a storage unit 202, an input unit 203, and a display unit 204. The interference checking device 200 of the substrate transport robot 10 is, for example, a PC (personal computer) or a tablet.

[0027] The control unit 201 generates integrated data by integrating robot CAD data CD1, which is computer-aided design data for the substrate transport robot 10; placement area CAD data CD2, which is computer-aided design data for the placement area 20; and substrate CAD data CD3, which is computer-aided design data for the semiconductor substrate W. As shown in FIG. 4 , the control unit 201 performs preprocessing in the integrated data IDa to exclude an unreachable area R1, which is unreachable by the robot part D10 constituting the substrate transport robot 10 and the substrate part DW constituting the semiconductor substrate W, from an interference confirmation object IO for performing interference confirmation to determine whether the robot part D10 and the substrate part DW interfere with the placement area part D20 constituting the placement area 20. The control unit 201 also performs interference confirmation using the integrated data IDa, from which the unreachable area R1 has been excluded from the interference confirmation object IO by the preprocessing. Details of the preprocessing and interference confirmation will be described later. The substrate CAD data CD3 is an example of workpiece CAD data.

[0028] 3, the storage unit 202 is a computer-readable storage medium that stores various programs and various data. The storage unit 202 stores programs and the like that are used by the control unit 201 to perform interference checks. The storage unit 202 is formed, for example, by a magnetic disk such as a hard disk, an optical disk such as a CD-ROM or DVD, or a semiconductor memory.

[0029] The input unit 203 accepts an input operation from the user. When the input unit 203 accepts an input operation from the user, the input unit 203 outputs an input signal corresponding to the input operation to the control unit 201. The input unit 203 is, for example, a keyboard or a mouse. The input unit 203 accepts input of information related to interference confirmation, etc.

[0030] The display unit 204 is controlled by the control unit 201 to display an image of the integrated data ID that integrates the robot CAD data CD1, placement area CAD data CD2, and board CAD data CD3. The display unit 204 is, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display.

[0031] [How to check for interference with substrate transfer robots] 3 to 10, an interference checking method for the substrate transport robot 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. The interference checking method for the substrate transport robot 10 described below is executed by the control unit 201 based on a program for executing interference checking that is read from the storage unit 202.

[0032] (CAD data loading) 5, in step S1, the control unit 201 reads CAD data. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 3, the control unit 201 reads robot CAD data CD1, which is computer-aided design data for the substrate transport robot 10, placement area CAD data CD2, which is computer-aided design data for the placement area 20 in which the substrate transport robot 10 and the semiconductor substrate W are placed, and substrate CAD data CD3, which is computer-aided design data for the semiconductor substrate W. The user can arbitrarily select the robot CAD data CD1, placement area CAD data CD2, and substrate CAD data CD3 to be read by the control unit 201.

[0033] (Generation of integrated data) As shown in Fig. 5, in step S2, the control unit 201 generates an integrated data ID. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 6, the control unit 201 generates an integrated data ID by integrating the read robot CAD data CD1, placement area CAD data CD2, and board CAD data CD3. The integrated data ID is three-dimensional data. For convenience of illustration, the figure shows the integrated data ID displayed in two dimensions.

[0034] (Pretreatment) As shown in FIG. 5, in step S3, the control unit 201 performs preprocessing. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 201 performs preprocessing to exclude, in the integrated data ID, an unreachable region R1 that is unreachable by the robot portion D10 constituting the substrate transport robot 10 and the substrate portion DW constituting the semiconductor substrate W, from the interference confirmation object IO for performing interference confirmation to determine whether the robot portion D10 and the substrate portion DW interfere with the placement area portion D20 constituting the placement area 20. Although the unreachable region R1 is included in the integrated data ID, it is an area that is unreachable by the robot portion D10 and the substrate portion DW, so interference confirmation does not need to be performed. Note that the interference confirmation object IO is substantially everything in the integrated data ID other than the robot portion D10 and the substrate portion DW. In other words, the interference confirmation object IO is substantially the entire placement area portion D20 in the integrated data ID.

[0035] In detail, first, the control unit 201 excludes from the interference confirmation object IO, in the integrated data ID, an unreachable area R1a that the robot part D10 cannot reach when the robot arm part D12 constituting the robot arm 12 is fully extended. When the robot arm part D12 is fully extended, the tip of the robot arm part D12 is in an area outside the placement area part D20. As a result, in the integrated data ID, the unreachable area R1a that the robot part D10 cannot reach when the robot arm part D12, which is part of the unreachable area R1 outside the placement area part D20, is fully extended is excluded from the interference confirmation object IO.

[0036] Next, the control unit 201 excludes the unreachable region R1b outside the placement area portion D20 in the integrated data ID from the interference confirmation object IO. As a result, the entire unreachable region R1 outside the placement area portion D20 in the integrated data ID is excluded from the interference confirmation object IO.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 7, the integrated data ID becomes integrated data IDa that includes only the area inside the placement area portion D20 through the process in step S3.

[0038] (Interference check) 5, in step S4, the control unit 201 performs interference check. Specifically, the interference check is performed using the integrated data IDa in which the unreachable region R1 has been excluded from the interference check object IO by preprocessing.

[0039] 8, the control unit 201 performs interference confirmation by excluding from the interference confirmation object IO the placement area portion D20 that is not included in the reachable area R2 that the robot portion D10 can reach so that the hand portion D11 constituting the hand 11 passes through a preset via point VP in the integrated data IDa obtained by preprocessing the unreachable area R1 from the interference confirmation object IO. That is, under the condition that the hand portion D11 passes through a preset via point VP, interference confirmation is performed only for the reachable area R2 that the robot portion D10 can reach in the placement area portion D20 in the integrated data IDa. The via point VP can be automatically set by the control unit 201 based on the placement area portion D20 in the integrated data IDa, or can be arbitrarily set by the user. The hand portion D11 is an example of an end effector portion.

[0040] In addition, in the integrated data IDa in which the unreachable region R1 has been excluded from the interference confirmation object IO by preprocessing, the control unit 201 first excludes from the interference confirmation object IO any placement area portion D20 that is not included in the reachable region R2a formed by a plurality of first rectangular regions RA1, and then excludes from the interference confirmation object IO any placement area portion D20 that is not included in the reachable region R2b formed by a plurality of second rectangular regions RA2 that are smaller than the first rectangular region RA1, and then performs interference confirmation. That is, after the placement area portion D20 that is not included in the reachable region R2a formed by a plurality of relatively large first rectangular regions RA1 is relatively roughly excluded from the interference confirmation object IO, the placement area portion D20 that is not included in the reachable region R2 formed by a plurality of relatively small second rectangular regions RA2 is relatively finely excluded from the interference confirmation object IO, and then interference confirmation is performed. The sizes of the first rectangular region RA1 and the second rectangular region RA2 can be arbitrarily set by the user based on the robot portion D10 and the board portion DW in the integrated data ID.

[0041] 9, the control unit 201 performs interference confirmation by excluding from the interference confirmation object IO the placement area portion D20 that is not included in the reachable area R2 in the integrated data ID in which the unreachable area R1 has been excluded from the interference confirmation object IO by preprocessing, using the distance D20c between the center of gravity D20a of the placement area portion D20 and the end D20b of the placement area portion D20 that is farthest from the center of gravity D20a. The distance D20c between the center of gravity D20a of the placement area portion D20 and the end D20b of the placement area portion D20 that is farthest from the center of gravity D20a is the maximum distance that indicates the range in which the placement area portion D20 may exist, based on the center of gravity D20a of the placement area portion D20. That is, in each placement area portion D20, if the robot portion D10 and the board portion DW are within a range of distance D20c from the center of gravity D20a of the placement area portion D20, it is determined that the robot portion D10 and the board portion DW interfere with each other, and if the robot portion D10 and the board portion DW are not within a range of distance D20c from the center of gravity D20a of the placement area portion D20, it is determined that the robot portion D10 and the board portion DW interfere with each other.

[0042] 10 , in integrated data IDb obtained by preprocessing the unreachable region R1 from the interference confirmation object IO and excluding the placement area portion D20 not included in the reachable region R2 from the interference confirmation object IO, the control unit 201 performs interference check to determine whether a robot outer portion D10a corresponding to an outer portion of the substrate transport robot 10 and a substrate outer portion DWa corresponding to an outer portion of the semiconductor substrate W interfere with the placement area portion D20. Note that in integrated data IDb obtained by preprocessing the unreachable region R1 from the interference confirmation object IO and excluding the placement area portion D20 not included in the reachable region R2 from the interference confirmation object IO, interference check is not performed to determine whether a robot inner portion corresponding to an inner portion of the substrate transport robot 10 and a substrate inner portion corresponding to an inner portion of the semiconductor substrate W interfere with the placement area portion D20.

[0043] [Method for generating motion paths for substrate transport robots] A method for generating a movement path for the substrate transport robot 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG.

[0044] 8, in the method for generating a movement path for the substrate transport robot 10, a movement path OP for the substrate transport robot 10 in the placement area 20 is derived by simulating it based on predetermined conditions. Specifically, a plurality of movement paths OP in which the hand 11 passes through preset way points VP are generated, and an optimized movement path OP is derived from the plurality of generated movement paths OP. The optimized movement path OP is, for example, a movement path that minimizes the time required for the substrate transport robot 10 to transport the semiconductor substrate W in the placement area 20. Then, while checking for interference using the above-described interference checking method for the substrate transport robot 10, the movement path OP for the substrate transport robot 10 in the placement area 20 is derived by simulating it based on predetermined conditions.

[0045] [Effects of this embodiment] In this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0046] (Effect of interference check method for substrate transfer robots) The interference confirmation method for the substrate transfer robot 10 of this embodiment includes performing preprocessing in integrated data ID, which is an integration of robot CAD data CD1 and placement area CAD data CD2, to exclude an unreachable region R1, which is unreachable by the robot part D10 constituting the substrate transfer robot 10, from an interference confirmation object IO for confirming whether the robot part D10 interferes with the placement area portion D20 constituting the placement area 20 in which the substrate transfer robot 10 is placed, and performing interference confirmation using the integrated data IDa from which the unreachable region R1 has been excluded from the interference confirmation object IO by the preprocessing. Thus, by excluding the unreachable region R1 from the interference confirmation object IO in the integrated data ID by the preprocessing before performing interference confirmation, the amount of data in the integrated data ID used for interference confirmation can be reduced. In other words, interference confirmation can be performed using the integrated data IDa whose amount of data has been reduced by the preprocessing. As a result, the time required for interference confirmation can be shortened.

[0047] Furthermore, in the interference confirmation method for the substrate transfer robot 10 of this embodiment, performing preprocessing in the integrated data ID to exclude the unreachable region R1 from the interference confirmation object IO includes excluding, in the integrated data ID that integrates the robot CAD data CD1, placement area CAD data CD2, which is computer-aided design data for the placement area 20 in which the substrate transfer robot 10 and the semiconductor substrate W are to be placed, the unreachable region R1 that is unreachable by the robot part D10 and the substrate part DW that constitutes the semiconductor substrate W, from the interference confirmation object IO for performing interference confirmation to determine whether the robot part D10 or the substrate part DW interferes with the placement area part D20, in the integrated data ID that integrates the robot CAD data CD1, the placement area CAD data CD2, and the substrate CAD data CD3, which is computer-aided design data for the semiconductor substrate W. As a result, the integrated data ID integrates the robot CAD data CD1, the placement area CAD data CD2, and the substrate CAD data CD3, so that interference confirmation can be performed for the semiconductor substrate W in addition to the substrate transfer robot 10.

[0048] Furthermore, in the interference confirmation method for the substrate transfer robot 10 of this embodiment, performing preprocessing to exclude the unreachable region R1 in the integrated data IDa from the interference confirmation target IO includes excluding the unreachable region R1 from the interference confirmation target IO in the three-dimensional integrated data IDa. Also, performing interference confirmation using the integrated data IDa from which the unreachable region R1 has been excluded from the interference confirmation target IO through preprocessing includes performing interference confirmation using the three-dimensional integrated data IDa from which the unreachable region R1 has been excluded from the interference confirmation target IO through preprocessing. Because three-dimensional data typically requires a relatively large amount of data, the amount of data in the integrated data IDa used for interference confirmation can be effectively reduced through preprocessing. As a result, the time required for interference confirmation can be effectively shortened.

[0049] Furthermore, in the interference confirmation method for the substrate transport robot 10 of this embodiment, performing preprocessing to exclude the unreachable region R1 in the integrated data ID from the interference confirmation object IO includes excluding, from the interference confirmation object IO, the unreachable region R1a in the integrated data ID that the robot part D10 cannot reach when the robot arm part D12 constituting the robot arm 12 is fully extended. As a result, in the integrated data ID, the region that the robot part D10 cannot reach when the robot arm part D12 is extended is a region that the robot part D10 cannot reach, and therefore, preprocessing to exclude the unreachable region R1 in the integrated data ID from the interference confirmation object IO can be appropriately performed.

[0050] Furthermore, in the interference confirmation method for the substrate transport robot 10 of this embodiment, performing preprocessing to exclude the unreachable region R1 in the integrated data ID from the interference confirmation object IO includes excluding the unreachable region R1b outside the placement area portion D20 in the integrated data ID from the interference confirmation object IO. As a result, since the area outside the placement area portion D20 in the integrated data ID is an area that the robot part D10 cannot reach, preprocessing to exclude the unreachable region R1 in the integrated data ID from the interference confirmation object IO can be appropriately performed.

[0051] Furthermore, in the interference confirmation method for the substrate transfer robot 10 of this embodiment, performing interference confirmation using integrated data IDa in which the unreachable region R1 has been excluded from the interference confirmation object IO through preprocessing includes performing interference confirmation by excluding, from the integrated data IDa in which the unreachable region R1 has been excluded from the interference confirmation object IO through preprocessing, the placement area portion D20 that is not included in the reachable region R2 that the robot portion D10 of the hand 11 can reach so that the hand portion D11 constituting the hand 11 passes through a preset via point VP. This allows interference confirmation to be performed on integrated data IDb in which the data volume has been further reduced by excluding the placement area portion D20 that is not included in the reachable region R2 from the interference confirmation object IO from the integrated data IDa in which the data volume has been reduced through preprocessing. As a result, the time required for performing interference confirmation can be further shortened.

[0052] Furthermore, in the interference confirmation method for the substrate transport robot 10 of this embodiment, performing interference confirmation by excluding from the interference confirmation object IO the placement area portion D20 that is not included in the reachable area R2 in the integrated data IDa in which the unreachable area R1 has been excluded from the interference confirmation object IO by preprocessing includes excluding from the interference confirmation object IO the placement area portion D20 that is not included in the reachable area R2a that is composed of a plurality of first rectangular areas RA1 in the integrated data IDa in which the unreachable area R1 has been excluded from the interference confirmation object IO by preprocessing, and then performing interference confirmation by excluding from the interference confirmation object IO the placement area portion D20 that is not included in the reachable area R2b that is composed of a plurality of second rectangular areas RA2 that are smaller than the first rectangular area RA1. As a result, in the integrated data IDa in which the unreachable region R1 has been excluded from the interference confirmation object IO by preprocessing, the placement area portion D20 that is not included in the reachable region R2a that is made up of a plurality of relatively large first rectangular regions RA1 can be relatively roughly excluded from the interference confirmation object IO, and then the placement area portion D20 that is not included in the reachable region R2b that is made up of a plurality of relatively small second rectangular regions RA2 can be relatively finely excluded from the interference confirmation object IO. As a result, the placement area portion D20 that is not included in the reachable region R2 can be efficiently excluded from the interference confirmation object IO from the integrated data IDa in which the amount of data has been reduced by preprocessing.

[0053] Furthermore, in the interference confirmation method for the substrate transport robot 10 of this embodiment, performing interference confirmation by excluding the placement area portion D20 that is not included in the reachable area R2 from the interference confirmation object IO in the integrated data IDa in which the unreachable area R1 has been excluded from the interference confirmation object IO by preprocessing includes performing interference confirmation by excluding the placement area portion D20 that is not included in the reachable area R2 from the interference confirmation object IO in the integrated data IDa in which the unreachable area R1 has been excluded from the interference confirmation object IO by preprocessing, using the distance D20c between the center of gravity D20a of the placement area portion D20 and the end D20b of the placement area portion D20 that is farthest from the center of gravity D20a. As a result, the distance D20c between the center of gravity D20a of the placement area portion D20 and the end portion D20b of the placement area portion D20 that is farthest from the center of gravity D20a is the maximum distance that indicates the range in which the placement area portion D20 may exist, based on the center of gravity D20a of the placement area portion D20.Therefore, in the integrated data IDa in which the unreachable area R1 has been excluded from the interference confirmation object IO by preprocessing, the placement area portion D20 that is not included in the reachable area R2 can be easily excluded from the interference confirmation object IO.

[0054] Furthermore, in the interference confirmation method for the substrate transfer robot 10 of this embodiment, performing interference confirmation by excluding the placement area portion D20 not included in the reachable area R2 from the interference confirmation object IO in the integrated data IDa in which the unreachable area R1 has been excluded from the interference confirmation object IO by preprocessing includes performing interference confirmation by determining whether the robot outer portion D10a, corresponding to the outer portion of the substrate transfer robot 10, interferes with the placement area portion D20 in the integrated data IDb in which the unreachable area R1 has been excluded from the interference confirmation object IO by preprocessing and the placement area portion D20 not included in the reachable area R2 has been excluded from the interference confirmation object IO. This allows for minimal interference confirmation to be performed on the integrated data IDb in which the data volume has been further reduced by excluding the placement area portion D20 not included in the reachable area R2 from the interference confirmation object IO from the integrated data IDa in which the data volume has been reduced by preprocessing. As a result, the time required for performing interference confirmation can be further reduced.

[0055] (Effect of the method for generating the movement path of the substrate transfer robot) The method for generating a movement path for the substrate transport robot 10 of this embodiment includes deriving a movement path OP for the substrate transport robot 10 in the placement area 20 by simulating it based on predetermined conditions while checking for interference using the interference checking method for the substrate transport robot 10 of this embodiment. This reduces the time required to check for interference and shortens the time required to derive the movement path OP for the substrate transport robot 10.

[0056] (Effect of interference checking device for substrate transfer robots) Furthermore, the interference confirmation device 200 for the substrate transfer robot 10 of this embodiment performs preprocessing in integrated data ID, which integrates the robot CAD data CD1 and the placement area CAD data CD2, to exclude an unreachable region R1, which the robot part D10 constituting the substrate transfer robot 10 cannot reach, from an interference confirmation object IO for performing interference confirmation to determine whether the robot part D10 interferes with the placement area portion D20 constituting the placement area 20 where the substrate transfer robot 10 is to be placed. The controller 201 also performs interference confirmation using the integrated data ID from which the unreachable region R1 has been excluded from the interference confirmation object IO through preprocessing. This allows the amount of data in the integrated data ID to be reduced by excluding the unreachable region R1 from the interference confirmation object IO in the integrated data ID through preprocessing before performing interference confirmation. As a result, the time required for interference confirmation can be shortened, similar to the interference confirmation method for the substrate transfer robot 10 described above.

[0057] [Variations] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative and not restrictive in all respects. The scope of the present disclosure is defined by the claims, not by the description of the above embodiments, and further includes all modifications (variations) within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims.

[0058] For example, in the above embodiment, the workpiece is a semiconductor substrate W, the end effector is a hand 11 that holds the semiconductor substrate W as the workpiece, the robot arm 12 is a horizontal articulated robot arm, the workpiece transport robot is a substrate transport robot 10 that transports the semiconductor substrate W as the workpiece, and the placement area 20 includes a substrate transport chamber 21 in which the substrate transport robot 10 as the workpiece transport robot is placed and a substrate placement section 22 on which the semiconductor substrate W as the workpiece is placed. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, the workpiece may be a member other than a semiconductor substrate, the end effector may be a hand that holds a member other than a semiconductor substrate as the workpiece, and the workpiece transport robot may be a robot that transports a member other than a semiconductor substrate as the workpiece. The placement area may include a space in which a robot that transports a member other than a semiconductor substrate as the workpiece is placed and a portion on which a member other than a semiconductor substrate as the workpiece is placed. Furthermore, the robot arm may be a robot arm other than a horizontal articulated robot arm.

[0059] In addition, in the above embodiment, an example was shown in which excluding the placement area portion D20 that is not included in the reachable area R2 from the interference confirmation object IO in integrated data IDa in which the unreachable area R1 has been excluded from the interference confirmation object IO by preprocessing and performing interference confirmation by excluding the placement area portion D20 that is not included in the reachable area R2 from the interference confirmation object IO includes performing interference confirmation of whether the robot outer portion D10a, which corresponds to the outer portion of the substrate transport robot 10 as a work transport robot, interferes with the placement area portion D20 in integrated data IDb in which the unreachable area R1 has been excluded from the interference confirmation object IO by preprocessing and the placement area portion D20 that is not included in the reachable area R2 has been excluded from the interference confirmation object IO, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, performing interference checking by excluding placement area portions that are not included in reachable areas from the objects to be checked for interference in integrated data in which unreachable areas have been excluded from the objects to be checked for interference by preprocessing may include performing interference checking to determine whether the outer and inner parts of the robot corresponding to the outer parts of the work transport robot interfere with the placement area portions in integrated data in which unreachable areas have been excluded from the objects to be checked for interference by preprocessing and placement area portions that are not included in reachable areas have been excluded from the objects to be checked for interference.

[0060] In addition, in the above embodiment, an example was shown in which excluding the placement area portion D20 that is not included in the reachable area R2 from the interference confirmation object IO in the integrated data IDa in which the unreachable area R1 has been excluded from the interference confirmation object IO by preprocessing, and performing interference confirmation includes using the distance D20c between the center of gravity D20a of the placement area portion D20 and the end D20b of the placement area portion D20 that is farthest from the center of gravity D20a to perform interference confirmation in the integrated data IDa in which the unreachable area R1 has been excluded from the interference confirmation object IO by preprocessing, and excluding the placement area portion D20 that is not included in the reachable area R2 from the interference confirmation object IO, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, performing interference confirmation by excluding placement area portions that are not included in reachable areas from the object to be checked for interference in integrated data in which unreachable areas have been excluded from the object to be checked for interference by preprocessing may include performing interference confirmation by excluding placement area portions that are not included in reachable areas from the object to be checked for interference in integrated data in which unreachable areas have been excluded from the object to be checked for interference by preprocessing, using information other than the distance between the center of gravity of the placement area portion and the end of the placement area portion that is farthest from the center of gravity.

[0061] In addition, in the above embodiment, an example was shown in which performing interference confirmation by excluding from the interference confirmation object IO the placement area portion D20 that is not included in the reachable area R2 in the integrated data IDa in which the unreachable area R1 has been excluded from the interference confirmation object IO by preprocessing includes excluding from the interference confirmation object IO the placement area portion D20 that is not included in the reachable area R2a that is composed of a plurality of first rectangular areas RA1 in the integrated data IDa in which the unreachable area R1 has been excluded from the interference confirmation object IO by preprocessing, and then excluding from the interference confirmation object IO the placement area portion D20 that is not included in the reachable area R2b that is composed of a plurality of second rectangular areas RA2 that are smaller than the first rectangular area RA1, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, performing interference confirmation by excluding placement area portions that are not included in reachable areas from the object to be confirmed for interference in integrated data in which unreachable areas have been excluded from the object to be confirmed for interference by preprocessing may include performing interference confirmation after excluding placement area portions that are not included in reachable areas that are composed of a plurality of first rectangular areas from the object to be confirmed for interference in integrated data in which unreachable areas have been excluded from the object to be confirmed for interference by preprocessing, without excluding placement area portions that are not included in reachable areas that are composed of a plurality of second rectangular areas that are smaller than the first rectangular areas from the object to be confirmed for interference.

[0062] In the above embodiment, performing interference confirmation using integrated data IDa in which the unreachable region R1 has been excluded from the interference confirmation object IO by preprocessing includes performing interference confirmation by excluding, from the interference confirmation object IO, a placement area portion D20 that is not included in a reachable region R2 that the robot portion D10 can reach so that the hand portion D11 serving as the end effector, which controls the hand 11 as the end effector, passes through a preset via point VP, in the integrated data IDa in which the unreachable region R1 has been excluded from the interference confirmation object IO by preprocessing. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, performing interference confirmation using integrated data in which the unreachable region has been excluded from the interference confirmation object by preprocessing does not have to include performing interference confirmation by excluding, from the interference confirmation object, a placement area portion that is not included in a reachable region that the robot portion can reach so that the end effector portion, which controls the end effector, passes through a preset via point VP, in the integrated data in which the unreachable region has been excluded from the interference confirmation object by preprocessing.

[0063] In addition, in the above embodiment, an example has been shown in which, in the integrated data ID, an unreachable region R1a that the robot part D10 cannot reach when the robot arm part D12 constituting the robot arm 12 is fully extended is excluded from the interference confirmation object IO, and then an unreachable region R1b outside the placement area part D20 is excluded from the interference confirmation object IO, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, if the tip of the robot arm part is in an area inside the placement area part when the robot arm part is fully extended, in the integrated data, an unreachable region that the robot part cannot reach when the robot arm part constituting the robot arm is fully extended may be excluded from the interference confirmation object, and then an unreachable region outside the placement area part may be excluded from the interference confirmation object in the integrated data.

[0064] In addition, in the above embodiment, an example has been shown in which performing preprocessing to exclude the unreachable region R1 in the integrated data ID from the interference confirmation object IO includes excluding the unreachable region R1b outside the placement area portion D20 in the integrated data ID from the interference confirmation object IO, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, performing preprocessing to exclude the unreachable region in the integrated data from the interference confirmation object does not have to include excluding the unreachable region outside the placement area portion in the integrated data from the interference confirmation object.

[0065] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example was shown in which performing preprocessing to exclude the unreachable region R1 in the integrated data ID from the interference confirmation object IO includes excluding the unreachable region R1a that the robot part D10 cannot reach when the robot arm part D12 constituting the robot arm 12 is extended in the integrated data ID from the interference confirmation object IO, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, performing preprocessing to exclude the unreachable region in the integrated data from the interference confirmation object does not have to include excluding the unreachable region that the robot part cannot reach when the robot arm part constituting the robot arm is extended in the integrated data from the interference confirmation object.

[0066] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, performing preprocessing to exclude the unreachable region R1 in the integrated data IDa from the interference confirmation target IO includes excluding the unreachable region R1 from the interference confirmation target IO in the three-dimensional integrated data IDa, and performing interference confirmation using the integrated data IDa from which the unreachable region R1 has been excluded from the interference confirmation target IO through preprocessing includes performing interference confirmation using the three-dimensional integrated data IDa from which the unreachable region R1 has been excluded from the interference confirmation target IO through preprocessing, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, performing preprocessing to exclude the unreachable region in the integrated dataa from the interference confirmation target does not include excluding the unreachable region in the three-dimensional integrated data from the interference confirmation target, and performing interference confirmation using integrated data from which the unreachable region has been excluded from the interference confirmation target through preprocessing does not necessarily include performing interference confirmation using the three-dimensional integrated data from which the unreachable region has been excluded from the interference confirmation target through preprocessing. In other words, performing preprocessing to exclude unreachable areas in integrated data from objects to be checked for interference includes excluding unreachable areas from objects to be checked for interference in at least two-dimensional integrated data, and performing interference checks using integrated data from which unreachable areas have been preprocessed to be excluded from objects to be checked for interference may include performing interference checks using two-dimensional integrated data from which unreachable areas have been preprocessed to be excluded from objects to be checked for interference.

[0067] In addition, in the above embodiment, an example was shown in which performing preprocessing to exclude the unreachable region R1 in the integrated data ID from the interference confirmation object IO includes excluding the unreachable region R1 that is unreachable by the robot part D10 and the substrate part DW as the work part constituting the semiconductor substrate W as the work from the interference confirmation object IO for performing interference confirmation to determine whether the robot part D10 or the substrate part DW as the work part interferes with the placement area part D20 in the integrated data ID that integrates the robot CAD data CD1, the placement area CAD data CD2 which is computer-aided design data of the placement area 20 in which the substrate transport robot 10 as the work transport robot and the semiconductor substrate W as the work are placed, and the substrate CAD data CD3 as the work CAD data which is computer-aided design data of the semiconductor substrate W as the work, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, performing preprocessing to exclude unreachable areas in integrated data from objects to be checked for interference may include excluding unreachable areas that are unreachable by the robot part in integrated data that does not integrate work CAD data, but integrates robot CAD data and placement area CAD data, which is computer-aided design data for the placement area where the work transport robot is placed, from objects to be checked for interference to determine whether the robot part will interfere with the placement area part.

[0068] 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. A processor is considered a processing circuit or circuit because it includes transistors and other circuitry. 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 processor.

[0069] [Aspect] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the exemplary embodiments described above are examples of the following aspects.

[0070] (Aspect 1) In integrated data obtained by integrating robot CAD data, which is computer-aided design data for a workpiece transport robot including an end effector for holding a workpiece and a robot arm to which the end effector is attached, and placement area CAD data, which is computer-aided design data for a placement area in which the workpiece transport robot is placed, preprocessing is performed to exclude unreachable areas that are unreachable by a robot part constituting the workpiece transport robot from interference confirmation objects for performing interference confirmation to determine whether or not the robot part interferes with the placement area part constituting the placement area; performing the interference check using the integrated data in which the non-reachable area has been excluded from the objects to be checked for interference by the pre-processing.

[0071] (Aspect 2) The interference checking method for a work transport robot described in aspect 1, wherein the pre-processing of excluding unreachable areas in the integrated data from the objects to be checked for interference includes excluding the unreachable areas that are unreachable for the robot part and the work part constituting the work from the objects to be checked for interference, in the integrated data that integrates the robot CAD data, the placement area CAD data which is computer-aided design data of the placement area where the work transport robot and the work are placed, and the work CAD data which is computer-aided design data of the work, from the objects to be checked for interference, where the robot part or the work part interferes with the placement area part.

[0072] (Aspect 3) performing pre-processing to exclude the unreachable region from the object to be confirmed for interference in the integrated data includes excluding the unreachable region from the object to be confirmed for interference in the three-dimensional integrated data; The interference checking method for a work transport robot according to aspect 1 or aspect 2, wherein performing the interference checking using the integrated data in which the unreachable area has been excluded from the object to be checked for interference by the preprocessing includes performing the interference checking using three-dimensional integrated data in which the unreachable area has been excluded from the object to be checked for interference by the preprocessing.

[0073] (Aspect 4) The interference confirmation method for a workpiece transport robot according to any one of aspects 1 to 3, wherein the pre-processing of excluding the unreachable area in the integrated data from the objects to be confirmed for interference includes excluding the unreachable area in the integrated data from the objects to be confirmed for interference, the unreachable area being out of reach of the robot arm parts when the robot arm parts are fully extended.

[0074] (Aspect 5) The interference checking method for a work transport robot according to any one of aspects 1 to 3, wherein the pre-processing of excluding the unreachable area in the integrated data from the objects to be checked for interference includes excluding the unreachable area outside the placement area portion in the integrated data from the objects to be checked for interference.

[0075] (Aspect 6) The interference checking method for a workpiece transport robot according to any one of aspects 1 to 5, wherein performing the interference checking using the integrated data in which the unreachable area has been excluded from the object to be checked for interference by the preprocessing includes performing the interference checking by excluding from the object to be checked for interference the placement area portion that is not included in the reachable area that the robot portion can reach so that the end effector portion that constitutes the end effector passes through a preset via point in the integrated data in which the unreachable area has been excluded from the object to be checked for interference by the preprocessing.

[0076] (Aspect 7) The interference confirmation method for a workpiece transport robot described in aspect 6, wherein performing the interference confirmation by excluding from the interference confirmation object the placement area portion that is not included in the reachable area in the integrated data in which the unreachable area has been excluded from the interference confirmation object by the preprocessing includes, after excluding from the interference confirmation object the placement area portion that is not included in the reachable area consisting of a plurality of first rectangular areas in the integrated data in which the unreachable area has been excluded from the interference confirmation object by the preprocessing, excluding from the interference confirmation object the placement area portion that is not included in the reachable area consisting of a plurality of second rectangular areas that are smaller than the first rectangular areas, and performing the interference confirmation.

[0077] (Aspect 8) An interference confirmation method for a work transport robot according to aspect 6 or aspect 7, wherein performing the interference confirmation by excluding from the interference confirmation object the placement area portion that is not included in the reachable area in the integrated data in which the unreachable area has been excluded from the interference confirmation object by the preprocessing includes performing the interference confirmation by using the distance between the center of gravity of the placement area portion and the end of the placement area portion that is farthest from the center of gravity to exclude from the interference confirmation object the placement area portion that is not included in the reachable area in the integrated data in which the unreachable area has been excluded from the interference confirmation object by the preprocessing.

[0078] (Aspect 9) The interference confirmation method for a work transport robot according to any one of aspects 6 to 8, wherein performing the interference confirmation using the integrated data in which the non-reachable area has been excluded from the object to be confirmed for interference by the preprocessing includes performing the interference confirmation to determine whether an outer part of the work transport robot corresponding to an outer part of the work transport robot interferes with the placement area part in the integrated data in which the non-reachable area has been excluded from the object to be confirmed for interference by the preprocessing and the placement area part that is not included in the first rectangular area and the placement area part that is not included in the second rectangular area are excluded from the object to be confirmed for interference.

[0079] (Aspect 10) the workpiece is a semiconductor substrate, the end effector is a hand that holds the semiconductor substrate, the robot arm is a horizontal articulated robot arm, the workpiece transport robot is a substrate transport robot that transports the semiconductor substrate, A method for checking interference of a work transport robot according to any one of aspects 1 to 9, wherein the placement area includes a substrate transport chamber in which the substrate transport robot is placed and a substrate placement section on which the semiconductor substrate is placed.

[0080] (Aspect 11) A method for generating an operating path for a work transport robot, comprising: performing interference checking using the interference checking method for a work transport robot described in any one of aspects 1 to 10, and deriving an operating path for the work transport robot in the placement area by simulating it based on predetermined conditions.

[0081] (Aspect 12) a control unit that performs preprocessing in integrated data obtained by integrating robot CAD data, which is computer-aided design data for a workpiece transport robot including an end effector that holds a workpiece and a robot arm to which the end effector is attached, and placement area CAD data, which is computer-aided design data for a placement area in which the workpiece transport robot is to be placed, to exclude unreachable areas that a robot part constituting the workpiece transport robot cannot reach from interference confirmation objects for performing interference confirmation to determine whether the robot part interferes with placement area parts that constitute the placement area, and performs the interference confirmation using the integrated data from which the unreachable areas have been excluded by the preprocessing from the interference confirmation objects; an input unit that receives input of information related to the interference check. [Explanation of symbols]

[0082] 10 Substrate transport robot (work transport robot) 11 Hand (end effector) 12 Robotic Arm 20 Placement area 21 Substrate transfer chamber 22 Substrate placement section 200 Interference Check Device 201 Control Unit 203 Input section CD1 Robot CAD data CD2 Placement area CAD data CD3 PCB CAD data (work CAD data) Identity Integration Data IDa (unreachable areas excluded from collision detection targets) integrated data IDb (unreachable areas are excluded from the objects to be checked for interference, and placement areas that are not included in the reachable areas are excluded from the objects to be checked for interference) integrated data IO (Integrated Data) Collision Check Object D10 Robot part (in integrated data) D10a (Integrated Data) Robot Outer Part D11 (Integrated Data) Hand Part (End Effector Part) D12 Robot arm part (in integrated data) D12c Outer part (of the robot part in the integrated data) D20 (Integrated Data) Placement Area D20a Center of gravity (of the placement area in the integrated data) D20b (the end of the placement area farthest from the center of gravity of the placement area in the integrated data) D20c Distance (between the center of gravity of the placement area in the integrated data and the edge of the placement area farthest from the center of gravity) DW (Integrated Data) Board Part (Work Part) DWa (Integrated Data) Outer Part of Board (Outer Part of Work) OP operation path R1 Unreachable region (in the integrated data) R1a (Unreachable region in the integrated data where the robot arm cannot reach even when fully extended) R1b Unreachable region (outside the placement region in the integrated data) R2 (integrated data) reachable region R2a (composed of the first rectangular regions in the integrated data) reachable region R2b (composed of multiple second rectangular regions in the integrated data) reachable region RA1: The first rectangular area (which constitutes the reachable area in the integrated data) RA2: The second rectangular area (which constitutes the reachable region in the integrated data) VP via point W Semiconductor substrate (work)

Claims

1. In integrated data obtained by integrating robot CAD data, which is computer-aided design data for a workpiece transport robot including an end effector for holding a workpiece and a robot arm to which the end effector is attached, and placement area CAD data, which is computer-aided design data for a placement area in which the workpiece transport robot is placed, a pre-processing is performed to exclude an unreachable area that is unreachable by a robot part constituting the workpiece transport robot from interference confirmation objects for performing interference confirmation to determine whether or not the robot part interferes with the placement area part constituting the placement area; performing the interference check using the integrated data from which the unreachable area has been excluded from the objects to be checked for interference by the preprocessing.

2. 2. The interference checking method for a workpiece transport robot according to claim 1, wherein the pre-processing of excluding the unreachable area in the integrated data from the objects to be checked for interference includes excluding the unreachable area, which is unreachable for the robot part and the workpiece part constituting the workpiece, from the objects to be checked for interference for checking whether the robot part or the workpiece part interferes with the placement area part in the integrated data obtained by integrating the robot CAD data, the placement area CAD data which is computer-aided design data of the placement area in which the workpiece transport robot and the workpiece are placed, and workpiece CAD data which is computer-aided design data of the workpiece.

3. performing pre-processing of excluding the unreachable region in the integrated data from the object to be confirmed for interference includes excluding the unreachable region in the three-dimensional integrated data from the object to be confirmed for interference; 2. The interference checking method for a workpiece transport robot according to claim 1, wherein performing the interference checking using the integrated data in which the unreachable area has been excluded from the object to be checked for interference by the preprocessing includes performing the interference checking using the three-dimensional integrated data in which the unreachable area has been excluded from the object to be checked for interference by the preprocessing.

4. 2. The method for checking interference for a workpiece transport robot according to claim 1, wherein the pre-processing of excluding the unreachable area in the integrated data from the objects to be checked for interference includes excluding the unreachable area in the integrated data that cannot be reached by a robot arm part constituting the robot arm when the robot arm part is fully extended from the objects to be checked for interference.

5. 2. The interference checking method for a workpiece transport robot according to claim 1, wherein the pre-processing of excluding the unreachable area in the integrated data from the objects to be checked for interference includes excluding the unreachable area outside the placement area portion in the integrated data from the objects to be checked for interference.

6. 2. The interference checking method for a workpiece transport robot according to claim 1, wherein performing the interference checking using the integrated data in which the unreachable region has been excluded from the object to be checked for interference by the preprocessing includes performing the interference checking by excluding from the object to be checked for interference the placement region portion that is not included in a reachable region that the robot portion can reach so that an end effector portion that constitutes the end effector passes through a preset via point in the integrated data in which the unreachable region has been excluded from the object to be checked for interference by the preprocessing.

7. 7. The interference checking method for a workpiece transport robot according to claim 6, wherein performing the interference checking by excluding from the interference check object the placement area portion that is not included in the reachable area in the integrated data in which the unreachable area has been excluded from the interference check object by the preprocessing comprises: excluding from the interference check object the placement area portion that is not included in the reachable area constituted by a plurality of first rectangular areas in the integrated data in which the unreachable area has been excluded from the interference check object by the preprocessing, and then performing the interference checking by excluding from the interference check object the placement area portion that is not included in the reachable area constituted by a plurality of second rectangular areas that are smaller than the first rectangular areas.

8. 7. The interference checking method for a workpiece transport robot according to claim 6, wherein performing the interference checking by excluding from the interference confirmation object, in the integrated data in which the unreachable area has been excluded from the interference confirmation object by the preprocessing, the placement area portion that is not included in the reachable area includes performing the interference checking by using the distance between the center of gravity of the placement area portion and the end of the placement area portion that is farthest from the center of gravity to exclude from the interference confirmation object, in the integrated data in which the unreachable area has been excluded from the interference confirmation object by the preprocessing.

9. 7. The method for checking interference for a workpiece transport robot according to claim 6, wherein excluding the placement area portion not included in the reachable area from the interference confirmation object in the integrated data in which the unreachable area has been excluded from the interference confirmation object by the preprocessing and performing the interference check includes checking whether an outer part of the workpiece transport robot corresponding to an outer part of the workpiece transport robot interferes with the placement area portion in the integrated data in which the unreachable area has been excluded from the interference confirmation object by the preprocessing and the placement area portion not included in the reachable area has been excluded from the interference confirmation object.

10. the workpiece is a semiconductor substrate, the end effector is a hand that holds the semiconductor substrate, the robot arm is a horizontal articulated robot arm, the workpiece transport robot is a substrate transport robot that transports the semiconductor substrate, 2. The method for checking interference of a workpiece transport robot according to claim 1, wherein the arrangement area includes a substrate transport chamber in which the substrate transport robot is arranged and a substrate placement part on which the semiconductor substrate is placed.

11. 2. A method for generating an operation path for a work transport robot, comprising: simulating and deriving an operation path for the work transport robot in the placement area based on predetermined conditions while performing the interference check using the interference check method for a work transport robot according to claim 1.

12. a control unit that performs preprocessing in which, in integrated data obtained by integrating robot CAD data, which is computer-aided design data of a workpiece transport robot including an end effector that holds a workpiece and a robot arm to which the end effector is attached, and placement area CAD data, which is computer-aided design data of a placement area in which the workpiece transport robot is to be placed, an unreachable area that a robot part constituting the workpiece transport robot cannot reach is excluded from interference confirmation objects for performing interference confirmation to determine whether the robot part interferes with placement area parts that constitute the placement area, and performs the interference confirmation using the integrated data in which the unreachable area has been excluded from the interference confirmation objects by the preprocessing; an input unit that receives input of information related to the interference check.

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