Robot and hand position adjustment method

Abstract

To appropriately adjust the posture of a hand portion in consideration of the mechanical deformation of the robot when the robot is used to hold a board to be transported.SOLUTION: A robot includes a guide unit, a moving unit, a hand unit, a deformation acquisition unit, a posture adjusting unit, and a control unit. The moving unit is provided in the guide unit and can move in a direction guided by the guide unit. The hand unit is provided on the moving unit and holds a board. The deformation acquisition unit acquires information regarding the deformation of the guide unit. The posture adjusting unit can adjust the posture of the hand unit according to the deformation of the guide unit acquired by the deformation acquisition unit. The control unit controls the operation of the posture adjustment unit. The control unit adjusts the posture of the hand unit that holds the board to be conveyed by using the posture adjusting unit on the basis of the information regarding the deformation of the guide unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a robot and a method for adjusting the attitude of a hand unit. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there has been known a robot for transporting substrates, which retrieves substrates from storage devices, substrate processing devices, etc. for substrates such as semiconductor wafers and printed circuit boards, and transports the substrates. Patent Document 1 discloses a transport robot which is one such type of robot.

[0003] The transport robot of Patent Document 1 includes a body and an arm. The arm is provided on the upper part of the body. The transport robot transports substrates (workpieces) between a cassette (storage device) and various processing devices by extending and contracting the arm. An end effector for holding the substrate is provided at the end of the arm. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2006-120861 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In Patent Document 1, a case is considered in which the body part is deformed for some reason such as heat. For example, it is conceivable that the upper surface of the body part is not horizontal but tilted or warped to become a curved surface that is convex upward.

[0006] When the body is deformed in this manner, the orientation of the hand unit is no longer horizontal. Since the substrate to be transported is stored in the cassette in a horizontal orientation, if the orientation of the hand unit is not appropriate for the substrate, the hand unit may not be able to hold the substrate to be transported or may damage the substrate during the process of holding it.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and its object is to make it possible to flexibly adjust the posture of a hand part of a robot in accordance with the posture of a substrate to be transported before the robot is used to hold the substrate. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The problem to be solved by the present invention has been described above. Next, the means for solving this problem and the effects thereof will be described.

[0009] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a robot having the following configuration. That is, the robot is for transporting a substrate. The robot includes a guide unit, a moving unit, a hand unit, a deformation acquisition unit, a posture adjustment unit, and a control unit. The moving unit is provided on the guide unit and is movable in a direction guided by the guide unit. The hand unit is provided on the moving unit and holds the substrate. The deformation acquisition unit acquires information regarding the deformation of the guide unit. The posture adjustment unit is capable of adjusting the posture of the hand unit in accordance with the deformation of the guide unit acquired by the deformation acquisition unit. The control unit controls the operation of the posture adjustment unit. The control unit adjusts the posture of the hand unit, which performs a holding operation on the substrate to be transported, using the posture adjustment unit, based on the information regarding the deformation of the guide unit. The deformation acquisition unit acquires information regarding the deformation of the guide unit based on a detection result of a sensor provided on a member movable along a guiding direction of the guide unit. The sensor is a detection sensor provided on the hand unit for detecting a vertical jig. The deformation acquisition unit acquires information regarding the deformation of the guide unit based on a position in a position control system of the hand unit when the hand unit detects the vertical jig at multiple positions of the moving unit in the guiding direction of the guide unit.

[0010] According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the following hand unit attitude adjustment method. That is, this hand unit attitude adjustment method is for adjusting the attitude of a hand unit of a robot. This robot includes a guide unit, a movement unit, the hand unit, a deformation acquisition unit, and an attitude adjustment unit. The movement unit is provided on the guide unit and is movable in a direction guided by the guide unit. The hand unit is provided on the movement unit and holds a substrate. The deformation acquisition unit acquires information regarding the deformation of the guide unit. The attitude adjustment unit is capable of adjusting the attitude of the hand unit in accordance with the deformation of the guide unit. And, the hand unit attitude adjustment method adjusts the attitude of the hand unit performing a holding operation on the substrate to be transported using the attitude adjustment unit, based on the information regarding the deformation of the guide unit. The deformation acquisition unit acquires information regarding the deformation of the guide unit based on a detection result of a sensor provided on a member movable along a guiding direction of the guide unit. The sensor is a detection sensor provided on the hand unit for detecting a vertical jig. The deformation acquisition unit acquires information regarding the deformation of the guide unit based on a position in a position control system of the hand unit when the hand unit detects the vertical jig at multiple positions of the moving unit in the guiding direction of the guide unit.

[0011] If the guide section is deformed for some reason, the posture of the hand section may change as the moving section guided by the guide section moves. As a result, the posture of the hand section may become inappropriate for holding the substrate to be transported. However, according to the present invention, even if the hand section is no longer in the appropriate posture due to deformation of the guide section, the holding operation can be performed with the posture of the hand section aligned with the substrate to be transported. Therefore, damage to the substrate to be transported can be prevented, and the substrate holding operation can be performed smoothly. Furthermore, by providing a sensor in the hand unit, the deformation of the guide unit can be appropriately acquired. Furthermore, information regarding the deformation of the guide unit can be obtained with a simple configuration. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the present invention, before a robot is used to hold a substrate to be transported, the attitude of the hand portion of the robot can be flexibly adjusted in accordance with the attitude of the substrate. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of a robot according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 1A is a perspective view showing an example of a tilt mechanism provided in a robot, and FIG. [Diagram 3]11A to 11C are diagrams illustrating an operation in which the robot detects deformation of a guide portion using a detection sensor. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a state in which a substrate holding operation is performed. [Diagram 5] 5A to 5C are schematic diagrams illustrating deformation of the lift guide portion. [Figure 6] 13A and 13B are diagrams showing an operation of detecting a linear member of a vertical jig by a detection sensor attached to a blade. [Figure 7] 13A to 13C are diagrams showing the operation of detecting the linear member of the vertical jig again by the detection sensor while changing the advancing direction of the blade. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a robot 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] 1 is installed, for example, in a manufacturing factory, warehouse, or the like for a substrate W. The substrate W may be, for example, a semiconductor wafer, a printed circuit board, or the like.

[0016] The robot 1 is used to transport the substrate W between a substrate processing apparatus (not shown) and a substrate storage apparatus 5 shown in Fig. 4. However, the robot 1 may also be used to transport the substrate W between, for example, a plurality of substrate processing apparatuses that process the substrate W.

[0017] The substrate W may be any of a substrate raw material, a semi-finished product being processed, and a finished product that has been processed. The shape of the substrate W is a disk in this embodiment, but is not limited to this.

[0018] The robot 1 includes an elevation guide unit (guide unit) 11, a moving unit 12, a blade (hand unit) 13, a tilt mechanism (posture adjustment unit) 14, and a robot control unit (control unit) 15.

[0019] The lift guide section 11 is composed of a member that is elongated in the vertical direction. As shown in Fig. 4, the lift guide section 11 is provided so as to extend upward from a horizontal installation surface 18. The lift guide section 11 is provided with a linear first guide groove 20 that extends parallel to the longitudinal direction of the lift guide section 11. The longitudinal direction of the first guide groove 20 coincides with the vertical direction.

[0020] The moving part 12 is provided so as to protrude from the lift guide part 11. The direction in which the moving part 12 protrudes from the lift guide part 11 intersects with the longitudinal direction of the lift guide part 11. The moving part 12 is driven by a drive device (not shown). This drive allows the moving part 12 to move in the up and down direction along the first guide groove 20 relative to the lift guide part 11.

[0021] In the following description, for convenience of explanation, the direction in which the moving part 12 protrudes from the lift guide part 11 is defined as the forward direction, and the direction perpendicular to both the up-down direction and the protruding direction is defined as the left-right direction.

[0022] The moving portion 12 includes an attachment portion 21, a support portion 22, and a holding portion 23.

[0023] The mounting portion 21 is provided so as to protrude forward from the lift guide portion 11. The mounting portion 21 can be moved up and down along the first guide groove 20 by the drive device.

[0024] The support part 22 is supported by the mounting part 21 via the tilt mechanism 14. The support part 22 is disposed above the mounting part 21. A rotation shaft 27 is provided between the support part 22 and the mounting part 21. The rotation shaft 27 constitutes a part of the tilt mechanism 14 as shown in FIG. 2(a), and is disposed so as to extend in the vertical direction. The support part 22 is driven by an appropriate actuator (not shown). This drive causes the support part 22 to rotate around the rotation shaft 27. This actuator can be, for example, an electric motor.

[0025] The holding portion 23 is attached to the support portion 22. The holding portion 23 is disposed on the upper side of the support portion 22. The holding portion 23 is driven by an appropriate actuator (not shown). By this driving, the holding portion 23 moves along the second guide groove 29 relative to the support portion 22. This actuator can be, for example, an electric motor.

[0026] The blade 13 is provided on a holder 23 included in the moving part 12. The blade 13 is for holding the substrate W, and at least one blade 13 is provided. In this embodiment, three blades 13A, 13B, and 13C are provided as the blades 13.

[0027] Each of the three blades 13A, 13B, and 13C is provided so as to protrude forward from the holding portion 23. The three blades 13A, 13B, and 13C are arranged side by side at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction.

[0028] Blades 13A, 13B, and 13C can move integrally with moving portion 12 (mounting portion 21) in a direction along first guide groove 20. Moreover, blades 13A, 13B, and 13C can move integrally with holding portion 23 in a direction along second guide groove 29 relative to support portion 22. Furthermore, the postures of blades 13A, 13B, and 13C can be changed by tilt mechanism 14.

[0029] Next, a detailed description will be given of the configurations of the blades 13A, 13B, and 13C. Since the three blades 13A, 13B, and 13C have substantially the same configuration, the following description will mainly focus on the blade 13A.

[0030] Blade 13A is composed of a plate-like member formed in a U-shape in a plan view. When second guide groove 29 faces the front-rear direction, blade 13A is arranged so that the open side of the U faces forward and the closed side faces backward (toward holding portion 23). Blade 13A has a main body portion 30, a first finger portion 31, and a second finger portion 32.

[0031] A base end of the main body 30 is connected to the holding portion 23. As a result, the blade 13A is supported by the holding portion 23 in a cantilever manner.

[0032] The following description will be given on the assumption that the second guide groove 29 faces the front-rear direction. The first finger portion 31 and the second finger portion 32 are configured to be symmetrical to each other. The first finger portion 31 is provided so as to protrude forward from the right side of the main body portion 30. The second finger portion 32 is provided so as to protrude forward from the left side of the main body portion 30. An appropriate gap is formed between the first finger portion 31 and the second finger portion 32. A linear member 71 provided on a vertical jig 70 described later can be inserted between the first finger portion 31 and the second finger portion 32.

[0033] The tilt mechanism 14 is provided on the tip side (front side) of the attachment portion 21. The tilt mechanism 14 can adjust the attitude of the blade 13 with respect to the attachment portion 21. This adjustment of the attitude will be described later.

[0034] As shown in Fig. 2, the tilt mechanism 14 includes a lower plate portion 41 and an upper plate portion 42. The lower plate portion 41 is fixed to the mounting portion 21. The support portion 22 is rotatably supported by the upper plate portion 42 via a rotation shaft 27. A height adjustment mechanism 45 is disposed between the lower plate portion 41 and the upper plate portion 42. The tilt mechanism 14 adjusts the tilt angle and tilt direction of the upper plate portion 42 relative to the lower plate portion 41 using the height adjustment mechanism 45.

[0035] 2(b), the height adjustment mechanism 45 includes three support parts 51, 52, and 53 provided at different positions between the lower plate part 41 and the upper plate part 42. For convenience of explanation, the support parts 51, 52, and 53 are drawn aligned in a straight line in FIG. 2(b), but in reality, as shown in FIG. 2(a), they are arranged to form a triangle in a plan view.

[0036] Two of the three support parts 51, 52 have a male screw 56, a female screw 57, and a spherical bearing 58. The screw shaft of the male screw 56 is supported by the lower plate part 41 so as to be rotatable with its axis facing in the vertical direction. This screw shaft can be rotated independently by the two support parts 51, 52 by an actuator (not shown, for example, an electric motor). The female screw 57 is screw-coupled to the screw shaft of the male screw 56. When the screw shaft is rotated, the female screw 57 moves in the vertical direction. This screw feed makes it possible to change the height at which the support parts 51, 52 support the upper plate part 42. A spherical bearing 58 is disposed between the female screw 57 and the upper plate part 42.

[0037] A spherical bearing 58 is disposed in the remaining support portion 53. This support portion 53 does not have a function of changing the support height by screw feed.

[0038] By driving the actuator and independently changing the height of the upper plate portion 42 relative to the lower plate portion 41 using the multiple support portions 51, 52, it is possible to change the tilt angle and tilt direction of the upper plate portion 42 relative to the lower plate portion 41. As a result, it is possible to adjust the attitude (tilt angle and tilt direction) of the support portion 22 relative to the mounting portion 21, and thus the blade 13. Note that the height adjustment mechanism 45 (tilt mechanism 14) is not limited to this configuration.

[0039] As shown in Fig. 1, a detection sensor 60 is provided on the tip side of the blade 13A. The detection sensor 60 is disposed at the tip of each of the first finger portion 31 and the second finger portion 32. The detection sensor 60 is configured as an object detection sensor that detects an object without contact. The detection sensor 60 can detect a vertical jig 70 (linear member 71) described below. The detection sensor 60 may be provided on at least one of the blades 13A, 13B, and 13C.

[0040] In this embodiment, the detection sensor 60 is configured as a photoelectric sensor having a light projecting portion 61 and a light receiving portion 62. The configuration of the detection sensor 60 is not particularly limited.

[0041] The light-projecting unit 61 is provided on the tip side of the first finger unit 31. The light-receiving unit 62 is provided on the tip side of the second finger unit 32 and is disposed so as to face the light-projecting unit 61. The light-projecting unit 61 irradiates detection light toward the light-receiving unit 62. The detection light may be, for example, infrared light, but is not limited to this.

[0042] The light receiving unit 62 is connected to the robot control unit 15 wirelessly or by wire. The light receiving unit 62 outputs an electrical signal indicating whether or not detection light has been received to the robot control unit 15. As shown in FIG. 3(a), when there is an object (e.g., the linear member 71 of the vertical jig 70) between the light projecting unit 61 and the light receiving unit 62, the detection light from the light projecting unit 61 is blocked by the object, and the light receiving unit 62 outputs an electrical signal indicating that light has not been received. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3(b), when there is no object between the light projecting unit 61 and the light receiving unit 62, the detection light from the light projecting unit 61 reaches the light receiving unit 62, and the light receiving unit 62 outputs an electrical signal indicating that light has been received.

[0043] The light-projecting unit 61 and the light-receiving unit 62 may be disposed at any position on the blade 13A as long as the light-receiving unit 62 can detect the detection light irradiated from the light-projecting unit 61. For example, the light-projecting unit 61 may be incorporated in the first finger portion 31, and the light-receiving unit 62 may be incorporated in the second finger portion 32.

[0044] 1, the robot control unit 15 is provided separately from the lift guide unit 11. The robot control unit 15 may be disposed inside the lift guide unit 11. The robot control unit 15 includes a deformation acquisition unit 66.

[0045] Specifically, the robot control unit 15 is configured as a known computer. The robot control unit 15 includes an arithmetic processing unit such as a microcontroller, a CPU, an MPU, a PLC, a DSP, an ASIC, or an FPGA, a storage unit such as a ROM, a RAM, or an HDD, and a communication unit capable of communicating with an external device. The storage unit stores programs executed by the arithmetic processing unit, various setting data, and the like. The communication unit is configured to be capable of transmitting detection results of various sensors (e.g., the detection sensor 60) to an external device and to be capable of receiving information about the substrate W from the external device. This hardware and software cooperation allows the robot control unit 15 to function as a deformation acquisition unit 66.

[0046] The deformation acquisition unit 66 acquires information regarding the deformation of the lift guide unit 11 based on the detection result of the detection sensor 60 provided on the blade 13. This will be described later.

[0047] The robot control unit 15 controls the vertical movement of the mounting unit 21, the rotation of the support unit 22, and the movement of the holding unit 23 along the second guide groove 29. This makes it possible to change the position of the blade 13A and its orientation in a plan view. Furthermore, the robot control unit 15 controls the operation of the tilt mechanism 14. This makes it possible to change the attitude of the blade 13A. The attitude here refers to how the surface of the blade 13A is inclined relative to the upper surface of the mounting unit 21.

[0048] Next, a method for acquiring information regarding the deformation of the lift guide part 11 in the robot 1 of this embodiment and a method for adjusting the posture of the blade 13A (13) in response to the deformation of the lift guide part 11 (a method for adjusting the posture of the hand part) will be described with reference to Figs. 4 to 6 etc. In the following, an example will be described in which a removal operation (holding operation) is performed to remove the substrate W from the substrate storage device 5. Also, in order to clearly show the configuration of each part, some components may be omitted in the drawings.

[0049] 4 is used to store the substrate W. The substrate storage apparatus 5 is disposed at an appropriate distance from the robot 1 so that the robot 1 can perform a removal operation.

[0050] The substrate storage apparatus 5 can store a plurality of substrates W arranged at equal intervals in the vertical direction (height direction of the substrate storage apparatus 5). In the substrate storage apparatus 5, the substrates W are usually maintained in a horizontal position.

[0051] Usually, the lift guide section 11 is formed in an elongated straight line perpendicular to the installation surface 18. However, as shown in Fig. 5, the lift guide section 11 may become deformed (warped and / or distorted, etc.) for some reason. Note that in Fig. 5, the deformation of the lift guide section 11 is exaggerated to make it easier to understand.

[0052] In this case, if the attitude adjustment by the tilt mechanism 14 is not performed, the attitude of the blade 13A with respect to the horizontal plane (in other words, the installation surface 18) changes depending on the up-down position of the blade 13A. As a result, while the robot 1 can take out a substrate W of a certain height from the substrate storage device 5, when taking out a substrate W of a different height, the attitude of the blade 13A with respect to the substrate W may not be appropriate, which may result in failure.

[0053] 5 shows a simplified deformation, the actual deformation of lift guide unit 11 may be three-dimensionally complex. Therefore, the posture (tilt direction and tilt angle) of blade 13A changes in a complex manner in response to the vertical movement of blade 13A.

[0054] Therefore, in the robot 1 of this embodiment, the robot control unit 15 can adjust the attitude of the blade 13A that performs the removal operation on the substrate W to be transported, using the tilt mechanism 14. The adjustment of the attitude of the blade 13A is performed based on the deformation of the lift-up guide unit 11 and the position of the blade 13A in the direction guided by the lift-up guide unit 11 (in other words, the height of the attachment unit 21).

[0055] More specifically, in this embodiment, a vertical jig 70 is used to detect the effect on the attitude of the blade 13A caused by the deformation of the lift guide part 11. As shown in Fig. 6, the vertical jig 70 has a long and thin linear member 71 and a weight 72 having an appropriate weight. The linear member 71 can be, for example, a wire.

[0056] A weight 72 is connected to one longitudinal end of the linear member 71. The other longitudinal end of the linear member 71 is fixed to the ceiling or the like of the building in which the robot 1 is installed. By keeping the weight 72 suspended from the linear member 71 stationary, the linear member 71 is brought into a state in which it extends vertically near the lift guide unit 11.

[0057] As a preparatory operation, the robot control unit 15 adjusts in advance the orientation of the support unit 22 relative to the attachment unit 21 so that the orientation of the second guide groove 29 is along the front-rear direction (more precisely, the direction perpendicular to the front surface of the lift guide unit 11). In addition, a state is established in which tilting by the tilt mechanism 14 is not performed.

[0058] Next, the robot control unit 15 controls the operation of the moving unit 12 (attachment unit 21) to hold the blade 13A at a predetermined vertical position. At this predetermined vertical position, the robot control unit 15 controls the operation of the moving unit 12 (holding unit 23) to advance the blade 13A in a direction along the second guide groove 29 so as to approach the linear member 71. This advancement of the blade 13A can be achieved by the robot control unit 15 outputting a command to change little by little the position of the holding unit 23 relative to the support unit 22 in a position control system.

[0059] At the beginning of the advance, blade 13A is away from linear member 71, so that detection sensor 60 does not detect linear member 71, as shown in Fig. 3(a). As blade 13A advances, linear member 71 eventually blocks the detection light of detection sensor 60 provided on blade 13A, as shown in Fig. 3(b), so that light receiving unit 62 outputs an electrical signal indicating no light is received to robot control unit 15. When linear member 71 is detected by detection sensor 60, robot control unit 15 stores the position of blade 13A at that time (position in the position control system described above) and retracts blade 13A.

[0060] The robot control unit 15 repeats the above process while varying the position of the moving unit 12 (strictly speaking, the mounting unit 21) in various ways. The robot control unit 15 acquires the position of the blade 13A in the position control system when the linear member 71 is detected by the detection sensor 60 at each height while varying the height of the mounting unit 21 by, for example, several tens of centimeters within the range of the movable stroke in the vertical direction. This process is shown diagrammatically in FIG.

[0061] The linear member 71 is provided independently of the lift guide unit 11 and maintains an absolute verticality. Therefore, if the position of the blade 13A in the position control system when the linear member 71 is detected by the detection sensor 60 changes for each height of the mounting unit 21, the change indicates a deformation of the lift guide unit 11.

[0062] Next, the robot control unit 15 rotates the support portion 22 by an appropriate angle around the rotation axis 27, and tilts the orientation of the second guide groove 29 from the front-rear direction in a plan view. As a result, the blade 13A advances / retracts together with the holding portion 23 in a direction different from the front-rear direction. In this state, the robot control unit 15 performs again the process of acquiring the position of the blade 13A in the position control system when the linear member 71 is detected by the detection sensor 60, while varying the vertical position of the attachment portion 21 in various ways. This process is shown diagrammatically in FIG.

[0063] The robot control unit 15 creates a three-dimensional profile that represents the shape of the lift guide unit 11 taking into account the deformation, based on the data obtained by the processing described in Fig. 6 and Fig. 7. This profile can be, for example, a three-dimensional curve that represents the movement trajectory of the mounting unit 21. The profile can be obtained by known geometric calculations.

[0064] By differentiating the above three-dimensional curve, the relationship between the height of mounting part 21 and the inclination occurring on the upper surface of mounting part 21, with respect to mounting part 21 moving in the up and down direction guided by lift guide part 11, can be obtained. Robot control part 15 operates tilt mechanism 14 to cancel this inclination. As a result, the posture of blade 13A can be made to coincide with that of substrate W stored in substrate storage device 5 in a horizontal posture.

[0065] Thereafter, the robot control unit 15 performs control so as to insert the blade 13A below the substrate W to be transported and to remove the substrate W to be transported from the substrate storage device 5. At this time, even if the lift guide unit 11 is deformed, the attitude of the blade 13A is adjusted horizontally by the tilt mechanism 14 so that it matches the attitude of the substrate W. This makes it possible to prevent the substrate W from being unable to be transported smoothly due to unintended contact between the blade 13A and the substrate W.

[0066] As described above, the robot 1 of this embodiment is for transporting the substrate W. The robot 1 includes the lift guide unit 11, the moving unit 12, the blade 13, the deformation acquisition unit 66, the tilt mechanism 14, and the robot control unit 15. The moving unit 12 is provided on the lift guide unit 11 and is movable in a direction guided by the lift guide unit 11. The blade 13 is provided on the moving unit 12 and holds the substrate W. The deformation acquisition unit 66 acquires information on the deformation of the lift guide unit 11. The tilt mechanism 14 is capable of adjusting the attitude of the blade 13 in accordance with the deformation of the lift guide unit 11 acquired by the deformation acquisition unit 66. The robot control unit 15 controls the operation of the tilt mechanism 14. The robot control unit 15 adjusts the attitude of the blade 13, which performs a holding operation on the substrate W to be transported, using the tilt mechanism 14, based on the information on the deformation of the lift guide unit 11.

[0067] If the lift guide section 11 is deformed for some reason, the attitude of the blade 13 may change as the moving section 12, guided by the lift guide section 11, moves. As a result, the attitude of the blade 13 may no longer be appropriate for the removal operation of the substrate W to be transported. However, according to the configuration of this embodiment, even if the lift guide section 11 is deformed, the tilt mechanism 14 adjusts the attitude of the blade 13A accordingly, so that the removal operation can be performed with the attitude of the blade 13 aligned with the substrate W to be transported. Therefore, damage to the substrate W to be transported can be prevented, and the removal operation of the substrate W can be performed smoothly.

[0068] In addition, in the robot 1 of this embodiment, the tilt mechanism 14 is capable of tilting the attitude of the blade 13.

[0069] This makes it possible to easily adjust the attitude of the blade 13 with a simple configuration.

[0070] In the robot 1 of this embodiment, the deformation acquisition unit 66 acquires information regarding the deformation of the lift guide unit 11 based on the detection result of the detection sensor 60 provided on the blade 13. The blade 13 is a member that is movable along the guiding direction of the lift guide unit 11.

[0071] By providing the detection sensor 60 on the blade 13 in this manner, the deformation of the lift guide portion 11 can be appropriately obtained.

[0072] In the robot 1 of this embodiment, the sensor used to acquire information regarding the deformation of the lift guide part 11 is the detection sensor 60 provided on the blade 13 and detecting the vertical jig 70. The deformation acquisition part 66 acquires information regarding the deformation of the lift guide part 11 at a plurality of positions of the moving part 12 in the guiding direction of the lift guide part 11, based on the position of the blade 13 in the position control system when the blade 13 detects the vertical jig 70.

[0073] This makes it possible to obtain information regarding the deformation of the lift guide portion 11 with a simple configuration.

[0074] Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the above configuration can be modified, for example, as follows.

[0075] When a plurality of blades 13 are provided, the detection sensor 60 may be provided on any of the blades 13 .

[0076] The detection of the vertical jig 70 by the detection sensor 60 may be performed simply to grasp how the lift guide section 11 is deformed. Information on the deformation of the lift guide section 11 can be output, for example, by displaying the above-mentioned three-dimensional curve on an appropriate display. This configuration for diagnosing the deformation of the lift guide section 11 can also be applied to a robot 1 that does not have a tilt mechanism 14.

[0077] The sensor used to obtain information regarding the deformation of the lift guide part 11 may be an inclination sensor that measures the gravitational acceleration to detect the inclination angle of the lift guide part 11 with respect to the horizontal plane (installation surface 18). The inclination sensor is fixed to an appropriate position of the blade 13A. In this case, the deformation obtaining unit 66 obtains information regarding the deformation of the lift guide part 11 based on the detection result of the inclination sensor. In this configuration, the deformation of the lift guide part 11 can be obtained without using the vertical jig 70. The inclination sensor can be configured using, for example, a MEMS (microelectromechanical system).

[0078] The structure of the tilt sensor is not particularly limited, but an acceleration sensor for measuring the gravitational acceleration can be used as the tilt sensor. In this case, the tilt angle of the lift guide unit 11 with respect to the horizontal plane is obtained based on the gravitational acceleration measured by the acceleration sensor.

[0079] The detection sensor 60 provided on the blade 13 can be used not only to detect the vertical jig 70 but also as a sensor for detecting the substrate W to be transported.

[0080] The detection sensor 60 is not limited to being provided on the blade 13, but may be provided on the attachment portion 21, the support portion 22, or the holding portion 23. The same applies to the tilt sensor.

[0081] Instead of directly holding the substrate W, the robot 1 may hold the substrate W using a tray or the like for accommodating the substrate W.

[0082] The main body portion 30 of the blade 13 may be formed integrally with the holding portion 23 of the moving portion 12 .

[0083] It is also possible to configure the apparatus so as to handle only deformation within a plane perpendicular to the left-right direction as deformation occurring in the lift guide portion 11. In this case, the procedure in Fig. 7 can be omitted, and the deformation of the lift guide portion 11 can be grasped only by the procedure in Fig. 6.

[0084] The tilt mechanism 14 is not limited to being disposed between the attachment portion 21 and the support portion 22, but may be disposed between the support portion 22 and the holding portion 23, for example.

[0085] In order to eliminate the influence of the deformation of lift guide portion 11, it is preferable to not only correct the attitude of blade 13A by tilt mechanism 14 but also correct the position of blade 13A.

[0086] Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings, and it is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. [Explanation of symbols]

[0087] 1. Robot 11 Lifting guide section (guide section) 12 Mobile section 13 Blade (hand part) 14 Tilt mechanism (attitude adjustment part) 15 Robot control unit (control unit) 60 Detection sensor 66 Deformation acquisition unit 70 Vertical fixture

Claims

1. A robot for transporting a substrate, A guide portion; a moving part provided on the guide part and movable in a direction guided by the guide part; a hand unit provided on the moving unit and configured to hold the substrate; A deformation acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the deformation of the guide portion; a posture adjustment unit that adjusts a posture of the hand unit in accordance with the deformation of the guide unit acquired by the deformation acquisition unit; A control unit that controls an operation of the attitude adjustment unit; Equipped with the control unit adjusts the attitude of the hand unit, which performs a holding operation on the substrate to be transported, based on information regarding a deformation of the guide unit, using the attitude adjustment unit; the deformation acquisition unit acquires information regarding the deformation of the guide unit based on a detection result of a sensor provided on a member that is movable along a guiding direction of the guide unit; the sensor is a detection sensor provided in the hand unit for detecting a vertical jig; The robot is characterized in that the deformation acquisition unit acquires information regarding the deformation of the guide section at multiple positions of the moving section in the guiding direction of the guide section based on the position of the hand section in a position control system when the hand section detects the vertical jig.

2. The robot according to claim 1 , The robot is characterized in that the attitude adjustment unit is composed of a tilt mechanism capable of tilting the attitude of the hand unit.

3. A guide portion; a moving part provided on the guide part and movable in a direction guided by the guide part; a hand unit provided on the moving unit and configured to hold a substrate; A deformation acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the deformation of the guide portion; a posture adjustment unit capable of adjusting a posture of the hand unit in response to deformation of the guide unit; A method for adjusting a posture of a hand unit for a robot comprising the steps of: adjusting a posture of the hand unit that performs a holding operation on the substrate to be transported, based on information regarding the deformation of the guide unit, using the posture adjustment unit; the deformation acquisition unit acquires information regarding the deformation of the guide unit based on a detection result of a sensor provided on a member that is movable along a guiding direction of the guide unit; the sensor is a detection sensor provided in the hand unit for detecting a vertical jig; The method for adjusting a hand unit posture, characterized in that the deformation acquisition unit acquires information regarding the deformation of the guide unit at multiple positions of the moving unit in the guiding direction of the guide unit based on the position of the hand unit in a position control system when the hand unit detects the vertical jig.

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