Dynamic Conveyance Chamber for Robot Arm Throughput and Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing substrate processing apparatuses face a trade-off between maintaining operator safety during maintenance operations and maximizing robot arm throughput, as a larger conveyance chamber increases throughput but reduces safety spacing, while a smaller chamber enhances safety but limits robot arm operation.
Innovation Solution
A substrate processing apparatus with a conveyance chamber that can dynamically change shape between a first configuration providing a predetermined safety space and a second configuration with increased internal space for higher throughput, using movable parts to adjust the chamber's dimensions based on operational mode.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the conveyance chamber is made large, then the operating range of the robot arm can be extended and the throughput can be increased, but the spacing between the conveyance chamber and the processing unit becomes insufficient and operator safety cannot be secured
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyance chamber is designed with movable partition walls that can dynamically change the chamber's internal volume and shape. During maintenance operations, the partition walls move to reduce the chamber volume, automatically creating sufficient spacing between the chamber and processing unit for operator safety. During normal operations, the partition walls expand the chamber volume to maximize robot arm operating range and throughput, eliminating the need for fixed compromise dimensions
Solution Approach 2:
The physical parameters of the conveyance chamber (volume, shape, internal dimensions) are made variable rather than fixed. The chamber can transition between multiple configurations by moving partition walls, allowing optimization of spacing parameters during maintenance and optimization of internal volume parameters during normal operations, thereby resolving the contradiction between safety spacing and operational efficiency
2Reliability
If the conveyance chamber is made small to provide sufficient spacing for operator safety, then safety is secured, but the robot arm operating range is limited and throughput is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyance chamber transitions from a static small configuration to a dynamic system that can expand its volume. During maintenance, the chamber maintains a compact configuration with sufficient external spacing for safety. During normal operations, the movable partition walls expand the chamber to provide maximum operating range for the robot arm, thereby achieving both safety and high throughput at different times
Solution Approach 2:
The conveyance chamber is divided into multiple sections by movable partition walls that can be independently adjusted. This segmentation allows different portions of the chamber to be optimized for different functions: maintaining compact external dimensions for safety while creating expanded internal working space for robot arm operations when needed
Data Source
AI summary
A substrate processing apparatus includes a robot arm for conveying a substrate, a conveyance chamber containing the robot arm, and an adjacent processing unit adjacent to the conveyance chamber, the adjacent processing unit processing a substrate therein. The conveyance chamber is constructed so as to be able to have a first shape for providing a predetermined space between the conveyance chamber and the adjacent processing unit, and a second shape for increasing the internal space of the conveyance chamber by making the distance between the conveyance chamber and the adjacent processing unit smaller than when the first shape is formed.