Industrial Robot Hand Multi-Height Wafer Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing industrial robot hands used for conveying semiconductor wafers are thick in the up-down direction due to overlapping support members, which limits their thinness even when supporting wafers at multiple heights.
Innovation Solution
The industrial robot hand is designed with a second support member that is positioned shifted from the mounting section when viewed from the up-down direction, allowing it to support the wafer at multiple heights without increasing the thickness. This configuration also reduces the number of components and installation space required.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If support members are disposed to overlap in the up-down direction to support the conveyance object at multiple heights, then the hand can support the conveyance object at multiple heights, but the thickness of the hand in the up-down direction is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dimensionality change by shifting the second support member from an overlapping position in the up-down direction to a shifted position in the front-rear direction. Instead of stacking support members vertically (one dimension), the solution distributes them horizontally across different positions (another dimension), thereby maintaining multi-height support capability while reducing the hand's thickness in the up-down direction.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple support members are disposed to support the conveyance object at multiple heights, then the hand can adapt to different conveyance object positions, but the number of components and installation space are increased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the functionality of multiple support members by integrating the second support member into the hand base structure rather than treating it as a separate, independently installed component. This combining approach maintains the ability to support the conveyance object at multiple heights while reducing the total component count and simplifying installation space requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A hand of an industrial robot that conveys a conveyance object includes: a mounting section constituting a portion of the hand on a second direction side and having the conveyance object disposed on an upper side; a hand base constituting a portion of the hand on a third direction side and having an end of the mounting section on the third direction side attached thereto; a first support member fixed to an upper surface of the mounting section and supporting a portion of the conveyance object on the second direction side from below; a second support member supporting a portion of the conveyance object on the third direction side from below; and a first moving mechanism moving the second support member in the first direction. The first supporting member is formed with first and second support surfaces, and the second support member is formed with third and fourth support surfaces.