Substrate Holding Hand with Movable Stopper for Precise Placement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional substrate holding hands in the placing mode face challenges in precisely positioning substrates due to a capture range that is too large, leading to inaccuracies in substrate placement.
Innovation Solution
A substrate holding hand with a supporting plate, pads, stationary and movable stoppers, and a stopper actuator that reduces the capture range by deploying the movable stopper to specify the substrate's position within a smaller, reduced capture range, preventing gripping and minimizing contamination from friction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a large capture range is used to accommodate substrates with positioning errors, then the substrate can be received even when the center is not aligned, but the positioning accuracy of the substrate with respect to the holding hand deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The movable stopper is designed to move between a retracted position (when no substrate is present) and a deployed position (when substrate is received). This dynamic adjustment allows the capture range to be effectively reduced after substrate placement, improving positioning accuracy while maintaining adaptability during the reception phase
Solution Approach 2:
The movable stopper is deployed after the substrate is placed on the pads but before the holding hand moves to the next position. This preliminary action of reducing the capture range after substrate reception ensures that subsequent movements maintain high positioning accuracy without compromising the initial ability to accept substrates with positioning errors
2Object-generated harmful factors
If the placing mode is used to reduce particle generation, then the structure is simplified and particle generation is reduced, but the positioning accuracy deteriorates due to large capture range
Solution Approach 1:
By making the stopper movable rather than fixed, the system maintains the simple placing mode structure while dynamically adjusting the capture range. The movable stopper deploys only when needed to define the reduced capture range, preserving the simplicity of the placing mode while achieving the positioning accuracy that would otherwise require a more complex gripping structure
Data Source
AI summary
A substrate holding hand includes a supporting plate where a circular reference capture range is defined, a plurality of pads disposed within the reference capture range, at least one stationary stopper that is disposed along an outer circumferential circle of the reference capture range, at least one movable stopper having a part at the same height from the supporting plate as the stationary stopper, and a stopper actuator that moves the movable stopper from a retracted position outside the reference capture range to a deployed position closer to the stationary stopper than the retracted position. A circular reduced capture range is defined by the movable stopper at the deployed position, and the front stopper, and a diameter of the reduced capture range is larger than a diameter of the substrate and smaller than a diameter of the reference capture range.