Modular Substrate Transport Spindle for Reconfigurable Motor Stacks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional substrate transport apparatuses are inflexible and not interchangeable without significant disassembly and reassembly, limiting their reconfigurability and interoperability, and require multiple carriages and drive housing frames to accommodate varying motor stack heights and Z-axis travel, increasing production and maintenance costs.
Innovation Solution
A reconfigurable substrate transport apparatus with a modular drive spindle that allows interchangeable motor modules to be stacked, each with independent characteristics, and a Z-axis carriage that accommodates varying motor stack heights without additional cost, enabling easy reconfiguration and reduced height profiles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional substrate transport apparatus are configured for a particular arrangement with fixed drive axes and motor characteristics, then the apparatus can be assembled and operated, but the apparatus cannot be reconfigured without substantially tearing down and rebuilding it, limiting interchangeability and interoperability
Solution Approach 1:
The motor assembly is divided into separate modular components: a carriage that can be detached from the drive housing frame, and individual motors that can be independently installed or removed. This segmentation allows the system to be reconfigured by simply replacing motor modules rather than tearing down the entire apparatus.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from a static, fixed configuration to a dynamic, reconfigurable one. The carriage is designed to be movable and detachable, allowing the number and arrangement of motors to be changed based on operational requirements, enabling the same base structure to adapt to different processing needs.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple carriages and drive housing frames are used to accommodate transport apparatus with different numbers of stacked motors and different amounts of Z-axis travel, then various configurations can be achieved, but production and maintenance costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
A single universal carriage design is created that can accommodate different numbers and types of motors through a standardized mounting interface. The same carriage structure serves multiple functions: it can hold 2 motors, 3 motors, or varying configurations, eliminating the need for multiple specialized carriages and reducing production costs.
3Reliability
If motors are mounted in a carriage that is drivingly coupled to a Z axis drive with a predetermined number of motors, then the apparatus can operate, but the number of motors within the carriage generally cannot be changed
Solution Approach 1:
The motor stack is segmented into independently replaceable motor modules that can be added or removed from the carriage. Each motor maintains its own mounting interface and connection points, allowing the system to preserve operational stability with whichever motors are installed while enabling flexible reconfiguration of the motor stack composition.
Data Source
AI summary
A transport apparatus including a drive section connected to a frame and including a multi-drive shaft spindle, with at least one coaxial shaft spindle, more than one different interchangeable motor module arranged in a stack, each having a motor operably coupled thereto and defining a corresponding independent drive axis, and a can seal disposed between the stator and rotor of each motor module and hermetically sealing the stator and rotor from each other, at least one of the motor modules is selectable for placement in the stack from other different interchangeable motor modules, each having a different predetermined characteristic, independent of placement in the stack, that defines a different predetermined drive characteristic of the corresponding drive axis, independent of shaft spindle location, so that selection of the at least one motor module determines the different predetermined drive characteristic of the corresponding axis different from another of the independent drive axis.