Vertical Hand Cleaning Unit for Compact Substrate Transport Robots
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing substrate treatment apparatuses face issues with foreign matter and treatment liquid accumulation on robot hands, leading to substrate positioning inaccuracies and transportation failures, and existing hand cleaning solutions increase the apparatus' footprint, reducing space efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A substrate treatment apparatus with a hand cleaning unit located above or below the substrate transfer area between two substrate transport robots, allowing for efficient cleaning of both hands without increasing the apparatus' footprint, utilizing a housing with separate hand receiving ports and a shutter mechanism for sealed cleaning, and incorporating cleaning liquid supply, drying agents, and UV lamps for thorough cleaning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a hand cleaning unit is provided in a cluster configuration around the transport robot, then the hands can be cleaned effectively, but the space utilization efficiency is reduced and the footprint of the apparatus is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The hand cleaning unit is positioned in the vertical dimension (above or below) rather than in the horizontal plane around the robot. This allows the cleaning unit to be accessible to the robot hand while overlapping with the substrate transfer area in plan view, thereby maintaining compact footprint while providing effective hand cleaning capability
2Area of stationary object
If the hand cleaning unit is disposed above or below the substrate transfer place, then the footprint of the apparatus is not substantially increased, but the accessibility of the hand to the cleaning unit must be ensured
Solution Approach 1:
The robot hand is designed with dynamic movement capability to reach vertically positioned cleaning units. The hand can extend and position itself at appropriate vertical levels to access the cleaning unit located above or below the substrate transfer area, ensuring operational accessibility while maintaining compact horizontal footprint
3Manufacturing precision
If foreign matter and treatment liquid are removed from the hand, then substrate positioning accuracy is maintained, but the hand must be frequently cleaned which increases operation time
Solution Approach 1:
The hand cleaning unit performs preliminary cleaning of the robot hand before substrate transfer operations. By cleaning the hand in advance and positioning the cleaning unit for easy accessibility, the system prevents contamination accumulation that would require frequent extensive cleaning, thereby maintaining positioning accuracy while minimizing time loss
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively prevents substrate transportation failures by maintaining hand cleanliness without expanding the apparatus' footprint, ensuring reliable substrate treatment and efficient use of space.
Implementation Method 1
UV lamps for thorough cleaning
Implementation Method 2
drying agents
Data Source
AI summary
The substrate treatment apparatus includes a first substrate transport robot having a hand which holds a substrate, a second substrate transport robot having a hand which holds the substrate, and a hand cleaning unit which cleans the hand of the first substrate transport robot and the hand of the second substrate transport robot. The hand cleaning unit is configured to be accessible by the hand of the first substrate transport robot and the hand of the second substrate transport robot, and is disposed above or below a substrate transfer place at which the substrate is transferred between the first and second substrate transport robots.