Wafer Robot Hand Mounting Layout for Compact Individual Maintenance

The patent applies dimensionality change by transitioning from a planar arrangement where fork fixing parts are shifted in the front and rear direction to a three-dimensional arrangement where multiple hands are overlapped in the upper and lower direction. This allows the fork fixing parts to be positioned at the same front-rear location while being vertically separated, enabling individual maintenance access through overhead positioning without increasing the robot's horizontal footprint.

The patent implements nesting by arranging multiple hands in an overlapping configuration where upper hands are positioned above lower hands in the vertical direction. This nested-like stacking allows the fork fixing parts to be vertically aligned or closely positioned, with upper hands effectively 'nesting' above lower hands, thereby compacting the base end side portion while maintaining individual accessibility for maintenance through the overhead approach.

The patent resolves this contradiction by utilizing the vertical dimension to arrange multiple hands in an overlapping configuration. Instead of horizontally expanding the base end side portion to accommodate more hands, the hands are stacked vertically with upper hands positioned above lower hands. This allows increased substrate conveyance capacity while maintaining a compact horizontal footprint.

The patent applies merging by combining multiple hands into a compact vertical assembly where the hands share overlapping spatial coordinates in the horizontal plane. The hands are combined in the vertical direction, allowing them to function as an integrated multi-substrate conveyance system without proportionally increasing the overall robot size.