JP2000069741A - Vacuum actuator - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To reduce the size in the rotation center direction. SOLUTION: Vacuum sealing bodies 22, 22a, 28a to 28c formed in a cylindrical shape and hermetically sealing the inside and outside thereof.
28d, output members 10a to 10a located outside the vacuum sealed body and rotatably supported by the vacuum sealed body.
d, a stator 25a to 25d of a direct drive type motor provided inside the vacuum sealed body and at a position facing the inside of the output member, and opposed to the stator via a vacuum sealed body, and Rotors 26a to 26d of a direct drive type motor fixed inside
It consists of

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vacuum actuator which rotates a plurality of concentrically rotatable output members in a vacuum state by shifting their positions in the direction of the center of rotation. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Semiconductor manufacturing equipment and LCD manufacturing equipment are used as applications of this type of vacuum actuator. For example, a process in which a plurality of stations are provided around one transfer chamber, such as a multi-chamber type semiconductor manufacturing equipment. A chamber is provided, and a thin work such as a wafer processed in each process chamber is used for a handling robot provided in the transfer chamber via a transfer chamber.

A multi-chamber type semiconductor manufacturing apparatus is shown in FIG.
Around the process chamber stations 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e comprising a plurality of process chambers;
A work transfer station 3 for transferring works to the outside is provided, and the inside of the transfer chamber 1 is always kept in a vacuum state by a vacuum device.

The transfer chamber 1 is shown in FIG.
A handling robot A is rotatably provided at the center of the processing chamber, and is provided on the peripheral wall and at the process chamber stations 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d,
A gate 6 is provided on the partition wall 5 facing the work transfer station 3 and the work transfer station 3 as an entrance and exit of a work to each process chamber station. The gates 6 are provided inside the transfer chamber 1 so as to face the respective gates 6 and are opened and closed by opening and closing doors (not shown).

The above-mentioned handling robot A is a so-called frog-leg type double-arm type, and the structure thereof is as shown in FIG. 3 to FIG.

Two arms 7 of the same length with respect to the center of rotation
a and 7b are provided rotatably. On the other hand, it has two carriages 8a and 8b of the same shape, and two links 9a and 9a of the same length are provided at the base of each carriage 8a and 8b.
One end of 9b is connected. These two links 9a, 9b
Is connected to the carriages 8a, 8b via a frog-leg-type carriage posture regulating mechanism, and both links 9a, 9b rotate completely symmetrically with respect to the carriages 8a, 8b. It has become. And each carrier 8a,
One of the two links connected to 8b is connected to one arm, and the other link is connected to the other arm.

FIG. 4 shows the above-mentioned frog-leg type carriage platform attitude regulating mechanism. The distal ends of two links 9a and 9b connected to the carriages 8a and 8b are as shown in FIG. 4 (a). The gears 9c, 9c mesh with each other and are connected by a gear structure.
The attitude angles θR and θL of the a and 9b are always the same. Thus, the transfer tables 8a and 8b are always directed in the radial direction of the transfer chamber 1 and are operated in the radial direction. The link between the links 9a and 9b may be replaced by a belt 9d crossed as shown in FIG. 4B instead of a gear.

FIG. 5 shows a conventional vacuum actuator for independently rotating the arms 7a and 7b. The bases of the arms 7a and 7b are respectively
It is fixed to the ring-shaped bosses 10a, 10b. Each of the ring-shaped bosses 10a and 10b is
It is fixed to the tip of 1a, 11b. The rotating shafts 11a and 11b are arranged concentrically with one rotating shaft 11a being hollow and the other rotating shaft 11b being penetrated through the hollow. The respective rotating shafts 11a and 11b are provided in a transfer chamber. 1, supporting members 12a fixed to
12b rotatably supported. The rotating shafts 11a and 11b are connected to the motor unit 1 supported by supporting members 13a and 13b fixed to the transfer chamber 1.
4a, 14b.

Each of the motor units 14a, 14b has a rotor 15a, 15a fixed to each of the rotating shafts 11a, 11b.
b and the stator 1 fixed to the support members 13a and 13b
6a and 16b, and the rotors 15a and 15b are rotated by the induced electromotive force between them. The rotor 15a of each of the motor units 14a, 14b,
Between the stator 15a and the stators 16a and 16b, vacuum partition members 17a and 17b, which are vacuum seals, are provided as support members 12a and 12b.
b, and are provided integrally with the rotating shafts 11a and 11b.
The rotation shafts 11a, 11
The airtight state is provided to the outside of the supporting portion b.

FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b) show the operation of the above-mentioned handling robot A. As shown in FIG. 6 (a), both arms 7a and 7b are diametrical with respect to the center of rotation. When the positions are symmetrical, the links 9a and 9b are rotated so that the links 9a and 9b are expanded with respect to the two carriages 8a and 8b. Therefore, the two carriages 8a and 8b are moved to the rotation center side.

In this state, the vacuum actuator is driven to rotate both arms 7a and 7b in the same direction, so that both carriers 8a and 8b are rotated with respect to the center of rotation while maintaining the position in the radial direction. . Further, from the state shown in FIG. 6A, the arms 7a and 7b are rotated in a direction in which they come close to each other (opposite directions to each other), so that FIG.
As shown in (b), the transfer table 8a located on the side where the angle between the two arms 7a and 7b becomes smaller is connected to the links 9a and 9b.
And is protruded outward in the radial direction by being pushed in the process chamber of one of the stations 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 3 provided adjacent to the transfer chamber 1 radially outward. Rush into.

At this time, the other carrier is moved toward the center of rotation, but the amount of movement is small due to the angle between the arms 7a, 7b and the links 9a, 9b.

[0013]

In the above-mentioned conventional vacuum actuator, as shown in FIG. 5, a main body portion of a motor unit which is an actuator is vertically stacked (center of rotation) to form a plurality of output members. There is the following problem in the case of a rotary configuration.

(1) The rotating shaft connected to the ring-shaped boss, which is the output member of the motor unit located on the lower side, needs to extend upward through the rotating shaft connected to the output member of the motor unit located on the upper side. Therefore, there is a problem that the rotating shaft is thin and long, and therefore, the torsional rigidity of the rotating shaft is reduced, and vibration is generated and the rotational position accuracy is reduced.

If the rotary shaft connected to the lower motor unit is made thicker to ensure torsional rigidity, the outer rotary shaft through which it is inserted must also be made thicker, and the entire actuator becomes large. However, there is a problem that the weight increases. This problem becomes more pronounced as the number of actuators stacked in the direction of the rotation center increases.

(2) The structure (diameter and length) of the rotating shaft connected to each actuator is different from each other, so that the structure becomes complicated. Further, since the inertia moment and the torsional rigidity of each rotating shaft are also different, it is difficult to adjust the control. This problem also becomes more remarkable as the number of overlapping actuators increases.

(3) In order to connect the object to be rotated in the radial direction of each rotating shaft, when the upper end of each rotating shaft is shifted vertically, the actuator body portion (rotor In addition to the lengthening of the stator portion, there is a problem that the height of the entire actuator is further increased (increased in the axial direction) due to the extension of the stepped extension of the rotating shaft portion.

(4) As described above, the rotary shaft is provided in the motor unit, and the output member is fixed to the tip of the rotary shaft. Therefore, the axial size of the actuator is equal to the length of the rotary shaft. Becomes large.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and eliminates the need for a rotating shaft, thereby making it possible to reduce the size in the direction of the center of rotation. Without lowering, the vibration of the device can be reduced and the accuracy can be improved, and the same rigidity of the rotating shaft can be achieved, and the control can be easily adjusted.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a vacuum actuator in which the number of output members on the same axis can be easily increased and the height of the entire actuator can be reduced.

[0020]

In order to achieve the above object, a vacuum actuator according to the present invention is formed in a cylindrical shape and has a vacuum seal for hermetically sealing the inside and outside thereof. A stop body, an output member located outside the vacuum seal, and rotatably supported by the vacuum seal, and a position inside the vacuum seal, and facing the inside of the output member. It consists of a direct drive type motor stator provided, and a direct drive type motor rotor fixed to the inside of the output member while facing the stator with a vacuum seal therebetween. The output member is a direct type Is directly driven to rotate by the stator and the rotor having the above motor configuration. The outside and the inside of the output member are hermetically sealed by a vacuum sealing body.

According to the present invention, since the output member is located radially outward of the direct drive type motor as the actuator, the rotational driving force of the motor unit can be transmitted to the output member without using a rotating shaft. As a result, the size of the entire actuator in the direction of the rotation center can be reduced.

Further, in the vacuum actuator having the above-described structure, a plurality of output members are supported by being shifted in the direction of the center of rotation to the outside of the vacuum sealing body, and opposed to the rotor fixed inside each of the output members. The fixed stator is fixed to the inside of the vacuum sealed body.

According to the present invention, since the output member is positioned radially outward of the direct drive type motor as the actuator, the actuator body is overlapped in the direction of the rotation center (vertical direction), and the plurality of output members are connected. In the case of the coaxial configuration, the output member of the actuator located on one side (lower side) in the axial direction does not need to extend through the actuator located on the other side (upper side) as in the related art. The multiplexing in the radial direction is eliminated, whereby the rigidity of the other output member penetrating the one output member does not decrease, and low vibration and high accuracy can be achieved.

Further, the output members of each actuator can be formed in the same shape, whereby the moment of inertia and the torsional rigidity of each output member can be made the same, and control can be easily adjusted.

Further, when the object to be rotated is connected in the radial direction of each output member, it is not necessary to extend the output member as in the prior art, so that the size of the entire actuator in the rotation center direction (vertical direction) is reduced. it can.

Further, according to the present invention, in a vacuum actuator in which a plurality of output members are displaced in the direction of the center of rotation and supported, the vacuum seal is provided integrally with each output member. The airtight configuration of the stop can be simplified.

Further, according to the present invention, in the vacuum actuator having the above-described structure, a vacuum sealing body is provided for each output member, and a stator and a rotor facing each other via each output member and the vacuum sealing body are connected to each other. Each output member is configured to be stackable separately, and a plurality of output members are modularized and sequentially stacked and assembled.

According to the present invention, in the case where a plurality of output members are formed coaxially, it is easy to achieve multi-axis.

[0029]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which a plurality of output members are arranged with their positions shifted in the direction of the center of rotation. In the description of this embodiment, the same members as those of the related art shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 shows a first embodiment of the present invention. Each of ring-shaped bosses 10a and 10b, which are output members to which the base ends of a pair of arms 7a and 7b are fixed, is closed on the upper side. It is rotatably supported via bearings 23 and 23 on a vacuum partition member 22 which is a cylindrical shape and has a lower end fixed to a frame 21 of the transfer chamber 1 as a vacuum seal.

The vacuum partition member 22 is formed in a substantially hat shape with an upper end closed, and the lower end portion thereof is fixed to the frame 21 of the transfer chamber 1. And the inside of the boss are hermetically sealed.

Direct drive motor units 24a, 2b are provided inside the vacuum partition member 22 and inside the ring-shaped bosses 10a, 10b.
The 4b stators 25a and 25b are supported. The direct type motor units 24a, 25b are provided inside the ring-shaped bosses 10a, 10b facing the stators 25a, 25b with the vacuum partition member 22 interposed therebetween.
24b rotors 26a, 26b
a, 10b. Although not particularly shown, the partition member 22 or the transfer chamber 1
A rotation angle detector for individually detecting the rotation angle of each rotation side member such as each of the ring-shaped bosses 10a and 10b is provided on the fixed side such as.

In the above configuration, both motor units 2
The ring-shaped bosses 10a, 10b, which are rotationally driven by the respective stators 25a, 25b and rotors 26a, 26b, are located outside the vacuum partition member 22.
b is driven to rotate.

The operation of the handling robot A by the rotation of the two ring-shaped bosses 10a and 10b is the same as that of the conventional robot shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 to FIG. 11 show another embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
The lower end of a is fixed to the frame 21 and the upper end is fixed to the canopy 27 of the transfer chamber 1. In this embodiment, the rigidity of the vacuum partition member 22a is improved because it is supported at both upper and lower ends.

The one shown in FIG. 9 stacks the lower and upper motor units which are vertically stacked (module structure).
Here is an example of the type. The vacuum partition wall member 28a of the lower motor unit 24a and the vacuum partition wall member 28b of the upper motor unit 24b are stacked and fixed separately. Reference numeral 29 denotes a canopy for holding a vacuum inside the motor units 24a and 24b.

In this embodiment, each motor unit 24
a and 24b and each of the ring-shaped bosses 10a and 10b are assembled and assembled in a unit shape.

FIG. 10 shows a specific example of this stacking type, in which the transfer table 8a (8b) of the handling robot A passes above the top surface of the boss.

FIG. 11 shows a modification of the configuration shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 above, in which four ring-shaped bosses 10a, 10b, 10c,
10d are stacked. These ring-shaped bosses 10a to 10d and motor units 24a to 24d
Are supported by separate vacuum partition members 28a to 28d which can be stacked and fixed. Each of the ring-shaped bosses 10a to 10d has an arm 7a, 7b,
7c and 7d are fixed.

In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the ring-shaped boss as the output member is provided so as to be shifted from the center of rotation has been described. However, when only one arm is required, that is, when only one output member is required. However, the configuration of the present invention is applied. In this case, one ring-shaped boss is used, and a rotor fixed to the ring-shaped boss and a stator fixed to the vacuum-sealed body are used, with a vacuum sealing member provided inside the ring-shaped boss. In this configuration, the output member can be driven to rotate without using a rotating shaft, similarly to the above-described embodiment.

In each of the above embodiments, the vacuum partition member, which is a vacuum sealing member, is interposed between the stator and the rotor of the motor unit and performs a vacuum sealing function. It is preferable that the material has no gas generation under the environment and has a property of low magnetism. For example, SUS304, SUS316 and the like are used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus which is an example of a multi-chamber type manufacturing apparatus.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a relationship between a transfer chamber and a handling robot.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of a handling robot.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are explanatory views showing a transport table attitude regulating mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a vacuum actuator used for an arm rotating mechanism of a conventional handling robot.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are explanatory diagrams of the operation of the handling robot.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing an example of a vacuum actuator according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing another example of the vacuum actuator according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing another example of the vacuum actuator according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing a specific example of the vacuum actuator shown in FIG. 9;

11 is a sectional view showing another example of the vacuum actuator shown in FIG. 9;

[Explanation of symbols]

A: Handling robot 1: Transfer chamber 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e: Process chamber station 3: Work transfer station 5: Partition wall 6: Gates 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d: Arm 8a, 8b: Carrier 9a Link 9c Gear 9d Belt 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d Ring boss 11a, 11b Rotary shaft 12a, 12b, 13a, 13b Support member 14a, 14b, 24a, 24b, 24c, 24d Motor Units 15a, 15b, 26a, 26b, 26c, 26d: rotors 16a, 16b, 25a, 25b, 25c, 25d: stators 17a, 17b, 22, 22a, 28a, 28b, 28
c, 28d: Vacuum partition member 21: Frame 27, 29: Canopy

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3F060 AA01 AA07 AA08 BA00 DA10 EB12 EC12 GA13 GB12 GB31 HA00 5H605 AA00 BB05 BB14 BB17 CC05 DD01 EA19 EB10 EB12 5H649 AA00 AA01 BB02 BB07 GG01 HH01

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A vacuum sealing body which is formed in a cylindrical shape and hermetically seals the inside and the outside thereof, and a vacuum sealing body which is located outside the vacuum sealing body and is rotatable with respect to the vacuum sealing body. An output member supported by the stator, a stator of a direct drive type motor provided inside the vacuum sealing body and at a position facing the inside of the output member, and facing the stator with a vacuum sealing body therebetween, A vacuum actuator, comprising: a rotor of a direct drive type motor fixed to the inside of the output member. 2. A plurality of output members are supported by being shifted in the direction of the center of rotation to the outside of the vacuum sealed body, and a stator opposed to each of the rotors fixed inside the output members is attached to the vacuum sealed body. 2. The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the fixing member is fixed to the inside.
The actuator for vacuum described. 3. The vacuum actuator according to claim 2, wherein the vacuum sealing body is provided integrally with each output member. 4. A vacuum sealed body is provided for each output member, and a stator and a rotor facing each other with each output member and each vacuum sealed body being separated from each other are stacked separately so that they can be stacked. The vacuum actuator according to claim 2, wherein: