WO2013073379A1 - Industrial robot - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application provides an industrial robot that, even when transporting a high-temperature, relatively large transportation subject, can suppress wear and damage to a bearing resulting from the effects of heat, suppress deformation of an arm resulting from the effects of heat, and lighten the weight of a hand. The industrial robot is provided, for example, with: a hand (3) having a carrying section (27) at which a transportation subject is carried; an arm that holds the hand (3) at the tip end thereof; a main body section that holds the base end of the arm; and a cover member (30) that covers at least the upper surface of the carrying section (27). Also, by means of the carrying section (27) being formed from a ceramic and the cover member (30) being formed from stainless steel, the radiant heat reflection rate of the cover member (30) is higher than the radiant heat reflection rate of the carrying section (27), the heat transmission rate of the cover member (30) is lower than the heat transmission rate of the carrying section (27), and the specific gravity of the carrying section (27) is less than the specific gravity of the cover member (30).

Description

Industrial robot

The present invention relates to an industrial robot that transports a predetermined transport object.

Conventionally, in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus or the like, there has been known a heat-resistant robot hand for taking in and out an object to be dried such as a semiconductor wafer with respect to a decompressed high-temperature chamber or the like (see, for example, Patent Document 1). A robot hand described in Patent Document 1 includes a hand unit that supports an object to be dried through a seat of a heat insulating structure, and a reflector that is disposed on the upper surface of the hand unit and supported by the hand unit through a heat insulating support unit. It has. The robot hand is attached to an arm for taking the robot hand into and out of the chamber via a heat insulating collar. In the robot hand described in Patent Document 1, the amount of heat transferred from the robot hand to the arm can be reduced by the action of the receiving seat, the reflector, the heat insulating support member, and the heat insulating collar.

Further, conventionally, an industrial robot that conveys a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display is known (for example, see Patent Document 2). The industrial robot described in Patent Document 2 includes a hand on which a glass substrate is mounted, an arm to which the hand is pivotably connected to a tip side thereof, and a main body portion to which a base end side of the arm is pivotally connected. And. The arm is composed of a first arm part and a second arm part. A base end side of the first arm part is rotatably connected to the main body part, and a base end side of the second arm part is a first arm. It is rotatably connected to the tip side of the part. A rolling bearing that rotatably supports the first arm portion is disposed at a joint portion that is a connecting portion between the main body portion and the first arm portion, and serves as a connecting portion between the first arm portion and the second arm portion. A rolling bearing that rotatably supports the second arm portion is disposed at the joint portion.

JP-A-6-204316 JP 2010-23195 A

In recent years, the glass substrate transported by the industrial robot described in Patent Document 2 has become larger, and the temperature of the glass substrate during transport tends to increase, so the amount of heat possessed by the transported glass substrate is large. It has become to. If high heat is transferred from the glass substrate to the arm due to heat conduction through the hand and high heat is applied to the bearings arranged in the joints, the hardness of the hardened bearings decreases and the viscosity of the grease in the bearings May decrease and the oil film may be cut, so that the bearing may be easily worn or damaged. Further, when high heat is transferred from the glass substrate to the arm by heat conduction through the hand, the arm may be greatly deformed, and as a result, the conveyance accuracy of the glass substrate may be lowered.

If the configuration of the heat-resistant robot hand described in Patent Document 1 is used for the industrial robot described in Patent Document 2, it becomes possible to reduce the amount of heat transferred from the glass substrate to the arm by heat conduction through the hand, As a result, problems such as excessive wear and damage to the bearings arranged at the joints and large deformation of the arms are less likely to occur. However, the heat-resistant robot hand described in Patent Document 1 is used for an industrial robot that transports a relatively small object such as a semiconductor wafer. In Patent Document 1, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display is used. In particular, in industrial robots that transport relatively large objects to be transported, specific configurations for suppressing bearing wear and damage due to the effect of heat, and arm deformation due to the effect of heat have been proposed. Not.

Therefore, the problem of the present invention is to suppress the wear and damage of the bearing due to the influence of heat and the deformation of the arm due to the influence of heat even when conveying a relatively large object to be conveyed having a high temperature. It is another object of the present invention to provide an industrial robot capable of reducing the weight of a hand.

In order to solve the above problems, the industrial robot of the present invention is an industrial robot that transports a transport target, and a hand having a mounting portion on which the transport target is mounted, and an arm that holds the hand on the tip side thereof And a body part that holds the base end side of the arm and a cover member that covers at least the upper surface of the mounting part, the reflectance of the radiant heat in the cover member is higher than the reflectance of the radiant heat in the mounting part, The thermal conductivity is lower than the thermal conductivity of the mounting portion, and the specific gravity of the mounting portion is smaller than the specific gravity of the cover member.

The industrial robot of the present invention includes a hand having a mounting portion on which an object to be transported is mounted, and a cover member that covers at least the upper surface of the mounting portion, and the reflectance of the radiant heat in the cover member is the radiant heat in the mounting portion. The thermal conductivity of the cover member is lower than the thermal conductivity of the mounting portion. Therefore, in the present invention, it is possible to reduce the amount of heat transmitted from the object to be transported to the mounting portion by heat radiation (heat radiation) or heat conduction by the cover member, and as a result, by heat conduction through the hand. It is possible to reduce the amount of heat transferred from the conveyance object to the arm. Therefore, in the present invention, it is possible to suppress the wear and damage of the bearing due to the influence of heat and the deformation of the arm due to the influence of heat even when conveying an object to be conveyed having a high temperature. become.

In the present invention, the specific gravity of the mounting portion is smaller than the specific gravity of the cover member. Therefore, in the present invention, even if the hand is enlarged in order to convey a relatively large conveyance object, the weight of the hand can be reduced. That is, even if the material constituting the mounting portion is the same material as the material constituting the cover member, it is possible to reduce the amount of heat transferred from the object to be conveyed to the arm by heat conduction through the hand, In this case, when the size of the hand increases in order to transfer a relatively large transfer object, the weight of the hand increases. On the other hand, in the present invention, even if the hand is enlarged to convey a relatively large conveyance object, the weight of the hand can be reduced.

In the present invention, the cover member preferably covers the upper surface and side surfaces of the mounting portion. If comprised in this way, it will become possible to reduce effectively the calorie | heat amount transmitted to a mounting part from a conveyance target object by thermal radiation.

In the present invention, for example, the mounting portion is made of ceramic, and the cover member is made of a stainless steel plate. Further, in the present invention, for example, the hand includes a plurality of forks and a hand base that is fixed to the base end side of the plurality of forks and held on the tip end side of the arm, and at least the tip end portion of the fork is a mounting portion. It has become.

In the present invention, the fork includes a fork tip portion as a mounting portion and a fork base end portion to which a base end side of the fork tip portion is fixed, and at least a part of the fork base end portion is formed in a hollow shape. Preferably it is. If comprised in this way, since the cross-sectional area of at least one part of a fork base end part becomes small, the heat conduction path | route in at least one part of a fork base end part becomes narrow. Therefore, it is possible to effectively reduce the amount of heat transferred by heat conduction from the fork tip portion on which the object to be transported is mounted to the hand base held on the tip side of the arm. It is possible to effectively reduce the amount of heat transferred from the arm to the arm. Moreover, if comprised in this way, it will become possible to ensure the intensity | strength of a fork base end part, reducing the weight of a fork base end part. In Patent Document 1, in an industrial robot having a hand having a fork, a specific configuration for suppressing the wear and damage of the bearing due to the influence of heat or suppressing the deformation of the arm due to the influence of heat is proposed. It has not been.

In the present invention, the reflectance of the radiant heat at the fork base end is higher than the reflectance of the radiant heat at the fork tip, and the thermal conductivity of the fork base is lower than the heat conductivity of the fork tip. The specific gravity of the part is preferably smaller than the specific gravity of the fork base end. When configured in this way, even if the fork base end is not covered by the cover member, it becomes possible to reduce the amount of heat transferred from the object to be transported to the hand base by heat radiation or heat conduction. It is possible to effectively reduce the amount of heat transferred from the object to be transported to the arm by heat conduction through the hand.

In the present invention, for example, the fork tip is formed of ceramic, and at least a part of the fork base end is formed of a stainless steel pipe.

In the present invention, the industrial robot includes a second cover member that covers at least the upper surface of the arm, and the thermal conductivity of the second cover member is preferably lower than the thermal conductivity of the arm. If comprised in this way, it will become possible to reduce with the 2nd cover member the amount of heat transmitted to an arm from a conveyance target object by thermal radiation. Note that Patent Document 1 does not propose a specific configuration for reducing the amount of heat transmitted from the object to be conveyed to the arm by heat radiation.

In the present invention, the object to be conveyed is, for example, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display. As described above, in recent years, the amount of heat possessed by a glass substrate conveyed by an industrial robot has increased, but in the present invention, even if the amount of heat possessed by a glass substrate conveyed is large, It becomes possible to suppress wear and damage and to suppress deformation of the arm due to the influence of heat. Further, in recent years, the size of the glass substrate to be transported has been increased, but in the present invention, the weight of the hand can be reduced even if the size of the glass substrate to be transported is increased, resulting in an increase in the size of the hand. Become.

As described above, in the industrial robot of the present invention, even when a relatively large transport object having a high temperature is transported, the wear and damage of the bearing due to the influence of heat are suppressed, and the influence of heat. It becomes possible to suppress the deformation of the arm and reduce the weight of the hand.

It is a top view of the industrial robot concerning an embodiment of the invention. It is a side view which shows an industrial robot from the EE direction of FIG. 1 (B). It is a top view of the hand shown in FIG. (A) is an enlarged view of a portion F in FIG. 3, and (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line GG in FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line HH in FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line JJ in FIG. (A) is the schematic which shows the peripheral part of the 1st arm part concerning other embodiment of this invention, (B) is the periphery of the 2nd arm part concerning other embodiment of this invention It is the schematic which shows a part.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Schematic configuration of industrial robot)
FIG. 1 is a plan view of an industrial robot 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view showing the industrial robot 1 from the EE direction of FIG.

The industrial robot 1 (hereinafter referred to as “robot 1”) of this embodiment is a robot for transporting a glass substrate 2 for liquid crystal display (hereinafter referred to as “substrate 2”), which is an object to be transported. is there. The robot 1 according to the present embodiment is a large robot particularly suitable for transporting a large substrate 2. For example, the robot 1 transports a rectangular substrate 2 having a side of about 2.5 m. The robot 1 is a robot suitable for transporting the substrate 2 having a relatively high temperature. For example, the robot 1 transports the substrate 2 at about 500 ° C. Further, the robot 1 conveys the substrate 2 in a vacuum.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the robot 1 includes two hands 3 and 4 on which a substrate 2 is mounted, an arm 5 to which the hand 3 is rotatably connected to the tip side, and a hand 4. The arm 6 is rotatably connected to the distal end side thereof, the main body 7 is rotatably connected to the base ends of the arms 5 and 6, and a lifting mechanism (not shown) for moving the main body 7 up and down. ing. The main body 7 and the elevating mechanism are accommodated in a case 13 formed in a substantially bottomed cylindrical shape. A flange 14 formed in a disk shape is fixed to the upper end of the case 13. The flange 14 is formed with a through hole in which the upper end portion of the main body 7 is disposed.

The hands 3, 4 and the arms 5, 6 are arranged on the upper side of the main body 7. The hands 3, 4 and the arms 5, 6 are disposed on the upper side of the flange 14. As described above, the robot 1 is a robot for transporting the substrate 2 in a vacuum. As shown in FIG. 2, the portion of the robot 1 above the lower end surface of the flange 14 is in the vacuum region VR. It is placed inside (in a vacuum). On the other hand, a portion of the robot 1 below the lower end surface of the flange 14 is disposed in the atmospheric region AR (in the atmosphere).

The arm 5 includes a first arm portion 16 and a second arm portion 17. The arm 6 includes a first arm portion 16 and a second arm portion 18 that are common to the arm 5. The first arm portion 16 is formed in a bifurcated shape. Specifically, the first arm portion 16 is formed in a substantially V shape. The 1st arm part 16 and the 2nd arm parts 17 and 18 are formed with the aluminum alloy.

The proximal end side of the first arm portion 16 is rotatably held by the main body portion 7. A second arm portion 17 is rotatably held on one tip side of the first arm portion 16 formed in a bifurcated shape, and a second arm portion 18 is rotated on the other tip side of the first arm portion 16. It is held movable. The hand 3 is rotatably held at the distal end side of the second arm portion 17, and the hand 4 is rotatably held at the distal end side of the second arm portion 18.

The connecting portion between the arms 5 and 6 and the main body portion 7 (that is, the connecting portion between the first arm portion 16 and the main body portion 7) is a first joint portion 20. A magnetic fluid seal (not shown) that prevents air from flowing into the vacuum region VR is disposed at the first joint portion 20. The connecting portion between the first arm portion 16 and the second arm portion 17 is the second joint portion 21, and the connecting portion between the first arm portion 16 and the second arm portion 18 is the second joint portion 22. It has become. The second joint portion 21 is provided with a rolling bearing (not shown) that rotatably supports the second arm portion 17, and the second joint portion 22 rotatably supports the second arm portion 18. Rolling bearings (not shown) are arranged.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the second arm portions 17 and 18 are arranged above the first arm portion 16 when viewed from the horizontal direction. Further, the second arm portion 18 is disposed above the second arm portion 17. Further, when viewed from the horizontal direction, the hands 3 and 4 are disposed between the second arm portion 17 and the second arm portion 18. Specifically, the hand 3 is connected to the upper surface side of the second arm portion 17, and the hand 4 is connected to the lower surface side of the second arm portion 18. When viewed from the horizontal direction, the hand 3 is connected to the upper side of the hand 3. A hand 4 is arranged. In addition, when the robot 5 is viewed from the upper side when the arms 5 and 6 are contracted, the hand 3 and the hand 4 overlap each other as shown in FIG.

The robot 1 extends the arm 5 and the arm 6, mounts the substrate 2 in a transfer rack (not shown), and then unloads the substrate 2 from the transfer rack while shrinking the arm 5 and the arm 6. Thereafter, the robot 1 changes its direction and carries the substrate 2 into the decompressed high temperature chamber (into a vacuum and high temperature chamber).

The hands 3 and 4 have a plurality of (for example, four) forks 25 on which the substrate 2 is mounted, and the proximal ends of the plurality of forks 25 are fixed, and the hands 3 and 4 rotate to the distal ends of the second arm portions 17 and 18. It is comprised from the hand base 26 hold | maintained possible. The fork 25 includes a fork distal end portion 27 on which the substrate 2 is mounted and a fork proximal end portion 28 to which the proximal end side of the fork distal end portion 27 is fixed. The fork distal end portion 27 constitutes the distal end side of the fork 25, and the fork base end portion 28 constitutes the proximal end side of the fork 25. The fork tip portion 27 of this embodiment is a mounting portion on which the substrate 2 that is a conveyance target is mounted.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, a cover member 30 that covers the upper surface and the side surface of the fork tip 27 is attached to the fork tip 27. Hereinafter, specific configurations of the hand 3 and the cover member 30 will be described. Since the hand 4 is configured in the same manner as the hand 3, a description of a specific configuration of the hand 4 is omitted. 1 and 2, the cover member 30 is not shown.

(Configuration of hand and cover member)
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the hand 3 shown in FIG. 4A is an enlarged view of a portion F in FIG. 3, and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view taken along a line GG in FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line HH in FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line JJ of FIG.

As described above, the hand 3 includes the fork 25 and the hand base 26, and the fork 25 includes the fork tip 27 and the fork base 28.

The fork tip 27 is made of ceramic. The fork tip 27 is made of solid ceramic, and no space is formed in the fork tip 27. Further, the fork tip portion 27 is formed in an elongated substantially quadrangular prism shape. A plurality of convex portions 27 a are formed on the upper surface of the fork tip portion 27 so as to protrude upward. The plurality of convex portions 27 a are formed at a predetermined pitch in the longitudinal direction of the fork 25. Further, the plurality of convex portions 27 a are formed in the entire region of the fork tip portion 27 in the longitudinal direction of the fork 25. Further, a positioning convex portion 27 c for positioning the substrate 2 in the longitudinal direction of the fork 25 is formed on the upper surface of the base end side of the fork distal end portion 27 so as to protrude upward. In FIG. 3, only some of the convex portions 27a among the plurality of convex portions 27a are illustrated.

The shape of the convex portion 27 a when viewed from above is a substantially rectangular shape that is long in the longitudinal direction of the fork 25. The upper surface 27b of the convex portion 27a is formed in a planar shape. Further, the upper surface 27 b is disposed on the upper side of the upper surface of an upper surface portion 30 a described later constituting the cover member 30. The upper surface 27b is a mounting surface on which the substrate 2 is mounted, and the lower surface of the substrate 2 is in contact with the upper surface 27b. The positioning convex portion 27c is formed in a step shape so that the lower surface of the substrate 2 and the end portion of the substrate 2 are in contact with each other. The convex portion 27 a and the positioning convex portion 27 c may be formed separately from the fork tip portion 27 and fixed to the fork tip portion 27.

The fork base end portion 28 connects the first fixing portion 28a to which the fork tip end portion 27 is fixed, the second fixing portion 28b to be fixed to the hand base portion 26, and the first fixing portion 28a and the second fixing portion 28b. It is comprised from the connection part 28c, and is formed in the substantially square pillar shape as a whole. The length of the fork base end portion 28 is shorter than the length of the fork tip end portion 27. The fork base end portion 28 is thicker than the fork tip end portion 27, and the fork base end portion 28 is wider than the fork tip end portion 27.

The connecting portion 28c is formed of a stainless steel pipe and is formed in a hollow shape having a space therein. The thickness of the connecting portion 28c is thin. For example, the thickness of the connecting portion 28c is about 4 mm. The first fixing portion 28 a and the second fixing portion 28 b are formed of stainless steel and are formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped block shape according to the outer shape of the fork 25. The first fixing portion 28a and the connecting portion 28c are fixed to each other by welding, and the second fixing portion 28b and the connecting portion 28c are fixed to each other by welding. The first fixing part 28a and the connecting part 28c may be fixed to each other by a method other than welding. For example, the first fixing portion 28a and the connecting portion 28c may be fixed to each other by bonding, or may be fixed using a bolt or the like. Similarly, the second fixing portion 28b and the connecting portion 28c may be fixed to each other by a method other than welding. For example, the second fixing portion 28b and the connecting portion 28c may be fixed to each other by bonding, or may be fixed using a bolt or the like.

As shown in FIG. 4B, a recess 28d is formed on the lower surface of the first fixed portion 28a, and the proximal end portion of the fork distal end portion 27 is formed. Is fixed to the first fixing portion 28a in a state of being disposed in the recess 28d. The second fixing portion 28b is formed with a through hole 28e connected to the space inside the connecting portion 28c. The second fixing portion 28 b is fixed to the hand base 26 in a state where it is disposed in a recess 26 a formed on the lower surface of the hand base 26. The hand base 26 is made of an aluminum alloy or stainless steel.

The cover member 30 is formed of a thin stainless steel plate. The cover member 30 is formed by bending a stainless steel plate into a substantially square groove shape, and includes an upper surface portion 30 a that covers the upper surface of the fork tip portion 27 and two side surface portions 30 b that cover the side surfaces of the fork tip portion 27. And has. As shown in FIG. 6, the upper surface portion 30 a is bent so that the inner portion of the upper surface portion 30 a in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the fork 25 is disposed slightly below the both end portions. The two side surface portions 30b are formed so as to be connected to both ends of the upper surface portion 30a in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the fork 25.

A plurality of arrangement holes 30c in which the convex portions 27a of the fork tip portion 27 are arranged are formed in the upper surface portion 30a. The plurality of arrangement holes 30 c are formed at a predetermined pitch in the longitudinal direction of the fork 25. The arrangement hole 30c is formed so as to penetrate the upper surface portion 30a, and the upper end side of the convex portion 27a protrudes above the upper surface portion 30a. The shape of the arrangement hole 30 c when viewed from above is a substantially rectangular shape that is long in the longitudinal direction of the fork 25. The width of the arrangement hole 30 c in the longitudinal direction of the fork 25 is wider than the width of the convex portion 27 a in the longitudinal direction of the fork 25.

Further, a plurality of through holes 30d for attaching the cover member 30 to the fork tip portion 27 are formed in the upper surface portion 30a. The plurality of through holes 30 d are formed at a predetermined pitch in the longitudinal direction of the fork 25. The through hole 30d is formed so as to penetrate the upper surface portion 30a. The shape of the through-hole 30 d when viewed from above is an oval shape that is long in the longitudinal direction of the fork 25.

As shown in FIG. 6, the cover member 30 is attached to the fork tip 27 by a collar 32, a spacer 33, and a countersunk screw 34. The collar 32 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape with a flat collar having a collar 32a and a cylinder 32b. The spacer 33 is formed in a flat cylindrical shape. The cylindrical portion 32 b is disposed in the through hole 30 d of the cover member 30, and the lower end thereof is in contact with the upper surface of the fork distal end portion 27. The flange portion 32a is disposed on the upper side of the upper surface portion 30a. The spacer 33 is disposed on the outer peripheral side of the cylindrical portion 32b so that the lower surface thereof is in contact with the upper surface of the fork tip portion 27 and the upper surface thereof is in contact with the lower surface of the upper surface portion 30a. The inner peripheral surface of the collar 32 is an inclined surface that engages with the head of the countersunk screw 34, and the countersunk screw 34 is screwed into a screw hole formed in the upper surface of the fork tip 27, thereby covering the cover member 30. Is fixed to the fork tip 27. In this embodiment, the lower surface of the flange portion 32a is lightly in contact with the upper surface of the upper surface portion 30a, or a slight gap is formed between the lower surface of the flange portion 32a and the upper surface of the upper surface portion 30a.

As described above, since the lower surface of the spacer 33 is in contact with the upper surface of the fork tip portion 27 and the upper surface of the spacer 33 is in contact with the lower surface of the upper surface portion 30a, the upper surface of the fork tip portion 27 and the lower surface of the upper surface portion 30a are A gap is formed between them. Further, the width of the upper surface portion 30a in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the fork 25 is wider than the width of the fork tip portion 27 in this direction, and between the side surface of the fork tip portion 27 and the side surface portion 30b. A gap is formed. The width of the side surface portion 30 b in the vertical direction is substantially equal to the thickness of the fork tip portion 27 in the vertical direction, and the side surface portion 30 b covers almost the entire side surface of the fork tip portion 27. Further, the upper surface portion 30a covers almost the entire upper surface of the fork tip portion 27 excluding the convex portion 27a and the positioning convex portion 27c.

In this embodiment, the reflectance of the radiant heat at the cover member 30 and the reflectance of the radiant heat at the fork base end portion 28 are higher than the reflectance of the radiant heat at the fork tip portion 27. Further, as described above, the cover member 30 and the fork base end portion 28 are made of stainless steel, and the fork tip end portion 27 is made of ceramic, and the thermal conductivity of the cover member 30 and the heat of the fork base end portion 28 are formed. The conductivity is lower than the thermal conductivity of the fork tip portion 27. Further, the specific gravity of the fork distal end portion 27 is smaller than the specific gravity of the cover member 30 and the specific gravity of the fork base end portion 28.

(Main effects of this form)
As described above, in this embodiment, the reflectance of the radiant heat in the cover member 30 is higher than the reflectance of the radiant heat in the fork tip 27, and the thermal conductivity of the cover member 30 is the fork tip. The thermal conductivity is lower than 27. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to reduce the amount of heat transferred from the substrate 2 to the fork tip portion 27 by the heat radiation by the cover member 30. In particular, in this embodiment, the cover member 30 covers almost the entire side surface of the fork tip portion 27 in addition to the upper surface of the fork tip portion 27, so that the amount of heat transferred from the substrate 2 to the fork tip portion 27 by heat radiation is reduced. It can be effectively reduced. In this embodiment, a gap is formed between the upper surface of the fork tip portion 27 and the lower surface of the upper surface portion 30a, and a gap is formed between the side surface of the fork tip portion 27 and the side surface portion 30b. Since the heat conduction path from the cover member 30 to the fork tip 27 is the collar 32 and the spacer 33, the heat transmitted from the substrate 2 to the cover member 30 by heat radiation is transferred to the fork tip 27 by heat conduction. Can be suppressed.

Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to reduce the amount of heat transferred from the substrate 2 to the arms 5 and 6 by heat conduction through the hands 3 and 4. As a result, in this embodiment, even when the substrate 2 having a large amount of heat is transported, the rolling bearings disposed in the second joint portions 21 and 22 are prevented from being worn or damaged by the influence of heat. In addition, the deformation of the arms 5 and 6 due to the influence of heat can be suppressed.

In this embodiment, the connecting portion 28c of the fork base end portion 28 is formed in a hollow shape, and the cross-sectional area of the connecting portion 28c is small. That is, in this embodiment, the heat conduction path in the connecting portion 28c is narrow. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to effectively reduce the amount of heat transferred from the fork tip 27 to the hand base 26 by heat conduction, and as a result, the hands 3, 4 to the arms 5, 6 by heat conduction. It becomes possible to effectively reduce the amount of heat transferred.

In this embodiment, the reflectance of the radiant heat at the fork base end portion 28 is higher than the reflectance of the radiant heat at the fork tip end portion 27, and the heat conductivity of the fork base end portion 28 is equal to the fork tip end portion. The thermal conductivity is lower than 27. Therefore, even if the fork base end portion 28 is not covered by the cover member 30, it is possible to reduce the amount of heat transferred from the substrate 2 to the hand base portion 26 by heat radiation. It is possible to effectively reduce the amount of heat transferred from the substrate 2 to the arms 5 and 6 by the heat conduction.

In this embodiment, the specific gravity of the fork tip 27 is smaller than the specific gravity of the cover member 30. For this reason, in this embodiment, even if the hands 3 and 4 are enlarged in order to transport the relatively large substrate 2, the weight of the hands 3 and 4 can be reduced. In other words, even when the fork tip 27 is formed of the same stainless steel as the cover member 30, the amount of heat transferred from the substrate 2 to the arms 5 and 6 by heat conduction through the hands 3 and 4 is reduced. In this case, if the hands 3 and 4 are increased in size to transport the relatively large substrate 2, the weights of the hands 3 and 4 are increased. On the other hand, in this embodiment, even if the hands 3 and 4 are enlarged, the weight of the hands 3 and 4 can be reduced. Further, since the linear expansion coefficient of stainless steel is larger than that of ceramic, when the fork tip portion 27 is formed of stainless steel, the fork tip portion 27 is easily thermally deformed. Then, since the fork tip 27 is made of ceramic, it is possible to suppress thermal deformation of the fork tip 27.

In this embodiment, the connecting portion 28c of the fork base end portion 28 is formed of a stainless steel pipe. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to ensure the rigidity of the connecting portion 28c while reducing the weight of the connecting portion 28c.

In this embodiment, the width of the arrangement hole 30c of the cover member 30 in the longitudinal direction of the fork 25 is wider than the width of the convex portion 27a of the fork tip 27 in the longitudinal direction of the fork 25. In this embodiment, the lower surface of the flange portion 32a is lightly in contact with the upper surface of the upper surface portion 30a, or a slight gap is formed between the lower surface of the flange portion 32a and the upper surface of the upper surface portion 30a. For this reason, in this embodiment, even if the linear expansion coefficient of the fork tip 27 and the linear expansion coefficient of the cover member 30 are different, the fork tip 27 and the cover 30 when the substrate 2 having a relatively high temperature is mounted. It becomes possible to suppress thermal deformation.

(Other embodiments)
The above-described embodiment is an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

In the embodiment described above, the cover member 30 covers almost the entire side surface of the fork tip portion 27. In addition to this, for example, the cover member 30 may cover a part of the side surface of the fork tip portion 27, or may cover only the upper surface of the fork tip portion 27 and not the side surface of the fork tip portion 27. Also good. Further, the cover member 30 may be configured to cover the lower surface of the fork tip portion 27. In the above-described embodiment, the cover member 30 is attached to the fork tip portion 27 using the spacer 33, but the cover member 30 may be attached to the fork tip portion 27 without using the spacer 33. In this case, the lower surface of the upper surface portion 30 a of the cover member 30 contacts the upper surface of the fork tip portion 27.

In the embodiment described above, the upper surface and the lower surface of the first arm portion 16 are covered with the cover member 40 as the second cover member having a lower thermal conductivity than the first arm portion 16 as shown in FIG. It may be broken. For example, the upper surface and the lower surface of the first arm portion 16 may be covered with two cover members 40 that are formed of a stainless steel plate and are disposed so as to sandwich the first arm portion 16 from above and below. Similarly, the upper and lower surfaces of the second arm portions 17 and 18 are, as shown in FIG. 7B, a cover member 41 as a second cover member having a lower thermal conductivity than the second arm portions 17 and 18. It may be covered with. For example, the upper and lower surfaces of the second arm portions 17 and 18 may be formed of stainless steel plates and covered with two cover members 41 that are arranged so as to sandwich the second arm portions 17 and 18 from above and below. good. In this case, the amount of heat transferred from the substrate 2 to the arms 5 and 6 by heat radiation can be reduced by the cover members 40 and 41.

In this case, a gap is formed between the cover members 40 and 41 and the arms 5 and 6 in order to suppress heat transfer from the cover members 40 and 41 to the arms 5 and 6 due to heat conduction. It is preferable. In this case, the cover members 40 and 41 may cover part of the side surfaces of the first arm portion 16 and the second arm portions 17 and 18 as shown in FIG. The entire side surfaces of the portion 16 and the second arm portions 17 and 18 may be covered. Further, the cover members 40 and 41 may not cover the side surfaces of the first arm portion 16 and the second arm portions 17 and 18. Moreover, the 1st arm part 16 and the 2nd arm parts 17 and 18 may be covered with the one cover members 40 and 41 from the upper side.

In the above-described form, the fork tip portion 27 constituting the tip side of the fork 25 is a mounting portion on which the substrate 2 that is the object to be transported is mounted. In addition, for example, the entire fork 25 may be a mounting portion on which the substrate 2 that is the object to be transported is mounted. In this case, for example, the entire fork 25 is formed of solid ceramic, and the entire fork 25 is covered with the cover member 30.

In the embodiment described above, the fork tip 27 is formed of ceramic, and the cover member 30 is formed of a stainless steel plate. In addition to this, for example, the reflectance of the radiant heat in the cover member 30 is higher than the reflectance of the radiant heat in the fork tip 27, and the thermal conductivity of the cover member 30 is lower than the thermal conductivity of the fork tip 27. If the specific gravity of the fork tip 27 is smaller than the specific gravity of the cover member 30, the fork tip 27 may be made of a material other than ceramic, and the cover member 30 You may form with materials other than stainless steel. For example, the fork tip portion 27 may be formed of a resin containing carbon fibers. When the fork tip portion 27 is formed of a resin containing carbon fiber, the fork tip portion 27 is formed in a hollow shape, for example.

In the embodiment described above, the connecting portion 28c, which is a part of the fork base end portion 28, is formed in a hollow shape, but the entire fork base end portion 28 may be formed in a hollow shape. Further, the entire fork base end portion 28 may be solid. In the embodiment described above, the reflectance of the radiant heat at the fork base end portion 28 is higher than the reflectance of the radiant heat at the fork tip end portion 27, but the reflectance of the radiant heat at the fork base end portion 28 is The reflectance of the radiant heat at the portion 27 may be lower, or the reflectance of the radiant heat at the fork tip portion 27 may be the same. Further, the thermal conductivity of the fork base end portion 28 is lower than the thermal conductivity of the fork tip end portion 27, but the thermal conductivity of the fork base end portion 28 is higher than that of the fork tip end portion 27. Alternatively, the thermal conductivity of the fork tip 27 may be the same. Further, the specific gravity of the fork base end portion 28 is larger than the specific gravity of the fork tip end portion 27, but the specific gravity of the fork base end portion 28 may be smaller than the specific gravity of the fork tip end portion 27, or the fork tip end portion. It may be the same as the specific gravity of 27.

In the embodiment described above, the hands 3 and 4 include the fork 25, but the hands 3 and 4 may not include the fork 25. For example, the hands 3 and 4 may be formed so that the shape when viewed from the upper side is substantially Y-shaped, or when viewed from the upper side as in the hand portion disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above. It may be formed so that the shape is substantially rectangular. In this case, for example, each of the hands 3 and 4 includes a hand distal end portion that constitutes the distal end side of the hands 3 and 4 and a hand proximal end portion that constitutes the proximal end side of the hands 3 and 4. The portion may be formed of a solid ceramic or the like, and the hand base end may be formed of a hollow stainless steel tube or the like.

In the embodiment described above, the arm 6 is configured by the first arm portion 16 and the second arm portion 18 that are common to the arm 5, but the arm 6 is provided separately from the first arm portion 16. You may be comprised by the arm part and the 2nd arm part 18. FIG. In the above-described form, the arms 5 and 6 are constituted by two arm portions, ie, the first arm portion 16 and the second arm portions 17 and 18, but the arms 5 and 6 are one arm. It may be constituted by a part or may be constituted by three or more arm parts.

In the above-described form, the object to be transported by the robot 1 is the substrate 2, but the object to be transported by the robot 1 may be a semiconductor wafer or the like. The robot 1 transports the substrate 2 in a vacuum, but the robot 1 may transport the substrate 2 in the atmosphere.

1 Robot (industrial robot)
2 Substrate (glass substrate, transport object)
3, 4 Hand 5, 6 Arm 7 Body 25 Fork 26 Hand base 27 Fork tip (mounting part)
28 Fork base end 30 Cover member 40, 41 Second cover member

Claims (9)

In industrial robots that transport objects to be transported,
A hand having a mounting portion on which the object to be transported is mounted, an arm that holds the hand on the distal end side thereof, a main body portion that holds the proximal end side of the arm, and a cover member that covers at least the upper surface of the mounting portion And
The reflectance of the radiant heat in the cover member is higher than the reflectance of the radiant heat in the mounting portion,
The thermal conductivity of the cover member is lower than the thermal conductivity of the mounting part,
The industrial robot according to claim 1, wherein a specific gravity of the mounting portion is smaller than a specific gravity of the cover member. The industrial robot according to claim 1, wherein the cover member covers an upper surface and a side surface of the mounting portion. The industrial robot according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the mounting portion is made of ceramic, and the cover member is made of a stainless steel plate. The hand includes a plurality of forks, and a hand base that is fixed to the distal ends of the arms while fixing the proximal ends of the forks.
The industrial robot according to claim 1, wherein at least a tip side portion of the fork serves as the mounting portion. The fork includes a fork distal end portion as the mounting portion, and a fork proximal end portion to which a proximal end side of the fork distal end portion is fixed,
The industrial robot according to claim 4, wherein at least a part of the fork base end is formed in a hollow shape. The radiant heat reflectivity at the fork base end is higher than the radiant heat reflectivity at the fork tip,
The thermal conductivity of the fork base end is lower than the thermal conductivity of the fork tip,
The industrial robot according to claim 5, wherein a specific gravity of the fork tip end portion is smaller than a specific gravity of the fork base end portion. The industrial robot according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the tip end of the fork is formed of ceramic, and at least a part of the base end of the fork is formed of a stainless steel pipe. A second cover member covering at least the upper surface of the arm;
The industrial robot according to claim 1, wherein the thermal conductivity of the second cover member is lower than the thermal conductivity of the arm. The industrial robot according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the transport object is a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display.

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