Material or article handling – Article reorienting device – Orienter has article gripping means
Patent
1997-03-26
1999-08-31
Krizek, Janice L.
Material or article handling
Article reorienting device
Orienter has article gripping means
4147443, 4147446, 414816, 414936, 901 48, B25J 906
Patent
active
059444762
ABSTRACT:
A unitary prealigner and robot arm includes an upper arm, a forearm, and a hand that is equipped with vacuum pressure outlets to securely hold a specimen. The robot arm is carried atop a tube that is controllably positionable along a Z-axis direction. The prealigner is attached to the tube by a movable carriage that is elevatable relative to the robot arm. The prealigner further includes a rotatable chuck having a vacuum pressure outlet for securely holding a specimen in place within an edge detector assembly that senses a peripheral edge of the specimen. The prealigner may be elevated to receive a specimen from the robot arm or it may be lowered to allow clearance for the robot arm to rotate. In operation, the robot arm retrieves a specimen and places it on the prealigner, which performs an edge scanning operation to determine the effective center and specific orientation of the specimen. The robot arm then performs angular and extension correction operations to position the grasp center of the hand over the effective center of the specimen, thereby placing the hand in a predetermined alignment relative to the specimen. Finally, an exchange of vacuum pressure releases the specimen from the prealigner and secures it once again on the hand, and the robot arm delivers the specimen in the predetermined alignment to a processing station at a second elevation. Specimen processing throughput is increased because specimen retrieval and delivery require only single robot arm movements and because the robot arm and the prealigner move between the first and second elevations concurrently with the specimen being scanned and placed in the predetermined alignment.
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Data Sheet for Kensington Laboratories WH-3 Wafer Handler Robot Mechanism (1986).
Drawing figure showing motor arrangement implemented in WH-3 mechanism.
Bacchi Paul
Filipski Paul S.
Kensington Laboratories, Inc.
Krizek Janice L.
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