Robot edge contact gripper
View Patent ↗An apparatus for gripping a substrate on its peripheral edge including a substrate support having proximate and distal ends, at least one distal rest pad disposed at the distal end, the at least one distal rest pad includes a back stop portion and is configured to support the peripheral edge of the substrate, at least one proximate rest pad disposed at the proximate end, the at least one proximate rest pad being configured to support the peripheral edge of the substrate, and an active contact member assembly disposed at the proximate end, the active contact member assembly including a pusher member, a contact member and a rotatable coupling member that are reciprocably movable towards the distal end for urging the substrate against the back stop portion, the contact member being rotatably secured to the pusher member and free to rotate about an axis of the rotatable coupling member.
1. An apparatus for gripping a substrate on its peripheral edge, the apparatus comprising:
a substrate support having proximate and distal ends;
at least one distal rest pad disposed at the distal end of the substrate support, the at least one distal rest pad includes a back stop portion and is configured to support the peripheral edge of the substrate;
at least one proximate rest pad disposed at the proximate end of the substrate support, the at least one proximate rest pad being configured to support the peripheral edge of the substrate; and
an active contact member assembly disposed at the proximate end of the substrate support, the active contact member assembly including a pusher member, a contact member and a rotatable coupling member that are substantially linearly reciprocably movable towards the distal end of the substrate support for urging the substrate against the back stop portion of the at least one distal rest pad, the contact member being movably secured to the pusher member by the rotatable coupling member so that the contact member is substantially free to rotate about a center axis of the rotatable coupling member substantially on contact with the substrate and a center axis of the rotatable coupling member is aligned with an axis of the pusher member.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the contact member comprises a roller.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the contact member comprises a pivot member.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the rotatable coupling member and the contact member are removable as a unit from the pusher member.
5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the rotatable coupling member and the contact member are removable as a unit through a removal of a single fastener configured to couple the rotatable coupling member to the pusher member.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the contact member is configured to allow relative movement between the contact member and the substrate as the substrate is urged against the back stop portion of the at least one distal rest pad.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus includes at least two substrate supports stacked one above the other, each of the at least two substrate supports having a respective active contact member assembly.
8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the active contact member assembly includes a labyrinth seal arrangement configured to substantially seal the rotatable coupling member from an environment in which the substrate support is located.
9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the substrate support includes a base portion and at least the contact member is removable from the apparatus without disassembly of any one of the substrate support and base portion.
10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the rotatable coupling member includes a first portion and a second portion that are movable relative to each other, wherein the contact member is keyed to one of the first portion or second portion to substantially prevent relative movement between the contact member and the one of the first portion or second portion.
11. An end effector for a substrate transport, the end effector comprising:
a base portion;
a substrate holding portion having a proximate end and a distal end, a longitudinal axis extending between the proximate end and distal end, and at least one rest pad, the substrate holding portion being coupled to the base portion a the proximate end and extending from the base portion;
an active contact member assembly disposed at the proximate end of the substrate holding portion, the active contact member assembly including a pusher member, a contact member and a rotatable coupling member that are reciprocably movable towards the distal end of the substrate holding portion for gripping a substrate on the substrate holding portion, the contact member being movably secured to the pusher member by the rotatable coupling member such that a center axis of the rotatable coupling member is aligned with an axis of the pusher member and being configured to contact the substrate for urging the substrate against the at least one rest pad and to rotate about the center axis of the rotatable coupling member in response to rotation of the substrate during gripping and while in substantial contact with the substrate where the center axis of the rotatable coupling member is substantially along the longitudinal axis.
12. The end effector of claim 11 , wherein the at least one rest pad comprises at least one distal rest pad disposed at the distal end of the substrate support, the at least one distal rest pad includes a back stop portion and is configured to support the peripheral edge of the substrate, where the active contact member is configured to urge the substrate against the back stop portion of the at least one distal rest pad.
13. The end effector of claim 12 , wherein the rotatable coupling member and the contact member are removable as a unit from the pusher member.
14. The end effector of claim 13 , wherein the rotatable coupling member and the contact member are removable as a unit through a removal of a single fastener configured to couple the rotatable coupling member to the pusher member.
15. The end effector of claim 1 , wherein the contact member is configured to rotate about the axis of the rotatable coupling member in response to a transverse force, relative to a direction of reciprocation of the contact member, applied to the contact member by the substrate.
16. The end effector of claim 1 , wherein at least the contact member is removable from the end effector without disassembly of any one of the substrate holding portion and base portion.
17. An end effector for a substrate transport having a longitudinal axis extending between a distal and a proximate end of the end effector, the end effector comprising:
a substrate support having at least two substrate rest pads for supporting a peripheral edge of a substrate; and
an active contact member reciprocably moveable along the longitudinal axis and configured to urge the substrate against the at least two substrate rest pads, the active contact member having a pusher member and a rotatable member rotatably coupled to the pusher member, the rotatable member being configured to contact the substrate allowing relative movement between the active contact member and the substrate while in substantial contact with the substrate so that the substrate can pivot about one of the at least two substrate rest pads during gripping of the substrate and an axis of rotation of the rotatable member is aligned with an axis of the pusher member.
18. The end effector of claim 17 , wherein the rotatable member comprises a roller or pivotal member that reciprocates toward and away from the at least two substrate rest pads.
19. The end effector of claim 18 , wherein the pusher member is coupled to a reciprocating drive unit.
20. The end effector of claim 17 , wherein the active contact member is removable from the end effector without disassembly of the end effector.