Patents by Inventor Hajime NAKAHARA
Hajime NAKAHARA has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Patent number: 11926039Abstract: A robot according to one or more embodiments may include an arm and a hand. The hand is connected to the arm and supports to convey a wafer. The hand includes a base end portion that is an end of the side connected to an arm, and a distal end portion that is an end of the opposite side of the base end portion. With the hand, a lightened part is formed in at least a part of a first region which is a region of a distal end portion than the center part in the longitudinal direction of the hand.Type: GrantFiled: December 25, 2020Date of Patent: March 12, 2024Assignees: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA, KAWASAKI ROBOTICS (USA), INC.Inventors: Haruhiko Tan, Hajime Nakahara, Avish Ashok Bharwani, Ming Zeng
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Patent number: 11845179Abstract: A wafer jig according to one or more embodiments may be used for a robot having a hand and a state detector. The hand can transport a wafer. The state detector detects a state of a member holding the wafer at the hand or a state of a negative pressure adsorbing the wafer at the hand. The wafer jig includes an information output part. The information output part outputs information to a hand side via the state detector by changing a detection result of the state detector.Type: GrantFiled: December 22, 2020Date of Patent: December 19, 2023Assignees: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Kawasaki Robotics (USA), INC.Inventors: Haruhiko Tan, Hajime Nakahara
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Patent number: 11654578Abstract: A robot system according to an embodiment may include a robot, a wafer jig that is held by the robot, a positioning base, a positional displacement detection device, a control part, and an offset acquisition part for acquiring an offset that occurs between a command position for the robot and an actual position. The positioning base includes contacting members. The wafer jig has a tapered surface. The tapered surface guides the wafer jig so that a center of the wafer jig approaches a predetermined position as a position where the taped surface contacts the contacting members is relatively higher. The robot places the wafer jig on the positioning base, then holds and conveys the wafer jig to the positional displacement detection device. The offset acquisition part acquires the offset based on a result in which the positional displacement detection device detects a positional displacement of the conveyed wafer jig.Type: GrantFiled: September 17, 2020Date of Patent: May 23, 2023Assignees: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA, KAWASAKI ROBOTICS (USA), INCInventors: Masaya Yoshida, Hajime Nakahara, George Chin, Luc Nguyen
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Patent number: 11554498Abstract: A wafer jig according to an embodiment may be used for a robot having a hand including a light emitting part and a light receiving part. The light receiving part detects detection light emitted from the light emitting part. The wafer jig includes a light source for emitting the notification light toward the light receiving part. The wafer jig outputs information to a hand side by emitting the notification light from the light source to the light receiving part.Type: GrantFiled: October 9, 2020Date of Patent: January 17, 2023Assignees: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Kawasaki Robotics (USA), INC.Inventors: Masaya Yoshida, Hajime Nakahara
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Publication number: 20220359261Abstract: A substrate transfer apparatus includes a base, an arm, an end effector provided at a tip of the arm and having first and second tip portions that are bifurcated, a light emitting unit, a light receiving unit, and a control device controlling an operation of the arm. The control device controls an operation of the arm so that light straightly traveling through a tip of the end effector scans edges of a plurality of substrates accommodated in a front opening unified pod (FOUP), and compares shape patterns of a measured waveform of an output value continuously changed in the light receiving unit with shape patterns of a reference waveform for comparison according to a relative positional relationship between the light and substrate during the operation of the arm and diagnoses at least one of a state of the substrate, the FOUP, and the end effector based on a comparison result.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 28, 2020Publication date: November 10, 2022Applicants: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA, KAWASAKI ROBOTICS (USA), INC.Inventors: Masaya YOSHIDA, Yuji TANAKA, Hajime NAKAHARA
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Publication number: 20220203555Abstract: A robot according to one or more embodiments may include an arm and a hand. The hand is connected to the arm and supports to convey a wafer. The hand includes a base end portion that is an end of the side connected to an arm, and a distal end portion that is an end of the opposite side of the base end portion. With the hand, a lightened part is formed in at least a part of a first region which is a region of a distal end portion than the center part in the longitudinal direction of the hand.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 25, 2020Publication date: June 30, 2022Applicants: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Kawasaki Robotics (USA), INC.Inventors: Haruhiko TAN, Hajime NAKAHARA, Avish Ashok BHARWANI, Ming ZENG
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Publication number: 20220193917Abstract: A wafer jig according to one or more embodiments may be used for a robot having a hand and a state detector. The hand can transport a wafer. The state detector detects a state of a member holding the wafer at the hand or a state of a negative pressure adsorbing the wafer at the hand. The wafer jig includes an information output part. The information output part outputs information to a hand side via the state detector by changing a detection result of the state detector.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 22, 2020Publication date: June 23, 2022Applicants: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Kawasaki Robotics (USA), INC.Inventors: Haruhiko TAN, Hajime NAKAHARA
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Patent number: 11335578Abstract: A substrate transfer apparatus of the present invention includes: a robot including a hand configured to hold a substrate, and an arm configured to move the hand; a robot control device configured to set a moving path for the hand and control the arm such that the hand moves on the moving path toward a target position; and a camera disposed so as to be able to capture an image of the substrate held by the hand located at a predetermined confirmation position. The robot control device sets the moving path so as to pass through the confirmation position, obtains an image captured by the camera when the hand is located at the confirmation position, calculates a distance between a predetermined environment and the substrate which are taken in the image, and calculates a positional deviation amount from a reference position of the substrate on the basis of the distance.Type: GrantFiled: February 13, 2020Date of Patent: May 17, 2022Assignees: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA, KAWASAKI ROBOTICS (USA), INC.Inventors: Masaya Yoshida, Avish Ashok Bharwani, Ming Zeng, Simon Jeyapalan, Hajime Nakahara
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Patent number: 11328947Abstract: An aligner apparatus according to one or more embodiments may include a first rotating base, a second rotating base, and a detection apparatus. The first rotating base on which a wafer placed thereon rotates around a first rotation axis line. The second rotating base on which a wafer placed thereon rotates around a second rotation axis whose position is different from that of the first rotation axis line. The detection apparatus includes one sensor for detecting the edge of the wafer, and the detection range of the sensor includes the edge of the wafer placed on the first rotating base and the edge of the wafer placed on the second rotating base, and detects the edges of the two wafers.Type: GrantFiled: January 26, 2021Date of Patent: May 10, 2022Assignees: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA, KAWASAKI ROBOTICS (USA), INC.Inventors: Haruhiko Tan, Hajime Nakahara, Shota Tominaga, Hiroyuki Yoshida
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Patent number: 11315823Abstract: A substrate suction-holding structure includes a conductive pad main body including an annular contact portion and a bottom wall portion closing a first vacuum chamber bottom surface surrounded by the contact portion, a conductive blade main body including an upper surface and a second vacuum chamber formed by depressing the upper surface, a conductive support column provided either on the second vacuum chamber or on the pad main body, causing the contact portion to be further on an upper side than the upper surface, and swingably supporting the pad main body with respect to the second vacuum chamber, a cover secured to the blade main body and covering the second vacuum chamber, and a suction path extending from the first vacuum chamber and passing through the bottom wall portion, the second vacuum chamber, and the blade main body in this order, the suction path connected to a vacuum source.Type: GrantFiled: December 27, 2019Date of Patent: April 26, 2022Assignees: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA, KAWASAKI ROBOTICS (USA), INC.Inventors: Masaya Yoshida, Hajime Nakahara
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Publication number: 20220111534Abstract: A wafer jig according to an embodiment may be used for a robot having a hand including a light emitting part and a light receiving part. The light receiving part detects detection light emitted from the light emitting part. The wafer jig includes a light source for emitting the notification light toward the light receiving part. The wafer jig outputs information to a hand side by emitting the notification light from the light source to the light receiving part.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 9, 2020Publication date: April 14, 2022Applicants: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Kawasaki Robotics (USA), INC.Inventors: Masaya YOSHIDA, Hajime NAKAHARA
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Publication number: 20220080604Abstract: A robot system according to an embodiment may include a robot, a wafer jig that is held by the robot, a positioning base, a positional displacement detection device, a control part, and an offset acquisition part for acquiring an offset that occurs between a command position for the robot and an actual position. The positioning base includes contacting members. The wafer jig has a tapered surface. The tapered surface guides the wafer jig so that a center of the wafer jig approaches a predetermined position as a position where the taped surface contacts the contacting members is relatively higher. The robot places the wafer jig on the positioning base, then holds and conveys the wafer jig to the positional displacement detection device. The offset acquisition part acquires the offset based on a result in which the positional displacement detection device detects a positional displacement of the conveyed wafer jig.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 17, 2020Publication date: March 17, 2022Applicants: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Kawasaki Robotics (USA), INC.Inventors: Masaya YOSHIDA, Hajime NAKAHARA, George CHIN, Luc NGUYEN
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Patent number: 11207775Abstract: A method of teaching a robot, the robot including a first and second end effector that are mounted to a robotic arm wrist, the first and second end effector being rotatable about a same rotational axis independently of each other. The method includes: a first step of, in a state where rotational positions of the first and second end effectors about the rotational axis coincide with each other, attaching a relative motion preventing device to the first and second end effector, the relative motion preventing device preventing the first and second end effector from moving relative to each other; and a fourth step of generating a teaching point of the second end effector based on: a teaching point of the first end effector; and rotational position information about the first and second end effector that are stored in a storage unit in association with each other in a third step.Type: GrantFiled: December 13, 2017Date of Patent: December 28, 2021Assignees: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA, KAWASAKI ROBOTICS (USA), INC.Inventors: Takeshi Shibata, Yukimasa Yamada, Takao Yamaguchi, Tomokazu Arita, Eric Chan, Francisco J. Duran, Jr., Hajime Nakahara, Avish Ashok Bharwani, Ming Zeng
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Publication number: 20210257242Abstract: A substrate transfer apparatus of the present invention includes: a robot including a hand configured to hold a substrate, and an arm configured to move the hand; a robot control device configured to set a moving path for the hand and control the arm such that the hand moves on the moving path toward a target position; and a camera disposed so as to be able to capture an image of the substrate held by the hand located at a predetermined confirmation position. The robot control device sets the moving path so as to pass through the confirmation position, obtains an image captured by the camera when the hand is located at the confirmation position, calculates a distance between a predetermined environment and the substrate which are taken in the image, and calculates a positional deviation amount from a reference position of the substrate on the basis of the distance.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 13, 2020Publication date: August 19, 2021Applicants: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA, KAWASAKI ROBOTICS (USA), INC.Inventors: Masaya YOSHIDA, Avish Ashok BHARWANI, Ming ZENG, Simon JEYAPALAN, Hajime NAKAHARA
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Patent number: 11059178Abstract: A position correction method includes: a step of opposing a hand to a target by moving the hand such that the hand becomes in a predetermined first initial posture; a first position detection step of detecting a position of the target from a rotation angle of a rotation axis when the target blocks a detection light by swinging the hand; a step of opposing the hand to the target by moving the hand such that the hand becomes a predetermined second initial posture different from the first initial posture; a second position detection step of detecting a position of the target from the rotation angle of the rotation axis when the target blocks the detection light by swinging the hand; and a correction amount arithmetic step of obtaining rotation angle correction amounts of the second axis and the third axis based on a difference between the position of the target acquired in the first initial posture and the position of the target acquired in the second initial posture.Type: GrantFiled: December 27, 2018Date of Patent: July 13, 2021Assignees: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA, KAWASAKI ROBOTICS (USA), INC.Inventors: Masaya Yoshida, Hajime Nakahara, Takao Yamaguchi, Daniel Chung
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Publication number: 20210202291Abstract: A substrate suction-holding structure includes a conductive pad main body including an annular contact portion and a bottom wall portion closing a first vacuum chamber bottom surface surrounded by the contact portion, a conductive blade main body including an upper surface and a second vacuum chamber formed by depressing the upper surface, a conductive support column provided either on the second vacuum chamber or on the pad main body, causing the contact portion to be further on an upper side than the upper surface, and swingably supporting the pad main body with respect to the second vacuum chamber, a cover secured to the blade main body and covering the second vacuum chamber, and a suction path extending from the first vacuum chamber and passing through the bottom wall portion, the second vacuum chamber, and the blade main body in this order, the suction path connected to a vacuum source.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 27, 2019Publication date: July 1, 2021Applicants: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA, KAWASAKI ROBOTICS (USA), INC.Inventors: Masaya YOSHIDA, Hajime NAKAHARA
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Patent number: 10974388Abstract: A method of correcting a position of a robot includes: a correction step of rotating an arm around a first axis to detect a rotation angle around the first axis when a target blocks detection light, and locating the first axis, a third axis, and the target on an identical straight line by rotating the arm and/or a hand around the first axis, a second axis, and/or the third axis based on a detection result; and a correction amount arithmetic step of obtaining rotation angle correction amounts of the second axis and the third axis based on the rotation angle of each rotation axis acquired after the correction step in a first posture.Type: GrantFiled: December 27, 2018Date of Patent: April 13, 2021Assignees: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA, KAWASAKI ROBOTICS (USA), INC.Inventors: Masaya Yoshida, Takao Yamaguchi, Hajime Nakahara, Daniel Chung
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Patent number: 10953539Abstract: A substrate transfer robot, first and second sensors are provided in a hand such that a planar-view intersection point of optical axes is located on a center of a substrate when the hand holds the substrate in planar view, and a control device operates an arm, scans a target placed at a teaching position with the first and second sensors, and acquires the teaching position when the target is located at the planar-view intersection point of the optical axes.Type: GrantFiled: December 27, 2018Date of Patent: March 23, 2021Assignees: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA, KAWASAKI ROBOTICS (USA), INC.Inventors: Masaya Yoshida, Hajime Nakahara, Mark Tang
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Publication number: 20200411348Abstract: A substrate transfer apparatus includes a base, an arm, an end effector provided at a tip of the arm and having a first tip portion and a second tip portion that are bifurcated, a light emitting unit, a light receiving unit, and a control device controlling an operation of the arm. The control device controls an operation of the arm so that light straightly traveling through a tip of the end effector scans edges of a plurality of substrates accommodated in a front opening unified pod (FOUP), unit with shape patterns of a reference waveform for comparison according to a relative positional relationship between the light and the substrate during the operation of the arm and diagnoses at least one of a state of the substrate, a state of the FOUP, and a state of the end effector based on a comparison result.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 28, 2019Publication date: December 31, 2020Applicants: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA, KAWASAKI ROBOTICS (USA), INC.Inventors: Masaya YOSHIDA, Yuji TANAKA, Hajime NAKAHARA
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Publication number: 20200206934Abstract: A method of correcting a position of a robot includes: a correction step of rotating an arm around a first axis to detect a rotation angle around the first axis when a target blocks detection light, and locating the first axis, a third axis, and the target on an identical straight line by rotating the arm and/or a hand around the first axis, a second axis, and/or the third axis based on a detection result; and a correction amount arithmetic step of obtaining rotation angle correction amounts of the second axis and the third axis based on the rotation angle of each rotation axis acquired after the correction step in a first posture.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 27, 2018Publication date: July 2, 2020Applicants: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA, KAWASAKI ROBOTICS (USA), INC.Inventors: Masaya YOSHIDA, Takao YAMAGUCHI, Hajime NAKAHARA, Daniel CHUNG