Linear Motor Suspension System

The present invention relates to robotic systems employing linear motors and, more particularly, to a novel suspension system which compensates for warpage and/or other deviations from planarity of the system platen and to a novel linear motor system comprised of a plurality of linear motors employing the novel suspension system.

Linear motor systems are well known to the art and have been found to be advantageous for use in robotic systems for use in "pick and place" applications wherein it is desired to locate components upon a substrate with high accuracy. One typical system is shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,062, issued Apr. 18, 1989 and assigned to the assignee of the present invention.

In one typical embodiment, the robot is mounted upon a linear motor of the two-dimensional type which is movable in two mutually perpendicular directions along a platen. The robot may typically pick up a component from a feeder bin, precisely position the component above a substrate and deposit the component at said position.

Many robotic applications require greater and greater forces dictated by the specific application. The conventional approach to achieve the desired power capability is to produce a linear motor of increasing power and hence of increasing size. This approach has the disadvantage of providing a linear motor having a significantly increased surface area which confronts and interacts with the cooperating surface of the system platen to develop the desired forces to propel the linear motor along the surface of the platen. The increased surface area of the linear motor renders the linear motor more susceptible to deviations between surface areas of the linear motor and the platen due to platen warpage which typically results from limitations in the manufacturing process, the exorbitant costs of producing a platen having near-perfect planarity, temperature changes, and the like, resulting in a loss of power, as well as erratic operating behavior in the linear motor due to the spacing deviations between the interactive surfaces of the linear motor and the platen. Increasing the size of the linear motor also increases the difficulty and cost of producing a planar confronting surface of the linear motor which interacts with the platen further reducing driving power and/or consistency of driving power.

The robotic system of the present invention overcomes the aforementioned disadvantages by providing a novel suspension system which is characterized by comprising a system employing linear motors of modular design. Increasing force and/or power requirements are met through the employment of two or more modular type linear motors which are mounted at precise locations upon a common mounting plate.

Warpage and/or deviations from flatness of the platen and/or linear motor are compensated for by providing compliance mounting blocks or attachment members which are securely mounted to the mounting plate, each of the mounting members provided with compliant mounting legs machined out of the compliant attachment member to form beam springs which are designed to provide compliance in the Z direction (i.e., in the direction perpendicular to the working surface of the platen) while being non-compliant in the mutually perpendicular X and Y directions, allowing degrees of freedom in the Z direction, rotation about the Y axis and rotation about the X axis. No compliance is provided in the X direction or Y direction thereby assuring proper alignment between the linear motors and the platen as well as preventing rotation about the Z axis. The compliance allows the combined air bearings of the linear motors to operate properly and independently of one another over a large surface area. The suspension system, which may either be integral to the linear motor cell or may be an added device, allows each linear motor (i.e., LM) cell to operate independently from the other cells to accommodate for platen and/or linear motor surface irregularities thereby allowing each linear motor cell air bearing to independently and properly float the LM cells.

Each beam spring mounting leg has a raised boss to displace the linear motor above the major surface of the compliant attachment block to allow the beam springs to properly flex in the Z direction.

It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide a novel linear motor system in which increasing power requirements are met through the utilization of modular type LM cells mounted upon a common mounting plate.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a linear motor system in which a plurality of modular type linear motor cells are mounted upon a common mounting plate through the employment of a compliant attachment member which is designed to compensate for surface irregularities of both the common platen and the linear motors.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel linear motor system employing modular type linear motor cells which are precisely positioned upon a common mounting plate through the employment of compliant attachments having mounting legs which function as beam springs and which are designed in such a way as to provide compliance in only one predetermined axial direction while being non-compliant in the remaining mutually perpendicular directions.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel linear motor system in which a plurality of modular type linear motor cells are mounted at predetermined precise positions upon a mounting plate by way of compliance attachment members having cantilevered legs which function as beam springs to provide independent suspension for each linear motor cell to accommodate for deviations from flatness of the common platen and/or linear motor of the linear motor system.

The above, as well as other objects of the present invention will become apparent when reading the accompanying description and drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram of a conventional linear motor system.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of showing the invention which is comprised of compliance attachment members mounted upon a common mounting plate.

FIG. 3 is a detailed enlarged view of a typical compliance attachment member employed in the arrangement of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 shows an elevational view of a robotic system employing the mounting arrangement of the present invention.

FIG. 4a shows a detailed elevational view of a typical beam spring of the compliance member of FIG. 3.

FIG. 1 shows a simplified diagram of a conventional linear motor system 10 comprised of a two-dimensional linear motor 12 cooperating with the working surface of platen 14 provided with a plurality of spaced parallel grooves 16 and a second plurality of spaced parallel grooves 18 perpendicular to grooves 16. The sets of grooves 16 and 18 form substantially square-shaped teeth 20 which cooperate with forcers provided within the two-dimensional linear motor 12 to move the linear motor in mutually perpendicular directions along the surface of platen 14. The grooves 16, 18 are preferably filled with a non-magnetic, insulating material to provide a smooth, flat working surface. An umbilical 22 provides the necessary power to the forcers of linear motor 12. Linear motor 12 is further provided with a source of air coupled through umbilical 22 which develops an air bearing between the confronting surfaces of linear motor 12 and platen 14 causing the linear motor to substantially "float" along a film of air created between the opposing surfaces of the linear motor and the platen.

As was set forth hereinabove, in order to provide a linear motor system of increasing force capability, it is conventional to increase the size of the linear motor forcers and the hence the overall size of the linear motor. This leads to a reduction in motive power and/or synchronism between the linear motor and the platen due to warpage and the like of the confronting surfaces of the platen and/or linear motor.

These disadvantages are overcome in the present invention by providing a suspension system 30 shown in FIG. 2 and comprised of a common mounting plate 32 and a plurality of compliant attachment members 34 arranged in a predetermined pattern upon mounting plate 32 in order to assure proper interaction between the magnetic fields created by the forcers of the group of linear motors and the pattern of teeth provided on the platen.

The force requirements of the system dictate the number of linear motor cells required and hence the size of the mounting plate.

One of the compliance attachment members will be described in detail hereinbelow, it being understood that the compliance members are substantially identical in design and function.

FIG. 3 shows a typical compliance attachment member 34 which may, for example, be formed of a block of aluminum. The block is machined or otherwise formed so as to provide a central recess 34a. Undercut grooves 34b, 34c, 34d and 34e extend beneath and form the compliant legs L1, L2, L3, and L4, respectively. The free end of each of the legs L1 through L4 is spaced from the main body of the attachment member 34 by a gap G causing the legs to be integral with and cantilevered from the main body of member 34.

The compliant attachment points of the legs L1 through L4 provides for compliance in the plus (+) or minus (-) Z direction as well as rotation about the Y axis and rotation about the X axis. However, there is no compliance in the X or Y direction nor is there any capability of rotation about the Z axis.

The compliance block may be an independent block or may be machined into the frame of the linear motor.

FIG. 4 shows a simplified elevational view of a linear motor system designed in accordance with the principles of the present invention and being comprised of a platen 14, a plurality of linear motors 12, 12' (only two of which have been shown for purposes of simplicity) each mounted to common mounting plate 32 by a compliance attachment member 34, 34'. A common umbilical 22 is coupled to branch umbilicals 22a, 22b which deliver the appropriate electric, pneumatic and other power needed for the associated linear motor. A manipulation device 37 is mounted upon the surface of common plate 32 opposite the surface upon which the members 34 are mounted. Manipulator 37 may take any one of a variety of forms such as a holding device for holding, releasing and sometimes rotating and/or vibrating a workpiece, such as a screw driver, a device for rotating a screw, a soldering iron for soldering a lead to a terminal, etc.

Gaps G', G" represent the air bearings, i.e. film of air, formed between the linear motors and the surface of platen 14.

Each linear motor is independently suspended from common mounting plate 32 to compensate for any warpage or deviation in flatness of the confronting surface of platen 14 which warpage is represented in FIG. 4 by the curved dotted line W.

Each leg functions as a beam spring having sufficient compliance to yield in the Z direction to accommodate for the aforementioned warpage or the like. Each leg is provided with a raised boss such as, for example, the raised boss 34g provided on leg L2 which provides sufficient clearance to displace the confronting surface 12a of linear motor 12 from the major surface 34j of compliance attachment member 34. For example, assuming the compliant beam spring leg L2 flexes to the dotted position L2', boss 34g permits the desired bending of the beam spring by providing sufficient clearance C between the adjacent surfaces 12a and 34j. Similar bosses 34f, 34h, and 34i are provided on each of the other legs.

Although the compliance member is preferably formed of aluminum, the member may be formed of any suitable metallic or non-metallic material providing equivalent compliance and ruggedness. Alternatively, as was set forth hereinabove, the compliance attachment member may form an integral part of the linear motor housing or alternatively, the compliant beam springs may be formed as an integral part of the common mounting plate.

A latitude of modification, change and substitution is intended in the foregoing disclosure, and in some instances, some features of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the spirit and scope of the invention herein described.