# US 10,319,623 B2 · Conveyance hand, conveyance apparatus, lithography apparatus, manufacturing method of article, and holding mechanism > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,319,623 B2 - Document ID: US10319623B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/976,436 - Filed: 2018-05-10 - Published: 2018-12-06 - Granted: 2019-06-11 - Earliest claimed: 2017-05-30 - Assignees: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha - Applicants: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha - Inventors: Yasunao Matsuhira - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10319623B2 ## CPC - H10P 72/78: using vacuum or suction, e.g. Bernoulli chucks - B25J 15/0616: {with vacuum} - G03F 7/70691: {Handling of masks or workpieces} - G03F 7/7075: {Handling workpieces outside exposure position, e.g. SMIF box} - G03F 7/70783: {Handling stress or warp of chucks, masks or workpieces, e.g. to compensate for imaging errors or considerations related to warpage of masks or workpieces due to their own weight} - H10P 72/30: for conveying, e.g. between different workstations - H10P 72/3302: {Mechanical parts of transfer devices} - H10P 72/7602: {the wafers being placed on a robot blade or gripped by a gripper for conveyance} - H10P: GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10 - B25J: MANIPULATORS; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES ({manipulators specially adapted for use in surgery A61B34/70; manipulators used in cleaning hollow articles B08B9/04}; manipulators associated with rolling mills B21B39/20; manipulators associated with forging machines B21J13/10; {manipulators associated with picking-up and placing mechanisms B23P19/007}; means for holding wheels or parts thereof B60B30/00; {vehicles with ground-engaging propulsion means, e.g. walking members B62D57/02, B62D57/032; devices for picking-up and depositing articles or materials between conveyors B65G47/90, B65G47/91; manipulators with gripping or holding means for transferring packages B65H67/065}; cranes B66C; {manipulators used in the protection or supervision of pipe-line installations F17D5/00; walking equipment adapted for nuclear steam-generators F22B37/006}; manipulators specially adapted for, or associated with, nuclear reactors G21C; {apparatus used for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor H10P72/50}) - G03F: PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR; (phototypographic composing devices B41B; photosensitive materials or processes for photographic purposes G03C; electrophotography, sensitive layers or processes therefor G03G) ## Abstract A conveyance hand for holding a conveyed object can include a base, a pad configured to suction the conveyed object, and a first support member fixed to the base and configured to support the pad. First support member can include three or more support members each configured to support the pad. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A conveyance hand for holding a conveyed object, the conveyance hand comprising: a base; a pad configured to suction the conveyed object; and a support member disposed on the base and configured to support the pad, wherein the support member is configured to support the pad by three or more support portions configured to deform elastically respectively to tilt the pad in respective directions different from each other, and wherein the three or more support portions are configured to deform so that the pad conforms to a shape of the conveyed object disposed on the pad. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The conveyance hand according to claim 1, wherein the support member supports the pad so as to enable displacement of the pad in the vertical direction and to restrict displacement of the pad in the horizontal direction. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The conveyance hand according to claim 1, wherein the pad has a cross sectional shape, that is circular, in a direction along a suction surface where the pad suctions the conveyed object, and each of the three or more support portions includes a curved portion that extends along a periphery of the pad from a contact portion at which the support portion is in contact with the pad. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The conveyance hand according to claim 3, wherein the curved portions of each of the three or more support portions extend in the same direction along a periphery of the pad. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The conveyance hand according to claim 4, wherein the support member includes a connecting portion that connects an end of each of the three or more support portions on a side opposite an end on a side that is in contact with the pad, and is fixed to the base via the connecting portion, wherein the curved portion of each of the three or more support portions has a total length that is longer than a distance between a center position of the pad and a fixing position at which the connecting portion is fixed to the base. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The conveyance hand according to claim 5, wherein the connecting portion has an annular shape. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The conveyance hand according to claim 1, wherein the three or more support portions are arranged with rotational symmetry about a center of the pad. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The conveyance hand according to claim 1, wherein the each of the three or more support portions is a leaf spring. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The conveyance hand according to claim 1, further comprising an O ring arranged between the base and the pad so as to contact with a top surface of the base and a bottom surface of the pad. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The conveyance hand according to claim 9, wherein the pad includes a suction groove for suctioning the conveyed object and a through hole that penetrates the suction groove and the bottom surface of the pad, and the base includes an exhaust hole, wherein one end of the exhaust hole communicates with an exhaust unit for exhausting air of the suction groove, and the other end of the exhaust hole communicates with the through hole, and the O ring is arranged between the base and the pad so as to form a channel through, inside the O ring, which communicates with the through hole and the exhaust hole. ### Claim 11 (depends on 9) The conveyance hand according to claim 9, wherein the O ring is fixed to the base, and the O ring and the pad are configured to be separated from each other. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The conveyance hand according to claim 1, wherein the support member is configured be a material having conductivity. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The conveyance hand according to claim 1, wherein an insulating layer is formed on a surface of the support member. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The conveyance hand according to claim 1, wherein the conveyance hand has conductivity from the pad to the base. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The conveyance hand according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of directions includes two rotary directions respectively around two axes perpendicular to each other in a horizontal plain. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The conveyance hand according to claim 1, wherein the support member includes exactly three portions each configured to support the pad. ### Claim 17 A conveyance apparatus for conveying a conveyed object, the apparatus comprising: a conveyance hand configured to hold the conveyed object; an arm portion configured to support the conveyance hand; and a driving unit configured to drive the arm portion, wherein the conveyance hand includes: a base; a pad configured to suction the conveyed object; and a support member disposed on the base and configured to support the pad, wherein the support member is configured to support the pad by three or more support portions configured to deform elastically respectively to tilt the pad in respective directions different from each other, and wherein the three or more support portions are configured to deform so that the pad conforms to a shape of the conveyed object disposed on the pad. ### Claim 18 A lithography apparatus for forming a pattern on a substrate, the apparatus comprising: a holding unit configured to hold the substrate; and a conveyance apparatus configured to convey the substrate as a conveyed object to the holding unit, wherein the conveyance apparatus includes: a conveyance hand configured to hold the conveyed object; an arm portion configured to support the conveyance hand; and a driving unit configured to drive the arm portion, and the conveyance hand includes: a base; a pad configured to suction the conveyed object; and a support member disposed on the base and configured to support the pad, wherein the support member is configured to support the pad by three or more support portions configured to deform elastically respectively to tilt the pad in respective directions different from each other, and wherein the three or more support portions are configured to deform so that the pad conforms to a shape of the conveyed object disposed on the pad. ### Claim 19 A method of manufacturing an article, the method comprising: forming a pattern on a substrate by using a lithography apparatus; processing the substrate after the pattern is formed thereon; and manufacturing the article from the processed substrate, wherein the lithography apparatus includes: a holding unit configured to hold the substrate; and a conveyance apparatus configured to convey the substrate as a conveyed object to the holding unit, and the conveyance apparatus includes: a conveyance hand configured to hold the conveyed object; an arm portion configured to support the conveyance hand; and a driving unit configured to drive the arm portion, and the conveyance hand includes: a base; a pad configured to suction the conveyed object; and a support member disposed on the base and configured to support the pad, wherein the support member is configured to support the pad by three or more support portions configured to deform elastically respectively to tilt the pad in respective directions different from each other, and wherein the three or more support portions are configured to deform so that the pad conforms to a shape of the conveyed object disposed on the pad. ### Claim 20 A holding mechanism, to be used in a conveyance hand, for holding a conveyed object, the mechanism comprising: a pad configured to suction the conveyed object; and a support member disposed on a base and configured to support the pad, wherein the support member is configured to support the pad by three or more support portions configured to deform elastically respectively to tilt the pad in respective directions different from each other, and wherein the three or more support portions are configured to deform so that the pad conforms to a shape of the conveyed object disposed on the pad.