Transporting robot for semiconductor wafers

A transporting robot for semiconductor wafers contained in a wafer cassette, the robot being used in a clean room in which a laminar flow of air moves downward from an air-supplying means of the clean room, the robot comprising:

• a guide rail disposed substantially horizontally under the air-supplying means of the clean room;
• a robot body depending from the gude rail and slidably connected to the guide rail for movement along the guide rail;
• first drive means for driving the robot body along the guide rail;
• a tubular enclosure enclosing the entire length of the guide rail;
• and suction means for drawing the air thereinto from the inside of the enclosure so that dust produced inside the enclosure is prevented from blowing out of the enclosure, said robot body comprising:
• clamping means for releasably clamping the wafer cassette;
• an arm assembly, extending between the guide rail and the clamping means, for controlling the position of the clamping means;
• and
• a wrist assembly, interposed between the arm assembly and the clamping means, for adjusting the orientation of the clamping means, said wrist assembly comprising:
• a) a wrist frame connected via a horizontal pivot to the arm assembly for upward and downward movement, the wrist frame rotatably supporting the clamping means for turning movement of the clamping means about a shaft perpendicular to said horizontal pivot;
• b) second drive means for pivoting the wrist frame relative to the arm assembly;
• and
• c) third drive means for turning the clamping means relative to the wrist frame,
• said enclosure having a slender opening extending therealong and opening sideward, the slender opening allowing the robot body to pass out of the enclosure therethrough, said suction means comprising an air intake duct in communication with the inside of the enclosure, the air intake duct having a suction opening which opens upward at the lower edge of the slender opening of the enclosure so that an air flow directed to the suction opening forms an air curtain covering the slender opening of the enclosure, whereby dust produced in the enclosure is prevented from blowing out of the enclosure through the slender opening.