Manipulator auto-teach and position correction system

A method comprising:

• determining a location of a station module reference point with at least one stationary transmitter, where the at least one stationary transmitter transmits an identification signal uniquely identifying the at least one stationary transmitter to at least one target of a station module;
• determining a location of a transport apparatus reference point with the at least one stationary transmitter, where the at least one stationary transmitter transmits the identification signal identifying the at least one transmitter to at least one target of the transport apparatus;
• and
• assigning a location of the transport apparatus reference point to the station reference point for pick and place operations.

A method comprising:

• determining an operational characteristic of at least one of a station module and a transport apparatus with at least one transmitter, where the at least one transmitter transmits an identification signal uniquely identifying the at least one transmitter to targets of at least one of the station module and the transport apparatus;
• determining a deviation between a reference datum of a processing apparatus and the operational characteristic based on the identification signal transmitted by the at least one transmitter to at least one target of the at least one of the station module and the transport apparatus, where the processing apparatus is connected to the at least one of the station module and the transport apparatus;
• and
• adjusting the operational characteristic by an adjustment amount if the deviation exceeds a predetermined limit.

A substrate processing system comprising:

• a housing;
• at least one station module coupled to the housing, the at least one station module having a station module reference point;
• a transport apparatus disposed at least partly within the housing, the transport apparatus having a transport apparatus reference point;
• at least one transmitter connected to the housing;
• and
• a controller operably coupled to at least the transport apparatus and the at least one transmitter, the controller being configured to,
• effect movement of the transport apparatus so that the transport apparatus reference point is moved to a location of the station module reference point,
• determine, through one or more signals transmitted by the transmitter, a relative location between the transport apparatus reference point and the station module reference point,
• determine a corrective move for repositioning the transport apparatus reference point if a locational difference between the transport apparatus reference point and the station module reference point exceeds a predetermined limit, and
• effect repositioning the transport apparatus reference point relative to the station module reference point according to the corrective move.

A drive system for a material handling apparatus, the drive system comprising:

• a stationary drive section;
• a motive drive section in communication with the stationary drive section, the stationary drive section being configured to act on the motive drive section for moving the motive drive section relative to the stationary drive section;
• at least one target disposed on the motive drive section;
• at least one transmitter disposed on the stationary drive section, the at least one transmitter being configured to transmit an identification signal identifying the at least one transmitter to the at least one target;
• and
• a controller operably coupled to at least the at least one transmitter and stationary drive section, the controller being configured to,
• determine locations of the at least one target relative to the at least one transmitter to obtain a position data set, where the determination of a location of the at least one the target depends on characteristics of the identification signal,
• apply a coordinate transformation to the position data set to determine position information, and
• produce commutation and control signals for operating the drive system based on the position information.