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KR-20260062144-A - Container Transfer And Handling Robot And Powder Coating System Using the Same

KR20260062144AKR 20260062144 AKR20260062144 AKR 20260062144AKR-20260062144-A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a container transfer and cap opening/closing handling robot that is advantageous for automating processes using cylindrical containers and can improve work efficiency by integrating into a single robot the function of gripping both sides of a cylindrical container, such as a reactor used in ultrafine powder atomic layer deposition processes, and the function of opening and closing the lid of the container before and after transferring the cylindrical container to the designated process position. The container transfer and cap opening/closing handling robot according to the present invention may include: a head part coupled to a robot drive device that generates linear and rotational motions for transferring and handling the container; an X-axis gripping module installed to perform a motion of opening and closing in the diameter direction (X-axis direction) of the container and gripping both sides of the container in the diameter direction; and a cap clamping module installed on the X-axis gripping module and coupled while in close contact with the outer surface of the container cap when performing a process of separating the cap that opens and closes one end of the container from one end of the container or coupling it to one end of the container.

Inventors

  • 김환수
  • 이민지
  • 양호윤

Assignees

  • 알페스 주식회사

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20241025

Claims (8)

  1. A head part coupled to a robot drive unit that generates linear and rotational motion for transporting and handling containers; An X-axis gripping module installed in the head portion to open and close in the diameter direction (X-axis direction) of the container and gripping both sides of the container in the diameter direction; and, A cap clamping module installed on the above X-axis gripping module, which is coupled while in close contact with the outer surface of the cap of the container when performing a process of separating the cap that opens and closes one end of the container from one end of the container or coupling it to one end of the container; A container transfer robot including
  2. In paragraph 1, The X-axis gripping module is, An X-axis actuator having a pair of X-axis extension rods extending in the X-axis direction in the head portion; and, A pair of X-axis grippers coupled to each of the above X-axis telescopic rods and gripping both sides in the diametric direction of the reactor; A container transfer robot including
  3. In paragraph 2, The above X-axis gripper is, A container transfer robot comprising a plurality of X-axis gripper frames extending in the vertical direction and having a fork shape, a plurality of X-axis gripper frames formed on the inner surface of each of the plurality of X-axis gripper frames, and an upper gripping projection and a lower gripping projection formed to protrude from the upper and lower ends of each of the plurality of X-axis gripping members and having a gripping surface formed as a curved surface corresponding to the side of the container.
  4. In paragraph 3, The above clamping module is a container transfer robot installed between the lower portions of a plurality of X-axis gripper frames.
  5. In paragraph 4, The above cap clamping module is, A container transfer robot comprising a clamping frame horizontally installed between the lower portions of the plurality of X-axis gripper frames, and a clamping projection formed to protrude from the inner surface of the clamping frame and inserted into a clamping groove formed concavely on the outer surface of the cap.
  6. In paragraph 5, A container transfer robot in which the inner surface of the clamping frame is formed as a curved surface that is in close contact with the outer circumference of the cap.
  7. In paragraph 6, A container transfer robot having a cap support surface formed on one side of the gripping surface of the lower gripping projection, the cap support surface being in close contact with the outer surface of the cap and having a curved surface with a curvature that matches the curvature of the outer surface of the cap.
  8. In paragraph 1, The above container is a container transfer robot that is a reactor for receiving powder in a powder coating system that supplies reaction gas to the powder to coat the outer surface of the powder.

Description

Container Transfer and Cap Opening/Closing Handling Robot and Powder Coating System Using the Same The present invention relates to a robot having the functions of conveying a cylindrical container and opening and closing the container cap, and more specifically, to a container conveying and cap opening/closing handling robot capable of selectively performing the operation of grasping a cylindrical container, such as a reactor used for powder coating, and conveying it to a predetermined process position, and the operation of opening and closing the lid of the container. Unless otherwise indicated in this specification, the contents described in this section are not prior art for the claims of this application, and are not to be recognized as prior art simply because they are included in this section. With the expansion of the market for ultrafine nanoscale powders, various methods are being researched and developed to form high-quality thin films on large volumes of powder. For example, thin-film coated powder can improve the electrochemical and mechanical properties of batteries, and is therefore receiving attention as a technology that can lead the advanced semiconductor/battery market, such as active materials for cathode/anode materials and slurries for CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing). To coat such nanoscale thin films, processes such as CVD (chemical vapor deposition) and ALD (atomic layer deposition) can be applied. Among these, the P-ALD (Powder-Atomic Layer Deposition) method includes a reactor optimized for powder coating and is a technology that enables atomic layer deposition on the particle surface by maximizing the dispersion of the loaded powder. However, conventional rotary thin film deposition processes have several drawbacks. Due to the small internal volume of conventional reactors, the amount of powder that can be loaded per process is relatively small, resulting in a lower yield required for actual mass production. Additionally, manual connection between the reactor and chamber is required for each process, which limits the reduction of production time. To address these issues, mass production coating technologies and equipment structures that do not require manual connection of the reactor are being proposed. However, while this conventional technology allows for a certain degree of automation in the connection between the reactor and the chamber, the problem of requiring human labor and manual operation during the powder recovery process still persists. In particular, while existing ultrafine nano-level powder coating technologies have faced difficulties in commercial production, efficient automated mass production technologies capable of continuous mass production, considering the specific nature of the coating target being powder, have not yet been proposed. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a powder coating system to which a container transfer robot according to one embodiment of the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of a chamber module of a powder coating system according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of a reactor applied to a powder coating system according to the present invention. Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of the reactor shown in Figure 3. Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a part of the reactor illustrated in Figure 3. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a container transfer robot according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the container transfer robot illustrated in FIG. 6 seen from a different position. Fig. 8 is a side view of the container transfer robot illustrated in Fig. 6. FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an X-axis gripper constituting the container transfer robot illustrated in FIG. 6. FIGS. 10a and FIGS. 10b are drawings showing an example of operation of an X-axis gripper constituting the container transfer robot illustrated in FIG. 6. FIG. 11 is a drawing showing a part of the Y-axis gripper constituting the container transfer robot illustrated in FIG. 6. FIGS. 12a and FIGS. 12b are cross-sectional views showing an example of operation of a cap clamping module constituting the container transfer robot illustrated in FIG. 6. Hereinafter, a container transfer and cap opening/closing handling robot according to a preferred embodiment will be examined in detail with reference to the attached drawings. For reference, in the drawings below, each component is omitted or schematically depicted for convenience and clarity, and the size of each component does not reflect its actual size. Throughout the specification, the same reference numerals refer to the same component, and reference numerals for the same configuration in individual drawings are omitted. Furthermore, detailed descriptions of known functions and configurations that are deemed to unnecessarily obscure the essence