US Patent 7955043 Substrate transfer apparatus

Provided is a substrate transfer apparatus which can perform stable and highly accurate transfer without making a configuration complicated. A substrate transfer apparatus according to the present invention includes a multijoint arm whose one end is arranged on a base and the other end is connected to a hand for supporting a substrate, a linear guide for guiding a rectilinear movement of the hand, and a belt driving mechanism for moving the hand along a guide rail of the linear guide. The substrate transfer apparatus having such a configuration supports a load acting on the hand by the multijoint arm and ensures rectilinear transfer performance of the hand by the linear guide. Therefore, since a special mechanism for passing the substrate through a dead point is not required, the configuration is prevented from becoming complicated. Furthermore, since the load does not directly act on the linear guide, high transfer accuracy can be obtained.