Tokyo Electron Limited

Shinya Tanoue

Tatsuya Iwasaki

Yoshiharu Ota

Masaaki Yoshida

Shinichiro Araki

Eiichiro Kamada

A processing system for processing a substrate. The processing system includes a plurality of processing machines, a machine movable along a transfer path for transferring the substrate to the machines, a drive unit for driving the machine, and a control unit. The control unit includes a memory for storing a teaching threshold in a teaching mode and a practical operation threshold in a practical operation mode that is higher than the teaching threshold when a moving parameter of the drive unit exceeds a given value. The control unit also includes a controller monitoring a parameter representing a moving state of the drive unit to stop the drive unit when the parameter exceeds the practical operation threshold in the practical operation mode or when the parameter exceeds the teaching threshold in the teaching mode.

Interlock apparatus for a transfer machine

The present invention is a conveying unit having a controller for detecting information corresponding to the thickness of each of a plurality of raw substrates, assigning desired identifiers to the raw substrates, storing the identifiers, and causing a conveyor to convey each of the raw substrates or controlling processing conditions for a plurality of processing chambers with the identifiers corresponding to the thickness of each of the raw substrates. Thus, even if one cassette accommodates a plurality of raw substrates, the conveyor can smoothly load the same type of raw substrates to the accommodating cassette and unload them therefrom in a simple structure. The controller sets desired processing conditions for each of the processing portions corresponding to the identifiers.

Conveying unit and substrate processing unit

An interlock apparatus for a transfer machine includes a drive unit for driving the arms of a transfer machine for transferring a substrate such as an LCD substrate. The apparatus also includes a control unit having a monitor function for monitoring a parameter representing the movement condition of the arms and stopping the drive unit when the parameter exceed a predetermined value. The apparatus also includes a switching function for selectively switching the predetermined value between a teaching mode in which the position of the arm is controlled and a practical operation mode in which the transfer machine is actually operated.

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Kumamoto, Japan

Shinya Tanoue