The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 20, 1987
Filed:
Mar. 05, 1986
Daniel J Fisher, Jr, Chelmsford, MA (US);
BTU Engineering Corporation, North Billerica, MA (US);
Abstract
The disclosed wafer handling system includes an input port, an input queue, and output port, and an output queue. The input and output queue each include a vertical elevator assembly capable of storing plural carriers representing multiple tube-loads of wafers input in the input port and into the output queue. A ferriswheel having multiple tube-load storage means is cooperative with an input waling beam and the input queue for arraying the plural carriers therein in multiple tube-loads of wafers each at different intermediate storage locations. A vertical transfer sub-assembly is cooperative with the ferriswheel and with a computer-controlled robot arm for transferring the wafers from each tube-load of carries to quartzware maintained by an inclinable transfer pad defining an elevator-transport access port. An output walking beam is cooperative with the vertical transfer mechanism and the robot for placing processed wafers back in their original tube-load of carriers and for delivering them to the multiple tube-load output queue. The inclinable transfer pad includes movable surfaces for preventing surface contact induced product cross-contamination. Air flow patterns are so produced that positive and negative pressures cooperate to reduce air-borne contamination.