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:
May. 21, 2002
Filed:
May. 08, 2000
Hiroya Kirimura, Kyoto, JP;
Nissin Electric Co., Ltd., Kyoto, JP;
Abstract
The invention provides a vacuum processing apparatus, in which a substantial installation area is smaller than that of a conventional vacuum processing apparatus having a plurality of processing chambers of the same size and the same number, and easy maintenance can be achieved. More specifically, the invention provides a vacuum processing apparatus including a plurality of processing chambers, which are provided with processing devices for effecting predetermined processing on a target object, can achieve predetermined internal pressures, and can accommodate the target object for effecting predetermined processing under the predetermined pressures. In the vacuum processing apparatus, the plurality of processing chambers are arranged around a central chamber provided for object transfer and being capable of achieving a predetermined internal pressure, and are connected with the central chamber. The plurality of processing chambers are disposed on two or more vertically different levels, and each of the processing chambers and a processing chamber neighboring thereto in the circumferential direction of the central chamber are disposed on different levels, respectively, and overlap only partially each other.