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:
Jul. 16, 2002
Filed:
Sep. 17, 1999
Paul E. Lewis, San Jose, CA (US);
Adel George Tannous, Santa Clara, CA (US);
Karl A. Davlin, Hayward, CA (US);
Mid-America Commercialization Corporation, Manhattan, KS (US);
Abstract
A method and apparatus for automated interfacing with a processing tool in a manufacturing environment having a tilt mechanism and a rotation mechanism. In one embodiment, semiconductor wafers in a cassette are presented to a processing tool by tilting the cassette during movement towards the tool. The tilt mechanism provides a means for seating the wafers in the cassette. The rotation mechanism allows the cassette to be adjusted to meet a robotic arm which extracts wafers from the cassette. Where the cassette is part of a Standard Mechanical InterFace (SMIF) system, the pod is placed onto the interface apparatus, where the pod cover is removed to allow processing of the wafers. A bellows is provided to cover the exposed cassette, thus creating an extended mini-environment including the interface apparatus, tool, and pod cover. In one embodiment, the interface apparatus includes robotic arms and a lift mechanism. Operation of the lift mechanism to open a container effects the positioning of the robotic arms to transfer the container to the tool. In one embodiment, semiconductor wafers in a cassette are ionized as the robotic arms position to grip the cassette. A gripping mechanism is adapted to grip a variety of containers in a variety of positions. A base receiver accepts containers in a first and a second orientation. A main controller provides control to a plurality of motors and functional blocks within the interface apparatus.