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:
Sep. 03, 2002
Filed:
Apr. 26, 2001
Hitoshi Murayama, Shizuoka-ken, JP;
Tatsuyuki Aoike, Mishima, JP;
Toshiyasu Shirasuna, Mishima, JP;
Kazuyoshi Akiyama, Mishima, JP;
Takashi Ohtsuka, Susono, JP;
Daisuke Tazawa, Mishima, JP;
Kazuto Hosoi, Mishima, JP;
Yukihiro Abe, Shizuoka-ken, JP;
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
For making it feasible to suit to vacuum processing utilizing a system consisting of an exhaust section and a separable vacuum processing vessel section, to ensure flexibility of production, to prevent dust from attaching onto an article, so as to achieve increase in non-defective percentage of vacuum-processed articles, and also to suppress variability in vacuum processing characteristics among lots, an article is loaded into a movable vacuum processing vessel section, the vacuum processing vessel section is preliminarily pressure-reduced and moved, the vacuum processing vessel section is connected to an exhaust section, and communication is established between the vacuum processing vessel section and the exhaust section to perform vacuum processing. A first opening provided in the vacuum processing vessel section is connected to a second opening provided in the exhaust section and a vacuum seal valve of the first opening which is openable and closable, is opened. When opening the valve, the internal pressure of the vacuum processing vessel under reduced pressure is set higher than the pressure of another pressure-reduced space to be brought into communication therewith by the opening of the valve.