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:
Mar. 11, 2003
Filed:
May. 26, 1998
Applicant:
Inventors:
Victor J. Theriault, Beverly, MA (US);
Mark Ives, Merrimack, NH (US);
Assignee:
Brooks Automation, Inc., Chelmsford, MA (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
B65G 1/133 ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
B65G 1/133 ;
Abstract
A load lock and related method of handling a substrate involves placing a substrate onto a vertically movable poppet and moving the poppet between two vertically opposed subchambers such that in moving the poppet toward one of the subchambers, that subchamber is sealed to atmosphere. The two subchamber system allows one substrate to be placed into a buffer and another substrate to be cooled at the same time. Also, the system allows for a slow vacuum to be made on the substrate in a subchamber to avoid undesirably loading the substrate by the otherwise immediate drop in pressure.