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:
Jan. 27, 2004
Filed:
Jun. 21, 2001
Richard M. Blank, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Christopher W. Burkhart, Los Gatos, CA (US);
Novellus Systems, Inc., San Jose, CA (US);
Abstract
A device for aligning a flatted object to a desired orientation. The flatted object has a substantially circular perimeter and a flatted chord portion and may be a silicon wafer or a cover for an electrostatic chuck. The device includes multiple conically shaped rollers that center and rotationally align the object, each roller having a bottom lip for supporting the object. Centering rollers are mounted so that they contact the circular perimeter of the object when it is in the desired orientation. Rotational alignment rollers are mounted so that they contact the flatted chord portion of the object when it is in the desired orientation. When placed on the alignment device, the flatted object passively moves to the desired orientation under the force of gravity.