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. 28, 2013
Filed:
Oct. 11, 2006
Applicants:
William P. Mulligan, San Jose, CA (US);
Thomas Pass, San Jose, CA (US);
Inventors:
William P. Mulligan, San Jose, CA (US);
Thomas Pass, San Jose, CA (US);
Assignee:
SunPower Corporation, San Jose, CA (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
B66C 17/08 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
Abstract
In one embodiment, an in-line furnace includes a continuous conveyor configured to hold wafers at an angle relative to ground. The conveyor may have fixedly integrated wafer retainers configured to hold the wafers in slots. The conveyor may be formed by several segments that are joined together. Each of the segments may include a base and a set of wafer retainers formed thereon. The conveyor may be driven to move the wafers through a chamber of the furnace, where the wafers are thermally processed.