Material or article handling – Apparatus for moving material between zones having different...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-01
2002-04-02
Bratlie, Steven A. (Department: 3652)
Material or article handling
Apparatus for moving material between zones having different...
C414S222130, C414S225010, C414S939000, C414S941000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06364592
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus for transferring substrates between a loading of such substrates and a processing station wherein a loading section is provided as part of the processing apparatus in which a transport robot is moved lengthwise along the length of a loading section. The invention hence resides in an improvement in such a processing apparatus whereby the loading section has a reduced footprint thereby providing for greater utilization of the workspace clean room.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The method of the present invention relates generally to material transfer devices. The material transfer might conclude but not be limited to semiconductor wafers, such as silicone and gallium arsenide, semiconductor packaging substrates such as high density interconnects HDI, semiconductor manufacturing processing imaging plates, such as masks or recticles, and large area display panels, such as activate matrix LCD substrates.
The need for high throughput transport devices which can move a substrate or workpiece between remote locations within highly confined areas as defined by a limited footprint, such as found in facilities where the manufacturer of wafers or panels used in the semiconductor industry are in high demand. This is because in the process of manufacturing, not just in the semiconductor industry, the need to move a workpiece from one position to the next not only requires a high throughput rate, but also accuracy of repeatability of placement of workpieces in registration at predetermined orientation on a supporting surface. Still a further constraint is to fabricate a positioning machine which is capable of working in a clean room environment where the distance of particulates is minimized if not nonexistent. In such clean room environments, floor space is at a premium.
Copending U.S. application Ser. No. 09/044,820 entitled Method of Transferring Substrates With Two Different Substrate Holding End Effectors” discloses a substrate processing apparatus as illustrated in FIG.
1
. As is typical, the apparatus indicated generally as
10
in that application comprises a treatment section
11
and a substrate loading section
13
. The treatment section
11
generally comprises a robot transport mechanism
12
, substrate processing modules
14
connected to a main chamber
15
and load locks
16
. The treatment section
11
may be any one of a number of substrate treatment sections well known in the art. As seen in
FIG. 2
, it should be seen that the loading section
13
generally comprises a frame
20
, a substrate stocker
24
, two cassette load ports
26
,
26
, two substrate cassette door removers
28
,
28
four buffer cassettes b
1
, b
2
, b
3
and b
4
, a substrate aligner
30
and a substrate transport robot
32
. The stocker
24
is adapted to hold a plurality of substrate sets or capsules, each cassette has a housing which can individually support substrates therein. However, one drawback with such a system is that the inclusion of all these elements on the frame, causes the footprint of the device to be sizable, even taken relative to other components in the system. As previously stated, there is a premium placed on the area where such throughput transport devices operate, because such areas are highly confined and require machines to have a limited footprint.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a device which is capable of moving substrates between a wafer carrier and a main transport chamber using a small footprint design.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a device of the aforementioned type which is capable of automatic transport of substrates from one location to another.
Still a further object of the invention is to provide a device of the aforementioned type wherein substrates carried by the device are moved with a high degree of accuracy and precision.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following disclosure and the appended claims.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention resides in an apparatus for moving substrates between a loading of such substrates and a working chamber and comprises a frame and a loading station connected to the frame and having at least two loading locations wherein the plurality of substrates may be supplied or received in stacked form therein. A plurality of load locks are provided at a second station located each directly oppositely one of the locations at the loading station and corresponding in number to the locations at the loading station. The loading station and the second station being disposed oppositely of one another along a given line of separation. A substrate handling means is disposed between the loading and the second stations for picking up and moving one or a plurality of ones of the substrates between the loading and second stations. The substrate handling means includes a linear positioning mechanism movable along a track of given width for positioning the handling means along the given line, and the loading and second stations being separated from one another substantially only by the given width of the linear positioning mechanism.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5019233 (1991-05-01), Blake et al.
patent: 5460478 (1995-10-01), Akimoto et al.
patent: 5518542 (1996-05-01), Matsukawa et al.
patent: 5553396 (1996-09-01), Kato et al.
patent: 5740034 (1998-04-01), Saeki
Bratlie Steven A.
Brooks Automation Inc.
Perman & Green LLP
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