초록 ▼

A wafer handler featuring a carriage movable along a rail path, the carriage supporting an upright rotatable arm with a cantilevered wafer chuck. Elevators for raising and lowering trays containing wafer stacks are disposed on either side of the rail path. Each elevator has a curved track section wh

A wafer handler featuring a carriage movable along a rail path, the carriage supporting an upright rotatable arm with a cantilevered wafer chuck. Elevators for raising and lowering trays containing wafer stacks are disposed on either side of the rail path. Each elevator has a curved track section which may be interposed along the rail path. The upright arm has a track follower, parallel to a boom supporting the wafer chuck and freely movable along the rail path, except when it encounters a curved track section. In this instance, the track follower will follow the curved track section, causing rotation of the arm, boom and wafer chuck, bringing the chuck into the wafer stack at an elevation determined by the elevator. In this manner, motion in the X, Y and Z planes may be provided for stacked wafers over extended distances.

대표청구항 ▼

A wafer and disk handling apparatus comprising, a wafer chuck mounted on a horizontally extending boom capable of rotating about a vertical axis, said wafer chuck capable of supporting a wafer in a releasable manner, said boom normally oriented in a first direction by means of a biasing element, an

A wafer and disk handling apparatus comprising, a wafer chuck mounted on a horizontally extending boom capable of rotating about a vertical axis, said wafer chuck capable of supporting a wafer in a releasable manner, said boom normally oriented in a first direction by means of a biasing element, an upright arm supporting said boom along said vertical axis of rotation, said boom supported at a first position along the length of the arm, guide means connected to the upright arm at a second position along the length of the arm for turning said arm to a plurality of directions, carriage means movable along a predefined path for supporting the upright arm, means associated with said predefined path for actuating said guide means at selected locations along the path, for selectively causing said turning of said arm, motor means for moving said carriage means past said selected locations, and a wafer elevator disposed adjacent to said predefined path, said elevator having means for supporting a spaced wafer stack at an elevation for wafer transfer with said wafer chuck.