Workpiece holding and positioning mechanism and system
US4555216A · kind A · utility
14Cited by
6References
13Claims
0Family size
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 21, 1983 |
| Grant date | Nov 26, 1985 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 21, 2003 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01L21/67
- WIPO fieldSemiconductors
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A workpiece positioning mechanism (10, FIG. 1) includes a movable arm (12) having a plurality of joints (14). A pair of grippers (26 and 28) are movable toward and away from a semiconductor wafer boat (44). The grippers are held in position by a stop member (70, FIG. 4) when they engage the boat (44) and locked in an open position by prongs (86). A solenoid (30) is actuated to allow the grippers to move between their open and closed positions. Flexible bellows (22 and 94) and tubing (24) surround moving parts (e.g., 14, 62, 64, 66, 80) of the mechanism (10) to prevent contamination of the semiconductor wafers (52).
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.