End effector for unloading disks at a grinding station
US5984619A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 6, 1998 |
| Grant date | Nov 16, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 6, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01L21/6838
- WIPO fieldMachine tools
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
An end effector for loading and unloading a magnetic information storage circular disk on a grinder carrier surface includes an effector block, an annular vacuum cup, including vacuum apertures, attached to and extending from the block and a vacuum source for attaching the cup to the disk. The annular cup surrounds and abuts against a periphery of a central aperture of the disk. A disk-carrying effector further includes a series, preferably three, of spaced vacuum cups extending radially outwardly of the annular vacuum cup. The overall effector is placed into abutment with radially outward portions of the disk surface and used to reliably unload a ground disk from a grinding surface. The spaced vacuum cups compensate for any non-planarity of the disk to be picked up caused by uneven wear of the grinder surface upon which the disk rests.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.