Did You Know...
...that the video game, Pong, was invented by a guy who graduated at the bottom of his engineering class? Nolan Bushnell spent more time running the games at a local amusement park than he did on his studies at the University of Utah. His dreams of working for Disney's amusement empire were dashed when the company wouldn't hire him. Taking a boring job, Nolan daydreamed about electronic versions of popular games. He invented Pong, the first video game, and went on to found Atari Co.
PatentStorm News
Make the Most of Our Site
See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.
Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.
Registered users: Manage your profile.
| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8002511 | Batch forming apparatus, substrate processing system, batch forming method, and storage medium A batch forming apparatus forms a batch of substrates by combining a plurality of substrates that have been taken out from a plurality of carriers each containing therein the substrates in a stacked manner. The batch forming apparatus includes: a substrate transfer ... | 08/23/2011 |
| 7367773 | Apparatus for combining or separating disk pairs simultaneously Various methods and apparatus are provided for merging and demerging pairs of disks. In one embodiment, pairs of merged disks are first separated and then transferred to separate cassettes such that all of the disks in the separate cassettes are oriented in the same... | 05/06/2008 |
| 7322098 | Method of simultaneous two-disk processing of single-sided magnetic recording disks Various methods and apparatus for simultaneously processing two single-sided hard memory disks is provided. Disks are positioned in pairs, with one surface of one disk positioned adjacent one surface of the second disk, with the disk surfaces touching or with a slig... | 01/29/2008 |
| 7308779 | Method and device for packing tubes Tubes (T), coming from a production line, are supplied by means of a grouping unit (1). The grouping unit comprises a conveyor belt (10), with product holders (11) and the tubes are supplied in groups by means of a stepping motor (12). A ... | 12/18/2007 |
| 7267841 | Method for manufacturing single-sided sputtered magnetic recording disks An information-storage media is provided that includes: (a) a substrate disk 312 having first and second opposing surfaces; (b) a first interface layer 304 on the first surface, the first interface la... | 09/11/2007 |
| 7216909 | Breakaway mandrel for transporting disks An end-effector that loads disks into a pallet of a sputtering machine, for example, has a two-piece mandrel with a rigid inner core and a plastic outer sleeve slideably axially mounted on the core. The sleeve is attached to the core with a coupling providing a pred... | 05/15/2007 |
| 7210924 | Heat treatment system and a method for cooling a loading chamber There is provided a vertical heat treatment system capable of simplifying the structure of various mechanisms in the vicinity of an opening which is formed in a partition wall separating a housing-box transfer area from a treating-object transfer area (a wafer trans... | 05/01/2007 |
| 7179044 | Method of removing substrates from a storage site and a multiple substrate batch loader A substrate handling robot includes an arm drive mechanism. A first arm is connected to the arm drive mechanism. A multiple substrate batch loader is connected to the first arm. A second arm is also connected to the arm drive mechanism. A single plane end effector i... | 02/20/2007 |
| 7180709 | Information-storage media with dissimilar outer diameter and/or inner diameter chamfer designs on two sides A single-sided magnetic hard disk 200 is provided that includes opposing first and second sides 300 and 308 having opposing first and second chamfers 408 and 412, respectively. The first chamfer 408 is dissimilar (or differe... | 02/20/2007 |
| 7172383 | Wafer transfer equipment and semiconductor device manufacturing apparatus using wafer transfer equipment A semiconductor wafer transfer equipment transfers a plurality of semiconductor wafers, held in grooves of carriers in an erected state, to a boat using first and second wafer elevators equipped with a comb-teeth portion and a wafer grip and transfer unit. The first... | 02/06/2007 |
| 7168153 | Method for manufacturing single-sided hard memory disks Various apparatus and methods are provided for positioning and handling single-sided hard memory disks. A disk carrier is provided with ribs formed on the inside surface of opposing side walls. The ribs form disk receiving grooves or channels. The ribs further compr... | 01/30/2007 |
| 7165308 | Dual disk transport mechanism processing two disks tilted toward each other Various apparatus and methods are provided for handling and transporting pairs of gap merge disks. A transfer member is provided in one embodiment which engages the outer perimeter of a pair of disks at three locations. The transfer member is configured to induce an... | 01/23/2007 |
| 7114908 | Method and apparatus for stacking semiconductor wafers An apparatus for stacking semiconductor wafers comprises a housing configured to releasably maintain a plurality of semiconductor wafers in fixed positions relative to the housing. The apparatus also includes a transfer guide proximate to the housing, the transfer g... | 10/03/2006 |
| 7083376 | Automated merge nest for pairs of magnetic storage disks Various methods and apparatus for handling a plurality of disks and repositioning them into pairs is provided. In one embodiment, a nest is configured to hold a cassette and includes a nest. The nest includes a curved surface with ribs or teeth extending therefrom w... | 08/01/2006 |
| 7083871 | Single-sided sputtered magnetic recording disks An information-storage media is provided that includes: (a) a substrate disk 312 having first and second opposing surfaces; (b) a first selected layer 304 on the first surface, the first selected sele... | 08/01/2006 |
| 7083502 | Method for simultaneous two-disk texturing Various methods and apparatus for simultaneously texturing two single-sided hard memory disks is provided. The two disks are placed in a concentric contact merge orientation such that the outwardly facing surface of each disk may be simultaneously subjected to textu... | 08/01/2006 |
| 7052739 | Method of lubricating multiple magnetic storage disks in close proximity Various apparatus and methods are provided for lubricating hard memory disks. A mandrel is provided in one embodiment with three rows of teeth and provides a stable, three-point engagement with the inside edge of the disks at the center aperture. When removing disks... | 05/30/2006 |
| 7027246 | Method for servo pattern application on single-side processed disks in a merged state Methods and apparatus are provided for creating servo-tracks on the R-side of single-sided hard memory disks. The method includes placing two single-sided disks in a concentric contact merge orientation with the R-side of each disk facing outwardly. Two independent ... | 04/11/2006 |
| 7000755 | Apparatus for repositioning product while maintaining forward conveying speed An apparatus comprising a first conveyor and a second conveyor, the first and the second conveyor being arranged in line with each other, having the same conveying direction and, in use, having substantially the same conveying speed, while between the first and the ... | 02/21/2006 |
| 6769855 | Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method A substrate processing apparatus (1) includes a wafer loading/unloading and arraying part (14) to remove substrates W from a container (C) where a plurality of unprocessed substrates W to be processed are accommodated at regular intervals, substrate ar... | 08/03/2004 |
| 6733224 | Feeder for a tube-filling machine The present invention relates to feeder assemblies, and more specifically, relates to feeder assemblies for a tube-filling machine. The present invention includes at least one robotic arm capable of moving tubes and tube holders between two locations. The robotic ar... | 05/11/2004 |
| 6612801 | Method and device for arraying substrates and processing apparatus thereof A substrate arraying method, a substrate arraying device and a small-sized processing apparatus commonly includes a step of taking 26 sheets of wafers W out of one carrier C at regular intervals of L, a step of taking 26 sheets of wafers W out of another ... | 09/02/2003 |
| 6543982 | Adjustable wafer transfer machine An adjustable wafer transfer machine that includes an adjusting mechanism for changing the spacing between adjacent wafers to accommodate placement of the wafers in either a smaller wafer carrier or a larger wafer carrier and a transfer mechanism for tran... | 04/08/2003 |
| 6439631 | Variable-pitch pick and place device Improved variable-pitch pick and place devices may include one or more improvements such as a mechanical linkage such as pantograph linkage, the linkage itself linked to a plurality of device-gripping mechanisms arranged in a row so as to keep uniform, th... | 08/27/2002 |
| 6354794 | Method for automatically transferring wafers between wafer holders in a liquid environment An apparatus for transferring wafers between wafer holders such as wafer cassettes, etching drums and the like includes a tank for containing a liquid transfer medium in which the wafers can be transferred. The apparatus includes a wafer transfer unit tha... | 03/12/2002 |
| 6086319 | Multiple well plate stack expander A device and method for expanding the distance between individual multiwell plates of a stack of multiwell plates so that all the plates can be loaded at once into a magazine commonly used in automated analysis systems. Significant to the device are a ser... | 07/11/2000 |
| 5839769 | Expanding gripper with elastically variable pitch screw An expandable gripper for semiconductor processing equipment that allows the pitch between semiconductor chips to be adjusted. To adjust the pitch, several pick and place mechanisms are mounted around a shaft using nuts. The threads of the nuts have varia... | 11/24/1998 |
| 5803697 | Charger assembly for a wafer carrying apparatus A charger assembly for a wafer carrying apparatus, includes a charger for conveying wafers loaded in a plurality of grooves of a boat to a subsequent manufacturing process. The charger has a plurality of wafer guiders disposed side by side and has a first... | 09/08/1998 |
| 5655871 | Device for transferring plate-like objects A plate-like object carrier device comprising plural arms arranged at a same pitch interval to horizontally support a wafer on each of the arms, a first motor for driving a single arm forward and backward and independently of a group of arms, a second mot... | 08/12/1997 |
| 5639203 | Semiconductor device transfer apparatus A semiconductor device transfer apparatus which can transfer semiconductor devices from a tray to a board in a short time period with spacings between the semiconductor devices adjusted as required at the board, is disclosed. The transfer device includes ... | 06/17/1997 |
| 5562387 | Device for transferring plate-like objects A plate-like object carrier device comprising plural arms arranged at a same pitch interval to horizontally support a wafer on each of the arms, a first motor for driving a single arm forward and backward and independently of a group of arms, a second mot... | 10/08/1996 |
| 5553442 | Robotic system for mixing articles in containers A method and apparatus for changing the mix of articles in a plurality of containers. A first set of containers is conveyed to a mixing station, each container of the first set of containers containing a plurality of articles having physical characteristi... | 09/10/1996 |
| 5501568 | Wafer aligning apparatus A wafer aligning apparatus for re-aligning a plurality of wafers at different pitches. The apparatus includes a plurality of wafer retaining plates, each of which retains a plurality of wafers, a guide device which guides the wafer retaining plates, and a... | 03/26/1996 |
| 5269643 | Method and apparatus for transferring wafers from wafer carrier to wafer conveyor apparatus in carrierless wafer surface treatment apparatus A method of taking out and transferring a plurality of wafers from each of a plurality of wafer carriers to a wafer conveyor robot includes the steps of taking out wafer groups inside the wafer carriers from respective wafer carriers and aligning the same... | 12/14/1993 |
| 5131800 | Manually operable apparatus for transferring disks between cassettes A manually operable apparatus is provided for transferring disks with center holes such as semiconductor wafers from one cassette of an ordinary kind to another having a different pitch. The apparatus has an elongated rod on which an array of disk-shaped ... | 07/21/1992 |
| 5007788 | Pitch changing device for changing pitches of plate-like objects and method of changing pitches A pitch changing device of the present invention includes a lift mechanism for unloading a plurality of wafers arranged in a cassette at predetermined pitches from the cassette while the pitches are kept unchanged, and a chuck mechanism for holding the un... | 04/16/1991 |
| 4957406 | Apparatus for transferring disks from one cassette to another with different pitch An apparatus is provided for transferring disks with center holes such as semiconductor wafers from one cassette of an ordinary kind to another having a different pitch. The apparatus has an elongated rod on which an array of disk-shaped pieces each capab... | 09/18/1990 |
| 4444424 | Extensible head for gripping and modifying a group of objects An extensible head for seizing and reorienting a group of objects includes a frame to which is swivelled a member which drives swivelled first links to cause the translation of carriages on which are rotatably mounted supports for gripping members, these ... | 04/24/1984 |
| 4444423 | Variable configuration head for seizing and handling objects The invention relates to a variable-configuration head for seizing and handling objects, which head comprises a frame from which are suspended supports for seizing members through the medium of three links swivelled both to the supports and to the frame, ... | 04/24/1984 |
| 4381164 | Ammunition transfer sling and method of using A hoist includes an upper support plate connected to a lower guide plate by two sliding rods. The hoist is designed for lifting a plurality of elongated articles, such as projectiles, by hooking each article onto a fastener attached to the lower surface o... | 04/26/1983 |
