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3M employee and church chorister Art Fry needed something to temporarily mark pages in his hymnal. He was in luck because his colleague, Spencer Silver, accidentally developed a glue that was too weak for other purposes. After initially discouraging consumer response, Post-it Notes became a hit in 1979.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7976263 | Integrated wafer transfer mechanism An integrated high speed robotic mechanism is disclosed for improving transport equipment, integrating an object movement with other functionalities such as alignment or identification. The disclosed integrated robot assembly typically comprises an end effector for ... | 07/12/2011 |
| 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 |
| 7337792 | Liquid processing apparatus and liquid processing method A cleaning apparatus 1 includes a foup loading/unloading part 2 for mounting foups F each accommodating a plurality of wafers W at intervals of a constant pitch (normal pitch), a rotor 34 capable of holding the wafers W at half the normal pitch ... | 03/04/2008 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 7134827 | Reduced footprint tool for automated processing of microelectronic substrates The present invention provides tools and methods of processing microelectronic substrates in which the tools maintain high throughput yet have dramatically lower footprint than conventional tools. In preferred aspects, the present invention provides novel tool desig... | 11/14/2006 |
| 7097045 | Automated system and method of storing and picking articles An automated storage system for storing and picking articles delivered on incoming load carriers such as pallets comprises a device (depalletizer) for separating the article packing units, a tray storage facility (130) for storing the packing units (15... | 08/29/2006 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 7067018 | Automated system for handling and processing wafers within a carrier A workpiece handling and processing system has a interface section for loading wafers from cassettes into carriers. The wafers are lifted out of cassettes by a buffer elevator and moved into a position over an open carrier by a buffer robot. A comb elevator lifts co... | 06/27/2006 |
| 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 |
| 7047710 | Apparatus for depositing a packing unit at a desired position on a load carrier A machine for loading a load carrier (20) such as a pallet with packing units (cardboard boxes, collis etc.), which form a load stack (21) on the load carrier, is presented. The machine includes handling and support mechanism (52–57), that all... | 05/23/2006 |
| 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 |
| 6736582 | Device for manipulating an object for loading and unloading a clean room In a device for manipulating an object for loading and unloading a clean room, the problem is to reduce the hardware expense for adjustment devices and for air conditioning while maintaining ergonomic benefits and to further improve the clean room conditions in the ... | 05/18/2004 |
| 6709218 | Robot blade for semiconductor processing equipment The present invention generally provides a robot blade which provides a plurality of semi-conductive or conductive contacts disposed at least partially on the surface of the blade to support a substrate above the blade. The contacts are preferably located inwardly f... | 03/23/2004 |
| 6619903 | System and method for reticle protection and transport A reticle protection and transport system and method for a lithography tool. The system includes an indexer that stores a plurality of reticles and a removable reticle cassette. The removable reticle cassette is comprised of an inner chamber and an outer ... | 09/16/2003 |
| 6530733 | Substrate processing pallet and related substrate processing method and machine A substrate processing pallet has a top surface and a plurality of side surfaces. The top surface has at least one recess adapted to receive a substrate. The recess includes a support structure adapted to contact a portion of a substrate seated in the rec... | 03/11/2003 |
| 6371716 | Apparatus and method for unloading substrates Disclosed is an apparatus for unloading substrates. The apparatus includes a handling station, a conveying robot, and a process apparatus controller. The handling station arranges substrates having different sizes and processed by a prior process apparatu... | 04/16/2002 |
| 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 |
| 5620295 | Transfer apparatus A transfer apparatus for transferring a plurality of substrates between carriers holding these equidistantly arranged substrates thereon and a support member, comprising a carrier table for arranging a plurality of the carriers arranged in a serial array ... | 04/15/1997 |
| 5505577 | Transfer apparatus A transfer apparatus comprising a carrier table for arranging a plurality of the carriers arranged in a serial array so as to hold the substrates mutually parallel to each other, a plurality of push-up members being adapted to be moved below each of the c... | 04/09/1996 |
| 5375961 | Apparatus and method for debagging articles The invention provides a method and apparatus for debagging a stack of articles such as can ends and the like which are arranged in a facewise stacked condition in an elongate tubular bag. The method comprises the steps of engaging one end of the bag and ... | 12/27/1994 |
| 5374153 | Transfer apparatus There is provided a transfer apparatus which is capable of transferring objects on a plurality of carriers at a time to a desired point. This apparatus comprises a carrier table for linearly arranging a plurality of the carriers, a plurality of push-up me... | 12/20/1994 |
| 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 |
| 5190434 | Article supplier An article supplier is provided with a first elevator for supplying articles contained in a pallet to a robot, a second elevator for discharging an empty pallet, and a driving mechanism for seesaw-moving the first and second elevators with the pallet bein... | 03/02/1993 |
| 5145306 | Method and apparatus for handling confections A method and apparatus is provided, for separating articles from product boards and transporting the product articles to another processing station or packaging area. Because of the sticky nature of confections which may be handled the product must be scr... | 09/08/1992 |
| 5054988 | Apparatus for transferring semiconductor wafers The present invention relates to an apparatus for transferring a plurality of semiconductor wafers from their cassettes to a boat. This apparatus comprises a support body on which the cassettes and the boat are mounted, a lifter for lifting wafers from th... | 10/08/1991 |
| 4952115 | Wafer support device A wafer support device including at least one support member shaped like a rotatable rod and having plural wafer support grooves formed at different pitches on the outer surface of the member in the longitudinal direction thereof. The frequencies of excha... | 08/28/1990 |
| 4947784 | Apparatus and method for transferring wafers between a cassette and a boat An apparatus for transferring wafers comprises a turntable for orienting a plurality of wafers which are loaded in a cassette, a lifting mechanism for lifting the wafers away from the cassette, a plurality of opening/closing chuck mechanisms, and a slide ... | 08/14/1990 |
| 4938655 | Wafer transfer method A wafer transfer method according to the present invention comprises taking out a plurality of wafers from a cassette while holding the wafers by a chuck mechanism, transporting the held wafers to a region over a boat, transferring all the wafers from the... | 07/03/1990 |
| 4856957 | Semiconductor wafer transfer apparatus with back-to-back positioning and separation An apparatus is disclosed for the bulk transfer of semiconductor wafers from container to container for processing in the back-to-back configuration. The apparatus includes a stage (12) for selectively raising the wafers from a boat (14) upward into a ret... | 08/15/1989 |
| 4744715 | Wafer transfer apparatus Wafers stocked in a first wafer carrier are transferred to a second wafer carrier through a first opening and a second opening provided respectively in the first and the second wafer carriers by turning the first and the second wafer carriers so that the ... | 05/17/1988 |
| 4597819 | Apparatus for altering pitch in arrangement of wafers A wafer arrangement pitch altering apparatus comprising a pair of cylindrical grooved cams parallelly disposed, a plurality of cylindrical grooves formed to intersect a given generatrix of the grooved cams with respectively equal pitches, disposed symmetr... | 07/01/1986 |
| 4395190 | Power operated extensions for forks of a fork lift truck Each of the tines of a fork lift truck is provided with a sleeve which is telescopically slidable thereover. A cross member joins the sleeves at their inner ends closest to the truck. A mechanical linkage is mounted on the truck and attached to the cross ... | 07/26/1983 |
| 4365921 | Forklift vehicle A self propelled forklift vehicle having a frame formed by two spaced parallel longitudinal frame members and a rear transverse frame member. The fork carriage is movable forwardly and rearwardly on the longitudinal frame members, along the path of the ma... | 12/28/1982 |
| 4268210 | Pallet unloader for fork lifts An unloading mechanism for fork lifts in which a plate slides over the pallet on a fork lift and pushes the goods off the pallet. The plate is moved across the pallet by two arms connecting the plate to the fork lift and operated by a hydraulic cylinder. ... | 05/19/1981 |
