Did You Know...
...that Thomas Edison's patent application on his phonograph was approved by the Patent Office in just seven weeks? In contrast, it took Gordon Gould, the inventor of the laser, 30 years to obtain his patent -- finally awarded in 1988!
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7993093 | Systems and methods for wafer translation A two-axis automation system can be used to transfer and rotate wafers between horizontal and vertical orientations necessary for differing steps in a semiconductor fabrication process. The two rotational axes allow for the transfer and rotation to be done in a mini... | 08/09/2011 |
| 7690882 | System and method for inverting folded stacks of continuous web This invention provides a system and method for separating, folding, stacking and transporting a continuous web that allows stacks of web that are relatively large (four-feet-high or more) to be generated at high speed directly beneath the folding mechanism and to b... | 04/06/2010 |
| 7395916 | Apparatus and method for manufacturing panels from wood pieces An apparatus having several stations that receive, apply adhesive to, crowd, press and cure the wood pieces into a continuous wood panel. A singulation station engages an individual one of the wood pieces oriented in a cross-machine direction from an infeed station,... | 07/08/2008 |
| 7341421 | Workpiece turning apparatus This application relates to a self-contained apparatus for mechanically turning individual workpieces travelling on a conveyor, such as lengths of lumber travelling into or exiting from a sawmill. The invention reduces the need for lumber graders to turn lumber manu... | 03/11/2008 |
| 7314344 | Substrate-transporting device The present invention relates to a substrate-transporting device, including a base, a substrate carrier unit and a shaft unit mounted between the base and the substrate carrier unit. The shaft unit has a supporting shaft and a shaft base to support and control rotat... | 01/01/2008 |
| 7290978 | Photomask flipper and single direction inspection device for dual side photomask inspection A flipper for rotating and positioning a photomask in two flip orientations includes a flip unit rotatably held in a base. The flip unit includes a flip frame in which clamps are preferably spring loaded guided such that the clamps are oppositely and laterally displ... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7284946 | Mobile skid turner A mobile skid turner for inverting skid loads of paper includes an H-shaped base frame portion with casters for facilitating movement in desired directions and opposing upright structural members at an intermediate location. A rotatable shaft facilitates the rotatio... | 10/23/2007 |
| 7241103 | Method and system for adjusting a position of an object According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method for adjusting a position of an object to compensate for tilt includes providing a rotatable base supporting an object and directing the object relative to the base such that the position of the object is... | 07/10/2007 |
| 7223063 | Method and system for adjusting a position of an object According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method for adjusting a position of an object to compensate for tilt includes providing a rotatable base supporting an object and directing the object relative to the base such that the position of the object is... | 05/29/2007 |
| 7210589 | Transport apparatus The present invention provides an apparatus for suspending and transporting articles, and is provided with a wobble prevention member that is capable of moving between a support position where it abuts against a lateral surface of an article and a release position, ... | 05/01/2007 |
| 6986636 | Device for positioning disk-shaped objects A device for positioning disk-shaped objects (1) to inspect the front and rear sides of disk-shaped objects and to reduce the negative effect of large-area contact between the holder and the disk-shaped object. The device comprises a rotatable table (24 | 01/17/2006 |
| 6729835 | Handling assembly for fixturing ophthalmic lenses An assembly for orienting and fixturing an array of contact lenses in a lens-fixturing tray to enable automated picking of the lenses includes an array of tubes to which a first support tray having an array of lens receptacles each having a respective contact lens t... | 05/04/2004 |
| 6593045 | Substrate processing apparatus and method A cassette station, a processing station having a coating unit and a developing unit, and an inspecting station having a film thickness inspecting apparatus and a defect inspecting apparatus are disposed in the direction approximately perpendicular to the... | 07/15/2003 |
| 6468023 | Apparatus and method for inverting an IC device An IC handler inverts an IC in a single motion by first gripping the IC with two fingers attached to an arm and then flipping the IC over by rotating the arm in a one-hundred eighty degree arc. The fingers maintain contact with the IC during the entire on... | 10/22/2002 |
| 6381516 | Modular off-line micro device processing system An off-line micro device processing system is provided having a longitudinally extending feeder/processing/buffer system for providing processed micro devices to a pick point. A portable robotic system has a longitudinally extending robotic system body ex... | 04/30/2002 |
| 6063191 | Apparatus for the coating of flat-form substrates especially of printed circuit boards An apparatus for the coating of flat-form substrates, especially of printed circuit boards, solder masks and the like, wherein there is arranged between two coating stations a turning station for the printed circuit boards, which are conveyed on a transpo... | 05/16/2000 |
| 6062845 | Take-out mechanism for blow molding machine A take-out mechanism for removing sets of blow molded bottles from a blow mold includes a rotary turret, a take-away conveyor and a drive for moving the turret between the blow mold and the take-away conveyor. The turret has a number of sides with a plura... | 05/16/2000 |
| 5931287 | Loading device having multiple tongs for handling lumber and the like The loading device of the present invention is adapted for the high speed handling of lumber pieces, wherein the lumber pieces are fed side-by-side in bulk to the loading device by an inlet conveyor and are delivered by the loading device in a substantial... | 08/03/1999 |
| 5915910 | Semiconductor wafer transfer method and apparatus A wafer transfer mechanism and method involves inserting a wafer carrying arm into position within a wafer cassette so that a wafer may be detachably coupled to the arm. The arm is moved linearly to position the arm for coupling to the wafer, with the mot... | 06/29/1999 |
| 5855468 | Method and apparatus for setting foundry core assemblies The present invention permits reliable lifting and inverting of one or more casting core elements and positioning the one or more casting core elements in a mold flask. The invention generally includes an outer frame and an inner frame assembly, which are... | 01/05/1999 |
| 5779426 | Loading and unloading unit for polishing apparatus A polishing apparatus has a turntable and a top ring for gripping a semiconductor wafer to be polished by an abrasive cloth on the turntable. The polishing apparatus incorporates a loading and unloading unit having a supply holder for holding and supplyin... | 07/14/1998 |
| 5774963 | Armature manufacturing lines and armature transfer apparatus An armature manufacturing line includes one or more manufacturing cells, each having a winder facing a fuser and a rotatable armature transfer apparatus that transfers unwound armatures to the winder and wound armature from the winder directly to the fuse... | 07/07/1998 |
| 5752594 | Loading device having multiple tongs for handling lumber and the like The loading device of the present invention is adapted for the high speed handling of lumber pieces, wherein the lumber pieces are fed side-by-side in bulk to the loading device by an inlet conveyor and are delivered by the loading device in a substantial... | 05/19/1998 |
| 5609717 | Apparatus for manufacture of insulating glass for automobiles An apparatus for the manufacture of curved insulating glass, for use on automobiles, is made providing separate paths for the two sheets of glass making up the insulating double-glazed glass, until an assembly station (M) is reached. Two separate centerin... | 03/11/1997 |
| 5524535 | Method and apparatus for high speed decoration of bottles Bottles are decorated while advanced by intermittent motion to each of a plurality of decorating stations where a squeegee presses a decorating screen into line contact with a surface of the bottle which has a speed the same as the speed of which the deco... | 06/11/1996 |
| 5374158 | Probe and inverting apparatus An invertor (10) is disclosed including first and second probes (12, 14) which are pivotably mounted to a U-shaped housing (20) and to a block (18) which is reciprocally mounted to the housing (20) by guide shafts (38). The block (18) is reciprocated by a... | 12/20/1994 |
| 5282715 | Needle transporting apparatus An apparatus for transporting surgical needles includes a needle holding apparatus having a movable jaw structure. The jaw structure is releasably biased in a closed position for holding needles in a predetermined position. The jaw structure may include l... | 02/01/1994 |
| 5273553 | Apparatus for bonding semiconductor substrates There is provided a method for bonding at least two semiconductor wafers to each other which comprises the steps of warping one of the semiconductor wafers, bringing the warped semiconductor wafer into contact with the other semiconductor wafer at one con... | 12/28/1993 |
| 5141388 | Apparatus for turning a package An apparatus for turning over a package (9) through 180° out of a first position (I) on a supply conveyor (6) into a second position (II) on a removal conveyor (12), a frame (2) mounted on the floor (1) being provided to support a propulsion unit provide... | 08/25/1992 |
| 5096369 | Pallet inspection and stacking apparatus A pallet inspection and stacking apparatus having a frame with an upper end. An elevator can index a stack of pallets upwardly in the frame as the uppermost pallet from the stack is subject to an automatic alignment mechanism and then is transferred from ... | 03/17/1992 |
| 5042287 | Manipulator device for a bending machine and a method for changing the position of the workpiece in a bending process A manipulator device for a bending machine includes a pair of elongate die and punch for bending a workpiece. A first manipulator has a first clamping device for clamping the workpiece to be bent, a first support for supporting the first clamping device i... | 08/27/1991 |
| 5028203 | Arrangement for leading bundles of sheets in different orientations on a pallet An arrangement for loading elongated bundles of sheets on a pallet in different orientations includes conveying a movable carriage between a supply station to which bundles are fed, and a loading station at which bundles are loaded on the pallet. An uprig... | 07/02/1991 |
| 4838751 | Bale unpacking method and system therefor In a method of and a system for unpacking bales each tied by at least one strap, a contact plate member provided with a strap sensor unit is mounted, through a biasing arrangement, on a body frame for movement relative thereto. The body frame is moved tow... | 06/13/1989 |
| 4830564 | Method and apparatus for transferring eggs A method and apparatus for transferring eggs from an incubator flat to a hatching tray. The apparatus comprises a table, a frame pivotally mounted to the table, a main air cylinder, a rack and pinion connection between the main air cylinder and the frame,... | 05/16/1989 |
| 4752180 | Method and apparatus for handling semiconductor wafers A method and apparatus for handling semiconductor wafers comprises first and second tables having first and second elastic bases each of which has one surface on which a semiconductor wafer having a mirror surface is mounted with the mirror surface facing... | 06/21/1988 |
| 4750646 | Feed system A liquid delivery system, particularly for liquids sensitive to water or in which no bubbles should be included, which permits dispensing the liquid directly from the container in which it was shipped and stored. The delivery system attaches directly to t... | 06/14/1988 |
| 4725087 | Spring-loaded hand for an industrial robot A double-hand apparatus for an industrial robot, in which a first and second hand are mounted on a common frame. Two supporting arms are pivotally supported at respective ends on a pair of rotary shafts on the common frame and at their other ends at two r... | 02/16/1988 |
| 4686925 | Rotary boat repair apparatus An apparatus for repairing boat hulls comprising a rack mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis. A beam is cantilevered outwardly from the rack, and a hoist mechanism is mounted for travel on the beam. A boat resting on a trailer is moved partially w... | 08/18/1987 |
| 4662204 | Apparatus for automatically bending metallic tubes An apparatus is provided for automatically bending tubular materials. The apparatus comprises a bending direction setter which is operative to securely grip a length of tubular material approximately centrally along the length of material. The bending dir... | 05/05/1987 |
| 4642016 | Apparatus for unloading nuclear fuel pellets from a sintering boat A nuclear fuel pellet unloading apparatus includes a boat clamping and inverting mechanism which receives a boat loaded with pellets, clamps the boat and pivots it along an arcuate path adjacent a pellet transfer shroud from an initial upright position to... | 02/10/1987 |
