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...Daniel Webster invented a "bull plow" to pull out tree stumps. It didn't catch on because it was huge and required four oxen to pull it!
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 4773687 | Wafer handler A wafer handling technique allows for picking up a wafer from its front side. One or more vacuum ports pull the periphery of the wafer into contact with a ledge raised from a broad surface, providing a friction force that prevents lateral movement of the ... | 09/27/1988 |
| 4774594 | Apparatus for reproducing component color video signals time-axis compressed on a recording medium using write clock signals centered between read clock signals An apparatus for reproducing a pair of color component signals which have been time-axis compressed and recorded sequentially in recording tracks on a recording medium. During a reproducing operation, shift registers in the color component signal reproduc... | 09/27/1988 |
| 4767142 | Forceps for semiconductor silicon wafer A vacuum-forceps is disclosed. A valve chamber is provided between a first suction passage communicating with an adsorptive member and a second suction passage connected through a suction tube to a vacuum source. A valve member linked to an operating push... | 08/30/1988 |
| 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 |
| 4720130 | Industrial robot hand with position sensor A robot for transporting a semiconductor wafer comprises a robot hand for engaging and retaining a semiconductor wafer, and at least one position sensor for detecting whether the semiconductor wafer is present at a predetermined position on the robot hand... | 01/19/1988 |
| 4717190 | Wafer handling and placement tool A spring arm tool is provided for clamp engaging and supporting wafers while the tool is hand held. The tool includes a pair of relatively swingable jaw element supporting support arms and the jaw elements are notched to enjoy multiple point contact with ... | 01/05/1988 |
| 4715637 | Grip device for sheet-like objects A gripping device for gripping an outer peripheral edge of an object to be grasped such as, for example, a semiconductor wafer, with the gripping device including a base, gripping members for gripping the object to be grasped, elastic members disposed bet... | 12/29/1987 |
| 4715764 | Gate valve for wafer processing system A modular wafer processing system requires a gate valve of minimum thickness. A gate valve is provided in which the gate is an assymetric wedge on an assymetrically mounted drive shaft.... | 12/29/1987 |
| 4687542 | Vacuum processing system A system for performing one semiconductor manufacturing operation or sequence of operations with reduced particulate contamination. A vacuum-tight wafer carrier, which contains numerous wafers in vacuum in a sealed box, is placed into a platform inside a ... | 08/18/1987 |
| 4682928 | Wafer transfer apparatus Wafer transfer apparatus including a wafer-pickup element having suction openings closer to the edge of wafer than the wafer's center so that the wafer can be picked up with greater certainty as to the locations of the wafer edges, the pickup element bein... | 07/28/1987 |
| 4664578 | Semiconductor substrate transport system A semiconductor substrate transport system includes a semiconductor substrate holder for holding semiconductor substrates to be transported, a linear pulse motor for driving and reciprocating the semiconductor substrate holder, a pulse oscillator connecte... | 05/12/1987 |
| 4616638 | Compression screw assembly A compression screw assembly for applying compression to a fractured bone includes a lag screw, a compression plate including a hollow barrel member adapted to receive the lag screw in at least one fixed orientation, a wrench assembly adapted to releasabl... | 10/14/1986 |
| 4603897 | Vacuum pickup apparatus Apparatus that uses a suction engagement element to transport semiconductor wafers between processing boats and detects when suction engagement has not occurred despite the engagement element having been moved toward a wafer a distance sufficient to enabl... | 08/05/1986 |
| 4604027 | Manipulator of articles and methods of moving articles over an extended distance Apparatus (11), which includes two adjacent wafer treating facilities (21 and 22), features an overhead positioning mechanism (20), the operation of which is controlled by a control module (48) to handle articles, such as semiconductor wafers (16), in a p... | 08/05/1986 |
| 4603466 | Wafer chuck The wafer chuck disclosed herein is adapted to hold a semiconductor wafer during high energy treatment in a vacuum environment. The wafer is clamped by its rim to a circular domed plate so as to distort the wafer into close proximity with the domed face o... | 08/05/1986 |
| 4588343 | Workpiece lifting and holding apparatus An automatic sputtering apparatus for coating semiconductor wafers uses shuttle wafer carriers and elevators to handle wafers within the apparatus. The wafer carrier has a hole in the center. One side of the wafer carrier is opened, thereby forming a thro... | 05/13/1986 |
| 4586743 | Robotic gripper for disk-shaped objects A robotic gripper for transporting an object such as a disk-shaped integrated circuit wafer by contacting and gripping only its edge surface. The robotic gripper includes a plurality of elongated fingers which are joined together at a central location fro... | 05/06/1986 |
| 4584045 | Apparatus for conveying a semiconductor wafer A transfer apparatus for conveying a semiconductor wafer between a first location and a second location comprises transfer arm means including first and second elongated arm members each having first and second ends. The first end of the first arm member ... | 04/22/1986 |
| 4582191 | Article handling apparatus and method Apparatus and method for handling articles, such as semiconductor wafers, wherein an article is movable by the apparatus from one location along a continuous path to any one of a number of other locations in a sequence so that process steps for other func... | 04/15/1986 |
| 4566726 | Method and apparatus for handling semiconductor wafers A semiconductor wafer pickup device (26) making use of vacuum and Bernoulli effect in order to hold the wafer (11) against the device and to minimize wafer contamination. The wafer pickup device comprises a centrally located Bernoulli orifice (32) and a p... | 01/28/1986 |
| 4553069 | Wafer holding apparatus for ion implantation An apparatus is disclosed for the implantation of ions into semiconductor wafers wherein a plurality of storage compartments are connected through valves to a vacuum chamber. A wafer handling device transfers wafers between the storage compartments and a ... | 11/12/1985 |
| 4540326 | Semiconductor wafer transport system A system is described for the automated transfer of wafer carriers containing semi-conductor wafers, to various work stations and processing units along a process line. The system includes tunnel and track segments which are joined to provide a path of de... | 09/10/1985 |
| 4529353 | Wafer handling apparatus and method Compact apparatus characterized by cleanliness of operation, high throughput and low cost is designed for automatically loading and unloading wafer-carrying trays that are designed to be mounted in the reaction chamber of a processing system. A key compon... | 07/16/1985 |
| 4524719 | Substrate loading means for a chemical vapor deposition apparatus A controlled temperature deposition device comprising an inner reaction chamber having gas distribution means for introducing gas into inner chamber and removing gas therefrom and a vacuum chamber means surrounding the inner deposition chamber and spaced ... | 06/25/1985 |
| 4523885 | Apparatus for loading magazines into furnaces Apparatus for introducing silicon wafers in magazines into a process tube of a furnace or diffusion oven. At least two spaced silica tubes closed at the end next adjacent the process tube constitute supporting members for the loaded magazines and a clampi... | 06/18/1985 |
| 4518349 | Cantilevered boat-free semiconductor wafer handling system An improved semiconductor wafer handling system completely eliminates the need for boats, sleds, paddles, wheeled carriers, etc., customarily employed in transporting wafers during heat processing through the use of a plurality of rigid, polished cantilev... | 05/21/1985 |
| 4503807 | Chemical vapor deposition apparatus A chemical vapor deposition apparatus has a reactor divided into a reaction space and a purging space by a susceptor for supporting a wafer and a loading chamber communicated through a gate with the reactor. Exhaust units are communicated with the reactor... | 03/12/1985 |
| 4493606 | Wafer transfer apparatus Apparatus for placing a first element at a receptacle location on a second element, there being associated with the precise receptacle location some known variation in the shape of the second element, the apparatus comprising a support member for supporti... | 01/15/1985 |
| 4465416 | Wafer handling mechanism Disclosed is a wafer handling device for a sputtering system where wafers, used in the manufacture of integrated circuits, are placed in a loading chamber, removed from the loading chamber and conveyed by a conveying device through a transportation chambe... | 08/14/1984 |
| 4453757 | Wafer gripping device A wafer gripping device including a mechanism for automatically gripping a wafer by claws for transporting a wafer between an auxiliary vacuum chamber and a vacuum chamber of a semiconductor etching device. The claws for gripping a wafer have a vertical s... | 06/12/1984 |
| 4433951 | Modular loadlock A loadlock apparatus for a workpiece processing chamber such as those incorporated in vacuum processing systems. The apparatus includes an isolation chamber having evacuation apertures and workpiece transfer apertures with independently operable doors for... | 02/28/1984 |
| 4410209 | Wafer-handling tool A special tool designed for picking up and holding circular silicon wafers, the tool incorporating a spring-biased plunger. As the plunger is withdrawn by the spring, a grooved tip at the end of the extended plunger engages one edge of the wafer, driving ... | 10/18/1983 |
| 4313266 | Method and apparatus for drying wafers A method and apparatus for drying a wafer at a drying station includes a wafer holder which grips the wafer on its edge so that there is no contact with a face of the wafer. This eliminates contact areas which could cause stains on the face. A carriage me... | 02/02/1982 |
| 4009785 | Fixture and system for handling plate like objects A system for handling plate like objects (e.g., semiconductor wafers) includes a gas actuated fixture having a surface for releasably picking up the plate like objects (e.g., by Bernoulli effect). Means is provided for moving the pickup fixture in a plane... | 03/01/1977 |
| 4002254 | Method and a pick-up device for lifting and moving semiconductor wafers A method and a Bernoulli pick-up device for lifting and moving flat disc-shaped work pieces such as semiconductor wafers. The pick-up device has a working member the under side of which forms a flat suspension surface incorporating the orifice of a single... | 01/11/1977 |
