Method and apparatus for applying topping to wafers

Claim 1

A METHOD OF APPLYING TOPPING TO A PLURALITY OF INDIVIDUAL OBJECTS MOVING IN A GIVEN DIRECTION ALONG A GIVEN PATH AND ARRANGED IN PARTIALLY ALIGNED RELATIONSHIP IN A PLURALITY OF SUCCESSIVE ROWS EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF SAID DIRECTION AND ALSO ARRANGED IN A PLURALITY OF COLUMNS EXTENDING IN SAID DIRECTION; THE FIRST STEP OF DETECTING AT ONE STATION ALONG SAID PATH AT LEAST ONE OBJECT IN EACH ROW; SUBSEQUENTLY AT A SECOND STATION LOCATED ALONG SAID PATH DOWNSTREAM OF SAID FIRST STATION, THE SECOND STEP OF POSITIONING AND ALIGNING EACH OBJECT IN EACH SUCCESSIVE ROW WHILE ADVANCING SAID ROWS IN SAID DIRECTION SO THAT EACH OBJECT WILL BE PERFECTLY ALIGNED WITH THE OTHER OBJECTS IN ITS ROW AND WITH THE OTHER PREVIOUSLY ALIGNED AND POSITIONED OBJECTS IN ITS COLUMN; AT A THIRD STATION ALONG SAID PATH DOWNSTREAM OF SAID SECOND STATION, THE THIRD STEP OF PROVIDING A TOPPING-DISPENSING HEAD AND ARRANGING IT TO OPERATE ON SAID OBJECTS WHICH HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY POSITIONED AND ALIGNED IN SAID ROWS AND COLUMNS SO AS TO DISPENSE A TOPPING THEREON; THE INITIATION OF SAID SECOND AND THIRD STEPS OF POSITIONING AND ALIGNING AND THE DISPENSING OF SAID HEAD BEING GOVERNED BY THE ABOVE SAID FIRST DETECTION STEP.