US3874525A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for handling workpieces
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1973-06-29
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Granted: 1975-04-01
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Expires: 1993-06-29
Abstract
Abstract A semiconductor wafer, which has chips formed thereon, is moved from a class 100 environment into a vacuum chamber in which pattern writing is performed on the chips by an electron beam without significantly affecting the vacuum level in the vacuum chamber. The wafer is initially disposed on an elevator, which is within the vacuum chamber, through an opening, which is vacuum sealed by the elevator at this time, in the top wall of the vacuum chamber. A lid is then placed over the opening from the exterior to cooperate with the elevator to form an ante chamber with the wafer disposed therein. The ante chamber, which is purged prior to the lid being placed over the opening, is then reduced to a vacuum of 5 X 10 2 torr. The elevator then lowers the wafer into a horizontal plane in which a transfer mechanism is located to transfer the wafer from the elevator to an X-Y table on which the wafer is mounted for pattern writing of the chips. The transfer mechanism includes an arm, which is indexed 180* during each activation of an indexing means connected thereto, and gripping means at each end of the arm to simultaneously grasp and release wafers on the elevator and the X-Y table to interchange the wafers between the elevator and the table.
Inventors
- 👤 Javathu K Hassan
- 👤 Alfred Mack
- 👤 Michael R Wojtaszek
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-28 19:54
CPC Classifications
H; H10; H10P; H10P72/00; H10P72/70; H10P72/76; H10P72/7602; B; B23; B23Q; B23Q7/00; B23Q7/14; B23Q7/1426; B23Q7/1431; B25; B25J; B25J15/00; B25J15/0052; H10P72/04; H10P72/0451; H10P72/0462; H10P72/0466; H10P72/30; H10P72/33; H10P72/3302; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S414/00; Y10S414/135; Y10S414/139
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 39
Claim 1
Independent Claim
300 words
An apparatus for transferring a workpiece into and out of a chamber having a controlled environment through an opening in a wall of the chamber without affecting the environment in the chamber including: vertically movable means disposed within the chamber; means to vacuum seal the chamber from the opening in the wall of the chamber when said vertically movable means is in a first position, said vertically movable means being disposed to receive workpieces from and deliver workpieces to exterior of the chamber when in its first position; movable means to vacuum seal the opening in the wall of the chamber from the atmosphere when said vertically movable means is removed from its first position; said movable means and said vertically movable means cooperating to form an ante chamber therebetween when said vertically movable means is in its first position and said movable means is vacuum sealing the opening in the wall of the chamber; means to produce a vacuum in the ante chamber after said vertically movable means receives a workpiece from exterior of the chamber and before said vertically movable means is moved from its first position to a second position in which said vertically movable means is not vacuum sealing the opening in the wall of the chamber, said vacuum producing means providing a vacuum so that the environment in the chamber is not affected by said vertically movable means moving from its first position to produce communication of said ante chamber with the chamber; and means to produce substantially atmospheric pressure in said ante chamber after said vertically movable means has moved from its second position to its first position to again form said ante chamber and prior to movement of said movable means to break the vacuum seal between the atmosphere and said ante chamber.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
300 words
An apparatus for transferring a workpiece into and out of a chamber having a controlled environment through an opening in a wall of the chamber without affecting the environment in the chamber including: vertically movable means disposed within the chamber; means to vacuum seal the chamber from the opening in the wall of the chamber when said vertically movable means is in a first position, said vertically movable means being disposed to receive workpieces from and deliver workpieces to exterior of the chamber when in its first position; movable means to vacuum seal the opening in the wall of the chamber from the atmosphere when said vertically movable means is removed from its first position; said movable means and said vertically movable means cooperating to form an ante chamber therebetween when said vertically movable means is in its first position and said movable means is vacuum sealing the opening in the wall of the chamber; means to produce a vacuum in the ante chamber after said vertically movable means receives a workpiece from exterior of the chamber and before said vertically movable means is moved from its first position to a second position in which said vertically movable means is not vacuum sealing the opening in the wall of the chamber, said vacuum producing means providing a vacuum so that the environment in the chamber is not affected by said vertically movable means moving from its first position to produce communication of said ante chamber with the chamber; and means to produce substantially atmospheric pressure in said ante chamber after said vertically movable means has moved from its second position to its first position to again form said ante chamber and prior to movement of said movable means to break the vacuum seal between the atmosphere and said ante chamber.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
36 words
The apparatus according to claim 1 including means to transfer a workpiece on said vertically movable means from said vertically movable means to a work station when said vertically movable means is in its second position.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
148 words
The apparatus according to claim 2 in which said vertically movable means comprises a first station when in its second position and the work station comprises a second station, said workpiece transfer means including: a rotary arm; said arm having workpiece gripping means disposed 180* from each other; index means to rotate said arm 180* during each activation to always position each of said gripping means at one of the stations; and each of said gripping means having means responsive to the station at which it is located to cause one of said gripping means to grasp one of the workpieces at only the first station and to release the grasped workpiece at only the second station and to cause the other of said gripping means to grasp one of the workpieces at only the second station and to release the grasped workpiece at only the first statioN.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
115 words
The apparatus according to claim 3 in which each of said gripping means includes: a body slidably mounted on said arm; moving means to extend and retract said body along said arm when said arm is positioned so that said gripping means can cooperate with a workpiece support position at each of the first and second stations; and means mounted on said body for grasping a workpiece at one of the first and second stations for transfer of the workpiece to the other of the first and second stations when said arm is rotated 180* by said index means, said mounted means releasing the workpiece at the other of the first and second work stations.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
123 words
The apparatus according to claim 4 in which: said mounted means of each of said gripping means includes: a pair of cooperating grippers mounted on said body for movement toward and away from each other; and means continuously urging said grippers to the position in which said grippers grasp a workpiece; and said responsive means includes: first means to enable said urging means of said one gripping means to be effective to cause said grippers of said one gripping means to grasp the workpiece only at the first station; and second means to enable said urging means of said other gripping means to be effective to cause said grippers of said other gripping means to grasp the workpiece only at the second station.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
73 words
The apparatus according to claim 5 in which each of said first and second means of said responsive means enables said urging means of each of said gripping means to be effective to cause said grippers to grasp a workpiece in response to movement of said moving means in the direction in which said body is retracted when said gripping means is at the station at which said gripping means grasps a workpiece.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
104 words
The apparatus according to claim 6 including: means cooperating with said grippers of each of said gripping means to move said grippers to a non-grasping position when said moving means is moved in the direction in which said body is extended after movement of said body by said moving means has been completed; and each of said first and second means of said responsive means including means to hold said grippers in a non-grasping position after said grippers have been moved to this position by said cooperating means when said gripping means is at the station at which said gripping means releases a workpiece.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
105 words
The apparatus according to claim 7 in which: each of said gripping means includes means to activate means at each of the stations to retain a workpiece when said gripping means is at the station at which said gripping means releases a workpiece, said activating means at each of the stations being effective after the workpiece has been disposed at the workpiece support position; and each of said activating means inactivating the workpiece retaining means at the other of the stations at which said gripping means grasps a workpiece, said activating means being effective to cause inactivation after said gripping means has grasped the workpiece.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
26 words
The apparatus according to claim 8 in which said moving means includes means to cause simultaneous extension and retraction of said bodies of said gripping means.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
26 words
The apparatus according to claim 4 in which said moving means includes means to cause simultaneous extension and retraction of said bodies of said gripping means.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
44 words
The apparatus according to claim 3 in which each of said responsive means has means cooperating with means disposed at each of the first and second stations to determine whether said responsive means causes grasping or releasing of the workpiece by said gripping means.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
105 words
The apparatus according to claim 3 in which: each of said gripping means includes means to activate means at each of the stations to retain a workpiece when said gripping means is at the station at which said gripping means releases a workpiece, said activating meanS at each of the stations being effective after the workpiece has been disposed at a workpiece support position; and each of said activating means inactivating the workpiece retaining means at the other of the stations at which said gripping means grasps a workpiece, said activating means being effective to cause inactivation after said gripping means has grasped the workpiece.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
24 words
The apparatus according to claim 3 including means to cause said gripping means to simultaneously grasp the workpieces and to simultaneously release the workpieces.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
24 words
The apparatus according to claim 1 in which said ante chamber has a volume of approximately one one-hundredth of the volume of the chamber.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
29 words
The apparatus according to claim 14 in which said vacuum producing means produces a vacuum of at least four orders of magnitude less than the vacuum in the chamber.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
33 words
The apparatus according to claim 1 in which said vertically movable means supports said sealing means that seals the chamber from the opening when said vertically movable means is in its first position.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
25 words
The apparatus according to claim 1 in which said ante chamber has a volume of no greater than one-fiftieth of the volume of the chamber.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
345 words
An apparatus for transferring a workpiece into and out of a vacuum chamber through an opening in a wall of the vacuum chamber without affecting the vacuum level in the vacuum chamber including: vertically movable means disposed within the vacuum chamber; means to vacuum seal the vacuum chamber from the opening in the wall of the vacuum chamber when said vertically movable means is in a first position, said vertically movable means being disposed to receive workpieces from and deliver workpieces to exterior of the vacuum chamber when in its first position; movable means to vacuum seal the opening in the wall of the vacuum chamber from the atmosphere when said vertically movable means is removed from its first position; said movable means and said vertically movable means cooperating to form an ante chamber therebetween when said vertically movable means is in its first position and said movable means is vacuum sealing the opening in the wall of the vacuum chamber; means to produce a vacuum in the ante chamber after said vertically movable means receives a workpiece from exterior of the vacuum chamber and before said vertically movable means is moved from its first position to a second position in which said vertically movable means is not vacuum sealing the opening in the wall of the vacuum chamber, said vacuum producing means producing a vacuum of at least one order of magnitude less than the vacuum in the vacuum chamber and related to the ratio of the volume of the ante chamber to the volume of the vacuum chamber so that the vacuum level in the vacuum chamber is not affected by said vertically movable means moving from its first position to produce communication of said ante chamber with the vacuum chamber; and means to produce substantially atmospheric pressure in said ante chamber after said vertically movable means has moved from its second position to its first position to again form said ante chamber and prior to movement of said movable means to break the vacuum seal between the atmosphere and said ante chamber.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
345 words
An apparatus for transferring a workpiece into and out of a vacuum chamber through an opening in a wall of the vacuum chamber without affecting the vacuum level in the vacuum chamber including: vertically movable means disposed within the vacuum chamber; means to vacuum seal the vacuum chamber from the opening in the wall of the vacuum chamber when said vertically movable means is in a first position, said vertically movable means being disposed to receive workpieces from and deliver workpieces to exterior of the vacuum chamber when in its first position; movable means to vacuum seal the opening in the wall of the vacuum chamber from the atmosphere when said vertically movable means is removed from its first position; said movable means and said vertically movable means cooperating to form an ante chamber therebetween when said vertically movable means is in its first position and said movable means is vacuum sealing the opening in the wall of the vacuum chamber; means to produce a vacuum in the ante chamber after said vertically movable means receives a workpiece from exterior of the vacuum chamber and before said vertically movable means is moved from its first position to a second position in which said vertically movable means is not vacuum sealing the opening in the wall of the vacuum chamber, said vacuum producing means producing a vacuum of at least one order of magnitude less than the vacuum in the vacuum chamber and related to the ratio of the volume of the ante chamber to the volume of the vacuum chamber so that the vacuum level in the vacuum chamber is not affected by said vertically movable means moving from its first position to produce communication of said ante chamber with the vacuum chamber; and means to produce substantially atmospheric pressure in said ante chamber after said vertically movable means has moved from its second position to its first position to again form said ante chamber and prior to movement of said movable means to break the vacuum seal between the atmosphere and said ante chamber.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
25 words
The apparatus according to claim 18 in which said ante chamber has a volume of approximately one one-hundredth of the volume of the vacuum chamber.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
30 words
The apparatus according to claim 19 in which said vacuum producing means produces a vacuum of at least four orders of magnitude less than the vacuum in the vacuum chamber.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
36 words
The apparatus according to claim 18 including means to transfer a workpiece on said vertically movable means from said vertically movable means to a work station when said vertically movable means is in its second position.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
34 words
The apparatus according to claim 18 in which said vertically movable means supports said sealing means that seals the vacuum chamber from the openiNg when said vertically movable means is in its first position.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
26 words
The apparatus according to claim 18 in which said ante chamber has a volume of no greater than one-fiftieth of the volume of the vacuum chamber.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
148 words
The apparatus according to claim 21 in which said vertically movable means comprises a first station when in its second position and the work station comprises a second station, said workpiece transfer means including: a rotary arm; said arm having workpiece gripping means disposed 180* from each other; index means to rotate said arm 180* during each activation to always position each of said gripping means at one of the stations; and each of said gripping means having means responsive to the station at which it is located to cause one of said gripping means to grasp one of the workpieces at only the first station and to release the grasped workpiece at only the second station and to cause the other of said gripping means to grasp one of the workpieces at only the second station and to release the grasped workpiece at only the first station.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
115 words
The apparatus according to claim 24 in which each of said gripping means includes: a body slidably mounted on said arm; moving means to extend and retract said body along said arm when said arm is positioned so that said gripping means can cooperate with a workpiece support position at each of the first and second stations; and means mounted on said body for grasping a workpiece at one of the first and second stations for transfer of the workpiece to the other of the first and second stations when said arm is rotated 180* by said index means, said mounted means releasing the workpiece at the other of the first and second work stations.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
123 words
The apparatus according to claim 25 in which: said mounted means of each of said gripping means includes: a pair of cooperating grippers mounted on said body for movement toward and away from each other; and means continuously urging said grippers to the position in which said grippers grasp a workpiece; and said responsive means includes: first means to enable said urging means of said one gripping means to be effective to cause said grippers of said one gripping means to grasp the workpiece only at the first station; and second means to enable said urging means of said other gripping means to be effective to cause said grippers of said other gripping means to grasp the workpiece only at the second station.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
73 words
The apparatus according to claim 26 in which each of said first and second means of said responsive means enables said urging means of each of said gripping means to be effective to cause said grippers to grasp a workpiece in response to movement of said moving means in the direction in which said body is retracted when said gripping means is at the station at which said gripping means grasps a workpiece.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
104 words
The apparatus according to claim 27 including: means cooperating with said grippers of each of said gripping means to move said grippers to a non-grasping position when said moving means is moved in the direction in which said body is extended after movement of said body by said moving means has been completed; and each of said first and second means of said responsive means including means to hold said grippers in a non-grasping position after said grippers have been moved to this position by said cooperating means when said gripping means is at the station at which said gripping means releases a workpiece.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
105 words
The apparatus according to claim 28 in which: each of said gripping means includes means to activate means at each of the stations to retain a workpiece when said gripping means is at the station at which said gripping means releases a workpiece, said activating means at each of the stations being effective after the workpiece has been disposed at the workpiece support position; and each of said activating means inactivating the workpiece retaining means at the other of the stations at which said gripping means grasps a workpiece, said activating means being effective to cause inactivation after said gripping means has grasped the workpiece.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
26 words
The apparatus according to claim 29 in which said moving means includes means to cause simultaneous extension and retraction of said bodies of said gripping means.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
26 words
The apparatus according to claim 25 in which said moving means includes means to cause simultaneous extension and retraction of said bodies of said gripping means.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
44 words
The apparatus according to claim 24 in which each of said responsive means has means cooperating with means disposed at each of the first and second stations to determine whether said responsive means causes grasping or releasing of the workpiece by said gripping means.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
105 words
The apparatus according to claim 24 in which: each of said gripping means includes means to activate means at each of the stations to retain a workpiece when said gripping means is at the station at which said gripping means releases a workpiece, said activating means at each of the stations being effective after the workpiece has been disposed at a workpiece support position; and each of said activating means inactivating the workpiece retaining means at the other of the stations at which said gripping means grasps a workpiece, said activating means being effective to cause inactivation after said gripping means has grasped the workpiece.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
24 words
The apparatus according to claim 24 including means to cause said gripping means to simultaneously grasp the workpieces and to simultaneously release the workpieces.
Claim 37
Independent Claim
338 words
A method of transferring workpieces into and out of a vacuum chamber through an opening in a wall of the vacuum chamber without affecting the vacuum level in the vacuum chamber including: disposing vertically movable means at a position within the vacuum chamber adjacent the opening in the wall of the vacuum chamber so that a workpiece can be received by the vertically movable means from exterior of the vacuum chamber while the vacuum chamber is vacuum sealed from the opening in the wall of the vacuum chamber due to the position of the vertically movable means; disposing a cover on the exterior of the vacuum chamber over the opening in the wall of the vacuum chamber to vacuum seal the opening from the atmosphere; producing a partial vacuum of at least one order of magnitude less than that in the vacuum chamber within an ante chamber formed by the cover and the vertically movable means when the cover and the vertically movable means are vacuum sealing the opening in the wall of the vacuum chamber; moving the vertically movable means into the vacuum chamber to move the workpiece thereon to a transfer position within the vacuum chamber after the partial vacuum has been produced in the ante chamber; transferring the workpiece from the vertically movable means to a work position within the vacuum chamber after completion of movement of the vertically movable means; returning the vertically movable means to its position adjacent the opening in the wall of the vacuum chamber after it has received a workpiece from the work position to again form the ante chamber; producing substantially atmospheric pressure in the ante chamber; removing the cover from its sealing position after the ante chamber is at substantially atmospheric pressure to allow the workpiece on the vertically movable means to communicate exterior of the vacuum chamber; and removing the workpiece from the vertically movable means to exterior of the vacuum chamber and disposing another workpiece on the vertically movable means from exterior of the vacuum chamber.
Claim 38
Independent Claim
338 words
A method of transferring workpieces into and out of a vacuum chamber through an opening in a wall of the vacuum chamber without affecting the vacuum level in the vacuum chamber including: disposing vertically movable means at a position within the vacuum chamber adjacent the opening in the wall of the vacuum chamber so that a workpiece can be received by the vertically movable means from exterior of the vacuum chamber while the vacuum chamber is vacuum sealed from the opening in the wall of the vacuum chamber due to the position of the vertically movable means; disposing a cover on the exterior of the vacuum chamber over the opening in the wall of the vacuum chamber to vacuum seal the opening from the atmosphere; producing a partial vacuum of at least one order of magnitude less than that in the vacuum chamber within an ante chamber formed by the cover and the vertically movable means when the cover and the vertically movable means are vacuum sealing the opening in the wall of the vacuum chamber; moving the vertically movable means into the vacuum chamber to move the workpiece thereon to a transfer position within the vacuum chamber after the partial vacuum has been produced in the ante chamber; transferring the workpiece from the vertically movable means to a work position within the vacuum chamber after completion of movement of the vertically movable means; returning the vertically movable means to its position adjacent the opening in the wall of the vacuum chamber after it has received a workpiece from the work position to again form the ante chamber; producing substantially atmospheric pressure in the ante chamber; removing the cover from its sealing position after the ante chamber is at substantially atmospheric pressure to allow the workpiece on the vertically movable means to communicate exterior of the vacuum chamber; and removing the workpiece from the vertically movable means to exterior of the vacuum chamber and disposing another workpiece on the vertically movable means from exterior of the vacuum chamber.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method according to claim 35 including simultaneously transferring a workpiece from the work position to the vertically movable means during transfer of a workpiece from the vertically movable means to the work position.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-03-31 | 1978-09-30 | 1979-04-01 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-03-31 | 1982-09-30 | 1983-04-01 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-03-31 | 1986-09-30 | 1987-04-01 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |