Substrate detector with light emitting and receiving elements arranged in a staggered fashion

Claim 2

A substrate detector for detecting a presence, number and arrangement of a plurality of substrates arranged face to face, comprising: holding means for holding a plurality of substrates; emitting means having a plurality of light emitting elements for shooting light beams to each of the substrates; receiving means having a plurality of light receiving elements for receiving said light beams which have passed through each of the substrates; and control means for finding a state of each of the substrates while comparing data obtained from the light beams received with stored reference data, to thereby determine how to process each of the substrates; wherein said receiving means and said emitting means are arranged to face each other, and said light emitting elements and said light receiving elements, which are arrange side by side, respectively, are arranged in a staggered fashion.

Claim 3

The detector according to claim 1, wherein said control means is able to selectively switch on one or some of the light emitting elements.

Claim 4

The detector according to claim 1, further comprising lens means arranged between the light emitting means and the light receiving means to collect the light beam.

Claim 5

The detector according to claim 1, wherein said light receiving means has means for converting light signals into electric means.

Claim 6

The detector according to claim 1, further comprising means for displaying thereon the number of the substrates detected.

Claim 7

The detector according to claim 1, further comprising means for sounding an alarm when the data obtained from the light beams received does not coincide with the stored reference data.

Claim 8

The detector according to claim 1, further comprising a transparent cylinder or pipe made of quartz and arranged to surround said light emitting elements and said light receiving elements to protect said elements from a corrosive atmosphere.

Claim 9

The detector according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting and receiving elements are arranged in such a way that an axis of the light beams has an angle θ relative to the substrates which is in a range of 4.76/300≦tan θ≦6.35/300.

Claim 10

A substrate detector for detecting a presence, number and arrangement of a plurality of substrates arranged face to face, comprising: holding means for holding a plurality of substrates; emitting means having a plurality of light emitting elements arranged side by side for shooting light beams to each of the substrates; receiving means arranged to face said emitting means and having a plurality of light receiving elements for arranged side by side for receiving said light beams which have passed through each of the substrates, said light emitting elements and said light receiving elements being arrange in a staggered fashion; control means for finding a state of each of the substrates while comparing data obtained from the light beams received with stored reference data, to thereby determine how to process each of the substrates; and beam switching means for changing a running direction of the light beams emitted from said light emitting element toward said light receiving element.

Claim 11

A substrate detector for detecting a presence, number and arrangement of a plurality of substrates arranged face to face, comprising: holding means for holding a plurality of substrates; emitting means having a plurality of light emitting elements arranged side by side for shooting light beams to each of the substrates; receiving means arranged to face said emitting means and having a plurality of light receiving elements for arranged side by side for receiving said light beams which have passed through each of the substrates, said light emitting elements and said light receiving elements being arrange in a staggered fashion; control means for finding a state of each of the substrates while comparing data obtained from the light beams received with stored reference data, to thereby determine how to process each of the substrates; and beam switching means for changing a running direction of the light beams emitted from said light emitting element toward said light receiving element.

Claim 12

The substrate detector according to claim 1, wherein the substrates held by said holding means are exposed to a corrosive atmosphere.

Claim 13

The substrate detector according to claim 1, wherein said holding means is a chuck mechanism serving to transfer said substrates while holding the substrates.

Claim 14

The substrate detector according to claim 2, wherein said control means permits said light emitting elements to emit light sequentially.

Claim 15

The substrate detector according to claim 2, wherein said control means permits a plurality of said light emitting elements to emit light simultaneously.

Claim 16

The substrate detector according to claim 1, wherein said light emitting elements and said light receiving elements are fixed to a unit frame.