US5571325A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Subtrate processing apparatus and device for and method of exchanging substrate in substrate processing apparatus
Assignee: Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co Ltd
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Filing: 1995-06-07
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Granted: 1996-11-05
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Expires: 2015-06-07
Abstract
Abstract A substrate processing apparatus comprises a processing part and a transferring part. In the processing part there are a plurality of stages in which a plurality of processing units are arranged in a row along a horizontal direction and the stages are arranged in a stack vertically. Thus, the processing units are arranged in matrix. The transferring part includes a plurality of horizontal transferring devices each movable in the horizontal direction and a vertical transferring device movable in the vertical direction. Hence, a substrate is movable both horizontally and vertically to be transferred to the desired processing unit.
Inventors
- 👤 Tsutomu Ueyama
- 👤 Hideki Adachi
- 👤 Yoshio Matsumura
- 👤 Yasuhide Tanaka
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 09:49
CPC Classifications
G; G03; G03F; G03F7/00; G03F7/70; G03F7/70691; G03F7/70733; G03F7/7075; H; H10; H10P; H10P72/00; H10P72/04; H10P72/0451; H10P72/0452; H10P72/0458; H10P72/30; H10P72/33; H10P72/3302; H10P72/3306; H10P72/3308; H10P72/70; H10P72/76; H10P72/7602; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S414/00; Y10S414/135; Y10S414/136; Y10S414/14
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 14
Claim 1
Independent Claim
196 words
A substrate processing apparatus for transferring and processing substrates having plate configurations, said apparatus comprising: processing means including a plurality of processing units for processing each of said substrates serially one by one, each of said processing units processing said substrates in a selected one of a plurality of different manners, each of said processing units including a holding component for holding each of said substrates horizontally while said substrate is processed in said processing unit, said processing units being arranged in upper and lower processing rows, each processing row comprises selected ones of said plurality of said processing units arranged in a predetermined horizontal direction, said upper processing row being arranged above and in parallel with said lower processing row; and transferring means, arranged along both said upper and lower processing rows, for transporting each of said substrates, one by one in a predetermined order, while simultaneously supporting each of said substrates horizontally, to each of said processing units, said transferring means also receiving each of said substrates from said holding component of each of said plurality of processing units and transferring said substrate to said holding component of another one of said processing units.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
196 words
A substrate processing apparatus for transferring and processing substrates having plate configurations, said apparatus comprising: processing means including a plurality of processing units for processing each of said substrates serially one by one, each of said processing units processing said substrates in a selected one of a plurality of different manners, each of said processing units including a holding component for holding each of said substrates horizontally while said substrate is processed in said processing unit, said processing units being arranged in upper and lower processing rows, each processing row comprises selected ones of said plurality of said processing units arranged in a predetermined horizontal direction, said upper processing row being arranged above and in parallel with said lower processing row; and transferring means, arranged along both said upper and lower processing rows, for transporting each of said substrates, one by one in a predetermined order, while simultaneously supporting each of said substrates horizontally, to each of said processing units, said transferring means also receiving each of said substrates from said holding component of each of said plurality of processing units and transferring said substrate to said holding component of another one of said processing units.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
51 words
A substrate processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein said transferring means includes a horizontally movable component for transferring said substrate in a horizontal direction along said upper and lower processing rows, and a vertically movable component for transferring said substrate in a vertical direction between said upper and lower processing rows.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
19 words
A substrate processing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising means for supplying clean air downwardly to said transferring means.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
53 words
A substrate processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of said processing units in said upper processing row includes a plurality of processing components each of which processes one of said plurality of substrates in an identical manner, said plurality of processing components being arranged vertically with respect to each other.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
44 words
A substrate processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of said processing units in said lower processing row includes means for processing said substrates individually one by one while each of said substrates rotates around a vertical axis perpendicular to said substrate.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
33 words
A substrate processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of said processing units in said upper processing row includes means for processing substrates individually one by one without rotating said substrates.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
26 words
A substrate processing apparatus of claim 6, wherein at least one of said processing units in said upper processing row includes means for heating said substrate.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
26 words
A substrate processing apparatus of claim 6, wherein at least one of said processing units in said upper processing row includes means for cooling said substrate.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
30 words
A substrate processing apparatus of claim 6, wherein at least one of said processing units in said upper processing row includes means for coating said substrate with an adhesion agent.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
43 words
A substrate processing apparatus of claim 5, wherein at least one of said processing units in said lower processing row includes means for coating a photo-resist liquid on said substrate while said substrate rotates and while said photo-resist liquid is on said substrate.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
33 words
A substrate processing apparatus of claim 5, wherein at least one of said processing units in said lower processing row includes means for supplying developing liquid on said substrate while said substrate rotates.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
16 words
A substrate processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein said substrate to be processed is generally rectangular.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
24 words
A substrate processing apparatus of claim 12, wherein said substrate to be processed is a glass substrate used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1999-11-05 | 2000-05-06 | 2000-11-05 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2003-11-05 | 2004-05-06 | 2004-11-05 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2007-11-05 | 2008-05-06 | 2008-11-05 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |