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US 10,850,279 B2Granted
Bottom opening pod with magnetically coupled casssettes
AssigneeEntegris, Inc.
InventorGregory Bores
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A bottom opening pod utilizing magnetic coupling for securing one or more cassettes within. The pod includes magnetic couplers that provide magnetic coupling between the cassette(s) and the bottom door of the pod. The magnetic couplers may include magnetic elements disposed on a base of the cassette and on the bottom door of the pod. The magnetic coupling secures the cassette(s) to the bottom door without imposition of separation forces between the housing and the bottom door of the pod.
Claims16
A bottom opening pod, comprising:
- a bottom door;
- a housing that cooperates with the bottom door to define an interior chamber, wherein the bottom door is received in a door opening defined in a bottom of the housing;
- a first cassette disposed in the interior chamber and mounted to an upper surface of the bottom door;
- and
- a first magnetic coupler adapted to magnetically couple the first cassette to the bottom door, wherein the first magnetic coupler includes a first coded magnet mounted on a bottom surface the first cassette and a second coded magnet mounted on the upper surface of the bottom door and wherein the first and second coded magnets are magnetically keyed for centering and biasing the first cassette in a preferred rotational orientation with respect to the bottom door.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.