Systems and methods for supporting and conveying a substrate
AssigneeKateeva, Inc.
InventorsDigby Pun, Cormac McKinley Wicklow
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system may include a support surface for supporting a substrate, a plurality of first passages arranged to distribute flows of a first gas to establish a gas bearing to float the substrate above the support surface, and a plurality of second passages arranged to distribute flows of a second gas to convey the substrate along the support surface. A method may include floating a substrate above a support surface of a substrate support apparatus via a gas bearing; and while floating the substrate, conveying the substrate along the support surface by flowing gas toward a surface of the substrate and in a nonperpendicular direction relative to the surface of the substrate.
Claims20
A system, comprising:
- a printing system comprising a printhead assembly arranged to dispense a material for deposition onto a substrate;
- a substrate support apparatus having a support surface, the substrate support apparatus comprising a plurality of first passages arranged in the support surface to distribute flows of a first gas to establish a gas bearing to float the substrate above the support surface;
- a conveyance system comprising a plurality of second passages arranged in the support surface between the first passages to distribute flows of a second gas relative to the support surface so as to convey the substrate along the support surface;
- and
- a track disposed along the floatation table and a gripper system mounted on the track and movable along the track, the gripper system comprising a gripping device configured to grip the substrate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.