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US 4,293,249 AGranted
Material handling system and method for manufacturing line
AssigneeTexas Instruments Incorporated
InventorPaul L. Whelan
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AssigneeTexas Instruments Incorporated
InventorPaul L. Whelan
Estimating the term…
Disclosed for use in a manufacturing line is a material handling system which can be utilized for electronic component manufacturing, such as semiconductor slices, at subatmospheric conditions. The articles to be subjected to various manufacturing steps are moved serially on a track of gas or air. At a work station which requires a manufacturing operation to be performed at subatmospheric conditions, e.g., a vacuum, the article is initially loaded into an input air lock which incorporates a magazine loader capable of storing and conveying such articles into a manufacturing processing station operating at subatmospheric conditions. Once the input air lock system is loaded, the entrance gate to such air lock is closed and the air lock system is evacuated to match the subatmospheric pressure of the manufacturing processing work station. When the pressures are matched, an exit gate in the input air lock system opens and a slidable air track located in an interim chamber is coupled with the interior of the manufacturing station. Pulses of compressed gas are utilized to transfer the articles from the input air lock, through the interim chamber to the manufacturing processing station. The articles are then processed in such station. At the conclusion of the manufacturing step, the articles are unloaded and transferred through an output interim chamber to an output air lock which is at the same subatmospheric pressure as the manufacturing processing work station. The articles are transferred from such work station using pulses of compressed gas until the output air lock is fully loaded. When fully loaded, the exit gate associated with said output air lock is closed and the output air lock is raised to atmospheric pressure. The articles are unloaded for further processing or disposition.
A line for manufacturing an article comprising:
A system for loading and unloading a workpiece at subatmospheric pressures, comprising:
A workpiece handling and transporting system for operation at a subatmospheric pressure comprising:
A method for handling and transporting a workpiece to a manufacturing work station at a subatmospheric pressure comprising the steps of:
A method for handling and transporting a workpiece to a manufacturing work station at a subatmospheric pressure comprising the steps of:
A method for unloading a workpiece from a manufacturing work station operating at a subatmospheric pressure, comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.