Back to results
US 6,549,825 B2Granted
Alignment apparatus
AssigneeOlympus Optical Co., Ltd.
InventorShunsuke Kurata
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An alignment apparatus which obtains an amount of correction for centering a semiconductor wafer from four points of a wafer edge detected by noncontact proprioceptors in a wafer delivery position P1 where the semiconductor wafer is passed to a wafer carrying unit from a wafer carrying robot and centers the semiconductor wafer.
Claims9
An alignment apparatus which aligns a circular target object, comprising:
- an articulated carrying robot which carries the circular target object from a storage case to a delivery position of an installed apparatus;
- carrying means for receiving the circular target object from the articulated carrying robot in the delivery position and carrying the circular target object to another position in the installed apparatus;
- at least two noncontact proprioceptors provided in the delivery position, the at least two noncontact proprioceptors detects edge information of three points of outer circumferences of circular target objects of different sizes, the edge information containing neither orientation flat nor notch;
- moving means for moving the noncontact proprioceptors and the circular target objects relatively to dispose the outer circumferences of the circular target objects of different sizes within a range of detection of the noncontact proprioceptors;
- and
- control means for obtaining an amount of displacement between a center of the circular target object held on the articulated carrying robot and a center of the delivery position and controlling the articulated carrying robot based on the amount of displacement, thereby aligning the center of each of the circular target object with the center of the delivery position.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.