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US 7,002,134 B2Granted
Dryer lid/robot collision prevention system
AssigneeTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
InventorsYao-Tsung Chu, Chih-I Fang
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AssigneeTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
InventorsYao-Tsung Chu, Chih-I Fang
Estimating the term…
A dryer lid/robot collision prevention system which prevents inadvertent collision of a spin dryer lid with a transfer robot as the robot approaches and loads wafer-containing cassettes into the spin dryer. The system includes at least one, and typically, a pair of photoelectric sensors mounted on an inner wall behind the spin dryer lid. Each of the photoelectric sensors is electrically connected to a relay circuit which activates a cylinder sensor in the spin dryer in the event that the photoelectric sensors sense the normal position of the open spin dryer lid. The cylinder sensors activate a PLC module, which activates the cassette cradles in the spin dryer. Finally, the activated mode of the cassette cradles signals the transfer robot to approach and load the wafer cassettes into the cassette cradles. The system may include a bypass switch for bypassing the system, as desired.
A system for preventing collision of a wafer transfer robot with a lid of a spin dryer by sensing fatigue of a hinge connecting the lid to the spin dryer, comprising:
A system for preventing collision of a wafer transfer robot with a lid of a spin dryer having an inner wall and a chain for stabilizing the lid, said system comprising:
A method of preventing collision of a wafer transfer robot with a lid of a spin dryer by sensing metal fatigue of a hinge mounting the lid on the spin dryer, said method comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.