Temperature controlled vacuum chuck
AssigneeLitrex Corporation
InventorsCharles O. Edwards, David Albertalli, Oleg Gratchev
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A temperature controllable vacuum chuck includes a mounting bracket, a porous plate, a heating element, and a temperature sensor. The porous plate is mounted to the mounting bracket and is configured for securing a substrate to the vacuum chuck when air is suctioned out of the vacuum chuck. The heating element is attached to the bottom of the porous plate and uniformly heats the porous plate, thereby heating any substrate mounted on the vacuum chuck and enabling control over the cure rate of fluid materials deposited on the substrate. The temperature sensor measures the temperature of the porous plate so that it can be adjusted when desired with a user controllable temperature control component.
Claims34
A temperature controllable vacuum chuck, comprising:
- a mounting bracket having a base and sidewalls circumferentially extending around the base, the mounting bracket defining an open top and a cavity;
- a porous plate connected with the mounting bracket within the cavity, said porous plate having a top surface against which a substrate capable of receiving fluid manufacturing material is secured when negative air pressure exists within the cavity and a bottom surface;
- means for creating a negative air pressure within the cavity;
- and
- means for controlling the temperature of the porous plate including a heater element which is disposed against the bottom surface of said porous plate by a pressure plate.
A temperature controllable vacuum chuck, comprising:
- a mounting bracket having a base and sidewalls circumferentially extending around the base, the mounting bracket defining an open top and a cavity;
- a porous plate having a top surface and a bottom surface connected with the mounting bracket, wherein the porous plate is mounted within the cavity and is configured to securely mount a substrate against the top surface of the porous plate when negative air pressure exists within the cavity, and wherein the substrate is configured to receive a fluid manufacturing material during a piezoelectric microdeposition process;
- means for creating a negative air pressure within the cavity;
- and
- means for controlling the cure rate of the fluid manufacturing material received on the substrate.
A temperature controllable vacuum chuck, comprising:
- a mounting bracket having a base and sidewalls circumferentially extending around the base, the mounting bracket defining an open top and a cavity;
- a porous plate connected with the mounting bracket within the cavity, said porous plate having a top surface against which a substrate capable of receiving fluid manufacturing material is secured when negative air pressure exists within the cavity;
- a vacuum source configured to create a negative air pressure within the cavity by suctioning air out from the cavity through a hole existing in the mounting bracket;
- a heating source mounted within the cavity and configured for heating the porous plate;
- and
- a plurality of temperature sensors configured to independently measure temperatures of the porous plate at different locations on the porous plate.
A temperature controllable vacuum chuck, comprising:
- a mounting bracket having a base and sidewalls circumferentially extending around the base, the mounting bracket defining an open top and a cavity;
- a porous plate connected with the mounting bracket within the cavity, said porous plate having a top surface against which a substrate capable of receiving fluid manufacturing material is secured when negative air pressure exists within the cavity;
- a vacuum source configured to create a negative air pressure within the cavity by suctioning air out from the cavity through a hole existing in the mounting bracket;
- a heating source mounted within the cavity and configured for heating the porous plate;
- a sensor connected with the porous plate and configured for determining the temperature of the porous plate;
- and
- a temperature control component connected with the heating source and the sensor and configured to adjust an amount of heat generated by the heating source.
A temperature controllable vacuum chuck, comprising:
- a mounting bracket having a base and sidewalls circumferentially extending around the base, the mounting bracket defining a cavity and an open top;
- a porous plate having a top surface and a bottom surface, wherein the porous plate is slidably mounted within the cavity of the mounting bracket;
- a vacuum source configured to create a negative pressure within the cavity by suctioning air out from the cavity through a hole existing in the mounting bracket;
- a heating source mounted to the bottom surface of the porous plate within the cavity, wherein the heating source is configured to heat the porous plate;
- means for adjusting the porous plate within the cavity;
- and
- means for retaining the porous plate within the cavity.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.