Vacuum process apparatus

A vacuum chamber for processing at least one workpiece, comprising at least two openings defining respective opening areas for treating or handling said at least one workpiece thereat ;

• a transport device with a drive shaft for rotating said transport device around a rotational axis of said drive shaft;
• at least two conveyors arranged at said transport device for the workpiece thereat, said transport device further comprising , and a transport arm for each conveyor projecting from operatively associated with said drive shaft;
• said arms and each being operatively coupled to one of said conveyors to move said conveyors independently of each other relative to said drive shaft, said transport arms having at least a radial movement component relative to said drive shaft rotational axis via encapsulated independent drives.

A vacuum chamber with at least two openings therein and a workpiece transport arrangement with which at least one workpiece within the chamber is selectively brought into a position adjacent to one of said openings, whereby the transport arrangement is provided within the chamber rotatably around a rotational axis and carries at least two members for holding a workpiece each, a rotation drive is provided to rotate said workpiece transport arrangement, and at least two displacement drives are provided for displacing said at least one workpiece each with respect to said transport arrangement whereby said members are selectively brought into a position aligned with one of said openings by rotation of said transport arrangement and from such position a workpiece is displaceable towards and from said opening by one of said displacement drives, and said member and said displacement drives are operatively mounted on said transport arrangement rotation drive, said displacement drive being arranged to control closing and opening of respective ones of said at least two openings.

A vacuum chamber with at least two openings and a workpiece transport arrangement with which at least one workpiece within the chamber is selectively brought into a position adjacent to one of said openings, whereby the transport arrangement is provided within the chamber rotatably around a rotational axis and carries at least two members for holding a workpiece each, a rotation drive is provided to rotate said workpiece transport arrangement, and at least two displacement drives are provided for displacing said at least one workpiece each with respect to said transport arrangement whereby said members are selectively brought into a position aligned with one of said openings by rotation of said transport arrangement and from such position a workpiece is displaceable towards and from said opening by one of said displacement drives in a direction with a radial component relative to said rotational axis, and said displacement drives are operable independently of each other so as to control closing and opening of said opening.

A vacuum chamber, comprising

• at least two openings defining respective opening areas;
• and a transport device operatively arranged relative to the at least two openings and including a member movable relative to a rotational axis thereof, at least two conveyors for transporting at least one workpiece each, and at least one linear drive for each of said at least two conveyors being between said movable member and a respective conveyor of said at least two conveyors and configured to linearly move said respective conveyors relative to said movable member independently from other conveyors of said at least two conveyors, said at least one linear drives being arranged to control closing and opening of said at least two openings.

A vacuum chamber with at least two openings and a workpiece transport arrangement with which at least one workpiece within the chamber is selectively brought into a position adjacent to one of said openings, whereby the transport arrangement is provided within the chamber rotatably around a rotational axis and carries at least one member for holding a workpiece, a rotation drive is provided to rotate said workpiece transport arrangement, and a sealed displacement drive is arranged between said transport arrangement and said at least one member for displacing a workpiece with respect to said transport arrangement, whereby said member is selectively brought into a position aligned with one of said openings by rotation of said transport arrangement and from such position a workpiece is displaceable towards and from said opening by said displacement drive, and said member and said displacement drive are operatively mounted relative to said transport arrangement rotation drive, said displacement drive being further arranged to control opening and closing of said opening.

A method of processing at least one workpiece, comprising the steps of

• rotating a transport device member around a rotational axis to bring the at least one workpiece adjacent an opening in a vacuum chamber having at least two openings, and
• moving at least two conveyors with at least one movement component radial relative to said rotational axis, independently of each other relative to the transport device member so as selectively to move the at least one workpiece towards and away from the adjacent opening and thereby controlling opening and closing of said opening.