Storage system for wafers and other objects used in the production of semiconductor products
First Claim
1. A storage system for storing a plurality of wafers, comprising a storage module comprising at least one conveyor formed as a carousel and adapted to rotate about an axis of rotation, and an inserting and dispensing module comprising a robot having a robot arm movable in a substantially horizontal plane, the inserting and dispensing module being located next to the storage module, wherein the carousel has an inner turntable and an outer turntable capable of rotating independently of each other about the axis of rotation, wherein the wafers are stored in a plurality of packets located on the inner turntable and the outer turntable, with the packets forming columns of wafers with one wafer above the other, wherein the robot is configured to insert a specific wafer into one of the plurality of packets or to remove a specific wafer from one of the plurality of packets, and wherein the conveyor is configured to bring the one of the plurality of packets into a transfer position at which the specific wafer can be transferred between the robot arm and the one packet.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A storage system for objects such as wafers or reticles has at least one storage module, in which the objects are stored one above the other in packets similar to a column. Located next to the storage module is an inserting and dispensing module which comprises a robot. The robot has an arm which is movable substantially in a horizontal plane and with which predetermined objects can be laterally removed from or inserted into a predetermined packet. The packets are arranged in the storage module on a conveyor that runs substantially in a horizontal plane. The predetermined packet can be brought by the conveyor into a transfer position, at which the predetermined object can be transferred between the arm and the predetermined packet.
20 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A storage system for storing a plurality of wafers, comprising
a storage module comprising at least one conveyor formed as a carousel and adapted to rotate about an axis of rotation, and an inserting and dispensing module comprising a robot having a robot arm movable in a substantially horizontal plane, the inserting and dispensing module being located next to the storage module, wherein the carousel has an inner turntable and an outer turntable capable of rotating independently of each other about the axis of rotation, wherein the wafers are stored in a plurality of packets located on the inner turntable and the outer turntable, with the packets forming columns of wafers with one wafer above the other, wherein the robot is configured to insert a specific wafer into one of the plurality of packets or to remove a specific wafer from one of the plurality of packets, and wherein the conveyor is configured to bring the one of the plurality of packets into a transfer position at which the specific wafer can be transferred between the robot arm and the one packet.
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4. A system for storing objects used in the production of semiconductor products, the system comprising
at least one conveyor running substantially in a horizontal plane, and a robot having a robot arm movable in the horizontal plane, wherein the conveyor is configured to support a plurality of objects in column like arrangements with one object above the other, wherein the robot is designed to insert a specific object into one of the column like arrangements or to remove the specific object from the one of the column like arrangements, and wherein the conveyor is configured to bring the one of the column like arrangements into a transfer position at which the specific object can be transferred between the robot arm and the packet.
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8. A storage system for storing objects comprising
at least one storage module for storing a plurality of objects, and an inserting and dispensing module located next to the storage module, wherein the storage module comprises at least one conveyor that runs substantially in a horizontal plane, and wherein the inserting and dispensing module comprises a robot having a robot arm which is movable in the horizontal plane, wherein the objects are stored in the storage module in a plurality of packets, with each packet being similar to a column with one object above the other, the packets being arranged on the at least one conveyor, wherein the robot is configured to insert an object into one of the plurality of packets or to remove the object from the one of the plurality of packets, and wherein the conveyor is configured to bring the one of the plurality of packets into a transfer position at which the object can be transferred between the robot arm and the packet.
Specification