Travelling thermocouple method & apparatus
First Claim
1. A process of continuously sensing temperature of a media component traversing an oven comprising the steps of:
- (a) supporting the media component on a tray on a moving conveyor and transporting the tray in a path through the oven,(b) attaching a thermocouple, formed of two metal wires of extended length, at one end to the media component and coupling the thermocouple at the other end to a readout device and continuously sensing the temperature of the media component during the media component'"'"'s traverse of the oven while pulling a length of the wire through the oven in trail,(c) attaching the wires of the thermocouple to a chain moving independently of the moving conveyor but in synchronism therewith in a traverse of the oven, and(d) temporarily moving the tray relative to the chain to cross the point of attachment of the wires to the chain from a leading end of the tray to a trailing end of the tray,whereby the tray moves around a corner in the path without entangling the extended length of wires.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A travelling thermocouple dynamically profiles the actual temperature of a substrate passing through a vertical oven without entangling the thermocouple wires. Media components, such as microprocessor chips in a semiconductor wafer, are supported on a tray or plate on a driven conveyor. A thermocouple formed of two metal wires of extended length are connected at one end to the media component and at the other end to a stationary readout device and function as the temperature gauge for all trays of components passing through the oven. A C-shaped clamp or hook secured to the thermocouple wires resiliently engages a chain drive driven independently of the conveyor drive but in correlation therewith by a computer controller and pulls the wires through the oven keeping pace with the media component to which it is attached. When turning the corners at the top of the oven the hook is crossed over from the leading end of the plate to the trailing end of the plate by effecting temporary relative motion between the drives. The wires are guided in a G-shaped channel throughout their passage in the oven. After exiting the oven, the hook is disconnected from the chain, and the wires are pulled forwardly through the oven after being disconnected from the readout device for reuse in another pass. An alternate embodiment is in a horizontal oven which includes going around corners.
28 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A process of continuously sensing temperature of a media component traversing an oven comprising the steps of:
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(a) supporting the media component on a tray on a moving conveyor and transporting the tray in a path through the oven, (b) attaching a thermocouple, formed of two metal wires of extended length, at one end to the media component and coupling the thermocouple at the other end to a readout device and continuously sensing the temperature of the media component during the media component'"'"'s traverse of the oven while pulling a length of the wire through the oven in trail, (c) attaching the wires of the thermocouple to a chain moving independently of the moving conveyor but in synchronism therewith in a traverse of the oven, and (d) temporarily moving the tray relative to the chain to cross the point of attachment of the wires to the chain from a leading end of the tray to a trailing end of the tray, whereby the tray moves around a corner in the path without entangling the extended length of wires. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. The process of sensing the temperature of a product being moved through an oven on a conveyor drive with a thermocouple formed of two metal wires of extended length attached to the product comprising the steps of:
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engaging the wires of the thermocouple with a chain of a chain drive to pull the thermocouple wires in a path completely through the oven, and while generally keeping the chain in pace with the product and while resiliently retaining the engagement of the thermocouple wires to the chain, temporarily moving the conveyor drive relative to the chain drive to enable the product and thermocouple to traverse a corner in the path through the oven without entangling the wires.
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15. In an apparatus for heat treating a substrate having a main heating chamber with an entrance and exit, and a conveyor drive for transporting a plurality of media components supported on trays on the conveyor drive along a path through the main heating chamber, wherein the improvement comprises:
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a chain drive independent of the conveyor drive for keeping pace with the conveyor drive, a computer controller for synchronizing the heating and drives, a thermocouple, formed of two metal wires of extended length, attached at one end to a media component supported on one of the conveyor drives and at the other end to a readout device for continuously sensing the temperature of the media component during the media component'"'"'s traverse of the main heating chamber while pulling a length of the wires through the oven in trail, an attachment device secured to the wires of the thermocouple resiliently engaged with the chain drive for pulling the length of the wires through the main heating chamber in synchronism with the media component during the media component'"'"'s traverse of the main heating chamber, and the computer control enabling a first temporary relative motion between the conveyor drive and chain drive to cross the attachment device from a leading end of the tray to a trailing end of the tray, whereby as the tray moves through the main heating chamber it is enabled to move around a corner in the path without entangling the extended length of wires. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification