Apparatus for cleaning robot end effector
First Claim
1. Apparatus for cleaning a robot end-effector, comprising a pair of flat, rigid plates held in a parallel, spaced-apart relationship by a rigid spacer extending between margins of said plates, said spacer defining sidewalls of a rigid, generally rectangular cavity between said plates for receiving said end-effector for cleaning, said sidewalls having an opening defining an entrance into said cavity through which said end-effector is inserted into, retracted from, and rigidly supported within said cavity by an arm of said robot in a position between and spaced apart from said plates, at least one of said plates having at least one opening therethrough defining a nozzle flush with said plate for directing a flow of fluid away from said entrance and against said end-effector.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
In a spin dryer for semiconductor wafers, the wafer is held beneath a platen with its active side (i.e., the side containing the components or circuitry) facing upward. One or more nozzles spray rinse water on the top surface of the wafer and the wafer is rotated to remove the excess rinse water, thereby drying the wafer. A splash guard adjacent the edge of the wafer insures that the excess rinse water thrown off by the spinning wafer is deflected downward where it cannot again come into contact with the active side of the wafer. The platen is rotated dry at the same time, with no rinse water being splashed back onto the active side of the wafer. The spin dryer also includes a separate section which cleans and dries the end-effector of the robot which inserts the wafer into the spin dryer while the wafer is being dried.
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Citations
11 Claims
- 1. Apparatus for cleaning a robot end-effector, comprising a pair of flat, rigid plates held in a parallel, spaced-apart relationship by a rigid spacer extending between margins of said plates, said spacer defining sidewalls of a rigid, generally rectangular cavity between said plates for receiving said end-effector for cleaning, said sidewalls having an opening defining an entrance into said cavity through which said end-effector is inserted into, retracted from, and rigidly supported within said cavity by an arm of said robot in a position between and spaced apart from said plates, at least one of said plates having at least one opening therethrough defining a nozzle flush with said plate for directing a flow of fluid away from said entrance and against said end-effector.
Specification