Abstract: A dryer duct assembly for connecting directing the exhaust air flow from a clothes dryer to an exhaust area, such as the exterior of a building. The dryer duct assembly comprises a rigid duct connected at one end to the rear of the dryer by an elbow connector and connected at another end to a flexible duct by a swivel sleeve connector. The rigid duct is of sufficient length such that its upper end is easily accessible to a worker standing at the front of the dryer, permitting the connection of the flexible duct to the rigid duct from the front of the dryer.

Abstract: Drying equipment including a plurality of drying arms radially expanded around a body. Each drying arm has a clip for clipping and fixing the washing, and the clip is released by operating a constraining part in liaison with rotation for folding the drying arm in a reverse direction to the rotation for expanding the drying arm. Thus, fixation with the clip can be easily released, and the washing hung on the drying arms can be easily taken in.

Abstract: A substrate gripper device for gripping a substrate has a rotatable substrate stage, a plurality of fixing fingers vertically mounted on an outer edge of the rotatable substrate stage and having respective horizontal substrate rests for placing thereon an outer edge of the substrate, and a plurality of swing fingers angularly movably supported on the fixing fingers, respectively, for vertically gripping the substrate in coaction with the fixing fingers. The swing fingers are normally biased to move in a closing direction toward the fixing fingers, respectively, by helical springs acting on the swing fingers. A plurality of opening pins are vertically movably disposed below the swing fingers, respectively, and movable upwardly for angularly moving the swing fingers in the opening direction against biasing forces of the helical springs. An opening mechanism is vertically movably disposed below the substrate stage for simultaneously moving the opening pins upwardly.

Abstract: This invention relates to a vacuum processing apparatus having vacuum processing chambers the insides of which must be dry cleaned, and to a method of operating such an apparatus. When the vacuum processing chambers are dry-cleaned, dummy substrates are transferred into the vacuum processing chamber by substrates conveyor means from dummy substrate storage means which is disposed in the air atmosphere together with storage means for storing substrates to be processed, and the inside of the vacuum processing chamber is dry-cleaned by generating a plasma. The dummy substrate is returned to the dummy substrate storage means after dry cleaning is completed. Accordingly, any specific mechanism for only the cleaning purpose is not necessary and the construction of the apparatus can be made simple.