Patents by Inventor Reizo Nunozawa

Reizo Nunozawa has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 9437465
    Abstract: When a step is delayed, an operator can be rapidly informed of the delay. A substrate processing apparatus comprises a process system configured to process a substrate; a control unit configured to control the process system for performing a plurality of steps; and a manipulation unit configured to monitor a progress of each of the plurality of steps, wherein when a time elapsed after the control unit goes into a hold state exceeds an allowable time previously allocated to the one of the plurality of steps while waiting for a completion of the one of the plurality of steps started by the process system, the control unit transmits an alarm message to the manipulation unit so as to inform the manipulation unit that the allowable time is exceeded, terminates the hold state, and performs a recovery action.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2016
    Assignee: Hitachi Kokusai Electric Inc.
    Inventors: Satoru Takahata, Yukio Ozaki, Reizo Nunozawa
  • Publication number: 20150371914
    Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus for executing a predetermined process on a substrate loaded into a process chamber by running a recipe containing a plurality of steps is provided. The recipe includes a processing step of processing the substrate, and a leak check step executed before the processing step to check whether a leak occurs inside the process chamber, and the substrate processing apparatus includes a main control unit configured to execute the processing step while keeping an error that occurs in the leak check step.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 1, 2015
    Publication date: December 24, 2015
    Inventors: Yukio OZAKI, Reizo NUNOZAWA, Satoru TAKAHATA
  • Patent number: 8904955
    Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus includes a control unit executing a first recipe for substrate processing. After the substrate processing is completed through the execution of the first recipe, if a predetermined time is elapsed in a state that a next substrate to be processed is not carried into the process chamber, a second recipe is executed for maintaining a process chamber where the substrate is processed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi Kokusai Electric, Inc.
    Inventors: Makoto Nomura, Yukio Ozaki, Reizo Nunozawa, Satoru Takahata
  • Patent number: 8443484
    Abstract: To automatically purge a transfer chamber by means of inert gas. There is provided a substrate processing apparatus including a controller that performs control so that a transfer chamber 102 connected to a processing chamber 202 for processing a substrate is purged by gas, the controller having a switching unit that switches a function of exhausting the gas in the transfer chamber 102 in a set direction, and a function of circulating the gas through the transfer chamber 102 in an inert gas atmosphere.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2013
    Assignee: Hitachi Kokusai Electric Inc.
    Inventors: Yukio Ozaki, Teruo Yoshino, Satoru Takahata, Reizo Nunozawa
  • Publication number: 20100144145
    Abstract: When a step is delayed, an operator can be rapidly informed of the delay. A substrate processing apparatus comprises a process system configured to process a substrate, a control unit configured to control the process system for performing a plurality of steps, and a manipulation unit configured to monitor progresses of the steps. While the control unit waits for completion of a predetermined one of the steps after the control unit controls the process system to start the predetermined step, if a time elapsing from the start of the predetermined step exceeds an allowable time previously allocated to each of the steps, the control unit transmits an alarm message to the manipulation unit so as to report that the allowable time is exceeded.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 4, 2009
    Publication date: June 10, 2010
    Applicant: HITACHI-KOKUSAI ELECTRIC INC.
    Inventors: Satoru TAKAHATA, Yukio OZAKI, Reizo NUNOZAWA
  • Publication number: 20100055808
    Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus for executing a predetermined process on a substrate loaded into a process chamber by running a recipe containing a plurality of steps is provided. The recipe includes a process step of processing the substrate, and a leak check step executed before the process step to check whether a leak occurs inside the process chamber, and the substrate processing apparatus includes a main control unit configured to execute the process step while keeping an error that occurs in the leak check step.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 7, 2009
    Publication date: March 4, 2010
    Inventors: Yukio Ozaki, Reizo Nunozawa, Satoru Takahata
  • Publication number: 20090229634
    Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus comprises a control unit executing a first recipe for substrate processing. After the substrate processing is completed through the execution of the first recipe, if a predetermined time is elapsed in a state that a next substrate to be processed is not carried into the process chamber, a second recipe is executed for maintaining a process chamber where the substrate is processed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 20, 2009
    Publication date: September 17, 2009
    Inventors: Makoto Nomura, Yukio Ozaki, Reizo Nunozawa, Satoru Takahata
  • Publication number: 20090044749
    Abstract: To automatically purge a transfer chamber by means of inert gas. There is provided a substrate processing apparatus including a controller that performs control so that a transfer chamber 102 connected to a processing chamber 202 for processing a substrate is purged by gas, the controller having a switching unit that switches a function of exhausting the gas in the transfer chamber 102 in a set direction, and a function of circulating the gas through the transfer chamber in an inert gas atmosphere.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 13, 2008
    Publication date: February 19, 2009
    Applicant: HITACHI KOKUSAI ELECTRIC INC.
    Inventors: Yukio Ozaki, Teruo Yoshino, Satoru Takahata, Reizo Nunozawa