Abstract: A material-handler adapted for locating on top of an open topped railroad car includes a chassis mounted on tracks, and a first and second pair of outriggers extending from the chassis. Wheels and clamps are located at the distal ends of the outriggers to stabilize the material handler on the top of the railroad car. A knuckle boom is rotatably mounted on the chassis for manipulating cargo materials. The material handler of the invention also utilizes the clamps and wheels on the outriggers in conjunction with the boom to self-load and self-unload the material handler to and from the top of a railroad car, and to and from one care to another with possible different height and width. Operator safety is enhanced by allowing the operator to control the self-loading and unloading via remote control.

Abstract: A system and method is used to automatically process the contents of a containers. The contents may be bulk materials used by a business or organization. The container enters the system via a tow assembly mechanism, a grasping mechanism clasps the container, a lid secures the contents, the container is lifted and rotated to allow the contents of the container to exit the container.

Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus having a station for loading and unloading substrates from the apparatus, includes an aperture closure for sealing a loading and unloading aperture of the station, apparatus for removing a door of a substrate magazine and thus opening the substrate magazine, and for operating the aperture closure to open the aperture, and an elevator for precisely positioning the open substrate magazine along a vertical axis within a usable range of motion. The station may also include a sensor for mapping locations of the substrates, and a mini-environment for interfacing the station to a substrate processing system.

Abstract: In a load port portion of a conventional clean device, it can happen that cleanliness is reduced by dust caused by wear of bellows and a lid is not separated by its weight from a main body. In order to solve such problems, a clean device is structured as follows: a lid of a clean box has a non-circular reception hole, a load port portion of the clean device has an opening/closing mechanism with a projection fittable in the receiving hole and has a buffer chamber, one end of bellows of the buffer chamber is connected to the bottom surface of the buffer chamber, and the other end of the bellows is fixed, on the outside of the buffer chamber, to raising/lowering means of a port door.

Abstract: In an apparatus for handling rolls of web material, a shaft bearing one or more fully wound rolls of web material thereon are supported from one end in a cantilever support. An external mandrel is aligned with a free end of the shaft. A roll-moving device is positioned to shift the rolls axially along the shaft away from the supported end of the shaft. The roll-moving device shifts the rolls of web material off the shaft and onto the aligned external mandrel, shaft or other support device. The weight of the roll of web material is borne by the shaft and external mandrel throughout the transfer. Once the shaft is removed, the rolls of web material can be handled during further processing from the core.

Abstract: A compound truck leveler for use upon a driveway abutting a loading dock is provided that includes an incline portion having a trailing edge disposed further from the driveway than its leading edges, and a decline portion having a leading edge rigidly attached to the trailing edge of the incline portion and disposed further from the driveway than its trailing edge. The leveler is pivotally attached to a pivot apparatus rigidly attached to the driveway adjacent to the front of the leveler wherein the leveler is limited only to rotational movement about the pivot apparatus between lowered and raised positions. Preferably, the leveler also includes an extension portion extending towards the loading dock and rigidly attached to the decline portion wherein the extension is substantially parallel with the driveway in the lowered position. The pivot point of the leveler is preferably disposed further from the driveway than the rear of the leveler.

Abstract: A transfer chamber for a flat display device manufacturing apparatus is provided. The transfer chamber may combine functions of a transfer chamber and a load-lock chamber. A robot may be provided aside from a center of the transfer chamber, and a buffer may be provided so as to avoid interference with the robot. An aligner may adjust a position of a substrate mounted on the buffer.

Abstract: A method and a storage and manipulation system for manipulating and transferring cassettes used for storage. The system includes a rack for storing cassettes. The rack includes supports on which the cassette rests. A transfer device includes a slide, onto which the cassette can be transferred. The slide includes a lifting and lowering movement. The transfer device also includes grippers that grip the cassette and moving it onto or off the slide. The slide can be placed underneath the front part of the cassette and, by a lifting movement, elevate the front part of the cassette such that the cassette can be transferred along the support onto the slide. A rear part of the cassette is simultaneously supported by the support. The slide can also lower the front part of the cassette onto the support when the rear part of the cassette is transferred onto the support of the rack.

Abstract: A wafer processing system and method in which a wafer, having a diameter, is movable between a loadlock and a processing chamber. A transfer chamber is arranged for selective pressure communication with the loadlock and the processing chamber. The transfer chamber having a configuration of lateral extents such that the wafer is movable through the transfer chamber between the loadlock and processing chamber along a wafer transfer path and the configuration of lateral extents causes the wafer, having the wafer diameter and moving along the wafer transfer path, to interfere with at least one of the loadlock and the processing chamber for any position along the wafer transfer path. The wafer includes a center and the wafer transfer path cab be defined by movement of the center through the transfer chamber. Swing arms are described that can independently move by different angles in opposing directions from a home position.

Abstract: A hydraulic tail trailer comprising a main deck having a main tail assembly pivotally connected to the rearward end thereof with the pivotal connection therebetween being located forwardly of the centerline of the rear axle of the trailer suspension system. The location of the hinge between the main deck and the main tail assembly, by being located forwardly of the centerline of the rear axle, provides a main tail having an increased length thereby providing a lower loading angle without increasing the overall length of the trailer. The forward end of the main deck is pivotally connected to the rearward end of an upper deck so that the main deck may be raised which further reduces the angle between the rearward end of the main deck and the forward end of the main tail for loading and unloading purposes.

Abstract: A truck includes a chassis 1 supporting a cab 3 and a deck 9 which is supported at least by a rearmost axle 15 and wheels 17. The deck 9 is tiltable relative to the chassis 1 about a pivot axis 27 located in front of the rearmost axle 15 of the truck and arranged such that as the deck 9 tilts rearwardly, the chassis 1 tilts forwardly and the deck 9 lowers towards the rearmost axle. A forward part of a rear suspension arrangement may be operatively connected to the chassis 1 so that the forward part moves upwardly towards the deck 9 as the deck 9 is tilted.

Abstract: A system for singling and transferring objects comprises an inlet area and an outlet area for objects from the system, transfer means for transferring such objects comprising containment members, and retrieval means for retrieving and depositing such objects in the containment members. The transfer means may be actuated, in use, independently of the retrieval means so as to transfer one or more objects to the outlet area.

Abstract: A system and method is used to automatically process the contents of a containers. The contents may be bulk materials used by a business or organization. The container enters the system via a tow assembly mechanism, a grasping mechanism clasps the container, a lid secures the contents, the container is lifted and rotated to allow the contents of the container to exit the container.

Abstract: A vacuum treating device, comprising a treatment container having a container body (111) and a lid (112) and allowing an internal pressure to be reduced and a lid support mechanism (130), wherein an upper opening (111a) formed in the container body can be closed airtight by the lid (112). The lid support mechanism (130) opens and closes the upper opening (111a) of the container body by moving the lid (112) so as to be translatingly moved in the vertical direction and, when the lid (112) is moved upward from the container body (111), supports the lid (112) so as to be rotated around a vertical axis disposed around the lid.

Abstract: A trailer apparatus configured to be pulled behind a first vehicle includes a first or larger trailer and a second or smaller trailer. The first or larger trailer is configured to be pulled behind the first vehicle. The second or smaller trailer is configured to fit into the first trailer. The first or larger trailer can be used to haul a smaller vehicle, such as an ATV, snowmobile or other recreational vehicle, and the second trailer can be removed from the first trailer so that it can be towed behind the smaller vehicle as a stand-alone trailer. The second trailer can also be configured to form a ramp for the first trailer to aid in loading the first trailer.

Abstract: Disclosed is a six-bar linkage positioning mechanism mounted inside a clean container formed of a locating member and a four-bar linkage and a driving module which, when moved, has the slide of the driving module stopped at the base of the cleaning container and be forced to move upwards relative to a sliding way inside the locating member and to cause the driving link of the driving module to drive the four-bar linkage upwards and to further force the second link of the four-bar linkage to push workpieces in respective insertion slots in a cassette on the clean container. The six-bar linkage positioning mechanism has only one degree of freedom so that it moves workpieces horizontally in the cassette into position by means of contact at a point, preventing contamination due to friction and also improving moving stability.

Abstract: Lift adaptors for the hook-up and towing of heavy vehicles such as buses, coaches and trucks in a damage-free fashion, avoiding the need for pre-picking. The lift adaptors may be mounted to receivers slidable over the underlift crossbar of heavy-duty, underlift-type tow vehicles. An engagement end of the lift adaptors may be secured to the underside portion of a vehicle to be towed, using an eye bracket, apertures or another attachment mechanism. A movable boom may be used to locate the crossbar in a proper position beneath the towed vehicle, enabling engagement to the lift adaptors. The lift adaptors are preferably designed for quick decoupling in the field so that they may be replaced with forks or other hook-up or towing attachment mechanisms.

Abstract: A trailer having a front and a rear. The trailer includes a frame constructed to receive a bed and a hitch attached to the frame at the front of the trailer. A tube is pivotally connected to the frame between the front and the rear of the trailer. First and second support arms are connected to the tube. Each wheel support arm has an axle and a wheel located at its distal end. The trailer further includes means for rotating the tube. In one embodiment, the trailer has an inclining feature and a shoe for ground engagement. The shoe is located vertically below a central axis of the tube and longitudinally between the wheels and the front of the trailer. In a second embodiment, the trailer has an inclining and elevating feature. In this second embodiment, the hitch is pivotally connected to the front of the trailer and there is provided means for rotating the tube and rotating the hitch relative to one another to elevate, incline, or decline the bed.

Abstract: In at least one aspect, a system is provided that includes (1) a substrate carrier having first docking features; and (2) a loadport having second docking features. The second docking features are adapted to block docking of substrate carriers that do not include the first docking features and to allow docking of substrate carriers that include the first docking features. Numerous other aspects are provided.

Abstract: A pallet positioner includes a support frame that consists of a main upright structure with a pair of spaced, parallel outriggers extending horizontally at ground level. The distal ends of the outriggers are connected by a low-profile ramp. The upright structure includes a pair of vertical guide masts rigidly mounted on a horizontal base bracing the proximal ends of the outriggers. A pneumatically and hydraulically controlled, or electrically and hydraulically controlled, cantilevered carrier with a rotatable platform is mounted for vertical motion along the vertical guide masts. When the carrier travels downward, the carrier stops automatically at a level above the outriggers and must be manually restarted. A braking system under the platform prevents rotation thereof at ground level.