Patents Examined by Mikhail Kornakov
  • Patent number: 11961745
    Abstract: The present disclosure describes an apparatus for processing one or more objects. The apparatus includes a carrier configured to hold the one or more objects, a tank filled with a processing agent and configured to receive the carrier, and a spinning portion configured to contact the one or more objects and to spin the one or more objects to disturb a flow field of the processing agent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Chung-Yu Lin, Shih-Chi Kuo, Chun-Chieh Mo
  • Patent number: 11948827
    Abstract: The disclosure provides one technique for suppressing wear of a cleaning member and unexpected dust generation. A substrate support mechanism 100 includes a first support part 110 which is swingable and has a contact region that can come into contact with a peripheral edge of one surface of a substrate W in a closed state, a second support part 120 which supports the other surface of the substrate W, and a first support part moving part 140 which swings the first support part 110.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: EBARA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Mitsuru Miyazaki, Hisajiro Nakano, Takuya Inoue
  • Patent number: 11938520
    Abstract: An automatic machine (2) for processing objects (3) passing in a flow (F) on a conveyor (4) has a selective ejection device (1) with at least one bar (5) with nozzles (6) that is disposed transverse to the direction of said flow (F), after the outlet or tipping end of said conveyor (4), and having an active surface strip (7) that corresponds to the installation region of the outlet openings (6?) of the nozzles (6) of the pneumatic bar (5), this surface strip (7) being situated beneath the conveying plane (4?) of the conveyor (4).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: PELLENC SELECTIVE TECHNOLOGIES
    Inventor: Florent Masson
  • Patent number: 11935766
    Abstract: A liquid processing apparatus includes a heating member, a substrate holder, a processing liquid supply and a coil. The heating member is disposed adjacent to a portion of a substrate and has an insulating member. The substrate holder is configured to hold the substrate. The processing liquid supply is configured to supply a processing liquid onto the substrate held by the substrate holder. The coil is configured to heat the heating member inductively to heat the portion of the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventor: Masaru Amai
  • Patent number: 11935736
    Abstract: A substrate processing method for removing liquid on a substrate having an uneven pattern formed on a surface of the substrate and drying the substrate. The substrate processing method includes: forming a laminate having a two-layer structure including a first material in a solid state forming a lower layer and a second material in a solid state forming an upper layer, in a concave portion of the pattern; removing the second material from the concave portion by performing at least one of a heating process, a light-emitting process, and a reaction process using gas with respect to the second material to sublimate, decompose, and gas-react the second material; and removing the first material from the concave portion by performing at least one of the heating process, the light-emitting process, and the reaction process using gas with respect to the first material to sublimate, decompose, and gas-react the first material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Rintaro Higuchi, Tsunemoto Ogata, Mitsunori Nakamori
  • Patent number: 11930982
    Abstract: The invention relates to a dishwasher (110) for use in a means of transport (114) The dishwasher comprises a) at least one cleaning chamber (122) for receiving an item (112) to be cleaned, b) at least one application device (130) for applying the item (112) to be cleaned in the cleaning chamber (122) with at least one cleaning fluid (126): c) at least one washing tank (128) for receiving the at least one cleaning fluid (126), wherein the dishwasher (110) is designed to control a fill level of the washing tank (128) with the cleaning fluid (126) to a variably adjustable target level; d) at least one receiving device (186) for receiving at least one item of spatial information relating to the dishwasher (110); and e) at least one controller (166), wherein the controller (166) is programmed to determine the target level according to the spatial information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Assignee: MEIKO Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventor: Hans-Josef Rauber
  • Patent number: 11929264
    Abstract: A substrate cleaning and drying system includes a cleaning station, a drying station positioned adjacent the cleaning station, a cleaner robot to transfer a substrate from the cleaning station to the drying station, an aligner stage adjacent to the drying station, a robot arm rotatable between a substantially vertical first position for receiving the substrate from the drying station and a substantially horizontal second position for releasing the substrate onto the aligner stage, and a factory interface robot to transfer a substrate from the aligner stage into a factory interface module while in a horizontal orientation. The aligner stage includes a rotatable support to hold the substrate in a substantially horizontal orientation and to rotate the substrate to a desired orientation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventor: Justin Ho Kuen Wong
  • Patent number: 11923209
    Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate support configured to support and rotate a substrate, at least one first lower cleaning nozzle configured to spray a first cleaning liquid on a lower surface of the substrate, at least one second lower cleaning nozzle configured to spray a second cleaning liquid on the lower surface of the substrate, a bowl assembly disposed around the substrate support, the bowl assembly including a cup body providing an annular shaped accommodating space and inner and outer collection portions sequentially arranged in a radial direction in a lower portion of the cup body, an annular shaped discharge guide plate disposed in the receiving space of the bowl assembly under the substrate and extending outwardly from a circumference of the substrate, and a discharge separation plate provided within the receiving space of the bowl assembly to be movable upward and downward.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hyunwoong Hwang, Chawon Koh, Seok Heo, Hyunwoo Kim
  • Patent number: 11920257
    Abstract: A method of evaluating cleanliness of a member having a silicon carbide surface, the method including bringing the silicon carbide surface into contact with a mixed acid of hydrofluoric acid, hydrochloric acid and nitric acid; concentrating the mixed acid brought into contact with the silicon carbide surface by heating; subjecting a sample solution obtained by diluting a concentrated liquid obtained by the concentration to quantitative analysis of metal components by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry; and evaluating cleanliness of the member having a silicon carbide surface on the basis of a quantitative result of metal components obtained by the quantitative analysis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: SUMCO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takashi Muramatsu, Hirokazu Kato
  • Patent number: 11915965
    Abstract: A wafer processing method of the present invention includes mounting a wafer part on a chuck table, loading the wafer part on the chuck table, spraying, by a spray arm module, a first processing solution onto the wafer part to process the wafer part, spraying, by the spray arm module, a second processing solution onto the wafer part to process the wafer part, drying the wafer part on the chuck table, and unloading the wafer part from the chuck table.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: ZEUS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Seung Dae Baek, Sung Yup Kim, Jin Won Kim, Jae Hwan Son
  • Patent number: 11915930
    Abstract: A substrate processing method is provided for removing a resist having a hardened layer from a front surface of a substrate. The substrate processing method includes a hardened-layer removing step and a wet processing step. The hardened-layer removing step includes a heating step of heating the substrate to 150° C. or more and an ozone-gas supplying step of supplying an ozone gas to the front surface of the substrate being heated by the heating step, and the hardened-layer removing step removes the hardened layer by generating an oxygen radical near the front surface of the substrate. The wet processing step removes the resist from the front surface of the substrate by supplying a processing liquid including a sulfuric acid to the front surface of the substrate after the hardened-layer removing step.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: SCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Naoko Arima, Masaki Inaba
  • Patent number: 11903552
    Abstract: A cleaning device and a method therefor are provided. The cleaning device includes a vacuum cleaner including a dust collecting container and a docking station to which the dust collecting container is coupled. The docking station includes a suction device configured to move air from the dust collecting container to inside of the docking station, a collector configured to collect a foreign substance that is moved together with the air by driving of the suction device, a suction flow path along which air moves inside the docking station, a flow adjusting device configured to open or close the suction flow path, and at least one processor configured to control the suction device to operate based on the dust collecting container being coupled to the docking station, and control the flow adjusting device to periodically open and close the suction flow path in a state in which the suction device operates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoonkyung Cho, Seehyun Kim, Jongsoon Kim, Gihyeong Lee, Seongu Lee, Ahyoung Lee, Jaeshik Jeong, Seungryong Cha
  • Patent number: 11908681
    Abstract: In accordance with some embodiments, a semiconductor fabricating system is provided. The semiconductor fabricating system includes a wafer stage and a brush assembly moveable located below the wafer stage. The brush assembly includes a base plate, an inner brush member and an outer brush member. The inner brush member is positioned on the base plate, and the outer brush member surrounds the inner brush member. Inner grooves in the inner brush member are shallower than outer grooves in the outer brush member. The semiconductor fabricating system also includes a shaft and an actuator. The shaft is connected to the base plate, and the actuator is connected to shaft. The semiconductor fabricating system further include a controller programmed to send electric signals to the actuator to drive the base plate to rotate around a rotation axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hsuan-Ying Mai, Hui-Chun Lee
  • Patent number: 11905638
    Abstract: A method of operating a laundry treating appliance with a combination washer/dryer having a cabinet defining an interior, a tub located within the interior, and a rotatable drum located within the tub interior and defining a treating chamber, and an air recirculation conduit, the method comprising supplying water to the treating chamber, rotating the drum, and draining the water from the laundry treating appliance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
    Inventors: Marcos Javier Rios Acebal, Eric G. Griswold, Brooke M. Gundersen, Nicholas Leep, Adrian A. Rodriguez, Brian K. Rogers, James B. Sutton, Nicholas B. Vaive
  • Patent number: 11896181
    Abstract: A dishwasher and method of operating a dishwasher according to a cycle of operation are described herein. The dishwasher includes a tub at least partially defining a treating chamber, a rotatable spray arm comprising a nozzle outlet, and a liquid supply conduit fluidly coupled to the spray arm. A pump can be fluidly coupled to the liquid supply conduit and operated to flow liquid through an aperture in the liquid supply conduit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
    Inventors: Matthias Emanuel Freiherr Von Andrian-Werburg, Veronica Marin Kramer, Miron Wawrzusiak
  • Patent number: 11901197
    Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus includes: a processing container to which a supercritical fluid is supplied, the processing container being configured to dry a substrate by replacing a drying liquid collected on the substrate with the supercritical fluid; a discharge line configured to discharge a mixed fluid containing the supercritical fluid and the drying liquid from an interior of the processing container; and a density detector configured to detect a density of the mixed fluid flowing through the discharge line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Masataka Gosho, Reijiro Yamanaka
  • Patent number: 11889963
    Abstract: An automated cleaning machine may include one or more short cleaning cycles in which the duration of a cleaning cycle is shortened relative to the duration of a default cleaning cycle. During a short cleaning cycle, other cleaning cycle parameters may also be adjusted to ensure that the articles subjected to the short cleaning cycle are adequately cleaned and sanitized. For example, the wash temperature, rinse temperature, and/or cleaning product amounts or concentrations, may be adjusted to account for the shortened duration of the cleaning cycle. The automated cleaning machine may further include one or more short cycle mode(s) during which short cleaning cycle parameters are used and one or more default cycle mode(s) during which default cleaning cycle parameters are used.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: Ecolab USA Inc.
    Inventors: Rachel Marie McGinness, Jonathan Charles Butwinick, Paul R. Kraus, Alissa R. Ellingson, Conor Sylvester Smith, Paul Dominic Christian
  • Patent number: 11887868
    Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus includes a vessel providing a processing space for processing a substrate, a substrate support supporting the substrate loaded in the processing space, and a barrier between a side wall of the vessel and the substrate support and surrounding an edge of the substrate supported by the substrate support.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Young-hoo Kim, Sang-jine Park, Yong-jhin Cho, Yeon-jin Gil, Ji-hoon Jeong, Byung-kwon Cho, Yong-sun Ko, Kun-tack Lee
  • Patent number: 11881417
    Abstract: First and second concentration measurements are provided in lines for first and second supply liquid lines. A dissolved concentration of gas in the second supply liquid is lower than that in the first supply liquid. In the first and second lines, first ends of branch lines are connected upstream of the concentration measurements. The second ends of the branch lines are connected to a mixing part. By mixing the first and second supply liquids, a processing liquid is generated. Respective flow rates in the branch lines are based on the first and second concentration measurements to set the dissolved concentration of the gas in the processing liquid. Thus, particles or the like can be removed from the processing liquid to be supplied to a substrate, and the dissolved concentration of the gas in the processing liquid can be set with high accuracy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2024
    Inventors: Shuichi Yasuda, Kenji Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 11872600
    Abstract: A conveyor system is configured to transport the electronic substrates through cleaning modules of a cleaning apparatus. The conveyor system includes a first outer frame member, a second outer frame member, a bottom belt assembly disposed between the first outer frame member and the second outer frame member, and a top belt assembly spaced from the bottom belt assembly. The bottom belt assembly and the top belt assembly are configured to an electronic substrate therebetween to transport the electronic substrate along the conveyor system and through the at least one cleaning module. The bottom belt assembly or the top belt assembly includes a mesh material belt fabricated from heat resistant synthetic fibers. The conveyor system further includes a plurality of pins secured to the bottom belt assembly or the top belt assembly to create at least one lane along a length of the conveyor system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2024
    Assignee: Illinois Tool Works Inc.
    Inventors: John Neiderman, Eric Wayne Becker, Scotty Slavens