Patents Examined by Nickolas Harm
  • Patent number: 9991150
    Abstract: The present invention provides a procedure of processing a workpiece such as backside grinding of a device wafer and an apparatus designed for the procedure. The procedure comprises (1) preparing a bonded stack comprising (e.g. consisting of) a carrier layer, a workpiece layer, and an interposer layer therebetween; (2) processing the workpiece layer; and (3) delivering a gas jet at the junction between two adjacent layers in the stack to separate or debond the two adjacent layers. Technical merits of the invention include enhanced efficiency, higher wafer throughput, reduced stress on workpiece surface, and uniformly distributed stress and avoidance of device wafer breakage and internal device damage, among others.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2018
    Assignee: Micro Materials Inc.
    Inventor: Hao Tang
  • Patent number: 9987837
    Abstract: The subject invention is directed to a device and method for removing an article attached to a mounting surface by an adhesive mounting. Preferably, the device comprises a first grip, a second grip and a filament having a first end attached to the first grip and a second end attached to the second grip. The filament operates such that when placed between the mounting surface and the adhesive mounting and pulled by the first and second grip in a direction along a bonding plane, it operates to separate the adhesive mounting from the mounting surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2018
    Assignee: ORIBEL PTE LTD
    Inventor: Gilberto Cabral
  • Patent number: 9975321
    Abstract: A film peeling device preventing deformation or other defect of substrates occurring in the process of conveying films adhered up to the substrate leading ends while peeling from the substrate, protecting the substrate from damage, and avoiding deterioration of the substrate quality. The constitution is composed of a substrate holding mechanism for holding the leading end of a substrate by linear contact, an adhering and peeling mechanism for peeling films by an adhesive force from the substrate held by the substrate holding mechanism, a film holding tool for gripping individually the leading ends of the films adhered to the substrate both sides being wound and lifted by the adhering and peeling mechanism, a film conveying unit drive mechanism for conveying the film holding tool gripping the films in the substrate opposite direction conveying direction, and a recovery container accommodating the films being gripped and conveyed by the film holding tool.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2018
    Assignee: HITACHI PLANT MECHANICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Toshiaki Ayabe, Kazuo Takahashi, Shigenori Takesue
  • Patent number: 9969590
    Abstract: A horizontal-pull coating film transferring tool may include a supply reel, a transfer head, a take-up reel, and a power transmitting mechanism. The tool may also include a base member, wherein a transfer head is attached and a rotation locking member having a supply reel engaging pawl able to lock rotation of the supply reel is disposed. The base member may be supported so as to be able to rotate. Through an elastic return mechanism, a rotational lock of the supply reel is released through rotation of the base member when the transfer head is pressed and the rotation of the supply reel is locked through the base member returning to an original position. A rotation supporting shaft for the supply reel and the take-up reel is disposed so as to be substantially perpendicular to the direction of a pressing edge portion on the front end in the transfer head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2018
    Assignee: Tombow Pencil Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hiromichi Fujisawa
  • Patent number: 9970205
    Abstract: A tool for removing carpet from a floor. The carpet removal tool includes a panel having an elongated opening thereon. Opposing ends of the panel include handles pivotally affixed thereto to be grasped by one or more users, wherein the handles can be positioned parallel to or perpendicular to the panel. In operation, the user cuts a portion of the carpet to be removed and secures the end of the carpet within the elongated opening on the panel. The user then pulls using the handle so that the carpet wraps around the panel as it is removed from the floor. The carpet can be manually wrapped around the panel by the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2018
    Inventor: Roberto Mora
  • Patent number: 9962920
    Abstract: A separation device for a backlight source is provided. The separation device includes a machine table, at least one separation platform, where each separation platform is located above the machine table and secured at a fixed position relative to the machine table and is configured to support a display module and secure a backlight source of the display module thereon; a plurality of guide columns arranged perpendicular to the machine table, at least one adsorption mechanism arranged in a one-to-one correspondence with the at least one separation platform, where each adsorption mechanism is arranged at a side of the corresponding separation platform away from the machine table and configured to adsorb a display screen of the display module on the corresponding separation platform, and a driving unit configured to drive each adsorption mechanism to move in the lengthwise direction of the plurality of guide columns.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2018
    Assignees: BOE TECHNOLOGY GROUP CO., LTD., BEIJING BOE DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Chunyu Yang, Man Yuan, Ji Zhang, Wei Zhang, Yongzhi Yin, Yanhong Liu
  • Patent number: 9966260
    Abstract: Laser lift-off methods are described in which optical flatness is provided on the back side of a temporary substrate using either an optical layer or optical liquid. A laser is directed through the optical layer or optical liquid and a back side of the temporary substrate to decompose a portion of a process layer supported on a front side of the temporary substrate, followed by separation of the process layer and the temporary substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2018
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Clayton Ka Tsun Chan, Ion Bita, Ranjith Samuel E. John, Alfred F. Renaldo, Jie Fu, Sudirukkuge T. Jinasundera, An-Chun Tien
  • Patent number: 9963374
    Abstract: A method of forming a laminated glass structure includes introducing a continuous ribbon of flexible glass substrate having a thickness of no greater than about 0.3 mm to a substrate material. The substrate material has a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) that is greater than that of the flexible glass substrate. The flexible glass substrate is laminated to the substrate material at an elevated temperature. The substrate material is cooled to introduce a compressive stress across a thickness of the flexible glass substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2018
    Assignee: Corning Incorporated
    Inventors: Jean-Marc Martin Gerard Jouanno, Kiat Chyai Kang, Sue Camille Lewis, Govindarajan Natarajan, Yu Xiao
  • Patent number: 9962919
    Abstract: The present invention provides a method of separating a bonded stack utilizing the force generated by a gas jet. The stack includes a carrier and a thinned workpiece such as device wafer that are bonded together through one or more layers therebetween. The gas jet can separate two adjacent layers having peeling strength therebetween in the range of from 0.01 to 50.0 g/cm. The invention can simplify the procedure and provide high throughput in separating thinned wafer from its carrier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2018
    Assignee: Micro Materials Inc.
    Inventors: Hao Tang, Yushen Zeng
  • Patent number: 9956754
    Abstract: An apparatus for processing display laminate, wherein the display laminate includes a front electrode layer, a display material layer and a protective film layer. The display laminate is continuous. A section of protective film layer is continuously removed from the edge of the display laminate by a cutting unit while the display laminate is running through the cutting unit. After removing the section of the protective film layer, a section of the display material layer located at the same edge as the removed section of the protecting film layer is continuously removed by spraying medium in a spraying unit while the display laminate is running through the spraying unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2018
    Assignee: MARIELLA LABELS OY
    Inventors: Esa Hämäläinen, Tero Kallioinen, Jouko Parppei
  • Patent number: 9956755
    Abstract: A method includes: a first step of disposing the superposed substrate at a position where the superposed substrate is not in contact with a first holding unit and a second holding unit in a space between the first holding unit and the second holding unit, and supplying an inert gas into the space; a second step of thereafter relatively moving the first holding unit and the second holding unit in the vertical direction, and holding the processing target substrate by the first holding unit and holding the supporting substrate by the second holding unit; and a third step of thereafter relatively moving the first holding unit and the second holding unit in the horizontal direction while heating the processing target substrate held by the first holding unit and the supporting substrate held by the second holding unit, to separate the processing target substrate and the supporting substrate from each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2018
    Assignees: Tokyo Electron Limited, Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Osamu Hirakawa, Masaru Honda, Xavier Francois Brun, Charles Wayne Singleton, Jr.
  • Patent number: 9937701
    Abstract: Provided is a removing unit that includes: a first conveying roller, a second conveying roller, a third conveying roller, and a take-up roller. The first conveying roller conveys a stack including first and second base members which are removably stacked with respect to each other. The second conveying roller conveys the second base member from which the first base member has been removed. The third conveying roller conveys the first base member which has been removed from the second base member, along a surface of the first conveying roller. The take-up roller takes up the first base member which has been conveyed by the third conveying roller. The second conveying roller is provided upstream from a first tangent in a conveying direction of the first base member. The third conveying roller is provided to overlap the first tangent or provided downstream from the first tangent, in the conveying direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2018
    Assignee: Oki Data Corporation
    Inventor: Masanori Minato
  • Patent number: 9937698
    Abstract: The yield of a peeling process is improved. A first step of forming a peeling layer to a thickness of greater than or equal to 0.1 nm and less than 10 nm over a substrate; a second step of forming, on the peeling layer, a layer to be peeled including a first layer in contact with the peeling layer; a third step of separating parts of the peeling layer and parts of the first layer to form a peeling trigger; and a fourth step of separating the peeling layer and the layer to be peeled are performed. The use of the thin peeling layer can improve the yield of a peeling process regardless of the structure of the layer to be peeled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2018
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Seiji Yasumoto, Masataka Sato, Tomoya Aoyama, Ryu Komatsu
  • Patent number: 9925716
    Abstract: An automatic welding machine, comprising a supporting frame and a tensioning device for reversibly joining at least two opposing booms to one another and applying a tension force between these, having an open position in which the opposing booms are separated from one another by a gap and a closed position in which the opposing booms are joined to one another and braced with respect to one another. One boom is mounted in a torsion-proof manner on the tensioning device and is pivotable in relation to the other boom and can be moved out of the open position into the closed position by the pivoting of the tensioning device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2018
    Assignee: Leister Technologies AG
    Inventors: Adolf Niederberger, Mathias Frei, Bruno von Wyl
  • Patent number: 9929025
    Abstract: The invention describes the ability to conduct multiple carrier substrate removal practices simultaneously. The fixture design is slotted in a manner to hold film frame rings and has the bottom region open without interference to the passage of the released carrier substrate. Slots in the fixture are arranged on two sides at top and bottom to support the film frame, however, the distance between the slots and the area of the open region is sufficient to allow the carrier substrate to travel downwards under gravity force, once it has been released from the device wafer. The method describes a batch process whereby a fixture design supports multiple film frames with taped adhered device wafers enable exposure to a chemical medium that either acts upon the interface between the device wafer and carrier substrate or digests the carrier substrate in a manner that results in removal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2018
    Inventor: John Cleaon Moore
  • Patent number: 9925756
    Abstract: A method for fabricating a display device is provided. A laser having a power density is provided to a substrate coupling body. The substrate coupling body includes a first substrate and a second substrate coupled to the first substrate. The second substrate is separated from the first substrate. An optical property of the first substrate separated from the second substrate is measured. The power density of the laser is adjusted based on the optical property of the first substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2018
    Assignee: SAMSUNG DISPLAY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hyung Chul Lim, Young Gu Kim, Hyun Jun Cho
  • Patent number: 9919507
    Abstract: A composite structure comprises stacked sets of laminated fiber reinforced resin plies and metal sheets. Edges of the resin plies and metal sheets are interleaved to form a composite-to-metal joint connecting the resin plies with the metal sheets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2018
    Assignee: THE BOEING COMPANY
    Inventors: Gary Ernest Georgeson, Kenneth Harlan Griess
  • Patent number: 9914290
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a peeling bar, apparatus, and method for peeling a polarizing film from a panel. This invention can minimize friction between the peeling bar and the polarizing film since the peeled polarizing film is in contact with a front part of the peeling bar. Also, in order to equalize tension applied to the polarizing film in a peeling process, this invention makes both ends of the polarizing film closely adhere to the peeling bar. According to this invention, fracture of the polarizing film is prevented, and thereby the polarizing film can be stably peeled from the panel without fracture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2018
    Assignee: LG CHEM, LTD.
    Inventors: San Park, Bong su Jeung, Jea han Ryoo, Cheon ho Park, Sukjae Lee, Kyoung sik Kim
  • Patent number: 9914233
    Abstract: This disclosure relates to a device for separating two substrates to be utilized in electronics, optics, optoelectronics and/or photovoltaics. The device separates the substrates at an interface, the device comprising a holder; a member for retaining the structure, the member being mounted on the holder; a tool for separating the two substrates, also mounted on the holder; and means for moving the separating tool and/or means for moving the retaining member relative to the holder so as to bring them closer together or move them farther apart from each other, preferably over a limited range of travel. This device is noteworthy in that the separating tool comprises a leading edge that has, in cross-section, in succession from its tip or its front edge to its back, a tapered portion that is extended by a flared portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2018
    Assignee: SOITEC
    Inventor: Didier Landru
  • Patent number: 9908318
    Abstract: Methods, systems and devices to divide a layer of a first material from another material, to which is attached, are provided. Particularly, for the separation of the PVC from a modular carpet. By the use of a parallel blades mechanism that through an opposite counterpart apply at least a shear stress over the material of the modular carpet to tear the PVC layer and divide it. The carpet is preheated to facilitate the process of division and reuse of said PVC.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2018
    Inventor: Antero Rodarte Garcia