Abstract: A culture container linkage device according to the present disclosure includes a first actuator configured to advance or retract needles 32, an actuator holder rotatably provided on a frame and configured to hold the first actuator, a second actuator, and a washer configured to wash the needles. The second actuator rotates the needles via the actuator holder. The needles are configured to be positioned, by the second actuator, at a container-facing position at which the needles face a culture container and a washing-facing position at which the needles face the washer.

Abstract: A culture container linkage device according to the present disclosure includes a first actuator configured to advance or retract needles 32, an actuator holder rotatably provided on a frame and configured to hold the first actuator, a second actuator, and a washer configured to wash the needles. The second actuator rotates the needles via the actuator holder. The needles are configured to be positioned, by the second actuator, at a container-facing position at which the needles face a culture container and a washing-facing position at which the needles face the washer.

Abstract: A germ-free glove box includes: a housing in which a germ-free space is formed, the housing including a connector to which a container housing an object is connected; and a glove provided at a front plate of the housing to allow an operating personnel to perform an operation in the germ-free space from the outside of the housing. In this germ-free glove box, the connector is provided on an upper plate of the housing. In the germ-free glove box outside spaces beside the box are effectively utilized, and a large working space is secured at around the bottom surface of a germ-free space.

Abstract: A cell culture device includes: an incubator part for accommodating a closed-system culture container; a cartridge for culture medium replacement use having a liquid supply flow path and a liquid collection flow path, the cartridge removably attachable to the culture container; a culture medium supply part for supplying a liquid culture medium to the liquid supply flow path; a culture medium replacement part for causing the liquid culture medium in the liquid supply flow path to flow into the culture container and causing the liquid culture medium in the culture container to flow out to the liquid collection flow path while the cartridge is connected to the culture container; and a culture medium collection part for collecting the liquid culture medium from the liquid collection flow path. The cartridge is movable between the culture medium supply part, the culture medium replacement part and the culture medium collection part.

Abstract: A substrate processing system includes: a processing chamber where a substrate is processed; and a carrier device carrying the substrate to/from the processing chamber, wherein the carrier device includes at least two arms each capable of holding a substrate and is capable of switching a state of making the two arms simultaneously enter the processing chamber and a state of making the two arms leave the processing chamber at different timings.

Abstract: A heat-treatment apparatus comprises a heat-treatment section for subjecting a heat-treatment to a wafer and a loading section for loading a wafer boat into and unloading it from the heat-treatment section. The loading section is connected to the heat-treatment section and includes in it a movable support member, a drive mechanism and a vertical base board as well as a load-lock chamber for maintaining the inside in vacuum. The movable support member supports a wafer boat. The movable support member is attached to a vertical base board so that it can move up and down. The drive mechanism is attached on the major surface of the vertical base board opposite to the surface facing the wafer boat. The drive mechanism drives the movable support to move up and down. The heat-treatment apparatus further comprises a wafer transfer section that includes an orientation flat alignment mechanism and a buffer stage disposed near the orientation flat alignment mechanism.

Abstract: A thermal processing station is provided with a first conveyor that conveys a wafer from a first conveyor access portion and a second conveyor that conveys another wafer from a second conveyor access opening portion. The wafer conveyed from the first conveyor is conveyed along a route consisting of the second conveyor, a washing portion, the second conveyor again, the first conveyor, and a thermal processing portion. On the other hand, the wafer conveyed from the second conveyor is conveyed along a route consisting of the washing portion, the second conveyor again, the first conveyor, and the thermal processing portion. An intermediate transfer portion that is free to rotate and rise and lower is provided between the first and second conveyor. A control section does not rotate the intermediate transfer portion while the wafer is being transferred along the former route, but it does rotate the intermediate transfer portion through 180.degree.

Abstract: A stock unit for storing carriers has a stock unit body, a plurality of carrier mounting shelves provided in a side wall of the stock unit body at predetermined spaces in a vertical direction, a carrier station, provided in the lower portion of the stock unit body, receiving and sending a carrier between the stock unit and a carrier part provided in the outside of the stock unit body, a carrier transport device, provided in the lower portion of the stock unit body, for transporting the carrier from the inside of the stock unit body to wafer transfer device provided in the outside of the stock unit body, and a carrier arm mechanism gripping at least one carrier, receiving and sending the carrier between the carrier station and the carrier transport device, and between the carrier mounting shelves and the carrier transport device regardless of the operation of the carrier transport device.

Abstract: A heat treatment apparatus includes a process tube for heat treatment of an object to be heat treated, and a load lock chamber linked to the process tube and for housing the object to be heat treated and maintaining either a vacuum or maintaining an arbitrary inert gas atmosphere, and with the load lock chamber being provided with an elevator for raising the object to be heat treated on a loading mechanism and into the process tube, and a nozzle unit provided with a plural number of gas emission openings in an inner wall of the load lock chamber on a side opposing the elevator, and to uniformly emit gas to the object to be heat treated and which is on the loading mechanism. By such a configuration, it is possible to emit gas uniformly to the object for heat treatment and which is on the loading mechanism for the object for heat treatment.

Abstract: A vertical type of heat treatment apparatus which houses objects for treatment loaded on a wafer boat, in a process tube and performs heat treatment, and including a cap which opens and closes an opening portion of a manifold and which is disposed on the side of an opening portion of the process tube, a support mechanism which elastically supports the cap and which is provided to a vertical motion mechanism of the wafer boat, and an expandable and contractible airtightness maintenance means which maintains airtightness on the side of the cap, and which is provided between the cap and the vertical motion mechanism.

Abstract: A carrier conveying apparatus comprises a first carrier rest for placing carriers thereon, a second carrier rest to which the carriers are conveyed, a carrier holding member for holding a plurality of carriers at a time from below, a liftably moving mechanism for liftably moving the carrier holding member and a horizontally moving mechanism provided over a distance from below the first carrier rest to a position below the second carrier rest to horizontally move the carrier holding member and liftably moving mechanism. The liftably moving mechanism lifts the carrier holding member from below the first carrier rest and hence lifts the carriers placed on the first carrier rest in a manner to hold them by the carrier holding member. Then the horizontally moving means horizontally moves the carrier holding member and liftably moving mechanism to a position above the second carrier rest. Then the liftably moving mechanism lowers the carrier holding member to place the carriers on the second carrier rest.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an apparatus for transferring a plurality of semiconductor wafers from their cassettes to a boat. This apparatus comprises a support body on which the cassettes and the boat are mounted, a lifter for lifting wafers from the cassettes, a handling device for carrying the wafers and transferring them to the boat, and a plurality fans for introducing dust created by the handling device into the support body and removing it outside the support body.