Patents by Inventor Yoshinobu MOTODATE

Yoshinobu MOTODATE 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).

  • Thermal processing apparatus, thermal processing method, and storage medium
    Patent number: 8565911
    Abstract: When a substrate is transferred by a holding arm to a multiple tier wafer boat, contact between the holding arm and the substrate is prevented. When the wafer boat is not subjected to a thermal effect, a normal height position of a ring member is obtained by relatively elevating and lowering a transfer base member with respect to the wafer boat. Before a wafer, which is not yet thermally processed, is transferred to the wafer boat, a height position of the corresponding ring member is obtained. By comparing a difference between the normal height position of the ring member and the height position of the ring member before the wafer is transported, with a threshold value, whether to transfer the wafer by the wafer transfer mechanism to the wafer boat can be judged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2013
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Yo Abe, Kiichi Takahashi, Junya Sato, Yoshinobu Motodate
  • Thermal processing apparatus, thermal processing method, and storage medium
    Patent number: 8423175
    Abstract: When a substrate is transferred by a holding arm to a multiple tier wafer boat, contact between the holding arm and the substrate is prevented. When the wafer boat is not subjected to a thermal effect, a normal height position of a ring member is obtained by relatively elevating and lowering a transfer base member with respect to the wafer boat. Before a wafer, which is not yet thermally processed, is transferred to the wafer boat, a height position of the corresponding ring member is obtained. By comparing a difference between the normal height position of the ring member and the height position of the ring member before the wafer is transported, with a threshold value, whether to transfer the wafer by the wafer transfer mechanism to the wafer boat can be judged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2013
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Yo Abe, Kiichi Takahashi, Junya Sato, Yoshinobu Motodate
  • THERMAL PROCESSING APPARATUS, THERMAL PROCESSING METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM
    Publication number: 20100057249
    Abstract: When a substrate is transferred by a holding arm to a multiple tier wafer boat, contact between the holding arm and the substrate is prevented. When the wafer boat is not subjected to a thermal effect, a normal height position of a ring member is obtained by relatively elevating and lowering a transfer base member with respect to the wafer boat. Before a wafer, which is not yet thermally processed, is transferred to the wafer boat, a height position of the corresponding ring member is obtained. By comparing a difference between the normal height position of the ring member and the height position of the ring member before the wafer is transported, with a threshold value, whether to transfer the wafer by the wafer transfer mechanism to the wafer boat can be judged.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 27, 2009
    Publication date: March 4, 2010
    Applicant: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Yo ABE, Kiichi TAKAHASHI, Junya SATO, Yoshinobu MOTODATE