A METHOD OF TRANSLATING AND ORIENTING FLAT OBJECTS SUCH AS SEMICONDUCTOR WAFERS AND AN APPARATUS FOR TRANSPORTING SUCH OBJECTS

摘要

An apparatus and method are described for transporting flat objects such as semiconductor wafers between a first carrier and a second carrier, for example plastics and quartz storage boats. The apparatus has means for supporting the first and second carriers and pickup means for picking up the objects and transporting them between the first carrier and the second carrier. An intermediate station receives the objects from the pickup means with the faces in a first orientation and the orientation of the faces changes before the objects are removed by the pickup means.