Patent ID: 9694989
Date: 2017-07-04
CPC Classifications: B65G,H01L

Claim:
1. A workpiece handling system comprising: a plurality of conveyor belts; a load lock; a gantry robot, configured to move in x,y,z and tilt directions, comprising an end effector having a plurality of grippers, wherein said plurality of grippers are configured to pick up a plurality of workpieces from one of said plurality of conveyor belts and wherein said gantry robot is configured to transport said plurality of workpieces, as a linear array, between each of said plurality of conveyor belts and a build station, wherein said plurality of workpieces form part of a two dimensional matrix of workpieces built at said build station; and a first swap robot and a second swap robot, each comprising a plurality of blades configured to hold a plurality of workpieces, wherein said first swap robot and said second swap robot are each configured to transport a respective matrix of workpieces between said build station and said load lock, wherein said first swap robot is disposed above the second swap robot, and wherein the first swap robot and the second swap robot are movable in exactly two directions, and are configured to move independently of each other in a horizontal direction and wherein the first swap robot and second swap robot are configured to move together in a vertical direction, such that the first swap robot is configured to be moved in the horizontal direction to a parked position when said gantry robot is loading or unloading a matrix associated with said second swap robot.