Patent ID: 6092971
Filing Date: 2000-07-25
Classification: H01L,Y10S

Abstract:
Gripping device for removing and inserting wafers which are stacked spaced from one another in a container, comprising at least one holding rake with slots configured to receive the wafers, means for displacing said at least one holding rake to remove and insert the wafers in the container, at least one counterholder arranged relative to said at least one rake to engage a wafer surface for gripping a wafer for removal from and insertion into the container, rods provided with gripping heads having stop surfaces configured for stopping against edges of the wafers, and means for moving said rods relative to the associated gripping heads and for swivelling said rods, whereby at least one of said rods and at least one of the associated one of the gripping heads between two adjacent wafers are movable by said moving means so that one of the two adjacent wafers is located between said at least one counterholder and said at least one gripping head, and said at least one counterholder has an elastic stop surface aligned substantially perpendicularly to upper and lower surfaces of a wafer whose edge is held against said at least one counterholder during the removal from and insertion into the container.