Patent ID: 8100620

Claim:
A vacuum processing apparatus comprising: a plurality of vacuum processing vessels each having a processing chamber with its interior space being reduced in pressure; a vacuum pump which is disposed below and connected to said plurality of vacuum processing vessels and which evacuates the interior spaces of said plurality of vacuum processing vessels; a vacuum transfer vessel being detachably coupled to said plurality of vacuum processing vessels disposed therearound and having a pressure-reduced interior space in which a workpiece to be processed is conveyed, the vacuum transfer vessel being equipped with a vacuum transfer robot which transfers a workpiece disposed inside the pressure-reduced interior space; an atmospheric air transfer vessel being coupled to a front side of said vacuum transfer vessel and including on its front face side a plurality of cassette tables mounting thereon a cassette with the workpiece being received therein, for causing the workpiece to be conveyed in an interior space at an atmospheric pressure; an atmospheric-side block which constitutes a front face side of said vacuum processing apparatus and includes said atmospheric air transfer vessel; a vacuum-side block which constitutes a back side of said vacuum processing apparatus and includes said plurality of vacuum processing vessels and said vacuum transfer vessel; an atmospheric transfer robot which is disposed inside the interior space at the atmospheric pressure of said atmospheric air transfer vessel and which transfers the workpiece therein, said atmospheric transfer robot being movable along a rail which is disposed inside the interior space and which extends in a horizontal direction to enable transfer of the workpiece therein; a position aligning machine which is coupled to the interior space of said atmospheric air transfer vessel at one end side position of right and left ends of the rail and which adjusts a position of a center or a cutaway portion of the workpiece around the center, the position aligning machine including a table which rotates around a center while locating the workpiece thereon; and an adjuster which is disposed on a supply line of fluid from a lower level of a floor face where the vacuum processing apparatus is installed and which adjusts a supply of the fluid as fed to said plurality of vacuum processing vessels, said adjuster being disposed in a projected area of said position aligning machine and between a lower part of said position aligning machine and the floor face.