Patent ID: 8528722

Claim:
A conveyor assembly suitable for use with a substrate processing system, comprising: at least one substrate carrier having a substrate-carrying surface configured to support at least one substrate thereon; a processing track; a return track; a drive system configured to drive the substrate carrier along the processing track and the return track; and a first and a second swivel unit, both configured to pivot the substrate carrier around a substantially horizontal axis through an angle from about 70 to about 120 degrees from a first substantially horizontal orientation into a second orientation, and/or vice versa wherein the processing track is disposed substantially above or below the return track; wherein the first swivel unit is disposed between an end point of the processing track and a starting point of the return track, and the second swivel unit is disposed between an end point of the return track and a starting point of the processing track, such that the substrate carrier is transferred from the processing track to the return track, and/or vice versa, by the first or second swivel unit pivoting the substrate carrier between its first orientation and its second orientation; and wherein the conveyor assembly is configured to move the substrate carrier along the processing track in its first orientation, and to move the substrate carrier along the return track in its second orientation.