Patent ID: 8509937

Claim:
A processing apparatus, comprising: a processing module group in which a plurality of processing modules of the processing apparatus are divided into k sets of share groups each comprising n processing modules to perform a substantially identical processing for each substrate (where each of k and n is a natural number equal to or greater than 2); a common usage system independently provided for each set of the share groups and shared by n processing modules of each set of the share groups, and having a maximum capacity capable of processing m processing modules (where in is a natural number less than n), the capacity of the common usage system being substantially identical in each set of the share groups; a carrying device to transfer a plurality of substrates to the processing modules of each set of the share groups; and a controlling unit configured to control the carrying device to repeatedly perform a loading action that sequentially loads the plurality of substrates from a first set to a k th set of the share groups, and wherein when the common usage system is used for m processing modules of each set of the share groups, the controlling unit has two modes of operation, either of which may be selected by a user, such that: in one mode, the controlling unit controls the carrying device to begin loading substrate to one processing module in a set so that the completion of substrate loading coincides with the completion of a process in another processing module in the set; and in another mode, the controlling unit controls the carrying device to begin loading a substrate to one processing module in the set so that the completion of substrate loading will occur a predetermined period of time following the completion of a process in another processing module.