Patent ID: 7032739

Claim:
An intermediate product carrying apparatus for taking a carrier, which is carried between a plurality of process systems and which stores a plurality of intermediate products, into a desired process system, and then transferring the plurality of intermediate products in the carrier to a single wafer carrying conveyer, which carries the intermediate products in a single wafer state to an intermediate product manufacturing apparatus provided in the desired process system, the intermediate product carrying apparatus comprising: an intermediate product transfer means provided in the desired process system, for taking the carrier into the desired process system and transferring the intermediate products between the carrier and another carrier, the intermediate product transfer means comprising: a carrier stocker having a first plurality of carrier positions on an order-change processing side of the carrier stocker and a second plurality of carrier positions on a transfer side of the carrier stocker, the transfer side of the carrier stocker being adjacent to the single-wafer carrying conveyor; a carrier robot for transferring the carrier between an inter-process carrying conveyor and at least one carrier position selected from the first and second plurality of carrier positions on the carrier stocker; and a change order robot adjacent to the order-change processing side of the carrier stocker for transferring the intermediate products stored in at least one carrier located in the first plurality of carrier positions on the order-change processing side of the carrier stocker to a plurality of storage cases, for changing an arrangement order of the intermediate products, and for transferring the intermediate products from the storage cases to the at least one carrier located in first plurality of carrier positions on the order-change processing side of the carrier stocker.