Patent ID: 7347329

Claim:
A carrier for transporting semiconductor wafers, the carrier comprising: a container portion comprising a top, a bottom, lateral sides with sidewalls, and a back wall defining an enclosure closed except for an open front, the container portion configured for supporting the wafers horizontally; a U-shaped lift saddle and robotic flange extending over the top of the container portion and extending down the sides of the container portion with the robotic flange located above the top of the container portion, the lift saddle including a pair of straps, each strap having a plurality of spaced apart fastening structures, the sidewalls of the container portion having a plurality of strap engagement brackets, each fastening structure selectively engagable with a separate one of the strap engagement brackets to attach the U-shaped lift saddle and robotic flange to the sidewalls of the enclosure portion, wherein the U-shaped saddle with the robotic flange is not rigidly attached to the top or bottom of the container portion such that lifting of the container portion by the robotic flange will transfer loading to the sidewalls of the container portion rather than the top of the container portion thereby minimizing distortion of the container portion.