Patent ID: 7051863

Claim:
A transferring apparatus provided between first and second carrying apparatuses, each carrying apparatus comprising: a plurality of wafer mounts, each wafer mount having support means for supporting a single wafer, a guide rail for controlling a moving direction of the plurality of wafer mounts, the guide rail being provided adjacent to a plurality of processing apparatuses for processing wafers, the plurality of processing apparatuses being arranged along the moving direction of the plurality of wafer mounts, and a drive unit for moving the plurality of wafer mounts along the guide rail, the transferring apparatus including: a synchronization control unit for synchronizing a first drive unit of the first carrying apparatus with a second drive unit of the second carrying apparatus; and at least one transfer robot for transferring wafers from the plurality of wafer mounts of the first carrying apparatus to the plurality of wafer mounts of the second carrying apparatus according to a drive control signal from the synchronization unit, the drive control signal corresponding to the synchronization between the first and second drive units.