Patent ID: 8177550

Claim:
A vertical heat treatment apparatus including: at least one loading and unloading part for loading and unloading a carrying container containing a plurality of process objects into and from said vertical heat treatment apparatus; a first storage part that stores a plurality of carrying containers loaded into said vertical heat treatment apparatus via the loading and unloading part; a heat treatment furnace that accommodates a holder holding a plurality of process objects at multiple levels to perform a predetermined heat treatment to the process objects; and a transfer part that supports thereon a carrying container for transferring process objects between the holder and the carrying container, wherein an upper loading and unloading part and a lower loading and unloading part are provided as said at least one loading and unloading part, and a second storage part that stores a carrying container is disposed between the upper and lower loading and unloading parts; at least part of the upper and lower loading and unloading parts is utilized as a third storage part that stores a carrying container; and said vertical heat treatment apparatus further includes a controller that uses the first storage part, the second storage part and the third storage part in different combinations thereof depending on the number of carrying containers loaded into said vertical heat treatment apparatus.