Patent 7637707 was granted and assigned to Applied Materials on December, 2009 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A cassette stocker includes a plurality of cassette storage shelves positioned adjacent a cleanroom wall above a cassette docking station, and a cassette mover to carry a cassette between the shelves and the docking station. An interstation transfer apparatus includes an overhead support beam and a transfer arm adapted to carry a cassette between processing stations.