When a conventional semiconductor container openingclosing apparatus opens a lid of a semiconductor container, foreign particles enter into the container from outside through a gap between the container and a wall surface of the container openingclosing apparatus and adhere to a wafer in the container. The infrared sensor senses user status and initiates a user status signal. It involves the concurrent execution of several processes that interact to provide support and resources for said applications. In still another embodiment, the sorting is performed on the basis of a requested value range coverage. Using a variety of techniques, the encoder performs flexible multi-channel transforms that effectively take advantage of inter-channel correlation. Closed loop temperature control may be provided for the dispensing element andor the substrate to ensure a substantially constant viscosity and a substantially constant flow rate.