JP2000269302A - Position adjusting jig for cover opening and shutting device and position adjusting method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to reduce the cost for adjusting the position of a cover opening and shutting device and an irregularity in the positions of the device subsequent to the adjustment of the position of the device. SOLUTION: A position adjusting jig 30 has a part 41 which corresponds to the part which is held by a load port, out of an FOUP, and a part 42 which corresponds to a cover which corresponds to the cover of the FOUP. In the where the relative position of the FOUP holding part of the load part to a cover opening and shutting part is adjusted with this jig 30, the adjustment is made by holding this jig 30 by the load port instead of the FOUP.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a position adjusting jig and a position adjusting method used in a lid opening / closing device for opening and closing a lid of a substrate container whose substrate entrance is closed by a lid.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a cassette (wafer container) for accommodating a wafer of a semiconductor device, an open-type cassette having an opening for loading / unloading a wafer has been used.

However, in such a configuration, for example, when the cassette is transported in a clean room, the wafer may be contaminated by a natural oxide film or dust.

For this reason, in recent years, as a cassette for accommodating, for example, 12-inch wafers, a closed cassette in which a wafer inlet / outlet is closed by a lid has been used.

[0005] The closed type cassette is usually called a pod (Pod). As this pod, a front open type pod having a wafer inlet / outlet at the front is currently used. This front open pod is a FOUP (Front Open Unified Pod).
called d).

When a wafer contained in the FOUP is loaded into a wafer processing apparatus, it is necessary to open the lid of the FOUP and take in only the wafer into the apparatus.

For this reason, in a wafer processing apparatus, usually,
A lid opening / closing device called a load port is provided at the wafer loading position. The lid of the FOUP is opened by the load port, and only the wafer is taken into the apparatus.

[0008] In principle, the load port has a FOUP holding portion for holding the FOUP, and a lid opening / closing portion for opening and closing the lid of the FOUP, and the FOUP held by the FOUP holding portion.
The lid is opened and closed by a lid opening / closing part.

In such a configuration, if the relative positions of the FOUP holding portion and the cover opening / closing portion are shifted, the cover may not be able to be opened and closed.

For this reason, in the load port, the relative position between the FOUP holding section and the lid opening / closing section is adjusted at the time of assembly or the like.

Conventionally, this adjustment is performed using a FOUP as a product.

[0012]

However, in such a configuration, there is a problem that the adjustment cost is high because the FOUP is expensive. Further, in such a configuration, there is a problem that a variation after adjustment is large because a manufacturing error exists in the FOUP itself.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a position adjusting jig and a position adjusting method for a lid opening / closing device capable of reducing adjustment costs and variations after adjustment.

[0014]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a position adjusting jig for a lid opening / closing device, comprising: a substrate container for holding a substrate container having a substrate opening / closing opening closed by a lid; In a lid opening / closing device having a holding unit and a lid opening / closing unit that opens and closes a lid of the substrate container held by the substrate container holding unit, the relative positions of the substrate container holding unit and the lid opening / closing unit are adjusted. And a lid corresponding part corresponding to the held part of the substrate container held by the substrate container holding part, and a lid corresponding part corresponding to the lid of the substrate container. It is characterized by having.

According to the position adjusting jig of the present invention, when adjusting the relative position between the substrate container holding portion and the lid opening / closing portion of the lid opening / closing device, the substrate container holding member is used instead of the substrate container. Is held. In this case, the position adjusting jig is held by the substrate container holding section at the held section corresponding section. Then, in this state, the lid corresponding part and the lid opening / closing part are correctly fitted,
The relative positions of the substrate container holding unit and the lid opening / closing unit are adjusted. Thereby, highly reliable adjustment can be performed at low cost.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for adjusting a position of a lid opening / closing device, wherein a substrate container holding portion for holding a substrate container having a substrate inlet / outlet closed by a lid, and a substrate container holding portion. In a lid opening / closing device having a lid opening / closing unit for opening / closing a lid of a substrate container, when adjusting a relative position between the substrate container holding unit and the lid opening / closing unit, the substrate container held by the substrate container holding unit is adjusted. The adjustment is performed using a position adjusting jig provided with a held portion corresponding portion corresponding to the held portion of the body and a lid corresponding portion corresponding to the lid of the substrate container.

In the adjusting method according to the second aspect, the relative position between the substrate container holding portion and the lid opening / closing portion is adjusted using the position adjusting jig according to the first aspect. Thereby, highly reliable adjustment can be performed at low cost.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

[1] One Embodiment [1-1] FOUP and Load Port First, before describing a position adjusting jig and a position adjusting method using the position adjusting jig which are features of the present invention, the present invention will be described. An example of a load port to which the invention is applied and a FOUP used in the load port will be described.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing the overall structure of the FOUP 10. As shown in FIG. The illustrated FOUP 10 has a wafer accommodation unit 11 that accommodates a plurality of wafers W. On the front surface of the wafer accommodating section 11, a wafer loading / unloading port 111 for loading / unloading the wafer W is provided.
The wafer inlet / outlet 111 is closed by the lid 12.

FIG. 4 shows a bottom plate 112 of the wafer accommodating section 11.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the device viewed from below. As illustrated, three kinematic couplings 13 for positioning the FOUP 10 at the load port are provided on the bottom plate 112 of the wafer accommodating portion 11. The kinematic coupling 13 is disposed, for example, so as to be located at the vertex of the equilateral triangle A. The kinematic coupling 13 is formed in a plate shape having a groove 131. This groove 131 is formed by the middle lines A1, A2, A
3 is formed.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the lid 12 as viewed from the front. As shown in the figure, the cover 12 has two holes 121 for passing a registration pin provided in a load port, which will be described later, and two holes 122 for passing a latch key.
And

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the load port 20. Here, FIG. 6A illustrates the load port 20.
FIG. 6B is a perspective view as viewed from the obliquely upper front, and FIG.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the same seen from diagonally above from behind.

The illustrated load port 20 is a FOUP 10
FOUP holding unit 21 for holding the FOUP 10 and the lid 1 of the FOUP 10
And a lid opening / closing section 22 for opening and closing the cover 2. These are mounted on a mounting plate 23 for mounting the load port 20 at the front of the wafer processing apparatus. In this case, F
The OUP holding unit 21 is mounted on the front side of the mounting plate 23, and the lid opening / closing unit 22 is mounted on the rear side.

As shown in FIG. 6A, the FOUP holding section 21 has a docking plate 211 on which the FOUP 10 is placed. This docking plate 211
Are arranged on the stage 212. The stage 212 is provided with a plate driving unit (not shown) that linearly drives the docking plate 211 in the front-rear direction. Also, on the upper surface of the docking plate 211,
Three kinematic coupling pins 213 are provided. This kinematic coupling pin 213
Are disposed so as to be located at the vertices of an equilateral triangle congruent with the equilateral triangle A in which the kinematic coupling 13 (see FIG. 4) is disposed.

As shown in FIG. 6B, the lid opening / closing section 22 is used to open the lid 12 of the FOUP 10.
21. The opener 221 is driven by an opener driving unit 222 in the front-rear direction and the vertical direction. As shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), two registration pins 2
23 and two latch keys 224 are provided.

The mounting plate 23 has an opening 231 for aligning the lid 12 of the FOUP 10 with the opener 221 of the lid opening / closing section 22.

In the above configuration, referring to FIG.
A procedure for opening and closing the lid 12 will be described. First, the lid 12
The procedure for opening is described.

In this case, the opener 221 is moved toward the mounting plate 23 and is brought into contact with the mounting plate 23. Thus, the opening 231 of the mounting plate 23 is closed by the opener 221. Note that the movement of the opener 221 may be a movement by a rotational movement or a movement by a linear movement. In FIG.
For simplicity, for example, as shown in FIG.

In this state, first, as shown in FIG. 7A, the FOUP 10 is placed on the docking plate 211. In this case, the FOUP 10 is placed so that the three kinematic coupling pins 213 are accommodated in the grooves 131 of the three kinematic couplings 13. Thus, the FOUP 10 is positioned at a predetermined position on the docking plate 211.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7B, the docking plate 211 is moved toward the mounting plate 23 by a plate driving unit (not shown). As a result, the registration pin 223 is inserted into the registration pin hole 121 of the lid 12 (see FIG. 5), and the latch key 22 is inserted.
4 is inserted into the latch key hole 122 (see FIG. 5).
Further, the wafer accommodating portion 11 comes into contact with the mounting plate 23.
Here, by inserting the registration pin 223 into the registration pin hole 121, the lid 12 is closed.
Is positioned at a predetermined position of the opener 221. The opening 231 of the mounting plate 23 is closed by the wafer housing 11 by the wafer housing 11 being in contact with the mounting plate 23.

Next, the latch key 224 is rotated by the opener driving section 222. Thus, the lid 12 is held by the latch key 224. Next, FIG.
As shown in (c), the opener 221 is moved by the opener drive unit 222 in a direction away from the mounting plate 23. Thereby, the lid 12 is moved from the wafer accommodation section 11 to the lid 12.
Is removed. As a result, the wafer entrance 111 is opened.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7D, the opener 221 is lowered by the opener driving section 222. As a result, the lid 12 and the opener 221 are positioned so as not to hinder the loading and unloading of the wafer W. As a result, it is possible to take the wafer W in and out.

The procedure for opening the lid 12 has been described above.
Next, a procedure for closing the lid 12 will be described.

When a plurality of processed wafers W are accommodated in the wafer accommodating section 11, first, the opener 221 is raised by the opener driving section 222. next,
The opener 221 is moved toward the mounting plate 23 by the opener driving unit 222. As a result, the opener 221 comes into contact with the mounting plate 23, and the opening 231 is closed. Further, the lid 12 is attached to the wafer accommodating section 11, and the wafer entrance 111 is closed.

Next, the latch key 224 is rotated by the opener driving section 222. Thereby, the holding of the lid 12 by the latch key 224 is released. Next, the docking plate 211 is moved backward in a direction away from the mounting plate 23 by a plate driving unit (not shown). Thereafter, the FOUP 10 is taken out of the docking plate 211.

[1-2] Position Adjusting Jig and Position Adjusting Method The FOUP 10 and the load port 20 have been described above. Next, a position adjusting jig and a position adjusting method using the position adjusting jig, which are features of the present invention, will be described.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the structure of the position adjusting jig of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows the position adjusting jig as viewed obliquely from the rear rearward.

The illustrated position adjusting jig 30 has an L-shaped plate 31. One wing side 3 of the L-shaped plate 31
11 is, for example, the bottom plate 11 of the wafer container 11.
2 (see FIG. 4).
Three kinematic couplings 32 are attached to the lower surface of the wing side 311. The kinematic coupling 32, like the kinematic coupling 13 of the FOUP 10 (see FIG. 4), is disposed so as to be located at the vertex of a predetermined regular triangle A (see FIG. 4). Also, this kinematic coupling 32
Like the kinematic coupling 13 of the FOUP 10, the FOUP 10 is formed in a plate shape having a groove 321. This groove 3
21 is also formed along the center line of the equilateral triangle.

The other wing side 3 of the L-shaped plate 31
For example, the area of the cover 12 is set to be substantially the same as the area of the lid 12 of the FOUP 10 (see FIG. 3). The wing side 312 has two holes 3 for passing two registration pins 223 attached to the opener 221.
3 and two holes 3 for passing two latch keys 224
4 are formed.

In such a configuration, the one wing side 311 side of the L-shaped plate 31 corresponds to the held part corresponding part 41 corresponding to the held part of the FOUP 10, and the other wing side 312 side. Lid corresponding part 4 corresponding to lid 12 of FOUP 10
Equivalent to 2. Here, the held portion of the FOUP 10 is
This is a portion held by the FOUP holding unit 21 of the load port 20. In the case of the present embodiment, the held portion corresponds to the bottom plate 112 portion of the wafer accommodating portion 11 having the kinematic coupling 13.

The configuration of the position adjusting jig 30 has been described above. Next, the load port 20 is
The procedure for adjusting the relative position between the FOUP holding unit 21 and the lid opening / closing unit 22 will be described. That is, the kinematic coupling pin 213 and the registration pin 22
The procedure for adjusting the position relative to the position 3 will be described.

This adjustment is performed in substantially the same manner as the procedure for opening the lid 12 of the FOUP 10. That is,
In this case, first, as shown in FIG. 2A, the position adjusting jig 30 is placed on the docking plate 211.
In this case, the position adjustment jig 30 is placed so that the three kinematic coupling pins 213 are accommodated in the grooves 321 of the three kinematic couplings 32. As a result, the position adjusting jig 30 is
1 at a predetermined position.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2B, the docking plate 211 is moved toward the mounting plate 23 by a plate driving unit (not shown). Thereby, it is confirmed whether or not the relative positions of the kinematic coupling pin 213 and the registration pin 223 are shifted. That is, in this case, the registration pin 223 is inserted into the registration pin hole 33 (see FIG. 1).
If it is smoothly inserted into the, it means that the relative positions of the two have not shifted. On the other hand, if the registration pin 223 is not smoothly inserted into the registration pin hole 33, the relative positions of the two are shifted.

When the relative positions of the kinematic coupling pin 213 and the registration pin 223 are shifted, for example, the position of the docking plate 211 and the position of the opener 221 are adjusted. Thereby, the relative displacement between the kinematic coupling pin 213 and the registration pin 223 is eliminated. Note that this adjustment is performed by adjusting the positions of the kinematic coupling pin 213 and the registration pin 223 when these positions can be directly adjusted.

[1-3] Effects According to the present embodiment described in detail above, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) First, according to the present embodiment, when adjusting the relative position between the FOUP holding section 21 and the lid opening / closing section 22 of the load port 20, not the FOUP 10,
The position is adjusted using a position adjustment jig 30 equivalent to the FOUP 10. Thereby, the adjustment cost can be reduced as compared with the case where the adjustment is performed using the FOUP 10. Further, since the position adjusting jig can be adjusted as a master gauge, it is possible to reduce variation after adjustment.

(2) According to the present embodiment, the position adjusting jig 30 includes the held portion corresponding portion 41 corresponding to the held portion of the FOUP 10 and the lid corresponding portion 4 corresponding to the lid 12.
A position adjustment jig 30 having only two is used. Thereby, the position adjusting jig 30 can be easily and
It can be manufactured at low cost.

[2] Other Embodiments While one embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the present invention can also be applied to position adjustment of a lid opening / closing device that opens and closes a lid of a wafer container in which a wafer entrance is provided on a surface other than the front surface of the wafer container. Further, the present invention can also be applied to position adjustment of a lid opening / closing device that opens and closes a lid of a glass substrate container that accommodates a glass substrate of a liquid crystal display device. In short, the present invention can be generally applied to position adjustment of a lid opening / closing device that opens and closes a lid of a substrate container that stores a substrate of a solid-state device. In addition, it goes without saying that the present invention can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0050]

As described above in detail, according to the position adjusting jig of the lid opening / closing device according to the first aspect and the method of adjusting the position of the lid opening / closing device according to the second aspect, the substrate container holding portion of the lid opening / closing device. When adjusting the relative position between the lid and the lid opening / closing part, the adjustment is performed not using the substrate container but using a position adjusting jig equivalent to the substrate container. Thus, the adjustment cost can be reduced as compared with the case where the adjustment is performed using the substrate container, and the variation after the adjustment can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an embodiment of a position adjusting jig according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view for explaining an embodiment of the position adjusting method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing a configuration of an example of a FOUP.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an example of a configuration of a held portion of the FOUP.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing an example of a configuration of a lid of the FOUP.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an example of a configuration of a load port.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a procedure for opening and closing the lid of the FOUP.

[Explanation of symbols]

10: FOUP, 11: Wafer accommodating section, 111: Wafer insertion / removal port, 112: Bottom plate, 12: Lid, 121: Registration pin hole, 122: Latch key hole,
13 ... Kinematic coupling, 131 ... Groove, 20
... Load port, 21 ... FOUP holding part, 211 ... Docking plate, 212 ... Stage, 213 ... Kinematic coupling pin, 22 ... Lid opening / closing part, 221 ... Opener, 222 ... Opener driving part, 223 ... Registration pin, 224 ... Latch key, 30 ... Position adjustment jig, 31 ... Plate, 311, 312 ... Wing edge, 32 ...
Kinematic coupling, 321, groove, 33, registration pin hole, 34, latch key hole, 4
Reference numeral 1 denotes a held portion corresponding portion, 42 denotes a lid corresponding portion.

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Hideshi Kobayashi 292, Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside Hitachi, Ltd. 72) Inventor Norihiko Wada 1-280 Higashi Koigakubo, Kokubunji-shi, Tokyo Inside Hitachi, Ltd. DA08 FA01 FA09 FA11 KA20 NA10 PA26

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A substrate container holding part for holding a substrate container whose substrate entrance is closed by a lid, and a lid opening / closing part for opening and closing a lid of the substrate container held by the substrate container holding part. A lid opening / closing device having a function of adjusting a relative position between the substrate container holding section and the lid opening / closing section, wherein the substrate container held by the substrate container holding section is used. A position adjusting jig for a lid opening / closing device, comprising: a held portion corresponding portion corresponding to the held portion; and a lid corresponding portion corresponding to the lid of the substrate container. 2. A substrate container holding portion for holding a substrate container having a substrate inlet / outlet closed by a lid, and a lid opening / closing portion for opening and closing a lid of the substrate container held by the substrate container holding portion. In the lid opening / closing device having the above, when adjusting a relative position between the container holding portion and the lid opening / closing portion, a cover corresponding to a held portion of the substrate container held by the substrate container holding portion is provided. A position adjusting method for a lid opening / closing device, wherein the position is adjusted using a position adjusting jig including a holding part corresponding part and a lid corresponding part corresponding to the lid of the substrate container.