JP2004103937A - Substrate container - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate container for suppressing and preventing the structure of a mold from becoming complex, and preventing contamination on a substrate or a clean environment for processing the substrate against wear powder. <P>SOLUTION: A container body stores in array a plurality of substrates. A lid opens/closes an opening front surface of the container body. An internal pressure adjusting mechanism 30 is engaged with the container body and an installing part 10 of the lid, and adjusts the internal pressure of the container body which is closed with the lid. The internal pressure adjusting mechanism 30 comprises a fitting cylinder 31 which is elastic and formed into a near cylinder, a hollow filter holder 33 inserted in the axial direction of the fitting cylinder 31, and a plurality of filters 36 held inside the filter holder 33. The container body is provided with a fitting hole 11, and the fitting cylinder 31 of a simple configuration is deformed for attaching/detaching from the fitting hole 11. So no complex threaded hole is required. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a substrate storage container for storing a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer and a photomask glass, and more particularly, to a filter for adjusting a pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the substrate storage container.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Although not shown, the conventional substrate storage container includes a container body for aligning and storing a plurality of substrates formed of semiconductor wafers, and a lid for opening and closing an opening of the container body. This type of substrate storage container is required to have high hermeticity so as not to cause contamination of the substrate.However, a pressure difference is generated between the inside and outside of the container due to air transportation or high-speed transportation in a bay. There is a problem that the lid is in close contact and opening and closing of the lid becomes difficult.
In order to solve such a problem, conventionally, a container body for aligning and storing a plurality of substrates (not shown), a lid for opening and closing an opening of the container body, and a container closed with the lid A substrate storage container with a filter including an internal pressure adjusting mechanism for a main body has been proposed (see Patent Document 1).
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-11-233607 (FIG. 1)
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The conventional substrate storage container with a filter is configured as described above, a screw hole is provided in the container body, and a resin internal pressure adjusting mechanism is screwed into the screw hole. There is a problem of complexity. That is, when the container body is formed by a mold, a rotating mechanism at the time of mold release is absolutely necessary, so that the structure of the mold is complicated.
In addition, a technique has been proposed in which a locking claw is provided on the container body and the locking claw holds an internal pressure adjusting mechanism. In this case, too, a slide for avoiding an undercut portion at the time of releasing the mold is proposed. Since a mechanism is required, the structure of the mold is complicated.
Further, in any of the methods, since the internal pressure adjusting mechanism is fitted and held in the container main body, friction occurs between the container main body and the internal pressure adjusting mechanism at the time of transport, and abrasion powder is generated. Environment may be polluted.
[0005]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above, and has provided a substrate storage container that can prevent the structure of a molding die from being complicated and can prevent contamination of a clean environment for processing a substrate or a substrate due to generation of abrasion powder. It is intended to provide.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, a container main body for accommodating a substrate, a lid for opening and closing an opening of the container main body, and a lid attached to at least one of the installation portions of the container main body and the lid. An internal pressure adjusting mechanism for adjusting the internal pressure of the container body closed by the lid,
The internal pressure adjusting mechanism includes an elastic mounting cylinder formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, a hollow filter holder fitted in the mounting cylinder in the axial direction, and a filter held in the filter holder. It is characterized by.
[0007]
In addition, it is preferable to provide a mounting hole for a mounting cylinder in at least one of the mounting portions of the container body and the lid, and to form a guide rib for an internal pressure adjusting mechanism near the mounting hole.
In addition, a flange that catches on the peripheral edge of the mounting hole from the outer peripheral surface of the mounting cylinder is protruded, and the filter holder is divided into a pair of holders that are in contact with each other and each holder is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape. It is preferable that the opposing contact portion of the filter is spread outward in the width direction to form a filter holding portion.
[0008]
Here, the substrate in the claims includes at least one or more semiconductor wafers, photomask glass, and the like. The opening of the container body may be the front or the top. In addition, the lid may or may not include a locking latch mechanism. The internal pressure adjusting mechanism may be attached to the container body or the lid, and may be attached to the container body and the lid, respectively. Any one or more of the flange and filter of the mounting cylinder in this internal pressure adjusting mechanism may be used. The filter holder may or may not have flexibility or elasticity. Further, the guide ribs can be of various cylindrical shapes, semi-circular arc shapes, C-shaped, U-shaped, and the like. The guide rib can be provided on all or a part of the periphery of the mounting hole.
[0009]
According to the present invention, if the filter is held by the filter holder, the filter holder is fitted into the mounting cylinder, and the mounting cylinder is mounted in the mounting hole in the installation portion of the container body and / or the lid, the container body and / or the lid An internal pressure adjusting mechanism can be attached to the body.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, a substrate storage container according to the present embodiment includes a container main body 1 in which a plurality of substrates W are aligned and stored. A lid 20 for opening and closing the opening of the container body 1, and an internal pressure adjustment for adjusting the internal pressure of the container body 1 closed by the lid 20, which is fitted to each of the container body 1 and the installation portion 10 of the lid 20. The internal pressure adjusting mechanism 30 includes an elastic mounting cylinder 31, a filter holder 33 fitted and protected in the mounting cylinder 31, and a plurality of filters 36 held in the filter holder 33. It consists of.
[0011]
Examples of the plurality of substrates W include a plurality of semiconductor wafers. More specifically, a 300 mm (for example, 25 or 26) silicon wafer or the like is used.
[0012]
As shown in FIG. 1, the container main body 1 is formed in a front open box type having an open front using, for example, transparent polycarbonate or the like, and has alignment grooves having a substantially V-shaped or U-shaped cross section on both sides facing each other. Each of the shelves 3 is provided with two of them, and the pair of shelves 3 horizontally supports a plurality of substrates W arranged in a vertical direction at a predetermined constant pitch. This container main body 1 is provided with a bottom plate 4 having a substantially Y-shaped flat surface having a through hole for detecting and distinguishing the type of the substrate storage container at the bottom thereof. Then, a positioning member 5 for a processing device having a substantially V-shaped cross section is formed.
[0013]
A handle 6 is detachably mounted on the ceiling of the container body 1, and the handle 6 is held by an automatic transfer mechanism called OHT (overhead hoist transfer), so that the substrate storage container is transferred in the process. Also, a rim portion 7 for fitting a lid is formed integrally with the front surface of the opening of the container main body 1 in a wide width. On both sides of the rim portion 7, locking portions 8 having locking grooves for the lid are integrally formed. The handle 9 for manual conveyance is detachably mounted on both outer sides of the container body 1. The lower part of the container body 1 is an installation part 10 as shown in FIG. 1, and a mounting hole 11 is penetrated through the installation part 10.
[0014]
Note that the pair of shelves 3, the bottom plate 4, the handle 6, and the pair of grip handles 9 constituting the container body 1 are made of, for example, a thermoplastic resin made of polycarbonate, polyetherimide, polyetheretherketone, cyclic olefin resin, or the like. Molded using. The grip handle 9 may be U-shaped or L-shaped.
[0015]
The lid body 20 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape having four rounded corners and a round shape, and a step portion 21 that fits with the rim portion 7 of the container body 1 is formed on the inner surface thereof. An elastic retainer 22 with a storage groove for holding the substrate W is mounted, and a pair of locking pieces 23 that engage with the locking portions 8 of the container body 1 are swingably supported on both sides. You. An endless seal member 24 is fitted into the step portion 21 of the lid 20, and the seal member 24 secures the sealing performance when the lid 20 is closed. The lower portion of the lid 20 is an installation portion 10 as shown in FIG. 2, and a mounting hole 11 is penetrated through the installation portion 10. As shown, the guide rib 12 for the internal pressure adjusting mechanism 30 is formed to project in a substantially semicircular arc shape.
[0016]
As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the internal pressure adjusting mechanism 30 includes an elastic mounting cylinder 31 removably fitted into the mounting hole 11 of the installation section 10, and a close fitting removably tightly in the axial direction of the mounting cylinder 31. And a plurality of filters 36 held in the filter holder 33, and a pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the substrate storage container causes a lid body to be attached to the container body 1. The opening and closing of the lid 20 due to the close contact of the lid 20 is prevented from being suppressed. The mounting cylinder 31 is formed using, for example, silicone rubber or the like, and is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape having a large opening at the lower end in FIG. 4 and a small other end at the opening. A plurality of fitting and locking flanges 32 are arranged integrally in the axial direction.
[0017]
The filter holder 33 is provided with a pair of holders 34 and 34A which are formed to have a substantially 断面 -shaped cross section or a funnel shape and are mutually bonded or welded to each other, and function to communicate the inside and outside of the substrate storage container. As shown in FIG. 4, each of the holders 34A is basically formed in an elongated and substantially cylindrical shape, and the opposing contact portion is enlarged in a radially outward direction to form a filter holding portion 35 having a concave portion. The concave portion of the filter holding section 35 hermetically holds the plurality of filters 36.
[0018]
As the material of the mounting cylinder 31 and the filter holder 33, for example, thermoplastic resins such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polycarbonate, and polyethylene terephthalate, polyester elastomers for housings, thermoplastic elastomers such as polyolefin elastomers, and polystyrene elastomers; Examples include fluorine rubber, EPDM rubber, butyl rubber, nitrile rubber, silicone rubber, urethane rubber and the like.
[0019]
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the plurality of filters 36 are used as a molecular filtration filter made of ethylene tetrafluoride, polyester fiber, porous Teflon (registered trademark) membrane, glass fiber, or the like, or a filter medium such as activated carbon fiber. It consists of a chemical filter carrying a chemical absorbent. The plurality of filters 36 are held in a stacked state sandwiched by a plurality of protection members 37 between the concave portions of the filter sandwiching portions 35 of the pair of holders 34 and 34A. Each protective member 37 is formed in a thin disk shape like the filter 36, and has a large number of flow holes.
[0020]
Note that the plurality of filters 36 may be of the same performance type, but are preferably of different performance types. For example, if a molecular filtration filter and a chemical filter are combined, not only particle contamination of the substrate W but also organic gas contamination can be prevented.
[0021]
In the above configuration, a plurality of filters 36 are stacked and sandwiched between the filter sandwiching portions 35 of the pair of holders 34 and 34A via the protective member 37 to form the filter holder 33, and the filter holder 33 is attached to the mounting cylinder 31. A part of the holder 34A is closely fitted from the one end face of the opening to the other end face, and a part of the holder 34A is projected therethrough. At the same time, the mounting cylinder 31 is elastically deformed into the mounting hole 11 of each installation part 10 to be closely fitted. If the flanges 32 projecting from the outer peripheral surface of the mounting cylinder 31 are respectively engaged with the front and back peripheral edges of the hole 11, the internal pressure adjusting mechanism 30 can be easily attached to the container body 1 and the lid 20.
[0022]
According to the above configuration, it is only necessary to provide the mounting hole 11 in the container main body 1 and elastically deform the mounting tube 31 having a simple configuration in this mounting hole 11 to attach / detach it. Therefore, there is no need to provide a complicated screw hole. The structure of the mold for molding the container body 1 does not become complicated. In addition, the internal pressure adjusting mechanism 30 can be easily removed from the container body 1 by being deformed during cleaning, or can be attached again after cleaning. In addition, since there is no need to provide a locking claw on the container body 1, a slide mechanism for avoiding an undercut portion at the time of releasing the mold is not required, and it is possible to prevent the mold structure from becoming complicated. Further, there is no need to engage resins having high hardness and rigidity, and no friction is generated between the container body 1 and the internal pressure adjusting mechanism 30 during transportation, so that resin powder is not generated. This effectively eliminates the risk of contamination of the clean environment.
[0023]
Further, since the mounting cylinder 31 is made of a flexible elastic material and forms a seal between the mounting cylinder 31 and the mounting hole 11, there is no need to newly mount another sealing member such as a О ring. Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced and the workability of the assembling work can be greatly improved. Further, since the guide ribs 12 are formed so as to protrude along the periphery of the mounting hole 11, there is no collision or damage of another substrate storage container with the internal pressure adjusting mechanism 30, and suppression of displacement can be greatly expected. . Furthermore, since the periphery of the filter holder 33 is covered and protected by the mounting cylinder 31, the sealing performance can be significantly improved, and air leakage can be effectively suppressed and prevented.
[0024]
Next, FIGS. 6 and 7 show a second embodiment of the present invention. In this case, the other end surface of the opening of the mounting cylinder 31 is enlarged to facilitate insertion of the filter holder 33, and The partitioning support piece 39 is projected in a radially inward direction from the vicinity of the center of the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder 31, and the holder 34 of the filter holder 33 is supported by the partitioning support piece 39. At the peripheral edge of the other end surface of the opening of the mounting cylinder 31, locking ribs 38 having a substantially semicircular cross section for restricting the fitted filter holder 33 from falling off are protruded radially inward at predetermined intervals. Further, the partitioning support piece 39 is formed in a ring shape, and a cylindrical rim portion 40 extending downward in FIG. 7 is integrally formed around the center through hole, and the rim portion 40 is used to hold the filter. Penetrated by the holder 34 of the tool 33. The other parts are the same as those in the above-described embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.
[0025]
In this embodiment, the same operation and effect as those in the above embodiment can be expected. In addition, if the holder 34 of the filter holder 33 is inserted into the rim portion 40 of the section support piece 39, the filter holder 33 is attached with a slight inclination. However, it is clear that the position can be easily corrected and the convenience can be greatly improved. Further, since the periphery of the filter 36 is protected by the partition support piece 39 of the mounting cylinder 31, air leakage is very small, and contamination of the substrate storage container can be prevented.
[0026]
【The invention's effect】
ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION As mentioned above, according to this invention, the effect that the complication of the structure of a shaping | molding die can be suppressed or prevented, and pollution etc. of the clean environment for board | substrate and board | substrate processing accompanying generation | occurrence | production of abrasion powder can be effectively prevented. There is.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory perspective view showing an embodiment of a substrate storage container according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing a lid in the embodiment of the substrate storage container according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an essential part showing an embodiment of the substrate storage container according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory sectional view of a main part showing an internal pressure adjusting mechanism in the embodiment of the substrate storage container according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory perspective view showing a filter and the like in the embodiment of the substrate storage container according to the present invention.
FIG. 6 is an exploded explanatory view showing an internal pressure adjusting mechanism in a second embodiment of the substrate storage container according to the present invention.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory sectional view of a main part showing an internal pressure adjusting mechanism in a second embodiment of the substrate storage container according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 container main body 10 installation part 11 mounting hole 12 guide rib 20 lid 30 inner pressure adjusting mechanism 31 mounting cylinder 32 flange 33 filter holder 34 holder 34A holder 35 filter holding part 36 filter 38 locking rib 39 partition support piece 40 rim part W substrate

Claims (3)

A container main body for storing substrates, a lid for opening and closing the opening of the container main body, and an internal pressure of the container main body attached to at least one of the installation portions of the container main body and the lid, and closed by the lid. A substrate storage container comprising: an internal pressure adjustment mechanism for adjusting;
The internal pressure adjusting mechanism includes an elastic mounting cylinder formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, a hollow filter holding tool fitted in the mounting cylinder in the axial direction, and a filter held in the filter holding tool. A substrate storage container characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. The substrate storage container according to claim 1, wherein a mounting hole for a mounting cylinder is provided in at least one of the mounting portions of the container body and the lid, and a guide rib for an internal pressure adjusting mechanism is formed near the mounting hole. A flange that catches on the peripheral edge of the mounting hole is projected from the outer peripheral surface of the mounting cylinder, and the filter holder is divided into a pair of holders that come into contact with each other, and each holder is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape. 3. The substrate storage container according to claim 2, wherein the opposing contact portion is expanded outward in the width direction to form a filter holding portion.

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