JP2007220990A - Cassette for semiconductor wafer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a semiconductor wafer at the time of conveyance from being damaged by housing plural number of sheets of the semiconductor wafers within a cassette for the semiconductor wafer. <P>SOLUTION: The casette for the semiconductor is provided with a plurality of barriers (7) and in which a housing (8) having a designated height is formed between side walls (2, 3) and arranged between a bottom wall (4) and top wall (5); a movable shelf (9) which is movably arranged toward the bottom wall (4) or the top wall (5), and supports a semiconductor wafer (10) housed within each housing room (8); and an interconnection member (14) which is movably arranged in external surfaces of the side walls (2, 3), and connected to the movable shelf (9). The movable shelf (9) includes a concave portion (12) into which a palette (13a) of conveyance arm (13) supporting the semiconductor wafer (10) is inserted. Furthermore, the semiconductor wafer (10) is prevented from being freely moved within the housing (8), in such a way that both the semiconductor wafer (10) and the movable shelf (9) are moved at a time toward the bottom wall (4) or the top wall (5) by moving the interconnection member (14), and that the semiconductor wafer (10) is sandwiched between the barriers (7) or between the barriers (7) and the bottom wall (4) or the top wall (5). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cassette, and more particularly to a semiconductor wafer cassette for storing and transporting semiconductor wafers.

  For example, in Patent Document 1 below, a plurality of pairs of wafer receiving portions for storing wafers substantially horizontally are arranged in a vertical direction on the inner side surfaces of opposite side plates of a box-shaped container having an opening for loading and unloading wafers. A wafer cassette having a wafer support part for supporting a wafer from below together with a pair of wafer receiving parts is disclosed. In this wafer cassette, the wafer cannot be fixed in the wafer cassette, and a space that can be moved in the wafer cassette is formed. Therefore, when the wafer is transported together with the cassette, the wafer is moved in the wafer cassette. There is a drawback in that a fragile wafer subjected to shock or vibration is damaged. Further, in this wafer cassette, since both edge portions of the wafer whose central portion is supported by the wafer support portion are disposed between a pair of vertically provided wafer receiving portions, both edge portions of the wafer are moved when the wafer is idle. There was a risk of cracking or chipping due to contact with the wafer receiving portion.

  Patent Document 2 listed below is a substrate storage unit that is provided in the apparatus main body and stores a substrate, a substrate mounting surface on which the substrate is mounted, an adsorption mechanism that sucks substantially the entire surface, and an engagement with the substrate. 1 shows a substrate storage device that has a substrate lid to be moved and a suction force adjustment mechanism that individually adjusts the suction force of each substrate suction portion, and the substrate lid is driven up and down by the vertical mechanism to engage the wafer. This substrate storage device requires a suction mechanism and a driving device for preventing cracking or chipping of the wafer due to vibration or impact when transporting the wafer, so that the size of the device increases and a large number of wafers are stored in the cassette There was a difficult point.

JP 2002-76108 A JP 2004-22816 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor wafer cassette capable of storing a large number of semiconductor wafers while preventing damage to the semiconductor wafers during transportation.

  The cassette for semiconductor wafer of the present invention is a pair of side walls (2, 3), a bottom wall (4) fixed to the lower end of the side wall (2, 3), and fixed to the upper end of the side wall (2, 3). The top wall (5), the side wall (2,3), the bottom wall (4), the rear wall (6) fixed to the rear end of the top wall (5), and the bottom wall (4) to the top wall (5) Up to the bottom wall (4) or the top wall (5) and a plurality of partition walls (7) arranged with a storage chamber (8) having a predetermined height between the side walls (2, 3). Movable shelf (9) supporting the semiconductor wafer (10) housed in each storage chamber (8) and movable on the outer surface of the side walls (2, 3). And a connecting member (14) connected to the shelf (9). The movable shelf (9) has a recess (12) for inserting the pallet (13a) of the transfer arm (13) that supports the semiconductor wafer (10). By moving the connecting member (14), the movable shelf (9) is moved together with the semiconductor wafer (10) toward the bottom wall (4) or the top wall (5) to move between the partition walls (7) or between the partition walls (7 ) And the bottom wall (4) or the top wall (5). After placing the semiconductor wafer (10) on the pallet (13a) of the transfer arm (13) and inserting the pallet (13a) into the recess (12), the movable shelf (9) in the storage chamber (8) The semiconductor wafer (10) is moved upward, and the pallet (13a) is taken out from the recess (12). Thereafter, the movable shelf (9) is moved by the moving device (11), and the semiconductor wafer (10) is sandwiched between the partition (7) and the movable shelf (9) facing the movable shelf (9). Thus, it is possible to prevent the semiconductor wafer (10) from moving in the storage chamber (8). After the semiconductor wafer cassette is inverted and transported, the transfer device (13) releases the semiconductor wafer (10) from the nipping between the partition wall (7) and the movable shelf (9) by the moving device (11). ) Pallet (13a) is inserted into the recess (12), and the semiconductor wafer (10) can be taken out of the storage chamber (8) by an operation reverse to the arrangement operation.

  When transporting the cassette for semiconductor wafer, the semiconductor wafer (10) is sandwiched between the partition wall (7) and the movable shelf (9) to reliably prevent the semiconductor wafer (10) from moving. Damage, cracking or warping of the semiconductor wafer (10) due to vibration or impact can be reliably prevented. Further, since the moving device (11) has a simple structure, it is not necessary to reduce the number of semiconductor wafers that can be accommodated in the semiconductor wafer cassette.

  A semiconductor wafer cassette according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the semiconductor wafer cassette (1) of the present invention includes a pair of side walls (2, 3) and a bottom wall (4) fixed to the lower ends of the side walls (2, 3). The top wall (5) fixed to the upper end of the side wall (2,3), and the rear wall (6) fixed to the rear end of the side wall (2,3), the bottom wall (4) and the top wall (5) To form a rectangular box-shaped container (1a). The box-shaped container (1a) is made of, for example, a resin such as polyamide resin or polypropylene, and has a predetermined height between the side walls (2, 3) from the bottom wall (4) to the top wall (5). It has a plurality of partition walls (7) arranged to form a chamber (8). In the illustrated embodiment, the side edge (7a) of each partition wall (7) is fixed to the side wall (2, 3). The movable shelf (9) can move into the storage chamber (8) between the pair of partition walls (7) that are vertically spaced from each other and between the top wall (5) and the partition wall (7). Placed in. In the illustrated embodiment, the movable shelf (9) is provided with a recess (12) for inserting the pallet (13a) of the transfer arm (13) that supports the semiconductor wafer (10), and the movable shelf (9). And a cavity (8a) is formed between the lower partition wall (7) and the lower partition wall (7). Due to the formation of the recess (12), the movable shelf (9) is formed in a U shape or a U shape. By providing in this way, the movable shelf (9) can integrally hold the semiconductor wafer (10) in parallel, so that the semiconductor wafer (10) is not bent or scratched. Further, since the recess (12) is provided, the cavity (8a) may be omitted and the movable shelf (9) may be brought into direct contact with the lower partition (7). The bottom wall (4) or the top wall (5) may be a partition wall.

  The moving device (11) provided on the outer side of each side wall (2, 3) is arranged so as to be movable on the outer side of the side wall (2, 3) and connected to each movable shelf (9) (14) And a fastening member (15) for fixing the connecting member (14) at a predetermined position on the side walls (2, 3). The tightening member (15) includes a knob (15a) disposed on the outside of the connecting member (14), and an opening having one end fixed to the knob (15a) and the other end provided on the side wall (2, 3). (16) and a hole (17) provided in the connecting member (14) and a screw (15b) screwed into the end of the movable shelf (9). Since the screw (15b) moves in the vertical direction through the opening (16) provided in the side wall (2, 3), the movable shelf (9) can also move in the vertical direction together with the screw (15b). .

  In use, the semiconductor wafer (10) is supported on the pallet (13a) of the transfer arm (13), and the pallet (13a) is inserted into the recess (12), and then moved slightly downward. The semiconductor wafer (10) is placed on the movable shelf (9), the pallet (13a) is taken out from the recess (12), and the semiconductor wafer (10) is placed in the storage chamber (8). After placing the semiconductor wafer (10) in all necessary storage chambers (8), the knob (15a) of the fastening member (15) is rotated in one direction, the screw (15b) is loosened, and the connecting member (14 ) And the movable shelf (9) are moved upward from the operation position toward the fixed position, and as shown in FIG. 3, each semiconductor wafer (10) is moved to the bottom or top wall (5) of the upper partition wall (7). Touch the bottom of the. In this way, the movable shelf (9) is moved toward the top wall (5) together with the semiconductor wafer (10) toward the bottom wall (4) or the top wall (5) by the moving device (11). When the screw (15b) is tightened by rotating the knob (15a) of the fastening member (15) in the opposite direction, the partition wall (7) and the partition wall (7) and the bottom wall (4) or the top wall (5) During this, the semiconductor wafer (10) can be securely held and fixed to prevent the semiconductor wafer (10) from floating in the storage chamber (8). In this state, as shown in FIG. 4, after the semiconductor wafer cassette (1) is turned over and transported, the fastening member (15) of the moving device (11) is loosened, and the drawing from the fixed position shown in FIG. The movable shelf (9) is moved to the operation position shown in 2 to release the semiconductor wafer (10) from the clamping between the partition wall (7) and the movable shelf (9). Thereafter, the pallet (13a) of the transfer arm (13) is inserted into the recess (12), the semiconductor wafer (10) is placed on the movable shelf (9), and the placement operation is reversed after being held. The semiconductor wafer (10) can be taken out of the storage chamber (8) by the reverse operation.

  In this way, when the semiconductor wafer cassette (1) is transported, the semiconductor wafer (10) is sandwiched between the partition wall (7) and the movable shelf (9) to ensure that the semiconductor wafer (10) is free to move. This can prevent the semiconductor wafer (10) from being damaged, cracked or warped due to vibration or impact during transportation. Further, since the moving device (11) has a simple structure, it is not necessary to reduce the number of semiconductor wafers (10) that can be accommodated in the semiconductor wafer cassette (1).

  The embodiment of the present invention can be modified. For example, the uppermost partition wall (7) may be the top wall (5), and the lowermost partition wall (7) may be the bottom wall (4). Further, if the moving device (11) is provided not on the side wall (2, 3) but on the rear wall (6), the movable shelf (9) operates more stably, thereby reducing the fastening member (15). You can also. The movable shelf (9) may be provided separately on the side walls (2, 3), or the shapes of the partition wall (7) and the movable shelf (9) may be switched. The connecting member (14) may be fixed to the side wall (2, 3) by other means without using the screw (15b) of the tightening member (15). Further, a spring is provided between the movable shelf (9) and the partition wall (7), and the movable shelf (9) is pressed against the partition wall (7) by elasticity to hold the semiconductor wafer (10). May be.

  The present invention can be favorably applied to a cassette that stores a plurality of semiconductor wafers and holds them in an immovable manner.

The perspective view which shows the cassette for semiconductor wafers by the 1st Embodiment of this invention Front view of the semiconductor wafer cassette of FIG. The front view of FIG. 2 which shows the state which moved the movable shelf part upwards The front view which shows the state which reversed the cassette for semiconductor wafers shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 ·· Semiconductor wafer cassette 1a ·· Box, 2 ·· Side wall 3 ·· Side wall 4 ·· Bottom wall 5 ·· Top wall 6 ·· Rear wall 7 ·· Partition wall 7a · · Side edges, 8 · · Storage chamber, 8a · · Hollow portion, · · · movable shelf, 10 · · semiconductor wafer, 11 · · moving device, 12 · · recess, 13 · · transfer arm, 13a · · pallet 14. Connection members 15. Tightening members 15a Knobs 15b Screws 16. Openings 17 Holes

Claims (6)

A pair of side walls, a bottom wall fixed to the lower end of the side wall, a top wall fixed to the upper end of the side wall, and a rear wall fixed to the rear end of the side wall, the bottom wall, and the top wall In semiconductor wafer cassettes,
A plurality of partition walls arranged to form a storage chamber having a predetermined height between the side walls between the bottom wall and the top wall;
A movable shelf that is provided movably toward the bottom wall or the top wall and supports a semiconductor wafer accommodated in each of the storage chambers;
A linking member arranged movably on the outer surface of the side wall or the rear wall and connected to the movable shelf,
The movable shelf has a recess for inserting a pallet of a transfer arm that supports the semiconductor wafer,
By moving the connecting member, the movable shelf is moved together with the semiconductor wafer toward the bottom wall or top wall, and the semiconductor wafer is moved between the partition walls or between the partition walls and the bottom wall or top wall. A cassette for semiconductor wafers, characterized in that it is sandwiched.   The semiconductor wafer cassette according to claim 1, wherein side edges of the plurality of partition walls are fixed to the side wall.   A pallet of a transfer arm is inserted into the concave portion of the movable shelf, and the semiconductor wafer supported on the pallet is disposed on the movable shelf, or the semiconductor wafer is taken out from the movable shelf by the pallet. Item 3. A semiconductor wafer cassette according to Item 1 or 2. The moving device is arranged movably outside the side wall and connected to the movable shelf,
The semiconductor wafer cassette according to claim 1, further comprising: a fastening member that fixes the connecting member at a predetermined position on the side wall.   The tightening member includes a knob disposed outside the connecting member, an opening provided in the side wall, and a screw connected to the movable shelf through a hole provided in the connecting member. The cassette for semiconductor wafers of Claim 4 provided. The cassette for a semiconductor wafer according to claim 1, wherein the bottom wall or the top wall serves as the partition wall.

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