JP2008094417A - Cushion for use in packaging cassette case - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cushioning member that protects semiconductor wafers against external impact when a cassette case is accommodated and packed in a corrugated board box. <P>SOLUTION: When the wafer cassette case is accommodated in a corrugated board box, the cushioning members are interposed between the inner walls of the corrugated board box and the cassette case. The cushioning member is floated such that its upper and lower member sandwich the cassette case from above and below. The upper member and lower member are composed of rectangular frame bodies that surround the lid and bottom of the cassette case respectively and fix them in position. Within the diameter of the semiconductor wafers W in the cassette case when the principal faces of the wafers W are viewed from the front, a plurality of shock absorbing blocks are arranged so as to project toward the inner walls of the corrugated board box. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cassette case packing shock absorber, and more particularly to a foamed cassette case packing shock absorber that is used when a substantially rectangular parallelepiped cassette case is housed and packed in a rectangular parallelepiped cardboard box.

  Conventionally, as this kind of shock absorber for packing a cassette case, the one described in Patent Document 1 is known. That is, a pair of upper and lower foamed polyethylene cushions inserted between a container and an outer box (a rectangular parallelepiped cardboard box) is disclosed as a semiconductor wafer transport cushion. This buffer protects the cassette case and the semiconductor wafer from vibration and shock during transportation. The buffer body provides a predetermined gap between the outer box and the cassette case, and the shock body itself is elastically deformed to absorb and relieve the impact force.

JP 2005-41503 A

However, such a conventional buffer has the following points to be improved. That is, in the conventional shock absorber, the upper shock absorber and the lower shock absorber are both substantially rectangular frames, and the outer surfaces of these frames are two on each of the four side surfaces so as to face the inner wall surface of the outer box. There was a protrusion. A total of eight protrusions were respectively formed on the upper buffer body and the lower buffer body, and a predetermined gap was formed between the upper buffer body and the lower buffer body. In this case, the protrusions on the side facing the main surface of the plurality of vertically loaded semiconductor wafers in the cassette case were provided at positions deviating from the main surface (the main surface and It was not.)
Therefore, when the outer box is dropped with the main surface of the semiconductor wafer facing down, the impact force due to the drop acts on the cassette case and eventually the semiconductor wafer via these buffer bodies. At this time, since each protrusion on the main surface opposite side is in a position deviated from the main surface, the semiconductor wafer cannot be supported in the state of both-end support beams at these protrusions, and the protrusions are considerably separated from each other. As a result, the amount of deflection deformation at the central portion of the main surface of the semiconductor wafer due to the impact force increases, and there is a possibility that damage such as chipping, scratching, and cracking may occur in the semiconductor wafer.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a cassette case packing buffer that is used when a cassette case is accommodated and packed in a cardboard box and protects a semiconductor wafer inside the cassette case against an external impact.

  The invention according to claim 1 is a case where a box-shaped cassette case in which a plurality of semiconductor wafers are loaded in a vertically oriented state in which a main surface is substantially vertical is accommodated in a rectangular parallelepiped box and packed. The cassette case packing cushion interposed between the cassette case and the box is configured by a substantially rectangular frame, fits into the bottom of the cassette case, and contacts the inner bottom wall of the box. And a lower mold member that supports the cassette case with a gap between the outer wall of the cassette case and the inner wall of the box, and a substantially rectangular frame, and is fitted to the lid of the cassette case. And an upper mold member that contacts the ceiling wall of the box and supports the cassette case with a gap between the outer wall of the cassette case and the inner wall of the box. And / or lower die member In the direction perpendicular to the main surface of the semiconductor wafer, a lateral shock absorbing block protruding toward the inner wall of the box facing the main surface is disposed, and the semiconductor loaded in the cassette case When projecting a lateral shock absorption block by irradiating light in a direction perpendicular to the main surface of the wafer, the cassette case packaging in which the projected image of the lateral shock absorption block is located within the width of this semiconductor wafer diameter It is a shock absorber.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the lateral shock absorbing block provided on the upper mold member and / or the lower mold member irradiates the semiconductor wafer in the cassette case with light from a direction perpendicular to the main surface thereof. When projected, the projected image is disposed so as to be positioned within the width of the diameter of the semiconductor wafer when the main surface of the semiconductor wafer is viewed from the front. At the same time, the lateral shock absorbing block protrudes toward the inner wall of the box to be packed perpendicularly to the front and back surfaces (main surface) of the semiconductor wafer in the cassette case. For this reason, even if a large impact force is applied to the box from the direction perpendicular to the main surface due to the falling of the box or the like, this impact force is absorbed or alleviated by the lateral shock absorption block, and the semiconductor wafer in the cassette case The impact force acting on can be reduced. In particular, since the lateral shock absorbing block is provided so as to be located within the diameter of the semiconductor wafer (the width of its main surface), the impact force that the lateral shock absorbing block directly acts on the main surface of the semiconductor wafer. Can be reduced. Thereby, all the semiconductor wafers loaded in the cassette case are protected by the lateral shock absorbing block. Damage to the semiconductor wafer is reduced, and cracking and chipping are prevented.

Note that the number of lateral shock absorbing blocks provided on both outer surfaces of the upper mold member and the lower mold member (the outer surfaces parallel to the front and back surfaces of the semiconductor wafer) is not limited to one for each surface, and may vary depending on the size of the cassette case. Individual pieces may be provided. About each surface, it is preferable to provide in the surface object position centering on the main surface of a semiconductor wafer (it is provided in the both sides corresponding to front and back, respectively). In addition, when a plurality of shock absorbing blocks are provided on each surface, each lateral shock absorbing block has a vertical line (diameter) passing through the center of the semiconductor wafer in the cassette case as viewed from the front of the main surface of the semiconductor wafer. It is preferable to provide it at a symmetrical position. This is because these lateral shock absorbing blocks can uniformly support the semiconductor wafer in the width direction, and can absorb and alleviate the impact force from the outside to the maximum.
Further, the transverse shock absorbing block may be molded integrally with the upper mold member and the lower mold member, or another material (however, a material having a high shock absorbing capacity, such as foamed plastic or rubber having a high elastic modulus). May be used separately from the lower mold member.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the substantially rectangular upper mold member, four upper shock absorbing blocks are arranged to protrude upward at the apex position of the quadrangle on the upper surface thereof, and 2. The cassette case packing unit according to claim 1, wherein the lower rectangular shape member is provided with four lower shock absorbing blocks projecting downward at the apex position of the quadrangle on the lower surface thereof. It is a buffer.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the protrusions protruding in the vertical direction are formed on each of the upper mold member and the lower mold member, the cassette case can be effectively protected against the impact force in the vertical direction.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the cassette case packing shock absorber according to claim 1 or 2, wherein two each of the lateral impact absorbing blocks are arranged on each of the upper die member and the lower die member. is there.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the semiconductor wafer in the cassette case is viewed from the front with respect to the main surface, the four lateral shock absorbing blocks have a quadrangular shape whose one side is the diameter of the main surface. Since it is arranged to form a quadrangular shape on the inner side, these lateral shock absorbing blocks can effectively relax and absorb the impact force in the direction perpendicular to the main surface. Damage can be minimized. The main surface is supported at four points.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, even if a large impact force acts on the box from the side of the cassette case, particularly the direction perpendicular to the main surface of the semiconductor wafer (the direction in which damage is most likely to occur for the semiconductor wafer). The impact force is absorbed by the lateral impact absorbing block and does not directly act on the semiconductor wafer in the cassette case. In particular, since the lateral impact absorption block is provided so as to be located within the main surface width of the semiconductor wafer, the impact force on the semiconductor wafer is reduced compared to the case where it is provided outside the diameter width of the semiconductor wafer. It is effective against. Thereby, all the semiconductor wafers in the cassette case are protected by the lateral shock absorbing block.

  Further, according to the invention described in claim 2, with respect to the cassette case when the box is dropped by the projections (upper shock absorbing block, lower shock absorbing block) provided on the upper die member and the lower die member. Impact from the vertical direction can be reduced and absorbed. In particular, since these protrusions project at the apex position of the quadrangular shape, the impact force from the vertical direction can be evenly received by each protrusion, and can be efficiently relaxed and absorbed.

  Furthermore, according to the invention described in claim 3, it is possible to effectively protect the semiconductor wafer in the cassette case against an external force from the weakest direction.

  Examples of the present invention will be specifically described below. 1 to 10 show a cassette case packing buffer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 10, a box-shaped cassette case 10 is accommodated in a rectangular cardboard box 11 which is an exterior box via a buffer. As shown in FIG. 10, the shock absorber has a lower mold member 12 fitted to the bottom of the cassette case 10 and an upper mold member 13 fitted to the lid of the cassette case 10.
The cardboard box 11 is a rectangular parallelepiped having a predetermined size, and a single SEMI standard cassette case 10 is accommodated and packed in the cardboard box 11.
The cassette case 10 is a predetermined substantially rectangular parallelepiped plastic box body having a main body portion having a predetermined depth and a lid portion covering the upper opening thereof, and a plurality of silicon wafers W are contained inside the main body portion. It is loaded side by side in parallel. For example, 25 silicon wafers W having a diameter of 300 mm are accommodated in the cassette case 10 in a state where they are placed in the grooves in parallel vertically (perpendicular to the bottom surface of the cassette case). The direction in which the silicon wafers W are aligned matches the direction of the long side of the cardboard box 11.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, the lower mold member 12 is formed by molding a foam material such as foamed polyethylene and foamed polypropylene, and has a rectangular frame 21 having a hole in the center. The lower mold member 12 is fitted to the bottom portion of the cassette case 10 while being in contact with the bottom surface of the cassette case 10, and is supported with a predetermined gap between the lower mold member 12 and the inner wall of the box 11. It is a structure to do. That is, the long side direction block 23 and the short side direction block 24 having the same size are formed at the four corners of the rectangular (substantially cross-shaped) frame body 21 so as to protrude outward in the plane. The long side direction block 23 and the short side direction block 24 are in contact with the inner surface (vertical surface) of the box 11, and a predetermined gap is formed vertically and horizontally between the inner wall surface (vertical surface) of the box 11. Each is forming. That is, these lateral shock absorbing blocks 23 and 24 have a quadrangular cross section and project from a predetermined position by a predetermined length, and the tip projecting surface is constituted by a flat vertical surface. Each block 23 has the same shape and the same protruding length, and has a predetermined interval so as to be positioned within the width of the main surface of the semiconductor wafer W in the cassette case, that is, the diameter width of the wafer, as shown in FIG. Protruding. In other words, two projections (blocks) 23 are formed on the front side of the cassette case 10 and two projections (blocks) 23 on the rear side, and these projections 23 are all located within the width of the wafer diameter. 1 and 2, the position of the block 23 is clearly shown. All the short side direction blocks 24 have the same shape and the same dimensions.
And this lower mold | type member 12 is predetermined | prescribed also between the inner bottom face of the cardboard box 11 by the four lower side impact-absorbing blocks 25 arrange | positioned in the square vertex position which protrudes toward the lower side. A gap is defined. The lower shock absorbing blocks 25 are provided at four vertex positions of the quadrangular shape with respect to the rectangular frame body 21 (corresponding to the bottom of the cassette case 10). The protrusion height of the lower shock absorbing block 25 is 4.5 cm.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 7 to 10, the upper mold member 13 constituting the upper portion of the buffer body is in contact with the upper surface of the cassette case 10 in the same manner as the lower mold member 12. The lid is fitted and supported with a predetermined gap between the lid and the inner wall of the box 11. As shown in FIG. 7, the upper mold member 13 has a rectangular (substantially cross-shaped) frame 31 with a hole in the center, and a rectangular hole is formed inside the frame 31. It is defined. The bottom of the cassette case 10 is placed in contact with the rectangular hole forming portion (a part of the frame). Short side direction blocks 34 of the same size are formed at the four corners of the frame 31 so as to protrude outward in the plane, and these short side direction blocks 34 are formed on the inner surface (vertical surface) of the box. A predetermined gap is formed between the inner wall surface (vertical surface) of the box and the upper, lower, left and right sides. That is, the block has a quadrangular cross section and protrudes by a predetermined length, and its tip protruding surface is constituted by a flat vertical surface. In addition, the frame 31 is formed with four long side direction blocks 33 as a whole, similarly to the short side direction block 34, and these long side direction blocks 33 are rectangular in cross section and have the same length. The cardboard box 11 protrudes vertically toward the inner side surface, and a predetermined gap is formed between the inner side surface and the outer side surface of the cassette case 10. With the long side direction block 33 and the short side direction block 34, the frame 31 has a cross-girder shape when viewed as a whole. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, four protrusions 35 are formed on the upper surface of the frame 31 so as to be positioned at the apex of the quadrangular shape of the frame 31 (corresponding to the lid portion of the cassette case 10). ing. These protrusions 35 have a quadrangular cross section and the same shape and protrude at the same height, and the protrusion height is 1.2 to 2.0 cm.
Then, as shown in FIG. 1, two blocks 23 are respectively provided on the two long sides of the rectangular frame 21 of the lower mold member 12 so as to be separated from each other by a predetermined distance. When these blocks 23 irradiate light perpendicularly to the main surface of the semiconductor wafer W, the projection position of the projected image of the block is viewed from the front of the main surface of the semiconductor wafer W in the cassette case 10. It is arranged so as to be located within the diameter width. These four blocks 23 are transverse shock absorbing blocks protruding from the lower mold member 12 in a direction orthogonal to the main surface (front and back surfaces) of the silicon wafer W and projecting toward the inner wall surface of the cardboard box 11. Will be configured. These lateral shock absorbing blocks 23 are in contact with the inner side surface (vertical surface) of the cardboard box 11, and a predetermined gap is formed between the inner wall surface (vertical surface) of the cardboard box 11 in the vertical and horizontal directions. The front end protruding surface of the lateral shock absorbing block 23 is a flat vertical surface.
The lower mold member 12 also defines a predetermined gap with the bottom surface of the box 11 by a plurality of lower shock absorbing blocks 25 protruding downward. These lower impact absorbing blocks 25 are equally provided at four corners of the frame body 21 and are formed at the same height. The protruding surface is flat.
Each of the upper mold member 13 and the lower mold member 12 is formed as a resin integral molded product using a mold or the like.

As shown in FIG. 10, the buffer configured as described above is accommodated in the cardboard box 11 as follows. First, the lower mold member 12 is set. That is, when the lower mold member 12 is inserted so that the lower shock absorbing block 25 is brought into contact with the bottom surface of the box, the blocks 23 and 24 come into contact with the inner surface of the box. Then, a cassette case 10 containing a semiconductor wafer is inserted into the lower mold member 12 from above and placed so that the bottom surface thereof fits into the concave space. In this case, a plurality (25) of 300 mm silicon wafers W are placed in parallel in the vertical direction in the cassette case 10 so as to be perpendicular to the bottom surface. Further, the upper mold member 13 is fitted to the upper surface of the lid of the cassette case 10.
The upper mold member 13 holds the upper end portion of the cassette case 10 in a rectangular space inside the frame body 31. The blocks 33 and 34 protruding in the horizontal plane direction from the frame body 31 form a predetermined gap on the inner wall surface (vertical surface) of the box 11. The upper shock absorbing block 35 forms a predetermined gap with the ceiling surface of the box 11.
Further, the lower mold member 12 holds the lower end portion of the cassette case 10 in a rectangular space when viewed from the inside of the frame 21. The blocks 23 and 24 protruding in the horizontal direction (lateral direction) from the frame body 21 form a predetermined gap on the inner wall surface (vertical surface) of the cardboard box 11. Further, the lower impact absorbing block 25 forms a predetermined gap with the bottom surface of the cardboard box 11.

In this case, the long side direction block 23 of the lower mold member 12 is arranged to be perpendicular to a plane including the front and back surfaces of the silicon wafer W in the cassette case 10. Further, the long-side direction block 23 is moved from the lower mold member 12 to the box so that when projected onto the main surface of the silicon wafer by applying vertical light, the projection is located in the main surface of the silicon wafer W when viewed from the front. It protrudes toward the inner wall surface.
When the cassette case 10 is stored in the cardboard box 11, the upper mold member 13 and the lower mold member 12 are fitted and integrated in the cassette case 10 and then stored in the cardboard box 11. Good.
As a result, even if the cardboard box 11 falls during transportation, even if the cardboard box 11 is greatly bent and deformed by the buffer, particularly the long-side block 23 of the lower mold member 12, the cardboard box 11 is deformed. 11 can be firmly supported by the inner wall surface, and the impact force can be relaxed and absorbed. Of course, in this case, the shock absorption is alleviated simultaneously by each block. In particular, since four long side blocks (lateral shock absorbing blocks) 23 are provided on both sides of the front and back surfaces within the diameter width of the main surface of the silicon wafer W, the impact force acting on the silicon wafer W is thereby provided. Can be relaxed and absorbed, and the external force acting perpendicularly to the main surface of the silicon wafer W can be reduced. Thereby, the damage to the silicon wafer W in the cassette case 10 is reduced, and the silicon wafer W is prevented from being broken or chipped.

  In this way, when the cassette case 10 for storing and transferring the silicon wafer is accommodated in the cardboard box 11 for transport, the lower mold member 12 and the upper mold member 13 which are cushions are interposed between the inner wall of the cardboard box 11 and the cassette case. Since 10 is configured so as not to directly contact the inner wall of the cardboard box 11, the silicon wafer W can be effectively protected against an impact from the outside. That is, the shock absorber made of foam material is held by holding the cassette case 10 between the upper die member 13 and the lower die member 12 from above and below. Both the upper mold member 13 and the lower mold member 12 are constituted by rectangular frames 21 and 31 that surround and fix the bottom and lid of the cassette case 10 respectively. In this case, the lower mold member 12 and the upper mold member 13 All provided blocks (projections) prevent and protect the cardboard box 11 from being greatly deformed by bending.

Next, a test result of a drop test using the cassette case packing buffer according to the present invention will be reported.
A plurality of upper mold members 13 with different protruding lengths (foot lengths) of the upper shock absorbing block 35 and a plurality of lower mold members 12 with different protruding lengths (foot lengths) of the lower shock absorbing block 25 Were prepared, and each of them was fitted from above and below to a cassette case 10 on which 25 silicon wafers W were placed, and further packed in a cardboard box 11.
Then, the cardboard box 11 packed with the cassette case 10 was dropped from the predetermined height position with respect to the floor surface, and whether or not the silicon wafer W in the cassette case 10 was cracked was confirmed. The drop test was performed when the cardboard box 11 was dropped with the lid surface (top) of the cassette case 10 down and when the cardboard box 11 was dropped with the bottom surface (bottom) of the cassette case 10 down. At the same time, the acceleration during the fall was also measured. The results are shown in Table 1 below.
In addition, the length of the leg | foot in a table | surface is a protrusion length of the lower side shock absorption block 25, when the dropping direction is made into the bottom. When it is set to the top, it is the protruding length of the upper shock absorbing block 35.

  From the above test results, it has been clarified that the silicon wafer W in the cassette case 10 is not broken if the length of the upper shock absorbing block 35 is 1.2 cm to 2.0 cm. Further, it has been clarified that the silicon wafer W in the cassette case 10 is not broken if the length of the lower shock absorbing block 25 is 4.5 cm.

  In the above embodiment, an example in which the lateral shock absorbing block is provided on the lower mold member has been described. However, the lateral shock absorbing block can be provided on the upper mold member at the same time. When two of these are provided at the same time (4 on both sides), the two lateral shock absorbing blocks of the upper die member and the two of the lower die member are within the diameter width range of the main surface of the wafer. If a quadrangular shape is formed (the semiconductor wafer is protected by four blocks from both the front and back sides), the semiconductor wafer can be more effectively protected from the impact force.

It is a top view which shows the mounting state of the cassette case which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a top view which shows the lower mold | type member of the buffer body which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a front view which shows the lower mold | type member which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is sectional drawing by the D1-D2-D3-D4 line | wire in FIG. 2 of the lower mold | type member which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a side view which shows the lower mold | type member which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is sectional drawing by CC line in FIG. 2 of the lower mold | type member which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a top view which shows the upper mold | type member of the buffer member which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is sectional drawing by the AA line in FIG. 7 of the upper mold | type member which concerns on Example 1 of this invention, and is a side view which shows an upper mold | type member. It is sectional drawing by the BB line in FIG. 7 of the upper mold | type member which concerns on Example 1 of this invention, and is a side view which shows an upper mold | type member. It is an exploded view which shows arrangement | positioning of the cardboard box, lower mold | type member, cassette case, and upper mold | type member which concern on Example 1 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

11 cardboard boxes,
12 Lower mold member,
13 Upper mold member,
10 cassette case,
23 Long side direction block (lateral shock absorption block),
25 Lower shock absorbing block,
35 Upper shock absorbing block.

Claims (3)

When a box-shaped cassette case in which a plurality of semiconductor wafers are loaded in a vertically oriented state with the main surface substantially vertical is placed in a rectangular parallelepiped box and packed, the cassette case is placed between this box and the box. In the cassette case packing buffer interposed in the
Consists of a substantially rectangular frame, fits into the bottom of the cassette case, contacts the inner bottom wall of the box, and has a gap between the outer wall of the cassette case and the inner wall of the box A lower mold member that supports the cassette case,
Consists of a substantially rectangular frame, fits into the lid of the cassette case, contacts the ceiling wall of the box, and has a gap between the outer wall of the cassette case and the inner wall of the box And an upper mold member that supports the cassette case,
At least one of the upper mold member and the lower mold member has a lateral shock absorbing block protruding toward the inner wall of the box facing the main surface in a direction orthogonal to the main surface of the semiconductor wafer. Arranged,
When a lateral shock absorbing block is projected by irradiating light in a direction perpendicular to the main surface of the semiconductor wafer loaded in the cassette case, the projected image of the lateral shock absorbing block is the diameter of the semiconductor wafer. Cassette case packing cushion located within the width. On the upper surface of the substantially rectangular shape, four upper shock absorbing blocks are disposed so as to protrude upward at the apex position of the quadrangle on the upper surface,
2. The cassette case packing unit according to claim 1, wherein the lower rectangular shape member is provided with four lower shock absorbing blocks projecting downward at the apex position of the quadrangle on the lower surface thereof. Buffer.   The cassette case packing shock absorber according to claim 1 or 2, wherein two each of the transverse shock absorbing blocks are arranged on each of the upper mold member and the lower mold member.

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