JP2010040912A - System for opening and closing sealed container lid, and method for opening and closing lid - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a FIMS (Front-Opening Interface Mechanical Standard) system capable of preventing deformation of a pod due to a fixing force, when fixing the pod loaded. <P>SOLUTION: The line of action of a fixing force is arranged so that the positioning pins installed in the FIMS system can generate a resistive force that suppresses deformations due to the fixing force acting on the pod from a pod fixing system for fixing the pod to the FIMS system. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a so-called FIMS (Front-Opening Interface Mechanical Standard) system used when a wafer internally held in a transfer container called a pod is transferred between semiconductor processing apparatuses in a semiconductor manufacturing process or the like. More specifically, a lid that is used in the FIMS system is a FIMS system that opens and closes a so-called FOUP (Front-Opening Unified Pod), which is a sealed container that contains a wafer, and transfers the wafer to the pod. The present invention relates to an opening / closing system and a lid opening / closing method using the system.

  In recent years, the semiconductor manufacturing process keeps the inside of a processing apparatus, a pod (wafer container), and a very small space for transferring a substrate from the pod to the processing apparatus in a highly clean state, and the cleanliness of other spaces is to some extent. Has been done to maintain the level. The pod has a substantially cubic body having a shelf that can hold a plurality of wafers in parallel and spaced apart from each other, and an opening used for loading and unloading the wafer on one of the surfaces constituting the outer surface. And a lid that closes the opening. The pod where the opening is formed is not the bottom surface of the pod but on one side surface (the surface facing the minute space) and is collectively referred to as FOUP.

  In addition, the above-described minute space enters the inside of the pod through the opening facing the opening of the pod, the door for closing the opening, the other opening on the side of the processing apparatus provided on the semiconductor processing apparatus side, and the opening. And a transfer robot that holds the wafer and passes the other opening on the processing apparatus side to convey the wafer to the processing apparatus side. Moreover, the structure which forms minute space has the mounting base which supports a pod so that a pod opening may face in front of a door. On the upper surface of the mounting table, a positioning pin that is fitted into a positioning hole provided on the lower surface of the pod and defines the mounting position of the pod, and a clamped portion provided on the lower surface of the pod are engaged with the pod. A clamp unit that is fixed to the mounting table is disposed. Usually, the mounting table can move back and forth a predetermined distance with respect to the door direction. When the wafer in the pod is transferred to the processing apparatus, the pod is moved with the pod being placed until the lid of the pod comes into contact with the door, and after the contact, the lid is removed from the pod opening by the door. . By these operations, the inside of the pod and the inside of the processing apparatus communicate with each other through a minute space, and the wafer transfer operation is repeated thereafter. The mounting table, the door, the opening, the opening / closing mechanism of the door, the wall that forms part of the minute space in which the opening is configured, and the like are collectively referred to as the FIMS system described above.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-164412 Japanese Patent No. 3917138 JP 2004-235516 A

  As the pod fixing clamp unit described above, for example, a configuration disclosed in Patent Document 1 or 2 is known. These clamp units clamp a clamped portion disposed on the lower surface of the pod and urge it downward to fix the pod to the mounting table. Here, the pod is often formed mainly of a material such as a resin, and there is a possibility that the pod may be deformed when a mechanical load is large. Further, since the portion to be clamped is usually not particularly reinforced, measures such as making the mechanical load appropriate have been conventionally taken. However, with the recent increase in the diameter of substrates such as wafers, the size of pods has increased, and it has become difficult to simultaneously apply a sufficient clamping force to the clamped portion and to suppress deformation of the pod.

  Further, a configuration disclosed in Patent Document 3 is known as a positioning pin that defines the placement position of the pod. For example, a method of suppressing deformation by arranging a projection different from the positioning pin on the mounting table and supporting the clamped portion by the projection is also conceivable. However, the presence of such protrusions hinders the action of the positioning pin and cannot be a practical countermeasure. Also, when the pod size is increased and its weight is increased, for example, even when one positioning pin is not properly fitted to the positioning hole in the pod, the weight of the pod There may be a case where the component surface and the positioning pin do not slide and remain as they are. In such a case, when it is attempted to fix the pod with a conventional type clamp unit, it is considered that the load applied to the pod and the deformation caused by the load become larger.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a lid opening / closing system that does not deform a pod even when the pod is enlarged with respect to the mounting table, and positioning of the pod It is an object of the present invention to provide a lid opening / closing method capable of appropriately positioning a pod with respect to the mounting table and fixing and holding the pod with the appropriate positional relationship between the recess and the positioning pin on the mounting table.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a lid opening / closing system according to the present invention has a lid and an opening that is closed by the lid on one side and opens and closes the lid with respect to a sealed container that can accommodate an object to be contained therein. A lid opening / closing system that enables insertion / removal of an object to be contained in a sealed container, between a minute space having a first opening, and a position at which the first opening is closed and a position at which the first opening is opened. A movable door, and a docking plate on which the sealed container can be placed so that the opening faces the first opening, and the docking plate fixes the sealed container, and the sealing A sealed pin fixing system for fixing the sealed container to the docking plate, and a positioning pin for positioning the sealed container with respect to the docking plate by fitting in a positioning recess provided in the container; Fixing force is characterized in that the line of action of the fixing force is arranged so as locating pins to deformation of the sealed container due to the fixing force is capable of generating a suppressing drag deformation.

  In the lid opening / closing system described above, it is preferable that the line of action of the fixing force coincides with the axis of the positioning pin. Moreover, it is preferable that the closed container fixing system has a suction pad that can be in close contact with the lower surface of the storage container, and the positioning pin is disposed inside the suction pad.

  In order to solve the above problems, a lid opening / closing method according to the present invention opens and closes a lid with respect to a sealed container that has a lid and an opening that is closed by the lid on one side and that can accommodate an object to be contained therein. In the lid opening / closing system that enables insertion / removal of objects to be contained in the sealed container, a lid opening / closing method for opening / closing the opening by removing or attaching the lid from the sealed container. A minute space having one opening, a door movable between a position where the first opening is closed and a position where the first opening is opened, and a sealed container so that the opening faces the first opening. A docking plate that can be placed, and the docking plate is fitted with a plurality of sealed container fixing systems for fixing the sealed container, and a positioning recess provided in the sealed container to position the sealed container with respect to the docking plate. Dense The fixing force exhibited by the hermetic container fixing system for fixing the hermetic container to the docking plate has a plurality of positioning pins corresponding to the container fixing system, against the deformation of the hermetic container caused by the fixing force. The action line of the fixing force is arranged so that each corresponding positioning pin can generate a drag that suppresses deformation, and the lid opening / closing method is such that the hermetic container is placed on the docking plate and the positioning pin is positioned with respect to the positioning recess. Are substantially fitted, and a fixing force is sequentially generated from each of the plurality of closed container fixing systems.

  In the lid opening / closing method described above, the closed container fixing system has a suction pad that can be in close contact with the lower surface of the storage container, and the positioning pin is disposed inside the suction pad. Among them, a force acting in the direction opposite to the fixing force is preferably applied except for the closed container fixing system in which the fixing force has been generated and the closed container fixing system in which the fixing force is to be generated next.

  According to the present invention, the fixing force is applied to the pod at the position where the pod is supported by the positioning pin. Therefore, the bending moment generated on the bottom surface of the pod can be suppressed to be extremely small, and deformation of the pod can be prevented. Further, according to the present invention, the position where the fixing force is applied to the pod is positioned as the positioning recess for receiving the positioning pin. Usually, a region where such a positioning recess is present is given high rigidity to withstand the support by the positioning pin. Therefore, the fixing force is applied to the highly rigid region of the pod, and even when the fixing force is relatively large, the deformation of the pod can be effectively suppressed or prevented. Furthermore, in the present invention, a fixing force acts on the burying direction of the pin corresponding to the positioning pin. Therefore, even when the positional relationship between the positioning recess and the positioning pin is inappropriate when the pod is placed, the positioning recess has an inclined surface that is recessed toward the center, thereby providing a fixing force when fixing the pod. The effect of correcting these positional relationships can be expected.

  According to the present invention, the positioning pin is embedded at the center of the suction pad as the suction pad is used for fixing the pod. For this reason, a fixing force is applied to suck and fix the periphery of the contact point between the positioning pin and the pod in the embedding direction of the pin. Therefore, the fixing force is prevented from being biased in a specific direction with respect to the contact point between the positioning pin and the pod, and the pod can be fixed with the positional relationship between the pod and the mounting table being more appropriate. Further, according to the present invention, the application of the fixing force at the positions corresponding to the plurality of positioning pins is executed at different timings. By fixing the pod through the operation of the style, a position shift occurred in a state where the positioning pin tip and the positioning recess forming surface were engaged with each other due to a minute impact generated when each fixing force was applied. However, it is possible to obtain an appropriate positional relationship by sliding them together.

  Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a lid opening / closing system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a pod placement portion, door, pod, and lid in the system 101 in a state where the lid of the pod is closed. And the like are enlarged in a similar manner. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a mounting table as a main part of the lid opening / closing system. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the pod fixing means shown in FIG. 3 and the vicinity thereof, and the corresponding positioning recess of the pod and the vicinity thereof.

  A FIMS system 101 which is a lid opening / closing system according to the present invention includes a housing 105 constituting a minute space 103 and a pod mounting portion 121 disposed adjacent to the housing 105. The housing 105 further includes a fan 107, a robot 109, a first opening 111, a second opening 113, and a door system 115. The fan 107 is disposed above the minute space 103 by the housing 105 and introduces gas existing in the external space of the housing 105 into the minute space. A structure that allows airflow to flow out is arranged at the lower part of the housing 105, and dust generated in the minute space 103 is carried by the airflow and discharged from the lower part of the housing 105 to the external space. . The robot arm 109a in the robot 109 can project outside the minute space through the first opening 111 and the second opening 113. Although the first opening 111 is seemingly closed by the door 115a in the door system 115, a gap is formed between the outer periphery of the door 115a and the inner peripheral surface of the first opening 111. The door 115a is described as being capable of substantially closing the first opening 111. Although the second opening 113 is connected to the inside of the wafer processing apparatus 117, the details of the wafer processing apparatus 117 are not directly related to the present invention, and thus the description in this specification is omitted. .

  The pod placement unit 121 includes a docking plate 123, a pod fixing system 125, and a docking plate drive system 127. The upper surface of the docking plate 123 is substantially flat, and the pod fixing system 125 is disposed on the upper surface. In this embodiment, the pod fixing system 125 includes a positioning pin 125a, a pod fixing suction pad 125b, and a pod fixing exhaust system 125c, as shown in FIGS. In the present embodiment, the fixing suction pad 125b has a substantially ring shape having a lip portion opened on the upper surface side, and is configured by an elastic member (for example, rubber or the like). In addition, the positioning pin 125a includes an action axis (action line) on which the suction force of the pod fixing suction pad 125b acts on the pod 1 and an axis of the positioning pin 125a at the central portion of the pod fixing suction pad 125b. It is embedded on the docking plate 123 so as to coincide with the heart. The pod fixing exhaust path 125c communicates with the lower opening of the pod fixing suction pad 125a, and is connected to an exhaust system 129 (see FIG. 6) including a so-called exhaust pump and electromagnetic valve (not shown) on its extension. Yes. The positioning pin 125 a is fitted into a positioning recess (hole) 2 c provided on the lower surface of the pod body 2, and the tip of the pin reaches the innermost part (center) of the recess, whereby the pod 1 and the docking plate 123 are connected. Determine the positional relationship. At the time of actual pod fixing, the upper surface lip portion of the pod fixing suction pad 125b is in close contact with the lower surface of the pod main body 2, and the pod main body 2 is held so as to press the positioning recess 2c against the tip of the positioning pin 125b. At this time, the line of action of the fixing force applied to the pod body 2 from the pod fixing suction pad 125b coincides with the axis of the positioning pin 125a, and the deformation of the pod against the fixing force is caused by the resistance generated in the positioning pin 125a. Suppressed. That is, the line of action of the fixing force exerted on the pod main body 2 by the pod fixing system 125 is arranged at a position where the positioning pin 125b can generate a drag so as to suppress deformation generated in the pod main body 2 by the fixing force.

  The docking plate 123 is arranged so that the main body opening 2a of the pod 1 faces the first opening 111 described above when the pod 1 is placed on the upper surface. The docking plate drive system 127 uses a guide rail 127a and a drive cylinder 127b (not shown) to move the pod 1 fixed to the predetermined position together with the docking plate 123 in a direction toward and away from the first opening 111. To drive. One end of the driving cylinder 127 b is fixed to the main body of the mounting table 121, and the expanding and contracting cylinder end serving as the other end is fixed to the docking plate 123. The docking plate 123 is slidably supported with respect to the guide rail 127a, and slides on the guide rail 127a according to the expansion and contraction of the cylinder end portion of the drive cylinder 127b. Here, the docking plate 123 has a position where the pod 1 is mounted (loaded) or removed (unloaded) from the outside on the docking plate 123 at a position farthest from the micro space 103. The position where the lid 3 is removed is the position closest to the minute space 103.

  As shown in FIG. 2 (and FIG. 6), a latch key 115e is provided on the outer space side surface (surface facing the pod 1) of the door 115a. The latch key 115e operates a latch mechanism (not shown) provided on the surface of the lid 3 of the pod 1 to perform operations of fixing and releasing the fixing of the lid 3 to the pod body 2. The suction pad 115k is in contact with the lid 3 and sucks the lid 3 by supplying negative pressure from a negative pressure supply source 108 (see FIG. 6) through a pipe (not shown), and the lid 3 is attached by the door 115a. It is possible to hold. The door system 115 includes a door arm 115b, a door opening / closing actuator 115c, and a door up / down mechanism 115d. The door arm 115b is made of a rod-shaped member, supports the door 115a at one end, and is connected to the door opening / closing actuator 115c at the other end, and is pivotally supported around the position at an appropriate position in the intermediate portion. . The door arm 115b is rotated about the rotation center by the door opening / closing actuator 115c, and one end of the door arm 115b and the door 115a supported by the door arm 115b move toward or away from the first opening 111. The door up-and-down mechanism 115d supports the door opening / closing actuator 115c and the rotating shaft of the door arm 115b described above, and the actuator and the door arm 115b and the door 115a supported by the actuator along a guide extending in the vertical direction by the vertical movement actuator. Is driven vertically.

  FIG. 6 shows a configuration of the FIMS system 101 as a block diagram. The above-described fan 107, robot 109, door system 115, pod fixing system 125, and docking plate drive system 127 are controlled by the control device 102, respectively. The door system 115 can independently control the latch key drive mechanism 115f, the door opening / closing actuator 115c, and the door up / down mechanism 115d described above, but in practice, each of these components operates according to a series of time charts. These configurations are controlled as follows. Note that the control device 102 performs operations of supplying negative pressure from the negative pressure supply source 108 to the suction pad 115k and stopping supply (breaking of negative pressure). The docking plate drive system 127 turns on and off the drive of the drive cylinder 127b. The operation of the drive cylinder 127 ensures that the docking plate 123 exists at two predetermined positions, that is, when the pod 1 is loaded. It is necessary to detect the case where the wafer exists at the dock position where the wafer can be inserted and removed.

  For this reason, the load sensor 127d that detects that the pod 1 is placed on the docking plate 123 and that the docking plate 123 exists at a position where the pod 1 should be loaded / unloaded with respect to the docking plate 123 is provided. , Connected to a docking plate drive system 127. In addition, a dock sensor 127 c that detects whether or not the docking plate 123 is present at the dock position described above is also connected to the docking plate drive system 127. The control device 102 is also connected to the exhaust system 129, and controls the operation of the exhaust system 129 according to a signal that the load sensor 127 d detects the placement of the pod 1 on the docking plate 123. In addition, an adsorption sensor 127f is disposed in an exhaust path connected to the exhaust system 129. For example, a pressure gauge is used as the adsorption sensor 127f, and the holding of the pod 1 is detected when the inside of the exhaust path becomes a predetermined constant pressure value by holding the pod 1 by the pod fixing adsorption pad 125b. . In addition, as confirmation of adsorption holding, after a predetermined pressure value is obtained, it may be determined that adsorption holding has been performed by confirming that a predetermined time has elapsed in the timer 102a. Further, the exhaust system 129 is connected to, for example, a pressurizing source, ejects gas from the pod fixing suction pad 125b, and temporarily lifts the positioning recess 2c corresponding to the pod fixing suction pad again. It may be configured to prompt the positioning operation.

  Here, the operation of the FIMS system 101 when actually performing the wafer processing operation will be described. In the wafer processing operation, the pod 1 containing a predetermined number of wafers and filled with a clean gas is placed on the docking plate 123. When the load sensor 127d detects the placement of the pod, the operation of the exhaust system 129 by the control device is performed, and the pod fixing system 125 is operated to fix the pod 1 to the docking plate 123 by suction. This suction fixing operation is performed along the axis of the positioning pin 125a. For this reason, the position shifted from the center of the positioning recess 2c of the pod is present on the axial center of the positioning pin 125a and is engaged, that is, the positioning pin 125a is substantially fitted in the positioning recess 2c. Even so, a force is applied to the positioning recess 2c so that the central portion of the positioning recess 2c moves to a predetermined position on the positioning pin 125a. In the present embodiment, the suction holding operation is performed for each of the plurality of pod fixing suction pads 125b at a predetermined time interval designated by the timer 102a. As a result, when the individual pod fixing suction pads 125b are operated, a force for moving the pod to a predetermined position in the horizontal plane acts, and the movement of the pod 1 to the correct placement state is promoted. In addition, even after the operation is performed, if it is confirmed by the suction sensor 127f that all of the pod fixing suction pads have not obtained an appropriate suction holding state, the gas is sent to the suction position described above. It is good also as encouraging the movement of the pod 1 to an appropriate placement position. That is, a direction opposite to the direction in which the fixing force acts is applied to other systems except the one in which the fixing force has been generated and the one in which the fixing force is to be generated next, among the plurality of closed container fixing systems 125. It is preferable that a force is applied to form a state where the horizontal movement of the pod body 2 is partially easy. As a result, it is possible to facilitate the horizontal movement of the positioning recess that could not be moved to an appropriate position in a so-called engaged state, and to easily obtain a reliable fixed state.

  Subsequently, the docking plate drive system 127 is operated to drive the pod 1 toward the first opening 111. Specifically, the drive cylinder 127 b moves the pod 1 integrated with the docking plate 123 by the pod fixing system 125 in a manner through the docking plate 123. At that time, the door 115a stops at a position where the first opening 111 is substantially closed. The driving operation ends when the lid 3 of the pod 1 comes into contact with the contact surface of the door 115a and the docking plate 123 and the first opening 111 are in a predetermined positional relationship. At this time, the unlocking operation of the lid 3 of the pod 1 is performed via the latch key 115e by the latch key driving mechanism 115f. At the same time, the suction pad 115k sucks the lid 3, and the lid 3 is held by the door 115a.

  From this state, the door opening / closing actuator 115 c starts operating, and the door arm 115 b rotates to carry the door 115 a holding the lid 3 from the first opening 111 toward the inside of the minute space 103. After the door arm 115b stops rotating at a predetermined angle, the door up-and-down mechanism 115d starts operating, and moves the door 115a together with the door opening / closing actuator 115c. By this operation, the first opening 111 is fully opened, and the minute space 103 is in communication with the inside of the pod main body 2 through the first opening 111. In this state, the robot 109 starts operating, and the wafer 4 is transferred from the inside of the pod 1 to the wafer processing apparatus 117 through the second opening 113 by the robot arm 109a. In addition, while maintaining this state, the robot 109 transports the wafer 4 that has been subjected to predetermined processing in the wafer processing apparatus 117 to the pod 1. When the lid 3 is attached to the pod 1 and the pod 1 can be removed from the FIMS system 101, these operations are basically performed in reverse.

  By using the FIMS system as the lid opening / closing system described above, the pod body 2 can be fixed to the docking plate 123 without causing unnecessary deformation of the pod 1. In the present invention, when the pod body 2 is fixed to the docking plate 123, the action line of the fixing force that the individual pod fixing system 125 acts on the pod 1 for fixing the pod 1 is expressed as the pod 1. It is made to correspond with the axis line of the positioning pin 125a for positioning to the docking plate 123. FIG. As a result, the fixing force acting on the pod 1 from the pod fixing system 125 is all received by the positioning pin 125a, and the deformation of the pod 1 which is a problem in the conventional configuration is surely suppressed.

  Here, in the present embodiment, the adsorption holding method that is the simplest and easy to operate and excellent in the response of the fixing operation is used. However, this embodiment is not limited to the structure which consists of the said suction pad. Next, another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 5 in the same manner as in FIG. 4, and the details will be described. The pod fixing system 125 in this embodiment includes a conventional so-called clamp mechanism 131 that can be driven in a horizontal direction parallel to the lower surface of the pod and a vertical direction perpendicular to the direction. Further, in the pod body 2 corresponding to the embodiment, a clamp recess 2e is formed in which a clamped portion 2d arranged so as to protrude to a position vertically above the positioning recess 2c is formed. The clamp mechanism 131 includes a clamp claw 131a and a clamp claw drive mechanism 131b. The clamp claw 131a is a substantially L-shaped member having a shape and a size that allows the long side portion to extend in the vertical direction so that the short side portion can enter the clamp recess 2e in a pod-fixed state. The open end is fixed to the clamp pawl drive mechanism 131b fixed to the docking plate 123, and the long side connecting end (the end connected to the short side) is positioned on the pod 1 side (upward). The The clamp claw drive mechanism 131b expands and contracts the clamp claw 131a in the long side direction and moves it in the short side direction. Further, the short side portion has a conical clamp protrusion 131c protruding downward at a predetermined portion.

  When the pod is actually fixed, after the pod 1 is placed on the docking plate 123, the clamp pawl drive mechanism 131b operates to fix the pod 1 to the docking plate 123. At that time, the clamp mechanism 131 first extends the clamp pawl 131a in the long side direction and causes the short side portion to enter the clamp recess 2e. Subsequently, the clamp pawl drive mechanism 131b horizontally moves the clamp protrusion 131c to a position where the clamped 2d can be clamped. This position is a position where the clamp protrusion 131c exists on the extension line of the axial center of the positioning pin 125a. When the clamp claw drive mechanism 131b contracts the long side portion of the clamp claw 131a from this state, a downward pressing force (fixing force with respect to the pod body 2) against the clamped portion 2d is applied. As a result, the clamped portion 2d is pressed downward by the clamp claws 131a so that the positioning pin 125a fits into the positioning recess 2c. That is, the clamped portion 2d positioned on the positioning pin 125a is sandwiched between the clamp protrusion 131c and the positioning pin 125a, and the pod body 2 is fixed to the docking plate 123 via the clamped portion 2d. It becomes.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the fixing force acting in the axial direction of the positioning pin 125a is applied so as to press the positioning recess 2c of the pod body 2 against the tip of the positioning pin 125a. The deformation of the pod is suppressed by 125a. Note that, in the above-described suction holding type embodiment and clamp type embodiment, the line of action of the fixing force is made to coincide with the axis of the positioning pin 125a. However, in the present invention, the axis on which the fixing force acts is not limited to a suitable arrangement. That is, according to the material of the pod and the structure around the positioning recess in the pod body, the action line of the fixing force is set so that the positioning pin can generate a resistance to suppress the deformation against the deformation of the pod due to the fixing force. By arranging, the effect according to the above embodiment can be expected.

  In the embodiments described above, the present invention is mainly described with respect to the FIMS system for wafers. However, the application target of the present invention is not limited to the system, and can be applied to, for example, a sealed container that accommodates a display panel, an optical disk, or the like.

It is a sectional side view showing the schematic structure of the load port device concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is an expanded sectional side view which shows the state in which a pod exists in a loading position about the outline structure of the principal part of the load port apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention in the style similar to FIG. It is a figure which shows the upper surface of the docking plate which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention with a perspective view. It is a figure which shows typically the cross-section of the pod fixing system shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a view showing a pod fixing system according to another embodiment of the present invention in the same manner as in FIG. 4. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the FIMS system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1: Pod, 2: Pod body, 3: Lid, 4: Wafer, 101: Load port device, 102: Control device, 103: Micro space, 105: Housing, 107: Fan, 108: Negative pressure supply source 109: Robot: 111: First opening 113: Second opening 115: Door system 117: Wafer processing apparatus 121: Pod mounting part 123: Docking plate 125: Pod fixing system 127: Docking Plate drive system, 129: Exhaust system, 131: Clamp mechanism

Claims (5)

A lid and an opening closed by the lid are provided on one side, and the lid can be opened and closed with respect to a sealed container that can accommodate a contained object therein, and the contained object can be inserted into and removed from the sealed container. The lid opening and closing system
A microspace having a first opening;
A door movable between a position for closing and opening the first opening;
A docking plate on which the closed container can be placed so that the opening faces the first opening,
The docking plate has a sealed container fixing system for fixing the sealed container, and a positioning pin for positioning the sealed container with respect to the docking plate by fitting in a positioning recess provided in the sealed container,
The fixing force exhibited by the hermetic container fixing system for fixing the hermetic container to the docking plate is such that the positioning pin suppresses the deformation against the deformation of the hermetic container caused by the fixing force. A lid opening / closing system in which an action line of a fixing force is arranged so as to be generated.   The lid opening / closing system according to claim 1, wherein a line of action of the fixing force coincides with an axis of the positioning pin.   3. The lid opening / closing system according to claim 1, wherein the hermetic container fixing system has a suction pad that can be in close contact with the lower surface of the storage container, and the positioning pin is disposed inside the suction pad. . A lid and an opening closed by the lid are provided on one side, and the lid can be opened and closed with respect to a sealed container that can accommodate a contained object therein, and the contained object can be inserted into and removed from the sealed container. In the lid opening / closing system, the lid opening / closing method for opening / closing the opening by removing or attaching the lid from the sealed container,
The lid opening / closing device includes a minute space having a first opening,
A door movable between a position for closing and opening the first opening;
A docking plate on which the closed container can be placed so that the opening faces the first opening,
The docking plate corresponds to a plurality of sealed container fixing systems for fixing the sealed container, and the closed container fixing system for positioning the sealed container with respect to the docking plate by fitting in a positioning recess provided in the sealed container. A plurality of positioning pins,
The fixing force exhibited by the closed container fixing system to fix the closed container to the docking plate is controlled by the positioning pins corresponding to the deformation of the closed container caused by the fixing force. The action line of the fixed force is arranged so that it can generate drag
The lid opening and closing method is:
Placing the sealed container on the docking plate;
The positioning pin is substantially fitted to the positioning recess,
The method of opening and closing a lid of a hermetic container, wherein the fixing force is sequentially generated from each of the plurality of hermetic container fixing systems. The closed container fixing system has a suction pad that can be in close contact with the lower surface of the storage container, and the positioning pin is disposed inside the suction pad,
When fixing the closed container, the fixed container is fixed except for the closed container fixing system in which the fixing force has already been generated and the closed container fixing system in which the fixing force is to be generated next. The lid opening / closing method according to claim 5, wherein a force acting in a direction opposite to the force is applied.

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