JP2011060994A - Substrate storage container, and method of handling substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate storage container capable of eliminating the risk of jumping out of a substrate in detaching a lid body without needing to increase pressing force of a front retainer to a substrate, and to provide a method of handling a substrate. <P>SOLUTION: This substrate storage container includes a container body for horizontally storing a semiconductor wafer 1, and a lid body for opening/closing the container body, wherein a rear retainer 17 for retaining a rear edge 2 of the semiconductor wafer 1 by being brought into contact with a valley 20 of a V-groove 18 is incorporated in the container body; the V-groove 18 is partitioned by a pair of inclined surfaces and an angle between them are set to 45-135°; and a front retainer 33 for scooping up the semiconductor wafer 1 to retain its front edge 3 is mounted to the lid body. A robot hand is entered in the container body and positioned below the semiconductor wafer 1, the semiconductor wafer 1 is lifted from a support piece 12 of the container body while moving the robot hand obliquely upward in the front direction of the container body, and the semiconductor wafer 1 is sucked and retracted onto the robot hand. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate storage container in which a substrate made of a glass substrate, a semiconductor wafer, a mask glass, or the like is taken out from a container body by a robot hand, and a substrate handling method.

  Although not shown, the conventional substrate storage container includes a container main body that stores a semiconductor wafer and a lid that opens and closes the front of the container main body, and the semiconductor wafer is attached to the container main body from which the lid is removed. After being inserted and stored or taken out, it is transported (see Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3).

  The container body is formed as a front open box, and a rear retainer is formed on the back wall to hold the rear peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer by a V-groove, and a plurality of support pieces for horizontally supporting the semiconductor wafer are formed on both side walls. It is opposite. In addition, a front retainer that holds the front peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer housed in the container main body with a holding groove is attached to the lid.

  When the semiconductor wafer is inserted and stored in the container main body of such a substrate storage container, and then the lid is fitted to the open front of the container main body, the semiconductor wafer is accompanied by the pressing of the front retainer of the lid. The rear periphery rises while contacting the inclined surface of the V-groove of the rear retainer, and the rear periphery is positioned at the valley of the V-groove of the rear retainer, so that the V-groove and the front retainer are held in a state of floating from the plurality of support pieces. It is sandwiched between the grooves.

  On the other hand, when the lid is removed from the container body containing the semiconductor wafer and the front retainer of the lid is released, the rear periphery of the semiconductor wafer is guided to the inclined surface of the V groove of the rear retainer. It descends and is positioned and supported horizontally by a plurality of support pieces.

  By the way, the V-groove of the rear retainer needs to be gradually raised by bringing the rear edge of the semiconductor wafer into contact with the inclined surface when the semiconductor wafer is inserted and stored in the container body and the lid is fitted. Therefore, it is preferable that the inclined surface has a gentle angle. On the other hand, when the lid is removed from the front surface of the container body, it is necessary to reliably lower the semiconductor wafer while guiding the rear peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer to the inclined surface. Therefore, it is preferable that the inclined surface has a steep angle. . As described above, the V-groove of the rear retainer is required to have a contradictory performance between when the semiconductor wafer is inserted and stored in the container body and when it is taken out.

JP 2006-120851 A JP 2006-127091 A JP 2004-111830 A

  As described above, the conventional substrate storage container is required to have two performances contrary to the V-groove of the rear retainer, and when the inclined surface is formed at a gentle angle, the front retainer of the lid is improved and the semiconductor wafer is improved. The problem arises that the pressing force on the must be increased. However, when the pressing force of the front retainer is increased, when the lid is removed from the container body, the semiconductor wafer slides vigorously while being guided by the inclined surface of the V-groove, and the semiconductor wafer may jump forward from a plurality of support pieces. There is.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and there is little need to increase the pressing force of the front retainer against the substrate, and the substrate storage that can eliminate the possibility of the substrate jumping out of the support piece when the lid is removed from the container body. It aims at providing the handling method of a container and a board | substrate.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention includes a container main body that supports and stores a substrate substantially horizontally by a plurality of opposing support pieces, and a lid that opens and closes the front surface of the container main body. There,
A rear retainer is provided inside the container main body to hold the rear periphery of the substrate to be stored by the valley of the V-groove, and the front peripheral edge of the substrate stored in the container main body is provided with a holding groove having a substantially V-shaped cross section. Provide an elastic front retainer that is held by the valley,
The V-groove of the rear retainer is partitioned by a pair of upper and lower inclined surfaces, and the angle therebetween is in the range of 45 to 135 °. The valley of the V-groove is positioned on the extension line of the end of the substrate, and Is positioned above a substrate supported substantially horizontally by a plurality of support pieces.

Further, in the present invention, in order to solve the above problems, a container main body that stores and supports the substrate substantially horizontally by a plurality of support pieces facing each other, and a lid body that opens and closes the front surface of the container main body, A rear retainer is provided inside the container main body to hold the rear periphery of the substrate to be stored in contact with the valley of the V-groove. The lid is provided with an elastic front retainer that scoops up the substrate stored in the container body and holds the front periphery thereof,
A substrate handling method for taking out a substrate from a container body from which a lid is removed by a robot hand,
The robot hand enters the container body and is positioned below the substrate. The robot hand is lifted from the support piece while moving the robot hand obliquely upward toward the front of the container body, and then the substrate is placed on the robot hand. It is characterized in that it is fixed and the robot hand is moved backward from the container body.

Further, in the present invention, in order to solve the above problems, a container main body that stores and supports the substrate substantially horizontally by a plurality of support pieces facing each other, and a lid body that opens and closes the front surface of the container main body, A rear retainer is provided inside the container main body to hold the rear periphery of the substrate to be stored in contact with the valley of the V-groove. The lid is provided with an elastic front retainer that scoops up the substrate stored in the container body and holds the front periphery thereof,
A method of handling a substrate, wherein the substrate of the container body with the lid removed is sandwiched between a plurality of V-groove clamps of the robot hand,
The robot hand is moved into the container body and positioned below the substrate, the robot hand is raised to position the substrate between the plurality of V groove clamps, and the V groove clamp located on the inner rear side of the container body is disposed on the container body. The substrate is tilted and sandwiched between a plurality of V-groove clamps, and then the robot hand is retracted from the container body to the outside.

  When the substrate is stored in the container body, the substrate is supported by the robot hand, the robot hand is moved into the container body, the rear peripheral edge of the substrate is brought close to the valley of the V groove of the rear retainer, and a plurality of support pieces The substrate is supported on the substrate, the support of the robot hand on the substrate is released, the robot hand is retracted from the container body to the outside, and then a lid is fitted into the open front of the container body.

  Here, the substrate in the claims includes at least one or more glass substrates, semiconductor wafers (for example, φ300, 450, 600 mm type), mask glass, and the like. In addition, the container body may be transparent, opaque, or translucent as long as it is a front opening type. The V-groove of the rear retainer has an angle from the inclined surface to the deepest valley in the range of 15 to 75 °, an angle from the upper inclined surface to the deepest valley in the range of 15 to 60 °, and the lower inclined surface to the deep valley. It is preferable that the angle is 30 to 75 °.

  The lid may be transparent, opaque, or translucent, and may include a locking mechanism that locks to prevent the lid from falling off. Further, the robot hand is not particularly limited, and a robot hand type that adsorbs the substrate by negative pressure or a type that sandwiches the substrate by a plurality of V-groove clamps can be adopted.

  According to the present invention, there is little need to increase the pressing force of the front retainer against the substrate, and there is an effect that it is possible to eliminate the possibility that the substrate jumps out of the support piece when the lid is removed from the container body.

It is a perspective explanatory view showing typically a substrate storage container in an embodiment of a substrate storage container and a substrate handling method concerning the present invention. It is a section explanatory view showing typically a substrate storage container in an embodiment of a substrate storage container and a substrate handling method concerning the present invention. It is a section explanatory view showing typically the relation of a semiconductor wafer, a support piece, and a rear retainer in an embodiment of a substrate handling method concerning the present invention. It is a section explanatory view showing typically the relation between the rear edge of a semiconductor wafer and the rear retainer in the embodiment of the substrate handling method concerning the present invention. It is a section explanatory view showing typically the state where the semiconductor wafer abutted against the rear retainer in the embodiment of the substrate handling method concerning the present invention floats from the support piece. It is a plane explanatory view showing typically a robot hand in an embodiment of a substrate handling method concerning the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the state which located the semiconductor wafer below the back surface of the semiconductor wafer in embodiment of the handling method of the board | substrate which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the state which lifts a semiconductor wafer from a support piece, moving the robot hand of FIG. 7 in the front direction of a container main body, and moving diagonally upward. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the state which carries out the suction fixation of the semiconductor wafer to the suction pad of the robot hand of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the state which retreats a robot hand from a container main body outside. It is a plane explanatory view showing typically the robot hand in a 2nd embodiment of the handling method of the substrate concerning the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the state which located the semiconductor wafer under the back surface of the semiconductor wafer in 2nd Embodiment of the handling method of the board | substrate which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the state which raised the robot hand of FIG. 12, and accommodated the semiconductor wafer between several V groove clamps. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the state which clamped the semiconductor wafer between several V groove clamps of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the state which raises the robot hand of FIG. FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating a state in which the robot hand is horizontally retracted from the container main body of FIG. 15 to the outside.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. A substrate handling method according to the present embodiment is a container of a substrate storage container for storing a thin and easily bent semiconductor wafer 1 as shown in FIGS. This is a handling method that includes a main body 10 and a lid 30 that opens and closes the open front surface 11 of the container main body 10 and takes out the semiconductor wafer 1 from the container main body 10 with a rotatable robot hand 40. 40 is moved and positioned below the semiconductor wafer 1, the robot hand 40 is lifted while moving obliquely toward the front surface 11 of the container body 10, and then the semiconductor wafer 1 is fixed to the robot hand 40. The container body 10 is taken out to the outside.

  The semiconductor wafer 1 is made of, for example, a φ450 mm silicon wafer having a thickness of 925 μm, and a notch for alignment and identification (not shown) is cut out in a flat V shape at the periphery, and is formed in the container body 10 of the substrate storage container. A plurality of sheets, specifically 25 sheets, are stored in a line up and down.

  The container main body 10 and the lid body 30 of the substrate storage container are formed by combining a plurality of parts by injection molding with a molding material containing a predetermined resin. Examples of the predetermined resin of the molding material include polycarbonate, polyether ether ketone, polyether imide, liquid crystal polymer, and cyclic olefin resin that are excellent in mechanical properties and heat resistance. Carbon, carbon fiber, metal fiber, carbon nanotube, conductive polymer, antistatic agent, flame retardant or the like is selectively added to the predetermined resin as necessary.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the container body 10 is formed into an opaque front open box type using the above molding material, and the semiconductor processing apparatus or gas replacement is performed with the horizontally long front face 11 opened in the horizontal horizontal direction. It is mounted by being positioned on the apparatus, or washed with a washing liquid in a washing tank. A pair of left and right support pieces 12 that horizontally support the peripheral edges of both sides of the semiconductor wafer 1 are provided on both inner sides of the container body 10, in other words, on the inner surfaces of the both side walls. A plurality of arrays 12 are formed at a predetermined pitch in the vertical direction of the container body 10.

  Each support piece 12 is formed in a long plate shape curved along the side periphery of the semiconductor wafer 1, formed in a curved plate along the rear side of the side periphery of the semiconductor wafer 1, or the front support piece It is divided into a rear support piece and formed. From the viewpoint of reducing the contact area with the semiconductor wafer 1, support protrusions 13 that make point contact with the peripheral edges of both sides of the back surface of the semiconductor wafer 1 are selectively formed on the front and rear portions of the surface of the support piece 12. .

  Cylindrical filter bosses are provided in the vicinity of the four corners of the bottom plate 14 of the container body 10, and an air supply filter and an exhaust filter that communicate the inside and outside of the container body 10 with the plurality of filter bosses. Are detachably fitted via O-rings. A positioning tool for positioning the container body 10 is screwed to both the front side and the rear center of the bottom plate 14 of the container body 10.

  A bottom plate that exposes a plurality of air supply filters, exhaust filters, and positioning tools is horizontally screwed to the bottom plate 14 of the container body 10 through fastening screws, and is attached to the top plate 15 of the container body 10. The top flange for transportation held by the factory ceiling transportation mechanism is screwed horizontally through the fastening screw.

  The back wall 16 of the container body 10 is formed in a vertically long shape by a two-color molding method or the like, if necessary, in the center part, and when this view window is formed, the inside of the container body 10 is external. Can be observed and grasped visually. A rear retainer 17 is integrally formed on both sides of the inner surface of the back wall 16 so as to hold the rear periphery 2 of the semiconductor wafer 1 in contact with the valley 20 of the V groove 18.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, each rear retainer 17 is formed by arranging a plurality of V grooves 18 at a predetermined pitch in the vertical direction, and each V groove 18 is defined by a pair of upper and lower inclined surfaces 19. The angle θ between the pair of inclined surfaces 19 is in the range of 45 to 135 °, preferably 60 to 120 °.

  The angle θ between the pair of inclined surfaces 19 is in the range of 45 to 135 °. When the angle θ is less than 45 °, the holding restriction in the vertical direction of the semiconductor wafer 1 is weakened, and the semiconductor wafer 1 is transported during transportation of the substrate storage container. This is because damage or breakage of 1 is caused. On the other hand, when the angle θ exceeds 135 °, there is no room for movement of the robot hand 40 entering the container body 10, and the robot hand 40 must be controlled with high accuracy. Such a valley 20 of the V-groove 18 is located on an extension line of the rear periphery 2 that is an end portion of the semiconductor wafer 1 to be accommodated.

  A rim flange 21 projecting outward is formed on the periphery of the front surface 11 of the container body 10, and a detachable lid 30 is fitted into the rim flange 21 by a lid opening / closing device. On both side portions of the outer peripheral surface of the rim flange 21, clamp protrusions 22 for the lid 30 are formed to protrude. In addition to the reinforcement and deformation prevention, a grip portion that can interfere with a finger or the like is detachably attached to the surfaces of both side walls of the container body 10.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the lid 30 includes a horizontally long casing 31 that is detachably fitted in an open rim flange 21 of the container body 10 via a gasket, and an open surface of the casing 31. A clamp plate 32 fitted to the clamp protrusion 22 of the container body 10 is pivotally supported on the left and right sides of the casing 31 so as to be rotatable in the front-rear direction. A front retainer 33 that elastically holds the front peripheral edge 3 of the semiconductor wafer 1 is detachably attached to the center of the rear surface of the housing 31, and the front peripheral edge 3 of the semiconductor wafer 1 is attached to both sides of the rear surface. Retaining tools 34 that elastically hold both sides are detachably mounted.

  The front retainer 33 includes a vertically long frame 35 that is attached to the center of the rear surface of the housing 31 and prevents the lid 30 from being deformed. The pair of left and right vertical bars of the frame 35 are oriented in the center direction. A plurality of elastic pieces 36 are integrally formed vertically. Each elastic piece 36 is provided with flexibility, and a small holding block 38 that integrally holds up the front peripheral edge 3 of the semiconductor wafer 1 by a holding groove 37 having a V-shaped cross section is integrally formed at the tip. The holding groove 37 is positioned above the semiconductor wafer 1 in which the deep valley 39 is horizontally supported by the plurality of support pieces 12, and guides the front peripheral edge 3 of the semiconductor wafer 1 upward by the lower inclined surface. It functions to abut against 39 and hold.

  Such a front retainer 33 is preferably formed by using a predetermined material, for example, an elastic material such as various thermoplastic elastomers such as polyester-based, polystyrene-based, and polyolefin-based materials, but polyether ether ketone, polybutylene terephthalate. It can also be formed of a thermoplastic resin such as polypropylene.

  The front retainer 33 has a plurality of elastic pieces 36 arranged vertically between a pair of left and right vertical bars of a frame 35 attached to the back surface of the housing 31, and the semiconductor wafer 1 is mounted on each elastic piece 36. Can be formed by integrating a holding block 38 that holds up and holds the front peripheral edge 3 by a holding groove 37 having a V-shaped cross section. In addition, a plurality of elastic pieces 36 are arranged on the back surface of the casing 31 so that the front peripheral edge 3 of the semiconductor wafer 1 is scooped up by a holding groove 37 having a V-shaped cross section at the tip of each elastic piece 36. It is also possible to form by integrating the holding block 38 to be held (see FIG. 2).

  As shown in FIG. 6, the robot hand 40 is formed in a substantially U-shaped plane that is bifurcated, and is connected to and supported by a dedicated robot so as to be capable of three-dimensional operation. A plurality of suction pads 41 that are in contact with the back surface of the semiconductor wafer 1 are arranged at intervals on the surface of the robot hand 40, and the plurality of suction pads 41 vacuum the semiconductor wafer 1 by driving a vacuum pump of the robot. It functions to adsorb.

  In the above configuration, when the semiconductor wafer 1 is inserted and stored in the container body 10, first, the semiconductor wafer 1 is attracted to the suction pad 41 of the robot hand 40, and the robot hand 40 enters the container body 10 horizontally. Then, the semiconductor wafer 1 is supported by the pair of support pieces 12 via the support protrusions 13 at positions where the rear peripheral edge 2 of the semiconductor wafer 1 is separated from the valley 20 of the V groove 18 of the rear retainer 17 by about 1 mm. The suction to the semiconductor wafer 1 is released, and then the robot hand 40 is moved backward from the container body 10 to the outside (see FIG. 3).

  At this time, the rear peripheral edge 2 of the semiconductor wafer 1 is not in contact with the inclined surface 19 of the V-groove 18 and gradually rising in the direction of the valley 20, but horizontally facing the valley 20 of the V-groove 18 from the beginning (see FIG. 3, see FIG. That is, the valley 20 of the V groove 18 exists on the extended line of the semiconductor wafer 1 supported by the support protrusions 13 of the pair of support pieces 12.

  When the robot hand 40 is retracted in this manner, the lid body 30 is fitted into the open front surface 11 of the container body 10, and the clamp pieces 32 of the lid body 30 are fitted and locked to the pair of clamp projections 22 of the container body 10, respectively. In this case, the semiconductor wafer 1 can be inserted and stored in the container body 10.

  At this time, the semiconductor wafer 1 slides toward the rear retainer 17 so that the rear peripheral edge 2 is abutted against the valley 20 of the V groove 18 and the front peripheral edge 3 is scooped up on the inclined surface of the holding groove 37 of the front retainer 33. Since it gradually rises and hits the deepest valley 39 of the holding groove 37, it slightly swings upward and rises from the support piece 12, and between the rear retainer 17 and the front retainer 33 in an inclined state floating from the support piece 12. It is clamped (see FIG. 5).

  Next, when the semiconductor wafer 1 is taken out from the container body 10 from which the lid 30 has been removed by the robot hand 40, first, the robot hand 40 is moved horizontally into the container body 10 so as to be below the back surface of the semiconductor wafer 1. The semiconductor wafer 1 is lifted from the support projection 13 of the support piece 12 while moving the robot hand 40 in an obliquely upward direction toward the front surface 11 where the container body 10 is opened, with a slight gap (see FIG. 7). (See FIG. 8). Thereafter, the semiconductor wafer 1 is sucked and fixed to the plurality of suction pads 41 of the robot hand 40 (see FIG. 9), and the robot hand 40 is retracted horizontally from the container body 10 to the outside (see FIG. 10). The semiconductor wafer 1 can be taken out from the container body 10 by the robot hand 40.

  According to the above configuration, since the front peripheral edge 3 of the semiconductor wafer 1 is scooped up and held by the holding groove 37 of the front retainer 33, the inclined surface 19 of the V groove 18 can be formed at a moderate angle. Since the rear peripheral edge 2 of the semiconductor wafer 1 is opposed to the valley 20 of the V groove 18 of the rear retainer 17 from the beginning, the inclined surface 19 of the V groove 18 can be obtained simply by sliding the semiconductor wafer 1 back and forth within the container body 10. Will not rise up to the valley 20. Therefore, it is not necessary to increase the pressing force of the front retainer 33 on the semiconductor wafer 1.

  Further, since it is not necessary to increase the pressing force of the front retainer 33, it is possible to prevent the semiconductor wafer 1 from sliding down vigorously while being guided by the inclined surface 19 of the V groove 18 when the lid 30 is removed from the container body 10. can do. Therefore, the possibility of the semiconductor wafer 1 jumping forward from the plurality of support pieces 12 with the removal of the lid 30 can be eliminated. Further, since the semiconductor wafer 1 can be prevented from sliding down vigorously, it is possible to suppress damage and breakage of the semiconductor wafer 1 and generation of particles due to sliding down.

  Next, FIGS. 11 to 16 show a second embodiment of the present invention. In this case, the robot hand 40 is not the vacuum suction type, but the robot hand 40 is the edge clamp type. I have to.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the robot hand 40 is formed in a substantially U-shaped plane that is bifurcated and is connected and supported by a dedicated robot so as to be capable of three-dimensional operation. On the surface of the robot hand 40, a plurality of V-groove clamps 42 that come into contact with the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer 1 are slidably disposed at intervals, and the plurality of V-groove clamps 42 are driven by an air cylinder or the like. It functions to hold the wafer 1. Each V-groove clamp 42 is formed in a thin block having a V-shaped groove with a pair of upper and lower inclined surfaces, and the angle between the pair of inclined surfaces is in the range of 45 to 135 °, preferably 60 to 120 °. The

  In the above configuration, when the semiconductor wafer 1 is taken out from the container body 10 from which the lid 30 has been removed by the robot hand 40, first, the robot hand 40 is moved horizontally into the container body 10 to be below the semiconductor wafer 1. Positioned with a slight gap (see FIG. 12), the robot hand 40 is raised to accommodate the semiconductor wafer 1 between the plurality of V-groove clamps 42 (see FIG. 13), and on the back wall 16 side of the container body 10. The V-groove clamp 42 positioned is slid in the direction of the front surface 11 of the container body 10 to sandwich the semiconductor wafer 1 between the plurality of V-groove clamps 42 (see FIG. 14).

  At this time, as the V-groove clamp 42 on the back wall 16 side slides, the front peripheral edge 3 is guided to the inclined surface of the V-groove clamp 42 on the front surface 11 side, and the semiconductor wafer 1 gradually rises. Accordingly, the semiconductor wafer 1 is sandwiched between the plurality of V-groove clamps 42 with the front peripheral edge 3 slightly tilted upward.

When the semiconductor wafer 1 is sandwiched between the plurality of V-groove clamps 42 in this way, the robot hand 40 is slightly raised to float the semiconductor wafer 1 from the support protrusion 13 of the support piece 12 (see FIG. 15), and from the container body 10 to the outside. If the robot hand 40 is retracted horizontally (see FIG. 16), the semiconductor wafer 1 can be taken out from the container body 10 by the robot hand 40. The other parts are substantially the same as those in the above embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.
In the present embodiment, it is obvious that the same operational effects as those of the above embodiment can be expected, and that the diversification of the method for taking out the semiconductor wafer 1 can be greatly expected.

  In addition, the support piece 12 and the rear retainer 17 of the container body 10 of the above embodiment may be close to each other, adjacent to each other, or separated from the viewpoint of preventing the semiconductor wafer 1 from being bent. Further, the rear retainer 17 may be integrally formed on the center of the back wall 16 of the container body 10 or the inner surface (see FIG. 2) of the side wall 23 located on the innermost side of the support piece 12, or a separate rear retainer 17 may be attached. good.

  Further, the rear retainer 17 may be formed of the same elastic material as that of the front retainer 33. Further, the clamp piece 32 of the lid 30 may be omitted, and a locking mechanism for locking the lid 30 fitted to the front surface 11 of the container body 10 may be incorporated between the housing 31 and the surface plate.

1 Semiconductor wafer (substrate)
2 Rear edge 3 Front edge 10 Container body 11 Front surface 12 Support piece 13 Support protrusion 16 Rear wall (inside rear of container body)
17 Rear retainer 18 V groove 19 Inclined surface 20 Valley 23 Side wall 30 Lid 33 Front retainer 35 Frame body 36 Elastic piece 37 Holding groove 38 Holding block 39 Valley 40 Robot hand 41 Suction pad 42 V groove clamp

Claims (3)

A substrate storage container comprising a container main body that supports and stores a substrate substantially horizontally by a plurality of support pieces facing each other, and a lid that opens and closes the front surface of the container main body,
A rear retainer is provided inside the container main body to hold the rear periphery of the substrate to be stored by the valley of the V-groove, and the front peripheral edge of the substrate stored in the container main body is provided with a holding groove having a substantially V-shaped cross section. Provide an elastic front retainer that is held by the valley,
The V-groove of the rear retainer is partitioned by a pair of upper and lower inclined surfaces, and the angle therebetween is in the range of 45 to 135 °. The valley of the V-groove is positioned on the extension line of the end of the substrate, and A substrate storage container characterized in that is positioned above a substrate supported substantially horizontally by a plurality of support pieces. A container body for supporting a substrate by supporting it substantially horizontally by a plurality of opposing support pieces, and a lid for opening and closing the open front of the container body, and a rear peripheral edge of the substrate to be stored inside the container body Is provided with a rear retainer that holds the V-groove in contact with the valley of the V-groove, the V-groove of the rear retainer is partitioned by a pair of upper and lower inclined surfaces, and the angle therebetween is in the range of 45 to 135 °. An elastic front retainer is provided to scoop up the stored substrate and hold its front edge.
A substrate handling method for taking out a substrate from a container body from which a lid is removed by a robot hand,
The robot hand enters the container body and is positioned below the substrate. The robot hand is lifted from the support piece while moving the robot hand obliquely upward toward the front of the container body, and then the substrate is placed on the robot hand. A method of handling a substrate, wherein the robot hand is moved backward from the container body to the outside. A container body for supporting a substrate by supporting it substantially horizontally by a plurality of opposing support pieces, and a lid for opening and closing the open front of the container body, and a rear peripheral edge of the substrate to be stored inside the container body Is provided with a rear retainer that holds the V-groove in contact with the valley of the V-groove, the V-groove of the rear retainer is partitioned by a pair of upper and lower inclined surfaces, and the angle therebetween is in the range of 45 to 135 °. An elastic front retainer is provided to scoop up the stored substrate and hold its front edge.
A method of handling a substrate, wherein the substrate of the container body with the lid removed is sandwiched between a plurality of V-groove clamps of the robot hand,
The robot hand is moved into the container body and positioned below the substrate, the robot hand is raised to position the substrate between the plurality of V groove clamps, and the V groove clamp located on the inner rear side of the container body is disposed on the container body. The substrate is handled by tilting the substrate between a plurality of V-groove clamps, and then retracting the robot hand from the container body to the outside.

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