JP2016127206A - Substrate housing container and front retainer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a front retainer where a substrate housed in a substrate housing container is mounted horizontally on a support, when removing a lid from the substrate housing container.SOLUTION: A front retainer provided on a lid for sealing the opening of a container body is provided with a holding groove having a first slope and a second slope continuous thereto. Since a second slope angle formed by the center line of the holding groove and second slope is set smaller than the first slope angle formed by the center line of the holding groove and first slope, the substrate held by the holding groove slides down the first slope and held by the second slope at one end, when the front retainer is removed. The substrate does not slide down at once on the slope of the holding groove, and can be mounted horizontally on the support.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate storage container for storing a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or a mask glass and used for storing and transporting the substrate, and more particularly to a front retainer which is a holding member provided on a lid of the substrate storage container.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a substrate storage container for storing a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or a mask glass has a container body 5 having an opening for taking in and out the substrate 8 on the front surface, and the opening is closed and sealed. Some include a lid 6 (Patent Documents 1 and 2). A front retainer 1 as a holding member is provided on the inner surface side of the lid 6 so that the substrate 8 does not rotate or rattle in the substrate storage container. Further, shelf-like support portions 7 that horizontally support the peripheral portion of the substrate 8 are provided on the side wall of the container body 5 at regular intervals in the vertical direction, and a plurality of substrates 8 are arranged in the vertical direction and stored. .

  The front retainer 1 provided on the lid body 6 includes an elastic piece 3 projecting toward the substrate 8, and when the lid body 6 is attached to the container body 5, the peripheral edge portion of the substrate 8 is pushed into the interior of the container body 5. . As disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the holding groove 2 having a substantially V-shaped cross section is formed for each substrate 8 in the portion of the elastic piece 3 that contacts the substrate 8. When the lid 6 seals the opening of the container body 5, the front retainer 1 positions the peripheral edge of the substrate 8 with the substantially V-shaped holding groove 2, pushes it into the back of the container body 5, and holds the substrate 8. Prevents rotation and rattling.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, the substrate 8 is supported by the support portion 7 by the substantially V-shaped holding groove 2 of the front retainer 1 (lid side retainer) and the substantially V-shaped container body groove 9 provided in the container body. A substrate storage container that is held in a state of being floated from the (substrate mounting portion) is disclosed. Since the accommodated substrate 8 is not in contact with the support portion 7, even if vibration or impact is applied, the substrate 8 and the support portion 7 are not rubbed, and the substrate can be prevented from being contaminated and generating dust.

  A process in which the substrate 8 is held in the substrate storage container in a state of being lifted from the support portion 7 will be described with reference to the cross-sectional views of FIGS. As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of substrates 8 are stored in the substrate storage container, and a holding groove 2, a container body groove 9, and a support portion 7 are provided for each substrate 8. A configuration relating to one of the substrates 8 will be described.

  When the substrate 8 is stored, the substrate 8 carried into the container main body 5 from the opening is provided on the side wall of the container main body 5 as shown in FIG. 4A until the lid 6 is closed. 7 is placed. When the opening of the container body 5 is sealed with the lid 6 in this state, the front retainer 1 arranged on the inner surface side of the lid 6 moves together with the lid 6 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. Thus, the elastic piece 3 pushes the substrate 8 toward the back side of the container body 5. The pushed-in substrate 8 slides up the slopes of the V-shaped container body groove 9 and the V-shaped holding groove 2, and the peripheral portion of the substrate 8 is connected to the container body groove 9 as shown in FIG. It fits in the bottom of the holding groove 2 and is held in a state of floating from the support portion 7.

  FIG. 5 is a view showing a state when the lid body 6 and the front retainer 1 are removed from the container body 5. In the substrate storage container sealed by the lid 6, the substrate 8 is formed by the holding groove 2 formed in the elastic piece 3 and the container body groove 9 formed in the side wall of the container body as shown in FIG. Is retained. When the front retainer 1 is removed together with the lid 6, the pressing force from the elastic piece 3 disappears, and the substrate 8 slides down the slopes of the container body groove 9 and the holding groove 2 by its own weight, and on the support portion 7. Placed.

  However, in the conventional substrate storage container, when the front retainer 1 is removed, when the substrate 8 slides down the slope of the holding groove 2 before the slope of the container body groove 9 and comes into contact with the support portion 7, The substrate 8 after the front retainer 1 is removed may be in a state of being diagonally supported by the support portion 7 and the container body groove 9 as shown in FIG. In such a state where the substrate is tilted, the substrate carry-out device cannot take out the substrate 8 from the container main body 5, and a substrate carry-out error occurs.

Japanese Patent No. 3938293 Patent No. 5301733

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and when removing the lid from the container main body, a front retainer on which the substrate is horizontally placed on the support portion and a substrate storage container including the front retainer are provided. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to solve the above problems, a substrate storage container of the present invention has a container body provided with an opening on the front surface, a lid that closes the opening, and a front retainer provided on the lid, The side wall of the container body is provided with a container body groove for holding the peripheral edge of the substrate to be stored, the front retainer is provided with a holding groove for holding the peripheral edge of the substrate, and the holding groove is at least on the bottom side of the groove To the first inclined surface and a second inclined surface continuous to the first inclined surface, and the second inclination angle formed by the center line of the holding groove and the second inclined surface is the center of the holding groove It is smaller than the 1st inclination | tilt angle which a line | wire and said 1st slope form.

  The holding groove includes a third inclined surface that is continuous with the second inclined surface and has a third inclination angle larger than the second inclination angle.

  The container body groove is a substantially V-shaped groove, and an angle formed by a center line of the substantially V-shaped groove and a slope of the substantially V-shaped groove is 75 degrees or more and 85 degrees or less. Features.

  In order to solve the above problems, the front retainer of the present invention includes a holding groove for holding a peripheral edge of a substrate to be stored, and the holding groove includes at least a first slope and the first slope from the bottom side of the groove. And a second slope formed by the center line of the holding groove and the second slope has a center line of the holding groove and the first slope. It is characterized by being smaller than the first tilt angle formed.

  The holding groove includes a third inclined surface that is continuous with the second inclined surface and has a third inclination angle larger than the second inclination angle.

  In order to solve the above problems, the substrate storage container of the present invention includes a container body having an opening on the front surface, a lid that closes the opening, and a front retainer that is provided on the lid. The side wall of the container body includes a container body groove for holding the peripheral edge of the substrate to be stored, the front retainer includes a holding groove for holding the peripheral edge of the substrate, and the holding groove includes at least a groove. A first inclined surface from the bottom side and a second inclined surface continuous to the first inclined surface, the state where the lid body is locked to the container body is released, and the lid body is removed from the container body When removing from the substrate, the substrate is slid down first from the container body groove side, and then the holding groove side is slid down and supported by the support portion.

  S1 <T1 <S2 where S1 and T2 are the slip resistance of the first slope and the second slope, respectively, and T1 and T2 are the slip resistance of the container body groove and the support portion, respectively. <T2 is satisfied.

  The holding groove has a third slope that is continuous with the second slope, and further satisfies the relationship of S3 <T2, where S3 is the slippage difficulty of the third slope.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when removing a cover body from a container main body, the board | substrate storage container provided with the front retainer by which a board | substrate is mounted horizontally on a support part and a front retainer can be provided.

It is a figure which shows the cross-sectional shape of the holding groove and container main body groove | channel of 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the state in which a board | substrate slips down in embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of a substrate storage container. It is a figure which shows the process in which the conventional front retainer pushes in a board | substrate. It is a figure which shows the process in which the conventional front retainer is removed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  The substrate storage container according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a so-called front open box type container main body 5 having an opening on the front surface as shown in FIG. 3, and a lid 6 that closes the opening of the container main body 5. And a front retainer 1 provided on the lid 6.

  On the side wall of the container body 5, a pair of support portions 7 (only one support portion is shown in FIG. 3) for horizontally supporting the peripheral edge of the substrate 8 are formed at regular intervals in the vertical direction. The support portion 7 is a shelf-like member that protrudes inward from the container main body, and the substrate 8 is horizontally supported by the support portion 7 when the opening of the container main body 5 is open.

  The container body 5 and the lid body 6 can be formed from a synthetic resin such as polycarbonate, polyether ether ketone, polyether imide, polybutylene terephthalate, polyacetal, liquid crystal polymer, or cycloolefin polymer. In addition, conductivity can be imparted to these resins by adding carbon powder, carbon fibers, carbon nanotubes, or the like.

  The front retainer 1 is attached to the lid body 6, and the lid body 6 and the front retainer 1 are integrated with each other and attached to or removed from the container body 5. The front retainer 1 includes a rectangular frame 4 and a cantilevered elastic piece 3 branched from the frame 4 into a strip shape and projecting toward the substrate 8 side. When the front retainer 1 is attached to the container main body 5 together with the lid 6 in the elastic piece 3, a holding groove 2 that holds the peripheral edge of the substrate 8 is formed. In the first embodiment, the elastic piece 3 is a cantilevered elastic piece 3 branched from the frame 4 into a strip shape, but the shape of the elastic piece 3 is not limited to this. For example, the elastic pieces may be connected to form a double-supported shape, or may be configured such that another row of elastic pieces is added to the center of the frame 4. Further, the number and length of the holding grooves 2 formed on the elastic piece 3 may be any as long as the holding substrate 8 can be held so as not to rotate or rattle.

  FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the elastic piece 3 of the front retainer 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is disposed on the container body 5, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of FIG. It is a figure which shows the shape of the holding groove 2 formed in the elastic piece 3 in detail. As shown in FIG. 1A, a substantially V-shaped container body groove 9 that holds the peripheral edge of the substrate 8 in cooperation with the holding groove 2 is formed on the side wall of the container body 5. The center lines of the holding groove 2 and the container body groove 9 are set to be horizontal at the same height in a state where the lid body 6 is attached to the container body 5. Since the peripheral edge portion of the substrate 8 is positioned and held at the bottom of the holding groove 2 and the bottom of the container main body groove 9, the substrate 8 is held horizontally on the center line and is in a state of floating from the support portion 7.

  The inclination angle formed by the inclined surface of the substantially V-shaped container body groove 9 with the center line of the groove is preferably 75 degrees or more and 85 degrees or less. If the angle is greater than 85 degrees, the substrate 8 is likely to be caught when the substrate 8 slides up the inclined surface of the container body groove 9, and if the angle is less than 75 degrees, the substrate 8 is inclined to the inclined surface when the substrate 8 slides down the inclined surface of the container body groove 9. It becomes easy to get caught.

  As shown in FIG. 1B, in the first embodiment of the present invention, a first slope 21, a second slope 22, and a third slope 23 are continuously formed in the holding groove 2 from the bottom side of the groove. Is provided. The inclination angle β formed by the second inclined surface 22 and the center line of the groove is set smaller than α and γ, which are the inclination angles formed by the first inclined surface 21 and the third inclined surface 23 and the center line of the groove. Yes. At this time, the inclination angle γ of the third slope 23 is preferably 75 degrees or more and 85 degrees or less, and the inclination angle α of the first slope 21 is preferably γ or less.

  In the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the holding groove 2 includes a second inclined surface 22 that is continuous with the first inclined surface 21, so that when the front retainer 1 is removed together with the lid 6 from the container body 5, the substrate 8 is It is always possible to place it horizontally on the support 7. The operation of the second inclined surface 22 when removing the front retainer 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 (a) to 2 (e).

  FIG. 2A shows a state in which the container main body 5 is sealed by the lid body 6 and the elastic piece 3 of the front retainer 1 presses and holds the peripheral edge of the stored substrate 8. The peripheral edge of the substrate 8 is held at the bottom of the container body groove 9 and the holding groove 2. When the front retainer 1 is removed together with the lid 6, the substrate 8 pressed by the elastic piece 3 slides down on the inclined surfaces of the container body groove 9 and the holding groove 2 by its own weight. The substrate 8 that has slid down the first inclined surface 21 of the holding groove 2 is temporarily supported by the second inclined surface 22 whose inclination is gentler than that of the first inclined surface 21 (FIG. 2B). Even if the substrate 8 does not slide down the container body groove 9 at this time, the substrate 8 slides down the inclined surface of the container body groove 9 and contacts the support portion 7 when the front retainer 1 is separated from the container body 5 (see FIG. 2 (c)).

  When the front retainer 1 is further separated from the container body 5 from the state of FIG. 2C, the substrate 8 slides down the third inclined surface 23 of the holding groove 2 (FIG. It is placed horizontally (FIG. 2 (e)).

  As described above, in the front retainer 1 of the first embodiment, the holding groove 2 is provided with the second inclined surface 22 that is continuous with the first inclined surface 21 and is inclined more gently than the first inclined surface 21. After the substrate 8 slides down the slope of the container body groove 9, the front retainer 1 is separated from the substrate 8. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 5B, the substrate 8 is not left in the container body in a state where the substrate 8 is supported obliquely by the inclined surfaces of the support portion 7 and the container body groove 9. In the first embodiment, after removing the lid 6, the substrate 8 in the container body is always placed horizontally on the support portion 7, so that a substrate carry-out error can be prevented.

  In the first embodiment, the front retainer 1 has a shape in which the cantilevered elastic piece 3 is branched from the rectangular frame 4 into a strip shape, but the shape of the front retainer of the present invention is limited to this. It is not a thing. The shape of the front retainer and the elastic piece is not particularly limited as long as the holding groove 2 that holds the peripheral edge of the substrate has a shape in which the second inclined surface 22 having a gentle inclination is provided continuously to the first inclined surface 21.

  In the second embodiment of the present invention, a relative difference is provided in the slippage of the holding groove 2 of the front retainer 1 and the container main body groove 9 from the substrate 8. In the second embodiment, the static friction coefficient, which is an index of the slipperiness between the slopes of the holding groove 2 and the container body groove 9, is set so that the holding groove 2 is larger than the container body groove 9, Makes it difficult to slide down the slope of the holding groove 2. By providing a relative difference in the difficulty of sliding with the substrate 8, the state where the lid body 6 is locked to the container body 5 is released, and when the lid body 6 is removed from the container body 5, First, the end of the substrate 8 on the container body groove 9 side slides down the container body groove 9, and then the substrate 8 slides down from the holding groove 2 of the front retainer 1 and is placed on the support portion 7.

  The relative difference in resistance to slipping can be set by changing the material forming the inclined surfaces of the holding groove 2 and the container body groove 9 or by providing a difference in surface roughness. When providing a difference in resistance to slipping depending on the material, for example, a low-polyolefin thermoplastic elastomer or a polyester-based thermoplastic elastomer is used for the holding groove 2 of the front retainer 1, and a polybutylene terephthalate or the like is used for the container body groove 9. What is necessary is just to form using the resin with favorable slipperiness, such as polybutylene naphthalate, and the thermoplastic resin to which the additive which improves slipperiness was added.

Moreover, when providing the difference of difficulty in sliding according to surface roughness, it can set by making a difference in the polishing finish of the metal mold | die which shape | molds each component, or giving a graining process.
Further, the holding groove 2 of the front retainer 1 has a two-step inclination or a three-step inclination structure as in the first embodiment, so that the substrate 8 surely slides down the container main body groove 9 and then the front retainer 1. It is possible to leave.

When the holding groove 2 of the second embodiment has the same structure as that of the first embodiment, it is difficult to slide the first inclined surface 21, the second inclined surface 22, and the third inclined surface 23 of the holding groove 2 shown in FIG. When the slopes of the container body groove 9 and the difficulty of sliding the support portion 7 are T1 and T2, respectively, it is necessary to satisfy the relations of the expressions 1 and 2.
A relative comparison of the slopes of the holding grooves 2, the slopes of the container body grooves 9, and the difficulty of sliding the support portion 7 can be confirmed by actually sliding the substrate on these surfaces.
S1 <T1 <S2 <T2 (Formula 1)
S3 <T2 (Formula 2)

  In this case, as shown in FIG. 2, when the lid body 6 is retracted from the container body, the substrate 8 first slides down the first inclined surface 21 of the holding groove 2 of the front retainer 1 (FIG. 2 (b)), and then Next, the container body groove 9 slides down (FIG. 2 (c)). Thereafter, the second inclined surface 22 and the third inclined surface 23 of the holding groove 2 are slid down and placed on the support portion 7 (FIG. 2E). When the holding groove of the front retainer 1 is a two-step slope, Expression 1 may be satisfied. Also in the second embodiment, the substrate 8 can be reliably placed on the support portion 7 as in the first embodiment.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on embodiment, this invention is not limited to embodiment, A various change is possible in the range which does not deviate from the summary.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Front retainer 2 Holding groove 21 1st slope 22 2nd slope 23 3rd slope 3 Elastic piece 4 Frame body 5 Container body 6 Lid body 7 Support part 8 Substrate 9 Container body groove

Claims (8)

A container body provided with an opening on the front surface, a lid that closes the opening, and a front retainer provided on the lid;
The side wall of the container body includes a container body groove for holding the peripheral edge of the substrate to be stored,
The front retainer includes a holding groove for holding a peripheral edge of the substrate,
The holding groove has at least a first slope and a second slope continuous with the first slope from the bottom side of the groove,
The second inclination angle formed by the center line of the holding groove and the second inclined surface is smaller than the first inclination angle formed by the center line of the holding groove and the first inclined surface. Substrate storage container.   2. The substrate storage container according to claim 1, wherein the holding groove includes a third inclined surface that is continuous with the second inclined surface and has a third inclination angle larger than the second inclination angle.   The container body groove is a substantially V-shaped groove, and an angle formed by a center line of the substantially V-shaped groove and a slope of the substantially V-shaped groove is 75 degrees or more and 85 degrees or less. The substrate storage container according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that A holding groove for holding the peripheral edge of the substrate to be stored;
The holding groove has at least a first slope and a second slope continuous with the first slope from the bottom side of the groove,
The second inclination angle formed by the center line of the holding groove and the second inclined surface is smaller than the first inclination angle formed by the center line of the holding groove and the first inclined surface. Front retainer.   The front retainer according to claim 4, wherein the holding groove includes a third inclined surface that is continuous with the second inclined surface and has a third inclination angle larger than the second inclination angle. A container body provided with an opening on the front surface, a lid that closes the opening, and a front retainer provided on the lid;
The side wall of the container body includes a container body groove for holding the peripheral edge of the substrate to be stored,
The front retainer includes a holding groove for holding a peripheral edge of the substrate,
The holding groove has at least a first slope and a second slope continuous with the first slope from the bottom side of the groove,
When the state where the lid body is locked to the container body is released and the lid body is removed from the container body, the substrate slides down first from the container body groove side, and then the holding groove A substrate storage container characterized in that the side slides down and is supported by a support portion. When the difficulty of sliding between the first slope and the second slope is set as S1 and S2, respectively, and when the slope of the container main body groove and the support part are set as T1 and T2, respectively,
S1 <T1 <S2 <T2
The substrate storage container according to claim 6, wherein the relationship is satisfied. The holding groove has a third slope that is continuous with the second slope, and the slippage difficulty of the third slope is S3.
S3 <T2
The substrate storage container according to claim 7, further satisfying the relationship:

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