JP2017103286A - Load port - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a load port capable of facilitating ensuring housing spaces of a mechanical mechanism and an electrical apparatus necessary for the load port under a mounting table of the load port.SOLUTION: A load port 1 includes openable and closable container covers 15, 16 covering a container (e.g. cassette 51 (52)) placed on a mounting table 11. The container covers 15, 16 are covers in a divided mode and the first container cover 15 of the container covers 15,16 retreats to a lower space of the mounting table 11 when the covers are under such an open state as not to cover the container. The second container cover 16 rotates above the mounting table 11 to retreat when it is under an open state as not to cover the container.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a load port on which a container for storing an object to be processed is placed so that an object to be processed such as a wafer can be taken in and out of a transfer space.

  As the above-described containers, there are hermetic containers called FOUPs (Front-Opening Unified Pods) having an openable and closable lid, and open containers called open cassettes. A plurality of stages of shelves are provided inside these containers, and a plurality of objects to be processed such as wafers are accommodated in the containers in a horizontal posture at regular intervals in the vertical direction.

  Here, as a load port that can correspond to any of wafers of different sizes (containers of different sizes), there is a load port described in Patent Document 1, for example. As described in Patent Document 1, generally, a FOUP that is a sealed container is used for a 300 mm wafer, and an open cassette that is an open container is used for a 200 mm wafer. As described in paragraph 0031 of Patent Document 1, when an open cassette that is a container for 200 mm wafers is used, the entire open cassette that accommodates a 200 mm wafer placed on a mounting table is covered with a carrier cover. . The carrier cover is configured to rotate about a rotation fulcrum slightly below the mounting table, and when the load port is not operating and when a FOUP for a 300 mm wafer is mounted. Are all retracted below the mounting table.

  As a technique related to the carrier cover described above, there is a technique described in Patent Document 2. Similarly to the carrier cover described in Patent Document 1, all of the cassette cover member described in Patent Document 2 is retracted below the mounting table, when not used.

Japanese Patent No. 4474922 JP 2003-249535 A

  Here, as described in, for example, Japanese Patent No. 5796279, a mechanical mechanism such as a door lifting mechanism for a load port, a lifting mechanism for a mapping sensor, and the like are operated below the load port mounting table. Electric devices such as control panels and cables are housed.

  According to the type of cover that retracts all of the load port under the load port mounting table as described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, it is difficult to secure the storage space for the mechanical mechanism and the electric device. Even if the accommodation space can be secured, the accommodation space becomes complicated.

  It is conceivable to use the back side of the base of the load port as a storage space for the mechanical mechanism and electrical equipment described above. However, it is necessary to secure a lifting space for the door to be raised or lowered on this back side, If you comply with the SEMI standard (Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International) established by SEMI (Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International), an international industry organization that consists of manufacturing equipment manufacturers and material manufacturers It is difficult to secure a necessary accommodation space, for example, when there is a restriction of 100 mm (in the case of a 300 mm wafer) from the back of the base.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a mechanical mechanism necessary for the load port, and a load port that can easily secure a storage space for an electric device below the mounting table of the load port. That is.

  The load port according to the present invention comprises a part of a partition partitioning a transfer space, and a vertically disposed base having a base opening for taking a workpiece into and out of the transfer space, and the base of the base A mounting table provided on the opposite side of the transfer space, on which a container for storing a plurality of objects to be processed is mounted, a door for opening and closing the base opening, and a mounting table on the mounting table An openable / closable container cover for covering the container. The container cover is configured by a plurality of divided container covers in a divided form, and the plurality of divided container covers are configured to be retractable above the mounting table and below the mounting table. .

  According to this configuration, the openable and closable container cover that covers the container is made into a plurality of divided container covers in a divided form, thereby increasing the degree of freedom of the cover arrangement and the cover shape. Since these multiple divided container covers are retracted not above the mounting table but above the mounting table or in the space below the mounting table, when all of the openable and closable container covers are retracted to the space below the mounting table. Compared to this, it is easy to secure a mechanical mechanism necessary for the load port and a storage space for electrical equipment below the load port mounting table.

  Further, in the present invention, the plurality of divided container covers cover the front side of the mounting table, and when opened, retreat to the lower space of the mounting table, and move up and down first container cover, A second container cover that is placed on the first container cover and covers the upper side of the mounting table, and retracts to the upper side of the mounting table when rotated, and rotates. It is preferable to have.

  According to this configuration, in particular, the divided container cover that is retracted to the space below the mounting table is configured to move up and down, so that the mechanical mechanism necessary for the load port and the storage space for the electrical equipment can be provided below the mounting table of the load port. It is easy to secure by.

  Further, in the present invention, it is preferable that a driving device for operating the plurality of divided container covers is provided in each of the plurality of divided container covers.

  According to this configuration, the divided container cover can be automatically opened and closed. This makes it possible to control such as automatically opening only the necessary divided container cover or automatically opening the divided container cover within the minimum necessary range depending on the container transport method and the type of container.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the load mechanism which can ensure easily the mechanical mechanism required for a load port, and the accommodation space of an electric equipment under the mounting base of a load port can be provided.

It is a schematic plan view of the whole apparatus used for manufacture of a semiconductor including the load port which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of the load port shown in FIG. It is the top view which looked at the load port shown in Drawing 2 (b) from the upper part. It is a perspective view which shows the adapter and cassette which mount on the mounting base of a load port. It is a perspective view which shows the adapter and cassette which mount on the mounting base of a load port. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the load port with the outer cover, the base, and the second container cover removed from the load port shown in FIG. 2 (the first container cover is lowered). FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the load port with the outer cover, the base, and the second container cover removed from the load port shown in FIG. 2 (the first container cover is raised). It is a perspective view which shows the upper part of the load port shown in FIG. 7 (The state where the 2nd container cover was attached). It is a right view of FIG. FIG. 9 is a left side view of FIG. 8. It is a perspective view of a mapping sensor. It is a perspective view which shows the modification of the container cover which can be opened and closed. It is a perspective view which shows the modification of the container cover which can be opened and closed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Configuration of the entire device including the load port)
The apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is an apparatus used for manufacturing semiconductors, and includes a plurality of load ports 1 (three in this embodiment), a transfer chamber 2 and a processing apparatus 3. The load port 1 is a container (for example, cassettes 51 and 52 (for example, cassettes 51 and 52)) for loading and unloading an object to be processed such as a wafer into a space (transfer space S) in the transfer chamber 2. (See FIGS. 4 and 5)). In addition, the wafer may be accommodated in the container only (the wafer is directly) or may be affixed to a tape affixed to the upper surface (or lower surface) of an FFC (Film Flame Carrier) or a Hoop Ring. It may be accommodated in a container in a state. Hereinafter, the term “FFC” simply refers to an FFC in a state where a wafer is attached to a tape attached to the upper surface (or lower surface) of an FFC (Film Flame Carrier).

  A transfer robot 22 is disposed in the transfer chamber 2, and the transfer object is transferred between the load port 1 and the processing apparatus 3 by the transfer robot 22. The transfer robot 22 takes out the object to be processed from the container placed on the load port 1 and supplies the object to be processed to the processing apparatus 3 via the transfer space S. The transfer space S is a space that is partitioned by a partition wall 21 that is an outer wall constituting the transfer chamber 2.

  The operation of the load port 1 is controlled by the control device 4. Note that the control device 4 may control not only the load port 1 but also devices in the transfer chamber 2 such as the transfer robot 22. The illustration of the control device 4 in FIG. 1 is an illustration for indicating that the load port 1 is controlled by the control device 4, and does not indicate the arrangement position of the control device 4. The control device 4 may be incorporated in the load port 1 (the space below the mounting table 11 (see FIG. 2 and the like)), or a control device including control of the transfer robot 22 is arranged in the transfer chamber 2. Sometimes it is done.

  In addition, the direction of the side to which the load port 1 is connected as viewed from the transfer chamber 2 (transfer space S) is defined as the front, the opposite direction is defined as the rear, and the direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction and the vertical direction is defined as the side. It is defined and shown in FIG. The front, rear, and side shown in the drawings after FIG. 2 coincide with the front, rear, and side shown in FIG.

(Load port configuration)
The configuration of the load port 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 2, the load port 1 includes a plate-shaped base 10 that constitutes a part of a partition wall 21 that partitions the conveyance space S. The base 10 is arranged upright, and the base 10 is provided with a base opening 10a (see FIG. 2B) as an opening for taking a workpiece into and out of the transfer space S. In order to keep the transfer space S in a clean state, the base opening 10a is normally closed by a door 12 in the normal state.

  On the opposite side of the transfer space S side of the base 10, that is, in front of the base 10, a mounting table 11 on which containers for storing a plurality of objects to be processed are mounted.

  An example of the container which accommodates a to-be-processed object is shown in FIG. The cassettes 51 and 52 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 are containers for storing a plurality of FFCs, respectively. The cassette 51 shown in FIG. 4 is a container for storing an FFC having a smaller diameter than the cassette 52 shown in FIG. Although only one FFC is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a plurality of FFCs are accommodated in the cassettes 51 and 52 in a horizontal posture at regular intervals in the vertical direction, respectively. Is done. The cassettes 51 and 52 are provided with openings 51a and 52a and openings 51b and 52b on the rear side (the side of the conveyance space S) and the front side (the opposite side) in the state of being placed on the mounting table 11, respectively. Have.

  Here, the cassettes 51 and 52 are placed on the mounting table 11 via the FFC adapter 20 common to the cassettes 51 and 52. The FFC adapter 20 has an optical cassette size detection sensor 42 (42a, 42b). The cassette size detection sensor 42 including two sets of sensors is a sensor for detecting which of the cassettes 51 and 52 is placed on the FFC adapter 20. When the inner cassette size detection sensor 42a is turned on (light-shielding state) but the outer cassette size detection sensor 42b is not turned on (light projection state), it is placed on the FFC adapter 20. Is the smaller cassette 51 (FIG. 4). On the other hand, when both of the cassette size detection sensors 42a and 42b are turned on, the larger cassette 52 is placed on the FFC adapter 20 (FIG. 5). As a matter of course, when both of the cassette size detection sensors 42 a and 42 b are not turned on, it means that no cassette is placed on the FFC adapter 20.

  Since the cassette size and the FFC size are in a one-to-one relationship, the detection of the cassette size also means that the FFC size is detected. That is, the FFC size is detected by the cassette size detection sensor 42.

  A cassette size detection sensor 42 (42a, 42b) is connected to the connector 20a provided on the FFC adapter 20 with a cable or the like. The signal from the cassette size detection sensor 42 (42a, 42b) Is sent to the control device 4 via. That is, the FFC size information is sent from the FFC adapter 20 to the control device 4.

<Mapping sensor>
The load port 1 includes a mapping sensor 30 that maps a plurality of FFCs accommodated in the cassettes 51 and 52. As illustrated in FIGS. 2B and 3, the mapping sensor 30 is disposed on the opposite side of the base 10 from the conveyance space S, that is, on the front side of the base 10. The mapping sensor 30 is an optical sensor. The optical sensor includes a laser beam sensor.

  As illustrated in FIG. 11, the mapping sensor 30 includes a sensor unit 31 and a lifting unit 32 that moves the sensor unit 31 up and down.

  The sensor part 31 is formed by attaching a light emitting element part 33a and a light receiving element part 33b to the tip portions of both ends of a U-shaped sensor support member 34 in plan view. The sensor 33 is composed of a set of the light emitting element portion 33a and the light receiving element portion 33b. A cable 35 is connected to the light emitting element portion 33 a and the light receiving element portion 33 b, and a signal from the sensor 33 is sent to the control device 4 via the cable 35. A cable bear (registered trademark) 39 shown in FIG. 11 is a cable bear for the sensor 33.

  The elevating part 32 has a sensor part supporting member 36 whose end is fixed to the center part of the sensor supporting member 34, a ball screw 37 for raising and lowering the sensor part supporting member 36, and a motor 38 for rotating the ball screw 37. .

  As shown in FIG. 3, the light emitting element portion 33 a and the light receiving element portion 33 b are arranged in front of and behind the mounting table 11, respectively. That is, in a state where the cassette 51 or the cassette 52 is mounted on the mounting table 11 via the FFC adapter 20, a plurality of FFCs outside the cassettes 51 and 52 and accommodated in the cassettes 51 and 52. The light-emitting element portion 33a and the light-receiving element portion 33b are arranged at positions sandwiching them in plan view.

<Cover>
As shown in FIG. 2, the mounting table 11 and the mapping sensor 30 are accommodated in the outer cover 13 (fixed cover) of the load port 1. In the present embodiment, the front cover of the outer cover 13 is composed of covers 13a, 13b, and 13c, and the side cover is composed of a pair of left and right covers 13d and 13e. On the back side of the load port 1, the base 10 serves as a cover. A caster 14 is attached to the bottom of the load port 1 so that the load port 1 can be easily moved.

<Openable container cover>
Furthermore, the load port 1 of the present embodiment is an open / close covering the entire mapping sensor 30 having cassettes 51 and 52 mounted on the mounting table 11 via the FFC adapter 20 and a sensor unit 31 that moves up and down. Possible container covers 15, 16 are provided.

  The container cover 15 and the container cover 16 constitute one container cover that can be opened and closed. That is, the container covers 15 and 16 are examples of a plurality of divided container covers in a divided form.

  The first container cover 15 is a U-shaped cover formed by a front surface side cover 15a and a pair of left and right side surface covers 15b. The first cylinder cover 15 is an air cylinder 61 as a driving device shown in FIGS. It moves up and down (moving up and down) in response to a command from.

  One air cylinder 61 is disposed under each of the pair of left and right side surface covers 15b, the upper end (cylinder rod 61a) is attached under the side surface cover 15b, and the lower end (cylinder body 61b) is a load. Attached to the port 1 frame.

  A guide rail 62 extending linearly in the vertical direction is provided on the outer surface of an inner cover 19 (19a, 19b), which will be described later, and the first container cover 15 moves up and down along the guide rail 62.

  The cylinder body 61b includes two pressure chambers (not shown) therein. Then, when air is supplied to one of the pressure chambers, the cylinder rod 61a extends, whereby the first container cover 15 rises. Further, when air is supplied to the other of the pressure chambers, the cylinder rod 61b is contracted and the first container cover 15 is lowered. Thus, the 1st container cover 15 is moved up and down by adjusting the pressure in the cylinder main body 61b. A shock absorber 63 and an elastic stopper 64 (for example, a rubber plate) are disposed below the first container cover 15 so that the impact of the drop of the first container cover 15 is absorbed. The two pressure chambers are structured such that when air is supplied to one of them, the air in the other pressure chamber is exhausted.

  The second container cover 16 will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. The second container cover 16 is a flat cover that covers the cassette 51 (52) and the mapping sensor 30, and is placed on the first cover 15 that has advanced upward. In response to a command from the control device 4, the second container cover 16 is rotated about an hinge 18 as a fulcrum by an air cylinder 17 as a drive device. As shown in FIGS. 2 (b) and 3, a fixed inner cover 19 (19a, 19b) is provided on both sides of the mounting table 11, and the air cylinder 17 is connected to the inner cover 19b and the outer cover 19b. It is arranged between the cover 13d. The interval between the inner cover 19a and the inner cover 19b is ensured so as not to interfere with the containers such as the cassettes 51 and 52 mounted on the mounting table 11.

  The air cylinder 17 is disposed under one side end of the second container cover 16, and the upper end (cylinder rod 17a) is attached to the back surface of the second container cover 16, and the lower end (cylinder body 17b) is loaded. Attached to the port 1 frame.

  A shock absorber 65 is disposed as a safety device under the other side end of the second container cover 16. The upper end of the shock absorber 65 is attached to the back surface of the second container cover 16, and the lower end is attached to the frame of the load port 1. The shock absorber 65 always biases the first cover 15 upward with a force weaker than the force (the closing direction) for rotating the second container cover 16. The urging force of the shock absorber 65 is set to be higher than its own weight when the second container cover 16 reaches a preset rotation angle. This rotation angle is preferably 10 to 45 degrees. In this embodiment, the rotation angle is set to 15 degrees.

  The cylinder body 17b includes two pressure chambers (not shown) therein. Further, the cylinder body 17b is disposed so as to be rotatable about the lower end. When air is supplied to one of the pressure chambers of the cylinder body 17b, the cylinder rod 17a rotates around the lower end while extending, and the cylinder body 17b rotates from the upright state of FIG. 7 to the inclined state of FIG. To do. The force that the cylinder body 17b extends the cylinder rod 17a is converted into a force that rotates the second container cover 16 upward. When air is supplied to the other pressure chamber in the cylinder body 17b, the cylinder rod 17a contracts and rotates in the reverse direction around the lower end. Thereby, the force which the cylinder main body 17b shrinks the cylinder main body 17b is converted into the force which rotates the 2nd container cover 16 below. Thus, the 2nd container cover 16 is rotated using the force which the cylinder rod 17a raises / lowers by adjusting the pressure in the cylinder main body 17b. The two pressure chambers are structured such that when air is supplied to one of them, the air in the other pressure chamber is exhausted. The shock absorber 65 is also configured to rotate around its lower end.

Here, if for some reason (such as air leakage from the air cylinder 17), the air cylinder 17 serving as the drive unit for rotating the second container cover 16 breaks down during operation, and the air cylinder 17 stops working, When the moving angle is 15 degrees or more, the urging force of the shock absorber 65 is larger than the weight of the second container cover 16, so the second container cover 16 is returned to the retracted position. On the other hand, when the rotation angle is less than 15 degrees, the urging force of the shock absorber 65 is smaller than the own weight of the second container cover 16, so that the second container cover 16 slowly falls down.
As a result, even if the air cylinder 17 breaks down for some reason, the second container cover 16 is moved to the retracted position by the shock absorber 65 or slowly falls down, so that the second container cover 16 is vigorously driven by its own weight. It can be prevented from closing.

  Here, as can be seen from FIG. 2, the upper end portion of the upper cover 13d constituting the side cover of the outer cover 13 has a height dimension at which the air cylinder 17 and the shock absorber 65 are not exposed outward. ing. The air cylinder 17 and the shock absorber 65 are movable parts, and since the movable parts are not exposed to the outside, the safety is excellent.

  Further, since the air cylinder 17 and the shock absorber 65, which are movable parts, are respectively disposed between the outer cover 13d and the inner cover 19 (19a, 19b), the load port 1 and the cassette are set. It is possible to prevent diffusion of particles (fine dust) from these movable parts into the upper space of the mounting table 11.

(Load port operation)
The operation of the load port 1 (control of the load port 1 by the control device 4) will be described. Here, as an example, it is assumed that the FFC adapter 20 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is mounted on the mounting table 11 of the load port 1. Initially, the container covers 15 and 16 are in an open state, and the sensor unit 31 of the mapping sensor 30 is in a state of being lowered below the height level of the mounting table 11 (standby state, see FIG. 2B). The mounting table 11 is located at the position (= UNDOCK position) shown in FIGS. In addition, although description is abbreviate | omitted, since the adapter 20 for FFC is attached on the mounting base 11 of the load port 1, the load port 1 (control apparatus 4) can specify that the process target is FFC. ing. The movement of each part of the load port 1 described below is based on a command from the control device 4.

  The supply of the FFC accommodated in the smaller cassette 51 to the transport space S will be described as a representative. When the cassette 51 shown in FIG. 4 containing a plurality of FFCs is placed on the FFC adapter 20, the first container cover 15 is raised and the second container cover 16 is tilted to bring the container covers 15, 16. (Cassette 51 and mapping sensor 30 are covered with container covers 15 and 16). The cassette size detection sensor 42 provided in the FFC adapter 20 detects the size of the cassette 51, and thereby specifies the size of the FFC to be processed. The control device 4 automatically selects a mapping parameter according to the size of the cassette 51, that is, a mapping parameter according to the size of the FFC. Thereafter, while the sensor unit 31 of the mapping sensor 30 is raised, the FFCs accommodated in multiple stages in the cassette 51 are mapped (the mapping sensor moves in the space covered by the container covers 15 and 16). Note that mapping means detecting (checking) the presence / absence of each FFC housed in the cassette 51 and the housing state such as the inclination. When light is emitted from the light emitting element portion 33a to the light receiving element portion 33b so as to pass through the opening of the cassette 51, if the FFC is present, it is shielded by the FFC, thereby detecting the presence of the FFC. On the other hand, when the FFC does not exist, the irradiated light reaches the light receiving element portion 33b, so that it is detected that the FFC does not exist. When the mapping is completed, the sensor unit 31 of the mapping sensor 30 is lowered to the height level of the mounting table 11 or less.

  If it is determined that the mapping result is normal, the door 12 that partitions the transfer chamber 2 from the transfer space S is opened (the door 12 moves downward), and the mounting table 11 is moved horizontally by a predetermined distance to the door 12 side. (Move to the DOCK position). The FFC in the cassette 51 is put into the transfer space S from the base opening 10a by the transfer robot 22 (see FIG. 1).

  When the loading of all the FFCs into the transport space S is completed, the door 12 is closed (the door 12 moves upward), and the mounting table 11 is moved to the UNDOCK position. Thereafter, the container covers 15 and 16 are opened. The empty cassette 51 is taken out from the load port 1 by a conveying means (not shown). The first container cover 15 descends directly below and retracts to the inside of the outer cover 13 that is a corner of the space below the mounting table 11. The second container cover 16 rotates upward and retracts above the mounting table 11.

  On the other hand, if it is determined as an error as a result of mapping, the covers 15 and 16 are opened without opening the door 12. The cassette 51 that houses the FFC is taken out from the load port 1 by a conveying means (not shown).

  Here, like the 1st container cover 15 and the 2nd container cover 16, in this invention, the cover which covers a container is comprised by the some division | segmentation container cover of the form which was divided | segmented. Thereby, the arrangement of the cover and the degree of freedom of the cover shape are increased, and as a result, the volume of the cover can be increased. Therefore, like the load port 1 of this embodiment, a container and a mapping sensor can be covered collectively.

  In addition, the first container cover 15 is configured to move up and down (moves up and down), and the second container cover 16 does not protrude forward from the outer cover 13 and therefore does not rotate. In the operation process of the 15 and the second container cover 16, the first container cover 15 and the second container cover 16 do not protrude forward from the outer cover 13. Therefore, the container cover does not disturb the operator who moves in front of the load port 1.

  Furthermore, since the mapping is performed with the container covers 15 and 16 closed, light from the outside of the apparatus hardly enters the sensor unit 31 of the mapping sensor 30, thereby improving the sensor accuracy (mapping accuracy).

(Modification)
The modification of the container cover which can be opened and closed which covers the container mounted on the mounting base 11 is shown in FIGS. The openable / closable container cover shown in FIG. 12 includes a container cover 66 that rotates and a set of container covers 67 that move up and down. The container cover 66 is an L-shaped cover in side view, and rotates around a rotation axis above the mounting table 11. The container cover 66 covers the front side and the upper side of the mounting table 11. The container cover 67 is a flat cover and covers the side of the mounting table 11.

  The openable / closable container cover shown in FIG. 13 includes a pair of container covers 68 that rotate and a container cover 69 that moves up and down. The container cover 68 is a flat plate-shaped cover and rotates around a rotation axis above the mounting table 11. The container cover 68 covers the upper side of the mounting table 11. The container cover 69 is a flat cover and covers the front side of the mounting table 11. Reference numeral 70 denotes a fixed cover arranged upright.

  Examples of the object to be processed include a glass substrate (liquid crystal panel, display substrate such as organic / inorganic EL), a plate or a petri dish that can accommodate cells in addition to a semiconductor substrate such as a wafer.

In the above embodiment, the first cover 15 and the second cover 16 are retracted at the same time, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the container is transported to the loading port mounting table by an overhead traveling unmanned transport vehicle such as OHT (Overhead Hoist Transfer), only the second cover 16 may be moved to the retracted position.
Further, when the container is placed on the load port by an automated guided vehicle such as AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle), only the first cover 15 may be moved to the retracted position.
Note that the control unit 4 is operated in response to a command from the host computer to control the drive unit of the first cover 15 and the drive unit of the second cover 16. For example, when the container transported by OHT approaches the load port, only the second cover 16 is moved to the retracted position in advance, and the container is placed on standby so that the container can be placed on the mounting table from above by OHT. Good.

  Instead of the air cylinder 17, the second cover 16 may be retracted to the retracted position by connecting the second cover 16 to a rotating shaft and rotating the rotating shaft by a motor.

  Instead of the air cylinder 61, a driving device having a ball screw and a motor for rotating the ball screw may be used. Further, a hydraulic cylinder may be used instead of the air cylinder 61 (the same applies to the air cylinder 17).

  A gas spring may be used in place of the shock absorber 65. In the above-described embodiment, the second container cover 16 is rotated by one air cylinder 17. However, the air cylinders 17 are arranged at both end portions of the second container cover 16, and the two air cylinders 17 are arranged. The second container cover 16 may be rotated.

  In the above-described embodiment, the container (cassette) is mounted on the mounting table of the load port via the adapter, but it may be a load port for mounting the container directly on the mounting table.

  When the FOUP is placed on the load port, the door 12 may be configured so that the lid body can be removed from and attached to the container by fixing and releasing the lid to the container. Specifically, the lid body is fixed to and released from the container by providing a latch key on the door 12, inserting the latch key into the key hole of the lid, and then rotating the latch key to make the lid body detachable from the container. . To remove and attach the lid, the door 12 is provided with an adsorbing portion, and the lid 12 is adsorbed and held by the door 12 so that one of the mounting table 11 and the door 12 is moved in the horizontal direction. The lid can be removed and attached.

  In addition, it is needless to say that various modifications can be made within a range that can be assumed by those skilled in the art.

  For example, the front cover 15a of the first cover 15 may be made of a transparent member. In this way, the inside of the cover can be visually observed even when the first cover 15 is closed, so that the operation of the mapping sensor 30 and the situation where the transfer robot 22 is taking out the wafer can be confirmed.

1: Load port 2: Transfer chamber 3: Processing device 4: Control device 10: Base 10a: Base opening 11: Mounting table 12: Door 15: First container cover (divided container cover)
16: Second container cover (divided container cover)
17: Air cylinder (drive device)
21: Partition 30: Mapping sensor 51, 52: Cassette (container)
61: Air cylinder (drive device)
S: Transport space

Claims (3)

A part of a partition wall that divides a conveyance space, and a base that is erected and has a base opening for taking a workpiece into and out of the conveyance space;
A mounting table provided on a side opposite to the transport space side of the base, on which a container for storing a plurality of the objects to be processed is mounted;
A door for opening and closing the base opening;
An openable and closable container cover covering the container placed on the mounting table;
In a load port comprising
The container cover is composed of a plurality of divided container covers in a divided form,
The load port, wherein the plurality of divided container covers are configured to be retractable in a space above the mounting table and a space below the mounting table. The load port according to claim 1, wherein
The plurality of divided container covers are:
A first container cover that moves up and down, covers the front side of the mounting table, and retracts to a lower space of the mounting table when opened.
A second container cover that is placed on the first container cover and covers the upper side of the mounting table, and retracts to the upper side of the mounting table when rotated, and rotates.
A load port, characterized by comprising: The load port according to claim 1 or 2,
A load port, wherein a drive device for operating the plurality of divided container covers is provided in each of the plurality of divided container covers.

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