JP2017224659A - Substrate storage container - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate storage container which can easily insert and remove an insertion member with respect to a through hole.SOLUTION: The substrate storage container includes: a container body having an opening; and a lid body 3 covering the opening. The container body or the lid body 3 communicates the internal space of the substrate storage container 1 with the external space, through holes 30 (31, 32) through which an insertion member 5 can be inserted, and a holding portion 4 for holding the insertion member 5 are formed, and the holding portion 4 has an elastic piece 41 which is displaceable in a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the insertion member 5.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate storage container for storing a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer.

  Conventionally, in a semiconductor manufacturing process, a substrate storage container for storing a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer has been used for transportation and storage between factories and between processes.

  The substrate storage container has high sealing performance so that the stored substrate is not contaminated, but there may be a pressure difference between the inside and outside of the substrate storage container due to transportation by aircraft or high-speed transportation in the process bay. . For this reason, it has been proposed that the substrate storage container includes an internal pressure adjusting mechanism for adjusting a pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the container main body or the lid (see Patent Document 1).

  In Patent Document 1, this internal pressure adjusting mechanism is used as an insertion member 5, the internal space and the external space of the substrate storage container 1 are communicated and inserted into the through hole 30, and the holding portion 4 provided around the through hole 30 is used. It is described that the insertion member 5 is locked and fixed (see FIG. 7).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-024585

  However, the holding part 4 described in Patent Literature 1 is not displaced so much in a direction substantially orthogonal to the insertion direction, cannot be removed along the insertion direction, and the insertion member 5 is not easily removed. It was.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a substrate storage container in which an insertion member can be easily attached to and detached from a through hole.

(1) One aspect according to the present invention is a substrate storage container comprising a container main body having an opening and storing a substrate, and a lid that covers the opening in a sealable manner, the container main body or the lid Is formed with a through hole through which the internal space and the external space of the substrate storage container communicate with each other and into which the insertion member can be inserted, and a holding portion that holds the insertion member, It has an elastic piece that can be displaced in a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction of the member.

(2) In the aspect of (1), the holding portion may include an elastic portion that extends in a direction other than a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the insertion member.

(3) In the above aspect (1) or (2), the elastic piece may be bent in a direction parallel to the insertion direction of the insertion member.

(4) In any one of the above aspects (1) to (3), the free end of the elastic piece includes a locking claw portion for locking and fixing the insertion member, and the elastic piece itself as the insertion member. And an operated portion that is displaced in a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction.

(5) In any one of the above aspects (1) to (4), the insertion member may be a filter member.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the board | substrate storage container which can attach or detach an insertion member easily with respect to a through-hole can be provided.

It is a perspective view which shows the substrate storage container 1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the cover body. It is sectional drawing which shows the holding part 4 vicinity cut | disconnected by the AA line of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the holding | maintenance part 4 vicinity of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the removal method of the insertion member. It is sectional drawing which shows the modification (a) of an elastic piece 41, (b), (c). It is sectional drawing which shows the conventional holding | maintenance part 4. FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the embodiments of the present specification, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout. The front and rear refer to the direction connecting the opening side and the back side of the container body, and the left and right refer to the state viewed from the opening side of the container body.

The substrate storage container 1 will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a substrate storage container 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
A substrate storage container 1 shown in FIG. 1 can store a plurality of substrates (not shown), for example, a wafer having a diameter of 450 mm, and includes a container body 2 and a lid 3. However, the substrate storage container 1 may store a substrate storing a substrate, instead of storing the substrate directly.

  The container body 2 has a substantially cubic shape having an opening on the front surface (not shown) covered by the lid 3, a ceiling surface 2a, a back surface (not shown), left and right side surfaces 2c, and a bottom surface (not shown). The so-called front open box type. This opening is covered with a lid 3 to be described later.

The lid 3 will be described. 2A and 2B are explanatory views showing the lid 3, wherein FIG. 2A is a front view, FIG. 2B is a side view, and FIG. 2C is a bottom view.
The lid 3 shown in FIG. 2 (a) is formed with an outer shape and dimensions capable of sealing the opening of the container body 2, and includes a housing 3a having an opening (not shown) and an opening of the housing 3a. Cover plate 3b and latch mechanism 3c.

  The housing 3 a has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box shape having an opening on one side and the other facing the opening of the container body 2. As shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C, a gasket 3 d is provided on the side wall of the housing 3 a so as to be sandwiched between the periphery of the opening of the container body 2.

  The cover plate 3b covers the opening of the housing 3a and is fixed to the housing 3a with screws or the like.

  The latch mechanism 3c is capable of locking the lid 3 to the container body 2 by appearing and retracting, and is disposed inside the housing 3a. In the present embodiment, the latch mechanism 3c is provided at two locations on the upper and lower sides.

  By the way, the lid 3 of the present embodiment communicates the internal space and the external space of the substrate storage container 1 and allows the insertion member 5 to be inserted, and the holding portion 4 that holds the insertion member 5. Are formed (see FIG. 2). However, the through hole 30 that communicates the internal space and the external space of the substrate storage container 1 may be formed in the container body 2 as a through hole 20 (not shown), and the substrate storage container 1 has at least one through hole. 20 and 30 may be formed. Further, the through holes 20 and 30 may be formed in the container body 2 or the lid body 3 at two or more locations, respectively.

3 is a cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of the holding portion 4 cut along the line AA in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the vicinity of the holding portion 4 in FIG.
Before describing the through hole 30 and the holding portion 4, the insertion member 5 will be described.

  The insertion member 5 inserted into the through hole 30 includes an internal pressure adjusting mechanism that adjusts the pressure difference between the internal space and the external space of the substrate storage container 1, and a valve mechanism that supplies or discharges gas to the internal space of the substrate storage container 1. (For example, a purge valve). Among these, the internal pressure adjusting mechanism is configured with a minute hole / gap such as a filter. In the present embodiment, the insertion member 5 is a filter member (hereinafter referred to as “filter member 5”).

  The filter member 5 shown in FIG. 3 includes a first connection portion 51, a second connection portion 52, and a filter storage portion 53 that holds the filter 54.

  The first connection portion 51 is a substantially cylindrical one that decreases in diameter toward the tip, and is formed to project from one surface of the filter storage portion 53. The front end of the first connection portion 51 is opened and communicates with the inside of the filter storage portion 53.

  The second connection portion 52 is a substantially cylindrical one that decreases in diameter toward the tip, and is formed to project from the other surface of the filter storage portion 53. A flange is formed at the tip of the second connection portion 52, and the center of the flange is opened to communicate with the inside of the filter storage portion 53.

  The filter storage portion 53 has a substantially disk shape, and the inside is formed hollow so as to hold one or a plurality of filters 54.

  As the filter 54, a molecular filter made of tetrafluoroethylene, polyester fiber, porous fluorine film or glass fiber, or a chemical filter in which a chemical adsorbent is supported on a filter medium such as activated carbon fiber is used. Further, the front surface or the back surface of the filter 54 is provided with a lattice-shaped protective member made of polypropylene, polyethylene, or the like.

  As described above, the filter member 5 has an asymmetric shape with the filter 54 interposed therebetween, but the tip opening of the first connection portion 51 and the tip opening of the second connection portion 52 communicate with the inside of the filter storage portion 53, respectively. Therefore, the gas flowing from the external space of the substrate storage container 1 into the internal space can be filtered through the filter 54.

  The filter member 5 is formed in advance by two members divided in the vicinity of the center of the filter housing portion 53, and is formed by housing the filter 54 between the opposing filter housing portions 53 and welding or bonding the peripheral edge portions. Is done. At this time, it is preferable to use a combination of filters having different performances. For example, by combining a molecular filtration filter and a chemical filter, the substrate is prevented not only from particle contamination but also from organic gas contamination.

Next, the through hole 30 and the holding part 4 will be described.
The through hole 30 shown in FIG. 3 is formed by a first through hole 31 and a second through hole 32.

  The first through hole 31 has a size that allows the first connection portion 51 of the filter member 5 to be inserted, and is provided in the housing 3a. Specifically, the first through hole 31 is formed at the center of a cylinder 33 erected toward the cover plate 3b. The first connection portion 51 of the filter member 5 is inserted into the first through hole 31.

  Here, if the first through hole 31 is formed in a size or shape in which only the first connection portion 51 of the filter member 5 can be inserted and the second connection portion 52 cannot be inserted, The mounting direction can be unified.

  The second through-hole 32 is opposed to the first through-hole 31 and is provided in the cover plate 3b so that the filter housing portion 53 of the filter member 5 can be inserted. Specifically, the second through hole 32 is formed as the inner periphery of the peripheral wall 42 extending toward the housing 3a as shown in FIG.

  The peripheral wall 42 plays a role of guiding and positioning when the filter member 5 is attached, and constitutes a part of the holding portion 4. The diameter of the peripheral wall 42 is reduced toward the housing 3a, and a part of the peripheral wall 42 is notched. In the notched portion, an elastic piece 41 described later extends from the outside toward the inside of the second through hole 32 (see FIG. 4).

  On the other hand, the holding portion 4 shown in FIG. 3 includes a part of the peripheral wall 42 and an elastic piece 41. One end of the elastic piece 41 is connected to a predetermined position of the cover plate 3b, and the other end is a free end. The free end of the elastic piece 41 is formed by an elastic portion 41a, a locking claw portion 41b, and an operated portion 41c.

  The elastic part 41a is formed in a substantially U shape from the cover plate 3b side toward the housing 3a side. In other words, the elastic part 41 a extends in a direction other than the direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the filter member 5. In other words, the elastic piece 41 is bent in a direction parallel to the insertion direction of the insertion member 5. By forming the elastic portion 41a in this way, the elastic piece 41 is elastically deformed in a direction substantially orthogonal to the insertion direction of the filter member 5 and can be displaced.

  The locking claw portion 41 b locks and fixes the filter member 5 to the holding portion 4, and the cover plate 3 b side protrudes toward the center of the second through hole 32 rather than the housing 3 a side. The locking claw portion 41 b locks the outer edge of the filter storage portion 53 of the filter member 5. For this reason, the maximum distance between the peripheral wall 42 and the locking claw portion 41 b is formed smaller than the maximum diameter of the filter storage portion 53 of the filter member 5.

  The operated portion 41c is for displacing the elastic piece 41 itself in a direction substantially perpendicular to the insertion direction of the filter member 5, and is outside the second through hole 32 (by an operator's finger, robot hand, jig, etc.). It is pressed to one end side of the elastic piece 41.

Here, a removal method for removing the filter member (insertion member) 5 from the lid 3 will be described. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a method of removing the insertion member 5.
First, the operated portion 41c of the elastic piece 41 is pressed to the outside of the second through hole 32 of the cover plate 3b, so that the elastic piece 41 is substantially perpendicular to the insertion (detachment) direction of the filter member 5. Displace. Then, the locking claw portion 41b is also displaced in a direction substantially perpendicular to the insertion (detachment) direction of the filter member 5, and the locking is released. At this time, it is preferable to displace the locking claw portion 41b until the filter storage portion 53 is in a detachable position.

  Subsequently, by holding and pulling out the second connection portion 52 of the filter member 5 with a finger or a jig, the first connection portion 51 of the filter member 5 is removed from the first through hole 31 of the housing 3a. The filter member 5 is removed from the second through hole 32 by removing and further pulling out. At this time, the pressure on the operated portion 41c may be released when the filter storage portion 53 exceeds the locking claw portion 41b.

  Thus, the filter member 5 is extracted from the through hole 30 of the lid 3 and removed. Thereby, it becomes unnecessary to change the direction of the filter member 5 in the middle of removal, and removal of the filter member 5 becomes easy.

Next, an attachment method for attaching the filter member (insertion member) 5 to the lid 3 will be described. However, the procedure may be basically performed in the reverse order of the above-described removal method.
First, the elastic piece 41 is displaced in a direction substantially orthogonal to the insertion direction of the filter member 5 by pressing the operated portion 41c of the elastic piece 41 to the outside of the second through hole 32 of the cover plate 3b. At this time, the locking claw portion 41b is displaced until it reaches a position where the filter storage portion 53 can be attached.

  Subsequently, the second connection portion 52 of the filter member 5 is held, and the first connection portion 51 of the filter member 5 is inserted into the second through hole 32 of the cover plate 3b with the first connection portion 51 at the head. As the filter member 5 is inserted, the first connecting portion 51 is inserted into the first through hole 31 of the housing 3 a while the filter housing portion 53 is guided by the peripheral wall 42. When the filter member 5 is further inserted and the filter storage portion 53 exceeds the locking claw portion 41b, the pressure on the operated portion 41c is released.

  When the pressure on the operated portion 41c is released, the elastic piece 41 is displaced toward the center of the second through hole 32, and a part of the outer edge of the filter storage portion 53 is locked to the locking claw portion 41b. In addition, other portions of the outer edge of the filter storage portion 53 that are not locked are held by the peripheral wall 42.

  Thus, the filter member 5 is inserted and attached to the through hole 30 of the lid 3. Therefore, there is no portion that protrudes outside the substrate storage container 1 having the lid 3, and the filter member 5 does not come off or break due to collision with the apparatus or another container during transportation. Even if the storage container 1 is packed, the packing bag is not damaged.

Here, a modified example of the elastic piece 41 will be described. FIG. 6 shows a modification (a) of the elastic piece 41,
It is sectional drawing which shows (b) and (c).
An elastic piece 41 shown in FIG. 6A has an elastic portion 141a formed in a substantially N shape. The elastic portion 141 a extends in a direction other than the direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the insertion member 5, and is bent twice in a direction parallel to the insertion direction of the insertion member 5. Thereby, the amount of displacement can be increased.

  On the other hand, in the elastic piece 41 shown in FIG. 6B, the elastic portion 241a is formed in a substantially U shape from the housing 3a side to the cover plate 3b side, contrary to the above embodiment. is there. The elastic portion 241 a also extends in a direction other than the direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the insertion member 5 and is bent in a direction parallel to the insertion direction of the insertion member 5. Even with the elastic piece 41 having these elastic portions 141 a and 241 a, the filter member 5 can be held by the holding portion 4.

  Further, at least a pair of elastic pieces 41 shown in FIG. 6C hold the insertion member 5 ′ on the holding portion 4. In this case, the elastic piece 41 is formed directly on the outer surface or the like of the housing 3a, and the insertion member 5 'is held by the holding portion 4 such as a recess or a hole on the outer surface of the housing 3a.

  As described above, the substrate storage container 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is the substrate storage container 1 including the container main body 2 having an opening and the lid body 3 that covers the opening in a sealable manner. The body 3 is formed with through holes 20 and 30 through which the internal space and the external space of the substrate storage container 1 are communicated and into which the insertion member 5 can be inserted, and a holding portion 4 that holds the insertion member 5. The holding part 4 has an elastic piece 41 that can be displaced in a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the insertion member 5.

  Thereby, since the elastic piece 41 of the holding part 4 is displaced in the direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the insertion member 5, it is not necessary to change the insertion direction of the insertion member 5 in the middle. Can be improved. Further, since the attaching / detaching operation of the insertion member 5 is not a complicated operation, the attaching / detaching operation of the inserting member 5 can be automated.

  In the present embodiment, the holding portion 4 includes an elastic portion 41 a that extends in a direction other than the direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the insertion member 5. Thereby, even if the elastic piece 41 is a small force, the displacement in the direction orthogonal to the insertion direction is facilitated, and the amount of displacement can be increased.

  In the present embodiment, the elastic piece 41 is bent in a direction parallel to the insertion direction of the insertion member 5. Thereby, even if it is small force, the elastic piece 41 becomes easy to displace to the direction orthogonal to an insertion direction.

  In this embodiment, the free end of the elastic piece 41 includes a locking claw portion 41b that locks and fixes the insertion member 5, and an operated portion 41c that displaces the elastic piece 41 itself in a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the insertion member 5. And having. As a result, the holding portion 4 is pressed by the operated portion 41c in a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the insertion member 5, so that the locking claw portion 41b is displaced and the insertion member 5 is locked or released. The insertion member 5 can be attached and detached.

  In the present embodiment, the insertion member 5 is a filter member. Thereby, the pressure difference between the internal space and the external space of the substrate storage container 1 can be adjusted.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications may be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims. It can be changed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate storage container 2 Container main body, 2a Ceiling surface, 2c Side surface 20 Through hole 3 Lid body, 3a housing | casing, 3b Cover plate, 3c Latch mechanism, 3d Gasket 30 Through hole, 31 1st through hole, 32 2nd Through hole, 33 cylinder 4 holding part 41 elastic piece, 41a elastic part, 41b locking claw part, 41c operated part 42 peripheral wall 5, 5 'filter member (insertion member)
51 1st connection part, 52 2nd connection part, 53 Filter storage part, 54 Filter 141a, 241a Elastic part

Claims (5)

A substrate storage container comprising a container body that has an opening and stores a substrate, and a lid that covers the opening in a sealable manner,
The container body or the lid is
A through hole through which the internal space and the external space of the substrate storage container communicate, and an insertion member can be inserted;
A holding portion for holding the insertion member is formed,
The holding portion includes an elastic piece that can be displaced in a direction orthogonal to an insertion direction of the insertion member. The substrate storage container according to claim 1, wherein the holding portion includes an elastic portion that extends in a direction other than a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the insertion member. The substrate storage container according to claim 1, wherein the elastic piece is bent in a direction parallel to an insertion direction of the insertion member. The free end of the elastic piece is
A locking claw portion for locking and fixing the insertion member;
The substrate storage container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: an operated portion that displaces the elastic piece itself in a direction orthogonal to an insertion direction of the insertion member. The substrate insertion container according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the insertion member is a filter member.

Images