JP3175685B2 - Clean storage device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a clean storage apparatus which is installed in a clean factory where, for example, a semiconductor manufacturing process is provided, and stores silicon wafers, liquid crystal panels, and the like in an environment with a higher degree of cleanliness than in the factory. It is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 1A, 1B and 2 show an example of a clean storage device installed in a clean factory.
In this clean storage device 10, the stacker crane 1
3 are provided, and storage shelves 14 are provided on both sides of the stacker crane 13. Each of the storage shelves 14 is provided with a large number of storage units 20 for storing storage items. In one of the moving directions of the stacker crane 13 in the clean storage device 10, a conveyor 18 for transferring stored items between the outside of the clean storage device 10 and the stacker crane 13 is provided. Then, the outside of the clean storage device 10 and each storage unit 2 are stored by the stacker crane 13 and the conveyor 18.
The transfer of the storage item is performed between 0 and 0. Clean storage device 10
The inside is designed to have a higher degree of cleanliness than in a factory where the clean storage device 10 is installed. This cleanliness
It is represented by the number of dusts contained in air per unit volume, and the higher the number of dusts, the higher the value. Therefore, the clean storage device 10 includes an air purifying device that filters dust inside the clean storage device 10. The air purifier removes dust brought in from the outside of the clean storage device 10 and dust generated from a sliding portion or the like in accordance with the operation of the stacker crane 13 to reduce the cleanliness in the clean storage device 10 to a predetermined cleanliness. Maintain the above cleanliness.

In the clean storage apparatus 10 shown in FIGS. 1 (a), 1 (b) and 2, each of the storage shelves 14 includes a storage unit 15 having three storage sections 20 arranged vertically.
Are connected to each other along the moving path of the vehicle. This means that the common storage unit 15 can be used to make the clean storage device 10 having a different total number of storage units 20, or the total number of the storage units 20 of the existing clean storage device 10 can be easily increased as necessary. That's why. The air purifier is provided independently for each storage unit 15.

Each storage unit 10 is provided with a fan filter unit 25 including a filter 26 and a motor fan 27 on the back side of each storage unit 20 as an air purifying device. Each fan filter unit 25
When the motor fan 27 is operated, a negative pressure is generated in the communication path 23 in which the back side of each fan filter unit 25 is vertically communicated, and this negative pressure causes the communication path 23 provided below each storage unit 15 to be connected to the communication path 23. The air on the side of the stacker crane 13 is introduced into the communicating air introduction path 22. The air introduced into each fan filter unit 25 from the rear side is filtered by the filter 26 to remove fine dust, and is stored in the storage unit 20.
Supplied within. The air supplied to each storage unit 20 is discharged to the stacker crane 13 side, and is again introduced into the fan filter unit 25 from the air introduction path 22. Therefore,
The high-purity air filtered by the filter 26 is always supplied to each storage unit 20, and the cleanliness of the air inside the clean storage device 10 is maintained at a level substantially equal to or higher than a reference value.

[0005] Each motor fan 27 of each storage unit 15
The control panel 28 provided outside the clean storage device 10
Supplies driving AC power. The control panel 28 supplies drive AC power to each motor fan 27 of all the storage units 15 or
The supply of the driving AC power to the power supply is stopped. Therefore, while the factory is operating, the motor fans 27 of all the fan filter units 25 are operated.
The cleaning capacity of each fan filter unit 25, i.e., the amount of air that can be filtered per unit time, is constant when all the fan filter units 25 are operated continuously. The cleanliness is set to be approximately a predetermined cleanliness.

[0006]

By the way, the clean storage apparatus 10 is provided with a large number of storage sections 20 in case that the number of storage items such as silicon wafers to be stored becomes large. Therefore, the clean storage device 10 includes a large number of storage units 20.
May be used for a long time when empty. When the total number of stored items is small, the frequency of the transfer operation of the stored items is reduced, so that the amount of dust brought into the storage device 10 at the time of loading and unloading and the amount of dust generated by the operation of the stacker crane 13 are relatively large. Less. On the other hand, since the filtering capacity of the fan filter unit 25 does not change, the cleanliness in the storage device 10 becomes higher than the predetermined cleanliness. Therefore, when there are a large number of empty storage units 20, the cleaning capability of the fan filter unit 25 may exceed the required size and power may be wasted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to suppress unnecessary power consumption for purifying air when there is a storage unit in which no stored items are stored. It is an object of the present invention to provide a clean storage device which can perform the cleaning.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a room that is formed in a state that is sealed from the outside, and a room that is provided in the room and stored therein. A plurality of storage units on which articles are placed, a transfer unit that transfers the storage items between each of the storage units and the outside of the room, and circulating the air in the room to filter the air.
In a purifying storage device including a plurality of air purifying means that can be independently operated and controlled, based on the presence or absence of a stored item in each of the storing units, at least a degree of cleanliness in a storage unit in which the stored item is stored is determined to be a predetermined level. A cleaning ability control means is provided for controlling each of the air cleaning means so as to limit the total cleaning ability of each of the air cleaning means to a small degree as long as the degree of cleanness is maintained at a high level.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the air purifying means is provided for each of the storage sections, and is provided between the storage section and the outside of the storage section. And a motor fan for pumping air from outside the storage unit to the filter, wherein the cleaning ability control unit detects whether or not a storage item is stored in each storage unit. A storage object detection unit and a motor fan of the filter unit provided at least in the storage unit where the storage object is detected is operated at a predetermined rotation speed, and the motor fans of the filter units of the other storage units are rotated at the predetermined rotation speed. Operation control means for operating or stopping at a rotation speed lower than the speed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the invention, each of the storage units is provided along a moving path of the transfer means, and has an opening only on the transfer means side. The filter units are provided so that the openings are arranged vertically, and the filter units introduce and filter the air on the transfer means side from below the storage units arranged vertically, and filter the filtered air. The operation control means is provided so as to supply the storage unit from the opposite side of the opening, and the operation control unit stores the storage item in any one of the storage units arranged vertically, and stores the storage item in another storage unit. When the storage item is not stored, the motor fan of the filter unit provided in the storage unit where the storage item is not stored is operated at a rotation speed lower than the predetermined rotation speed.

(Operation) According to the first aspect of the present invention,
At least the cleanliness in the storage section including the storage section in which the stored items are stored is maintained at or above a predetermined cleanliness level, and the total cleaning ability of a plurality of independently-controlled air cleaning means is limited.

According to the invention described in claim 2, according to claim 1,
In addition to the operation of the invention described in the above, the filter unit of the storage unit in which the storage items are stored is operated with a predetermined cleaning ability, and the cleaning capability of the filter unit of the storage unit where the storage items are not stored is limited. Thus, the total cleaning capacity of the entire cleaning storage device is limited.

According to the invention described in claim 3, according to claim 2
In addition to the operation of the invention described in the above, even if there is a storage unit in which no storage items are stored in each storage unit provided so as to be arranged vertically, air is exhausted from the openings of all the storage units. Therefore, turbulence does not occur and air does not stay in the storage unit where the storage items are not stored.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 (a),
As shown in (b), the clean storage device 10 includes a room 11 formed in an elongated shape and sealed from the outside. A passage 12 extending in the longitudinal direction of the room 11 is provided inside the room 11, and a stacker crane 13 is provided in the passage 12. Storage shelves 14 are provided on both sides of the passage 12, respectively. Each storage shelf 14
The storage units 15 are formed in the same manner and are arranged in order along the moving path of the stacker crane 13. Each storage shelf 14 is formed by connecting a required number of storage units 15 in accordance with the number of storage items to be stored in the entire clean storage device 10.

The clean storage device 10 includes a work space 17 in which a distribution board 16 and the like are accommodated at one end in the longitudinal direction.
Similarly, at the other end, there is provided a transfer chamber 19 provided with a conveyor 18 for transferring stored items between the stacker crane 13 and an unillustrated unmanned transport vehicle outside the clean storage device 10. In the present embodiment, the stacker crane 13
The conveyor 18 constitutes a transfer means.

As shown in FIG. 2, the storage unit 15
An opening 20a is formed only on the side of the passage 12 and has the same volume, and a plurality of storage units 20 are provided in a shelf shape such that the openings 20a are arranged in the vertical direction. Each of the storage units 20 is provided with a proximity sensor 21 as a storage object detection unit for detecting whether or not a storage object is stored in each of the storage units 20.

The storage unit 15 is provided below the storage units 20 and has an air introduction passage 22 that opens into the room 11 on the side of the passage 12. Further, the storage unit 15 includes a communication path 23 that connects the air introduction path 22 to the side opposite to the opening side of each storage unit 20. Further, the storage unit 15 includes a pre-filter 24 between the air introduction path 22 and the communication path 23 for filtering air introduced from the air introduction path 22 into the communication path 23.

The storage unit 15 has a communication passage 23 and an air introduction passage 22 on the side opposite to the opening 20a of each storage unit 20.
Each of the fan filter units 25 is provided as an air purifier that introduces the air on the side of the passage 12 through the filter, filters the introduced air, and discharges the air from the inside of each storage unit 20 to the side of the passage 12. The fan filter units 25 provided in each storage unit 15 are all the same and have the same cleaning ability. In the present embodiment, the pre-filter 24
And the fan filter unit 25 constitutes an air cleaning means.

The fan filter unit 25 includes a filter 26 (for example, HEPA (High Efficiency Particle A).
ir Filter) and a motor fan 2 for pumping air from outside the storage unit 20 to one side of the filter 26.
7 is provided. In the fan filter unit 25, the filter 26 is disposed on the opposite side to the opening 20a of the storage unit 20 with respect to each storage unit 20, and the motor fan 27 is connected to the communication passage on the opposite side to the storage unit 20 with respect to the filter 26. 23 is provided. Then, for each storage unit 20 of each storage unit 15, the fan filter unit 2
5, an air circulation path including the storage unit 20, the passage 12, the air introduction passage 22, the communication passage 23, and the fan filter unit 25 is formed.

FIG. 1 shows the outside of the clean storage device 10.
As shown in (a) and (b), a control panel 28 as operation control means for operation-controlling each motor fan 27 of each storage unit 15 is provided immediately outside the work space 17. In the present embodiment, the proximity sensor 21 and the control panel 28 constitute a cleaning ability control unit.

Next, the electrical configuration of the storage device will be described with reference to the electrical wiring diagram shown in FIG. Although FIG. 3 shows a state in which three storage units 15 are connected to the control panel 28, all the storage units 15 are actually connected.

The control panel 28 is supplied with three-phase 200 V commercial AC power via a main breaker 30 provided on the distribution panel 16. Proximity sensors 21 provided in each storage unit 20 of each storage unit 15 are connected to the control panel 28 via signal lines 31. Each proximity sensor 21 outputs a detection signal based on whether or not a storage item is stored in the storage unit 20 provided with the control unit 28.
Output to The control panel 28 includes a plurality of power cables 32 for supplying drive AC power to each motor fan 27 of each storage unit 15, and each of the power cables 32 is connected via a sub-breaker 33 on the distribution board 16. Connected to the motor fan 27 of each storage unit 20 of each storage unit 15.

The control panel 28 supplies, based on a detection signal from each of the proximity sensors 21, a drive AC power to be supplied via a power cable 32 to the motor fan 27 of the storage unit 20 provided with the proximity sensors 21. And a control circuit unit 34 for stopping.

When a stored object is detected by the proximity sensor 21 of a certain storage unit 20, the control circuit unit 34 controls the motor fan 2 of the fan filter unit 25 of the storage unit 20.
7 is supplied with the driving AC power, and when no stored object is detected by the proximity sensor 21, the driving AC power is not supplied to the motor fan 27 of the storage unit 20.

Next, the operation of the clean storage device configured as described above will be described. At the time of entry, the stored items conveyed by the automatic guided vehicle onto the conveyor 18 at the entrance / exit port are:
It is transported into the clean storage device 10 by the conveyor 18. The stored items transported into the clean storage device 10 are transported to a predetermined storage unit 20 by the stacker crane 13, and are transferred to the storage unit 20. Similarly, when leaving the warehouse,
Items stored in a predetermined storage unit 20 are transferred from the clean storage device 10 to the outside. At this time, dust is generated from the sliding portion and the like as the stacker crane 13 operates.

At this time, based on the detection results of the proximity sensors 21 provided in each storage section 20, the fan filter unit 25 of the storage section 20 in which the stored items are stored.
The control panel 28 supplies the AC power for driving only to the motor fan 27 of the. Then, the storage unit 2 where the storage items are stored
The fan filter unit 25 of No. 0 is operated, and the fan filter unit 25 of the storage unit 20 in which the storage object is not stored is not operated. Therefore, the degree of cleanliness in the storage unit 20 where the stored items are stored is maintained at a predetermined degree of cleanliness, and the total cleanability of each fan filter unit 25 is limited.

As described in detail above, according to the clean storage apparatus of the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. (1) The cleaning capability control means (control panel 28) determines at least the degree of cleanliness in the storage unit 20 where the stored items are stored based on the presence or absence of the stored items in each storage unit 20 as a high degree of cleanliness equal to or higher than a predetermined cleanliness level A plurality of independently controlled air cleaning means (fan filter unit 25) as long as the temperature is maintained
Each air purifying means is controlled so as to limit the total purifying ability of the air purifying apparatus to a small value.

Therefore, at least the cleanliness of the storage unit 20 where the stored items are stored is maintained at a predetermined cleanliness, and the total cleanability of a plurality of air purifying means that are independently operated and controlled is limited. . As a result, it is possible to suppress power consumption for air cleaning when there is a storage unit 20 in which no storage object is stored.

(2) A filter unit (fan filter unit 2) provided with air purifying means for each storage unit 20
5), and the cleaning ability control means includes a motor fan 27 of the filter unit of the storage unit 20 in which the storage object is detected by the storage object detection means (proximity sensor 21) provided in each storage unit 20.
Is operated at a predetermined rotation speed, and the motor fan 27 of the filter unit of the storage unit 20 in which no storage object is detected is stopped.

Therefore, the total cleaning capability of the entire storage device is restricted by the restriction of the cleaning capability of the filter unit in which the storage items are not stored, and wasteful power consumption can be suppressed.

(3) Each storage unit 20 is provided in a storage unit (storage unit 15) formed in the same shape and arranged sequentially along the movement path of the transfer means, and the air purifying means is provided in each storage unit. And an air purifier (fan filter unit 25) for supplying filtered air into each storage unit 20 independently.

Therefore, the clean storage devices 10 having different numbers of storage units 20 can be formed using a common storage unit. The embodiment is not limited to the above embodiment,
The following may be changed.

The rotational speed of the motor fan 27 of each fan filter unit 25 can be switched between a predetermined rotational speed and a lower rotational speed. When a storage item is stored in each storage unit 20 of one storage unit 15, each storage unit 2
0 is operated at a predetermined rotation speed, and when no storage object is stored in any one of the storage units 20, the motor filter 27 of each storage unit 20 is operated at a low rotation speed, whereby the fan filter unit 25 is operated. The overall cleaning ability may be limited. In this case, it is possible to prevent dust from staying in all the storage units 20 in which the storage items are not stored.

At this time, only the motor fan 27 of the storage section 20 in which the stored items are stored may be operated at a predetermined rotation speed. In this case, the stored items are stored, and the cleanliness in the storage unit 20 can be maintained at a predetermined level or higher. ○ A storage unit in which the stored items are stored in any of the storage units 20 The fan filter units 25 of all the 15 storage units 20 and 1 on both sides of the storage unit 15
The fan filter units 25 of all the storage units 20 of one or more storage units 15 may be operated. In this case, at least one storage unit 20
Turbulence is reliably prevented from occurring in the space of the passage 12 facing each storage unit 20 of the storage unit 15 in which the storage items are stored in the storage unit 15, and the turbulent flow stays in the storage unit 20 where the motor fan 27 is not operated. Can be reliably prevented from occurring.

The storage unit 15 includes three storage units 20.
Not limited to one provided, but may be provided two or four or more. The storage unit is provided with a plurality of storage units 20 arranged vertically and a storage unit provided below the storage unit, and air is introduced from the side of the passage 12 and pressure-fed.
A blower unit that accommodates two blowers, and a duct unit that guides the air pumped from the blower unit to the back side of each storage unit 20. It is good also as a structure provided with the filter which respectively filters the air sent by pressure. In this case, the cleaning capacity of the blower is made variable, and the cleaning capacity of the blower is limited when no stored items are stored in any of the storage units of the storage unit, thereby limiting the total cleaning capacity of the entire cleaning storage device. I do.

The present invention is not limited to the clean storage device in which the storage shelf 14 is formed by the storage unit (storage unit 15), and may be implemented in a clean storage device in which the entire storage shelf 14 is integrally formed.

The air purifier is not limited to a filter unit provided for each storage unit, but may be a filter unit provided to supply filtered air to a plurality of storage units.

The clean storage device 10 is controlled by the control panel 2 to store the storage status data of the storage items in each storage section 20 of the storage shelf 14.
The storage means is stored and managed by a computer as a transfer means control means provided in the storage unit 8, and the computer controls the operation of the transfer means such as a stacker crane based on the storage state data. Then, the computer may control the air cleaning means based on the storage status data. In this case, it is not necessary to provide a storage object detection unit for each storage unit 20. Note that the computer may store inventory management information including information such as the lot of the storage item and the in-process stage, and store and retrieve the inventory based on the inventory management information.

In the above-mentioned clean storage device, the computer stores the stored items in the storage unit 2 located near the transfer room 19.
In order to minimize the amount of operation of the stacker crane 13 in one transfer operation by storing the stacker crane from 0, the amount of dust generated by the transfer operation of the stacker crane 13 is minimized. Perform storage work. In this case, it is possible to further increase the cleanliness in the clean storage device while suppressing power consumption.

The clean storage device is not limited to the one operated by the three-phase 200V power supply, but may be the one operated by the single-phase 200V power supply. The transfer means is not limited to the stacker crane 13, but may be, for example, a monorail type crane suspended from the ceiling, in which the carriage for transferring the stored items can be moved up and down, and It may be an automatic guided vehicle of a type, in which a stage for transferring stored items can be moved up and down.

The present invention is not limited to a clean storage device installed in a clean factory for manufacturing semiconductor devices, but may be applied to a clean storage device used in a factory in a normal environment. Hereinafter, technical ideas other than the claims that can be grasped from the embodiment will be described together with their effects.

(1) In the clean storage apparatus according to claim 1, each of the storage sections is provided along a moving path of the transfer means, and is provided so as to have an opening only on the transfer means side. The openings are provided up and down so as to be arranged in the up-down direction, and the air cleaning means introduces and filters air on the transfer means side from below each of the storage units arranged vertically, and stores the filtered air in each storage. The cleaning ability control means is provided so as to supply from the opposite side to the opening, and the cleaning ability control means detects whether or not a storage thing is stored in each storage part, and the cleaning ability control means, When the storage items are stored in all of the storage units, the air purifying unit operates at a predetermined cleaning capacity, and the storage items are stored in any one of the storage units arranged vertically, and the other storage units are stored. That no items are stored Operation control means for operating the air purifying means at a purifying ability lower than the predetermined purifying ability.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to prevent dust from staying in a plurality of storage units provided so as to be arranged vertically and in which storage objects are not stored. (2) The cleaning storage device according to claim 1, further comprising: a transfer unit control unit that controls the operation of the transfer unit based on storage status data of a storage item in each of the storage units, wherein the cleaning capability control unit includes: The air purifier is controlled based on the storage status data. According to such a configuration, it is not necessary to provide a storage object detection unit in each storage unit.

(3) Claim 1 or the above (1), (2)
In the cleaning storage device described in the above, each of the storage units are provided in storage units that are formed in the same shape and are sequentially arranged along the movement path of the transfer unit, and the air cleaning unit is An air purifier is provided independently for each of the storage units, and supplies filtered air to each of the storage units.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to form clean storage devices having different total numbers of storage units by using a common storage unit. In addition, it is possible to reduce the cleanability required for storage units in which storage items are not stored in any of the storage units, thereby suppressing wasteful power consumption.

(4) In the clean storage device according to (3), the air purifier is provided for each storage unit.
The filter unit includes a filter provided between the storage unit and the outside of the storage unit, and a motor fan for pumping air from outside the storage unit to the filter.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to surely reduce the cleaning ability required for the storage unit in which the storage object is not stored, thereby effectively suppressing wasteful power consumption.

[0048]

According to the first to third aspects of the present invention, wasteful power consumption for air cleaning can be suppressed when there is a storage section in which no stored items are stored.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to effectively limit unnecessary power consumption by limiting the total cleaning capacity in units of the cleaning capacity of the filter unit provided for each storage unit. .

According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent dust from staying in the storage section where no storage object is stored.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a schematic plan sectional view of a clean storage device,
(B) is a schematic side view similarly.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an electric wiring diagram of the clean storage device.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 room, 13 stacker crane forming transfer means, 15 storage unit as storage unit, 18 conveyor forming transfer means, 20 storage unit, 20a opening, 21 cleaning capacity control means Proximity sensor as a stored item detecting means, 24 ... Pre-filter as air purifying means, 25 ... Fan filter unit as air purifier as air purifying means, 28 ... Operation control as cleaning capacity controlling means Control panel as a means.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65G 1/00-1/20 F24F 7/06

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] A room formed in a substantially sealed state with respect to the outside; a plurality of storage units provided in the room, on each of which storage items are placed; A transfer device that transfers stored items to and from the outside, and a clean storage device that includes a plurality of independently controllable air purifying devices that circulate air in the room and filter the air, and that can be controlled independently. The total cleanliness of the air purifying means, based on the presence or absence of a storage object in each of the storage units, as long as at least the cleanliness in the storage unit where the storage items are stored is maintained at a high degree of cleanness equal to or higher than a predetermined cleanliness degree A cleaning storage device comprising a cleaning capacity control means for controlling each air cleaning means so as to limit the capacity to a small value. 2. The air purifying means is provided for each of the storage units, a filter provided between the storage unit and the outside of the storage unit, and a filter for supplying air from outside the storage unit to the storage unit. A filter unit comprising a motor fan for pressure feeding, wherein the cleaning ability control means includes a storage object detection means for detecting whether or not a storage object is stored in each storage unit, and a storage unit for detecting at least the storage object. Operation control for operating the motor fan of the filter unit provided at a predetermined rotation speed and operating or stopping the motor fan of the filter unit of the other storage unit at a rotation speed lower than the predetermined rotation speed. The clean storage device according to claim 1, comprising means. 3. The storage section is provided along a movement path of the transfer means, is provided so as to have an opening only on the transfer means side, and is vertically moved so that the openings are lined up and down. Each of the filter units is configured to introduce and filter the air on the transfer unit side from below the storage units arranged vertically, and to supply the filtered air to each storage unit from the opposite side of the opening. The operation control unit is configured to store the stored item in any one of the storage units arranged vertically and store the stored item when the stored item is not stored in the other storage units. The cleaning storage device according to claim 2, wherein the motor fan of the filter unit provided in the storage unit not operated is operated at a rotation speed lower than the predetermined rotation speed.