JP3348468B2 - Internal atmosphere adjustment device for portable closed containers - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for adjusting the internal atmosphere of a portable airtight container used in a system for manufacturing semiconductor wafers, liquid crystal display panels, reticles and disks.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Semiconductor wafers, liquid crystal display panels, reticles, and disks are manufactured in a clean room where the internal atmosphere is cleaned. In order to prevent the attachment of dust, the semiconductor wafer is transported as shown in FIG. In some cases, the storage is performed in a portable closed container (hereinafter, referred to as a container) as shown in FIG.

In both figures, reference numeral 8 denotes a portable closed container of a bottom cover type, and W denotes a wafer. Reference numeral 10 denotes a container body of the closed container 8, and a flange 13 is formed in the opening 12. Reference numeral 20 denotes a hollow bottom cover, the upper surface of which is a cassette mounting portion 21, and a locking / unlocking mechanism as shown in FIG.
From the latch rod advance / retreat window 23, the rod (latch rod) 24
Is advanced and retracted into a concave portion 14 formed on the inner peripheral surface of the flange 13 of the container body 10 to lock and unlock. At the time of the locking, the bottom cover 20 is pressed against the bottom of the flange 13 via the sealing material 15 to hermetically shut off the inside of the container body 10 from the outside air. Reference numeral 16 is a handle. Note that a flat leg portion 21B is formed around the bottom of the bottom cover 20.

In FIG. 5, a plate-like latch bar 24 has a rolling element 24a, and is supported in a cantilever manner so as to be able to advance and retreat in the longitudinal direction and to be tiltable. 25 is a cam having a cam surface on which the rolling element 24a rolls, 26 is a fulcrum member, and 27 is a spring.
The camshaft 28 extends from the center of the upper wall of the elevator 31 to be described later to the bottom lid 2.
When the bottom cover 20 is concentrically mounted on the elevating table 31, the cam 25 is spline-engaged with the cam 25. The elevating table 31 is provided with a cam shaft driving mechanism 29 for rotating the cam shaft 28 by a predetermined angle.
Built-in.

Conventionally, particle contamination of the wafer W has been a problem. However, as the density of semiconductor integrated circuits has increased, a natural oxide film on the wafer surface and organic gas in the air due to oxygen in the air have increased. The impact started to matter,
To prevent the growth of this natural oxide film and organic gas contamination,
The movement, transfer, and processing of the wafer W are performed in a specific atmosphere, for example, O.
₂ or H ₂ O or, if necessary, both concentrations
It is required to be performed in a gas atmosphere that is not more than pm.

Therefore, a gas purging mechanism (gas purging station) as shown in FIG. 6 is provided in a processing apparatus such as a surface processing apparatus in a clean room or a wafer storage to meet the above demand.

In FIG. 6, reference numeral 32 denotes a port provided at an appropriate place (base) 1A on the upper wall of the main body case 1 of the gas purge mechanism, 30 denotes an elevating device, and 31 denotes an elevating platform of the elevating device 30. It also serves as a port door for hermetically closing the port 32 formed in 1A. 33 is a sealing material. 3
Reference numeral 4 denotes an air supply passage formed in the base 1A, one end of which is a port.
The other end is connected to an inert gas cylinder (not shown) through a conduit 35. 36 is the base 1
A is an exhaust passage formed at one end, and one end is opened on the inner peripheral surface of the port 32, and the other end is a conduit 37 extending outside the main body case 1.
It is connected to the. 38 and 39 are on-off valves.

When the container 8 accommodating the cassette 9 is transferred onto the base 1A by a transfer device (not shown) and the bottom cover 20 is positioned on the elevating platform 31, the locking / unlocking mechanism operates. , The bottom lid 20 is unlocked. When the unlocking is completed, the lift 31 is lowered, and the inside of the container body 10 and the inside of the main body case 1 communicate with each other. In this state, the on-off valves 38, 3
9 is opened, and gas purging is performed. When the gas purging is completed, the lift 31 is raised to the original position, the bottom lid 20 hermetically closes the opening 12, and the locking / unlocking mechanism operates to fix the bottom lid 20 to the container body 10.

[0009]

As described above, the inside of the closed container 8 is transported and stored in a specific gas atmosphere, but the gas flows in and out very slightly, and the oxygen concentration increases during storage. In some cases, moisture may ooze out of the container wall, and the hydrogen concentration in the container may increase above the specified value.

In order to prevent this, a gas purge station may be provided at a plurality of appropriate locations in the clean room, and the closed container may be re-purged at regular intervals. This purge mechanism is, as shown in FIG. Because of this mechanism, it takes up space and is expensive, so it is difficult to place it everywhere in a clean room, and the efficiency of the system is reduced due to transport and transfer for repurging.

Further, for example, using a self-propelled carrier (shown in FIG. 7) equipped with a purge mechanism as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 3-050985, the cassette W is placed in an inert gas atmosphere. May be transported in
The weight must be increased, and a station for automatically injecting gas into a gas source such as a mounted nitrogen gas cylinder is also required.

In FIG. 7, reference numeral 40 denotes an automatic guided vehicle, on which a transfer robot 41 is mounted near one end on a bogie frame 40A and a top plate 40B, and a transfer box 42 is mounted and fixed on another portion. . 43 is a drive wheel, 44 is a caster.
Numeral 50 denotes an inert gas cylinder, and the port of the inert gas cylinder and the gas injection port 45 of the transfer box 42 are connected to the pressure reducing valve 5.
1 and a gas supply valve 53 are connected by a pipe 52 , and an exhaust pipe 55 having an exhaust valve 54 extends from the exhaust port 46 into the bogie frame 40A through the top plate. Reference numeral 56 denotes a controller, which inputs a detection signal of a sensor and the like, and has a main controller that controls the automatic guided vehicle 40 and the transfer robot 41.
The required timing signal is transmitted and received between the
3. In addition to outputting an open / close signal for the exhaust valve 54, a signal for opening / closing the cover 42A of the transport box 42 is output.

The transport box 42 has a presence sensor 47, and the lid 42A is opened and closed by an open / close drive mechanism (not shown).

The present invention has been made to solve this kind of problem, and without using a gas source such as a cylinder.
Also, without providing a gas supply / exhaust system, the internal atmosphere of the closed container can be adjusted to a specific gas atmosphere,
An object of the present invention is to provide an internal atmosphere adjusting device for a portable hermetic container that can significantly reduce the cost and labor required for adjusting the internal atmosphere.

[0015]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, according to the first aspect, a base having an internal space and capable of airtightly mounting a portable closed container is communicated with the internal space. a main body case which the ports are formed to be a member capable of interrupting hermetically the port with respect to the internal space, an opening and closing mechanism for opening and closing the lid of the friendly transportable closed container interchangeably in the inner space The portable hermetic container comprises a container main body, and a lid capable of airtightly closing an opening of the container main body, wherein the internal atmosphere is an inert gas atmosphere. a container, at the opening of the lid through the container body said port and configured to the communication with the interior.

In claim 2,the abovePortable closed containers
Portable closed container used for transportation and storage in the lean room
VesselDevice for adjusting the internal atmosphere of the portable closed container
Is required to repack the portable closed container in the clean room.
It is used in place of a storage device.

[0017] According to claim 3, characterized in that it is mounted on the unmanned conveying device for free-running from the ground equipment to the destination by mounting the friendly transportable closed container.

[0018]

According to the present invention, the internal atmosphere component adjusting agent adsorbs, for example, moisture and oxygen in the internal atmosphere of the container body, and thereby changes the internal atmosphere only by communicating the inside of the container body of the closed container with the internal space of the apparatus. adjust.

[0019]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 60 denotes a main body case of the internal atmosphere adjusting device, 61 denotes a base provided on the upper wall of the main body case 60, 62 denotes a port provided in the base 61, 63
Is an airtight door provided on the side wall of the main body case 60, 64 is an automatic lock mechanism for fixing the container, 65 is an elevating platform, 66 is a driving mechanism for driving the elevating platform 65 up and down, and the elevating platform 65 is A flange 65A having the same structure and having a size that allows it to be loosely fitted to the port 62 and that closes the port 62 from the inside of the main body case 60 via the sealing material 67.
It has. Reference numeral 68 denotes a control device of the gas purge device.

Reference numeral 70 denotes an internal atmosphere component adjusting agent unit. The main body case 71 is disposed near the airtight door 63 in the internal space A. In the main body 71 of this unit 70,
An internal atmosphere component regulator 80 such as a desiccant or an oxygen absorber is filled. The lid 72 of unit 70 comprises a filter function.

It is assumed that the gas purging apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is provided in a wafer storage in a clean room.

When the container 8 which has been stored in the wafer storage and has passed for a certain period of time is placed on the base 61 of the main body case 60 as shown in FIG. The camshaft 28 from the base 65 is engaged. Next, the automatic lock mechanism 64 is operated, and the container body 1 is operated.
The container body 10 is fixed on the pedestal 61 by pressing the 0 flange 13 from above. When this fixing is completed, the elevator 6
The cam shaft drive mechanism 29 incorporated in the camera 5 operates to rotate the cam 25 by a predetermined angle. With this rotation, the latch rod of the bottom cover 20 is retracted into the bottom cover. It can be separated from the main body 10. When the unlocking of the bottom cover 20 is completed, the drive mechanism 66 is operated, and the lift 65 is lowered by a predetermined distance. As a result, the inside of the container body 10 communicates with the internal space A of the body case 60 through the port 62, and the internal atmosphere gas of the container body 10 and the body case 6
0 and the atmosphere gas inside. Since the container 8 has been stored in the wafer storage for a certain period of time, if there is water released from the container wall during the certain period of time, the water concentration in the internal atmosphere gas increases accordingly. ing. The desiccant 80 adsorbs moisture in the mixed atmosphere gas and lowers the moisture concentration.

[0024] After lowering the lifting table 65, a predetermined time has elapsed, the drive mechanism 66, the elevation frame 65 is driven to the original position shown in FIG. 1, the bottom lid 20 container body 1
0 is fitted into the opening. Next, the cam shaft drive mechanism 29 built in the lift 65 is operated to rotate the cam 25 by a predetermined angle in a direction opposite to the above, and with this rotation, the bottom cover 20 is rotated.
Is displaced toward the container body 10 and engages with the concave portion 14, and the locking of the container 8 is completed. The internal atmosphere of the container 8 in which the locking is completed has a water concentration lower than a specified value, and is stored in the original place in the wafer storage.

Unlike the purge station shown in FIG. 6, the apparatus of this embodiment does not need to provide a gas source such as an N ₂ gas cylinder and a supply / exhaust system, so that the size and cost can be reduced accordingly. Therefore, it is possible to easily dispose them everywhere in the clean room.

FIG. 2 shows an example in which the internal atmosphere adjusting device 60 is mounted on an automatic guided vehicle.

In this embodiment, even if the automatic guided vehicle stops operating according to the schedule for some reason and the sealed container itself is left in the automatic guided vehicle for a long time, the growth of the natural oxide film may occur. Can be prevented.

In the above example, the adjustment of the internal atmosphere of the closed container during storage or the closed container during transportation was described. That is, the adjustment of the internal atmosphere of the closed container once adjusted was described. Even when a wafer is stored in a container, for example, the moisture concentration can be reduced to a specified value or less by increasing the adjusting capacity of the internal atmosphere component adjusting agent 80 such as a desiccant.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the internal atmosphere can be easily adjusted without using an inert gas source such as a nitrogen cylinder, it is necessary to adjust the internal atmosphere. The cost and labor can be significantly reduced, and it is particularly suitable for adjusting the atmosphere inside the closed container during storage or transportation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of the first invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of the second invention.

FIG. 3 is an external view of a conventional portable closed container.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal section of a conventional portable closed container.

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining a locking / unlocking mechanism of a conventional portable closed container.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a gas purging mechanism of a conventional portable closed container.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a conventional unmanned transport device for transporting a portable hermetic seal.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 8 Portable closed container 10 Container body 20 Bottom lid 24 Latch rod 60 Body case of internal atmosphere adjusting device 61 Base 62 Port 63 Airtight door 65 Lifting table 66 Drive mechanism 68 Control device 70 Internal atmosphere adjusting agent unit 80 Internal atmosphere adjusting agent

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor, Moriya Hiya 100, Takegahanacho, Ise-shi, Mie Prefecture Inside Kobe Electric Machinery Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hiroyuki Obebe 100, Takegahanacho, Ise-shi, Mie Prefecture (56) References JP-A-62-222625 (JP, A) JP-A-2-82042 (JP, U) JP-A-5-25731 (JP, U) JP-A 60-39237 ( (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01L 21/68 H01L 21/02 H01L 21/30 A23L 3/34-3/3598 B65D 77/00-79/02 B65D 81 / 18-81/28 B65D 85/38 B65D 85/50-85/52 B65D 85/60 B65D 85/72-85/86

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] And 1. A body case formed a port communicating with the interior cavity of a friendly transportable sealed container can be placed base portion and the inner space airtight, the port to the internal space A member that can be closed airtightly, an opening / closing mechanism for opening and closing the lid of the portable airtight container, and an internal atmosphere component adjusting agent unit that is exchangeably housed in the internal space, and the portable airtight container is a container body, a lid capable of closing the opening of the container body in an airtight manner, the internal atmosphere is a sealed container is an inert gas atmosphere, when open the lid, the upper
An interior atmosphere adjusting device for a portable closed container, wherein the container body communicates with the inside through the port. Wherein said Allowed transportable closed container is a portable sealed container used to transport and storage in a clean room, the upper
The internal atmosphere adjusting device for a portable closed container according to claim 1, wherein the internal atmosphere adjusting device for the portable closed container is used in place of a repurge device for the portable closed container in a clean room. 3. The apparatus for adjusting the internal atmosphere of a portable hermetic container according to claim 1, wherein said portable hermetic container is mounted on an unmanned transfer device which is self-propelled to a destination by mounting said portable hermetic container from ground equipment .