JP3866185B2 - Cleaning device and cleaning method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a cleaning apparatus such as a box cover used for a wafer box and a cleaning method.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Wafer boxes are used to carry wafers. As a result, the wafer is managed so that it is not exposed to the atmosphere as much as possible, particles are not attached , and the yield is not reduced (for example, see Patent Document 1).
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-6-196545 [0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, since the wafer box becomes dirty with use, it is necessary to clean it. Since cleaning is performed manually, there is a problem that it takes time.
[0005]
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning apparatus and a cleaning method that increase the cleaning effect and cleaning efficiency and do not require much time.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The washing apparatus of the present invention in order to achieve the above object, a cleaning tank, a cleaning apparatus and an arm portion for mounting the object to be cleaned member having a space therein, the cleaning tank, the object to be cleaned member It has an exhaust part for exhausting air inside, a shower part for cleaning the inside and outside of the member to be cleaned, and a cleaning liquid injection part and a cleaning liquid discharge part are provided on the bottom part of the cleaning tank, The arm portion has a mechanism for rotating the member to be cleaned and moving it up and down.
[0007]
Thus, the cleaning tank has an exhaust part for exhausting the air inside the member to be cleaned, a shower part for cleaning the inside and outside of the member to be cleaned, and an injection part for the cleaning liquid at the bottom part of the cleaning tank And the cleaning liquid discharge section, and the arm section has a mechanism for rotating the member to be cleaned and moving it up and down, so that air existing inside the member to be cleaned is exhausted to the outside through the exhaust section. For this reason, the cleaning liquid enters the inside of the member to be cleaned, and the cleaning liquid comes into contact with the inside and the upper surface of the member to be cleaned, so that uniform cleaning can be performed.
[0008]
Further, since the member to be cleaned can be rotated in the cleaning tank during the cleaning period, the cleaning liquid contacts the member to be cleaned without stagnation. Therefore, the surface of the member to be cleaned can be cleaned uniformly.
[0009]
Moreover, since the stain | pollution | contamination which can be easily removed with the shower water emitted from a shower part can be removed before washing | cleaning with a washing | cleaning liquid in a washing tank, the washing | cleaning time in a washing | cleaning liquid can be shortened.
[0010]
In the above-described cleaning apparatus, the shower units are arranged at the central part and the corner part of the cleaning tank. Thus, since it arrange | positions at the center part and corner part of a washing tank, it can take a shower uniformly to the inside and the exterior of a to-be-cleaned member.
[0011]
In the above-described cleaning apparatus, the exhaust unit includes a portion that blows gas to the outside of the cleaning tank and a portion that can discharge the air and the cleaning liquid inside the member to be cleaned by the gas. As described above, the exhaust part has a part for blowing gas to the outside of the cleaning tank and a part capable of discharging the air and the cleaning liquid inside the member to be cleaned by the gas, so that the inside of the exhaust part is decompressed by blowing the gas. Then, the cleaning liquid can be discharged together with the air inside the member to be cleaned.
[0012]
In the above-described cleaning apparatus, the arm portion has a function of moving the member to be cleaned up and down. As described above, since the arm portion has a function of moving the member to be cleaned, the cleaning liquid comes into contact with the upper surface portion of the member to be cleaned to which the arm portion is attached, so that the cleaning can be performed more uniformly.
[0013]
In the cleaning method of the present invention, a member to be cleaned having a space inside is inserted into the cleaning tank, the interior and exterior of the member to be cleaned are showered and cleaned, and a cleaning liquid is injected from the bottom of the cleaning tank. When cleaning liquid enters the inside of the member to be cleaned, the air inside the member to be cleaned is exhausted to the outside of the cleaning tank, and the member to be cleaned is cleaned with the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank. Is discharged from the washing tank.
[0014]
Thus, when the cleaning liquid is injected from the bottom of the cleaning tank and the cleaning liquid enters the inside of the member to be cleaned, the air inside the member to be cleaned is exhausted to the outside of the cleaning tank. Existing air is exhausted to the outside. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the member to be cleaned from being lifted by the air in the member to be cleaned, the cleaning liquid enters the inside of the member to be cleaned, and the cleaning liquid comes into contact with the inside and the upper surface of the member to be cleaned and is uniform. Can be washed.
[0015]
In addition, since cleaning is performed by showering the inside and outside of the member to be cleaned before cleaning with the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank, it is possible to remove in advance easy-to-remove dirt and shorten the cleaning time in the cleaning liquid. .
[0016]
The above-described cleaning method is performed by inserting a member to be cleaned having a space in the cleaning tank while rotating, cleaning the member to be cleaned by taking a shower inside and outside the member to be cleaned while rotating the member to be cleaned. Then, the cleaning liquid is injected from the bottom of the cleaning tank, the air inside the member to be cleaned is exhausted through the exhaust part, and the cleaning member is cleaned with the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank for a certain period of time while the member to be cleaned is rotated. The cleaning liquid is discharged from the cleaning tank after the cleaning.
[0017]
Thus, since the cleaning liquid is injected from the bottom of the cleaning tank and the air inside the member to be cleaned is exhausted through the exhaust part, the air existing inside the member to be cleaned is exhausted to the outside through the exhaust part. For this reason, the member to be cleaned can be prevented from being lifted by the air in the member to be cleaned, and the cleaning liquid can enter the member to be cleaned and perform uniform cleaning.
[0018]
Further, since the member to be cleaned rotates in the cleaning tank during the cleaning period, the cleaning liquid contacts the member to be cleaned without stagnation. Therefore, the surface of the member to be cleaned can be cleaned uniformly.
[0019]
Also, before cleaning with the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank, the cleaning target is rotated while taking a shower inside and outside the cleaning target, so that it is possible to remove dirt that is easy to remove, and rotation within the cleaning liquid The cleaning time can be shortened.
[0020]
In the above-described cleaning method, the exhaust unit includes a first part that blows gas to the outside of the cleaning tank, and a second part that can discharge air and cleaning liquid inside the member to be cleaned by the gas, and the cleaning liquid When the air enters the inside of the member to be cleaned, air is caused to flow through the first portion, and the air inside the member to be cleaned is exhausted from the second portion.
[0021]
As described above, the exhaust unit has the first part that blows gas to the outside of the cleaning tank, and the second part that can discharge the air and the cleaning liquid inside the member to be cleaned by the gas, and the cleaning liquid is the member to be cleaned. When the air enters the inside of the chamber, the air flows through the first portion and the air inside the member to be cleaned is exhausted from the second portion, so that the member to be cleaned is prevented from being lifted by the air in the member to be cleaned. it can. Further, by blowing gas from the first part, the second part of the exhaust part is in a reduced pressure state, and the cleaning liquid can be discharged together with the air inside the member to be cleaned.
[0022]
In the above-described cleaning method, the cleaning liquid is discharged from the drain portion of the cleaning tank, and after the discharge, the member to be cleaned is raised. Thus, since the cleaning liquid is discharged from the drain portion of the cleaning tank and the member to be cleaned is raised after the discharge, the member to be cleaned can be taken out of the cleaning tank and easily removed.
[0023]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG.
[0024]
As shown in FIG. 1, this cleaning apparatus includes a cleaning tank 100 that stores cleaning liquid such as pure water, and a box cover 10 that is a member to be cleaned having a space inside, and an arm unit 105 that enters the cleaning tank 100. And.
[0025]
As shown in FIG. 2, the cleaning tank 100 stores a cleaning liquid such as pure water. An exhaust unit 102 in which an exhaust nozzle is provided is provided at the center of the cleaning tank 100. The exhaust part 102 has a first part (air injection part 111) for blowing gas to the outside of the cleaning tank 100 and a second part (exhaust part body 112) for discharging the cleaning liquid by the gas. A shower unit 101 is provided so as to surround the exhaust unit 102. The exhaust unit 102 exhausts air inside the box cover 10. The shower unit 101 includes a first shower head 101 a disposed in the vicinity of the exhaust unit 102 and second shower heads 101 b disposed at the corners of the four corners of the cleaning tank 100. Wash.
[0026]
Further, at the bottom of the cleaning tank 100, there are two injection parts (cleaning liquid supply valves) 103 for storing the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank 100 at two locations. In addition, a drain portion 104 that is a discharge portion for discharging the cleaning liquid is provided at another portion of the bottom portion. Further, the overflowing cleaning liquid can be drained from the exhaust unit 102.
[0027]
The arm unit 105 has a mechanism for rotating the box cover 10 and a function for moving the box cover 10 up and down.
[0028]
Next, a method for cleaning the cover of the wafer box using this cleaning apparatus will be described. 3 to 7 are process sectional views showing the cleaning method according to the embodiment of the present invention.
[0029]
In this cleaning method, the box cover 10 is inserted into the cleaning tank 100 by the arm unit 105, and the inside and outside of the box cover 10 are showered and cleaned, and the cleaning liquid is injected from the bottom of the cleaning tank 100. When the air enters the cover 10, the air inside the box cover 10 is exhausted to the outside of the cleaning tank 100, the box cover 10 is cleaned with the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank 100, and the cleaning liquid is discharged from the cleaning tank 100 after the cleaning. To do.
[0030]
In this case, the box 10 that has been roughly hand-washed in advance is attached to the arm portion 105 of the cleaning device. The box cover 10 has a configuration in which four sides are wall portions and wall portions are provided on the upper surface portion. The cross section has a U-shape with an opening at the bottom, and there is no one side of the rectangular parallelepiped.
[0031]
As shown in FIG. 1, one surface of the box cover 10 (this surface becomes the upper surface of the wafer box) is attached to an arm portion 105 that is a part of the cleaning apparatus. The arm part 105 rotates. Therefore, the box cover 10 is lowered while rotating together with the arm portion 105 and enters the cleaning tank 100. There is still no cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank 100 and it is empty.
[0032]
As shown in FIG. 3, as the box cover 10 enters the cleaning tank 100, pure water to which pressure is applied is vigorously emitted from the shower sections 101 provided at the center and four corners of the cleaning tank 100. As a result, the dirt on the box cover 10 is removed with pure water. During this time, the box cover 10 continues to rotate by the arm portion 105. When the box cover 10 is inserted to the bottom (bottom surface) of the cleaning tank 100, the pure water from the shower unit 105 stops. During this time, the box cover 10 continues to rotate.
[0033]
As shown in FIG. 4, pure water (cleaning liquid) 110 a is then injected from the injection portion 103 at the bottom of the cleaning tank 100. Even if the pure water 110a overflows from the washing tank 100, it is continuously injected. Pure water 110a accumulates not only on the outside of the box cover 10 but also on the inside. Since air exists inside the box cover 10, the box cover 10 is lifted up by the air as the pure water 110 a accumulates in the cleaning tank 100. Therefore, the air in the box cover 10 is extracted from the exhaust part 102 provided at the center of the cleaning tank 100. For this purpose, air is sent from the air injection part 111 connected to the exhaust part 102 to the exhaust part main body 112. As a result, the inside of the exhaust unit 102 is in a decompressed state, and thus the air in the box 10 is discharged to the outside through the exhaust unit 102. At that time, pure water inside the box cover 10 in the cleaning tank 100 is also exhausted to the outside through the exhaust unit 102, but there is no problem.
[0034]
By doing in this way, the problem that the box cover 10 is lifted up by the air in the box cover 10 can be prevented. When all the air in the box cover 10 is exhausted to the outside, the injection of air may be stopped or may be continued. During this time, the box cover 10 continues to rotate and is cleaned in the cleaning tank 100 for a certain period of time. The rotation of the box cover 10 is performed in order to improve the cleaning efficiency so that the cleaning liquid 110a in contact with the box cover 10 does not stagnate.
[0035]
As shown in FIG. 5, during the cleaning, water (cleaning liquid) 110 a gradually enters the cleaning tank 100. The cleaning liquid 110 a that has entered overflows while cleaning the inside of the box cover 10, drains from the exhaust nozzle of the exhaust unit 102, and the cleaning liquid that cleans the outside of the box cover 10 overflows from the outer wall of the cleaning tank 100. At this time, the air is kept in the air injection part 111.
[0036]
As shown in FIG. 6, when the cleaning of the box cover 10 is completed, the injection of the cleaning liquid into the cleaning tank 100 is stopped, and the cleaning liquid 110b is discharged from the drain portion 104 at the bottom of the cleaning tank 100. After discharging, the rotation of the box cover 10 is also stopped as shown in FIG. The box cover 10 is raised by the arm portion 105 and removed from the arm portion 105.
[0037]
Through the steps described above, the air inside the box cover 10 is also exhausted from the cleaning tank 100 to the outside, so that the cleaning liquid also enters the box cover 10. For this reason, the cleaning liquid is in contact with the inner side of the box cover 10 and the upper surface (the surface attached to the arm unit 105) (the box cover 10 is rotating), and the inner side of the box cover 10 is also cleaned uniformly. be able to.
[0038]
The numbers and positions of the shower unit 101, the injection unit 103, and the drain unit 104 may be changed.
[0039]
【The invention's effect】
According to the washing apparatus of the invention, the cleaning tank has an exhaust section for exhausting the cleaning member inside the air, and a shower unit for cleaning the internal and external of the cleaning member, and a bottom portion of the cleaning tank In addition, since the cleaning liquid injection section and the cleaning liquid discharge section are provided and the arm section has a mechanism for rotating the member to be cleaned, the air existing inside the member to be cleaned is exhausted to the outside through the exhaust section. For this reason, the cleaning liquid enters the inside of the member to be cleaned, and uniform cleaning can be performed.
[0040]
Further, since the member to be cleaned can be rotated in the cleaning tank during the cleaning period, the cleaning liquid contacts the member to be cleaned without stagnation. Therefore, the surface of the member to be cleaned can be cleaned uniformly.
[0041]
Moreover, since the stain | pollution | contamination which can be easily removed with the shower water emitted from a shower part can be removed before washing | cleaning with a washing | cleaning liquid in a washing tank, the washing | cleaning time in a washing | cleaning liquid can be shortened.
[0042]
Moreover, since the shower part is arrange | positioned at the center part and corner part of a washing tank, it can take a shower uniformly inside and outside of a member to be cleaned.
[0043]
Further, since the exhaust part has a part for blowing gas to the outside of the cleaning tank and a part for discharging the air and the cleaning liquid inside the member to be cleaned by the gas, the inside of the exhaust part is decompressed by blowing the gas. The cleaning liquid can be discharged together with the air inside the member to be cleaned.
[0044]
Further, since the arm portion has a function of moving the member to be cleaned up and down, the cleaning liquid comes into contact with the upper surface portion of the member to be cleaned to which the arm portion is attached, so that the cleaning can be performed more uniformly.
[0045]
According to washing method of the present invention, the cleaning liquid is injected from the bottom of the cleaning tank, when this cleaning liquid has entered the inside of the cleaning member, so that exhaust the cleaning tank outside the cleaning member inside the air, Air existing inside the member to be cleaned is exhausted to the outside. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the member to be cleaned from being lifted by the air in the member to be cleaned, the cleaning liquid enters the inside of the member to be cleaned, and the cleaning liquid comes into contact with the inside and the upper surface of the member to be cleaned and is uniform. Can be washed.
[0046]
In addition, since cleaning is performed by showering the inside and outside of the member to be cleaned before cleaning with the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank, it is possible to remove in advance easy-to-remove dirt and shorten the cleaning time in the cleaning liquid. .
[0047]
According to another cleaning method of the present invention , since the cleaning liquid is injected from the bottom of the cleaning tank and the air inside the member to be cleaned is exhausted through the exhaust part, the air present inside the member to be cleaned is exposed to the outside through the exhaust part. Exhausted. For this reason, the member to be cleaned can be prevented from being lifted by the air in the member to be cleaned, and the cleaning liquid can enter the member to be cleaned and perform uniform cleaning.
[0048]
Further, since the member to be cleaned rotates in the cleaning tank during the cleaning period, the cleaning liquid contacts the member to be cleaned without stagnation. Therefore, the surface of the member to be cleaned can be cleaned uniformly.
[0049]
Also, before cleaning with the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank, the cleaning target is rotated while taking a shower inside and outside the cleaning target, so that it is possible to remove dirt that is easy to remove, and rotation within the cleaning liquid The cleaning time can be shortened.
[0050]
The exhaust part has a first part for blowing gas to the outside of the cleaning tank, and a second part capable of discharging the air and cleaning liquid inside the member to be cleaned by the gas, and the cleaning liquid is inside the member to be cleaned. When the air enters, the air is allowed to flow through the first portion and the air inside the member to be cleaned is exhausted from the second portion, so that the member to be cleaned can be prevented from being lifted by the air in the member to be cleaned. Further, by blowing gas from the first part, the second part of the exhaust part is in a reduced pressure state, and the cleaning liquid can be discharged together with the air inside the member to be cleaned.
[0051]
Further, since the cleaning liquid is discharged from the drain portion of the cleaning tank and the member to be cleaned is raised after the discharge, the member to be cleaned is taken out of the cleaning tank and can be easily removed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a plan view of FIG. 1. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a process cross-sectional view illustrating a cleaning method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a process cross-sectional view showing the next process of FIG. 3; FIG.
5 is a process cross-sectional view showing the next process of FIG. 4; FIG.
6 is a process cross-sectional view showing the next process of FIG. 5. FIG.
7 is a process cross-sectional view illustrating the next process of FIG. 6; FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 Box cover (member to be cleaned)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Washing tank 101 Shower part 101a 1st shower head 101b 2nd shower head 102 Exhaust part 103 Injection | pouring part 104 Drain part (discharge | emission part)
105 Arm

Claims (5)

A washing tank;
An injection part and a discharge part of the cleaning liquid provided in the cleaning tank;
Attaching a member to be cleaned having a space inside, and an arm portion having a mechanism for rotating the member to be cleaned,
An exhaust part that is provided in the cleaning tank and discharges air and cleaning liquid inside the member to be cleaned out of the cleaning tank;
A shower section for cleaning the inside and the outside of the member to be cleaned;
A cleaning apparatus comprising: means for connecting to the exhaust section outside the cleaning tank and sending gas into the exhaust section.   The said shower part is a washing | cleaning apparatus of Claim 1 arrange | positioned in the center part and corner part in the inside of the said washing tank.   The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the arm portion has a function of moving the member to be cleaned up and down. Inserting a member to be cleaned having a space in the cleaning tank (a);
A step (b) of cleaning the inside and outside of the member to be cleaned by shower;
After the step (a), a step (c) of injecting a cleaning liquid into the cleaning tank and the member to be cleaned, and cleaning the member to be cleaned;
After the step (c), the step (e) of discharging the cleaning liquid from the cleaning tank,
The step (c) includes a step (f) of injecting gas to the outside of the cleaning tank in the exhaust section provided in the cleaning tank and exhausting the air inside the member to be cleaned out of the cleaning tank. Including
The steps (a), (b) and (c) include a step of rotating the member to be cleaned.
A cleaning method , wherein the step (c) is performed after the shower is stopped .   The cleaning method according to claim 4, wherein after the step (e), the member to be cleaned is taken out of the cleaning tank.

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