JP6041699B2 - Substrate storage container - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate storage container, and more particularly to a substrate storage container including an opening / closing valve that enables communication between the inside and the outside of the container.

  For example, a substrate storage container for storing a plurality of semiconductor wafers is provided with a plurality of open / close valves including one-way valves (check valves), and the gas inside the container can be replaced with an inert gas such as nitrogen through the open / close valves. It is like that.

  The open / close valve includes a one-way valve and a filter built in a hollow housing member, and has a vent hole that communicates from one surface of the housing member to the other surface through the one-way valve and filter.

  The one-way valve is energized by an elastic body in one direction, and during normal times, a seal is formed on one side so that no gas can pass through the valve. By moving in the other direction, the seal is released, and the filtered gas can pass through the filter.

  In the substrate storage container, the opening / closing valve is divided into a supply valve for supplying gas into the container and an exhaust valve for exhausting the gas in the container.

  The supply valve is accessible to the supply purge port of the external gas supply device, and the exhaust valve is accessible to the exhaust purge port of the external gas supply device.

Japanese Patent No. 4201583 Japanese Patent No. 4849471

  Since the opening / closing valve of the substrate storage container as described above is provided at a location that matches a gas supply device (hereinafter referred to as a purging device) used by a customer, the opening / closing valve of the purging device not initially assumed Therefore, the purge port on the purge device side cannot be accessed due to a shift in the position of the above.

  For this reason, when the opening / closing valve is made to correspond to a plurality of purge devices having different specifications, for example, the position of the positioning hole provided on the bottom surface of the substrate storage container must be changed, and the configuration becomes complicated. Have the disadvantage of

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate storage device including an on-off valve at a location that can correspond to a plurality of purge devices having different specifications, despite an extremely simple configuration. Is to provide.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a substrate storage container including an on-off valve that can be easily handled such as attachment and removal.

The present invention is grasped by the following composition.
(1) A substrate storage container according to the present invention includes a container main body that stores a substrate through an opening, a lid that closes the opening of the container main body, and a through-hole formed in at least one of the container main body and the lid. And an open / close valve that replaces the gas in the container body, and the open / close valve is disposed so as to close the communication hole and a housing formed with a communication hole communicating with the through hole. a filter that is, a check valve disposed in the communicating hole, attached to said housing, have a, a handle portion for mounting the opening and closing valve on the container body or the lid, said handle portion, A mounting portion pivotally supported at opposing locations on the side surface of the housing, an arch portion that can be disposed so as to straddle an end portion opposite to a side communicating with the through hole of the housing, and the arch portion It characterized by having a a locking portion to be engaged with the engaging member attached to the container body or the lid body by the rotation of the side surface side of the housing from the end portion side of the housing.
( 2 ) In the substrate storage container of the present invention, in the configuration of (1), the container body has a bottom plate, and the bottom plate is used as the engagement member having a mounting hole for attaching the opening / closing valve. Features.
( 3 ) In the substrate storage container of the present invention, in the configuration of ( 2 ), the locking portion includes a first locking portion formed on the mounting portion of the handle portion and an arch portion of the handle portion. The handle portion is engaged with the bottom plate by rotating the handle portion toward the side surface of the housing. And the engagement of the bottom plate of the first locking portion and the second locking portion is released by turning the housing toward the end.
( 4 ) In the substrate storage container of the present invention, in the configuration of ( 3 ), the first locking portion and the second locking portion formed on the handle portion are formed to protrude from the handle portion in opposite directions. It is characterized by being.
( 5 ) In the substrate storage container of the present invention, in the configuration of ( 2 ), the on-off valve can be inserted into the mounting hole of the engagement member while a predetermined portion around the opening / closing valve is directed in one direction. A member is formed.

  According to the above-described substrate storage container, the opening / closing valve can be provided at a location that can correspond to a plurality of purge devices having different specifications in spite of an extremely simple configuration.

  Further, according to the above-described substrate storage container, it is possible to provide an opening / closing valve that is easy to handle such as attachment and removal.

It is a perspective view which shows Embodiment 1 of the board | substrate storage container of this invention. (A) is the bottom view which shows Embodiment 1 of the substrate storage container of this invention (the on-off valve is not attached), (b) is the figure which expanded the attaching part of the on-off valve. It is a bottom view (with opening and closing valve attached) showing Embodiment 1 of the substrate storage container of the present invention. It is the perspective view seen from the upper surface by the opening-and-closing valve attached to the substrate storage container of the present invention. It is the perspective view seen from the lower surface by the opening-and-closing valve attached to the substrate storage container of the present invention. It is a disassembled perspective view of the on-off valve used as a gas supply valve. It is sectional drawing of the on-off valve used as a valve for gas supply. It is a disassembled perspective view of the on-off valve used as a gas exhaust valve. It is sectional drawing of the on-off valve used as a valve | bulb for gas exhaustion. It is a perspective view which shows a 1st process among the processes which attach an on-off valve to a container main body. It is a perspective view which shows a 2nd process among the processes of attaching an on-off valve to a container main body. It is a perspective view which shows a 3rd process among the processes which attach an on-off valve to a container main body. It is a perspective view which shows a 4th process among the processes which attach an on-off valve to a container main body. It is explanatory drawing which shows the case where an opening-and-closing valve is attached to a substrate storage container in the state rotated 180 degrees. It is an enlarged view which shows the vicinity of the on-off valve of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the case where an opening-and-closing valve is attached to a substrate storage container in the state rotated 180 degrees. It is an enlarged view which shows the vicinity of the on-off valve of FIG.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as embodiments) will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the same number is assigned to the same element throughout the description of the embodiment.
(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing Embodiment 1 of the substrate storage container of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a substrate storage container 1 includes a container main body 2 having an opening (not shown) and a detachable lid 3 that closes the opening in a sealable manner. A plurality of semiconductor wafers (not shown), for example, are accommodated in the container body 2 through the openings, and these semiconductor wafers are supported by being stacked in a horizontal state at intervals.

  The container body 2 is provided with a robotic flange 4 for conveyance on the top surface, and a plate-like bottom plate 5 is attached to the bottom.

  The bottom plate 5 is provided with, for example, four open / close valves 6 through which the gas inside the substrate storage container 1 can be replaced. In FIG. 1, each open / close valve 6 attached to the bottom plate 5 is taken out to the lower side in the figure, and is shown as an exploded view. The opening / closing valve 6 will be described in detail later.

  FIG. 2A is a view of the substrate storage container 1 as viewed from the bottom plate 5 side, and shows attachment portions (open / close valves 6 are not attached) 6J of the respective open / close valves 6. FIG. Two attachment portions 6J of each opening / closing valve 6 are provided on both sides on the lid 3 side, and two on both sides on the rear portion of the depth. A mounting portion 6J of each open / close valve 6 is exposed through a mounting hole 5H formed in the bottom plate 5.

  FIG. 2B is an enlarged view of the attachment portion 6J of the opening / closing valve 6. As shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2A and shows a state in which the opening / closing valve 6 is attached to the attachment portion 6J of each opening / closing valve 6 (see FIG. 2A). The two on-off valves 6 on the lid 3 side are used as, for example, exhaust on-off valves 6 (6a), and the two rear on-off valves 6 are used as intake on-off valves 6 (6b). It has become.

  As shown in FIG. 2 (b), a plurality of (for example, five) through holes 8 are formed in the container body 2 in the attachment portion 6 </ b> J of the on-off valve 6. Four through holes 8 are arranged side by side so as to surround the periphery.

  The mounting hole 5H exposing the mounting portion 6J of the opening / closing valve 6 of the bottom plate 5 is formed with cylindrical or arc-shaped ribs 5a and 5b having different radii around the mounting hole 5H around the mounting hole 5H. Yes. In FIG. 2B, reference numeral 15 corresponds to a vent hole of the opening / closing valve 6, and the vent hole 15 overlaps a part of the through hole 8 when viewed from the axial direction. ing.

  As shown in FIGS. 2A and 3, the bottom plate 5 is provided with a positioning member 7 for positioning when the substrate storage container 1 is placed in a processing apparatus (not shown). Yes. The positioning member 7 has a V-shaped inclined surface and can be fitted to a positioning pin (not shown) provided on the processing apparatus side.

  4 is a perspective view of the opening / closing valve 6 as viewed from the upper surface side, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the opening / closing valve 6 as viewed from the lower surface side.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the opening / closing valve 6 includes a substantially cylindrical casing (sometimes referred to as a housing) 11 and a handle portion 12 attached to the casing 11. ing. The casing 11 is arranged in an eccentric manner so that an upper casing (sometimes referred to as a first casing) 11a and a lower casing (sometimes referred to as a second casing) 11b are vertically asymmetric. Are formed integrally. A step portion 11c is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the casing 11 of the on-off valve 6 at the boundary between the upper casing 11a and the lower casing 11b.

  The upper casing 11a has a vent hole 15 at a position displaced (displaced) from the central axis. On the upper surface of the upper housing 11a, there are formed an outer peripheral rib 16 made of a protrusion along the peripheral edge, and a plurality of protective ribs 16c extending from the inner wall of the outer peripheral rib 16 toward the vent hole 15. Yes. The protective rib 16 c is formed with a slightly smaller height than the outer peripheral rib 16. Thus, the filter 17 (see FIG. 6) can be accommodated inside the outer peripheral rib 16 using the protective rib 16c as a mounting table.

  The lower casing 11b has a vent hole 15 formed on the central axis thereof. The vent hole 15 of the lower casing 11b is formed at a location where the vent hole 15 of the upper casing 11a extends linearly. The bottom surface of the lower housing 11b is formed to be flat and serves as an access surface for accessing a purge device (not shown).

  The handle portion 12 has an arcuate arch portion 12b and attachment portions 12a that are provided at both ends of the arch portion 12b and are pivotally supported by a pair of projecting portions 19 formed at opposing positions on the side surface of the upper housing 11a. And is configured. Thereby, the handle | steering-wheel part can rotate between the side surface side (refer FIG. 4) and the bottom face side (refer FIG. 5) of the housing | casing 11 centering on the attaching part 12a.

  Each attachment portion 12a of the handle portion 12 is formed with a first engagement portion 12c that protrudes on the opposite side of the arch portion 12b, and a second engagement portion 12d is formed substantially at the center of the outer peripheral surface of the arch portion 12b. ing. The second engagement portion 12d has a T-shape when viewed in plan, extends in the width direction of the arch portion 12b, and has a cross-section arc-shaped rod-shaped rib 12e. One end of the rod-shaped rib 12e is orthogonal to the rod-shaped rib 12e. And is formed of a locking projection 12f having a height higher than that of the rod-shaped rib 12e.

  FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of an on-off valve 6a used as a gas supply valve.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the open / close valve 6 a includes an O-ring 23, a hollow cylindrical member 20, a spring 21 inserted into the cylindrical member 20, and a check. And a valve 22. The check valve 22 includes a rod-shaped portion 24, overhanging support portions 24 a and end surfaces 24 b formed at both ends of the rod-shaped portion 24. The filter 17 is accommodated on the protective rib 16c in the outer peripheral rib 16 on the upper surface of the upper housing 11a.

  Overhang portions 24a projecting radially from at least two portions of the rod-shaped portion 24 are formed on one end surface of the check valve 22 located outside the substrate storage container 1, and the other end surface is circular, and this circular A rod-shaped intermediate portion that is thinner than the end surface 24b is formed from the end surface 24b. Here, the other end surface 24 b is formed with a diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the spring 21 so that the spring 21 can be inserted, and the projecting portion 24 a on one end surface is formed so as to project larger than the diameter of the spring 21. Thus, the spring 21 can be held.

  In addition, the diameter of the rod-like portion 24 from the end on the other end face side to the end face is continuously changed, and the diameter of the rod-shaped portion 24 is increased from the portion formed to be thinner to the portion formed to be thinner. It is formed so that it may become a part. The O-ring 23 is held in the narrowest constricted portion 24c that becomes the inflection point.

  FIG. 7 is a sectional view of an on-off valve 6a used as a gas supply valve. As shown in FIG. 7, the vent hole 15 of the lower housing 11b has a lower locking portion 11d that slightly protrudes inward, and the vent hole 15 of the upper housing 11a has a reduced diameter portion 11e that has a small inner diameter. Is formed. The cylindrical member 20 is held between the lower locking portion 11d and the reduced diameter portion 11e.

  In the cylindrical member 20, an inclined surface 20 c whose diameter gradually decreases from the opening 20 b is formed inside the opening 20 b on the substrate storage container 1 side, and this inclined surface 20 c is held by the check valve 22. It comes into contact with the O-ring 23.

  An opening 20b and a flat portion 20d surrounding the opening 20b are formed on the lower surface of the inclined surface 20c. The diameter of the opening 20b is smaller than the outer diameter of the spring 21. For this reason, the spring 21 is held between the flat surface portion 20d and the protruding portion 24a. In this case, the check valve 22 is configured such that the O-ring 23 is pressed against the inclined surface 20 c by the reaction force of the spring 21 to form a seal. Further, the check valve 22 can move to the inside of the substrate storage container 1 by compressing the spring 21, and the outward movement is regulated by the inclined surface 20c.

  FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the opening / closing valve 6b used as a gas exhaust valve, and is a view drawn in association with FIG.

  In FIG. 8, the open / close valve 6b includes an O-ring 23, a hollow cylindrical member 20, and a spring 21 inserted into the cylindrical member 20 in the ventilation hole 15 of the housing 11, as in FIG. And a check valve 22. However, the configuration different from the case of FIG. 6 is that the O-ring 23, the hollow cylindrical member 20, the spring 21 inserted into the cylindrical member 20, and the check valve 22 pass through the casing 11. In the pores 15, they are arranged upside down.

  Also in this case, as shown in FIG. 9 which is a sectional view of the on-off valve 6b, the check valve 22 is configured such that the O-ring 23 is pressed against the inclined surface 20c by the reaction force of the spring 21 to form a seal. become. The check valve 22 can move to the outside of the substrate storage container 1 by compressing the spring 21, and the inward movement is regulated by the inclined surface 20c.

  Of the components of the on-off valve 6 described above, the housing 11 is formed of various thermoplastic elastomers such as polyester and polystyrene polyolefins, rubber materials such as fluoro rubber, and thermoplastic resins such as polycarbonate and polypropylene. preferable. In particular, it is preferable to form the elastic material from the viewpoint of ease of attachment. The handle portion 12 is preferably formed of a thermoplastic resin such as polycarbonate or polybutylene terephthalate because rigidity is required at the time of attachment and engagement.

  In addition, the check valve 22 and the cylindrical member 20 are preferably made of a resin having good slidability, and various thermoplastics added with a thermoplastic resin such as polyacetal, polyethylene and polyamide, and a sliding material such as PTFE and silicone. It is preferable to form from resin.

  FIGS. 10 to 13 are views showing a process in the case where the opening / closing valve 6 is attached to a position facing the through hole 8 (see FIG. 2B) of the substrate storage container 1.

  The on-off valve 6 is attached to the container body 2 by turning the upper housing 11a toward the container body 2 with the arch portion 12b rotated toward the lower housing 11b (see FIG. 10).

  A circular rib 5a is formed on the periphery of the through hole 8 of the container body 2, and the upper housing 11a of the on-off valve 6 is inserted into the circular rib 10 through the mounting hole 5H of the bottom plate 5 (see FIG. 11). Thereafter, the arch portion 12b is rotated (tilted) so as to be positioned on the side surface side of the upper housing 11a. At this time, the first locking portion 12c formed on the attachment portion 12a of the arch portion 12b comes into contact with the inner surface of the bottom plate 5 on the container body 2 side (see FIG. 12). When the arch portion 12b is tilted completely, the second locking portion 12d provided on the arch portion 12b gets over the attachment hole 5H of the bottom plate 5 and comes into contact with the inner surface of the bottom plate 5 on the container body 2 side. Thereby, the on-off valve 6 can be held between the bottom plate 5 and the container body 2 (see FIG. 13).

  The open / close valve 6 shown in FIGS. 10 to 13 is different from those shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 in that a protrusion 11t is formed on a part of the periphery of the lower housing 11b, and the mounting hole of the bottom plate 5 is provided. In 5H, the projection 11t can be stored. That is, the opening / closing valve 6 is formed with a restricting member (projection 11t) that can be inserted into the mounting hole 5H of the bottom plate 5 while a predetermined portion around the opening / closing valve 6 is directed in one direction. As a result, the opening / closing valve 6 has an effect of being attached to the container body 2 in a state where a predetermined portion around the casing 11 is directed in a predetermined direction. However, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the casing 11 has a cylindrical shape, and it is needless to say that the protrusions 11 t may not be formed.

  14 and 15 show that the supply opening / closing valve 6b of the opening / closing valve 6 of the above-described embodiment (see FIG. 3) can be reversed 180 ° with respect to the width direction parallel to the opening of the substrate storage container 1. It is a thing. 14 is drawn corresponding to FIG. 3, and FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the supply opening / closing valve 6b. In this case, the region where the attachment hole 5H of the bottom plate 5 is formed is the nested structure region 27, and can be attached in the same manner as in the above embodiment by rotating 180 ° in the bottom plate molding die.

  16 and 17, the mounting hole 5H of the bottom plate 5 is formed in a large hole shape such as an ellipse that can be inserted either before or after the opening / closing valve 6 is rotated 180 °, The on-off valve 6 can be attached in either direction. In this case, as described above, there is no need to nest the mounting hole of the mold for forming the bottom plate, and there is no need to change the direction of the nesting, and the specification change and inventory management of the opening / closing valve 6 of the substrate storage container 1 can be performed. There is an effect that it becomes easy.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated using embodiment, it cannot be overemphasized that the technical scope of this invention is not limited to the range as described in the said embodiment. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications or improvements can be added to the above-described embodiments. Further, it is apparent from the description of the scope of claims that embodiments with such changes or improvements can also be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

1 …… Substrate storage container,
2 …… The container body,
3 …… Cover,
4 ... Robotic flange,
5 …… Bottom plate,
5H …… Mounting hole,
5a, 5b ... ribs,
6 …… Open / close valve,
6J …… Mounting part (open / close valve)
7: Positioning member,
11 …… Case,
11a: upper housing (first housing),
11b ...... Lower casing (second casing),
11c ...... Step part,
11d: Lower locking portion,
11e …… Reduced diameter part,
11t …… Protrusions,
12 …… Handle part,
12a …… Mounting part,
12b ... Arch part,
12c: the first locking part,
12d: the second engaging portion,
12e …… Bar-shaped rib,
12f …… Locking protrusion,
15 …… Vents,
16: outer peripheral rib,
16c: protective rib,
17 …… Filter,
20: Cylindrical member,
21 …… Spring,
22 …… Check valve,
23 …… O-ring.

Claims (5)

A container body for storing the substrate through the opening;
A lid for closing the opening of the container body;
An open / close valve that is attached to a through-hole formed in at least one of the container body and the lid body and performs replacement of gas in the container body,
The on-off valve is
A housing in which a communication hole communicating with the through hole is formed;
A filter arranged to block the communication hole;
A check valve disposed in the communication hole;
A handle portion attached to the housing and attaching the open / close valve to the container body or the lid;
Have
The handle portion is
A mounting portion pivotally supported at opposite locations on the side of the housing;
An arch portion that can be disposed so as to straddle an end portion opposite to the side communicating with the through hole of the housing;
A locking portion engaged with an engaging member attached to the container main body or the lid body by rotation from the end side of the housing to the side surface side of the housing;
A substrate storage container characterized by comprising: The container body has a bottom plate;
The substrate storage container according to claim 1, wherein the bottom plate is used as the engagement member having an attachment hole for attaching the opening / closing valve. The locking portion includes a first locking portion formed on the attachment portion of the handle portion, and a second locking portion formed on the arch portion of the handle portion,
The handle portion,
By rotating the housing to the side surface side, the first locking portion and the second locking portion are engaged with the bottom plate,
The substrate storage container according to claim 2 , wherein the bottom plate is disengaged from the first locking portion and the second locking portion by rotating the housing toward the end portion. . 4. The substrate storage container according to claim 3 , wherein the first locking portion and the second locking portion formed on the handle portion are formed to protrude from the handle portion in opposite directions. The substrate according to claim 2 , wherein the opening / closing valve is formed with a regulating member that can be inserted into the mounting hole of the engaging member while a predetermined portion around the opening / closing valve is directed in one direction. Storage container.

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