JP6396255B2 - Substrate storage container - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate storage container.

  Conventionally, a substrate storage container for storing a plurality of substrates made of semiconductor wafers is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  Patent Document 1 discloses a substrate storage container that includes a container body that has an opening and aligns and stores substrates, and a lid that closes the opening in a sealable manner. A pair of support members that support the substrate are attached to the inner surface of the container body, and a holding member (front retainer) that holds the substrate is attached to the inner surface of the lid. The holding member has a frame, an elastic piece extending from the frame, and a holding portion provided on the elastic piece. A groove for holding the substrate is formed in the holding portion, and an engagement piece is provided on the back surface of the holding portion.

  In this substrate storage container, in order to safely transport the substrate, the elasticity of the holding member is used to absorb vibration and impact during transportation. Further, a stopper is formed at a portion of the lid facing the holding member, and the stopper and the engaging piece are fitted to prevent excessive deformation of the elastic piece.

  By the way, in order to prevent the substrate from being rotated or damaged by vibration or impact during transportation of the substrate storage container, it is necessary to increase the holding force of the holding member to stably hold the substrate. However, when the holding force of the holding member is simply increased, the substrate and the holding member are in strong contact with each other, and there is a problem that the holding member is scraped and dirt easily adheres to the substrate. This problem is more noticeable particularly when the substrate has a large diameter and a large mass. In addition, it has been difficult to sufficiently prevent contamination with the conventional technique in which the movement of the substrate in the direction facing the holding member is restricted by the stopper and the engagement piece.

Patent No. 5253410

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate storage container capable of appropriately restricting the movement of the substrate to prevent the substrate from being damaged and to prevent the substrate from being soiled. There is.

The present invention is grasped by the following composition.
(1) A first aspect of the present invention is a substrate storage container, which is a container body having an opening, a lid body that closes the opening, an inner surface of the lid body, and aligned with the container body. And a holding member having a plurality of holding portions for holding the respective peripheral portions of the plurality of substrates stored therein, and an attachment surface of the lid body to which the holding member is attached, and between the plurality of holding portions. A plurality of partition walls projecting from the mounting surface to both sides of the holding portion so as to partition, the partition wall from the mounting surface in a state where the holding portion holds the peripheral edge of the substrate. Is provided so that the height of the protrusion is equal to or higher than the height from the mounting surface to the tip of the holding portion.

(2) In the configuration according to (1), in the configuration according to (1), when the partition wall is in a state in which the holding portion does not hold the peripheral portion of the substrate, the protruding height from the mounting surface is It is provided so that it may become more than the height to the front-end | tip of the said holding | maintenance part.

(3) According to the present invention, in the configuration of (1) or (2), the length of the partition wall in a direction perpendicular to the protruding direction and parallel to the surface of the substrate corresponds to the holding. It is provided so that it may become 50% or more of the length of a part.

(4) According to the present invention, in any one of the constitutions (1) to (3), the partition wall has a length in a direction perpendicular to the protruding direction and parallel to the surface of the substrate. It is provided so that it may become 65% or more of the length of the said corresponding holding | maintenance part.

(5) According to the present invention, in any one of the constitutions (1) to (4), the holding portion is 0.2 mm or more in total between the two partition walls disposed on both sides thereof. It has a gap of 5 mm or less.

(6) In the configuration according to any one of (1) to (5), the present invention may be configured such that the holding portion is disposed between one of the two partition walls arranged on both sides thereof. The first gap and the second gap are each set to a size of 0.1 mm or more and 0.25 mm or less. It is characterized by that.

(7) A second aspect of the present invention is a substrate storage container, which is a container body having an opening, a lid body that closes the opening, an inner surface of the lid body, and aligned with the container body. And a holding member having a plurality of holding portions for holding the respective peripheral portions of the plurality of substrates stored therein, and an attachment surface of the lid body to which the holding member is attached, and between the plurality of holding portions. A plurality of partition walls projecting from the mounting surface to both sides of the holding portion so as to partition, the partition wall having a length in a direction perpendicular to the projecting direction and parallel to the surface of the substrate. , And are provided so as to be 50% or more of the corresponding length of the holding portion.

(8) A third aspect of the present invention is a substrate storage container, which is a container body having an opening, a lid body that closes the opening, an inner surface of the lid body, and aligned with the container body. And a holding member having a plurality of holding portions for holding the respective peripheral portions of the plurality of substrates stored therein, and an attachment surface of the lid body to which the holding member is attached, and between the plurality of holding portions. A plurality of partition walls protruding on both sides of the holding portion from the mounting surface so as to partition, and the holding portion is 0.2 mm or more in total between the two partition walls arranged on both sides thereof It has a gap of 0.5 mm or less.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the movement of a board | substrate is restrict | limited appropriately, the board | substrate storage container which can prevent the damage | wound of a board | substrate while preventing a board | substrate damage is provided.

It is a disassembled perspective view of the substrate storage container which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the perspective view which looked at the cover concerning an embodiment from the inner surface side. It is a disassembled perspective view of the cover body which shows the structure which removed the holding member from the cover body shown by FIG. It is A arrow directional view of FIG. 2, and is a top view of a partition wall and a holding | maintenance part. 5A and 5B are cross-sectional views taken along line BB in FIG. 4, in which FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating a state where the holding unit is holding the substrate, and FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating a state where the holding unit is not holding the substrate. (A) is the C section enlarged view of FIG. 3, (b) is sectional drawing of the partition wall which concerns on embodiment, (c) is a top view of the partition wall which concerns on embodiment. It is an effect | action figure of the partition wall which concerns on embodiment, (a) is a figure which shows the case where the length of a partition wall is large, (b) is a figure which shows the case where the length of a partition wall is small.

  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. The same number is attached | subjected to the same element through the whole description of embodiment.

(Overall configuration of substrate storage container)
As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate storage container 1 according to the embodiment has an opening 4 on the front surface of the container body 2 and aligns a plurality of substrates W (in this example, the substrates W are placed in a horizontal posture in a vertical direction. A container main body 2 to be stored and a lid body 11 that closes the opening 4 so as to be sealable. The container main body 2 is provided with a pair of support members 3 on the inner surface 2b facing each other, and the support members 3 are formed with support portions that hold the peripheral edge of the substrate W horizontally at regular intervals in the vertical direction. .

  A robotic flange 7 is detachably mounted on the ceiling surface 2 a of the container body 2. The substrate storage container 1 is transported within and between the processes by holding the robotic flange 7 on an automatic ceiling conveyor.

  The container body 2 and the lid body 11 can be formed from a synthetic resin such as polycarbonate, polyether ether ketone, polyether imide, polybutylene terephthalate, polyacetal, liquid crystal polymer, or cycloolefin polymer. In addition, conductivity can be imparted to these resins by adding carbon powder, carbon fibers, carbon nanotubes, or the like.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the substrate storage container 1 has a pair of left and right holding members 21L and 21R attached to the inner surface of the lid 11, and a left and right attachment surface 11a to which the pair of left and right holding members 21L and 21R are attached. And a plurality of partition walls 22 provided correspondingly. Note that the pair of left and right holding members 21L and 21R and the plurality of partition walls 22 corresponding thereto have a symmetrical shape. Therefore, in the following description, the configuration of the holding member 21R and the plurality of partition walls 22 corresponding thereto is described. Only will be described.

(Configuration of holding member)
As shown in FIG. 3, the holding member 21R includes a pair of attachment portions 21a, a plurality of pairs of first elastic pieces 21b, and a plurality of second elastic pieces 21c. Of the pair of attachment portions 21 a, the attachment portion 21 a located on the center side of the lid body 11 is positioned by fitting a plurality of convex portions 21 a 1 provided on the inner edge of the concave portion 11 b of the lid body 11. . On the other hand, the attachment portion 21 a located outside the lid body 11 is engaged by inserting an outer edge of the attachment portion 21 a into the engagement claw 11 c of the lid body 11. As a result, the attachment portion 21 a is attached to the attachment surface 11 a of the lid body 11.

  The pair of first elastic pieces 21b protrude inward from the pair of attachment portions 21a, and a plurality of sets are arranged at a predetermined pitch in the longitudinal direction of the attachment portions 21a. The 2nd elastic piece 21c is formed in the shape along the peripheral part of the front side of the board | substrate W, and has the holding | maintenance part 21d (refer FIG. 4) formed integrally.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the holding portion 21d has a holding groove 21f formed by a pair of inclined surfaces 21e and having a substantially V-shaped or Y-shaped cross section. The holding member 21R is made of, for example, a synthetic resin such as polypropylene, polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, polyether ether ketone, polyacetal, or polyetherimide, a polyester-based thermoplastic performance elastomer, a polyurethane-based thermoplastic performance elastomer, or the like. Molded using a molding material. Among these molding materials, it is optimal to select polybutylene terephthalate, which has less outgassing and damage during molding. An appropriate amount of an antistatic agent, a conductivity imparting agent such as carbon or metal fiber, an ultraviolet absorber, or a reinforcing agent such as glass fiber or carbon fiber is selectively added to the molding material.

(Configuration of multiple partition walls)
As shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C, the plurality of partition walls 22 are provided on the base 23 extending to the attachment surface 11a along the vertical direction. The partition wall 22 protrudes on both upper and lower sides of each holding part 21d so as to partition the plurality of holding parts 21d from the base 23, and has a function of restricting the movement of the holding part 21d and the substrate W. Each partition wall 22 may be formed integrally with the lid body 11 or may be formed as a separate part from the lid body 11. The holding portion 21d has a first gap (hereinafter referred to as “first”) indicated by a dimension C1 in FIG. 5A between one of the two partition walls 22 arranged on both sides of the holding portion 21d. Between the other partition wall 22 and a second gap (hereinafter referred to as “second gap C2”) indicated by a dimension C2 in FIG. 5A.

(Partition wall protrusion height)
Here, the dimension of the partition wall 22 will be described.
The inventor has examined a suitable projection height H2 of the partition wall 22 for appropriately limiting the movement of the substrate W. Here, the protruding height H <b> 2 of the partition wall 22 is a height from the mounting surface 11 a to the tip 25 of the partition wall 22.

  As a result of the examination, as shown in FIG. 5A, the holding portion 21d holds the peripheral edge of the substrate W (the holding groove 21f applies a force from the peripheral edge of the substrate W by closing the lid 11). In a state in which the partition wall 22 is moved to the mounting surface 11a side by a distance H), the protruding height H2 of the partition wall 22 is preferably set to be equal to or higher than the height H1 from the mounting surface 11a to the tip 21g of the holding portion 21d. Thus, it has been found that the movement of the holding portion 21d when compressed in contact with the substrate W can be appropriately regulated by the partition wall 22, and contamination of the substrate W is reduced.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5B, the protruding height H2 of the partition wall 22 is from the mounting surface 11a to the tip 21g of the holding portion 21d when the holding portion 21d does not hold the peripheral edge of the substrate W. If the height is equal to or higher than H0, the movement of the holding portion 21d when compressed in contact with the substrate W can be more reliably and appropriately regulated by the partition wall 22, so that the contamination of the substrate W can be further reduced. Can do.

(Length of partition wall)
Moreover, the suitable length of the partition wall 22 for restrict | limiting the motion of the board | substrate W appropriately was also examined. Here, paying attention to the length L4 (see FIG. 4) of the partition wall 22 in the direction perpendicular to the projecting direction and parallel to the surface of the substrate W, the length L3 of the holding portion 21d corresponding thereto is A suitable ratio of the length L4 of the partition wall 22 was examined.

  First, as shown in FIG. 7A, when the ratio of the length L4 of the partition wall 22 to the length L3 of the holding portion 21d is large, the range of the partition wall 22 that can restrict the movement of the holding portion 21d is relatively wide. Therefore, the movement of the holding portion 21d in the twisting direction (indicated by an arrow (1) in the figure) is reduced.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7B, when the ratio of the length L4 of the partition wall 22 to the length L3 of the holding portion 21d is small, the range of the partition wall 22 that can restrict the movement of the holding portion 21d is narrowed. The movement of the holding portion 21d in the twisting direction (indicated by the arrow (2) in the figure) becomes large.

  Paying attention to the relationship between the length L4 of the partition wall 22 and the movement of the holding portion 21d in the torsional direction, and obtaining a suitable ratio of the length L4 to the length L3, the length L4 of the partition wall 22 is It has been found that 50% or more of the length L3 of the holding portion 21d, more desirably 65% or more, is preferable in appropriately restricting the movement of the substrate W. That is, if the length L4 of the partition wall 22 is 50% or more of the length L3 of the holding portion 21d, the holding portion 21d can be sufficiently restricted from moving in the twisting direction, and contamination of the substrate W can be reduced. It has been found that the contamination of the substrate W can be further reduced if it is at least%.

(Gap between the holding part and the partition wall)
Further, a suitable size of the gap between the holding portion 21d and the partition wall 22 for appropriately restricting the movement of the substrate W was examined. As a result, the total gap (C1 + C2) between two adjacent holding portions 21d (one slot) is preferably 0.2 mm or more in order to prevent the substrate W from being damaged, and contamination of the substrate W is prevented. It was found that 0.5 mm or less is preferable. Furthermore, it is effective in appropriately restricting the movement of the substrate W that the first gap C1 and the second gap C2 are set to a size of 0.1 mm or more and 0.25 mm or less, respectively. I found.

(Example)
Hereinafter, examples of the substrate storage container 1 will be described.
In this embodiment, a prototype in which the total of the first gap C1 and the second gap C2 (C1 + C2) is set to 0.2 mm or more and 0.5 mm or less in the above-described substrate storage container 1 is created. It was subjected to a vibration test and evaluated. The vibration test conditions and evaluation methods are as follows.

○ Vibration test conditions (JIS Z0200: 1999 compliant, less than 1000km of land travel)
Test equipment: 936 AW / LAH made by EMIC
Vibration: sinusoidal vibration frequency: 5 Hz to 50 Hz, one reciprocal half (5 → 50 → 5 → 50)
Acceleration: ± 0.75G
Sweep time: 7 minutes each way (21 minutes in total)
○ Method for evaluating the amount of dirt After the prototype is vibrated under the above-mentioned vibration test conditions, the surface of the substrate W accommodated in the prototype is visually observed under a condenser lamp and observed with a digital microscope. The amount of dirt was evaluated.

  As a result of the evaluation, it was confirmed that the amount of dirt adhering to the substrate W was small and the total gap was in the range of 0.2 mm to 0.5 mm, which is a suitable gap condition.

(Effect of embodiment)
The effects of the embodiment described above will be described.
According to this embodiment, by appropriately setting the protruding height H2 of the partition wall 22, the length L4 of the partition wall 22, and the gap between the holding portion 21d and the partition wall 22, the movement of the substrate W is appropriately limited. Thus, it is possible to provide the substrate storage container 1 that prevents the substrate W from being damaged and prevents the substrate W from being soiled.

  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 embodiment. Further, it is apparent from the scope of the claims that the embodiments added with such changes or improvements can be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate storage container 2 Container body 4 Opening 11 Lid 11a Mounting surface 21L Holding member 21R Holding member 21d Holding part 21g Tip 22 Partition wall 25 Tip W Substrate H Movement distance H0 Height to tip of holding part H1 Tip of holding part Height H2 Partition wall protrusion height L3 Holding portion length L4 Partition wall length C1 First gap C2 Second gap

Claims (6)

A substrate storage container,
A container body having an opening;
A lid for closing the opening;
A holding member attached to the inner surface of the lid and having a plurality of holding portions for holding the peripheral edges of the plurality of substrates stored in alignment with the container body;
A plurality of partition walls provided on an attachment surface of the lid to which the holding member is attached, and projecting from the attachment surface to both sides of the holding portion so as to partition the plurality of holding portions;
The partition wall is provided so that a length in a direction perpendicular to the protruding direction and parallel to the surface of the substrate is 50% or more of the length of the corresponding holding portion. Substrate storage container. A substrate storage container,
A container body having an opening;
A lid for closing the opening;
A holding member attached to the inner surface of the lid and having a plurality of holding portions for holding the peripheral edges of the plurality of substrates stored in alignment with the container body;
A plurality of partition walls provided on an attachment surface of the lid to which the holding member is attached, and projecting from the attachment surface to both sides of the holding portion so as to partition the plurality of holding portions;
In the state where the holding portion holds the peripheral portion of the substrate, the partition wall has a protruding height from the mounting surface that is equal to or higher than a height from the mounting surface to the tip of the holding portion. Provided ,
The partition wall, the length in the direction parallel to the surface of the perpendicular direction and the substrate in the projecting direction, so that more than 50% of the length of the holding portion corresponding provided wherein Rukoto A substrate storage container. A substrate storage container,
A container body having an opening;
A lid for closing the opening;
A holding member attached to the inner surface of the lid and having a plurality of holding portions for holding the peripheral edges of the plurality of substrates stored in alignment with the container body;
A plurality of partition walls provided on an attachment surface of the lid to which the holding member is attached, and projecting from the attachment surface to both sides of the holding portion so as to partition the plurality of holding portions;
In the state where the holding portion holds the peripheral portion of the substrate, the partition wall has a protruding height from the mounting surface that is equal to or higher than a height from the mounting surface to the tip of the holding portion. Provided ,
The partition wall, the length in the direction parallel to the surface of the perpendicular direction and the substrate in the projecting direction, so that more than 65% of the length of the holding portion corresponding provided wherein Rukoto A substrate storage container. In the state where the holding portion does not hold the peripheral edge of the substrate, the partition wall has a protruding height from the mounting surface that is equal to or higher than the height from the mounting surface to the tip of the holding portion. the substrate storage container according to any one of claims 1, characterized in that provided 3.   The said holding | maintenance part has a clearance gap of 0.2 mm or more and 0.5 mm or less in total between the two said partition walls arrange | positioned at the both sides, The any one of Claim 1 to 4 characterized by the above-mentioned. The substrate storage container as described. The holding part has a first gap between one of the two partition walls arranged on both sides thereof, and a second gap between the other partition wall,
6. The substrate storage according to claim 1, wherein each of the first gap and the second gap is set to have a size of 0.1 mm or more and 0.25 mm or less. container.