JPH01313955A - Carrier - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to execute swiftly and reliably the opening and shutting operation of a carrier by a method wherein, when partitions formed at equal intervals with those between housing racks respectively coincide with each housing rack by moving the opening and shutting member of the aperture of the carrier, a putting out and in of tabular materials is made possible and when the partitions are respectively positioned between the housing racks, the partitions prevent a fall of the tabular materials as stoppers. CONSTITUTION:A wafer carrier 1 is constituted in such a way that a plurality of steps of housing racks 9 are respectively projected on inner walls 7 and 7' of the wafer carrier 1 at prescribed intervals and a plurality of wafers can be placed in parallel to one another on each housing rack 9 of the housing racks opposing to one another. Moreover, an aperture 3 is provided with an opening and shutting member 11 having partitions 13 provided at the same intervals as the intervals between the housing racks 9. Moreover, the carrier is constituted in such a way that when the partitions 13 are located at positions where each partition 13 coincides with each housing rack 9 by moving this member 11, a putting out and in of the wafers is made possible and in contrast with this, when the partitions 13 are each positioned between the housing racks 9, the partitions stop the entrances and exits of the wafers to fulfill the duty of preventing a fall of the wafers as stoppers. Thereby, the wafer carrier is constituted in such a way that it can be opened and shut according to each stage of the movement and the operability of the carrier is improved.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a carrier for transporting a plurality of plate-like objects such as semiconductor wafers and printed circuit boards while holding them at predetermined intervals.

[Conventional technology]

A conventional wafer carrier has a storage shelf formed on the inner wall of the housing so that a plurality of wafers can be placed in parallel at predetermined intervals, and has an opening on the front surface for loading and unloading the wafers. The rear surface is closed to prevent the wafer from falling out. A wafer carrier configured in this manner is used to transport wafers to a predetermined location by, for example, a robot arm, a belt conveyor, or an operator, without directly handling the wafers.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, when attempting to transport a wafer carrier using such a transport means, the loaded wafers may fall due to vibrations caused by the wafer carrier being transported by a robot arm or belt conveyor, for example, or by tilting when the operator transports the wafer carrier. In this case, there was a risk that a large number of wafers would be damaged and the yield would be reduced. For this reason, stoppers that open and close the opening of the wafer carrier have been invented, but all conventional stoppers have a structure that opens and closes the entire opening, and moreover, they open and close automatically according to each stage of movement. I wasn't ready to do it. The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the conventional example, and its purpose is to provide a carrier that can be opened and closed according to each stage of movement and has improved operability.

[Means to solve the problem]

That is, the carrier of the present invention has a storage shelf formed on the inner wall of the side plate so that a plurality of plate-like bodies can be placed in parallel at predetermined intervals, and has an opening for taking in and out the plate-like bodies. In this method, an opening/closing member having partitions formed at equal intervals with each storage shelf is provided in the opening, and when the opening/closing member is moved and the partition matches the position of each storage shelf, the plate-shaped object can be taken in and taken out. The present invention is characterized in that when the partition is located between the storage shelves, it acts as a stopper to prevent the plate-like body from falling. Further, the opening/closing member has a guide shaft movable in the length direction in the opening of the carrier, and partitions formed at equal intervals with each storage shelf, and the lower end of the guide shaft protrudes from the bottom surface of the carrier. When the carrier is placed in a predetermined position, the protruding part of the guide shaft is pushed so that the partitions are aligned with each storage shelf, and when the carrier is lifted, the partitions are positioned between each storage shelf. Another feature is that the plate-shaped body is prevented from falling. A further feature is that the guide shaft of the opening/closing member is biased in a direction that causes the protrusion to protrude from the bottom surface of the carrier.

【Example】

An embodiment of this invention carrier will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a plastic wafer carrier in the shape of a bottomed container, which has an opening 3 on the front surface through which wafers 31 are taken in and taken out. A pair of side plates 5, 5' constituting this wafer carrier l are provided in parallel at a predetermined interval, and a plurality of storage shelves 9 are protruded from the inner walls 7, 7° at a predetermined interval, respectively. There is. A plurality of wafers can be placed in parallel at predetermined intervals on each of the opposing storage shelves 9. The protruding length of the storage shelf 9 is sufficient as long as it can stably place the wafer 31, and it may be about 5 mm, for example, to prevent the wafer 31 from falling even if the orientation flat sides accidentally face each other, and the cross-sectional shape of the storage shelf 9 It may meander in a rectangular shape or in a wavy shape. The opening 3 is provided with an opening/closing member 11 having partitions 13 with the same spacing as each storage shelf 9. By this movement of the opening/closing member 11, when the partition 13 is in a position that matches each storage shelf 9, it is possible to take in and take out the wafer 31, and conversely, when the partition 13 is located between each storage shelf 9, the wafer 31 can be taken in and out. It blocks the entrance and exit and acts as a stopper to prevent the wafer 31 from falling. In other words, the opening/closing member 11 has a guide shaft 15 attached at the opening 3 portion between the top plate 21 and the bottom plate 23 of the wafer carrier l so as to be movable in the length direction of the side plate 5, and a base. This guide shaft 15 is inserted and fixed, and has a plurality of partitions 13 arranged at equal intervals with each storage shelf 9. These multiple stages of partitions 13 may be formed as one unit every two or three stages, and a predetermined number of partitions may be attached to the guide shaft 15 according to the size of the wafer carrier l as shown in the figure. It is necessary to attach a cap nut 27 to one end of the shaft 15 to prevent the partition 13 from being removed, and to allow the guide shaft 15 and the partition 13 to move together. Of course, the guide shaft 15 and the plurality of partitions 13 can be integrally molded from plastic or the like, and in this case, consideration such as preventing the waves is unnecessary. The opening/closing member 11 is slidably held by bushings 25 attached to the top plate 21 and bottom plate 23 of the wafer carrier 1, which are part of the guide shaft 15. The lower end of the guide shaft 15 is made to protrude from the bottom surface of the bottom plate 23 of the wafer carrier I to form an operating pin 17. When the wafer carrier 1 is installed in a predetermined position, the opening/closing member 11 is raised by the push of the operating bin 17, and the partition 13 is aligned with the position of each storage shelf 9, so that the opening/closing member 11 is located at the entrance/exit of each storage shelf 9. The wafer 31 can now pass through. On the other hand, when the wafer carrier 1 is lifted during transportation etc., the force applied to the operating bin 17 at the lower end of the opening/closing member 11 is removed and the partition 13 is positioned between each of the storage shelves 9 and the opening/closing member 11 is moved downwards. The entrance and exit portion of the shelf 9 is blocked to prevent the wafers 31 from falling. A coil spring 19 is fitted into the upper part of the guide shaft 15, and this coil spring 19, which is interposed between the upper end of the partition 13 and the upper plate 21 of the wafer carrier 1, can be operated by pressing the upper end of the partition 13. The opening/closing member 11 is moved in the direction in which the storage bin 17 protrudes from the bottom surface of the wafer carrier 1.
is energized. Therefore, when the wafer carrier 1 is lifted, the force applied to the operating bottle 17 at the lower end of the opening/closing member 11 is removed, and the operating bottle 17 is automatically moved in the direction of protruding from the bottom surface of the wafer carrier 1 due to the elasticity of the coil spring 19. move in a specific direction. Next, the operation of the wafer carrier will be explained. When using the wafer carrier, the wafer 31 is placed in the wafer carrier l which is in a predetermined position so that the partition 13 matches each storage shelf 9 and the wafer 31 can pass through the entrance/exit portion of each storage shelf 9. Store it. Next, when the wafer carrier 1 is lifted during transportation or other movement, the force applied to the operating bin 17 at the lower end of the opening/closing member 11 is removed, and the force of the coil spring 19 lowers the opening/closing member 11. Since the partition 13 is located between each storage shelf 9 and blocks the entrance/exit portion of each storage shelf 9, the wafers 31 are reliably prevented from falling. When the above-mentioned movement is completed and the wafer carrier 1 is placed in a predetermined position for the next process, the operation bin is placed on the upper surface of various operation tables on which the wafer carrier 1 is placed, against the biasing force of the coil spring 19. 17 is pushed up, the partitions 13 are aligned with each storage shelf 9, and the wafers 31 can pass through the entrance/exit portion of each storage shelf 9, and the wafers 31 are taken out and subjected to various processing. As described above, the opening/closing member 11 is opened and closed by the wafer carrier 1.
This is done automatically by setting the operation bin 17 on the installation surface or lifting it from the installation surface, but the operation method and mounting position of the operation bin 17 may be changed as appropriate depending on the processing process of the wafer 31 and other circumstances. can. The carrier of the present invention described above can be suitably applied to transporting wafers between each step of a semiconductor manufacturing process. It is particularly effective for transporting sea urchins in carriers by automated guided vehicles. Furthermore, it is effective when applied to a carrier when transferring wafers to a boat for a heat treatment furnace. That is,
It is extremely effective because the robot automatically transfers the wafers.

【Effect of the invention】

As described above, the carrier of the present invention is provided with an opening/closing member in the opening, and when the opening/closing member is moved, the partition forming the opening/closing member formed at equal intervals with each storage shelf is aligned with each storage shelf. It is possible to take in and take out the plate-like object, and when the partition is located between each storage shelf, it acts as a stopper to prevent the plate-like object from falling. Therefore, by simply moving the opening/closing member with a small stroke, it is possible to move the plate-like object between each storage shelf. It can be opened and closed quickly and can be opened and closed quickly. Further, since the opening/closing member can be housed within the carrier, there is no need to increase the size of the carrier, and a carrier that can easily be used in processing steps for plate-shaped objects can be provided.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the carrier of the present invention with the opening/closing member closed, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the opening/closing member opened, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the main part. 1... Wafer carrier 3... Opening 5.5゛・
...Side plate 7,7°...Inner wall 9...Storage shelf
11... Opening/closing member 13... Partition
15...Guide shaft 17...Operation bin 1
9...Coil spring 31...Wafer Fig. 1 Fig. 2

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A carrier having a storage shelf formed on the inner wall of the side plate so as to place a plurality of plate-like bodies in parallel at predetermined intervals, and having an opening for taking in and taking out the plate-like bodies,
An opening/closing member having partitions formed at equal intervals with each storage shelf is provided in the opening, and by movement of the opening/closing member, when the partition matches the position of each storage shelf, the plate-like object can be taken in and out. . A carrier characterized in that, when the partition is located between each storage shelf, it acts as a stopper to prevent the plate-shaped body from falling.