JPH062272Y2 - Upper buffer plate of wafer container - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial field of application) The present invention relates to an upper buffer plate for a wafer container, which is intended for safe transportation of semiconductor wafers from damage and contamination.

(Prior art and its problems) Sliced wafers of semiconductor crystal rods are often transported in large quantities to users to make integrated circuits. At this time, expensive but thin and fragile wafers are protected from damage and contamination. Sufficient consideration is required.

Conventionally, as this transportation container, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, an upper lid 41 and a container 42 (a in the figure) or an upper lid 41 and a container 42 are used.
There is known a rectangular parallelepiped shape composed of an inner box 43 and an inner box 43 (FIG. 11B), and a large number of inner walls of the container 42 or the inner box 43 in the width direction are arranged on both inner side walls in the width direction. Rib 44
... are provided to face each other, and each adjacent rib
Each wafer W is individually accommodated in the peripheral edge portion Wa between 44, and each upper lid Wb is elastically provided by elastic members 45, 46, etc. detachably provided on the lower surface of the upper lid 41 or the upper edge portion of the inner box. Hold the wafer W by vibration during transportation
To prevent damage.

Several types of elastic members are known as shown in FIG. 5, and each has its own problems. Eggplant, Figure a (Actual No. 58-175627) or Figure b
The ones in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 52-118390 and 55-12715 are structurally the simplest, but there is no notch for receiving the upper edge Wb of each wafer, and the contact position between the elastic material and each wafer is Since the height difference cannot be completely absorbed, the wafer is not fixed, and the wafer and the container are rubbed by the vibration during transportation, and shavings are generated to contaminate the wafer.

Figure c (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 52-118390, No. 62-99575) or Fig. B (No. 52-148043) shows the upper edge W of each wafer.
Since there is a notch that accepts b, it is more stable than the former, but because each notch has no independence, if there are variations in the diameter of the wafer or the amount of indentation, there will be variations in the holding force, resulting in wafer backlash and friction. , Leads to pollution.

As an improved version of the d type, there has recently been proposed a comb-shaped flexible part having a guide film as shown in FIG. e (Actual No. Sho 60-2826), but even with this, each holding groove is Since the structure is continuous, the variation in wafer holding force is not improved despite the complicated structure, and when the buffer plate is pushed into the wafer, the contact point with the wafer shifts, causing friction with the wafer edge and causing contamination. Cause of.

Further, in the one shown in FIG. F (JP-A-60-173826 and JP-A-193877), since the adjacent comb-teeth-shaped flexible portions are independent for each wafer, the diameter of the wafer and the pushing amount vary. Even if there is, the difference in height is well absorbed and the wafer holding force is stable, but when the wafer is filled or the container lid is closed, the wafer falls into the gap between the comb-shaped flexible parts and is caught, causing damage or damage. It causes pollution.

As described above, each of the conventional upper buffer plates has both advantages and disadvantages, and there is no situation in which a truly satisfactory one has been found yet.

(Means for Solving the Problems) Then, as a result of earnest research on the structures of these upper buffer plates, the present inventors have provided a large number of strip-shaped elastic pieces having a structure similar to the above-mentioned f type. In the upper buffer plate,
A locking piece is provided on the lower surface of the tip of each elastic piece, and each locking piece has a symmetrical cross-section and the side surface as a whole is M.
A pair of side walls having a character shape, and one side wall of the locking piece is provided adjacent to a position where a part of the side surface overlaps with the other side wall of the locking piece on the adjacent elastic piece. Then, it was found that the largest defect of the type f wafer, the fall between the elastic pieces of the wafer, was prevented, and the wafer was not damaged or contaminated at all, and the present invention was reached.

Next, the details of the present invention will be explained based on the embodiments shown in FIGS.

First, FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a wafer container to which the upper buffer plate according to the present invention can be attached. This wafer container is composed of an upper lid 1, a container 2, and an inner box 3, and strip-shaped step portions 4, 5 are formed around the openings of the upper lid 1 and the container 2, respectively.
Therefore, they can be engaged and closed with each other via the packing 6. The inner box 3 has a bowl-shaped cross section, and a large number of pleats 8 are provided symmetrically to each other in the arrangement direction of the wafers W inside the upper side walls 7, 7 corresponding to the bowl side portions. , Each of the wafers W can be individually accommodated between the adjacent folds 8 and 8 at the left and right edges thereof.

On the other hand, an upper cushioning plate 20 is detachably attached to the lower surface of the upper lid 1 to elastically hold the upper edges of the wafers W to prepare for vibration during transportation.

FIG. 2 shows the details of the upper cushion plate 20, which is, for example, a quadrangular frame body 21 and a pair of descending walls suspended in parallel with the side walls 7, 7 of the inner box 3. 22 and 22 and a large number of strip-shaped elastic pieces 23 extending inwardly from the lower edges of the respective elastic pieces 23.
Locking pieces 24 for locking the upper edge Wb of each wafer W are provided on the lower surface of the front end portion of. The locking piece 24 is composed of a pair of side walls 25 and 26 whose cross sections are symmetrical to each other.
As shown in (c), the side surface is M-shaped as a whole. A pair of side walls 25, 26 that constitute the locking piece 24
Are provided on opposite sides of each elastic piece 23 ...
Further, one side wall 25a of the elastic piece 23a is provided adjacent to the other side wall 26b of the elastic piece 23b adjacent thereto, at a position where they partially overlap each other when viewed from the side, and each side wall 25, 26 is elastic. The pieces are arranged in a zigzag shape as a plane.

Further, FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the upper cushioning plate, and in this upper cushioning plate 30, a pair of side walls 3 constituting the locking piece 34 is formed.
5, 36 are provided opposite to each other on each side of each elastic piece 33, and one set of the locking pieces 34 of this combination is alternately arranged in a zigzag manner between the adjacent elastic pieces 33a, 33b. Are arranged in a staggered manner. Therefore, also in this embodiment, similarly to the previous example, the side wall 35a on the elastic piece 33a and the side wall 36b on the elastic piece 33b are provided adjacent to each other at a position where they partially overlap each other when viewed from the side.

As described above, in the upper cushion plate according to the present invention, the locking pieces provided on the lower surfaces of the tips of the plurality of elastic pieces are composed of a pair of side walls whose cross sections are symmetrical to each other and whose side surfaces are M-shaped as a whole. Since one side wall is provided adjacent to the other side wall of the locking piece on the adjacent elastic piece so as to partially overlap with the other side wall, a large number of wafers W are arranged along the folds 8 of the inner box 3. 2 (c), there is no risk that the lower edge Wc thereof will fit into the gap P between the elastic pieces 23a and 23b. , Can always fit between 26.

On the other hand, in the wafer container provided with the upper buffer plate according to the present invention, the wafer W inserted into the container has the upper edge Wb of the upper buffer plate 20 (or 30) provided on the inner lower surface of the upper lid 1.
By the locking piece 24 (or 34) of, the left and right side edges Wa, Wa
Are pleats provided on the left and right side walls 7, 7 of the inner box 3.
Wafer W
Sufficiently responds to vibration during transportation or handling of
There is no risk that the wafer will come off the locking piece of the upper buffer plate and come into contact with other parts to generate fine powder or be damaged.

The upper cushion plate according to the present invention is not limited to the one illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3 as long as it has a structure in which the locking pieces having the above-mentioned structure are provided on the lower surface of the tip of a large number of strip-shaped elastic pieces. Without
For example, the contact portion of the elastic member 56 shown in FIG. 4 (b) with the fin-shaped wafer may have the same structure as described above.

Further, the wafer container to which the upper buffer plate is applied is not limited to that of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and for example, the upper lid 41 shown in FIG. 4 (a) as a conventional example is shown.
And a container 42, and a container having a large number of ribs 44 for receiving the wafer W described above on both side walls of the container 42.
The same can be applied when suppressing the upper edge of the wafer W mounted on the lower surface of the upper lid 41.

In addition, this container is a tough structure with ribs in place so that it can respond to changes in internal and external pressure, and its production is made of a highly rigid material made of plastic such as polypropylene or acrylic resin whose contents can be seen through. Things are commonly adopted.

(Effect of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, the insertion of the wafer into the container is quick and easy, and the wafer acts as an upper buffer plate during insertion and during transportation or storage after insertion. There is no danger of the product coming off the stopper and coming into contact with other parts to generate fine powder or damage.

Since each elastic piece of the upper cushioning plate maintains a predetermined gap and functions independently, it is highly responsive to vibration during wafer transportation or handling, and there is no structural difficulty in the mold during molding. Therefore, the molding is easy and the economy is excellent.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 3 are all related to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view for explaining the structure of an embodiment of a wafer container provided with an upper buffer plate, FIG. 2 is a first embodiment relating to the upper buffer plate, (a) is a plan view, (b)
Is a partially enlarged plan view thereof, (c) is a sectional view taken along the line C-C of FIG. (B) showing the action at the time of inserting the wafer, and FIG. 3 is a second embodiment relating to the upper buffer plate. It is a partial enlarged plan view of FIG. 4 and 5 relate to a conventional example and are shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b).
FIGS. 5A to 5F are perspective views of upper cushion plates of different modes, respectively. (Explanation of main symbols) 20, 30 ... Upper cushioning plate, 23, 33 ... Elastic piece, 24, 34 ... Locking piece, 25, 26, 35, 36 ... Side wall.

Claims (3)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. An upper cushioning plate provided with a large number of strip-shaped elastic pieces, wherein locking pieces are provided on the lower surface of the tip of each elastic piece, and the respective locking pieces are symmetrical in cross-section to each other as a side surface as a whole. Of a pair of side walls having an M shape, one side wall of which is provided adjacent to the other side wall of the locking piece on the adjacent elastic piece so as to partially overlap the side surfaces with each other. Upper buffer plate. 2. A utility model in which a pair of side walls constituting a locking piece are provided opposite to each other in an oblique direction on both sides of each elastic piece, and each side wall is arranged in a zigzag manner in a plane. The upper buffer plate of the wafer container according to claim 1. 3. A pair of side walls constituting the locking pieces are provided on opposite sides of each elastic piece, and the respective locking pieces of this combination are alternately arranged between the elastic pieces adjacent to each other. The upper buffer plate for a wafer container according to claim 1, wherein the upper and lower plates are arranged in a staggered pattern on the plane.