JPH0648510A - Movable sealed container - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a movable sealed container which forms a device for taking out a cassette from a container bottom cover into a transferring robot easily and has no fear of a wafer being polluted by dust generated at the time of taking out the cassette. CONSTITUTION:This movable sealed container, where a storage member 30 is placed on a bottom cover 20 for shielding its inside from the outside air, is provided with a base seat 21 for placing the storage member on the inner surface of the bottom cover 20. The base seat is provided with a space 22 for inserting/removing transferring tool which opens sideways.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable closed container used in a clean room.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, semiconductors are manufactured in a clean room where the internal atmosphere is cleaned. However, the transfer between processes in the clean room and the storage in the storage are
In order to prevent dust from adhering to the semiconductor wafer, the wafer cassette in which the semiconductor wafer is stored is stored in a portable sealed container.

FIG. 3 shows an example of this type of closed container. In the figure, 10 is a body of a portable closed container (POD) 1, 11 is an opening 12 of the body 10.
Flanges, 13, 13A are sealing materials, 14
Is a handle, 20 is a bottom lid of a closed container, and 30 is a wafer cassette in which semiconductor wafers are stored. Reference numeral 40 denotes a hermetically-sealed case of a semiconductor surface treatment apparatus, which accommodates a reaction furnace for surface treatment and a transfer means (shown in FIG. 5) for transferring a wafer to the reaction furnace. 42 is an opening for loading / unloading the wafer cassette, and is provided in a part of the upper wall 41 of the case 40. An elevating table 46 of the elevating device 48 has a size such that it can be fitted into the opening 42 with a gap G left between the opening 42 and the peripheral surface of the opening 42. 47 is a sealing material.

The lid 20 of the closed container is a hollow body and has a locking mechanism as shown in FIG. 4, for example. 24
Is a cam, and 25 is a plate-shaped lock arm, which has a rolling element 25a and is supported by a cantilever so as to be capable of advancing and retracting in the longitudinal direction and tilting. 26 is a fulcrum member, and 27 is a spring.
The cam shaft 28 extends from the center of the upper wall of the lifting table 46 into the lid 20, and spline-engages with the cam 44 when the lid 20 is concentrically placed on the lifting table 46. The lift table 46 incorporates a cam shaft drive mechanism 29 for rotating the cam shaft 28 by a predetermined angle, and the cam shaft drive mechanism 29 and the cam shaft 28 constitute an unlocking / locking mechanism. A recess 12A with which the lock arm 25 is engaged is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the opening 12 of the main body 10.

In this structure, the wafer cassette 30 accommodating a plurality of semiconductor wafers in stages is a closed container 1.
It is put in and transported. When the container 1 is transferred by the external transfer device onto the opening 42 of the surface treatment device 40 as shown in the figure, for example, a lock mechanism (not shown) that presses the flange 11 of the closed container 1 from above operates to close the container 1. The container 1 is fixed on the surface treatment device 40. Next, the unlocking / locking mechanism unlocks the lid 20 and the main body 10, and the elevating table 46 descends to a predetermined height shown in FIG. 5 with the lid 20 and the wafer cassette 30 placed thereon.

After that, the wafer gripping device 50 grips the wafer cassette 30 and carries it into the cassette stage 60.
A wafer transfer robot 70 takes out one or several wafers W from the wafer cassette 30 of the cassette stage 60 and transfers a predetermined number of wafers W to a basket-shaped container called a boat. This cage-shaped container is carried into the reaction furnace for surface treatment.

[0007]

Thus, the wafer cassette 30 is once transferred to the stage 60, but since the bottom of the wafer cassette 30 is in contact with the upper surface of the bottom lid 20, the cassette is gripped and lifted. Wafer gripping device 50
Need. The wafer transfer robot 70 picks up the wafer W from the cassette 30 while scooping the wafer.
The wafer gripping device 50 is a grip 30A of the wafer cassette 30.
Since they grab, they are different types of automatic machines (transfer robots).

Further, since the bottom of the wafer cassette 30 is in contact with the upper surface of the bottom lid 20 as described above, the grip 30A of the wafer cassette 30 is grasped and lifted, but in the clean room or the clean room. Since the wafer storage is a down-flow type (clean air or inert gas is flowed from the ceiling to the floor), when the upper part of the wafer cassette 30 is gripped and lifted, dust generated during this gripping operation is generated. It may flow downward and contaminate the wafer in the wafer cassette 30.

The present invention has been made to solve this problem, and the device for taking out the cassette from the container bottom lid can be simply a type transfer robot, and dust is generated at the time of taking out. It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable sealed container that does not have a risk of contaminating a wafer.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides, in claim 1, a portable closed container in which a stored item is placed on a bottom lid that tightly shields the inside from the outside air. A pedestal on which the stored items are placed is provided on the inner surface of the bottom lid, and the pedestal has a transfer tool insertion / removal space that opens to the side.

In the second aspect of the present invention, the portable closed container is a container for accommodating and transporting electronic device substrates in a clean room.

[0012]

According to the present invention, since the contents can be scooped up and lifted from the container bottom lid, particularly when the contents are wafer cassettes, the grip is used to take out the cassette from the bottom lid. No action required.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 21 is a bottom lid 20.
Is a pedestal provided on the inner surface of the wafer, and has a U-shape in a plan view having a transfer tool insertion / removal space 22 that opens to the side, and the wafer cassette 30 is mounted on the pedestal 21. .

In this embodiment, a transfer tool (for example, a spatula attached to the hand of the transfer robot) is installed from the side.
By inserting 23 and moving the transfer tool 23 upward, the wafer cassette 30 can be scooped.

In this embodiment, since the wafer cassette 30 can be scooped up and lifted from the bottom lid 20, the wafer cassette 30 can be lifted and moved from the lid 20 by an apparatus of the same type as the transfer robot 70. Is possible.

Further, since the wafer cassette 30 is scooped up, even if dust is generated at this time, there is no possibility that the generated dust will contaminate the wafer.

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention, the bottom lid of the container is provided with the pedestal that divides the space that opens laterally between the inner surface of the bottom lid and the lower surface of the storage item. Since the contents can be picked up and lifted, the cassette can be taken out from the lid without adversely affecting the wafer and the cassette. Further, the device for transferring the wafer cassette to the cassette stage does not require a complicated gripping mechanism, and therefore, the device has an advantage that the structure is simple.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a perspective view showing a lid of the container in the above embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a conventional portable closed container.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a locking mechanism of the portable closed container.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a movement pattern of a wafer in a conventional surface treatment apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Closed Container 10 Main Body of Closed Container 20 Bottom Lid of Closed Container 21 Pedestal 22 Space for Transfer Tool Insertion / Removal 23 Transfer Tool 30 Wafer Cassette 60 Cassette Stage 70 Wafer Transfer Robot

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Hiya Morita 100 Takegahana-cho, Ise-shi, Mie Shinko Electric Co., Ltd.Ise Works (72) Inventor Kono, 100 Takegahana-cho, Ise-shi, Mie Shinko Electric Co., Ltd. Ise In-house (72) Inventor Mitsuhiro Hayashi 100, Takegahana-cho, Ise-shi, Mie Shinko Electric Co., Ltd.In Ise Works (72) Inventor Atsushi Okuno 100, Takegahana-cho, Ise-shi, Mie Shinko Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Invention Akio Nakamura 100, Takegahana-cho, Ise City, Mie Prefecture Shinko Electric Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A portable closed container in which a stored item is placed on a bottom cover that tightly shields the inside from the outside air, and a pedestal on which the stored item is placed is provided on an inner surface of the bottom cover. A portable closed container, wherein the pedestal has a transfer tool insertion / removal space that opens to the side. 2. The portable hermetically sealed container according to claim 1, wherein the portable hermetically sealed container is a container for accommodating a wafer cassette into which electronic device substrates are placed in a clean room.