KR100454775B1 - Shipping and transport cassette with kinematic coupling - Google Patents

Abstract

A cassette 10 is disclosed for storing a plurality of articles in parallel alignment. This cassette is particularly light and is provided with reinforcements 50, 52, 54 to prevent warping, bending, softening or breaking. Means 66, 68, 70 are provided for indexing the cassette on the surface for accurate insertion and withdrawal of the article.

Description

SHIPPING AND TRANSPORT CASSETTE WITH KINEMATIC COUPLING}

The present invention relates to a cassette for loading and delivering various articles. More specifically, it relates to a cassette specifically configured for holding a wafer, rigid memory disk, flat panel display, liquid crystal display or photomask. The invention is particularly useful for holding relatively large articles such as, for example, wafers 300 mm or more in diameter. However, the cassette of the present invention can also be used to hold small articles.

Various containers are used in the art to hold silicon wafers, rigid memory disks, flat panel displays, liquid crystal displays, and the like. These items are fragile and require protection when transferring from one point to another in the manufacturing facility. It is known that loading such articles into a delivery cassette is an effective protection method.

Early cassettes were heavy, bulky, expensive, and poorly adapted to the functions they needed to function. Due to the heat and harsh chemicals used in these situations, conventional cassettes are often softened, warped, distorted and even destroyed during processing. Such damage to a cassette often leads to the destruction of the items stored therein.

Recent cassettes attempt to solve the drawbacks of conventional cassettes by reinforcing the cassettes by providing various gussets, supports or H-bars to prevent such distortion. In addition, Teflon ^?? The same material as (registered trademark) was used. Such materials are intended for the preparation of chemical etching performed on articles. This technique is suitable for cassettes made to hold small articles having a diameter or length of about 150 mm or less. However, given recent trends in the semiconductor and electronics industries, there is a need for a new configuration of cassettes that can accommodate large items. Such cassettes must be softened, warped, and not broken against high temperature or harsh chemicals. In addition, considering the size and weight of such an article, handling by the robot becomes more important, and therefore, a cassette having a configuration that can help in dividing and fixing the cassette to the processing equipment is required.

1 is a perspective view of a cassette according to the present invention;

2 is a front view showing one end of a cassette according to the present invention;

3 is a front view showing the other end of the cassette opposite the end shown in FIG.

4 is a front view of one side of the cassette.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing the other side of the cassette opposite the side shown in FIG. 4; FIG.

6 is a bottom view of the cassette.

7 is a plan view of a cassette.

8 is a cross-sectional view showing two opposing dividers and a wafer.

The present invention is intended to provide a cassette specially configured for accommodating large diameter wafers (i.e., wafers 300 mm or more in diameter) and other small articles. Such a cassette can hold small articles as well. A reinforcement is provided to prevent softening, twisting, warping or breaking of the cassette during use. By using these reinforcements, the amount of material used to make the cassettes can be reduced, which in turn reduces manufacturing costs and weight.

According to the present invention, there is also provided a cassette which is easy to clean. Such a cassette can be held in parallel spaced apart states, so that the articles do not come into contact with each other and are not damaged. Such a cassette has a set of grooves for kinematically connecting the cassette to equipment used for the processing and handling of articles. Such kinematic grooves can be used to register the cassette in a microenvironment pod, for example to protect articles during loading and delivery.

In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a cassette capable of holding a plurality of wafers having a diameter of, for example, 300 mm or more.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a cassette with suitable reinforcement which can prevent the cassette from twisting, warping, softening or breaking even when hot or harsh chemicals are applied.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cassette capable of holding a plurality of articles spaced in parallel to each other.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a cassette having a kinematic coupling that allows the cassette to be aligned with the processing equipment and properly positioned within the microenvironment pod.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cassette having an open top and a bottom.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cassette in which all surfaces thereof can be easily cleaned and cleaned.

These and other objects will be apparent from the detailed description of the preferred embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As mentioned above, the present invention relates to a cassette capable of holding articles such as silicon wafers, rigid memory disks, flat panel displays, liquid crystal displays, photo masks and substrates and the like. Since it is not necessary to describe all the cassettes for each of the items listed here, only the "wafer" cassette will now be described with reference to the drawings. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that the advantages of the cassettes of the present invention apply equally to all of the articles exemplified above, and that the advantages of the present invention do not apply to particular articles. Many of the components of the cassettes are made of materials that have low outgassing properties and are durable and generate little particulates.

The wafer cassette 10 according to one preferred embodiment has a first open side 20, a second open side 22, a first end wall 12, a pair of opposing side walls 14, 16 and a second end wall ( 18) The first open side 20 is large enough to allow the wafer to be inserted into or withdrawn from the cassette 10. The second open side 22 is small enough to allow the wafer to be supported in the cassette 10, but is large enough for liquid chemical to flow through the cassette between the wafers stored in the cassette 10.

The two side walls 14, 16 are in mirror image of each other. Each side wall has an inner side 23, an outer side 24, a lower member 25, an intermediate member 26, and an upper member 28. The members 25, 26, 28 of each side wall are formed integrally so that the top of the intermediate member 26 is disposed outside the top of the bottom of the lower member 25. The upper member 28 protrudes upward from the government of the intermediate member 26. The upper reinforcing rail 34 and the lower reinforcing rail 36 protrude outward from the flat outer surface 24 of the upper member 28. These reinforcing rails 34 and 36 assist in supporting the cassette 10 and also serve as a means for the robot arm to effectively hold and hold the cassette.

The cassette 10 has a plurality of dividers 40 on the inner surface 23 of each of the side walls 14 and 16. These dividers 40 generally extend from the top of the upper member 28 to the bottom of the intermediate member 26. The dividers 40 on the side wall 14 oppose the dividers on the side wall 16. These diverders 40 function to hold the wafers stored in the cassette while being spaced parallel to each other. The dividers 40 have the same radius of curvature as the wafer in the longitudinal direction. Also, since these dividers 40 are tapered in the transverse direction, the possibility of damage as the wafers enter or exit the cassette 10 is reduced. As can be seen in more detail in FIG. 8, the dividers 40 have a continuously changing slope, which is used to center the wafer in the center of the carrier when the wafer is placed horizontally. The inclined portion may start vertically at the wall and end horizontally at the tip of the divider. With such a configuration, the wafer is placed on a portion of the divider with a pronounced slope so that edge contact is securely made. If the dividers 40 are thus configured, the center of the wafer 80 is easily centered by gravity when the wafers 80 are delivered horizontally. Once centered, the vertical position of the wafer is accurately determined. In addition, when the container moves from one position to the next, the small vibrations make the wafer easy to center in the container. In this way, the accuracy of the vertical position as well as the horizontal position of the wafer is improved.

The above configuration of the divider can provide additional benefits. For example, the cross section can be reduced as much as possible for a given strength. The divider 40 has a portion that interferes with the wafer when the wafer is inserted and withdrawn from the carrier, so the support is preferably thin because the wafer 80 is unlikely to collide with the divider 40 to generate fine particles. In addition, the dividers are sufficiently strong so that deformations that support the wafer and shorten the life of the container do not occur.

There is a wafer receiving groove 42 between each pair of dividers 40. At least a part of the back surface of the groove 42 has a longitudinal radius of curvature generally equal to the radius of curvature of the wafer circumference. This shape of the groove is advantageous because the wafer is supported in the groove 42 along a line rather than a single point. This support improves the stability of the wafer in the cassette, and also allows the wafer to be held in a stable horizontal state when the cassette 10 is combined with the wafer transfer mechanism. The side walls 14, 16 of the cassette 10 are spaced apart from one another at intervals suitable for receiving and storing wafers with a particular diameter of, for example, 300 mm. The cassette may be sized to accommodate any number of wafers. Two typical cassettes are cassettes of capacity capable of holding 13 and 25 wafers, respectively. The number of dividers 40 depends on the capacity of the cassette.

The direction of the divider 40 and the groove 42 can be obtained a predetermined advantage. First, they are adapted to hold the wafer at a defined pitch of 5 mm to 12 mm. Secondly, the spacing between wafers is 3mm to 8mm. Third, the distance between the edge of the wafer at the diameter of the wafer parallel to the faces of the open sides 20 and 22 and the respective sidewalls 14 and 16 of the cassette 10 is 1 mm to 3 mm. Given the above pitches and spacings, the wafers do not come into contact with each other in the cassette. In addition, when the cassette is coupled with the wafer transfer mechanism, the gap is sufficient for insertion and withdrawal of the wafer by the robot arm.

Some features of the invention reside in the construction of the first end wall 12. The first end wall 12 is composed of a plurality of connecting members 54 sandwiching the first plate 50, the second plate 52, and the channel 56. The plates 50 and 52 are attached to each other in parallel with each other by the connecting member 54. Each channel 56 is formed of a part of the first plate 50, a part of the second plate 52 and two connecting members 54. Each channel 56 has an open top 58 and an open bottom 60 so that fluid can easily pass through the channel 56 during wafer processing or cassette cleaning. There are no areas in the channel that are clogged corners that are difficult to clean when the cassette 10 or the wafer are being processed or that fluid may accumulate.

Generally the plate 50 is flat. The plate 52 is also generally flat, but has a large hole 64 at its central portion. Three kinematic coupling grooves 66, 68, 70 are formed from the surface of the second plate 52 to the first plate 50. These grooves can be used to index cassettes to other objects, such as ports in wafer processing equipment. The grooves 66, 68, 70 interact with the auxiliary protrusions of the object, which are adapted to engage these grooves 66, 68, 70, respectively, so that the proper alignment of the cassette 10 is achieved. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the kinematic grooves 66, 68, 70 can be provided in other ways. For example, these grooves can be made into individual blocks and attached to the plate 52 using screws, pins, ultrasonic welding or adhesive bonds.

Many advantages can be obtained from the first end wall 12 having the above configuration. First, the combination of the two plates 50, 52 and the connecting member 54 can reduce warping or warping of the wall. Second, it is easy to clean during wafer processing and fluids can be easily removed. This advantage is obtained because the channel 56 has an open top and bottom. There is no confined space in the cassette 10 causing fluid retention. Third, the position of the cassette 10 is easily fixed on this surface by engaging the kinematic coupling grooves 66, 68, 70 with the projections on one surface. Fourth, since the amount of plastic required is small, the total weight of the cassette becomes light. Fifth, since the plate 52 has a hole 64, the cassette 10 can be easily held by a hand or a robot tool. In addition, since the cassettes 10 have reinforcing rails 34 and 36, they can be held by the robot tool.

Since the first end wall has the above configuration, the first end wall 12 can be coupled to the two side walls 14 and 16. The opposing edges of the lower part of the first plate 50 engage almost perpendicularly with the lower member 25 of each of the opposing side walls 14, 16. In addition, the opposite edges of the plate 52 engage with the upper member 28 of each side wall 14, 16. This is done by providing an inclined panel 53 between the upper member 28 of the side wall and the plate 52. The panel 53 inclined to the plate 52 and the upper member 28 helps to give rigidity to the overall structure.

The second end wall 18 of the cassette 10 can take the same configuration as the first end wall 12. In general, however, both the first and second end walls need not have such kinematic coupling grooves 66, 68, 70. Thus, such grooves are not provided in the second end wall 18 in the figure.

As mentioned above, the present invention provides many advantages that are not limited to the transfer and storage of silicon wafers. The present invention can also be effectively applied to rigid memory disks, photomasks, liquid crystal displays, flat panel displays or substrates. Various configurations can be modified in the cassette without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

Claims (12)

With the first opening side, With the second open side, First and second sidewalls, each sidewall having an inner surface and a plurality of dividers extending inwardly from the surface, wherein the first and second sidewalls cooperate with each other to support a plurality of items in the cassette, thereby First and second sidewalls, wherein these supported articles are spaced parallel to one another and placed without contact; And first and second end walls integrally formed with the side walls, The first end wall is, With the first plate, With the second plate, A plurality of connecting members adapted to hold the first and second plates in parallel and firmly spaced apart from each other; As a plurality of channels, each channel is formed of a portion of the first plate, a portion of the second plate and a pair of the plurality of connecting members, and also has an open top and an open bottom to allow fluid to pass through easily without stagnation in the channel. And a channel having a cassette for holding a plurality of articles. 2. A cassette according to claim 1, wherein a large hole is formed in the center portion of the second plate. 2. The cassette of claim 1, further comprising at least three first set grooves on said first end wall for kinematically positioning said cassette relative to another object. The method of claim 1, wherein the second end wall, With the first plate, With the second plate, A plurality of connecting members adapted to hold the first and second plates in parallel and firmly spaced apart from each other; As a plurality of channels, each channel is formed of a portion of the first plate, a portion of the second plate and a pair of the plurality of connecting members, and also has an open top and an open bottom to allow fluid to pass through easily without stagnation in the channel. And a channel having a cassette for holding a plurality of articles. The cassette according to claim 4, wherein a large hole is formed in each central portion of the second plate of the first end wall and the second plate of the second end wall. 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising at least three second set grooves on the second end wall, wherein the first set groove or the second set groove can be used to kinematically position the cassette relative to another subject. Cassette. 2. A cassette according to claim 1, wherein each side wall has a lower member, an intermediate member and an upper member. 8. A cassette according to claim 7, wherein the upper member of each side wall has a pair of rails protruding outward. 8. A cassette according to claim 7, wherein the lower member of each side wall is attached directly to the first plate of each end wall. 8. A cassette according to claim 7, wherein separate panels for attaching the upper member of each side wall to the second plate of each end wall are provided at opposite ends of the upper member of each side wall. An article receiving groove is formed between each pair of dividers, and a rear portion of each groove has a longitudinal radius of curvature of the groove generally equal to the radius of curvature of the circumference of the article held in the cassette. Cassette. The cassette of claim 1, wherein at least some of the dividers have a continuously varying slope to assist in supporting the wafer.

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