KR101992626B1 - Cleaner for substrate container - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a substrate container cleaning apparatus for cleaning a substrate container composed of a container body and a container cover for storing and transporting a substrate. The substrate container cleaning apparatus according to the present invention comprises at least one substrate container comprising a plurality of container body supporting portions on which a container body is seated with an opened portion of the container body facing downward and a container cover supporting portion on which the container cover is seated, A carrier, and a rotating portion for transmitting rotational force by the motor to the substrate container carrier. Wherein each of the container body supports comprises a side frame for supporting the side of the container body, a lower frame connected to the side frame for supporting an open portion of the container body, and a support for supporting the open edge of the container body across the lower frame, Wherein the container cover support is spaced apart from the side frame between the container body supports.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a cleaner for substrate container,

The present invention relates to a substrate container cleaning apparatus, and more particularly, to a substrate container cleaning apparatus for cleaning a substrate container composed of a container body and a container cover for storing and transporting a substrate.

Since a substrate for manufacturing a semiconductor device is a high-precision article, when a substrate is stored or transported, care must be taken to prevent the substrate from being contaminated by external contaminants or being damaged by an external impact.

A separate container (FOUP: Front Opening Unified Pod) is used when storing or transporting the substrate to protect it from contaminants and external impacts.

The container holds a high-precision substrate, so high cleanliness must be maintained. To maintain high cleanliness, the container should be periodically cleaned. The cleaning of the substrate container can be performed through a separate cleaning device.

Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2014-0074975 (published on June 18, 2014)

The present invention provides a substrate container cleaning apparatus capable of simultaneously cleaning a plurality of container bodies and a plurality of container covers.

The present invention provides a substrate container cleaning apparatus including an air flow injection nozzle that mixes a cleaning liquid and air and injects the cleaning liquid to increase the cleaning efficiency as the substrate container becomes larger.

The present invention provides a substrate container cleaning apparatus capable of increasing the cleaning efficiency inside a substrate container.

The present invention provides a cleaning apparatus comprising a high-pressure spray nozzle for shortening the drying time of a container having a complicated shape due to the large size of the container.

A substrate container cleaning apparatus according to various embodiments of the present invention can clean a substrate container composed of a container body and a container cover for storing and transporting a substrate. Wherein the substrate container cleaner comprises at least one substrate container carrier comprising a plurality of container body supports on which the container body is seated with an open portion of the container body facing downward and a container cover support on which the container cover is seated, And a rotating portion for transmitting a rotational force by the substrate carrier to the substrate container carrier. Each of the container body supporting portions includes a side frame for supporting a side surface of the container body, a lower frame connected to the side frame for supporting an opened portion of the container body, And a support bar for supporting the open edge. In addition, the container cover supporting portion may be disposed between the side frame and the container body support portion.

In one embodiment, the apparatus further comprises a cleaning nozzle unit configured by an upper nozzle, a lower nozzle, a side nozzle, and a rear nozzle disposed on the upper, lower, side, and rear surfaces of the substrate container carrier, respectively, At least one of the upper nozzle, the lower nozzle, the side nozzles, and the rear nozzle may include an air flow nozzle for jetting the air flow mixed with the cleaning liquid and air.

In one embodiment, the container body support portion may further include a support guide protruding upward from the lower frame at an edge portion of the container main body and abutting adjacent two sides of the container main body.

In one embodiment, the container body mounted on the container body supporting portion or the container cover mounted on the container cover supporting portion may further include a detection sensor for detecting whether or not the container cover has been disengaged.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the sensor further includes a reflection plate provided at a position facing the detection sensor, wherein at least one of the container body support portion and the container cover support portion is provided on a path between the detection sensor and the reflection plate .

In one embodiment, the plurality of container body supporting portions and the container cover supporting portion may be arranged in a circular shape around the rotation portion.

In one embodiment, the cleaning nozzle unit may include a plurality of the upper nozzle, the lower nozzle, the side nozzle, and the rear nozzle, respectively.

The plurality of upper nozzles and the plurality of lower nozzles are arranged in a circle corresponding to the shape of the substrate container carrier and the plurality of side nozzles and the plurality of rear nozzles may be arranged to surround the periphery of the substrate container carrier .

In one embodiment, at least one of the plurality of upper nozzles, the plurality of lower nozzles, the plurality of side nozzles, and the plurality of rear nozzles has a size corresponding to the size of the container body and the container cover, It is possible to inject the airflow body in consideration of at least one of the rotational speeds.

The substrate cleaning apparatus according to the present invention includes a substrate sensing unit for sensing whether a substrate is present in a substrate container, and a substrate holding unit for separately transporting the substrate when the substrate is sensed by the substrate sensing unit, And may further include a storage section.

The substrate container cleaning apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that the substrate container carrier, the rotation section, and the cleaning nozzle unit are provided in the cleaning chamber and include a buffer section for waiting at least one of the container body and the container cover temporarily accommodated in the cleaning chamber .

According to the present invention, it is possible to save a facility space for separately cleaning the container cover by providing an apparatus that can simultaneously clean and accommodate a plurality of container bodies and a plurality of container covers, Time can be saved.

According to the present invention, it is possible to uniformly and strongly spray the cleaning liquid by providing the air atomizing nozzle for spraying the cleaning liquid and the air mixed with each other. Therefore, it is possible to clean the substrate container of a large area more cleanly and quickly.

According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the cleanliness of the semiconductor substrate stored in the substrate container by providing an apparatus capable of increasing the cleaning efficiency inside the substrate container.

1 is a view showing a configuration of a substrate container.
2 is a perspective view schematically showing the appearance of a substrate container cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a plan view of a substrate container cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a perspective view showing a cleaning unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5A is a detailed view of a portion of a substrate container carrier according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5B is an exploded perspective view illustrating a portion of a substrate container carrier. FIG. And FIG. 5C is a view of the container body support according to the embodiment of the present invention viewed from various angles.
6 and 7 are views showing a cleaning nozzle unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a view showing a storage unit for drying and storing a container cover constituting a substrate container cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in order to clarify the technical idea of the present invention. In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a computer system according to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. For convenience of explanation, the apparatus and method are described together when necessary.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a view of one embodiment of a substrate container.

Referring to FIG. 1, a substrate container for storing or transporting a substrate may be composed of a container body 10 and a container cover 12.

The container body 10 is partly opened so as to accommodate a plurality of substrates 14 therein.

The container cover (12) covers and seals an open part of the container body (10). Therefore, the container cover 12 can block the foreign substances introduced into the container body 10 and protect the substrate 14 stored in the container body 10.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing an appearance of a substrate container cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of a substrate container cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A substrate container cleaning apparatus 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention is an apparatus for cleaning a substrate container for storing or transporting a semiconductor substrate. As described with reference to Fig. 1, the substrate container may include a container body 10 and a container cover 12.

2 and 3, the substrate container cleaning apparatus 20 includes a loading / unloading unit 100, a buffer unit 200, a robot 300, a cleaning unit 400, a main controller 500, (600).

The loading / unloading unit 100 loads the substrate container to be cleaned or unloads the cleaned substrate container. The loading / unloading unit 100 may include a transfer unit 110 and a door opening and closing unit 120. The transfer unit 110 transfers the substrate container loaded by the loading / unloading unit 100 to the buffer unit 200 or loads the substrate container waiting in the buffer unit 200 from the buffer unit 200 into the loading / And can be transferred to the loading unit 100. At this time, the door is opened and closed by the door opening /

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the loading / unloading unit 100 may be provided with at least two or more (e.g., two or more) (Three) conveying units 110 and a door opening and closing unit 120. [ Accordingly, at least two substrate containers can be simultaneously transferred from the loading / unloading section 100 to the buffer section 200. As described above, the loading / unloading unit 100 including the plurality of transferring units 110 and the door opening / closing unit 120 constitutes the substrate container cleaning apparatus 100. In comparison with the conventional system in which the substrate containers are sequentially transferred one by one, The time required for transferring the substrate container in the apparatus 20 can be reduced. For example, the loading / unloading unit 100 may include forward / backward and up / down units to load / unload two or more substrate containers by advancing / retracting and ascending / descending. In addition, four sets of the container body and the container cover can be simultaneously cleaned at one time in the chamber A using at least two loading / unloading portions 100, The time required to transport the container can be drastically reduced.

The substrate container cleaning apparatus 20 according to the present invention may include a control unit that includes the loading / unloading unit 100 to automatically implement the entire process from loading to unloading of the substrate container.

The buffer unit 200 is a place for storing a substrate container to be cleaned or a substrate container having been cleaned. For example, the buffer unit 200 may wait for at least two substrate containers to be cleaned, which are transferred from the loading / unloading unit 100. Accordingly, the cleaning unit 400 can receive and clean the substrate container, which is waiting in advance, in the buffer unit 200 by the amount of the substrate container accommodating capacity of the cleaning unit 400 at one time, The transfer time for transferring the container and the waiting time of the substrate container in the substrate container cleaner 20 can be minimized.

The robot 300 may move the substrate container to be cleaned from the buffer unit 200 to the cleaning unit 400 or move the cleaned substrate container from the cleaning unit 400 to the buffer unit 200. The robot 300 may be a robot having multiple joints, and may include a gripper capable of holding the substrate container.

For example, the robot 300 can grip the substrate container to be cleaned in the buffer unit 200 using a gripper and move it to the cleaning unit 400, wherein an open part of the container body of the substrate container moves downward The operation of changing the direction of the substrate container can be performed. Therefore, the open portion of the container main body can be received in the cleaning unit 400 (more specifically, the container main body supporting portion 413 described later) with its downward facing.

The robot 300 may be controlled by the robot controller 350 and the robot controller 350 may be a device having a control function module required to perform the operation of the robot 300 described above.

Meanwhile, the substrate container cleaning apparatus 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a cleaning chamber A, which is a space for simultaneously cleaning the substrate container, that is, the container body and the container cover. The cleaning chamber A is opened and closed by the door B and the cleaning unit 400 is provided inside the cleaning chamber A.

According to the embodiment, the door B is opened so that the container body transported by the robot 300 and the container cover can be received inside the cleaning chamber A, and when the container body and the container cover are completely received, (B) is closed, and the cleaning unit 400 can clean the container body and the container cover.

The cleaning unit 400 comprises a substrate container carrier 410 capable of accommodating a plurality of container bodies and a plurality of container covers, and a cleaning nozzle unit 430 for jetting the cleaning liquid. The detailed configuration of the cleaning unit 400 according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to Figs.

The main controller 500 is for controlling the substrate container cleaner 20, and may be a device having a control function module, for example.

The monitoring unit 600 is for monitoring the substrate container cleaner 20, and may include a monitor and a keyboard. For example, it is possible to monitor the operation process of the substrate container cleaning apparatus 20 and the cleaning process of the substrate container through the monitor screen, and various information for controlling or monitoring the substrate container cleaning apparatus 20 through the keyboard Can be input. For example, when the container body or the container cover is detached from the substrate container cleaner 20 as described below, the status can be known through the monitoring unit 600. [ The monitoring unit 600 can receive information for instructing various controls and operations of the substrate container cleaning apparatus 20 by providing a device such as a monitor and a keyboard, ) Can be operated.

The substrate container cleaner 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a storage unit 800 for drying or storing the container cover. A detailed description thereof will be given later with reference to Fig.

5A is a detailed view of a part of a substrate container carrier according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the substrate container shown in FIG. 5A. FIG. 5A is a perspective view showing a cleaning unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5C is a perspective view of one of the container body supports included in the substrate container carrier from various viewpoints. FIG. 5C is a perspective view, FIG. 5B is a front view, FIG. 5C is a rear view, FIG. 5D is a right side view, FIG.

6 and 7 are views showing a cleaning nozzle unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 to 7, a cleaning unit 400 is provided inside the cleaning chamber A and is composed of a substrate container carrier 410 and a cleaning nozzle unit 430. [

5A is a view showing only the substrate container carrier 410. FIG. The substrate container carrier 410 is configured to receive the container body and the container cover and can rotate about the center of the substrate container carrier 410.

More specifically, referring to FIG. 5A, the substrate container carrier 410 includes a rotation unit 411 that rotates the substrate container carrier 410 by transmitting a rotational force by a motor, and a rotation unit 411 that is connected to the rotation unit 411 And may include a container body supporting portion 413 and a container cover supporting portion 419. For example, a plurality of container body supporting portions 413 may be provided to rotate the container body in a fixed state. The container cover supporting portion 419 is disposed between the container body supporting portions 413, (411). The container cover support portion 419 may be directly connected to the rotation portion 411 or may be connected to the rotation portion 411 through the container body support portion 413 according to the embodiment.

The rotation section 411 is positioned at the center of the container body support section 413 and the container cover support section 419 and the container body support section 413 and the container cover support section 419 are positioned at the center of the rotation section 411 ), For example, in a circular shape.

The rotating portion 411 may include a rotating motor that provides rotational power, and rotates the substrate container carrier 410 by the rotational power of the rotating motor. Accordingly, the container body support portion 413 and the container cover support portion 419 can rotate about the central portion of the substrate container carrier 410. [

In one embodiment, the rotating portion 411 may provide a rotating speed of 0 to 10 rpm by a rotating motor. The rotation unit 411 can adjust a rotation speed and a driving force of the rotation unit 411 by coupling a gear box to the rotation motor. For example, in the present invention, a gear box having a gear ratio of 50: 1 can be used. According to the embodiment, after the plurality of container bodies and the container cover are accommodated in the chamber A, the time for cleaning and drying through rotation may take up to 30 minutes including the transport time. The substrate container cleaning apparatus according to the present invention can clean a plurality of container bodies during one cleaning process while cleaning the container cover at the same time, so that the time required for cleaning the substrate container can be drastically reduced.

The container body supporting portion 413 is for holding and holding the container body in a state in which an opened part of the container body is directed downward, that is, with the inside of the container body facing downward as shown in Figs. 5A to 5C , And a supporting member. According to the embodiment, the container body support portion 413 can be connected to the rotation portion 411 through the connection frame 414c.

In one embodiment, the container body support portion 413 may include a support frame formed along the shape of the container body (specifically, the edge of the container body). The support frame includes a lower frame 414a provided along the edge of the lower surface of the container body supporting portion 413 and a side frame 414b provided on the side surface of the container body supporting portion 413 so as to support the container body from the side can do. According to the embodiment, the container body support portion 413 may further include a connection frame 414c. The lower frame 414a and the side frame 414b may be connected in the form of a bar. In FIG. 5C (f), it can be seen that the entire shape of the lower frame 414a is formed into a polygonal shape in which the container body is enclosed.

For example, the lower frame 414a may be formed as a rectangular or polygonal frame as shown in Figs. 5A and 5C, reflecting the horizontal cross-sectional shape of the container body so as to stably mount the container body. In addition, the side frame 414b may be configured as a frame capable of supporting one side of the container body as shown in Figs. 5A and 5C. In another embodiment, the side frame 414b may be configured in the form of a frame capable of supporting a plurality of side surfaces of the container body. In particular, referring to FIGS. 5B, 5C, 5D and 5E, the side frame 414b extends in a vertical direction from the lower frame 414a, and in particular, A plurality of the container body may be formed to prevent the container body from being separated. Also, according to the embodiment, an upper frame connecting the upper portion of the lower frame 414 may be formed. The upper frame may be formed at the same height as the connection frame 414c.

However, the side frame 414b may be formed such that one side surface of the side surface constituting the container body for opening the container body is opened. The substrate container body can be received through the open side. According to the embodiment, the side opposite to the rotating portion 411, i.e., the rotating outer side can be opened. For example, the front direction of the container body support portion 413 may be opened as shown in (b) of FIG. 5C.

The lower and side surfaces of the container body support portion 413 may have an open structure that is open except for the bar shaped support frame portions 414a and 414b. As a result, when the container body is cleaned, the cleaning liquid can be injected into the open portion of the container body support portion 413, so that it can be effective to clean a large area of the container body. Further, since the cleaning liquid that has been cleaned from the container body and the impurities remaining in the container body fall through the opened bottom, it is also effective to dry and clean the container body.

The container body support portion 413 has a support bar 415 that supports the container body so as to support the container body because the lower portion thereof is open. In addition, the container body supporting portion 413 may further include a support structure that prevents the container structure from flowing down due to deformation of the internal structure, because the container body supporting portion 413 is cleaned by the high temperature during the container cleaning. For example, the container body support portion 413 may have an assembly-type support structure for supporting the substrate.

The support bar 415 may be formed as a bar-shaped support member as shown in Fig. 5A on the lower surface of the container body support portion 413, and can support and support the container body. For example, the support bar 415 may be installed to cross the opposite two frames of the lower frame 414a of the container body support portion 413 or to cross the center portion. For example, when the support bar 415 is disposed to extend beyond the center of gravity of the container body, it is possible to support the container body with more stability.

According to the present invention, since the container body support portion 413 is rotated by the rotation portion 411, the container body that is seated on the container body support portion 413 also rotates together. The rotational force of the rotation part 411 can be transmitted to the container body supporting part 413 through the connection frame 414c of the container body supporting part 413 according to the embodiment. The connection frame 414c may be formed in a hollow square shape to be firmly connected to the rotation unit 411 and to minimize the weight load of the container body support unit 413. [ Referring to (d) and (e) of FIG. 5c, it can be seen that the inside of the connection frame 414c is formed in an empty square shape.

On the other hand, when the container body supporting portion 413 rotates, the container body can be detached from the container body supporting portion 413. [ Therefore, in order to prevent detachment of the container body, the container body support portion 413 may be provided with a support guide 417. [

The support guide 417 may be formed of a support member protruding from the lower frame 414a as shown in Fig. 5A at the edge of the lower frame 414a of the container body support portion 413, To be fixed and fixed at a predetermined position.

For example, the support guides 417a and 417b may be structured such that they can abut against two adjacent side surfaces forming one corner of the container body, for example, in a " And may be provided at positions corresponding to the respective corner portions. In another embodiment, the support guide may be configured in a "one" shape that supports the exposed side of the container body, which is not supported by the side frame 414b.

As shown in Fig. 5A, the support guide 417a is composed of two conical or screw shapes, e.g., bolts and nuts, arranged in a "a " arrangement, or the support guide 417b is a " And may be configured as a protruding shape member. Further, as shown in Fig. 5A, the container body support portions 413 may have support guides 417a and 417b of different types.

As in the embodiment of the present invention, when different support guides 417a and 417b are provided, different types of support guides 417a and 417b can be applied according to the shape of the container body. For example, when the support guide 417b is constituted by the protruding members of the letter "a ", it may be suitable for fixing the rectangular container body to a predetermined position. According to the embodiment, when the support guide 417a is formed in the form of two screws arranged in the "a " -arrangement, the container body having a shape other than a rectangular shape can be fixed and fixed at a predetermined position.

Accordingly, the substrate container carrier 410 according to the embodiment of the present invention can accommodate different types of container bodies as well as container bodies of the same type, Can be cleaned at the same time.

The container cover supporting portion 419 is for vertically accommodating and seating the container cover, and is configured as shown in Figs. 5A and 5B using a supporting member. The container cover supporting portion 419 can be disposed between the container body supporting portions 413 to maximize the space holding capacity.

In one embodiment, the container cover support 419 may be configured to support one side portion of the container cover received vertically. At this time, the container cover supporting portion 419 may include a container cover side frame 419a that can be supported in a vertically erected shape with a wide side portion of the container cover. The container cover side frame 419a may be formed of a frame formed by connecting in a bar shape, and portions other than the bar-shaped frame may have an open structure that is opened. Therefore, when cleaning the container cover, the cleaning liquid can be injected into the open portion of the container cover supporting portion 419, so that it may be effective to clean a large area of the container cover.

Further, the container cover supporting portion 419 may include a container cover lower frame 419b for supporting the container cover. The container cover lower frame 419b may be composed of a lower surface for supporting and supporting the narrow side portion of the container cover and a support guide 419c for supporting the container cover so as to be seated and fixed at a predetermined position. At this time, the support guide portion may be formed on the opposite side of the container cover side frame 419a and protrude from the lower portion of the container cover supporting portion 419. [

According to an embodiment, the container cover support 419 may be disposed in connection with a side frame 414b of at least one container body support 413 between the plurality of container body supports 413. At this time, the container cover supporting portion 419 may be arranged at a predetermined inclination angle with one side of the container body supporting portion 413. [ 5A, the substrate container carrier 410 may have a connection frame 418a connecting between the container cover support portion 419 and the container body support portion 413. 5A, the connection frame 418a may be structured to connect the upper and lower portions of one side of the container cover supporting portion 419 and may be configured to connect the lower (or upper) portion of the container cover supporting portion 419 Structure.

According to the embodiment, since the container cover supporting portion 419 and the container body supporting portion 413 are spaced apart from each other with a predetermined inclination, the container cover and the container body can be arranged without overlapping regions. Therefore, when the container cover and the container main body are cleaned at the same time, the cleaning efficiency can be improved because the cleaning liquid can be uniformly sprayed to all areas of the container cover and the container main body. Further, according to the present invention, there is no need to clean the container cover and the container body in separate spaces, thereby avoiding waste of the cleaning space, and there is no need to separately perform the cleaning process for the container cover and the container body , The cleaning time can be shortened.

According to the embodiment, as the substrate container carrier 410 has the connection frame 418a, the container cover supporting portion 419 can be fixed to the container 411 without being directly connected to the rotation portion 411, The cover supporting portion 419 can be rotated.

The container cover supporting portion 419 has an upper connecting portion 418b for connecting the upper portion of the container cover supporting portion 419 and the upper portions of the two container body supporting portions 413 disposed on both sides of the container cover supporting portion 419 . At this time, the upper connection portion 418b may be disposed at a position passing through the center of gravity of the upper portion of the container cover supporting portion 419 and connected to the upper portion of the two container body supporting portions 413. For example, as shown in FIG. 5A, when the connecting frame 418a is configured to connect the lower portion of the container cover supporting portion 419, in order to provide a more stable structure, the container cover supporting portion 419, (418b). The upper connection part 418b may be provided with a device for mechanically aligning the position of the robot 300 when the robot 300 is mounted on the robot 300. When the robot 300 rotates the rotation part 411 after the container cover is mounted, A fixing bracket 418c for preventing disengagement can be provided.

The container body supporting portion 413 and the container cover supporting portion 419 are constituted by a plurality of (for example, four or six) container bodies so that a plurality of container bodies and a plurality of container covers can be cleaned simultaneously. The plurality of container body supporting portions 413 and the plurality of container cover supporting portions 419 may be arranged in a circular arrangement around the rotation portion 411. The container body supporting portion 413 and the container cover supporting portion 419 may be alternately arranged And can be installed around the rotation part 411. [ The space efficiency in the cleaning chamber A can be improved by having the container body supporting portion 413 and the container cover supporting portion 419 have this arrangement structure. Further, since the container cover supporting portion 419 is configured to mount the container cover in the vertical direction, it is possible to reduce the space required for constructing the container cover supporting portion 419, thereby maximizing the space efficiency.

4 and 5A, the cleaning unit 400 includes a detection sensor 420 (not shown) for detecting whether the container body is detached from the container body support portion 413, or whether the container cover has been separated from the container cover support portion 419 ). The sensing sensor 420 is not shown to facilitate the construction of the frames in FIG. 5B.

The detection sensor 420 is installed on the side surface inside the cleaning chamber A and may be installed on one side or one or more sides. At this time, the detection sensor 420 recognizes the movement or position of the container body and the container cover through the detection signal, and detects whether or not the container body and the container cover are separated from the container body support portion 413 and / Can be detected.

The sensing sensor 420 may operate when the container body and the container cover are received in the cleaning chamber A and are seated in the container body support portion 413 and the container cover support portion 419. For example, when the container body and the container cover are received in the container body support portion 413 and the container cover support portion 419 and are seated at the predetermined positions, the detection sensor 420 recognizes the position through the detection signal, It can be detected that the container cover is not removed. Alternatively, when the container body and the container cover are not received in the container body support portion 413 and the container cover support portion 419 or are not seated in the predetermined position, the detection sensor 420 detects the container body and the container cover As shown in FIG.

In addition, the sensing sensor 420 may be operated while the substrate container carrier 410 is rotated during cleaning of the container body and the container cover. At this time, as the container carrier 410 rotates, the container body that is seated on the container body supporting portion 413 and the container cover that is seated on the container cover supporting portion 419 are rotated, It is possible to detect whether the container body and the container cover are separated from the container body support portion 413 and the container cover support portion 419. [

As shown in FIG. 5A, the cleaning unit 400 may further include a reflection plate 421 together with the detection sensor 420. In this case, the reflection plate 421 may be installed on the side of the cleaning chamber A opposite to the side on which the detection sensor 420 is installed. The sensing sensor 420 senses a signal reflected by the reflection plate 421 and detects whether or not an object such as a container body and / or a container cover exists between the sensing sensor 420 and the reflection plate 421 have. For example, when the container body and the container cover are positioned between the detection sensor 420 and the reflection plate 421 while the substrate container carrier 410 rotates, the detection sensor 420 detects the presence of the reflection plate 421). In this case, it can be seen that the container main body and the container cover are not separated from the container main body support portion 413 and the container cover supporting portion 419. In contrast, when the detection sensor 420 senses a signal reflected from the reflection plate 421, the container body and the container cover are not positioned between the detection sensor 420 and the reflection plate 421, The main body supporting portion 413 and the container cover supporting portion 419 are separated from each other.

Since the detection sensor 420 according to the present invention is installed inside the cleaning chamber A, the container body and the container cover are exposed to the cleaning liquid sprayed from the cleaning nozzle unit 430 while being cleaned. Accordingly, the detection sensor 420 may include a protective cover (not shown) having a waterproof function so as to be protected from the cleaning liquid.

The cleaning unit 400 includes a cleaning nozzle unit 430 as described above and the cleaning nozzle unit 430 is disposed between the cleaning liquid supplied from the cleaning liquid storage unit 700 (See Fig. 2) to the container body and the container cover.

The substrate container cleaning apparatus 20 may further include a device for applying heat to the cleaning liquid and the compressed air or nitrogen (N ₂ ), for example, a pressurizing and heating tank having a heater, and an inline heater . The substrate container cleaning apparatus 20 may further include a nozzle for ejecting the cleaning liquid and the compressed air into the chamber, and a device for discharging the moisture through the exhaust.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing a state in which the container body and the container cover are housed in the substrate container carrier 410 and a state of the cleaning nozzle unit 430, and Fig. 7 is a plan view of the same configuration.

In the present invention, the cleaning nozzle unit 430 may be composed of an air jet nozzle for mixing the cleaning liquid and air and jetting it, and a first-flow jet nozzle for jetting only the cleaning liquid or only air. In one embodiment, the cleaning nozzle unit 430 may include an air cleaning nozzle configured such that the N ₂ line and the DIW line are mixed externally. Further, the cleaning nozzle unit 430 may include a device for mixing the cleaning liquid, the compressed air, or the compressed nitrogen externally and spraying the same in the form of an air stream to the container body and the container cover.

Here, a single body refers to a single fluid, and refers to air, which is a cleaning liquid or gas, which is a liquid. The air stream is a mixture of liquid and gas, which are different single fluids, and can be strongly and uniformly injected by the impact force generated when the liquid and the gas are mixed.

6 and 7, the cleaning nozzle unit 430 is provided inside the cleaning chamber A and includes an upper nozzle 431, a lower nozzle 433, and side nozzles 435, And a rear nozzle 437.

A plurality of upper nozzles 431 may be disposed on the upper portion of the substrate container carrier 410. The upper nozzle 431 can spray the first fluid or the second fluid in the downward direction to clean the outside of the container body and the container cover that are seated on the substrate container carrier 410. [ For example, the upper nozzles 431 may be disposed one above the container body and one above the container cover, respectively.

A plurality of lower nozzles 433 may be disposed below the substrate container carrier 410. The lower nozzle 433 can clean the container body and the container cover that are seated on the substrate container carrier 410 by spraying the first fluid or the second fluid from upward to downward. According to the present invention, the inside of the container body can be cleaned by the lower nozzle 433 because the inside of the container body is seated on the substrate container carrier 410 with the downward facing direction. Further, since the inside of the container body is directed downward, the inside of the container body is cleaned and the cleaning liquid sprayed from the lower nozzle 433 can be naturally discharged from the inside of the container body by gravity. Therefore, according to the present invention, the internal cleaning efficiency of the container body can be improved, and as a result, the cleanliness of the substrate stored in the container body can be further improved.

In addition, since the cleaning liquid is discharged by gravity after the container is cleaned in this manner, the cleaning force of the substrate container carrier 410 is high and the drying after cleaning is also easy, even if the rotational speed of the substrate container carrier 410 is relatively fast.

As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the lower nozzle 433 may be disposed below the container body support portion 413. The lower nozzle 433 may be formed so as to be tilted at a predetermined angle in consideration of the size of the container main body so as to be in contact with the cleaning liquid sprayed to the inner edge of the container main body.

For example, the lower nozzles 433 may be disposed in pairs under the container body.

The upper nozzle 431 and the lower nozzle 433 may be disposed corresponding to the arrangement of the container body support portion 413 and / or the container cover support portion 419 according to the embodiment.

A plurality of side nozzles 435 may be disposed along the side of the substrate container carrier 410. The side nozzles 435 can spray a first-flow or a second-flow body in the lateral direction to clean the outer surface portion of the container body and the container cover that are seated in the substrate container carrier 410. In an embodiment of the present invention, the side nozzles 435 may be installed along the periphery of the outer surface of the substrate container carrier 410 considering the dimensions of the container body and the container cover.

For example, the side nozzles 435 may be arranged in pairs in each of the container cover supports 419 in which the container covers are accommodated. Since the container cover supporting portion 419 is disposed between the container body supporting portions 413, the side surfaces of the container cover and the side surface of the container body can be cleaned together by the cleaning liquid and gas ejected from the side nozzles 435.

A plurality of rear nozzles 437 may be disposed along the inner periphery of the substrate container carrier 410. The rear nozzle 437 is provided in the vicinity of the rotation part 411 to clean the rear side of the container body facing the rotation part 411.

For example, the rear nozzle 437 may be disposed vertically along the center of the rear side frame of the container body support portion 413.

The cleaning nozzle unit 430 may be configured such that the substrate container carrier 410 and the substrate container carrier 410 are disposed in the upper nozzle 431, the lower nozzle 433, the side nozzle 435, and the rear nozzle 437, 6 and 7, in consideration of the arrangement of the container main body supporting portion 413 and the container cover supporting portion 419, a circular arrangement may be formed at regular intervals. Also, in consideration of the size of the container body and the container cover, the rotation speed of the substrate container carrier 410, etc., it may be constituted by a first-flow body spray nozzle or an air flow body spray nozzle.

For example, the upper nozzle 431 and the lower nozzle 433 may be composed of a first-body spray nozzle for spraying the cleaning liquid and a first-stream spray nozzle for spraying air, and the side nozzles 435 may be configured as an air- Lt; / RTI > Alternatively, the upper nozzle 431, the lower nozzle 433, and the side nozzle 435 may be configured to include both the first-body spray nozzle and the second-body spray nozzle. The configuration of the upper nozzle 431, the lower nozzle 433, and the side nozzle 435 is merely an example, and can be variously configured in consideration of the cleaning efficiency such as the size of the container body and the container cover as described above .

In order to improve the cleaning efficiency of the container body and the container cover according to the embodiment of the present invention, the upper nozzle 431, the lower nozzle 433, and the side nozzle 435 spray the airflow body first, It is possible to uniformly apply the cleaning liquid to the cover, and then the first-class chain cleaning liquid can be sprayed and air can be sprayed.

Accordingly, the cleaning nozzle unit 430 according to an embodiment of the present invention can form the optimized first-stream and second-body spray nozzles, and as a result, the first-stream and second-stream injection methods can be efficiently selected, You can proceed.

In one embodiment, Table 1 below shows an example of how the upper nozzle 431, the lower nozzle 433, the side nozzle 435, and the rear nozzle 437 are constructed.

division Cleaning fluid (DIW) / air (CDA) flux Bottom nozzle Cleaning solution (DIW) 13ea x 4 columns = 52ea
52ea x 1lpm = 52lpm
2 minutes x 52 lpm = 104 L Air (CDA) 13ea x 4 columns = 52ea
52ea x 40lpm = 2080lpm Side nozzle Cleaning solution (DIW) 5ea x 4 columns = 20ea
20ea x 0.5lpm = 10lpm
1 minute x 10 lpm = 10 L Air (CDA) 10ea x 4 columns = 40ea
40ea x 40lpm = 1600lpm Upper nozzle Cleaning solution (DIW) 5ea x 4 columns = 20ea
20ea x 0.5lpm = 10lpm
1 minute x 10 lpm = 10 L Air (CDA) 10ea x 4 columns = 40ea
40ea x 40lpm = 1600lpm Rear nozzle Cleaning solution (DIW) 5ea x 2 columns = 10ea
10ea x 0.5lpm = 5lpm
1 minute x 5lpm = 5L Air (CDA) 10ea x 2 columns = 20ea
20ea x 40lpm = 800lpm Total Cleaning solution (DIW)
Pressurized tank capacity 150L Simultaneous use 2 minutes x 77lpm = 154L
Classification Use 3 minutes 104L + 10L + 10L + 5L = 129L Air (CDA) 6080lpm

As shown in Table 1, the upper nozzle 431, the lower nozzle 433, the side nozzle 435, and the rear nozzle 437 are configured to have different numbers of nozzles according to the cleaning liquid injection and the air injection And the flow rate may be set differently according to the injection method and the number of nozzles.

For example, in the case of the lower nozzle, a unit nozzle composed of thirteen arrays for spraying air can be sprayed for two minutes at a flow rate of 1 lpm, Four rows can be arranged and a flow rate of 1 lpm can be injected, respectively.

In the case of the side nozzles, unit nozzles arranged in five rows for spraying the cleaning liquid can be arranged in four rows and a flow rate of 0.5 lpm can be sprayed for one minute, and unit nozzles arranged in ten rows for spraying air are arranged in four rows Respectively, so that a flow rate of 40 lpm can be injected.

In the case of the upper nozzle, unit nozzles arranged in five rows for spraying the cleaning liquid are arranged in four rows, and a flow rate of 0.5 lpm can be sprayed for one minute, respectively. Respectively, so that a flow rate of 40 lpm can be injected.

In the case of the rear nozzle, two unit nozzles constituted by five nozzles for jetting a cleaning liquid can be arranged, and a flow rate of 0.5 lpm each can be jetted for one minute. A unit nozzle composed of ten nozzles for jetting air is arranged in two rows Respectively, so that a flow rate of 40 lpm can be injected.

Each of the upper nozzle 431, the lower nozzle 433, the side nozzle 435 and the rear nozzle 437 may be constituted by a dry cleaning unit that performs dry dry cleaning without using a cleaning liquid.

8 is a view showing a storage unit for drying and storing a container cover constituting a substrate container cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 8 (a) is a perspective view showing a state in which the inside of a storage portion is opened, and FIG. 8 (b) is a sectional view of a storage portion.

3 and 8, a substrate container cleaning apparatus 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a storage unit 800 (for example, a cleaning unit) for drying (e.g., cleaning) or storing a container cover as described above, ).

The storage unit 800 is configured to store the container cover vertically in a side-by-side manner as shown in FIG. 8, and includes a support portion 810 that can support one side portion of the container cover. The storage unit 800 includes an air spray unit 820 through which air is sprayed from the upper part of the storage unit 800 to prevent contamination of the container cover during storage. The air injector 820 may include a motor to inject air by the driving force of the motor. For example, the air injection unit 820 may include a brushless direct current motor (BLDC motor) having a high wind speed as compared with a conventional FFU motor to provide strong air from the upper part to the lower part.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, in order to allow the contaminants of the container cover to be easily discharged in the downward direction, the support portion 810 of the storage portion 800 may be configured such that the container cover is inclined at a constant inclination angle ). ≪ / RTI > The support part 810 of the storage part 800 may be provided with a detection sensor for detecting whether or not the container cover is supported. When the container cover is detected to be supported by the detection sensor, 820 may be configured to inject air.

Air flows from the upper part of the container cover to the lower part inside the storage part 800, so that impurities and moisture can be naturally transmitted to the lower part, so that the clean state of the container cover can be maintained. Furthermore, since the container cover is fixed by the support portion 810 so as to be inclined at a predetermined inclination angle, airflow can be transmitted throughout the container cover.

The substrate container cleaning apparatus 20 may further include a substrate detection unit (not shown) for detecting whether or not a substrate in the container exists.

The substrate sensing unit may include a sensor for sensing a substrate in the substrate container cleaner 20 to determine whether a substrate in the substrate container is present. At this time, the substrate sensing unit may be configured to detect whether or not the substrate is present before the substrate container is received into the cleaning chamber (A). Accordingly, since the substrate container is received in the substrate container carrier 410 and can be discharged from the substrate container in advance before being subjected to the cleaning process, the substrate container is transferred to the substrate container carrier 410, Can be eliminated.

When the substrate is detected by the substrate detection unit, the substrate container cleaner 20 can stop the process and discharge the substrate to the buffer unit 200 or the loading / unloading unit 100 to store the substrate. In one embodiment, the main controller 500 as shown in FIG. 2 can control the substrate to be ejected from the substrate container on which the substrate is sensed. For example, the robot 300 can discharge the substrate from the substrate container under the control of the main controller 500. At this time, the discharged substrate is transferred to the buffer unit 200 or the loading / unloading unit 100, .

The substrate container cleaning apparatus 20 can constitute an inspection unit for inspecting cleaning and drying of the container body and / or the container cover, and can perform evaluation of cleaning and drying of the container body and / Can be performed. In other words, according to the present invention, inspection can be performed in one substrate container cleaning apparatus 20 to obtain inspection results. Therefore, compared to the conventional method of constructing a separate apparatus for drying after cleaning the container, And production efficiency. Also, if cleaning and drying are performed at the same time, accuracy can be increased. If the result of the inspection by the inspection unit does not satisfy the criterion for cleaning and drying of the container body and / or the container cover, the substrate container cleaner 20 immediately reflects the inspection result of the container body and / The apparatus may further include a device capable of performing the re-cleaning and re-drying. The recycling and re-drying process may be performed using the buffer unit 200.

The present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments shown in the drawings. These embodiments are to be considered as illustrative rather than limiting, and should be considered in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. The true scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the technical idea of the appended claims rather than the above description. Although specific terms are used herein, they are used for the purpose of describing the concept of the present invention only and are not used to limit the scope of the present invention described in the claims or the claims. Each step of the present invention need not necessarily be performed in the order described, but may be performed in parallel, selectively, or individually. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. It is to be understood that the equivalents include all components that are invented in order to perform the same function irrespective of the currently known equivalents as well as the equivalents to be developed in the future.

10: container body 12: container cover
14: substrate 20: substrate container cleaning device
100: loading / unloading unit 110:
120: door opening and closing part 200: buffer part
300: robot 350: robot controller
400: cleaning unit 410: substrate container carrier
411: rotating part 413: container body supporting part
414a: Lower frame 414b: Side frame
415: support bar 417: support guide
418a: connection frame 418b:
419: container cover supporting portion 419a: container cover side frame
419b: container cover lower frame 420: detection sensor
421: reflector 430: cleaning nozzle unit
431: upper nozzle 433: lower nozzle
435: side nozzle 437: rear nozzle
500: main controller 600: monitoring unit
700: cleaning liquid storage part 750: air storage part
800: Storage part 810: Support part
820:
A: Cleaning chamber B: Door

Claims (10)

A substrate container cleaning apparatus for cleaning a substrate container composed of a container body and a container cover for storing and transporting a substrate,
A substrate container carrier including a plurality of container body supporting portions on which the container main body is mounted with an opened part of the container main body facing downward, a plurality of container cover supporting portions on which the container cover is mounted, and a rotating portion for transmitting rotational force by the motor. And
A cleaning nozzle unit which is composed of an upper nozzle, a lower nozzle, a side nozzle, and a rear nozzle arranged on upper, lower, side, and rear surfaces of the substrate container carrier, respectively, for spraying a cleaning liquid;
/ RTI >
Each of the container body supporting portions includes:
A side frame connected to the side frame for supporting the side of the container body, a lower frame connected to the side frame for supporting an open portion of the container body, and a support bar for supporting the open edge of the container body across the lower frame In addition,
Each of the container cover supporting portions includes:
A container body support portion disposed between the side frame and the container body support portion,
Wherein at least one of the upper nozzle, the lower nozzle, the side nozzle, and the rear nozzle includes at least one of a mixture of a cleaning liquid and air in consideration of at least one of a size of the container main body and the container cover, And the air is ejected from the substrate container cleaning apparatus. delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the plurality of container body supporting portions comprise:
And a support guide protruding from the lower frame at an edge portion of the container main body so as to be in contact with two adjacent side surfaces of the container main body. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a sensing sensor for sensing whether the container cover seated on the container body support portion or the container cover seated on the container cover support portion is separated. 5. The method of claim 4,
And a reflection plate provided at a position opposite to the detection sensor,
Wherein at least one of the container body support portion and the container cover support portion is positioned on a path where the detection sensor and the reflection plate face each other. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the plurality of container body supporting portions and the plurality of container cover supporting portions are circularly arranged around the rotation portion. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the upper nozzle, the lower nozzle, the side nozzles, and the rear nozzles are provided in plural,
The plurality of upper nozzles and the plurality of lower nozzles are arranged in a circle corresponding to the shape of the substrate container carrier and the plurality of side nozzles and the plurality of rear nozzles are arranged to surround the periphery of the substrate container carrier Wherein the substrate container is cleaned. delete The method according to claim 1,
The container cover supporting portion is connected to the container body supporting portion through a connection portion,
Wherein the container cover is supported by a lower frame having a support guide to which the container cover is fixed. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the substrate container carrier, the rotating portion, and the cleaning nozzle unit are further provided with a buffer portion provided in the cleaning chamber and configured to wait at least one of the container body and the container cover accommodated in the cleaning chamber at a time, Cleaning device.

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