TWI836995B - Substrate container - Google Patents

Abstract

A substrate container having a container body and a plurality of supporting structures arranged inside the container body is provided. The container body has a bottom, a top, two side walls and a back wall. The supporting structures are spacing arrangement from the bottom to the top and between the two side walls, and separately has a fixed seat, a supporting rod and a plurality of adjustment members. One end of the supporting rod is horizontally inserted into the fixed seat to make the other end in a suspended state toward a front opening of the container body. Each fixed seat has a protruding portion facing the back wall, and the adjustment members are arranged around the protruding portion to set the fixed seats in the container body. The substrate container is therefore easily adjusting the fixed seats to control a position where the supporting rods supports the substrates.

Description

substrate container

The present invention relates to a storage container, in particular a substrate container for storing semiconductor substrates for carrying, storing or transporting.

According to the current semiconductor industry, most of the substrates used are fragile or plate-shaped materials such as glass or silicon wafers. Therefore, during the manufacturing process such as production or processing, it is usually necessary to store the products in containers such as cassettes, storage boxes or transport boxes, and then carry or store them according to the requirements of the process.

However, there are still some problems that need to be improved or overcome in existing containers. For example, when loading larger substrates, in order to avoid the weight of the substrates, support rods can be set in the container for the stacked substrates, and the inclination or levelness of the support rods needs to be adjusted in time; for example, in order to ensure that the above-mentioned substrates are properly positioned, the container or related parts need to be designed with corresponding limiters or structures to ensure the stable placement of the substrates; for example, in order for the container to be able to bear the weight of multiple stacked substrates, it should also have sufficient strength design, etc.

The above considerations will affect the practicality and reliability of the substrate container in use. Even when used in an automated factory, it should be designed with sufficient automation management to ensure that the safety and quality of the substrate are not affected during the production or processing process.

In view of this, in order to improve and solve the above-mentioned deficiencies, the inventor of the present invention devoted himself to research and combined with the application of academic theory, and finally proposed an invention that is reasonably designed and effectively improves the above-mentioned deficiencies.

The main purpose of the present invention is to provide a substrate container that has various advantageous designs in consideration of the aforementioned problems.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention provides a substrate container, comprising a container body, a plurality of supporting structures arranged in the container body, and a door panel for closing the container body; the container body has a bottom, a top opposite to the bottom, two side walls surrounding the bottom and the top, and a rear wall behind the bottom, the top and the two side walls, and an opening is formed in front of the container body; each supporting structure is arranged with a vertical spacing from the bottom to the top so as to be located between the two side walls. The container is located at the center of the container body, and includes a fixed seat, a supporting rod, and a plurality of adjustment elements. The fixed seat is provided with a recessed groove. One end of the supporting rod is inserted and fixed in the recessed groove horizontally to support the fixed seat, and the other end of the supporting rod is suspended toward the front opening of the container body. The fixed seat of each supporting structure has a protrusion facing the rear wall of the container body on the other side of the recessed groove, and each adjustment element is arranged around the protrusion to set the fixed seat in the container body.

<This invention>

1: Container body

10: Bottom

11: Top

12: Side wall

120: Support ribs

121: Guide inclined part

13: Back wall

130: Strengthen the ribs

14: Shelf

2:Support structure

20: Fixed seat

20a: Groove

200: protrusion

201: Concave and convex shapes

202: Concave and convex shapes

21: Support rod

210:Top surface

211: Support position

22:Adjusting components

23: Adjust the seat

230:Adjustment lever

3:Door panel

30: Limiting structure

300: Film section

301: Flexible Department

31: Buckle structure

310:Lock

311:Lock plate

312:Keyhole

313: Unlock components

314: Polishing Department

32: Reinforcement ribs

4: Substrate

5:Framework

50: Base

500:Configuration hole

51:Pole

510: Lifting rod

511: Strengthen the pole

52: Top bar

520: Reinforcement rod

53: Positioning structure

530: Frame

531: Counterpoint Space

532:Guide surface

54: Identification component

55: Sensing element

56: Air valve

560: Valve sleeve

560a: First air port

560b: Second air port

561: Valve

562: Valve body

563: One-way valve

564: Elastic element

6: Counterpoint structure

Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the assembly of the support structure and the adjustment seat of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a schematic end view of the present invention for inserting the substrate.

Figure 4 is an enlarged detail of part A of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a side cross-sectional view of the present invention for inserting a substrate.

Figure 6 is an enlarged detail of part C of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is an enlarged detailed view of part B of Figure 3.

Figure 8 is a schematic plan view of the door panel corresponding to each substrate according to the present invention.

Figure 9 is an exploded perspective view of the additional frame of the present invention.

Figure 10 is a three-dimensional assembly view of the additional frame of the present invention.

Figure 11 is an exploded view of the internal structure of the door panel of the present invention.

Figure 12 is a perspective assembly view of the additional frame of the present invention from another perspective.

Figure 13 is an enlarged detailed view of part D of Figure 12.

Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of the operation of the positioning structure of the present invention.

Figure 15A is a partial cross-sectional schematic diagram of the air valve of the present invention for air intake.

Figure 15B is a partial cross-sectional view of the air valve of the present invention for exhausting.

In order to further disclose the features and technical content of the present invention, please refer to the following detailed description and drawings of the present invention. However, the attached drawings are only for reference and illustration and are not intended to limit the present invention.

Please refer to Figure 1, which is a three-dimensional exploded view of the present invention. The present invention provides a substrate container, which mainly includes a container body 1, a plurality of support structures 2 arranged in the container body 1, and a door panel 3 closed on the container body 1; wherein: the container body 1 may have a bottom 10, a top 11 relative to the bottom 10, two side walls 12 surrounded by the bottom 10 and the top 11, and a rear wall 13 (as shown in Figure 5) located behind the bottom 10, the top 11 and the two side walls 12, so as to form an opening in front of the container body 1, and one or more substrates 4 can be placed, and then covered by the above-mentioned door panel 3 to accommodate the placed substrates 4.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 , the supporting structures 2 are disposed in the container body 1 and arranged in a vertical spacing in the direction of the bottom 10 and the top 11 so as to be located between the two side walls 12; preferably, they can be located at the center between the two side walls 12. Each supporting structure 2 includes a fixing seat 20, a supporting rod 21, and a plurality of adjusting elements 22. The fixing seat 20 can be fixed to the rear wall 13 of the container body 1 by the adjusting elements 22, and one end of the supporting rod 21 is transversely inserted and fixed to the fixing seat 20 so that the other end of the supporting rod 21 is suspended toward the front opening of the container body 1, so as to support the inserted substrate 4. Please refer to FIG. 4 . When the substrate 4 is inserted into the container body 1 through the opening in front of the container body 1 , the center of the substrate 4 is inserted into the container body 1 along the length direction of the support rod 21 . In order to prevent the substrate 4 from being damaged by being inserted into the gap between the fixing seats 20 , the present invention further forms corresponding concave-convex shapes 201 and 202 on the upper and lower edges of the fixing seats 20 . In this way, if the inserted substrate 4 happens to be inserted into the gap between the fixing seats 20 by accident, the concave-convex shapes 201 and 202 can stop the substrate 4 and prevent the above situation from occurring. In addition, the top surface 210 of each support rod 21 has at least one protruding support position 211, for example, the top surface 210 is inclined and the highest point of its inclination is used as the support position 211, so that the support rod 21 can provide support and the required support strength with the minimum contact area with the substrate 4.

Please refer to FIG. 2 , FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 , the fixing base 20 of each supporting structure 2 has a protrusion 200 facing the rear wall 13 of the container body 1 , and the protrusion 200 is preferably an arched arc surface. In the embodiment of the present invention, a groove 20a is formed on the side of the fixing seat 20 opposite to the protrusion 200, so that one end of the support rod 21 can be fixed in the groove 20a. Furthermore, an adjustment seat 23 can be added to be vertically arranged along the arrangement direction of each support structure 2. The adjustment seat 23 is arranged on the rear wall 13 of the container body 1, and an adjustment rod 230 is used to push the adjustment seat 23 from the outside of the container body 1 to the inside, so that the protrusion 200 of each fixing seat 20 is pressed against the adjustment seat 23, so that the adjustment elements 22 are arranged around the protrusion 200, so that the fixing seat 20 can be finely adjusted in direction by screwing the adjustment elements 22 into the depth or tightness, so as to achieve the purpose of adjusting the support rod 21. Among them, the adjustment elements 22 are preferably three, and of course, more can be provided depending on the number of directions required for adjustment (such as up and down, left and right, or further diagonal adjustment, etc.). In addition, as shown in FIG6 , by pushing the adjustment rod 230 against the adjustment seat 23, each supporting structure 2 arranged vertically on the adjustment seat 23 can be adjusted synchronously.

In addition, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 7 , the container body 1 is provided with support ribs 120 respectively corresponding to the support rods 21 in its two side walls 12 for supporting the two sides of the inserted base plate 4 . At the same time, each support rib 120 is formed with a guide portion 121 in the adjacent side wall 12, so that if the substrate 4 is deflected to the left or right when it is placed, the guide portion 121 can be used to guide the substrate 4 to the center. place, and has the function of preventing the substrate 4 from sliding left and right and causing collision during transportation.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8 , in order to ensure that the inserted substrate 4 can be stably received by the container body 1 . The present invention can be provided with at least one limiting structure 30 on the inside of the above-mentioned door panel 3 for pushing the base plate 4 into the container body 1. The limiting structure 30 can be punched from a metal sheet and includes an upright The extended piece part 300 and the elastic parts 301 arranged along the extending direction of the piece part 300, and each elastic part 301 respectively corresponds to the inserted base plate 4, so that when the door panel 3 is closed on the container body 1 , through each elastic part 301, the inserted substrate 4 is surely pushed inward for positioning, and the substrate 4 can be prevented from shaking during transportation. In addition, in order to prevent the substrate 4 from being accidentally inserted between the elastic parts 301 and causing damage, each of the elastic parts 301 may also have a bevel in an inclined shape. The bevel can make the gap between the elastic parts 301 and the substrate The four phases are misaligned, so that the horizontally placed substrate 4 will not be inserted into the gaps between the inclined elastic portions 301 .

In addition, as shown in Figures 9 and 10, in other embodiments, the present invention can further add a frame 5. The frame 5 is used to carry the container body 1 and includes a base 50 and a plurality of supports. The vertical poles 51 on both sides of the base 50 and the plurality of push rods 52 connecting the vertical poles on both sides of the base 50 allow the container body 1 to be carried on the base 50 and can be mounted on the vertical poles 51 on both sides. There are lifting rods 510 respectively, which can facilitate the automatic robot arm to extend from both sides under each lifting rod 510 to clamp the container body 1, thereby reducing the direct or indirect collision of the container body 1 with the machine and storing the container inside. The frame 5 can further enhance the structural strength of the container body 1 and help prevent problems such as deformation caused by the container body 1 carrying an overweight plurality of substrates 4 . Furthermore, diagonal reinforcing rods 511 and 520 can also be provided between each upright pole 51 or between each top pole 52. For example, the reinforcing poles 511 provided between the upright poles 51 can be diagonally opposite from top to bottom. The configuration of the angles, or the reinforcing rods 520 disposed between the push rods 52, can be plural and relatively oblique to each other (such as eight on the outside or eight on the inside) to strengthen the structure of the frame 5. The strength and stability of the frame 5 also help to improve the anti-torsion, anti-deformation and other characteristics or capabilities of the container body 1 carried on the frame 5, so as to further increase the load capacity that the container body can withstand.

As shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 , in other embodiments, the present invention may be provided with at least one lock structure 31 for locking on the container body 1 in the door panel 3, the lock structure 31 comprising a lock head 310 and a lock plate 311 that can be actuated toward the outside of the door panel 3 by the control of the lock head 310, the lock head 310 is provided with a lock hole 312 on the door panel 3, and the lock head 310 can be twisted by inserting an unlocking element 313 into the lock hole 312, so as to control the actuation of the lock plate 311 through the lock head 310. That is, when the lock plate 311 is actuated toward the outside of the door panel 3, the door panel 3 can be locked on the container body 1; otherwise, the door panel 3 can be detached from the container body 1. It is worth mentioning that the present invention can further provide a placement rack 14 (as shown in FIG. 10 ) on the container body 1 for storing the unlocking element 313. Specifically, the placement rack 14 can be provided on the top 11 of the container body 1, any side wall 12, or the outside of the rear wall 13. In the embodiment, the placement rack 14 is provided outside one of the side walls 12, preferably between any two vertical rods 51 of the side wall 12. Through the above design, it is convenient for the operator to use the corresponding unlocking element 313 for different container bodies 1, or to obtain the unlocking element 313 at any time to open the container body 1, without having to carry keys or other items for opening or locking.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 11, in order to further improve the structural strength of the container body 1 and the door panel 3, a reinforcing rib 130 protruding inward or outward may be formed on the rear wall 13 of the container body 1 (as shown in FIG. 3), and the reinforcing rib 130 may be vertical from bottom to top, or connected horizontally or laterally; in addition, a reinforcing rib 32 may be protruding in the door panel 3 (as shown in FIG. 11), and the reinforcing rib 32 may be connected in a mutually oblique and staggered manner, such as in an "X" shape. This also helps to further improve the anti-twisting and anti-deformation properties or capabilities of the container body 1. Furthermore, as shown in FIG9, FIG10 and FIG11, the outer surface of the door panel 3 may be provided with a plurality of polishing parts 314 for the automated equipment (such as a suction cup or a machine arm) to adsorb. The polishing parts 314 may be improved in surface flatness and smoothness by means of mirror treatment, so as to facilitate the automated equipment to operate the door panel 3 for pick-up and placement.

As shown in FIG9 and FIG12, the base 50 of the frame 5 can be designed with a positioning structure 53 in cooperation with the automated handling equipment. The base 50 can be provided with at least one configuration hole 500, so that the positioning structure 53 can be assembled on the base 50 corresponding to the configuration hole 500. Please refer to FIG13, the positioning structure 53 has a frame edge 530 and is assembled corresponding to the outer edge of the configuration hole 500, and a recessed alignment space 531 corresponding to the configuration hole 500 is formed in the frame edge 530, and mutually inclined guide surfaces 532 are formed in the alignment space 531, and the preferred inclination angle of the guide surface 532 can be 45° (as shown in FIG14). Accordingly, the alignment structure 6 of the automated machine can be extended into the alignment space 531 and guided by the guide surface 532, so that the transporting machine can be accurately aligned before transporting, thereby avoiding collision with surrounding objects on the transport path due to misalignment.

Please refer to Figures 12 and 13. In order to facilitate automated management, the frame 5 may also be provided with an identification element 54 such as RFID, or a sensing element 55 such as INFOR PAD may be used for identification and positioning.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 12 , FIG. 15A and FIG. 15B , the present invention may also be provided with at least one air valve 56 on the base 50 of the frame 5 , the air valve 56 may be used to control exhaust (as shown in FIG. 15A ) or intake (as shown in FIG. 15B ), and has a valve sleeve 560, a valve seat 561 for fixing the valve sleeve 560 on the base 50, a valve body 562 disposed in the valve sleeve 560, and a one-way valve actuated in the valve body 562. The valve sleeve 560 is provided with a first air port 560a and a second air port 560b arranged in the opposite direction, and the one-way valve 561 is pushed toward the first air port 560a by the elastic element 5642 as a barrier, and when the gas pushes the one-way valve 561 to move to the second air port 560b, the gas can pass through, so as to achieve the purpose of adjusting or controlling the exhaust and air in the inflation station of the automated equipment. At the same time, the present invention can be used as a choice of exhaust or intake through the reverse configuration of the valve body 561, so the air valve 56 has commonality.

Therefore, the substrate container of the present invention can be obtained by the above-mentioned structural composition.

To sum up, the present invention is indeed a rare invention product. It can indeed achieve the expected purpose of use and solve the deficiencies in conventional knowledge. It is also very novel and progressive, and fully meets the requirements for invention patent application. If you apply under the Patent Law, please check carefully and grant the patent in this case to protect the rights of the inventor.

However, the above descriptions are only the best possible embodiments of the present invention and do not limit the patent scope of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent structural changes made by using the contents of the description and drawings of the present invention are also included in the present invention. Within the scope of the invention, it shall be stated clearly.

1: Container body

10: Bottom

11:Top

12: Side wall

14: Shelf

2: Support structure

3:Door panel

30:Limiting structure

301: Flexible Department

313: Unlock component

4:Substrate

Claims (25)

A substrate container includes: a container body having a bottom, a top relative to the bottom, two side walls surrounding the bottom and the top, and a rear panel located behind the bottom, the top and the two side walls. wall, and forms an opening in front of the container body; a plurality of supporting structures are provided in the container body and arranged at vertical intervals from the bottom to the top, so as to be located at the central position between the two side walls, and each of the The support structure includes a fixed base, a support rod, and a plurality of adjusting elements. The fixed base is recessed with a slot, and one end of the support rod is laterally inserted into the slot to support the fixed base and enable The other end of the support rod is in a suspended state toward the front opening of the container body; and a door panel is closed at the front opening of the container body; wherein, the fixed seat of each support structure is mounted on the other side facing the slot. There is a protruding part facing the rear wall of the container body, and the adjusting elements are arranged around the protruding part to set the fixing seat in the container body, and the upper and lower edges of the fixing seat are respectively formed with corresponding Corresponding concave and convex shapes. The substrate container of claim 1, wherein the container body is provided with support ribs corresponding to the support rods in its two side walls, and each support rib is formed with a guide portion adjacent to the side wall. A substrate container as described in claim 1, wherein the rear wall of the container body is formed with reinforcing ribs protruding inwardly or outwardly. A substrate container as described in claim 1, wherein the fixing seat is fixed to the rear wall of the container body by the adjusting elements. The substrate container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the top surface of the support rod has at least one protruding support position. A substrate container as described in claim 5, wherein the top surface of the support rod is inclined. The substrate container as claimed in claim 1, further provided with an adjustment seat, which is arranged vertically along the arrangement direction of each support structure, and the protruding portion of the fixed seat of each support structure abuts against the adjustment seat. . The substrate container as claimed in claim 7, wherein the adjustment base is disposed on the rear wall of the container body, and an adjustment rod is used to push inwardly against the adjustment base from outside the container body. The substrate container of claim 1, wherein at least one limiting structure is provided on the inside of the door panel, and the limiting structure includes an upright extending piece and elastic portions arranged along the extending direction of the piece. The substrate container as described in claim 9, wherein the limiting structure is punched from a metal sheet. The substrate container as described in claim 9, wherein each of the elastic portions has a bevel and is inclined. The substrate container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the door panel is provided with at least one locking structure that is locked on the container body, and the locking structure includes a locking head, and is controlled by the locking head and can be oriented toward The lock plate operates on the outside of the door panel. The lock head is provided with a lock hole on the door panel, and an unlocking element is inserted into the lock hole to twist the lock head. The substrate container as claimed in claim 12, wherein the container body is provided with a storage rack for storing the unlocking component. The substrate container as described in claim 1, wherein the door panel is provided with reinforcing ribs that are obliquely staggered with each other. The substrate container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer surface of the door panel is provided with a plurality of polished portions, and the polished portions are formed by mirror processing. The substrate container of claim 1 further includes a frame, which includes a base, a plurality of vertical poles supported on two sides of the base, and a plurality of push rods connected between the vertical poles on both sides of the base. A substrate container as described in claim 16, wherein the vertical rods on both sides of the frame are respectively provided with lifting rods. As described in claim 16, the substrate container has reinforcing rods between the vertical rods, and the reinforcing rods are arranged diagonally from top to bottom. The substrate container as described in claim 16, wherein reinforcing rods are provided between the top rods, and the reinforcing rods are multiple and arranged in a relatively oblique manner. The substrate container as described in claim 16, wherein a positioning structure is provided on the base of the frame, and the base is provided with at least one configuration hole, so that the positioning structure can be assembled on the base corresponding to the configuration hole. As described in claim 20, the positioning structure has a frame edge and is assembled corresponding to the outer edge of the configuration hole, and a recessed alignment space corresponding to the configuration hole is formed in the frame edge, and mutually inclined guide surfaces are formed in the alignment space. The substrate container as claimed in claim 16, wherein the base of the frame is provided with an identification element. The substrate container as claimed in claim 16 or 20, wherein a sensing element is provided on the base of the frame. The substrate container as claimed in claim 16, wherein at least one air valve is provided on the base of the frame. The substrate container of claim 24, wherein the air valve includes a valve sleeve, a valve seat that fixes the valve sleeve on the base, a valve body located in the valve sleeve, and a valve body in the valve body. An actuated one-way valve member and an elastic element, and the valve sleeve is provided with a first air port and a reversely arranged second air port, and the elastic element pushes the one-way valve member to the first air port for air intake or Exhaust.

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