JP2011061107A - Substrate housing vessel - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify a complex locking mechanism, and also overcome the problem wherein a rotary torque in locking increases to impose a burden on the side of a switchgear and in the worst case, the switchgear stops. <P>SOLUTION: A substrate housing vessel includes a vessel body having an opening and housing a substrate and a lid for closing the opening of the vessel body. In the substrate housing vessel, a pair of locking mechanisms 9 is arranged in the lid. The locking mechanism 9 includes a cam groove 19, a rotary member 13 including an operation recess accessible from the outside at the center, a pair of slender latch bar members 14 engaged with the cam groove 19, and a locking section 31 that is positioned at the tip of the latch bar 14 and projects and retracts from the inside to the outside of the lid sidewall. The locking section 31 slides in a width direction of the lid for locking. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate storage container that stores precision substrates such as semiconductor wafers, glass wafers, and mask glasses, and is used for transportation, transportation, storage, and the like, and more particularly to a locking mechanism for a lid attached to the substrate storage container.

  In recent years, semiconductor components have been miniaturized and wiring pitches have been reduced. For this reason, a substrate storage container for storing a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer has a substrate holder for preventing contamination or damage due to dust generation, adhesion of organic substances, etc. due to rotation of the substrate during transportation. Increasing the holding power due to was studied and measures were taken. A retainer for holding such a substrate has been used by being attached to a recess provided in the center of the lid.

  In the conventional substrate storage container, the lid body includes a pair of locking mechanisms for locking the container body and the lid body, and the locking claws protruding from the side surface of the lid body are provided on the lid body. The opening of the container body was closed with a lid so as to be able to be sealed by engaging with a locking recess on the inner peripheral surface of the opening (see Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

JP 2005-320028 A JP 2003-133405 A

  In Patent Documents 1 and 2, the locking mechanism not only simply protrudes and appears from the side wall of the lid body, but also converts the movement of the rotating member to project the latch bar outward from the lid body, and further moves this in the thickness direction of the lid body. It was a complicated mechanism to move and lock. In addition, the access recess from the outside and the locking portion are in a straight line, and the locking portion of the locking mechanism also moves and locks in the direction in which the retainer provided on the lid holds the substrate. There was a problem that the rotational torque at the time increased and a burden was imposed on the apparatus side, and in the worst case, the machine stopped.

  The substrate storage container defines the outer dimensions of the substrate storage container, the main dimensions, the thickness of the lid, the position of the wafer, and the access position of the locking mechanism according to SEMI standards E47.1, E62, and M31. Therefore, in the structures of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, it is necessary to provide the lid body with a locking mechanism housed inside and a substrate retainer provided on the surface facing the container body so as to comply with these standards. As a result, the lid has to be designed with dimensions that do not provide sufficient rigidity. Therefore, when the substrate is stored and the lid is locked, the reaction force of the retainer that holds the substrate is applied to the lid. In particular, the central part of the lid that is far from the locking part of the locking mechanism swells outward, which may cause problems in sensing and sealing performance on the surface of the lid.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and simplifies the locking mechanism for locking the lid body to the container body, and reduces the torque at the time of locking to eliminate the trouble during normal operation. It is an object. It is another object of the present invention to provide a substrate storage container in which the lid body is hardly deformed and the sealing performance is not impaired.

  The substrate storage container of the present invention is made in order to solve the above-described problem, and is a substrate storage container having a container body having an opening and storing a substrate, and a lid for closing the opening of the container body. The lid is provided with a pair of locking mechanisms, the locking mechanism having a cam groove and an operation recess accessible from the outside at the center, and the cam groove. A pair of elongated latch bar members that fit together, and a latching part that is located at the tip of the latch bar and protrudes from the inside of the lid side wall to the outside, and the latching part slides in the width direction of the lid body It is characterized by locking.

  The locking mechanism has a connecting member having one end engaged with the cam groove and the other end branched into two, and the latch bar engages with the other end of the connecting member branched. Can be a container.

  Each of the pair of latch bar members has a through hole in an intermediate portion thereof, and movement is restricted by a protrusion provided on the lid, and is supported by being inclined with respect to the center line of the lid, The latching portion is located inside the lid body relative to the operation recess, and the latching portion slides and latches in the width direction of the lid body by rotating the rotating member. Can be a container.

  The latching recess of the container body has a cam surface, and can be a substrate storage container that fits into the latching part.

  It can be set as the board | substrate storage container which provided the rotating roller stopped at the front-end | tip of the said latching | locking part.

In the present invention, the locking mechanism is simplified by locking the moving direction of the locking portion of the locking mechanism and the attaching direction of the lid, that is, the pressing direction of the substrate, by sliding in different directions. Torque is reduced, and a neck part located at the end of the latch bar and a head part formed thicker than the neck part are provided, and are slid to mesh with the narrowed part of the cam surface of the container body By locking in this way, even when receiving an impact such as transportation or dropping, the locking mechanism is less likely to move in the unlocking direction, and the lid body can be prevented from being detached from the container body.
Further, since the locking portion of the locking mechanism is provided closer to the center with respect to the center line direction of the lid than the access recess of the locking mechanism, when the lid is locked to the container body, there is little deformation at the center of the lid, It is possible to provide a substrate storage container that does not impair the sealing performance.

It is a schematic perspective view which expand | deploys and shows the substrate storage container of embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the substrate storage container of embodiment of this invention in the state which closed the cover body. It is a front view of the lid of an embodiment of the present invention. It is a reverse view of the cover body of embodiment of this invention. It is a front view showing the state where the locking mechanism built in the lid of the embodiment of the present invention is open. It is a front view showing the state where the locking mechanism built in the lid of the embodiment of the present invention is closed. It is a figure explaining the action | operation mechanism of the locking mechanism of embodiment of this invention, Comprising: (A) is a partial expanded sectional view showing the state in which the latching | locking part of the locking mechanism of embodiment of this invention is open, (B) These are the partial expanded sectional views showing the state where the latching | locking part of the locking mechanism of embodiment of this invention is closed. It is a figure explaining the action | operation mechanism of the locking mechanism of embodiment of this invention, Comprising: (A) is a partial top view showing the state which the latching | locking part of the locking mechanism of embodiment of this invention is open, (B) is It is a fragmentary top view showing the state where the latching part of the locking mechanism of an embodiment of the present invention is closed. It is a figure explaining the action | operation mechanism of the locking mechanism of another embodiment of this invention, Comprising: (A) is a front view showing the state of the locking mechanism of another embodiment of this invention open, (B) is this It is a front view showing the state where the locking mechanism of another embodiment of the invention is closed.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a substrate storage container according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1-8 is a figure which shows embodiment of this invention.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the substrate storage container 1 of the present embodiment includes a container main body 2 having an opening in the front for storing a plurality of semiconductor wafers, and a lid 3 for closing the opening of the container main body 2. And a support member (not shown) capable of horizontally supporting the semiconductor wafer is provided on each of the facing inner walls of the container body 2.

The lid 3 includes a lid body 4 and a cover plate 5, and closes the opening of the container body 2 to form a seal. The cover plate 5 is formed in a plate shape, a pair of access recess through hole 6a (hereinafter, also referred to as a keyhole) to allow Easy going outside or al locking mechanism 9 and is arranged to surround the key hole 6a A positioning recess 8 is formed between the pair of circular arc holes 7 and the lid opening / closing device.
The lid body 4 formed in a dish shape has recesses alternately formed on one side and the other side (side facing the container body), and the lid 3 and the container body 2 are formed in the recesses on the one side. A pair of locking mechanisms 9 for locking are provided. On the side wall of the lid body 4, a side through hole 10 in which the locking mechanism protrudes and protrudes is formed at a position corresponding to the locking recess 11 of the container body 2. A seal gasket (seal member) 12 is attached to the side wall. The locking mechanism 9 includes a rotating body 13, a latch bar 14, and a connecting member 15. In addition, 16 is an arc-shaped rib that supports the rotating body 13, and 17 is a guide rib.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a retainer 18 that holds the substrates individually is provided in the recess on the other surface side of the lid body 4. The retainer 18 is the same as that normally used, and has a frame body part, an elastic piece extending therefrom, and a holding part formed on the elastic piece, and a lid is attached to the container body. Sometimes, the holding unit holds the substrates individually.

  The semiconductor wafer to be accommodated is made of a thin, large silicon wafer having a thickness of 925 μm, for example, φ450 mm, and a notch for alignment and identification is notched in a flat semicircular shape at the periphery, and 25 in the container body. A plurality of semiconductor wafers are stored in a horizontal state at regular intervals.

  The container main body and the lid are each injection-molded with a molding material containing a predetermined resin. Examples of the predetermined resin in the molding material include polycarbonate, polyether ether ketone, polyether imide, cyclic olefin resin, and liquid crystal polymer, which are excellent in mechanical properties and heat resistance. Carbon, carbon fiber, metal fiber, carbon nanotube, conductive polymer, antistatic agent, flame retardant, or the like is selectively added to these resins as necessary.

Details of the locking mechanism of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
5 to 8 show an embodiment of the locking mechanism of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a front view showing a state in which the cover plate of the lid is removed, and the locking mechanism 9 arranged in a pair of line symmetry has a substantially circular shape with an access recess 6b and an arcuate cam groove 19. The rotating member 13 is connected to a connecting member 15 having a substantially T-shape and a connecting portion 20 having a cylindrical shape meshing with the cam groove 19 at one end, and the other end of the connecting member 15 branched vertically. And a pair of latch bars 14.
The rotating body 13 is rotatably supported by an arc-shaped rib 16 formed in the lid body 4, and is engaged by inserting a lid opening / closing device or a manual operation key (not shown) into the access recess 6 b. By combining, rotation operation is performed.

  The rotating body 13 has a pair of U-shaped cutout portions 21, and the cutout portions 21 are formed at positions facing the arc holes 7 (FIG. 1) of the cover plate. The rotating body 13 can be manually operated via A position restricting piece 22 is further formed on the outer side of the rotating body 13, and the position restricting piece 22 is formed in an arc shape projecting outward from the outer periphery of the rotating body 13 in a circular arc shape. Part 24. Both ends of the arcuate portion 24 are free ends, and folding stoppers 25 are formed at both ends. The arcuate portion 24 is in contact with the position restricting pin 26 formed on the lid body and meshes with the end portion to restrict the rotation range of the rotating body 13.

  The connecting member 15 includes a connecting portion 20 having a columnar shape with one end meshing with the cam groove 19 of the rotating body 13, and the connecting portion 20 is formed to project in the direction of the rotating body 13. The other end of the connecting member 15 is divided into two forks in the vertical direction of FIG. 5, and each has an arcuate groove 27 formed to connect with the pair of latch bars 14. The connecting member 15 can move in the left-right direction in FIG. 5 (the width direction of the lid) along the cam groove 19 as the rotating body 13 rotates.

  The latch bar 14 is formed in an elongated shape, and has a connection pin 28 having one end engaged with the groove 27 of the connection member 15. A long hole 30 that engages with the guide pin 29 of the lid body is formed in the middle portion in the longitudinal direction. The other end of the latch bar 14 is formed with a locking portion 31 that protrudes and protrudes from the side through hole 10 (FIG. 1) and engages with the locking recess 11 (FIG. 1) of the container body. As shown in FIG. 7, the locking portion 31 includes a neck portion 32 formed narrower than the width of the latch bar 14 and a head portion 33 formed thicker than the neck portion 32 and positioned at the end portion. .

  5 shows a state in which the locking mechanism is unlocked, that is, a state in which the tip of the latch bar is retracted into the lid body 4, and FIG. 6 shows the rotating body 13 in the state of FIG. The locked state is shown by rotating 90 ° clockwise. Here, the connecting member 15 moves along the center line in the width direction of the lid body 4 of FIG. The latch bar 14 moves in accordance with the movement of the connecting member. However, the position of the latch bar 14 is regulated by the guide rib 17 and the guide pin 29 that are formed to protrude from the lid body 4 so that the locking portion 31 at the tip swings in the lateral direction. Move to. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the lid body moves toward the outside in the width direction.

Next, the detail of the engagement state of the latching | locking part 31 is demonstrated using FIG. 7 a) b) and FIG. 8 a) b).
7a) and 7b) are partial cross-sectional views of the lid attached to the container body and the locking portion of the locking mechanism in a vertical direction. FIGS. 8a) and 8b) are views of the container body. It is an enlarged view of the state which looked at the engagement crevice from the outside.
FIGS. 7a) and 8a) show the unlocking time, and FIGS. 7b) and 8b) show the locking time.
Here, the locking recess 11 provided in the container body 2 is formed as a rectangular through hole formed from the inside of the opening of the container body to the outside of the container body. The locking recess 11 may be a recess formed in the opening instead of the through hole.

  FIGS. 7 a) and 8 a) show a state immediately before the lid 3 is fitted to the end of the opening of the container body 2, and there is still a gap between the container body 2 and the lid 3. (The state in which the lid projects from the container body). By operating the locking mechanism from this state, the latch bar 14 protrudes outward from the lid 3 and slides laterally from the protruding point, and is formed in the locking recess 11 of the container body 2. The position of the projection 34 is regulated while coming into contact with the cam surface 35 (inclined surface) of the projection 34 and sliding along the cam surface 35.

  As shown in FIGS. 7b) and 8b), the latch bar 14 is finally locked by a narrowed portion 36 where the cam surface 35 is advanced. At this time, the lid 3 is pulled and locked to the end of the opening of the container body 2, and the tip of the seal member 12 is pressed and compressed to form a seal at the opening of the container body.

In the present embodiment, since the lid 3 is horizontally slid and locked in the width direction, the latch bar of the locking mechanism is locked at a position inside the position of the access recess defined by the SEMI standard (E62). As a result, the lid body can be effectively prevented from being bent by being pushed by the force for holding the substrate by the retainer (FIG. 4).
In addition, the shape of the locking piece has a neck and a thicker head than this, and the locking recess of the container body is provided with a protrusion on the side facing the lid, so that the head of the latch bar can be locked during locking. And projections (the narrowed part of the cam surface) mesh with each other, and the lid is more firmly locked with the container body, moving in the direction that the locking mechanism is unlocked even when transported or subject to a drop or other impact This makes it difficult to remove the lid from the container body.

Another embodiment of the locking mechanism of the present invention will be described.
FIGS. 9 a) and 9 b) show another embodiment of the locking mechanism, which shows only one of the pair of locking mechanisms. In this case, the rotating body 41 and the latch bar 42 are directly connected. The rotating body 41 is rotated by an operation key inserted into the access recess 43 or by manually operating the cutout portion 44, whereby the locking portion 45 of the latch bar 42 is inserted into a through hole (illustrated in the side of the lid 3). (Omitted).

  The latch bar 42 is coupled to the cam groove 46 of the rotating body 41 by a connecting pin 47, and a guide pin 48 and a long hole 49 formed in the lid body are engaged to restrict the position during movement. At the tip of the latch bar 42, the same locking portion 45 as in the previous embodiment is formed, and the engagement between the cam groove 46 of the rotating body 41 and the connecting pin 47 and the engagement between the guide rib 50 and the guide pin 48. Thus, the locking portion 45 slides in the width direction of the lid body 3 to lock the lid body to the container body. The locking portion 45 can be provided with a neck portion at the end of the latch bar 42 and a thicker head portion than the neck portion as in the above embodiment.

In this case, the locking mechanism can have a simpler structure, and slides in a direction different from the pressing direction of the lid to the container body, and locks while pulling the lid body into the container body along the cam surface. An increase in torque can be prevented, and the locking mechanism can have a simpler structure.
In addition, by providing a head, the lid is more firmly locked with the container body, and even when transported or subjected to an impact such as dropping, it becomes difficult for the locking mechanism to move in the unlocking direction. The lid can be prevented from coming off from the container body.

1: Substrate storage container 2: Container body 3: Cover body 4: Cover body 5: Cover plate 6a: Through hole (key hole)
6b: Access recess 7: Arc hole 8: Positioning recess 9: Locking mechanism 10: Side through hole 11: Locking recess 12: Seal gasket (seal member)
13: Rotating body 14: Latch bar 15: Connecting member 16: Arc-shaped rib 17: Guide rib 18: Retainer 19: (Arc-shaped) cam groove 20: (Cylinder-shaped) connecting portion 21: Notch portion 22: Position restriction Piece 23: Connecting portion 24: Arc-shaped portion 25: Folding stopper 26: Position restricting pin 27: (arc-shaped) groove 28: Connecting pin 29: Guide pin 30: Slotted hole 31: Locking portion 32: Neck portion 33: Head 34: Projection 35: Cam surface (inclined surface)
36: Narrow part 41 (at the tip of the cam surface): Rotating body 42: Latch bar 43: Access recess 44: Notch 45: Locking part 46: Cam groove 47: Connecting pin 48: Guide pin 49: Slotted hole 50: Guide rib

Claims (5)

  A substrate storage container having a container body having an opening for storing a substrate and a lid for closing the opening of the container body, wherein the lid is provided with a pair of locking mechanisms, and the locking The mechanism has a rotating member having a cam groove and an operation recess accessible at the center in the center, a pair of elongated latch bar members engaged with the cam groove, and a lid positioned at the tip of the latch bar A substrate storage container having a locking portion that protrudes from the inside of the side wall to the outside, and the locking portion slides and locks in the width direction of the lid.   The locking mechanism includes a connecting member having one end engaged with the cam groove and the other end branched into two, and the latch bar is engaged with the branched other end of the connecting member. 2. The substrate storage container according to 1.   Each of the pair of latch bar members has a through hole in an intermediate portion thereof, and movement is restricted by a protrusion provided on the lid, and is supported by being inclined with respect to the center line of the lid, The locking portion is positioned inside the lid body with respect to the operation recess, and the locking portion slides and locks in a width direction of the lid body by a rotation operation of the rotating member. 2. The substrate storage container according to 2.   The board | substrate storage container in any one of Claims 1-3 with which the latching recessed part of the said container main body has a cam surface, and fits with the said latching | locking part.   The substrate storage container according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a rotating roller that is axially fixed is provided at a tip of the locking portion.

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