JP2009231653A - Substrate storing container - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate storing container which raises strength of a shelf board strip reduces moisture survival at the time of cleaning of the shelf board strip, can obtain time reduction of a drying work, moreover, prevents thickness variation of the shelf board strip, and which can obtain highly precise support of a substrate and smooth taking out and putting in of a substrate. <P>SOLUTION: The substrate storing container includes: a container body 1 for storing a semiconductor wafer; and a pair of holding bodies 30 which is built in the container body 1 and supports a semiconductor wafer, wherein each holding body 30 includes: an intermediate strip 31 which counters the sidewall inside of the container body 1; a head strip 32 which is formed in the intermediate strip 31 and located in the side of a frontal portion 2 of the container body 1; an end strip 39 formed in the intermediate strip 31; teeth 45 formed from the intermediate strip 31 to the end strip 39 and supporting a semiconductor wafer, and the teeth 45 are formed in a continuous waveform. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate storage container that stores substrates represented by semiconductor wafers, compound semiconductor wafers, glass wafers, and the like.

  Although not shown, a conventional substrate storage container includes a front open box type container main body that stores a predetermined number of semiconductor wafers, and a detachable lid that opens and closes an open front portion of the container main body. It is used for conveyance between processes, storage, transportation between factories, and the like, and it is used repeatedly by washing it appropriately with a cleaning liquid before and after use (see Patent Document 1).

  The container body is molded to a size that can accommodate 25 semiconductor wafers by a predetermined molding material, or from the viewpoint of improving the throughput of semiconductor production, and is molded to a size that can accommodate 2 semiconductor wafers. The A pair of teeth for horizontally supporting the semiconductor wafer is provided on both sides inside the container body, and a plurality of pairs of teeth are arranged at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction of the container body.

The plurality of teeth are integrally formed on both sides of the container main body by an insert molding method or a two-color molding method, or formed separately from the container main body, and then attached to the interior of the molded container main body. Each tooth is formed into an elongated flat plate shape extending in the front-rear direction of the container body. The front surface side of the surface that horizontally supports the semiconductor wafer is in contact with the semiconductor wafer housed in the container body and toward the front section. A thick portion for restricting the pop-out is integrally laminated.
JP 2006-245206 A

  The conventional substrate storage container is configured as described above, and since the teeth only need to be formed in an elongated flat plate shape, the strength of the cleaning liquid is low, and the water of the cleaning liquid is likely to remain. May be difficult, and the drying operation may take a long time. In addition, due to the fact that a thick portion or the like is simply formed on the front side of the surface of the teeth, the thickness of the teeth varies due to sink marks or warpage during molding, and the semiconductor wafer is supported with high precision and the semiconductor wafer. There is a risk that it will be difficult to smoothly put in and out.

  Further, in the conventional substrate storage container, when a plurality of teeth are integrally formed inside the container body, it may be difficult to integrate the container body and the teeth depending on the compatibility and type of the molding material. In addition, when the container body is of a type that accommodates two semiconductor wafers, there is a problem that the structure of the mold is complicated and the cost is increased.

  To solve this problem, it is sufficient to form the teeth separately from the container body and attach it to the container body. Will occur. This problem is extremely important in view of the recent situation that the minimum width of the processing line of the semiconductor circuit is reduced to 90 nm or less and contamination of the semiconductor wafer must be eliminated as much as possible. Furthermore, when a plurality of teeth are retrofitted to the container body, the workability of the mounting work is likely to deteriorate, and the positional accuracy is liable to be lowered. As a result, the semiconductor wafer may be taken in and out.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and it is possible to improve the strength of the shelf piece, to reduce the residual moisture during the washing of the shelf piece, and to shorten the working time of the drying operation. An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate storage container that can prevent variations in thickness of the plate pieces and can realize high-precision support of the substrate and smooth insertion and removal of the substrate.

In the present invention, in order to solve the above-described problem, a container body that accommodates a substrate from an opening is provided with a support that supports the substrate,
The support includes at least a shelf piece that supports the substrate so as to face the inner wall of the side wall of the container body, and the shelf board piece is formed in a substantially corrugated shape from the opening of the container body to the closing portion side.

  The support is formed on a separate intermediate piece facing the inner wall of the container body, a tip piece formed on the intermediate piece and located on the opening side of the inner wall of the container body, and the intermediate piece. A substantially corrugated shape including a terminal piece located on the closed side of the inner surface of the side wall of the container main body and a shelf piece protruding from at least the intermediate piece and supporting the substrate, and the shelf pieces being continuous from the tip piece to the terminal piece direction. Can be formed.

  Moreover, while forming a recessed part in any one of the opening part side of the side wall inner surface of a container main body, and the front-end | tip part of a front-end | tip piece, a convex part is formed in the other, and a container main body is carried out by fitting with these recessed parts and convex parts The tip piece is fixed to the inner surface of the side wall, and a draining hole can be drilled in at least one of the intermediate piece, the tip piece, the end piece, and the shelf board piece of the support.

Further, the container main body can be a short front open box type capable of storing three or less substrates, and the front portion thereof can be an opening, and a transparent window can be provided on the opening side of the side wall of the container main body.
In addition, a plurality of positioning ribs can be formed on the inner surface of the side wall of the container main body with the intermediate piece or the end piece of the support interposed therebetween.

In addition, a locking groove is formed on the opening side of the inner wall of the container body to form a recess, and the tip of the tip piece is bent to fit into the locking groove, and the tip of the tip piece is substantially comb-shaped. Inclined protrusions can be formed on the comb teeth.
Also, a plurality of guide ribs sandwiching the support are formed on the inner wall of the side wall of the container body, a positioning groove is formed at the end of the guide rib, and a positioning protrusion that fits into the positioning groove is formed at the end piece of the support. An alignment protrusion can be formed on the tip piece of the support so as to contact and align with the guide rib of the container body.

In addition, an engagement groove is formed on the side of the inner side wall of the container body, and an engagement protrusion is formed at the end of the end piece to fit into the engagement groove. It is possible to form a plurality of retaining ribs that support the end piece of the support.
In addition, a deflection regulating stopper that regulates the deflection of the end piece is formed on either the closed side of the inner wall of the container body or the end piece of the support, and the end piece of the support is housed in the container body. It is possible to form a position restricting portion that restricts the storage position of the substrate.

Moreover, the curved top of the shelf piece located on the opening side of the inner side wall of the container body is made higher than the other curved tops, and the curved top located on the opening side of the inner side wall of the container body allows the container to It is also possible to regulate the jumping out of the substrate stored in the main body.
Moreover, it is also possible to support the substrate by at least a pair of curved tops among a plurality of other curved tops of the shelf board piece, and make the other curved tops other than the pair of curved tops non-contact with the substrate.

Moreover, it is good to form at least a curved valley part so that it may become thin gradually as it goes inward from the side wall inner surface of a container main body among the curved top part and curved valley part of a shelf piece.
Furthermore, it is preferable that the shelf plate pieces of the support are divided and the plurality of divided shelf plate pieces are arranged at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the support body.

  Here, the substrate in the claims includes at least one semiconductor wafer (for example, 200 mm, 300 mm, 450 mm type, etc.), compound semiconductor wafer, glass wafer, photomask glass, hard disk and the like. The container body may be large enough to accommodate 25 or 26 substrates, or may be large enough to accommodate two or three substrates. The container body can be a front open box type or a top open box type. In addition, the support body may be a separate body from the container main body, but may be integrated.

  According to the present invention, since the shelf piece of the support is formed in a substantially corrugated shape from the opening of the container body to the closing portion side, the strength of the shelf piece is improved and the residual moisture during the washing of the shelf piece is reduced. In addition, the working time of the drying operation can be shortened, and the thickness variation of the shelf board pieces can be prevented, and the substrate can be supported with high accuracy and the substrate can be smoothly taken in and out. .

  Further, the support is formed on the intermediate piece as a separate intermediate piece facing the side wall inner surface of the container body, a tip piece formed on the intermediate piece and positioned on the opening side of the side wall inner surface of the container main body, and the intermediate piece. It is formed from a terminal piece located on the closed side of the inner surface of the side wall of the container main body, and a shelf board piece that protrudes from at least the intermediate piece and supports the substrate, and the shelf board piece is continuous from the tip piece to the terminal piece direction. If it forms in a waveform, a container main body and a shelf piece can be integrated irrespective of the compatibility and kind of molding material. Further, even when the container body is of a type that accommodates two semiconductor wafers, the structure of the mold is not complicated, causing less difficulty in molding and an increase in cost, and inexpensive manufacturing can be expected.

Moreover, while forming a recessed part in any one of the opening part side of the side wall inner surface of a container main body, and the front-end | tip part of a front-end | tip piece, a convex part is formed in the other, and a container main body is carried out by fitting with these recessed parts and a convex part. If the tip piece is fixed to the inner surface of the side wall, the workability and positional accuracy when attaching a separate support to the container body can be improved, and the substrate can be taken in and out smoothly.
In addition, if a plurality of positioning ribs are formed on the inner surface of the side wall of the container body with the intermediate piece or the end piece of the support interposed therebetween, the parallelism of the support can be adjusted with a simple configuration.

  In addition, a locking groove is formed on the opening side of the inner wall of the container body to form a recess, and the tip of the tip piece is bent to fit into the locking groove, and the tip of the tip piece is substantially comb-shaped. If the inclined protrusion is formed on the comb teeth, the flexibility of the tip can be improved, and the friction between the locking groove and the comb teeth can be reduced by the inclined protrusion.

  Also, a plurality of guide ribs sandwiching the support are formed on the inner wall of the side wall of the container body, a positioning groove is formed at the end of the guide rib, and a positioning protrusion that fits into the positioning groove is formed at the end piece of the support. If formed, at least the intermediate piece of the support can be set at an appropriate position. Moreover, it becomes possible to position a support body appropriately in an insertion direction by a positioning protrusion. In addition, if the alignment protrusion is formed on the tip of the support to contact and align with the guide ribs of the container body, the support and shelf pieces can be positioned in the direction in which the stored substrates are arranged. Become.

Further, if an engagement groove is formed on the closed side of the inner surface of the side wall of the container body, and an engagement protrusion that fits into the engagement groove is formed at the end of the end piece, the engagement protrusion is fitted. Due to the action, dropping of the support into the container body is restricted. Moreover, if the several holding rib which supports the terminal piece of a support body is formed in the obstruction | occlusion part side of the side wall inner surface of a container main body, drop | omission into the container main body of a support body will be controlled.
In addition, if a deflection regulating stopper that regulates the bending of the end piece is formed on either the closed side of the inner side wall of the container body or the end piece of the support, the deflection regulating stopper faces the inner side wall of the container body. To regulate the bending of the end piece.

Also, if the curved top of the shelf piece located on the opening side of the inner side wall of the container body is made higher than the other curved tops, the curved top located on the opening side of the inner side wall of the container body, It can be expected that the substrate stored in the container body will be restricted from projecting toward the opening.
In addition, if at least the curved valley portion of the shelf plate pieces is tapered so as to gradually become narrower inward from the inner surface of the side wall of the container body, moisture can be removed from the curved top portion. It flows into the part and is drained from the tip of the curved valley part. Therefore, it becomes easy to specify the moisture adhering portion, and the time required for the drying operation can be shortened.

  Furthermore, if the shelf pieces of the support are divided and the plurality of divided shelf pieces are arranged at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the support, the contact area between the shelf pieces and the substrate is reduced. It can be expected to suppress contamination, prevent deformation of shelf boards during manufacturing, and reduce material costs.

  Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a substrate storage container according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The substrate storage container in this embodiment can store a small number of semiconductor wafers W as shown in FIGS. And a pair of left and right supports 30 that are built in the container body 1 and support the semiconductor wafer W horizontally, and each of the supports 30 is an intermediate piece 31. The tip piece 32, the end piece 39, and the pair of teeth 45 are integrally formed.

  The semiconductor wafer W is made of, for example, a thin and round silicon type of φ300 mm, and a notch for alignment and identification is selectively formed on the peripheral edge, and a circuit pattern is formed on the surface.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the container body 1 has a short front opening that aligns and stores two semiconductor wafers W by vertically injecting a molding material containing a predetermined resin into a mold. A lid 20 of the same shape is detachably fitted to the horizontally long front portion 2 which is formed into a box type and is opened through an endless gasket, and the front portion 2 of the container body 1 is fitted to the lid 20. A locking mechanism that locks the closed lid 20 is built in, and is slidably mounted on a load port device (not shown) so that the front surface portion 2 is brought into contact with the loading / unloading port.

  Examples of the resin of the molding material for molding the container body 1 include polybutylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyether imide, and cycloolefin resin, which are excellent in mechanical properties, heat resistance, dimensional stability, and the like. Two or more kinds of these resins are selectively combined and used for insert molding, two-color molding, and the like. In addition, carbon black, carbon filler, carbon nanotube, conductive polymer, etc. are added to these resins from the viewpoint of improving conductivity, or UV absorbers such as hindered amines are used from the viewpoint of controlling the transmission wavelength. Glass fibers are added or added to improve rigidity.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the container body 1 is formed by linearly forming the front surface 2 side of both side walls and bending the back wall side (closed portion side) of both side walls into a substantially cross-sectional shape. The interior front portion 2 side is wide and the interior back wall side is narrowly formed. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 9, a member for fixing the front end piece 32 of the support 30 to the front portion 2 side of the inner surface of each side wall of the container body 1, in other words, the inner periphery of the front portion of the container body 1. The stop groove 3 is cut out in the vertical direction.

  As shown in FIG. 7 to FIG. 9, a pair of upper and lower portions that guide and sandwich at least the intermediate piece 31 of the support 30, specifically, the intermediate piece 31 and the tip piece 32 through a slight gap, are provided on the inner surface of each side wall. Guide ribs 4 are formed, and each guide rib 4 is formed in a plate shape or a rod shape elongated in the front-rear direction of the container body 1, and the front end portion 2 side has an abbreviated cross-sectional shape, a substantially C shape, a substantially J shape, A U-shaped positioning groove 5 is formed as a recess. The pair of guide ribs 4 are disposed to face each other with an interval corresponding to the height of the intermediate piece 31 and the tip piece 32, and are inclined so that the interval gradually decreases from the front part 2 of the container body 1 to the rear wall side.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, a pair of upper and lower positioning ribs 6 sandwiching the end piece 39 of the support 30 are formed on the back wall side of the inner surface of each side wall of the container body 1. In addition, on the back wall side of the inner surface of each side wall, engagement grooves 7 having substantially L-shaped, U-shaped and V-shaped cross sections located behind the positioning rib 6 are formed via the ribs. In addition, a pair of upper and lower holding ribs 8 are formed on the back wall side of the inner surface of each side wall, and the pair of upper and lower holding ribs 8 are located near the upper and lower sides of the engagement groove 7. It functions to sandwich the end piece 39 of the support 30. Each holding rib 8 is formed in a plate shape elongated in the front-rear direction of the container body 1, and is positioned behind the positioning rib 6.

  A rib flange 9 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the container body 1 to increase mechanical strength and rigidity. The rib flange 9 protrudes when the container body 1 is removed and faces the pin. The rib flange 9 is integrally formed on the back wall and both side walls of the container body 1 from the outside, and has a deformed planar substantially U shape. Both sides of the rib flange 9 on the back wall are screwed with a metal balance weight 10 so that the front part 2 of the container body 1 does not tilt downward, and a plurality of parts are removed when the container body 1 is removed from the mold. It functions to face the protruding pin from the outside.

  A central portion of the rib flange 9 on the back wall is bent into a substantially W shape to form a concave portion, and the opening of the concave portion faces downward and functions as a positioning portion 11 for the load port device of the container body 1. Further, the front portion of the rib flange 9 on each side wall is bent into a substantially inverted V shape to form a concave portion, and the opening of the concave portion functions downward as a positioning portion 11 for the load port device. In addition, a plurality of attached ribs 12 are erected at the center of the ceiling of the container body 1, and a planar substantially triangular suspension flange 13 held by a transport mechanism (not shown) is provided on the plurality of attached ribs 12. It is detachably screwed through a fastener.

  The front portion 2 of the container body 1 is formed to bulge outwardly to form a rim flange 14, and locking grooves 15 for locking the lid 20 are notched in the vertical direction on both sides inside the rim flange 14. It is. As shown in FIGS. 1, 5, and 6, a plurality of mounting holes 16 are perforated in the vertical direction on both sides of the rim flange 14 projecting to the left and right, and information display pads are formed in the plurality of mounting holes 16. The information pad is selectively inserted and detected by the detection sensor of the load port device, so that the presence / absence and number of semiconductor wafers W, the storage position of the semiconductor wafer W, the type of the substrate storage container, etc. Identified.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the lid 20 is detachably fitted to the front part 2 of the container body 1, and has a horizontally long case containing a locking mechanism, and an open front part (surface part) of the case. And a front cover 21 that is screwed onto the container body 1 and attached to and removed from the container body 1 by a lid opening / closing device of the load port device. As a material of the lid 20, for example, a molding material similar to that of the container body 1 is used.

  A horizontally long mounting hole is formed in the center of the rear surface of the housing. A front retainer that elastically holds the front of the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer W with an elastic piece is mounted in the mounting hole. In addition, a horizontally long frame-shaped mounting groove is cut out at the peripheral edge of the rear surface of the housing, and an elastic gasket interposed between the container main body 1 is fitted into the mounting groove.

  The front cover 21 is formed in a horizontally long and substantially rectangular shape, and operation ports 22 for a locking mechanism are formed in both sides so as to have a substantially convex shape, respectively. A front circular suction region that is vacuum-sucked by the lid opening / closing device is formed.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 6, 9, and 10, each support 30 is provided with an intermediate piece 31 that opposes the inner surface of the side wall of the container body 1, and the side wall of the container body 1 that is integrally formed with the intermediate piece 31. An elongated rectangular tip piece 32 positioned on the front surface 2 side of the inner surface, an elongated rectangular end piece 39 formed on the intermediate piece 31 and positioned on the back wall side of the inner wall of the container body 1, and the intermediate piece 31 and the distal end A pair of upper and lower teeth 45 that are formed on the piece 39 and horizontally support the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer W are formed.

  Examples of the resin of the molding material that molds the support 30 include polyether ether ketone, polybutylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyether imide, and cycloolefin resin that are excellent in lubricity, heat resistance, dimensional stability, and the like. Two or more kinds of these resins are selectively combined and used for insert molding, two-color molding, and the like. In addition, carbon black, carbon filler, carbon nanotube, conductive polymer, etc. are added to these resins from the viewpoint of improving conductivity, or UV absorbers such as hindered amines are used from the viewpoint of controlling the transmission wavelength. Glass fibers are added or added to improve rigidity.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the intermediate piece 31 of the support 30 is formed in an elongated rectangular shape that is interposed between a pair of guide ribs 4 and extends in the front-rear direction of the container body 1. The end piece 39 is formed so as to be bent linearly toward the inside of the container body 1, in other words, toward the center of the semiconductor wafer W.

  As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the tip piece 32 has a plurality of drain holes 33 arranged in a lattice shape for facilitating draining of the cleaning liquid, and each drain hole 33 is formed in an elongated rectangular shape in the front-rear direction. And interposed between the pair of guide ribs 4 of the container body 1. The distal end portion 34 of the distal end piece 32 is bent and formed in an approximately L shape toward the inside and outside of the container main body 1, and is detachably fitted and locked in the locking groove 3 of the container main body 1 to remove the support 30. To prevent.

  As shown in FIGS. 3, 4, 8, and 9, the distal end portion 34 of the distal end piece 32 is formed in a comb shape from the viewpoint of ensuring flexibility and flexibility, and at least the front and rear surfaces of each comb tooth 35. One of the plurality of inclined protrusions 36 that reduce friction with the locking groove 3 is selectively arranged in parallel with a distance from each other, and the plurality of arranged inclined protrusions 36 are arranged in the locking groove. 3 can be easily inserted, and drainage can be improved. In addition, positioning protrusions 37 that are fitted into the positioning grooves 5 of the guide rib 4 are respectively formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the tip piece 32 to project the pair of positioning protrusions 37 in the insertion direction.

  Each positioning projection 37 is formed to protrude in a pin shape, and is positioned rearward of the distal end portion 34 of the distal end piece 32. Further, as shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 9, alignment protrusions 38 that contact the opposing surfaces of the guide rib 4 of the container main body 1 are respectively formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the tip piece 32 so as to protrude. The mating protrusion 38 functions to position the support 30 and the teeth 45 in the vertical direction. Each alignment protrusion 38 is lower than the positioning protrusion 37, is formed in a hemispherical shape from the viewpoint of reducing friction, and is adjacent to the rear of the positioning protrusion 37.

  As shown in FIGS. 3, 4, 6, and 9, the end piece 39 is integrally formed with a mounting piece 40 at its end, and the mounting piece 40 has a semiconductor wafer W accommodated in the container body 1. A position restricting portion 41 that protrudes in contact with the container and protrudes is formed so that the upper and lower surfaces of the attachment piece 40 are positioned by being sandwiched between the pair of positioning ribs 6 of the container body 1 so that the parallelism is adjusted. Is done. An end wall portion 42 extending in parallel with the intermediate piece 31 is integrally formed at the end portion of the attachment piece 40, and the upper and lower sides of the end wall portion 42 are on the back wall side of the inner surface of the side wall of the container body 1 and the pair of holding ribs 8 Is sandwiched between.

  A pin-shaped engagement protrusion 43 that fits into the engagement groove 7 of the container body 1 is integrally formed at the end portion of the end wall portion 42, and the engagement of the engagement protrusion 43 and the holding rib 8 are sandwiched. The action effectively prevents the support 30 from dropping or dropping into the container body 1. Further, the position restricting portion 41 is formed so as to form an obtuse angle of 90 ° or more with the semiconductor wafer W accommodated therein, or is formed in a substantially semicircular or substantially semielliptical cross section. It is located in the vicinity and the vicinity of the rear part of the tooth 45.

  On the back surface of the mounting piece 40, a plate-shaped bending restriction stopper 44 located on the back side of the position restriction portion 41 is installed, and this bending restriction stopper 44 comes into contact with the rear wall side of the inner wall of the container main body 1 to contact the end piece. It functions to regulate the bending of 39 and teeth 45. The deflection regulating stopper 44 functions to suppress and prevent the positional deviation of the semiconductor wafer W when the lid 20 is removed from the front part 2 of the container body 1.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, each of the teeth 45 is formed in an elongated plate shape in the front-rear direction of the container body 1 in a plan view, and is formed so as to protrude from the intermediate piece 31 to the end piece 39 of the support 30. The The teeth 45 are curved and formed into a smooth waveform having irregularities alternately arranged in the front-rear direction of the container body 1, in other words, from the distal end piece 32 to the distal end piece 39, and a plurality of high-order curved top portions 46 </ b> A, 46 </ b> B, 46 </ b> C. 46D, 46E, 46F and a plurality of lower curved valleys 47 are alternately positioned.

  Of the plurality of curved top portions 46A, 46B, 46C, 46D, 46E, and 46F of the tooth 45, the curved top portion 46A that is located on the most front side 2 side of the inner surface of the side wall of the container body 1 is, as shown in FIG. The plurality of curved top portions 46B, 46C, 46D, 46E, and 46F are formed so as to protrude higher than the thickness of the semiconductor wafer W, and the front of the peripheral portion of the semiconductor wafer W comes into contact with the high curved top portions 46A. The semiconductor wafer W housed in the semiconductor wafer W is effectively restricted from jumping to the front surface 2 side.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the plurality of other curved top portions 46B, 46C, 46D, 46E, and 46F support at least the pair of front and rear curved top portions 46B and 46F that support the peripheral portion of the semiconductor wafer W from below. The other curved top portions 46C, 46D, and 46E other than the pair of curved top portions 46B and 46F are formed low and are not in contact with the semiconductor wafer W.

  The pair of curved top portions 46B and 46F are formed, for example, including a curved top portion 46B located immediately after the curved top portion 46A and a curved top portion 46F located on the innermost side surface of the side wall of the container body 1 on the back wall side. The curved top portions 46C, 46D, and 46E other than the pair of curved top portions 46B and 46F are not in contact with the peripheral portion of the semiconductor wafer W, thereby preventing the generation and adhesion of particles or the semiconductor when a large impact is applied. Prevents and protects the wafer W from fluttering.

  As shown in FIG. 6, each of the curved valley portions 47 of the teeth 45 is gently slender and gradually narrows from the inner surface of the side wall of the container body 1 (right side of FIG. 6) toward the inner inward direction (left side of FIG. 6). The cross section is tapered and formed with a slope. Due to the inclined formation of the curved valley portion 47, the flow and drainage of moisture attached to the tooth 45 are facilitated.

  In the above, when the support body 30 is mounted inside the container body 1, first, the support body 30 is inserted into the container body 1 via the pair of guide ribs 4 and is inserted into the engagement groove 7 of the container body 1. The engaging protrusion 43 of the support body 30 is fitted, the end wall portion 42 of the support body 30 is sandwiched between the rear wall side of the inner wall of the container body 1 and the holding rib 8, and the pair of positioning ribs 6 support the support body. Thirty end pieces 39 are clamped. At this time, the pair of guide ribs 4 are inclined so as to be gradually narrowed to perform positioning action and rattling prevention action, so that the intermediate piece 31 and the end piece 39 of the support 30 can be appropriately inserted and slid.

  Thus, when the intermediate piece 31 and the end piece 39 of the support 30 are properly inserted into the container body 1 so as not to fall off, the distal end portion 34 of the distal end piece 32 is fitted and locked in the locking groove 3 of the container body 1. Then, the positioning protrusions 37 are fitted into the positioning grooves 5 of the guide ribs 4 to position the support 30 in the insertion direction, and the alignment protrusions 38 are pressed against the opposing surfaces of the guide ribs 4 so that the teeth 45 are moved vertically. If it positions, the support body 30 can be mounted | worn with the inside of the container main body 1, and can be integrated.

  According to the above configuration, even if moisture of the cleaning liquid adheres to the tooth 45, for example, the moisture flows down from the curved top portions 46A, 46B, 46C, 46D, 46E, and 46F to the concave curved valley portion 47 and accumulates. Since it flows through the inclined surface 47 and is efficiently drained from the tip 48, it is very easy to identify the portion where the moisture adheres, and the drying operation time can be expected to be greatly shortened.

  In addition, since the tooth 45 is not a simple flat plate, but has a waveform that contributes to an improvement in strength, the cooling efficiency at the time of molding can be improved, and the tooth 45 can be molded to a substantially uniform thickness, and the structure is hardly deformed. be able to. That is, since there is little deformation of the tooth 45 due to shrinkage or the like, high-precision support of the semiconductor wafer W and smooth removal / insertion of the semiconductor wafer W can be greatly expected.

  Moreover, since the several teeth 45 are not integrally molded inside the container main body 1, the container main body 1 and the teeth 45 can be integrated irrespective of the compatibility and kind of molding material. Further, even when the container body 1 is of a type that accommodates two semiconductor wafers W, the structure of the mold is not complicated, so that molding is not difficult and the cost is not increased, and inexpensive manufacturing can be expected. Further, since the plurality of drain holes 33 are perforated in the tip piece 32 of the support 30, it is possible to prevent the moisture of the cleaning liquid during cleaning from remaining as a contamination source of the semiconductor wafer W.

  Further, the guide rib 4, the engagement groove 7, the engagement protrusion 43, the holding rib 8, the positioning rib 6, the locking groove 3, the tip end 34 of the tip piece 32, the positioning groove 5, the positioning protrusion 37, and the alignment protrusion 38 can significantly improve the workability and position accuracy when attaching the pair of support bodies 30 to the container body 1, thereby enabling the semiconductor wafer W to be smoothly taken in and out by a dedicated robot. become. Further, by adjusting the thickness of the inclined protrusion 36 of the distal end portion 34, the thickness of the distal end portion 34 itself can be easily adjusted without cutting the entire distal end portion 34.

  Next, FIG. 11 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In this case, each of the teeth 45 of the support 30 is divided into a pair of front and back, and the pair of front and rear teeth 45 thus divided is supported by the support 30. In other words, the container body 1 is arranged at intervals in the longitudinal direction. The other parts are substantially the same as those in the above embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  In this embodiment, the same effect as that of the above embodiment can be expected, and each tooth 45 is divided into a pair of front and rear, so that the contact area between the tooth 45 and the semiconductor wafer W is reduced and contamination of the semiconductor wafer W is prevented. Obviously, it is possible to prevent the suppression and improve the formability and dimensional stability of the teeth 45. Further, deformation of the teeth 45 at the time of molding can be prevented, and the material cost can be greatly reduced.

Next, FIG. 11 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. In this case, the teeth 45 of the support 30 are not a pair of upper and lower sides but three or more stages (up and down in this embodiment). The upper and lower multi-stage supports 30 are formed directly on the inner wall of the container body 1, or the upper and lower multi-stage supports 30 are formed as separate bodies. They are integrated by a color molding method.
In this case, the support 30 can be formed from the intermediate piece 31, the tip piece 32, and the end piece 39. Further, the draining hole 33, the comb teeth 35, the inclined protrusion 36, the positioning protrusion 37, and the alignment protrusion 38 of the tip piece 32 can be omitted as necessary. The other parts are substantially the same as those in the above embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  In this embodiment, the same effect as the above-described embodiment can be expected, and the container body 1 is not a semiconductor wafer W of two sheets, but a large front open for storing, for example, 25 semiconductor wafers W up and down. Obviously, the support 30 can also be used in the case of the box type.

Next, FIG. 12 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In this case, see-through windows 50 for optical sensors are respectively formed on the front surface 2 side of both side walls of the container main body 1, and each see-through is shown. A locking groove 3 is formed in the inner surface of the window 50, and the tip portion 34 of the tip piece 32 shortened in the locking groove 3 is detachably fitted and locked.
The see-through window 50 is molded by an insert molding method or a two-color molding method using a molding material such as PC. The other parts are substantially the same as those in the above embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  In the present embodiment, the same effect as that of the above embodiment can be expected, and the semiconductor wafer W is directly detected by the transparent window 50 using a transmissive optical sensor instead of a weight sensor. Obviously, the presence / absence, number of sheets, storage position, etc. can be accurately detected. Also, the configuration of the container body 1 can be diversified.

  In the above-described embodiment, a pair of the same type of support 30 is built in the container body 1. However, if the support of the semiconductor wafer W is not hindered, the one support 30 may be of a different type. In addition, the lengths of the intermediate piece 31, the tip piece 32, and the end piece 39 in the above embodiment may be extended or shortened as necessary. In addition, a pair of upper and lower convex portions are formed at intervals on the front surface 2 side of the inner surface of the side wall of the container body 1, and concave portions that fit into the convex portions are formed above and below the distal end portion 34 of the distal end piece 32. The substantially crank-shaped fitting pieces that fit into the convex portions may be formed to extend, or the protruding pieces with concave portions may be formed.

  Moreover, while forming a convex part in the inner periphery of the front part 2 of the container main body 1, a recessed part is formed in the front-end | tip part 34 of the front-end | tip piece 32, and it supports on the side wall of the container main body 1 by fitting with these convex part and a recessed part. The body 30 may be fixed. In the above embodiment, the plurality of drain holes 33 are drilled in the tip piece 32, but a plurality of drain holes 33 may be drilled in the intermediate piece 31, the end piece 39, and / or the teeth 45. Further, the draining hole 33 can be formed in a circle, an ellipse, a polygon, or the like in addition to a rectangle.

  In addition, a plurality of positioning ribs 6 are formed on the inner surface of the side wall of the container body 1 with the end piece 39 of the support 30 interposed therebetween, but the plurality of positioning ribs 6 positioned with the intermediate piece 31 of the support 30 interposed therebetween. It can also be formed. Further, although the bending restriction stopper 44 for restricting the bending is formed on the end piece 39 of the support 30, the bending restriction stopper 44 can be formed on the back wall side of the inner wall of the container body 1. The deflection regulating stopper 44 may be increased to a plurality. Further, the positioning protrusion 37 and / or the alignment protrusion 38 can be formed on the tooth 45 for positioning.

  Further, each tooth 45 is divided into a pair of front and rear, but each tooth 45 is divided into three pieces such as front, center, and rear, and the semiconductor wafer W is supported by the front and rear teeth 45, and the front and rear teeth 45 are supported. It is also possible to dispose the central tooth 45 at a lower position so as not to contact the semiconductor wafer W.

  Further, at least one of the curved top portions 46A, 46B, 46C, 46D, 46E, and 46F is formed so as to be inclined so as to taper gradually so as to become gradually lower from the inner surface of the side wall of the container body 1 toward the inside. Is also possible. Furthermore, the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer W can be supported from below by any one of the other plurality of curved top portions 46B, 46C, 46D, 46E, and 46F.

It is a perspective explanatory view showing typically an embodiment of a substrate storage container concerning the present invention. It is a section top view showing typically an embodiment of a substrate storage container concerning the present invention. It is a perspective explanatory view showing typically the support in the embodiment of the substrate storage container concerning the present invention. FIG. 4 is a rear view of FIG. 3. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the support body and semiconductor wafer in embodiment of the substrate storage container which concerns on this invention. It is sectional explanatory drawing which shows typically the curved trough part of the teeth in embodiment of the substrate storage container which concerns on this invention. It is front explanatory drawing which shows typically the container main body in embodiment of the substrate storage container which concerns on this invention. It is front explanatory drawing which shows typically the container main body and support body in embodiment of the substrate storage container which concerns on this invention. It is a partial cross-section explanatory drawing which shows typically the front part side of the side wall of the container main body in embodiment of the substrate storage container which concerns on this invention. It is a section explanatory view showing typically the back wall side of the side wall of the container main part in the embodiment of the substrate storage container concerning the present invention. It is a perspective explanatory view showing typically a 2nd embodiment of a substrate storage container concerning the present invention. It is a perspective explanatory view showing typically a 3rd embodiment of a substrate storage container concerning the present invention. It is a section explanatory view showing typically a 4th embodiment of a substrate storage container concerning the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 Container body 2 Front (opening)
3 Locking groove (concave)
4 Guide rib 5 Positioning groove 6 Positioning rib 7 Engaging groove 8 Holding rib 20 Lid body 30 Support body 31 Intermediate piece 32 End piece 33 Drain hole 34 End part (convex part)
35 Comb tooth 36 Inclined protrusion 37 Positioning protrusion 38 Positioning protrusion 39 End piece 40 Mounting piece (a part of the end piece)
41 Position restriction part 42 End wall part (part of terminal piece)
43 Engaging protrusion 44 Deflection regulating stopper 45 Teeth (shelf plate piece)
46A curved top 46B curved top 46C curved top 46D curved top 46E curved top 46F curved top 47 curved trough 48 tip 50 fluoroscopic window W semiconductor wafer (substrate)

Claims (12)

A substrate storage container in which a support body for supporting a substrate is provided on a container body that stores a substrate from an opening,
The support includes at least a shelf piece that supports the substrate so as to face the inner surface of the side wall of the container body, and the shelf plate piece is formed in a substantially corrugated shape from the opening of the container body to the closing portion side. Storage container.   The support body is a separate intermediate piece facing the inner side wall of the container body, a tip piece formed on the intermediate piece and positioned on the opening side of the inner side wall of the container body, and the intermediate body. Including a terminal piece located on the closed side of the inner wall of the side wall and a shelf piece protruding from at least the intermediate piece to support the substrate, and the shelf piece is formed in a continuous waveform from the tip piece to the terminal piece direction. The substrate storage container according to claim 1.   A concave portion is formed on one of the opening side of the inner surface of the side wall of the container main body and the front end portion of the tip piece, and a convex portion is formed on the other side, and the side wall of the container main body is formed by fitting the concave portion and the convex portion. The substrate storage container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a tip piece is fixed to the inner surface, and a drain hole is drilled in at least one of the intermediate piece, the tip piece, the end piece, and the shelf board piece of the support.   The container main body is a short front open box type capable of storing three or less substrates, and the front portion is an opening, and a transparent window is provided on the opening side of the side wall of the container main body. 3. The substrate storage container according to 3.   The substrate storage container according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a plurality of positioning ribs are formed on the inner surface of the side wall of the container main body so as to be positioned with either the intermediate piece or the end piece of the support interposed therebetween.   A locking groove is formed on the opening side of the inner surface of the side wall of the container body to form a recess, and the tip of the tip piece is bent to fit into the locking groove, and the tip of the tip piece is formed in a substantially comb shape. 6. The substrate storage container according to claim 3, wherein the comb teeth are formed with inclined protrusions.   A plurality of guide ribs sandwiching the support are formed on the inner surface of the side wall of the container body, a positioning groove is formed at the end of the guide rib, and a positioning protrusion that fits into the positioning groove is formed at the end piece of the support. The substrate storage container according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein an alignment protrusion is formed on the front end piece of the support so as to contact and align with the guide rib of the container body.   An engagement groove is formed on the closed side of the inner surface of the side wall of the container body, an engagement protrusion that fits into the engagement groove is formed at the end of the end piece, and on the closed side of the inner surface of the side wall of the container body. The substrate storage container according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of holding ribs for supporting the end piece of the support are formed.   A deflection regulating stopper that regulates the deflection of the end piece is formed on either the closed side of the inner surface of the side wall of the container body or the end piece of the support, and the end piece of the substrate accommodated in the container body is formed on the end piece of the support. The substrate storage container according to claim 1, wherein a position restricting portion for restricting a storage position is formed.   The curved top of the shelf piece located on the opening side of the inner side wall of the container main body is made higher than the other curved tops, and the curved top located on the opening side of the inner side wall of the container main body makes the container main body The substrate storage container according to claim 1, wherein jumping out of the stored substrate is restricted.   The substrate according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein at least the curved valley portion of the shelf plate pieces is tapered so as to gradually become narrower inward from the inner surface of the side wall of the container body. Storage container.   The substrate storage container according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein a shelf piece of the support is divided, and the plurality of divided shelf pieces are arranged at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the support.

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