U.S. patent application number 11/444501 was filed with the patent office on 2006-12-14 for thin-plate supporting container.
This patent application is currently assigned to MIRAIAL CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Yoichi Emura, Tadahiro Obayashi.
Application Number | 20060278564 11/444501 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36617347 |
Filed Date | 2006-12-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060278564 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Obayashi; Tadahiro ; et
al. |
December 14, 2006 |
Thin-plate supporting container
Abstract
When a thin-plate supporting container is placed on a placement
table, a displacement is corrected and the thin-plate supporting
container is precisely positioned. The thin-plate supporting
container includes a container body 22 for housing therein a
semiconductor wafer and the like and positioning means 23 provided
to the container body 22 for positioning the container body at a
set position on a placement table to place the container body on
the placement table and take in and out the semiconductor wafer and
the like. The positioning means 23 includes an engagement groove 24
for engaging an engagement protrusion provided on the placement
table, and an inclined plane 25 to be in contact with the
engagement protrusion in a state the engagement groove engages with
the engagement protrusion. The inclined plane is treated so as to
reduce a contact area with the engagement protrusion to decrease
the friction resistance by embossing.
Inventors: |
Obayashi; Tadahiro;
(Kikuchi-shi, JP) ; Emura; Yoichi; (Kikuchi-shi,
JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BACON & THOMAS, PLLC
625 SLATERS LANE
FOURTH FLOOR
ALEXANDRIA
VA
22314
US
|
Assignee: |
MIRAIAL CO., LTD.
Tokyo
JP
|
Family ID: |
36617347 |
Appl. No.: |
11/444501 |
Filed: |
June 1, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/711 ;
206/454; 206/832 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L 21/67379
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/711 ;
206/454; 206/832 |
International
Class: |
B65D 85/00 20060101
B65D085/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 13, 2005 |
JP |
2005-172441 |
Claims
1. A thin-plate supporting container comprising: a container body
for housing therein a thin-plate; and positioning means provided to
the container body for positioning the container body at a set
position on a placement table to place the container body on the
placement table and take in and out the internal thin-plate;
wherein the positioning means includes an engagement groove for
engaging an engagement protrusion provided on the placement table,
and a inclined plane to be in contact with the engagement
protrusion in a state the engagement groove engages with the
engagement protrusion, and the inclined plane is treated so that
friction resistance is reduced.
2. The thin-plate supporting container according to claim 1,
wherein the inclined plane of the engagement groove in the
positioning means is treated so as to reduce a contact area of the
inclined plane and the engagement protrusion to decrease the
friction resistance.
3. The thin-plate supporting container according to claim 1,
wherein the inclined plane of the engagement groove in the
positioning means is treated so as to reduce the friction
resistance by embossing.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims, under 35 USC 119, priority of
Japanese Application No. 2005-172441 filed Jun. 13, 2005.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a thin-plate supporting
container which has positioning means for positioning a placement
table to a set position in order to take in and out thin
plates.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] A thin-plate supporting container used for automatically
taking in and out an internal semiconductor wafer and the like is
generally known. In such thin-plate supporting container, in order
to align a position of an arm of a transfer device and a position
of a semiconductor wafer and the like, positioning means is
provided. As an example of the thin-plate supporting container
equipped with the positioning means, a thin-plate supporting
container disclosed in WO 99/39994 is known. With reference to
FIGS. 2 to 4, the thin-plate supporting container will be
described.
[0006] A thin-plate supporting container 1 shown in the drawings
has a container body 2 which houses therein a plurality of
semiconductor wafers (not shown), two thin-plate supporting parts
(not shown) each provided on opposing side walls of the container
body 2 respectively for supporting the semiconductor wafers housed
in the container body 2 from the both sides of the wafers, a lid 4
for covering an opening 2F of the container body 2, a top flange 5
which is supported by an arm of a transfer device (not shown) if
necessary, and a carrying handle 6 which is gripped by an operator
when he carries the thin-plate supporting container 1 by hand.
[0007] The container body 2 is formed substantially in the shape of
a cube as a whole. The container body is, in an upright position
(in the state shown in FIGS. 2 to 4), composed of four side walls
2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D to be circumferential walls, and a bottom part
(not shown), and the opening 2F is provided on top of the container
body 2. The container body 2 is placed in a horizontal position
when the container body 2 is placed opposite to a wafer
transferring robot (not shown) in a semiconductor wafer
manufacturing line or the like. In the horizontal state,
positioning means 11 which positions the thin-plate supporting
container 1 is provided to the outside of the side wall 2A which
functions as a bottom part. The top flange 5 is detachably mounted
to the outside of the side wall 2B which functions as a top part in
the horizontal state. The carrying handle 6 is detachably mounted
to the outside of the side walls 2C and 2D which function as side
parts in the horizontal state.
[0008] The positioning means 11 is provided to the side wall 2A.
The positioning means 11 is composed mainly of three engagement
grooves 12. Each of the engagement grooves 12 has a first
engagement groove 12A which aligns with the vertical direction of
the container body 2, and a second groove 12B and a third groove
12C both of which are inclined at the same angle (approximately 60
degrees) to the vertical direction of the container body 2. These
three engagement grooves 12 are finished at high precision to meet
their standard. Each of the engagement grooves 12A, 12B, and 12C
has an inclined plane 13 as an inner wall, and the inner wall 13 is
configured to be directly in contact with an engagement protrusion
(not shown) of a placement table side. By each of the engagement
grooves 12A, 12B, and 12C engaging with each of engagement
protrusion of the placement table side, the inclined plane 13 is in
contact with the engagement protrusion and slides, and each central
position of each of the engagement grooves 12A, 12B, and 12C aligns
at the central position of the each engagement protrusion. With the
alignment of the central position of each of the engagement grooves
12A, 12B, and 12C with each central position of engagement
protrusion, the thin-plate supporting container 1 is set at an
exact location, an arm part of the wafer transferring robot
supports a semiconductor wafer and takes the semiconductor wafer in
and out.
[0009] In the thin-plate supporting container, each inclined plane
13 of each of the engagement grooves 12A, 12B, and 12C is formed in
a flat plane. Accordingly, a contact area between the inclined
plane 13 and the engagement protrusion of the placement table side
becomes large.
[0010] Meanwhile, some construction materials of the thin-plate
supporting container, such as polycarbonate, have a large friction
resistance. Accordingly, as the contact area between the inclined
plane 13 and the engagement protrusion of the placement table side
becomes large, the friction resistance becomes larger. As a result,
the inclined plane 13 and the engagement protrusion of the
placement table side become hard to slide, sometimes it is hard to
readily position the thin-plate supporting container.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] The present invention has been made to solve the above
drawbacks. It is an object of the present invention to provide a
thin-plate supporting container capable of readily and precisely
perform positioning.
[0012] It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a
thin-plate supporting container having a container body for housing
therein a thin-plate, and positioning means provided to the
container body for positioning the container body at a set position
on a placement table to place the container body on the placement
table and take in and out the internal thin-plate plate. The
positioning means includes an engagement groove for engaging an
engagement protrusion provided on the placement table, and a
inclined plane to be in contact with the engagement protrusion in a
state the engagement groove engages with the engagement protrusion,
and the inclined plane is treated so that friction resistance is
reduced.
[0013] Preferably, the inclined plane of the engagement groove in
the positioning means is subjected to embossing formed by shot
peening and sandblasting and the like, so as to reduce a contact
area of the inclined plane and the engagement protrusion to reduce
the friction resistance.
[0014] Since the inclined plane of the engagement groove in the
positioning means is treated so as to reduce the friction
resistance by embossing, and the like, if the engagement groove in
the positioning means is fit to the engagement protrusion, the
inclined plane of the engagement groove in the positioning means
smoothly slide against the engagement protrusion and the precise
positioning of the thin-plate supporting container is enabled.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a thin-plate supporting
container according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a conventional
thin-plate supporting container;
[0017] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the conventional
thin-plate supporting container in a state in which the lid is
removed; and
[0018] FIG. 4 is an elevational view of the conventional thin-plate
supporting container.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0019] Hereinafter, a thin-plate supporting container according to
embodiments of the present invention will be described with
reference to the attached drawings.
[0020] The thin-plate supporting container according to embodiments
of the present invention is preferably used as a container for
housing, storing, and transporting a thin-plate such as a
semiconductor wafer, a storage disk, a liquid crystal glass
substrate, and the like. In this embodiment, a thin-plate
supporting container for housing a semiconductor wafer will be
described. The overall structure of the thin-plate supporting
container according to this embodiment is substantially similar to
that of the above-described conventional thin-plate supporting
container. Hereinafter, the description will be schematically
made.
[0021] As shown in FIG. 1, a thin-plate supporting container 21
according to this embodiment mainly includes a container body 22
for housing therein a plurality of semiconductor wafers (not
shown), two thin-plate supporting parts (not shown) provided in the
container body 22 each provided opposite to each other for
supporting the semiconductor wafers, and a lid (not shown) for
covering the container body 22.
[0022] The container body 22 is structured substantially similar in
the overall shape to the container body 2 of the conventional
thin-plate supporting container 1. To the outside of a side wall
22A which functions as a bottom part in a horizontally-placed
state, positioning means 23 of the thin-plate supporting container
21 is provided.
[0023] The positioning means 23 is provided to the side wall 22A.
The positioning means 23 is composed mainly of three engagement
grooves 24. The engagement grooves 24 have a first engagement
groove 24A which aligns with the vertical direction of the
container body 22, and a second groove 24B and a third groove 24C
both of which are inclined at the same angle (approximately 60
degrees) to the vertical direction of the container body 22. The
three engagement grooves 24A, 24B and 24C are finished at high
precision to meet their standard. Each engagement grooves 24A, 24B
and 24C is configured to engage with an engagement protrusion (not
shown) of the placement table side, and has an inclined plane 25 as
an inner wall. The inclined plane 25 is configured to be directly
in contact with the engagement protrusion of the placement table.
Each engagement grove 24 has an inclined plate 26 which is
integrally provided on the surface of the side wall part 22A. By
placing two inclined plates 26 so as to opposite each other, each
engagement groove 24 and each inclined plane 25 is structured. The
inclined plate 26 has elasticity, and sags in some degree by being
contact with the engagement protrusion of the placement table.
[0024] The surface of the inclined plane 25 is treated in order to
reduce the contact area so that the friction resistance is reduced.
In particular, the surface of the inclined plane 25 is subject to
embossing in order to reduce the friction resistance. It can also
be possible to drawn the surface of the inclined plane 25 to be in
a concave-convex state such as a stain finished surface, or form
numerous fine grooves. In the case in which the numerous fine
grooves are formed, the grooves should be formed in a direction
that the engagement groove displaces along the inclined plane 25.
Further, on the surface of the inclined plane 25, fine grooves
which are vertical in the ridge line direction and have a cross
section of arc shape, triangular shape, or trapezoidal shape, can
be regularly or irregularly formed. Further, protrusions of
hemispheric shape, cone shape, or truncated trapezoidal shape, can
be regularly or irregularly formed. Further, grooves and
protrusions of each shape can be appropriately combined.
Operation
[0025] Thus structured thin-plate supporting container 21 is used
as described below.
[0026] When a semiconductor wafer is automatically taken in and out
to the thin-plate supporting container 21, the thin-plate
supporting container 21 is placed on the placement table. Then, the
positioning means 23 of the container body 22 is fit to the
engagement protrusion on the placement table. In particular, the
engagement groove 24 is fit to the engagement protrusion and the
inclined plane 25 is in contact with the engagement protrusion.
[0027] Then, when the thin-plate supporting container 21 is placed
in a state displaced from a set position, the engagement protrusion
is displaced against the inclined plane 25. And when the thin-plate
supporting container 21 is placed on the placement table in the
displaced state, due to the weight of the thin-plate supporting
container 21, the inclined plane 25 smoothly slides against the
engagement protrusion and corrects the displacement, and displaces
the engagement groove 24 to the precise position. Then, the
inclined plate 26 is elastically sagged, preventing the friction
resistance from increasing too much due to the pressure increased
more than necessary at the contact portion of the inclined plane 25
and the engagement protrusion, and a smooth slide against the
engagement protrusion of the inclined plane 25 is ensured. Thus,
the slide of the inclined plane 25 against the engagement
protrusion occurs at the three engagement grooves 24A, 24B, and 24C
respectively, and the thin-plate supporting container 21 is
precisely positioned.
[0028] Then, an arm part of the wafer transferring robot supports
the semiconductor wafer and takes in and out the semiconductor
wafer to the thin-plate supporting container 21.
Advantages
[0029] As described above, the inclined plane 25 of the engagement
groove 24 in the positioning means 23 is treated so as to reduce
the friction resistance by embossing, and the like, when the
inclined plane 25 of the engagement groove 24 is fit to the
engagement protrusion of the placement table, the inclined plane 25
and the engagement protrusion smoothly slide and the precise and
easy positioning of the thin-plate supporting container is
enabled.
[0030] Further, since the inclined plane 25 is composed of the
inclined plate 26 which can be elastically sagged, even if the
pressure increases more than necessary at the contact portion of
the inclined plane 25 and the engagement protrusion, the inclined
plate 26 is elastically sagged. Accordingly, the friction
resistance is prevented from increasing too much, and the smooth
slide against the engagement protrusion of the inclined plane 25 is
ensured. As a result, it is possible to precisely position the
thin-plate supporting container.
* * * * *