U.S. patent application number 12/774328 was filed with the patent office on 2011-11-10 for enclosed vertical rack for storing and transporting large substrates.
This patent application is currently assigned to APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.. Invention is credited to Penchala Kankanala, James Landess, Peter Langner, Jeffrey S. Sullivan.
Application Number | 20110272420 12/774328 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44887814 |
Filed Date | 2011-11-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110272420 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Landess; James ; et
al. |
November 10, 2011 |
ENCLOSED VERTICAL RACK FOR STORING AND TRANSPORTING LARGE
SUBSTRATES
Abstract
An enclosed vertical rack is provided for storing and
transporting large substrates. The enclosed vertical rack comprises
a movable base, an enclosure on the movable base for accommodating
substrates, an alignment facility in the enclosure for receiving
substrates, and a sealable door for enclose the enclosure. The
enclosure has a gas inlet, and the enclosure or the door has a gas
outlet.
Inventors: |
Landess; James; (San Jose,
CA) ; Kankanala; Penchala; (Santa Clara, CA) ;
Sullivan; Jeffrey S.; (Castro Valley, CA) ; Langner;
Peter; (San Mateo, CA) |
Assignee: |
APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
Santa Clara
CA
|
Family ID: |
44887814 |
Appl. No.: |
12/774328 |
Filed: |
May 5, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
220/694 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L 21/67363 20130101;
H01L 21/67383 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
220/694 |
International
Class: |
B65D 90/00 20060101
B65D090/00 |
Claims
1. An enclosed vertical rack for storing and transporting large
substrates, the enclosed vertical rack comprising: a movable base;
an enclosure on the base for accommodating at least one of the
substrates, wherein the enclosure has a gas inlet; an alignment
facility in the enclosure for receiving and slightly inclining the
substrate; and a sealable door for enclosing the enclosure, wherein
the door is sized to allow the substrate to pass therethrough.
2. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 1, wherein the gas inlet
comprises a shut-off valve or is integrated in a
quick-disconnect.
3. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 1, wherein the enclosure or
the door has a gas outlet.
4. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 3, wherein the gas outlet
comprises a check valve or a relief valve.
5. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 1, wherein the movable base
has a moving facility.
6. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 5, wherein the moving
facility comprises forklift slots.
7. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 5, wherein the moving
facility comprises castors.
8. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 5, wherein the moving
facility comprises rail wheels or hoisting hooks.
9. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 1, wherein the alignment
facility comprises a top comb and a bottom comb respectively
disposed on the top and the bottom of the enclosure, and wherein
the top comb is laterally offset from the bottom comb.
10. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 9, wherein the alignment
facility comprises rollers disposed on two sides of the projections
of the top comb and the bottom combs in such a way that the rollers
can roll inwardly and outwardly.
11. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 1, further comprising a
transportation restraint on the inner surface of the sealable
door.
12. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 11, wherein the
transportation restraint is an elastomeric member or an inflatable
member.
13. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 12, wherein the inflatable
member has a gas inlet and a gas outlet that can be accessed
outside the sealable door.
14. An enclosed vertical rack for storing and transporting large
substrates, the enclosed vertical rack comprising: a movable base
having a moving facility comprising forklift slots, hoisting hooks,
rail wheels or castors; an enclosure on the base for accommodating
at least one of the substrates, wherein the enclosure has a gas
inlet; a top comb disposed on the top of the enclosure; a bottom
comb disposed on the bottom of the enclosure, wherein the top comb
and bottom comb define a plurality of slots for receiving the
substrate and the top comb is laterally offset from the bottom comb
to slightly incline the substrate; and a sealable door for
enclosing the enclosure, wherein the door is sized to allow the
substrate to pass therethrough.
15. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 14, wherein the gas inlet
comprises a shut-off valve or is integrated in a
quick-disconnect.
16. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 14, wherein the enclosure
or the door comprises a gas outlet.
17. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 16, wherein the gas outlet
comprises a check valve or a relief valve.
18. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 14, further comprising a
transportation restraint on the inner surface of the sealable
door.
19. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 14, wherein the
transportation restraint is an elastomeric member or an inflatable
member.
20. The enclosed vertical rack in claim 19, wherein the inflatable
member has a gas inlet and a gas outlet that can be accessed
outside the sealable door.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to an enclosure for storing
and transporting large substrates.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] A large substrate having a previously-deposited transparent
conductive oxide (TCO) layer is often used to manufacture
photovoltaic devices. In other words, the TCO layer is deposited in
a production line or a fabrication facility that may be off-site or
remote from the production line of the photovoltaic devices. Since
the TCO layer may be further oxidized or contaminated before the
substrate is transferred to the production line of the photovoltaic
devices, a pre-clean step is needed to clean the surface of the TCO
layer. However, the pre-clean step requires tooling and processing
time and thus increases the total fabrication cost of the
photovoltaic devices.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] According to one aspect of the present invention, an
enclosed vertical rack for storing and transporting large
substrates is provided.
[0004] The enclosed vertical rack comprises a movable base, an
enclosure on the movable base for accommodating substrates, an
alignment facility in the enclosure for receiving substrates, and a
sealable door for enclose the enclosure. The enclosure has a gas
inlet, and the enclosure or the door has a gas outlet. Therefore,
the air inside the enclosure can be replaced by an inert gas to
protect the substrate from being further oxidized and contaminated.
Moreover, the movable base of the vertical rack can transport the
substrates inside between different production lines.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] So that the manner in which the above recited features of
the present invention can be understood in detail, a more
particular description of the invention, briefly summarized above,
may be had by reference to embodiments, some of which are
illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however,
that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of
this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of
its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective
embodiments.
[0006] FIG. 1 is a front-view diagram of a vertical rack according
to an embodiment of this invention.
[0007] FIG. 2 is a front-view diagram of an alignment facility in
the vertical rack according to another embodiment of this
invention.
[0008] FIG. 3 is a side-view diagram of a vertical rack according
to another embodiment of this invention.
[0009] FIG. 4 is a front-view diagram of a vertical rack according
to yet another embodiment of this invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0010] Embodiments of the present invention are generally directed
to an enclosed vertical rack for storing and transporting large
substrates in a vertical orientation. The term "a large substrate"
used in this disclosure is a substrate having a plane surface area
greater than about 60 cm.times.72 cm, and up to and exceeding 2.2
m.times.2.2 m.
[0011] FIG. 1 is a front-view diagram of a vertical rack according
to an embodiment of this invention. In FIG. 1, the vertical rack
100a includes a movable base 102, an enclosure 200 on the movable
base 102, an alignment facility 300 in the enclosure 200, and a
sealable door 400 in front of the enclosure 200. The door 400 is
shown cut-away to reveal the interior of the enclosure 200.
[0012] The movable base 102 has a moving facility 104 for moving
the vertical rack 100a between different production lines. The
moving facility 104 can be forklift slots, castors, rail wheels, or
hoisting hooks, for example. Hence, the vertical rack 100a can be
moved by human guided or automatically guided techniques.
[0013] The enclosure 200 on the movable base 102 is used to
accommodate a plurality of large substrate 500 (abbreviated as
substrate 500 below) disposed in a substantially vertical
orientation. The number of the accommodated substrate of the
enclosure can be up to 50. If the substrates 500 are glass
substrates, the weight of 50 substrates 500 can be up to 5,000
pounds. Therefore, the enclosure 200 is made from a structurally
rigid material, such as metal or glass-fibers reinforced
plastic.
[0014] The enclosure 200 is fitted with a gas inlet 202 for
charging the space surrounded by the enclosure 200 and the door 300
with an inert gas, such as nitrogen or argon. Alternatively, a low
moisture content gas, such as clean dry air, may be utilized. The
enclosure 200 also fitted with a gas outlet 204 that can vent the
air originally in the space surrounded by the enclosure 200 and the
door 300. The gas inlet 202 includes a valve which prevents
inadvertent leakage from the gas inlet 202. Hence, the gas inlet
202 can include a shut-off valve or be integrated in a sealing
quick-disconnect, for example. When the gas inlet is integrated in
a sealing quick-disconnect, the gas inlet 202 is opened when a gas
conduit is connected to the gas inlet 202, and the gas inlet 202 is
closed when a gas conduit is disconnected to the gas inlet 202 to
prevent gas leakage from the gas inlet 202. The gas outlet 204
includes a valve that controls the gas flow through the gas outlet
204. Hence, the gas outlet 204 can include a check valve or relief
valve. Therefore, the air originally in the space surrounded by the
enclosure 200 and the door 300 can be totally replaced by an inert
gas to protect the substrates 500 from being further oxidized by
any oxidizing gases when the substrate 500 is stored in the
vertical rack 100a.
[0015] The alignment facility 300 in the enclosure 200 is used to
receive and slightly incline the substrates 500 at an angle of
about 0-5 degrees to minimize the contact area of the substrates
500 to upper projections 301 and lower projections 303 of the
alignment facility 300, thereby minimizing the potential of
damaging the deposited layer, such as a TCO layer, on the substrate
500. The alignment facility 300 includes a top comb including
multiple upper projections 301 to define multiple upper slots 302
therebetween and a bottom comb including multiple lower projections
303 to define multiple lower slots 304 therebetween. The upper
slots 302 are laterally offset from the lower slots 304 to slightly
incline the substrate 500 disposed in the upper slots 302 and the
lower slots 304.
[0016] The upper projections 301 and the lower projections 303 may
be fabricated from a material softer than the substrate 500 to
minimize scratching on surfaces of the substrate 500. The material
of the upper projections 301 and the lower projections 303 can be a
plastic, such as polyoxymethylene (e.g. DELRIN of DuPont),
polyurethane, polyimide-based polymer (e.g. VESPEL of DuPont), or
polyether ether ketone (e.g. PEEK), for example.
[0017] FIG. 2 is a front-view diagram of an alignment facility in
the vertical rack according to another embodiment of this
invention. In FIG. 2, rollers 305 can be further disposed on two
sides of each of the upper projection 301 in such a way that the
rollers 305 can roll inwardly and outwardly. Similarly, rollers 305
can also be disposed on two sides of each of the lower projection
303 (not shown in FIG. 2) in such a way that the rollers can roll
inwardly and outwardly. Therefore, comparing with the friction
force between the substrates 500 and the upper/lower projections
301/303, the friction force between the substrate 500 and the
rollers 305 can be further reduced to further reduce scratching on
the substrate 500.
[0018] Moreover, in FIG. 1, the alignment facility 300 can further
includes separators 305 disposed between the upper projections 301
and the lower projections 303 to assist maintaining the glass in
the upper slots 302 and the lower slots 304. The separators can be
wires, for example.
[0019] In FIG. 1, one side of the enclosure 200 having an
orientation perpendicular to the upper slots 302 and the lower
slots 304 has a sealable door 400 size to allow substrates 500 to
pass therethrough. The door 400 is configured to be opened and
closed by a person or by a robot. In one embodiment, the door 400
can be removed from the enclosure 200. When the door 400 is closed,
the door 400 makes a substantially air-tight seal with the
enclosure 200. Therefore, the enclosure 200 can protect the
substrates 500 from being contaminated when the substrates 500 are
stored in the enclosure 200 and the door 400 is closed, and the
conventional pre-clean step can be omitted. The seal of the door
400 may be selected to leak at pressures above to prevent
over-pressurizing the enclosure and/or to assist in charging the
enclosure by acting as a vent when the enclosure is
pressurized.
[0020] The inner surface of the door 400 may include a
transportation restraint 402, such as an elastomeric member or an
inflatable member, pressing against the substrates 500 in the
enclosure 200 when the door 400 is closed. Therefore, the movement
of the substrates 500 in the upper slots 302 and the lower slots
304 can be prevented.
[0021] FIG. 3 is a side-view diagram of a vertical rack according
to another embodiment of this invention. In FIG. 3, the door 400
has a door seal 408 that allows leakage about predefined pressure
to prevent over-pressurizing the enclosure 200 and allow gas to
vent while charging.
[0022] FIG. 4 is a front-view diagram of a vertical rack according
to yet another embodiment of this invention. The structure of the
vertical rack 100c in FIG. 4 is basically the same as the
structural of the vertical rack 100a in FIG. 1. In FIG. 4, the
transportation restraint 402 is an inflatable member, such as a
bladder. An inlet valve 404 and an outlet valve 406 for inflating
or deflating the inflatable member can be accessed from the
exterior of the door 400 without opening the door 400.
[0023] According to the forgoing embodiments, the vertical racks
provided above can protect the substrates stored inside from being
further oxidized or contaminated. Moreover, the vertical racks can
transport the substrates between different production lines.
Therefore, the vertical accumulator of the vertical racks can store
work in progress and/or buffer the production line, and the
substrates thus can be removed from or inserted into the production
lines for any maintenance, testing, or qualification purposes.
[0024] While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the
present invention, other and further embodiments of the invention
may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and
the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow.
* * * * *