Wafer storage container and apparatus
An injection molded container for storing and transporting wafers includes a base having a wafer area upon which to place a stack of a plurality of wafer assemblies, wherein each wafer assembly includes a wafer frame upon which is mounted a wafer. A protective wall structure is positioned around the wafer area, and includes at least one wall contour artifact. Each wafer frame according to the invention includes a corresponding opposite/mating artifact. The wall structure and wafer frame are configured so that the wafer frame must be oriented to mate the wall and frame artifacts in order for the wafer frame to be installed in the container.
This application is related to U.S. Pat. No. 6,915,905 B2 entitled “Wafer Storage Container With Wafer Positioning Posts”. This application claims the benefit of Non-provisional application Ser. No. 10/621,031 filed on Jul. 14, 2003.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related generally to containers for storage and shipment of wafers, and more particularly to a container for use with wafer frames upon which wafers are mounted wherein the container is configured to assure a single orientation of wafer frames when placed in the container.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Semiconductor wafer storage and shipping containers are generally designed for ease of access and/or wafer safety. U.S. Pat. No. 4,043,451 by Johnson describes a shipping container for semiconductor wafers in the form of an elongated enclosure and lid, with interior ribs for locating the wafers lined with resilient curved wafer support material. Rotational positioning of the wafers is not addressed. A container with similar features is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,499,602 B2 by Yajima et al., providing a slot for each wafer, but not addressing wafer rotational positioning. U.S. Pat. No. 6,550,619 B2 by Bores et al. discloses a container for stacked wafers with improved resistance to shock. U.S. Pat. No. 6,218,727 B1 by Merkl et al. discloses a container, and describes a wafer frame. The container has parallel slots on either of two interior opposing walls for holding a wafer frame with linear sections on opposite edges for achieving support when placed in the container slots.
SUMMARYAn advantage of this invention is that provides for an automatic alignment of wafers in a wafer container.
A further advantage of this invention is that in providing alignment of wafers in a storage container, it reduces the degree of effort required in procedures requiring transferring of wafers from a container and into an aligned position for processing.
In one embodiment of the present invention, an injection molded container for storing and transporting wafers includes a base having a wafer area upon which to place a stack of wafer assemblies, wherein each wafer assembly includes a wafer frame and an attached wafer. A protective wall structure is positioned around the wafer area, and includes at least one wall wafer orientation artifact. Each wafer frame according to the invention includes a corresponding alignment artifact for mating to the orientation artifact of the container. The wall structure and wafer frame are configured so that the wafer frame must be oriented to mate the wall and frame artifacts in order for the wafer frame to be installed in the container.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
While the present invention will be described herein with reference to particular embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated that in some instances some features of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as described below.
The concept of the present invention is illustrated in
In one embodiment of the present invention the container is formed by an injection molding process. In this case, the walls would generally include a draft angle. This is described below and illustrated in reference to
As shown in
According to an alternate embodiment, as described above the container can also include walls with a draft angle, and with columns for restricting movement of the wafer assemblies.
The draft angle of the wall sections 46, 48, 50 and 52 is evident by the line 84 indicating the inside perimeter of the wall section at the level of the bottom of the wall sections. Line 86 indicates the inner perimeter of the wall section at the top of the wall, which clearly lies outside the line 84, therefore indicating the draft angle. This detail is more clearly shown in the enlargened section A
Section A also shows columns 78 more clearly. Note that the top view of
While the present invention has been described herein with reference to particular embodiments thereof, a latitude of modifications, various changes and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosure, and it will be appreciated that in some instances some features of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
Claims
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19. A wafer storage container for storing a plurality of wafer elements comprising:
- a storage chamber that includes a base and a wall structure extending from the base;
- at least one orientation artifact disposed on the wall structure;
- wherein an orientation artifact is asymmetrical to ensure that any wafer element inserted into the storage chamber has a predetermined orientation.
20. The wafer storage container of claim 19, further comprising a plurality of columns attached to an interior portion of the wall structure.
21. The wafer storage container of claim 20, wherein said plurality of columns are located perpendicular to the plane of the base.
22. The wafer storage container of claim 19 wherein the storage chamber is substantially round.
23. A wafer storage apparatus for storing a plurality of wafer elements comprising:
- a substantially round storage chamber having a wall extending from a base;
- a cover;
- one or more orientation artifacts disposed on a wall of the storage chamber;
- a plurality of wafer elements, each wafer element having at least one alignment artifact thereon that engages to one of the orientation artifacts of the storage chamber, wherein the orientation of the wafer elements is known when the cover is removed from the storage chamber.
24. The wafer storage apparatus of claim 23 wherein the orientation artifacts are asymmetrical to each other to ensure that each wafer element has only a single orientation.
25. The wafer storage apparatus of claim 23 wherein the wall of the storage chamber comprises a plurality of sections.
26. The wafer storage apparatus of claim 23 wherein the wall of the storage chamber is a continuous structure.
27. The wafer storage apparatus of claim 23 wherein a portion of the wall of the storage chamber includes a draft angle.
28. The wafer storage apparatus of claim 23 wherein a plurality of columns protrude from the inner perimeter of the storage chamber.
29. The wafer storage apparatus of claim 23 wherein the plurality of wafer elements comprise wafers or wafers secured to a wafer frame.
30. The wafer storage apparatus of claim 23 wherein the alignment artifact of each wafer element contacts an orientation artifact within the wafer storage chamber to enable the orientation of each wafer element to be determined.
31. A wafer storage apparatus for storing a plurality of wafer elements comprising:
- a storage chamber including a base and a wall extending from the base, said chamber having an interior width that is wider at an upper region than at a lower region adjacent to the base;
- at least one orientation artifact disposed on a portion of said wall of the storage chamber;
- a plurality of wafer elements, each wafer element having at least one alignment artifact thereon that engages to one of the orientation artifacts of the storage chamber.
32. The wafer storage apparatus of claim 31, wherein the storage chamber is substantially round.
33. The wafer storage apparatus of claim 31 wherein the plurality of wafer elements comprise wafers or wafers secured to a wafer frame.
34. The wafer storage apparatus of claim 31 wherein a plurality of columns protrude from the inner perimeter of the storage chamber.
35. The wafer storage apparatus of claim 31 wherein the alignment artifact of each wafer element contacts an orientation artifact within the wafer storage chamber to enable the orientation of each wafer element to be determined.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 16, 2006
Publication Date: Aug 16, 2007
Inventors: James Pylant (Temecula, CA), Scott Bradley (Carlsbad, CA)
Application Number: 11/355,592
International Classification: B65D 85/00 (20060101);