Front Opening Unified Pod with latch component

Abstract

A wafer container includes a container body, the internal of which is disposed with a plurality of slots for supporting wafers and an open front is formed on one sidewall of which for importing and exporting said plurality of wafers, and a door with an outer surface and an inner surface, which is joined with opening of the container body with its inner surface for protecting the plurality of wafers within the container, the characteristic in that: at least one latch component including a cam and a pair of moving bars is disposed between outer surface and inner surface of the door, wherein a pair of cam grooves are disposed on the cam for being connected with guide bar on one end of the pair of moving bars, and each moving bar includes a slide groove for being fixed in by roller disposed between outer surface and inner surface of the door, which in turn allows the rotation of the cam to cause to-and-fro movement of another end of the moving bars.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present field of the invention is related to a wafer container, and more particularly, to a latch component disposed in the door of wafer container.

2. Description of the Prior Art

The semiconductor wafers are transferred to different stations to apply the various processes in the required equipments. A sealed container is provided for automatic transfer to prevent the pollution from occurring during transferring process. FIG. 1 shows the views of wafer container of the conventional prior art. The wafer container is a front opening unified pod (FOUP) which includes a container body 10 and a door 20. The container body 10 is disposed with a plurality of slots 11 for horizontally placing a plurality of wafers, and an opening 12 is located on a sidewall of the container body 10 for importing and exporting. Further, the door 20 includes an outer surface 21 and an inner surface 22, in which the door 20 is joined with the opening 12 of the container body 10 via inner surface 22 to protect the plurality of wafers within the container body 10. Furthermore, at least one latch hole 23 is disposed on the outer surface 21 of the door 20 for opening or closing the wafer container. According to the aforementioned, due to that the wafer is placed in the container body 10 horizontally, thus, the FOUP needs a wafer restraint component to prevent the wafer from displacement or from movement toward the opening 12 of container body 10 occurring during the wafer transportation due to vibration.

FIG. 2 is a view of a front opening unified pod (FOUP) as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,736,268. As shown in FIG. 2, the inner surface 22 of the door 20 is disposed with a recess 24 and the recess 24 is extended from the top 221 of the inner surface 22 to the bottom 222, and is located between two latch components 230 (inside of the door 20). A wafer restraint module (not shown in Figure) is further disposed in the recess 24. The wafer restraint module consists two wafer restraint components 100, and each wafer restraint component 100 includes a plurality of wafer contact heads 110 to sustain corresponding wafers, so as to prevent the wafer from displacement or movement toward the door opening due to vibration occurring in the wafer transportation procedure. However, the above-mentioned wafer restraint module is disposed on the recess 24 of the inner surface 22 of the door 20, and the wafer is merely attached to the inner surface 22 of the door 20 or the wafer is partially settled down within the recess 24. The wafers either sit adjacent to the inner surface 22 of the door 20 or only slightly enter into the recess 24. As a result, the wafers are not securely and fully settled into the recess 24 in order to effectively shorten the length between the front side and the back side of the FOUP. In addition, the tiny dust particles generated due to the friction between the wafer restraint module and the wafers can be easily accumulated in the recess 24. In the process of cleaning the accumulated dust particles, it is necessary to separate the wafer restraint module from the recess 24 on the inner surface 22 of the door 20. By frequent separation and assembly of the wafer restraint module in order to apply the cleaning process, the wafer restraint module is easily slackened.

Furthermore, FIG. 3 is a view of latch component 230 in door 20 of a front opening unified pod (FOUP) as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,427. The method for assembling door 20 and container body 10 is mainly to dispose movable bolts 231 on the two sides of door 20 (namely between outer surface 21 and inner surface 22) and to dispose socket holes (not shown in Figure) near the edge of opening of door 10 for corresponding to bolts 231. The objective of fixing door 20 in the container body 10 can thus be achieved with the turning of latch hole disposed on outer surface 21 of door 20 and the inserting of latch bolts 231 into socket holes, wherein the insertion and withdrawal of bolts 231 is controlled by the turning of latch hole via a round-shaped cam 232.

And in the operating practice of semiconductor factory, the opening of FOUP is mainly operated through a wafer carrying apparatus (not shown in Figure). The wafer carrying apparatus includes at least one opening latch (not shown in Figure) that is to be inserted into the latch hole 23 on outer surface 21 of door 20 of the FOUP and to turn cam 232 to drive the movable bolts 231 to open or close the FOUP.

In addition, other U.S. patents that describe latch component in door of FOUP include U.S. Pat. No. 5,915,562, U.S. Pat. No. 5,957,292, U.S. Pat. No. 6,622,883, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,902,063. In order to achieve air tightness when joining door and container body, movable bolts will shift longitudinally for fastening a springy air-tight component, which leads to achievement of both objectives of closing FOUP and air tightness. However, in prior latch patents, complex mechanic apparatuses are used, which not only results in higher failure rate but also generates too much mechanical friction in the operating process that pollutes wafers. Moreover, the air tightness achieved by fastening springy air tight component with shift of movable bolts cannot sustain for very long time and is not effective enough.

Moreover, in conventional FOUP, some restraint components are disposed on the inner surface of door 20. Thus when door 20 closes container body 10, the restraint components contact wafers and completely fix the wafers in order to prevent displacement of wafers in FOUP from happening during transportation procedure. And in order to avoid too forcible collision or friction between restraint components and wafers when contacting, therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, a few U.S. patents disclose springy component 86 that is disposed between cam 232 in latch component 230 and door 20. In the process in which cam 232 turns and drives movable bolts 231 to close FOUP, this springy component 86 can function as damping for restraint component disposed on inner surface of door 20 to contact wafers under mitigated and smooth condition, and thus the problem of collision and friction can be solved. These U.S. patents include U.S. Pat. No. 6,880,718, U.S. Pat. No. 7,168,587, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,182,203. However, this way of laterally driving, it is easy for an offsetting force to generate on the moving direction of movable bolts 231, causing failure of insertion of movable bolts into socket holes of container body 10. Thus, container body 10 and door 20 cannot be closed, and the production cost of FOUP is also increased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In door component of front opening unified pod (FOUP) of prior art, the latch component is composed of complex mechanic apparatus, which not only leads to higher failure rate but also generates too much mechanic friction in the operating process that may lead to pollution of wafer. One objective of the present invention is thus to provide a front opening unified pod (FOUP) disposed with latch component with cam so that the moving bars can move to and fro on only one plane surface and the latch component can also be simplified.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a front opening unified pod (FOUP) disposed with latch component with cam, wherein with the design of roller, the moving bars can be driven by the cam to move to and fro on only one plane surface, the design of which reduces friction generated in the moving process of moving bars and also reduces pollution.

Still another objective of the present invention is to provide a front opening unified pod (FOUP) disposed with latch component with cam, wherein a recess is formed between latch component for wafers to be fully and effectively filled in the space of the recess. This makes it possible for the length between the front side and the back side of the FOUP to be shortened, and also for the center of gravity to be more focused on the central part of wafer container to make the wafer container more stable.

Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide a front opening unified pod (FOUP) disposed with latch component with cam, wherein wafer restraint component can be disposed on inner surface of the door for effectively fixing the wafers.

According to above objectives, the present invention provides a front opening unified pod (FOUP), which includes a container body and a door. A plurality of slots are disposed in the container body for sustaining a plurality of wafers, and an opening is formed on one sidewall of the container body for importing and exporting the plurality of wafers; at least a pair of socket holes being disposed on the edge of the opening of container body. The door includes an outer surface and an inner surface, and at least a pair of latch holes corresponding to the above-mentioned socket holes are disposed on the edge of the door; the door joins with the opening of container body via its inner surface for protecting the plurality of wafers in the container body. The characteristic of front opening unified pod (FOUP) in that: a recess is disposed in the inner surface of the door and the recess is located between two platforms. Further, a latch component is disposed in each platform. The latch component includes a cam and a pair of moving bars. A pair of cam grooves are disposed on the cam for being connected with guide bar on one end of the pair of moving bars, and each moving bar includes a slide groove for being fixed in by at least a roller disposed in the platform, which in turn allows the rotation of the pair of cams to cause to-and-fro movement of another end of the moving bars between the socket holes and the latch holes as described above.

The present invention further provides a front opening unified pod (FOUP), which includes a container body and a door. A plurality of slots are disposed in the container body for sustaining a plurality of wafers, and an opening is formed on one sidewall of the container body for importing and exporting the plurality of wafers; at least a pair of socket holes being disposed on the edge of the opening of container body. The door includes an outer surface and an inner surface, and at least a pair of latch holes corresponding to the above-mentioned socket holes are disposed on the edge of the door; the door joins with the opening of container body via its inner surface for protecting the plurality of wafers in the container body. The characteristic of front opening unified pod (FOUP) in that: at least a latch component is disposed between the outer surface and the inner surface of the door and the latch component includes a cam and a pair of moving bars. A pair of cam grooves are disposed on the cam for being connected with guide bar on one end of the pair of moving bars, and each moving bar includes a slide groove for being fixed in by at least a roller disposed between the outer surface and the inner surface of the door, which in turn allows the rotation of the pair of cams to cause to-and-fro movement of another end of the moving bars between the socket holes and the latch holes as described above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view of the front opening unified pod (FOUP) of the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a view of the door of the front opening unified pod (FOUP) of the prior art;

FIG. 3 is a view of another door of front opening unified pod (FOUP) of the prior art;

FIG. 4 is a view of still another door of front opening unified pod (FOUP) of the prior art;

FIG. 5 is a view of a door of a front opening unified pod (FOUP) of the present invention;

FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B are magnified views of parts of the latch component in FIG. 5 of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a view of another door of front opening unified pod (FOUP) of the present invention;

FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B are magnified views of moving bars of the latch component of the present invention in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a view of the latch component of the present invention in closing status;

FIG. 10 is a view of a front opening unified pod (FOUP) of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a view of the wafer restraint module of a front opening unified pod (FOUP) of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a view of the wafer restraint module of a front opening unified pod (FOUP) of the present invention being fixed on the door;

FIG. 13 is a view of the wafer restraint module of a front opening unified pod (FOUP) of the present invention in the process of restricting the wafer;

FIG. 14A is a view of the left and right wafer restraint modules of a front opening unified pod (FOUP) of the present invention being an integrated structure;

FIG. 14B is a view of the left and right wafer restraint modules of a front opening unified pod (FOUP) of the present invention being an integrated structure fixed on the door;

FIG. 15 is a view of another front opening unified pod (FOUP) of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a view of the wafer restraint module of another front opening unified pod (FOUP) of the present invention;

FIG. 17A is a view of the wafer restraint module of another front opening unified pod (FOUP) of the present invention starting to contact the wafer;

FIG. 17B is a view of the wafer restraint module of another front opening unified pod (FOUP) of the present invention in the process of restricting the wafer;

FIG. 18 is a view of still another front opening unified pod (FOUP) of the present invention;

FIG. 19 is a view of the wafer restraint module of still another front opening unified pod (FOUP) of the present invention;

FIG. 20A is a view of the wafer restraint module of still another front opening unified pod (FOUP) of the present invention not contacting the wafer; and

FIG. 20B is a view of the wafer restraint module of still another front opening unified pod (FOUP) of the present invention in the process of restricting the wafer.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In order to disclose the skills applied in, the objectives of, and the effects achieved by the present invention in a more complete and clearer manner, preferred embodiments are herein described below in detail with related drawings disclosed for reference.

Referring to FIG. 5, which is a top view of latch component 60 in door 20 of front opening unified pod (FOUP) of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the door 20 includes a pair of latch components 60, and each latch component 60 includes a cam 62 and a pair of moving bars 64 connected with two ends of cam 62. Wherein, the cam 62 is disposed with a pair of cam grooves 621 for being connected with corresponding moving bars 64, and each moving bar 64 includes a slide groove 642 for being fixed in by the roller 66 disposed between outer surface and inner surface of door 20.

Then referring to FIG. 6A, which is a magnified view of the ends of cam 62 that contact moving bars 64. As shown in FIG. 6, the moving bars 64 are connected with slide groove 621 on cam 62 through guide bar 644 (on the other side of moving bars) on one of the ends, wherein the cam groove 621 is an arc structure. When the door 20 is about to close the opening 12 of container body 10, the door 20 and the container body 10 will be joined first, and then the cam 62 will be rotated. When the cam 62 is rotated, the cam groove 621 on it will also be driven at the same time, to rotate 90 degrees counterclockwise for example; obviously, the moving bars 64 will be pushed toward door 20 on two sides by cam groove 621 for plane surface 646 of another end of moving bars 64 to go through latch holes 27 on door 20 and extend into socket holes (not shown in Figure) located near the edge of opening 12 of container body 10 and corresponding to latch holes 27. The container body 10 and the door 20 can thus be joined in one for the process of closing container body 10 to be completed. When the cam 62 rotates 90 degrees clockwise, the plane surface 646 of moving bars 64 departs from latch holes 27 for the container body 10 and the door 20 to separate from each other. Thus in the present invention the rotation of cam 62 can be used to make moving bars 64 make to-and-fro movement between socket holes and latch holes 27.

In addition, when the moving bars 64 are driving by the cam 62, as slide groove 642 of moving bars 64 is fixed in with at least a roller 66, thus the friction generated when moving bars 64 make to-and-fro movement can be reduced. In the embodiments of the present invention, cam 62 can be made of metal or polymer plastic material, which is not limited in the present invention. And the cam 62 can be a round cam or an oval cam. Moreover, the moving bars 64 are connected with one end of a locating spring 68 near the end that is closer to the cam 62, and another end of this locating spring 68 is fixed on the door 20. Thus when the cam 62 rotates (rotates 90 degrees counterclockwise for example), the moving bars 64 will be pushed toward latch holes 27 of door 20 by the cam 62, and thus the plane surface 646 of moving bars 64 is able to go through latch holes 27 on door 20. Meanwhile, the locating spring 68 will be compressed. Then, when the door 20 is about to open (rotates 90 degrees clockwise for example), with the cam 62 rotates clockwise, a force of locating spring 68 generated according to Hooke's law will also drive moving bars 64 to resume to the location in opening status. In preferred embodiment of the present invention, moving bars 64 and locating spring 68 can be made of metal or polymer plastic material, which is not limited in the present invention; the material of roller 66 is not limited either in the present invention.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6B, in a preferred embodiment, rollers 66 are disposed in pair and with a proper distance from each other between outer surface and inner surface of door 20. Therefore, when roller 662 and roller 664 are fixed in the slide groove 642 of moving bars 64, this pair of rollers 64 can accurately and smoothly guide plane surface 646 of moving bars 64 through latch holes 27 on the door 20.

What is to be emphasized here is that, in the above, a cam 62 and a pair of moving bars 64 are used to describe the operating procedures of latch component 60, but actually each cam 62 is in contact with a pair of moving bars 64, and in each door 20 is disposed with a latch component 60 (please refer to FIG. 5).

Then, referring to FIG. 7, the locating spring 68 of the moving bars 64 of the present invention can also be not fixed on the door 20. The locating spring 68 can be integrated with the moving bars 64; one end of locating spring 68 can be fixed near the end of moving bars 64 that is closer to the cam 62, and another end of locating spring 68 can be fixed to or located near the plane surface 646 on another end of moving bars 64. In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, FIG. 8A, and FIG. 8B, on the plane surface 646 at the end of the moving bars 64 that is closer to the door 20, a pair of rocker arm 643 can be further disposed. One end of the rocker arm 643 can be movably pin-jointed on the plane surface 646, and another end of the rocker arm 643 can be further connected with a roller 6431. Thus when the moving bars 64 are driven forward by the cam 62, go through latch holes 27 on the door 20, and slide smoothly into one of the socket holes 28 of container body 10, pollutants generated due to friction can be avoided. Wherein, the shape of socket holes 28 on the container body 10 can be the same as the shape of rocker arm 643 for sustaining the rocker arm 643 and the plane surface 646 of moving bars 64.

Then referring to FIG. 9, which is a view of the latch component of the present invention in closing status. When the cam 62 rotates (rotates 90 degrees counterclockwise for example), the moving bars 64 are driven toward the latch holes 27 of the door 20 by the cam 62; the plane surface 646 of moving bars 64 and a pair of rocker arm 643 on it are then made to go through latch holes 27 on the door 20 and the roller 6431 can slide smoothly into socket holes 28 of container body 10. Obviously, the locating spring 68 is compressed at this moment. Then, when the door 20 is about to open (rotates 90 degree clockwise for example), with the cam 62 rotates clockwise, a force of locating spring 68 generated according to Hooke's law will also drive plane surface 646 of another end of moving bars 64 to resume to the location in opening status. Certainly, one end of above-mentioned locating spring 68 can be fixed near the end of moving bars 64 that is closer to the cam 62, and another end can be fixed to rocker arm 643 for the rocker arm 643 to resume more readily to the location in opening status. In preferred embodiment of the present invention, the moving bars 64, the locating spring 68, and the rocker arm 643 can be made of metal or polymer plastic material, which is not limited in the present invention; the material of roller 66 is not limited either in the present invention.

Then, referring to FIG. 10, which is a view of a wafer container of the present invention. This wafer container is a front opening unified pod (FOUP) which includes a container body 10 and a door 20. A plurality of slots 11 are disposed in the container body 10 for sustaining a plurality of wafers, and an opening 12 is formed on one sidewall of the container body 10 for importing and exporting the plurality of wafers. The door 20 includes an outer surface 21 and an inner surface 22. The outer surface 21 of door 20 is disposed with at least one latch hole (not shown in Figure) for opening or closing the front opening unified pod (FOUP). And around the center of inner surface 22 of door 20 is disposed with a recess 24. The recess 24 is between two platforms 25 and inside two platforms 25 is disposed with aforementioned latch component 60. An objective of the recess 24 is to sustain the plurality of wafers in container body 10 for shortening the length between the front side and the back side of the FOUP. And a wafer restraint module 30 is disposed on each of the platform 25 respectively for restricting the movement of wafers toward the opening of the wafer container and controlling the number of wafers settling down the recess 24.

The length of the recess 24 of the inner surface 22 of door 20 as described above is related to the distance between slots 11 in container body 10 and the number of the wafers. The distance between 12″ wafers has been a standard regulation in the industry to achieve maximum capacity of loading and ensure at the same time that there is enough space for the mechanical arm to stretch in for importing or exporting. In general, the number of wafers to be in the wafer container is 25 pieces. However, the width and the depth of recess 24 of the present invention can be adjusted. When the thickness of the door 20 is constant, the depth of recess 24 can be adjusted to be deeper, and the width of recess 24 is also adjusted to be wider for the whole wafer to be placed further into recess 24.

Moreover, referring to FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, which are views of wafer restraint module of wafer container of the present invention that is fixed to the door. The wafer restraint module 30 includes a rectangular bar base portion 31, which includes two longer sides 31L and two shorter sides 31S. One of the two longer sides 31L is adjacent to the recess 24 to form a plurality of curve portions 32 with a space at interval. A semicircle-like protruding portion 32C is formed between each curve portion 32 and its free-end. And a guide notch 32G is disposed on semicircle-like protruding portion 32C to contact wafers for restricting movement of corresponding wafers toward the opening of the wafer container.

The guide notch 32G of the semicircle-like protruding portion 32C is used to sustain the wafer. The width of the guide notch 32G can be equaled to the thickness of wafer so that the wafer can sink into the guide notch 32G without moving up and down. The surface of guide notch 32G that contacts wafer can be coated with a wear-resisting material, such as PEEK material, to reduce friction for the wafer. Furthermore, the wafer restraint module 30 can be an integrated structure and can be made of one or two different materials. For example, the base portion 31 and the curve portion 32 are made of one material and the semicircle-like protruding portion 32C is made of another material and formed on the curve portion 32. Obviously, an angle, which is about 10 to 60 degrees, is formed between the rectangular bar base portion 31 and the curve portion 32. Since the wafer restraint module 30 on two sides of recess 24 are symmetrical, the resultant forces is formed toward the center of the wafer when the wafer is restricted by wafer restraint module 30 (as shown in FIG. 13) for preventing the wafer from shaking. And the wafer restraint module 30 not only restricts the movement of wafer toward the opening of the wafer container, but also makes the wafer fully sink into the recess 24, so that the length between front side and of back side can be shortened, the center of gravity of the whole wafer container is more focused on the center of wafer container, and the stability of wafer container is also improved. As shown in FIG. 11, as a gap is located between the plurality of semicircle-like protruding portion 32C on the curve portion 32, thus the curve portion 32 is more elastic to permit deformation due to crackdown of the wafer.

Furthermore, according to FIG. 12 and FIG. 13, the base portion 31 includes a plurality of snap holes 33, and a snap pillar 26 is disposed on the inner surface 22 that corresponds to the snap holes 33; thus, the wafer restraint module 30 is firmly set on the platforms 25 of the recess 24 of the inner surface 22 of the door 20 by snapping on the platforms 25. In order to facilitate the manufacturing procedures, the wafer restraint module 30 can also be integrated with the inner surface 22 of door 20 to prevent from slackening of the wafer restraint module 30. Then, referring to FIG. 14A and FIG. 14B, the wafer restraint module 30 on two sides of recess 24 can also be an integrated structure, which includes a central hole 34 that corresponds to the recess 24 of door 20. This integrated structure can also be firmly set on the inner surface 22 of door 20 by snapping on or directly integrated with the inner surface 22 of the door 20.

Secondly, referring to FIG. 15, which is a view of another wafer container of the present invention. The wafer container is the same as the wafer container as shown in FIG. 10 and includes a container body 10 and a door 20. The difference lies in that the wafer restraint module 400 fixed on two sides of the recess 24 of the inner surface 22 of the door 20 is different from the wafer restraint module 30. As shown in FIG. 16A and FIG. 17A, the wafer restraint module 400 on two sides of the recess 24 is formed by a plurality of wafer restraint components 40 with a space at interval, and each wafer restraint component 40 is aligned with a corresponding wafer restraint module 40 of the wafer restraint module 400 that is located on the other side of the recess 24. Each wafer restraint component 40 includes a base portion 41 that is fixed on the inner surface 22 of the door 20, and one sidewall of the base portion 41 is located adjacent to the recess 24. The sidewall of base portion 41 described above is extended toward the opening of the container body 10 to form a curve portion 42 and turned to the central portion of the recess 24 to form a plurality of bent arms 43. The plurality of bent arms 43 are disposed on two side of the top of the recess 24, and the cross of the bent arm 43 and the curve portion 42 includes a first contact head 44, and the free-end of the bent arm 43 includes a second contact head 45 thereon. As shown in FIG. 17A, each wafer restraint component 40 is an elastic integrated structure (for example: thermal-elastic plastic). When the door 20 and the container body 10 are about to be joined, the connected line (44-45) between the first contact head 44 and the second contact head 45 of the wafer restraint component 40 is parallel to the inner surface 22 of the door 20. Meanwhile, the wafer first contacts the second contact head 45 to deform the curve portion 42 to lever the bent arm 43, so as another contact head of the bent art 43, i.e. the first contact head 44, will contact the wafer in sequence. Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 17B, the door 20 is sealed with the container body 10, and an included angle is formed between the connected line (44-45) of the first contact head 44 and the second contact head 45 of the wafer restraint component 40 and the inner surface 22 of the door 20. Obviously, each wafer restraint component 40 contacts the wafer with two contact heads for the wafer to be sustained and also be restricted from moving toward the opening of the wafer container. The tiny dust particles that are generated due to vibration during transportation of wafers can thus be reduced. In addition, the wafer can also effectively sink into the recess 24 for the length of the front side and the back side of the wafer container to be shortened.

The curve portion 42 of the wafer restraint component 40 is an elastic structure (for example: thermal-elastic plastic) with a bent angle. Thus, in the sealing procedure, when the door 20 and the container body 10 go from the status of not being closed to the status of being closed, the bent angle would be changed, and the first contact head 44 and the second contact head 45 are made to contact the wafer sequentially. Furthermore, the bent portion 42 and the bent arm 43 can be made of two different materials, such as plastic with different hardness which can generate larger deformation for the curve portion 42 and the bent arm 43 would not easily deform. The first contact head 44 and the second contact head 45 include a recess respectively, so as the wafer can sink into the recess to avoid up and down movement of the wafer. Moreover, the plurality of wafer restraint components 40 can form a base portion, wherein the base portion is firmly disposed on the inner surface 22 of the door 20. Certainly, the plurality of wafer restraint components 40 can also be integrated with the inner surface 22 of the door 20 to reduce the manufacturing cost.

Then, referring to FIG. 18, which is a view of still another wafer container of the present invention. This front opening unified pod (FOUP) is similar to the wafer container as shown in FIG. 15 in that it includes a container body 10 and a door 20, yet different in that each of the wafer restraint modules 500 located on two sides of the recess 24 of the inner surface 22 of the door 20 includes three contact heads, as shown in FIG. 19 and FIG. 20A. The wafer restraint modules 500 on the two sides of recess 24 are composed of the plurality of wafer restraint components 50 in arrangement. Each wafer restraint component 50 is aligned with the corresponding wafer restraint component 50 on the wafer restraint modules 500 on the other side of the recess 24, wherein each wafer restraint component 50 includes a base portion 51. One end of the base portion 51 is fixed on the inner surface 22 of the door 20, and another end is connected to a first bent arm 52, the first bent arm 52 including two free-ends. A first contact head 54 is formed at one of the two free-ends that is located farther from the central part of the recess 24; another free-end adjacent to the central part of the recess 24 further contacts the second bent arm 53; and the second bent arm 53 further includes a second contact head 55 and a third contact head 56.

The base potion 51 of the wafer restraint component 50 is an elastic structure (for example: thermal-elastic plastic structure) and includes a bent portion. Therefore when the door 20 is not yet joined with or about to be joined with the container body 10, the second bent arm 53 of the wafer restraint component 50 is horizontally attached or slightly suspended to the surface of or above the recess 24. Thus, the wafer is first contacted by the first contact head 54, and during the contact, the base portion 51 is deformed, and thus the included angle of the bent is changed and levered the first bent arm 52 and the second bent arm 53, which in turn make the second contact head 55 and the third contact head 56 on the second bent arm 53 contact the wafer. Meanwhile, as showing FIG. 20B, when the door 20 seals the container body 10, the second bent arm 53 is levered by the base portion 51 and the first bent arm 52 and driven far away from the surface of the recess 24. Thus, the first contact head 54, the second contact head 55, and the third contact head 56 of the wafer restraint component contact the wafer. Obviously, each wafer restraint component 50 provides three contact heads for supporting the wafer to more firmly restrict the wafer from moving toward the center of the opening or two sides of the opening of the wafer container. Certainly, in the present embodiment, a pivot 57 can be alternatively provided between the two free-ends of the first bent arm 52 and on one side of the inner surface 22 of the door 20, wherein the pivot 57 is fixed on the inner surface 22 of door 20. Thus, when the base portion 51 is deformed or the angle of the bent is changed, the first bent arm 52 and second bent arm 53 can be more firmly levered so that the first contact head 54, the second contact head 55, and the third contact head 56 can attach tightly to the wafer.

And as the abovementioned two embodiments of contact head, each of the plurality of wafer restraint components 50 can be an elastic integrated structure (for example: thermal-elastic plastic structure). The base portion 51 and the first bent arm 52 or second bent arm 53 can also be made of different materials or different elastic structure (for example, thermal-elastic structure), such as plastic with different hardness. Thus, bent arms would not be deformed easily due to the deformation of the base portion 51. Alternatively, the first contact head 54, the second contact head 55, and the third contact head 56 can include a recess so as the wafer is sunk into the recess to restrict the wafer from moving up and down. The plurality of wafer restraint components 50 as described above can also be formed on a base portion, and the base portion is firmly disposed on the inner surface 22 of the door 20. Alternatively, the plurality of wafer restraint components 50 are integrated with the inner surface 22 of the door 20.

Furthermore, the inner surface 22 of door 20 of the present invention can be a plane surface without recess; at least a latch component 60 can be disposed between inner surface 22 and outer surface 21, and a latch component 60 is disposed in one preferred embodiment. The latch component 60 is the same as what is described in the aforementioned embodiment so will not be described in detail. In addition, in order for the plurality of wafers in the container body 10 can be fixed when the door 20 closes the container body 10, thus at least a restraint module can be disposed on inner surface 22 of above-mentioned plane surface or near the central area of above-mentioned plane surface. And the structure or the form of this restraint module is not limited in the present invention, therefore structures such as above-mentioned restraint module 30, restraint module 400, restraint module 500, or other similar structures can all be included in the present invention. Similarly, the restraint module is the same as what is described in the aforementioned embodiment so the specifics of the structure will not be described in detail.

Obviously, when driven by the cam 62, the latch component 60 of the present invention can only make to-and-fro movement, moving forward and backward, and no shift will occur on the longitudinal (vertical) direction. Therefore, the latch component 60 of the present invention is a simpler design. When door 20 and container body of the present invention close, the plurality of wafer restraint components 50 fixed on inner surface 22 of door 20 directly contact wafers. A pair of moving bars 64 are driven by cam 62 to move toward the edge of door 20, which makes front plane 646 of moving bars 64 go through latch holes 27 on door 20 and be fastened in socket holes 28 corresponding to latch holes 27 near the edge of opening 12 of container body 10. Then, an aeration device can be disposed for aerating air-tight component (not shown in Figure) between door 20 and container body 10 to isolate interior from exterior of container body 10.

While the invention has been described by way of examples and in terms of the preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. To the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements as would be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.

Claims

1. A wafer container including a container body that having a plurality of slots therein for placing a plurality of wafers and having an opening formed on a sidewall of said wafer container for exporting said plurality of wafers or importing said plurality of wafers, at least a pair of socket holes being disposed at the edge of said opening of said container body; and a door with an outer surface and an inner surface with at least a pair of latch holes corresponding to said pair of socket holes being disposed at the edge of said door, said door joining with said opening of said container body via said inner surface for protecting said plurality of wafers in said container body, the characteristic in that:

a recess is disposed on said inner surface of said door and located between two platforms, and in each of said platform is disposed with a latch component, said latch component including a cam and a pair of moving bars, a pair of cam grooves being disposed on said cam and connecting with guide bar on one end of said pair of moving bars, and each of said moving bars including a slide groove for being fixed in by at least one roller fastened in said platform, which in turn allowing the rotation of said pair of cams to cause to-and-fro movement of another end of said moving bars between said pair of socket holes and said latch holes.

2. The wafer container according to claim 1, wherein a locating spring is further disposed on said moving bars with one end of said locating spring being fixed to said moving bars and the other end being fixed to said door.

3. The wafer container according to claim 1, wherein a locating spring is further disposed on said moving bars and said locating spring is integrated with said moving bars.

4. The wafer container according to claim 1, wherein a pair of rocker arm are further disposed on said other end of said moving bars.

5. The wafer container according to claim 4, wherein a roller is further disposed on each of said pair of rocker arm.

6. The wafer container according to claim 4, wherein a locating spring is further disposed on said moving bars with one end of said locating spring being fixed to said moving bars and the other end being fixed to said rocker arm.

7. The wafer container according to claim 1, wherein a restraint module is further disposed on each of said two platforms.

8. A wafer container including a container body that having a plurality of slots therein for placing a plurality of wafers and having an opening formed on a sidewall of said wafer container for exporting said plurality of wafers or importing said plurality of wafers, at least a pair of socket holes being disposed at the edge of said opening of said container body; and a door with an outer surface and an inner surface with at least a pair of latch holes corresponding to said pair of socket holes being disposed at the edge of said door, said door joining with said opening of said container body via said inner surface for protecting said plurality of wafers in said container body, the characteristic in that:

a recess is disposed in said inner surface of said door and said recess is located between two platforms, a latch component being disposed in each of said platforms and said latch component including a cam on which is disposed with a pair of cam grooves, a pair of moving bars with a guide bar disposed on one end of which for being connected with said cam grooves on said cam, at least a roller being disposed in said platforms and for being fixed in one slide groove of said moving bars, and a locating spring with one end of which being connected with said moving bars and another end connected with said door, which in turn allowing the rotation of said pair of cams to cause to-and-fro movement of another end of said moving bars between said pair of socket holes and said latch holes.

9. The wafer container according to claim 8, wherein a pair of rocker arm are further disposed on another end of said moving bars.

10. The wafer container according to claim 9, wherein a roller is further disposed on each of said pair of rocker arm respectively.

11. The wafer container according to claim 8, wherein a restraint module is further disposed on each of said two platforms respectively.

12. A wafer container including a container body that having a plurality of slots therein for placing a plurality of wafers and having an opening formed on a sidewall of said wafer container for exporting said plurality of wafers or importing said plurality of wafers, at least a pair of socket holes being disposed at the edge of said opening of said container body; and a door with an outer surface and an inner surface with at least a pair of latch holes corresponding to said pair of socket holes being disposed at the edge of said door, said door joining with said opening of said container body via said inner surface for protecting said plurality of wafers in said container body, the characteristic in that:

a latch component is disposed between said inner surface and said outer surface of said door and said latch component includes a cam and a pair of moving bars, a pair of cam grooves being disposed on said cam for being connected with a guide bar on one end of said pair of moving bars, each of said moving bars including a slide groove for being fixed in by at least one roller disposed between said inner surface and said outer surface of said door, which in turn allowing the rotation of said pair of cams to cause to-and-fro movement of another end of said moving bars between said pair of socket holes and said latch holes.

13. The wafer container according to claim 12, wherein a locating spring is further disposed on said moving bars with one end of said locating spring being fixed to said moving bars and the other end being fixed to said door.

14. The wafer container according to claim 12, wherein a locating spring is further disposed on said moving bars and said locating spring is integrated with said moving bars.

15. The wafer container according to claim 12, wherein a pair of rocker arm are further disposed on said other end of said pair of moving bars.

16. The wafer container according to claim 15, wherein a roller is further disposed on each of said pair of rocker arm respectively.

17. The wafer container according to claim 15, wherein a locating spring is further disposed on said moving bars with one end of said locating spring being fixed to said moving bars and the other end being fixed to said rocker arm.

18. The wafer container according to claim 12, wherein at least a restraint module is further disposed near the central area of said inner surface of said door.

19. The wafer container according to claim 12, wherein at least a restraint module is further disposed on said inner surface of said door.

20. A wafer container including a container body that having a plurality of slots therein for placing a plurality of wafers and having an opening formed on a sidewall of said wafer container for exporting said plurality of wafers or importing said plurality of wafers, at least a pair of socket holes being disposed at the edge of said opening of said container body; and a door with an outer surface and an inner surface with at least a pair of latch holes corresponding to said pair of socket holes being disposed at the edge of said door, said door joining with said opening of said container body via said inner surface for protecting said plurality of wafers in said container body, the characteristic in that:

at least a latch component is disposed between said inner surface and said outer surface of said door, said latch component including a cam on which is disposed with a pair of cam grooves, a pair of moving bars with a guide bar disposed on one end of which for being connected with said cam grooves on said cam, at least a roller being disposed between said inner surface and said outer surface of said door and being fixed in one slide groove of said moving bars, and a locating spring with one end of which being connected with said moving bars and another end connected with said door, which in turn allowing the rotation of said pair of cams to cause to-and-fro movement of another end of said moving bars between said pair of socket holes and said latch holes.

21. The wafer container according to claim 20, wherein a pair of rocker arm are further disposed on said other end of said pair of moving bars.

22. The wafer container according to claim 21, wherein a roller is further disposed on each of said pair of rocker arm respectively.

23. The wafer container according to claim 20, wherein at least a restraint module is further disposed near the central part of said inner surface of said door.

24. The wafer container according to claim 20, wherein at least a restraint module is further disposed on said inner surface of said door.