Wafer Container with Integrated Wafer Restraint Module
A wafer container includes a container body, the internal of which is disposed with a plurality of slots for supporting a plurality of wafers and an opening 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 in the container body, the characteristic in that: a recess is integrated with the inner surface of the door for separating the inner surface into two platforms, a restraint module is formed respectively on each of two platforms, and each restraint module includes a base which is disposed with a plurality of notches arranged at interval for contacting said plurality of wafers.
1. Field of the Invention
The present field of the invention is related to a wafer container, and more particularly, to a wafer container with wafer restraint module integrated with two platforms on two sides of the recess of the inner surface of the door, with the design of which, not only can wafers settle in the recess of the door for decreasing the size of wafer container, but the wafer restraint component can also firmly sustain the wafers to prevent wafers from moving during the transferring process.
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.
In wafer container of prior art, the design of wafer restraint component causes problems such as size of wafer container that cannot be decreased, tiny dust particles that cannot be easily cleaned, and slackening of wafer restraint module that occurs more easily. One objective of the present invention is thus to provide a door formed by integration. Each notch of the wafer restraint module on one platform on two sides of the recess disposed on the surface of the door can be correspondingly aligned with the notch of the wafer restraint module on the other platform for increasing the accuracy of contact between wafer and notch.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a front opening unified pod (FOUP) with wafer restraint module, wherein the wafer restraint module is disposed on platforms on two sides of the recess of the inner surface of the door for the recess to effectively support wafers and for decreasing the size of the front opening unified pod (FOUP).
Still another objective of the present invention is to provide a front opening unified pod (FOUP) with wafer restraint module, wherein the wafer restraint module is disposed on platforms on two sides of the recess of the inner surface of the door for shortening the distance for wafer restraint module to sustain and home wafer, for the door to close smoothly, and for reducing particles generated during the homing process of the wafer.
Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide a front opening unified pod (FOUP) with wafer restraint module, wherein the wafer restraint module is disposed on platforms on two sides of the recess of the inner surface of the door for tiny dust particles generated due to friction between wafer restraint module and wafer to gather in corner of the recess and to be cleaned up more easily without removing the wafer restraint module during the process of cleaning the wafer container.
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 supporting a plurality of wafers, and an opening is formed on one sidewall of the container body for importing and exporting the plurality of wafers. The door includes an outer surface and an inner surface; 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 integrated with the inner surface of the door for separating the inner surface into two platforms, a restraint module is formed respectively on each of two platforms, and each restraint module includes a base which is disposed with a plurality of notches arranged at interval for contacting said plurality of wafers.
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:
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.
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The length of the recess 24 disposed on the inner surface 22 of the door 20 is related to the distance between slots 11 in container body 10 and the number of the wafers. The distance between 12″ wafers or between 18″ 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, and therefore, the length of the recess 24 is also more fixed. 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.
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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 supporting a plurality of wafers and having an opening formed on a sidewall of said container body for importing and exporting said plurality of wafers, and a door with an outer surface and an inner surface, 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 integrated with said inner surface of said door for separating said inner surface into two platforms, a restraint module is formed respectively on each of said two platforms, and each restraint module includes a base which is disposed with a plurality of notches arranged at interval for contacting said plurality of wafers.
2. The wafer container according to claim 1, wherein material of said door is polymer plastic material.
3. The wafer container according to claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of notches is a quasi-V-shaped guide notch structure.
4. The wafer container according to claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of notches is a quasi-U-shaped guide notch structure.
5. The wafer container according to claim 1, wherein surface of said plurality of notches is coated with a wear-resisting material.
6. The wafer container according to claim 5, wherein said wear-resisting material is PEEK material.
7. The wafer container according to claim 1, wherein a latch component is disposed in each of said two platforms.
8. A wafer container including a container body that having a plurality of slots therein for supporting a plurality of wafers and having an opening formed on a sidewall of said container body for importing and exporting said plurality of wafers, and a door with an outer surface and an inner surface, 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 integrated with said inner surface of said door for separating said inner surface into two platforms, a restraint module is formed respectively on each of said two platforms, and each restraint module includes a base with slope on which is disposed with a plurality of notches arranged at interval for contacting said plurality of wafers.
9. The wafer container according to claim 8, wherein material of said door is polymer plastic material.
10. The wafer container according to claim 8, wherein each of said plurality of notches is a quasi-V-shaped guide notch structure.
11. The wafer container according to claim 8, wherein each of said plurality of notches is a quasi-U-shaped guide notch structure.
12. The wafer container according to claim 8, wherein surface of said plurality of notches is coated with a wear-resisting material.
13. The wafer container according to claim 12, wherein said wear-resisting material is PEEK material.
14. The wafer container according to claim 8, wherein a latch component is disposed in each of said two platforms.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 9, 2008
Publication Date: Mar 4, 2010
Inventors: Pao-Yi Lu (Shulin City), Chin-Ming Lin (Shulin-City)
Application Number: 12/206,860
International Classification: B65D 85/90 (20060101);