JPH0341471Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Technical Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a clean hangar that can store semiconductor components such as wafers at a required high level of cleanliness.

PRIOR TECHNOLOGY In general, shelves are attached at regular intervals to an endless conveying means disposed inside the main body of a storage warehouse, and a plurality of shelves are vertically rotated via this conveying means. Storage cabinets that use a movable shelf system for the purpose of organizing and storing documents have already been put into practical use. Compared to conventional fixed shelf storage systems, storage cabinets with vertical movable shelves can store a large number of documents in a higher space, greatly improving storage efficiency. can do.

By the way, the storage is manufactured solely for the purpose of organizing and storing documents, and therefore cannot be used as it is as a storage for semiconductor components such as wafers. In other words, semiconductor components such as wafers are processed in clean working environments in so-called clean rooms in order to avoid the adhesion of fine particles and bacteria in the air and produce precision, high-quality products. Needs to be assembled. However, the conventional storage structure is not designed to maintain a clean space, and when used as a storage for semiconductor components, surrounding dust adheres to the semiconductor components and has an adverse effect. For these reasons, conventional storages are not suitable for use as storages for semiconductor components.

Purpose of the Invention Therefore, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a clean hangar that can store semiconductor components such as wafers at the required high level of cleanliness.

Summary of the invention Therefore, the present invention was developed to provide a clean hangar that employs a so-called vertical movable shelf system in which a large number of box-shaped movable shelves are vertically rotated or raised and lowered within the hangar main body. A downward air flow is generated within the main body, and a blower is attached to the outside of the movable shelf to forcibly send the air inside the hangar main body to the upstream side of the filter in the movable shelf. Therefore, even if dust or the like is generated around the movable shelf, the dust is removed by the filter of the movable shelf and will not adhere to the semiconductor components stored on the movable shelf. In addition, since air is constantly being sent to the movable shelf by a blower, the inside of the movable shelf is in a pre-pressurized state, and the air inside the hangar body is prevented from flowing into the interior from the opening surface of this movable shelf as much as possible. be done. Therefore, with the above configuration, semiconductor components are not directly affected by the generation of dust.

On the other hand, a suction fixing member is provided on the upper end side of the loading/unloading port provided in the hangar main body, and the movable shelf that has come to the loading/unloading exit position is fixed by the suction force generated by the internal negative pressure of the suction fixing member, and the movable shelf is Since the upper edge of the opening is covered like an eaves, the semiconductor components in the movable shelf can be carried in and out without coming into direct contact with the air flow inside the hangar.

Configuration of Embodiment Hereinafter, details of the present invention will be explained using an embodiment shown in the drawings.

1 to 3 show a clean hangar 1 according to the present invention. This clean hangar 1 is assembled with a hangar main body 2 installed in a clean room, for example. The upper end surface and the lower bottom surface side of the hangar main body 2 of this embodiment have an open structure, for example, so that clean air in the clean room flows from the upper end side toward the lower end side. Further, a carry-in/out port 3 is provided at a predetermined position on the front side of the hangar main body 2. The loading/unloading exit 3 is opened and closed by an opening/closing lid 4 that is vertically slidably attached to the hangar main body 2 and a known automatic opening/closing mechanism (not shown). Further, a suction fixing member 5 is arranged and fixed on the inner upper edge side of the loading/unloading port 3 so as to cover the entire length of the loading/unloading port 3 in the longitudinal direction and further cover the upper ends of the left and right opening edges. . That is, as shown in detail in FIG. 3, this suction fixing member 5 is formed in a hollow shape, and holes 6 and 7 are provided in the upper surface and the back side of the suction fixing member 5, respectively. A suction pipe 8 is connected to the hole 6 provided on the upper surface side of the suction fixing member 5, and the suction pipe 8 is further connected to a suction source (not shown). Therefore, by operating the suction source, the inside of the suction fixing member 5 is set to a negative pressure state,
The front surface of the movable shelf 9 can be drawn and fixed to the suction fixing member 5 side by suction force through the hole 7 provided on the back side of the suction fixing member 5. In addition, on the back side of the suction fixing member 5, elastic members 1 such as gaskets are placed above and below the hole 7.
8 is provided, and this suction fixing member 5 serves as a cushion and airtight maintenance when the movable shelf 9 is suctioned and fixed.

This movable shelf 9 is box-shaped with a front opening, and has a second
As shown in detail in the figure, inside the hangar main body 2,
A transport means arranged to be rotatably driven on left and right vertical planes, in this embodiment, a pair of left and right endless chains 11, is rotated by a support shaft 11a at a portion above the center of gravity of each movable shelf 9. It is configured so that it can be moved freely. Further, the movable shelf 9 is
They are attached to appropriate positions on the chain 11 at regular intervals, and by rotating the chain 11, a predetermined movable shelf 9 is indexed while being circulated to the position of the loading/unloading exit 3 of the hangar main body 2. ing. As shown in FIG. 2, the chain 11 is wound around upper and lower chain wheels 16 and 17 inside the hangar main body 2, and the drive side chain wheel 16 is driven by a motor (not shown). By rotationally driving it, it can be rotated in the vertical direction.

On the other hand, an opening 15 is formed on the front side of the movable shelf 9, and at the bottom thereof, for example, four cassettes 10a containing semiconductor components 10 such as wafers can be arranged as shown in FIG. Inside the movable shelf 9, a filter 12 is disposed above the semiconductor components 10. Furthermore, an air outlet 13 (see FIG. 3) is provided above the filter 12. This air outlet 13 is connected to an outlet of an air blower 14, and this air blower 14 is attached and fixed to one side of the movable shelf 9, as shown in FIG. Note that this blower 14 is always in operation, and therefore the hangar main body 2
The air inside the movable shelf 9, that is, the air outside the movable shelf 9, is sent by the blower 14 to the upstream side of the filter 12 inside the movable shelf 9, and further sent through the filter 12 to the semiconductor component 10 side. It's becoming like that.

Effects of the Embodiment Next, the effects of the clean hangar 1 configured as described above will be explained.

As mentioned above, air always flows inside the hangar main body 2 from the upper end to the lower end, and this air is taken in from the blower 14 into the upper part of the filter 12 of the movable shelf 9, and It flows through this filter 12 to the semiconductor component 10 side,
Eventually, it flows under the floor of the clean room. Therefore, only clean air flows into the semiconductor component 10. In addition, in this state, it is possible that air with a low degree of cleanliness from outside the movable shelf 9 flows into the movable shelf 9 through the opening 15 of the movable shelf 9; Since air is being fed and is in a pre-pressurized state, air from outside is difficult to flow into this movable shelf 9. Therefore, contaminated air is prevented from flowing into the semiconductor components 10 in the movable shelf 9 even in the presence of the open openings 15.

When loading or unloading work, first, the chain wheel 16 is driven to rotate in order to bring the required movable shelf 9 to the position of the loading/unloading exit 3 of the hangar main body 2. Note that this chain wheel 16 is
The direction and amount of rotation are controlled by the operator's judgment or by a control means (not shown), and the necessary movable shelves 9 are moved to the loading/unloading port 3.
When reaching the position, the direction of rotation can be controlled, if necessary, so that the conveyance distance is the shortest distance.

Next, when the required movable shelf 9 is transported to the position of the loading/unloading port 3, a suction source (not shown) is activated by the control system. Then, negative pressure is generated inside the suction fixing member 5, and the upper front plate 9a (see FIG. 3) of the movable shelf 9 indexed to the loading/unloading exit 3 is suctioned and fixed by this negative pressure suction force. It is pulled toward the member 5 side, and the movable shelf 9 is pressed against the back surface of the suction fixing member 5 by the negative pressure suction force and fixed. After this,
Open the opening/closing lid 4 with the loading/unloading port 3 closed, and store the cassettes 10a containing processed semiconductor components 10 transported from semiconductor devices on the bottom of the movable shelf 9, or vice versa. If an unprocessed cassette 10a is stored at the bottom of this movable shelf 9, the unprocessed cassette 1
0a is taken out and supplied to each semiconductor processing device.
This loading/unloading work is performed by humans or by a traveling robot. During this loading/unloading operation, the airflow from above tries to exit from the loading/unloading port 3 or enter the movable shelf 9 through the opening 15, but the suction fixing member 5 is placed above them. Since this breaks the air flow and guides it to both sides, the air flow from above does not directly touch the semiconductor components 10 being carried in or out, and does not contaminate them.
In this way, the clean hangar 1 serves as a buffer stock for each process in the semiconductor manufacturing process.

Other Embodiments In the above-mentioned embodiments, an example was described in which the endless chain 11 was used as the conveyance means, but the conveyance means is not a rotation type but a so-called elevator type in which shelves are raised and lowered. It may be the adopted structure.

Further, it is better from the viewpoint of preventing contamination if the suction fixing member 5 has a shape that completely surrounds the loading/unloading port 3. Further, if there is a downward air flow from above in the hangar main body 2, the contamination prevention effect will be enhanced, but it is not necessary. Further, as the air flow, as in the above embodiment, the air flow within the clean room may be used as it is, or a dedicated clean air circulation device may be attached to the hangar main body 2.

Effects of the Invention As explained above, according to the clean hangar according to the present invention, a blower is fixed to the outside of the movable shelf attached to an appropriate position on the conveyance means, and the air sent from the blower into the movable shelf passes through the filter. Since the liquid is configured to flow through the liquid to the semiconductor component side, the storage space for semiconductor components such as wafers, that is, the interior of the movable shelf, can be maintained in a highly clean area, eliminating the risk of contamination of the semiconductor components. Therefore, in the semiconductor manufacturing process, it has become possible to store semiconductor parts at the required high level of cleanliness as a buffer stock for each process. Particularly, if this clean hangar is used in combination with a running clean robot, it can eliminate the need for humans, who are a source of dust generation, and can significantly improve the productivity of semiconductor manufacturing. In addition, the movable shelf at the loading/unloading exit position is fixed by the suction fixing member during the loading/unloading operation, so semiconductor components can be loaded and unloaded to and from the movable shelf quickly and reliably. Moreover, since the parts are not directly exposed to less clean air flow during the process, there is no contamination during loading and unloading.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of a clean hangar according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side view of the clean hangar, and FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged sectional view of the clean hangar. 1...Clean hangar, 2...Hangar body, 3
... Carrying in/out port, 5... Suction fixing member, 9... Moving shelf, 10... Semiconductor parts, 11... Chain,
12...Filter, 14...Blower.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A hangar main body having a loading/unloading exit on the front, a transport means disposed inside the hangar main body, a plurality of movable shelves attached to appropriate positions of the transport means and with filters disposed inside, a blower fixed to the outside of the shelf and forcibly sending air within the hangar main body to the upstream side of the filter in the movable shelf; and a blower fixed to the upper end side of the loading/unloading port provided in the hangar main body and located at the position of the loading/unloading exit. A clean hangar characterized by comprising a suction fixing member that fixes an incoming mobile shelf by the suction force of internal negative pressure.