Wafer magazine

Abstract

The utility model relates to a wafer material box. The wafer material box comprises a box body and a plurality of trays, a material cavity and an opening for taking and placing a wafer are formed in the box body. The trays are sequentially arranged in the material cavity at intervals in the height direction of the wafer material box. Each tray comprises a bottom plate, and a storage space for storing wafers is formed between the bottom plates of every two adjacent trays. Wherein the upper surface of the bottom plate is used for bearing the wafer located in the storage space, the bottom plate comprises an edge supporting part and a middle supporting part which are connected, the edge supporting part is continuously arranged around the middle supporting part, the middle supporting part is used for supporting the middle area of the wafer, and the edge supporting part is used for supporting the contour edge of the wafer. According to the scheme of the invention, no matter which warping form the wafer is in, the lowest point of the wafer can form effective support of the bottom plate of the storage space where the wafer is located, and the storage of the wafer in the lower storage space is not affected. And moreover, the probability that the manipulator collides with the sheet can be greatly reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of wafer carriers, and in particular to wafer cassettes. Background Art

[0002] Wafer material boxes are carriers for storing wafers, which facilitate the transportation of large quantities of wafers. Conventional wafer material boxes have support grooves on the inner wall of the material box, and only the periphery of the wafer is supported in the support grooves. With this material box structure, if the wafer is warped, the material box cannot fully support the wafer, causing the lowest point of the wafer in the space corresponding to the upper support groove to easily sag to the space corresponding to the next support groove, affecting the storage of adjacent layers of wafers. Moreover, when the wafer is placed upright or upside down in the material box, the highest and lowest points of the warped wafer will be at different positions in the material box, affecting the robot's entry and exit of the material box to take and place the wafer, and easily causing the robot to collide with the wafer. Utility Model Content

[0003] Based on this, it is necessary to provide a wafer box to address the problem that the wafer box is easily affected by wafer warping, which affects the storage of other layers of wafers and the problem of robot arm collision.

[0004] A wafer material box, comprising:

[0005] The box body is formed with a material cavity and an opening for taking and placing wafers;

[0006] A plurality of trays are sequentially arranged in the material cavity at intervals along the height direction of the wafer material box, each of the trays comprises a bottom plate, and a storage space for storing wafers is formed between the bottom plates of each two adjacent trays;

[0007] Among them, the upper surface of the base plate is used to support the wafer located in the storage space, and the base plate includes an edge support portion and a middle support portion connected to each other, the edge support portion is continuously arranged around the middle support portion, the middle support portion is used to support the middle area of ​​the wafer, and the edge support portion is used to support the contour edge of the wafer.

[0008] In some embodiments, the upper surface of the bottom plate is configured as a smooth surface.

[0009] In some embodiments, the bottom plate includes a plurality of connecting portions, each of which is connected between the edge supporting portion and the middle supporting portion;

[0010] Weight-reducing holes are formed at intervals between adjacent connecting parts.

[0011] In some embodiments, a front edge of the bottom plate and / or an edge of the connecting portion is / are rounded.

[0012] In some embodiments, the edge support portion extends toward one side of the opening to form a supporting convex edge, and the edge of the supporting convex edge is rounded.

[0013] In some embodiments, the tray further includes a rib, which is disposed on the bottom plate and protrudes relative to an upper surface of the bottom plate. The rib is located at the periphery of the edge support portion and avoids the opening.

[0014] In some embodiments, the tray includes a plurality of the ribs, and the plurality of the ribs are spaced apart around the edge support portion.

[0015] In some embodiments, the tray is snap-fitted into the box body.

[0016] In some embodiments, a snap-fitting portion is provided at an edge of the bottom plate; the box body includes a plurality of columns surrounding the material cavity, at least some of the columns are provided with snap-fitting slots, and the snap-fitting portion is snap-fitted into the snap-fitting slots.

[0017] In some embodiments, the bottom plate is provided with a mounting flange protruding toward the box body, and the locking portion is provided on the mounting flange.

[0018] In the above wafer material box, the edge support part of the bottom plate can support the contour edge of the wafer 360 degrees, and the middle support part of the bottom plate can support the middle area of ​​the wafer. In actual application, when the wafer is in a downward warping shape, the lowest point of the wafer can be effectively supported by the edge support part of the bottom plate, and when the wafer is in an upward warping shape, the lowest point of the wafer can be effectively supported by the middle support part of the bottom plate.

[0019] Regardless of the warping shape of the wafer, the lowest point of the wafer can effectively support the bottom plate of the storage space where it is located, and the lowest point of the wafer will not sag into the storage space of the next layer, and will not affect the storage of wafers in the storage space below. Moreover, whether the wafer is placed upright or upside down on the bottom plate, the position of the lowest and highest points of the wafer will not change, making it simple and reliable for the robot to enter and exit the material box to pick up and place the wafer, greatly reducing the probability of the robot hitting the wafer. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reading the detailed description of the preferred embodiments below. The accompanying drawings are only for the purpose of illustrating the preferred embodiments and are not to be considered as limiting the present application. Moreover, the same reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to represent the same components. In the drawings:

[0021] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of a wafer cassette in some embodiments;

[0022] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Another view of the wafer cassette shown;

[0023] Figure 3 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of the tray in the wafer material box is shown.

[0024] The reference numerals in the specific implementation manner are as follows:

[0025] 100, wafer material box; Z, height direction; 10, box body; 11, column; Q, material cavity; c1, slot; K, opening; 20, tray; 21, bottom plate; 21a, edge support part; a1, support convex edge; 21b, middle support part; 21c, connecting part; 21d, installation convex edge; J, weight reduction hole; F, storage space; 22, rib; c2, locking part; 30, handle; 200, wafer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] In order to make the above-mentioned purposes, features and advantages of the present application more obvious and easy to understand, the specific implementation methods of the present application are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the following description, many specific details are set forth to facilitate a full understanding of the present application. However, the present application can be implemented in many other ways different from those described herein, and those skilled in the art can make similar improvements without violating the connotation of the present application, so the present application is not limited by the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0027] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that terms such as “center”, “longitudinal”, “lateral”, “length”, “width”, “thickness”, “up”, “down”, “front”, “back”, “left”, “right”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom”, “inside”, “outside”, “clockwise”, “counterclockwise”, “axial”, “radial”, “circumferential”, etc., indicating orientations or positional relationships, if any, are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present application.

[0028] In addition, if present, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In the description of this application, "plurality" means at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0029] In this application, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, if any, the terms "installed", "connected", "connected", "fixed" and the like should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements, unless otherwise clearly defined. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0030] In the present application, if it appears, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, a first feature “above” or “below” a second feature may mean that the first and second features are in direct contact, or the first and second features are in indirect contact through an intermediate medium. Moreover, a first feature “above”, “above” and “above” a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly above or obliquely above the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. A first feature “below”, “below” and “below” a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly below or obliquely below the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

[0031] It should be noted that, if present, when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" or "disposed on" another element, it may be directly on the other element or there may be a central element. When an element is considered to be "connected to" another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or there may be a central element at the same time. The terms "vertical", "horizontal", "upper", "lower", "left", "right" and similar expressions used herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be the only implementation method.

[0032] Please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 The wafer material box 100 provided in the embodiment of the present application includes a box body 10 and a plurality of trays 20. The box body 10 is formed with a material cavity Q and an opening K for placing and taking in the wafers 200. The plurality of trays 20 are sequentially arranged in the material cavity Q along the height direction Z of the wafer material box 100. Each tray 20 includes a bottom plate 21, and a storage space F for storing the wafers 200 is formed between the bottom plates 21 of each two adjacent trays 20. Among them, the upper surface of the bottom plate 21 is used to support the wafers 200 located in the storage space F, and the bottom plate 21 includes an edge support portion 21a and an intermediate support portion 21b connected to each other, the edge support portion 21a is continuously arranged around the intermediate support portion 21b, the intermediate support portion 21b is used to support the middle area of ​​the wafer 200, and the edge support portion 21a is used to support the contour edge of the wafer 200.

[0033] The box body 10 may be a frame structure, a box structure, etc. The box body 10 forms a material cavity Q; a plurality of trays 20 are arranged in the material cavity Q and arranged in sequence in the height direction Z of the wafer material box 100 to separate the material cavity Q into multiple layers of storage spaces F for storing wafers 200. The wafers 200 can be taken and placed in each storage space F through the opening K of the box body 10. Usually, one layer of storage space F is used to store one wafer 200.

[0034] The bottom plate 21 of the tray 20 supports the wafer 200 located in the storage space F, and the bottom plate 21 has an edge support portion 21a for supporting the contour edge of the wafer 200. The bottom plate 21 also has an intermediate support portion 21b for supporting the middle area of ​​the wafer 200. The edge support portion 21a and the intermediate support portion 21b are connected, and the two can be integrated or split. In one example, the bottom plate 21 can be a whole flat plate structure, which is divided into an edge support portion 21a and an intermediate support portion 21b. At this time, the contour projection of the bottom plate 21 in the height direction Z covers the projection of the wafer 200 located in the storage space F corresponding to the bottom plate 21.

[0035] The edge support portion 21 a is continuously arranged around the middle support portion 21 b , which means that the edge support portion 21 a is arranged 360° around the middle support portion 21 b . The edge support portion 21 a is roughly arranged in a ring shape to fully support the circumferential contour edge of the wafer 200 .

[0036] There are usually two types of warping forms for the warped wafer 200. One form is that the wafer 200 is warped downward, that is, the lowest point of the wafer 200 is located at the edge of its contour, and the highest point of the wafer 200 is located in the middle area of ​​the wafer 200. The other form is that the wafer 200 is warped upward, that is, the lowest point of the wafer 200 is located in the middle area thereof, and the highest point of the wafer 200 may be located at the edge of its contour.

[0037] In the above wafer material box 100, the edge support portion 21a of the bottom plate 21 can support the contour edge of the wafer 200 at 360 degrees, and the middle support portion 21b of the bottom plate 21 can support the middle area of ​​the wafer 200. In actual application, when the wafer 200 is in a downward warping shape, the lowest point of the wafer 200 can be effectively supported by the edge support portion 21a of the bottom plate 21, and when the wafer 200 is in an upward warping shape, the lowest point of the wafer 200 can be effectively supported by the middle support portion 21b of the bottom plate 21.

[0038] That is to say, no matter what warping shape the wafer 200 is in, the lowest point of the wafer 200 can form an effective support for the bottom plate 21 of the storage space F, and the lowest point of the wafer 200 will not sag into the next storage space F, and will not affect the storage of the wafer 200 in the lower storage space F. Moreover, no matter whether the wafer 200 is placed upright or upside down on the bottom plate 21, the positions of the lowest and highest points of the wafer 200 will not change, which makes it simple and reliable for the robot to enter and exit the material box to take and place the wafer 200, greatly reducing the probability of the robot hitting the wafer.

[0039] In some embodiments, the upper surface of the bottom plate 21 is configured as a smooth surface.

[0040] The smooth surface can be a smooth coating applied on the upper surface of the base plate 21 by spraying or the like, or a smooth film layer adhered to the upper surface of the base plate 21, or a smooth surface processed by polishing or the like. The specific configuration can be performed by technicians in this field according to conventional means.

[0041] At this time, a smooth surface is provided on the upper surface of the bottom plate 21 , which can reduce the friction between the bottom plate 21 and the wafer 200 , and reduce the wear of the bottom plate 21 on the wafer 200 .

[0042] In some embodiments, reference Figure 3 The bottom plate 21 includes a plurality of connecting portions 21c, each connecting portion 21c is connected between the edge supporting portion 21a and the middle supporting portion 21b, and weight-reducing holes J are formed between adjacent connecting portions 21c.

[0043] The connection part 21c may be integrally connected with the edge support part 21a and the middle support part 21b, or may be separately connected. Specifically, the edge support part 21a and the middle support part 21b may be connected by three or more connection parts 21c, and the connection is more reliable. It is understandable that a plurality of connection parts 21c are arranged around the middle support part 21b.

[0044] At this time, weight-reducing holes J are formed between adjacent connecting portions 21 c, which can reduce the weight of the bottom plate 21 , reduce the consumables of the bottom plate 21 , and reduce the manufacturing cost of the wafer material box 100 .

[0045] In a further embodiment, a front edge of the bottom plate 21 and / or an edge of the connecting portion 21 c is rounded.

[0046] The front end of the bottom plate 21 is an end facing the opening K of the material chamber Q, and the wafer 200 can enter and exit the storage space F through the front end of the bottom plate 21. The edge of the connecting portion 21c includes a contour edge forming a weight-reducing hole J.

[0047] At this time, rounded corners are provided at the front edge of the bottom plate 21 and / or the edge of the connecting portion 21 c to reduce the risk of scratches on the wafer 200 during placement and handling.

[0048] In some embodiments, reference Figure 3 The edge supporting portion 21a extends toward the side where the opening K is located to form a supporting convex edge a1, and the edge of the supporting convex edge a1 is chamfered.

[0049] In actual application, the supporting convex edge a1 is used to support the front end portion of the edge of the wafer 200 .

[0050] At this time, only the supporting convex edge a1 is partially protruded to support the wafer 200, which is adapted to the round shape of the wafer 200, can reduce the consumables of the bottom plate 21 at the front end, reduce the weight of the bottom plate 21, and reduce the cost. In addition, the supporting convex edge a1 is located at the front end of the bottom plate 21, and the edge of the supporting convex edge a1 is rounded, which can reduce the risk of scratching the wafer 200.

[0051] In some embodiments, reference Figure 3 The tray 20 further includes a rib 22 , which is disposed on the bottom plate 21 and protrudes relative to the upper surface of the bottom plate 21 . The rib 22 is located at the periphery of the edge supporting portion 21 a and avoids the opening K.

[0052] The rib 22 may be substantially vertically disposed on the upper surface of the bottom plate 21. The rib 22 should avoid the opening K to facilitate the wafer 200 to be taken into the storage space F through the opening K.

[0053] At this time, the retaining edge 22 can be used to limit the position of the wafer 200 in the storage space F to prevent the wafer 200 from escaping from the tray 20 and being damaged, thereby improving the storage reliability of the wafer 200.

[0054] In some embodiments, reference Figure 3 The tray 20 includes a plurality of ribs 22 , which are spaced apart around the edge supporting portion 21 a .

[0055] Specifically, multiple independent ribs 22 are arranged at intervals along the edge of the edge support portion 21a to improve the space utilization of the bottom plate 21. By configuring multiple ribs 22, multiple positions of the wafer 200 can be limited, and the wafer 200 can be stored more reliably.

[0056] Of course, in other embodiments, only one guard 22 may be configured, and the guard 22 is extended along the edge of the edge support portion 21 a. The extension length of the guard 22 is controlled to improve the limiting and blocking effect of the guard 22 on the wafer 200 to prevent the wafer 200 from escaping from the tray 20.

[0057] In some embodiments, reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 The tray 20 is snap-fitted and assembled in the box body 10 .

[0058] For example, the tray 20 is provided with a buckle, and the box body 10 is provided with a bayonet, and the tray 20 is assembled in the box body 10 by engaging the buckle with the bayonet. Of course, the engagement of the tray 20 and the box body 10 can be obtained by conventional design by those skilled in the art, and is not limited here.

[0059] At this time, the tray 20 is assembled in the box body 10 by snap-fitting, and the tray 20 is more convenient to assemble and disassemble.

[0060] Specifically in the embodiment, a snap-fitting portion c2 is provided at the edge of the bottom plate 21, and the box body 10 includes a plurality of columns 11 surrounding and forming the material cavity Q, and at least some of the columns 11 are provided with a snap-fitting groove c1, and the snap-fitting portion c2 is snap-fitted into the snap-fitting groove c1.

[0061] The columns 11 are long columnar structures arranged vertically. A plurality of columns 11 enclose a frame of the material chamber Q. A top sealing plate may be arranged on the top of all the columns 11 , and a bottom sealing plate may be arranged on the bottom of all the columns 11 .

[0062] At this time, the box body 10 is generally an open frame structure, which can reduce the weight of the box body 10, facilitate the transportation of the wafer material box 100, and also facilitate the observation of the storage status of the wafers 200 inside.

[0063] Moreover, the tray 20 is engaged with the engagement groove c1 on the column 11 through the engagement portion c2 on the edge of the bottom plate 21 to achieve assembly of the tray 20 and the box body 10 , and the structure is simple and easy to implement.

[0064] In some embodiments, reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 , and combined with Figure 3 The bottom plate 21 is provided with a mounting flange 21d protruding toward the box body 10, and a locking portion c2 is provided on the mounting flange 21d.

[0065] For example, Figure 3 As shown, the engaging portion c2 on the mounting flange 21d is a bayonet provided on the mounting flange 21d, and the engaging groove c1 of the column 11 is an axially recessed groove provided on the peripheral wall of the column 11 around the column 11. The bayonet can be inserted into the groove and engaged with the portion of the column 11 forming the bottom of the annular groove, so as to engage the mounting flange 21d and the column 11.

[0066] In a specific embodiment of the present application, the wafer material box 100 includes a box body 10 and a tray 20. The box body 10 includes a column 11 enclosing a material cavity Q. The tray 20 includes a bottom plate 21 and a rib 22. The rib 22 is erected on the edge of the bottom plate 21, and the bottom plate 21 is clamped with the column 11. The bottom plate 21 includes an edge support portion 21a, an intermediate support portion 21b and a connecting portion 21c. The edge support portion 21a is continuously arranged in a circle around the intermediate support portion 21b. The connecting portion 21c is connected between the edge support portion 21a and the intermediate support, and a weight reduction hole J is formed between the connecting portions 21c. A smooth coating is provided on the upper surface of the bottom plate 21, and the front edge position of the bottom plate 21 and the edge position of the connecting portion 21c are both rounded.

[0067] The technical features of the above-described embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-described embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0068] The above-mentioned embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present application, and the descriptions thereof are relatively specific and detailed, but they cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the present application. It should be pointed out that, for a person of ordinary skill in the art, several variations and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present application, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the attached claims.

Claims

1. A wafer material box, characterized in that: The wafer cassette comprises: The box body (10) is formed with a material cavity (Q) and an opening (K) for taking and placing the wafer (200); A plurality of trays (20) are sequentially arranged in the material cavity (Q) at intervals along the height direction (Z) of the wafer material box, each of the trays (20) comprises a bottom plate (21), and a storage space (F) for storing wafers (200) is formed between the bottom plates (21) of each two adjacent trays (20); The upper surface of the bottom plate (21) is used to support the wafer (200) located in the storage space (F), and the bottom plate (21) includes an edge support portion (21a) and an intermediate support portion (21b) connected to each other, wherein the edge support portion (21a) is continuously arranged around the intermediate support portion (21b), the intermediate support portion (21b) is used to support the middle area of ​​the wafer (200), and the edge support portion (21a) is used to support the contour edge of the wafer (200).

2. The wafer cassette according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper surface of the bottom plate (21) is configured as a smooth surface.

3. The wafer cassette according to claim 1, characterized in that: The bottom plate (21) comprises a plurality of connecting portions (21c), each connecting portion (21c) being connected between the edge supporting portion (21a) and the middle supporting portion (21b); Weight-reducing holes (J) are formed at intervals between adjacent connecting portions (21c).

4. The wafer cassette according to claim 3, characterized in that: The front edge of the bottom plate (21) and / or the edge of the connecting portion (21c) are provided with rounded corners.

5. The wafer cassette according to claim 1, characterized in that: The edge support portion (21a) extends toward one side of the opening (K) to form a supporting convex edge (a1), and the edge of the supporting convex edge (a1) is chamfered.

6. The wafer cassette according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The tray (20) further comprises a retaining edge (22), wherein the retaining edge (22) is arranged on the bottom plate (21) and is protruded relative to the upper surface of the bottom plate (21); the retaining edge (22) is located at the periphery of the edge supporting portion (21a) and avoids the opening (K).

7. The wafer cassette according to claim 6, characterized in that: The tray (20) comprises a plurality of ribs (22), and the plurality of ribs (22) are arranged at intervals around the edge supporting portion (21a).

8. The wafer cassette according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The tray (20) is snap-fitted and assembled in the box body (10).

9. The wafer cassette according to claim 8, characterized in that: The edge of the bottom plate (21) is provided with a snap-fitting portion (c2); the box body (10) comprises a plurality of columns (11) surrounding and forming the material cavity (Q), at least some of the columns (11) are provided with a snap-fitting groove (c1), and the snap-fitting portion (c2) is snap-fitted into the snap-fitting groove (c1).

10. The wafer cassette according to claim 9, characterized in that: The bottom plate (21) is provided with a mounting flange (21d) protruding toward the box body (10), and the mounting flange (21d) is provided with the engaging portion (c2).

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