Storage and transport container

Abstract

To provide a storage and transport container capable of preventing damage to a board and occurrence of particles that are caused by the contact between the board and a board retainer when the board is removed from the inside of a shell.SOLUTION: A storage and transport container has a box-shaped shell provided with an opening at a bottom portion thereof, and a door that is attachable and detachable to and from the shell. The door is attached to the shell so as to cover the opening, and a board retainer is provided inside the shell so as to be movable between a contact position where the board retainer contacts the board and a spaced position where it is moved apart from the board. The board retainer has a leaf spring portion that is formed to be elastically deformable, and when the board retainer is held at the contact position, the leaf spring portion urges the board retainer from the contact position toward the spaced position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a storage / transport container that houses and stores substrates, such as semiconductor wafers, in its internal space for transport in a semiconductor manufacturing process. [Background technology]

[0002] In semiconductor manufacturing, substrates such as semiconductor wafers are processed in a highly clean environment, and in order to maintain the cleanliness of the clean room or to achieve localized cleanliness, multiple substrates are stored and transported in dedicated storage / transport containers with highly clean internal spaces. SMIF pods, FOUPs, etc. are known as dedicated storage / transport containers for storing such substrates.

[0003] A SMIF pod generally has a box-shaped shell with an internal space for accommodating substrates, and a door that can be attached to and detached from the shell. An opening is provided in the bottom surface of the shell. A substrate retainer that supports a plurality of substrates is installed inside the shell. The door of the SMIF pod is attached to the bottom surface of the shell so as to close the opening of the shell. A carrier that accommodates and supports a plurality of substrates is attached to the door. In a SMIF pod having such a structure, the door is attached to and detached from the shell using, for example, an opening / closing mechanism provided in a load port.

[0004] For example, JP 2018-190827 A (Patent Document 1) describes a substrate storage container used as a SMIF pod. The substrate storage container of Patent Document 1 has an upper cover (shell) having an opening on the bottom surface, a receiving stand (door) that can be fitted into the opening of the upper cover, a carrier placed on the receiving stand, and a retainer attached to the inner wall of the upper cover. The retainer of Patent Document 1 has a retainer main body connected to the inner wall of the upper cover, and multiple pairs of left and right substrate holders provided on both sides of the retainer main body. Each pair of substrate holders is installed in the vertical direction corresponding to the position of the substrate supported by the carrier.

[0005] In Patent Document 1, the retainer is provided with multiple sets of substrate holders, so that multiple substrates supported by the carrier can be reliably fixed one by one by the pair of substrate holders. Patent Document 1 also explains that by providing multiple sets of substrate holders, the substrate holders are less likely to deform and can withstand long-term use, compared to, for example, a case in which multiple substrates are fixed simultaneously by a pair of substrate holders. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-190827 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] In a conventional SMIF pod, multiple substrates stored in a shell are removed by raising the shell relative to the door (or lowering the door relative to the shell). A substrate retainer supporting multiple substrates in the shell is arranged to move away from the substrates by utilizing the substrate retainer's own weight when the shell or the door moves up and down. This prevents the substrate retainer from rubbing against the outer periphery of the substrate when the substrate retainer moves up together with the shell relative to the substrate.

[0008] However, in a structure in which the weight of the substrate retainer is used to move the substrate retainer when the shell or door moves, there are cases in which the substrate retainer is delayed in starting to move relative to the movement of the shell or door, or the substrate retainer does not separate from the substrate due to the balance of the center of gravity, etc. In such cases, the substrate retainer moves up and down together with the shell while remaining in contact with the substrate, which can result in the substrate being damaged by the substrate retainer and particles being generated from the contact area between the retainer and the substrate, contaminating the substrate and the SMIF pod.

[0009] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and its purpose is to provide a storage and transport container that can prevent damage to the substrate and the generation of particles caused by contact between the substrate and a substrate retainer when the substrate is removed from inside the shell. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] In the present invention, the means for solving the above-mentioned problems are as follows. 1. A storage and transport container for accommodating and storing substrates transported in a semiconductor manufacturing process, The container has a box-shaped shell having an internal space and an opening at a bottom surface thereof, and a door that can be attached to and detached from the shell. the door is attached to the shell to close the opening; a substrate retainer that contacts the substrate and supports the substrate and is provided inside the shell and is movable between a contact position where the substrate contacts the substrate and a spaced position where the substrate is spaced from the substrate; The board retainer has a retainer body and a leaf spring portion extending from the retainer body and formed to be elastically deformable, The leaf spring portion biases the board retainer from the contact position toward the separated position when the board retainer is held at the contact position. A storage and transportation container characterized by the above. 2. The leaf spring portion is elastically deformed when the board retainer moves from the separated position to the contact position, and biases the board retainer at the contact position by the elastic restoring force of the leaf spring portion. 1. A storage and transportation container according to claim 1. 3. The leaf spring portion has a base end portion connected to the retainer body portion and a tip end portion disposed on the opposite side to the base end portion, the shell has a contact wall portion with which the tip end of the leaf spring portion comes into contact, The tip of the leaf spring portion has a contact surface that is in contact with the contact wall portion and is formed into a curved surface. 1. A storage and transportation container according to claim 1. Effect of the Invention

[0011] In the storage / transport container of the present invention, the substrate retainer that secures the substrate within the shell is biased by the leaf spring portion from a contact position where it contacts the substrate toward a separated position where it is separated from the substrate. This allows the substrate retainer to be quickly separated from the substrate by the biasing force of the leaf spring portion when the shell or door is moved to remove the substrate from the storage / transport container. This makes it possible to prevent damage to the substrate and generation of particles caused by contact between the substrate and the substrate retainer when the shell or door is moved. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic view of a main part of a storage and transportation container according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a side view showing a wafer retainer of the storage / transport container. [Diagram 3] 5A and 5B are schematic diagrams showing the movement of the wafer retainer and the deformation of the leaf spring portion when the wafer retainer moves between the separated position shown in FIG. 5A and the contact position shown in FIG. [Figure 4] 11 is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship between a wafer retainer disposed at a spaced position and a substrate. FIG. [Diagram 5] 11 is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship between a wafer retainer disposed at a contact position and a substrate. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. EXAMPLES

[0014] Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic view of a main part of a storage / transport container according to this embodiment. Fig. 2 is a side view showing a wafer retainer of the storage / transport container. Note that in Fig. 1, in order to clearly show the characteristic parts of the storage / transport container of this embodiment, a shell main body part of the shell, which will be described later, is not shown. Also, in Fig. 2, wheel members of the wafer retainer are not shown.

[0015] In the following description, the up-down direction is the direction along which the substrates (semiconductor wafers) are stacked. In this case, the direction approaching the substrate from the door is the up direction, and the opposite direction is the down direction. The front-rear direction is the direction along which the substrate is inserted and removed from the carrier. In this case, the direction in which the substrate is removed from the carrier is the front, and the direction in which the substrate is inserted into the carrier is the rear. The left-right direction is the direction perpendicular to the up-down direction and the front-rear direction.

[0016] (Structure of storage / transport container 1) The storage and transport container 1 of this embodiment is formed as a SMIF pod, and is configured to accommodate and store a plurality of semiconductor wafers 5 each having a diameter of 200 mm as substrates inside the storage and transport container 1. The storage and transport container 1 has a shell with an internal space, a wafer retainer (substrate retainer) 20 movably attached inside the shell, a door 30 detachably formed on the shell, and a carrier 40 attached to the upper surface of the door 30.

[0017] The shell has a box-shaped shell main body (not shown), a pair of left and right support columns 11 provided inside the shell main body, and two link members 15 rotatably held by the left and right support columns 11 (see FIG. 1). The shell main body has a top surface, a front wall, a rear wall, a left wall, and a right wall. An internal space for accommodating a semiconductor wafer 5 is provided inside the shell main body and is surrounded by the top surface, front wall, rear wall, left wall, and right wall.

[0018] 3, the front wall of the shell main body is provided with an insertion recess 12 into which a portion of a leaf spring 25 (described later) of the wafer retainer 20 is inserted, and a contact wall 13 with which a portion of the leaf spring 25 comes into contact. The insertion recess 12 opens downward and is provided along the up-down direction. The insertion recess 12 is formed to a size that allows a portion of the leaf spring 25 to be loosely inserted into the insertion recess 12. Note that loose insertion means that the insertion is performed with sufficient space.

[0019] The contact wall 13 is disposed along the up-down direction, and has a support surface that contacts and supports a tip engagement portion 25b (described later) of the leaf spring portion 25 when the leaf spring portion 25 is elastically deformed. The support surface of the contact wall 13 forms a part of the inner wall surface of the insertion recess 12, and is disposed facing forward. A slit is formed in the contact wall 13 from the lower end of the contact wall 13 toward the upper side, through which a spring main body portion 25a (described later) of the leaf spring portion 25 is inserted.

[0020] An opening is formed in the bottom surface of the shell main body to insert and remove the semiconductor wafer 5 into and from the internal space. The opening of the shell main body is opened and closed by removing the door 30 from the bottom surface of the shell main body and attaching the door 30 to the bottom surface of the shell main body.

[0021] A flange portion for fitting the door 30 is provided at the lower end of the shell body. The flange portion is formed continuously from the front wall portion, rear wall portion, left wall portion, and right wall portion of the shell body, and is formed to bulge outward from the front wall portion, rear wall portion, left wall portion, and right wall portion. A claw recess is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the flange portion, into which an engaging claw portion 32 (described later) provided on the door 30 is inserted. The shell body of this embodiment has four claw recesses provided corresponding to the positions of the four engaging claw portions 32 provided on the door 30. Note that in the present invention, the shape and material of the shell body portion are not particularly limited.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 1, the pair of left and right support columns 11 are arranged parallel to each other in the up-down direction near the front wall of the shell main body. The upper end of each of the left and right support columns 11 is fixed to the top surface of the shell main body via an upper fixing portion 11a. The lower end of each of the left and right support columns 11 is fixed to the front wall of the shell main body via a lower fixing portion 11b. Each of the left and right support columns 11 is provided with two bearing portions (not shown) that rotatably hold the rotating shaft portion of the link member 15. The two bearing portions are arranged at different positions on the support columns 11 in the up-down direction.

[0023] The two link members 15 are formed to have the same shape and size. Each link member 15 is connected to the left and right support columns 11 and the wafer retainer 20 of the shell. Each link member 15 has a link main body 16 and a pair of left and right rotation shafts 17 protruding from the left and right side edges of the link main body 16, and is attached to the left and right support columns 11 so as to be rotatable around the rotation shafts 17. The link main body 16 is provided with a link attachment shaft that is rotatably held by the wafer retainer 20, and two rectangular holes through which parts of the wafer retainer 20 are inserted.

[0024] The wafer retainer 20 is disposed between the left and right support columns 11 in the left-right direction, and is connected to the left and right support columns 11 via two link members 15. As a result, the wafer retainer 20 is held by the left and right support columns 11 so as to move along a fixed path between a separated position (see FIG. 3(a)) and a contact position (see FIG. 3(c)), as will be described later. The wafer retainer 20 is formed of a thermoplastic resin such as polyetherimide or polycarbonate. Note that in the present invention, the material of the wafer retainer 20 is not particularly limited.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 2, the wafer retainer 20 has a retainer main body 21 which is formed long in the vertical direction, upper and lower shaft holding portions 22 which hold the mounting shaft portions of the two link members 15, a pair of left and right wafer support portions 23 arranged on both the left and right sides of the retainer main body 21, left and right arm portions 24 which connect the retainer main body 21 and the wafer support portions 23, a leaf spring portion 25 which extends from the lower end of the retainer main body 21, and a wheel portion 26 which is provided at the lower end of the retainer main body 21.

[0026] The retainer body 21 is formed in a thin plate shape, and has a rectangular shape in a plan view of the wafer retainer 20 seen from the front side. The retainer body 21 is provided with a plurality of through holes that penetrate the retainer body 21 from the front surface to the rear surface.

[0027] The upper and lower shaft holding portions 22 are provided with the same structure above and below the largest through hole in the retainer body portion 21. As shown in Fig. 2, each shaft holding portion 22 has a holding groove portion 22a recessed along the left-right direction in the retainer body portion 21, left and right shaft pressing portions 22b extending in a substantially L-shape from the retainer body portion 21, and a reinforcing rib 22c that reinforces each shaft pressing portion 22b. By providing the upper and lower shaft holding portions 22 in this manner, the mounting shaft portion of the link member 15 can be rotatably held by each shaft holding portion 22.

[0028] When the wafer retainer 20 moves to the contact position, the left and right wafer support portions 23 directly contact and support the multiple semiconductor wafers 5, thereby fixing the semiconductor wafers 5. The left and right wafer support portions 23 have bilaterally symmetrical shapes. When viewed in a cross section perpendicular to the up-down direction (see FIGS. 4 and 5), for example, the left and right wafer support portions 23 each have a bent shape with a central portion of the wafer support portion 23 protruding rearward.

[0029] The leaf spring portion 25 is provided integrally with and elastically deformable on the retainer body portion 21. The leaf spring portion 25 has a spring body portion 25a extending forward from the lower end portion of the retainer body portion 21, and a tip engagement portion 25b provided at the tip of the spring body portion 25a.

[0030] 2, the spring main body 25a has an inclined portion extending obliquely upward and forward from the retainer main body 21, and a straight portion extending upward from the inclined portion in the vertical direction. The spring main body 25a is elastically deformable in the front-rear direction so that the tip engagement portion 25b approaches and moves away from the retainer main body 21.

[0031] The tip engagement portion 25b of the leaf spring portion 25 is formed integrally with the spring body portion 25a. The tip engagement portion 25b is formed in a cylindrical shape that is long in the left-right direction. The tip engagement portion 25b has circular, flat left and right side surfaces arranged on the left and right side edges, and a curved outer circumferential surface arranged along the left-right direction between the left and right side surfaces. The cylindrical tip engagement portion 25b is inserted into the insertion recess 12 provided in the front wall portion of the shell body portion. In addition, the tip engagement portion 25b has a contact surface that contacts the contact wall portion 13 of the shell body portion.

[0032] In this case, the contact surface of the tip engaging portion 25b is formed by a curved surface that is the outer peripheral surface of a cylinder. This prevents the tip engaging portion 25b from getting caught on the contact wall portion 13 and from damaging the contact wall portion 13 when the leaf spring portion 25 elastically deforms while contacting the contact wall portion 13 of the shell main body portion. In addition, since the tip engaging portion 25b has a cylindrical shape that is long in the left-right direction and the contact wall portion 13 is provided with a slit through which the spring main body portion 25a of the leaf spring portion 25 passes, when the wafer retainer 20 moves from the intermediate position in FIG. 3(b) to the contact position in FIG. 3(c) as described later, the tip engaging portion 25b can be stably brought into contact with the contact wall portion 13 of the shell main body portion.

[0033] The wheel portion 26 of the wafer retainer 20 is provided integrally with the retainer body 21. The wheel portion 26 has a wheel member 26a, a wheel holding portion 26b that rotatably holds the wheel member 26a, and a connecting portion 26c that connects the wheel holding portion 26b and the retainer body 21. The wheel member 26a has one wheel and a pair of left and right rotation shafts that protrude from the wheel. The wheel holding portion 26b holds the left and right rotation shafts of the wheel member 26a.

[0034] By providing such wheel portions 26 on the wafer retainer 20, the wheel portions 26 can move smoothly in the front-rear direction on the upper surface of the door 30 while contacting the upper surface of the door 30. In addition, generation of particles can be prevented when the wheel portions 26 move. Therefore, for example, when the door 30 is attached to an opening of a shell to close it, the wheel portions 26 of the wafer retainer 20 come into contact with the door 30, so that the wafer retainer 20 can be moved toward the semiconductor wafer 5 by the door 30 while being lifted relative to the shell main body (see FIG. 3). Note that in the present invention, the shape, structure, size, etc. of the wheel portions 26 are not particularly limited.

[0035] The door 30 of the storage / transport container 1 is formed so as to be attachable to and detachable from the above-mentioned flange portion (not shown) of the shell main body. Moreover, the door 30 is formed so as to completely close the opening of the shell main body when attached to the flange portion of the shell main body.

[0036] The door 30 of this embodiment has a door main body portion 31, an engagement claw portion 32 movably provided on the door main body portion 31, and an operation portion (not shown) for operating the engagement claw portion 32. A space is provided inside the door main body 31. In this space of the door main body 31, four engagement claws 32 and an operating unit are mounted.

[0037] The engaging claw portion 32 has two front engaging claw portions protruding forward from the front surface of the door main body portion 31, and two rear engaging claw portions (not shown) protruding rearward from the rear surface of the door main body portion 31. Each engaging claw portion 32 has two protruding pieces 33 protruding from the door main body portion 31.

[0038] Each engaging claw portion 32 is installed so that the two protruding pieces 33 can be protruded from the door main body portion 31 and the protruding protruding pieces 33 can be retracted and accommodated within the door main body portion 31. Each engaging claw portion 32 is biased by a biasing member (not shown) provided within the door main body portion 31 in a direction that causes the two protruding pieces 33 to protrude from the door main body portion 31. In other words, the two protruding pieces 33 of each engaging claw portion 32 are maintained in a protruding state from the door main body portion 31 by the biasing member unless the operating portion of the door 30 is operated.

[0039] An operating portion (not shown) of the engaging claw portions 32 is rotatably provided on the underside of the door main body portion 31 and in the center of the door main body portion 31. The operating portion can cause the four engaging claw portions 32 to retract into the door main body portion 31 and protrude from the door main body portion 31 by rotating in one rotation direction and rotating in the other rotation direction.

[0040] The operating part is provided with pin insertion holes (not shown) into which two insertion pins can be inserted that are provided in, for example, an opening / closing mechanism (not shown) of the storage / transport container 1. This allows the opening / closing mechanism or the like to easily rotate the operating part provided on the door 30 using the two insertion pins.

[0041] In the door 30 of this embodiment, when the protruding pieces 33 of the four engaging claws 32 protrude from the door main body 31, the operating unit is rotated by, for example, two insertion pins of the opening and closing mechanism, so that the protruding pieces 33 of the four engaging claws 32 can be moved back against the biasing force of the biasing member and accommodated in the door main body 31. The rotated state of the operating unit is maintained by the operating pin of the opening and closing mechanism, so that the protruding pieces 33 of the engaging claws 32 can be maintained in a state accommodated in the door main body 31. On the other hand, when the insertion pin is pulled out of the operating unit after being rotated by, for example, the insertion pin of the opening and closing mechanism, the engaging claws 32 are biased by the biasing member, so that the protruding pieces 33 accommodated in the door main body 31 can be protruded to the outside of the door main body 31.

[0042] A carrier attachment portion 34 for attaching the carrier 40 to the door 30 is provided on the upper surface of the door main body 31. The carrier attachment portion 34 allows the carrier 40 to be removably attached to a predetermined position of the door 30. In the present invention, the shapes and structures of the engaging claw portion 32, the operating portion, and the carrier mounting portion 34 of the door 30 are not particularly limited.

[0043] The carrier 40 has a pair of left and right wafer support parts 41, an upper plate connection part 42 connecting the upper ends of the left and right wafer support parts 41, and a handle part 43 formed integrally with the upper plate connection part 42. The left and right wafer support parts 41 are formed symmetrically with each other. The left and right wafer support parts 41 are provided with a plurality of storage slots into which semiconductor wafers 5 are inserted at regular intervals in the vertical direction. In the present invention, the shape, structure, size, etc. of the carrier 40 are not particularly limited as long as the carrier 40 can store a plurality of semiconductor wafers 5.

[0044] (Operation of wafer retainer 20) Below, with reference to FIG. 3, we will explain the operation of the wafer retainer 20 when the door 30 is attached to the shell by covering the carrier 40 from above, in a case where multiple semiconductor wafers 5 are held in the carrier 40 attached to the door 30.

[0045] In this embodiment, a case will be described in which the door 30 is attached to the shell by lowering the shell toward the door 30. However, in this embodiment, the door 30 may also be attached to the shell by, for example, raising the door 30 so as to approach the shell held in a predetermined position.

[0046] In addition, with respect to the storage / transport container 1 of this embodiment, as shown in, for example, Figs. 3(a) and 4, a position where the wafer support portion 23 of the wafer retainer 20 is separated from the semiconductor wafers 5 and where the wafer retainer 20 (particularly the wheel portion 26 of the wafer retainer 20) is lowest relative to the shell main body is defined as the "separate position" of the wafer retainer 20. As shown in, for example, Figs. 3(c) and 5, a position where the wafer support portion 23 contacts the semiconductor wafers 5 by lifting and moving the wafer retainer 20 from the separate position is defined as the "contact position" of the wafer retainer 20. Furthermore, in this embodiment, a position where the tip engagement portion 25b of the leaf spring portion 25 contacts the contact wall portion 13 in the insertion recess 12 of the front wall portion as shown in Fig. 3(b) when the spring main body portion 25a of the leaf spring portion 25 is not elastically deformed is defined as the "middle position".

[0047] As described above, the wafer retainer 20 of this embodiment is attached to the left and right support columns 11 of the shell main body via the two link members 15. As a result, when the wafer retainer 20 moves from the separated position shown in Fig. 3(a) to the contact position shown in Fig. 3(c) and when it moves from the contact position shown in Fig. 3(c) to the separated position shown in Fig. 3(a), it moves along a fixed path that passes through the intermediate position shown in Fig. 3(b). Furthermore, the wafer retainer 20 can move between the separated position and the contact position while maintaining an orientation in which the retainer main body 21 is parallel to the vertical direction.

[0048] When the semiconductor wafers 5 held by the carrier 40 are housed and stored in a shell, first, the shell is lowered from above the carrier 40 and the door 30 so as to approach the door 30. At this time, within the lowering shell, the wafer retainer 20 is held by its own weight in a separated position where the wheel portion 26 is located at its lowest position until the wheel portion 26 of the wafer retainer 20 comes into contact with the door 30 (see FIG. 3(a)).

[0049] Furthermore, when the wafer retainer 20 is in the separated position, the tip engagement portion 25b of the leaf spring portion 25 of the wafer retainer 20 is inserted into the insertion recess 12 provided in the front wall of the shell main body. Particularly in the case of this embodiment, the tip engagement portion 25b of the leaf spring portion 25 is held in a position within the insertion recess 12 where it does not contact the inner wall surface of the insertion recess 12.

[0050] As the shell descends, wheel members 26a of wheel portion 26 of wafer retainer 20 come into contact with the upper surface of door 30, as shown in Fig. 3(a). Even after wheel portion 26 comes into contact with door 30, wheel portion 26 is lifted by door 30 by further lowering the shell so as to approach door 30. As a result, wafer retainer 20 rises relative to support columns 11 of the shell, and is moved by link members 15 in a direction approaching semiconductor wafer 5 (i.e., to the right in Fig. 3(a)).

[0051] At this time, wheel members 26a of wheel portion 26 rotate while contacting door 30, so that wafer retainer 20 can be smoothly and stably brought closer to semiconductor wafer 5. Furthermore, it is also possible to prevent the generation of particles due to contact between the wheels and door 30. Also, as wafer retainer 20 approaches semiconductor wafer 5 while rising, cylindrical tip engagement portion 25b provided on leaf spring portion 25 of wafer retainer 20 comes into contact with contact wall portion 13 within insertion recess 12 of the front wall portion, as shown in FIG. 3(b).

[0052] Thereafter, the shell continues to descend, so that the door 30 is inserted into the flange portion of the shell, and the opening of the shell main body portion is closed by the door 30. At the same time, the wafer retainer 20 moves to the contact position shown in FIG.

[0053] In this embodiment, as described above, the engaging claw portion 32 provided on the door 30 has the projection portion 33 projected outward from the door main body portion 31 by the biasing force of the biasing member (not shown). Therefore, when the shell descends and the door 30 is inserted into the flange portion, for example, an insertion pin of an opening / closing mechanism is inserted into an operating portion (not shown) provided on the underside of the door 30 to rotate the operating portion. As a result, the projection portion 33 of the engaging claw portion 32 retreats and is housed in the door main body portion 31, so that the door 30 can be smoothly inserted inside the flange portion of the shell without interfering with the engaging claw portion 32, and the opening of the shell main body portion can be closed with the door 30.

[0054] Furthermore, after the door 30 is inserted into the flange portion, the insertion pin is pulled out of the operation portion of the door 30, whereby the engaging claw portion 32 is biased by the biasing member, and the protruding piece portion 33 of the engaging claw portion 32 can be protruded to the outside of the door main body portion 31. As a result, each protruding piece portion 33 of the engaging claw portion 32 is inserted into and engaged with a claw recess (not shown) provided in the flange portion of the shell, so that the door 30 can be fixed to the shell main body portion at a position where the opening of the shell main body portion is closed. Furthermore, thereafter, unless the operation portion of the door 30 is rotated again, the protruding piece portion 33 of the engaging claw portion 32 remains engaged with the claw recess of the flange portion, so that the state in which the door 30 is attached to the shell can be stably maintained.

[0055] The storage and transport container 1 is assembled by attaching the door 30 to the shell as described above. In addition, a plurality of semiconductor wafers 5 can be accommodated and held in the assembled storage and transport container 1. In the storage and transport container 1, the wafer retainer 20 is lifted by the door 30 and moved to the contact position, so that the left and right wafer support parts 23 of the wafer retainer 20 come into contact with the plurality of semiconductor wafers 5 held by the carrier 40 as shown in FIG. 5, and fix the plurality of semiconductor wafers 5. This allows a plurality of semiconductor wafers 5 to be stably stored in the storage and transport container 1. In addition, when the storage and transport container 1 in which the semiconductor wafers 5 are stored is transported, the semiconductor wafers 5 can be prevented from moving in the storage and transport container 1 and from being displaced.

[0056] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the wafer retainer 20 moves from the intermediate position in Fig. 3(b) to the contact position in Fig. 3(c), the tip engagement portion 25b of the leaf spring portion 25 is maintained in contact with the contact wall portion 13 of the shell main body. As a result, the spring main body portion 25a of the leaf spring portion 25 is elastically deformed so as to be warped as the wafer retainer 20 moves to the contact position, as shown in Fig. 3(c), and the elastically deformed state is maintained. Therefore, the wafer retainer 20 that has moved to the contact position is maintained in a state in which it is biased from the contact position toward the separated position by the elastic restoring force of the leaf spring portion 25.

[0057] Next, a case will be described in which, when multiple semiconductor wafers 5 are stored in the storage / transport container 1, the door 30 is removed from the shell and the shell is moved upward to remove the semiconductor wafers 5 from the storage / transport container 1. As shown in FIG. 3(c), when multiple semiconductor wafers 5 are accommodated and stored in the storage / transport container 1, the wafer retainer 20 is disposed in the contact position as described above, and is biased toward the separated position by the elastic restoring force of the leaf spring portion 25.

[0058] To remove the door 30 shown in Fig. 3(c) from the shell, first, rotate an operating portion (not shown) provided on the underside of the door 30 to release the engagement between the shell and the door 30 by the engagement claw portion 32. Then, while maintaining the disengaged state, raise the shell (or lower the door 30). This allows the door 30 to be removed from the shell main body.

[0059] Furthermore, as the shell rises relative to the door 30, the wafer retainer 20 starts to move from the contact position toward the separated position due to its own weight. At this time, in the storage and transport container 1 of this embodiment, since the wafer retainer 20 is biased by the leaf spring portion 25, the wafer retainer 20 can be forcibly moved from the contact position by the biasing force of the leaf spring portion 25 at the same time as the shell starts to rise relative to the door 30, and can be quickly separated from the semiconductor wafer 5.

[0060] This reliably prevents the wafer retainer 20 from moving vertically while in contact with the semiconductor wafer 5, thereby reliably preventing problems such as damage to the semiconductor wafer and generation of particles that occurred when the wafer retainer began to move in conventional SMIF pods.

[0061] Thereafter, as the shell rises further relative to the door 30, the wafer retainer 20 biased by the leaf spring portion 25 moves by its own weight through the intermediate position shown in Fig. 3(b) to the separated position shown in Fig. 3(a). Furthermore, as the shell moves higher than the carrier 40, the carrier 40 can be pulled out from within the shell main body. Furthermore, after the carrier 40 has been pulled out, the semiconductor wafer 5 can be removed from the carrier 40, for example, by using a wafer transport device equipped with a transport arm.

[0062] As described above, in the storage / transport container 1 of this embodiment used as a SMIF pod, when the shell is raised or the door 30 is lowered to remove the semiconductor wafers 5 from the storage / transport container 1, the wafer retainer 20 can be quickly separated from the semiconductor wafers 5 by the biasing force (elastic restoring force) of the leaf spring portion 25. This makes it possible to prevent damage to the semiconductor wafers 5 and generation of particles caused by contact between the wafer retainer 20 and the semiconductor wafers 5.

[0063] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible as long as they have substantially the same configuration as those described in the claims of the present invention and provide similar operational effects. For example, in the above embodiment, a case has been described in which semiconductor wafers 5 are stored in the storage / transport container 1. However, in the present invention, the substrates stored in the storage / transport container are not limited to semiconductor wafers, and the storage / transport container of the present invention may be configured to store substrates other than semiconductor wafers, such as reticles. [Explanation of symbols]

[0064] 1 Storage and transport containers 5. Semiconductor Wafers 11 Support pillar 11a Upper fixing part 11b Lower fixing part 12 Insertion recess 13 Contact wall 15 Link member 16 Link body 17 Rotating shaft 20 Wafer retainer (substrate retainer) 21 Retainer body 22 Shaft holding part 22a Retaining groove 22b Shaft holder 22c Reinforcement rib 23 Wafer support 24 Arm section 25 Leaf spring part 25a Spring body 25b Tip engaging part 26 Wheel section 26a Wheel parts 26b Wheel holder 26c Connecting part 30 Doors 31 Door body 32 Engagement claw 33 Projection piece 34 Carrier mounting part 40 Career 41 Wafer support 42 Upper plate connection 43 Handle

Claims

1. A storage and transport container for accommodating and storing substrates to be transported in a semiconductor manufacturing process, The container has a box-shaped shell having an internal space and an opening at a bottom surface thereof, and a door that can be attached to and detached from the shell. the door is attached to the shell to close the opening; a substrate retainer that contacts the substrate and supports the substrate and is provided inside the shell and is movable between a contact position where the substrate contacts the substrate and a spaced position where the substrate is spaced from the substrate; The board retainer has a retainer body and a leaf spring portion extending from the retainer body and formed to be elastically deformable, The leaf spring portion biases the board retainer from the contact position toward the separated position when the board retainer is held at the contact position. A storage and transportation container characterized by the above.

2. The leaf spring portion is elastically deformed when the board retainer moves from the separated position to the contact position, and biases the board retainer at the contact position by an elastic restoring force of the leaf spring portion.

2. The storage and transportation container according to claim 1.

3. the leaf spring portion has a base end portion connected to the retainer body portion and a tip end portion disposed on the opposite side to the base end portion, the shell has a contact wall portion with which the tip end of the leaf spring portion comes into contact, The tip of the leaf spring portion has a contact surface that is in contact with the contact wall portion and is formed into a curved surface.

2. The storage and transportation container according to claim 1.

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