Container Purging Device

Abstract

To provide a container purge device comprising a miniaturized supply mechanism of an inactive gas in a technique for injecting and exhausting gas to / from a container.SOLUTION: A load port as a container purge device, comprises: an exhaust mechanism that exhausts an air in a substrate housing container (a carrier 10) via an exhaust part provided at a bottom part of the substrate housing container; and a supply mechanism that supplies an inactive gas into the substrate housing container via an injection part 102 provided at the bottom part. By operating the exhaust mechanism and the supply mechanism, a concentration of the inert gas in the substrate housing container is enhanced. The supply mechanism includes: an injection nozzle 5 that is provided to be able to elevate from the mounting stage; and a housing body that houses the injection nozzle to make the injection nozzle elevate so as to bring the injection nozzle into contact with the injection part of the substrate housing container. By making the injection nozzle a piston using the housing body as a cylinder, the injection nozzle can make elevation driving. The housing body includes an open part through which the injection nozzle passes. A part of the injection nozzle is exposed to the outside of the housing body and comes into contact with the injection part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a container purging device capable of injecting gas into a container such as a carrier cassette that contains semiconductor wafer substrates or glass substrates in the manufacture of semiconductor devices or devices using glass substrates. [Background technology]

[0002] In the manufacture of semiconductor devices, carrier cassettes that hold multiple wafers are used to transport semiconductor wafers between manufacturing equipment. Some carrier cassettes are sealed, called FOUPs (Front Opening Unified Pods), and are filled with inert gas to prevent oxidation of the wafer surfaces.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for injecting an inert gas into a container such as a FOUP placed on a load port. In this technique, a door and a door opening / closing mechanism for opening and closing the door are provided on the load port, the door holds the lid of the container, and when the door is opened by the door opening / closing mechanism, the lid is removed from the body of the container, and the inert gas is supplied from the exposed opening of the container (for example, see paragraphs

[0018] ,

[0020] , and

[0024] of the specification of Patent Document 1).

[0004] In recent years, in order to increase the concentration of inert gas inside the container as wiring patterns become finer, a technology has begun to be adopted in which an inert gas injection section (injection port) is provided at the bottom of the container, and the inert gas is injected into the container through this injection section from a nozzle that sprays the inert gas. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-38074 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a container purging device having a compact inert gas supply mechanism in the technology for injecting and discharging gas into a container. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, a container purging apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention is a container purging apparatus including a mounting table on which a substrate housing container capable of housing substrates is mounted, the container purging apparatus comprising: The container purging device is a positioning pin provided to protrude from the mounting table and engaging with a bottom of the substrate accommodation container; and an injection nozzle that can be raised and lowered from the mounting table, wherein the injection nozzle is brought into contact with an injection part provided at the bottom of the substrate accommodation container, and then an inert gas or dry air is supplied into the substrate accommodation container through the injection part, The injection nozzle is configured so as not to exceed the height of the positioning pin even when the injection nozzle is raised. It is characterized by: It is preferable that the injection nozzle has a gas passage provided therein and is held by a nozzle holder, and that the nozzle holder is provided with an injection port for injecting gas from a direction intersecting the gas passage of the injection nozzle. It is preferable that the injection nozzle has a gas passage provided therein and is held by a nozzle holder, and that gas is introduced into the nozzle through a gas introduction pipe extending in a direction intersecting the gas passage. It is preferable that the injection nozzle be provided with a first regulating portion that restricts the downward movement range of the injection nozzle when the injection nozzle abuts against it, and a second regulating portion that restricts the upward movement range of the injection nozzle when the injection nozzle abuts against it, and that the second regulating portion be configured to prevent the injection nozzle from rising beyond the height of the positioning pin. It is preferable that the mounting table has a carrier base that moves horizontally by a slider mechanism, and that the positioning pin and the injection nozzle are configured to move together with the carrier base after or during gas injection from the injection nozzle into the substrate container. It is preferable that the injection nozzle be raised and lowered by an air cylinder. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a reduction in the size of the supply mechanism. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a load port as a container purging device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the load port. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the main part of the mounting table as seen from the side. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of the injection nozzle provided on the front side of the load port. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 shows the bottom of the carrier. [Figure 6]FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which the injection nozzle is raised by the drive of the lift drive unit and the upper end of the injection nozzle comes into contact with the grommet of the injection section. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a lifting drive unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention, which is applied to a load port. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] In an apparatus employing the inert gas injection technology described above, a nozzle is provided on a container mounting table in a load port. After a container is placed on the mounting table and the nozzle contacts the injection section, inert gas is injected into the container. To ensure that the container is placed at a predetermined position on the mounting table, a positioning pin is provided on the mounting table, and the container is positioned by fitting the positioning pin into a groove provided in the bottom of the container. Furthermore, to improve the adhesion of the nozzle to the injection section of the container during injection of the inert gas, the nozzle is installed so as to protrude from the mounting table, and the nozzle is elastically installed on the mounting table by a spring. Specifically, when a container is placed on the mounting table, the injection section of the container contacts the nozzle, and the weight of the container presses the nozzle down against the spring force.

[0011] However, when a container is placed on the table, the nozzle may get caught on the injection part or the vicinity of the injection part before the container is positioned by the positioning pin, and the container may not be positioned in the intended position.

[0012] Furthermore, since the nozzle is tightly attached to the injection portion of the container by the spring force, if the spring force is too strong, it may not be possible to position the container vertically with high precision.

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0014] [First embodiment] Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a load port as a gas injection device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the load port 100.

[0015] The load port 100 functions as an interface between manufacturing equipment used in various manufacturing processes of semiconductor devices.

[0016] The load port 100 has a mounting table 2 on which a carrier 10 (carrier cassette) serving as a container for accommodating a plurality of semiconductor wafer substrates (hereinafter referred to as wafers) W is mounted. The carrier 10 is a FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod) serving as a sealed container.

[0017] The mounting table 2 has a base housing 22 and a plate-shaped carrier base 21 provided on the base housing 22. The carrier 10 is configured to be mounted on the carrier base 21. A passage opening 16 through which the wafer W passes is provided on the front side of the carrier 10 mounted on the carrier base 21, i.e., on the rear side in the Y-axis direction in FIG. 1 . Opposite the passage opening 16 is provided an opening / closing device 15 for opening and closing a lid 105 of the carrier 10.

[0018] The opening and closing device 15 is equipped with a key that is inserted into a keyhole (not shown) provided in the lid 105 of the carrier 10. The opening and closing device 15 uses the key to unlock and lock the lid 105 of the carrier 10, thereby opening and closing the lid 105, and removing and attaching the lid 105 to and from the main body of the carrier 10. The opening and closing device 15 is capable of, for example, moving the lid 105 removed from the main body of the carrier 10 downward or sideways. This opens the passage opening 16, and the inside of the manufacturing device (not shown) communicates with the inside of the carrier 10 via the passage opening 16.

[0019] The carrier base 21 is movable in the Y-axis direction by a slider mechanism (not shown) provided in the base housing 22. This allows the carrier base 21 to move the carrier 10 placed on the carrier base 21 to a position where the opening / closing device 15 opens and closes the lid 105 of the carrier 10 as described above.

[0020] Three injection nozzles 5 (5a, 5b, 5c) are arranged on the periphery of carrier base 21 for injecting inert gas into carrier 10 placed on carrier base 21, and one discharge nozzle 5' is also arranged for discharging gas from inside carrier 10. Injection nozzles 5 and discharge nozzle 5' are each held by a nozzle holder 6. Mounting members 9 are connected to nozzle holder 6, and nozzle holders 6 are each attached to predetermined positions on the periphery of carrier base 21 via mounting members 9. This allows injection nozzle 5 and discharge nozzle 5' to move integrally with carrier base 21 by the slider mechanism.

[0021] FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the main parts of the mounting table 2 as seen from the side. An opening 221 is provided in the upper surface of the base housing 22 of the mounting table 2, and an injection nozzle 5 and an exhaust nozzle 5' are provided so as to be exposed upward from within the base housing 22 through this opening 221. These injection nozzles 5 are connected to elements necessary for supplying the inert gas, such as an inert gas supply source such as a gas cylinder (not shown), piping connected to the supply source, and an on-off valve connected to the piping. Part of the piping, the on-off valve, etc. are housed within the base housing 22. Furthermore, the exhaust nozzle 5' is connected to a blower or a vacuum pump via piping and an on-off valve. Nitrogen, helium, argon, etc. are used as the inert gas.

[0022] 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of, for example, injection nozzle 5a, of the three injection nozzles 5a, 5b, and 5c, which is provided on the front side of load port 100 (rear side of carrier 10). This load port 100 is equipped with an elevation drive unit 4 that raises and lowers injection nozzle 5a.

[0023] The three injection nozzles 5a, 5b, and 5c, the nozzle holder 6, and the lift drive unit 4 are all identical in configuration. The discharge nozzle 5' is also equipped with the same nozzle holder 6 and lift drive unit 4. There are some differences in the configuration of the injection nozzle 5 and the discharge nozzle 5' in terms of their functions, but they are essentially the same.

[0024] As shown in Figure 4, lifting drive unit 4 has air cylinders 41 attached to both sides of nozzle holder 6 as cylinder drive mechanisms driven by fluid pressure. Mounting plate 42 is connected to the working end of air cylinder 41, and injection nozzle 5a is attached to mounting plate 42. Therefore, air cylinder 41 drives mounting plate 42 to move up and down, thereby driving injection nozzle 5a to move up and down.

[0025] Nozzle holder 6 has a main body 62 with a cylindrical recess 62a at its bottom, and a cover 61 attached to main body 62 to close recess 62a, and holds injection nozzle 5a so that it can be raised and lowered. Injection nozzle 5a has a flange 51 on its side, and is held by nozzle holder 6 so that this flange 51 is positioned within recess 62a of nozzle holder 6. In relation to flange 51 of injection nozzle 5a, cover 61 functions as a stopper for the upper limit position when injection nozzle 5 is raised by air cylinder 41. A flow path 52 is provided inside injection nozzle 5a, and the lower part of flow path 52 is connected to a pipe (not shown).

[0026] The piping arranged inside base housing 22 is flexible. A spring may be provided on the underside of flange 51 of injection nozzle 5a as a support member for supporting injection nozzle 5a. In this case, the function of this spring is not to press the injection nozzle against injection portion 102 of carrier 10 (see FIG. 5) as in the conventional case, but simply to support the injection nozzle, so there is no need for high design precision, such as designing a spring constant with an appropriate balance as described below.

[0027] 2 to 4, the carrier base 21 is provided with a plurality of kinematic pins 7 as positioning pins for positioning the carrier 10, protruding from above the carrier base 21. For example, three kinematic pins 7 are provided, but the number is not limited to this. In addition, a seating sensor 8 is provided on the carrier base 21 to detect whether the carrier 10 is positioned and placed on the carrier base 21. There may be a plurality of seating sensors 8.

[0028] 5 is a diagram showing the bottom of carrier 10. Positioning grooves 101 into which kinematic pins 7 fit and engage are provided in bottom 103 of carrier 10, respectively, to correspond to the arrangement of the kinematic pins 7. In addition, bottom 103 is provided with inlet section 102 and outlet section 102', with which inlet nozzle 5 and outlet nozzle 5' contact, respectively, to correspond to the arrangement of the nozzles 5, 5'.

[0029] 4, for example, the injection section 102 is provided with an opening 1021 provided in the bottom 103 of the carrier 10 and a grommet seal 1022 fitted into this opening 1021. The outer and inner diameters of the grommet seal 1022 are predetermined in relation to the diameter and outer diameter of the flow path 52 of the injection nozzle 5. The configuration of the discharge section 102′ is also substantially the same as the configuration of the injection section 102.

[0030] The positioning groove 101 has a V-shape in cross section as shown in FIG. 4, and the upper curved surface of the kinematic pin 7 abuts in a balanced manner against the opposing wall surfaces in the positioning groove 101, thereby positioning the carrier 10.

[0031] The number and arrangement of the injection nozzles 5, discharge nozzles 5', and kinematic pins 7 provided on the load port 100 may be any configuration as long as they are consistent with the number and arrangement of the injection sections 102, discharge sections 102', and positioning grooves 101 provided on the carrier 10. The number and arrangement of these depend on the standard.

[0032] The operation of the load port 100 configured as above will now be described.

[0033] For example, when an OHT (Overhead Transportation) (not shown) or other transfer robot transfers a carrier 10 containing wafers W from another location to this load port 100, the carrier 10 is placed on the mounting table 2 of this load port 100. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the carrier base 21 is positioned on the front side (right side in FIG. 3). Also, at this time, as shown in FIG. 4, the injection nozzle 5a (and the other injection nozzles 5b, 5c, and discharge nozzle 5') are waiting at the height of their standby positions.

[0034] When carrier 10 is handed over from the transport robot to carrier base 21, carrier 10 is positioned at a predetermined position by the action of kinematic pins 7 and positioning grooves 101 of carrier 10. At this time, seating sensor 8 detects that carrier 10 has been placed at the predetermined position on carrier base 21. Even when carrier 10 is positioned in this manner, the upper end of injection nozzle 5 has not yet come into contact with injection portion 102 of bottom 103 of carrier 10, as shown in FIG. 4. In other words, the standby position of injection nozzle 5 is a position where the upper end of injection nozzle 5 is lower than the position of bottom 103 of carrier 10 (particularly injection portion 102) when kinematic pins 7 are engaged with positioning grooves 101 and carrier 10 is placed on carrier base 21.

[0035] After the carrier 10 is positioned, that is, after the seating state of the carrier 10 is confirmed by the seating sensor 8, the injection nozzle 5 is raised by the drive of the lifting drive unit 4 as shown in FIG. 6, and the upper end of the injection nozzle 5 comes into contact with the grommet seal 1022 of the injection part 102. Then, the above-mentioned on-off valve opens, and inert gas supplied from a supply source (not shown) is injected into the carrier 10 through the injection nozzle 5 and the injection part 102. Furthermore, at substantially the same timing as this injection operation, air inside the carrier 10 is discharged through the discharge part 102' and the discharge nozzle 5'. Alternatively, the air inside the carrier 10 may first be removed to a certain extent through the discharge nozzle 5' to reduce the pressure inside the carrier 10, and then the inert gas may be injected into the carrier 10.

[0036] After or while the inert gas is injected into the carrier 10, the carrier base 21 moves rearward (leftward in FIG. 3 ) along the Y-axis direction, causing the lid 105 of the carrier 10 to come into contact with the passage opening 16. Then, the opening / closing device 15 unlocks the lid 105 of the carrier 10 and removes the lid 105 from the main body of the carrier 10, thereby connecting the inside of the carrier 10 to the inside of the manufacturing equipment via the passage opening 16. Then, a transfer robot (not shown) in the manufacturing equipment takes out the wafers W from the carrier 10, and the manufacturing equipment performs a predetermined process on the wafers W.

[0037] After the wafers W are processed, a transfer robot in the manufacturing equipment places the processed wafers W into the carrier 10 through the passage 16. When a predetermined number of wafers W are placed in the carrier 10, the opening / closing device 15 attaches and locks the lid 105 to the body of the carrier 10. Then, the carrier base 21 moves forward along the Y-axis direction, returning the carrier 10 to the position where it was initially placed on the carrier base 21.

[0038] As described above, in this embodiment, when carrier 10 is placed on carrier base 21, kinematic pin 7 engages with positioning groove 101 provided in bottom 103 of carrier 10, thereby positioning carrier 10 on mounting table 2. Then, from this state, lift drive unit 4 brings injection nozzle 5 and discharge nozzle 5' into contact with injection section 102 and discharge section 102' of carrier 10, respectively. Therefore, a situation does not occur in which injection nozzle 5 (or discharge nozzle 5') gets caught on injection section 102 (or discharge section 102') of carrier 10 before carrier 10 is positioned on mounting table 2. That is, according to this embodiment, carrier 10 can be reliably positioned on mounting table 2.

[0039] Furthermore, even if casting nozzle 5 is elastically mounted on carrier base 21 by the above-mentioned support spring or the like and the spring force is too strong, carrier 10 can be positioned in the vertical direction on carrier base 21 by appropriately controlling the driving force of air cylinder 41. On the other hand, if the spring force is too weak, the adhesion force between casting part 102 of carrier 10 and casting nozzle 5 will be insufficient, as described above. In other words, providing a spring in the casting nozzle requires high design precision for the spring force, but this problem does not occur in this embodiment because it is sufficient to control the driving force of air cylinder 41.

[0040] In particular, when carrier 10 is transferred from above to load port 100 using an OHT and placed on mounting table 2, carrier 10 swings mainly left and right, which causes the above-mentioned problems and makes positioning difficult in conventional load port structures in which the nozzle protrudes significantly from the mounting table due to spring force. In this embodiment, even if carrier 10 swings left and right after being transferred by the OHT, injection nozzle 5e will not come into contact with carrier 10 before positioning.

[0041] In particular, by using a rubber grommet seal 1022 in the injection section 102 (or discharge section 102'), the coefficient of friction between the injection nozzle 5 and the grommet seal 1022 becomes larger than the coefficient of friction between the kinematic pin 7 and the positioning groove 101 of the carrier 10. Therefore, in the past, the injection nozzle was prone to getting caught on the injection section of the carrier. Incidentally, the injection nozzle 5 is made of metal, the kinematic pin 7 is made of metal or resin, and the main body of the carrier 10 is made of resin.

[0042] In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 4, the position of the upper end of the injection nozzle 5 (or discharge nozzle 5') in the standby position is lower than the injection part 102 of the carrier 10 in the positioned state. Therefore, when the carrier 10 is positioned on the mounting table 2, there is no interference between the injection nozzle 5 (or discharge nozzle 5') and the carrier 10. This allows the carrier 10 to be reliably positioned on the mounting table 2.

[0043] In this embodiment, an air cylinder 41 is used in the lift drive unit 4. Unlike spring force, the air cylinder 41 provides a constant drive force regardless of the stroke amount, so that the injection nozzle 5 (or discharge nozzle 5') can be easily brought into contact with the injection part 102 (or discharge part 102') of the carrier 10 with the desired force. Furthermore, compared to other drive sources that use electromagnetic motors, the air cylinder 41 has a simpler configuration, and because it is driven by air pressure, its control is also simple, offering advantages such as light weight, ease of maintenance, and durability.

[0044] [Second embodiment] 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a lift drive unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention, which is applied to a load port in the same manner as described above. In the description of this second embodiment, the description of the same components and functions as those included in the load port 100 according to the first embodiment will be simplified or omitted, and the differences will be mainly described.

[0045] The lifting drive unit 54 has a housing 541 for lifting and lowering the injection nozzle 55. The injection nozzle 55 is provided so that a portion of it is exposed through an opening 541a provided in the top surface of the housing 541. A flange portion 551 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the injection nozzle 55. A cylindrical bellows 542 that supports the lifting and lowering movement of the injection nozzle 55 is connected between the flange portion 551 of the injection nozzle 55 and a connecting portion 547 formed on the inner wall surface of the housing 541. The bellows 542 divides the interior of the housing 541 into two pressure chambers (first and second pressure chambers) 545 and 546. An inlet portion 543 that introduces an inert gas into the pressure chamber 545 and an exhaust portion 544 that exhausts the gas in the pressure chamber 546 are respectively provided in the two pressure chambers 545 and 546. An inert gas flow path 552 provided in the injection nozzle 55 is connected to the interior of the pressure chamber 545.

[0046] In such an elevation drive unit 54, an inert gas is introduced into the pressure chamber 545, and air is discharged from the pressure chamber 546. This generates a pressure difference between the two pressure chambers 545 and 546. In this case, the introduction section 543 and the exhaust section 544 function as a pressure difference generating mechanism (pressure generating mechanism). If the flow path resistance of the flow path 552 in the injection nozzle 55 is set relatively high, it is possible to generate a pressure difference between the two pressure chambers 545 and 546.

[0047] When a pressure difference occurs between the two pressure chambers 545 and 546, the injection nozzle 55 rises and the bellows 542 expands, contacting the injection part 102 at the bottom 103 of the carrier 10. At this time, since the gas pressure in the pressure chamber 545 is increased, the inert gas in the pressure chamber 545 is injected into the carrier 10 through the flow path 552 in the injection nozzle 55 and the injection part 102.

[0048] As described above, in this embodiment, by generating a pressure difference between pressure chambers 545 and 546, injection nozzle 55 connected to bellows 542 is driven by that pressure difference. In this way, injection nozzle 55 itself becomes the piston of a cylinder, and therefore the entire lift drive unit 54 can be made smaller.

[0049] In addition, the lifting drive unit 54 drives the injection nozzle 55 by using the injection of the inert gas into the carrier 10, so no separate pressure transmission medium is required.

[0050] [Other embodiments] The embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various other embodiments may be realized.

[0051] In the above embodiments, the inert gas is injected into the carrier 10, but dry air may be injected into the carrier 10 instead of the inert gas.

[0052] In each of the above embodiments, the air cylinder 41 is used as the drive source of the lift drive unit 4, but a ball screw, a belt, a rack and pinion, an electromagnetic linear actuator, or the like may also be used. Furthermore, the number of drive sources (air cylinder 41 in the above embodiment) is not limited to two, and may be one or three or more.

[0053] In each of the above embodiments, the gas injection and exhaust device has been described as being applied to the load port 100, but the gas injection device can also be applied to a stocker that stores the carrier 10, other purge stations, etc.

[0054] In the above embodiments, a semiconductor wafer substrate is taken as an example of the object to be accommodated in the carrier 10, but the object is not limited to this and may be a glass substrate used for a display device, a photoelectric conversion device, or the like.

[0055] In the second embodiment, when a pressure difference is generated between the pressure chambers 545 and 546, it is also possible to simply introduce an inert gas into the pressure chamber 545 without actively exhausting the gas from the exhaust unit 544. In other words, the pressure chamber 546 may be naturally exhausted.

[0056] Alternatively, the inert gas may not be introduced from inlet portion 543, but may be exhausted from exhaust portion 544, and the inert gas may be supplied to injection nozzle 55 through a separate route. The lifting drive unit according to the second embodiment can also be applied to an exhaust nozzle that exhausts gas. [Explanation of symbols]

[0057] W...wafer 2...Placement table 4, 54...Lifting drive unit (corresponding to the drive unit) 5 (5a, 5b and 5c), 55... Injection nozzle (corresponding to nozzle) 5'...Discharge nozzle (equivalent to nozzle) 7...Kinematic pin (equivalent to a positioning pin) 10...Carrier (equivalent to a container) 41...Air cylinder 100...Load port (equivalent to the equipment that carries the gas injection device) 101... Positioning groove 102...Injection part 102'...Discharge section 103...bottom

Claims

1. A container purging device including a mounting table on which a substrate container capable of accommodating substrates is mounted, the container purging device is provided so as to protrude from the mounting table and includes a positioning pin that engages with a bottom of the substrate accommodation container, and an injection nozzle that can be raised and lowered from the mounting table, and after the injection nozzle is brought into contact with an injection part that is provided at the bottom of the substrate accommodation container, an inert gas or dry air is supplied into the substrate accommodation container through the injection part, A container purging device characterized in that the injection nozzle is configured so as not to exceed the height of the positioning pin even when raised.

2. A container purging device as described in claim 1, wherein the injection nozzle has a gas passage provided therein and is held by a nozzle holder, and the nozzle holder is provided with an injection port for injecting gas from a direction intersecting the gas passage of the injection nozzle.

3. A container purging device as described in claim 1, wherein the injection nozzle has a gas passage provided therein and is held by a nozzle holder, and gas is introduced into the nozzle via a gas introduction pipe extending in a direction intersecting the gas passage.

4. A container purging device as described in any of claims 1 to 3, comprising a first regulating portion that regulates the downward movement range of the injection nozzle when the injection nozzle abuts against it, and a second regulating portion that regulates the upward movement range of the injection nozzle when the injection nozzle abuts against it, and the second regulating portion is configured to prevent the injection nozzle from rising beyond the height of the positioning pin.

5. A container purging device as described in any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the mounting table has a carrier base that moves horizontally by a slider mechanism, and the positioning pin and the injection nozzle are configured to move together with the carrier base after or during gas injection from the injection nozzle into the substrate storage container.

6. A container purging device described in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the raising and lowering operation of the injection nozzle is performed by an air cylinder.

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