Wet cleaning method of door of foup

Abstract

A wet cleaning method of door of foup, including placing the door horizontally, so that a inner surface of the door with an annular rubber ring is exposed upwards, and an outer surface of the door with a plurality of functional slots is exposed downwards, and the inner surface of the door and the rubber ring are flushed from top to bottom by supplying cleaning liquid, wherein the flushing path of the cleaning liquid is excluded through the outer surface and the functional slots, so as to avoid the cleaning liquid flowing into one of the inner compartments of the door and become stagnant water that is not easy to remove.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This invention relates to cleaning technology for material boxes, and particularly to a wet cleaning method for the door panels of a material box. [Previous Technology]

[0002] The material box referred to in this invention specifically refers to the commonly seen front-opening unified pod (FOUP), which consists of a hollow shell and a door. In semiconductor manufacturing processes, material boxes (FOUPs) are commonly used to house wafers and fill them with special gases. The material boxes are then transported to various processing stations by overhead cranes (OHTs) for semiconductor wafer processing. In addition, these material boxes are increasingly being used to house substrates, panels, or other precision components, facilitating their transport by overhead crane to various processing stations for necessary processing.

[0003] Taking semiconductor manufacturing processes as an example, the basic structure and specifications of this material box have been standardized and defined. Please refer further to Figures 1a to 1c, which reveal that the structure of the material box 10 includes a box base 11 and a door panel 12. Figure 1a shows the box base 11 and the door panel 12 locked together; Figure 1b shows the door panel 12 separated from the box base 11 after being unlocked. It shows that the box base 11 is roughly a hollow quadrilateral and has a housing 16 enclosed by a shell and an opening 13 that connects to the housing 16 and opens to the outside. The housing 16 is surrounded by an inner wall surface 110, which has a series of slots 111 for positioning wafers. The box base 11 also has a dedicated slot on one end wall for positioning wafers. A flange 15 (commonly known as a mushroom head) for crane gripping; in addition, the door panel 12 is roughly quadrilateral and can be locked onto the opening 13 of the box seat 11; Figures 1b and 1c together reveal that the door panel 12 has an outer surface 121 exposed outside the box seat 11, an inner surface 122 located at the opposite end of the outer surface 121 and can be hidden inside the box seat, and an end wall 123 extending from the inner surface 122 and surrounding it, and the end wall 123 surrounds the outer surface 121.

[0004] Further, Figure 1b reveals that the end wall 123 has a plurality of protruding latches 17 for locking the door panel 12 on the box seat 11. The latches 17 are respectively assembled in an ear hole 171 and can be movably retracted into and out of the end wall 123. It is also known that there is an inner compartment 125 between the outer surface 121 and the inner surface 122 for accommodating an unlocking mechanism (not shown). The unlocking mechanism and the latches 17 are linked to control the retraction and extension of the latches 17 into and out of the end wall 123. In addition, Figure 1b also reveals that the outer surface 121 has a plurality of functional slots A communicating with the inner compartment 125. The plurality of functional slots A include a pair of keyholes A1, a pair of positioning holes A2, and a plurality of drainage holes A3. Wherein: the end wall is provided with a plurality of ear holes communicating with the inner compartment, and each ear hole is provided with a latch for locking the box seat.

[0005] The paired keyholes A1 are used to provide a pair of keys for insertion into the outside, which are used to activate the unlocking mechanism to retract the latch 17 on the ear hole 171 into the end wall 123, thereby opening the door 12 on the box base 11; correspondingly, the door 12 can also be fastened and locked to the opening 13 of the box base 11 by the extension of the latch 17. The ear hole 171 is also connected to the inner compartment 125 so that the latch 17 can accept the activation of the unlocking mechanism.

[0006] In addition, the paired positioning holes A2 are used to position the door panel 12 on the worktable of the processing process, or to position the material box 10 that has locked the box base 11 and the door panel 12. Furthermore, the plurality of drainage holes A3 also connect to the inner compartment 125, so the drainage holes A3 are used to drain the water accumulated in the inner compartment 125 (described in detail later); also, some conventional door panels 12 have additional slots on the end wall 123 that connect to the inner compartment 125 (not shown in the figure), which will be described.

[0007] Furthermore, Figure 1c reveals that the inner surface 122 has an annular airtight rubber ring 14 for maintaining the airtight effect when the door panel 12 and the housing 11 are locked together. In addition, the inner surface 122 of the door panel 12 also has a plurality of slots 124 that can correspond to the slots 111 in the housing 16 to position the wafer.

[0008] The aforementioned material box 10 must undergo a cleaning process after a period of use. This cleaning process sequentially includes washing, dehydration, and drying steps to remove harmful substances accumulated or remaining on the box base 11 and door panel 12. These harmful substances include dust particles, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), sulfur dioxide (SO2), ammonia, acids, and NH3. After the material box undergoes this cleaning process, the levels of these harmful substances are reduced, thereby maintaining the production yield of the process components (e.g., wafers) during the manufacturing process. Therefore, most processing stations where the material box 10 carries process components have a dedicated cleaning station for performing the aforementioned cleaning process on the material box 10.

[0009] The cleaning area station is generally equipped with at least one cleaning machine, which is responsible for performing the cleaning steps in the cleaning process. In some cases, the same cleaning machine can perform steps including wet cleaning, dehydration, and drying. Each cleaning machine has a cleaning chamber for placing the material boxes 10 to be cleaned. The cleaning machine also has fluid pipes for supplying cleaning fluid and blowing gas, as well as heating elements for providing heat energy for drying.

[0010] Furthermore, before cleaning, the door 12 and the box seat 11 of the material box 10 must be unlocked and separated, and then transported by an automatic tool such as a robotic arm into the cleaning machine to receive cleaning by the cleaning liquid, gas and heating element.

[0011] In this invention, the focus is on discussing the wet cleaning of the door panel 12 and the housing 11 using cleaning fluid in the prior art within the cleaning machine. Specifically, according to the prior art, the door panel 12 and the housing 11 can be placed in the same cleaning chamber of the same cleaning machine to receive fluid rinsing simultaneously, or the door panel 12 and the housing 11 can be classified and cleaned separately using cleaning chambers of multiple cleaning machines.

[0012] Furthermore, in order to maintain the process quality of processed objects (such as wafers), manufacturers in the industry have very high requirements for the cleanliness of the walls and surfaces of the housing 16. In other words, the cleanliness requirements of the inner surface 122 (including the slot 124) of the door panel 12 and its airtight rubber ring 14, as well as the inner wall surface 110 (including the slot 111) of the box base 11, are relatively higher than those of the outer surface 122 of the door panel 12 and the outer wall surface of the box base 11, so as to avoid the processed objects placed in the housing 16 from being contaminated by the harmful substances.

[0013] Please refer to Figure 2a, which discloses a first type of material box cleaning machine 21. The box base 11 is placed with its opening 13 facing downward in its cleaning chamber 210, and the door panels 12 are placed vertically at intervals on one side of the box base 11, with the inner surface 122 of the door panel 12 facing the box base 11 relatively close to it, and the outer surface 121 being relatively far away from the box base 11. At the same time, multiple nozzles 211, 212 and 213 are arranged in the cleaning chamber 210 between the inner surface 122 and the outer wall surface 11 of the box base 11, around the outer wall surface 11 of the box base 11 and in the accommodating compartment 16, respectively, to simultaneously supply cleaning fluid to rinse the door panels 12 and the box base 11.

[0014] However, although some of the nozzles 211 of the plurality of nozzles are distributed between the inner surface 122 and the housing 11, they can simultaneously laterally rinse the inner surface 122, which requires a high degree of cleanliness, the airtight rubber ring 14 thereon, and the outer wall surface 11 of the housing 11. However, during the wet cleaning process, the cleaning fluid will splash everywhere in the cleaning chamber 210, and the inner surface 122 and the airtight rubber ring 14 of the door panel 12, which require a high degree of cleanliness, are adjacent to the outer wall surface 11 of the housing 11 and are rinsed. This makes the inner surface 122 and the airtight rubber ring 14 easily cross-contaminated by the cleaning fluid splashed from the outer wall surface 11 of the housing during the cleaning process. In addition, although the outer surface 121 with the plurality of functional slots A (as shown in Figure 1b) faces outward and does not directly face the cleaning fluid, the cleaning fluid splashed everywhere in the cleaning chamber 210 can still be rinsed through the outer surface shown in Figure 1b. The keyhole A1 and drain hole A3 on the surface 121, as well as the ear hole 171 or other through holes on the end wall 123, flow into and accumulate in the inner compartment 125. Furthermore, since the door panel 12 is washed vertically, it is not conducive to the sufficient drainage of the cleaning fluid accumulated in the inner compartment 125 from the ear hole 171. It is also known that the more cleaning fluid accumulates in the inner compartment 125, the longer the cleaning time required for sequential air blowing and drying by the heating element after cleaning, which results in the inability to improve the cleaning and purification efficiency of the door panel 12, or the problem that cleaning the door panel 12 is too time-consuming. Therefore, it is urgent to improve this.

[0015] Please refer to Figure 2b, which discloses a second type of material box cleaning machine 22. The difference between this machine and the cleaning machine shown in Figure 2a is that, in the cleaning chamber 220, the door panel 12 is placed horizontally above the box base 11, with the inner surface 122 of the door panel 12 facing down and the outer surface 121 facing up. The plurality of nozzles 221 and a portion of the nozzles 222 spray cleaning liquid from bottom to top to rinse the inner surface 122, which requires a high degree of cleanliness, and the airtight rubber ring 14 thereon.

[0016] However, since the inner surface 122 and the airtight rubber ring 14 on the door panel 12, which require high cleanliness, are facing downwards and adjacent to the outer wall surface 11 of the box base 11 for rinsing, the inner surface 122 and the airtight rubber ring 14 are still easily cross-contaminated by the cleaning fluid splashed from the outer wall surface 11 of the box base during the cleaning process; in addition, although the outer surface 121, which exposes multiple functional slots A (as shown in Figure 1b), faces upwards and does not directly face the cleaning fluid, the cleaning fluid splashed everywhere in the cleaning chamber 210 will still be contaminated by the cleaning fluid on the outer surface 121. The cleaning fluid flows into the inner compartment 125 through the keyhole A1, drain hole A3, and ear hole 171 or other through holes on the end wall 123 and accumulates there. Moreover, since both the drain hole A3 and the keyhole A1 face upwards, it is even more difficult to drain the cleaning fluid accumulated in the inner compartment 125. Furthermore, the more cleaning fluid accumulates in the inner compartment 125, the longer the cleaning time required for sequential air blowing and drying by the heating element after cleaning. This also results in the inability to improve the cleaning efficiency of the door panel 12, or the problem that cleaning the door panel 12 is too time-consuming. Therefore, improvements are still needed. [Summary of the Invention]

[0017] The technical problem to be overcome by the present invention is to minimize the accumulation of cleaning fluid in the inner compartment of the door panel of the material box shown in Figures 1a to 1c during the rinsing process of the cleaning fluid, or even if the inner compartment has accumulated cleaning fluid, it can still be smoothly discharged from the drain hole to the outside of the door panel.

[0018] To this end, the present invention provides a wet cleaning method for the door panel of the material box shown in Figures 1a to 1c, comprising: horizontally placing the door panel with the inner surface having the annular airtight rubber ring facing upward and the outer surface having the functional slot facing downward; defining a door panel rinsing path from top to bottom; and supplying cleaning fluid along the door panel rinsing path to rinse the inner surface and the airtight rubber ring of the door panel; wherein the door panel rinsing path excludes passage through the outer surface and the functional slot, the door panel is placed on a pair of fasteners to receive rinsing of the cleaning fluid, and the fasteners cover the buckle ears and the ear holes to prevent contact with the cleaning fluid.

[0019] In a further implementation, the directional definition of the door panel washing path includes at least one of vertical and oblique directions from top to bottom.

[0020] In a further embodiment, the wet cleaning method is performed in a cleaning chamber, wherein the cleaning fluid supplied to the door panel rinsing path is provided by a plurality of door panel nozzles disposed within the cleaning chamber. The cleaning chamber provides a support for holding the door panel, and the fasteners are disposed around a horizontal area of ​​the support.

[0021] In a further embodiment, the fastener bears the weight of the door piece when it is placed and holds the door piece in a flipping manner. When the weight of the door piece is released, the fastener releases the door piece by means of the torque generated by the weight of the fastener itself in an automatic flipping reset manner.

[0022] In another implementation, the fastener can be replaced by a support that does not generally cover the buckle lug and ear hole, but only provides a fastening function when the door panel is placed.

[0023] In a further embodiment, the method further includes: horizontally placing the housing base such that an opening in the housing base for locking the door panel faces downwards, and positioning the housing base below the door panel; defining an inner wall rinsing path of the housing base from the inside out and an outer wall rinsing path of the housing base from the outside in; supplying cleaning fluid along the inner wall rinsing path of the housing base to rinse an inner wall surface of the housing base, and supplying cleaning fluid along the outer wall rinsing path of the housing base to rinse an outer wall surface of the housing base; wherein the outer wall surface of the housing base is relatively adjacent to the outer surface of the door panel and relatively far from the inner surface of the door panel. Furthermore, the cleaning fluid supplied by the door panel rinsing path, the inner wall rinsing path of the housing base, and the outer wall rinsing path of the housing base is provided by a plurality of nozzles disposed only around the perimeter of the cleaning chamber. In a further embodiment, the cleaning chamber provides a support for layering the door panel and the housing base, and the fastener is disposed around a horizontal area of ​​the support.

[0024] The effects that the present invention can achieve include:

[0025] 1. The inner surface of the door panel, which requires a high degree of cleanliness, and the airtight rubber ring are positioned so that they face upwards to receive direct rinsing of the cleaning fluid from top to bottom, and are relatively far away from the outer wall of the box seat, which is prone to splashing of the cleaning fluid, so as to avoid cross-contamination of the inner surface of the door panel and the airtight rubber ring by the cleaning fluid.

[0026] 2. Make the outer surface of the door panel with the functional slots face downwards to facilitate the discharge of cleaning fluid that may accidentally flow into the inner compartment of the door panel, thereby improving the problem that the door panel takes a long time to perform the blowing and drying process after wet cleaning.

[0027] 3. To enable the fastener to open and close the placement opening by its own weight, thereby simplifying the structure of the fastener in wet cleaning environments.

[0028] 4. The fastener also has the ability to block cleaning fluid, so as to provide that after the door is placed, the cleaning fluid can be laterally blocked from flowing into the inner compartment from the ear hole or other through hole of the end wall of the door.

[0029] The implementation details and technical effects disclosed above will be presented in detail in the following figures and implementation methods.

Implementation Method

[0030] First, please refer to Figure 3, which discloses a preferred execution procedure for performing a wet cleaning method on the door panel 12 of the material box 10 shown in Figures 1a to 1c. Please also refer to Figures 4a to 4c for further explanation of the implementation details of the wet cleaning procedure shown in Figure 3. Wherein:

[0031] Figure 4a discloses a cleaning machine 30 according to the present invention, specifically used to perform a cleaning process on the aforementioned FOUP (Factory Container Upset), the cleaning process including wet cleaning, dehydration, and drying steps. In this invention, the focus is on describing the step of the cleaning machine 30 performing wet cleaning on the FOUP 10 shown in Figure 1b. Since the FOUP 10 has been unlocked and separated into the door panel 12 and the container base 11 before wet cleaning, the cleaning machine 30 shown in Figure 4a is mainly used to perform wet cleaning on the door panel 12 alone.

[0032] Furthermore, the cleaning machine 30 disclosed in FIG4a may be formed by a housing having a cleaning chamber 31, which is connected to the atmosphere and accommodates a bare hollow support 32 for supporting the door panel 12, which provides a horizontal surface area S for accommodating the door panel 12. Within the applicable implementation scope, the cleaning machine 30 is provided with a hatch that can open and close the cleaning chamber 31. The support frame 32 can move in and out of the hatch and the cleaning chamber 31 via a lifter. A door can also be provided on the support frame 32 to close the hatch when the support frame 32 enters the cleaning chamber 31. In addition, a plurality of door nozzles 33 for supplying the cleaning fluid are fixedly installed at intervals on the upper layer of the cleaning chamber 31. The support frame 32 can also rotate within the cleaning chamber 31 by a drive to rotate the door panels 12 within the support frame 32, thereby fully receiving the cleaning fluid sprayed by the door nozzles 33 for rinsing. Alternatively, the door nozzles 33 can also be installed on the support frame 32, and thus rotate with the support frame 32 within the cleaning chamber 31, spraying cleaning fluid to rinse the door panels 12.

[0033] Figures 4b to 4c sequentially disclose the implementation of steps S10 to S20 shown in Figure 3, including:

[0034] Step S10: Place the door panel horizontally.

[0035] As shown in Figures 4b and 4c, this step can be achieved by using automated machinery such as a robotic arm to move the door panel 12, exposing the inner surface 122 of the door panel 12 with the airtight rubber ring 14 facing upwards, and then horizontally placing the door panel 12 on the horizontal surface area S of the support frame 32. The door panel 12 can be inserted into the horizontal surface area S when the support frame 32 extends out of the hatch of the cleaning machine 30, or when the hatch is opened to expose the horizontal surface area S of the support frame 32, and then horizontally placed on the support frame 32.

[0036] Further, the horizontal plane region S can be formed by a plurality of pairs of bearing seats 40 spaced apart around the support frame 32; or, the plurality of pairs of bearing seats 40 are spaced apart on the support frame 32 to form the horizontal plane region S based on the relative positions of the latches 17 and their ear holes 171 on the end wall 123 of the door panel 12, or the relative positions of other through holes on the end wall 123 connecting the inner compartment 125, so that the door panel 12 can be stably placed on the plurality of bearing seats 40, maintain a stable horizontal position, and stop moving. Here, "horizontal" refers to the general range of the horizontal plane on the ground surface.

[0037] The bearing 40 can be configured to have a designated horizontal base surface, providing a place for the door panel 12, and can also be configured to have a groove shape with corresponding positions for holding the end wall 123 and / or outer surface 121 of the door panel 12, so as to achieve the effect of horizontal placement. In addition, in another preferred embodiment, the bearing 40 can also be configured as a fastener with a water-blocking function.

[0038] Please refer to Figures 5a to 5c together to reveal a preferred embodiment in which the support 40 is implemented with a water-blocking function, that is, a flip-up fastener serves as the support 40. Figures 5a and 5b together reveal that the fastener (i.e., the support 40) is integrally formed from a fastening arm 41 and a supporting arm 42 at an angle θ close to or equal to 90 degrees, giving the fastener 40 an L-shaped groove shape. One side of the fastening arm 41 forms a backing surface 410, and one side of the supporting arm 42 forms a supporting surface 420. The angle θ is formed between the backing surface 410 and the supporting surface 420, thus forming an L-shaped placement opening 44 between the backing surface 410 and the supporting surface 420. Furthermore, a receiving space 45 can be formed on the abutment surface 410 of the buckle arm 41 to accommodate the buckle ear 17 protruding from the end wall 123 of the door panel 12, and the frame area of ​​the abutment surface 410 is larger than the ear hole 171 or other through hole to be covered; in a variable implementation, the abutment surface 410 can be formed into one of the following shapes: door-shaped, U-shaped, inverted U-shaped, and straight, so that the receiving space 45 is enclosed inside the abutment surface 410 or at its bottom edge.

[0039] Furthermore, the fastener 40 may also form a pivot portion 43 and a stop portion 46. The pivot portion 43 may be in the form of a pivot hole or a pivot shaft, so that the fastener 40 can be pivotally mounted on the support frame 32 by means of the pivot portion 43. Further, the pivot portion 43 may be located at the junction of the buckle arm 41 and the seat arm 42, or relatively close to the seat body 42, so that the center of mass of the buckle arm 41 and the seat arm 42 respectively form a lever arm with respect to the pivot portion 43. Even further, under atmospheric pressure, the buckle arm 41 and the seat arm 42 can be pivoted with respect to the pivot portion 43. Each generates a torque at its center; in this invention, the torque M1 generated by the buckle arm 41 is intentionally designed to be greater than the torque M2 generated by the seat arm 42, so that the buckle 40 can automatically flip up to open the placement opening 44 by its own weight under atmospheric pressure without other external forces (as shown in Figure 5b); wherein, by planning the volume and weight of the buckle arm 41 and the seat arm 42 and the lever arm length between their respective centers of mass and the pivot part 43, the effect of the torque M1 of the buckle arm 41 being greater than the torque M2 of the seat arm 42 can be achieved.

[0040] In addition, the stop 46 protrudes from one side of the buckle 40, and the support 32 is provided with a stop post 35 extending to the side of the buckle 40. The stop post 35 can limit the tilt angle of the buckle 40 when the buckle 40 swings back and forth.

[0041] Specifically, when the torque M1 generated by the weight of the buckle arm 41 is greater than the torque M2 generated by the weight of the seat arm 42, and the buckle 40 swings to the state where the placement opening 44 is open upwards (as shown in Figure 5b), the stop post 35 contacts one side of the outer wall of the buckle arm 41 to limit the swing angle of the buckle 40; wherein, the upward-opening placement opening 44 is used to provide a place for the door piece 12, and the door piece 12 pushes the support surface 420 of the seat arm 42 by its own weight (mg), causing the buckle 40 to swing, wherein the stop part 46 can accept the stop of the stop post 35 to limit the swing angle of the buckle 40, so as to maintain the door piece 12 in a horizontal position after placement (as shown in Figure 5c). Furthermore, when the door panel 12 is removed from the cleaning chamber 31 by the automatic machine after cleaning, the fastener 40 releases the gravity of the door panel 12 and releases the door panel 12 by automatically flipping and resetting, so that the fastener 40 can automatically flip and return to the original position shown in Figure 5b by means of the torque M1 generated by the weight of the fastener arm 41 being greater than the torque M2 generated by the weight of the seat arm 42.

[0042] It is known that in the state shown in FIG5c, the door panel 12 is placed on the fastener 40, the fastener 40 can abut against the end wall 123 of the door panel 12 by means of the abutment surface 410, and the outer surface 121 of the door panel 12 is embedded by means of the bearing surface 420. The abutment surface 410 can completely cover the ear hole 171 on the end wall 123 of the door panel 12, or other through holes on the end wall 123 that connect to the inner compartment 125. The accommodating space 45 can accommodate the buckle 171. Therefore, when the door panel 12 is placed horizontally (as shown in Figure 4b) around the horizontal area S of the support frame 32, the fastener 40 not only provides horizontal placement for the door panel 12, but also has the function of preventing cleaning fluid from flowing into the inner compartment 125 from the ear hole 171 on the end wall 123 of the door panel 12 and accumulating therein. Thus, the fastener 40 has the additional function of covering the buckle 171 and its ear hole 171 to prevent contact with the cleaning fluid. Furthermore, referring to Figure 5d, another embodiment of the fastener 40 is disclosed, which includes a soft pad 50 disposed on the abutment surface 410 adjacent to the placement opening 44. The soft pad 50 can be fixed by means of adhesive or snap-fit. The soft pad 50 can provide better anti-slip and water-proof properties when the end wall 123 of the door panel 12 is abutted.

[0043] Step S20: Rinse the inner surface of the door panel from top to bottom.

[0044] As shown in Figure 4c, the multiple door panel nozzles 33 arranged on the upper layer of the cleaning chamber 31 can spray cleaning fluid from top to bottom following the direction of gravity, thereby defining a door panel rinsing path L1, which is the path through which the multiple door panel nozzles 33 spray cleaning fluid from top to bottom, and the directionality of the door panel rinsing path L1 can include at least one of vertical and oblique directions. Since the inner surface 122 and the airtight rubber ring 14 of the placed door panel 12, which have high cleanliness requirements, are facing upwards, they are relatively far away from the outer wall surface 112 of the box seat 11, which is prone to splashing cleaning fluid. Therefore, the cross-contamination of the inner surface 122 and the airtight rubber ring 14 by the cleaning fluid can be reduced. Moreover, the inner surface 122 and the end wall 123 can also be fully rinsed by the cleaning fluid sprayed along the door panel rinsing path L1 to remove harmful substances adhering to the inner surface 122 and the airtight rubber ring 14.

[0045] It is also known that since the outer surface 121 of the placed door panel 12 faces downward, the plurality of functional slots A exposed on the outer surface 121 (as shown in Figure 1b) also face downward, so that they will not be washed by the cleaning fluid sprayed by the door panel washing path L1; accordingly, the door panel washing path L1 is defined to exclude the passage through the outer surface 121 and the functional slots A. Furthermore, the inner chamber 125 of the door panel 12 can also be opened downwards through multiple functional slots A. Therefore, even if some cleaning fluid sprayed or splashed in other directions accidentally flows into the inner chamber 125 through the functional slots A and the ear holes 171, the inner chamber 125 can smoothly drain the cleaning fluid due to its downward opening characteristic. In addition, the fastener 40 has the additional function of covering the buckle ear 17 and its ear hole 171 to prevent it from contacting the cleaning fluid. Thus, the present invention can fully avoid the accumulation of cleaning fluid in the inner chamber 125 of the door panel 12, which would cause the subsequent blowing and drying processes to be time-consuming.

[0046] In the above description, the fastener 40 is an optional additional component; in other words, any application within the scope of this invention that does not use the fastener 40 but retains the original support that does not have the function of self-weight flipping and covering the buckle ear 17 and ear hole 171 is within the scope of application of this invention.

[0047] Furthermore, the fastener 40 is not specifically designed to cover the buckle lugs 17 and their ear holes 171 on the end wall 123 of the door panel 12; in other words, if the end wall 123 of the door panel 12 has other decorative or functional through holes that require water blocking, the fastener 40 can also cover such decorative or functional through holes while allowing the door panel 12 to be placed. Of course, the fastener 40 can also be configured at a position on the end wall 123 where the decorative or functional through holes do not need to be covered, and only serves to place the door panel 12, which is also within the scope of application conceived by this invention.

[0048] Next, please refer to FIG6, which discloses another preferred execution procedure of the wet cleaning method for the door panel of the material box according to the present invention. Please also refer to FIG7a and FIG7b together to illustrate the implementation details of the wet cleaning procedure shown in FIG6. FIG7a and FIG7b together disclose another cleaning machine 300 for simultaneously wet cleaning the door panel 12 and the box base 11 of the material box 10.

[0049] The difference between the cleaning machine 300 shown in Figure 7a and the cleaning machine 30 shown in Figures 4a to 4c is that the bare hollow support 320, which can be accommodated in the cleaning chamber 310, can support not only the door panel 12 but also the box seat 11. Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment, the upper space of the support 320 can be used to accommodate the door panel 12, and the lower space of the support 320 can be used to accommodate the box seat 11. Accordingly, the horizontal plane S shown in Figure 4a and the support 40 (or fastener) can be arranged in the upper space of the support 320, and multiple pairs of supports 400 (or fasteners) suitable for placing the box seat 11 can be arranged simultaneously in the lower space of the support 320 (as shown in Figure 7a).

[0050] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 7b, in addition to the multiple door nozzles 33 that can supply cleaning fluid arranged in the upper space of the cleaning chamber 310, multiple box nozzles 34 that can supply cleaning fluid are also arranged in the lower space of the cleaning chamber 310. The box nozzles 34 include multiple box outer wall nozzles 341 distributed around the lower space of the cleaning chamber 310, and multiple box inner wall nozzles 342 distributed in the center of the lower space of the cleaning chamber 310. Apart from this, the implementation of the cleaning machine 300 shown in Figures 7a and 7b is roughly the same as the implementation of the cleaning machine 30 shown in Figures 4a to 4c.

[0051] The present invention, using the cleaning machine shown in Figures 7a and 7b, can sequentially execute the implementation contents of steps S100 to S300 as shown in Figure 6, including:

[0052] Step S100: Place the box base horizontally.

[0053] In this step, the box base 11 can be moved by an automated machine such as a robotic arm, so that the box base 11 can be placed on the pair of supports 400 in the lower space of the support frame 320 with the opening 13 facing downward. The supports 400 provide a function that can stably maintain the bottom edge of the box base 11 horizontally. For the rest, please refer to the description of the above-mentioned embodiment shown in FIG4a.

[0054] When the box base 11 is placed, the box base nozzle 34 can be located on the inner and outer periphery of the box base 11, wherein the outer wall nozzle 341 of the box base is located adjacent to the periphery of one of the outer wall surfaces 112 of the box base 11, and the inner wall nozzle 342 of the box base can be implanted in the receiving chamber 16 of the box base 11 and correspond to one of the inner wall surfaces 110 of the box base 11.

[0055] Step S200: Place the door panel horizontally.

[0056] This step is largely the same as step 10 of the aforementioned embodiment, with the slight difference being that after the robotic arm or other automated equipment moves the box base 11 to the support 400 in the lower space of the support frame 320 (that is, after step S100 is completed), it can then move the door piece 12 to the fastener 40 in the upper space of the support frame 320. The implementation of placing the door piece 12 is the same as step S10 of the aforementioned embodiment.

[0057] It must be noted that the implementation order of the above steps S100 and S200 can also be reversed or performed simultaneously; in detail, the technical focus of the present invention is not on the structural function of conventional robotic arms and other automated machines, but can rely on the conventional functions of gripping and carrying of robotic arms and other automated machines to implement the simultaneous or sequential movement of the box base 11 and the door panel 12, as well as the simultaneous or sequential placement of the box base 11 and the door panel 12. These are all within the scope of the present invention's variable applications.

[0058] Once the door panel 12 and the box base 11 are placed as described above, the box base 11 can be positioned below the door panel 12, such that the outer wall surface 112 of the box base 11 is relatively close to the outer surface 121 of the door panel 12 and relatively far away from the inner surface 122 of the door panel 12 (as shown in Figure 7b).

[0059] Step S300: Rinse the outer wall surface, inner wall surface and inner surface of the door panel of the box seat.

[0060] As shown in Figure 7b, the inner wall nozzle 342 of the box seat can define an inner wall rinsing path L2 from the inside to the outside, and the outer wall nozzle 341 of the box seat can define an outer wall rinsing path L3 from the outside to the inside; so that the inner wall nozzle 342 of the box seat can supply cleaning fluid to rinse the inner wall surface 110 of the box seat 11 along the inner wall rinsing path L2, and the outer wall nozzle 341 of the box seat can supply cleaning fluid to rinse the outer wall surface 112 of the box seat 11 along the outer wall rinsing path L3.

[0061] In addition, the inner surface 121 of the door panel 12 is rinsed by spraying cleaning fluid from top to bottom along the door panel rinsing path L1 by a plurality of door panel nozzles 33, which is the same as step 20 of the aforementioned embodiment.

[0062] The door panel nozzle 33 and the box seat nozzle 34 mentioned above can be connected in series to a cleaning fluid supply pipeline to simultaneously or sequentially supply cleaning fluid to rinse the parts indicated by the box seat 11 and the door panel 12.

[0063] According to the configuration of the embodiments shown in Figures 7a and 7b, although the cleaning fluid sprayed by the outer wall nozzles 34 of the box seat around the cleaning cavity 310 will still spray onto the exposed outer surface 121 of the door panel 12 and the multiple functional slots A (as shown in Figure 1b), the cleaning fluid can still be smoothly drained due to the characteristic that the inner compartment 125 is open downward through the functional slots A, thereby avoiding the accumulation of cleaning fluid in the inner compartment 125 of the door panel 12.

[0064] In summary, compared with the prior art, the present invention has the advantage of reducing the time required for subsequent air blowing for dehydration and heating for drying. In the above, the terms "upper," "lower," "inner," and "outer" are defined according to the orientation of the objects shown in the figures.

[0065] Furthermore, the above embodiments are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention should be determined by the claims as defined in the patent application. [Simplified Explanation of the Diagram]

[0066] Figure 1a is a perspective view of the material box. Figure 1b is an exploded perspective view of the material box shown in Figure 1. Figure 1c is a perspective view of the material box shown in Figure 1b after the door panel is flipped over. Figure 2a is a cross-sectional view of the box base and door panel of the material box being cleaned using a first type of conventional cleaning machine. Figure 2b is a cross-sectional view of the box base and door panel of the material box being cleaned using a second type of conventional cleaning machine. Figure 3 is a flowchart of a preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention. Figures 4a to 4c are, in sequence, explanatory diagrams of the operation of the cleaning machine used in Figure 3. Figure 5a is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the support (fastener) shown in Figure 4a. Figures 5b to 5d are, in sequence, explanatory diagrams of the usage state of the support (fastener) shown in Figure 5a. Figure 6 is a flowchart of another preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention. Figures 7a to 7b are, respectively, a perspective view and a cross-sectional view of the cleaning machine used in Figure 6.

Claims

1. A method for wet cleaning a door panel of a material box, the material box comprising the door panel and a base providing a latch for the door panel, the door panel having an inner compartment, an outer surface exposed outside the base, an inner surface located at the opposite end of the outer surface and capable of being concealed within the base, and an end wall surrounding the outer surface and the inner surface, the outer surface having a plurality of functional slots communicating with the inner compartment, the inner surface having an annular airtight rubber ring for airtightly engaging with the base, the end wall having a plurality of ear holes communicating with the inner compartment, each ear hole having a latching lug protruding internally and externally for locking the base, the wet cleaning method being performed after the door panel is unlocked and separated from the base, comprising: The door panel is placed horizontally with the inner surface having the annular airtight rubber ring facing upwards and the outer surface having the functional slot facing downwards; a door panel rinsing path is defined from top to bottom, and cleaning fluid is supplied along the door panel rinsing path to rinse the inner surface and the airtight rubber ring of the door panel; wherein the door panel rinsing path excludes passage through the outer surface and the functional slot, the door panel is placed on a pair of fasteners to receive rinsing with the cleaning fluid, and the fasteners cover the buckle ears and the ear holes to prevent them from contacting the cleaning fluid.

2. A wet cleaning method for the door panel of the material box as described in claim 1, wherein the rinsing path of the door panel is defined by a downward direction including at least one of vertical and oblique directions.

3. The wet cleaning method for the door panel of the material box as described in claim 1, performed in a cleaning chamber, wherein the cleaning fluid supplied to the door panel rinsing path is provided by a plurality of door panel nozzles disposed in the cleaning chamber.

4. A wet cleaning method for the door panel of a material box as described in claim 3, wherein the cleaning chamber provides a support for placing the door panel, and the fasteners are disposed around a horizontal area of ​​the support.

5. The wet cleaning method for the door panel of the material box as described in claim 1, wherein the fastener holds the door panel in a swinging manner by bearing the weight of the door panel when it is placed, and releases the door panel by automatically swinging back to its original position by the torque generated by the weight of the fastener itself when the weight of the door panel is released.

6. A wet cleaning method for the door panel of a material box as described in claim 1 or 5, wherein the end wall further has at least one through-hole communicating with the inner compartment, and the fastener further shields the through-hole from contact with cleaning fluid.

7. The wet cleaning method for the door panel of the material box as described in claim 1, further comprising: The box holder is placed horizontally such that the opening of the box holder for locking the door panel faces downwards, and the box holder is positioned below the door panel; and an inner wall rinsing path of the box holder is defined from the inside out and an outer wall rinsing path of the box holder is defined, and cleaning fluid is supplied to rinse an inner wall surface of the box holder along the inner wall rinsing path of the box holder, and cleaning fluid is supplied to rinse an outer wall surface of the box holder along the outer wall rinsing path of the box holder; wherein the outer wall surface of the box holder is relatively adjacent to the outer surface of the door panel and relatively far away from the inner surface of the door panel.

8. A wet cleaning method for the door panel of the material box as described in claim 7, wherein the door panel is placed after the box seat is placed.

9. The wet cleaning method for the door panel of the material box as described in claim 7, performed in a cleaning chamber, wherein the cleaning fluid supplied to the door panel rinsing path, the inner wall rinsing path of the box seat, and the outer wall rinsing path of the box seat is provided by a plurality of nozzles disposed only around the cleaning chamber.

10. A wet cleaning method for the door panel of a material box as claimed in claim 9, wherein the cleaning chamber provides a support for layering the door panel and the box seat, and the fasteners are disposed around a horizontal area of ​​the support.

11. A method for wet cleaning a door panel of a material box, the material box comprising the door panel and a base providing a latch for the door panel, the door panel having an outer surface exposed outside the base and an inner surface located at the opposite end of the outer surface and capable of being concealed within the base, the outer surface forming a plurality of functional slots, the inner surface having an annular airtight rubber ring for airtight engagement with the base, the wet cleaning method being performed after the door panel is unlocked and separated from the base, comprising: The door panel is placed horizontally with the inner surface having the annular airtight rubber ring facing upwards and the outer surface having the functional slot facing downwards; a door panel rinsing path is defined from top to bottom, and cleaning fluid is supplied along the door panel rinsing path to rinse the inner surface of the door panel and the airtight rubber ring; wherein the door panel rinsing path excludes passage through the outer surface and the functional slot.

12. A wet cleaning method for the door panel of a material box as described in claim 11, wherein the rinsing path of the door panel is defined by a downward direction including at least one of vertical and oblique directions.

13. The wet cleaning method for the door panel of the material box as described in claim 11, performed in a cleaning chamber, wherein the cleaning fluid supplied to the door panel rinsing path is provided by a plurality of nozzles disposed in the cleaning chamber.

14. A wet cleaning method for the door panel of a material box as described in claim 13, wherein the cleaning chamber provides a support for holding the door panel.

15. A wet cleaning method for the door panel of a material box as described in claim 11, further comprising: The box holder is placed horizontally such that the opening of the box holder for locking the door panel faces downwards, and the box holder is positioned below the door panel; and an inner wall rinsing path of the box holder is defined from the inside out and an outer wall rinsing path of the box holder is defined, and cleaning fluid is supplied to rinse an inner wall surface of the box holder along the inner wall rinsing path of the box holder, and cleaning fluid is supplied to rinse an outer wall surface of the box holder along the outer wall rinsing path of the box holder; wherein the outer wall surface of the box holder is relatively adjacent to the outer surface of the door panel and relatively far away from the inner surface of the door panel.

16. A wet cleaning method for the door panel of a material box as described in claim 15, wherein the door panel is placed after the box seat is placed.

17. The wet cleaning method for the door panel of the material box as described in claim 15, performed in a cleaning chamber, wherein the cleaning fluid supplied to the door panel rinsing path, the inner wall rinsing path of the box seat, and the outer wall rinsing path of the box seat is provided by a plurality of door panel nozzles disposed only around the cleaning chamber.

18. A wet cleaning method for the door panel of a material box as described in claim 17, wherein the cleaning chamber provides a support for layering the door panel and the box seat.

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