Substrate storage container

Abstract

A substrate storage container 1 comprises: a container body 2 in which a substrate storage space 27 is formed; and a lid body 3 capable of closing a container body opening 21. The substrate storage container 1 comprises a groove member 245 having a groove formation part 2451 in which a groove opening downward is formed and a locked part 2456 which is connected to the groove formation part 2451, is elastically deformable, and is locked to a locking part 2402 of a lower wall 24 by elastically deforming, and is supported by and fixed to the lower wall 24. The lower wall 24 has a storage part 2401 capable of storing the whole of the groove member 245, and the locked part 2456 is arranged in the storage part 2401.

Description

Substrate storage container

[0001] The present invention relates to a substrate storage container used for storing, preserving, transporting, and shipping substrates such as semiconductor wafers, reticles, and printed circuit boards.

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, substrate storage containers for storing various types of substrates have been known that include a container body and a lid (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] One end of the container body has a container body opening. The other end of the container body has a closed cylindrical wall. A substrate storage space is formed within the container body. The substrate storage space is surrounded by the wall and is capable of storing substrates. The lid is detachable from the container body opening and is capable of closing the container body opening. The side substrate support portions are provided on the wall in pairs within the substrate storage space. When the container body opening is not closed by the lid, the side substrate support portions are capable of supporting the edges of adjacent substrates in a state where they are arranged side by side and spaced a predetermined distance apart.

[0004] A front retainer (lid-side substrate support portion) is provided on a portion of the lid that faces the substrate storage space when the container body opening is closed. The front retainer is capable of supporting the edge of the substrate when the container body opening is closed by the lid. A rear-side substrate support portion is provided on the wall portion so as to form a pair with the front retainer. The rear-side substrate support portion is capable of supporting the edge of the substrate. When the container body opening is closed by the lid, the rear-side substrate support portion cooperates with the front retainer to support the substrate, thereby supporting the substrates in a state in which adjacent substrates are spaced apart and aligned in parallel at a predetermined distance.

[0005] Patent No. 5115388

[0006] A slider (kinematic slider) is fixedly provided on the lower wall that forms the lower part of the wall portion of the container body. When the container body is set in a processing device that performs a predetermined process on wafers as substrates stored in the container body, the slider is supported by abutting against a guide pin (positioning pin) of the processing device.

[0007] Specifically, the substrate storage container is placed on the processing equipment, and operations from opening and closing the lid to inserting and removing substrates are carried out automatically. For this purpose, a positioning stage is provided on the processing equipment and is fixed in place by three positioning pins. A kinematic slider made of a material with good sliding properties is provided separately from the container body at the part of the substrate storage container that comes into contact with the positioning pins. The kinematic slider is attached to the container body by insert molding or assembly and fixing using hooks, etc.

[0008] However, in a structure where the kinematic slider is assembled and fixed using hooks or the like, there is a problem that the slider can become dislodged due to external interference. If the slider becomes dislodged, it will become misaligned on the device, causing problems such as problems with opening and closing the lid and making it impossible to insert or remove the board.

[0009] An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate storage container having a configuration that makes it difficult for a kinematic slider to come off from the container body.

[0010] The present invention relates to a substrate storage container comprising: a container body having a cylindrical wall portion having a container body opening at one end and a closed end at the other end, the wall portion having a rear wall, an upper wall, a lower wall, and a pair of side walls, the container body opening being formed by one end of the upper wall, one end of the lower wall, and one end of the side walls; a container body in which a substrate storage space capable of storing a plurality of substrates and communicating with the container body opening is formed by the inner surfaces of the upper wall, the lower wall, the side walls, and the rear wall; and a lid body that is detachable from the container body opening and can close the container body opening, the container body opening being supported and fixed to the bottom wall; and a groove member that has a groove forming portion formed with a groove that opens downward, and a locking portion that is connected to the groove forming portion and is elastically deformable and locks to a locking portion of the bottom wall by elastic deformation, the groove member being supported and fixed to the bottom wall, the bottom wall having a storage portion that can store the entire groove member, and the locking portion being arranged in the storage portion.

[0011] Furthermore, the groove of the groove member is preferably a V-shaped groove that follows the shape of the tip of a kinematic pin for positioning the container body. Furthermore, it is preferable that the end of the groove member has an arc shape, and the end of the groove is formed in a mortar shape. Furthermore, it is preferable that the groove member is made of at least one thermoplastic resin selected from the group consisting of POM, PBT, and PEEK. Furthermore, it is preferable that fluorine is added to the thermoplastic resin.

[0012] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a substrate storage container having a configuration in which the kinematic slider is unlikely to come off from the container body.

[0013] 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a state in which a plurality of substrates W are stored in a substrate storing container 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is an upper perspective view showing a container body 2 of a substrate storing container 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a lower perspective view showing the container body 2 of a substrate storing container 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a side cross-sectional view showing the container body 2 taken along line A-A in FIG. 3. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a groove member 245 of a substrate storing container 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a view showing the groove member 245 of a substrate storing container 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, viewed from the longitudinal direction of the groove member 245. FIG. 10 is a bottom view showing an accommodation section 2401, which is a portion where the groove member 245 of a substrate storing container 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is fixed to the container body 2.

[0014] [Overall Configuration of Substrate Storage Container 1] The substrate storage container 1 according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. For ease of explanation, the direction from the container body 2 (described below) toward the lid 3 (the direction from the upper right to the lower left in FIG. 1 ) is defined as the front direction D11, and the opposite direction is defined as the rear direction D12. These directions are collectively defined as the front-to-rear direction D1. Furthermore, the direction from the lower wall 24 (described below) toward the upper wall 23 (the upward direction in FIG. 1 ) is defined as the upward direction D21, and the opposite direction is defined as the downward direction D22. These directions are collectively defined as the up-down direction D2. Furthermore, the direction from the second side wall 26 (described below) toward the first side wall 25 (the direction from the lower right to the upper left in FIG. 1 ) is defined as the leftward direction D31, and the opposite direction is defined as the rightward direction D32. These directions are collectively defined as the left-right direction D3. Arrows indicating these directions are shown in the main drawings.

[0015] The substrates W (see FIG. 1) stored in the substrate storage container 1 are disc-shaped silicon wafers, glass wafers, sapphire wafers, etc., and are thin wafers used in industry. In this embodiment, the substrates W are silicon wafers with a diameter of 300 mm.

[0016] 1 to 4, substrate storage container 1 is used to store substrates W made of silicon wafers as described above and transport them in processes within a factory, or as a shipping container for transporting substrates by land, air, sea, or other transportation means, and is composed of a container body 2 and a lid 3. Container body 2 includes substrate support plate-shaped portions 5 serving as side substrate support portions, a rear substrate support portion 6, and a rear retainer 8 (see FIG. 2, etc.). Lid 3 includes a front retainer 7 (see FIG. 4, etc.) serving as a lid-side substrate support portion.

[0017] The container body 2 has a cylindrical wall portion 20 with a container body opening 21 formed at one end and a closed other end. A substrate storage space 27 is formed within the container body 2. The substrate storage space 27 is surrounded by the wall portion 20. A substrate support plate-shaped portion 5 is disposed in the portion of the wall portion 20 that forms the substrate storage space 27. As shown in FIG. 1 , the substrate storage space 27 can store a plurality of substrates W.

[0018] The substrate support plate-shaped parts 5 are interior components arranged in a pair within the substrate storage space 27, and are removably fixed to the wall part 20. When the container body opening 21 is not closed by the lid body 3, the substrate support plate-shaped parts 5 abut against the edges of the plurality of substrates W, thereby supporting the edges of the plurality of substrates W while arranging adjacent substrates W in parallel with a predetermined distance between them. A rear-side substrate support part 6 is provided at the rear side of the substrate support plate-shaped part 5 and is molded integrally with the substrate support plate-shaped part 5.

[0019] The rear substrate support portion 6 is provided on the wall portion 20 so as to form a pair with a front retainer 7 (described later) within the substrate storage space 27. The rear substrate support portion 6 can support the rear portions of the edges of the plurality of substrates W by abutting against the edges of the plurality of substrates W.

[0020] The lid 3 is detachable from the opening periphery 28 that forms the container body opening 21, and is capable of closing the container body opening 21. The front retainer 7 is provided on the lid 3 at a portion that faces the substrate storage space 27 when the container body opening 21 is closed by the lid 3. The front retainer 7 is disposed inside the substrate storage space 27 so as to form a pair with the rear substrate support part 6.

[0021] When the container body opening 21 is closed by the lid 3, the front retainer 7 can support the front portions of the edges of the substrates W by abutting against the edges of the substrates W. When the container body opening 21 is closed by the lid 3, the front retainer 7 supports the substrates W in cooperation with the rear substrate support portion 6, thereby holding adjacent substrates W in a parallel arrangement with a predetermined distance between them.

[0022] The substrate storage container 1 is made of a resin such as a plastic material, and unless otherwise specified, examples of the resin material include thermoplastic resins such as polycarbonate, cycloolefin polymer, polyetherimide, polyetherketone, polybutylene terephthalate, polyetheretherketone, and liquid crystal polymer, as well as alloys of these. To impart conductivity to these molding material resins, conductive materials such as carbon fiber, carbon powder, carbon nanotubes, and conductive polymers are selectively added. Glass fiber, carbon fiber, and the like can also be added to increase rigidity.

[0023] 1 to 4, the wall portion 20 of the container body 2 has a rear wall 22, an upper wall 23, a lower wall 24, a first side wall 25, and a second side wall 26. The rear wall 22, the upper wall 23, the lower wall 24, the first side wall 25, and the second side wall 26 are made of the above-mentioned materials and are integrally molded.

[0024] The first side wall 25 and the second side wall 26 face each other, and the upper wall 23 and the lower wall 24 face each other. The rear end of the upper wall 23, the rear end of the lower wall 24, the rear end of the first side wall 25, and the rear end of the second side wall 26 are all connected to the rear wall 22. The front end of the upper wall 23, the front end of the lower wall 24, the front end of the first side wall 25, and the front end of the second side wall 26 form an opening periphery 28 that defines the container body opening 21, which has a substantially rectangular shape.

[0025] The opening periphery 28 is provided at one end of the container body 2, and the rear wall 22 is located at the other end of the container body 2. The container body 2 has a box-like outer shape formed by the outer surfaces of the walls 20. The inner surfaces of the walls 20, i.e., the inner surfaces of the rear wall 22, the upper wall 23, the lower wall 24, the first side wall 25, and the second side wall 26, form a substrate storage space 27 surrounded thereby. The container body opening 21 formed in the opening periphery 28 is surrounded by the walls 20 and communicates with the substrate storage space 27 formed inside the container body 2. A maximum of 25 substrates W can be stored in the substrate storage space 27.

[0026] Latch engagement recesses 231A, 231B, 241A, and 241B recessed outward from the board storage space 27 are formed in the upper wall 23 and the lower wall 24 near the opening periphery 28. A total of four latch engagement recesses 231A, 231B, 241A, and 241B are formed, one near each of the left and right ends of the upper wall 23 and the lower wall 24.

[0027] Ribs 235 are formed integrally with the upper wall 23 on the outer surface of the upper wall 23. The ribs 235 increase the rigidity of the container body 2. A top flange 236 is fixed to the center of the upper wall 23. The top flange 236 is a member that is hung on and suspended from the substrate storage container 1 when the substrate storage container 1 is suspended in an AMHS (automated wafer transport system), PGV (wafer substrate transport vehicle), or the like.

[0028] 2 and other figures, the rear retainer 8 is formed on a rib-shaped portion 221 provided on the rear wall 22. The rib-shaped portion 221 protrudes inward into the substrate storage space 27 from the inner surface of the rear wall 22. The rear retainer 8 is formed on the inner surface of the rib-shaped portion 221 protruding inward into the substrate storage space 27, and has V-shaped grooves that are open toward the front and are made up of lower and upper inclined surfaces, the number of which is the same as the number of substrates W stored in the substrate storage space 27.

[0029] The lower inclined surface and the upper inclined surface are capable of being contacted by the edge of the substrate W when an impact acts on the container body 2 while the container body opening 21 is closed by the lid 3. That is, the lower inclined surface and the upper inclined surface are arranged a predetermined distance away from the edge of the back surface and the edge of the front surface of the substrate W so that the lower inclined surface and the upper inclined surface do not come into contact with the edge of the back surface and the edge of the front surface of the substrate W, respectively, when the container body opening 21 is closed by the lid 3. This "predetermined distance" is a distance that allows the substrate W to come into contact with the lower inclined surface or the upper inclined surface when an impact acts on the substrate storage container 1 from outside the substrate storage container 1 during transport of the substrate storage container 1 with the substrate W stored therein.

[0030] [Board Support Plate Portions 5] The board support plate portions 5 are provided on the first side wall 25 and the second side wall 26, respectively, and are interior components arranged in pairs in the left-right direction D3 within the board storage space 27. Specifically, as shown in Figure 4, the board support plate portions 5 have a plate portion 51 and a support wall 52 as a plate portion support portion. The plate portion 51 and the support wall 52 are formed by integrally molding a resin material, and the plate portion 51 is supported by the support wall 52.

[0031] The plate portions 51 have a generally arc-shaped plate shape. 25 plate portions 51 are provided on each of the first side wall 25 and the second side wall 26 in the vertical direction D2, for a total of 50 plate portions 51. Adjacent plate portions 51 are arranged in a parallel positional relationship and spaced apart from each other by 10 mm to 12 mm in the vertical direction D2. Note that above the uppermost plate portion 51, another plate-like member 59 is arranged parallel to the plate portion 51. This member is located at the top and serves as a guide for the substrate W being inserted into the substrate storage space 27.

[0032] The 25 plate portions 51 provided on the first side wall 25 and the 25 plate portions 51 provided on the second side wall 26 are positioned opposite each other in the left-right direction D3. The 50 plate portions 51 and the plate-shaped guide members 59 parallel to the plate portions 51 are positioned parallel to the inner surface of the bottom wall 24. Protrusions 511 and 512 are provided on the upper surfaces of the plate portions 51. The substrate W supported by the plate portions 51 comes into contact only with the protruding ends of the protrusions 511 and 512, and does not come into contact with the plate portions 51 at their surfaces.

[0033] The support wall 52 has a plate shape extending in the up-down direction D2 and in the approximately front-rear direction D1. As shown in Figure 4 and other figures, the support wall 52 has a predetermined length in the longitudinal direction of the plate portion 51, and a plurality of support walls 52 are provided in the front-rear direction of the board support plate portion 5. The plate-shaped support wall 52 curves along the outer edge of the plate portion 51 toward the board storage space 27.

[0034] That is, the 25 plate portions 51 provided on the first side wall 25 are connected to the support wall 52 provided on the first side wall 25 side. Similarly, the 25 plate portions 51 provided on the second side wall 26 are connected to the support wall 52 provided on the second side wall 26 side. The support wall 52 is fixed to the first side wall 25 and the second side wall 26, respectively.

[0035] A substrate support plate-like portion 5 configured in this manner is capable of supporting the edges of multiple substrates W while keeping adjacent substrates W spaced apart at a predetermined distance and parallel to each other.

[0036] [Rear-Side Board Support Portion 6] As shown in Figure 4, the rear-side board support portion 6 has a rear-side edge support portion 60. The rear-side edge support portion 60 is formed integrally with the plate portion 51 and the support wall 52 at the rear end of the plate portion 51 of the board support plate portion 5. Therefore, the board support plate portion 5 as a side board support portion and the rear-side board support portion 6 form a single combined interior part that is fixed to the container body 2 inside the container body 2. Note that the rear-side board support portion 6 may be formed separately from the board support plate portion 5, i.e., the rear-side edge support portion 60 may be formed separately from the plate portion 51 of the board support plate portion 5.

[0037] The number of rear edge support portions 60 provided is specifically 25, corresponding to each substrate W that can be stored in the substrate storage space 27. The rear edge support portions 60 arranged on the first side wall 25 and the second side wall 26 are positioned in a positional relationship in the front-to-rear direction D1 so as to form pairs with the front retainers 7, which will be described later. When a substrate W is stored in the substrate storage space 27 and the lid 3 is closed, the rear edge support portions 60 clamp and support the edge of the substrate W.

[0038] [Kinematic Slider 245] The kinematic slider 245 as a groove member is a member fixed to the bottom wall 24 so as to abut against positioning pins on a processing device (not shown) when the substrate storage container 1 is placed in the processing device, which automatically performs processes from opening and closing the lid 3 to loading and unloading the substrates W. As shown in Figure 5 and other figures, the kinematic slider 245 has a groove-forming portion 2451 and a latched portion 2456, and is directly supported and fixed to the bottom wall 24 of the container body 2. The groove member 245 has a bilaterally symmetrical shape with the center position as the center when viewed in the longitudinal direction of the groove member 245 shown in Figure 6.

[0039] The groove forming portion 2451 has a gable portion 2452 and a semi-conical portion 2453. The semi-conical portion 2453 has an arc shape in bottom view, and has a shape as if a cone has been cut in half by a plane including its axis. However, in reality, the semi-conical portion 2453 is not formed by cutting a single cone, but is formed integrally with the gable portion 2452 and the locked portion 2456.

[0040] The gable portion 2452 has a gable roof shape. As described above, one longitudinal end face of the gable portion 2452 is the end face of the semi-cone portion 2453, which has a shape as if a single cone had been cut in half, and is integrally molded and connected to the end face corresponding to the cut face.

[0041] The lower surface (upper surface in FIGS. 5 and 6 ) of the gable portion 2452 forms a V-shaped groove that opens downward (upper in FIGS. 5 and 6 ). The shape of this V-shaped groove imitates the shape of the tips of three positioning pins (kinematic pins) of a positioning stage on a processing apparatus (not shown) on which the substrate storage container 1 is placed. One end of the V-shaped groove in the longitudinal direction of the gable portion 2452 is closed by the lower surface of the semi-conical portion 2453, forming a mortar shape. The other end of the gable portion 2452 in the longitudinal direction forms the end of the open V-shaped groove.

[0042] The cross-sectional shape of the end face of the valley bottom 2454 of the V-shaped groove is formed in an arc shape. The valley bottom 2454 of the V-shaped groove extends from the gable-shaped portion 2452 to the semi-conical portion 2453, and one end of the valley bottom 2454 is located at the semi-conical portion 2453. The other end of the valley bottom 2454 of the V-shaped groove has a bottom protrusion 2455 that protrudes from the gable-shaped portion 2452 and has a through-hole formed therein. As shown in FIG. 6 , the longitudinal direction of the valley bottom 2454 of the V-shaped groove is inclined downward (upward in FIG. 6 ) with respect to the lower surface of the bottom protrusion 2455 (the upper surface of the bottom protrusion 2455 in FIG. 6 ) toward the back of FIG. 6 .

[0043] The locked portions 2456 are configured with elastically deformable cantilever springs. As shown in Fig. 6 and other figures, the bases 2457 of the locked portions 2456 are integrally molded and connected to the pair of upper surfaces of the gable-shaped portions 2452, two on each side, at a predetermined distance apart in the longitudinal and width directions of the kinematic slider 245. The locked portions 2456 extend upward in the X21 direction, and their tip ends are bent in a hook shape so as to be spaced apart from each other from the gable-shaped portions 2452.

[0044] The locked portions 2456 are configured to be elastically displaceable (deformable) by the above-mentioned elastically deformable cantilever spring configuration so that the distance between the pair of locked portions 2456 changes in the width direction of the kinematic slider 245. This elastic displacement causes the distance between the pair of locked portions 2456 to shorten, and after the pair of locked portions 2456 are inserted into the locking holes 2403 of the accommodation portion 2401 of the bottom wall 24, the distance between the pair of locked portions 2456 returns to its original distance, whereby the hook-shaped tip portions of the locked portions 2456 are locked to the portion of the accommodation portion 2401 that forms the locking holes 2403. In this way, the kinematic slider 245 is configured to be supported and fixed to the bottom wall 24.

[0045] The kinematic slider 245 is made of a thermoplastic resin, which is a material with good sliding properties, separate from the container body 2. Specifically, in this embodiment, the kinematic slider 245 is made of at least one thermoplastic resin selected from the group consisting of POM (polyacetal resin), PBT (polybutylene terephthalate resin), and PEEK (polyether ether ketone resin). Furthermore, fluorine may be added to these thermoplastic resins.

[0046] The lower wall 24 to which the kinematic slider 245 is fixed has a storage section 2401 having a recess recessed in the upward direction X21, as shown in FIG. 3, and the kinematic slider 245 is disposed and stored in the storage section 2401.

[0047] Specifically, the accommodation portions 2401 are formed in one location at the rear of the bottom wall 24 and in two locations at a predetermined distance in the left-right direction X3 at the front of the bottom wall 24, and are formed so that their longitudinal directions coincide with directions extending radially from the center of the bottom wall 24. As shown in Fig. 7 , the accommodation portion 2401 has a longitudinal length and a width relative to the length that are both greater than the outer shape (length and width) of the kinematic slider 245 when viewed from the bottom, and has a recess recessed in the upward direction X21.

[0048] The storage section 2401 has an oval storage bottom 2402 that forms the bottom of the recess of the storage section 2401. The depth of the recess around the storage bottom 2402 gradually decreases as it moves away from the left and right sides of an imaginary center line L1 (see FIG. 7 ) that passes through the center of the storage bottom 2402 in the width direction, and forms a peripheral wall that reaches the lower surface 2405 of the bottom wall 24, as shown in FIG. 3 and other figures.

[0049] The accommodating bottom 2402 of the accommodating section 2401 is provided with a plurality of ribs 2404 that extend away from one another from the center line L1 and are integrally molded with the accommodating bottom 2402 and protrude from the accommodating bottom 2402. As a result, when the hook-shaped tip of the engaged portion 2456 is engaged with the engaging hole 2403 described below and the kinematic slider 245 is fixed and assembled to the accommodating bottom 2402, the ribs 2404 ensure a gap between the kinematic slider 245 and the bottom surface of the accommodating bottom 2402. As a result, it is possible to prevent water from remaining between the kinematic slider 245 and the bottom surface of the accommodating bottom 2402 due to cleaning of the substrate storage container 1, etc.

[0050] Furthermore, two pairs of locking holes 2403 are formed in the accommodation bottom 2402, which serves as an locking portion, at positions that are line-symmetrical about the center line L1. As described above, the hook-shaped tip of the locked portion 2456 is locked into the locking holes 2403, whereby the entire kinematic slider 245 is accommodated in the accommodation portion 2401. As such, since the entire kinematic slider 245 is accommodated in the accommodation portion 2401, no part of the kinematic slider 245 protrudes below the lower surface 2405 of the bottom wall 24.

[0051] 1 , the lid body 3 has a generally rectangular shape that generally matches the shape of the opening periphery 28 of the container body 2. The lid body 3 is detachable from the opening periphery 28 of the container body 2, and by attaching the lid body 3 to the opening periphery 28, the lid body 3 can close the container body opening 21 in a positional relationship in which it is surrounded by the opening periphery 28.

[0052] An annular sealing member 4 is attached to the inner surface of the lid 3 (the back surface of the lid 3 shown in FIG. 1 ), which faces the surface of a step (sealing surface 281) formed immediately in the rear direction D12 of the opening peripheral edge 28 when the lid 3 is closing the container body opening 21, so as to go around the outer periphery of the lid 3. The sealing member 4 is arranged so as to go around the lid 3. The sealing member 4 is made of various thermoplastic elastomers such as elastically deformable polyesters and polyolefins, fluororubber, silicone rubber, etc.

[0053] When the lid 3 is attached to the opening periphery 28, the sealing member 4 is sandwiched between the sealing surface 281 of the container body 2 and the inner surface of the lid 3 and elastically deforms. That is, with the sealing member 4 interposed between the lid 3 and the container body 2, the lid 3 can close the container body opening 21 while the lid 3 and the opening periphery 28 are spaced apart without coming into contact with each other. When the lid 3 is removed from the opening periphery 28, the substrate W can be inserted into and removed from the substrate storage space 27 within the container body 2.

[0054] A latch mechanism is provided in the lid 3. The latch mechanism is provided near both left and right ends of the lid 3, and as shown in Fig. 1, includes two upper latch portions 32A, 32A that can protrude in an upward direction D21 from the upper edge of the lid 3, and two lower latch portions 32B, 32B that can protrude in a downward direction D22 from the lower edge of the lid 3. The two upper latch portions 32A, 32A are located near both left and right ends of the upper edge of the lid 3, and the two lower latch portions 32B, 32B are located near both left and right ends of the lower edge of the lid 3.

[0055] An operating portion 33 is provided on the outer surface of the lid body 3. By operating the operating portion 33 from the front side of the lid body 3, the upper latch portions 32A, 32A and the lower latch portions 32B, 32B can be made to protrude from the upper and lower edges of the lid body 3, or can be made to not protrude from the upper and lower edges. The upper latch portions 32A, 32A protrude in the upward direction D21 from the upper edge of the lid body 3 and engage with the latch engagement recesses 231A, 231B of the container body 2, and the lower latch portions 32B, 32B protrude in the downward direction D22 from the lower edge of the lid body 3 and engage with the latch engagement recesses 241A, 241B of the container body 2, thereby fixing the lid body 3 to the container body opening 21 of the container body 2.

[0056] A recess (not shown) is formed inside the cover 3, recessed outward from the board storage space 27. A front retainer 7 is fixed to the recess (not shown) and to the cover 3 outside the recess.

[0057] The front retainer 7 has front retainer board receiving portions. The front retainer board receiving portions are arranged in pairs, two at a predetermined distance in the left-right direction D3. The front retainer board receiving portions, arranged in pairs in this manner, are arranged in 25 pairs in parallel in the up-down direction D2. When a substrate W is stored in the substrate storage space 27 and the lid 3 is closed, the front retainer board receiving portions clamp and support the edge of the edge of the substrate W.

[0058] Effects of the Embodiment The substrate storing container 1 according to the present embodiment having the above-described configuration can provide the following effects: The substrate storing container 1 according to the present embodiment includes: a groove forming portion 2451 in which a groove opening downward is formed; an engaged portion 2456 that is connected to the groove forming portion 2451, is elastically deformable, and is engaged with a storage bottom portion 2402 serving as an engaging portion of the bottom wall 24 by elastic deformation; and a kinematic slider 245 as a groove member that is supported and fixed to the bottom wall 24, wherein the bottom wall 24 has a storage portion 2401 that can accommodate the entire kinematic slider 245, and the engaged portion 2456 is disposed in the storage portion 2401.

[0059] This allows the entire kinematic slider 245 to be accommodated in the accommodation portion 2401. Therefore, it is possible to ensure that no part of the kinematic slider 245 protrudes below the lower surface 2405 of the bottom wall 24, and it is possible to prevent the kinematic slider 245 from directly colliding with and coming into contact with other objects, for example, with a shelf or the like of a metal rack or the like when the substrate storage container 1 is temporarily placed on a metal rack or the like for storage. This makes it possible to provide a substrate storage container 1 having a configuration in which the kinematic slider 245 is less likely to come off the accommodation portion 2401.

[0060] Furthermore, since the kinematic slider 245 is directly fixed to the lower wall 24 while being accommodated in the accommodation portion 2401 that is part of the lower wall 24, there is no need to attach other parts such as a bottom plate to the lower wall 24. This makes it possible to prevent the structure of the substrate storage container 1 from becoming complicated and the number of parts from increasing.

[0061] Furthermore, in the substrate storage container 1 according to this embodiment, the groove of the kinematic slider 245 serving as a groove member is configured as a V-shaped groove following the shape of the tip of a kinematic pin (not shown) for positioning the container body 2. This makes it possible to maintain a state in which the tip of the kinematic pin stably abuts against the valley bottom 2454 of the groove of the kinematic slider 245 in the groove. Furthermore, with the tip of the kinematic pin abutting against the kinematic slider 245 in the groove, the kinematic slider 245 can be easily moved relative to the tip of the kinematic pin. As a result, it becomes possible to easily position the container body 2 including the kinematic slider 245 by the tip of the kinematic pin.

[0062] In the substrate storage container 1 according to this embodiment, the end of the kinematic slider 245 serving as a groove member has an arc shape, and the end of the groove is formed in a cone shape. As a result, when the tip of the kinematic pin abuts against the end of the groove, since the end of the groove is formed in a cone shape, the tip of the kinematic pin can be easily guided along the cone shape to the valley bottom 2454 of the V-shaped groove.

[0063] Furthermore, in the substrate storage container 1 according to this embodiment, the kinematic slider 245 serving as a groove member is made of at least one thermoplastic resin selected from POM, PBT, and PEEK, which provides high sliding characteristics to the kinematic slider 245, enabling smoother positioning when the tip of the kinematic pin abuts against the kinematic slider 245.

[0064] Furthermore, in the substrate storage container 1 according to this embodiment, fluorine may be added to the thermoplastic resin, which allows the kinematic slider 245 to have high heat resistance, high chemical resistance, low friction and easy sliding, high non-adhesiveness (not easily sticking), and high insulation properties (not easily conducting electricity).

[0065] [Modifications] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and modifications are possible within the technical scope described in the claims.

[0066] For example, in the present embodiment, the groove member is configured by the kinematic slider 245, but this configuration is not limited thereto. Specifically, in the kinematic slider 245, one end of the V-shaped groove in the longitudinal direction of the gable-shaped portion 2452 is closed by the lower surface of the semi-conical portion 2453 in a cone-like shape, and the other end of the gable-shaped portion 2452 in the longitudinal direction forms an open V-shaped groove. However, this is not limited thereto. For example, the other end of the V-shaped groove may be closed by the lower surface of the semi-conical portion 2453 in a cone-like shape at both ends of the gable-shaped portion 2452 in the longitudinal direction.

[0067] Furthermore, the shapes of the container body and the lid, and the number and dimensions of the substrates W that can be stored in the container body are not limited to the shapes of the container body 2 and the lid 3, and the number and dimensions of the substrates W that can be stored in the container body 2 in this embodiment. For example, a bottom plate may be provided on the lower wall.

[0068] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Substrate storage container 2 Container body 3 Lid 20 Wall 21 Container body opening 22 Back wall 23 Upper wall 24 Lower wall 25 First side wall (side wall) 26 Second side wall (side wall) 27 Substrate storage space 245 Kinematic slider (groove member) 2401 Storage section 2402 Storage bottom (locking section) 2451 Groove-forming section 2456 Locked section W Substrate

Claims

1. A container body having a cylindrical wall portion having a container body opening at one end and a closed end at the other end, the wall portion having a rear wall, an upper wall, a lower wall, and a pair of side walls, the container body opening being formed by one end of the upper wall, one end of the lower wall, and one end of the side walls, and a substrate storage space capable of storing a plurality of substrates and communicating with the container body opening is formed by the inner surfaces of the upper wall, the inner surface of the lower wall, the inner surface of the side walls, and the inner surface of the rear wall; a lid body that is detachable from the container body opening and capable of closing the container body opening; a groove member supported and fixed to the lower wall, the groove member having a groove forming portion having a groove opening downward, and a locked portion connected to the groove forming portion, which is elastically deformable and can be locked to a locking portion of the lower wall by elastic deformation; the lower wall has a storage portion capable of storing the entire groove member, and the locked portion is arranged in the storage portion.

2. A substrate storage container according to claim 1, wherein the groove of said groove member is configured as a V-shaped groove following the shape of the tip of a kinematic pin for positioning said container body.

3. The substrate storage container according to claim 1, wherein an end of the groove member has an arc shape, and an end of the groove is formed in a cone shape.

4. The substrate storage container according to claim 1, wherein said groove member is made of at least one thermoplastic resin selected from the group consisting of POM, PBT, and PEEK.

5. The substrate storage container according to claim 4, wherein the thermoplastic resin contains fluorine.

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