Apparatus for storing gas cylinder

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus for storing a gas cylinder, in which an autonomous mobile robot supplies a new gas cylinder to a cabinet so as to supply gas to a wafer production line in a semiconductor fabrication (FAB) process facility, or transports a used gas cylinder from the cabinet, to be stored. A safety cap is separated and stored before the autonomous mobile robot transports the gas cylinder, and as an empty gas cylinder from which all the gas has been supplied in the cabinet is transported to a stocker, the stored safety cap is automatically fastened so as to prevent in advance a gas leakage accident due to a mistake of a worker. To this end, the present invention comprises: a stocker (20) which is installed in a bunker room for storing a gas cylinder (30) filled with gas and an empty gas cylinder after being used; a gas cylinder die (40) which is installed on the bottom of the stocker and on which the gas cylinder is placed; a clamper unit (50) which clamps and rotates the gas cylinder (30) stored in the stocker (20); and a safety cap fastening means (60) which is installed on the stocker (20) to be movable in the horizontal direction so as to automatically separate from the gas cylinder and store a safety cap (32), or to automatically fasten the stored safety cap to an empty gas cylinder.

Description

Gas cylinder storage device

[0001] The present invention relates to a gas cylinder storage device that supplies new gas cylinders to a cabinet or transports and stores used gas cylinders from a cabinet to supply gas to a wafer production line in a semiconductor FAB (Fabrication Process) facility. More specifically, the present invention relates to a gas cylinder storage device that removes and stores a safety cap before the autonomous robot transports the gas cylinder, and automatically fastens the safety cap that was stored when an empty gas cylinder, from which all gas has been supplied from the cabinet, is transported to a stocker, thereby preventing gas leakage accidents caused by operator error in advance.

[0002] In general, various types of gases are supplied and used in the manufacturing process of semiconductors depending on the purpose. However, most of these gases require careful attention as they can cause serious damage such as safety accidents and environmental pollution if inhaled by the human body or exposed to the atmosphere.

[0003] For example, the types of gases used in the ion implantation process include fluid gases such as arsenic hydride (AsH3: Arsine), phosphine (PH3: Phosphine), or boron trifluoride (BF3: Boron Fluoride). These gases are highly toxic and can cause fatal consequences if inhaled by workers. Therefore, they must be carefully managed to prevent leakage during the process of supplying them to the production line.

[0004] The management of gases used in semiconductor manufacturing processes such as this is very important. These gases are charged at high pressure in gas cylinders, mounted in a cabinet, and supplied to the production line through a gas supply line. When about 90% of the gas is used up, workers replace the gas cylinder with a new one to prevent foreign substances remaining inside the gas cylinder from being supplied to the wafer processing process, thereby continuously supplying the gas.

[0005] FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a gas supply device for semiconductor equipment according to a conventional technology. A cabinet (1) is positioned at a predetermined location outside of a FAB (7) so that a plurality of gas cylinders (not shown) each filled with process gases such as SiH4, PH3, NF3, CF4, etc. required by various equipment (8) within the FAB (7) can be installed, and a duct (4) is installed on one side of the cabinet (1) so as to guide gas supply lines (3) each connected to the gas cylinders (not shown).

[0006] On the other side of the above duct (4), a number of regulator boxes (5) corresponding to the number of gas cylinders are installed so that process gas introduced along the gas supply line (3) can be supplied, and a number of supply pipes (9) equal to the number of equipment (8) are connected to the upper part of each regulator box (5) so that they can be connected to each equipment (8) in the FAB (7).

[0007] Accordingly, when process gas is supplied from each gas cylinder installed in the cabinet (1), each process gas flows into each regulator box (5) along the gas supply line (3) passing through the interior of the duct (4).

[0008] Afterwards, each process gas flowing into each regulator box (5) is purified through a filter (not shown) and then supplied along each supply pipe (9) that is branched and connected to the corresponding number of equipment (8) in the FAB (7), thereby enabling wafer processing.

[0009] As described above, when gas is supplied to the gas supply line (3) and the gas runs out and the time to replace the gas cylinder is detected by the control unit (not shown), the worker closes the valve of the used gas cylinder and then separates it from the external gas line.

[0010] Afterwards, the worker unloads the empty gas cylinder separated from the gas supply line from the cabinet (1), transports it to a stocker (not shown), replaces it with a new gas cylinder, reconnects the gas cylinder to the external gas line, and opens the valve handle that closes the gas injection nozzle, thereby completing the replacement of the gas cylinder.

[0011] However, these conventional devices had several problems, including:

[0012] First, there is a risk of a safety accident in which harmful gas to the human body leaks if the valve is opened due to the worker's carelessness while the worker closes the valve of an empty gas cylinder and then transports the gas cylinder removed from the cabinet to the stocker for storage.

[0013] Second, in order to ensure that the supply of gas to the gas supply line is not interrupted, the used gas cylinders must be replaced quickly. However, the worker had to transport the heavy gas cylinders stored in the stocker to the cabinet side using a cart to replace them, which not only made it impossible to quickly replace the gas cylinders, but also increased the worker's fatigue.

[0014] Third, since the worker manually replaced the gas cylinders loaded in the cabinet whenever the gas was exhausted, human error occurred depending on the worker's skill level.

[0015] Fourth, there was a fatal defect that could cause the gas to explode or the worker to be poisoned by the leaked gas if the worker was careless while carrying or replacing the gas cylinder.

[0016] The present invention has been devised to solve the above-mentioned problems of the past, and its purpose is to store a safety cap separated from a gas cylinder filled with gas inside a stocker in which a plurality of gas cylinders are stored, and then, after all gas has been supplied to the supply line in the cabinet and the empty gas cylinder is transported back to the stocker, to fundamentally resolve the phenomenon of a valve opening due to malfunction by fastening the stored safety cap to the gas cylinder.

[0017] Another object of the present invention is to install doors that can be opened and closed on the inside and outside of the stoker, so that a worker can load a heavy gas cylinder into the stoker from outside the bunker room or discharge an empty gas cylinder without having to transport it to the inside of the bunker room.

[0018] According to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, a gas cylinder storage device is provided, characterized by comprising: a stocker installed in a bunker room to store gas cylinders filled with gas and empty gas cylinders after use; a gas cylinder die on which the gas cylinders stored in the stocker are placed; a clamper unit for clamping and rotating the gas cylinders stored in the stocker; and a safety cap fastening means installed horizontally on the upper portion of the stocker to be movable to automatically separate and store the safety cap of the gas cylinder or automatically fasten the safety cap that has been stored to the empty gas cylinder.

[0019] The present invention has the following several advantages over the prior art.

[0020] First, the safety cap is separated from the gas cylinder stored in the stoker and stored, and when the empty gas cylinder is transported back to the stoker after all gas has been supplied to the supply line in the cabinet, the safety cap stored is fastened to the gas cylinder, which fundamentally eliminates the phenomenon of the valve opening due to malfunction, thereby preventing accidents where gas leaks occur.

[0021] Second, since the inner and outer doors are installed inside and outside the stoker so that they can be opened and closed, workers can load heavy gas cylinders into the stoker from outside the bunker room or discharge empty gas cylinders without having to carry them inside the bunker room, thereby reducing worker fatigue.

[0022] Third, a barcode is attached to each gas cylinder, and the safety cap fastening means is equipped with a reading means for checking the information of the barcode attached to the gas cylinder, so that the information of the gas cylinder being transported to the cabinet can be checked in advance.

[0023] Figure 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a gas supply device for semiconductor equipment according to a conventional technology.

[0024] Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of Figure 2.

[0026] Figure 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the safety cap fastening means of the present invention is installed.

[0027] Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the safety cap fastening means of the present invention.

[0028] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily practice the present invention. The present invention may be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. It should be noted that the drawings are schematic and not drawn to scale. The relative dimensions and proportions of parts in the drawings are exaggerated or reduced in size for clarity and convenience in the drawings, and any dimensions are merely illustrative and not limiting. In addition, the same reference numerals are used for the same structures, elements, or parts appearing in two or more drawings to indicate similar features.

[0029] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which a safety cap fastening means of the present invention is installed. In the present invention, at least one stocker (20) is installed inside a bunker room, and the stocker (20) is configured to simultaneously store a gas cylinder (30) filled with gas and an empty gas cylinder after use.

[0030] The above stocker (20) may be provided with only an inner door (21) so as to be located inside the bunker room, so that the gas cylinder (30) may be automatically taken out or stored from the stocker (20) while the autonomous driving robot moves along the driving guidance means inside the bunker room as shown in FIG. 6. However, it is more preferable to additionally install an outer door (22) so that a worker can handle the gas cylinder (30) from outside the bunker room.

[0031] This not only reduces worker fatigue by allowing the worker to store or carry out the heavy gas cylinder (30) outside the bunker room instead of carrying it inside the bunker room, but also minimizes the worker's exposure to toxic gas.

[0032] It is understandable that the inner door (21) or outer door (22) installed in the above-mentioned stocker (20) can be installed in any one of the types of hinged, sliding, or double-door.

[0033] A gas cylinder die (40) on which a gas cylinder (30) is placed is installed on the lower surface of the above-mentioned stocker (20), and a clamper unit (50) that clamps and rotates the gas cylinder (30) is installed on the upper portion of the gas cylinder die (40).

[0034] The above gas cylinder die (40) is equipped with a horizontal tilt function, an angular tilt function, a die free rotation function, and a die rotation and angular tilt fixing clamp function.

[0035] In addition, a safety cap fastening means (60) is installed on the upper part of the stocker (20) so as to be movable in the horizontal direction, so that before transporting the gas cylinder (30) filled with gas to the cabinet side, the safety cap (32) of the gas cylinder (30) is automatically separated and stored, and after the empty gas cylinder (30) is transported back to the stocker (20) after all gas has been supplied to the supply line (not shown), the safety cap (32) that was stored is fastened to the empty gas cylinder (30).

[0036] In one embodiment of the present invention, the safety cap fastening means (60) is composed of an X-axis rail (61) installed horizontally on the upper part of the stocker (20) as shown in FIG. 4, a Z-axis rail (62) installed on the X-axis rail, a slider (63) installed so as to be able to ascend and descend on the Z-axis rail, a holder (64) installed on the slider to surround the safety cap (32) of the gas cylinder (30), a pair of clamps (66) installed directly below the holder to move according to the driving of the clamp cylinder (65) and clamp the lower end of the safety cap (32), and a motor (67) installed on the upper part of the slider to rotate the holder (64) to separate or fasten the safety cap (32) from the gas cylinder (30).

[0037] At this time, it is more preferable to further provide a tilt means (68) on the upper part of the holder (64) for finely adjusting the position of the holder along the X - Y direction.

[0038] This is to enable the safety cap (32) to be wrapped while the position of the holder (64) is finely adjusted along the X - Y direction by the tilt means (68) when the slider (63) is lowered, even if the position of the gas cylinder (30) placed on the gas cylinder die (40) changes slightly.

[0039] Although the lowering stroke of the holder (64) may be adjusted, it is more preferable to install a sensor (69) that detects the safety cap (32) of the gas cylinder (30) on a pair of clamps (66) so that the operation of the slider (63) that lowers the holder (64) is stopped when the sensor (69) detects the safety cap (32).

[0040] In addition, each gas cylinder (30) is equipped with a barcode (33) containing information on the stored gas, and the safety cap clamping means (60) is equipped with a reading means (34) for checking the information of the barcode (33) attached to the gas cylinder (30), and a vision camera (70) for identifying the valve (31) of the gas cylinder (30) and determining whether it is damaged is further equipped.

[0041] The operation of the present invention is explained as follows.

[0042] First, the process of supplying gas from a gas cylinder built into a cabinet (not shown) to a gas process line, and then, as the gas runs out, an autonomous driving robot (not shown) transports an empty gas cylinder from the cabinet and loads it into a stocker (20), and then takes out a new gas cylinder (30) from the stocker (20) and supplies it to the cabinet will be explained.

[0043] After the autonomous robot transports an empty gas cylinder from the above cabinet, the safety cap (32) that was protecting the valve (31) before transporting the gas cylinder (30) stored in the stocker (20) to the cabinet side must be separated and stored by the safety cap fastening means (60).

[0044] To this end, the Z-axis rail (62) on which the slider (63) is installed so as to be able to rise and fall moves along the X-axis rail (61), and when the holder (64) installed on the slider (63) reaches the upper part of the gas cylinder (30), the movement of the Z-axis rail (62) is stopped.

[0045] In this state, the holder (64) descends along the Z-axis rail (62), and when the holder (64) wraps around the safety cap (32), a pair of sensors (69) installed in the clamp (66) detect the safety cap (32), and then the descent of the slider (63) stops.

[0046] Even if the position of the gas cylinder (30) placed on the gas cylinder die (40) is misaligned during the above operation, a tilt means (68) is provided so that the holder (64) can be finely adjusted along the X - Y direction, so that the holder (64) stably wraps the safety cap (32).

[0047] In addition, when the slider (63) descends, the reading means (34) provided in the safety cap fastening means (60) checks the information on the gas filled in the gas cylinder (30) through the barcode (33) attached to the gas cylinder (30), thereby preventing the phenomenon of the gas cylinder (30) being incorrectly supplied to the cabinet.

[0048] After the slider (63) has completed its descent through the above-described operation, the clamp cylinder (65) is driven, so that a pair of clamps (66) clamp the lower part of the safety cap (32).

[0049] Afterwards, as the motor (67) drives and rotates the holder (64), the safety cap (32) is separated from the gas cylinder (30) and accommodated inside the holder (64), and then the vision camera (70) checks the damage status of the valve (31).

[0050] When the holder (64) is rotated by the driving of the above motor (67) and the safety cap (32) is received inside the holder (64), the slider (63) rises to the top dead center along the Z-axis rail (62) and at the same time, the Z-axis rail (62) returns to the initial position along the X-axis rail (61) and waits.

[0051] At the same time, the inner door (21) of the stocker (20) is automatically opened by the control of the integrated management system (city is omitted), and the autonomous driving robot transporting the gas cylinder (30) to the cabinet side moves to the stocker (20) side and stops in front of the gas cylinder (30).

[0052] When the above-mentioned autonomous driving robot is stopped in front of the gas cylinder (30), and the gas cylinder (30) is gripped by the gripping unit provided in the autonomous driving robot, the clamper unit (50) releases the clamping state of the gas cylinder (30), so that the gas cylinder (30) can be loaded onto the autonomous driving robot and transported to the cabinet side.

[0053] Meanwhile, when the gas cylinder (30) is transported to the cabinet by the operation described above and all gas is supplied to the gas process line, the detection means detects this and notifies the integrated management system of the time to replace the gas cylinder.

[0054] Therefore, the autonomous driving robot must move to the cabinet side, load an empty gas cylinder, then move to the stocker (20) side, store it in the stocker (20), and transport a new gas cylinder (30) to the cabinet side.

[0055] After the above-mentioned autonomous robot transports the empty gas cylinder toward the stocker (20), the gripper unit of the autonomous robot, which has been maintaining the clamper unit (50) in a mutually opened state, moves the empty gas cylinder to be placed on top of the gas cylinder die (40) of the stocker (20).

[0056] After the empty gas cylinder is placed on the upper surface of the gas cylinder die (40) through the above-described operation, the clamper unit (50) clamps the empty gas cylinder and simultaneously releases the clamping of the empty gas cylinder by the gripper unit, so that the autonomous driving robot moves to the charging position and waits.

[0057] After the above empty gas cylinder is stored inside the stocker (20), the safety cap (32) stored in the holder (64) of the safety cap fastening means (60) must be fastened to the empty gas cylinder to prevent an accident in which the toxic gas remaining in the empty gas cylinder leaks due to the valve (31) being opened inadvertently.

[0058] Therefore, when the Z-axis rail (62) moves along the X-axis rail (61) and the holder (64) installed on the slider (63) reaches the top of the empty gas cylinder, the movement of the Z-axis rail (62) stops.

[0059] In this state, the holder (64) descends along the Z-axis rail (62), and the safety cap (32) accommodated in the holder (64) wraps around the empty gas cylinder (30). Then, the clamping unit (50) rotates the empty gas cylinder placed on the gas cylinder die (40), so that the safety cap (32) is safely fastened to the empty gas cylinder.

[0060] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the attached drawings, those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention can be implemented in other specific forms without changing the technical idea or essential features.

[0061] Therefore, the embodiments described above should be understood as being exemplary and not restrictive in all respects, and the scope of the present invention described in the detailed description above is indicated by the claims described below, and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalent concepts should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

[0062] Before an autonomous robot transports a gas cylinder, it detaches and stores the safety cap. As the empty cylinder, fully supplied with gas from the cabinet, is transported to the stocker, the safety cap automatically locks in place, preventing gas leaks caused by human error. Therefore, this system has potential industrial applications, particularly in semiconductor manufacturing.

Claims

1. A stoker installed in the bunker room where filled gas cylinders and empty gas cylinders are stored, A gas cylinder die on which a gas cylinder stored in the above stocker is placed, A gas cylinder storage device characterized by comprising a safety cap fastening means that is installed horizontally on the upper part of the stocker to automatically separate and store the safety cap of the gas cylinder, or automatically fastens the stored safety cap to an empty gas cylinder.

2. In claim 1, A gas cylinder storage device characterized in that the above stocker is provided with an external door to enable a worker to supply or discharge gas cylinders from outside the bunker room, and an internal door to enable an autonomous robot to supply or discharge gas cylinders from inside the bunker room.

3. In claim 2, A gas cylinder storage device characterized in that the outer door and inner door are of one of the following types: swing door, sliding door, and double door.

4. In claim 1, The above safety cap fastening means is, An X-axis rail installed horizontally on the upper part of the above stocker, A Z-axis rail installed on the above X-axis rail, A slider installed on the Z-axis rail so that it can be raised and lowered, A holder installed on the above slider and covering the safety cap of the gas cylinder, A pair of clamps that are installed directly below the holder and clamp the lower part of the safety cap while moving according to the operation of the clamp cylinder, A gas cylinder storage device characterized by comprising a motor installed on the upper portion of the slider to rotate the holder to separate or fasten the safety cap from the gas cylinder.

5. In claim 4, A gas cylinder storage device characterized in that a tilt means for finely adjusting the position of the holder along the X-Y direction is further provided on the upper portion of the holder.

6. In claim 4, A gas cylinder storage device characterized in that a sensor for detecting the safety cap of the gas cylinder is installed in the above pair of clamps.

7. In claim 4, A gas cylinder storage device characterized in that a barcode containing information on gas stored in each of the above gas cylinders is attached, and a safety cap fastening means is provided with a reading means for confirming information on the barcode attached to the gas cylinder.

8. In claim 4, A gas cylinder storage device characterized in that it further comprises a vision camera that identifies the valve of the gas cylinder and determines whether it is damaged.

9. In claim 1, A gas cylinder storage device characterized in that the gas cylinder die on which the gas cylinder is mounted is equipped with a horizontal tilt function, an angular tilt function, a die free rotation function, and a die rotation and angular tilt fixing clamp function.

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