Clean room
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Solution Overview
Problem
The mechanical driving components of transport vehicles and transfer robots in semiconductor clean rooms generate dust, degrading cleanliness and making it challenging to maintain air purity without increasing costs or reducing storage volume in article management storage systems.
Innovation Solution
A clean room design featuring an article management storage with an upper opening and lower flow-out port, surrounded by an eyelid and air outlet port on the ceiling, allowing direct clean air supply and discharge of contaminated air, eliminating the need for additional filtration systems and maintaining storage volume.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If additional filters or blower fans are installed in the article management storage to remove dust, then the cleanness is improved, but the installation cost increases and the storing volume decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful airflow and dust contamination are extracted and directed outward through the lower flow-out port, separating the contaminated air path from the clean work area. This removes the need for additional filtration equipment while maintaining cleanliness.
Solution Approach 2:
The lower flow-out port acts as an intermediary element that mediates between the article management storage and the external environment, allowing controlled discharge of contaminated air without direct contact with the clean work area.
2Reliability
If the article management storage is designed with additional filtration systems, then the air purity is improved, but the storing volume is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Contaminated air is extracted and removed through the lower flow-out port, preventing it from mixing with clean air in the work area. This extraction approach maintains air purity without requiring space-consuming filtration systems within the storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses airflow dynamics and pressure differentials to achieve air purification and separation, replacing mechanical filtration systems with a pneumatic approach that consumes no additional space.
3Productivity
If the transport vehicle and transfer robot operate in the article management storage, then the productivity is improved, but dust is generated degrading the cleanness
Solution Approach 1:
Dust and contaminated air generated by mechanical operations are extracted and directed outward through the lower flow-out port, removing the harmful byproducts of high-productivity operations without reducing operational efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The airflow control creates different air quality zones: the work area maintains high cleanliness while the article management storage allows mechanical operations. The lower flow-out port locally manages contamination at its source without affecting the entire clean room.
4Ease of operation
If the FOUP gateway is used for carrying FOUP out, then the ease of operation is improved, but contaminated air may flow out from the gateway
Solution Approach 1:
Contaminated air is extracted and directed toward the lower flow-out port, preventing it from reaching the FOUP gateway. This separation allows uninterrupted FOUP transport while eliminating contaminated airflow at the gateway.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates localized air quality management where the lower flow-out port handles contaminated air discharge separately from the FOUP gateway, allowing each opening to serve its primary function without contamination interference.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design effectively maintains cleanliness within the article management storage without additional costs or reduced storage volume, ensuring clean air circulation and preventing dust contamination from reaching the work area.
Implementation Method 1
air supplied from the air outlet port is directly supplied into the article management storage through the upper opening part and is discharged from the lower flow-out port
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is a clean room including a stocker area in which an article management storage is installed, in which the article management storage includes an upper opening part and a lower flow-out port configured to adjust the aperture ratio, a ceiling of the stocker area includes an eyelid and an air outlet port, the upper opening part of the article management storage and the air outlet port are connected to each other so as to be surrounded by the eyelid, and the clean room is configured that air supplied from the air outlet port is directly supplied into the article management storage through the upper opening part and is discharged from the lower flow-out port. This can provide the clean room that can keep the inside of the article management storage clean with almost no additional cost and without reducing the storing volume in the article management storage.