Covered Material Movement Track for Cleanroom Particle Containment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current material movement systems in semiconductor manufacturing facilities generate excessive airborne particles, which exceed stringent ISO 3 cleanliness standards, despite efforts to minimize human interaction and automate processes.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of cover members over material movement tracks that enclose the rails and bearings, confining particle generation within an isolated space, preventing particles from becoming airborne and contaminating the production environment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If automated material movement systems are implemented to minimize human interaction, then particle generation from workers is reduced, but particles are generated from the material movement system itself (rails, bearings, cover members)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the harmful particle-generating components (rails and bearings) from the cleanroom environment by enclosing them within cover members. This isolates the particle source from the clean space, allowing automated material movement to continue while preventing particles from contaminating the semiconductor manufacturing area.
Solution Approach 2:
The material movement system is segmented into enclosed sections with cover members that create separate zones. The enclosure segments the cleanroom space from the particle-generating mechanical components, enabling automation while controlling particle contamination through physical separation.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If cover members are added to enclose rails and bearings, then particle containment is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cover members are designed as shell-like enclosures that wrap around the rails and bearings. This shell structure provides effective particle containment while maintaining a relatively simple and streamlined design that minimizes added complexity to the material movement system.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If the gap between cover members is reduced to contain particles, then particle escape is prevented, but workpiece carrier access becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The cover members are designed with non-uniform gap characteristics - the gaps are positioned and dimensioned to allow workpiece carriers to pass through while maintaining particle containment. The local geometry of the gaps provides different functions: particle containment in the vertical dimension and carrier access in the horizontal dimension.
Data Source
AI summary
Described examples include a material movement track having a base having a top surface, a first rail connected to the base and having a first major surface extending over the top surface, and a second rail connected to the base and having a second major surface extending over the top surface. The material movement track also has a first cover member extending from a first side of the base over the first rail and a second cover member extending from a second side of the base over the second rail and forming a gap between the first and second cover members.