CN117981068A - Substrate storage container, method for manufacturing the same, and substrate support portion on cover side - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a substrate storage container and a manufacturing method thereof, and a substrate support portion on the cover side. The cover (3) includes a first limiting portion (36) on the cover side and a second limiting portion (37) on the cover side. The substrate support portion (7) on the cover side includes a first limiting portion (76) on the support portion side and a second limiting portion (77) on the support portion side, and is installed on the cover (3) by sliding from a first position to a second position in a sliding direction (D22) relative to the cover (3). The second limiting portion (37) on the cover side does not limit the movement of the substrate support portion (7) on the cover side to the side (D11) opposite to the substrate storage space (27) side, which is used to position the substrate support portion (7) on the cover side in the first position. At the first position, the first limiting portion (36) on the cover side allows the first limiting portion (76) on the support portion side to move in the sliding direction (D22), and allows the second limiting portion (77) on the support portion side to move in the sliding direction (D22). At the second position, the first limiting portion (36) on the cover body side limits the first limiting portion (76) on the support portion side from moving in a direction (D21) opposite to the sliding direction, and limits the second limiting portion (77) on the support portion side from moving in a sliding direction (D22), and the second limiting portion (37) on the cover body side limits the substrate support portion (7) on the cover body side from moving toward the side (D12) of the substrate storage space (27).

Description

Substrate storage container, manufacturing method thereof, and cover side substrate support portion

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a substrate storage container, and more particularly to a substrate storage container for storing a plurality of substrates such as semiconductor wafers in an aligned state. In addition, the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing the substrate storage container and a cover-side substrate support portion in the substrate storage container.

Background technique

As a substrate storage container for storing substrates such as semiconductor wafers, a structure having a container body and a cover body is known. The container body has a cylindrical wall portion that forms a container body opening at one end and is closed at the other end. A substrate storage space is formed in the container body. The substrate storage space is formed by being surrounded by the wall portion and can store a plurality of substrates. The container body has an inner substrate support portion on the inner side of the substrate storage space.

The cover can be detached from the opening of the container body, and when installed on the opening of the container body, the opening of the container body is closed. A cover-side substrate support (also called a "front retainer") is arranged and installed on the inner side of the cover that faces the substrate storage space of the container body when installed on the opening of the container body. When the cover is installed on the opening of the container body, the front retainer cooperates with the inner substrate support of the container body to support a plurality of substrates.

As a method of installing the front retaining member on the cover body, there are a method of deforming the front retaining member itself and embedding it into the cover body (for example, refer to patent document 1), a method of sliding the front retaining member and embedding it into the cover body (for example, refer to patent document 2), and a method of pressing the front retaining member into the cover body.

Patent Document 1: International Publication No. 2009/060782

Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-009981

In these installation methods, the front retaining member (cover body side substrate support portion) is embedded or pressed into the cover body in a certain square shape. Therefore, due to impact, vibration, deformation caused by the front retaining member hitting an object, etc., the embedding or pressing may sometimes become loose and the front retaining member may fall off the cover body.

Summary of the invention

An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate storage container in which a cover-side substrate support portion mounted on a cover is difficult to fall off the cover, a method for manufacturing the same, and the cover-side substrate support portion.

The substrate storage container of the present invention comprises: a container body having a cylindrical wall portion, the wall portion forming a container body opening at one end and being closed at the other end, the inner surface of the wall portion forming a substrate storage space that can store multiple substrates and is connected to the container body opening; a cover body that can be detached relative to the container body opening and can close the container body opening; and a cover body side substrate support portion, which is arranged on the cover body and is opposite to the substrate storage space when the container body opening is closed by the cover body, and can support the edge of the multiple substrates when the container body opening is closed by the cover body, the cover body comprising a first cover body side limiting portion and a second cover body side limiting portion, the cover body side substrate support portion comprising a first support portion side limiting portion and a second support portion side limiting portion, and is configured to be able to be opened relative to the cover body The cover body is installed on the cover body by sliding from a first position to a second position in a specified sliding direction, and the second limiting portion on the cover body side does not limit the movement of the substrate supporting portion on the cover body side to the side opposite to the substrate storage space side, which is used to make the substrate supporting portion on the cover body side located in the first position. At the first position, the first limiting portion on the cover body side allows the first limiting portion on the supporting portion side to move in the sliding direction, and allows the second limiting portion on the supporting portion side to move in the sliding direction. At the second position, the first limiting portion on the cover body side limits the movement of the first limiting portion on the supporting portion side in the direction opposite to the sliding direction, and limits the movement of the second limiting portion on the supporting portion side in the sliding direction. The second limiting portion on the cover body side limits the movement of the substrate supporting portion on the cover body side to the substrate storage space side.

In addition, it is preferred that the substrate supporting portion on the cover side also has a collision avoidance portion, and the second limiting portion on the cover side does not limit the movement of the substrate supporting portion on the cover side to the side opposite to the substrate storage space side for positioning the substrate supporting portion on the cover side in the first position, and at the second position, the second limiting portion on the cover side limits the movement of the substrate supporting portion on the cover side to the substrate storage space side by virtue of the structure that the collision avoidance portion does not avoid the collision with the second limiting portion on the cover side when viewed from the side opposite to the substrate storage space side.

Furthermore, it is preferable that a surface of the second cover-side restricting portion on the side opposite to the substrate storage space side is inclined so as to approach the substrate storage space side as it moves in a direction opposite to the sliding direction.

Furthermore, it is preferable that at the first position, a side of the support-side first restriction portion opposite to the substrate storage space side abuts against the substrate storage space side of the cover-side first restriction portion.

In addition, it is preferred that the cover body also has a third limiting portion on the cover body side, and the first limiting portion on the supporting portion side is deformed from the first position, so that the substrate supporting portion on the cover body side moves to the side opposite to the substrate storage space side, and the third limiting portion on the cover body side limits the movement of the substrate supporting portion on the cover body side to the side opposite to the substrate storage space side.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the cover body and the cover body side substrate support portion include an erroneous mounting prevention structure for preventing the cover body side substrate support portion from being mounted on the cover body in an erroneous orientation.

In addition, the cover body side substrate support portion preferably has: a pair of first frame portions extending along a prescribed direction; a pair of second frame portions extending along a direction different from the prescribed direction; a foot portion connected to the first frame portion; and a substrate receiving portion arranged on the foot portion, the foot portion constituting a foot pair by the foot portion connected to the first frame portion on one side and the foot portion connected to the first frame portion on the other side and not connected to the foot on one side, the foot pair being arranged in the same number as the plurality of substrates stored in the substrate storage container, and a pair of the second frame portions connecting a pair of the first frame portions on the outside of both sides of the direction in which the foot pair is arranged.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the cover-side substrate supporting portion further includes a structure for improving sliding operability at a position where the first position does not interfere with the cover-side second restricting portion.

In addition, the manufacturing method of the substrate storage container of the present invention comprises: a container body, which has a cylindrical wall portion, the wall portion having a container body opening portion formed at one end and the other end being closed, and the inner surface of the wall portion is used to form a substrate storage space that can store multiple substrates and is connected to the container body opening portion; a cover body that can be detached relative to the container body opening portion and can close the container body opening portion; and a cover body side substrate support portion, which is a portion arranged on the cover body and opposite to the substrate storage space when the container body opening portion is closed by the cover body, and can support the edge portion of the multiple substrates when the container body opening portion is closed by the cover body, the cover body having a first cover body side limiting portion and a second cover body side limiting portion, the cover body side substrate support portion having a first support portion side limiting portion and a second support portion side limiting portion, and is configured to be The cover body is installed on the cover body for sliding from the first position to the second position in a specified sliding direction relative to the cover body, so that the substrate support part on the cover body side is not restricted by the second restriction part on the cover body side and moves toward the side opposite to the substrate storage space side, so that the substrate support part on the cover body side is located in the first position, and the first restriction part on the support part side and the second restriction part on the support part side are not restricted by the first restriction part on the cover body side and move in the sliding direction, so that the substrate support part on the cover body side is located in the second position, at the second position, the movement of the first restriction part on the support part side in the direction opposite to the sliding direction is restricted by the first restriction part on the cover body side, the movement of the second restriction part on the support part side in the sliding direction is restricted by the first restriction part on the cover body side, and the movement of the substrate support part on the cover body side toward the substrate storage space side is restricted by the second restriction part on the cover body side.

In addition, it is preferred that the cover body also has a third limiting portion on the cover body side, and the first limiting portion on the supporting portion side is deformed from the first position to move the substrate supporting portion on the cover body side to the side opposite to the substrate storage space side, and the movement of the substrate supporting portion on the cover body side to the side opposite to the substrate storage space side is limited by the third limiting portion on the cover body side.

In addition, the cover body side substrate support portion of the present invention is arranged on the cover body of the substrate storage container, wherein the substrate storage container comprises: a container body, comprising a cylindrical wall portion, the wall portion forming a container body opening portion at one end and being closed at the other end, and utilizing the inner surface of the wall portion to form a substrate storage space that can store multiple substrates and is connected to the container body opening portion; and the cover body can be detached relative to the container body opening portion, can close the container body opening portion, and comprises a first limit portion on the cover body side and a second limit portion on the cover body side, the cover body side substrate support portion is arranged on the portion of the cover body and is opposite to the substrate storage space when the container body opening portion is closed by the cover body, and can support the edge portion of the multiple substrates when the container body opening portion is closed by the cover body, and further, the cover body side substrate support portion comprises a first limit portion on the support portion side and a support portion The second limiting part on the side of the part is configured to be installed on the cover body by sliding from a first position to a second position relative to the cover body in a specified sliding direction, and is used to ensure that when the substrate supporting part on the cover body side is located in the first position, the movement of the substrate supporting part on the cover body side to the side opposite to the substrate storage space side is not restricted by the second limiting part on the cover body side. At the first position, the movement of the first limiting part on the support part side and the second limiting part on the support part side in the sliding direction is not restricted by the first limiting part on the cover body side. At the second position, the movement of the first limiting part on the support part side in the direction opposite to the sliding direction is restricted by the first limiting part on the cover body side, and the movement of the second limiting part on the support part side in the sliding direction is restricted by the first limiting part on the cover body side, and the movement of the substrate supporting part on the cover body side to the substrate storage space side is restricted by the second limiting part on the cover body side.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a substrate storage container in which a cover-side substrate support portion attached to a cover is unlikely to fall off the cover, a method for manufacturing the same, and the cover-side substrate support portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a state where a plurality of substrates W are stored in a substrate storage container 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an upper perspective view showing a container body 2 of a substrate storage container 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the cover body 3 and the front holding member 7 in a state before sliding (first position) according to the embodiment of the present invention, as seen from the inside.

FIG. 3B is a partial enlarged view of FIG. 3A .

FIG. 3C is a rear view of the cover body 3 and the front holding member 7 in the state before sliding (first position) according to the embodiment of the present invention, as seen from the inside.

FIG. 3D is a partial enlarged view of FIG. 3C .

FIG. 3E is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA shown in FIG. 3C .

FIG. 3F is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB shown in FIG. 3C .

FIG. 4A is a perspective view showing a state in which the front holding member 7 is removed from FIG. 3A .

FIG. 4B is a rear view of a state in which the front holding member 7 is removed from FIG. 3C .

FIG. 4C is a schematic perspective view of the first cover-side restricting portion 36 and the second cover-side restricting portion 37 in the embodiment.

FIG. 5A is a perspective view of the front holding member 7 according to the embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the inner side (support side).

FIG. 5B is a rear view of the front holding member 7 according to the embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the inner side (support side).

FIG. 5C is a partially enlarged perspective view of the front holding member 7 according to the embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the inner side (support side), and is a view viewed from the opposite side to FIG. 5A .

FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in a state in the middle of sliding (corresponding to FIG. 3E ).

FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in a state in the middle of sliding (corresponding to FIG. 3F ).

FIG. 7A is a partially enlarged rear view of the cover body 3 and the front holding member 7 in the slid state (second position) as seen from the inside (corresponding to FIG. 3D ).

FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in the state after sliding (corresponding to FIG. 3E ).

FIG. 7C is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in the state after sliding (corresponding to FIG. 3F ).

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of the first cover-side restricting portion 36 and the second cover-side restricting portion 37 in a modified form (corresponding to FIG. 4C ).

Description of Reference Numerals

1. Substrate storage container

2 Container body

20 Wall

21 Container body opening

27 Substrate storage space

28 Opening periphery

3 Cover

36 Cover body side first restriction portion

361 First End

362 Second End

363 The third end

364 The Fourth End

37 Cover body side second restriction portion

371 Page 1

38 Cover body side third restriction portion

7 Cover body side substrate support portion (front holding member)

71, 71A, 71B vertical frame portion (first frame portion)

72, 72A, 72B: retaining member foot (foot)

72U foot pair

73 Cover body side substrate receiving portion (substrate receiving portion)

74 second frame portion (horizontal frame portion)

75 knob (structure for improving sliding operability)

76 Supporting portion side first restriction portion

761 First End

763 Third End

766 Extension

767 base

768 Through-hole

77 Supporting portion side second restriction portion

774 The Fourth End

78 Collision Avoidance Department

D1 Front-to-back direction

D11 front direction (the side opposite to the board storage space side)

D12 rear direction (substrate storage space side)

D2 Up and down direction (specified direction, arrangement direction)

D21 Upward direction (opposite to the sliding direction)

D22 Downward direction (sliding direction)

D3 Left and right direction (direction different from the specified direction)

W substrate

Detailed ways

Hereinafter, the substrate storage container 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a substrate storage container 1 of the embodiment of the present invention in which a plurality of substrates W are stored. FIG. 2 is an upper perspective view of the container body 2 of the substrate storage container 1 of the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the cover 3 and the front holding member 7 in the state before sliding (first position) of the embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the inside. FIG. 3B is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 3A. FIG. 3C is a rear view of the cover 3 and the front holding member 7 in the state before sliding (first position) of the embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the inside. FIG. 3D is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 3C. FIG. 3E is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A shown in FIG. 3C. FIG. 3F is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB shown in FIG. 3C. FIG. 4A is a perspective view showing a state in which the front holding member 7 is removed from FIG. 3A. FIG. 4B is a rear view showing a state in which the front holding member 7 is removed from FIG. 3C. FIG. 4C is a schematic perspective view of the first cover-side restricting portion 36 and the second cover-side restricting portion 37 in the embodiment. FIG. 5A is a perspective view of the front holding member 7 according to the embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the inner side (support side).

Fig. 5B is a rear view of the front holding member 7 of the embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the inside (support side). Fig. 5C is a partially enlarged stereoscopic view of the front holding member 7 of the embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the inside (support side), and is a view viewed from the opposite side to Fig. 5A. Fig. 6A is a cross-sectional view along the line A-A in the state of sliding in the middle (corresponding to Fig. 3E). Fig. 6B is a cross-sectional view along the line BB in the state of sliding in the middle (corresponding to Fig. 3F). Fig. 7A is a partially enlarged rear view of the cover body 3 and the front holding member 7 in the state after sliding (second position) as viewed from the inside (corresponding to Fig. 3D). Fig. 7B is a cross-sectional view along the line A-A in the state after sliding (corresponding to Fig. 3E). Fig. 7C is a cross-sectional view along the line BB in the state after sliding (corresponding to Fig. 3F).

Here, for the sake of convenience of explanation, the direction from the container body 2 described later toward the cover body 3 (the direction from the upper right toward the lower left in FIG. 1 ) is defined as the front direction D11, the opposite direction is defined as the rear direction D12, and these are collectively defined as the front-back direction D1. In addition, the direction from the lower wall 24 described later toward the upper wall 23 (the upper direction in FIG. 1 ) is defined as the upper direction D21, the opposite direction is defined as the lower direction D22, and these are collectively defined as the upper-lower direction D2. In addition, the direction from the second side wall 26 described later toward the first side wall 25 (the direction from the lower right toward the upper left in FIG. 1 ) is defined as the left direction D31, the opposite direction is defined as the right direction D32, and these are collectively defined as the left-right direction D3. Arrows indicating these directions are illustrated in the main drawings.

The substrate W (see FIG. 1 ) stored in the substrate storage container 1 is a disk-shaped silicon wafer, glass wafer, sapphire wafer, etc., and is a thin substrate used in industry. The substrate W in this embodiment is a silicon wafer with a diameter of 300 mm.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , a substrate storage container 1 stores substrates W composed of silicon wafers as described above, and is used as a process container for transporting in a process within a factory, or as a shipping container for transporting substrates by land, air, sea, etc., and is composed of a container body 2 and a cover body 3. A side substrate support portion 5 and a back substrate support portion 6 (see FIG. 2 , etc.) are installed on the container body 2. As shown in FIGS. 3A to 3F , etc., a front holding member 7 as a substrate support portion on the cover side is installed on the cover body 3.

The container body 2 has a cylindrical wall portion 20 having a container body opening 21 formed at one end and the other end being closed. A substrate storage space 27 is formed in the container body 2. The substrate storage space 27 is formed by being surrounded by the wall portion 20. A side substrate support portion 5 is arranged at a portion of the wall portion 20 that forms the substrate storage space 27. As shown in FIG. 1 , a plurality of substrates W can be stored in the substrate storage space 27.

The side substrate support parts 5 are provided in pairs on the wall part 20 in the substrate storage space 27. When the container body opening 21 is not closed by the cover body 3, the side substrate support parts 5 abut against the edges of the plurality of substrates W, thereby supporting the edges of the plurality of substrates W in a state where the adjacent substrates W are separated and arranged at a predetermined interval. The back substrate support parts 6 are integrally formed with the side substrate support parts 5 on the back side of the side substrate support parts 5.

The back substrate support 6 (see FIG. 2, etc.) is provided on the wall 20 in a paired manner with the front holding member 7 described later in the substrate storage space 27. When the container body opening 21 is closed by the lid 3, the back substrate support 6 abuts against the edge of the plurality of substrates W, thereby supporting the rear of the edge of the plurality of substrates W.

The cover body 3 can be detached from the opening peripheral edge portion 28 (FIG. 1, etc.) forming the container body opening 21, and can close the container body opening 21. The front holding member 7 is mounted on a portion of the cover body 3 and is opposite to the substrate storage space 27 when the container body opening 21 is closed by the cover body 3. The front holding member 7 is arranged in a paired manner with the back substrate support portion 6 inside the substrate storage space 27.

When the container body opening 21 is closed by the cover 3, the front holding member 7 abuts against the edge portions of the plurality of substrates W, thereby supporting the front portions of the edge portions of the plurality of substrates W. When the container body opening 21 is closed by the cover 3, the front holding member 7 cooperates with the back substrate supporting portion 6 to support the plurality of substrates W, thereby holding the plurality of substrates W in a state where adjacent substrates W are separated and arranged at predetermined intervals from each other.

The substrate storage container 1 is made of a resin such as a plastic material. Examples of the resin of the material include thermoplastic resins such as polycarbonate, cycloolefin polymer, polyetherimide, polyetherketone, polybutylene terephthalate, polyetheretherketone, and liquid crystal polymer, or alloys thereof. When conductivity is imparted to the resin of these molding materials, a conductive substance such as carbon fiber, carbon powder, carbon nanotube, and conductive polymer is selectively added. In addition, glass fiber, carbon fiber, etc. may be added to increase rigidity.

As shown in Fig. 1, the wall portion 20 of the container body 2 includes 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 formed.

The first side wall 25 is opposite to the second side wall 26, and the upper wall 23 is opposite to the lower wall 24. 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 constitute an opening peripheral portion 28, and the opening peripheral portion 28 forms the container body opening portion 21 in a substantially rectangular shape.

The opening peripheral portion 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 outer shape of the container body 2 formed by the outer surface of the wall portion 20 is box-shaped. The inner surface of the wall portion 20, that is, the inner surface of the rear wall 22, the inner surface of the upper wall 23, the inner surface of the lower wall 24, the inner surface of the first side wall 25, and the inner surface of the second side wall 26 form a substrate storage space 27 surrounded by them. The container body opening 21 formed in the opening peripheral portion 28 is connected to the substrate storage space 27 surrounded by the wall portion 20 and formed inside the container body 2. A maximum of 25 substrates W can be stored in the substrate storage space 27.

As shown in Fig. 1, latch engaging recesses 231A, 231B, 241A, 241B are formed in a part of the upper wall 23 and the lower wall 24 and in a part near the opening peripheral edge 28, and are recessed toward the outside of the substrate storage space 27. The latch engaging recesses 231A, 231B, 241A, 241B are formed one each near the left and right ends of the upper wall 23 and the lower wall 24, and a total of four are formed.

As shown in FIG. 1 , a rib 235 is provided on the outer surface of the upper wall 23 in a manner integrally formed with the upper wall 23. The rib 235 can improve the rigidity of the container body 2. In addition, a top flange 236 is fixed to the central portion of the upper wall 23. The top flange 236 is a member that becomes a part that is hooked and suspended in the substrate storage container 1 when the substrate storage container 1 is suspended in an AMHS (automatic wafer transport system), a PGV (wafer substrate transport vehicle), etc.

2 and other figures, the side substrate supports 5 are mounted on the first side wall 25 and the second side wall 26, respectively, and are provided in pairs in the container body 2 in the left-right direction D3 in the substrate storage space 27. Specifically, the side substrate supports 5 have a plate portion 51.

The plate portion 51 has a plate-like, substantially arc-shaped shape. 25 plates 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 plates 51. Adjacent plates 51 are arranged in a parallel positional relationship, separated from each other by 7 mm to 20 mm intervals, preferably 10 mm to 12 mm intervals, in the vertical direction D2.

In addition, the 25 plates 51 provided on the first side wall 25 and the 25 plates 51 provided on the second side wall 26 are positioned opposite to each other in the left-right direction D3. Projections 511 and 512 are provided on the upper surface of the plate 51. The substrate W supported by the plate 51 contacts only the protruding ends of the projections 511 and 512, and does not contact the surface of the plate 51.

The side substrate supporting portion 5 configured in this manner can support edge portions of the plurality of substrates W while adjacent substrates W among the plurality of substrates W are spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval and in a positional relationship parallel to each other.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the inner substrate support 6 is formed integrally with the container body 2 at the rear end of the plate portion 51 of the side substrate support 5. The inner substrate support 6 is provided in a number corresponding to each substrate W that can be accommodated in the substrate accommodation space 27, specifically 25. The inner substrate support 6 arranged on the first side wall 25 and the second side wall 26 has a positional relationship in a pair with the front holding member 7 described later in the front-to-back direction D1. By accommodating the substrate W in the substrate accommodation space 27 and closing the cover 3, the inner substrate support 6 clamps and supports the end edge of the edge portion of the substrate W.

As shown in Fig. 1, the cover 3 has a substantially rectangular shape that is substantially consistent with the shape of the opening peripheral portion 28 of the container body 2. The cover 3 can be detached from the opening peripheral portion 28 of the container body 2, and by attaching the cover 3 to the opening peripheral portion 28, the cover 3 can close the container body opening 21 in a positional relationship surrounded by the opening peripheral portion 28.

As shown in Figs. 3A to 4C, the cover body 3 includes: an inner plate-like portion 301 having a substantially rectangular plate shape; an outer plate-like portion 302 having a substantially rectangular plate shape; and a peripheral wall portion 303. The surface of the inner plate-like portion 301 on the rear direction D12 side constitutes the inner surface of the cover body, and when the container body opening 21 is closed by the cover body 3, it forms the substrate storage space 27 together with the inner surface of the container body 2. The peripheral wall portion 303 is provided at the peripheral edge of the inner plate-like portion 301, and the peripheral wall portion 303 extends along the peripheral edge in a forward direction D11 (a direction orthogonal to the inner surface of the cover body of the inner plate-like portion 301) in a manner of going around the peripheral edge. The inner plate-like portion 301 and the peripheral wall portion 303 are integrally formed and connected, for example, of polycarbonate. In addition, the inner plate-like portion 301 and the peripheral wall portion 303 are not limited to being composed of polycarbonate.

As shown in Fig. 1 and other figures, the outer plate-like portion 302 is arranged at the protruding end of the peripheral wall portion 303 in the front direction D11. The outer plate-like portion 302 is fixed to the inner plate-like portion 301 in a state where the periphery of the outer plate-like portion 302 is surrounded by the peripheral wall portion 303. In addition, the surface of the outer plate-like portion 302 on the front direction D11 side constitutes the outer surface of the cover body.

The cover body 3 is provided with a latch mechanism. The latch mechanism is provided near the left and right ends of the cover body 3, and as shown in FIG. 1 , FIG. 3A , and FIG. 3C , it includes two upper latch parts 32A that can protrude from the upper side of the cover body 3 in the upper direction D21, and two lower latch parts 32B that can protrude from the lower side of the cover body 3 in the lower direction D22. An operating part 33 is provided on the outer surface side of the cover body 3. By operating the operating part 33 from the front side of the cover body 3, the upper latch parts 32A and the lower latch parts 32B can be protruded from the upper side and the lower side of the cover body 3, or the upper latch parts 32A and the lower latch parts 32B can be made not to protrude from the upper side and the lower side. The cover body 3 is fixed to the opening peripheral edge portion 28 of the container body 2 by the upper latch portion 32A protruding from the upper side of the cover body 3 in the upward direction D21 and engaging with the latch engaging recesses 231A, 231B of the container body 2, and the lower latch portion 32B protruding from the lower side of the cover body 3 in the downward direction D22 and engaging with the latch engaging recesses 241A, 241B of the container body 2.

A holding member storage recess 305 is formed inside the cover 3 and is recessed toward the outside (front direction D11) of the substrate storage space 27. The front holding member 7 is mounted and fixed to the holding member storage recess 305. The holding member storage recess 305 includes a pair of side walls 306, 306 and a bottom surface 307 (inner surface in the front direction D11) in the left-right direction D3.

The cover body 3 further includes a cover body side first restriction portion 36, a cover body side second restriction portion 37, and a cover body side third restriction portion 38. These will be described in detail later.

A rectangular ring-shaped sealing member 4 is installed on the inner surface of the cover 3 (the inner surface of the cover 3 shown in FIG. 1 ) and on the surface (sealing surface 281) opposite to the surface of the step portion formed at a position immediately behind the opening peripheral edge portion 28 in the rear direction D12 when the cover 3 closes the container body opening 21, i.e., on the periphery of the inner plate-shaped portion 301, so as to surround the outer peripheral edge portion of the cover 3. The sealing member 4 is arranged so as to surround the peripheral wall portion 303 of the cover 3. The sealing member 4 is made of various thermoplastic elastomers such as polyester and polyolefin that can be elastically deformed, fluororubber, silicone rubber, etc.

When the cover 3 is mounted on the opening peripheral portion 28, the sealing member 4 is elastically deformed by being sandwiched between the sealing surface 281 (see FIG. 1 ) of the container body 2 and the inner surface of the cover 3. That is, by sandwiching the sealing member 4 between the cover 3 and the container body 2, the cover 3 can close the container body opening 21 in a state where the cover 3 and the opening peripheral portion 28 are not in contact with each other but are separated. By removing the cover 3 from the opening peripheral portion 28, the substrate W can be taken out or put into the substrate storage space 27 in the container body 2.

As shown in FIG1 , a container body foot 244 is provided on the outer surface of the lower wall 24. The container body foot 244 is integrally formed at the left and right end edges of the lower wall 24, and extends in the front-rear direction D1 along the left and right end edges of the lower wall 24. When the container body 2 is placed on a horizontal flat surface with the lower wall 24 as the lower side (the lower direction D22 side), the container body foot 244 contacts the flat surface and stably supports the container body 2.

(Details of the cover and front holding member)

The cover body 3 and the front holding member 7 are described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 3A to 8. As shown in FIGS. 3A to 4C, the front holding member 7 as the cover body side substrate support portion is mounted and fixed in the holding member storage recess 305 on the inner side of the cover body 3 in a stored form. As shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C, the front holding member 7 includes: a pair of longitudinal frame portions 71, 71 (first frame portion) extending along the up-down direction D2; a pair of holding member legs 72, 72 (leg portions) connected to the pair of longitudinal frame portions 71, 71 respectively; a cover body side substrate receiving portion 73 (substrate receiving portion) provided on the holding member legs 72; a transverse frame portion 74 (second frame portion) extending in the left-right direction D3; a handle portion 75; a first limiting portion 76 on the support portion side; a second limiting portion 77 on the support portion side; and a collision avoidance portion 78. These are integrally formed of resin and connected to each other.

The front holding member 7 is basically bilaterally symmetrical. Therefore, sometimes only one of the left and right sides is described, and the description of the other side is omitted. In this case, the description of one side is applicable to the description of the other side. The left-right direction D3 is the left-right direction when the cover body 3 and the front holding member 7 are arranged in the orientation shown in FIG. 1. When viewed from the inner side of the cover body 3 as shown in FIG. 3A, etc., it can be seen that the left and right are reversed in the drawings.

A pair of vertical frame portions 71 ( 71A, 71B) is provided in the left-right direction D3 so as to extend in parallel along the up-down direction D2 (predetermined direction).

The retaining member foot 72 (72A) on the left direction D31 side extends from the longitudinal frame portion 71 (71A) on the left direction D31 side toward the right rear. The cover body side substrate receiving portion 73 (73A) on the left direction D31 side is connected to the front end portion of the retaining member foot 72 (72A) on the left direction D31 side, that is, the end portion on the right direction D32 side. On the other hand, the retaining member foot 72 (72B) on the right direction D32 side extends from the longitudinal frame portion 71 on the right direction D32 side toward the left rear. The cover body side substrate receiving portion 73 (73B) on the right direction D32 side is connected to the front end portion of the retaining member foot 72 (72B) on the right direction D32 side, that is, the end portion on the left direction D31 side. Therefore, the cover body side substrate receiving portion 73 is arranged at a position separated by a predetermined interval from the inner surface of the cover body 3 in the rear direction D12.

The holding member legs 72 are composed of one holding member leg 72 (72A) connected to one longitudinal frame 71 (71A) and another holding member leg 72 (72B) connected to the other longitudinal frame 71 (71B) and not connected to one holding member leg 72 (72A). The same number of leg pairs 72U is provided as the number of substrates W stored in the substrate storage container 1.

The retaining member foot 72 is a structure that is easily elastically deformed, especially because it is in the shape of a cantilever beam, so it is easy to elastically deform. Therefore, when the cover body side substrate receiving portion 73 is subjected to an external force in the direction of the surface close to the inner side of the cover body 3 (front direction D11), the retaining member foot 72 can be elastically deformed in accordance with the external force, so that the cover body side substrate receiving portion 73 can be displaced.

A pair of transverse frame portions 74 are provided in the vertical direction D2 so as to extend in parallel along the horizontal direction D3 (a direction different from the predetermined direction). The pair of transverse frame portions 74, 74 are connected to the pair of vertical frame portions 71, 71 on the outer sides of both sides in the direction in which the leg pair 72U is arranged (the vertical direction D2). The transverse frame portion 74 on the upper direction D21 side connects the upper ends of the pair of vertical frame portions 71, 71 to each other in the horizontal direction D3, and the transverse frame portion 74 on the lower direction D22 side connects the lower ends of the pair of vertical frame portions 71, 71 to each other in the horizontal direction D3.

The handle portion 75 is provided at the outer portion of the pair of longitudinal frame portions 71 in the left-right direction D3. The handle portion 75 protrudes in the rearward direction D12, and a plurality of the handle portions 75 are provided separately in the up-down direction D2. The handle portion 75 is an example of "a structure for improving the operability of sliding, which is provided at a position that does not interfere with the second limiting portion 37 on the cover body side in the state before sliding (first position)" shown in FIGS. 3D to 3F, etc. The structure for improving the operability of sliding is typically a protruding portion such as the handle portion 75, but is not limited thereto, and may also be a concave portion, a concave-convex portion, a structure for improving the holding force, a structure for improving the friction force, etc.

The first limiting portion 76 on the support side is provided at the outer portion of the pair of longitudinal frame portions 71 in the left-right direction D3. The first limiting portion 76 on the support side is arranged at a position corresponding to the first limiting portion 36 on the cover body side of the cover body 3. Only one first limiting portion 76 on the support side is provided in the up-down direction D2, and is provided at a substantially central position in the up-down direction D2. The first limiting portion 76 on the support side includes a base portion 767 that protrudes from the longitudinal frame portion 71 in the rearward direction D12, an extension portion 766 that extends from the rear end portion of the base portion 767 in the upward direction D21, and a through portion 768. The end portion of the extension portion 766 on the front direction D11 side (also the end portion of the first limiting portion 76 on the front direction D11 side) is referred to as a "first end portion 761". The first end portion 761 is located closer to the rear direction D12 than the surface of the longitudinal frame portion 71 on the rear direction D12 side. The end portion of the extension portion 766 on the upper direction D21 side is referred to as a "third end portion 763". In the present specification, the "end portion" may be in a planar shape (a flat surface shape, a curved surface shape) or a convex shape (the same shall apply hereinafter unless otherwise specified).

The through portion 768 is formed by cutting away a portion of the longitudinal frame portion 71 that overlaps with the extension portion 766 when viewed from the front direction D11. The through portion 768 is a cutout portion that is open to the outside in the left-right direction D3 and penetrates in the front-back direction D1. The through portion 768 is disposed at a position corresponding to the cover body side first restriction portion 36 of the cover body 3.

The second support-side restricting portion 77 is provided at the outer portion of the pair of vertical frame portions 71 in the left-right direction D3. The second support-side restricting portion 77 protrudes in the rearward direction D12 and is adjacent to the first support-side restricting portion 76 in the up-down direction D2. Specifically, the fourth end portion 774 of the second support-side restricting portion 77 on the lower direction D22 side is opposite to the third end portion 763 of the first support-side restricting portion 76 in the up-down direction D2.

The abutment avoidance portion 78 is provided at the outer portion of the pair of longitudinal frame portions 71 in the left-right direction D3. The abutment avoidance portion 78 is a cutout portion that is open to the outer side in the left-right direction D3 and penetrates in the front-back direction D1. The abutment avoidance portion 78 is arranged at a position corresponding to the cover body side second restriction portion 37 of the cover body 3.

Next, the details of the cover body 3 will be described. The retaining member storage recess 305 of the cover body 3 is provided with a cover body side first restriction portion 36 , a cover body side second restriction portion 37 , and a cover body side third restriction portion 38 .

The first limiting portion 36 on the cover side is respectively provided on a pair of side walls 306, 306 in the left-right direction D3 of the holding member storage recess 305, and protrudes inward in the left-right direction D3. The first limiting portion 36 on the cover side corresponds to the first limiting portion 76 on the support side, and only one is provided in the up-down direction D2, and is provided at a substantially central position in the up-down direction D2. As shown in FIG. 3F and FIG. 4C, the first limiting portion 36 on the cover side has, in a cross-sectional view orthogonal to its protruding direction (i.e., the left-right direction D3), an end portion on the front direction D11 side, i.e., a first end portion 361; an end portion on the rear direction D12 side, i.e., a second end portion 362; an end portion on the upper direction D21 side, i.e., a third end portion 363; and an end portion on the lower direction D22 side, i.e., a fourth end portion 364. In the present embodiment, the first end portion 361 and the second end portion 362 are planar. The third end portion 363 and the fourth end portion 364 are convex or curved.

The second limiting portion 37 on the cover side is provided on a pair of side walls 306, 306 in the left-right direction D3 of the holding member storage recess 305, and protrudes inward in the left-right direction D3. As shown in FIG3F and FIG4C, the second limiting portion 37 on the cover side has a surface on the front direction D11 side, that is, a first surface 371 in a cross-sectional view orthogonal to the protruding direction (i.e., the left-right direction D3). A plurality of second limiting portions 37 on the cover side are provided separately along the up-down direction D2 on the side wall 306 of the holding member storage recess 305.

The third limiting portion 38 on the cover side is provided on the bottom surface 307 of the holding member storage recess 305, and protrudes in the rear direction D12. The third limiting portion 38 on the cover side extends from the pair of side walls 306, 306 in the left-right direction D3 to the inner side of the left-right direction D3. In addition, as long as the function of the third limiting portion 38 on the cover side can be exerted, the configuration and cross-sectional shape of the third limiting portion 38 on the cover side are not limited.

The front holding member 7 is mounted on the cover body 3 by sliding relative to the cover body 3 from a first position (see FIGS. 3D to 3F ) to a second position (see FIGS. 7A to 7C ) in a predetermined sliding direction. In this embodiment, the predetermined sliding direction is the downward direction D22 .

The first position is a position before sliding, as shown in FIGS. 3A to 3F , and in the present embodiment, is a position where the second cover-side restricting portion 37 does not restrict the movement of the front holding member 7 when the front holding member 7 is moved in the front direction D11 toward the holding member storage recess 305 of the cover 3 (a position where the second cover-side restricting portion 37 is inserted into the abutment avoidance portion 78, and the first cover-side restricting portion 36 is inserted into the through portion 768 of the first support-side restricting portion 76). In addition, the first position is a position where, when the front holding member 7 is moved in the front direction D11 toward the holding member storage recess 305 of the cover 3, the first end portion 761 of the first support-side restricting portion 76 on the side opposite to the substrate storage space 27 side (front side, front direction D11) abuts against the second end portion 362 of the first cover-side restricting portion 36 on the substrate storage space 27 side (rear side, rear direction D12), and the movement of the front holding member 7 in the front direction D11 is temporarily stopped.

The second cover-side limiting portion 37 does not limit the movement of the front holding member 7 to the side opposite to the substrate storage space 27 side (front side, front direction D11) for positioning the front holding member 7 in the first position. From another perspective, the movement of the front holding member 7 to the side opposite to the substrate storage space 27 side (front side, front direction D11) for positioning the front holding member 7 in the first position is not limited by the second cover-side limiting portion 37.

In the first position, the first limiting portion 36 on the cover side allows the first limiting portion 76 on the support side to move in the sliding direction (downward direction D22), and allows the second limiting portion 77 on the support side to move in the sliding direction (downward direction D22). From another perspective, in the first position, the movement of the first limiting portion 76 on the support side and the second limiting portion 77 on the support side in the sliding direction (downward direction D22) is not limited by the first limiting portion 36 on the cover side.

As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the first support-side limiting portion 76 is deformed from the first position shown in FIGS. 3D to 3F to the rearward direction D12, whereby the front holding member 7 moves to the side opposite to the substrate storage space 27 side (front side, front direction D11), and the third cover-side limiting portion 38 limits the front holding member 7 from moving to the side opposite to the substrate storage space 27 side (front side, front direction D11). Specifically, when the first support-side limiting portion 76 is deformed, the portion of the front holding member 7 other than the first support-side limiting portion 76 can move to the front direction D11. Then, when the portion of the front holding member 7 other than the first support-side limiting portion 76 abuts against the third cover-side limiting portion 38, it cannot move to the front direction D11. From another perspective, the portion of the front holding member 7 other than the first support-side limiting portion 76 can move to the front direction D11 until it abuts against the third cover-side limiting portion 38. In this specification, "restricting movement" is typically achieved by members abutting against each other, but is not limited to abutment, and also includes situations where there is a gap within the scope of technical common sense, and situations where they do not abut normally but abut with slight movement.

The second position is the position after sliding, as shown in Fig. 7A to Fig. 7C, in this embodiment, it is the position where the first limiting portion 36 on the cover side limits the movement of the first limiting portion 76 on the support side in the direction opposite to the sliding direction (upward direction D21), and limits the movement of the second limiting portion 77 on the support side in the sliding direction (downward direction D22). In addition, the second position is the position where the second limiting portion 37 on the cover side limits the movement of the front holding member 7 to the substrate storage space 27 side (rear side, rear direction D12).

From another perspective, at the second position, the movement of the first limiting portion 76 on the support portion side in the direction opposite to the sliding direction (upward direction D21) is limited by the first limiting portion 36 on the cover body side, and the movement of the second limiting portion 77 on the support portion side in the sliding direction (downward direction D22) is limited by the first limiting portion 36 on the cover body side, and the movement of the front retaining member 7 to the side of the substrate storage space 27 (rear side, rear direction D12) is limited by the second limiting portion 37 on the cover body side.

The cover body 3 and the front holding member 7 have an erroneous installation prevention structure capable of preventing the front holding member 7 from being installed on the cover body 3 in an incorrect orientation. In the present embodiment, the movement of the front holding member 7 to the side opposite to the substrate storage space 27 side (front side, front direction D11) for positioning the front holding member 7 in the first position is achieved by inserting all of the cover body side second limiting portions 37 into the abutment avoidance portion 78 without being restricted by the cover body side second limiting portions 37. The cover body side second limiting portions 37 and the abutment avoidance portion 78 are configured so that all of the cover body side second limiting portions 37 are inserted into the abutment avoidance portion 78 only when the front holding member 7 is installed on the cover body 3 in the correct orientation. Assuming that the front holding member 7 is installed on the cover body 3 in an incorrect orientation, a part or all of the cover body side second limiting portions 37 cannot be inserted into the abutment avoidance portion 78 and abuts against the longitudinal frame portion 71. Therefore, the front holding member 7 cannot be installed on the cover body 3. This is an erroneous installation prevention structure.

(An Example of a Method for Manufacturing the Substrate Storage Container 1 According to the Embodiment)

Next, an example of a method for manufacturing the substrate storage container 1 of the embodiment (a method for mounting the front holding member 7 on the cover 3) is described. In order to locate the front holding member 7 in the first position, as shown in FIGS. 3A to 3F, the front holding member 7 is not restricted by the second restriction portion 37 on the cover side and moves to the side opposite to the substrate storage space 27 side (the front side, the front direction D11).

Specifically, the second limiting portion 37 on the cover side is inserted into the abutment avoidance portion 78, and the first limiting portion 36 on the cover side is inserted into the through portion 768 of the first limiting portion 76 on the support side. Then, the first end portion 761 on the side opposite to the substrate storage space 27 side (front side, front direction D11) of the first limiting portion 76 on the support side abuts against the second end portion 362 on the substrate storage space 27 side (rear side, rear direction D12) of the first limiting portion 36 on the cover side, and the movement of the front holding member 7 in the front direction D11 is temporarily stopped.

As shown in Fig. 6A and Fig. 6B, the front holding member 7 is moved to the side opposite to the substrate storage space 27 side (front side, front direction D11) by deforming the first limiting portion 76 on the support side from the first position, and the movement of the front holding member 7 to the side opposite to the substrate storage space 27 side (front side, front direction D11) is restricted by the third limiting portion 38 on the cover body. Specifically, when the first limiting portion 76 on the support side is deformed, the portion of the front holding member 7 other than the first limiting portion 76 on the support side can move to the front direction D11. Then, when the portion of the front holding member 7 other than the first limiting portion 76 on the support side abuts against the third limiting portion 38 on the cover body, it cannot move to the front direction D11.

To locate the front holding member 7 at the second position, the first support-side restricting portion 76 and the second support-side restricting portion 77 are moved in the sliding direction (downward direction D22 ) without being restricted by the first cover-side restricting portion 36 .

As shown in Fig. 7A to Fig. 7C, at the second position after sliding, the movement of the first limiting portion 76 on the support side in the direction opposite to the sliding direction (upward direction D21) is limited by the first limiting portion 36 on the cover side, the movement of the second limiting portion 77 on the support side in the sliding direction (downward direction D22) is limited by the first limiting portion 36 on the cover side, and the movement of the front holding member 7 to the substrate storage space 27 side (rear side, rear direction D12) is limited by the second limiting portion 37 on the cover side. Thus, the front holding member 7 is mounted on the cover 3, and a part of the substrate storage container 1 is manufactured.

According to the substrate storage container 1 of the present embodiment having the above-described structure, the following effects can be obtained.

The substrate storage container 1 of the embodiment comprises: a container body 2, which comprises a cylindrical wall portion 20 having a container body opening 21 formed at one end and the other end being closed, and a substrate storage space 27 which can store a plurality of substrates W and communicates with the container body opening 21 is formed by the inner surface of the wall portion 20; a cover body 3 which can be detached from the container body opening 21 and can close the container body opening 21; and a cover body side substrate support portion (front holding member 7), which is arranged at a portion of the cover body 3 and is opposed to the substrate storage space 27 when the container body opening 21 is closed by the cover body 3, and can support the edge of the plurality of substrates W when the container body opening 21 is closed by the cover body 3. The cover body 3 comprises a cover body side first restriction portion 36 and a cover body side second restriction portion 37, and the front holding member 7 comprises a support portion side first restriction portion 76 and a support portion side second restriction portion 77, and is configured to be mounted on the cover body 3 by sliding in a predetermined sliding direction (downward direction D22) relative to the cover body 3 from a first position to a second position. The second limiting portion 37 on the cover side does not limit the movement of the front holding member 7 to the side opposite to the substrate storage space 27 side (front side, front direction D11) for positioning the front holding member 7 at the first position. At the first position, the first limiting portion 36 on the cover side allows the first limiting portion 76 on the support side to move in the sliding direction (downward direction D22), and allows the second limiting portion 77 on the support side to move in the sliding direction. At the second position, the first limiting portion 36 on the cover side limits the movement of the first limiting portion 76 on the support side in the direction opposite to the sliding direction (upward direction D21), and limits the movement of the second limiting portion 77 on the support side in the sliding direction (downward direction D22). The second limiting portion 37 on the cover side limits the movement of the front holding member 7 to the side of the substrate storage space 27 (rear side, rear direction D12).

Therefore, according to the substrate storage container 1 of the present embodiment, the front holding member 7 installed on the cover body 3 is difficult to fall off from the cover body 3. Specifically, at the second position, the movement of the front holding member 7 in the direction opposite to the sliding direction (upward direction D21), the sliding direction (downward direction D22), and the substrate storage space 27 side (rear side, rear direction D12) is restricted by the coordinated action of the first limiting portion 36 on the cover body side, the second limiting portion 37 on the cover body side, the first limiting portion 76 on the support part side, etc., so that the front holding member 7 installed on the cover body 3 is difficult to fall off from the cover body 3.

In addition, compared with the method in which the front holding member 7 is inseparably mounted on the cover body 3, the front holding member 7 can be slid in the direction opposite to the sliding direction (upward direction D21) by lifting or destroying the first limiting portion 76 on the support portion side. Therefore, the front holding member 7 can be easily discarded and reused.

Only one cover-side first restriction portion 36 of the cover 3 and one support-side first restriction portion 76 of the front holding member 7 are provided in the vertical direction D2, and are provided at substantially the center of the vertical direction D2. Therefore, the position of the front holding member 7 in the vertical direction D2 can be easily adjusted.

In the embodiment, the front holding member 7 further includes a collision avoidance portion 78. By virtue of the structure in which the collision avoidance portion 78 avoids the collision with the cover-side second limiting portion 37 when viewed from the side opposite to the substrate storage space 27 side (front side, front direction D11), the cover-side second limiting portion 37 does not restrict the movement of the front holding member 7 to the side opposite to the substrate storage space 27 side (front side, front direction D11) for positioning the front holding member 7 in the first position. At the second position, by virtue of the structure in which the collision avoidance portion 78 avoids the collision with the cover-side second limiting portion 37 when viewed from the side opposite to the substrate storage space 27 side (front side, front direction D11), the cover-side second limiting portion 37 restricts the movement of the front holding member 7 to the substrate storage space 27 side (rear side, rear direction D12).

Since the front holding member 7 is also provided with the collision avoidance portion 78, it is easy to achieve a structure in which the movement of the front holding member 7 to the side opposite to the substrate storage space 27 side (the front side, the front direction D11) for positioning the front holding member 7 in the first position is not restricted, and the movement of the front holding member 7 to the substrate storage space 27 side (the rear side, the rear direction D12) is restricted at the second position, that is, in the front-to-back direction D1, a structure that can move the front holding member 7 when it is necessary to move it and restricts the movement of the front holding member 7 when it is necessary to restrict it.

In the embodiment, at the first position, the first end 761 of the first limiting portion 76 on the support side, which is opposite to the substrate storage space 27 side (front side, front direction D11), abuts against the second end 362 of the first limiting portion 36 on the cover side, which is opposite to the substrate storage space 27 side (rear side, rear direction D12). Therefore, by moving the front holding member 7 to the side opposite to the substrate storage space 27 side (front side, front direction D11) and stopping the movement at the abutting position, the first state before sliding can be easily formed.

In the embodiment, the cover body 3 further includes a cover body side third limiting portion 38. By deforming the support portion side first limiting portion 76 from the first position, the front holding member 7 moves to the side opposite to the substrate storage space 27 side (the front side, the front direction D11), and the cover body side third limiting portion 38 limits the movement of the front holding member 7 to the side opposite to the substrate storage space 27 side (the front side, the front direction D11).

When the front holding member 7 is installed on the cover body 3, the first limiting portion 76 on the support side is deformed from the first position, so that the front holding member 7 abuts against the third limiting portion 38 on the cover body side, and then the front holding member 7 is slid in the sliding direction (downward direction D22) to move to the second position. By making such a staged installation operation necessary, for example, when the front holding member 7 is not desired to be installed on the cover body 3, the front holding member 7 can be prevented from sliding.

In the embodiment, the front holding member 7 includes: a pair of longitudinal frame portions 71 (71A, 71B) extending in a predetermined direction (vertical direction D2); a pair of transverse frame portions 74, 74 extending in a direction different from the predetermined direction (lateral direction D3); a holding member leg portion 72 connected to the longitudinal frame portion 71; and a cover body side substrate receiving portion 73 provided on the holding member leg portion 72. The holding member leg portion 72 is composed of a holding member leg portion 72A connected to one longitudinal frame portion 71A and a holding member leg portion 72B connected to the longitudinal frame portion 71B on the other side and not connected to the holding member leg portion 72A on the other side, and the leg pair 72U is provided in the same number as the plurality of substrates W stored in the substrate storage container 1. The pair of transverse frame portions 74, 74 connects the pair of longitudinal frame portions 71A, 71B on both sides of the outer sides of the direction in which the leg pair 72U is arranged (vertical direction D2).

Since the lateral frame portion 74 can increase the rigidity of the front holding member 7 in the left-right direction D3, it is possible to adopt the leg portion pair 72U which is highly flexible and easily deformable.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and modifications can be made within the technical scope described in the claims.

Fig. 8 is a schematic stereoscopic view of the first limiting portion 36 on the cover body side and the second limiting portion 37 on the cover body side in a deformation mode (corresponding to Fig. 4C). In the deformation mode shown in Fig. 8, the surface of the second limiting portion 37 on the cover body side on the side opposite to the substrate storage space 27 side (front side, front direction D11), that is, the first surface 371 is inclined in a manner approaching the substrate storage space 27 side (rear side, rear direction D12) as it tends to the direction opposite to the sliding direction (upward direction D21). By inclining the first surface 371 in this way, when the front holding member 7 is slid in the sliding direction (downward direction D22), it is easy to form a state in which the longitudinal frame portion 71 of the front holding member 7 overlaps with the second limiting portion 37 on the cover body side (easy to slide. Easy to move to the second position).

The predetermined sliding direction is not limited to the downward direction D22, and may be, for example, the upward direction D21. The predetermined direction in which the vertical frame portion 71 extends is not limited to the vertical direction D2. The "direction different from the predetermined direction" in which the horizontal frame portion 74 extends is not limited to the horizontal direction D3.

The deformation direction of the first support-side restricting portion 76 from the first position is not limited to the rear direction D12, and may be, for example, the inner side of the left-right direction D3. In this case, the first support-side restricting portion 76 preferably has a structure that is easily deformed inward in the left-right direction D3.

In the embodiment, the leg pair 72U is composed of a (cantilever beam-shaped) holding member leg 72 (72A) and a holding member leg 72 (72B) separated in the left-right direction D3, but is not limited to this. The holding member leg 72 (72A) on one side and the holding member leg 72 (72B) on the other side may also be connected (via the cover body side substrate receiving portion 73 as needed). In the case of such a structure, the horizontal frame portion 74 may also be omitted.

In addition, the shapes of the container body and the cover body, and the number and size of substrates that can be accommodated in the container body are not limited to the shapes of the container body 2 and the cover body 3 in the present embodiment, and the number and size of substrates W that can be accommodated in the container body 2. In addition, the substrate W in the present embodiment is a silicon wafer with a diameter of 300 mm, but it is not limited to the above value.

In addition, regarding the back substrate support portion, in this embodiment, the back substrate support portion 6 formed integrally with the container body 2 is provided at the rear end portion of the plate portion 51 of the side substrate support portion 5, but the present invention is not limited to this structure. For example, the back substrate support portion may be formed as a separate body instead of being formed integrally with the container body.

Claims (11)

1. A substrate storage container is characterized in that,

The substrate storage container is provided with:

A container body having a tubular wall portion in which a container body opening is formed at one end and the other end is closed, and a substrate accommodating space capable of accommodating a plurality of substrates and communicating with the container body opening is formed by an inner surface of the wall portion;

A lid body which is detachable from the container body opening and which is capable of closing the container body opening; and

A lid side substrate support portion which is disposed at a portion of the lid and which faces the substrate accommodating space when the container body opening is closed by the lid, and which is capable of supporting edge portions of the plurality of substrates when the container body opening is closed by the lid,

The cover body is provided with a first cover body side limiting part and a second cover body side limiting part,

The cover side substrate supporting portion includes a supporting portion side first regulating portion and a supporting portion side second regulating portion, and is configured to be attached to the cover by sliding in a predetermined sliding direction with respect to the cover from a first position to a second position,

The cover side second regulating portion does not regulate movement of the cover side substrate supporting portion to a side opposite to the substrate accommodating space side for positioning the cover side substrate supporting portion at the first position,

At the first position, the cover-side first regulating portion allows movement of the support-side first regulating portion in the sliding direction, and allows movement of the support-side second regulating portion in the sliding direction,

In the second position, the cover-side first regulating portion regulates movement of the support-side first regulating portion in a direction opposite to the sliding direction, and regulates movement of the support-side second regulating portion in the sliding direction, the cover-side second regulating portion regulating movement of the cover-side substrate support portion toward the substrate accommodating space.

2. The substrate container according to claim 1, wherein,

The cover side substrate supporting part is also provided with a collision avoiding part,

By a structure in which the collision avoidance portion avoids collision with the cover-side second restriction portion when viewed from the side opposite to the substrate accommodation space side, the cover-side second restriction portion does not restrict movement of the cover-side substrate support portion to the side opposite to the substrate accommodation space side for positioning the cover-side substrate support portion at the first position,

In the second position, the abutting avoidance portion does not avoid the abutting with the cover-side second restriction portion when viewed from the side opposite to the substrate accommodation space side, and the cover-side second restriction portion restricts the movement of the cover-side substrate support portion toward the substrate accommodation space side.

3. The substrate container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein,

A surface of the cover-side second regulating portion on a side opposite to the substrate accommodating space side is inclined so as to approach the substrate accommodating space side in a direction opposite to the sliding direction.

4. The substrate container according to claim 1 to 3,

In the first position, a side of the support portion side first regulating portion opposite to the substrate accommodating space side is in contact with the substrate accommodating space side of the cover body side first regulating portion.

5. The substrate container according to any one of claims 1 to 4,

The cover further comprises a cover side third restriction portion,

The cover-side substrate support portion moves to a side opposite to the substrate accommodating space side by the support-portion-side first regulating portion deforming from the first position, and the cover-side third regulating portion regulates movement of the cover-side substrate support portion to a side opposite to the substrate accommodating space side.

6. The substrate container according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein,

The cover and the cover-side substrate support portion have a mis-installation preventing structure that prevents the cover-side substrate support portion from being installed to the cover in a wrong orientation.

7. The substrate container according to any one of claims 1 to 6,

The cover side substrate support section includes: a pair of first frame portions extending in a predetermined direction; a pair of second frame portions extending in a direction different from the predetermined direction; a leg portion connected to the first frame portion; a substrate receiving part arranged on the foot part,

The leg portion is constituted by one leg portion connected to the first frame portion of one side and the other leg portion connected to the first frame portion of the other side and not connected to the leg portion of one side, the leg portion pairs are provided in the same number as the plurality of substrates stored in the substrate storage container,

The pair of second frame portions connects the pair of first frame portions outside both of the directions in which the pair of leg portions are arranged.

8. The substrate container according to any one of claims 1 to 7,

The cover-side substrate support portion further includes a structure for improving operability of sliding at a position where the first position does not interfere with the cover-side second restriction portion.

9. A method for manufacturing a substrate container, characterized in that,

The substrate storage container is provided with:

A container body having a tubular wall portion in which a container body opening is formed at one end and the other end is closed, and a substrate accommodating space capable of accommodating a plurality of substrates and communicating with the container body opening is formed by an inner surface of the wall portion;

A lid body which is detachable from the container body opening and which is capable of closing the container body opening; and

A lid side substrate support portion which is disposed at a portion of the lid and which faces the substrate accommodating space when the container body opening is closed by the lid, and which is capable of supporting edge portions of the plurality of substrates when the container body opening is closed by the lid,

The cover body is provided with a first cover body side limiting part and a second cover body side limiting part,

The cover side substrate supporting portion includes a supporting portion side first regulating portion and a supporting portion side second regulating portion, and is configured to be attached to the cover by sliding in a predetermined sliding direction with respect to the cover from a first position to a second position,

The cover side substrate supporting portion is moved to the opposite side of the substrate accommodating space side without being restricted by the cover side second restricting portion so that the cover side substrate supporting portion is positioned at the first position,

The first support portion side regulating portion and the second support portion side regulating portion are moved in the sliding direction without being regulated by the first cover portion side regulating portion so that the cover-side substrate support portion is positioned at the second position,

In the second position, movement of the support portion side first regulating portion in a direction opposite to the sliding direction is regulated by the cover body side first regulating portion, movement of the support portion side second regulating portion in the sliding direction is regulated by the cover body side first regulating portion, and movement of the cover body side substrate support portion to the substrate accommodating space side is regulated by the cover body side second regulating portion.

10. The method of manufacturing a substrate container according to claim 9, wherein,

The cover further comprises a cover side third restriction portion,

The cover-side substrate support portion is moved to a side opposite to the substrate accommodating space side by deforming the support-portion-side first regulating portion from the first position, and the movement of the cover-side substrate support portion to a side opposite to the substrate accommodating space side is regulated by the cover-side third regulating portion.

11. A cover side substrate support part is arranged on a cover of a substrate storage container, characterized in that,

The substrate storage container is provided with: a container body having a tubular wall portion in which a container body opening is formed at one end and the other end is closed, and a substrate accommodating space capable of accommodating a plurality of substrates and communicating with the container body opening is formed by an inner surface of the wall portion; and a cover body which is detachable from the container body opening, which is capable of closing the container body opening, and which includes a cover body side first regulating portion and a cover body side second regulating portion,

The cover side substrate support portion is disposed at a portion of the cover and is capable of supporting edge portions of the plurality of substrates when the cover closes the container body opening, at a portion facing the substrate accommodating space when the cover closes the container body opening,

The cover-side substrate support portion includes a support-portion-side first restriction portion and a support-portion-side second restriction portion, and is configured to be attached to the cover by being slid from a first position to a second position in a predetermined sliding direction with respect to the cover,

The movement of the cover side substrate support portion to the side opposite to the substrate accommodating space side for positioning the cover side substrate support portion at the first position is not restricted by the cover side second restriction portion,

In the first position, the movement of the support portion side first regulating portion and the support portion side second regulating portion in the sliding direction is not regulated by the cover body side first regulating portion,

In the second position, movement of the support portion side first regulating portion in a direction opposite to the sliding direction is regulated by the cover portion side first regulating portion, and movement of the support portion side second regulating portion in the sliding direction is regulated by the cover portion side first regulating portion, and movement of the cover portion side substrate support portion to the substrate accommodation space side is regulated by the cover portion side second regulating portion.