JPH02246116A - carrier dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Summary) The purpose of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for drying washed carriers, which is capable of improving cleanliness and drying efficiency, and is capable of transporting washed carriers with water droplets attached to them. an inner nozzle arranged so as to enter the inside of the said carrier through the bottom opening of the carrier when the carrier is placed in a predetermined position; It consists of outer nozzles arranged to face each other, and a nozzle moving mechanism that repeatedly reciprocates the inner nozzle and the outer nozzle in the horizontal direction and moves them in the vertical direction, so that the gas flow injected from each nozzle is It is configured to scan the inner and outer surfaces of the carrier and blow off and remove water droplets adhering to the carrier.

(Industrial application field) The present invention relates to an apparatus for drying washed carriers.

In the wafer processing, a carrier, which is a container that stores a plurality of wafers facing each other, is used to transport the wafers between each process.

The carrier must be clean during use to avoid contaminating the surface. Therefore, after use, the carrier is washed with water to make it clean, then dried, and then stored in a stocker for next use.

If some of the water droplets stick to the surface and remain there, this will cause stains, so it is first necessary to completely remove the water droplets.

Furthermore, since there are a large number of used carriers and they are sequentially cleaned and dried one by one, it is desirable to complete the drying in a short time in terms of work efficiency.

(Conventional technology) FIG. 4 shows a conventional example.

Conventionally, hot air from blowers 1 and 2 was applied to the cleaned carrier 3 as shown by the arrow to dry it. carrier 3
is made of synthetic resin and moisture permeates through it.

Two wafers from carrier 3! As shown in l1il, the width W of the support is as narrow as 2 to 3 m, and the depth d is 5 m.
It is a deep one, so it does not drain well and water droplets tend to remain in the deep part.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) It is difficult to blow away the water droplets within the above range by simply applying hot air from the blowers 1 and 2, resulting in uneven drying and reduced cleaning performance. It ends up.

Also, dryness can cause dryness.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaned carrier drying V apparatus that can improve cleaning efficiency and drying efficiency.

(:! Means for Solving the Problem) The present invention is a cleaning flow, and when a carrier with water droplets attached is conveyed and set at a predetermined position, the cleaning flow passes through the bottom opening of the carrier and cleans the carrier. an inner nozzle arranged to enter the interior, an outer nozzle arranged to face the outer surface of the carrier set at the predetermined position, and the inner nozzle and the outer nozzle are repeated in the horizontal direction. It consists of a nozzle moving mechanism that moves reciprocatingly and vertically, and the gas flow injected from each nozzle scans the inner and outer surfaces of the carrier to blow away and remove water droplets attached to the carrier. It is structured as follows.

(Function) Due to the nozzle movement I structure, the gas flow from each nozzle evenly scans the inner and outer surfaces of the carrier.

As a result, the water droplets adhering to all the grooves are blown away and removed, and the water droplets are completely removed.

As a result, drying is possible without causing unevenness.

〔Example〕

Figure 1 shows a cleaned and dried V, which is an embodiment of the present invention.
& indicates location.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a table, whose four corners are supported by air cylinders 11-1 to 11-4 for movement in two directions, and which moves in the Z direction (
vertical direction).

Reference numeral 12 denotes an inner nozzle, which is fixed to the upper end of the pipe 13 so that when the carrier 3 is lowered from above and set at a predetermined position, it enters the inside of the carrier 3 through the opening 5 in the bottom surface. It is arranged.

This inner nozzle 12 has a planar hexagonal shape, and has - nozzle holes 12-+, 12- in each mountain-shaped surface facing one inner full surface (X-Z plane) 3a of the carrier 3.
2, with nozzle holes 12-s and 12- respectively on each face forming a mountain shape opposite to the other inner full face (X-Z plane) 3b.
It has 4.

14 and 15 are longitudinally outer nozzles, respectively, and pipe 1
It is fixed at the upper end of 6.17 and faces the longitudinal outer surfaces 3C and 3d of the carrier 3.

The nozzles 14.15 each have a chevron-shaped side facing the outer surfaces 3c, 3d in the longitudinal direction of the carrier 3, and have nozzle holes 14-r, 14-2.15-t on each surface.

It has 15-2.

18 and 19 are the end side outer nozzles, respectively, and the pipe 20
．． It is fixed to the upper end of 21, and 4;
-2 sides) Opposed to 3e and 3f.

Like the nozzles 14 and 15 described above, this nozzle 18, 19 also has a chevron-shaped side facing the end surfaces 3e and 3f, and has nozzle holes 18-+ and 18-2 on each surface.

19-word, 19-2, 1 Each nozzle 12.14.15.18.19 is located at the same height.

Further, each nozzle 12, 14, 15, 18, 19 is arranged in plan view with respect to the carrier 3 as shown in FIG.

The pipes 13, 16, 17 are erected on the same base 25.

The pipe 20 is erected on a base 26, and the pipe 21 is erected on a base 27.

On the table 10, there is an air cylinder 28 for moving in the X direction in the center, and air cylinders 29.3 for moving in the Y direction on the left and right sides.
0 is the default.

The bases 26, 27 are moved by the air cylinders 29, 3, respectively, so that the bases 25 are moved by the air cylinders 28.
It is set to be moved by 0.

31 is a compressed air source, 32, 33, 34 is a control valve, and 35 is a control valve 32 to 34. lI'a
lt'Mru.

The vJw equipment 35 repeatedly reciprocates the air cylinder 28, repeatedly reciprocates the air cylinders 29 and 29 in synchronization, and controls the control valves 32 to 11-4 to move the air cylinders 11-1 to 11-4 in steps. 34 to t, IJ-.

36 is a far infrared heater, which is provided below the carrier 3.

37 is a compressed nitrogen gas source, and 38 is a filter.

Further, the diameter of each of the nozzle holes 12-1 and the like is 0.5 mm.

Furthermore, the four sides with the table 10 as the bottom surface are surrounded by walls (not shown), forming a tank.

Next, the operation of the drying device will be explained.

The carrier 3 that has been cleaned and has water droplets attached to it is transported by a transport mechanism (not shown) to the nozzle 12゜14.15.18.
．． 19 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

That is, the nozzle 12 passes through the bottom opening 5 of the carrier 3.
It enters the inside of Yariya 3 and becomes the inner groove surface 3a.

3b, the nozzles 14.15 face the outer longitudinal sides 3C, 3d of the carrier 3, and the nozzles 18.19 face the end faces 3e, 3f of the carrier 3.

In this state, firstly, the valve 39 is opened and each nozzle 12.
14. Inject (purge) nitrogen gas from each nozzle hole 12-1 etc. of 15.18.19.

The nitrogen gas flow is obliquely sprayed onto the inner and outer surfaces of the carrier 3, as shown by the arrows 41 in FIG. The gas pressure of the nitrogen gas stream is about 2 phantom/d.

Second, tlIJIl [by 35! Control valves 32, 33, and 34 are controlled.

By the operation of the lllll9 valve 32, the air cylinder 28 is repeatedly driven back and forth, and by the operation of the control valve 33, the air cylinders 29 and 30 are synchronously and repeatedly driven back and forth.
Air cylinder 11-1 is activated by the operation of l1111 valve 34.
to 11-4 are driven downward in steps.

Thirdly, by driving the 6° air cylinder 28 and the air cylinders 11-1 to 11-4, in which the far-infrared heater 36 is operated, the inner nozzle 12 is moved as shown by the arrow in FIG.
), a→b-+c...Q-→
i - + j, when it moves across almost the entire width of the carrier in the upper horizontal direction, it moves down one step in two directions, moves in the opposite direction in the horizontal direction, and moves down one step further in a zigzag pattern on the X-2 plane. move.

As a result, the nitrogen gas jet stream 40 from the nozzle holes 12-1 and 122 flows into the negative inner groove of the carrier 3.

1ffi3a and nozzle holes 12-s, 12-
4 scans the inner groove surface 3b on the opposite side of the carrier 3.

Therefore, the nitrogen gas jet stream 40 is blown to all the grooves 4 and to the deep part of the groove 4, and even the water droplets attached to the deep part of the groove 4 are blown off and removed.

That is, water droplets are completely removed.

This, together with the heating by the far infrared heater 36,
The entire portion of the carrier 3 is dried evenly and quickly.

Also, the nozzles 14,15 are moved in the same way as the nozzles 12 described above to the longitudinal outer surface 3c of the carrier 3.

3d is scanned over its entire surface as shown by arrows 42 and 43 in FIG.

As a result, the longitudinal outer surface 3C of the carrier 3.

The water droplets attached to 3d are completely blown off and removed.

The nozzles 18 and 19 also move in a zigzag manner within Y-2m. In FIG. 2, arrows 44 and 45 indicate movement trajectories, respectively.

As a result, water droplets adhering to the end surfaces 3e and 3f of the carrier 3 are completely blown away and removed.

As a result, water droplets are completely removed from the washed carrier 3 and the carrier 3 is dried without uneven drying, and the dried carrier 3 has a high degree of cleanliness.

Further, the compressed nitrogen gas 1127 is preferably a high-purity compressed nitrogen gas, and is further passed through an air filter 38, so that particles do not increase when the carrier is dried. Note that the compressed nitrogen gas source 27 may be replaced with clean air or another clean inert gas.

Further, since the far-infrared heater 36 is used, moisture that has penetrated into the carrier can be removed, and the drying efficiency is improved, compared to the case where an infrared heater is used.

Further, the dried carrier is stored in a stocker (not shown), and is further completely dried while maintaining its cleanliness in a down flow having passed through a Hepa filter.

Furthermore, the same effect as above can be obtained by providing a plurality of nozzles at predetermined intervals so as to face each of the inner and outer surfaces of the carrier, but in this case, the number of required nozzles increases, which is not preferable.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the invention of claim 1, the gas flow injected by the nozzle is blown against all the grooves, so that the water droplets attached to all the grooves are completely blown away. It is possible to remove water droplets completely, dry evenly, and dry the carrier with good cleanliness.

According to the invention of claim 2, together with the complete removal of water droplets according to the invention of claim 1, drying can be completed quickly.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 shows a cleaned carrier drying* which is an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating the movement of each nozzle relative to the carrier during drying operation, FIG. 3 is an elevational view illustrating the movement of the inner nozzle relative to the carrier during drying operation, and FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of M. 1 is a diagram showing a conventional example. In the figure, 3 is a carrier, 3a and ab are full inner surfaces, 3c and 3d are longitudinal outer surfaces, 3e and 3f are end surfaces, 4 is full for support, 5 is a bottom opening, 10 is a table, 11-1 ~11-4 is an air cylinder, 12 is an inner nozzle, and 14.15 is an outer nozzle. 18. 19 is an outer nozzle on the end face side, 28 is an air cylinder for moving in the X direction, 29.30 is an air cylinder for moving in the Y direction, 31 is a compressed air source, 32 to 34 are control valves, 35 is an IJJIII device, 36 is a far side 37 is a compressed nitrogen gas source; 38 is a filter; 40 is a nitrogen gas jet stream; 41 to 45 are nozzle movement trajectories.

Claims (1)

[Claims] When a carrier (3) that has been cleaned and has water droplets attached is transported and set at a predetermined position, the carrier enters the inside of the carrier through the bottom opening (5) of the carrier. an inner nozzle (12) arranged to
, 19), and a nozzle moving mechanism (28, 30, 11-_1 to 11-_4) that repeatedly reciprocates the inner nozzle and outer nozzle in the horizontal direction and moves them in the vertical direction, and jets from each of the above nozzles. The gas flow (40) is directed to the inner surfaces (3a, 3b) and outer surfaces (3c, 3c, 3b) of the carrier (3).
3d, 3e, 3f) to blow off and remove water droplets adhering to the carrier.