JPH10335406A - Door opening and closing mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To enable opening and closing with one actuator,
The structure is simplified and the cost is reduced. In a door opening / closing mechanism provided in a transfer port of a hermetic chamber, a stopper is provided in the hermetic chamber, a door holder is provided in an actuator, and links are provided in the door holder. A door 38 for closing the transfer port is provided through the door, a roller 41 is provided on the door to contact the stopper, the door is urged toward the door holder, and the door is moved by the expansion and contraction of one actuator, By rotating the link at the stroke end of the actuator, the door can be brought into close contact with and separated from the transfer port, so the control circuit and piping system associated with the actuator are reduced, and the door opening / closing mechanism is not complicated. In addition, the space for providing the door opening and closing mechanism can be small, and the cost can be reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a door opening / closing mechanism for an airtight chamber such as a cassette chamber in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus has a plurality of hermetic chambers such as a reaction chamber and a cassette chamber. The hermetic chamber must be maintained in, for example, a depressurized state or a vacuum state according to an application. The door opening / closing mechanism provided in the vehicle needs to be airtight.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1 and a conventional door opening / closing mechanism provided in an airtight chamber of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1. FIG.

The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1 includes a first cassette chamber 3, a second cassette chamber 4, a first cooling chamber 5, a second cooling chamber 6, a first reaction chamber 7, and a second reaction chamber radially about the transfer chamber 2. A chamber 8 is provided.

A substrate transfer device 10 for transferring a substrate to be processed such as a wafer 9 is provided in the transfer chamber 2. The substrate transfer device 10 has an extendable and retractable arm 11. A substrate mounting plate 12 is provided.

A gate valve 13 is provided between the first cassette chamber 3 and the transfer chamber 2 and between the second cassette chamber 4 and the transfer chamber 2, and a gate valve 13 is provided between the first reaction chamber 7 and the transfer chamber. A gate valve 13 is provided between the first reaction chamber 7 and the second reaction chamber 8 and between the second reaction chamber 8 and the transfer chamber 2.
The second reaction chamber 8 is provided with a heater (not shown). Substrate holders (not shown) are provided inside the first reaction chamber 7 and inside the second reaction chamber 8.

[0007] Each of the first cassette chamber 3 and the second cassette chamber 4 has a transfer port 14 formed therein.
A sealing member 15 such as an O-ring is provided at the peripheral portion, a door 16 is provided at the transfer port 14, and a door opening / closing mechanism 17 is provided at the door 16. The first cassette chamber 3
Inside the second cassette chamber 4, a cassette receiving table (not shown) is provided.
Is loaded on the wafer cassette 20.

The door opening / closing mechanism 17 is composed of two actuators, a lifting / lowering cylinder 19 which is a direct-acting actuator and an opening / closing cylinder 18 which is a direct-acting actuator. The opening / closing cylinder 18 is attached to the upper end of a rod 21 of the lifting / lowering cylinder 19. The opening / closing cylinder 18 is capable of moving the rod 22 in a direction perpendicular to the rod 21, and a door 16 capable of closing the transfer port 14 is attached to one end of the rod 22.

The wafer cassette 20 is loaded into the first cassette chamber 3 by an external transfer device (not shown),
The external transport device is mounted on a cassette receiving table (not shown), and is withdrawn. When closing the opened transfer port 14 after the external transfer device has retreated, the rod 21 is raised by the lifting / lowering cylinder 19 and the door 16 is raised to a position facing the transfer port 14 (FIG. 7 (B)
Then, the rod 22 is moved by the opening / closing cylinder 18.
, And the transfer port 14 is closed by the door 16. Airtightness is obtained by the presence of the sealing material 15.

The wafer 9 in the wafer cassette 20 carried into the first cassette chamber 3 is transferred to the first reaction chamber 7 or the second reaction chamber 8 by the substrate transfer device 10 in the transfer chamber 2. It is charged and required processing is performed.

[0011]

However, in the above-described conventional door opening / closing mechanism 17, the door 16 is opened / closed by two actuators, ie, the lifting / lowering cylinder 19 and the opening / closing cylinder 18, and the opening / closing operation is performed in two operations. In addition, the control and the structure are complicated, and the piping system is complicated. Further, since there are a plurality of actuators, a space is required correspondingly and the cost is increased.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances and aims to enable opening and closing with one actuator, simplify the structure, and reduce the cost.

[0013]

According to the present invention, there is provided a door opening / closing mechanism provided at a transfer port of an airtight chamber, wherein a stopper is provided in the airtight chamber, a door holder is provided in an actuator, and the door holder is connected to the door holder via a link. A door for closing a transfer port, a roller for abutting the stopper on the door, a door opening / closing mechanism for urging the door toward a door holder, and a door opening / closing mechanism provided with a shock absorber between the door holder and the door The present invention relates to a door opening / closing mechanism provided with a guide roller for guiding the movement of the door holder, facing the door holder, and further pivotally connecting one link to each side at different positions on both sides of the door. The present invention relates to a door opening / closing mechanism in which a door is provided on a door holder via a link, and the door is moved by expansion and contraction of one actuator, and the actuator is moved. Adhesion of the link at the stroke end of the over data is to transfer port door by rotating, it is possible to perform separating, control circuit with the actuator,
The number of piping systems and the like is reduced, and the door opening / closing mechanism is not complicated, the space for installing the door opening / closing mechanism can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Since the door opening / closing mechanism according to the present embodiment is provided in substantially the same manner as the above-described conventional semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, the description of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus will be omitted.

A transfer port 3 is provided in the cassette chamber 30 which is an airtight chamber.
A door seat 43 is formed at the periphery of the transfer port 31, and a sealing material 32 such as an O-ring is buried in the door seat 43, near the upper corner of the transfer port 31 of the cassette chamber 30. Are provided with stoppers 33, 33.

A door opening / closing mechanism 34 is provided below the transfer port 31.
The door opening / closing mechanism 34 has an opening / closing cylinder 35 which is a direct-acting actuator. The opening / closing cylinder 35 is a base (not shown) of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.
A door holder 37 having a concave shape is fixed to an upper end of a rod 36 of the opening / closing cylinder 35. In the door holder 37, a door 38, which is a valve body capable of closing the transfer port 31, is provided with links 39a and 39b and links 40a and 4a.
0b. Rollers 41 that can come into contact with the stoppers 33 are rotatably provided at the upper ends of both side surfaces of the door 38.

The links 39a, 39b, 40a, 40
b is a total of 4 on each side surface of the door 38, two in parallel to one side surface extending over the side surface and the side surface of the door holder 37.
A spring 44 is provided between the door holder 37 and the door 38 and between the same side surfaces of the door holder 37 and the door 38. An engagement point between the spring 44 and the door holder 37 is The door 3
It is stretched diagonally so as to be higher than the point of attachment to 8. Therefore, the door 38 is urged by the spring 44 so as to be pulled upward and close to the door holder 37.

The door holder 37 is provided with a shock absorber 42 penetrating in the plate thickness direction. The shock absorber 42 can be brought into contact with the door 38 from the vicinity where the door 38 comes into contact with the door holder 37.

When the transfer port 31 is open, the rod 36 of the opening / closing cylinder 35 is contracted. When the rod 36 is contracted, the door 38 is drawn to the door holder 37 by the spring 44, and the upper end of the door 38 is closed. It protrudes from the upper end of the door holder 37 (see FIG. 2A).

The opening / closing cylinder 35 is operated to extend the rod 36. When the roller 41 comes into contact with the stopper 33 (see FIG. 2B) and the rod 36 is further extended, the door 38 is restrained from moving upward by the stopper 33, so that only the door holder 37 moves up. As the door holder 37 is raised with respect to the door 38, the links 39a and 40a rotate counterclockwise in the drawing. Due to the rotation of the links 39a and 40a, the door 38 moves to the transport port 31 side against the tension of the spring 44, and the door 38 comes into close contact with the door seat 43 to hermetically close the transport port 31 ( (See FIG. 2C).
Airtightness is obtained by the presence of the sealing material 32.

When the transfer port 31 is opened, the opening / closing cylinder 35 is operated to shorten the rod 36. The links 39a, 39b,
40a and 40b are relatively lowered, and the spring 44
Due to the restoring force, the door 38 moves horizontally along the stopper 33 and is drawn to the door holder 37, and the door 38 is separated from the transfer port 31. The door 38
Is completely drawn to the door holder 37, the rod 38 is further shortened, so that the door 38 and the door holder 37 are lowered and the transfer port 31 is completely opened.

The door 38 is pulled toward the door holder 37 by the restoring force of the spring 44. Immediately before the door 38 collides with the door holder 37, the shock absorber 42 is operated, and the door 38 is moved to the door holder 37. Suppresses impact and impact noise when contacting

In the closing operation of the transfer port 31 by the door 38, the pressing force of the door 38 against the door seat 43 is given by the counterclockwise rotation of the links 39a and 40a. The force is the door holder 3
In the closed state of the door 38, the door holder 37 rises from a two-dot chain line to a solid line as shown in FIG. Since the lifting of the door holder 37 cannot generate a sufficient pressing force against the door seat 43, a guide roller 45 for preventing the lifting of the door holder 37 is provided rotatably as necessary. The guide roller 45 is attached to the cassette chamber 30 or a fixed object such as a housing of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.

When the rod 36 of the opening / closing cylinder 35 extends, the door holder 37 moves up along the guide roller 45. The guide roller 45 is connected to the door holder 37.
Of the door holder 37 is prevented from lifting up (see FIG. 3B).

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention. A link 48 is pivotally mounted at the center of the lower end of the door holder 37 on a concave door holder 37 provided at the upper end of a rod 36 of an opening / closing cylinder 35. Links 39a and 39b are pivotally attached to upper ends on both sides of the door holder 37. Further, the links 39a and 39b are pivotally connected to upper ends on both sides of the door 38, the link 48 is pivotally connected to a lower center part of the door 38, and the door 38 is connected to the door holder 37 by three points.
It is connected to.

A spring 44 is stretched over the door holder 37 and the door 38 in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment, and rollers 41 are provided at the upper ends on both sides of the door 38. 30 can be brought into contact with the stopper 33.

The rod 36 of the opening / closing cylinder 35 is extended, and the roller 41 is brought into contact with the stopper 33. By further extending the rod 36, the door 3
8 in a state where the upward movement of the link 8 is restrained.
39b rotates, and the door 38 moves forward and comes into close contact with the door seat 43 to close the transfer port 31.

FIG. 5 shows still another embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, the same components as those shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

A link 39a is pivotally attached to one side upper end of a concave-shaped door holder 37 provided at the upper end of a rod 36 of the opening / closing cylinder 35, and the link 39a is connected to the door 3
8, and a link 40b is pivotally attached to the other lower side of the door holder 37, and the link 40b is also pivotally attached to the lower side of the door holder 37.

The axes of rotation of the pivots of the links 39a and 40b are parallel and horizontal. Thus two links 39
The door 38 and the door holder 37 are connected by a and 40b, so that the horizontal movement of the door 38 when the upward movement of the door 38 is restrained can be realized.

In each of the above-described embodiments, only the opening / closing cylinder, that is, the door can be moved by one actuator, and the transfer port can be opened or closed. The number of systems and the like is reduced, and the door opening / closing mechanism is not complicated, the space for installing the door opening / closing mechanism is small, and the cost is reduced.

The position where the roller is provided is not necessarily required to be at the upper end of the door. The door opening / closing mechanism may be provided above the cassette chamber. In this case, a spring for urging the door toward the door holder is not required. Further, the shock absorber may be provided on the door side.

[0034]

As described above, according to the present invention, the door opening / closing mechanism moves the door by the expansion and contraction movement of one actuator, and the link rotates at the stroke end of the actuator, thereby bringing the door into close contact with the transfer port. , So that the control circuit associated with the actuator,
The piping system and the like are reduced, and the door opening / closing mechanism is not complicated, and the space for installing the door opening / closing mechanism is small, and excellent effects such as reduction in cost are exhibited.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2 (A), 2 (B) and 2 (C) are explanatory views of the operation of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3A is an operation explanatory view of a door opening and closing mechanism when a door holder is lifted, and FIG. 3B is an operation explanatory view of a door opening and closing mechanism when a guide roller is provided.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic explanatory view of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.

FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C are explanatory diagrams of an operation of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 30 cassette chamber 31 transfer port 32 sealing material 33 stopper 34 door opening / closing mechanism 35 opening / closing cylinder 36 rod 37 door holder 38 door 39 link 40 link 41 roller 42 shock absorber 43 door seat 44 spring 45 guide roller

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A door opening / closing mechanism provided at a transfer port of an airtight chamber, wherein a stopper is provided in the airtight chamber, a door holder is provided in an actuator, and a door closing the transfer port is provided in the door holder via a link. A door opening / closing mechanism, wherein the door is provided with a roller that comes into contact with the stopper, and the door is urged toward the door holder. 2. The door opening / closing mechanism according to claim 1, wherein a shock absorber is provided between the door holder and the door. 3. The door opening and closing mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising a guide roller facing the door holder and guiding the movement of the door holder. 4. The door opening and closing mechanism according to claim 1, wherein one link is pivotally connected to each side of the door at different positions, and the door is provided on the door holder via the link.