JPH11189267A - Plate member storage container - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide a plate-shaped member in which a shape of a seal member used by fitting into a seal groove is easily deformed by receiving a compressive force at a joint portion between an upper lid and an outer box body. Provide a storage container. SOLUTION: An outer box main body 3 accommodating a plate-shaped member or an inner box accommodating the plate-shaped member, and an upper lid 4 covered on and joined to an upper portion of the outer box main body 3 by a locking means. A seal groove 5 formed so as to maintain the state in which the upper lid 4 is pressed toward the outer box main body 3 and to make the respective openings face each other over the entire periphery of the joint between the upper lid 4 and the outer box main body 3.
In the plate-like member storage container configured to compress the seal member 6 disposed on the other side at the surface facing the other seal groove 18 to maintain a sealed state, the seal member 6 receives a compressive force on the upper surface and the lower surface. , A concave groove 21 is formed in the non-compressed portion.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plate-like member container suitable for storing and transporting plate-like members such as a plurality of semiconductor wafers (hereinafter referred to as "wafers"), disks, and bases. More particularly, the present invention relates to a sealing member used for a sealing structure at a joint between an upper lid and an outer box body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A wafer, which is one of the plate-like members, is obtained by slicing a single crystal ingot of silicon or the like thinly in a direction perpendicular to the axis, but it is thin and brittle, and furthermore, is extremely susceptible to contamination. Requires careful consideration. In other words, in order to transport wafers in a clean state,
Inline basket for storing wafers (inner box)
It is stored in a wafer storage container (transportation wafer shipping box) in a state where it is placed in a container, covered with an upper lid, and sealed in an airtight state. And transport. As described above, the wafer storage container generally includes the outer box main body that stores the inner box, and the upper lid that seals the outer box main body. It is necessary to completely seal the joint between the cover and the upper lid. In such a wafer storage container, it is required both to fix the upper lid to the outer box main body and to release the locking of the upper lid to the outer box main body by a simple operation.

Therefore, as a conventional plate-like member storage container capable of storing and transporting a plate-like member such as a wafer in an orderly manner, for example, a wafer storage container as shown in FIGS. 2 to 6 has been proposed. A brief description will be given with reference to the drawings.

As shown in the external perspective view of FIG. 2 and the exploded perspective view of FIG. 3, the wafer container includes an outer box 1 and an inner box 2 housed in the outer box 1. Box 1
An outer box body 3 and an upper lid 4 that can be opened and closed with respect to the outer box body 3
And divided into The outer box body 3 is provided with a seal groove 5 having a U-shaped cross section over the entire periphery of the opening which is substantially rectangular in a plan view, and a packing 6 as a seal member is arranged by fitting into the seal groove 5. ing. The outer box body 3 is self-supporting with four vertical legs 3a provided at four corners, and a main body recess 3b is provided between a pair of opposing side surfaces 3a, 3a.
The hook / lever member 7 is attached to the upper portion of the side wall forming the concave portion, and a transport concave portion 3c used when carrying the storage container is provided on the other opposing side surface. Reference numeral 8 in the drawing denotes a wafer holder provided with a plurality of wafer holding grooves 8a, which is detachably attached to the inside of the upper cover 4 and the inner box 2
In order to store a plurality of wafers in an orderly manner, a plurality of storage grooves 2a are provided on the inner peripheral surface, the upper part of which is open, and the storage grooves 2a facing the wafer holding grooves 8a.

[0005] Now, the hook lever member 7 described above
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, two parts, a hook part 9 and a lever part 10, are rotatably connected. Engaging recesses 11 and 11 are formed in the upper part of the hook part 9 which is a substantially rectangular plate-like member, and the bearing part 1 provided in the lower part is formed.
2, the connecting shaft 13 of the lever unit 10 is rotatably supported. On the other hand, the lever portion 10 is a finger hook portion in which two axes of a connection shaft 13 and a mounting shaft 14 are provided in parallel on a substantially rectangular plate-like member, and a portion near the center of the lower end portion is partially downwardly extended. 15 are provided. The mounting shaft 14 is a shaft for rotatably supporting the hook / lever member 7 on the outer box main body 3, and a pair of shaft holes of ribs 3 d, 3 d protruding from respective side walls of the outer box main body 3. It is supported by both ends penetrating through 16 and 16, respectively.

A pair of engaging projections 17, 17 are provided on the upper lid 4, which is substantially rectangular in plan view, on the peripheral side walls of the opening facing each other. The engagement projections 17 and 1
Each of the hooks 7 has a rectangular shape slightly smaller than the engaging recess 11, and has an outer peripheral surface slightly outward. It has a wide slope. A seal groove 18 (see FIG. 5D) having a U-shaped cross section facing the seal groove 5 of the outer box body 3 is provided on the periphery of the opening of the upper lid 4. The size of the seal groove 18 is set so that the seal groove 18 is fitted to the outside of both side walls forming the seal groove 5 of the outer box body 3. As shown in FIG. 6A, which is a cross section taken along the line AA in FIG. 2, a rib 19 is provided on the bottom surface of the seal groove 18 so as to protrude over the entire circumference. In the seal groove 5 of FIG.
Is projected all around.

Hereinafter, the operation of the above-described locking structure will be described with reference to hooks.
A description will be given together with the locking operation and the unlocking operation by the lever member 7. The cross-sectional view of FIG. 4 shows a locked state. In a state where the upper lid 4 is locked by being put on the upper end opening of the outer box main body 3, the seal groove of the upper lid 4 is engaged with the outer box main body 3.
The sealing action of the packing 6 which is compressed and deformed by pressing the packing 6 disposed in the sealing groove 5 of the outer box body 3 between the ribs 19 and 20 is fitted to the outside of the sealing groove 5 of the outer box main body 3. This prevents outside air from entering the storage container from the joint between the upper lid 4 and the outer box body 3. In such a locked state, the lever 10 and the finger hook 15 are
a in the main body concave portion 3b.

In order to release the locked state shown in FIG. 4, a finger is inserted between the finger hook 15 and the side wall of the outer box body 3 and the lever 10 is pulled in the direction of arrow F. At this time, a sufficient operation space is secured between the finger hook portion 15 having the extended lower end portion of the lever portion 10 and the side wall of the outer box body 3 inclined inward in accordance with the shape of the circular wafer. .
When the lever portion 10 is pulled in this manner, the locking portion changes in the order of (a) to (d) shown in FIG. 5, the locked state is released, and the upper lid 4 can be opened. Therefore, to briefly explain this, (a) is in the locked state, and the connecting shaft 13 of the lever portion 11 rotated about the mounting shaft 14 pulls down the hook portion 9, and as a result, the upper surface of the locking concave portion 11 Can be seen to have lowered the locking projection 17. (B) shows a state in which the hook / lever member 7 has been rotated slightly in the releasing direction (counterclockwise) from the locking position with the mounting shaft 14 as a fulcrum. It is starting to touch the underside. (C) shows the state of further rotation and movement, and the lower surface of the locking concave portion 11 pushes up the lower surface of the locking projection 17 by operating the lever portion 10, so that the upper lid 4 that has been in close contact with the joint portion is lifted. Slightly away from the outer box body 3 as described above. If this happens,
As shown in (d), the upper box 4 can be easily lifted and opened by hand. When the upper cover 4 is put on and locked to the outer box main body 3, the operation may be performed in the reverse order of the above-described releasing operation.
What is necessary is just to press the lever part 10 toward the outer box main body side.

As described above, in the above-described locking structure, the locking and unlocking operations can be easily performed only by operating the lever portion 10, and the upper lid 4 is moved during the unlocking operation. Since the joint portion is lifted and separated, the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the container is released, even if there is a pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the container. In addition, in the locked state, the hook lever member 7 holds the upper lid 4 in a lowered state, so that even when a temperature change or a pressure change occurs, an appropriate compressive force can be maintained against the packing 6. Like
Good sealing performance can be ensured.

[0010]

In the above-mentioned structure, as shown in FIG. 6, a packing 6 having a rectangular cross section is fitted into the seal groove 5 of the outer box body 3 having a U-shaped cross section. Installed. In the locked state, the packing 6 is vertically compressed between the bottom surface of the seal groove 5 and the bottom surface (opposed surface) of the seal groove 18 of the upper lid 4 facing the seal groove 5, and the ribs 19 and 20 are respectively compressed. The packing 6 is deformed so as to bite into the upper and lower surfaces. Also,
As shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 6B, the packing 6 which has received the compressive force P from the vertical direction attempts to deform so as to contract in the vertical direction and expand in the side direction at the same time. However, since the packing 6 is fitted and attached to the seal groove 5, the side surface of the packing 6 and the side wall of the seal groove 5 are in contact with each other, and there is no extra space. For this reason, the packing 6 receiving the compression force P in the vertical direction
Even if it tries to deform so as to bulge in the lateral direction, it is hindered by the side wall of the seal groove 5, and especially when the packing 6
In some cases, the packing 6 may not be able to be sufficiently pressed, for example, when it loses flexibility and becomes hard, and as a result, the joint may not be reliably sealed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and has been devised by devising the shape of a seal member used for a joint between an upper lid and an outer box body.
An object of the present invention is to provide a plate-shaped member storage container having a good sealing property by enabling a sealing member that has received a compressive force to deform sufficiently and reliably.

[0012]

According to the present invention, there is provided an outer box body for accommodating a plate-like member or an inner box containing the plate-like member, and an upper part of the outer box body. Between the upper lid and the outer box main body, the state where the upper lid is pressed toward the outer box main body by the locking means, and over the entire periphery of the joint between the upper lid and the outer box main body. A plate-like member storage container configured to maintain a sealed state by compressing a seal member provided in one of seal grooves formed so that openings of the seal grooves are opposed to each other with a surface facing the other seal groove. The seal member receives a compressive force on an upper surface and a lower surface, and forms a concave groove in a non-compressed portion.

It is preferable that the sealing member has a rectangular cross section, and a concave groove is formed in a central region on both sides of the rectangular cross section.

The operation of the present invention will be described below. According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the seal member receives the compressive force on the upper surface and the lower surface and forms the concave groove in the non-compressed portion, a gap is formed between the non-compressed portion of the seal member and the wall of the seal groove. The gap forms a relief portion for the bulge of the seal member.

In particular, in the case of a rectangular cross section which is compressed from the vertical direction, by providing a concave groove in the center region of both side surfaces which are non-compressed surfaces, a sufficient relief portion is formed between the seal groove and the side wall. In addition, swelling deformation is facilitated by compression from above and below.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The embodiments described below are:
This is only a few examples of the present invention, and the present invention includes modifications such as design changes without departing from the scope of the claims.

FIG. 1 is a view showing a cross section of a joint portion of a plate-like member storage container according to the present invention, and substantially corresponds to FIG. 6 shown in the description of the prior art. That is, FIG.
In this case, since the configuration of the other parts of the on-plate member storage container is the same as that described in the prior art, a detailed description thereof is omitted here to avoid duplication. I do.

In FIG. 1 (a) showing the locked state, a packing 6 as a sealing member is fitted and attached to the sealing groove 5 of the outer box body 3, but has a U-shaped cross section. A packing 6 having a substantially rectangular cross section is used for the seal groove 5. The packing 6 has a lower surface in close contact with the bottom surface of the seal groove 5, and a rib 20 cuts into the lower surface of the packing 6. On the other hand, the bottom surface of the seal groove 18 having the U-shaped cross section of the upper lid 4, that is, the opposing surface is in close contact with the upper surface of the packing 6, and the rib 19 provided on this opposing surface cuts into the upper surface of the packing 6. . On both sides of the packing 6 attached in this manner, that is, on the non-compressed portion, concave grooves 21 each having a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape are provided continuously in the longitudinal direction in the central region thereof. Although the packing 6 is actually deformed in the locked state as described later, here, the ribs 19, 20 with respect to the upper and lower surfaces are shown in order to easily express the shapes of the packing 6 and the concave groove 21 itself. The packing 6 is shown in a substantially natural state without deformation except for the biting of the packing 6.

In the packing 6 in such a natural state, the vicinity of the upper and lower ends on both side surfaces is in contact with the side wall of the seal groove 5, and the region where the concave groove 21 is provided is in direct contact with the side wall of the seal groove 5. The gap portion 22 having a rectangular cross section is formed without any gap. In the actual natural state (not shown), that is, the packing 6 in a state where the upper lid 4 is not covered, the upper end thereof slightly projects from the upper end surface of the seal groove 5, and the lower surface is placed on the upper end of the rib 20. As a result, the seal groove 5 slightly floats from the bottom surface.

Hereinafter, the operation of the packing 6 having the above configuration will be described. When the upper cover 4 is put on and the locking means is locked to the outer box main body 3 by the locking means, the packing 6 which is in a natural state in the seal groove 5 of the outer box main body 3 has the bottom surface of the seal groove 18 facing the upper surface thereof. The contact from above starts pressing from above. When receiving such a pressing force, the lower surface of the packing 6 is pressed against the bottom surface of the seal groove 5, and the ribs 19 and 20 subsequently bite into the upper and lower surfaces, respectively. In this state, as shown in FIG. 1B, the packing 6 receives the compressive force P from the up and down direction, and as shown by the imaginary line in the figure, the packing is compressed and shrunk in the up and down direction, and A gap portion 22 having a central region formed by a concave groove 21
Bulge toward. Such smooth deformation of the packing 6 means that the locking operation of the upper lid 4 can be easily performed, and that the joint portion is securely sealed.

That is, when the packing 6 swells and deforms toward the side wall of the seal groove 5, the presence of the gap portion 22 provides a space for the swelling of the packing 6, so that the side wall of the seal groove expands as in the conventional structure. Since the packing 6 does not hinder the deformation of the packing 6, the packing 6 can be smoothly deformed by using the gap 22 even in a situation in which the flexibility of the packing 6 is reduced such as at a low temperature. 7 can be easily and reliably performed by the locking operation. In addition, since the locking operation by the locking means is reliably performed, the packing 6 is reliably compressed and deformed at the joint between the outer box main body 3 and the upper lid 4 so that a good sealing function is exhibited. Therefore, the sealed state inside and outside the container is reliable and highly reliable.

In the embodiment described so far, the locking means is constituted by the hook / lever member 7 and the engaging concave portion 17, but in the present invention described above, the upper lid 4 is pressed toward the outer box body 3. It goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to a device employing a locking means having another configuration for maintaining the state.
In addition, the present invention described above is not limited to the case in which the inner box accommodating the plurality of plate-like members is housed in the outer box body, but the plurality of plate-like members are directly inserted into the outer box body without passing through the inner box. It can also be applied to those stored in

[0023]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects. According to the present invention, since the concave groove is formed in the non-compressed portion of the packing serving as the seal member, a gap is formed between the non-compressed surface of the packing and the wall of the seal groove. Department. For this reason, the packing subjected to the compressive force can be smoothly deformed without being hindered by the wall of the seal groove, so that the locking operation is facilitated and the reliability of the sealing function at the joint is improved. In particular, if a rectangular cross-section is compressed from the vertical direction and a concave groove is provided in the center region of both sides which is an uncompressed surface, a sufficient relief portion is formed between the side wall of the seal groove having a U-shaped cross section, and ,
The central portion can be easily expanded and deformed by receiving a compressive force from above and below.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing a main part of a plate-like member storage container according to the present invention, wherein FIG.
(B) is a schematic diagram for explaining compression deformation of the packing.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a plate-shaped member storage container.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration of the plate-shaped member storage container of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional plate-shaped member storage container in a locked state.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams showing the operation of the locking means, in which FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a locked state, FIG. (C) is a fragmentary cross-sectional view showing a state where the hook part has begun to push up the upper lid,
(D) is a sectional view of an essential part showing a state where an upper lid is opened.

FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view enlarging a portion B in FIG. 4;
(B) is a schematic diagram for explaining compression deformation of a conventional packing.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Outer box 2 Inner box 3 Outer box main body 4 Top lid 5, 18 Seal groove 6 Packing (seal member) 7 Hook / lever part (locking means) 17 Engaging concave part (locking means) 19, 20 Rib 21 Depressed groove 22 Gap W wafer

Claims (2)

[Claims] An engaging means connects an outer box body accommodating a plate-shaped member or an inner box accommodating the plate-shaped member, and an upper lid covered and joined to an upper portion of the outer box body. One of seal grooves formed such that the upper lid maintains a state pressed toward the outer box main body, and the respective openings face each other over the entire periphery of the joint between the upper lid and the outer box main body. In the plate-like member storage container configured to compress the seal member disposed on the other side and oppose the other seal groove to maintain a sealed state, the seal member receives a compressive force on the upper surface and the lower surface, A plate-like member storage container, wherein a concave groove is formed in a compression portion. 2. The plate-like container according to claim 1, wherein the seal member has a rectangular cross section, and a concave groove is formed in a central region on both sides of the rectangular cross section.