Abstract:
A smart fluid storage container assembly and methods of using the container assembly. The container assembly includes features that minimize the risk of degradation of any fluid or other material contained in the container, provide for monitoring of the conditions the fluid has and is being subjected to, and provide for storage of identifying information and other data with the container itself. The information accompanying the container can be used to identify the contents of the container and/or the proper storage and use of the material contained within the container.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The field of the invention is fluid storage containers.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Many industries require the use of costly materials that can easily be contaminated or otherwise rendered unsuitable for use through improper handling or through storage container failure. Unfortunately “minor” failures in a storage container or improper handling often go undetected until the use of a material corrupted by such a failure or by improper handling causes problems at a later point in a production process. Even when material corruption is detected prior to use, having to dispose of an entire container of a costly material is undesirable. As a result, less efficient smaller containers are generally used to transport such materials so that contamination of the material within a container has minimal impact. Unfortunately, the use of small containers may tend to increase production costs, possibly as a result of the added complexity caused through the use of larger numbers of small containers rather than fewer larger containers.  
           [0003]    Spin-on-glass is a costly material that is generally transported in containers able to hold a gallon or less of spin-on-glass. Spin-on-glass containers are typically bottles comprising a single threaded opening into which a cap/plug is inserted during transportation and storage, and into which a dip tube assembly coupled to a hose or pipe fitting is inserted while the spin-on-glass is being extracted from the bottle. Contamination of spin-on-glass often occurs because of the introduction of dried spin-on-glass (typically dried because it was exposed to air) into a container during removal of a seal cap or insertion of a dip tube assembly. Removal of a seal cap may introduce dried spin-on-glass into the container because very small leaks may form in the seal area where the cap/plug is inserted into the storage bottle with such leads causing dried spin-on-glass to accumulate in the seal area. Subsequent removal of the cap/plug may result in the dried material falling into and containing the contents of the container. Insertion of a dip tube assembly may introduce dried material if the dip tube assembly was previously used in another bottle of spin-on-glass and material dried on the dip tube assembly while it was being moved between bottles.  
           [0004]    Spin-on-glass is sensitive to temperature, so corruption may also occur during transportation or storage as a result of not maintaining the spin-on-glass at an appropriate temperature. Although known devices and methods are capable of monitoring the temperature of the environment surrounding a container such as a bottle containing spin-on-glass, such monitoring is often inadequate because the environment surrounding a container does not accurately reflect the environment within the container.  
           [0005]    Thus, regardless of whether the deficiencies described were previously recognized, there has been and continues to be a need for improved methods and devices for the storage and transportation of high purity materials.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    The present invention is directed to a smart container for bulk delivery. As used herein, a smart container is one that is able to electronically provide information regarding its contents. Such information may be information programmed into or transmitted to the container, or information recorded by the container itself. Information programmed into the container may include critical product information that can be used to verify the contents of the container prior to use of any material it contains. Information recorded by the container itself may be obtained by incorporating one or more sensing devices that can monitor container integrity during shipment by monitoring temperature, position, chemical sensor, pressure, etc. Such sensing devices are incorporated in a manner that prevents any direct contact between the sensing devices and the material stored within the container in order to minimize opportunity for leaks or material contamination. The use of high purity compatible materials for wall construction and hermetic seal design also facilitate use of the container for storage of high purity materials. Although particularly well suited for the storage of spin-on-glass, the container can meet other industry needs such as pharmaceutical, agricultural, or industrial where the integrity of the material, cost, or safety are a big concern.  
           [0007]    Various objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention, along with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals represent like components.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1 is a side, partial cutaway view of a container assembly embodying the invention.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 2 is a top view of the assembly of FIG. 1.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a dip tube assembly.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 4A is a side view of a cylindrical monitoring assembly.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 4B is a block diagram of an electronics assembly which is part of the monitoring assembly of FIG. 4A.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 5 is a schematic view of various sized containers being used in a manufacturing process. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0014]    Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2, a smart container assembly  10  comprises storage container  100 , a dip tube assembly  200 , a monitoring assembly  300 , and a dip tube seal cap  400 . Container  100  comprises a monitoring assembly receiving cavity  110 , a dip tube orifice  120 , an outer wall  130  surrounding a storage cavity  140 , top  150 , and base  160 . Dip tube assembly  200  comprises internally and externally threaded connector  210 , dip tube  220 , and inlet end  230 . Monitoring assembly  300  comprises a top, threaded portion  310  and a bottom portion  320 .  
         [0015]    Storage cavity  140  of container  100  is filled with a fluid to be stored in the container via dip tube orifice  120  (which acts as a bunghole for the container), preferably while dip tube assembly  200  is absent. After filling the container, dip tube assembly  200  is used in conjunction with seal cap  400  to hermetically seal the container  100 . When access to the fluid stored in container is necessary, seal cap  400  is removed while dip tube assembly  200  is left in place and fluid stored in storage cavity  140  is withdrawn through inlet  230  and tube  220  of dip tube assembly  200 .  
         [0016]    After filling (or possibly before or during filling) monitoring assembly  300  is inserted into cavity  110  in a manner that results in monitoring assembly  300  being retained in cavity  110 . Cavity  110  protrudes into storage cavity  140  so as to best position monitoring of the contents of cavity  140  by monitoring assembly  300  without monitoring assembly  300  contacting any material stored in cavity  140 . Monitoring assembly  300  may be inserted and removed from cavity  110  without breaking the hermetic seal of cavity  140 .  
         [0017]    The container  100  may be sized and dimensioned in any number of ways, and may be made from any number of materials or combinations of materials with the actual size and dimensions and materials used for a particular embodiment being chosen to produce a container suitable for its intended use. For semiconductor application, materials of construction with low levels of extractable metals, organic extractable materials, and particles is desired. Although the smart container assembly may be comprised of a variety of suitable materials, it is currently preferred that container  100  be formed from high-density polyethylene (HDPE) or, less preferably, polymethylpentene, nylon, or Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene (FEP) Teflon resins. Although many different types of dip tube assemblies may be used, it is currently preferred to use a flexible, plastic dip tube assembly.  
         [0018]    Monitoring receiving cavity  110  is preferably sized, dimensioned, and constructed to permit sensing of the conditions within storage cavity  140 . Although in the currently preferred embodiment the walls of cavity  110  are formed from the same material as, and are one piece with the walls  130  of storage cavity  130 , alternative embodiments may have a receiving cavity  110  having walls that are thinner than those of storage cavity  140  or that are made from a material or combination of materials different than those of cavity  140 . Receiving cavity may also comprise a separate piece or assembly from walls  130  of cavity  140 . It is preferred that receiving cavity  110  and monitoring module  300  interact so that any sensors within receiving cavity  110  sense conditions more similar to those of the contents of the container than the environment surrounding the container. As such, it is currently preferred that receiving cavity  130  protrude into storage cavity  140  and not protrude out of container  100 . For embodiments in which walls  130  comprise a thermally insulating material, all or portions of cavity  130  may comprise a more thermally conductive material if sensing the temperature of the interior of cavity  140  is desirable. Other variations in the construction of cavity  130  may be included as needed. As an example, if sensing motion within cavity  140  is desirable, cavity  130  may be designed to be affected by motion of the contents of cavity  140 , perhaps by making cavity  130  from a flexible material and including a motion sensor within cavity  130 . If changes in pressure within cavity  140  are to be monitored, isolating cavity  130  from the effects of pressure changes occurring outside of container assembly while making at least a portion of cavity  130  flexible enough to cause the pressure within cavity  130  to change in response to changes in pressure within storage cavity  140  may prove beneficial.  
         [0019]    Dip tube orifice  120  is preferably the only opening into storage cavity  140  so that hermetically sealing orifice  120  is all that is needed to hermetically seal cavity  140 . Dip tube orifice  120  is preferably threaded to allow dip tube assembly  200  to be inserted, tightened, and sealed into orifice  120 .  
         [0020]    Referring to FIG. 3, a preferred dip tube assembly  200  comprises a connector  210  having external threads  211  and internal threads  212  and a dip tube  220  having a hollow cylindrical center  221  through which material can flow and exit container  100  when seal cap  400  is not screwed into the end of the dip tube assembly  200 . When material is being extracted from container assembly  100 , a hose or pipe is generally connected to the container  100  via a connector (not shown) screwed into the internal threads  212  of connector  210  of dip tube assembly  200 . It is contemplated that the dimensions and/or tolerances of external threads  211  and internal threads  212  may differ from each other. It is also contemplated that connector  210  may be sized and dimensioned in a manner relating to the contents of the container such that the connector cannot be coupled to a hose or pipe that is not intended to receive the contents of container assembly  10 .  
         [0021]    Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, a preferred monitoring assembly  300  comprises a threaded upper portion  310 , a sensor containing portion  320 , and at least one electronics assembly  350 . Threads  311  of threaded upper portion  310  ate sized and dimensioned to permit monitoring assembly  300  to be screwed into monitoring assembly receiving cavity  110 . It is contemplated that in some embodiments a portion of monitoring assembly  300  will help insulate the any sensors or other electronics that are part of monitoring assembly  300  from the environment surrounding container assembly  10 . Insulating sensors and electronics in such a manner may provide numerous advantages. A first is that the sensors and electronics are protected by the container  100 . A second is that there is no need to separately transport monitoring assembly  300  which decreases the risk that a particular monitoring assembly  300  will become lost or will be associated with a different container  100  than it was originally associated with. A third, and possibly one of the more important reasons, is that any sensors that are part of monitoring assembly  300  will be more likely to sense conditions that more closely reflect the conditions of the material being stored within container  100  than the conditions of the environment surrounding the container.  
         [0022]    It is contemplated that some embodiments of monitoring assembly  300  will comprise an input/output (I/O) interface  351 , a recording mechanism  352 , and a sensing mechanism  353 . Recording mechanism  352  is electrically coupled to both the sensing mechanism  353  and the I/O interface  351  for recording data obtained from both the sensing mechanism and the I/O interface. Data obtained from the I/O interface  351  will generally originate from an external source/device  360  and pass through I/O interface  351  to recording mechanism  352 . Such data may include but is not necessarily limited to a product identifier, a lot number, and/or an expiration date. Data recorded from the sensing mechanism may be translated and/or retrieved from recording mechanism  352  via I/O interface  351  as a series of flags. As an example, monitoring assembly  300  may be programmed with a temperature range within which the contents of the container are to be maintained, and, if it senses a deviation outside of the acceptable range, may set a flag indicating such a deviation. Incorporating more “intelligence” in monitoring assembly  300  can thus decrease the amount of raw data to be recorded by recording mechanism  352 .  
         [0023]    I/O interface  351  may comprise any device or devices which support communication between the monitoring assembly  300  and an external device or operator. Such devices may simply comprise one or more connectors, plugs, adapters, or other devices suitable for establishing an electrical, optical, acoustic, or other communication channel connection between monitoring assembly  300  and an external device, or may include a transmission mechanism supporting “wireless” communications between the monitoring assembly and an external device. Alternative embodiments may incorporate devices permitting human interaction with the monitoring assembly  300  such as a visual display, an acoustic generator, a keyboard, switches, dials, and/or buttons.  
         [0024]    I/O interface  351  may comprise multiple sub interfaces such as sub interfaces  351 A and  351 B with each sub interface proving the capability to send and receive data to different sub mechanisms such as  352 A and  352 B. The use of multiple sub mechanisms within recording mechanism  352  permit each sub mechanism to perform a specialized task. Thus, while sub mechanism  352 B may be designed to retain information transmitted to it from sub interface  351 B, sub mechanism  351 A may be designed to record data obtained from sensing mechanism  353  with sub interface  351 A providing an interface for retrieving the information from sub recording mechanism  352 A.  
         [0025]    It is contemplated that monitoring assembly  300 , probably through I/O interface  351 , will communicate with an external device  360 . Device  360  may be a handheld unit designed to allow “on the spot” querying of monitoring assembly  300 , or may be a control device which is part of the processing system which will be using the contents of container assembly  10 . If part of the processing system, the information contained in monitoring assembly  300  can be used to insure that the contents will not be used unless they are of a type suitable for the process and/or have been handled in a manner that does not render them unfit for use in the process.  
         [0026]    Monitoring assembly  300 , and particularly sensing mechanism  353  may be designed to sense one or more environmental conditions within container  100  such as temperature, and possible pressure, motion, and/or mechanical shock.  
         [0027]    Seal cap  400  is preferably sized and dimensioned to be screwed into the end of dip tube assembly  200  rather than into dip tube orifice  120 .  
         [0028]    Referring to FIG. 5, smart containers  100 A,  100 B, and  100 C may be used in a production facility  600  to provide material to device  640 . Containers  100 A may be fairly large, such as 100-220 liters and contained within a bulk delivery unit  610 . Containers  100 B may be smaller and fitted within trays  101  for use in mini delivery unit  620 . Container  100 C may be used to store unused material leaving device  640 , and may be positioned in processing area  630  in proximity to device  640 .  
         [0029]    A preferred method of using smart container assembly  10  to transport a material includes: providing a smart container assembly  10 ; electronically recording data relating to a material to be transported within the container assembly  10 ; placing the material to be transported within storage cavity  140  of container  100  of container assembly  10 ; at least partially hermetically sealing the opening used to fill the storage cavity  140  with a dip tube assembly extending into the storage cavity; transporting the container assembly  10  containing the material to be transported to a desired location; coupling the container assembly  10  to a processing unit  640  having a device  360  capable of electronically querying the container assembly; utilizing device  360  to electronically query the container assembly for information related to the contents or transportation of the container assembly  10 ; utilizing the transported material in processing unit  640  only if the contents and/or handling of the container assembly meet a standard programmed into or obtainable by the processing unit. It is contemplated that alternative methods may reorder some of the steps, may utilize less than all of the steps, or may incorporate additional steps.  
         [0030]    It is contemplated that making the dip tube assembly part of the container by sealing it into the container immediately after filling the container and not using it with any other storage container assemblies will eliminate the introduction of dried material by movement of a dip tube between containers. It is also contemplated that the inner threads  212  of connector  210  and any connector or cap/plug designed to screw into connector  210  may have higher tolerances than the threads of orifice  120  with a resulting decrease in the likelihood of small leaks forming. Leaks forming between the dip tube assembly connector  210  and orifice  120  are less problematic as dip tube assembly is not removed so dried material will be less likely to escape the seal area between connector  210  and the threads of orifice  120 .  
         [0031]    Many different materials may be stored within container assembly  10 . However, it is contemplated that the container assembly  10  may be particularly suited for use with spin-on-materials, including glass and organic polymers, used as dielectrics or planarization materials, and spin-on-dopants such as are commercially available for Honeywell International Inc.  
         [0032]    Thus, specific embodiments and applications of smart container assemblies have been disclosed. It should be apparent, however, to those skilled in the art that many more modifications besides those already described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. In particular, the methods and devices disclosed herein may be applicable in other applications than those disclosed herein. Thus, the inventive concepts are likely to be applicable to, among others, pharmaceutical and agricultural applications. The inventive subject matter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims. Moreover, in interpreting both the specification and the claims, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with the context. In particular, the terms “comprises” and “comprising” should be interpreted as referring to elements, components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that the referenced elements, components, or steps may be present, or utilized, or combined with other elements, components, or steps that are not expressly referenced.