Patent Publication Number: US-2013248400-A1

Title: Container for storing semiconductor device

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a container, especially to a container for storing semiconductor devices. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Semiconductor chips whose linear width is smaller than 90 nm have been produced in wafer foundries or in semiconductor fabrication plants due to breakthroughs and developments in wafer fabrication techniques. More semiconductor devices per unit wafer are produced along with the minimized linear width and the increased integrated density. But the semiconductor devices with high integrated density are quite sensitive. Even a bit of contaminants such as particles, dust, organic materials, gas, volatiles, etc result in defects in the semiconductor devices, or static electricity and a short circuit that damage the semiconductor devices. 
     In general manufacturing processes of semiconductor devices, a clean room with a low level of air pollutants is used for protection of the semiconductor devices. After being produced, a protective container is required for pollution control of the semiconductor devices during transportation of the semiconductor devices. 
     To prevent damages to semiconductor devices occurred during transportation or storage, many techniques that focus on the improvement of container structure and fastening members in the container have been provided. In an operating system of a standardized mechanical interface, a machine pin is inserted into a driver of a fastening member in the container so as to open and close the container. 
     However, friction occurs between components of fastening members in the container. Thus not only operation of the fastening member is unstable but the container is not opened or closed smoothly. Even some contaminants are produced due to the friction and the semiconductor devices stored in the container get polluted. 
     In order to solve the above problems, there is a need to have a novel container for storing semiconductor devices that includes at least one fastening member having at least one fastener and at least one driver. A rolling element is mounted on the fastener for reducing contact area between the fastener and the driver and minimizing friction between the fastener and the driver. Thus no contaminants produced in the container and the semiconductor devices in the container will not be polluted. The container is of high cleanness. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a container for storing semiconductor devices that includes a fastening member having at least one fastener and at least one driver. The fastener is mounted with a rolling element in contact with the driver. Thus contact area between the fastener and the driver is reduced and friction between the fastener and the driver is minimized to prevent production of contaminants and protect the semiconductor devices in the container. The high cleanness of the container is attained. Moreover, the rolling element is moved along with rotation of the driver and friction between the fastener and the driver is effectively reduced. Thus the fastening member works well and the container is opened and closed smoothly. 
     In order to achieve the above objects, a container for storing semiconductor devices of the present invention includes a cover, a receiving body with at least one insertion hole on a side wall, and a driver. The receiving body consists of at least one fastener disposed therein. The fastener is composed of a fastening body, at least one fixing part, a driving part and a rolling element. The fixing part is arranged at one side of the fastening body and corresponding to the insertion hole of the receiving body while the driving part is disposed on the other side of the fastening body. The rolling part is mounted on the driving part. The driver is disposed in the receiving body, against the driving part and in contact with the rolling element of the fastener. The cover is covered over the receiving body that includes at least one fastening part at the side wall thereof. The fastening part is corresponding to the insertion hole. When the driver is rotated, it drives the fastener to move in the receiving body. The fixing part of the fastener is inserted through the insertion hole of the receiving body to be mounted on the fastening part of the cover. Thus the cover is fixed on the receiving body. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein 
         FIG. 1  is an explosive view of a container of an embodiment according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is partial explosive view of container of an embodiment according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is another partial explosive view of container of an embodiment according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a driver of an embodiment according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a fastener assembled with a driver of an embodiment according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a receiving body of an embodiment according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic drawing of an elastic element of an embodiment according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  is a partial explosive view of container of another embodiment according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a fastener assembled with a driver of another embodiment according to the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     For solving the problem of friction occurred between each component of the fastening member of the container that cause contamination of semiconductor stored in the container, a container for storing semiconductor devices of the present invention is provided. 
     Refer to  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , a container for storing semiconductor devices  1  includes a cover  10 , a receiving body, and a seal plate  112 . At least one semiconductor device is loaded on an outer surface of the receiving body  111  and the cover  10  is disposed over the outer surface of the receiving body  111 . The receiving body  111  is mounted with a fastening member therein and the seal plate  112  is against the fastening member for fixing the fastening member in the receiving body  111 . The cover  10  is fixed on the receiving body  111  by the fastening member. Thus the container  1  is airtight and is free from external contaminants. Therefore the semiconductor device (such as photomask, wafer or others) will not be polluted. For further increasing air-tightness of the container  1 , a seal  14  is set between the cover  10  and the receiving body  111  to prevent contaminants from entering the container  1 . Thus a high level of cleanness is achieved in the container  1 . 
     The receiving body  111  is composed of an inner surface  1111  and a side wall  1112  around a periphery of the inner surface  1111 . Thus a receiving space is formed in the receiving body  111 . The fastening member of this embodiment is mounted in the receiving space and is having two fasteners  121  and a driver  122 . The two fasteners  121  are symmetrically arranged at the inner surface  1111  of the receiving body  111  and each fastener  121  consists of a fastening body  1211  and two fixing parts  1212  disposed on one side of the fastening body  1211 . The side wall  1112  of the receiving body  111  is set with four insertion holes  1110  respectively corresponding to four fixing parts  1212  of the two fasteners  121 . As to the cover  10 , its sidewall is also arranged with four fastening parts  102  (as shown in  FIG. 1 ) corresponding to the four insertion holes  1110  of the receiving body  111  respectively. Thus the four fixing parts  1212  of the two fasteners  121  are respectively passed through the four insertion holes  1110  of the receiving body  111  so as to fix the cover  10  on the receiving body  111 . The fixing part  1212  is a convex part while the fastening part  102  corresponding to the fixing part  1212  is a slot in this embodiment. The fixing part  1212  and the fastening part  102  can also be in other forms that lock with each other. 
     Refer to  FIG. 4 , the driver  122  is disposed on the inner surface of the receiving body  111  and is between the two fasteners  121 . Moreover, the inner surface of the receiving body  111  is arranged with a pivot part  1113  as shown in  FIG. 3 . The driver  122  consists of a driving body  1221  and a rotating shaft  1222  (as shown in  FIG. 2 ). The driving body  1221  includes a first surface  12211  and a second surface  12212  while the rotating shaft  1222  is disposed on the first surface  12211  of the driving body  1221  and is pivotally connected to the pivot part  1113  (as shown in  FIG. 3 ). Thus the driver  122  is rotatable in the receiving body  111 . Moreover, a bearing  1114  is further disposed on the pivot part  1113  of the receiving body  111  and the rotating shaft  1222  is pivotally connected to the bearing  1114  for being pivotally connected to the pivot part  1113 . The bearing  114  is used to reduce friction between the pivot part  1113  and the rotating shaft  1222  and allow the driver  122  rotating smoothly in the receiving body  111 . 
     Refer to  FIG. 2  ad  FIG. 5 , the driver  122  further includes two guiding members  1223 , respectively is a projecting rod. The two guiding members  1223  project from the first surface  12211  of the driving body  1221  and respectively extend from the rotating shaft  1222  to a periphery of the driving body  1221 . The other side of the fastening body  1211  of each fastener  121  is arranged with a driving part  1213 . The driving parts  1213  of the two fasteners  121  are respectively located between the two guiding members  1223  of the driver while the two guiding members  1223  are against the corresponding driving part  1213  respectively. 
     The seal plate is fixed under the receiving body  111  and is against the second surface  12212  of the driving body  1221  of the driver  122  for fixing the driver  122  between the inner surface  1111  of the receiving body  111  and the seal plate  112 . Thus the fastening member is fixed in the receiving body  111 . In this embodiment, the rotating shaft  1222  is not directly fixed on the driver in the receiving body  111  so that a force opposite to the rotating shaft  1222  will not be generated around a periphery of the driver  122 . And the driver  122  will not be affected by the force and become unstable during rotation. 
     Back to  FIG. 3 , there are two insert holes  1121  on the seal plate  112 . In this embodiment, each insert hole  1121  is curved. The driving body  1221  of the driver  122  is arranged with two driving holes  1224 . Each driving hole  1224  penetrates the driving body  1221  to the guiding member  1223 , without penetrating the guiding member  1223 . Thus the driving hole  1224  is a blind hole. The two insert holes  1121  of the seal plate  112  are corresponding to the two driving holes  1224  of the driver  122 . When users want to rotate the driver  122 , a pin  2  is inserted through the insert holes  1121 , inserted into the driving holes  1224  and then moved within the inset holes  1121  for driving the driver  122  to rotate. 
     When the driver  122  is rotated, the two guiding members  1223  of the driver  122  push the two driving parts  1213  of the two fasteners  121  and the two fasteners  121  move horizontally within the receiving body  111 . While the driver  122  being rotated counterclockwise, the two guiding members  1223  push the two driving parts  1213  of the two fasteners  121 . Thus the two fasteners  121  move toward two sides of the receiving body  111  respectively and the fixing parts  1212  of each fastener  121  are moved to be locked in the fastening parts  102  of the cover  10 . Ad the cover  10  is fastened on the receiving body  111 . Once the driver  122  is rotated clockwise, the two guiding members  1223  push the two driving parts  1213  of the two fasteners  121  to move toward the center of the receiving body  111 . Thus the fixing parts  1212  of each fastener  121  are released from the fastening parts  102  of the cover  10 . Therefore the cover  10  and the receiving body  11  are separated from each other. 
     Still refer to  FIG. 3 , for linear movement of the fastener  121 , the receiving body  111  is further mounted with two first stopping parts  1115 . The two first stopping parts  115  are respectively located on two sides of the two fasteners  121  so as to move horizontally between the two stopping parts  1115 . In other words, the stopping parts  115  are parallel to the movement direction of the fasteners  121 . Furthermore, the receiving body  111  is further disposed with two first stopping parts  1116  respectively located on two sides of the driver  122 . Two stopping members  1225  are disposed on a periphery of the driving body  1221  of the driver  122 . The two stopping members  1225  are respectively located between the two second stopping parts  1116 . Also refer to  FIG. 6 , when the driver  122  is rotated, the two stopping members  1225  of the driver  122  are respectively moved between the two second stopping parts  1116  so as to restrict the rotation angle of the driver  122 . Moreover, two third stopping parts  1117  are arranged at the inner surface  1111  of the receiving body  111  and the fastening body  1211  of each fastener  121  is disposed with a positioning hole  1214 . Each third stopping part  1117  is corresponding to the positioning hole  1214  so as to limit the position of the two fasteners  121  in the receiving body  111 . 
     The receiving body further includes a plurality of supporting parts  1118  arranged between the two first stopping parts  1115  and under the two fasteners  121  for supporting the two fasteners  121 . The supporting parts  1118  keep the two fasteners  121  away from the inner surface  1111  of the receiving body  111  and reduce contact area between the two fasteners  121  and the inner surface  1111  of the receiving body  111 . Thus the friction force between the two fasteners  121  and the inner surface  1111  of the receiving body  111  is reduced. Therefore the two fasteners  121  move smoothly on the inner surface  1111  of the receiving body  111 . 
     Refer to  FIG. 2 ,  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 4 , and  FIG. 5 , the driver  122  is further disposed with two pressing parts  1226  each of which is a projecting block that projects from the first surface  12211  of the driving body  1221 . The two pressing parts  1226  respectively are located between the two guiding members  1223 . The pressing part  1225  includes a guiding surface  12261  and a positioning slot  12262 . While the driver  122  being rotated counterclockwise, one side of the fastener  121  with the driving part  1213  is against the guiding surface  12261  of the corresponding pressing part  1226 . The guiding surface  12261  against the surface of the driving part  1213  is moved along the surface of the driving part  1213  along with the rotation of the driver  122 . Thus the one side of the fastener  121  with the driving part  1213  is descended along with the guiding surface  12261  while one side of the fastener  121  with the fixing parts  1212  is ascended. Thus the fixing parts  1212  are locked with the fastening parts  102  of the cover  10  and the container  1  is with good air-tightness. A ramp  12111  is disposed on one side of the driving part  1213  of each fastener  121  that is against the pressing part  1226 . The pressing part  1226  is moved along the ramp  12111  of the fastening body  1211  to the surface of the driving part  1213  and then moved along the surface of the driving part  1213 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
     Two rolling parts  1227  are mounted on the driving body  1221  of the driver  122 , under the pressing part  1226 . When the driver  122  is rotated, the rolling parts  1227  allow the driver not in direct contact with the seal plate  112 . Thus friction between the driver  122  and the seal plate  112  is reduced. Moreover, the two rolling parts  1227  are rolled along with rotation of the driver  122  so that the driver  122  is rotated stably. Thus contaminants produced by the friction between the driver  122  and the seal plate  112  are reduced so as to protect the semiconductor device from contamination. The rolling part  1227  of this embodiment is a bearing and is able to be other component. 
     Although the two rolling parts  1227  enable the driver  122  rotating stably, there is still friction occurred between the rolling parts  1227  and the seal plate  112 . Thus there may be some contaminants produced to contaminate the semiconductor devices. A wear-resistant part  1122  is attached to the seal plate  112  and located between the seal plate  112  and the two rolling parts  1227  so as to reduce friction between the rolling parts  1227  and the seal plate  112  and minimize abrasion of the seal plate  112  caused by the rolling parts  1227 . The amount of contaminants produced is further minimized so as to prevent contamination of the semiconductor devices in the container  1 . 
     Back to  FIG. 6 , the receiving body  111  further includes two connecting parts  1119  respectively located on one side of the corresponding fastener  121 . The fastening body  1211  of each fastener  121  is also disposed with a connecting member  1215 . Each connecting part  1119  is connected to the corresponding connecting member  1215  of the fastener  121  by an elastic part  13 . Each first stopping part  1115  of the receiving body  111  includes a slot  11151  that is inserted by the corresponding elastic part  13 . The length of the elastic part  13  is shorter than the thickness of the receiving body  111  so that the receiving body  111  is completely closed by the seal plate  12  of the container  112 . The position of each fastener  121  being locked with the fastening parts  102  of the cover  10  is defined as the original position of the fastener  121 . When the two fasteners  121  are moved toward the center of the receiving body  111 , the elastic part  13  is also moved toward the center of the receiving body  111  along with the fastener  121  and then to be stopped by one side of the slit  11151 . A restoring force is produced by the elastic part  13  due to material elasticity when the elastic part  13  is in contact with and stopped by the side of the slit  11151 . The restoring force enables the fastener  121  turning back to the original position. When the driver  122  is not working normally, the elastic parts  13  still make the fasteners  121  turn back to their original position. The fasteners  121  are fastened to the fastening parts  102  of the cover  10  to prevent the receiving  111  and the cover  10  from separating from each other. 
     With reference to  FIG. 7 , the elastic part  13  includes a first part  131  and a second part  132  connected to the first part  131 . The second part  132  is inclined downward with respect to the first part  131  to press against the fastening body  1211  of the fastener  121 . One end of the first part  131  is disposed on the connecting part  1119  of the receiving body  111  and one end of the second part  132  is set on the connecting member  1215  of the fastener  121 . 
     When the driving part  1213  of the fastener  121  is pressed by the pressing parts  1226 , the fixing part of the fastener  1212  is lifted and fastened to the fastening parts  102 . The second part  132  of the elastic part  13  inclined downward with respect to the first part  131  of the elastic part  13  is pressing against the fastening body  1211  so as to make the fixing part  1212  of the fastener  12  stay in the ascended state and lock with the fastening part  102  of the cover  10 . Thus the container  1  has a high level of air-tightness. 
     Refer to  FIG. 8  and  FIG. 9 , another embodiment of the present invention is disclosed. As shown in figure, friction occurs between the pressing parts  1226  of the driver  122  and the driving parts  1213 , when the driver  122  is rotated and is in contact with a part of the surface of each driving part  1213 . In order to minimize the friction between the driver  122  and the driving part  1213 , a rolling element  12110  is arranged at the driving part  1213  of the fastener  121  where the friction occurs. Thus the rolling surface  12261  of the pressing part  1226  of the driver  122  is in contact with the rolling element  12110  on the driving part  1213  of the fastener  121  and the contact area between the driving part  1213  and the pressing part  1226  is reduced. Therefore friction between the driving parts  1213  and the pressing parts  1226  is further reduced to minimize production of contaminants and protect the semiconductor devices in the container. 
     While the driver  122  being rotated, the driver  122  drives the rolling element  12110  to roll because that the guiding surface  12261  of the pressing part  1226  of the driver  122  is in contact with the rolling element  12110  on the driving part  1213  of the fastener  121 . Then the rolling element  12110  is rolled and moved along the guiding surface  12261 . The positioning slot  12262  is arranged at a rear end of the guiding surface  12261 . When the rolling element  12110  is rolled along the guiding surface  12261  and moved to the positioning slot  12262 , the rolling element  12110  is stopped and positioned by the positioning slot  12262 . Thus the fixing part  1212  of the fastener  121  is fixed on the fastening part  102  of the cover  10 . In this embodiment, the friction between the rolling element  12110  and the guiding surface  12261  is reduced by the rolling element  12110  rolling along the guiding surface  12261 . Thus the driver  122  smoothly drives the fastener  121  to move in the receiving body  111  and enables the fastening member working well. Therefore the container  1  is opened and closed smoothly. The rolling element  12110  of this embodiment can be a bearing or other component. The rolling element  12110  can also be applied to other structure where the driver  122  is fastened to the receiving body  111 . 
     In summary, the present invention provides a container for storing semiconductor devices in which a cover is fixed on a receiving body by a fastening member in the receiving body so as to seal the container and protect the container from contamination. The fastening member consists of at least one fastener and at least one driver. The fastener and the driver are disposed on the receiving body. The driver is fixed in the receiving body by a seal plate against the driver instead of being fastened by screws. Thus the driver is rotated stably. The driver is arranged with two rolling parts that reduce contact area between the driver and the seal plate to prevent contaminants produced by friction between the driver and the seal plate and protect semiconductor devices stored in the container from contamination. Moreover, a wear-resistant part is attached to the seal plate where the seal plate is in contact with the two rolling parts so as to reduce the amount of contaminants produced by the friction between the rolling parts and the seal plate and protect the semiconductor devices in the container. 
     Furthermore, each fastener of the fastening member is set with a rolling element in contact with the driver. The rolling element is used for reducing contact area between the driver and the fastener to minimize contaminants produced by friction between the driver and the fastener. Thus the semiconductor devices stored in the container will not be polluted. The rolling element is rolled along with rotation of the driver to reduce the friction therebetween and ensure smooth operation of the driver that drivers the fastener to move in the receiving body. Thus the fastening member runs smoothly and the container is opened and closed smoothly. 
     Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details, and representative devices shown and described herein. Accordingly, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalent.