Load port
AssigneeSinfonia Technology Co., Ltd.
InventorsAtsushi Suzuki, Yasushi Taniyama
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A load port including: a base as part of a wall partitioning a transportation space from an external space; an opening provided to the base; a door configured to open and close the opening and securing a lid to, and releasing a lid from, a container containing contents; and a first seal member for sealing the space between the base and the container. At least some of the container-side end surface of the door is located nearer to the transportation space than the container-side end part of the first seal member. The load port can keep a surrounding space clean when a FOUP is connected to a casing.
Claims11
A load port comprising:
- a base constituting a part of a wall separating a conveyance space from an external space;
- an opening portion provided in the base,
- a door configured to open and close the opening portion and to fix and release a lid member with respect to a container accommodating therein an article;
- a first seal member for sealing between the base and the container;
- a second seal member for sealing between the base and the door;
- a sealed space defined by at least the first seal member, the second seal member, the lid member, and the door while the container is in contact with the opening portion via the first seal member;
- a first gas injection unit configured to inject an inert gas into the sealed space;
- a first gas discharge unit configured to discharge a gas including oxygen, moisture, and/or particles from the sealed space through the door;
- a second gas injection unit configured to inject an inert gas into the container;
- and
- a second gas discharge unit configured to discharge an internal gas from the container.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.