Supporting shelf for front opening unified pod

Abstract

A support extendible shelf for a container such as a Front Opening Unified Pod (“FOUP”) wafer container. The shelf may host a FOUP designed for large diameter wafers such as 200 mm or greater wafer. The support shelf may facilitate quick load and unload of a container such as a FOUP. The support shelf may also facilitate control over atmospheric conditions inside the container FOUP BY interacting with a control system. The extendible shelf may have a fixed body and a retractable body on which a container may be placed. The extendible shelf may be in a fully out (extended) position, for allowing to lay thereon or remove therefrom a container, whichever the case may be, or in a fully in (stowed) position. The extendible shelf may be in any position between the fully out position and the fully in position, in which position the atmospheric conditions inside the container may be controlled.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.