Wafer container cleaning system
AssigneeSemitool, Inc.
InventorsDaniel P. Bexten, Jerry R. Norby
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A cleaning system for cleaning carriers or containers used to carry semiconductor wafers has a door cleaner adjacent to a centrifugal box cleaner. Box holder assemblies are attached to a rotor within the box cleaner. Upper and lower hooks on the box holder assemblies hold boxes as the rotor spins. The door cleaner has a base which holds doors in a vertical and upright position. An elevator lowers the base into an ultrasonic cleaning tank. The tank lid seals the tank during use. Ultrasonic cleaning fluid is filtered and cycled into and out of the tank. Boxes and their doors, such as front opening unified pods (FOUP) are both efficiently cleaned and handled.
Claims29
A system for cleaning containers used for handling semiconductor wafers and similar objects, with the containers including a box and a separate door for sealing the box, comprising:
- a box cleaner including:
- an enclosure;
- a rotor within the enclosure;
- spray nozzles in the enclosure for spraying fluid towards the rotor;
- a plurality of box holder assemblies attached to the rotor, with each box holder assembly including upper and lower hook assemblies;
- and
- a door cleaner including:
- a cleaning liquid tank;
- an ultrasonic transducer in the cleaning liquid tank;
- and
- an elevator for moving doors into and out of the cleaning liquid tank.
A method of cleaning a container having a box and a door attachable to the box to seal the box, with the box having a top and a bottom comprising the steps of:
- separating the door from the box;
- loading the box into a box holder on a rotor within a box cleaner by placing an upper front edge of the box behind an upper hook in the box holder;
- lifting the box upwardly;
- rotating the box to move the bottom of the box into the box holder;
- moving a lower front edge of the box over a lower hook in the box holder;
- and lowering the box to seat the lower front edge of the box behind the lower hook;
- rotating the rotor;
- spraying a cleaning fluid onto the box;
- and
- drying the box.
A method for cleaning a door of a container for handling semiconductor materials and similar items, with the door having hollow interior spaces, comprising the steps of:
- loading the door onto a base, in a vertical orientation;
- lowering the base into a tank of liquid;
- allowing the liquid to fill the interior hollow spaces of the door;
- introducing ultrasonic energy into the liquid;
- lifting the door out of the tank of liquid;
- allowing the liquid in the hollow interior spaces to drain out of the hollow interior spaces and back into the tank;
- and
- removing the door from the base.
A box cleaner comprising:
- an enclosure;
- a rotor within the enclosure;
- a plurality of spray nozzles in the enclosure for spraying fluid towards the rotor;
- a box holder on the rotor, the box holder having:
- at least one upper hook at an upper end of the box holder;
- at least one lower hook at a lower end of the box holder;
- an upper leg on the upper hook extending downwardly towards the lower end of the box holder;
- a lower leg on the lower hook extending upwardly towards the upper end of the box holder;
- and
- a foot on the lower hook facing inwardly towards a center of rotation of the rotor.
A cleaner for cleaning a door of a container for handling semiconductor wafers and similar articles, comprising:
- a cleaning tank;
- an ultrasonic transducer in the tank;
- a base;
- a plurality of tabs on the base adapted to hold a door in a vertical orientation;
- an elevator attached to the base and operable to move the base to a first position wherein the base is immersed in the tank, and to a second position, wherein the base is above the tank.
A box cleaner comprising:
- an enclosure;
- a rotor within the enclosure;
- a plurality of spray nozzles positioned to spray a fluid towards the rotor;
- a box holder assembly on the rotor, with the box holder assembly for holding a box having a top, a bottom, a back left side and a right side, the box holder assembly having at least one upper hook and at least one lower hook, and with the upper hook including an upper hook leg extending downwardly towards the lower hook, and with the lower hook having a lower hook leg and a lower hook foot attached on the lower hook leg and extending inwardly towards the axis of rotation of the rotor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.