Lid opening/closing system for closed container

A lid opening/closing system for a closed container including

• a lid having a flat plate shape formed by a front surface and a rear surface opposed to the front surface and having plural engaged portions each having a groove shape which opens at the rear surface of said lid and is formed on an outer periphery surface connecting with both said front surface and said rear surface, a container body having an opening to be closed by said lid and an interior space that opens at said opening, and a latch mechanism including plural latch main bodies, each latch main body can move along an axis relative to said container body, and plural engagement portions, each of which plural engagement portions projects from each of the latch main bodies, is provided for a corresponding one of said engaged portions and can engage with said corresponding engaged portion, for fixing the lid to said container body by the engagement of each of said engagement portion with said corresponding engaged portion, said system being adapted to fix said lid to said closed container by causing the latch main bodies to move along said axes, said system comprising:
• a housing that defines a mini-environment having an opening portion;
• a door that can move between a position at which the door substantially closes said opening portion and a position at which the door leaves said opening portion open, and can hold said lid;
• a latch mechanism drive device that can operate said latch mechanism when said closed container is at a position at which opening and closing of said lid by said door is performed, said latch mechanism drive device being fixedly disposed in the vicinity of said opening portion outside said housing, and independent from said door, wherein the latch mechanism drive device moves each of the latch main bodies along the axes independently from the container body;
• and
• an engagement portion position detection sensor that detects the moving position of at least one of said engagement portions that changes with the movement of said latch main bodies along said axes caused by said latch mechanism drive device.

A lid opening/closing system for a closed container including a lid having a flat plate shape and having plural engaged portions, a container body having an opening to be closed by said lid, an interior space that opens at said opening, and a receiving recess which is provided between said opening and an exterior space, is capable of receiving said lid at the time of closing said opening, and is separated from said interior space by said lid, and a latch mechanism, including plural latch main bodies, each latch main body can move along an axis relative to said container body, and plural engagement portions, each of which plural engagement portions is provided for a corresponding one of said engaged portions, is in a state of projecting from each of the latch main bodies into said receiving recess and can engage with said corresponding engaged portion by a movement of said latch main bodies along said axes, for fixing the lid to said container body by the engagement of each said engagement portion with said corresponding engaged portion, said system being adapted to fix said lid to said closed container by causing the latch main bodies to move along said axes, said system comprising:

• a housing that defines a mini-environment having an opening portion;
• a door that can move between a position at which the door substantially closes said opening portion and a position at which the door leaves said opening portion open, and can hold said lid;
• a latch mechanism drive device that can operate said latch mechanism when said closed container is at a position at which opening and closing of said lid by said door is performed, said latch mechanism drive device being fixedly disposed in the vicinity of said opening portion outside said housing and independent from said door, wherein the latch mechanism drive device moves each of the latch main bodies along the axes independently from the container body;
• and
• an engagement portion position detection sensor that detects the moving position of at least one of said engagement portions that changes with the movement of said latch main bodies along said axes caused by said latch mechanism drive device.

A lid opening/closing system for a closed container including a lid having a flat plate shape and having plural engaged portions, a container body having an opening to be closed by said lid and an interior space that opens at said opening, and a latch mechanism including plural latch main bodies, each latch main body can slide along an axis relative to said container body and plural engagement portions, each of which plural engagement portions projects from each of the latch main bodies, is provided for a corresponding one of said engaged portions and can engage with said corresponding engaged portion, for fixing the lid to said container body by the engagement of one of said engagement portions with said corresponding engaged portion, said system being adapted to fix said lid to said closed container by causing the latch main bodies to move along said axes, said system comprising:

• a housing that defines a mini-environment having an opening portion;
• a door that can move between a position at which the door substantially closes said opening portion and a position at which the door leaves said opening portion open, and can hold said lid;
• a latch mechanism drive device that can operate said latch mechanism when said closed container is at a position at which opening and closing of said lid by said door is performed, said latch mechanism drive device being fixedly disposed in the vicinity of said opening portion outside said housing and independent from said door;
• and
• an engagement portion position detection sensor that detects the moving position of at least one of said engagement portions that changes with the movement of said latch main bodies along said axes caused by said latch mechanism drive device, wherein
• each of said engaged portions has an L-shape including a first straight portion that extends along a direction in which an outer peripheral surface of said flat plate shape of said lid extends and is closed at one end thereof to form a closed end, and a second straight portion that has an open end on one side of said flat plate shape, joins to the other end of said first straight portion, and extends along a thickness direction of said lid, and
• one end of a movable range over which each of said engagement portions is moved by said latch mechanism drive device corresponds to the open end of said second straight portion, and another end of the movable range corresponds to a position more distant from said second straight portion than the closed end of said first straight portion.