Lid opening/closing system for closed container, contained object insertion/takeout system having same lid opening/closing system, and substrate processing method using same lid opening/closing system

Abstract

A tunnel is provided between a portion on a support mechanism on which a pod is loaded and a mini environment that is in communication with a FIMS. The pod is located in the tunnel when a lid of the pod is detached from the pod after the lid is held by a door. The pod is also located in the tunnel when it is at a position that allows transfer of wafers and to which the pod is moved after detachment of the lid. The lid and the door that have been separated from the pod can also be housed in a housing space annexed to the tunnel. A light emitting portion and a light receiving portion of an optical sensor are provided respectively on opposed walls of the tunnel. A pod is provided with a detection window that can transmit detection light.

1 . A lid opening and closing system that detaches a lid of a storage container having a substantially box-like main body having an opening on one side thereof that can store an object to be stored in the interior thereof and the lid that can be detached from said main body and close said opening to form a closed space in cooperation with said main body, to open said opening thereby enabling transfer of said object to be stored into/out of said storage container, comprising:
 a storage container support mechanism that supports said storage container and can move said storage container along a predetermined direction;   a mini environment separated from an exterior space, in which a mechanism that transfers said object to be stored is housed under dust control;   a tunnel having an exterior space side opening portion disposed near a position at which said storage container support mechanism is loaded with said storage container and a mini environment side opening portion that opens to said mini environment to establish communication with said mini environment;   a door that can open and close said mini environment side opening, said door having a holding mechanism that is in contact with and holds said lid and being movable, in a posture in which it is oriented perpendicular to the direction in which said tunnel extends to substantially close said tunnel, along said predetermined direction relative to said storage container that is moved by said storage container support mechanism disposed in said tunnel; and   a mapping sensor provided within said tunnel, that includes a light emitting portion that emits detection light to an object to be stored held in said storage container and a light receiving portion that receives said detection light to detect the presence/absence of said object to be stored.   
     
     
         2 . A lid opening and closing system according to  claim 1 , wherein said light emitting portion and light receiving portion are disposed in accordance with the position of said object to be stored in the interior of said storage container in a state in which said storage container is located at a position at which transfer of said object to be stored into/out of said storage container is performed. 
     
     
         3 . A lid opening and closing system according to  claim 1 , wherein there are a plurality of objects to be stored like said object to be stored, there are a plurality of mapping sensors like said mapping sensor provided for said objects to be stored respectively, and at least one of a wavelength range and an emission frequency of said detection light used by said mapping sensors differs among said mapping sensors. 
     
     
         4 . A lid opening and closing system according to  claim 1 , wherein there are a plurality of objects to be stored like said object to be stored, there are a plurality of mapping sensors like said mapping sensor provided for said objects to be stored respectively, and the light emitting portion of one of said mapping sensors and the light receiving portion of the mapping sensor disposed just above or below said one mapping sensor are disposed on an inner surface of said tunnel and at a position opposed to one side of said storage container. 
     
     
         5 . A lid opening and closing system according to  claim 1 , wherein there are a plurality of objects to be stored like said object to be stored, there are a plurality of mapping sensors like said mapping sensor provided for said objects to be stored respectively, the light emitting portion of a first mapping sensor among said plurality of mapping sensors and the light emitting portion of a second mapping sensor among said plurality of mapping sensors that is disposed just above or below said first mapping sensor are disposed on an inner surface of said tunnel and at positions opposed to one side of said storage container, and the distance between an axis of detection light emitted from the light emitting portion of said first mapping sensor and an axis of detection light emitted from the light emitting portion of said second mapping sensor increases away from said light emitting portions. 
     
     
         6 . A lid opening and closing system according to  claim 1 , wherein a light emission side end of said light emitting portion and a light receiving side end of said light receiving portion are disposed in such a way as to be flush with or recessed from the inner surface of said tunnel. 
     
     
         7 . A lid opening and closing system that detaches a lid of a storage container having a substantially box-like main body having an opening on one side thereof that can store an object to be stored in the interior thereof and the lid that can be detached from said main body and close said opening to form a closed space in cooperation with said main body, to open said opening thereby enabling transfer of said object to be stored into/out of said storage container, comprising:
 a storage container support mechanism that supports said storage container and can move said storage container along a predetermined direction;   a mini environment separated from an exterior space, in which a mechanism that transfers said object to be stored is housed under dust control;   a tunnel having an exterior space side opening portion disposed near a position at which said storage container support mechanism is loaded with said storage container and a mini environment side opening portion that opens to said mini environment to establish communication with said mini environment; and   a door that has a holding mechanism that is in contact with and holds said lid, is disposed inside said tunnel, can swing about a rotational axis perpendicular to said predetermined direction and parallel to a plane in which said object to be stored extends, and is movable, in a posture in which it is oriented perpendicular to the direction in which said tunnel extends to substantially close said tunnel, along said predetermined direction relative to said storage container that is moved by said storage container support mechanism disposed in said tunnel, wherein   said tunnel allows the opening of said storage container to be located in said tunnel when said door has moved relative to said storage container to detach said lid from said storage container and has a size large enough to have a housing space that can house said door and said lid without interfering with movement of said storage container in said predetermined direction when said door with said lid held by it has been swung about said rotational axis, and   a mapping sensor that includes a light emitting portion that emits detection light to an object to be stored held in said storage container and a light receiving portion that receives said detection light, to detect the presence/absence of said object to be stored, is provided within said tunnel.   
     
     
         8 . A lid opening and closing system according to  claim 7 , wherein said light emitting portion and light receiving portion are disposed in accordance with the position of the object to be stored in the interior of said storage container in a state in which said storage container is located at a position at which transfer of said object to be stored into/out of said storage container is performed. 
     
     
         9 . A lid opening and closing system according to  claim 7 , wherein there are a plurality of objects to be stored like said object to be stored, there are a plurality of mapping sensors like said mapping sensor provided for said objects to be stored respectively, and at least one of a wavelength range and an emission frequency of said detection light used by said mapping sensors differs among said mapping sensors. 
     
     
         10 . A lid opening and closing system according to  claim 7 , wherein a light emission side end of said light emitting portion and a light receiving side end of said light receiving portion are disposed in such a way as to be flush with or recessed from the inner surface of said tunnel. 
     
     
         11 . An object to be stored transfer system that transfers an object to be stored into/out of a storage container using a lid opening and closing system, comprising the lid opening and closing system according to  claim 1  and said storage container, wherein said storage container is provided with a first detection window that can transmit said detection light and allows said detection light emitted from said light emitting portion to reach the corresponding object to be stored and a second detection window that can transmit said detection light and allows said detection light to reach said light receiving portion from the interior of said storage container. 
     
     
         12 . An object to be stored transfer system according to  claim 11 , wherein there are a plurality of objects to be stored like said object to be stored, and said first detection window and said second detection window are provided separately for the respective corresponding objects to be stored. 
     
     
         13 . An object to be stored processing method for detaching a lid of a storage container having a substantially box-like main body having an opening on one side thereof that can store an object to be stored in the interior thereof and the lid that can be detached from said main body and close said opening to form a closed space in cooperation with said main body to open said opening thereby enabling transfer of said object to be stored into/out of said storage container, transferring said object to be stored into/out of said storage container, and performing a predetermined processing on said object to be stored in the exterior of said storage container, comprising the steps of:
 preparing a lid opening and closing system including a dust-controlled mini environment, a transfer mechanism that transfers an object to be stored and is provided in said mini environment, a door that can substantially close an opening portion of said mini environment and hold said lid, and a support mechanism that supports said storage container and moves said storage container in a predetermined direction to cause said door to hold said lid;   causing said storage container to be supported on said support mechanism and fixing said storage container on said support mechanism;   driving said support mechanism to cause said lid to abut to said door thereby causing said door to hold said lid;   driving said support mechanism and said door in said predetermined direction relative to each other to thereby separate said storage container and said lid;   swinging said lid and door about an axis that is perpendicular to said predetermined direction and contained in a plane in which said object to be stored extends to thereby bring said lid and door out of a moving region of said storage container; and   driving said storage container in said predetermined direction to set it at a position at which transfer of said object to be stored into/out of said storage container is performed,   wherein said storage container is located inside a tunnel that connects said mini environment and a space in which operation of causing said storage container to be supported on said support mechanism is performed at the time when said lid is separated from said storage container, said lid and door are located inside said tunnel after said swinging, and said storage container is located inside said tunnel when it is located at the position at which transfer of said object to be stored into/out of it is performed,   when said storage container is located at the position at which transfer of said object to be stored is performed, detection light is cast to said object to be stored through a first detection window that can transmit the detection light provided on said storage container, and whether said object to be stored is present or absent is determined based on whether or not the detection light reflected by said object to be stored is received through a second detection window that can transmit the detection light.