Clean device with clean box-opening/closing device

Abstract

In a load port portion of a conventional clean device, it can happen that cleanliness is reduced by dust caused by wear of bellows and a lid is not separated by its weight from a main body. In order to solve such problems, a clean device is structured as follows: a lid of a clean box has a non-circular reception hole, a load port portion of the clean device has an opening/closing mechanism with a projection fittable in the receiving hole and has a buffer chamber, one end of bellows of the buffer chamber is connected to the bottom surface of the buffer chamber, and the other end of the bellows is fixed, on the outside of the buffer chamber, to raising/lowering means of a port door.

1 . A clean device comprising:
 a lid and a main body having in a vertically lower portion thereof an opening that is closed by the lid, the clean device having an inside environment kept cleaner than an outside environment to receive a substrate from a clean box, which is kept highly clean inside and has the substrate stored in the inside, and process the substrate;   a load port portion equipped with an opening/closing mechanism having a turnable latch pin to separate the lid from the main body or couple the lid to the main body with the clean box laid thereon; wherein:   the lid of the clean box has: a cam plate configured to engage with the latch pin and actuating in accordance with a turning movement of the latch pin; and a latch member protruding to an outside of the lid to engage a latch hole of the main body of the clean box or being confined within the lid to be released from the latch hole of the main body of the clean box in accordance with an actuation of the cam plate;   the lid of the clean box further comprises a non-circular receiving hole;   the opening/closing mechanism further comprises a protrusion that can be fittingly inserted into the receiving hole;   the latch pin becomes configured to engage the cam plate and the protrusion of the opening/closing mechanism is fittingly inserted into the lid of the clean box when the clean box is laid on the load port portion; and   the protrusion and the receiving hole become configured to engage with each other in accordance with a turning movement of the latch pin.   
   
   
       2 . A clean device according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the protrusion comprises a brim portion at a tip thereof; and   the opening/closing mechanism is coupled to the lid through engagement of the brim portion with a seat of the receiving hole after the protrusion is inserted into the receiving hole.   
   
   
       3 . A clean device according to  claim 2 , wherein:
 the brim portion has a cross-sectional area that is smaller than and substantially similar in shape to the receiving hole so that the brim portion can be fittingly inserted into the receiving hole;   the protrusion further comprises a root portion smaller in cross-sectional area than the brim portion; and   the opening/closing mechanism and the lid are coupled to each other through engagement between the brim portion and the seat of the receiving hole resulting from rotation of the root portion after the protrusion is inserted from the brim portion into the receiving hole.   
   
   
       4 . A clean device according to  claim 2 , wherein:
 the brim portion has a cross-sectional area that is smaller than and substantially similar in shape to the receiving hole so that the brim portion can be fittingly inserted into the receiving hole;   the protrusion further comprises a root portion smaller in cross-sectional area than the brim portion;   the brim portion and the seat of the receiving hole have faces spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance when the protrusion is inserted from the brim portion into the receiving hole to a predetermined position; and   the brim portion and the seat of the receiving hole engage each other when the protrusion is moved by the predetermined distance by rotating the root portion.   
   
   
       5 . A clean device according to  claim 3 , wherein:
 the root portion is rotated while the latch member is rotated.   
   
   
       6 . A clean device according to  claim 1 , wherein the load port portion comprises:
 a port door that is raised and lowered and has one face on which the lid is laid;   a buffer chamber defined by wall surfaces arranged surrounding an outer periphery of the port door in a region where the port door is raised and lowered, and by a bottom face arranged opposed to the other face of the port door;   raising/lowering means joined to the port door, for raising and lowering the port door along a direction perpendicular to a face of the port door; and   a bellows arranged along an outer periphery of the raising/lowering means;   wherein the bellows is coupled at one end thereof to the bottom face of the buffer chamber; and   the bellows is fixed at the other end thereof to the raising/lowering means outside the buffer chamber.   
   
   
       7 . A clean device according to  claim 4 , wherein:
 the root portion is rotated while the latch member is rotated.