1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a latch guide assembly. More particularly, the present invention relates to a latch guide assembly comprising a rolling unit and a track which are configured to guide the movement of a latch. The latch guide assembly provides a precise mechanism to lock/unlock a wafer carrier with ease, and is able to reduce the failure rate and lessen the dust pollution.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 illustrates the bottom of a prior art wafer carrier in Taiwanese patent number M472694. The bottom of the prior art wafer carrier comprises a main plate (not shown) and a sealing plate 90, in which the main plate and the sealing plate 90 together form the bottom. A pivot module 6′ is further connected to the main plate and comprises at least two auxiliary units 60′ and at least two curved tracks 61′, and an elastic positioning member 7′ comprising two arcuate notches 71′ is connected with the at least two auxiliary units 60′ to constrain the moving area of the at least two auxiliary units 60′. At least two latches 2′ linked with the main plate via T-shaped connector 100 are further connected to the at least two curved tracks 61 respectively, thus rotation of the pivot member 6′ would drive the at least two latches 2′ to move along the at least two curved tracks 61′ and subsequently bring the at least two latches 2′ upward and inward with the support of the T-shaped connectors 100. Simultaneously, rotation of the pivot member 6′ also drives the at least two auxiliary units 60′ to move along the at least two curved tracks 61′, which would temporarily stretch the elastic positioning member 7′ outward. The arcuate notches 71′ of the elastic positioning member 7′ are used to position the at least two auxiliary units 60′ after the arcuate notches 71′ move. The at least two latches 2′ are moved obliquely by the T-shaped connectors 100.
The lock module located on the prior art bottom utilizes the curved track configured on the pivot member and the elastic positioning member to drive the latch to move obliquely, and therefore forms a lock/unlock mechanism for a wafer carrier.
The lock/unlock mechanism in the prior art wafer carrier is performed with repeated oblique movements of the latch. However, with the development of the semiconductor industry, the diameter of wafers has been expanded from 6 inches, 8 inches, 12 inches, to 18 inches or larger recently. Simultaneously, the weight that the wafer carrier can bear is also largely increased. Lock modules configured on the bottom of wafer carriers are forced to bear the weight of wafers and sustain repeated twists. The lock modules therefore tend to abrade and generate dust to contaminate the wafers, and the components in a lock module are more inclined to be deformed and aged rapidly.
Accordingly, at least one embodiment of the present invention aims to offer an improved and simplified latch structure compatible with the standard specification for wafer carriers. The latch structure shall be able to reduce the abrasion between the lock module and the latch, implement a precise moving mechanism for the latch, and provide a smooth operation for the lock module.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds