초록 ▼

A workpiece container assembly includes a container, and a cover having a locking section that facilitates manipulation and gripping by an apparatus for opening and closing the workpiece container assembly. The container is configured to accommodate workpiece(s) therein. A body of the cover covers

A workpiece container assembly includes a container, and a cover having a locking section that facilitates manipulation and gripping by an apparatus for opening and closing the workpiece container assembly. The container is configured to accommodate workpiece(s) therein. A body of the cover covers an open side of the container. The locking section of the cover includes a bar protruding towards the exterior of the body of the cover, a jaw extending from the bar, and a resilient member connected to the bar such that the bar is biased in its longitudinal direction. The container also includes a frame defining an insertion hole into which the bar of the locking section of the cover is inserted. The opening/closing apparatus includes a clamp that can latch onto the jaw and move the bar against the biasing force of the resilient member to withdraw the bar from the insertion hole in the frame of the container.

대표청구항 ▼

What is claimed is: 1. A container assembly for housing at least one workpiece, said assembly comprising: a container configured to accommodate at least one workpiece therein, said container having an opening at one side thereof, and said container including a frame delimiting at least a portion of

What is claimed is: 1. A container assembly for housing at least one workpiece, said assembly comprising: a container configured to accommodate at least one workpiece therein, said container having an opening at one side thereof, and said container including a frame delimiting at least a portion of the opening, said frame defining at least one insertion hole therein; and a cover covering the opening of the container, said cover including a cover body that spans said opening, and at least one locking section by which the cover is secured to the container, said cover body having an inner wall that faces said container, an outer wall opposite said inner wall, and at least one opening in said outer wall, and said locking section including a bar extending longitudinally towards the outside of the body of the cover and into the insertion hole in the frame of said container, a resilient member connected to the bar such that the bar is biased in a longitudinal direction thereof by said resilient member, a jaw extending from said bar into said opening in the outer wall of the body of the cover, and a protrusion extending from said bar into said opening in the outer wall of the body of the cover, the jaw and the protrusion being attached to and extending from the bar independently of each other the protrusion being spaced from the jaw along the bar in the longitudinal direction in which the bar is biased by the resilient member, and the protrusion abutting an edge of the body of the cover that defines an end of the hole in the longitudinal direction, whereby the protrusion serves as a stop that positions the jaw. 2. The container assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said resilient member biases said bar of said locking section to a position at which a first end of the bar protrudes from one of an upper and a lower surface of the body of said cover. 3. The container assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein said resilient member is connected to a second end of the bar, which is disposed opposite to the first end of the bar, and is disposed in an axial alignment with the longitudinal direction of the bar. 4. The container assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the opening in the outer wall of the body of said cover has a length, in the longitudinal direction of said bar, that is greater than the distance by which said first end if the bar protrudes from the body of said cover. 5. The container assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shape of the cross section of said jaw, as taken in a plane parallel to the longitudinal direction in which the bar is biased by the resilient member, tapers between opposite sides thereof only in a direction towards the protrusion. 6. The container assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locking section further includes a supporting member disposed within the body of said cover and extending perpendicularly to said bar, said resilient member being supported by said supporting member. 7. The container assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one locking section comprises at least one pair of locking sections, the bars of each said pair being axially aligned within the body of said cover. 8. The container assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one locking section comprises at least one pair of locking sections, the bars of said locking sections extending parallel to and spaced laterally from one another within the body of said cover. 9. The container assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said container has inner side walls defining a plurality of parallel slits, whereby semiconductor wafers can be accommodated in said slits.