A ring spacer interposed between plate-shaped objects above and below in a container for storing and transporting the plate-shaped objects when a plurality of plate-shaped objects is stored in an up-and-down direction includes a ring-shaped abutment portion and a control portion. An upper face and a lower face in the abutment portion have an approximately flat shape and the upper face in the abutment portion abuts against a lower face of a peripheral edge portion of the plate-shaped object. The lower face in the abutment portion abuts against an upper face of the peripheral edge portion of the plate-shaped object. The control portion includes a control portion upper face positioned to protrude further upward than the support face of the abutment portion and a control portion lower face positioned at an appropriate location in a thickness direction of the abutment portion.

A front opening wafer container with a forward and rearward sets of stacked V-shaped wafer edge receiving portions, the rearward set part of a wafer shelf component and comprising a thin film of PBT preformed and overmolded with a polycarbonate. The sets of stacked V-shaped wafer edge receiving portions providing between-shelf seating positions above on-shelf seating positions. The PBT providing a low friction sliding engagement surface for the wafer edges thereby providing uniform and consistent dropping of wafers from the between shelf position to the on-shelf position when the door of the wafer container is removed.

A substrate container includes a casing, a rack, a lid, a lid holder, and a substrate separating mechanism. The casing has on its front face an opening. The substrate separating mechanism has a contact part that directly contacts substrates. The contact part is movable relative to the lid holder. The lid moves forward to the opening, and the contact part moves backward relative to the lid holder, whereby the lid holder holds ends of the substrates. The lid moves backward from the opening, and the contact part moves forward to the lid holder, whereby the substrate separating mechanism separates the substrates from the lid holder.

A semiconductor device manufacturing method which improves working efficiency. The method includes the step of transporting by air a package as a sealed moisture-proof bag which contains a case housing a semiconductor wafer laminate, in which the semiconductor wafer laminate has a plurality of semiconductor wafers stacked with a protective sheet interposed between semiconductor wafers. In order to facilitate separation of the protective sheet from the semiconductor wafers after unpacking the package, the protective sheet has a plurality of convex parts, a plurality of concave parts, and a flat part between a convex part and a concave part. A hole penetrating the protective sheet is made in each convex part and the center of the hole is located off the apex of the convex part.

An overhead transport vehicle includes a vibration-proof portion disposed between a belt and a lift device. The vibration-proof portion includes a first connection mechanism disposed on a side where a first load acts in a width direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to both a travelling direction and a lifting direction of the lift device, and a second connection mechanism disposed on a side where a second load larger than the first load acts in the width direction, and which has a larger repulsive force than that of the first connection mechanism.

A wafer container that reduces or alleviates one or more of the problems associated with excessive container wall deflection due to loading and excessive particulate generation, particularly as those problems are experienced with containers for 450 mm diameter and larger wafers. The container has an enclosure and door with interlocking features to enable transfer of tension load to the door to minimize deflection of container surfaces. The container may include a gasketing arrangement compatible with the interlock feature. The container may include a removable door guide that improves centering of the door during door installation, and that is made of low particle generating material to reduce particulates.

The lid body side wafer support parts allow flexibility to be exhibited and supports the wafers. If a closed state substrate is defined as being a wafer which is stored in the substrate storing space in a container main body in a state wherein the container main body opening portion is closed by the lid body, and a closed time center is defined as being the center of a closed state substrate, the back side substrate support portion, when a closed state substrate is viewed in the thickness direction, are disposed in a pair about a depth direction reference line and support the wafer. A center angle which the back side substrate support portion form toward the depth direction with respect to a left/right direction reference line when a closed state substrate is viewed in the thickness direction is 20-55°.

A substrate container including a casing, a rack, a casing holder, a casing lifting mechanism, a lid, and a lid holder. When holding of substrates with the rack shifts to holding of the substrates with the casing holder and the lid holder, the casing lifting mechanism moves the casing holder upward, whereby the casing holder moves the substrates upward. When the holding of the substrates with the casing holder and the lid holder shifts to the holding of the substrates with the rack, the casing lifting mechanism moves the casing holder downward, whereby the casing holder moves the substrates downward.

This board storing container is provided with a container body, a lid 3, and a lid-side board support unit 7 which, when the lid 3 closes a container body opening, is arranged in the part of the lid 3 opposite of the board storage space and which can support the edge of multiple boards. The lid-side board support unit 7 is provided with a lid-side board receiving unit which receives the edge of a board when supporting the board, and a frame part 71 held on the inner surface of the lid 3 and having a first surface 711 facing the inner surface of the lid 3 and a second surface 712 opposite of the first surface 711. The lid 3 is provided with a frame holding unit 35 for holding the frame 71 in an inserted state, and comprises a third surface 353 opposite of the first surface 711 and a fourth surface 354 opposite of the second surface 712. The lid-side board support unit 7 further is provided with a first protrusion 76 which, on the first surface 711 of the frame part 71, protrudes towards the third surface 353, and is provided with an engagement part 75 which, on the second surface 712 of the frame part 71, engages with the frame holding unit 35 in a state in which the frame part 71 is inserted.

In an embodiment, a system includes: a warehousing apparatus configured to interface with a semiconductor die processing tool configured to process a semiconductor die singulated from a wafer, wherein the semiconductor die processing tool comprise an in-port and an out-port, wherein the warehousing apparatus is configured to: move a first die vessel that contains the semiconductor die to the in-port from a first die vessel container, wherein the first die vessel container is configured to house the first die vessel; move the first die vessel from the in-port to a buffer region; and move a second die vessel from the buffer region to the out-port.