Patent attributes
A container for holding a single wafer includes a door with a latching mechanism having a cam with a pair of opposing wings extending laterally therefrom. The cam is selectively rotatably shiftable between a first favored position wherein the wings are completely within the door enclosure to enable the door to be engaged and disengaged from the door frame, and a second favored position wherein the wings extend laterally outward from the door enclosure so as to engage in the latch recesses in the door frame when the door is engaged in the door frame. The cam wings may include a ramped portion thereon for drawing the door into closer engagement in the door frame when the cam is rotated from the first favored position to the second favored position. Also, the latching mechanism may further include a spring disposed to provide a biasing force for urging the latching mechanism toward each of the first and second favored positions, and soft-stop dampening springs for decelerating the cam in a controlled fashion at the first and second favored positions and for absorbing vibrations resulting from the collision of the cam with a fixed stop on the door chassis.
