CN111577912B

CN111577912B - Vacuum sluice valve

Info

Publication number: CN111577912B
Application number: CN202010054728.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 金度烈; 李成起
Original assignee: Chashan Co ltd
Current assignee: Chashan Co ltd
Priority date: 2019-02-19
Filing date: 2020-01-17
Publication date: 2022-04-08
Anticipated expiration: 2040-01-17
Also published as: CN111577912A; TW202032023A; KR102174359B1; TWI739283B; KR20200101005A

Abstract

The present invention has advantages that the reliability of operation can be ensured by providing air tightness when opening and closing the fluid passage to perfectly prevent by-products flowing on the fluid passage from flowing into the valve, the corrosion of the internal parts of the valve can be prevented, the simple internal structure is economical, and the blade can move forward, backward and up and down through one driving part (air cylinder).

Description

Vacuum sluice valve

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a vacuum gate valve, and more particularly, to a vacuum gate valve which can ensure operational reliability and prevent corrosion of internal components of the valve by perfectly blocking inflow of by-products flowing through a fluid passage into the valve by providing airtightness when opening and closing the fluid passage, and which has a simple internal structure and is economical.

Background

In general, a vacuum gate valve is a valve configured to open and close a fluid passage by a valve body, and is installed between a chamber and a vacuum pump in a semiconductor or liquid crystal diode manufacturing line in an industrial field, and functions to transmit suction force of the vacuum pump to the chamber and open and close the chamber.

In the related industries, various technologies have been developed in order to improve the leakage rate, pressure range, exhaust and open/close life, which play a key role in the valve performance of a vacuum gate valve.

For example, Korean patent laid-open publication No. 10-0954212 (grant date: 2010, 04/14) discloses a vacuum gate valve that can be opened and closed smoothly. According to the granted patent, including: a valve body 10 provided with a fluid passage 11 in the up-down direction, having a sliding space 14 perpendicular to the fluid passage 11; a valve plate 20 that opens and closes the fluid passage 11 by moving forward or backward in the sliding space 14; a valve plate driving unit 40 for driving the valve plate 20 in a horizontal direction; a sealing member 50 which is moved up and down in a direction parallel to the fluid passage 11 to open and close the sliding space 14; and a sealing member driving unit 60 for driving the sealing member 50. The main feature of this granted patent is that in a state where valve plate 20 is inserted into sliding space 14, valve plate 20 can be lifted and lowered by a pressure difference in fluid passage 11 or a lifting force of sealing member 50. Specifically, when an external force acts on the upper surface or the lower surface of valve plate 20, that is, when a pressure difference occurs between inflow portion 12 and outflow portion 13 constituting fluid passage 11 or sealing member 50 is raised, the upper portion or the lower portion is expanded and contracted by the action of spring 22, and is lifted and lowered.

However, in the patented technology, in addition to the valve plate 20 that opens and closes the fluid passage 11 by advancing or retreating within the sliding space 14, the sealing member 50 and the driving part 60 thereof that opens and closes the sliding space 14 by ascending and descending in a direction parallel to the fluid passage 11 are included, and thus, there is a problem that the complicated structure causes a reduction in operation efficiency and a lack of economy. Further, since the sealing member 50 and the driving unit 60 having a complicated structure are used to prevent the differential pressure inside the valve, it is necessary to simplify the structure while performing the same function.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: korean granted patent publication No. 10-0954212 (granted date: 2010, 04 and 14)

Patent document 2: korean granted patent publication No. 10-1258486 (granted date: 2013, 04 and 22 months)

Patent document 3: korean granted patent publication No. 10-1258497 (granted date: 2013, 04 and 22 months)

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum gate valve which can perfectly prevent a byproduct flowing through a fluid passage from flowing into the valve by providing airtightness when opening and closing the fluid passage, can prevent corrosion of a valve member, has a simple and economical internal structure, and can structurally move a vane forward, backward, and up and down by one driving unit (cylinder).

It is another object of the present invention to provide a vacuum gate valve that can effectively remove a pressure difference generated in the valve while removing a pressure difference between an upper vacuum chamber and a lower vacuum pump.

In order to achieve the above object of the present invention, the present invention provides a vacuum gate valve, comprising: a main body in the shape of a quadrangular box with an open upper part, wherein a fluid channel is vertically formed by vertically penetrating one side of the inside along the vertical direction; a blade horizontally movable in the inner space of the main body to open and close the fluid passage; a gear box integrally mounted on one side of the lower part of the main body and provided with a transmission device for horizontally moving the blades; and an upper cover installed on the opened upper portion of the main body, wherein a first pipe member functioning as an inflow portion and a second pipe member functioning as a discharge portion are inserted into and disposed in the fluid passage, the first pipe member includes a cylindrical upper pipe portion for restricting an inflow flow path, the second pipe member includes a cylindrical lower pipe portion for restricting a discharge flow path, a first support plate is disposed on the inner bottom surface of the main body at the periphery of the fluid passage, the first support plate has an opening portion formed at a central portion thereof with an inner diameter equal to an inner diameter of the fluid passage, the first support plate is elastically supported in a vertical direction by a plurality of compression springs disposed on a lower surface of the first support plate, and the blade is fixedly installed in the main body in a U-shaped blade fork, the pair of rails can be horizontally moved along a pair of rails which are respectively disposed on both side walls of the main body so as to be able to stand upright in the longitudinal direction.

The present invention is characterized in that a first hole is formed through the upper duct portion at a middle position thereof, the first hole being fluidly connected to a free end portion of a first slow suction duct extending from a first slow suction device for removing a pressure difference between a vacuum chamber at an upper portion of the vacuum gate valve and a vacuum pump at a lower portion of the vacuum gate valve, a second hole is formed through the lower duct portion at a middle position thereof, the second hole being fluidly connected to a free end portion of a second slow suction duct extending from a second slow suction device for removing a pressure difference generated inside the vacuum gate valve.

The present invention is characterized in that stepped portions having a stepped shape are formed on both sides of the first support plate, and cam follower rails for guiding a precision operation of the blade are disposed on the surfaces of the stepped portions, respectively, and the cam follower rails are tapered at both ends in a longitudinal direction and tapered toward a tip end.

The present invention is characterized in that a plurality of coupling pieces are formed on both side edges of the blade, through holes are formed in the plurality of coupling pieces, a plurality of recessed portions for attaching and receiving the plurality of coupling pieces are formed on the upper side of the rod-shaped leg portion of the blade yoke in correspondence to the through holes, plugging holes are formed in the plurality of recessed portions, and the blade is fixedly attached to the blade yoke by fastening bolts inserted through the through holes of the plurality of coupling pieces and into the plugging holes of the plurality of recessed portions in a state where the plurality of coupling pieces are attached to the plurality of recessed portions, respectively.

A plurality of first ball bearings are disposed at a front position of the blade fork and at both side surfaces of the leg portion, and a part of the first ball bearings among the plurality of first ball bearings is movable along the track, and when the blade fork is moved toward the fluid passage side by activation of the transmission, among the plurality of first ball bearings, a first ball bearing provided separately at a front end portion of the blade fork slides on the cam follower track.

As described above, according to the present invention, when closing the fluid passage, it is possible to perfectly block the inflow of the by-products flowing on the fluid passage to the inside of the valve by precisely moving the vane serving as the valve plate toward the fluid passage side and by providing perfect airtightness by the cooperation with the support plate elastically supported by the compression spring. Therefore, the present invention has an effect that the reliability of operation can be ensured and the corrosion of the internal parts of the valve can be prevented.

The present invention has an effect that the blades can be moved forward, backward, and vertically by one driving unit (cylinder) in the structure.

Further, the present invention has the effect that the means for removing the pressure difference between the upper vacuum chamber and the lower vacuum pump and the means for removing the pressure difference generated inside the valve are simplified, the simple internal structure simplifies the manufacturing, and the economical efficiency can be secured.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is an external perspective view of a vacuum gate valve according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a bottom external perspective view of the vacuum gate valve shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 to 6 are partially exploded perspective views illustrating an internal structure of the vacuum gate valve shown in fig. 1, and are partially omitted for convenience of explanation.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, a vacuum gate valve according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 and 2 show an outline of a vacuum gate valve 100 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the vacuum gate valve 100 includes: a main body 110 having a quadrangular box shape with an open upper portion; a gear box 200 integrally mounted on a lower side of the main body 110 and having a transmission device therein; and an upper cover 120 mounted on the opened upper portion of the main body 110.

The fluid passage 112 vertically penetrates the main body 110 in the vertical direction at one side of the inside of the main body 110. A first pipe member 130 functioning as an inflow portion of the vacuum gate valve 100 and a second pipe member 140 functioning as a discharge portion of the vacuum gate valve 100 are inserted into the fluid passage 112.

Fig. 3 to 6 show an internal structure of the vacuum gate valve 100.

First, referring to fig. 3, the first duct member 130 includes a cylindrical upper duct portion 132, and the upper duct portion 132 restricts an inflow flow path. A first mounting flange 131 is provided on a radially outer circumferential surface of the upper duct portion 132 at a middle position of the upper duct portion 132. On the upper portion of the upper pipe portion 132, a first connection flange 133 for connection with a chamber-side pipe (not shown) is attached. The first pipe member 130 is configured in such a manner that, in the upper pipe portion 132, the lower side portion of the first mounting flange 131 is inserted into the upper side of the fluid passage 112, and on the inner bottom surface of the main body 110, the lower surface of the first mounting flange 131 is contacted and supported with the upper surface of the first support plate 111 disposed at the periphery of the fluid passage 112.

An opening (reference numeral omitted) having the same inner diameter as that of the fluid passage 112 is formed at the center of the first support plate 111, and is elastically supported in the vertical direction by a plurality of compression springs 114 (see fig. 6) disposed on the lower surface thereof. A first hole 134 (see fig. 1) is formed through the upper duct portion 132 at a position between the first connecting flange 133 and the first mounting flange 131. The first hole 134 is fluidly connected to a free end of a first slow pumping duct 312 extending from a first slow pumping device 310, the first slow pumping device 310 being used to remove a pressure difference between an upper vacuum chamber and a lower vacuum pump.

Next, the second pipe member 140 includes: a second mounting flange 141 in the shape of a ring; a cylindrical lower conduit portion 142; a ring portion 145 having an inner diameter larger than a radial outer diameter of the lower pipe portion 142; and a second coupling flange 143 attached to a lower portion of the lower pipe portion 145 to be coupled with a vacuum pump side external pipe (not shown).

The lower conduit portion 142 restricts the discharge flow path and has the same inner diameter as the upper conduit portion 132 of the first conduit member 130. A locking portion 142a expanding radially outward is formed at an upper portion of the lower pipe portion 142. The ring portion 145 snaps onto the radially outer face of the lower pipe portion 142 at a position below the latching portion 142a, supported by the second connecting flange 143. The second pipe member 140 is disposed so that the locking portion 142a of the lower pipe portion 142 is locked to the upper surface of the first support plate 111 to be supported. The second mounting flange 141 is fixed in such a manner that an upper face thereof is in contact with a lower face of the main body 110. A second hole 144 is formed through the lower pipe portion 142 at a middle portion thereof. The second hole 144 is fluidly connected to a free end of a second slow pumping duct 322 (refer to fig. 2) extending from a second slow pumping device 320(DP), the second slow pumping device 320 being used to remove a pressure difference generated inside the vacuum gate valve 100.

On the other hand, the vacuum gate valve 100 of the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes: a vane 150 provided between the first duct member 130 and the second duct member 140 to open and close the fluid passage 112, the first duct member 130 and the second duct member 140 being inserted into and disposed in the fluid passage 112 to restrict an inflow flow path and a discharge flow path; and a driving means for horizontally moving the blade 150.

Referring to fig. 3 to 6 of the drawings, the vane 150 is a valve plate having a thickness of about 1t, and is fixedly attached to a substantially U-shaped vane fork 160 in the main body 110. Therefore, a plurality of connecting pieces 152 are formed on both side edges of the blade 150, and through holes (reference numerals are omitted) are formed in each of the plurality of connecting pieces 152. Correspondingly, a plurality of recesses 164 for mounting and receiving the plurality of coupling pieces 152 are formed at an upper side of the lever-shaped leg portion 162 of the blade fork 160. Plugging holes (reference numerals are omitted) are formed in the plurality of recesses 164, respectively. In a state where the coupling pieces 152 are respectively mounted in the recessed portions 164, the blade 150 is fixedly mounted to the blade fork 160 by the fastening bolt 154 inserted into the plugging hole of the recessed portion 164 through the through holes of the coupling pieces 152. At positions adjacent to the plurality of recesses 164, blade supports 166 in the form of ball bearings are disposed on the edges of the blade fork 160. The blade support member 166 is fixedly supported by a first fixing member 167 inserted toward the center thereof.

The vane 150 is disposed so as to be movable forward or backward with respect to the fluid passage 112, and for this purpose,

first ball bearings

168a, 168b, 168c are disposed at a front position and a rear position of the vane 150 and at positions between the plurality of vane supports 166, respectively. The plurality of

first ball bearings

168a, 168b, 168c are fixedly supported at the side of the leg portion 162 of the blade fork 60 by second fixing pieces 169 inserted toward the center, respectively. Some of the plurality of

first ball bearings

168a, 168b, 168c are disposed so as to be movable along a pair of rails 170, and the pair of rails 170 are disposed on both side walls of the main body 110 so as to stand in the longitudinal direction.

On the inner bottom surface of the main body 110, around the fluid passage 112, the previously described first support plate 111 is disposed. As described above, the plurality of compression springs 114 are disposed on the lower surface of the first support plate 111. The compression spring 114 elastically supports the first support plate 111 in a vertical direction. Stepped portions 111a are formed on both sides of the first support plate 111, and cam follower rails 180 for guiding the precise movement of the blade 150 are disposed on the surfaces of the stepped portions 111 a. The cam follower track 180 is tapered at both longitudinal ends, tapering in shape toward the tip. On the cam follower track 180, a first ball bearing 168a, which is separately provided at the front end of the blade fork 160, among the plurality of

first ball bearings

168a, 168b, 168c described previously, slides.

On the other hand, a link guide 190 in the form of a rectangular ring is fixedly attached to the rear of the blade fork 160, and a link 191 is disposed inside the link guide 190. A shaft insertion groove 192 is formed at one side of the link 191, and a ball bearing type link supporter 193 is disposed at the other side of the link 191. In this case, the link support 193 is fixedly supported by the third fixing member 193a inserted at the center thereof.

As described above, the gear box 200 is provided therein with a transmission means for horizontally moving the vane 150 while perfectly maintaining the air-tightness between the first and

second duct members

130 and 140 when closing the fluid passage 112.

More specifically, the upper portion of the spur gear shaft 210, which is a component of the transmission, is fitted into the shaft insertion groove 192. A second ball bearing 212 is disposed at an intermediate position of the spur gear shaft 210, and a spur gear 214 is disposed at a lower position thereof. The lower portion of the spur gear shaft 210 is rotatably fixed to a second support plate 211 disposed therebelow, and a third ball bearing 213 is disposed at the periphery thereof. The spur gear 214 of the spur gear shaft 210 meshes with a rack 224 horizontally arranged along the longitudinal direction of the main body 110 in a perpendicular manner with respect to the spur gear shaft 210. The front end of the rack shaft 220 is mechanically connected to a piston 232 of a cylinder 230. The rear end of the rack shaft 220 is connected to one side of the guide block 202. The other side of the guide block 202 is connected to the rear end of the guide shaft 240, and the guide shaft 240 extends parallel to the rack shaft 220. Like the rack shaft 220, the front end of the guide shaft 240 is mechanically connected to the piston 232 of the cylinder 230.

Hereinafter, an operation process of the vacuum gate valve of the preferred embodiment of the present invention configured as described above will be briefly described with reference to fig. 3 to 6 of the accompanying drawings. For convenience of explanation, in the drawings, the side where the fluid passage 112 is formed is regarded as the front with reference to the main body 110.

To close the valve, the fluid passage 112 is closed by laterally moving the vane 150 performing the valve plate action toward the front side. That is, in order to close the valve, the vane 150 is directed to a space between the first duct member 130 and the second duct member 140, and the first duct member 130 and the second duct member 140 are inserted into the fluid passage 112 disposed in the main body 110 to form an inflow portion and a discharge portion, respectively.

Therefore, when the piston 232 is actuated by the cylinder 230 connected to an external power source and the rack shaft 220 is moved in a direction toward the fluid passage 112, that is, in a forward direction, the transmission device disposed in the gear box 200 is driven, and in this case, the spur gear 214 engaged with the rack 224 of the rack shaft 220 is rotated, and the rotational driving force is converted into a linear motion via the spur gear shaft 210 and the connecting rod 191, and is transmitted to the blade fork 160.

Thus, the blade fork 160 moves forward along the rails 170 disposed on both side walls of the main body 110 in the longitudinal direction. That is, the plurality of

first ball bearings

168b and 168c disposed on both side surfaces of the blade yoke 160 slide along the inner surface of the rail 170 to move the blade yoke 160 toward the fluid passage 112. In this case, the blade 150 integrally fixed to the blade fork 160 also moves together, and slides forward as the first ball bearing 168a separately provided at a position near the front end of the blade 150 is moved up to the cam follower rail 180.

As the first ball bearing 168a comes up to the rear end of the cam follower track 180 having both lengthwise-direction sides formed in a stepped manner, the front end of the blade 150 presses down the rear end of the first support plate 111. In this case, the first support plate 111 is pressed downward by the action of the plurality of compression springs 114 disposed on the lower surface thereof and is lowered, and when the first ball bearing 168a moves further forward along the cam follower rail 180, the blade 150 pushes the upper end portion of the lower pipe portion 142 of the second pipe member 140 downward, thereby entering the open gap between the upper pipe portion 132 and the lower pipe portion 142 by such action. When the first ball bearing 168a moves to the front end of the cam follower rail 180, the first support plate 111 moves upward by the action of the compression spring 114, and is restored to the original position, and finally, the fluid passage 112 is perfectly closed by the vane 150, thereby maintaining airtightness.

In contrast to the operation of the closing valve described above, the operation of opening the valve is an operation of horizontally moving the vane 150 toward the rear side.

If the actuator is activated to open the valve, the blade fork 160 is moved rearward along the track 170. That is, the plurality of

first ball bearings

168b and 168c disposed on both side surfaces of the blade fork 160 slide along the inner surface of the rail 170 and move the blade fork 160 in a direction away from the fluid passage 112, that is, toward the rear side of the main body 110. In this case, the blade 150 fixed integrally to the blade fork 160 also moves together and causes the first ball bearing 168a separately provided near the front end of the blade 150 to slide toward the rear side along the cam follower rail 180.

If the first ball bearing 168a is completely disengaged from the cam follower track 180, the blade 150 pressing the first support plate 111 and the open upper portion of the lower pipe portion 142 will also be disengaged from the first support plate 111. At the moment when the front end of the blade 150 is separated from the rear end of the first support plate 111, the first support plate 111 is rapidly moved upward by the compression spring 114 elastically supporting the lower surface thereof and restored to its original position, and finally, the fluid passage 112 is completely closed, thereby perfectly blocking the by-product flowing on the fluid passage from flowing into the valve interior.

In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed preferred embodiments. Specific terms are used herein, but these terms are only used for illustrating the present invention and do not limit the meaning or the scope of the present invention described in the claims of the present invention. Therefore, it is to be understood that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments may be made in accordance with the present invention, as long as they are within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the true scope of the present invention should be defined by the technical idea of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A vacuum gate valve comprising: a main body in the shape of a quadrangular box with an open upper part, wherein a fluid channel is vertically formed by vertically penetrating one side of the inside along the vertical direction; a blade horizontally movable in the inner space of the main body to open and close the fluid passage; a gear box integrally mounted on one side of the lower part of the main body and provided with a transmission device for horizontally moving the blades; and an upper cover mounted on the open upper part of the main body,

the above-mentioned vacuum gate valve is characterized in that,

a first pipe member functioning as an inflow portion and a second pipe member functioning as a discharge portion are inserted into and arranged in the fluid passage, the first pipe member including a cylindrical upper pipe portion that restricts an inflow flow path, the second pipe member including a cylindrical lower pipe portion that restricts a discharge flow path,

a first support plate disposed on the periphery of the fluid channel on the inner bottom surface of the main body, the first support plate having an opening portion formed at a central portion thereof with an inner diameter equal to that of the fluid channel, the first support plate being elastically supported in a vertical direction by a plurality of compression springs disposed on a lower surface of the first support plate,

the blade is fixedly mounted to a U-shaped blade fork in the main body and is horizontally movable along a pair of rails which are respectively disposed on both side walls of the main body so as to be able to stand upright in the longitudinal direction,

stepped parts are respectively formed on both sides of the first support plate,

cam follower tracks for guiding the precise movement of the vanes are arranged on the surfaces of the stepped portions,

the cam follower track is tapered at both longitudinal ends and tapered toward the distal end.

2. The vacuum gate valve of claim 1,

a first hole is formed through the upper pipe portion at a middle position thereof,

the first hole is fluidly connected to a free end portion of a first slow pumping duct extending from a first slow pumping device for removing a pressure difference between a vacuum chamber at an upper portion of the vacuum gate valve and a vacuum pump at a lower portion of the vacuum gate valve,

a second hole is formed through the middle part of the lower pipeline part,

the second hole is fluidly connected to a free end portion of a second slow pumping duct extending from a second slow pumping device for removing a pressure differential generated inside the vacuum gate valve.

3. The vacuum gate valve of claim 1,

a plurality of connecting pieces are formed on the two side edges of the blade, through holes are formed on the connecting pieces respectively,

correspondingly, a plurality of recesses for mounting and accommodating a plurality of connecting pieces are formed on the upper side of the rod-shaped leg portion of the blade fork, and plugging holes are formed in the plurality of recesses,

the blade is fixedly attached to the blade fork by fastening bolts inserted through the through holes of the connecting pieces and into the plugging holes of the recessed portions in a state where the connecting pieces are respectively attached to the recessed portions.

4. The vacuum gate valve of claim 3,

a plurality of first ball bearings are disposed at a front position of the blade fork and at both side surfaces of the leg portion,

a part of the first ball bearings may be movable along the track, and when the blade fork is moved toward the fluid passage side by activation of the transmission, among the first ball bearings, the first ball bearing provided separately at the front end of the blade fork may slide on the cam follower track.