JP2000028013A - Gate type vacuum shut-off valve - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a gate type vacuum shut-off valve preventing generation of particle. SOLUTION: This gate type vacuum shut-off valve is operated by two stages of a first driving moving a valve element 14 between an interruption location at the front surface of an opening part 13 and a retreating location retreated from the interruption location and a second driving making the valve element 14 be perpendicularly abutted/away on/from a valve seat surface 15 formed on the opening part 13 at the interruption location. The valve has a first driving means 51 for first driving which is disposed at the outside of a valve main body 10, passes through the valve main body 10 via a seal means and is connected with the valve element 14. The valve element 14 is the one in which a partition plate 23 holding a valve sheet 27 is slid and supported on a fixing part 21 connected with the first driving means 51 and is formed integrally with a diaphragm 25 movable in a sliding direction within air tight pressurizing chambers 31, 32 partitioned and provided at the fixing part 21, and the valve element 14 performs a second driving by pressurizing the diaphragm 25 on operating fluid supplied within the pressurizing chambers 31, 32.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a gate type vacuum shut-off valve which eliminates particles generated by rubbing of a seal member during opening and closing operations.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a semiconductor manufacturing process, manufacturing is performed in a vacuum atmosphere, and high cleanliness is required. On the other hand, gate-type vacuum shut-off valves are widely used as isolation means in a working chamber, and various devices have been proposed which are designed so that a sealing member made of a rubber material or the like is rubbed during opening and closing operations so that particles are not generated. As an example thereof, those described in JP-A-2-22967 can be mentioned. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the gate type vacuum shut-off valve disclosed in this publication. This gate type vacuum shut-off valve 100
Is configured to shut off an opening 102 formed in a hollow valve box 101. The valve body 103 that blocks the opening 102 is connected to the lower end of the valve body operation rod 104 via a bellows, though not shown in this figure.
Then, the valve body operation rod 104 is connected to a cylinder rod 106 of an upper and lower cylinder 105 that outputs in the vertical direction.

The valve body operation rod 104 is provided on the top wall 1 of the valve box 101.
07, and a valve body operation rod 104 is covered by a bellows 108 at a penetrating portion so as to maintain airtightness in the valve box 101. In addition, the valve operating rod 10
4 is configured to be swingable by a revolving frame 109. The revolving frame 109 is fixed to a connecting member 112 which is mounted on a cylinder rod 111 of a pair of swing cylinders 110 provided with the vertical cylinder 105 interposed therebetween.
The swing cylinder 110 itself can swing about the rotation shaft 113.

[0004] Such a gate-type vacuum shut-off valve 100 includes:
The valve body operation rod 104 moves up and down by driving the vertical cylinder 105, and the position of the valve body 103 moves up and down accordingly. Accordingly, when the opening 102 is shut off, the opening 102 is lowered to the position shown in the figure, and when the opening 102 is opened, the opening 102 is raised and the opening 102 is largely opened. When the valve body 103 is located at the position shown in the figure, the cylinder rod 111 is retracted by driving the swing cylinder 110. Therefore, the connecting member 112 connected to the cylinder rod 111 swings counterclockwise around a fulcrum (not shown), whereby the turning frame 109 and the valve body operating rod 104 swing counterclockwise.
Therefore, the valve body 103 is pressed so as to close the opening 102, and the valve seat 115 provided on the valve body 103 is pressed against a valve seat surface 116 formed around the opening 102 to perform sealing. .

[0005]

Therefore, in the gate type vacuum shut-off valve 100, the valve body 103 is moved in two stages, the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, so that the valve seat 115 is moved.
Does not slide on the valve seat surface 116 to suppress generation of particles. However, such a conventional gate-type vacuum shut-off valve has a structure in which the valve seat 115 has the valve seat surface 116.
Does not slide, but the balance of the force applied to the valve body 103 during sealing is poor, and the valve seat 115 is
However, there remains a problem that particles are generated by rubbing or twisting.

That is, the horizontal movement of the valve body 103 closing the opening 102 is performed by the swinging operation of the valve body operation rod 104, so that the force applied to the valve body 103 is inclined. Therefore, the valve seat 115 is
It hits obliquely with respect to the valve seat surface 1 at each part.
There is a time difference between the contact with the valve seat 16 and the change in the applied load or the torsion causes the valve seat 115 to rub the valve seat surface 116. In addition, since the valve body operation rod 104 is operated by the swing cylinder 110 provided at the upper portion, the position of the swing cylinder 110 as the driving means is far from the valve body 103. Therefore, an error is likely to occur in the transmission of power for moving the valve body 103 perpendicular to the valve seat surface, and it is more difficult to make the valve seat 115 abut against the valve seat surface 116 vertically. ing.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a gate-type vacuum shut-off valve in which generation of particles is prevented in order to solve such a problem.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A gate type vacuum shut-off valve according to the present invention comprises a valve body for opening and closing an opening formed in a valve body. And a first drive for moving between the first and second positions, and a vertical contact with a valve seat surface formed in the opening at the blocking position.
The valve is operated in two stages of a second drive to separate the valve body, the valve being provided outside the valve body and penetrating through the valve body via sealing means for maintaining the airtightness inside the valve body. A first drive means for the first drive connected to a body, wherein the valve body has a partition plate holding a valve sheet for sealing the opening portion connected to the first drive means; The airtight pressurized chamber slidably supported by the fixed portion and formed integrally with a diaphragm movable in the sliding direction in an airtight pressurized chamber defined in the fixed portion, and supplied to the pressurized chamber. The diaphragm is pressurized by a working fluid to be performed, and the valve element performs the second drive.

Therefore, the valve element performs the first drive by the driving of the first driving means, and moves from the retracted position to the shutoff position or vice versa, and the valve element at the shutoff position is moved to the pressurizing chamber. The diaphragm is pressurized by the supplied working fluid, the partitioning plate slid and supported moves by the pressing force, and the valve seat is vertically contacted with and separated from the valve seat surface of the opening. Two drives are performed. Therefore,
In the gate type vacuum shut-off valve of the present invention, since a fluid is used as a drive source for bringing the valve body into and out of contact with the valve seat surface, the urging force at the time of shutting is uniformly applied, and the partition plate is parallel to the valve seat surface. The movement is assured. As a result, the valve seat evenly hits the valve seat surface, thereby preventing the generation of particles.

In the gate type vacuum shut-off valve according to the present invention, the fixed portion of the valve body is connected to the first driving means via a rod, and the rod is connected to a supply source of a working fluid. A port for piping is provided, and a flow path communicating from the port portion to the pressurizing chamber through the rod and the fixed portion is formed. Therefore, since the flow path for passing the working fluid for performing the second drive of the valve body is provided through the rod for performing the first drive,
The structure can be simplified without impairing the airtightness in the valve body and without requiring a supply / exhaust pipe.

[0011]

Next, an embodiment of a gate type vacuum shut-off valve according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The gate type vacuum shut-off valve is used, for example, in a multi-chamber apparatus 1 as shown in FIG. This is because the first to third chambers 3 are provided in the transfer chamber 4 with respect to the wafer cassette chamber 2 in which the wafers W to be worked are arranged in several stages.
Is configured through. In the transfer chamber 4, a wafer transfer robot 5 for taking in and out the wafer W between the wafer cassette chamber 2 and the chamber chamber 3 is provided. Further, each processing apparatus is provided in the chamber chamber 3 to which the wafer W is sent from the transfer chamber 4. The gate-type vacuum shut-off valves 6 according to the present embodiment are provided to isolate the transfer chamber 4 from the chamber chamber 3.

The gate type vacuum shut-off valve 6 is mainly provided with a valve portion provided at three inlets of the chamber, and a drive portion formed integrally with the valve portion and operating a part of the opening and closing operation of the valve. It is composed of Here, FIGS. 1 and 2 are cross-sectional views of the gate type vacuum shut-off valve 6 as viewed from the transfer chamber 4 side. In particular,
These figures show the movement position by the first drive according to claim 1, FIG. 1 shows the retreat position, and FIG. 2 shows the cutoff position. The valve portion of the gate type vacuum shut-off valve 6 is disposed between the transfer chamber 4 and the chamber chamber 3, and a valve mechanism is provided in a valve body 10 that separates the two. Here, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a cross section AA of the gate type vacuum shut-off valve 6 shown in FIG.

The valve body 10 has a box shape having a space formed therein as shown in FIG. 1, and a large opening 12 is formed in the wall 11 on the side of the transfer chamber 4 and the chamber body 3 side. Has a small opening 13. The inner surface of the wall provided with the opening 13 is formed as a valve seat surface 15 with which the valve element 14 comes into contact with or separates therefrom. The opening 13 is
The valve body 14 is formed to be wide so that the wafer W can be taken in and out, and the valve element 14 is formed in an oval shape so as to block the opening 13.

The valve element 14 has two operating rods 41, 42.
Is fixedly attached to the lower end. Its operating rod 4
The fixing plate 21 is directly fixed to the reference numerals 1 and 42 and is configured to support the valve element 14. The valve element 14 mainly includes the fixed plate 21, a sliding support block 22 fixedly provided at two sliding positions X <b> 1 and X <b> 2 of the fixed plate 21, and sliding with respect to the sliding support block 22. And a partition plate 23 movably provided. Note that the sliding positions X1, X
2 have the same configuration and operation, so only one will be described. The fixing plate 21 fixed to the operation rods 41 and 42 has a rectangular shape as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and has a cross section as shown in FIG. 3 for attaching the sliding support block 22 to the opening 13 side. The mounting surface is formed.

The slide support block 22 has a stepped disk shape with a raised center, and a through hole 22a is formed at the center thereof, and a slide shaft 24 is slidably fitted therein. ing. Further, a diaphragm 25 is sandwiched between the fixed plate 21 and the sliding support block 22, and the first pressurizing chamber 31 on the fixed plate 21 side is interposed through the diaphragm 25.
And a second pressure chamber 32 on the sliding support block 22 side. A sliding shaft 24 is integrally provided at the center of such a diaphragm 25. The sliding shaft 24 and the diaphragm 25 are arranged such that the flange portion of the sliding shaft 24 abuts against the leaf spring 26 loaded in the second pressurizing chamber 32, and a biasing force acts on the first pressurizing chamber 35. It is configured.

Further, a partition plate 23 is fixed to such a sliding shaft 24 at a tip protruding from the sliding support block 23. The partition plate 23 is a sliding support block 2
In order to slide with respect to 2, a concave portion 23a having a circular shape corresponding to the shape of the protrusion of the sliding support block 22 is formed and fitted. A valve seat 27 is annularly held on the partition plate 23 so as to abut on the valve seat surface 15 to hermetically close the opening 13.

The fixed plate 21 has a partition plate 23
The air supply / exhaust holes 33 and 34 for passing compressed air, which is a working fluid for driving the air, are formed. Here, FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the valve body 14, and FIG.
It is a figure showing a section. The supply / exhaust holes 33, 34 are formed by two flow paths 43, 4 formed in the operation rods 41, 42, respectively.
4 (see FIGS. 6 and 7), and one of the supply / exhaust holes 33
Are formed so as to open to the first pressurizing chamber 31 and the other air supply / exhaust hole 34 to the second pressurizing chamber 32. Further, one of the sliding shafts 24 provided integrally with the diaphragm 25 is opened to the first pressurizing chamber 31 through the axis thereof, and the other is opened between the sliding support block 22 and the partition plate 23. Shaft hole 3
5 are drilled.

Next, the driving section of the gate type vacuum shut-off valve 6 will be described. The drive section is provided in a drive box 50 integrally formed on the valve body 10 as shown in FIGS. The drive source in this drive unit is a cylinder 51, which is fixed to the floor of the drive box 50 and has a cylinder rod 52 projecting upward.
At the tip of the cylinder rod 52, a connecting plate 53 is fixed horizontally, and operation rods 41, 42 are provided at both ends of the connecting plate 53.
Are fixed in symmetric positions. Operation rods 41, 4
2 is provided so as to penetrate a floor portion of the drive box 50 and a beam 54 formed at a middle stage in the drive box 50 in order to fix the lower end to the valve body 14 described above.

In the floor portion of the drive box 50, wide-diameter through holes 50a, 50a through which the operation rods 41, 42 penetrate are formed, and bellows 57, 58 containing the operation rods 41, 42 penetrate therethrough. It is provided through holes 50a, 50a. The bellows 57, 58 have a lower end connected to the fixing plate 21 of the valve body 14 and an upper end connected to the beam 54. On the other hand, the through holes 54a, 54a of the beam 54
Are formed so that the operation rods 41 and 42 slide, and the thrust bearings 55 and 55 are loaded therein. Further, a cylinder 51 penetrates the center of the beam 54 and is fixed airtight. Therefore, a vacuum portion such as the chamber 3 is shut off from the atmosphere by the beam 54 of the drive box 50. In particular, bellows 57 and 58 are provided at portions where the operating rods 41 and 42 may slide and cause vacuum leakage. , Airtightness is maintained.

The operating rods 41, 42 are provided with joints 45, 46 at the openings of the flow paths 43, 44 located at the upper ends thereof.
(See FIGS. 6 and 7), and tubes 63 and 64 are connected between the drive box 50 and the ports 61 and 62 as shown in FIGS. Although FIGS. 1 and 2 show only one set of the ports 61 and 62 and the tubes 65 and 66 for the operation rods 41 and 42, actually, the ports 61 and 62 and the tubes 65 and 66 are formed on the operation rods 41 and 42, respectively. Two channels are provided corresponding to the flow channels 43 and 44 so as to overlap in the vertical direction in the drawing.

In the gate type vacuum shut-off valve 6 according to the present embodiment having such a configuration, the opening 13 is opened and closed by the following operation. Gate type vacuum shut-off valve 6
The opening and closing are performed by two-stage operation of a first drive and a second drive. The valve element 14 is moved up and down by the first drive, and is moved down in the shut-off position, and is then opened by the second drive.
4 is moved parallel to and away from the valve seat surface 15. First, in a state shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, that is, in a state where the valve body 14 is in the retracted position where the valve body 14 is raised, the wafer W is taken out of the wafer cassette chamber 2 by the wafer transfer robot 5, and the opening 12 of the valve body 10 is opened. And is carried into the chamber 3 through the opening 13.

When the loading of the wafer W is completed, the cylinder 51 is driven to lower the cylinder rod 52, and the valve body 14 is lowered to the blocking position on the front surface of the opening 13 to be in the state shown in FIG. At this time, the output by the driving of the cylinder 51 is transmitted to the operating rods 41 and 42 via the connecting plate 53 to the cylinder rod 52, and the operating rod 4
The positions of the valves 1 and 42 are lowered in the axial direction, the bellows of the bellows 57 and 58 are extended, and the valve body 14 is lowered to the closing position. As described above, following the first drive for disposing the valve element 14 at the shut-off position, the valve element 14 (more precisely, the valve seat 27 held by the partition plate 23) is brought into contact with and separated from the valve seat surface 15. The second drive is performed.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are views showing a cross section of the face body 14 at the blocking position. FIG.
7 is a view showing a CQPOC section, and FIG. 7 is a view showing a CC section of FIG. The valve element 14 sent to the shut-off position by the first drive is in the state shown in FIG. 6 at that time, and the chamber 3 and the transfer chamber 4 are completely separated because the valve seat 27 is separated from the valve seat surface 15. Has not been shut off. Then, the opening 13 is cut off by driving the valve element 14.
When the valve element 14 is disposed at the shut-off position, the operation rod 41,
The flow path 4 is connected via tubes 63 and 64 connected to the
The compressed air, which is a working fluid, is supplied to the third side, while the flow path 44 is opened to the atmosphere. Therefore, the supplied compressed air flows from the flow path 43 to the pressurizing chamber 31 through the supply / exhaust hole 33, and the diaphragm 25 is pressurized from right to left in the drawing.

When the diaphragm 25 is deformed by pressurization, it slides in the through hole 22a of the sliding support block 22 while bending the leaf spring 26 with which the integrally formed sliding shaft 24 abuts. I do. On the other hand, since the sliding shaft 24 is fixed to the partition plate 23, the movement of the sliding shaft 24 is also transmitted to the partition plate 23. Therefore, the partition plate 23 moves while being pressed by the sliding shaft 24 while the concave portion 23a fitted to the sliding support block 22 slides. Such an operation is performed simultaneously at two positions of the sliding positions X1 and X2 of the valve body 14, and the partition plate 23 moves in the vertical direction while maintaining a state parallel to the valve seat surface 15. Becomes Therefore, the partition plate 23 located at the position of FIG.
, The valve seat 27 abuts on the valve seat surface 15 vertically, and the opening 13 is hermetically sealed and closed by the valve seat 27.

When the partition plate 23 moves and separates from the sliding support block 22, the shaft hole 3 of the sliding shaft 24 is moved.
5, the compressed air flows into the separated space, and the movement of the partition plate 23 is not restricted by the negative pressure. Further, the partition plate 23 is directly pressurized by the compressed air, and the operation of the partition plate 23 becomes smooth. On the other hand, the diaphragm 25 pressurized by the compressed air supplied into the first pressurizing chamber 31
Therefore, the movement of the diaphragm 25 is stabilized, and the balance of the operations performed simultaneously at the two positions X1 and X2 is maintained.

When the valve is subsequently opened, the second drive is first performed in the shut-off position by the reverse operation. That is, the compressed air is supplied to the flow path 44 side via the tubes 63 and 64 connected to the operation rod 41 and 42, and the flow path 43 side is opened to the atmosphere. Therefore, the compressed air in the first pressurizing chamber 31 that has pressurized the diaphragm 25 is exhausted, and the diaphragm 27 is moved from the left to the right in the drawing by the compressed air supplied to the other second pressurizing chamber 32. And pressurized. Accordingly, the pressurized diaphragm 27 is displaced, and the sliding shaft 24 and the partition plate 23 are accordingly moved by the sliding support block 2.
2 is moved from the state of FIG. 7 to the state of FIG. 6, and the valve element 14 is separated from the opening 13.

The operation at the time of opening the valve also depends on the X of the valve body 14.
1 and X2 at the same time, and the partition plate 23
Moves in the vertical direction while maintaining a state parallel to the valve seat surface 15. Accordingly, the partition plate 23 at the position shown in FIG. 7 retreats to the separated position shown in FIG.
The valve seat 27 is vertically separated from the valve seat surface 15. In the valve opening operation, the elastic force of the leaf spring 26 bent at the time of closing the valve acts as a force for moving the sliding shaft 24.
The elastic force of the second pressurizing chamber 3
This is particularly effective as an auxiliary driving force for opening the valve when compressed air cannot be supplied to the inside of the valve 2.

The valve element 14 thus separated from the valve seat surface 15 by the second drive is lifted to the retracted position by the first drive by the cylinder 51 again. That is, when the cylinder rod 52 of the cylinder 51 rises, the connecting plate 53
The operating rods 41 and 42 are lifted up through the valve, and the valve body 14 fixed to the lower end thereof is lifted again from the position shown in FIG. 2 to the position shown in FIG. 1 and returned to the position retracted from the opening 13. It is. Thereby, the opening 1 of the valve body 10
The wafers 2 and 13 are opened to be ready for carrying the next wafer W into the chamber 3.

The gate-type vacuum shut-off valve 6 having the above-described structure opens and closes the valve by a two-stage operation similarly to the above-mentioned conventional example. However, the gate-type vacuum shut-off valve 6 of the present embodiment performs the second drive for bringing the valve seat 27 into contact with and away from the valve seat surface 15 by the diaphragm 25 and the sliding shaft 24 provided in the valve body 14. Since the partition plate 23 is operated directly by the driving mechanism, the valve seat 27 can be reliably brought into contact with or separated from the valve seat surface 15 in the vertical direction. Therefore, the valve seat 27 does not rub when the valve seat 27 comes into contact with or separates from the valve seat surface 15 or the valve seat 27 does not twist, and no particles are generated from the valve seat 27. In particular, since the second drive is performed by applying air pressure to the diaphragm 25, the diaphragm 25
Is applied in a well-balanced manner so that the partition plate 23 can perform a stable operation.

The gate-type vacuum shut-off valve of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be changed without departing from the gist thereof. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the cylinder 51 is used as the first driving unit, but may be a solenoid, a motor, or the like.

[0031]

According to the present invention, there is provided a first drive for moving a valve body for opening and closing an opening formed in a valve main body between a blocking position on the front surface of the opening and a retracted position retracted from the blocking position.
A second drive for vertically contacting and separating from a valve seat surface formed in the opening at the shut-off position, and operating in two stages, and disposed outside the valve body; The first driving first member connected to the valve body through the valve body through sealing means for maintaining airtightness inside the valve body.
The valve body has a driving plate, and a partition plate holding a valve sheet for sealing the opening is slidably supported on a fixed portion connected to the first driving portion. The diaphragm is pressurized by a working fluid supplied into the pressurized chamber, the diaphragm being pressurized by a working fluid supplied into the pressurized chamber. Since the valve element is configured to perform the second drive, it is possible to provide a gate-type vacuum shut-off valve that prevents generation of particles.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a gate type vacuum shut-off valve according to an embodiment of the present invention at a retracted position.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a gate-type vacuum shut-off valve according to a first embodiment of the present invention at a shut-off position.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a cross section AA of the gate type vacuum shut-off valve 6 shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the valve element 14;

FIG. 5 is a view showing a BB cross section of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 shows a cross section of the face body 14 in the blocking position.
3 is a sectional view of the CQPOC of FIG.

FIG. 7 shows a cross section of the face body 14 in the blocking position.
It is CC sectional drawing of.

FIG. 8 is a view showing a multi-chamber apparatus provided with a gate type vacuum shut-off valve.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a conventional gate type vacuum shut-off valve.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 6 Gate type vacuum shut-off valve 10 Valve body 12, 13 Opening 14 Valve element 15 Valve seat surface 21 Fixing plate 22 Sliding support block 23 Partition plate 25 Diaphragm 26 Leaf spring 27 Valve seat 31 First pressurizing chamber 32 Pressure chambers 33, 34 Supply / exhaust holes 32 Valve seats 41, 42 Operating rods 51 Cylinders 57, 58 Bellows

Claims (2)

[Claims] A first drive for moving a valve body for opening and closing an opening formed in a valve body between a blocking position in front of the opening and a retreat position retracted from the blocking position; A gate-operated vacuum shut-off valve operated in two stages of a second drive for perpendicularly contacting and separating from a valve seat surface formed in the opening, wherein the valve is disposed outside the valve body, A first drive means for the first drive connected to the valve body through the valve body via a seal means for maintaining airtightness inside the body, wherein the valve body seals the opening; A partition plate holding a valve seat to be driven is slidably supported on a fixed portion connected to the first driving means, and moves in an airtight pressurized chamber defined in the fixed portion in the sliding direction. It is formed integrally with the movable diaphragm, and is Gated vacuum shut-off valve, wherein the diaphragm in the sheet is the working fluid in which the valve body is pressurized performs the second drive. 2. The gate-type vacuum shut-off valve according to claim 1, wherein a fixed portion of the valve body is connected to the first driving means via a rod, and the rod is provided with a working fluid. A gate type vacuum, wherein a port for piping to a supply source is provided, and a flow path communicating from the port portion to the pressurizing chamber through the rod and the fixed portion is formed. Shut-off valve.