JP2005282712A - Single-acting air cylinder valve and substrate treatment device equipped therewith - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a single-acting air cylinder valve, eliminating the need for a pipe for exhausting air from a cylinder chamber even when installed and used in a clean atmosphere. <P>SOLUTION: The single-acting air cylinder valve comprises a flow-in side passage 20, a flow-out side passage 22, a valve seat 24 formed in a communication portion between the flow-in side passage 20 and the flow-out side passage 22, a piston 32 having a valve element 38 to be moved close to and apart from the valve seat 24, the cylinder chamber 30 partitioned into an air introduction chamber portion 30a and an air exhaust chamber portion 30b with the piston 32, an air passage 50 communicated with the air introduction chamber portion 30a, an air introduction port 52 connected to an air pipe connected via a flow path to an operating air supply source, an exhaust passage 54 communicated with the air exhaust chamber portion 30b, an exhaust port 56 communicated with the exhaust passage 54, and a compression coil spring 48 for energizing the piston 32 from the side of the air exhaust chamber portion 30b to the side of the air introduction chamber portion 30a at all times. Herein, a variable capacity bellows 58 is connected to the exhaust port 56 with air tightness. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention includes a single-acting air cylinder valve suitable for being provided in a pipe installed in a clean atmosphere, and the single-acting air cylinder valve, and includes a semiconductor wafer and a glass substrate for a flat panel display (FPD). The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate such as a photomask glass substrate or a printed substrate.

  For example, in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, an FPD device, etc., various treatments such as cleaning, coating, developing, etching, and peeling are performed on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate, etc. . These substrates are processed in a clean atmosphere in a clean room. A substrate processing unit such as a processing tank is provided with piping for supplying the processing liquid to the processing unit and piping for discharging the used processing liquid from the processing unit. A pipe for supplying gas into the processing chamber surrounding the gas and a pipe for discharging gas from the processing chamber are installed. Each of these pipes is provided with an open / close control valve, and for example, an air cylinder valve operated using air pressure is used as the open / close control valve.

The air cylinder valve consists of a body part that is connected to pipes such as processing liquid supply pipe, drainage pipe, gas supply pipe, and exhaust pipe, and a valve element provided on the piston that drives the cylinder mechanism by air pressure. The actuator unit is configured to contact and separate from the valve seat to communicate and block the flow path. The body part is formed with an input port and an output port, and an inflow side passage and an outflow side passage communicating with each port, and a valve seat is formed at a portion where the inflow side passage and the outflow side passage communicate with each other. Has been. A cylinder chamber is formed in the actuator portion, and a piston provided with a valve element is slidably accommodated in the cylinder chamber. The cylinder chamber is hermetically partitioned into two chambers by pistons, and air passages communicating with the respective chambers are formed, and air pipes are respectively connected to the air connection ports formed to communicate with the respective air passages. Connected (for example, refer to Patent Document 1). In the single-acting air cylinder valve, one chamber of the cylinder chamber serves as an air introduction chamber, and is connected to the air connection port that communicates with the air introduction chamber through the air passage to the supply source of compressed air for operation. Connected air pipes are connected. The other chamber of the cylinder chamber serves as an exhaust chamber, and an exhaust pipe is connected to an exhaust connection port communicating with the exhaust chamber through an exhaust passage. Since the air exhausted from the cylinder chamber through the exhaust pipe may contain dust generated as the piston slides, the substrate is treated in a clean atmosphere in a clean room like a semiconductor manufacturing device. In an apparatus that needs to perform the above, the air discharge port of the exhaust pipe is arranged in an exhaust room or the like installed outside the clean atmosphere in which the work is performed.
JP-A-9-94546 (page 4-7, FIG. 1 and FIG. 3)

  As described above, in a single-acting air cylinder valve that is used in a clean atmosphere, in addition to connecting an air pipe to an air connection port on the compressed air introduction side, the air in the cylinder chamber is simply discharged. For this reason, an exhaust pipe, for example, a tube made of fluororesin such as PFA is connected to the exhaust connection port on the exhaust side, and the tube is routed outside the clean atmosphere area. For this reason, a lot of labor, time and cost are required for the piping work. In addition, since a large number of valves are used in a substrate processing apparatus or the like, the air piping system becomes complicated, which makes piping work very troublesome, complicates the surroundings of the apparatus, and poor maintainability.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and even when used in a clean atmosphere, a single-acting air cylinder valve capable of eliminating piping for exhausting from the cylinder chamber And a substrate processing apparatus provided with such a single-acting air cylinder valve.

  The invention according to claim 1 is formed in an inflow side passage through which a fluid flows in, an outflow side passage through which the fluid flows out, and a portion where the inflow side passage and the outflow side passage communicate with each other. A valve body that is in close contact with and away from the valve seat, a piston that reciprocates to close and separate the valve body from the valve seat, and slidably accommodates the piston. A cylinder chamber that is hermetically partitioned into an air introduction chamber portion and an exhaust chamber portion by a piston, an air passage that communicates with the air introduction chamber portion of the cylinder chamber, a fluid passage that communicates with the air passage, and flows to an air supply source for operation. An air introduction port to which a line-connected air pipe is connected, an exhaust passage communicating with the exhaust chamber portion of the cylinder chamber, an exhaust port communicating with the exhaust passage, and the piston on the exhaust chamber portion side of the cylinder chamber From air It includes a resilient mechanism for constantly urging the introduction chamber side, and is characterized in that the air reservoir member inside the volume is variable has a connection port portion is hermetically connected to the exhaust port.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the single-action air cylinder valve according to claim 1, wherein the air reservoir member is a bellows.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the single-acting air cylinder valve according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the connection port portion of the air reservoir member is detachably connected to the exhaust port.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus including a processing unit for processing a substrate using the processing liquid, wherein the processing liquid supply pipe for supplying the processing liquid to the processing unit is provided in the processing liquid supply pipe. The single-acting air cylinder valve according to claim 3 is provided.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus including a processing unit for processing a substrate using a processing liquid, wherein the draining pipe for discharging the used processing liquid from the processing unit is provided. The single-acting air cylinder valve according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is provided.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus comprising: a processing unit that processes a substrate using a processing solution; and a processing chamber that surrounds the periphery of the processing unit. A single-acting air cylinder valve according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is provided in a gas supply pipe for supply.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus comprising: a processing unit that processes a substrate using a processing solution; and a processing chamber that surrounds the periphery of the processing unit. A single-acting air cylinder valve according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is provided in an exhaust pipe for discharging.

In the single acting air cylinder valve of the invention according to claim 1, compressed air is supplied from the operating air supply source to the air introduction port through the air pipe, and the compressed air is supplied to the air introduction chamber portion of the cylinder chamber through the air passage. When introduced, the piston slides from the air introduction chamber side to the exhaust chamber side in the cylinder chamber, and the valve body provided on the piston moves away from the valve seat or comes into close contact with the valve seat. As a result, the inflow side passage and the outflow side passage communicate with each other or the inflow side passage and the outflow side passage communicate with each other, and the fluid flows through the inflow side passage and the outflow side passage, or the flow of the fluid is stopped. The At this time, the air in the exhaust chamber of the cylinder chamber is exhausted from the exhaust chamber through the exhaust passage and exhausted from the exhaust port, and the air exhausted from the exhaust port flows into the air reservoir member. The reservoir member expands. On the other hand, when the supply of compressed air from the operating air supply source is stopped, the piston slides from the exhaust chamber side to the air introduction chamber side by the urging force of the elastic mechanism, and is provided on the piston. The valve body is in close contact with or away from the valve seat. Thereby, the communication between the inflow side passage and the outflow side passage is blocked, or the inflow side passage and the outflow side passage are communicated, and the flow of the fluid is stopped, or the fluid flows through the inflow side passage and the outflow side passage. . At this time, the air in the air reservoir member is sucked into the exhaust chamber portion of the cylinder chamber from the exhaust port through the exhaust passage, and the air reservoir member contracts accordingly. Thus, the air in the exhaust chamber of the cylinder chamber only flows between the air reservoir member and is not released to the outside. For this reason, a clean atmosphere is not polluted.
Therefore, when the single-action air cylinder valve of the invention according to claim 1 is used, piping for exhausting from the cylinder chamber can be eliminated even when installed in a clean atmosphere. This saves labor, time and cost, simplifies the air piping system, eliminates the complexity around the device, and improves the maintenance.

  In the single acting air cylinder valve according to the second aspect of the present invention, the bellows expands and contracts to allow the air to flow with a change in the volume of the exhaust chamber portion of the cylinder chamber.

  In the single-acting air cylinder valve according to the third aspect of the invention, the connection port portion of the air reservoir member is detachably connected to the exhaust port, whereby the replacement, maintenance, and inspection of the air reservoir member are facilitated.

  In the substrate processing apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, piping for exhausting from the cylinder chamber can be eliminated in the single acting air cylinder valve installed in the processing liquid supply piping. The labor, time and cost can be saved, the air piping system is simplified, the trouble around the apparatus is eliminated, and the maintainability is also improved.

  In the substrate processing apparatus according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, piping for exhausting from the cylinder chamber can be eliminated in the single-acting air cylinder valve installed in the drainage piping. This saves labor, time, and costs, simplifies the air piping system, eliminates the inconveniences around the apparatus, and improves maintainability.

  In the substrate processing apparatus according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, in the single-acting air cylinder valve installed in the gas supply pipe, the pipe for exhausting from the cylinder chamber can be eliminated. The labor, time and cost can be saved, the air piping system is simplified, the trouble around the apparatus is eliminated, and the maintainability is also improved.

  In the substrate processing apparatus according to the seventh aspect of the present invention, in the single-acting air cylinder valve installed in the exhaust pipe, the pipe for exhausting from the cylinder chamber can be eliminated. The labor, time and cost can be saved, the air piping system is simplified, the trouble around the apparatus is eliminated, and the maintainability is also improved.

The best embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a single-action air cylinder valve showing an example of an embodiment of the present invention.

  This single-acting air cylinder valve 10 communicates and blocks the flow path with a flow path forming portion 12 that is flow path connected to piping such as processing liquid supply piping, drainage piping, gas supply piping, and exhaust piping. The actuator unit 14 is operated to The flow path forming part 12 is provided with an inflow port (input port) 16 through which fluid flows and an outflow port (output port) 18 through which fluid flows out, respectively, and an inflow side passage 20 and an outflow port 18 communicating with the inflow port 16. An outflow side passage 22 communicating with each other is formed. The inflow side passage 20 and the outflow side passage 22 communicate with each other inside the flow path forming portion 12, and a valve seat 24 is formed at the communicating portion.

  The actuator unit 14 includes a cylinder block 26 and an upper lid block 28. A cylinder chamber 30 is formed in the cylinder block 26, and a disk portion 34 of a piston 32 is slidably accommodated in the cylinder chamber 30. The lower rod portion 36 of the piston 32 is slidably and airtightly inserted into a guide hole 42 formed in the cylinder block 26. A valve body 38 is provided at the lower end portion of the lower rod portion 36 so as to face the valve seat 24 of the flow path forming portion 12. Then, when the piston 32 reciprocates, the valve body 38 comes into close contact with the valve seat 24 and is separated from the valve seat 24, the communication between the inflow side passage 20 and the outflow side passage 22 is blocked, and the inflow side passage 20 The outflow side passage 22 communicates with the outflow side passage 22. The upper rod portion 40 of the piston 32 is slidably fitted into a guide hole 44 formed on the lower surface side of the upper lid block 28. A plurality of holding holes 46 are equally arranged around the guide hole 44 on the lower surface side of the upper lid block 28, and the compression coil springs 48 are respectively held in the holding holes 46. It is interposed between the holding hole 46 and the disc portion 34 of the piston 32. The piston 32 is constantly urged toward the valve seat 24 of the flow path forming unit 12 by the compression coil spring 48.

  The inside of the cylinder chamber 30 is airtightly partitioned into an air introduction chamber portion 30a and an exhaust chamber portion 30b by a disc portion 34 of the piston 32. An air passage 50 communicating with the air introduction chamber 30a is formed in the cylinder block 26, and an air introduction port (air connection port) 52 communicating with the air passage 50 is formed. An air pipe (not shown) connected to the flow path is connected to a compressed air supply source. On the other hand, the upper lid block 28 is formed with an exhaust passage 54 communicating with the exhaust chamber portion 30b, and an exhaust port (exhaust port) 56 communicating with the exhaust passage 54 is formed. And the connection port part 60 of the bellows 58 which expand | swells and shrink | contracts and the inside volume is variable is connected to the exhaust port 56 airtightly. The connection port 60 of the bellows 58 is detachably screwed to the exhaust port 56.

The opening / closing operation in the single-acting air cylinder valve 10 having the above-described configuration is performed as follows.
When the air pressure is not applied to the actuator portion 14 at all times, the disk portion 34 of the piston 32 introduces air into the cylinder chamber 30 by the urging force of the compression coil spring 48 as shown in FIG. The valve body 38 is moved to the chamber portion 30 a side, and the valve body 38 provided at the lower end portion of the lower rod portion 36 of the piston 32 is in close contact with the valve seat 34 of the flow path forming portion 12. For this reason, the communication between the inflow side passage 20 and the outflow side passage 22 of the flow path forming unit 12 is blocked, and the valve is closed to stop the fluid flow.

  In the state shown in FIG. 2A, compressed air is supplied from an operating air supply source (not shown) through the air pipe to the air introduction port 52 and passes through the air passage 50 to the air introduction chamber portion 30 a of the cylinder chamber 30. When the compressed air is introduced, as shown in FIG. 2B, the disk portion 34 of the piston 32 in the cylinder chamber 30 resists the elastic force of the compression coil spring 48 by air pressure. The valve body 38 provided on the lower end portion of the lower rod portion 36 of the piston 32 is separated from the valve seat 24 of the flow path forming portion 12 by sliding from the portion 30a side to the exhaust chamber portion 30b side. As a result, the inflow side passage 20 and the outflow side passage 22 of the flow path forming unit 12 communicate with each other, and the valve is opened to allow fluid to flow through the inflow side passage 20 and the outflow side passage 22. At this time, the air in the exhaust chamber portion 30b of the cylinder chamber 30 is discharged from the exhaust port 56 through the exhaust passage 54 from within the exhaust chamber portion 30b. And the air discharged | emitted from the exhaust port 56 flows in into the bellows 58, and the bellows 58 expand | swells in connection with this.

  On the other hand, when the supply of compressed air from the operating air supply source is stopped, the cylinder is moved from the state shown in FIG. 2B by the restoring force of the compression coil spring 48 as shown in FIG. In the chamber 30, the disc portion 34 of the piston 32 slides from the exhaust chamber portion 30 b side to the air introduction chamber portion 30 a side, and the valve body 38 at the lower end of the lower rod portion 36 of the piston 32 forms the flow path forming portion. Close to 12 valve seats 24. As a result, the communication between the inflow side passage 20 and the outflow side passage 22 of the flow path forming unit 12 is blocked, and the valve is closed to stop the fluid flow. At this time, the air in the bellows 58 is sucked into the exhaust chamber portion 30b of the cylinder chamber 30 from the exhaust port 56 through the exhaust passage 54, and the bellows 58 contracts accordingly. Thus, the air in the exhaust chamber portion 30b of the cylinder chamber 30 only flows between the inside of the bellows 58 and is not released to the outside.

  In the above-described embodiment, the normally closed valve that is kept in a closed state when the air pressure is not acting on the actuator portion has been described. However, when the air pressure is not acting on the actuator portion. Of course, the present invention can also be applied to a normally open valve that is held in a state where the valve is opened and the valve is closed when air pressure acts on the actuator portion. Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the bellows was used as an air reservoir member from which an internal volume changes with the entry / exit of air, an air reservoir member is not limited to a bellows, A thing like a diaphragm, a balloon, etc. may be sufficient. .

Next, an example of use of the single-acting air cylinder valve 10 having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of the immersion type substrate processing apparatus. The substrate processing apparatus stores a processing liquid 62 such as pure water and a cleaning chemical solution, and a processing tank 64 in which a substrate, for example, a semiconductor wafer W is immersed in the processing liquid 62 to perform a rinsing process, a cleaning process, and the like. A processing chamber 66 surrounding the processing tank 64 is provided.

  The processing tank 64 has a processing liquid supply port 68 in the lower part, and is provided with an overflow liquid receiving part 70 into which the overflowing processing liquid flows in the upper part. A processing liquid supply pipe 72 is connected in communication with the processing liquid supply port 68 of the processing tank 64, and the processing liquid supply pipe 72 is connected to the processing liquid supply source. Further, a drain pipe 74 is connected to the bottom of the overflow liquid receiving part 70 in communication therewith.

  The processing chamber 66 can carry in and out the wafer W by opening and closing a lid (not shown), and can be sealed. Although not shown in the drawing, the wafer W carried into the processing chamber 66 is received and inserted into the processing tank 64, and the wafer W is supported in the processing tank 64, and the processing is completed. A lifter for taking out the wafer W from the processing tank 64 is provided. The processing chamber 66 is provided with a gas supply port 76, and a gas supply pipe 78 is connected to and connected to the gas supply port 76. The gas supply pipe 78 is connected to a gas, for example, a nitrogen gas supply source, so that the nitrogen gas is supplied from the nitrogen gas supply source through the gas supply pipe 78 into the processing chamber 66. ing. Further, the processing chamber 66 is provided with an exhaust port 80, and an exhaust pipe 82 is connected to and connected to the exhaust port 80. In FIG. 3, a portion surrounded by a one-dot chain line indicates a processing area 84 that is maintained in a clean atmosphere.

  In the substrate processing apparatus as shown in FIG. 3, the above-mentioned single action is added to the processing liquid supply pipe 72, the drainage pipe 74, the gas supply pipe 78 and the exhaust pipe 82 arranged in the processing area 84. The air cylinder valve 10 is inserted and installed. In this case, it is not necessary to arrange a tube such as PFA around the outside of the processing area 84 for exhausting the air from the cylinder chamber 30 of the single-acting air cylinder valve 10. For this reason, the labor, time and cost required for the piping work can be saved, the air piping system is simplified, the trouble around the apparatus is eliminated, and the maintainability is improved. And the clean atmosphere in the processing area 84 is not polluted by the exhaust from the cylinder chamber 30 of the single acting air cylinder valve 10.

  Although FIG. 3 shows an immersion type substrate processing apparatus, the single-acting air cylinder valve 10 described above is not limited to an immersion type substrate processing apparatus, and a processing liquid supply pipe or drainage liquid such as a single wafer type substrate processing apparatus. Naturally, it can also be installed and used for piping for gas, piping for gas supply, and the like.

It is sectional drawing of the single acting air cylinder valve which shows one example of embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing for demonstrating operation | movement of the single acting air cylinder valve shown in FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows one example of schematic structure of the substrate processing apparatus in which the single acting air cylinder valve shown in FIG. 1 is used.

Explanation of symbols

10 Single-acting air cylinder valve 12 Flow path forming part 14 Actuator part 16 Inlet (input port)
18 Outlet (output port)
20 Inflow side passage 22 Outflow side passage 24 Valve seat 26 Cylinder block 28 Upper lid block 30 Cylinder chamber 30a Air introduction chamber portion 30b Exhaust chamber portion 32 Piston 38 Valve body 42, 44 Guide hole 46 Holding hole 48 Compression coil spring 50 Air passage 52 Air inlet (air connection port)
54 Exhaust passage 56 Exhaust port (exhaust port)
58 Bellows 60 Bellows Connection Port 62 Processing Solution 64 Processing Tank 66 Processing Chamber 68 Processing Solution Supply Port 70 Overflow Solution Receiving Port 72 Processing Solution Supply Pipe 74 Drainage Pipe 76 Gas Supply Port 78 Gas Supply Pipe 80 Exhaust Port 82 Exhaust piping 84 Processing area W Substrate

Claims (7)

An inflow side passage through which fluid flows,
An outflow side passage through which fluid flows out to communicate with the inflow side passage;
A valve seat formed in a portion where the inflow side passage and the outflow side passage communicate with each other;
A piston that is provided in close contact with and away from the valve seat; and a piston that reciprocates to close and separate the valve body from the valve seat;
A cylinder chamber that slidably accommodates the piston and is hermetically partitioned into an air introduction chamber portion and an exhaust chamber portion by the piston;
An air passage communicating with the air introduction chamber of the cylinder chamber;
An air inlet port connected to an air pipe connected to the air passage and connected to a flow path to an air supply source for operation;
An exhaust passage communicating with the exhaust chamber of the cylinder chamber;
An exhaust port communicating with the exhaust passage;
A resilient mechanism that constantly urges the piston from the exhaust chamber side of the cylinder chamber to the air introduction chamber side; and
A single-acting air cylinder valve characterized in that an air reservoir member having a connection port portion and having an internal volume variable is hermetically connected to the exhaust port. The single acting air cylinder valve according to claim 1,
The single acting air cylinder valve, wherein the air reservoir member is a bellows. In the single acting air cylinder valve according to claim 1 or 2,
A single-acting air cylinder valve, wherein a connection port portion of the air reservoir member is detachably connected to the exhaust port. In a substrate processing apparatus including a processing unit that processes a substrate using a processing liquid,
4. A substrate processing apparatus, wherein the processing liquid supply pipe for supplying a processing liquid to the processing unit is provided with the single-acting air cylinder valve according to any one of claims 1 to 3. In a substrate processing apparatus including a processing unit that processes a substrate using a processing liquid,
4. A substrate, wherein the single-action air cylinder valve according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is interposed in a drain pipe for discharging a used processing liquid from the processing section. Processing equipment. A processing unit for processing a substrate using a processing solution;
A processing chamber surrounding the periphery of the processing unit;
In a substrate processing apparatus comprising:
4. A substrate processing apparatus, wherein the single supply air cylinder valve according to claim 1 is interposed in a gas supply pipe for supplying gas into the processing chamber. A processing unit for processing a substrate using a processing solution;
A processing chamber surrounding the periphery of the processing unit;
In a substrate processing apparatus comprising:
4. A substrate processing apparatus, wherein the single-acting air cylinder valve according to claim 1 is provided in an exhaust pipe for exhausting gas from the processing chamber.

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