JP2006038121A - Gate valve and vacuum gate valve - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a gate valve and a vacuum gate valve which prevent the adhesion of foreign matter onto a seal surface and the occurrence of leakage. <P>SOLUTION: A vacuum gate valve 2 for opening/closing opposing seal surfaces 13a, 14a provided to a process chamber side discharge port 13 and a pump side discharge port 14 is equipped with an opening valve element 28 for abutting to the seal surfaces 13a, 14a and communicating between the process chamber side discharge port 13 and the pump side discharge port 14 when opening the valve, a closing valve element 31 for abutting to the seal surfaces 13a, 14a and cutting off the process chamber side discharge port 13 and the pump side discharge port 14 when closing the valve, a valve casing 11 for accommodating the opening valve element 28 and the closing valve element 31, and a handle 22 for exchangeably moving the opening valve element 28 and the closing valve element 31 with respect to the seal surfaces 13a, 14a in the valve casing 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a gate valve and a vacuum gate.

  Conventionally, a gate valve is often provided between a vacuum processing chamber and a vacuum pump for evacuating the vacuum processing chamber, and the gate valve used in this way is said to be a vacuum gate valve. . In recent years, the vacuum gate valve is positioned as an important device constituting a vacuum system in the fields of liquid crystal and semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

  The vacuum gate valve is used to open a valve when raising the degree of vacuum in the vacuum processing chamber, and to raise the degree of vacuum inside the vacuum processing chamber by driving a vacuum pump to achieve a high vacuum state. Further, by closing the valve and setting the vacuum processing chamber to a low vacuum (low pressure) or atmospheric pressure, it is possible to take out the workpiece processed in the vacuum processing chamber and remove reaction products in the vacuum processing chamber. . Further, the vacuum pump is protected from low pressure or atmospheric pressure, and the vacuum pump is prevented from being deteriorated or broken.

  Many vacuum gate valves have been provided so far. Specifically, a vacuum processing chamber side exhaust port and a vacuum pump side exhaust port are formed in the valve box, and the vacuum processing chamber side exhaust port is opened and closed. There is provided a vacuum gate valve including a vacuum processing chamber side valve plate that can be freely attached and detached, and a vacuum pump side valve plate that can be freely opened and closed at an exhaust port on the vacuum pump side.

  Such a conventional vacuum gate valve is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example.

JP-A-11-99326

  In the CVT (Chemical Vapor Deposition) process, which is a technique for laminating interlayer insulation films in the semiconductor manufacturing process, the reaction product film obtained by reacting a material gas by various methods (plasma, heat, light, etc.) is silicon. Laminate on wafer. At the same time, however, reaction products accumulate on the inner wall of the chamber, the electrodes, the piping, and the valve box of the vacuum gate valve. In particular, in the vacuum gate valve, the accumulated reaction product may cause valve leakage or malfunction of the valve, and may not function as a vacuum gate valve.

  However, the conventional vacuum gate valve described above does not completely prevent leakage. For this reason, since the reaction product adheres not only to the sealing surface but also to the valve plate and the valve box, the degree of vacuum in the chamber is reduced and the burden of the cleaning operation is increased. Furthermore, if the valve cannot be closed due to a leak, if the deposit in the chamber is to be removed, the chamber side and the vacuum pump side cannot be shut off, so the vacuum pump must be temporarily stopped. When the CVT apparatus is restarted, it takes time until the degree of vacuum in the chamber increases, and it takes an enormous amount of time.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a gate valve and a vacuum gate valve that prevent the foreign matter from adhering to the seal surface and prevent the occurrence of leakage.

The gate valve according to the first invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is as follows.
A gate valve that opens and closes an opposing seal surface provided in a fluid passageway;
A valve-opening body that is in contact with the seal surface when the valve is opened and that allows the passage to communicate;
A valve closing body that abuts the seal surface when the valve is closed and blocks the passage;
A valve box that houses the valve opening body and the valve closing body;
And a valve body moving means for exchanging the valve opening body and the valve closing body with respect to the seal surface in the valve box.

A gate valve according to a second invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is as follows.
In the gate valve according to the first invention,
The valve opening body and the valve closing body are provided with a pair of valve plates,
A link mechanism for attaching and detaching the pair of valve plates to and from the seal surface is provided.

A gate valve according to a third invention for solving the above-described problems is
In the gate valve according to the second invention,
A bellows is provided between the pair of valve plates of the valve opening body.

A gate valve according to a fourth invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is as follows.
In the gate valve according to any one of the first to third inventions,
An inspection opening that can be opened and closed is formed in the valve box, and the inspection opening is provided at a position facing the valve opening that has moved when the valve is closed.

A gate valve according to a fifth invention for solving the above-described problems is
In the gate valve according to any one of the first to fourth inventions,
Two on-off valves for supplying and discharging fluid in the valve box by opening and closing the valve box are provided,
When operating from a valve-opened state to a valve-closed state or from a valve-closed state to a valve-opened state, at least one of the on-off valves is opened, and the two on-off valves are closed after completion of the operation. And

A vacuum gate valve according to a sixth invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is a vacuum gate valve for opening and closing a communication path provided between the processing chamber side and the pump side.
A valve-opening body that forms the communication path by a pair of valve plates coming into contact with the sealing surface on the processing chamber side and the sealing surface on the pump side when the valve is opened;
A valve closing body that shuts off the communication path by a pair of valve plates coming into contact with the sealing surface on the processing chamber side and the sealing surface on the pump side when the valve is closed;
A valve box that houses the valve opening body and the valve closing body;
Valve body moving means for exchanging the valve opening body and the valve closing body with respect to the seal surface in the valve box;
A link mechanism for attaching and detaching the pair of valve plates of the valve opening body and the valve closing body to and from the seal surface;
A bellows provided between the pair of valve plates of the valve-opening body and separating the inside of the valve box and the inside of the communication path;
An inspection port formed on the valve box so as to correspond to the valve-opening body moved when the valve is closed, and having a lid that can be opened and closed;
A processing chamber side on-off valve provided in a pipe communicating the inside of the valve box and the processing chamber;
A pump-side opening / closing valve provided in a pipe that communicates the inside of the valve box and the pump is provided.

  The gate valve according to the first aspect of the present invention is a gate valve that opens and closes an opposing seal surface provided in a fluid passageway, and is in contact with the seal surface when the valve is opened and opens the passageway. A valve body that contacts the sealing surface when the valve is closed and blocks the passage, a valve box that houses the valve opening body and the valve closing body, and the valve opening body within the valve box And a valve body moving means for exchanging the valve closing body relative to the seal surface, it is possible to prevent foreign matter from adhering to the seal surface and to prevent leakage.

  According to the gate valve which concerns on 2nd invention, a gate valve which concerns on 1st invention WHEREIN: A pair of valve plate is provided in the said valve opening body and the said valve closing body, and a pair of said valve plate is said sealing surface By providing a link mechanism that attaches and detaches, the sealing surface can be sealed at the time of opening and closing, so that occurrence of leakage can be prevented.

  According to the gate valve which concerns on 3rd invention, in the gate valve which concerns on 2nd invention, by providing a bellows between the said pair of valve plates of the said valve opening body, the said passage and the inside of the said valve box are carried out. Since it can isolate, the penetration | invasion of the foreign material in the said valve box can be prevented, and generation | occurrence | production of a leak can be prevented.

  According to the gate valve of the fourth invention, in the gate valve according to any one of the first to third inventions, an inspection port that can be opened and closed is formed in the valve box, and the inspection port is moved when the valve is closed. By providing it at a position opposite to the valve opening body, it is possible to check the degree of accumulation of foreign matter attached to the valve opening body when the valve is closed, and it is possible to remove the foreign matter. The running cost can be reduced.

  According to the gate valve according to the fifth invention, in the gate valve according to any one of the first to fourth inventions, the valve box is provided with two on-off valves for discharging and discharging the fluid in the valve box by opening and closing, When operating from the open state to the closed state or from the closed state to the open state, at least one of the on-off valves is opened, and after the operation is finished, the two on-off valves are closed, The valve-opening body and the valve-closing body can be operated smoothly.

  According to the vacuum gate valve of the sixth invention, in the vacuum gate valve that opens and closes the communication path provided between the processing chamber side and the pump side, the sealing surface on the processing chamber side and the pump side are opened when the valve is opened. When the valve is closed, the pair of valve plates are brought into contact with the sealing surface on the processing chamber side and the sealing surface on the pump side when the valve plate is closed. A valve closing body that cuts off the communication path, a valve box that houses the valve opening body and the valve closing body, and the valve opening body and the valve closing body in the valve box that are connected to the sealing surface. A valve body moving means for moving the valve body interchangeably, a link mechanism for attaching and detaching the pair of valve plates of the valve opening body and the valve closing body to the seal surface, and between the pair of valve plates of the valve opening body And a bellows that separates the inside of the valve box from the inside of the communication passage, and the valve opening that is moved when the valve is closed An inspection port having a lid that can be opened and closed, a processing chamber side on-off valve provided in a pipe that communicates the inside of the valve box and the processing chamber, and the valve By providing a pump-side on-off valve provided in a pipe that communicates the inside of the box and the pump, it is possible to prevent foreign matter from adhering to the seal surface and prevent the occurrence of leaks, so the degree of vacuum is reduced. Is not invited. In addition, since the communication path and the inside of the valve box can be isolated, entry of foreign matter into the valve box can be prevented, work for removing deposits in the valve box can be reduced, and maintenance can be performed. Can be prolonged. Further, since there is no problem that the valve cannot be closed due to a leak, the pump is not stopped even when cleaning the processing chamber, so that it does not take time to restart the pump. Furthermore, it is possible to check the accumulation of foreign matters attached to the valve opening body when the valve is closed, and foreign matters can be removed, so that maintenance costs and running costs can be reduced. And since the said valve opening body and the said valve closing body can move smoothly, operativity can be improved.

  Embodiments of a vacuum gate valve according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a transverse sectional view showing a valve opening state of a vacuum gate valve according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a valve opening state of a vacuum gate valve according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view showing a closed state of the vacuum gate valve according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 shows the operation of the vacuum gate valve according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 5B is a schematic view showing the valve open state, and FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a vacuum gate valve according to another embodiment. FIG. 6 and FIG. 6 are schematic views of a vacuum processing apparatus in one embodiment of the present invention.

  FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of a vacuum processing apparatus 1 which is, for example, a CVT apparatus or the like. The vacuum gate valve 2 is installed between the vacuum processing chamber 3 and the vacuum pump 4 and serves to seal between the vacuum processing chamber 3 and the vacuum pump 4. The vacuum gate valve 2 and the vacuum processing chamber 3 communicate with each other through a pipe 5, and the pipe 5 is provided with an opening / closing valve 6. Similarly, the vacuum gate valve 2 and the vacuum pump 4 communicate with each other through a pipe 7, and an open / close valve 8 is provided in the pipe 7.

  The vacuum gate pump 2 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the vacuum gate valve 2 is composed of a box-shaped valve box 11 and a cylindrical case 12 disposed on the valve box 11.

  The valve box 11 is formed with a circular processing chamber side exhaust port 13 that communicates with the vacuum processing chamber 3 and a circular pump side exhaust port 14 that communicates with the vacuum pump 4. The exhaust port 14 has sealing surfaces 13a and 14a. A processing chamber side communication port 15 to which the pipe 5 is connected is formed below the processing chamber side exhaust port 13, and a pump side communication port 16 to which the piping 7 is connected is formed below the pump side exhaust port 14. Has been.

  On the other hand, a bellows 17 extends vertically in the case 12. The bellows 17 has an upper end supported by a bellows receiver 18 and a lower end supported by a bellows receiver 19. The stem 20 is inserted into the bellows 17 and disposed so as to penetrate the case 12. Further, the projection 18a of the bellows receiver 18 is inserted into a long hole 21 opened in the case 12, and is slidable in the vertical direction. A handle (moving means) 22 is installed on the upper portion of the case 12, and the screw portion 22 a of the handle 22 and the screw portion 20 a of the stem 20 are engaged with each other.

  A pair of valve holders 23 extending in the vertical direction are installed at the lower end of the stem 20 located in the valve box 11. An upper roller holder 24 and a lower roller holder 25 are installed above and below the valve holder 23. That is, the valve holder 23 is supported on the stem 20 via the upper roller holder 24. The upper roller holder 24 and the lower roller holder 25 are each provided with a pair of rollers 26 and 27. The rollers 26 and 27 are in contact with the inner wall of the valve box 11 and are rotatably supported.

  Above the valve holder 23, a valve-opening body 28 used exclusively for the valve-open state is arranged, and on the lower side, a valve-closing body 31 used exclusively for the valve-closed state is arranged.

  The valve opening body 28 includes a processing chamber side valve opening plate 29 on the vacuum processing chamber 3 side and a pump side valve opening plate 30 on the vacuum pump 4 side. The processing chamber side valve opening plate 29 and the pump side valve opening plate 30 have communication holes 29 a and 30 a having the same diameter as the processing chamber side exhaust port 13 and the pump side exhaust port 14 facing each other. Further, seal surfaces 29b and 30b that press against the seal surfaces 13a and 14a are formed around the communication holes 29a and 30a. A bellows 34 is provided between the processing chamber side valve opening plate 29 and the pump side valve opening plate 30 to communicate between the communication holes 29a and 30a. The communication holes 29 a and 30 a and the bellows 34 form a communication path 35.

  The processing chamber side valve opening plate 29 and the pump side valve opening plate 30 are installed so as to sandwich the valve holder 23 from the front-rear direction. The processing chamber side valve opening plate 29 and the pump side valve opening 30 are supported by four link members 36 on the valve holder 23 at the upper and lower positions of both end portions thereof.

  The link member 36 is composed of two plate members and has a connecting portion 36a and a support portion 36b. The connecting part 36 a is a part where one end of the plate material is overlapped and connected at the side end part of the valve holder 23. The support portion 36 b is a portion where the other end of one plate material supports the side end portion of the processing chamber side valve opening plate 29 and the other end of the other plate material supports the side end portion of the pump side valve opening plate 30. is there.

  Similarly, the valve closing body 31 includes a processing chamber side valve closing plate 32 on the vacuum processing chamber 3 side and a pump side valve closing plate 33 on the vacuum pump 4 side. The processing chamber side valve closing plate 32 and the pump side valve closing plate 33 are formed with sealing surfaces 32 a and 33 a that press against the sealing surface 13 a of the processing chamber side exhaust port 13 and the sealing surface 14 a of the pump side exhaust port 14. . The processing chamber side valve closing plate 32 and the pump side valve closing plate 33 are installed so as to sandwich the valve holder 23 from the front-rear direction. The processing chamber side valve closing plate 32 and the pump side valve closing plate 33 are supported by four link members 37 on the valve holder 23 at the upper and lower positions of both side end portions thereof.

  The link member 37 is composed of two plate members, and has a connecting portion 37a and a support portion 37b. The connecting portion 37 a is a portion where one end of the plate material is overlapped and connected at the side end portion of the valve holder 23. In the support portion 37b, the other end of one plate material supports the side end portion of the processing chamber side valve closing plate 32, and the other end of the other plate material supports the side end portion of the pump side valve closing plate 33. .

  In addition, when the valve opening body 28 is arrange | positioned in the position shown in FIG. 3, the link member 36 is installed so that the connection part 36a may become a position above the support part 36b. Further, the link member 37 is installed so that the connecting portion 37a is positioned below the support portion 37b when the valve closing body 31 is disposed at the position shown in FIG.

  A roller 38 is installed at the center of the upper ends of the processing chamber side valve opening plate 29 and the pump side valve opening plate 30, and at the center of the lower ends of the processing chamber side valve closing plate 32 and the pump side valve closing plate 33. A roller 39 is installed. Stopper portions 40 and 41 are formed on the inner walls of the upper and lower portions of the valve box 11 so as to face the rollers 38 and 39.

  Next, the operation of the vacuum gate valve 2 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, the closed state will be described with reference to FIG.

  When the stem 20 moves upward by rotating the handle 22, the valve holder 23 also moves upward. Thereby, the valve opening body 28 moves upward in the valve box 11.

  At this time, the connecting portion 36 a of the link member 36 is raised by the movement of the valve holder 23, and the support portion 36 b of the link member 36 is raised while moving to the center side of the valve box 11. Accordingly, the processing chamber side valve opening plate 29 and the pump side valve opening plate 30 supported by the support portion 36 b also move up while moving to the center side of the valve box 11. The bellows 34 is contracted by the movement of the processing chamber side valve opening plate 29 and the pump side valve opening plate 30 toward the center of the valve box 11. The roller 38 abuts against the stopper portion 40, and the valve opening body 28 is disposed above the valve box 11.

  Further, when the valve holder 23 is moved upward, only the connecting portion 36 a is raised, and the processing chamber side valve opening plate 29 and the pump side valve opening plate 30 are further moved toward the center of the valve box 11 by the rotation of the rollers 38.

  On the other hand, the valve closing body 31 moves to a position facing the processing chamber side exhaust port 13 and the pump side exhaust port 14 as the valve holder 23 moves upward. At this time, since the connecting portion 37 a of the link member 37 is raised by the movement of the valve holder 23, the support portion 37 b of the link member 37 moves to the side wall side of the valve box 11. Thus, the processing chamber side valve closing plate 32 and the pump side valve closing plate 33 supported by the support member 37b press the sealing surface 32a against the sealing surface 13a of the processing chamber side exhaust port 13, and the sealing surface 33a. Is pressed against the seal surface 14 a of the pump-side exhaust port 14.

  Therefore, the valve box 11, the vacuum processing chamber 3, and the vacuum pump 4 can be shut off. That is, the space between the vacuum processing chamber 3 and the vacuum pump 4 can be sealed.

  Next, the operation from the valve closing state to the valve opening state will be described with reference to FIG.

  When operating from the valve closing state to the valve opening state, the stem 20 is moved downward by rotating the handle 22, and the valve holder 23 is moved downward. Thereby, the valve opening body 28 and the valve closing body 31 also move downward.

  The connecting portion 36 a of the link member 36 is lowered by the movement of the valve holder 23, and the support portion 36 b of the link member 36 is lowered while moving to the side wall side of the valve box 11. Accordingly, the processing chamber side valve opening plate 29 and the pump side valve opening plate 30 also move downward while moving to the side wall side of the valve box 11. At this time, the bellows 34 moves downward and gradually expands. Further, the connecting portion 37 a of the link member 37 is lowered by the movement of the valve holder 23, and the support portion 37 b of the link member 37 is lowered while moving to the center side of the valve box 11. Accordingly, the processing chamber side valve closing plate 32 and the pump side valve closing plate 30 also move downward while moving toward the center of the valve box 11.

  Furthermore, when the valve opening body 28 and the valve closing body 31 move downward, the valve opening state shown in FIG.

  Next, the valve opening state will be described with reference to FIG.

  As the valve holder 23 moves downward, the valve opening body 28 moves to a position facing the processing chamber side exhaust port 13 and the pump side exhaust port 14. At this time, the communication hole 29 a of the processing chamber side valve opening plate 29 and the communication hole 30 a of the pump side valve opening plate 30 are arranged at the same height (position) as the processing chamber side exhaust port 13 and the pump side exhaust port 14. At the same time, the processing chamber side valve opening plate 29 and the pump side valve opening plate 30 moved to the side wall side of the valve box 11 by the link member 36 press the sealing surface 29 b against the sealing surface 13 a of the processing chamber side exhaust port 13. The seal surface 30b is pressed against the seal surface 14a of the pump-side exhaust port 14. The bellows 34 is also extended to a predetermined length.

  On the other hand, the roller closing body 31 is disposed below the valve box 11 with the roller 38 abutting against the stopper portion 40. Further, when the valve holder 23 is moved downward, only the connecting portion 37 a is lowered, and the processing chamber side valve closing plate 32 and the pump side valve closing plate 33 are further moved to the center side of the valve box 11 by the rotation of the roller 39.

  Therefore, since the communication path 35 is formed, the vacuum processing chamber 3 and the vacuum pump 4 communicate with each other, and the vacuum processing of the vacuum processing chamber 4 by the vacuum pump 4 can be performed. Further, since the exhausted gas does not enter the valve box 11, the occurrence of leak can be prevented.

  Here, during the operation from the open state to the closed state, the inside of the vacuum processing chamber 3 and the vacuum pump 4 are in a vacuum region, and the inside of the valve box 11 is at a low pressure or atmospheric pressure. The plate 29 and the pump side valve opening plate 30 may not be easily moved. That is, in order to move the processing chamber side valve opening plate 29 and the pump side valve opening plate 30 smoothly, the inside of the valve box 11 is also made a vacuum region, the pressure in the valve box 11, the inside of the vacuum processing chamber 3 and the vacuum pump 4. It is necessary to make the internal pressure equal.

  Therefore, by closing the on-off valve 6 and opening the on-off valve 8, the pressures in the valve box 11, the vacuum processing chamber 3, and the vacuum pump 4 become uniform. 29 and the pump side valve opening plate 30 can be moved smoothly.

  Similarly, during the operation from the valve closing state to the valve opening state, there is a pressure difference between the pressure in the vacuum processing chamber 3 and the vacuum pump 4 and the valve box 11, so that the processing chamber side valve closing plate 32 and the pump The side valve closing plate 33 may not be easily moved. That is, in order to smoothly move the processing chamber side valve closing plate 32 and the pump side valve closing plate 33, the pressure in the valve box 11, the pressure in the vacuum processing chamber 3, and the pressure in the vacuum pump 4 are made equal. There is a need.

  Therefore, by opening the on-off valves 6 and 8, the pressures in the valve box 11, the vacuum processing chamber 3, and the vacuum pump 4 become uniform, so that the processing chamber side valve closing plate 32 and the pump side valve closing are closed. The plate 33 can be moved smoothly.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the processing chamber side inspection port 42 and the pump side inspection port 43 are formed in the valve box corresponding to the processing chamber side valve opening plate 29 and the pump side valve opening plate 30 moved when the valve is closed. May be. Lids 44 and 45 are supported by the inspection ports 42 and 43 so as to be openable and closable. In FIG. 5, the cover part 44 shows a closed state, and the cover part 45 shows an open state. Thus, when the valve is closed, the lid portions 44 and 45 are opened, and the accumulation state of the reaction product attached to the processing chamber side valve opening plate 29 and the pump side valve opening plate 30 and the communication path 35 is checked. And the reaction product can be removed. Therefore, maintenance costs and running costs can be reduced. Furthermore, if the lid portions 44 and 45 are made of a transparent material, the inspection can be performed without opening them.

  Therefore, by making the above-described configuration, the valve box 11 and the communication path 35 can be isolated from each other in the valve open state, so that the reaction product can be prevented from entering the valve box 11. Further, by providing the valve opening body 28 exclusively used for the valve opening state and the valve closing body 31 used in the valve closing state, the sealing surfaces 13a and 14a are always sealed in the valve opening state and the valve closing state. Therefore, adhesion of reaction products can be prevented.

  Thereby, generation | occurrence | production of a leak can be prevented and the fall of a vacuum degree is not caused. Moreover, the removal work of the deposit in the valve box 11 can be reduced, and the maintenance can be prolonged. Moreover, since there is no problem that the valve cannot be closed due to a leak, the pump is not stopped even when cleaning the processing chamber, so that it does not take time to restart the apparatus.

  Even if the stem 20 slides, the airtightness is not lowered by installing the bellows 17 in the case 12. Moreover, since the protrusion 18a of the bellows receiver 18 is inserted into the elongated hole 21, the bellows 17 can be easily expanded and contracted as the stem 20 slides. Further, by installing the rollers 26 and 27, the valve opening body 28 and the valve closing body 31 can be moved smoothly in the vertical direction, and by installing the rollers 38 and 39, the valve opening body 28 and the valve closing body 31 can be moved. The valve box 11 can be smoothly moved toward the center side or the side wall.

  Although the valve opening body 28 and the valve closing body 31 can be moved by the handle 22, a cylinder or the like using air or hydraulic pressure may be used.

  Therefore, the vacuum gate valve according to the present invention is a vacuum gate valve 2 that opens and closes the opposed seal surface 13a and seal surface 14a provided in the processing chamber side exhaust port 13 and the pump side exhaust port 14, respectively. A valve-opening body 28 that abuts the seal surfaces 13a and 14a when the valve is opened and communicates between the processing chamber side exhaust port 13 and the pump side exhaust port 14; abuts the seal surfaces 13a and 14a when the valve is closed; A valve closing body 31 that shuts off between the chamber side exhaust port 13 and the pump side exhaust port 14, a valve box 11 that houses the valve opening body 28 and the valve closing body 31, and a valve opening body 28 in the valve box 11. And the handle 22 for moving the valve closing body 31 with respect to the seal surfaces 13a and 14a at the time of replacement, it is possible to prevent adhesion of reaction products to the seal surfaces 13a and 14a and to prevent the occurrence of leakage. .

  The valve opening body 28 includes a processing chamber side valve opening plate 29 and a pump side valve opening plate 30, and the valve closing body 31 includes a processing chamber side valve closing plate 32 and a pump side valve closing plate 33. The sealing surface 29b of the side valve opening plate 29 and the sealing surface 30b of the pump side valve opening plate 30 or the sealing surface 32a of the processing chamber side valve closing plate 32 and the sealing surface 33a of the pump side valve closing plate 33 are used as the sealing surface 13a and the sealing surface. By providing the link members 36 and 37 to be attached to and detached from 14a, it is possible to seal the seal surfaces 13a and 14a at the time of opening and closing, so that the occurrence of leakage can be prevented.

  Further, by providing the bellows 34 between the processing chamber side valve opening plate 29 and the pump side valve opening plate 30, the communication path 35 and the inside of the valve box 11 can be isolated. The intrusion of the reaction product can be prevented, and the occurrence of leakage can be prevented.

  Further, the inspection ports 42 and 43 having lid portions 44 and 45 that can be opened and closed are formed in the valve box 11, and the processing chamber side valve opening plate 29 and the pump side valve opening that have moved the inspection ports 42 and 43 when the valves are closed. By providing it at a position facing the plate 30, it becomes possible to check the degree of deposition of reaction products adhering to the processing chamber side valve opening plate 29 and the pump side valve opening plate 30 and the communication path 35 when the valve is closed. Since the reaction product can be easily removed, maintenance costs and running costs can be reduced.

  Further, when operating from the open state to the closed state or from the closed state to the open state, at least one of the on / off valves 6 and 8 is opened, and after the operation is finished, the on / off valves 6 and 8 are closed. As a result, the pressure in the valve box 11 and the vacuum processing chamber 3 or the vacuum pump 4 becomes uniform, so that the valve opening plates 29 and 30 and the valve closing plates 32 and 33 can be operated smoothly. .

  The present invention can be applied to a vacuum gate valve including two valve bodies, that is, a valve body used in a valve-open state and a valve body used in a valve-closed state.

It is a cross-sectional view which shows the valve opening state of the vacuum gate valve concerning one Example of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the valve opening state of the vacuum gate valve which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a cross-sectional view which shows the valve closing state of the vacuum gate valve concerning one Example of this invention. FIG. 4 shows the operation of a vacuum gate valve according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein (a) shows a valve closing state, (b) shows an operation from the valve closing state to the valve opening state, and (c) shows a valve opening state. It is the shown schematic. It is the schematic of the vacuum gate valve which concerns on the other Example of this invention. It is the schematic of the vacuum processing apparatus in one Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vacuum processing apparatus 2 Vacuum gate valve 3 Vacuum processing chamber 4 Vacuum pump 5, 7 Piping 6, 8 On-off valve 11 Valve box 12 Case 13 Processing chamber side exhaust port 13a Seal surface 14 Pump side exhaust port 14a Seal surface 15 Processing chamber side Communication path 16 Pump side communication path 17, 34 Bellows 18, 19 Bellows receiver 18a Protrusion 20 Stem 20a Screw part 21 Long hole 22 Handle 22a Screw part 23 Valve holder 24 Upper roller holder 25 Lower roller holder 26, 27 Roller 28 Valve opening Body 29 Processing chamber side valve opening plate 29a Communication hole 29b Sealing surface 30 Pump side valve opening plate 30a Communication hole 30b Sealing surface 31 Valve closing body 32 Processing chamber side valve closing plate 32a Sealing surface 33 Pump side valve closing plate 33a Sealing surface 35 Communication passages 36, 37 Link members 36a, 37a Connection portions 36b, 37b Support portions 38, 39 Rollers 40, 41 Topper 42 processing chamber side access port 43 pump side access doors 44, 45 lid

Claims (6)

A gate valve that opens and closes an opposing seal surface provided in a fluid passageway;
A valve-opening body that is in contact with the seal surface when the valve is opened and that allows the passage to communicate;
A valve closing body that abuts the seal surface when the valve is closed and blocks the passage;
A valve box that houses the valve opening body and the valve closing body;
A gate valve comprising: valve body moving means for exchanging the valve opening body and the valve closing body with respect to the seal surface in the valve box. The gate valve according to claim 1, wherein
The valve opening body and the valve closing body are provided with a pair of valve plates,
A gate valve comprising a link mechanism for attaching and detaching the pair of valve plates to and from the seal surface. The gate valve according to claim 2,
A gate valve comprising a bellows between the pair of valve plates of the valve opening body. The gate valve according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A gate valve characterized in that an inspection port that can be opened and closed is formed in the valve box, and the inspection port is provided at a position facing the valve opening that has moved when the valve is closed. The gate valve according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
Two on-off valves for supplying and discharging fluid in the valve box by opening and closing the valve box are provided,
When operating from a valve-opened state to a valve-closed state or from a valve-closed state to a valve-opened state, at least one of the on-off valves is opened, and the two on-off valves are closed after completion of the operation. And gate valve. In the vacuum gate valve that opens and closes the communication path provided between the processing chamber side and the pump side,
A valve-opening body that forms the communication path by a pair of valve plates coming into contact with the sealing surface on the processing chamber side and the sealing surface on the pump side when the valve is opened;
A valve closing body that shuts off the communication path by a pair of valve plates coming into contact with the sealing surface on the processing chamber side and the sealing surface on the pump side when the valve is closed;
A valve box that houses the valve opening body and the valve closing body;
Valve body moving means for exchanging the valve opening body and the valve closing body with respect to the seal surface in the valve box;
A link mechanism for attaching and detaching the pair of valve plates of the valve opening body and the valve closing body to and from the seal surface;
A bellows provided between the pair of valve plates of the valve-opening body and separating the inside of the valve box and the inside of the communication path;
An inspection port formed on the valve box so as to correspond to the valve-opening body moved when the valve is closed, and having a lid that can be opened and closed;
A processing chamber side on-off valve provided in a pipe communicating the inside of the valve box and the processing chamber;
A vacuum gate valve, comprising: a pump-side on / off valve provided in a pipe communicating the inside of the valve box and the pump.

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