JP2008116016A - Gate valve - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a gate valve capable of easily and surely opening-closing an opening while allowing downsizing of an entire device. <P>SOLUTION: This gate valve has a shaft member 21 supported by a side wall having an inner wall surface substantially vertical to a partition wall and advancing and retreating along the partition wall, a slider member 22 arranged in a tip part of the shaft member 21, a shutter member 23 relatively movably supported by the slider member 22 and opening-closing the opening, and a movement converting mechanism for moving the shutter member 23 in the opening direction of the opening by using force received from the shaft member 21 to the shutter member 23, and is characterized by closing the opening, by moving in the direction turning to the opening by the movement converting mechanism, by receiving pressing force from the shaft member 21 to the shutter member 23, after pressing and fixing the slider member 22 to the inner wall surface by the advancing movement of the shaft member 21. The movement converting mechanism may be an inclined face. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a gate valve that opens and closes an opening provided in a partition wall that partitions, for example, a container or piping into two spaces.

  In an apparatus having a vacuum vessel such as an electron microscope, a gate valve using a link mechanism is used to partition the inside of the vacuum vessel into two spaces.

  As such a gate valve, for example, as shown in Patent Document 1, an opening (gate) formed in a partition wall in a container is opened and closed by a valve body, and the valve body and the valve body are linked. A base that is held via a mechanism, and a shaft member that is connected to one end and moves the base are provided. The valve body includes an O-ring for hermetically sealing the opening.

  When the shaft member is moved forward, the valve body comes into contact with the inner wall of the vacuum vessel or a stopper provided separately in the vacuum vessel, and movement of the valve body in the moving direction is restricted. And by a link mechanism, a valve body moves to the direction of an opening part, and seals an opening part airtightly.

  However, in the above structure, it is necessary to press the valve body to the opening to such an extent that the O-ring is crushed. However, before the O-ring is crushed, the shaft member escapes in the direction opposite to the opening and the hermetic sealing is performed. There is a problem that you can not.

  In recent years, in order to solve this problem, as shown in Patent Document 2, a female screw hole is provided in the wall surface of the vacuum vessel, and the male screw portion of the shaft member is screwed into the female screw hole, thereby fixing the base to the wall surface of the vacuum vessel. A gate valve is considered.

However, if a female screw hole or a stopper is provided on the wall of the vacuum vessel, there is a problem that the structure of the gate valve becomes complicated. Further, in order to provide fixing means such as female screw holes, it is necessary to thicken the wall surface of the vacuum vessel, and in order to provide a stopper, it is necessary to provide an installation space in the vacuum vessel. It is also a factor that hinders downsizing.
JP 2001-324032 A JP 2006-200709 A

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems all at once, and provides a gate valve that can easily and reliably open and close the opening and that can downsize the entire apparatus. Is the main intended issue.

  That is, the gate valve according to the present invention is a gate valve that opens and closes an opening provided in the partition wall, and is supported by a side wall having an inner wall surface substantially perpendicular to the partition wall, along the partition wall. A shaft member that moves forward and backward, a slider member that is provided at the tip of the shaft member and is pressed and fixed to the inner wall surface by the progressive movement of the shaft member, and is supported by the slider member so as to be relatively movable. A shutter member that opens and closes the opening by receiving a force from the forward / backward movement of the shaft member; and a force that the shutter member receives from the shaft member along the opening direction of the opening. A movement conversion mechanism for moving the slider member, and after the slider member is pressed and fixed to the inner wall surface by the progressive movement of the shaft member, Wherein the Yatta member receives the pushing force from the shaft member moves in a direction toward the opening by the movement conversion mechanism, is characterized in that closing said opening.

  In such a case, after the slider member is pressed and fixed to the inner wall surface, the shutter member moves relative to the slider member to close the opening, so that the slider member moves away from the opening of the slider member. Escape can be prevented, and the opening can be closed easily and reliably.

  In addition, since the inner wall surface is used as it is, for example, piping and containers in which the gate valve is installed can be simplified and reduced in size, which can contribute to downsizing of the entire apparatus using them. . Furthermore, since it is not necessary to perform processing on piping, containers, etc., it is possible to give a degree of freedom in the mounting direction and do not affect the place or shape to be used. In addition, the gate valve can be easily attached.

  As a specific embodiment of the movement conversion mechanism, in order to simplify the structure, it is desirable that the movement conversion mechanism is an inclined surface provided on the upper surface of the slider member.

  Here, the “inclined surface” refers to a surface having an upward gradient from the rear side toward the front side (in the traveling direction of the shaft member).

  In order to make it easier for the shutter member to move relative to the slider member, it is desirable to further include a rolling element between the shutter member and the slider member.

  In order to facilitate the movement of the shutter member relative to the slider member and to ensure the closing, the shutter member has the rolling element, and when the rolling element rides on the inclined surface, It is desirable that the shutter member closes the opening.

  In order to prevent the shutter member from shifting in the left-right direction with respect to the slider member, to reliably close the opening, and to easily open the opening, the shutter member is positioned on the slider member side. It is desirable to further include a guide mechanism that applies a force and restricts the movement of the shutter member.

  Further, in order to securely close the opening, it is desirable that the shutter member is provided at the tip of the shaft member so as to be rotatable in the opening direction of the opening.

  In order for the slider member to rotate to the most stable state when the tip surface of the slider member contacts the inner wall surface and to be pressed and fixed to the inner wall surface without any undulation, the slider member has a central axis of the shaft member. It is desirable that the front end surface of the slider member has a curved surface that is substantially the same as the curved surface of the side wall.

  As a specific embodiment of the partition wall, the partition wall bisects the space in the vacuum vessel. More specifically, the space in the barrel of the electron microscope is bisected, and the electron gun is It is preferable that the electron gun chamber to be accommodated is separated from the control mechanism chamber for accommodating an electron beam control mechanism for converging the electron beam.

  According to the present invention configured as described above, it is possible to provide a gate valve that can easily and reliably open and close the gate and can reduce the size of the entire apparatus.

  An embodiment of an electron microscope (SEM) using the gate valve of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in the schematic configuration diagram of FIG. 1, the electron microscope 1 according to the present embodiment includes an electron gun 11, a lens mechanism that converges an electron beam EB emitted from the electron gun 11 to a predetermined portion of a sample W, and an electron An electron beam control mechanism 12 including a scanning mechanism for scanning the line EB, a lens barrel 13 having an electron gun 11 and an electron beam control mechanism 12 therein, and a lower end portion of the lens barrel 13. 11, the sample storage chamber 14 for storing the sample W irradiated with the electron beam EB from the electron beam EB, the detection device 15 for detecting secondary electrons generated by the electron beam EB irradiation to the sample W, and the detection from the detection device 15. And an information processing device 16 that displays a sample image in synchronization with two-dimensional scanning of the electron beam EB on the sample W based on the signal.

The lens barrel 13 has a partition wall 131 that divides the inside into an electron gun chamber 13A that houses the electron gun 11 and a control mechanism chamber 13B that houses the electron beam control mechanism 12. The partition wall 131 includes an opening 131a that allows the electron gun chamber 13A and the control mechanism chamber 13B to communicate with each other. Note that the electron gun chamber 13A is set to an ultra-high vacuum (high vacuum of 10 ⁻⁵ Pa or less) by the vacuum exhaust mechanism 17A, and the control mechanism chamber 13B is set to a high vacuum by the vacuum exhaust mechanism 17B.

  The electron microscope 1 according to this embodiment includes a gate valve 2 that opens and closes the opening 131a.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the gate valve 2 includes a shaft member 21 that is supported through the side wall 132 of the lens barrel 13 having an inner wall surface 132 a that is substantially perpendicular to the partition wall 131, and the tip of the shaft member 21. And a shutter member 23 that is supported by the slider member 22 so as to be relatively movable and that opens and closes the opening 131a. In FIG. 2, the partition wall 131 and the side wall 132 are not shown. Hereinafter, each member 21, 22, and 23 will be described.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the shaft member 21 includes a shaft main body 211 fixed to the lower side of the partition wall 131 in the side wall 132 of the lens barrel 13, and a knob 212 provided at the rear end portion of the shaft main body 211. And a rod 213 that is supported by the shaft main body 211 and moves forward and backward in the axial direction when the knob 212 is rotated.

  The shaft main body 211 converts the rotational movement of the knob 212 into the forward / backward movement of the rod 213.

  The rod 213 has a small-diameter portion 2131 at the tip, and a spring 24 and a rear wall 222 of a slider member 22 described later are fitted on the small-diameter portion 2131 in this order. Further, the length of the small diameter portion 2131 in the axial direction is set such that the tip portion of the small diameter portion 2131 protrudes forward from the rear wall 222 of the slider member 22 when the slider member 22 is attached (see FIG. 2 and the like). A mounting hole 2132 which is a connecting portion to which a shutter member 23 described later is connected is provided at the protruding tip portion. The mounting hole 2132 is a long hole perpendicular to the axial direction so that the shutter member 23 can move up and down.

  In addition, a section of the tip of the small-diameter portion 2131 of the rod 213 to which the shutter member 23 is connected has a generally rhombic cross section viewed from the axial direction. This makes it difficult to transmit the rotational movement of the rod 213 to the shutter member 23.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the slider member 22 is provided at the distal end portion of the shaft member 21, and is pressed and fixed to the inner wall surface 132 a of the lens barrel 13 as the shaft member 21 moves forward.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the slider member 22 has a box shape having a front wall 221, a rear wall 222, and a bottom wall 223, and the front end surface of the front wall 221 is the inner surface of the lens barrel 13. It has the same curved surface as the curved surface of the wall surface 132a. More specifically, in the distal end surface, the central portion is a flat surface portion 221a, and both side portions are curved surface portions 221b having the same radius of curvature as the curved surface of the lens barrel inner wall surface 132a. Circles drawn so as to be in contact with the curved surface portions 221b on both side portions are inscribed with the lens barrel inner wall surface 132a.

  The rear wall 222 of the slider member 22 is provided with an insertion hole 222a through which the small-diameter portion 2131 of the rod 213 is slidable and rotatably inserted around the central axis of the rod 213.

  Further, the upper surface of the bottom wall 223 (the surface on which the shutter member 23 is placed) is an inclined surface 223a having an upward gradient from the rear side to the front side, and the front side of the inclined surface 223a (the traveling direction side of the rod 213). And a rear plane 223c formed on the rear side of the inclined surface 223a (reverse direction side of the rod 213). At this time, the inclined surface 223a functions as a movement conversion mechanism. By this movement conversion mechanism, the shutter member 23 can move along the opening direction (vertical direction) of the opening 131a by the force received in the front-rear direction from the rod 213.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the shutter member 23 moves up and down in the slider member 22 to open and close the opening 131 a and is supported by the slider member 22.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the shutter member 23 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and has an L-shaped cross section by notching the lower front portion. The shutter member 23 is provided with a mounting recess 231 at the rear end thereof to which the tip of the rod 213 of the shaft member 21 is coupled. The connecting pin 3 is rotatably attached to the tip of the rod 213.

  Further, the shutter member 23 has an annular groove 232 for attaching an O-ring 28 as a seal member on the upper surface thereof, and the inner peripheral surface of the annular groove 232 has an O-ring 28 as shown in FIG. It is formed so that the cross-sectional diameter increases as it goes to the opening side so as not to come off.

  The lower surface of the shutter member 23 is in contact with the front plane 223b of the slider member 22, and is also in contact with the rear plane 223c (see FIG. 5 and the like). Since it comprises in this way, it can slide on the slider member 22 stably, maintaining a horizontal state, until the roller 25 mentioned later reaches the inclined surface 223a.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a roller 25 as a rolling element is attached behind the lower surface of the cutout portion of the shutter member 23 in order to smoothly move on the slider member 22. Thus, since the shutter member 23 includes the roller 25, the shutter member 23 can smoothly move on the slider member 22, particularly on the inclined surface 223a which is a movement conversion mechanism.

  Furthermore, the gate valve 2 according to the present embodiment includes a guide mechanism 26.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the guide mechanism 26 applies an urging force that positions the shutter member 23 on the slider member 22 side and restricts the movement of the shutter member 23. The torsion spring 261, a fixing pin 262 for fixing the torsion spring 261 to the slider member 22, and an action pin 263 that receives the urging force when the torsion spring 261 provided on the shutter member 23 is hooked.

  The torsion spring 261 is provided so as to contact both side surfaces of the shutter member 23, and for example, a plate spring is used in the present embodiment.

  The fixing pins 262 are provided on both side surfaces of the rear wall 222 of the slider member 22, and function as a fulcrum for fixing the torsion spring 261 to the rear wall 222 and for applying a force to the shutter member 23.

  The action pins 263 are provided on both side surfaces of the shutter member 23, hold the torsion spring 261, and receive an elastic pressing force from the torsion spring 261. Further, an R process is applied to a portion in contact with the torsion spring 261 so that the torsion spring 261 does not come off.

  According to such a guide mechanism 26, in a state where the torsion spring 261 is hooked on the action pin 263, the torsion spring 261 sandwiches the shutter member 23 from both sides, and the shutter member 23 moves in the left-right direction with respect to the slider member 22. It can be prevented from shifting.

  Furthermore, the electron microscope 1 according to the present embodiment includes a guide assist mechanism 27 that guides and assists the movement of the slider member 22. The auxiliary guide mechanism 27 is a support wall that is provided on the side wall 13 so as to be substantially horizontal to the partition wall 131 below the partition wall 131 and contacts the lower surface of the slider member 22. This guide assist mechanism 27 can further prevent the slider member 22 from moving downward due to the reaction force received when the shutter member 23 closes the opening 131a.

  Next, a method for assembling the gate valve 2 configured as described above will be described.

  First, the spring 24 is fitted over the small diameter portion 2131 of the rod 213 of the shaft member 21, and the tip end portion of the rod 213 is inserted into the insertion hole 222 a provided in the rear wall 222 of the slider member 22. At this time, the spring 24 is sandwiched between the large diameter portion 2133 connected to the small diameter portion 2131 and the rear end surface of the slider member 22 (see FIG. 5 and the like).

  Then, the mounting recess 231 of the shutter member is engaged with the distal end portion of the small diameter portion 2131 that protrudes forward from the insertion hole 222 a and is connected using the connecting pin 3.

  Next, the torsion spring 261 constituting the guide mechanism 26 is fixed to both side surfaces of the rear wall 222 of the slider member 22 using the fixing pins 262. Further, action pins 263 are attached to both side surfaces of the shutter member 23 and the torsion spring 261 is hooked. In this way, the gate valve 2 is assembled (see FIG. 4). The procedure for attaching the torsion spring 261 to the slider member 22 and the procedure for attaching the action pin 263 to the shutter member 23 are not limited to the above. For example, before the slider member 22 is fitted on the shaft member 21, the shutter is attached to the shaft member 21. You may make it perform before connecting the member 23. FIG.

  Next, the operation of the gate valve 2 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 5, 7, and 8.

  First, the closing operation of the gate valve 2 will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which the opening 131a is open. From this state, the rod 213 moves in the traveling direction by rotating the knob 212 of the shaft member 21 in one direction. Then, the slider member 22 and the shutter member 23 move on the support wall 27 along the partition wall 131 toward the opening 131a.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the slider member 22 abuts against an inner wall surface 132a that faces the side wall 132 on which the shaft member 21 is provided. Thereafter, as the rod 213 advances, the spring 24 is compressed, and the shutter member 23 connected to the rod 213 moves on the slider member 22 in the moving direction. At this time, the slider member 22 is pressed and fixed to the inner wall surface 132 a by the elastic biasing force received from the spring 24.

  At this time, until the roller 25 reaches the inclined surface 223a, the lower surface of the shutter member 23 is in contact with the front plane 223b and the rear plane 223c of the slider member 22, respectively, and the shutter member 23 moves while maintaining the horizontal state. . While the roller 25 goes up the inclined surface 223a, the mounting hole 2132 provided in the rod 213 is a vertically long slot, so that the horizontal state of the shutter member 23 is maintained.

  When the roller 25 moves up the inclined surface 223a and reaches the front flat surface 223b continuous with the upper end of the inclined surface 223a, the O-ring 28 on the upper surface of the shutter member 23 is crushed as shown in FIG. 131a is airtightly closed.

  Next, the opening operation of the gate valve 2 will be described. From the closed state shown in FIG. 8, the rod 213 moves in the backward direction by rotating the knob 212 of the shaft member 21 in the reverse direction to the rotation in the closing operation. Then, only the shutter member 23 moves while the slider member 22 remains pressed against the inner wall surface 132 a by the elastic biasing force received from the spring 24. At this time, the rod 213 moves in the backward direction, but the shutter member 23 is separated from the opening 131a in the vertical direction by the inclined surface 223a (see FIG. 7). Thereafter, when the rod 213 moves backward by a predetermined distance, the slider member 22 moves in the backward movement direction. In this manner, the opening 131a is opened as shown in FIG.

  According to the electron microscope 1 according to the present embodiment configured as described above, after the slider member 22 is pressed and fixed to the inner wall surface 132a, the shutter member 23 moves relative to the slider member 22 to close the opening 131a. Therefore, the downward movement of the slider member 22 can be prevented, and the opening 131a can be closed easily and reliably.

  In addition, since the inner wall surface 132a is used as it is, the lens barrel 13 in which the gate valve 2 is installed can be simplified and downsized, which contributes to downsizing of the entire electron microscope 1. Furthermore, since it is not necessary to process the inside of the lens barrel 13, it is possible to give a degree of freedom in the mounting direction, and the place or shape to be used is not affected. In addition, the gate valve 2 can be easily attached.

  <Other modified embodiments>

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the embodiment, the partition wall 131 is provided in one container. However, as shown in FIG. 9, it may be a gate valve unit. That is, it is provided between two containers or pipes, communicates with the containers or pipes and functions as a communication path, and includes a partition wall and a casing having a side wall having an inner wall surface perpendicular to the partition wall. The gate valve according to the present invention may be integrated.

  In the embodiment, the gate valve 2 is provided below the partition wall 131, but may be provided above the partition wall 131.

  Furthermore, in the said embodiment, although the movement conversion mechanism was the inclined surface 223a provided in the upper surface of the slider member 22, it is not limited to this. For example, a wedge-shaped member may be provided on the slider member 22 or may be provided on the shutter member 23.

  In the above-described embodiment, the slider member 22 and the shutter member 23 move integrally and do not move relative to each other until the slider member 22 is pressed and fixed to the inner wall surface 132a. You may do it. That is, the slider member 22 and the shutter member 23 may move relative to each other until the slider member 22 is pressed and fixed to the inner wall surface 132a by the movement of the shaft member 21.

  In the above-described embodiment, the shutter member 23 includes the roller 25 that is a rolling element. However, in order to make the shutter member 23 easy to move with respect to the slider member 22, the shutter member 23, the slider member 22, The rolling element 25 may be interposed between the slider member 22 and the rolling element 25 may be provided on the slider member 22.

  Moreover, although the front end surface of the shutter member of the embodiment has the flat surface portion and the curved surface portion, it may have only the curved surface portion.

  Furthermore, although the said embodiment showed the case where the gate valve 2 of this invention was used for the electron microscope 1, the opening part 131a provided in piping which distribute | circulates fluid, and the opening provided in containers other than a vacuum vessel It can also be used to open and close the portion 131a.

  In addition, the electron microscope of the above embodiment is a scanning electron microscope, but it can also be used for a transmission electron microscope or in combination with a cathode luminescence measuring device.

  In addition, some or all of the above-described embodiments and modified embodiments may be combined as appropriate, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. .

The typical block diagram which shows the electron microscope which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. Sectional drawing of the gate valve in the embodiment. The perspective view which shows the slider member of the gate valve in the embodiment. The perspective view which mainly shows the slider member and shutter member of the gate valve in the same embodiment. Sectional drawing which shows a gate valve when the opening part is an open state in the embodiment. The side view which mainly shows the slider member and shutter member of the gate valve in the same embodiment. Sectional drawing which shows a gate valve when the slider member is in the state contact | abutted to the inner wall surface in the same embodiment. Sectional drawing which shows a gate valve when the opening part is a closed state in the embodiment. The figure which shows the gate valve unit which concerns on other deformation | transformation embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electron microscope 11 ... Electron gun EB ... Electron beam 12 ... Electron beam control mechanism 13 ... Lens barrel 13A ... Electron gun chamber 13B ... Control mechanism chamber 131 ... Partition wall 131a ... Opening 132a ... Inner wall surface 132 ... Side wall 2 ... Gate valve 21 ... Shaft member 22 ... Slider member 223a ... Inclined surface (movement conversion mechanism)
23 ... Shutter member 24 ... Spring 25 ... Rolling element (roller)
26 ・ ・ ・ Guide mechanism 27 ・ ・ ・ Guide assist mechanism 28 ・ ・ ・ Seal member (O-ring)

Claims (8)

A gate valve that opens and closes an opening provided in a partition wall,
A shaft member supported by a side wall having an inner wall surface substantially perpendicular to the partition wall and moving forward and backward along the partition wall;
A slider member provided at the tip of the shaft member and pressed against the inner wall surface by advancing movement of the shaft member;
A shutter member that is supported by the slider member so as to be relatively movable, and that receives force from the forward and backward movement of the shaft member, and opens and closes the opening;
Using a force that the shutter member receives from the shaft member, and a movement conversion mechanism that moves the shutter member along the opening direction of the opening,
After the slider member is pressed and fixed to the inner wall surface by the progressive movement of the shaft member, the shutter member receives a pressing force from the shaft member and moves in the direction toward the opening by the movement conversion mechanism. And closing the opening.   The gate valve according to claim 1, wherein the movement conversion mechanism is an inclined surface provided on an upper surface of the slider member. The shutter member has the rolling element,
The gate valve according to claim 2, wherein the shutter member closes the opening when the rolling element rides on the inclined surface.   4. The gate valve according to claim 1, further comprising a guide mechanism that applies a biasing force to position the shutter member on the slider member side and restricts the movement of the shutter member.   5. The gate valve according to claim 1, wherein the shutter member is provided at a tip end portion of the shaft member so as to be rotatable in an opening direction of the gate. The slider member is provided rotatably around the central axis of the shaft member,
6. The gate valve according to claim 1, wherein the front end surface of the slider member has a curved surface that is substantially the same as the curved surface of the side wall.   The gate valve according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6, wherein the partition wall bisects the space in the vacuum vessel. The vacuum vessel is a lens barrel of an electron microscope,
8. The partition wall partitions an electron gun chamber that houses an electron gun and a control mechanism chamber that houses an electron beam control mechanism that converges an electron beam emitted from the electron gun. The described gate valve.