JP2023083964A - Method for detaching seal member and gas supply nozzle - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a technique for easily detaching an annular seal member accommodated in a groove part.SOLUTION: For detaching an annular seal member 5 constituting a device with a sealed space and disposed between a first abutment surface 61 of a first member and a second abutment surface of a second member, which abut on each other, the first abutment surface includes: a groove part 6 accommodating the seal member; and a gas introduction flow passage forming a flow passage in which gas flows in a space with respect to the seal member accommodated in the groove part and opened so as to protrude from an edge part of an opening of the groove part. A process of connecting a gas supply nozzle 84 to the opening of the gas introduction flow passage and a process of supplying high-pressure gas from the gas supply nozzle to the gas introduction flow passage and causing the gas to enter between the groove part and the seal member to push out the seal member from the groove part are executed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7B

Description

The present disclosure relates to a method for removing a seal member and a gas supply nozzle.

2. Description of the Related Art Some manufacturing apparatuses for FPDs (Flat Panel Displays) and semiconductor devices place substrates such as glass substrates and wafers in a vacuum vessel, supply a processing gas, and perform etching processing, film forming processing, and the like. In these devices, in order to form a sealed space (closed space) such as a process gas supply system, a vacuum vessel, and an exhaust system of the vacuum vessel, a large number of A sealing member is provided. A large number of sealing members are also used in a coating and developing apparatus that applies a resist solution or developer for exposure to a substrate, and a cleaning apparatus that cleans the substrate with a cleaning liquid. An annular O-ring is generally used as the sealing member.

Several tens to 100 or more of these O-rings may be provided in one device. For this reason, during maintenance of the device, work to remove these O-rings is required. On the other hand, in order to exhibit reliable airtight performance, it is necessary to accurately attach the O-ring to each member at a predetermined position. Therefore, in some cases, a groove is provided at the position where the O-ring is attached, and the O-ring is accommodated in the groove for use. In particular, dovetail grooves are often used as grooves to prevent O-rings from falling off. Conventionally, the O-rings housed in the grooves are removed using a pick-up jig, but removing a large number of O-rings takes a long time.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-100000 describes a technique of providing a removal recess into which a jig such as tweezers is inserted, on the outer periphery of a groove for attaching an O-ring. In addition, Patent Document 2 discloses a technique in which a communication hole that communicates with the side surface of a pressure-resistant container is connected to the bottom of a dovetail groove provided with an O-ring, and the O-ring is lifted by a fluid such as compressed air and taken out from the dovetail groove. is described.

JP 2005-298893 A Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 61-89553

The present disclosure provides a technique for easily removing an annular seal member housed in a groove.

The present disclosure constitutes a device having an enclosed space, and an annular seal member disposed between a first contact surface of a first member and a second contact surface of a second member that contact each other. a method for removing the
The first contact surface accommodates the seal member, and a gap is formed between a groove portion opened in the first contact surface and a side surface of the seal member accommodated in the groove portion. A gas inlet that constitutes a flow path through which gas flows, and that has an end portion of the flow path that is open so as to protrude from the edge of the opening of the groove when viewed from a position facing the first contact surface. a flow path; and
connecting a gas supply nozzle for supplying high pressure gas to the opening of the gas introduction channel;
Then, by supplying a high pressure gas from the gas supply nozzle to the gas introduction channel, the high pressure gas is caused to enter between the groove and the seal member, thereby removing at least a part of the seal member from the groove. and extruding.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to easily remove the annular seal member housed in the groove.

It is an example of a substrate processing apparatus provided with an O-ring. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a first configuration example of a groove that accommodates an O-ring; FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a second configuration example of a groove that accommodates an O-ring; It is a longitudinal side view which shows an example of the formation method of a groove part. FIG. 4 is a side view showing an example configuration of the air gun from which the O-ring is removed; FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a first configuration example of a gas supply nozzle; It is a vertical side view which shows the usage example of the said gas supply nozzle. FIG. 4 is a first perspective view showing an action example of the gas supply nozzle; FIG. 11 is a second perspective view showing an example of action of the gas supply nozzle; FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a second configuration example of the gas supply nozzle; It is a vertical side view which shows the usage example of the said gas supply nozzle. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a configuration example of a groove portion accommodating a large O-ring; FIG. 10 is a first longitudinal side view showing an example of action for removing the large O-ring; FIG. 11 is a second longitudinal side view showing an example of action for removing the large O-ring; 4 is an appearance photograph of a jig used in Comparative Examples 1 and 2. FIG. It is a graph which shows the result of an Example and a comparative example.

<Etching device 1>
First, as an example of a substrate processing apparatus in which a dovetail groove 6 which is an annular seal member is attached, a configuration example of an etching apparatus 1 for performing an etching process on a glass substrate G for FPD will be briefly described with reference to FIG. to explain.
The etching apparatus 1 of this example is configured to mount a glass substrate G on a mounting table 3 in a vacuum chamber 21 and perform plasma processing on the glass substrate G. As shown in FIG. A glass substrate G is transferred into the vacuum container 21 through a transfer port 22 that is opened and closed by a gate valve 16 , and the internal space of the vacuum container 21 is evacuated by an evacuation mechanism 23 through a plurality of exhaust paths 231 . Configured to be evacuated. A pressure regulator 232 such as an APC (Automatic Pressure Control) valve is interposed in the exhaust path 231 . The evacuation mechanism 23 may be provided in each of the plurality of evacuation paths 23 or may be provided in common.

The mounting table 3 also serves as an electrode for plasma generation. For example, a high frequency power source 31 for plasma generation and a high frequency power source 32 for supplying bias power for attracting ions are connected via matching devices 311 and 321, respectively. . The mounting table 3 of this example incorporates a temperature control medium flow path 33 and is configured to maintain the glass substrate G at a set temperature. The mounting table 3 is supported by an insulating member 34, and an elevating pin 35 used for transferring the glass substrate G is inserted through the elevating mechanism 351 so as to be able to elevate.

An upper electrode 4 is arranged on the ceiling of the vacuum vessel 21 so as to face the mounting table 3 . The upper electrode 4 also serves as a gas shower head, is formed in a hollow shape, and has a large number of gas discharge holes 41 provided on its lower surface. The upper electrode 4 , which is a gas shower head, is connected to a gas supply source 44 for processing gas via a gas supply path 42 having a valve V<b>1 and a flow rate regulator 43 .

According to this etching apparatus 1, when the glass substrate G conveyed from the outside is mounted on the mounting table 3, the inside of the vacuum chamber 21 is evacuated by the evacuation mechanism 23 and adjusted to a predetermined degree of vacuum. , supplies an etching gas, which is a processing gas. On the other hand, high-frequency power for plasma generation and ion attraction is applied to the mounting table 3, and the plasma formed in the space above the glass substrate G is used to perform the etching process on the glass substrate G. After a predetermined period of time has passed, the supply of the etching gas and the application of the high-frequency power are stopped, the pressure inside the vacuum chamber 21 is adjusted, and then the processed glass substrate G is unloaded.

<Arrangement example of O-ring 5>
The etching apparatus 1 described above is configured to supply an etching gas to the glass substrate G in a closed space and to evacuate the inside of the vacuum chamber 21. Equivalent. The etching apparatus 1 is provided with a large number of O-rings 5, which are annular sealing members, in order to keep the inside airtight.

FIG. 1 exemplifies a part of the arrangement positions of a large number of O-rings 5 provided in the etching apparatus 1. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 1, between the flange at the end of the gas supply path 42 and the upper electrode (gas shower head) 4, between the flange provided on the outer peripheral side of the upper electrode 4 and around the opening on the upper surface of the vacuum vessel 21, between the wall portion surrounding the peep hole 24 provided in the vacuum vessel 21 and the window portion 241 covering the peep hole 24; and the stepped portion of the insulating member 34 that supports the mounting table 3, and between the bottom surface of the vacuum vessel 21 and the flange at the end of the exhaust path 231 are exemplified as the arrangement positions of the O-ring 5. there is

In these positions, each O-ring 5 is located between the abutment surfaces of each member. A dovetail groove 6, which is a groove for accommodating the O-ring 5, is formed in one of the members constituting the contact surface. The member in which the dovetail groove 6 is formed (the connecting portion of the upper electrode 4 in FIG. , the stepped portion of the insulating member 34, and the bottom surface of the vacuum vessel 21) correspond to the first member of the present disclosure. On the other hand, the members (the flange of the gas supply path 42 in FIG. 1, the flange on the outer peripheral side of the upper electrode 4, the window The portion 241, the mounting table 3, and the flange of the exhaust path 231) correspond to the second member of the present disclosure. Further, the surface where the first member contacts the second member is the first contact surface, and the surface where the second member contacts the first member is the second contact surface.

<Structure of Dovetail Groove 6>
A method for removing the O-ring 5 placed in the dovetail groove 6 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2A to 11B. Of these figures, each figure with coordinate axes shows the contact surface of the first member 61 (first contact surface) as the contact surface of the second member (second contact surface). The direction to turn to the side is set to the Z axis.
FIG. 2A is a plan view of the first member 61 in which a small O-ring 5a of relatively small diameter is placed. Examples of the position where the small O-ring 5a is arranged are between the flange of the gas supply path 42 and the upper surface of the upper electrode 4, and between the wall of the vacuum vessel 21 and the window 241. FIG. A dovetail groove 6 is formed in the first member 61 so as to surround a fluid flow path 611 through which a fluid such as an etching gas flows. The dovetail groove 6 is provided so as to open toward the contact surface (first contact surface) with the second member.

Furthermore, when the first member 61 of this example is viewed from a position facing the contact surface (when viewed from the Z-axis side in the figure), the contact surface has an edge of the opening of the dovetail groove 6. Entry points (EP) 601 and 602 are opened so as to protrude from the part.
In the example shown in FIG. 2A, the EP 601 is open so as to protrude outward from the outer edge of the dovetail groove 6 . In the example shown in FIG. 2B, the EPs 602 are opened from the outer and inner peripheral edges of the dovetail groove 6 so as to protrude further outward and inward.

As shown in FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b), these EP601 and 602 mill the dovetail grooves 6 using an end mill 7 whose cutting diameter on the lower side is larger than the cutting diameter on the upper side. formed when For convenience of illustration, the blades of the end mill 7 are omitted in these figures.

First, a processing method for forming the EP 601 in FIG. 2A will be described with reference to FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b).
When the dovetail groove 6 is formed by milling, an end mill 7 is inserted along a pre-formed drill hole (not shown), and the lower portion of the end mill 7 having a larger cutting diameter is shaped to correspond to the rotation. A vertical hole is formed (Fig. 3(a)). This vertical hole corresponds to EP601 for allowing the end mill 7 to enter.

After that, as shown in FIG. 3B, the end mill 7 is moved in the direction in which the fluid flow path 611 is formed. Then, the first member 61 is cut by the end mill 7 whose cutting diameter on the lower side is larger than the cutting diameter on the upper side, and an inclined surface along the side surface shape of the end mill 7 is formed. After that, as shown in FIG. 2A , milling is performed by making the end mill 7 go around along the circumferential direction surrounding the fluid flow path 611 . Then, when the end mill 7 returns to the position for forming the EP 601, the end mill 7 is moved into the EP 601 and taken out.
As shown in FIG. 6, the dovetail groove 6 having a reverse tapered side wall is formed by the above-described machining operation. Then, the EP 601 is opened so as to protrude outward from the outer edge of the dovetail groove 6 .

On the other hand, in the case of the EP 602 shown in FIG. 2B, as shown in FIG. The EP 602 is opened so as to protrude from both edges of the inner circumference.

Here, as shown in FIG. 2A, the applicant has proposed that the EP 601 should be formed so as to protrude outward only from the edge on the outer peripheral side of the dovetail groove 6, in other words, the EP 601 should not protrude toward the fluid flow path 611 side. (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2020-196053). With this configuration, the formation position of the EP 601 is kept away from the fluid flow path 611 , and for example, deposition of a reaction product generated by processing the glass substrate G in the vacuum chamber 21 is suppressed in the EP 601 . Suppression of deposition of reaction products can suppress generation of particles and corrosion of equipment.

The EP 601 having the configuration shown in FIG. 2A has a configuration suitable for applying the method of this example for removing the O-ring 5 from the dovetail groove 6 . Therefore, in the following description, the case of removing the O-ring 5 from the dovetail groove 6 provided with the EP 601 shown in FIG. 2A will be described.
As will be described later, it is also possible to apply the method of this example to the dovetail groove 6 provided with the EP 602 shown in FIG. 2B.

<Gas introduction path and gas supply nozzle 84>
In this example, the EP 601 described above is used as a gas introduction channel for introducing gas for pushing out the O-ring 5 from the dovetail groove 6 . A high-pressure gas is supplied to the EP 601 using a gas supply nozzle 84 . FIG. 4 shows an example in which the air gun 8 is provided with a gas supply nozzle 84 . A commercially available air gun 8 can be used, and a gas supply nozzle 84 is attached to an adapter 86 provided on the main body 81 via a joint 85 .

By connecting the main body 81 of the air gun 8 to the air supply line 83 and operating the lever 82 , high pressure gas is supplied from the gas supply nozzle 84 . As the high-pressure gas, it is possible to use, for example, clean air supplied as factory power. Further, "high pressure" means a gas having a pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure, and the pressure within the range of 0.4 to 1 MPa can be exemplified as clean air for general factory power.

FIG. 5 shows an external perspective view of a configuration example of the gas supply nozzle 84. As shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the gas supply nozzle 84 of this example has a configuration in which a conical tip portion 842 is provided at the end portion of a straight tubular body portion 841 . A tip surface 843 of the tip portion 842 is a flat surface perpendicular to the axial direction of the main body portion 841 . A discharge port 845 for discharging high-pressure gas is formed in the tip surface 843 .

<Explanation of action>
The details of the operation for removing the O-ring 5 from the dovetail groove 6 using the gas supply nozzle 84 configured as described above will be described. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7A, the gas supply nozzle 84 is attached to the air gun 8 so that the tip surface 843 is pressed against the contact surface of the first member 61 . As a result, the gas supply nozzle 84 is connected to the EP 601, which is the gas introduction channel (step of connecting the gas supply nozzle 84). Note that the illustration of the air gun 8 is omitted in FIGS. 6 and 7A (the same applies to FIG. 7B below). Moreover, from the viewpoint of work efficiency, it is preferable not to fix the gas supply nozzle 84 to the contact surface of the first member 61 with a screw or the like.

Here, as shown in FIG. 6, the outer diameter of the tip surface 843 of the gas supply nozzle 84 is formed to be larger than the diameter of the opening of the EP 601 . With this configuration, when the gas supply nozzle 84 is connected to the EP 601, the tip of the tip portion 842 does not enter the EP 601, and the opening of the EP 601 can be covered with the tip surface 843 of the gas supply nozzle 84. . As a result, the outlet 845 of the gas supply nozzle 84 communicates with the opening of the EP 601 , and the high pressure gas can be introduced from the gas supply nozzle 84 to the EP 601 .

As described with reference to FIG. 2A, the EP 601 of this example is open so as to protrude from the edge of the opening of the dovetail groove 6 when viewed from the position facing the contact surface. With this configuration, as shown in FIG. 6, a gap is formed between the side surface of the O-ring 5 accommodated in the dovetail groove 6 and the side wall surface of the EP 601, and this gap serves as a gas flow path. . If the O-ring 5 has a circular cross-section, it does not have sides like a polygon, so it is not possible to specify a portion corresponding to the so-called "side surface". We shall refer to the surface portion of 5 as the “side” of O-ring 5 .

Then, as shown in FIG. 7B, high pressure gas is supplied from the gas supply nozzle 84 to the EP 601 . In the figure, the white arrows schematically represent the gas flow (the same applies to FIG. 11B described later). Here, as shown in FIG. 6, a gap is formed between the lower left and right corner regions of the dovetail groove 6 and the O-ring 5 having a circular cross section, for example. High-pressure gas supplied to the EP 601 enters and fills this gap.

Further, when the supply of high pressure gas from the gas supply nozzle 84 is continued, the pressure of the gas in the gap between the O-ring 5 and the dovetail groove 6 increases. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7B, at least part of the O-ring 5 is pushed out of the dovetail groove 6 (the process of pushing out the O-ring 5 from the dovetail groove 6). The extruded O-ring 5 can be easily removed from the dovetail groove 6 by hand.

Here, the EP 601 shown in FIG. 2A is configured to protrude outward only from the edge portion of the dovetail groove 6 on the outer peripheral side. Therefore, as described with reference to FIG. 6, when the opening of the EP 601 is covered with the tip surface 843 of the gas supply nozzle 84, an airtight space communicating with the gas supply nozzle 84 can be formed. With this configuration, the high-pressure gas supplied from the gas supply nozzle 84 is less likely to leak outside, and the O-ring 5 can be efficiently pushed out with a relatively small amount of high-pressure fluid.

In this regard, as shown in FIG. 2B, the EP 602 that is open so as to protrude from both the outer and inner peripheral edges of the dovetail groove 6 has a smaller opening area than the EP 601 in FIG. It is difficult to let gas flow in. Also, when the gas supply nozzle 84 is connected to the EP 602 , another EP 602 is opened at the position opposite to the connection position via the O-ring 5 . For this reason, it is difficult to form an airtight space communicating with the gas supply nozzle 84, and part of the supplied high pressure gas may leak outside without being used to push out the O-ring 5.
However, even with the EP602 having the configuration shown in FIG. 2B, it is possible to apply the method of this example and push out the O-ring 5 from the dovetail groove 6 if a high-pressure fluid with sufficient pressure and flow rate is supplied. be.

Next, the advantages of the dovetail groove 6 forming the groove for accommodating the O-ring 5 in applying the technique of the present disclosure will be described. For example, it is possible to accommodate the O-ring 5 in a groove having a rectangular vertical cross section. On the other hand, when the vertical cross section of the groove is rectangular, the gap formed between the side surface of the O-ring 5 and the side wall surface of the groove is smaller than when the groove is the dovetail groove 6 . Therefore, as compared with the case of the dovetail groove 6, it is difficult for high-pressure gas to enter, and the force for pushing out the O-ring 5 may become weak.

Further, since the width of the opening of the dovetail groove 6 is narrow, it is difficult to take out the O-ring 5 using a pick-up jig. On the other hand, as described above, the gap formed between the O-ring 5 and the dovetail groove 6 is larger than when the vertical cross section of the groove is rectangular. It can be said that this is a suitable groove structure.

On the other hand, even if the O-ring 5 is housed in a groove having a rectangular vertical cross section, if a high-pressure fluid with sufficient pressure and flow rate is supplied, the method of this example can be applied to the O-ring 5 from the groove. It is possible to push out the O-ring 5.
Here, in order to form a groove portion with a rectangular vertical cross section, for example, milling is performed using a cylindrical end mill 7 whose cutting diameter on the upper side is equal to that on the lower side. In this case, the diameter of the EP 601 and the width of the opening of the groove are approximately equal, so even if the groove is formed in the state shown in FIG. not. Therefore, in order to form the opening of the EP 601 protruding from the edge of the groove, it is necessary to perform processing by applying the method described using FIG. 3B, for example.

Further, as exemplified using FIG. 1, in the etching apparatus 1, member contact portions between the first member and the second member are provided at various positions. - A ring 5 is provided. At this time, the O-rings 5 provided at the respective contact portions may have different thicknesses depending on pressure resistance performance for maintaining airtightness. In this case, the dovetail groove 6 having a width corresponding to the thickness of the O-ring 5 must be formed. Since the width of the dovetail groove 6 varies depending on the cutting diameter of the end mill 7, the plurality of member contact portions include those having EPs 601 with different opening diameters.

In this respect, the gas supply nozzle 84 is configured to be detachable from the air gun 8 as described above. Therefore, it is possible to prepare a plurality of types of gas supply nozzles 84 having different diameters of the discharge ports 845 for discharging high-pressure gas and diameters of the tip surfaces 843 . This makes it possible to replace and use these gas supply nozzles 84 corresponding to the opening diameter of the EP601.

<Gas supply nozzle 84a according to another example>
The gas supply nozzle 84a shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 has an inclined surface 844 formed on the tip portion 842, and the tip surface 843 is flat. different from
In the gas supply nozzle 84 a of this example, the tip portion 842 has a diameter that allows the portion where the inclined surface 844 is formed to be inserted into the EP 601 . Then, as shown in FIG. 9, an airtight space communicating with the gas supply nozzle 84 is formed by inserting the forming part of the inclined surface 844 into the EP 601 so as to cover the top and side surfaces of the O-ring 5. can be done.
This configuration also prevents the high-pressure gas supplied from the gas supply nozzle 84a from leaking out, so that the O-ring 5 can be efficiently pushed out with a relatively small amount of high-pressure fluid.

<Removal of large O-ring 5b>
2A, 7B, etc., the example of removing the small O-ring 5a from the dovetail groove 6 has been described. On the other hand, the dovetail groove 6 may be provided with a large O-ring 5b having a circumference of 10 cm to several meters. In the etching apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, the position where the large O-ring 5b is arranged is between the flange of the upper electrode 4 and the stepped portion around the opening of the upper surface of the vacuum vessel 21, Examples include the space between the lower surface and the flange of the exhaust path 231 and the space between the mounting table 3 and the stepped portion of the insulating member 34 .

For example, in FIG. 10, a dovetail groove 6 is formed in a step portion provided around an opening 621 formed on the upper surface of the vacuum vessel 21 shown in FIG. 5b is accommodated. Also in this example, an EP 601 similar to the example described with reference to FIGS. 2A and 6 is formed.

Even if the size is different, there is no difference in the method of removing the large O-ring 5b. That is, the gas supply nozzle 84 is connected to the EP 601 as shown in FIG. 11A. After that, high pressure gas is supplied to the EP 601 from the gas supply nozzle 84 . The point that the high-pressure gas supplied to the EP 601 enters the gap between the large O-ring 5b and the dovetail groove 6 is the same as the example described with reference to FIG.

On the other hand, when the circumference of the large O-ring 5b is long, the pressure loss is large, and it may be difficult for the high-pressure air to spread over the entire gap between the large O-ring 5b and the dovetail groove 6. However, by continuously supplying the high-pressure gas, the pressure at the position where the high-pressure gas reaches a dead end increases, and at least a part of the large O-ring 5b is pushed out of the dovetail groove 6 as shown in FIG. 11B. . The extruded large O-ring 5b can be easily removed from the dovetail groove 6 by hand.

The methods according to the embodiments described above have the following effects. By supplying high-pressure gas to the dovetail groove 6 using the EP601, the O-ring 5 accommodated in the dovetail groove 6 can be pushed out and easily removed.

An apparatus having a closed space to which the method of removing the O-ring 5 of this embodiment can be applied is not limited to the etching apparatus 1 illustrated in FIG. A glass substrate G or a semiconductor wafer, which is a substrate, is placed in the vacuum chamber 21, and a film forming apparatus for performing film forming processing by supplying a film forming gas, or an ashing device for removing an unnecessary resist film by supplying an ashing gas. It can also be applied to O-rings 5 provided in the device. In addition, the method of this example is applied to the O-ring 5 provided in a coating and developing device that applies a resist solution or developer solution for exposure to a substrate, or a single-wafer type or batch type cleaning device that cleans a substrate with a cleaning solution. Removal may be performed using
Furthermore, it is not limited to substrate processing apparatuses, and O-rings 5 provided between members constituting a hydraulic system of an apparatus for transferring substrates between substrate processing apparatuses, clean air or temperature control media of apparatus for storing substrates. The technique of this example can also be applied to various devices having a closed space and a fluid-sealing structure, such as the O-ring 5 provided between the members constituting the circulation system.

It should be considered that the embodiments disclosed this time are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The embodiments described above may be omitted, substituted, or modified in various ways without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

(benchmark test)
A benchmark test was conducted to remove the O-ring 5 from the dovetail groove 6 using different techniques, and the time required for the work was compared.

A. test conditions
Ten dovetail grooves 6 configured to accommodate an O-ring 5 having an outer diameter of 14 mm and having EP601 shown in FIGS. The work of removing the O-ring 5 was carried out. The average work time (removal time) per piece was calculated from the time required for the entire removal work.
(Example) Using the gas supply nozzle 84 configured as shown in Fig. 5, the O-ring 5 was removed by the method described with reference to Figs. 6 to 7B. Air of 0.5 MPa was supplied to the air gun 8 as a high-pressure fluid.
(Comparative Example 1) The O-ring 5 was manually removed using a jig with a flat tip configured as shown in FIG. 12(a).
(Comparative Example 2) The O-ring 5 was manually removed using a jig with a sharp tip configured as shown in FIG. 12(b).

B. test results
FIG. 13 shows the results of the benchmark test according to Example and Comparative Examples 1 and 2. In FIG. The vertical axis in FIG. 13 indicates the average removal time of one O-ring 5 .
As shown in FIG. 13, the average removal time of the O-ring 5 was 1.6 seconds, which was the shortest in the example to which the technique of this example was applied. On the other hand, in Comparative Example 1 using a flat jig, the removal time was 7.3 seconds, and in Comparative Example 2 using a sharp jig was 4.8 seconds. took.
As described above, the method for removing the O-ring 5 of this example can greatly reduce the time required for the removal work of the O-ring 5 compared to the conventional method using a jig.

5 O-ring 6 Dovetail groove 601 EP
61 first member 84 gas supply nozzle

Claims (9)

A method for removing an annular seal member that constitutes a device having a sealed space and is disposed between a first contact surface of a first member and a second contact surface of a second member that contact each other There is
The first contact surface accommodates the seal member, and a gap is formed between a groove portion opened in the first contact surface and a side surface of the seal member accommodated in the groove portion. A gas inlet that constitutes a flow path through which gas flows, and that has an end portion of the flow path that is open so as to protrude from the edge of the opening of the groove when viewed from a position facing the first contact surface. a flow path; and
connecting a gas supply nozzle for supplying high pressure gas to the opening of the gas introduction channel;
Then, by supplying a high pressure gas from the gas supply nozzle to the gas introduction channel, the high pressure gas is caused to enter between the groove and the seal member, thereby removing at least a part of the seal member from the groove. and extruding. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the groove is a dovetail groove. When milling the first contact surface to form the dovetail groove, the gas introduction channel is formed by inserting an end mill having a larger cutting diameter on the lower side than the cutting diameter on the upper side. 3. The method of claim 2, which is an entry point. The opening of the gas introduction channel, which is the entry point, is formed so as to protrude from only one side of the edge of the opening of the groove when viewed from a position facing the first contact surface. 4. The method of claim 3. The device having the sealed space includes a member contact between the first member and the second member in which the seal member is arranged between the first contact surface and the second contact surface. A plurality of contact parts are provided;
The plurality of member contact portions include those having different opening diameters of the openings of the gas introduction channel;
In the step of connecting the gas supply nozzles, connecting the gas supply nozzles having discharge ports with different diameters for discharging the high-pressure gas corresponding to the opening diameter of the opening of the gas introduction channel. 5. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising: 5. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the apparatus having the sealed space is a substrate processing apparatus that processes the substrate by accommodating a substrate in a vacuum vessel and supplying a processing gas to the vacuum vessel. the method of. A gas supply nozzle,
a groove for accommodating an annular seal member disposed between a first contact surface of a first member and a second contact surface of a second member that contact each other and constitute a device having an enclosed space; and a gas supply nozzle configured to be connectable so as to supply high-pressure gas for pushing out at least a part of the seal member from the groove into a gap formed between the side surface of the seal member accommodated in the groove. The gas supply nozzle has a flat tip end surface in order to be connected to the opening of the gas introduction channel protruding from the edge of the opening of the groove by being pressed against the first contact surface, and 8. The gas supply nozzle according to claim 7, wherein said tip surface has an outer diameter larger than the diameter of the opening of said gas introduction channel. The gas supply nozzle has a distal end portion with an outer diameter that can be inserted into the opening of the gas introduction channel, and the distal end portion is formed with an inclined surface arranged toward the groove portion. 8. The gas supply nozzle according to claim 7, wherein the surface is formed with a discharge port for supplying the high pressure gas.

Images