JP3366542B2 - Gate valve - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a gate valve used in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus or the like for heating a valve body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A valve element of a valve for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus is heated and controlled so that a reaction product does not adhere to it when it is used at a portion which is in contact with a reaction gas. Specifically, a sheath heater or a cartridge heater is embedded in the valve body, and the temperature is controlled by a temperature controller using a thermocouple or the like.

[0003]

By the way, since the sheath heater and the cartridge heater use the thin nichrome wire, the life varies depending on the variation in the thickness of the nichrome wire, and it is impossible to select defective products. . Further, the sheathed heater and the cartridge heater require a temperature controller using a thermocouple or the like to keep the temperature constant. Further, the sheathed heater and the cartridge heater are built in a sealed state in the valve body so that the sheathed heater and the cartridge heater can be closed to the inside of the body so as not to be affected even if the flow path of the valve changes from atmospheric pressure to vacuum state. However, in order to surely cover and attach the heater in a sealed state, the heater covering body is welded to the valve body, but this cannot separate the heater and the valve body. Therefore, the life is short and it is uneconomical.

On the other hand, a heater using a thermistor is also used for controlling the heating of equipment, but the heater using this thermistor has a structure in which the ceramic itself generates heat.
Silver electrodes, nickel electrodes, solder electrodes, etc. are plated on ceramics, and conductors are brought into contact with these electrodes by a load such as a spring. As described above, since the thermistor heater is a contact wire connection method by contact, there is no thin heater that can be used up to about 250 ° C, and the reliability of the contact part of the wire is not good. Was not available.

An object of the present invention is that a heater for heating a valve body can be attached to the inside of the body in a closed state so that it is not affected by the change in the state of the flow path, and the valve body is also affected. It is an object of the present invention to provide a gate valve in which the heater side and the valve body can be separated from each other so that the life of the whole can be extended and the economical efficiency can be improved.

Another object of the present invention is to make the heating temperature constant without the need for a temperature controller, and to improve contact reliability by eliminating defective contact and disconnection. It is intended to provide a long-life gate valve that can be used up to, and can be used semipermanently, and requires no maintenance.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a gate valve according to the present invention comprises a valve body for opening and closing a flow passage opening of a body, and a heater for heating the valve body for heating the valve body. A valve body holder main body having an accommodating portion capable of accommodating the valve body heating heater, and the valve body holder main body with the valve body heating heater accommodated in the accommodating portion of the valve body holder main body. A seal plate that is welded in a sealed state to cover the heater for heating the valve disc in a closed state with respect to the inside of the body, and the stem connected to the valve body main body is , the valve body bore to derive the extended portion of the wire to the outside of the heater is formed, the valve body is mounted et be superimposed on <br/> on the seal plate surface before Kiben holder main body, and said valve body rear side of the valve holder body portion It mounted detachably by Luo bolt.

In the above structure, the heater for heating the valve element is a thermistor for high temperature having a self-control temperature of 100 ° C. or more.
When, are soldered by high-temperature soldering to the electrodes of the thermistor, or can be used with a brazed wires.

Further, the heater for heating the valve element is composed of a plurality of heaters.
It is configured by connecting the thermistors in parallel with conductors,
Wherein the thermistors in a recess formed in a plurality of locations along the longitudinal direction of the valve holder body portion is accommodated, the wire in the groove which communicates between the recess in which is housed.

According to the present invention configured as described above,
Since the valve body heating heater is enclosed and covered in the valve body holder, the valve body heating heater can be provided in a closed state with respect to the inside of the body. Since it is detachably attached by the fastener, the heater side for heating the valve body and the valve body can be separated.

Further, the self-control temperature (switching temperature)
Is a high temperature thermistor electrode with a temperature of 100 ° C or higher, the conductor is soldered or brazed with a high temperature solder to use a heater for heating the valve body. Can be maintained almost constant, there is no contact failure or disconnection, the contact reliability is high, and it can be used semipermanently. further,
Even if it is a thin heater, it can be used up to about 250 ° C., and the thickness of the heater can be about 3 mm.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, as embodiments of the present invention,
An example applied to a gate valve for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings.

Explaining the outline of the gate valve,
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a valve body (gate) is provided in the body 1.
2 is provided, and the valve body 2 opens and closes the flow path port 3 formed on the front side of the body 1. A seal member 4 made of fluororubber is provided at the peripheral portion on the front surface side of the valve body 2, and when the flow passage port 3 is closed by the valve body 2, the seal member 4 is pressed against the peripheral portion of the flow passage port 3 in the body 1 and hermetically sealed. It has become so. The lower end of the stem 6 is connected to the central portion of the upper edge of the valve body holder main body 15a, and the valve body 2 is composed of the main body 15a and the seal plate 23. The heater 5 for heating the valve body is sealed as described later. It is detachably attached to the built-in valve body holder (hot plate) 15 or the like, that is, replaceable. Stem 6 is body 1
Is projected outward from a through hole 8 formed in the center of the bonnet 7 located at the upper part of the.

Air cylinders 14 are mounted on the bonnet 7 on both sides of the stem 6. A guide groove 14b is formed in the air cylinder 14 at a position facing the inside of the cylinder 14a in the vertical direction. A roller 11a, which is rotatably supported on both sides of the stem holder 11, is rotatably supported in the guide groove 14b so as to be vertically movable. An upper part of the stem 6 is integrally connected to the stem holder 11 so as to be able to move up and down and to rotate integrally around a roller 11a. The upper end of the stem 6 and the upper end of the piston rod 14c of the air cylinder 14 are linked by a linking means (not shown). Bonnet 7
A support member 9 is attached to the inner peripheral edge of the through hole 8 in
Support members 6a are attached to the outer periphery of the lower surface of the stem holder 11 in the stem 6, and these support members 9 and 6a are attached.
The lower end and the upper end of the bellows 10 are connected to each other on the outer periphery of the stem 6, and the inside of the body 1 is kept airtight.

By retracting (reducing) the piston rod 14c of the air cylinder 14, the roller 11a of the stem holder 11 is guided to the guide groove 14b, and the stem holder 11, the stem 6, the valve body holder 15 and the valve body 2 are guided. Etc. are lowered. As shown in FIG. 2, when the piston rod 14c is further retracted with the valve body 2 facing the flow path port 3, the stem holder 11, the stem 6, the valve body holder 15, the valve body 2 and the like are guided by the linking means. It is rotated about the roller 11a supported by 14b, and the flow path port 3 is closed by the valve body 2. On the contrary, by advancing (extending) the piston rod 14c of the air cylinder 14, contrary to the above, the stem holder 11,
The stem 6, the valve body holder 15, the valve body 2 and the like are rotated around the roller 11a to separate the valve body 2 from the flow path port 3, and subsequently, the roller 11a of the stem holder 11 is guided to the guide groove 14b and the stem holder 11 , Stem 6, valve body holder 1
5, the valve body 2 and the like are raised, and the flow path port 3 is opened.

A sheath heater 12 is provided on the outer periphery of the bellows 10.
The temperature controller 13 using a thermocouple or the like is provided outside the sheath heater 12 in the stem holder 11. The sheathed heater 12 is controlled by the temperature controller 13 so that the heating temperature becomes substantially constant.

The heater 5 for heating the valve body on the back side of the valve body 2 is built in the valve body holder 15 so that the valve body 2 can be heated in a state of being closed with respect to the inside of the body 1. The heater 5 for heating the valve body has a heater main body using a high temperature thermistor having a self-controlling temperature of 100 ° C. or more, and a conductor wire soldered or brazed to the electrode of the thermistor with high temperature solder. ing. As an example of the heater 5 for heating the valve body, a PTC (Positive Tempera) is used.
A pure coefficient heater is used. The PTC heater will be specifically described. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, a PTC thermistor (an oxide semiconductor ceramic containing barium titanate as a main component, which has a positive resistance value change with a rise in temperature) is used. 18 has a flat rectangular shape (for example, 30 mm in length, 22.5 mm in width, and 1 m in thickness) at a switching temperature of 200 ° C. ± 5 ° C.
m), and a plurality of (4 in the illustrated example) PTC thermistors 18 are used.
Are arranged in parallel at desired intervals, and a conductor wire (for example, a wire diameter of 0.6 mm) 19 made of a solder-plated wire is soldered to the electrodes 18a on both sides with high-temperature solder having a melting point of 300 ° C. or higher.
Each PTC thermistor 18 is connected in parallel by a lead wire 19. Insulating plates 21 made of alumina are bonded to the flat surfaces on both sides of each PTC thermistor 18 with a silicon adhesive 20.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the valve body holder main body portion 15a is provided with four circular storage recesses 16 along the longitudinal direction on the front surface side, and each storage recess 16 is formed. A storage groove 17 in the horizontal direction is formed to communicate between the upper end portion and the lower end portion, and a vertical storage groove 17a is formed to connect the upper and lower storage grooves 17 in the central portion. The storage groove 17a communicates with a through hole 22 formed in the stem 6 along the axial direction.

PTC thermistor 1 for heater 5 for heating the valve body
The heater main body composed of 8 and the like is housed in the housing recess 16, the upper and lower conducting wires 19 are housed in the housing grooves 17, and the lead conducting wire 19a is connected between the central portions of the upper and lower conducting wires 19.
Is housed in the housing groove 17a, and is inserted into the through hole 22 of the stem 6 and led out to the outside. As shown in FIG. 6, a seal plate 23 is superposed on the surface of the valve body holder main body portion 15a, and the entire circumferences of the valve body holder main body portion 15a and the seal plate 23 are welded in a sealed state. Therefore, the heater 5 for heating the valve body is opened to the atmosphere through the through hole 22 of the stem 6, but the inside of the body 1 is covered with the valve body holder 15 in a completely sealed state.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 7, the back surface of the valve element 2 is superposed on the surface of the seal plate 23 of the valve element holder 15, and can be attached and detached from the back surface side of the valve element holder 15 by the bolt 24. It is attached and replaceable.

The gate valve for semiconductor manufacturing equipment provided with the heater 5 for heating the valve body shown in the above embodiment is, for example, a CV.
It is used to partition the reactor and load lock chamber of D equipment,
The valve body 2 is heated by a heater 5 for heating the valve body, which is housed in the valve body holder 15 in a sealed state on the back surface side, and C
It is possible to prevent the reaction product generated in the reaction furnace of the VD apparatus from adhering. Further, it is possible to prevent the reaction product from adhering to the bellows 10 due to the heating by the sheath heater 12 provided on the outer periphery of the bellows 10.

The heater 5 for heating the valve body 2 for heating the valve body 2 as in the above-described embodiment uses the high-temperature solder to connect the lead wire 19 to the electrode 18a of the thermistor heater 18 for high temperature of 100 ° C. or more of the self-control temperature. Since it is soldered or brazed, the heating temperature can be kept constant by self-temperature control, a temperature controller using a thermocouple or the like is not necessary, and there is no contact failure or disconnection of the conductor 19 It will be highly reliable. Further, the heater 5 for heating the valve body 1 heats the valve body 2 so that the body 1 can be heated.
Since it is built in the valve body holder 15 in a closed state with respect to the inside of the body 1, it is not exposed in the gas flow path, and therefore even if there is a pressure change from the atmospheric pressure to the vacuum pressure inside the body 1, the valve body 2
Is uniformly heated by the heater 5 for heating the valve body, so that the reaction product is not locally attached. Furthermore, since there is no contact failure or disconnection of the conducting wire 19 as described above, it can be used semi-permanently, which enables it to be used in a place where replacement or repair is impossible, and a long-life valve body heating device requiring no maintenance. Can be obtained. Further, as shown in the embodiment, even when the heater 5 for heating the valve body has a shape in which a solder plating wire is soldered to the side edge of the thin rectangular PTC thermistor 18 at a high temperature, it can be used up to about 250 ° C. Since the thickness of the portion can be set to about 3 mm, it can be incorporated in a small valve.

The present invention can be applied to gate valves of various valve body drive mechanisms. In addition, the present invention can be modified in various ways without departing from the basic technical idea thereof.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, the heater for heating the valve body is built in the valve holder in the sealed state, and the heater for heating the valve body is closed to the inside of the body. Even if there is a pressure change from the atmospheric pressure to the vacuum pressure inside the body due to the change in the state of the flow path, the valve body can be uniformly heated to prevent the reaction products from locally adhering. Further, since the heater side for heating the valve body and the valve body can be separated from each other, the valve body side can be repaired, cleaned, etc., and the life of the whole can be extended and the economical efficiency can be improved.

Further, the self-control temperature (switching temperature)
Is a high temperature thermistor electrode with a temperature of 100 ° C or higher, the conductor is soldered or brazed with a high temperature solder to use a heater for heating the valve body. Can be maintained almost constant, there is no contact failure or disconnection, the contact reliability is high, and it can be used semipermanently. As described above, maintenance is unnecessary, the life is long, and the cost is economical. Furthermore, even if a thin heater is used, it can be used up to about 250 ° C, and the thickness of the heater is 3 mm.
It is possible to reduce the size of the valve.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a gate valve according to a first embodiment of the present invention, showing a main part in a valve-opened state.

FIG. 2 is a cutaway side view of an essential part showing the gate valve.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a valve body holder used for the gate valve.

FIG. 4 shows a heater for heating a valve body used in the gate valve, (a) is a partially cutaway front view, and (b) is a vertical sectional view.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway front view showing a state where a valve body heating heater used in the gate valve is housed in a valve body holder.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a state in which a heater for heating a valve element used in the gate valve is sealed in a valve element holder by a seal plate.

7 is a partially cutaway side view of the seal plate shown in FIG. 6 with a valve element removably attached to the surface thereof.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 valve body (gate) 5 Heater for valve body heating 6 stems 15 Valve holder 15a Valve body holder body 16 recess for storage 17 Storage groove 18 PTC thermistor 19 conductors 22 through hole 23 Seal plate 24 Volts

Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-5-60264 (JP, A) JP-A-6-69002 (JP, A) JP-A-3-20188 (JP, A) JP-A-4-251901 (JP , A) Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-22159 (JP, A) Jpn. 4-44948 (JP, Y2) Patent 2503729 (JP, B2) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F16K 49 / 00 F16K 51/02 F16K 3/00

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A valve body holder having a valve body for opening and closing a flow passage port of a body, a heater for heating the valve body for heating the valve body, and a housing portion for housing the heater for heating the valve body. With the valve body heating heater housed in the main body and the housing portion of the valve body holder main body, the valve body heating heater is welded to the valve body holder main body in a sealed state around the entire circumference thereof. A stem that is closed to the inside of the body and covers the inside of the body in a hermetically sealed state. The stem connected to the main body of the valve body has an extended portion of the lead wire of the heater for heating the valve body led to the outside. A hole is formed and the valve body is
Mounting et al is superimposed on Kiben holder main body portion of the seal plate surface and the valve body back surface of the valve holder body portion
A gate valve, characterized in that detachably attached by bolts from the side. 2. The heater for heating the valve element has a high temperature thermistor having a self-control temperature of 100 ° C. or higher, and a conductor wire soldered or brazed to the electrode of the thermistor by high temperature solder. The gate valve according to item 1. 3. The heater for heating a valve body is configured by connecting a plurality of thermistors in parallel with a lead wire, and is provided in a plurality of recesses formed along the longitudinal direction of the valve body holder main body. The gate valve according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each of the thermistors is housed, and the conductor is housed in a groove that communicates between the recesses.