JP4903013B2 - Pressure reducing container, pressure reducing apparatus, and method for manufacturing a pressure reducing container - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a sealing technique for a decompression container (including a vacuum container; hereinafter the same meaning), and for example, a glass substrate for a flat panel display (FPD) represented by a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display, and the like. On the other hand, the present invention relates to a sealing technique for a decompression container used when processing such as dry etching, film formation, transport, and alignment under reduced pressure.

  Conventionally, vacuum containers have been manufactured by a method of cutting a container from a raw material block by machining or a method of joining plate members by welding or brazing from the viewpoint of ensuring durability against atmospheric pressure and airtightness. However, when cutting with a machine, the volume corresponding to the volume is cut out from the material, so that there is a problem that the processing takes time and the material is wasted. In addition, the method by welding or brazing has a problem that the manufacturing cost increases because it is necessary to remove distortion due to heat input or to perform finishing.

  Incidentally, in recent years, the size of the processing chamber itself is increasing with the increase in size of the substrate to be processed. For example, in the FPD manufacturing process, a rectangular large glass substrate having a long side exceeding 2 m is accommodated in a processing chamber, and processes such as etching, ashing, and film formation are performed in a vacuum state. In a vacuum vessel that performs processing on such a large glass substrate in a vacuum state, sufficient rigidity is secured to withstand atmospheric pressure in a vacuumed state of a metal vessel made of aluminum or the like. There must be.

  In conventional vacuum vessels with integrated structure by machining or welding, the wall of the vessel must be thick enough to increase rigidity, which increases weight and requires processing by large machines. There has been a problem that the manufacturing cost increases. In addition, when the vacuum container is enlarged beyond a predetermined size, there is a problem in that legal restrictions are imposed on the transportation of the vacuum container and the cost associated with the transfer increases.

  As a technique for producing a vacuum vessel by a processing method other than machining or welding, for example, a plurality of plate materials firmly joined in a box shape by structural bolts, and a continuous line along the joining line of each plate material from the inside There has been proposed a vacuum vessel using a sealing member and a pressing member attached by a fastening bolt for pressing the sealing member toward the joining line and sealing hermetically (for example, Patent Document 1).

In addition, four or more side members constituting a hollow frame closed in the circumferential direction by joining end surfaces to each other, and a top surface member and a bottom surface disposed on and joined to the top and bottom surfaces of the hollow frame There has also been proposed a technique in which a member is configured by providing a seal member between adjacent joint surfaces of each member to form a container (for example, Patent Document 2).
JP-A-9-209150 (FIG. 4 etc.) JP-A-2004-286165 (FIG. 1 etc.)

Since the vacuum containers of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 are composed of a plate material and a seal member, they can be assembled at an installation location and have few restrictions during transportation. In addition, there is an advantage that a low cost can be realized as compared with the case of manufacturing a vacuum vessel by conventional machining or welding.
However, in the vacuum container having a structure in which the plate materials are combined and joined as in Patent Document 1, there is a problem that it is difficult to ensure the sealing performance at the corners inside the container. For example, in Patent Document 1, a branch-shaped seal member that is bent at right angles to each other in three directions along the joining line of the plate material is used at the joint portion of the three plate materials at the corner. However, since such a branch-shaped sealing member requires a solid mold for its production, an increase in cost is inevitable.

  Moreover, in the sealing mechanism of patent document 1, it is necessary to press an elastomer with a fixed force with respect to the joining line of a board | plate material. However, it is difficult to sufficiently press the branch-shaped seal member at the corner formed by the three plate members, and in the worst case, there is a possibility that the vacuum cannot be maintained.

  On the other hand, the seal member described in Patent Document 2 has a configuration in which the seal member is disposed between adjacent joining surfaces of the respective members. Therefore, in order to replace the seal member, the container must be disassembled. There is a problem that it is difficult to maintain the seal member, which is a consumable item.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a decompression container that is configured by joining a plurality of plate members and in which the airtightness of the joint is sufficiently ensured.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a first aspect of the present invention is a decompression vessel configured by joining a plurality of members,
Of the plurality of members, a joint formed by three members adjacent to each other is formed at a position off the corner of the decompression container, and the joint is a single seal from the inside of the decompression container. A vacuum vessel is provided that is sealed by a member.

A second aspect of the present invention is a decompression vessel configured by joining a plurality of members,
Of the plurality of members, a joint formed by three members adjacent to each other is formed at a position off the corner of the decompression vessel,
In all the joints that join the members together, the inner wall surfaces on both sides of the joints are formed substantially flush with each other, and the joints are sealed by a single sealing member from the inside of the decompression vessel. A vacuum vessel is provided.

A third aspect of the present invention is a decompression vessel configured by joining a plurality of members including a plate member and a flat plate whose end portions are bent,
While having a corner formed by a plate material in which the end is bent and the flat plate joined to the plate material,
A joint formed by three members adjacent to each other is formed at a position off the corner,
A decompression container is provided in which a joint for joining the members is sealed from the inside of the decompression container by a single sealing member.

  In the first to third aspects, the member may include at least a bottom plate and a plurality of side plates joined to the bottom plate. In this case, all or a part of the plurality of side plates may be It is preferable that the end is bent.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is a decompression vessel configured by joining a plurality of members,
The bottom plate,
A plurality of side plates joined to the bottom plate;
A seal member that seals the side plates adjacent to each other, and each joint between the side plate and the bottom plate from the inside,
With
The bottom plate is integrally provided with a wall constituting the lower part of the side wall of the decompression vessel,
Joint formed by the wall of the bottom plate and the side plates to each other, wherein adjacent said formed at a position deviated from the corner of the vacuum vessel, the wall of the bottom plate and the inner wall surface of the side plate across the junction The decompression container is provided such that the inner wall surface is substantially flush and the joint is sealed from the inside of the decompression container by a single sealing member .

In the fourth aspect, an upper plate joined to the side plate may be further provided, and a wall body constituting an upper portion of the side wall of the decompression vessel may be integrally provided on the upper plate.
Further, all or a part of the plurality of side plates have a shape in which end portions thereof are bent, and the side plates adjacent to each other at a position deviating from a corner portion connecting the corners of the decompression container. A joint portion may be formed.
Moreover, it is preferable that all the junction parts which join the said side plates and the said bottom plate and the said side plate are formed in the side part of the said pressure reduction container.

  In the first to fourth aspects, it is preferable that a groove for mounting the seal member is formed in the joint portion.

  Moreover, the 5th viewpoint of this invention provides the pressure reduction processing apparatus provided with the pressure reduction container in any one of the said 1st-4th viewpoint.

In addition, a sixth aspect of the present invention uses a plurality of members, and among the plurality of members, a joint formed by three members adjacent to each other is formed at a position deviated from the corner of the decompression vessel, And assembling the housing by joining the members such that the inner wall surfaces on both sides of the joint are formed substantially flush with each other,
Sealing the joint with a single seal member inside the housing;
The manufacturing method of the pressure reduction container containing is provided.

In the sixth aspect , at least a bottom plate and a plurality of side plates joined to the bottom plate are used as the member, and a wall constituting a lower portion of the side wall of the decompression vessel is integrated with the bottom plate. It is provided in
It is preferable that all or some of the plurality of side plates have a shape in which the end is bent.

A seventh aspect of the present invention uses a plurality of members including a member and a flat plate whose end portions are bent, and forms a corner by the member and the flat plate whose end portions are bent, Assembling the housing by joining the members so that the joint formed by the three members adjacent to each other is formed at a position off the corner;
Sealing the joint with a single seal member inside the housing;
The manufacturing method of the pressure reduction container containing is provided.

  In a preferred aspect of the present invention, in a decompression vessel configured by joining a plurality of members including at least a bottom plate and a plurality of side plates joined to the bottom plate, the joint portion between the members is the decompressed portion. It was formed at a position off the corner of the container. As a result, it is possible to avoid sealing at the corners of the decompression container where it is difficult to ensure sealing performance by the sealing member.

  In another preferred aspect of the present invention, in the decompression vessel constituted by joining a plurality of members including at least a bottom plate and a plurality of side plates joined to the bottom plate, the side plates and the bottom plate The inner wall surfaces on both sides thereof are formed substantially flush with all the joints joining the side plates and the side plates. Thereby, it can avoid that a junction part is formed in the corner part of a pressure-reduced container, and can improve the sealing performance by a sealing member.

In still another preferred aspect of the present invention, the corner of the decompression vessel is formed by the two plate members of the plate member whose end is bent and the flat plate to be joined thereto, so that the three plate members are joined together. The sealing performance at the corner can be remarkably improved as compared with a conventional decompression vessel having a corner.
In addition, since the joint portion formed by the three members adjacent to each other is formed at a position deviated from the corner, it can be reliably sealed by providing a T-shaped seal member.

Therefore, according to this invention, it becomes possible to improve the airtightness of the decompression container of the assembly structure which joins a some board | plate material markedly.
Further, according to the present invention, since the decompression container having an assembled structure with excellent airtightness can be manufactured, it is possible to cope with an increase in the size of the decompression container, which is limited by a joining method by machining or welding.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Here, a vacuum processing system to which the sealing mechanism of the present invention can be applied will be described as an example. FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a vacuum processing system 1 having a vacuum chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view schematically showing the inside thereof. The vacuum processing system 1 is configured as a multi-chamber type vacuum processing system for performing plasma processing on an FPD glass substrate (hereinafter simply referred to as “substrate”) S, for example. Here, as the FPD, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display, an electro luminescence (EL) display, a fluorescent display tube (VFD), a plasma display panel (PDP), and the like. Illustrated.

  In the vacuum processing system 1, a transfer chamber 20 and a load lock chamber 30 are connected in the center. Further, around the transfer chamber 20, three process chambers 10a, 10b, and 10c for performing plasma processing such as etching on the substrate S are disposed. The transfer chamber 20, the load lock chamber 30, and the three process chambers 10a, 10b, and 10c are all configured as vacuum chambers. Between the transfer chamber 20 and the load lock chamber 30, between the transfer chamber 20 and each of the process chambers 10a, 10b, and 10c, and in the opening that communicates the load lock chamber 30 with the outside air atmosphere, there is a space between them. The gate valves 22 are hermetically sealed and configured to be openable and closable.

  Two cassette indexers 41 are provided outside the load lock chamber 30, and cassettes 40 for accommodating the substrates S are placed thereon. One of these cassettes 40 can store, for example, an unprocessed substrate, and the other can store a processed substrate. These cassettes 40 can be moved up and down by a lifting mechanism 42.

  Between these two cassettes 40, a transport mechanism 43 is provided on a support base 44. The transport mechanism 43 includes picks 45, 46 provided in two upper and lower stages, as well as advancing and retracting them. A base 47 is rotatably supported.

  The process chambers 10a, 10b, and 10c can be maintained in a predetermined reduced-pressure atmosphere such as a vacuum state, and plasma processing such as etching or ashing is performed therein. In this embodiment, since there are three process chambers, for example, two of the process chambers are configured as an etching process chamber, and the remaining one process chamber is configured as an ashing process chamber. Can be configured as an etching chamber or an ashing chamber for performing the same processing. The number of process chambers is not limited to three and may be four or more.

  The transfer chamber 20 can be maintained in a predetermined reduced-pressure atmosphere in the same manner as the process chambers 10a to 10c which are vacuum processing chambers, and as shown in FIG. , 523 (only the upper stage is shown) is provided. The transfer device 50 transfers the substrate S between the load lock chamber 30 and the three process chambers 10a, 10b, and 10c.

  The load lock chamber 30 can be maintained in a predetermined reduced-pressure atmosphere like each process chamber 10 and the transfer chamber 20. The load lock chamber 30 is for transferring the substrate S between the cassette 40 in the air atmosphere and the process chambers 10a, 10b, 10c in the reduced pressure atmosphere, and the relationship between the air atmosphere and the reduced pressure atmosphere is repeated. In addition, the internal volume is made as small as possible. The load lock chamber 30 is provided with substrate accommodation portions 31 in two upper and lower stages (only the upper stage is shown in FIG. 2), and each substrate accommodation portion 31 is provided with a plurality of buffers 32 that support the substrate S. Between the buffers 32, escape grooves 32a of the slide picks 513 and 523 are formed. In the load lock chamber 30, a positioner 33 is provided that abuts near corners of the rectangular substrate S facing each other and performs alignment.

  Each component of the vacuum processing system 1 is connected to and controlled by the controller 60 (not shown in FIG. 1). An outline of the control unit 60 is shown in FIG. The control unit 60 includes a process controller 61 having a CPU. The process controller 61 includes a keyboard for a command input by the process manager to manage the vacuum processing system 1, and the vacuum processing system 1. A user interface 62 composed of a display for visualizing and displaying the operating status is connected.

  In addition, the control unit 60 stores a recipe in which a control program (software) for realizing various processes executed in the vacuum processing system 1 under the control of the process controller 61 and processing condition data are stored. The storage unit 63 is connected to the process controller 61.

  Then, if necessary, an arbitrary recipe is called from the storage unit 63 by an instruction from the user interface 62 and is executed by the process controller 61, so that the desired processing in the vacuum processing system 1 is performed under the control of the process controller 61. Is performed.

  Recipes such as the control program and processing condition data may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as a CD-ROM, hard disk, flexible disk, flash memory, or from another device. For example, it is possible to transmit the data as needed via a dedicated line and use it online.

Next, the operation of the vacuum processing system 1 configured as described above will be described.
First, the two picks 45, 46 of the transport mechanism 43 are moved forward and backward to transfer the two substrates S from one cassette 40 containing unprocessed substrates into the upper and lower two-stage substrate accommodating portions 31 of the load lock chamber 30. Carry in one by one.

  After the picks 45 and 46 are retracted, the gate valve 22 on the atmosphere side of the load lock chamber 30 is closed. Thereafter, the inside of the load lock chamber 30 is evacuated, and the inside is depressurized to a predetermined vacuum level. After the evacuation is completed, the substrate S is aligned by pressing the substrate S with the positioner 33.

  After the alignment as described above, the gate valve 22 between the transfer chamber 20 and the load lock chamber 30 is opened, and the transfer device 50 in the transfer chamber 20 accommodates the substrate lock 31 in the load lock chamber 30. Received substrate S. Then, the substrate S is carried into one of the process chambers 10a, 10b, and 10c by the slide pick 513 or 523 of the transfer device 50. Then, the substrate S that has been subjected to a predetermined process such as etching in the process chambers 10a, 10b, and 10c is unloaded from the process chambers 10a, 10b, and 10c by the transfer device 50. Then, the substrate S is accommodated in the cassette 40 by the transport mechanism 43 through the load lock chamber 30 through a path opposite to the above. At this time, the substrate S may be returned to the original cassette 40 or may be accommodated in the other cassette 40.

  Next, the seal member of the present invention and the seal mechanism using the same will be described. The vacuum containers constituting the transfer chamber 20, the load lock chamber 30, and the process chambers 10a, 10b, and 10c are sealed with a seal member so that the inside can be kept in a vacuum state. Here, the sealing mechanism in the transfer chamber 20 will be described as an example.

  4 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of the transfer chamber 20, and FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view thereof. In addition, internal mechanisms, such as the conveying apparatus 50, are not shown. The transfer chamber 20 is a vacuum container including a casing 70 and a top plate 71 as a main configuration. The housing 70 is configured by joining six plate members. That is, the housing 70 includes an upper plate 72, a bottom plate 73 that faces the upper plate 72 and is arranged in parallel, and four side plates 74 a, 74 b, 74 c, and 74 d that are joined to the upper plate 72 and the bottom plate 73. have. The plate members constituting the housing 70 are joined by fixing means (not shown) such as screws and bolts, for example, and integrally form a transport space for transporting the substrate S therein.

  The upper plate 72 has an opening 75 at the center as shown in the figure. And the maintenance etc. of the conveying apparatus 50 arrange | positioned inside the conveyance chamber 20 can be performed through this opening 75 in the state which raised the top plate 71 using the crane etc., for example. Further, around the opening 75 of the upper plate 72, a seal member 76 such as an O-ring is provided in a narrow groove (not shown). Then, with the top plate 71 temporarily fixed to the housing 70 by fixing means 101 such as screws and bolts, the inside of the transfer chamber 20 is decompressed, thereby ensuring sufficient airtightness as a vacuum container. ing. Although not shown, the bottom plate 73 is also provided with an opening for installing the transport mechanism 50 (see FIG. 2).

  The upper plate 72 is provided with a wall portion 72a that constitutes a part (upper part) of the side wall of the housing 70, and has a shallow box shape with an open lower surface. The upper plate 72 having such a shape can be formed by cutting, for example.

  Further, the bottom plate 73 is provided with a wall portion 73a constituting a part (lower portion) of the side wall of the housing 70, and has a shallow box shape with an upper surface opened. The bottom plate 73 having such a shape can be formed by cutting, for example.

  Each of the four side plates 74a, 74b, 74c, and 74d is provided with an opening for carrying the substrate S in and out. The transfer openings 77a and 77b formed in the side plate 74a on the short side of the housing 70 are located at a position where the substrate S can be carried into and out of the buffer 32 of the load lock chamber 30 (see FIGS. 1 and 2). Is formed. Further, the transfer openings 78 formed in the side plates 74b to 74d located on the other three sides of the casing 70 are used when the substrate S is carried into and out of the process chambers 10a to 10c, which are vacuum processing chambers. Used. A gate valve 22 is attached to each of the transfer openings 77a, 77b, 78 (see FIG. 1), and each of the process chambers 10a, 10b, 10c and the load lock chamber 30 disposed adjacent to each other via the gate valve 22 The substrate S is delivered between the two.

  Of the four side plates 74a, 74b, 74c, and 74d, both end portions E of the side plate 74a and the side plate 74c are formed so as to be bent at right angles to form a part of the side wall of the housing 70. .

  Due to the shapes of the top plate 72 and the bottom plate 73 as described above, all the joint portions are formed at positions deviated from the eight corners 400 (see FIG. 6) of the housing 70 in the assembled state of the housing 70. This eliminates the need to seal the corner 400 of the housing 70 where it is difficult to ensure sealing performance. In the present embodiment, among the four side plates 74a to 74d, both end portions E of the side plate 74a and the side plate 74c are bent, so that the adjacent side plates are adjacent to each other in a state where the casing 70 is assembled. The joint portion is formed at a position off the corner portion 500 (see FIG. 6) connecting the corner portions 400 adjacent to each other inside the housing 70. This eliminates the need to seal the corner portion 500 of the housing 70, which is difficult to ensure the sealing performance next to the corner portion 400.

  As described above, in the housing 70 according to the present embodiment, by devising the shape of each plate member that is a constituent member, the corners 400 and the corners 500 of the housing 70 that are difficult to seal are reduced as much as possible, The airtightness of the transfer chamber 20 as a decompression container is improved. Moreover, since all the joint parts are formed in the side wall part (side surface) of the housing | casing 70 by the said structure, the assembly of the housing | casing 70 is easy and exchange of the sealing member 80 (refer FIG. 8) etc. Maintenance can also be performed easily.

  The top plate 71 of the transfer chamber 20 and the six plate members constituting the housing 70 can be made of a metal material such as aluminum, stainless steel, or steel material.

  The transfer chamber 20 can be assembled in the following procedure. First, the casing 70 is formed by joining the upper plate 72, the bottom plate 73, and the side plates 74a to 74d by fixing means such as screws and bolts. At this time, the order of joining the plate members is not limited. Next, the joint part of each board | plate material is sealed from the inner side of the housing | casing 70 with the sealing mechanism which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, and the airtightness which can endure a vacuum state is ensured. This sealing mechanism will be described in detail later.

Next, after the internal equipment such as the transport mechanism 50 and the gate valve 22 are installed in the housing 70, the top plate 71 is disposed on the top of the housing 70, and a seal member 76 such as an O-ring is placed on the bottom surface of the top plate 71. Make contact. Then, the top plate 71 is temporarily fixed to the housing 70 by fixing means 101 such as screws or bolts. In this state, the inside of the transfer chamber 20 is evacuated under reduced pressure by an unillustrated exhaust device, whereby the seal member 76 is pressed against the lower surface of the top plate 71 and the inside can be maintained in a vacuum state while ensuring airtightness. it can.
In addition, when joining each board | plate material (the upper board 72, the bottom board 73, and the side boards 74a-74d) which comprises the top plate 71 and the housing | casing 70, it is possible to employ | adopt arbitrary fixing means not only a screw and a volt | bolt. It is.

  FIG. 6 is a main part perspective view showing a sealing mechanism of the joint inside the transfer chamber 20. FIG. 7A is an enlarged view of a portion A in FIG. 6, and FIG. 7B is an enlarged view of a portion B in FIG. Further, FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the entire configuration of the seal member 80 used in this embodiment. In the seal mechanism according to the present embodiment, a seal member 80 having a shape corresponding to the inner joint portion of the housing 70 and auxiliary tools for fixing the seal member 80 (a presser 90 and a corner presser 91 described later). Is used.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the bottom plate 73 is provided with the wall portion 73a that constitutes a part of the side wall of the housing 70, and has a shallow box shape with an open top surface. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 6, the inner wall surfaces (the wall surfaces 73a of the bottom plate 73 and the inner wall surfaces of the side plates 74c) on both sides of the joint portion Jac between the wall portion 73a of the bottom plate 73 and the side plate 74c are substantially flush. (Same plane). Similarly, the inner wall surfaces (the wall portion 73a of the bottom plate 73 and the inner wall surface of the side plate 74d) on both sides of the joint portion Jad between the wall portion 73a of the bottom plate 73 and the side plate 74d are also substantially flush. The same applies to the joints between the side plates 74a and 74b and the wall 73a of the bottom plate 73 that are not shown in FIG. Further, as described above, of the four side plates 74a, 74b, 74c, and 74d, both end portions E of the side plate 74a and the side plate 74c are bent at right angles. Therefore, for example, in FIG. 6, the side plates 74 c and 74 d are joined so that the inner wall surfaces on both sides thereof are substantially flush with the joint portion Jcd therebetween.

  As in the prior art described above, in a configuration in which a joint portion made of a plate material is provided at the corner of the casing, it is necessary to use a sealing member having a shape branched in three directions, and it is bent at, for example, a right angle at the intersection. Otherwise, the joint portion of the corner 400 could not be sealed. However, it is difficult to press the bent sealing member in the three directions and the bent sealing member against the joining line of the corner 400 with sufficient pressure, and the sealing performance at the corner 400 of the casing 70 is difficult. There was a risk that the leakage would occur and the reliability of the vacuum container might be impaired.

  In this embodiment, in each joint part inside the housing | casing 70, it forms so that the inner wall surface of the both sides may become substantially flush, and it has a structure where a junction part is not formed in the corner part of the housing | casing 70. . Therefore, it becomes possible to planarly seal the joints of the plate members constituting the housing 70, and an excellent sealing property can be obtained. In the present embodiment, the seal member 80 having a shape illustrated in FIG. 8 is used as the seal member 80. More specifically, the seal member 80 has a form in which upper and lower loop portions 80a, 80b formed in a loop shape are connected by four straight portions 80c, 80d, 80e, 80f. The four straight portions 80c, 80d, 80e, and 80f are connected to the upper and lower loop portions 80a and 80b at right angles in a T shape. The upper loop portion 80a of the seal member 80 seals the joint portion between the upper plate 72 and the side plates 74a to 74d, and the lower loop portion 80b is the joint portion between the bottom plate 73 and the side plates 74a to 74d. To seal. Further, the four straight portions 80c, 80d, 80e, and 80f in the seal member 80 are configured to seal the joints between the side plates 74a to 74d, respectively. By using such a sealing member 80, the joint part of the upper plate 72 and the bottom plate 73 and the side plates 74a to 74d can be reliably sealed.

  The seal member 80 is made of, for example, a string-like elastomer having a diameter of about 2 to 10 mm. As a material of the seal member 80, for example, a fluorine rubber represented by Viton (trade name; manufactured by DuPont), an elastomer such as butyl rubber, silicone, or the like can be used, as in a normal O-ring.

  The sealing member 80 is disposed along a joining line formed at the joining portion of each plate material, and is fixed by an auxiliary tool. For example, in the joint portions Jac and Jad formed by the bottom plate 73 and the side plates 74c and 74d and the joint portion Jcd formed by the side plate 74c and the side plate 74d, the seal member 80 is pressed against the joint line by the presser 90. It can be fixed and airtightness can be secured. In addition, the corner portion 500 of the side plate 74c can be fixed by pressing the seal member 80 against the joining line of the joint portion Jac by the corner portion retainer 91, thereby ensuring airtightness. In addition, although illustration is abbreviate | omitted in FIG. 6, the presser 90 is arrange | positioned also about the junction part Jcd of the side plates 74c and 74d. Further, reference numeral 202 in FIG. 6 is a screw hole for fixing the pressers 90 and 91 by fixing means 102 such as screws and bolts. Reference numeral 90a of the presser 90 and reference numeral 91a of the corner presser 91 are In this case, the hole portion into which the fixing means 102 is inserted.

9 and 10 are cross-sectional views showing an example of the sealing structure of the joint. Here, the joint portion Jad between the wall portion 73a of the bottom plate 73 and the side plate 74d is illustrated.
The presser 90 is formed in the shape of a long plate made of the same material as each plate constituting the housing 70. Then, the pressing member 90 is fixed by the fixing means 102 such as a screw or a bolt while pressing the seal member 80 toward the bonding line inside the bonding portion Jad in the housing 70. At this time, the wall surfaces on both sides of the joint portion Jad (the wall surfaces of the side plate 74d and the wall portion 73a of the bottom plate 73) are substantially flush with each other, so that the seal member 80 is pressed evenly and reliably by the presser 90. The structure is easy to do. In the present embodiment, not only the joint portion Jad but all the joint portions constituting the housing 70 are formed so that the wall surfaces on both sides thereof are substantially flush with the joint portion interposed therebetween. It is possible to ensure sufficient sealing performance.

  Further, a seal groove 79 is formed in the joint portion Jad. As shown in FIG. 10, a seal member 80 (the lower loop portion 80b in FIG. 9) is fitted into the seal groove 79 so as to be sealed. It is configured. The seal groove 79 has a function of positioning the seal member 80, and acts to ensure that the seal member 80 is in pressure contact with the joint portion Jad. Therefore, the sealing performance by the seal member 80 can be sufficiently secured. The seal groove 79 can be provided by cutting out the edge of the plate material forming each joint portion to form a stepped portion. In this case, in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the step portion is formed on one side plate 74 d of the two plates constituting the joint portion, but the step portion may be formed on the edge of the wall portion 73 a of the bottom plate 73. Alternatively, a step portion may be formed at each edge of the two plate members.

  Next, a decompression container according to another embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. As described above, in the embodiment described in FIGS. 4 to 6, three plate members adjacent to each other are used by using plate members having wall portions 72 a and 73 a as the upper plate 72 and the bottom plate 73 constituting the housing 70. The joint portion is formed on the side wall portion that is out of the corner portion 400 of the housing 70. However, for example, as shown in FIG. 11, the housing 300 can be formed by joining the flat upper plate 301 and the flat bottom plate 302 to the side plates 303a to 303d. In FIG. 11, the top plate is not shown.

  The casing 300 constituting the transfer chamber 20 is a flat plate-like upper plate 301, a flat plate-like bottom plate 302 facing the upper plate 301 and arranged in parallel, and the upper plate 301 and the bottom plate 302 are joined 4. The side plates 303a, 303b, 303c, and 303d are provided. The plate members constituting the casing 300 are joined together by fixing means (not shown) such as screws and bolts, for example, and integrally form a transport space for transporting the substrate S therein.

  The upper plate 301 has an opening 304. And the maintenance etc. of the conveyance apparatus 50 arrange | positioned inside the conveyance chamber 20 can be performed through this opening 304 in the state which raised the top plate which is not shown in figure using a crane etc., for example. Further, a seal member 305 such as an O-ring is provided in a narrow groove (not shown) around the opening 304 of the upper plate 301. In addition, when the top plate (not shown) is temporarily fixed to the housing 300 with fixing means such as screws and bolts, the inside of the transfer chamber 20 is decompressed so that sufficient airtightness as a vacuum container can be secured. ing. Although not shown, the bottom plate 302 is also provided with an opening for installing the transport mechanism 50 (see FIG. 2).

  Each of the four side plates 303a, 303b, 303c, and 303d is provided with an opening for carrying the substrate S in and out. The transfer openings 306a and 306b formed in the side plate 303a on the short side of the housing 300 are located at positions where the substrate S can be carried in and out of the buffer 32 of the load lock chamber 30 (see FIGS. 1 and 2). Is formed. Also, the transfer openings 307 formed in the side plates 303b to 303d located on the other three sides of the housing 300 are used when the substrate S is carried in and out of the process chambers 10a to 10c, which are vacuum processing chambers. Used. A gate valve 22 is attached to each of the transfer openings 306a, 306b, and 307 (see FIG. 1), and the process chambers 10a, 10b, and 10c and the load lock chamber 30 that are arranged adjacent to each other via the gate valves 22 The substrate S is delivered between the two.

  Of the four side plates 303a, 303b, 303c, and 303d, both end portions E of the side plate 303a and the side plate 303c are formed so that they can be bent at right angles to form a part of the side wall of the housing 300. .

  In the present embodiment, among the four side plates 303a to 303d, since the end portions E on both sides of the side plates 303a and 303c are bent, the top plate 301 and the bottom plate 302 formed in a flat plate shape, The eight corners 400 in the housing 300 can be formed by joining the side plates 303a and 303c in which the part E is bent. Then, in a state in which the housing 300 is assembled, a joint portion between adjacent side plates is formed at a position deviated from the corner portion 500 connecting the corner portions 400 adjacent to each other inside the housing 300. . For example, as shown in FIG. 12, since the corner 400 of the housing 300 is formed by two plates of a flat bottom plate 302 and a side plate 303c having bent end portions, Compared with a conventional decompression container having a corner 400 formed by joining, the sealing performance at the corner 400 can be significantly improved.

  Further, since the inner wall surfaces on both sides of the joint portion 308a between the side plate 303c and the side plate 303d are formed substantially flush with each other, it can be reliably sealed by a presser 90 (see FIG. 6) not shown here. Note that the joint portion 308b between the bottom plate 302 and the side plates 303c and 303d is formed at the corner portion 500 of the housing 300, and therefore, at this portion, the two inner wall surfaces are at right angles, for example. Therefore, at the joint portion 308b, for example, as shown in FIG. 13, the seal member 80 is fixed using a corner presser 93 having an L-shaped cross section. The corner presser 93 has an abutment portion 93b that abuts against the seal member 80 on its outer peripheral surface, and the seal member 80 can be pressed and fixed by the abutment portion 93b. In FIG. 13, reference numeral 93a denotes a hole for fixing the corner presser 93 with a fixture 102 such as a screw or a bolt.

With the above configuration, in the present embodiment, the three adjacent plate members such as the bottom plate 302, the side plate 303c, and the side plate 303d have the joint portion 309 (that is, the intersection portion of the joint portion 308a and the joint portion 308b) described above. It is formed at a position deviated from the corner 400. The T-shaped joint line in the joint portion 309 can be reliably sealed by providing the seal member 80 having a T-shaped connection site. Therefore, it is possible to form a vacuum container having excellent airtightness.
11 and 12, the casing 70 according to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 is basically the same except that the top plate 301 and the bottom plate 302 are flat. It is possible to adopt the same configuration as that of Fig. 8, and the seal member 80 having the same configuration as that of Fig. 8 can be used.

  Thus, also in the housing 300 according to the present embodiment, by devising the shape of each plate member that is a constituent member, the corner 400 and the corner 500 of the housing 300 that are difficult to seal are reduced as much as possible. The airtightness of the transfer chamber 20 as a decompression container is improved.

  In the present invention, by employing the seal structure shown in each of the above-described embodiments, it becomes easy to produce a vacuum container having excellent airtightness even in an assembly structure in which a plurality of plate members are joined. Therefore, as an assembly-type decompression container to be joined at the installation site, not only the manufacturing cost such as material cost and processing cost can be reduced, but also the transportation cost can be reduced as compared with the conventional integrated vacuum container.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various deformation | transformation is possible. For example, the object to be processed is not limited to a glass substrate for FPD, and may be a semiconductor wafer.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the planar view rectangular hexahedron was mentioned as an example as the housing | casing 70 which forms a decompression container, it is the same also about the decompression container which joined the board | plate material, for example to the shape of an octahedron or a 10-sided body. The sealing mechanism of the present invention can be applied. FIG. 14 is an example in which a decompression container 310 having a pentagonal shape (7-sided) in plan view that can be used as a transfer chamber is formed by joining a bottom plate 311 and five side plates 312a to 312e. In FIG. 14, the upper plate or the top plate is not shown.

  Further, the decompression container is not limited to the one having the casing 70 and the top plate 71 as illustrated in FIG. For example, in a decompression container having a structure in which a lower container and an upper container disposed opposite thereto constitute one chamber and the chamber is opened and closed by moving the upper container up and down, sliding and rotating, the upper container and the lower container are made of plate material. The sealing mechanism of the present invention can also be applied when manufacturing by bonding.

  In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, among the plate members constituting the housing 70, wall portions 72 a and 73 a are provided on the upper plate 72 and the bottom plate 73, respectively, and the end portions of the side plates 74 a and 74 c are folded. The curved portion E is provided to avoid the formation of joints at the eight corners 400 of the casing 70. However, as shown in FIG. 15, for example, the end portions of the side plates 74c and 74d are cut obliquely to form an inclined surface, and a configuration in which an angled convex portion D is provided at the end portions of the side plates 74c and 74d is adopted. You can also. In this case, by joining the inclined surfaces of the two plate members 74c and 74d to each other, the two convex portions D are combined so as to form the joint portion Jcd, and the corner portion inside the housing is flattened. That is, at the corners inside the housing, the inner wall surfaces on both sides of the joint Jcd can be formed flush with each other. Also in this embodiment, it is possible to securely press and fix the seal member 80 using the presser 90 (not shown) here.

  In the above-described embodiment, the transfer chamber 20 has been described as an example, but the technical idea of the present invention can be applied without particular limitation as long as it is a decompression vessel. For example, a similar sealing mechanism can be employed for the load lock chamber 30 that is a vacuum preparatory chamber and the process chambers 10a to 10c that are vacuum processing chambers.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the explanation has been given by taking as an example a chamber for carrying and processing while the substrate S is held in the horizontal direction. However, the technical idea of the present invention is a state in which the substrate S is erected vertically. It is also possible to apply to a so-called vertical-type chamber configured to carry and process in the above.

  The present invention can be suitably used for manufacturing a decompression container used when performing various processes such as conveyance and etching on a substrate such as an FPD glass substrate.

The perspective view which shows roughly the vacuum processing system which can apply the sealing mechanism of this invention. The horizontal sectional view of the vacuum processing system of FIG. The block diagram which shows schematic structure of a control part. The perspective view which shows the external appearance structure of a conveyance chamber. The disassembled perspective view of a housing | casing. The principal part perspective view which shows the joining structure inside a housing | casing. It is a principal part perspective view which shows the joining structure inside a housing | casing, (a) is an enlarged view of the A section in FIG. 6, (b) is an enlarged view of the B section of the same figure. The perspective view which shows the whole image of a sealing member. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a main part for explaining a structure of a joint portion. It is principal part sectional drawing with which it uses for description of the seal structure in a junction part, and shows the state which fixed the seal member. The disassembled perspective view of the housing | casing which concerns on another embodiment. The principal part perspective view which shows the joining structure of the housing | casing of FIG. The principal part perspective view used for description of the fixing method of a sealing member. Furthermore, the external appearance perspective view of the housing | casing which concerns on another embodiment. The principal part sectional drawing which shows the joining structure in the corner | angular part of the housing | casing which concerns on another embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1; Vacuum processing system 10a, 10b, 10c; Process chamber 20; Transfer chamber 30; Load lock chamber 50; Transfer device 60; Control part 80; Seal member 80a, 80b; Loop part 80c, 80d, 80e, 80f; 90; Presser 91; Corner presser

Claims (14)

A decompression vessel configured by joining a plurality of members,
Of the plurality of members, a joint formed by three members adjacent to each other is formed at a position off the corner of the decompression container, and the joint is a single seal from the inside of the decompression container. A decompression vessel sealed by a member. A decompression vessel configured by joining a plurality of members,
Of the plurality of members, a joint formed by three members adjacent to each other is formed at a position off the corner of the decompression vessel,
In all the joints that join the members together, the inner wall surfaces on both sides of the joints are formed substantially flush with each other, and the joints are sealed by a single sealing member from the inside of the decompression vessel. A decompression vessel. A decompression container configured by joining a plurality of members including a plate member and a flat plate with bent end portions,
While having a corner formed by a plate material in which the end is bent and the flat plate joined to the plate material,
A joint formed by three members adjacent to each other is formed at a position off the corner,
A decompression container, wherein a joint for joining the members is sealed from the inside of the decompression container by a single sealing member.   The decompression container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising at least a bottom plate and a plurality of side plates joined to the bottom plate as the member.   The decompression container according to claim 4, wherein an end portion of all or a part of the plurality of side plates is bent. A decompression vessel configured by joining a plurality of members,
The bottom plate,
A plurality of side plates joined to the bottom plate;
A seal member that seals the side plates adjacent to each other, and each joint between the side plate and the bottom plate from the inside,
With
The bottom plate is integrally provided with a wall constituting the lower part of the side wall of the decompression vessel,
Joint formed by the wall of the bottom plate and the side plates to each other, wherein adjacent said formed at a position deviated from the corner of the vacuum vessel, the wall of the bottom plate and the inner wall surface of the side plate across the junction The decompression container is formed so that the inner wall surface is substantially flush and the joint is sealed from the inside of the decompression container by a single sealing member .   The decompression container according to claim 6, further comprising an upper plate joined to the side plate, wherein the upper plate is integrally provided with a wall body that constitutes an upper part of a side wall of the decompression container.   All or a part of the plurality of side plates have a shape in which an end portion is bent, and the joint portions of the side plates adjacent to each other at a position deviating from a corner portion connecting the corners of the decompression container. The decompression container according to claim 6 or 7, wherein is formed.   The decompression container according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein all the joint portions that join the side plates and the bottom plate and the side plate are formed on a side portion of the decompression container.   The decompression container according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein a groove for mounting the seal member is formed in the joint portion.   A decompression processing apparatus comprising the decompression container according to any one of claims 1 to 10. A plurality of members are used, and a joint formed by three members adjacent to each other among the plurality of members is formed at a position deviated from a corner of the decompression vessel, and the inner side on both sides of the joint is sandwiched. Assembling the housing by joining the members such that the wall surface is substantially flush with the wall;
Sealing the joint with a single seal member inside the housing;
The manufacturing method of the pressure reduction container containing this. As the member, at least a bottom plate and a plurality of side plates joined to the bottom plate are used,
The bottom plate is integrally provided with a wall constituting the lower part of the side wall of the decompression vessel,
The method for producing a decompression container according to claim 12, wherein all or a part of the plurality of side plates have a shape in which an end portion is bent. A plurality of members including a member having a bent end and a flat plate are used, and a corner is formed by the member having the end bent and the flat plate, and formed by three members adjacent to each other. A step of assembling the housing by joining the respective members so that the joining portion is formed at a position off the corner;
Sealing the joint with a single seal member inside the housing;
The manufacturing method of the pressure reduction container containing this.

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