JPH10220657A - Sealing joint - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To stably support and surely seal a quartz pipe by supporting the quartz pipe at two points. SOLUTION: A first and second sealing joint sections 61 and 62 are secured in a quartz pipe 31 to support the quartz pipe 31 at different points. For this purpose, first of all, a first sealing joint sections 61 is secured by securing a first fixture 35 in the base end section 30 of the quartz pipe 31, putting an O-ring 38 in the ring-like recessed section 44 of the first fixture 35, securing a first ferrule 39 integrated in the front section of an extended fixture 58, and deforming the O-ring 38 by threadedly engaging with a first nut 45. In the next step, a second sealing joint sections 62 is secured by securing a second fixture 41 integrated in the rear section of the extended fixture 58 in the base end section 30 of the quartz pipe 31, putting an O-ring 48 in the ring-like recessed section 59 of the first fixture 35, securing a second ferrule 49, and deforming the O-ring 48 by threadedly engaging with a second nut 51.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a seal joint for inserting and supporting a pipe to be joined in a tubular fitting, and is particularly suitable for a seal joint of a quartz pipe having a long length to be inserted into a furnace of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. About things.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view of a high-temperature vertical furnace provided in a vertical semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. In the high-temperature vertical furnace 1, a heater unit 2, a reaction tube 3 made of quartz, and an inner tube 4 also made of quartz are arranged in a concentric multiplex manner. A boat 6 into which a wafer 5 is inserted is loaded into such a high-temperature vertical furnace 1. The boat 6 is erected on a boat cap 7, and the boat cap 7 is provided on a furnace lid 8 on a boat support 9. When the furnace cover 8 comes into contact with the furnace port adapter 10 supporting the reaction tube 3 and the inner tube 4, the reaction tube 3
The inside is airtightly closed.

[0003] In the vertical furnace configuration as described above, there is a case where a long quartz pipe 11 is inserted in the tube axis direction in the reaction tube 3. In the case of FIG. 5, a thermocouple 12 is placed inside the quartz pipe 11 and the temperature inside the reaction tube 3 heated by the heater unit 2 is measured for each of a plurality of zones. In the case of FIG. 6, a plurality of gas blowing holes 16 are opened in the quartz pipes 14 and 15 serving as nozzles, and gas flows into the reaction tube 3 and the inner tube 4.

[0004] Regardless of whether the quartz pipes 11, 14, 15 are used for temperature measurement or gas blowing, the distal end is a free end, so that the base end of the quartz pipe 11, 14, 15 is received by the seal joint 13. It is necessary to support the table 9 and the furnace port adapter 10. This support structure using the seal joint 13 will be described with reference to FIG. 7 taking the quartz pipe 11 for temperature measurement as an example.

FIG. 7A is an enlarged view of the seal joint 13 for supporting the base end 17 of the quartz pipe 11 on the boat pedestal 9. The base end portion 17 of the quartz pipe 11 is taken out downward through a hole 18 provided in the boat support 9 via a sleeve 19. At the lower end of the sleeve 19, the front part of a tubular fitting 20 constituting the seal joint 13 is coaxially fixed. A nut 21 is engaged with a rear portion of the mounting fixture 20 so that the ferrule 2
2, the O-ring 23 is pressed against the tapered cam surface 24 of the fixture 20 to seal the internal quartz pipe 11 and support the quartz pipe 11 on the boat pedestal 9. In addition, 25 is a protective tube for protecting the end of the quartz pipe 11, and 26 is a thermocouple taken out of the quartz pipe 11.

[0006]

However, in the conventional seal joint structure described above, since the O-ring 23 is supported at one point, the base end portion 17 of the long quartz pipe 11 is inserted into the fixture 20 so that the boat cradle can be supported. 7B, the tip 27 may be wobbled as shown by the dotted line as shown in FIG. 7B, and the wafer or the boat inside the reaction tube may be damaged.
Further, since the O-ring 23 is a one-point seal, the seal may be incomplete. In addition, quartz pipe 1
Since the support of 1 becomes unstable, the reproducibility of the pipe position is deteriorated after the replacement of the quartz pipe due to maintenance, so that the reproducibility of film formation by temperature measurement or gas blowing is poor, and the yield is reduced, which is uneconomical. There was a fear.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art by supporting a pipe to be joined at a plurality of points, and to stably support and reliably seal the pipe to be joined. It is to provide a joint.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a seal joint for inserting and supporting a pipe to be joined in a tubular fitting,
A seal joint characterized in that the joint pipe is supported between different points. Since the base end of the pipe to be connected is supported between multiple points, even if a long pipe to be connected is mounted in the mounting fixture and supported, the tip of the pipe to be connected is stable without fluctuation, and the sealing is better. become.

More specifically, the present invention relates to a seal joint for supporting a base end of a pipe to be joined by inserting the base end into a tubular fitting, and a plurality of seal joints for supporting the pipe to be joined between different points. It consists of a part. An O-ring fitted to the joint pipe to establish a sealing relationship between the joint pipe and the fitting; an O-ring having an inner diameter substantially equal to the outer diameter of the joint pipe; A ferrule having a front portion to be pressed and a large-diameter portion which abuts on a nut; an annular recess provided on the inner periphery of the end to receive the O-ring and the ferrule; and a ferrule provided on the bottom surface of the recess, A tubular fitting having a tapered cam surface against which the O-ring to be pressed abuts and a male screw provided on the outer periphery of an end; surrounding the fitting and the ferrule, and engaging with the male screw of the fitting; A nut having a mating screw and a radially inward shoulder that abuts the large diameter portion of the ferrule. These plurality of seal joints are configured to be sequentially connected, and in order to connect the seal joints to each other, a fitting for a subsequent seal joint is
It is integrated with the ferrule or nut of the previously connected seal joint.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A case where a seal joint according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied to a quartz pipe inserted into a vertical furnace will be described below. FIG. 1 shows a seal joint according to the first embodiment, and FIG.
FIG. 2 (b) is an enlarged view of a seal joint 60 which supports the quartz pipe 3 on the boat support 33. FIG.
1 is an overall view of FIG. Here, the quartz pipe 31 is for temperature measurement, and a thermocouple 55 is inserted therein.

[0011] As shown in FIG.
Is composed of first and second seal joints 61 and 62 for supporting the quartz pipe 31 as a jointed pipe between two different points. The base end 30 of the quartz pipe 31 attached to the first and second seal joints 61 and 62 is inserted through the hole 29 of the boat cradle 33 through the sleeve 34, and is taken out. The proximal end portion 30 is supported by the first and second seal joint portions 61 and 62.

First and second seal joints 61, 62
Consists of parts of the same shape, except for some parts, which are first and second O-rings 38, 48, first and second ferrules 39, 49, first and second tubular fittings. 3
5, 41, and first and second nuts 45, 51.
The parts having different shapes between the two are the first ferrule 39 and the second fitting 41. Since these are integrated to form the extension fitting 58, the shapes are different from the separated second ferrule 49 and the first fitting 35.

The first tubular fitting 35 has an inner diameter substantially equal to the outer diameter of the quartz pipe 31, and has a front portion formed with a hole 34 for inserting a quartz pipe formed in the boat support 33 through a sleeve 34. 29 is coaxially fixed. An annular concave portion 44 for receiving the first O-ring 38 and the first ferrule 39 constituting the extension mounting tool 58 is formed on the inner periphery of the rear part of the first mounting tool 35. A tapered cam surface 36 with which a first O-ring 38 pressed by a first ferrule 39 abuts is provided on the bottom surface of the annular concave portion 44. A male screw 37 is provided on the outer periphery of the rear part, and the first nut 45 is screwed thereto.

The first O-ring 38 is a quartz pipe 3
The first fitting 30 is fitted to the base 30 to establish a sealing relationship between the quartz pipe 31 and the first fitting 35.

The extension fitting 58 has a function of connecting the first and second seal joints 61 and 62, and the first ferrule 39 at the front and the second fitting 41 at the rear are connected. It is a one-piece configuration.

The first ferrule 39 constituting the front portion of the extension mounting portion has an inner diameter substantially equal to the outer diameter of the quartz pipe 31, and has a pressing portion for pressing the first O-ring 38, and a first nut. 45 and a large diameter portion 40 which abuts.

The first nut 45 surrounds the first ferrule 39 of the first fixture 35 and the extension fixture 58, and is screwed with the male thread 37 of the first fixture 35.
And a radially inward shoulder 47 that abuts the large diameter portion 40 of the first ferrule 39.

Further, the second fitting 41 constituting the rear part of the extension fitting 58 extending from the first seal joint 61 is
The first and second seal joints 61 and 62 have an appropriate length so as to support between two different points. Second fixture 4
1 has an inner diameter substantially equal to the outer diameter of the quartz pipe 31, like the first fitting 35, and its front portion is integrated with the first ferrule 39 as described above. An annular concave portion 59 that receives the second O-ring 48 and the second ferrule 49 is formed on the inner periphery of the rear portion of the second mounting tool 41. A second ferrule 49 is provided on the bottom surface of the annular concave portion 59.
The tapered cam surface 42 with which the second O-ring 48 pressed by the abutment is provided is provided. A male screw 43 is provided on the outer periphery of the rear part, and the second nut 51 is screwed thereto.

The configuration of the second O-ring 48, the second ferrule 49, and the second nut 51 are the same as those of the first O-ring 38, the first ferrule 39, and the first nut 45 described above. Therefore, the duplicate description will be omitted.

FIG. 2 is a comparison diagram comparing the structure of the conventional seal joint with the structure of the seal joint of the first embodiment described above.
(a) is a conventional sectional view, (b) is a conventional exploded sectional view,
(c) is an assembled sectional view of the present embodiment, and (d) is an exploded sectional view of the present embodiment.

As can be seen from this comparative diagram, the seal joint of the present embodiment has a two-point O-ring support structure from a conventional one-point O-ring support structure. The components used in the present embodiment are also used in common with conventional components so that conventional components can be used. That is, the components of the conventional seal joint 13 include the tubular fitting 20, the O-ring 23, the ferrule 22, and the nut 21. On the other hand, the first fitting 35, the first and second O-rings 38 and 48, the first and second nuts 45 and 51, and the second ferrule 49 of the present embodiment are common to the conventional parts. . A unique part in the present embodiment is an extension fitting 58 that connects the first seal joint 61 and the second seal joint 62. The first ferrule 39 that forms the front part of the extension fitting 58 is The length of the second mounting member 41, which is longer than the conventional ferrule 22 and constitutes the rear portion, is shorter by the length of the first ferrule 39. The first ferrule 39 and the second fitting 41 can be integrally formed from the beginning,
In order to fit the nuts 45, they are formed separately and are later integrated by welding.

Now, the seal joint 6 of the present embodiment described above.
When attaching the first fitting 35, as shown in FIG. 1 (a), first, a first fitting 35 is attached to the outer periphery of the base end portion 30 of the quartz pipe 31 taken out of the boat support 33 via the sleeve 34. And the upper end of the attachment 35 is
Stick to Next, the first O-ring 38 is connected to the quartz pipe 3.
1 to the base end 30. Next, the large-diameter portion 40 of the extension fitting 58 is fitted to the shoulder portion 47 in advance to extend the extension fitting 5.
8 is attached to the first nut 45 by the first fixture 3.
5 is pre-threaded.

The first nut 45 is rotated by a predetermined number of revolutions, and the first nut 45 is tightened.
, The extension fitting 58 in which the large-diameter portion 40 is engaged with the shoulder portion 47 of the nut 45 moves together with the nut 45, and the first ferrule 39 moves the first fitting 3.
5 is pressed into the annular concave portion 44 of the first O-ring 3.
8 is deformed and pressed against the tapered cam surface 36 of the first fixture 35, and the quartz pipe 31, the first fixture 35, and the first ferrule 39 of the extension fixture 58 are hermetically sealed. . At this point, single point support by the first O-ring 38 is established.

Next, the second O-ring 48 is connected to the quartz pipe 3
1 and inserted into the base end 30 of the first ferrule 49.
Into the proximal end 30. Then, the second nut 51 is preliminarily screwed into the male screw 43 of the second fitting 41 of the extension fitting 58.

The second nut 51 is rotated by a predetermined number of rotations, and the second nut 51 is tightened.
When the upper ferrule 49 is moved upward, the second ferrule 49 whose large diameter portion is engaged with the shoulder 53 of the nut 51 moves upward, and the second ferrule 49 is pushed into the annular concave portion 59. Then, the second O-ring 48 is deformed and pressed against the tapered cam surface 42 of the second fixture 41, and the quartz pipe 3
1. The second mounting member 41 and the second ferrule 49 are hermetically sealed. At this point, one-point support by the second O-ring 48 is added, and two-point support by the first and second O-rings 38, 48 is established.

Finally, the end of the quartz pipe 31 exposed to the outside from the second seal joint portion 62 and the thermocouple 55 extending therefrom are protected by a protective tube 54 made of a heat-shrinkable synthetic resin film or the like. The protective tube 54 is coated and heated to bring the protective tube 54 into close contact with the end of the quartz pipe 31 and the thermocouple.

As described above, the quartz pipe 31 for temperature measurement with the thermocouple 55 inserted therein is supported at two points by reliable mechanical interconnection by the first and second seal joints 61 and 62. . Therefore, the bending and vibration generated in the quartz pipe 31 are absorbed by the first and second O-rings 38 and 48 which are supported at two points, and are not transmitted to the tip of the quartz pipe 31. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1 (b), the quartz pipe 31 supported at two points by the first and second seal joints 61 and 62, which is the seal joint 60 of the present embodiment, cannot withstand large vibration. Yes, the tip will not wobble. As a result, the wafer and the boat inside the reaction tube are not damaged.

Further, since the seal is a double seal using the first and second O-rings, the seal is completed, and there is no gas leakage in the reaction tube. Furthermore, since the support of the quartz pipe 31 is stabilized, the reproducibility of the pipe position after the replacement of the quartz pipe by maintenance and the reproducibility of the film formation by temperature measurement are improved, and the yield is increased and the economy is increased. Further, in the present embodiment, the extension fitting 58 having both the first ferrule 39 and the second fitting 41 is used.
And the second seal joints 61, 62 can be mechanically interconnected.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show a seal joint according to the second embodiment, wherein FIG. 3A is an enlarged view of a seal joint 160 for supporting the base end 30 of the quartz pipe 31 on a boat support 33, and FIG. FIG. 3 is an overall view of a quartz pipe 31 supported by a cradle 33. The quartz pipe 31 is also for temperature measurement, and has a thermocouple inserted therein.

The seal joint 16 according to the second embodiment
0 is basically a seal joint 60 according to the first embodiment.
The difference is that the extension fitting 158 also has the first nut 145 instead of the first ferrule 139. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the first ferrule 139 is formed separately from the extension fitting 158, and instead, the extension fitting 158 is
45 is integrated with the second fixture 141. According to this, as shown in FIG. 3B, the quartz pipe 31 can be stably supported as in the first embodiment. In particular, since it is not necessary to fit the first nut 45 into the extension attachment 58 as in the first embodiment, the first nut 145 and the second attachment 141 can be integrally formed from the beginning. Therefore, there is no need to make them separately and then weld them.

In the above-described embodiment, the seal joint which supports two points is applied to the support of the quartz pipe for temperature measurement inserted into the high-temperature vertical furnace of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this. However, the present invention can be widely applied not only to a quartz pipe for gas blowing, but also to a cantilevered joined pipe, and the effect is particularly great when applied to a long pipe.

[0032]

According to the present invention, since the pipe to be connected is supported between a plurality of points, it can be stably supported without vibration even if the pipe to be connected is long. Also, the seal becomes more reliable.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of a seal joint according to a first embodiment of the present invention, wherein (a) is an enlarged view of a seal joint supporting a base end of a quartz pipe on a boat support, and (b) is a boat support. FIG. 2 is an overall view of a quartz pipe supported by a table.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are comparison diagrams comparing the structure of a conventional seal joint with the structure of a seal joint according to the first embodiment, wherein FIG. 2A is a sectional view of a conventional assembly, FIG. 1 is an assembled sectional view of the present embodiment, and FIG. 2D is an exploded sectional view of the present embodiment.

3A and 3B are explanatory views of a seal joint according to a second embodiment, in which FIG. 3A is an enlarged view of a seal joint supporting a base end of a quartz pipe on a boat pedestal, and FIG. FIG. 1 is an overall view of a finished quartz pipe.

FIG. 4 is an exploded sectional view of a seal joint according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view of a conventional high-temperature vertical furnace in which a quartz pipe for temperature measurement is installed.

FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view of a conventional high-temperature vertical furnace in which a quartz pipe for temperature measurement is installed in which a quartz pipe for gas blowing is installed.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of a conventional seal joint, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a seal joint for supporting a base end of the quartz pipe on a boat support, and FIG. 3B is an overall view of the quartz pipe supported on the boat support.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 30 base end part 31 quartz pipe (joint pipe) 35 first fitting 38 first O-ring 39 first ferrule 41 second fitting 48 second O-ring 49 second ferrule 58 extension fitting

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A seal joint for inserting and supporting a pipe to be joined into a tubular fitting, wherein the pipe to be joined is supported between a plurality of different points.