JPH11197488A - Sealed vessel - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sealed vessel in which sealing characteristics of an opening/closing door are maintained easily and surely. SOLUTION: The closed vessel is equipped with the body 110 of the vessel having an opening and a cover 120 covering the opening 113 of the body of the vessel. A filling groove for filling a sealer is provided in one hand of the opening side of the body of the vessel and the cover side or in both hands of the opening side of the body of the vessel and the cover side. The inside of the vessel is interrupted from the outside by covering the opening part with the cover in such a state that the sealer is filled in the filling groove. The sealer consists of a gel-like substance.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a closed container,
In particular, the present invention relates to various closed containers used for manufacturing semiconductor elements such as ICs and LSIs, manufacturing photomasks, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An airtight container is mainly composed of a normal-pressure airtight container for enclosing a fluid, a depressurized airtight container which is hermetically sealed under reduced pressure as represented by a vacuum chamber, and a pressurized state as represented by a pressurized tank. It is roughly divided into a pressurized airtight container which is closed by the above. Both types of closed containers usually have an opening in the container body and a lid for opening and closing the opening (referred to as an opening lid), but the seal between the opening lid and the container body is completely removed. It is essential to do. In particular, in the case of a depressurized closed container and a pressurized closed container, since pressure control is generally involved, it is important to completely seal the opening lid and the container body. Usually, as a method for strengthening the seal, a method is used in which a groove is formed in the opening lid and a sealing agent made of a relatively soft substance is filled. Representative sealants include rubber, polymer resin such as Teflon-based resin, or a relatively soft metal such as copper processed into a donut shape.
There is a ring (packing) etc., but these sealants
The fluid inside the container and the outside (outside world) of the container are shut off by deforming and sealing in response to the deformation force.

[0003] As a conventional reduced-pressure closed container, an example of a closed container for performing plasma discharge in a vacuum chamber used in a photomask manufacturing process shown in FIG. 4 will be described. Usually, the decompression type closed container basically has a structure as shown in FIG. FIG. 4A is a schematic cross-sectional view of the closed container, and FIG.
It is the figure seen from D2 side. In FIG. 4, 400 is a closed container,
410 is a vacuum chamber, 413 is an opening, 420 is a vacuum chamber door, 430 is a sealant filling groove, 440 is a sealant, 450 is an exhaust port, 460 is an exhaust pipe, 47
0 is a vent valve (control valve), 480 is an exhaust control valve, 4
90 is a vacuum pump. The closed container 400 shown in FIG.
Is to cover and seal the opening 413 of the vacuum chamber 410 with a vacuum chamber door 420 serving as an opening / closing gate. After the vacuum chamber door 420 is closed, air in the vacuum chamber 410 is exhausted by a vacuum pump. By doing so, the pressure inside the vacuum chamber 410 is reduced. In order to seal a gap between the vacuum chamber 410 and the vacuum chamber door 420 serving as an opening / closing gate, a resin sealant (O-ring, packing, gasket) represented by Teflon or a metal represented by copper is mainly used. A sealant (metal packing, metal gasket) is inserted into the vacuum chamber door 420 and sandwiched by using a differential pressure between an external pressure and an internal pressure to prevent outside air from flowing into the chamber. The vacuum chamber 410 has an exhaust control valve 4 connected to an exhaust port 450 connected to a vacuum pump 490.
80 is prepared, and the control valve 480 is opened with the vent valve 470 closed to reduce the pressure in the vacuum chamber 410. Further, the chamber 410 is provided with a vent line for returning the inside of the chamber to the atmospheric pressure, and the inside of the chamber 410 is returned to the atmospheric pressure by opening the vent valve 470 with the exhaust control valve 480 closed.

The same applies to a pressurized closed container such as a pressurized tank, which is sealed by using resin packings. In this case, there are various forms such as a screw type or a fringe type tightening of the cover (lid) of the opening of the container body.

[0005]

However, in the vacuum container 400 shown in FIG. 4, the shape of the sealant is abraded by the opening and closing operation of the opening and closing door (the vacuum chamber door 420 in FIG. 4) which covers the opening. It becomes deformed or scratched, and the tightness of the closed container when the door is closed deteriorates.
There is a problem that the air is mixed (leaked) from the outside world. Also, in the pressurized tank, similarly, if the sealing agent is damaged due to overtightening of the lid or mixing of foreign matter,
There is a problem that the pressurized fluid leaks from the site to the outside world, and the required pressure cannot be maintained. The present invention
An object of the present invention is to provide a closed container that can easily and reliably maintain the sealing characteristics of the opening / closing door in the closed container.

[0006]

The closed container of the present invention comprises a container body having an opening and a lid for covering the opening of the container body. The container is provided on one of the opening side and the lid side of the container body, or on the container side. A filling groove for filling the sealant is provided on both the opening side and the lid side of the main body, and the filling groove is filled with the sealant,
A sealed container in which the inside of the container is shielded from the outside by covering the opening with a lid, wherein the sealant is made of a gel-like substance. In the above, the sealant supply pipe and the discharge groove for discharging the sealant controlled by the control valve and the discharge pipe for discharging the sealant are provided so as to be connected to the fill groove, and the gel-like material is supplied through the sealant supply pipe. A sealant supply unit is provided which supplies a sealant made of a substance to the filling groove by pressurizing the sealant. Further, the sealant supply section is provided with an injector for pressurizing and supplying a cylinder. Further, the above-mentioned sealant supply section is provided with a pressure sealed tank. Further, in the above, a sealant filling pipe and a depressurizing pipe for depressurizing the filling groove are provided so as to be connected to the filling groove, and the filling groove is depressurized. And a sealant supply section for supplying the sealant to the filling groove. In the above, a sealing mechanism using a resin sealing agent or a metal sealing agent is used in combination.

[0007]

The closed container of the present invention having such a structure makes it possible to provide a closed container that can easily and reliably maintain the sealing characteristics of the opening / closing door in the closed container. Specifically, the sealing of the opening / closing door in the closed container is performed with a sealing agent made of a gel-like substance, and the sealing agent supply pipe and the filling groove controlled by the control valve are used for exhausting the sealing groove and discharging the sealing agent. By providing a discharge pipe and a sealing agent filling groove connected to the sealing agent filling groove, and by providing a sealing agent supply unit that pressurizes the sealing agent made of a gel-like substance through the sealing agent supplying pipe and supplies the sealing agent to the filling groove, or By providing a sealant filling pipe and a depressurizing pipe for depressurizing the filling groove connected to the seal filling groove, and by depressurizing the filling groove, a sealant made of a gel-like substance is passed through the sealant filling pipe. This is achieved by providing the sealant supply section for supplying the filling groove. That is, in the sealed container of the present invention, the sealing agent is formed of a gel-like substance, and the sealing agent is pressed into the filling groove of the sealing agent from the outside of the container or the pressure difference between the inside of the filling groove and the outside (atmosphere). The filling agent is used to inhale and fill the filling groove, and this operation can be repeated as necessary, if necessary, so that the sealing characteristics of the door in the closed container can be easily and reliably maintained.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A closed container of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1A is a schematic sectional view showing a first example of an embodiment of the closed container of the present invention, and FIG. 2A is a schematic sectional view showing a second example of the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG.
FIG. 2B is a diagram viewed from the A1-A2 side in FIG.
FIG. 2B is a diagram viewed from the B1-B2 side in FIG.
In FIGS. 1 and 2, 100 and 105 are sealed containers, 110 is a container body, 113 is an opening, 120 is an opening / closing lid, 130 is a sealant supply unit, 133 is a sealant storage (container), 135 is a pressurizing unit, 141, 143, 145, 147 are piping, 15
1, 153, 155, and 157 are valves, 160 is a sealant supply unit, 163 is a sealant storage (container), 165 is a decompression unit, 170 is an exhaust port / vent port, 175 is a pipe, 180 is a filling groove, and 190 is a filling groove. It is a sealant.

First, a first embodiment of the closed container according to the present invention will be described. The closed container 100 shown in FIG. 1 is a container provided with a container body 110 having an opening 113 and an opening / closing lid 120 covering the opening 113 of the container body 110. This is a closed container in which a groove 180 is provided, and the filling groove 180 is filled with a sealant 190 made of a gel-like substance, and the opening 113 is covered with an opening / closing lid 120 to shut off the inside of the container from the outside. The sealant 190 is made of a gel-like substance. In the first example, the sealant 1 is used.
Sealant supply unit 1 for filling filling groove 180 with filling agent 90
30.

The sealant supply section 130 includes a sealant supply pipe 141 connected to the filling groove 180 and a filling groove 18.
Pipe 14 for exhaust and exhaust of sealant
3. a seal storage (container) 133 for storing the sealant 190 to be supplied to the filling groove 180; a pressurizing unit 135 for pressurizing the stored gelling substance 190 and supplying the sealant 190 to the filling groove 180; Control valves 151 and 153
Etc. With the valve 151 opened, the sealant supply unit 130 stores the seal (container) 1 in the pressurizing unit 135.
While pressurizing the sealant 190 stored in 33 and controlling the valve 153 to exhaust the sealant 190 and discharge the sealant 190 through the pipe 143,
The sealant 190 is supplied to the filling groove 180.

The sealant 190 can function as a sealant. The sealant 190 fills the filling groove 180 through the pipe 141 or fills the filling groove 18 through the pipe 143.
In order to be discharged from zero, it is necessary to be a jelly-like gel-like substance. Specific examples include, but are not limited to, Shin-Etsu Silicone (vacuum grease manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.).

The sealant supply section 130 has a structure in which an injector for pressurizing and supplying a sealant 190 is connected to a pipe 141 by using cylinder pressurization, or a sealant is provided in a pressure-tight tank. A structure in which the agent 190 is put in and the sealant in the tank is directly supplied to the pipe 141 may be used.

Next, a second embodiment of the closed container according to the present invention will be described. The sealed container 105 shown in FIG. 2 is different from the first example shown in FIG. 1 in the method of supplying the sealant, and is otherwise the same as the first example.
The sealant supply section 160 includes a sealant supply pipe 145 connected to the filling groove 180, a pipe 147 for depressurizing and exhausting the filling groove 180, and a sealant storage for storing the sealant 190 to be supplied to the filling groove 180 ( Depressurizing section 16 for depressurizing the inside of filling groove 180 through container 163 and pipe 147
5. Consists of control valves 155, 157, etc. Then, while depressurizing and exhausting the inside of the filling groove 180 from the pipe 147, or sucking and discharging the sealing agent 190 from the filling groove 180, through the pipe 145 for supplying the sealing agent,
The sealant 190 made of a gel-like substance stored in the sealant storage (container) 163 is supplied to the filling groove 180. The valves 155 and 157 connect the pipes 145 and 147 with the sealant 19.
It controls the passage of 0 and the like. In the second example, the sealing agent 190 is filled in the filling groove 180 by reducing the pressure inside the filling groove and utilizing the pressure difference between the sealing agent in the sealant storage 163 that communicates with the atmosphere.

[0014]

The present invention will be further described with reference to examples. The sealed container of the present embodiment has a vacuum chamber as a closed container main body.Specifically, in an electron beam exposure apparatus, a sample to be sent to a high vacuum chamber which is a working chamber for performing exposure drawing, or sent from a high vacuum chamber. The seal in the opening / closing door for putting the sample in and out of the atmosphere in a vacuum chamber (called a pre-chamber or pre-chamber) where the sample is temporarily stored is made of Shin-Etsu Silicone (manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) This was performed using as a sealant. This corresponds to a first example of the embodiment. FIG. 3 (a) shows a schematic cross section of the closed container of the present embodiment, and FIG. 3 (b) shows C1 in FIG. 3 (a).
It is the figure seen from -C2 side. In FIG. 3, 300 is a closed container, 310 is a vacuum chamber, 311 is a chamber door,
312 is a sealant filling groove, 313 exhaust port, 314 is an exhaust pipe, 315 is a purge control valve, 316 is an exhaust control valve, 317 is a vacuum pump, 320 is a sealant, 321 is a sealant filling port, and 322 is a sealant fill. Piping, 323 is an injector, 324 is a cylinder rod, 325 is an air cylinder, 326 is an air cylinder control pipe, 330 is a solenoid valve, 331 is a solenoid valve exhaust port, 333 is a solenoid valve pressurization port, and 335 is for filling a sealant. The manual valve 337 is a discharge pipe.

The vacuum pump 317 includes a purge control valve 315
Is closed, and the vacuum chamber 310 is evacuated from the exhaust port 313 with the exhaust control valve 316 opened. Also,
With the exhaust control valve 316 closed and the purge control valve 315 opened, a gas such as nitrogen is introduced into the vacuum chamber 310 to release the vacuum in the vacuum chamber 310.

The vacuum chamber 31 is opened by the chamber door 311.
In a state where the opening of the vacuum chamber 310 is covered and the inside of the vacuum chamber 310 is exhausted, the sealing agent 320 is stored by the injector 323 storing the sealing agent.
Is supplied to the sealant filling groove 312 through the sealer rod 324 by the air cylinder 325.
20 and press the sealant filling manual valve 335 to open the sealant filling groove 312 and discharge the sealant 320 through the discharge pipe 322.
The sealant 320 is filled into the seal 12. The chamber door 311 performs the filling operation of the sealant in a state where the chamber door 311 is strongly pressed against the vacuum chamber 310 by the external pressure. Filling the sealant 320 into the sealant filling groove 312,
After the manual valve 335 for filling the sealant is closed, the pressurization of the cylinder rod 324 by the air cylinder 325 is stopped. Control of pressurization of the cylinder rod 324 by the air cylinder 325 is performed by a solenoid valve 330. The sealant filling manual valve 335 opens and closes appropriately in response to the filling operation and the filling stop operation.
31, the solenoid valve pressurizing port 333 also operates appropriately in accordance with the filling operation and the filling stop operation.

In the closed container 300 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, when the degree of vacuum is reduced due to a poor sealing of the chamber door, the above-described operation of filling the sealant 320 into the lubricant filling groove 312 is performed. Can be repeated, and the sealing failure can be easily eliminated. In addition, although the reduced pressure type closed container was mentioned as an Example here, it is not limited to this, but this invention is applicable also to a pressurized type closed container.

[0018]

As described above, the present invention makes it possible to provide a closed container that can easily and reliably maintain the sealing characteristics of the door in the closed container.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing a first example of an embodiment of a closed container of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the closed container according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a view showing a closed container according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 shows a conventional closed container.

[Explanation of symbols]

100, 105 Closed container 110 Container main body 113 Opening 120 Opening / closing lid 130 Sealant supply unit 133 Sealant storage (container) 135 Pressurizing unit 141, 143, 145, 147 Piping 151, 153, 155, 157 Valve 160 Sealant supply unit 163 Sealant storage (container) 165 Decompression unit 170 Exhaust port / vent port 175 Piping 180 Filling groove 190 Sealant 300 Sealed container 310 Vacuum chamber 311 Chamber door 312 Sealant filling groove 313 Exhaust port 314 Exhaust pipe 315 Purge control valve 316 Exhaust Control valve 317 Vacuum pump 320 Sealant 321 Sealant filling port 322 Sealant filling pipe 323 Injector 324 Cylinder rod 325 Air cylinder 326 Air cylinder control pipe 330 Electromagnetic valve 331 Electricity Magnetic valve exhaust port 333 Solenoid valve pressurization port 335 Manual valve for filling sealant 337 Discharge pipe 400 Sealed vessel 410 Vacuum chamber 413 Opening 420 Vacuum chamber door 430 Sealant filling groove 440 Sealant 450 Exhaust port 460 Exhaust pipe 470 Vent valve (Control valve) 480 Exhaust control valve 490 Vacuum pump

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A container provided with a container body having an opening and a lid covering the opening of the container body, wherein the container body is sealed on one of the opening side and the lid side of the container body, or on both the opening side and the lid side of the container body. A sealed container in which a filling groove for filling a filling agent is provided, and the filling groove is filled with a sealing agent, and the opening is covered with a lid to shut off the inside of the container from the outside. A sealed container characterized by being made of a substance. 2. The sealant supply according to claim 1, wherein a sealant supply pipe, an exhaust of the fill groove controlled by a control valve, and a discharge pipe for discharging the sealant are connected to the fill groove. A sealed container characterized by comprising a sealant supply section which pressurizes a sealant made of a gel-like substance through a supply pipe and supplies it to a filling groove. 3. The sealed container according to claim 2, wherein the sealant supply section includes an injector for supplying a pressurized cylinder. 4. The sealed container according to claim 2, wherein the sealant supply unit includes a pressure sealed tank. 5. The sealant filling pipe according to claim 1, wherein a pipe for filling the sealant and a pipe for depressurizing the filling groove are connected to the filling groove, and the pressure of the filling groove is reduced. And a sealing agent supply section for supplying a sealing agent made of a gel-like substance to a filling groove. 6. The sealed container according to claim 1, further comprising a sealing mechanism using a resin sealing agent or a metal sealing agent.