JPS61267805A - Shutter device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the reliability of the seal-up degree of a shutter device by shifting a shutter plate toward the center axis of an area to be opened and closed with the 1st shift mechanism and also toward a position orthogonal to said center axis with the 2nd shift mechanism. CONSTITUTION:A shutter device consists of a shutter plate 2 which opens and closes an area to be opened and closed and the 1st and 2nd shift mechanisms 4 and 6. The mechanism 4 contains a Y axis mover 22 which is supported movably by a supporting shaft set in the direction of the center axis of the area to be opened and closed and a rotary movement converter. While the mechanism 6 contains a supporting shaft 36 which can move toward the center axis by the mechanism 4, an X axis mover 42 and a chain mechanism. Thus the plate 2 is fixed to a supporting member 82 of the mover 42 via an elastic material 88. As a result, the plate 2 has an elastic contact with the member to be opened and closed. This improves the seal-up degree of the shutter device.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a shutter device used, for example, to open and close a process tube in semiconductor manufacturing.
In particular, the present invention relates to a shutter device in which a shutter plate is movable in the X and Y axis directions with respect to a portion to be opened and closed, such as an opening of a process tube.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, for example, in semiconductor manufacturing, a shutter device for opening and closing a process tube is opened and closed by sliding a shutter plate made of quartz vertically or horizontally relative to the opening of the process tube. In particular, since the shutter plate is moved relatively close to the opening of the process tube, its opening/closing mechanism is installed in a location where it is easily affected by the temperature of the process tube.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

In such a shutter device, the shutter plate is slid vertically or horizontally of the process tube, so the positional relationship between the shutter plate and the opening of the process tube affects the closed state of the process tube, so the angle between the two If the positional relationship is not aligned, such as when the tubes are misaligned, there is a risk that the degree of sealing of the process tube will be reduced.

In addition, since the opening/closing mechanism that moves the shutter plate is installed in a high temperature area, damage due to seizure may occur.
The service life is short, and reliability of the sealing degree is impaired due to distortion of the opening/closing mechanism due to overheating.

[Means for solving problems]

The shutter device of the present invention includes a shutter plate (2) that opens and closes a part to be opened and closed, a first moving mechanism (4) that moves the shutter plate in the central axis direction of the part to be opened and closed, and a first moving mechanism (4) that moves the shutter plate in the central axis direction of the part to be opened and closed. A second moving mechanism (6) that moves the part in a direction perpendicular to the central axis of the part.

[For production]

The shutter plate is moved by the first moving mechanism in the direction of the central axis of the part to be opened and closed, and by the second moving mechanism in a direction perpendicular to the central axis of the part to be opened and closed. Therefore, the positional relationship for opening and closing of the opening/closing part is set by the first moving mechanism, and the opening/closing of the opening/closing part is performed by the second moving mechanism.

The first moving mechanism includes an X-axis moving body movably supported by a support shaft installed in the central axis direction of the opening/closing part;
By comprising a rotary motion converter that converts rotary motion into linear motion and moves the Y-axis slider to a predetermined position,
The X-axis moving body moves the X-axis sliding body to an arbitrary position on the Y-axis by receiving the driving force from the rotational motion converter.

The second moving mechanism includes a support shaft that is installed perpendicular to the central axis of the part to be opened and closed and can be moved in the direction of the central axis of the part to be opened and closed by the first moving mechanism, and a shutter plate that can be attached to and moved to the support shaft. The structure consists of an X-axis moving body supported by It is moved to an arbitrary position in the direction perpendicular to the central axis, that is, in the X-axis direction.

The shutter plate is elastically fixed in the direction of the center axis of the area to be opened and closed by interposing an elastic body to the support member attached to the X-axis moving body, so that the shutter plate elastically abuts against the area to be opened and closed. This increases the degree of close contact between the parts to be opened and closed.

In addition, the chain mechanism is composed of a chain whose bending angle in one direction is regulated and a rotational drive unit that sends out or pulls in the chain, so that when the chain is sent out, the chain itself functions as a push-out plunger, and The axis moving body can be pushed and the X-axis moving body can be pulled by pulling the chain.

By attaching a biasing means to the chain to curve it toward the side where the bending angle is regulated, when the chain is sent out, it becomes possible to cause the X-axis moving body to function as a pushable plunger.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

1A to 1C show an embodiment of the shutter device of the present invention.

This shutter device is installed, for example, on the front side of the opening of a process tube for semiconductor manufacturing, and as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, this shutter device has a Along with a first moving mechanism 4 that moves the shutter plate 2 in the direction, a second moving mechanism 6 that moves the shutter plate 2 in a direction perpendicular to the central axis of the opening/closing portion is installed. Therefore, by remotely controlling each moving mechanism 4.6 electrically, the shutter plate 2 can be moved between the opening/closing area and other evacuation areas, and can be attached to and detached from the opening/closing area. can.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the opening surface of the process tube (quartz tube) 10 is placed on the side surface of the frame 8 at a position spaced apart from the process tube (quartz tube) 10 to the extent that it is not directly affected by heat. Process tube 10 in orthogonal direction
A mounting plate 14 on the side of the first moving mechanism 4 is installed with a heat shielding plate 12 interposed therebetween, which blocks heat from the motor. There is. Each bracket 16A, 16B has a first C
As shown in the figure, the support shafts 18A, 1 of the first moving mechanism 4
8B, a drive shaft 20 is rotatably installed in the middle part of each support shaft 18A, 18B via a bearing 19 in the direction of the center axis of the part to be opened and closed (in the Y-axis direction), that is, parallel to the furnace core 0. There is. A Y-axis slider 22 is supported on each of the support shafts 18A, 18B as a Y-axis side moving body so as to be movable in the Y-axis direction, and this Y-axis slider 22 has a function of converting rotational motion of the drive shaft 20 into linear motion. A known motion transducer 24 is attached. A pulley 26 is attached to the drive shaft 20, and this boot I726 and the mounting plate 14
A belt 32 for transmitting rotational motion is passed between the drive pulley 30 which is driven by a motor 28 fixed to the drive pulley 30 , and the rotational force of the drive pulley 30 is transmitted to the drive shaft 20 . The motor 28 can be configured with, for example, an AC reversible motor, and Y-axis position detectors 34A and 34B are installed at the lower end of the mounting plate 14 to detect movement of the Y-axis slider 22. In this embodiment, the switch is constructed of a switch that is opened and closed by a cam 36 as a contact attached to the lower end of the Y-axis slider 22. In this case, the Y-axis position detector 34A is at the position where the Y-axis slider 22 is farthest from the process tube 10, and the Y-axis position detector 34B is at the position where the Y-axis slider 22 closes the shutter plate 2 at the opening of the process tube 10. is detected, and the rotation of the motor 28 is stopped based on the detection output. Therefore, the rotational force of the motor 28 is transmitted to the drive shaft 20 by the pulley 26.30 and belt 32 installed as rotational motion transmission means, and the rotational force is converted into linear motion in the Y-axis direction by the motion converter 24. , when the linear motion is transmitted to the Y-axis slider 22, the Y-axis slider 22 moves in accordance with the rotation of the motor 28.
Move to any position in the axial direction. In this case, the movement range of the Y-axis slider 22 is set within the interval between the detection positions of the Y-axis position detectors 34A and 34B.

The Y-axis slider 22 has support shafts 36A, 36B, and 36C136D that support the second moving mechanism 6 in a direction (X-axis direction) perpendicular to the central axis of the portion to be opened and closed, that is, the furnace core O of the process tube 10. The terminal ends of each of the support shafts 36A to 36D are held by a holding member 37 that also serves as a stopper for the X-axis slider 42. Three support shafts 38A, 38B, and 38C are provided protrudingly on the. The support shafts 38A and 38B are attached to the frame 8 by Y
A support shaft 38C is provided on the upper surface side of a bracket 39 protruding from the side facing the shaft slider 22, and a support shaft 38C is provided on the lower surface side of the bracket 39.
The shaft end of the roller 40 is made of a heat-resistant material such as quartz.
The bracket 39 constitutes a sliding bearing, and each of the support shafts 38A to 38C is movably supported by the bracket 39.

An X-axis slider 42 as an X-axis moving body of the second moving mechanism 6 is installed on the support shafts 36A and 36B so as to be movable in the X-axis direction, and a Y-axis slider 22 is installed on the X-axis slider 42.
The rotational force obtained by the motor 44 attached to the chain mechanism 46 is converted into linear motion and transmitted. The chain mechanism 46 is provided with a chain 48 that has one end fixed to the center of the X-axis slider 42, the other end fixed to the Y-axis slider 22, and whose bending angle in one direction is limited. This chain has a bending angle in one direction limited by a bending limiting member 49 having an arch-shaped cross section on its negative side, and the rotation is suspended on a sprocket wheel 50 attached to the Y-axis slider 22. At the same time, the bending direction is regulated by a spring 52 as a biasing means attached to the X-axis slider 42. In this case, the frame 8 includes a heat shield plate 56 that blocks thermal influence on the sprocket wheel 50 side.
is provided, and the chain 48 moves through the window 58 of the heat shield plate 56.

Further, on the upper surface of the Y-axis slider 22, guide rollers 6oA, 60B, 60C, which guide the movement of the chain 48,
60D is installed along the moving direction of the chain 48, and since the chain 48 moves horizontally when the guide roller 60A moves, it is a horizontal roller with a constant width considering the movement range, and the other guide rollers 60B, 60
C160D is installed at a position concentric with the sprocket wheel 50.

The sprocket wheel 50 is rotatably attached via a bearing 64 to a mounting plate 62 horizontally fixed to the Y-axis slider 22, and a rotating shaft 66 of the sprocket wheel 50 is equipped with an alternating current (AC) reversible motor or the like. A motor 44 is directly connected to transmit its rotational force. A gear 70 is attached to the rotating shaft 66 for indirectly detecting the position of the X-axis slider 42 on the X-axis from its rotation. A reduction gear 74 mounted in a removable manner is engaged with the rotation wheel 76 of the reduction gear 74, and cams 78A, 78B are provided on the rotation wheel 76 of the reduction gear 74, and the rotation of each cam 78A, 78B causes a switch forming a position detector 80A, 80B. is opened and closed. For example, the position detector 80A is closed or opened in accordance with the position of the X-axis slider 42 on the O-axis of the furnace core, and the position detector 80B is closed or opened in accordance with the retracted position farthest from that position. Therefore, when the rotation of the motor 44 is transmitted to the sprocket wheel 50, the chain 4 is sent out in the direction shown by the arrow A by the rotational force. In this case, since the chain 48 is biased in one direction by the spring 52, its bending is prohibited, and as a result, as shown in FIG. The X-axis slider 42 is moved to a desired position by rotation of the sprocket wheel 50.

Moreover, when reversing the sprocket wheel 50 and pulling the chain 48 in the direction shown by the arrow B, the guide rollers 60A, 60B, and 60C.

60D, is wound around the sprocket wheel 5o, and is housed on the upper surface side of the Y-axis slider 22, as shown by the dashed line. In this case, stress is applied to the chain 48 in a direction opposite to the feeding direction, and the chain 48 is freely bent and curved.

Note that 81 indicates an exhaust port installed on the scavenger side.

As shown in FIG. 2, the X-axis slider 42 has
A mounting plate 82 for mounting the shutter plate 2 is mounted parallel to the opening of the process tube 10 via a fixing member 83 with mounting screws 84.
The vertical position of can be adjusted by a position adjustment screw 85.

The shutter plate 2 is attached to the front surface of the mounting plate 82 by fixing pins 86 attached to its four corners, and the shutter plate 2 is attached to the shaft of the fixing pin 86 for shock absorption and position correction when it comes into close contact with the part to be opened and closed. Elastic body as a means,
In this embodiment, it is elastically supported in the Y-axis direction by a spring 88. Note that 89 is an E-ring that fixes the fixing pin 86. Therefore, process tube 1
The vertical position of the shutter plate 2 can be adjusted according to the position of the opening of the process tube 10, and the shutter plate 2 naturally comes into contact with the opening of the process tube 10, that is, the part to be opened and closed. In particular, since the shutter plate 2 and the process tube 10 are elastically supported at four points, even if the openings of the shutter plate 2 and the process tube 10 are not parallel, the elastic force of the spring 88 absorbs the angular error. It is possible to reduce the impact when bonding with 10 and to obtain a stable adhesion state with high reliability. In addition, in FIG. 2, a heat shield plate 9 is provided on the lower surface of the X-axis slider 42 to prevent overheating of the X-axis slider 42.
0 is attached.

In this way, in this shutter device, as shown in FIG. 3, the X-axis slider 42 is
The shutter plate 2 is moved to the position 2x of the furnace core O in the X-axis direction by the movement of , and from this position the shutter plate 2 is moved in the Y-axis direction by the movement of the Y-axis slider 22 to the opening position 2y of the process tube 10. to stop it. In this case, the shutter plate 2 can be elastically brought into close contact with the opening/closing portion of the process tube 10, and the degree of sealing of the process tube 10 can be maintained constant. When opening the process tube 10, the shutter plate 2 can be moved in the completely opposite direction to when closing the process tube 10, and the shutter plate 2 can be retracted from the area to be opened and closed.

FIG. 4 shows a specific example of the structure of the chain 48.

In FIG. 4, the chain 48 is made up of a combination of a roller link 92 and a pin link 94, and the roller link 92 has rollers 98 attached to both ends of two roller link plates 96, and a pin link plate 100 forming the pin link 94. is the pin 1 on the outside of the roller link plate 96.
It is installed in 02. Each roller link plate 96 and pin link plate 100 is provided with an L-shaped auxiliary piece 104 on the outside thereof.
04, a bending angle limiting block 106 made of a heat-resistant material for limiting the bending angle of the chain 48 is fixed by fixing means such as a nut (not shown).

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, when the roller links 92 of the chain 48, for example, are bent in the direction indicated by the two-dot chain line P, an arbitrary bending angle θ can be obtained. When bending in the directions indicated by two-point chains 'a and Q, each bending angle limiting block 106
The corners of , as shown by arrow S, touch each other and bend at an angle θ.

is limited to a certain angle depending on the degree of protrusion, width, or interval of the bending angle limiting block 106. If such a chain 48 is used, the bending angle θ.

It will be clear that when a stress is applied to the chain 48 in the tangential direction thereof, the chain 48 functions as a plunger having a strength within a load range determined by the rollers 98, pins 102, etc.

In the embodiment, the opening and closing of a process tube in a semiconductor manufacturing device was explained as an example, but the present invention can be used to open and close various types of equipment having parts to be opened and closed in chemical processes and other fields.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to accurately open and close a portion to be opened and closed using a simple configuration. or incomplete sealing can be prevented.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1A is a plan view showing an embodiment of the shutter device of the present invention, FIG. 1B is a front view thereof, and FIG. 1C is a side view thereof.
Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along the line nn in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a diagram showing the movement of the shutter plate, Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the specific structure of the chain, and Figure 5 is the bending angle. FIG. 2... Shutter plate, 4... First moving mechanism, 6...
...Second moving mechanism, 22...Y-axis slider, 42.
...X-axis slider, 46...chain mechanism. Figure 2 Figure 5 Procedural master's official document (method) % formula % 2゜Name of the invention Shutter device 3, relationship with the case of the person making the amendment Patent applicant's address Address of Shiroyama-cho, Tsukui-gun, Kanagawa prefecture W32101
Name: Telthermco Co., Ltd. Representative Masatoshi Ohama 4, Agent address: 2nd floor, Ogikubo Kangyo Building, 3-2-2 Amanuma, Suginami-ku, Tokyo (167) 6. Drawings subject to amendment and power of attorney 7. Contents (11 The engraving drawings (all drawings) are amended as attached. (2) The power of attorney is amended as attached. Patent applicant address: 3210 Hongo, Shiroyama-cho, Tsukui-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture Name: Telthermco Co., Ltd. Representative Masatoshi Ohama 4 Agent address: 3-2-2 Amanuma, Suginami-ku, Tokyo No. Ogikubo Kangyo Building 2nd floor (167) 6゜As shown in Figure 1C 7 of the drawing subject to the amendment, the details of the amendment are attached.

Claims (6)

[Claims] (1) A shutter plate movably installed in the part to be opened and closed; a first moving mechanism that moves the shutter plate in the central axis direction of the part to be opened and closed; and a second moving mechanism for moving in a direction orthogonal to the shutter. (2) The first moving mechanism includes a Y-axis moving body movably supported by a support shaft installed in the central axis direction of the opened/closed part, and a Y-axis moving body that converts rotational motion into linear motion. 2. The shutter device according to claim 1, further comprising a motion converter for moving the body to a predetermined position. (3) The second moving mechanism includes a support shaft that is installed in a direction perpendicular to the central axis of the part to be opened and closed and is movable in the direction of the central axis of the part to be opened and closed by the first moving mechanism, and the shutter plate. A patent characterized in that the device is comprised of an X-axis moving body slidably supported on the support shaft, and a chain mechanism that converts rotational motion into linear motion and moves the X-axis moving body to a predetermined position. A shutter device according to claim 1. (4) The shutter plate is elastically fixed in the central axis direction of the opening/closing portion by interposing an elastic body to a mounting member attached to the X-axis moving body. Shutter device as described in section. (5) The shutter according to claim 1, wherein the chain mechanism includes a chain whose bending angle in one direction is regulated, and a rotation drive unit that sends out or pulls in the chain. Device. (6) The shutter device according to claim 4, wherein the chain is provided with an urging means for bending the chain toward a side where the bending angle is regulated.