JPS6224502B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a vacuum evaporation apparatus equipped with a sample transport mechanism for transporting a sample into and out of a vacuum evaporation tank that is constantly vacuumed. According to this device, the device (jig) A vacuum deposition process can be performed on the surface surrounding the shaft hole H of the workpiece used for insertion into the workpiece.

Conventional configuration and its problems In the conventional vacuum evaporation apparatus, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a vacuum chamber 3 connected to a vacuum evacuation device 2 is installed on a pedestal 1. An evaporation source 4 is provided inside the tank 3, and a rotation introducing device 6 for rotating the sample 5 and a motor 7 as its driving source are attached to the outside. Rotating introduction machine 6
A jig 9 for fixing the sample 5 is provided on the output shaft 8 of. On the other hand, a top plate 10a that is raised and lowered by an elevator 10 is provided at the top of the vacuum chamber 3, and the sample 5 can be taken in and taken out when the top plate 10a is opened (raised).

When performing vacuum evaporation with this device, sample 5
is fixed with the upper jig 9 fitted on the output shaft 8, and the elevator 9
After the top plate 10a is brought into close contact with the vacuum chamber 3, the inside of the chamber is evacuated by the vacuum evacuation device 2, and after reaching a predetermined degree of vacuum, the evaporation source 4 is activated to perform vacuum evaporation. After the vacuum deposition is completed, the inside of the vacuum chamber 3 is opened to the atmosphere, the top plate 10a is raised by the elevator 10, and the sample 5 is taken out.

However, with the above configuration, it is necessary to open the vacuum chamber to the atmosphere each time the sample is replaced, and it takes too much time to reach a vacuum level that is suitable for vapor deposition again. This method had the disadvantage that it was not possible to improve productivity because it could not process many materials.

Purpose of the Invention In view of the above-mentioned drawbacks, the present invention significantly reduces the evacuation time associated with sample replacement, and also enables vapor deposition processing of a large amount of samples at once without transferring individual samples in a vacuum chamber. The present invention aims to provide a vacuum evaporation apparatus equipped with a sample transport mechanism.

Composition of the Invention The vacuum evaporation apparatus of the present invention includes: a) a vacuum evaporation tank connected to a vacuum evacuation device and having an evaporation source therein for performing vacuum evaporation; b) a sample exchange door, and a vacuum evaporator a preliminary vacuum chamber that is connected to the apparatus and capable of bringing the inside to a vacuum state and an atmospheric pressure state; c. an airtight conduit that connects the vacuum evaporation chamber and the preliminary vacuum chamber and opens and closes between the two chambers; d) a linear guide mechanism extending from the vacuum deposition tank to the duct, and from the duct to the preliminary vacuum tank; e) sliding on the linear guide mechanism; at least two sample holding units capable of holding the sample; and f in the preliminary vacuum chamber, at least two
a unit preparation mechanism for sequentially bringing one of the holding units into an operating position where it can slide on the linear guide and the remaining holding units into a standby position; A reciprocating chuck mechanism for sending the sample holding unit from the preliminary vacuum chamber to the vacuum deposition tank and back, and providing the vacuum deposition tank with a rotation introduction machine for guiding external rotational power into the tank. In addition, the sample holding unit is provided with a holding/rotating part for rotatably holding a plurality of samples, and a connecting part for connecting the holding/rotating part to the output end of the rotation introducing machine. be.

Therefore, while vacuum evaporating multiple samples placed in a vacuum evaporation tank using one holding unit,
The sample that has been evaporated is replaced with a new sample in the preliminary vacuum chamber, and when the evaporation process is completed, the sample holding unit in the evaporation chamber is replaced while maintaining the degree of vacuum in both chambers. The vapor deposition process can be started immediately on a new sample without evacuation.

Further, it is possible to form a uniform vapor deposition film on a plurality of samples at a time while the samples are held in a conveyance/holding unit without having to transfer each sample individually within a vacuum chamber.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

5 and 6 show a plan view and a partially cutaway front view, respectively, of a vacuum deposition apparatus having a sample transport mechanism constructed in accordance with the present invention. In this vacuum evaporation apparatus, a vacuum chamber 12 for evaporation, a pipe section 2
3. A preliminary vacuum tank 34 connected to the vacuum tank 12 through a conduit 23 and a chuck driving air cylinder 36 are arranged in series from right to left in FIGS. 5 and 6.

The vacuum chamber 12 is installed on a pedestal 54 having an evacuation device 53 to be evacuated, and is provided with an evaporation source 11 inside. On the right end wall of the vacuum chamber 12, there is a rotating introduction device 13 and a motor 1 that drives this introduction device via a belt 14.
5 is fixed. Inside the tank 12, a pair of wide rails 16, 17 are installed from inside the pipe section 23 to the right end support blocks 21, 22, and inside these, the evaporation source 11 of the tank 12 is installed from inside the pipe section 23.
A linear guide mechanism 20 consisting of a pair of rails 18 and 19 that extends to the front side is installed. Further, a chuck release mechanism 25 driven by an air cylinder 24 outside the tank is engaged with one of the outer rails 16.

The pipe section 23 consists of an airtight pipe connecting the tanks 12 and 34, and is provided with a shutoff mechanism 27 driven from outside the pipe by an air cylinder 26, which airtightly isolates the tanks 12 and 34 in its "closed" position. It is something. In addition, a blocking mechanism 27 is provided within the conduit section 23.
On the left side are outer rails 28 and 29 and an inner rail 3 corresponding to each rail of the linear guide mechanism 20.
The second linear guide mechanism 32 consisting of 0,31,
Partial flange 3 on the pipe line 23 side of the vacuum chamber 34
3.

An air cylinder 36 is protruded from the left end of the vacuum chamber 34, that is, on the opposite side of the conduit section 23, for driving the chuck 35 back and forth in the direction of the conduit within the chamber. Inside the tank 34, the units 38 and 39 holding the sample 37 are placed on a pair of upper rails 40, 41 and a pair of lower rails 42, 43, respectively, and these rails are moved by an elevator 44. When set at the same level as the linear guide mechanism 32, it is adapted to perfectly correspond to the outer rails 28, 29 of that guide mechanism. The elevator 44 is driven by an air cylinder 49 to move up and down along vertical guides 47 and 48 fixed to stands 45 and 46 installed in the vacuum chamber 34. The air cylinder 49 is fixed to the lower side of the vacuum chamber 34. The chuck 35 has rails 40, 41 or 4 aligned with the guide mechanism.
A release block 50 provided at the left end of the tank 34 releases the chuck 35 from the rails.

The top plate 51 of the vacuum chamber 34 is moved up and down by a second elevator 52.

The vacuum chamber 34 has a vacuum exhaust device 5 connected thereto.
It is installed on a pedestal 56 that holds 5. Frame 56
A control device 56a for controlling the entire device is installed at the holder, and a support plate 57 for the air cylinder 36 is attached.

Connectors 58 and 59 are fixed to the tips of the holding units 38 and 39, respectively, and the rotation introduction machine 1
It is adapted to mesh with a connecting tool 61 attached to the tip of the output shaft 60 at No. 3.

Now that the outline of the device has been explained above, its operation will be explained next.

First, assuming that the top plate 51 is in the raised "open" position, the units 38 and 3 taken out are
The sample 37 is fixed to the holder 9 and placed on the elevator 44. Here, the elevator 44 is lowered to the level shown in FIG. 6, for example, and the second elevator 5
2, the top plate 51 is lowered to seal the vacuum chamber 34, and then the evacuation device 55 evacuates it.

On the other hand, it is assumed that the inside of the vacuum chamber 12 is evacuated in advance to a predetermined degree of vacuum by the evacuation device 53, and the conduit section 23 is cut off by the cutoff mechanism 27. Therefore, when the vacuum chamber 34 reaches a predetermined degree of vacuum, the evaporation source 11 is activated, the shutoff mechanism 27 is released, and the conduit 23 is opened. At the same time, the air cylinder 36 is driven to grip the unit 38 by the chuck 35 at its tip and move it along the linear guide mechanisms 32, 20 onto the evaporation source 11 in the vacuum chamber 12. At this time, the connecting tool 58 at the tip of the unit engages with the connecting tool 61 of the rotation introducing machine, and by rotating the motor 15, the sample 37
Rotate. The chuck 35 is biased by the chuck release mechanism 25 to release the unit 38 and release the inner rails 18, 19 and 30, 3 of the linear guide mechanism.
1 and return inside the vacuum chamber 34. Here, the pipeline 23 is shut off by the shutoff mechanism 27, and vacuum evaporation is performed in the vacuum chamber 12.

When the vacuum deposition is completed, the shutoff mechanism 27 is released to open the pipeline 23, and the chuck 35 is advanced again to the vacuum chamber 12 to grasp the unit 38, returned to the vacuum chamber 34, and carried into the elevator 49. . At this time, the check 35 is released by the release block 50.
to release the unit 38.

Next, the elevator 49 rises to a position where the unit 39 can be carried out along the linear guide mechanism 32, and
This new unit 39 is transported again into the vacuum chamber 12 by the chuck 35 in the same manner as the unit 38, and vacuum evaporation is performed. During this time, since the conduit 23 is blocked by the shutoff mechanism 27, the vacuum chamber 34 is opened to the atmosphere, the top plate 51 is raised, and the sample in the unit 38 is replaced. Then, the unit 38 is placed on the elevator 49 again, the inside of the vacuum chamber 34 is evacuated again, and the process described above is carried out. Hereinafter, such an operation will be performed in units 38 and 3.
Repeated alternately for 9.

The above is an outline of the present embodiment, and next, details of the structure and function of each part will be explained.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the connecting tool 61 at the tip of the output shaft 60 of the rotation introduction machine 13 has a diameter plate 6 on the end surface of a cylindrical member 62 fitted into the output shaft 60.
3 protrudingly provided, which engages with the connectors 58 and 59 of the unit.

Next, the sample holding units 38 and 39 have a structure as shown in FIGS. 9 to 12. That is, the unit has guide plates 6 on both sides that engage and can slide on rails on the elevator 44.
4, 65, and bearings 66, 68, 70 and 67, 6, each having an axis parallel to the rail inside.
The guide plates 64 and 6 equipped with the guide plates 9 and 71
a pair of bearing plates 75, 76 between 5;
Outer gears 72, 73 and main gear 74 are supported by the bearings 66-67, 70-71 and 68-69 between these plates 75, 76.
, a main bar 78 (FIGS. 10 and 11) fixed to the lower rear end of the guide plates 64 and 65, which has an engagement hole 77 that helps the chuck 35 grip the unit, and a shaft 79 that penetrates and holds the sample 37. , 80 to the outer gears 72, 73 and the shaft 7.
A separable separate plate 83 is provided which cooperates with the main bar 78 to hold the rear ends of the shafts 9, 80 in releasable engagement with the coupling rings 81, 82. The sample 37 is fixed by jigs 84, 85 on the shaft, and the tips of the shafts 79, 80 are fixed to coupling rings 81, 82 by screws 87, 88. On the other hand, the connecting tool 58 or 59 is attached to the tip of the main gear 74.
is fixed, and there are four pins on the tip of the connector.
86a, 86b, 86c and 86d are arranged diagonally and engage with the connecting plate 63 (FIGS. 7 and 8) of the rotation introducing member.

The chuck 35 has a structure as shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B. The cylinder rod 89 shown virtually at the left end of the figure is a part of the air cylinder 36 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. A center block 90 of the chuck 35 is fixed to the tip of the cylinder rod 89, and a lever 91 can be rotated on both sides of the cylinder rod 89. Side plates 97 and 98 that freely support are fixed. side plate 9
7 and 98 fully protrude from the block and support a block 96 having a pin 95 protruding from its tip.
The lever 91 is pivotally supported by a pin 92 provided at the rear lower part of the side plate, and is pulled so as to come into pressure contact with the lower side of the block 96 by a spring 93 that is engaged with an erection pin 94 between the plates 97 and 98.
Therefore, the chuck 35 grips the rear end bar of the unit 38 or 39 between the pin 95 at the end and the end hook of the lever 91.

The structure of the chuck release mechanism 25 and the relationship between it and the rail 16 are as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15. Rail 16 is connected to unit 38 or 39
A stepped surface 16a for supporting and sliding is formed on the inside, and an outer upper part 16b higher than the stepped surface 16a.
A groove 99 is formed across the upper part of the chuck at the position where the chuck release mechanism 25 is to be engaged. A plate 100 that covers this groove 99 is fixed to the upper rail 16b, and the lower surface 101 of the plate 100 is fixed to the upper rail 16b.
is a sliding surface for the release plate 102 of the release mechanism 25. The release plate 102 has a main body extending horizontally perpendicular to the rail 16 and plunges into the groove 99.
The rear end is bent vertically and fixed to a cylinder rod 104 of an air cylinder 24 (FIGS. 5 and 6) with a nut 103. Release plate 10
2 is a cam surface by chamfering the lower edge of the conduit 23 side, and the lever 9 of the chuck 35 is in the operating position as shown in FIG.
1 and press it down. Also,
By the air cylinder 24, the cylinder rod 10
4. Therefore, if the release plate 102 is moved back from the position shown in FIG. 15 to the right in the figure, the lever 91 of the chuck 35 will be released from the pressure and the main bar 78 of the unit 38 or 39 can be engaged again. I can do it.

The rear end of the lever 91 of the chuck 35 is again connected to the first
As is clear from FIG. 3, when the chuck 35 is returned to the starting position in the vacuum chamber 34 by the air cylinder 36 (FIGS. 5 and 6), the cam follower G is formed in the opposite direction to the end hook. It will be readily understood that the lever 91 is pressed by the release block 50 to release the grip on the unit 38 or 39.

Finally, the blocking mechanism 27 will be explained with reference to FIG. The shutoff mechanism 27 includes a breaker cover part 23a that projects in the middle of the conduit part 23, and forms a vertical guide surface 105 in the cover part 23a and the conduit part below the cover part 23a. 10
6 can be raised and lowered. gate 1
06 opens the conduit section 23 when it is lifted into the cover section 23a, and when it descends into the conduit section 23, it comes into close contact with the O-ring 108 fixed to the seat section 107 to shut off the conduit. can.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the number of units prepared in the preliminary vacuum tank 34 is not limited to the two illustrated and described, and the volume of the tank and the number of units supported by the elevator 44 can be increased, etc. can be easily increased, thereby further improving productivity.

Effects of the Invention According to the present invention, a vacuum chamber for vapor deposition and at least two conveyance/holding units each having a mechanism capable of holding and rotating a plurality of samples are held, and one of them is conveyed to a vapor deposition tank. The configuration includes a vacuum preparatory chamber with a mechanism that can independently create a vacuum or atmospheric state, and an airtight pipe line with a shutoff mechanism to connect the deposition tank and the preparatory chamber, making it possible to easily exchange samples. As already mentioned, the time can be significantly shortened, and since there is no need to transfer individual samples within the vacuum chamber, the mechanism inside the chamber can be simplified and maintenance is also easy. Additionally, by keeping the evaporation source constant without having to adjust it each time, a uniform film can be created, which can greatly improve productivity.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a needle perspective view of a cylindrical workpiece, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a rectangular workpiece, Fig. 3 is a partially sectional plan view of a conventional vacuum evaporation apparatus, and Fig. 4 is a partially sectional front view of the same apparatus. 5 is a plan view of a sample transport device for a vacuum evaporation device which is an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a plan view of the same device, and FIGS. 7 and 8 are detailed views of the connectors of the same device. ,
Figure 9 is a plan view of the unit, Figure 10 is a sectional front view of the unit, Figure 11 is a side view of the unit, and Figure 12 is a side view of the unit.
The figure is a detailed view of the connector of the same device, Figures 13A and B are a plan view and sectional front view of the chuck, Figure 14 is a front view of the chuck release mechanism, Figure 15 is a side view of the mechanism, and Figure 16. is a cross-sectional view of the blocking mechanism. 53... Vacuum exhaust device, 12... Vacuum chamber, 11
... Evaporation source, 37 ... Sample, 55 ... Vacuum exhaust device, 23 ... Pipe line, 20, 32 ... Straight line guide, 3
8, 39...Unit, 35...Chick, 5
8, 59, 61... Connection tool.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 a. A vacuum evaporation tank connected to a vacuum evacuation device and having an evaporation source therein for performing vacuum evaporation processing; b. A vacuum evaporation tank having a sample exchange door and connected to the vacuum evacuation device. c) an airtight conduit connecting the vacuum evaporation tank and the preliminary vacuum tank, and a shutoff mechanism for opening and closing between the two tanks; d. a linear guide mechanism extending from the vacuum deposition tank to the duct section and from the duct section to the preliminary vacuum chamber; e. and (f) in the preliminary vacuum chamber, one of the at least two holding units is placed in an operating position where it can be slid on the linear guide, and the remaining holding units are placed in a standby position. g. a reciprocating chuck mechanism for transporting the sample holding unit held at the operating position from the preliminary vacuum chamber to the vacuum evaporation tank and back; The vapor deposition tank is provided with a rotation introduction device for guiding external rotational power into the tank, and the sample holding unit includes a holding rotation section that rotatably holds at least one sample, and the holding rotation is provided with a rotation introduction device for guiding external rotational power into the tank. 1. A vacuum evaporation apparatus having a sample transport mechanism, characterized in that the apparatus includes a connection part connected to an output end of the apparatus.