KR101037846B1 - A gate valve device, a vacuum process devide and a method of opening and closing a valve body in the gate valve device - Google Patents

Abstract

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a gate valve device capable of finishing an operation time at a target time without causing particle generation or deterioration of the mechanism life. The gate valve device 30 for opening and closing the carry-in / out port 10a for carrying in / out of the glass substrate G provided in the side wall of the vacuum processing chamber 10 is a valve which opens and closes the carry-in port 10a. The driving of the valve body 33 is controlled to vary the moving speed of the valve body 33 according to the position of the sieve 33, the air cylinder 36 for driving the valve body 33, and the position of the valve body 33. An air drive circuit 60 is provided.

Description

A GATE VALVE DEVICE and A VACUUM PROCESS DEVIDE AND A METHOD OF OPENING AND CLOSING A VALVE BODY IN THE GATE VALVE DEVICE

The present invention provides a gate valve device for opening and closing a substrate loading and unloading port for loading and unloading of a substrate to be processed provided on the side wall of the chamber, a vacuum processing device including such a gate valve device, and a valve body in the gate valve device. Is about how to open.

In the manufacturing process of the flat panel display (FPD) typical of a liquid crystal display (LCD), vacuum processing, such as etching, ashing, and film-forming, is frequently used for the glass substrate under vacuum.

In the vacuum processing apparatus which performs such a vacuum process, the vacuum processing chamber which hold | maintains with a vacuum and performs the said process, and the vacuum reserve chamber provided with the conveyance mechanism adjacent to this vacuum processing chamber are provided. As the vacuum preliminary chamber, a load lock chamber which functions as an interface between the atmospheric side and the vacuum side between the cassette disposed on the atmospheric side and the vacuum processing chamber and a vacuum conveyance chamber which is always held in vacuum are used.

And a gate valve is provided between this vacuum processing chamber and a vacuum preparatory chamber, When carrying out a vacuum process, the carrying-in / out port provided in the vacuum processing chamber is closed by the gate valve valve body, When conveying a glass substrate, it is a valve body of a gate valve. By bringing it in, the carry-in / out port is opened (for example, patent document 1).

When closing the carry-in / out port by the valve body of the gate valve, the rod of the air cylinder connected to the valve body is raised to raise the valve body to the carry-in / out port, and the air cylinder rod is further raised. The link mechanism pushes the valve body to the circumference of the carry-in / out port and seals it. In addition, when opening the carry-in / out port, the air cylinder rod is lowered, the release force of the valve body by the link mechanism is first released, the valve body is lowered by lowering the rod further, and the carry-in / out port To open.

In the opening / closing operation of the carry-in / out port by such a gate valve, the air cylinder which is a drive source uses the speed control valve, and implement | achieves the shock relaxation at the start and stop of operation, and the completion | finish of operation within a target time.

By the way, the demand for enlargement of the glass substrate for FPD is strong, and the giant thing like one side exceeding 2m is coming to appear. In addition, the apparatus for processing such a large substrate also has to be enlarged, and the size of the carrying in and out ports to be opened and closed by the gate valve is also extremely large, and the weight of the valve body and the driving stroke of the air cylinder also increase. Moreover, the load at the time of the so-called back pressure by which pressure is applied to the valve body from the vacuum processing chamber also increases. Therefore, in the conventional adjustment of the speed control valve alone, if the operation time is to be finished at the target time, the impact at the start and the stop of the operation increases, and the generation of particles and the deterioration of the life of the mechanical part become a problem.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1993-87258

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a gate valve device capable of finishing the operation time at a target time without generating particles or deteriorating the life of the mechanical part, and providing a vacuum processing device having such a gate valve device. For the purpose of Moreover, it aims at providing the opening method of the valve body in such a gate valve apparatus.

MEANS TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM In order to solve the said subject, from the 1st viewpoint of this invention, in the gate valve apparatus for opening and closing the board | substrate carrying in / out port for carrying in and out of a to-be-processed board | substrate, the said board | substrate carrying in / out port is possible. A valve mechanism for closing the valve, a drive mechanism for moving the valve body between a closed position for closing the substrate loading / unloading port and a retracted position isolated from the substrate loading / exporting outlet, and a valve according to the position of the valve body. It provides a gate valve device comprising a drive control unit for controlling the drive of the valve body so as to change the moving speed of the sieve.

In the first aspect, the drive control unit may cause the valve body to move at a relatively slow first speed and a relatively fast second speed according to its position. In this case, the said drive control part moves the said valve body by the said 1st speed in the 1st area | region which the said valve body contacts with another member, and the said valve body in the 2nd area | region where the said valve body does not contact another member. It is preferable to control to move by the second speed.

The drive mechanism is an air cylinder, and the drive control unit has an air drive circuit for controlling the drive of the air cylinder by supplying and discharging air to the air cylinder, and the air drive circuit corresponds to the first speed. It can be set as the structure which has a 1st speed control valve and a 2nd speed control valve corresponding to a 2nd speed. In this case, the air drive circuit is connected to the first speed control valve and the pilot check valve connected to the pilot check valve to adjust the supply speed of air to the pilot check valve to adjust the first speed and the The structure which has a timing adjustment speed control valve which adjusts switching timing of a 2nd speed can be employ | adopted.

The air drive circuit is configured to switch supply and discharge of air from the first and second air supply / exhaust pipes connected to the air cylinder, the first air supply / exhaust pipe, and the second air supply / exhaust pipe. It has a solenoid valve, The said 1st speed control valve is provided in the said 2nd air supply and discharge piping, The said 2nd speed control valve can be set as the structure provided in parallel with the said 1st speed control valve. In this case, the air drive circuit does not go through the solenoid valve when discharging air to the air cylinder via at least one of the first air supply / exhaust pipe and the second air supply / exhaust pipe. It can be comprised so that it has a mechanism which exhausts high speed.

In the first aspect, it is preferable to include a plurality of the drive mechanisms. In this case, the plurality of drive mechanisms may include a main drive mechanism for moving the valve body between a closed position and a retracted position of the substrate loading / unloading port, and assisting a pushing operation when closing the valve body. It is preferable to have an auxiliary drive mechanism, and the auxiliary drive mechanism is spaced apart from the valve body when the valve body is in the retracted position. It is preferable that the said auxiliary drive mechanism operates later than the said main drive mechanism, when moving the said valve body from a retracted position to a closed position.

It is effective in the case of the structure which the said chamber is a vacuum chamber hold | maintained as a vacuum, and is adjacent to another vacuum chamber via the said carry-in / out port.

In the 2nd viewpoint of this invention, the vacuum processing chamber which has the board | substrate carrying-in / out port for carrying in / out of a to-be-processed board | substrate on the side wall, and vacuum-processes a to-be-processed board | substrate, and the said vacuum processing chamber provided adjacent to the said vacuum processing chamber A vacuum preliminary chamber for carrying in and carrying out a substrate to and from a substrate, and a gate valve device provided between the vacuum processing chamber and the vacuum preliminary chamber so as to open and close the substrate carrying in and out ports, wherein the gate valve is provided. The apparatus includes a valve mechanism for closing the substrate loading and unloading port, a drive mechanism for moving the valve body between the closing position for closing the substrate loading and unloading port, and a retracted position isolated from the substrate loading and unloading port. And a drive control section for controlling the driving of the valve body so as to vary the moving speed of the valve body according to the position of the valve body. It provides a vacuum processing apparatus, characterized in that.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the valve body opening method of a gate valve device provided on a side wall of a chamber for opening and closing a substrate loading / exporting port for loading and unloading a substrate, the valve body is provided. When moving from the closed position which closes the said board | substrate carrying-in / out to the retracted position isolate | separated from the said board | substrate carrying-in / out, 1st area | region in which the contact part to another member exists in the said valve body has relatively the said valve body. A method of opening a valve body in a gate valve device, characterized in that the valve body is operated at a relatively high second speed in a second region where the valve body is operated at a slow first speed and no contact is present in the valve body. to provide.

According to the present invention, since the driving of the valve body is controlled to vary the moving speed of the valve body according to the position of the valve body, in the region where the valve body contacts another member, the moving speed of the valve body is slowed down, and the other member is in contact with the other member. In the region not to be used, the moving speed of the valve body can be increased. For this reason, it becomes possible to complete the operation time of a valve body to a target time, without generating particle | grains and causing the lifetime reduction of a mechanism part.

In addition, by using an air cylinder as a lifting mechanism as a driving mechanism, using an air driving circuit as a driving control unit, and realizing the above operation by using a speed control valve for speed control of the valve body, the complexity of control and mechanism is reduced. It is possible to realize the above effect without causing.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiment of this invention is described concretely with reference to an accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The perspective view which shows the external appearance of the vacuum processing apparatus provided with the gate valve apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view which shows the vacuum processing apparatus load lock chamber (vacuum preliminary chamber) and the vacuum processing chamber of FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a drive portion of the gate valve device between the vacuum processing chamber and the load lock chamber.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vacuum processing apparatus 100 performs the vacuum processing chamber (chamber) 10 which performs desired vacuum processing, such as a plasma etching process or a thin film formation process, with respect to the glass substrate G for FPD in a vacuum atmosphere. And a load lock chamber 20 that is connected to the vacuum processing chamber 10 and functions as a vacuum preliminary chamber, a gate valve device 30 provided between the vacuum processing chamber 10 and the load lock chamber 20, and the load lock chamber 20. ) And a gate valve device 40 for blocking the external air transport mechanism 50. Here, as FPD, a liquid crystal display (LCD), an electroluminescence (EL) display, a plasma display panel (PDP), etc. are illustrated.

The atmospheric | transport side conveyance mechanism 50 is equipped with the conveyance arm 51 which can be rotated and expanded | stretched, and is an unprocessed one board | substrate from the board | lack rack 55 in which several board | substrate G was accommodated ( The operation | movement which takes out G) and passes it to the board | substrate conveyance apparatus 27 in the load lock chamber 20 via the gate valve apparatus 40, and the processed board | substrate G from the board | substrate conveyance apparatus 27 in the load lock chamber 20 are carried out. It receives, and takes out to the atmosphere side through the gate valve 40, and stores it in the substrate rack 55.

As shown in FIG. 2, the vacuum processing chamber 10 is provided with the carry-in / out port 10a which carries in / out of glass substrate G. As shown in FIG. In addition, the processing gas supply part 12 is connected to the vacuum processing chamber 10 via the gas supply piping 11, and the valve 13 and the flow controller (not shown) are provided in the gas supply piping 11. And the predetermined process gas can be supplied from the gas supply part 12 to the inside of the vacuum processing chamber 10. FIG. In addition, the vacuum pump 15 is connected to the vacuum processing chamber 10 via the exhaust pipe 14, and the pressure control valve 16 is provided in the exhaust pipe 14. This makes it possible to form a processing gas atmosphere having a predetermined pressure necessary for processing the inside of the vacuum processing chamber 10. The processing stage 17 in which the glass substrate G which is a process target is mounted is provided in the inside of the vacuum processing chamber 10.

As shown in FIG. 2, the load lock chamber 20 has a first carry-in / out port 20a for carrying in and carrying out the glass substrate G between the vacuum processing chamber 10 and the atmosphere side. It has the 2nd carry-in / out port 20b which carries in and carries out glass substrate G. As shown in FIG. In addition, a vacuum pump 22 is connected to the load lock chamber 20 via an exhaust pipe 21, and a valve 23 is provided in the exhaust pipe 21. In addition, the load lock chamber 20 is provided with a purge gas supply part 25 via the purge gas supply pipe 24, and a valve 26 and a flow controller (not shown) are provided in the purge gas supply pipe 24. . And when conveying glass substrate G between the vacuum processing chambers 10, the vacuum pump 22 vacuum-exhausts to the vacuum degree equivalent to the vacuum processing chamber 10, and the board | substrate rack 55 of an atmospheric atmosphere. when conveying a glass substrate (G) in between, the purge gas such as N ₂ gas into the load lock chamber 20 from the purge gas supply unit 25 is supplied to the load lock chamber 20, the inside is returned to atmospheric pressure. Moreover, the board | substrate conveying apparatus 27 is provided in the inside of the load lock chamber 20, and the board | substrate conveying apparatus 27 is carried in and carried out of the glass substrate G with respect to the vacuum processing chamber 10. have.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the gate valve device 30 is provided between the vacuum processing chamber 10 and the load lock chamber 20, and closely adheres to the outer walls of the vacuum processing chamber 10 and the load lock chamber 20. And a frame body 32 having a pair of openings 31 communicating with the carry-in / out port 10a of the vacuum processing chamber 10 and the first carry-in / out port 20a of the load lock chamber 20. ) And a valve body 33 which moves in the frame body 32 to open and close the opening 31.

The valve body 33 includes a pressing part 33a for blocking the opening 31 on the vacuum processing chamber 10 side of the frame body 32 (that is, for blocking the loading / unloading port 10a), and the pressing part. It has a link mechanism 34 for pushing 33a to the peripheral part of the opening 31, and the support body 35 which supports the pressing part 33a via the link mechanism 34. As shown in FIG. The rod 37 of the air cylinder 36 is connected to the lower end of the support body 35. Then, the air is supplied to and discharged from the air cylinder 36 via the first air supply / exhaust pipe 38a and the second air supply / discharge pipe 38b connected to the air cylinder 36. The rod 37 moves up and down, and the valve body 33 moves up and down in accordance with the lifting operation. The drive of the valve body 33 by the air cylinder 36 is controlled by the air drive circuit 60.

A stop roller 61 is provided at the upper end of the pressing part 33a of the valve body 33, and a stopper having a shock absorbing function at a position corresponding to the stop roller 61 inside the upper wall of the frame body 32 ( stopper 62 is provided. Moreover, when the pressing part 33a exists in the position corresponding to the opening 31 in the back surface side (load lock chamber 20 side) of the support body 35, the pressure in the vacuum processing chamber 10 becomes high. A pair of back contact rollers 63a and 63b are provided in order to maintain the closed state of the opening 31 by the pressing part 33a even when the "back pressure" state arises. When these valve body 33 exists in the position corresponding to the opening 31, these back contact rollers 63a and 63b are provided so that the opening 31 of the load lock chamber 20 side may be extended up and down, and the frame body ( The supporting member 64a, 64b which receives these is provided in the inner wall of 32. These bearing members 64a and 64b have a buffer function.

As shown in FIG. 4, the link mechanism 34 includes an upper link 65 connected to the pressing portion 33a and the support 35 by shafts 65a and 65b, respectively, and an axis positioned below the linkage 34. It is connected to the pressing part 33a and the support body 35 by the 66a, 66b, and has the lower link 66 provided in parallel with the upper link 65, These upper link 65, the lower link 66 The pressing portion 33a and the support 35 form a parallelogram link. And when the valve body 33 is not closed, as shown to (a) of FIG. 4, the pressing part 33a of the valve body 33 is supported by the spring 67 as a pressurizing means. The pressing part 33a is pressurized so that it may become a position above (). And when the valve body 33 rises by the air cylinder 36 from this state, and the locking roller 61 of the press part 33a contacts the stopper 62, it will be shown in FIG.4 (b). As shown, the rise of the pressing portion 33a is prevented, so that only the support 35 rises in response to the pressing force of the spring 67. Then, the upper link 65 and the lower link 66, which were obliquely driven by the pressing force of the spring 67, are closer to the horizontal, and the parallelogram link is closer to the rectangular shape, and accordingly, the pressing portion 33a Is pressed against the vacuum processing chamber 10 side, the periphery of the opening 31 is sealed by the press part 33a, and the carry-in / out port 10a of the vacuum processing chamber 10 is closed by the valve body 33. As shown in FIG. .

When opening the valve body 33 to open the carry-in / out port 10a, the support body 35 is lowered by the air cylinder 36, and the press part 33a is first released from the state of FIG. Is moved to the load lock chamber 20 side, and it is set as the state of FIG. 4 (a), and the whole of the valve body 33 is lowered by the air cylinder 36 from that state.

In this case, in the gate valve apparatus 30, when it opens from the state which closed the opening 31 by the valve body 33, contact parts, such as a sealing part, a locking roller, a back contact roller, exist necessarily. And then out of the contact range. If the valve body 33 is operated quickly while the contact portion is present, particles are likely to be generated, and the life of the mechanism part is also easily decreased. On the contrary, if the operation is slowed to suppress dust generation, the operation does not end within the target time. Do not.

So, in this embodiment, when opening the valve body 33 by the air drive circuit 60, in the initial stage in which a contact part exists, the valve body 33 is operated at low speed (a operation | movement), and a contact part is carried out. In the step of no longer present, the valve body 33 is operated at a high speed (b operation) to control the drive by the air cylinder 36 to suppress the particles and the valve body 33 within the target time. To realize the opening and closing operation.

The specific structure of the air drive circuit 60 is shown in FIG.

The first air supply / exhaust pipe 38a is connected to the upper portion of the air cylinder 36, and the air cylinder is lowered when the rod 37 of the air cylinder 36 is lowered (opening operation of the valve body 33). When the air is supplied into the 36 and is raised, the air is discharged to the closing operation of the valve body 33. On the other hand, the second air supply / exhaust pipe 38b is connected to the lower part of the air cylinder 36, and when the rod 37 of the air cylinder 36 is raised (close operation of the valve body 33). Air is supplied into the air cylinder 36, and air is discharged when the air cylinder 36 is lowered (opening operation of the valve body 33). The supply of air to the first air supply / discharge pipe 38a and the second air supply / discharge pipe 38b and the discharge of air from these are controlled by the solenoid valve 80. The solenoid valve 80 is switchable to the closing part 81 and the opening part 82, and when switching to the closing part 81, the closing operation of the valve body 33 is performed, and the opening part 82 is made. When it is switched to, the opening operation of the valve body 33 is performed.

The 1st speed control valve 71 is interposed in the 1st air supply / discharge piping 38a. The first speed control valve 71 is controlled at a predetermined flow rate by the throttle valve 71a when discharging air, and can be supplied at a large flow rate without being disturbed by the check valve 71b when air is supplied. .

The second air supply / exhaust pipe 38b is provided with a second speed control valve 72 having a low-speed a motion. When the second speed control valve 72 discharges air, the throttle valve 72a controls the low flow rate so that the opening operation of the valve body 33 becomes a low-speed a operation capable of suppressing particles, and supplies air. Is made possible to be supplied at a large flow rate without being disturbed by the check valve 72b. In addition, a pipe 73 is connected to the second air supply / exhaust pipe 38b so as to bypass the second speed control valve 72, and the pipe 73 has a third speed of the b acting action at high speed. The control valve 74 is interposed. The 3rd speed control valve 74 combines the pilot check valve 75 with the control part 76 which has a normal speed control valve structure, and the pilot check valve 75 has the 1st air supply / exhaust piping 38a. A pipe 77 branched from the pipe is connected. The pipe 77 is provided with a fourth speed control valve 78 interposed therebetween. And when the opening operation | movement of the valve body 33 is performed, air will not flow to the piping 73 by the pilot check valve 75 of the 3rd speed control valve 74, and the 2nd speed control valve 72 will be performed initially. Air is discharged at a small flow rate. Thereby, in the initial stage of opening the valve body 33, the valve body 33 operates at low speed (a operation). At this time, a part of the air supplied to the first air supply / exhaust pipe 38a at a predetermined flow rate by the throttle valve 78a of the fourth speed control valve 78 is controlled through the pipe 77 for the third speed control. It is supplied to the pilot check valve 75 of the valve 74, and with respect to the pressure on the air cylinder 36 side of the pilot check valve 75, the pressure on the pipe 77 side is a predetermined pressure (here 50%). At this point, the pilot check valve 75 is opened to allow air to flow through the pipe 73. At this time, the throttle valve 76a of the control part 76 of the 3rd speed control valve 74 can be loosened, and it can be set as the flow volume larger than the flow volume controlled by the 2nd speed control valve 72. The operation of the valve body 33 can be switched to a high speed operation (b operation). In other words, the fourth speed control valve 78 functions for switching between the a operation and the b operation. The timing of switching between the initial operation of the valve body 33 and the subsequent high speed operation can be controlled by adjusting the flow rate of air flowing through the pipe 77 by the throttle valve 78a of the fourth speed control valve 78. Can be.

In addition, when the gate valve device 30 is large, a large force is required to drive the valve body 33. In this case, it is preferable to provide two air cylinders 36 as shown in FIG. In this case, the two air cylinders 36 are synchronized by the air drive circuit 60 'to perform the same operation.

Although this air drive circuit 60 'commons the solenoid valve 80, the 4th speed control valve 78, etc. with respect to the two air cylinders 36 as shown in FIG. 7, the basic structure is air The cylinder 36 is the same as in one case.

The gate valve device 40 is provided in the atmosphere side of the load lock chamber 20, as shown in FIG. 2, and is in close contact with the outer wall of the load lock chamber 20, and communicates with the 2nd carry-in / out port 20b and the atmosphere side. The frame body 42 in which the pair of openings 41 are formed, and the valve body 43 which moves in the frame body 42 and performs opening / closing operation of the opening 41 are provided.

As shown in FIG. 2, each component of the vacuum processing apparatus 100 is configured to be controlled by the control unit 90. For example, the gas supply, exhaust, opening / closing valve, gate valve device and the like are controlled by the controller 90. In particular, in the gate valve device 30, the operation of the solenoid valve 80 of the air drive circuit 60 is controlled by the controller 90.

The control unit 90 has a process controller 91 having a microprocessor. The process controller 91 includes a keyboard on which an operator performs input operation or the like for managing the vacuum processing apparatus 100, or a vacuum process. The user interface 92 which consists of a display etc. which visualizes and displays the operation state of the apparatus 100 is connected. In addition, the process controller 91 includes a control program for realizing various processes executed in the vacuum processing apparatus 100 under the control of the process controller 91, or predetermined processing to the vacuum processing apparatus 100 in accordance with processing conditions. A control program for executing, i.e., a storage unit 93, which stores recipes, various databases, and the like, is connected. The storage unit 93 has a storage medium, and recipes and the like are stored in the storage medium. The storage medium may be fixed, such as a hard disk, or may be portable such as a CD ROM, a DVD, a flash memory, or the like. Then, if necessary, an arbitrary recipe is called from the storage unit 93 by an instruction from the user interface 92 and executed in the process control unit 91, whereby the vacuum processing apparatus 100 is controlled under the control of the process control unit 91. The desired treatment at is performed.

Next, operation | movement of the vacuum processing apparatus comprised in this way is demonstrated.

First, the substrate conveying apparatus 27 exists in the load lock chamber 20, closes the valve body 33 of the gate valve apparatus 30, and the inside of the vacuum processing chamber 10 needs to be a vacuum pump 15. Exhausted under vacuum.

Next, the unprocessed glass substrate G is taken out of the board | substrate rack 55 by the conveyance arm 51 of the atmospheric | backup side conveyance mechanism 50, and the valve body 42 of the gate valve apparatus 40 is released, The glass substrate G is carried into the load lock chamber 20 through the opening part 41 and the carry-in / out port 20b, and is arrange | positioned at the positioning part (not shown). . Thereafter, the transfer arm 51 is pulled to the atmospheric side and retracted to the outside of the load lock chamber 20 to mount the glass substrate G on the pick of the substrate transfer device 27.

In this state, the valve body 42 of the gate valve device 40 is closed to keep the load lock chamber 20 closed, and the exhaust control valve 23 is opened to open the vacuum processing chamber 10 by the vacuum pump 22. The valve body 33 of the gate valve device 30 is opened after exhausting until the pressure can be returned to). In this case, the valve body 33 is opened and continues to descend from the state in which the opening 31 is closed and pushed about the periphery of the opening 31, but continues to descend. Therefore, in the static pressure state where the pressure in the load lock chamber 20 is higher than the pressure in the vacuum processing chamber 10 or the equal pressure condition in which both are equal, the sealing portion of the valve body 33 is around the opening 31 of the frame body 32. The back contact rollers 63a and 63b come in contact with the supporting members 64a and 64b in a back pressure state where the pressure in the load lock chamber 20 is lower than the pressure in the vacuum processing chamber 10. Even in this case, since the stopping roller 61 is in contact with the stopper 62, the contact portion always exists in the initial stage of operation of the valve body 33. Conventionally, in order to complete the operation time of the valve body 33 within a predetermined time, it is not possible to speed up the operation speed of the valve body 33 even in a step in which a contact portion at the beginning of operation exists. As described above, dust may be generated due to sliding of the contact part at high speed, and the life of the mechanism part may be reduced. Such a problem occurs even if measures to reduce the impact such as providing the rear contact rollers 63a and 63b are made as long as the operation of the valve body 33 is made at a high speed in the initial stage in which the contact portion exists. It turned out.

So, in this embodiment, in the opening operation | movement of the valve body 33, as long as a contact part exists in the valve body 33 as shown in FIG. The operation is performed (operation a), and the operation is performed at a high speed when the contact portion does not exist as shown in FIG. Thereby, the whole operation time of the valve body 33 can be shortened, without causing dust generation and the lifetime deterioration of a mechanism.

Since the air drive circuit 60 performs the two-step operation control of the a operation and the b operation, the control of the control unit 90 at the time of operation of the valve body 33 controls the solenoid valve 80. In addition to switching control of the operation, the air drive circuit 60 is a simple structure formed by a combination of a plurality of speed control valves and piping, so that such two-step operation can be realized without employing complicated mechanisms and controls.

The pair of openings 31 of the loading / unloading port 20a of the load lock chamber 20 and the gate valve device 30 by the substrate transfer device 27 in the state where the valve body 33 is opened in this manner. And the glass substrate G into the vacuum processing chamber 10 via the carry-in / out port 10a. In this case, it is preferable to start the operation | movement of the board | substrate conveyance apparatus 27 in the middle of the opening operation | movement of the said valve body 33 from a viewpoint of the whole throughput improvement. Thereby, the whole board | substrate conveyance time can be shortened rather than starting operation | movement of the board | substrate conveyance apparatus 27 when the opening of the valve body 33 is complete | finished. As an operation timing of the board | substrate conveyance apparatus 27 at this time, the gate valve apparatus 30 is provided with the sensor which detects that the valve body 33 passed the predetermined position at the time of the lowering operation of the valve body 33, for example. In addition, it is considered to operate the substrate transfer device 27 as a trigger from the signal from the sensor. In addition, when closing a valve body in accordance with the operation | movement of a board | substrate conveying apparatus, the positional information of a board | substrate conveying apparatus is detected by the encoder etc. which were provided in the drive mechanism of a board | substrate conveying apparatus, and based on it, the valve body 33 is opened. It is also possible to output a trigger signal for raising.

After carrying in the glass substrate G in this way, the solenoid valve 80 is switched, the air in the air cylinder 36 is discharged | emitted via the 1st air supply / exhaust piping 38a, and 2nd air supply / discharge is carried out. Supplying air into the air cylinder 36 via the pipe 38b raises the rod 37, raises the valve body 33, and further surrounds the opening 31 of the frame body 32. The valve body 33 is forcibly pushed into the part. As a result, the valve body 33 is in a closed state, and a predetermined vacuum treatment is performed on the glass substrate G in the vacuum processing chamber 10.

After the vacuum treatment, the valve body 33 of the gate valve apparatus 30 is opened in the same manner as described above, and the glass substrate G in the vacuum processing chamber 10 is received by the substrate transfer apparatus 27 to receive the load lock chamber ( 20), the valve body 33 of the gate valve device 30 is then closed. In the state where the glass substrate G exists in the load lock chamber 20, the purge gas is supplied into the load lock chamber 20 from the purge gas supply part 25 into the load lock chamber 20, and the inside is made into atmospheric pressure, and thereafter, the gate valve The valve body 42 of the apparatus 40 is opened, and the glass substrate G is accommodated in the rack 55 which exists in an atmospheric atmosphere by the atmospheric side conveyance mechanism.

Next, another air driving circuit for realizing the above two-stage operation will be described.

10 is a diagram illustrating such another air drive circuit 160. Here, since the basic structure is the same as that of the air drive circuit 60 shown in FIG. 5, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same thing, and description is simplified.

The air drive circuit 160 provides a quick exhaust valve 171 instead of the first speed control valve 71 in the first air supply / exhaust pipe 38a to supply air to the solenoid valve 80. Exhaust air at high speed instead of turning. In other words, the quick exhaust valve 171 has a three-way valve structure, and the rapid exhaust line 172 is connected to the branch portion 171a. In addition, a check valve 171b is provided in the flow path 38a 'connected to the first air supply / discharge pipe 38a of the branch portion 171a. When the air is discharged, the air is discharged by the check valve 171b. It does not flow in the flow path 38a ', but is exhausted at high speed via the high speed exhaust line 172. Therefore, the raising operation of the valve body 33 by the air cylinder 36 can be performed at a higher speed. When supplying air to an air cylinder, it is supplied through the 1st air supply / exhaust piping 38a without being disturbed by the check valve 171b.

On the other hand, the 3rd speed control valve 74 branches off from the 2nd air supply and discharge piping 38b, and does not return to the solenoid valve 80, but is connected to the piping 173 which can discharge air as it is. Therefore, the exhaust gas can be discharged at a higher speed, and the b operation of lowering the valve body 33 at a higher speed can be performed at a higher speed.

When the apparatus is further enlarged, the high speed operation circuit using FIG. 10 is preferable, but one air cylinder tends to lack the force forcing the valve body 33 to close, and further, such high speed exhaust is prevented. When used, since air does not return to the solenoid valve 80, the fall prevention of the valve body 33 cannot fully be performed.

Thus, as shown in FIG. 11, two air cylinders 136 for assistance are used in addition to the main air cylinder 36 using the air drive circuit 160 of FIG. 10. The auxiliary air cylinder 136 is not used because the rod 137 is not connected to the valve body 33, and is used because of the assistance of the force of the valve body 33 forcibly being pushed when the valve body 33 is closed. will be. In addition, these two air cylinders 136 can complete the fall prevention function of the valve body 33. These two air cylinders 136 are driven by the air drive circuit 260 and have a first air supply / exhaust pipe 138a and a second air supply / exhaust pipe 138b.

12 shows a state in which the air drive circuit 160 and the air drive circuit 260 are combined. As described above, the air drive circuit 260 includes a first air supply / exhaust pipe 138a and a second air supply / discharge pipe 138b. The first air supply / exhaust pipe 138a is connected to the upper portion of the air cylinder 136, and when the rod 137 of the air cylinder 136 is lowered, the air is supplied into the air cylinder 136 to raise it. Air is discharged when making On the other hand, the second air supply / discharge pipe 138b is connected to the lower part of the air cylinder 136, and supplies air into the air cylinder 136 when raising the rod 137 of the air cylinder 136, Air is discharged when descending. The first air supply and discharge pipe 138a passes through the flow path 138a 'and reaches the solenoid valve 80, and the second air supply and discharge pipe 138b passes through the flow path 138b' and passes through the solenoid valve 80. To this. The supply of air to the first air supply / discharge pipe 138a and the second air supply / discharge pipe 138b and the discharge of air from these are controlled by the solenoid valve 180. The solenoid valve 180 is switchable to the closing part 181 and the opening part 182, and when it is switched to the closing part 181, the raising operation of the rod 137 is performed, and the opening part 182 is switched. When switching is performed, the lowering operation of the rod 137 is performed.

The 1st speed control valve 181 is interposed in the 1st air supply / discharge piping 138a. Similar to the third speed control valve 74 of the air drive circuit 60 shown in FIG. 5, the first speed control valve 181 is connected to a control unit 183 having a normal speed control valve structure to provide a pilot check valve ( 182 is combined, and a pipe 185 branched from the second air supply / discharge pipe 138b is connected to the pilot check valve 182. For this reason, when supply of air to the 2nd air supply / exhaust piping 138b stops by some trouble, since supply of air to the piping 185 is stopped, the pilot check valve 182 will be closed. . Then, the 1st air supply / discharge piping 138a connected to the air cylinder 137 becomes a closed space, and air flow does not generate | occur | produce. That is, the operation | movement of the air cylinder 137 is stopped, and it is made to hold | maintain the phenomenon at the time of a trouble.

On the other hand, the 2nd speed control valve 184 is interposed in the 2nd air supply and discharge piping 138b. This second speed control valve 184 has a conventional structure for controlling the flow rate when discharging air.

The first air supply / exhaust pipe 138a and the second air supply / discharge pipe 138b of the two air cylinders 136 are integrated with each other and connected to a common solenoid valve 180. As a result, the two air cylinders 136 can perform the same operation in synchronization.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the spirit of the present invention. For example, although the said embodiment used the example which used the air cylinder which is a lifting mechanism as a drive mechanism, the driving embodiment is not limited to lifting, for example, other embodiment, such as a rotation, may be sufficient as a driving mechanism. Moreover, other drive mechanisms, such as an electric motor, may not be limited to an air cylinder. When not using an air cylinder, it is also possible to use other control methods, such as electrical control, instead of using an air drive circuit as a control mechanism.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, although it showed with respect to the example which used the load lock chamber as a vacuum preliminary chamber, the vacuum conveyance chamber always kept in vacuum may be sufficient.

Furthermore, although it showed with respect to the case where an FPD board | substrate was used as a board | substrate, it is not limited to this, It is applicable to other board | substrates.

This invention is suitable for the gate valve apparatus which opens and closes between these vacuum chambers when conveying a large board | substrate between vacuum chambers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the vacuum processing apparatus provided with the gate valve apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view showing a load lock chamber (vacuum preliminary chamber) and a vacuum processing chamber of the vacuum processing apparatus of FIG. 1.

3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a drive portion of the gate valve device between the vacuum processing chamber and the load lock chamber.

It is a figure which shows the link mechanism of the gate valve apparatus valve body shown in FIG. 3, and its operation | movement.

It is a figure which shows the air drive circuit which controls the drive of the air cylinder which drives a valve body.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the example which provided two air cylinders which drive a valve body.

It is a figure which shows the air drive circuit at the time of providing two air cylinders.

It is a schematic diagram explaining the state of the initial stage of the opening operation | movement of a valve body.

9 is a schematic diagram for explaining the two-step operation of the present invention.

It is a figure which shows another example of the air drive circuit which controls the drive of the air cylinder which drives a valve body.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an example in which a main air cylinder and auxiliary air cylinders are provided on both sides thereof for driving the valve body.

12 is a diagram illustrating an air drive circuit in the case of FIG. 11.

Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

10: vacuum processing chamber 20: load lock chamber (vacuum spare room)

30: gate valve device 31: opening

32: frame body 33: valve body

34 link mechanism 35 support

36: air cylinder 37: rod

38a: 1st air supply and discharge piping 38b: 2nd air supply and discharge piping

60, 60 ', 160, 260: air drive circuit

71: first speed control valve 72: second speed control valve

73, 77 piping 74: third speed control valve

78: fourth speed control valve 80: solenoid valve

100: vacuum processing device G: glass substrate

Claims (14)

In the gate valve apparatus for opening and closing the board | substrate carrying in / out port for carrying in and out of a to-be-processed board | substrate provided in the side wall of a chamber, A valve body for closing the substrate loading and unloading port, A drive mechanism for moving the valve body between a closed position for closing the substrate loading and unloading opening and a retracting position isolated from the substrate loading and unloading opening; And a driving control unit for controlling the driving of the valve body so as to vary the moving speed of the valve body according to the position of the valve body, The drive control unit moves the valve body at a relatively slow first speed and a relatively fast second speed according to its position, The drive mechanism is an air cylinder, The drive control section has an air drive circuit for controlling the drive of the air cylinder by supplying and discharging air to the air cylinder, The air drive circuit has a first speed control valve corresponding to the first speed and a second speed control valve corresponding to the second speed. Gate valve device. delete In the gate valve apparatus for opening and closing the board | substrate carrying in / out port for carrying in and out of a to-be-processed board | substrate provided in the side wall of a chamber, A valve body for closing the substrate loading and unloading port, A drive mechanism for moving the valve body between a closed position for closing the substrate loading and unloading opening and a retracting position isolated from the substrate loading and unloading opening; And a driving control unit for controlling the driving of the valve body so as to vary the moving speed of the valve body according to the position of the valve body, The drive control unit moves the valve body at a relatively slow first speed and a relatively fast second speed according to its position, The drive control unit moves the valve body by the first speed in a first region in which the valve body contacts another member, and moves the valve body in the second region in which the valve body does not contact another member. Controlling to move by Gate valve device. The method of claim 3, wherein The drive mechanism is an air cylinder, The drive control section has an air drive circuit for controlling the drive of the air cylinder by supplying and discharging air to the air cylinder, The air drive circuit has a first speed control valve corresponding to the first speed and a second speed control valve corresponding to the second speed. Gate valve device. The method according to claim 1 or 4, The air drive circuit, A pilot check valve connected to the first speed control valve, And a timing adjustment speed control valve connected to the pilot check valve to adjust a supply speed of air to the pilot check valve to adjust switching timing of the first speed and the second speed. Gate valve device. The method according to claim 1 or 4, The air drive circuit is configured to switch supply and discharge of air from the first and second air supply / exhaust pipes connected to the air cylinder, the first air supply / exhaust pipe, and the second air supply / exhaust pipe. Has a solenoid valve, The first speed control valve is provided in the second air supply / discharge pipe, and the second speed control valve is provided in parallel with the first speed control valve. Gate valve device The method of claim 6, The air drive circuit is a mechanism for rapidly exhausting air without passing through the solenoid valve when discharging air from the air cylinder via at least one of the first air supply / exhaust pipe and the second air supply / exhaust pipe. Characterized in having Gate valve device. The method according to claim 1 or 3, A plurality of said drive mechanisms is provided, It is characterized by the above-mentioned. Gate valve device. The method of claim 8, The plurality of drive mechanisms include a main drive mechanism for moving the valve body between a closed position and a retracted position of the substrate loading / unloading port, and an auxiliary drive mechanism for assisting a pushing operation when closing the valve body. Have, The auxiliary drive mechanism is spaced apart from the valve body when the valve body is in the retracted position. Gate valve device. The method of claim 9, The auxiliary drive mechanism operates later than the main drive mechanism when the valve body is moved from the retracted position to the closed position. Gate valve device. The method according to claim 1 or 3, The chamber is a vacuum chamber that is held in vacuum, and is adjacent to another vacuum chamber via the carry-in / out port. Gate valve device. A vacuum processing chamber having a substrate carrying-in / out port for carrying in / out of the substrate to be processed on the side wall, and vacuum-processing the substrate to be processed; A vacuum preliminary chamber for carrying in and out of a substrate to the vacuum processing chamber provided adjacent to the vacuum processing chamber, In the vacuum processing apparatus provided with the gate valve apparatus provided between the said vacuum processing chamber and the said vacuum preliminary chamber so that the said board | substrate carrying in / out can be opened and closed, The gate valve device, A valve body for closing the substrate loading and unloading port, A drive mechanism for moving the valve body between a closed position for closing the substrate loading and unloading opening and a retracted position isolated from the substrate loading and unloading opening; And a driving control unit for controlling the driving of the valve body so as to vary the moving speed of the valve body according to the position of the valve body, The drive control unit moves the valve body at a relatively slow first speed and a relatively fast second speed according to its position, The drive mechanism is an air cylinder, The drive control section has an air drive circuit for controlling the drive of the air cylinder by supplying and discharging air to the air cylinder, The air drive circuit has a first speed control valve corresponding to the first speed and a second speed control valve corresponding to the second speed. Vacuum processing unit. In the opening method of the valve body in the gate valve apparatus for opening and closing the board | substrate carrying in / out port for carrying in / out of the to-be-processed board | substrate provided in the side wall of a chamber, In the 1st area | region which the contact part to another member exists in the said valve body, when moving the said valve body from the closed position which closes the said board | substrate carrying-in / out port to the retracted position isolated from the said board | substrate carrying-in / out port, The valve body is operated at a relatively slow first speed, and the valve body is operated at a relatively high second speed in a second region in which no contact portion exists in the valve body. The valve body opening method in a gate valve apparatus. A vacuum processing chamber having a substrate carrying-in / out port for carrying in / out of the substrate to be processed on the side wall, and vacuum-processing the substrate to be processed; A vacuum preliminary chamber for carrying in and out of a substrate to the vacuum processing chamber provided adjacent to the vacuum processing chamber, In the vacuum processing apparatus provided with the gate valve apparatus provided between the said vacuum processing chamber and the said vacuum preliminary chamber so that the said board | substrate carrying in / out can be opened and closed, The gate valve device, A valve body for closing the substrate loading and unloading port, A drive mechanism for moving the valve body between a closed position for closing the substrate loading and unloading opening and a retracted position isolated from the substrate loading and unloading opening; And a driving control unit for controlling the driving of the valve body so as to vary the moving speed of the valve body according to the position of the valve body, The drive control unit moves the valve body at a relatively slow first speed and a relatively fast second speed according to its position, The drive control unit moves the valve body by the first speed in a first region in which the valve body contacts another member, and moves the valve body in the second region in which the valve body does not contact another member. Controlling to move by Vacuum processing unit.

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