KR101380178B1 - Vacuum isolation apparatus for a high-degree vacuum situation - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a vacuum interruption device capable of shielding the entrance and exit formed in the working chamber in a high vacuum state. The present invention is an embodiment, the cylinder case is moved to the doorway communicating with the work space, and can block the doorway, the support panel, a cylinder case mounted on one surface of the support panel to form a plurality of cylinders along the longitudinal direction, Pistons mounted on each of the cylinders, rods coupled to each of the pistons, one end protruding from the cylinder case, a valve plate to which the rods are coupled, and one end coupled to the valve plate, and the other end is It is coupled to the cylinder case, and proposes a high vacuum corresponding vacuum cutoff device including a bellows surrounding the circumference of the rod.

Description

Vacuum isolation apparatus for a high-degree vacuum situation

The present invention relates to a vacuum interruption device capable of shielding the entrance and exit formed in the working chamber in a high vacuum state.

The liquid crystal panel (eg, FPD) used in the image display apparatus needs to be processed in various vacuum regions according to low vacuum and ultra high vacuum, and a plurality of working chambers are intensively or sequentially lined to realize a vacuum state. Is formed. The entrance and exit of each working chamber is provided with a vacuum shutoff device such as a slot valve for maintaining a vacuum state therein.

The entrance and exit of the chamber has a limited area to the level required for the movement of the liquid crystal panel in order to maintain different vacuum conditions inside and outside. Normally, the entrance and exit is long in one direction and relatively short in width, such as the cross section of a plate such as a liquid crystal panel. According to the shape of the entrance and exit is used a vacuum blocking device formed long to one side.

A general vacuum shutoff device is provided with a valve plate that protrudes toward an open entrance and blocks the entrance. The valve plate is operated by a plurality of cylinders, the valve plate also has a long shape to one side according to the shape of the entrance. In addition, cylinders are mainly air cylinders, and the injection of air for operation was performed at one or both ends in the longitudinal direction. This valve plate is in contact with the periphery of the entrance as the cylinder elongates to shield the entrance. In the prior art, the operation of the cylinder connected to the valve plate is usually made of air, and grease is used in the cylinder to prevent air leakage and smooth lubrication.

In addition, the vacuum shut-off device is also placed in a high vacuum environment as the work spaces open the entrance while maintaining the high vacuum environment.

In the related art, when the connection portion between the valve plate and the cylinder is exposed to a high vacuum environment, there is a problem that grease applied to the cylinder or fine metal particles generated during the operation of the cylinder flows into the work space and contaminates the glass substrate. In addition, since the loss of grease lasts as long as the exposure time to a high vacuum environment, there is also a problem that the maintenance interval for replenishing it is shortened depending on the degree of vacuum.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has an object of preventing grease, fine metal particles, and the like used in the friction part from being scattered even in a high vacuum state.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is an embodiment, which is moved to an entrance communicating with a work space and can block the entrance, and is mounted on one side of a support panel and the support panel to form a plurality of cylinders along a length direction. A plurality of cylinder cases, pistons mounted to each of the cylinders, rods coupled to each of the pistons, one end of which protrudes from the cylinder case, a valve plate to which the rods are coupled, and one end of the valve plate. It is coupled to, the other end is coupled to the cylinder case, and proposes a high vacuum corresponding vacuum blocking device including a bellows surrounding the rod circumference.

Here, the bellows is an upper circumferential plate to be clamped between the end of the rod and the valve plate, a lower circumference plate formed in the cylinder case fixed to the periphery of the through hole through which the rod passes, and one end of the upper circumference plate It is fixed to, the other end is fixed to the lower circumference plate, it may include a corrugated tube having an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the rod.

In addition, a sealing groove may be formed on an inner circumferential surface of the through hole, and the sealing groove may include a sealing member facing the outer circumferential surface of the rod.

In addition, the cylinder case may include a recessed cylinder groove, and may further include a blocking plate to block the cylinder groove to form a closed inner space of the cylinder.

In addition, the blocking plate may be provided with a supply hole of the operation air for advancing the piston, the periphery of the supply hole may be recessed to form an air seat.

The apparatus may further include an elastic member for elastically pressing the piston in a direction opposite to the direction in which the valve plate is connected with respect to the piston.

At this time, the elastic member is a coil spring, the inner surface of the cylinder groove and the piston may be formed with an insertion groove for seating each end of the coil spring.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, since a bellows is provided to block the exposed rod from the high vacuum environment, grease or particles are suspended in the work space through the rod, so as not to pollute the work object, thereby reducing the incidence of defective work. Has In addition, the loss of grease and the like can be reduced, thereby increasing the maintenance interval. In addition, leakage of the working air is effectively prevented, which is advantageous for maintaining high vacuum.

In addition, when the elastic member is further provided, the valve plate can be evenly advanced to block the entrance and exit, thereby improving the airtight performance and extending the life of the device.

1 is a perspective view schematically showing a vacuum interruption device for high vacuum according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the vacuum blocking device for high vacuum shown in FIG. 1.
3 is a cross-sectional view of the vacuum interrupting device for high vacuum shown in FIG.
Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of a vacuum interruption device for high vacuum according to another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a plan view of the vacuum interrupting apparatus for high vacuum shown in FIG. 4. FIG.

The present invention may be modified in various ways and may have various forms. Hereinafter, the construction, function, and operation of the vacuum blocking apparatus for high vacuum according to the present invention will be described with reference to the embodiments of the accompanying drawings. However, the same reference numerals for similar or identical components are used uniformly.

The embodiments shown in the drawings are not intended to limit the present invention to a particular disclosed embodiment, it should be understood to include all changes, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention.

1 to 3 are views of the vacuum blocking device for a high vacuum according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The vacuum block device 10 for high vacuum according to the present invention is moved to the doorway 130 in communication with the work spaces S1 and S2, and can block the doorway 130, the support panel 1, A plurality of cylinder cases (2) mounted on one surface of the support panel (1) to form a plurality of cylinders in a longitudinal direction, pistons (3) mounted on each of the cylinders, and each of the pistons (3) Rods 4, one end of which is protruded from the cylinder case 2, a valve plate 5 to which the rods 4 are coupled, and one end of which is coupled to the valve plate 5, The other end is coupled to the cylinder case (2), and includes a bellows (6) surrounding the one end of the rod (4) spaced apart.

The doorway 130 of the working space is formed in the housing 100. The housing 100 is provided between neighboring working spaces and serves as a passage connecting the working space S1 in front of the housing and the working space S2 in the rear. The vacuum conditions of neighboring workspaces may be different.

That is, the front work space S1 may require a lower vacuum than the rear work space S2. In this case, after the process is completed in the rear work space S2, the rear work space S2 ) Can be matched to the vacuum pressure of the front work space S1, and the doorway 130 can be opened to transfer a work object such as a glass substrate to the front work space S1.

The housing 100 includes a front plate 110 connected to the front work space S1 and a rear plate 120 connected to the rear work space S2, and is formed in a substantially hexahedron. The front plate 110 and the rear plate 120 is formed with a doorway 130 facing each other. At this time, the doorway 130, as shown in Figure 1, the left and right length is long so that the plate member, such as a glass substrate, which is a work object can be moved, in comparison, the upper and lower width is generally formed relatively narrow. In particular, as the size of the glass substrate increases in accordance with the recent LCD technology trend, the length of the left and right of the doorway may be further increased.

The vacuum cut-off device 10 that opens and closes the entrance and exit may be lifted and lowered in the internal space of the housing 100 to allow the work object to pass through the entrance and exit. As shown in FIG. 1, the moving means which can raise and lower the vacuum interrupter is a pair of actuators A provided in the both ends of the longitudinal direction of an entrance and exit. The actuators A are fixed to the lower side of the lower plate of the housing, and the piston rod A1 of the actuator A is coupled to the support panel. At this time, the actuator may be a known configuration that is operated by compressed air or hydraulic pressure.

The vacuum cut-off device 10 is lifted up to the doorway 130 by the actuator A. Thereafter, the valve plate 5 protrudes forward, and as the protruding valve plate 5 comes into close contact with the periphery of the entrance and exit 130 of the front plate 110, the front work space and the rear work space are separated. It can be shielded into space.

In this embodiment, the valve plate is shown to block the entrance and exit of the front plate, but the valve plate is mounted on both the front and rear of the support panel, while contacting each of the periphery of the front and rear entrance and exit, It can also be configured to shield all entrances and exits.

On the other hand, although not shown, the entrance and exit of the working space is not necessarily formed of only the housing described above. In one example, the entrance and exit is formed on the wall of the chamber forming the front working space, the vacuum cut-off device may be slidably mounted toward the entrance from the wall of the chamber. Thus, the housing is not an essential configuration of the present invention.

In addition, the configuration of the actuator can also move the vacuum shutoff device to the same height as the doorway, and can be replaced by another mechanical configuration that allows the workpiece to move the vacuum shutoff device in either direction of the doorway to pass through the doorway. will be. For example, it may be an LM guide or the like coupled to the support panel to replace the actuator.

The support panel 1 is a member formed long to the left and right according to the shape of the doorway. Inside the support panel 1, there is formed a supply line which is a moving passage of an operating air for moving the valve plate 5 forward or backward. The supply line may be formed as a pair, and the one formed in the longitudinal direction at the middle height of the support panel is called the first supply line 11, and the lower one is called the second supply line 12.

The first supply line or the second supply line is in communication with the holes provided at regular intervals on the front surface of the support panel. In addition, the operation air injected into the first and second supply lines may be injected through air flow paths A2 formed in the piston rod A1 of the actuator. That is, one of the pair of air passages is connected to the first supply line, and the other air passage is connected to the second supply line. Although not shown, the air flow passages are connected to the compressed air storage tank provided in a separate place, and the air supply means consisting of opening and closing valves.

Referring to FIG. 3, the first supply line 11 communicates with the rear end of the cylinder C and is used to inject an operating air for advancing the piston 3 toward the entrance. On the other hand, the second supply line 12 is connected to the retracting passage 22 formed in the cylinder case (2). As the retracting flow passage 22 communicates with the cylinder C in a direction opposite to the first supply line 11, when the operation air is injected into the second supply line 12, the piston 3 retreats to return the valve plate. (5) is spaced apart from the doorway (130).

Such a configuration of the first and second supply lines is a passage of an operating air for advancing or reversing the piston mounted on the cylinder, and may be replaced with another configuration such as an operation hose directly connected to the cylinder.

On the other hand, the cylinder case (2) is a member that is coupled to the front surface of the support panel 1, and is coupled to the support panel 1 to form a cylinder having a closed inner space.

The cylinder case 2 has a substantially hollow cylindrical cylinder groove 21, and one side toward the support panel is open. In addition, a flange for coupling with the support panel is formed on the open surface of the cylinder case. The cross section of the cylinder groove 21 may be non-circular or polygonal in addition to a circular shape. When the cylinder case 2 is coupled to the support panel 1, the open surface of the cylinder groove 21 becomes a cylinder having a closed inner space blocked by the front surface of the support panel 1.

Inside the cylinder C, the piston 3 is mounted. In addition, the rod 4 is integrally coupled to the piston 3, one end protrudes from the cylinder case (2). To this end, a through hole 211 through which the rod 4 can pass is formed at the bottom of the cylinder groove 21.

At one end of each rod protruding from the cylinders, the rear surface of the valve plate 5 is mounted. The front surface of the valve plate 5 is provided with a sealing 51 for increasing airtightness with the periphery of the entrance and exit.

When the piston slides inside the cylinder, friction occurs at the outer circumferential surface of the rod and the inner circumferential surface of the through hole. In addition, in the state in which the operating air is supplied to the inside of the cylinder, air may leak into the high vacuum state outside the cylinder case.

In order to prevent this, as shown in FIG. 3, a sealing groove 213 is formed in the inner circumferential surface of the through hole 211, and the sealing groove 213 is provided with a sealing member 214 facing the outer circumferential surface of the rod. Can be. Furthermore, a lubricant such as grease for improving lubricity and airtightness may be applied to the outer circumferential surface of the rod.

On the other hand, the bellows 6 wraps the rod 4 exposed between the valve plate 5 and the cylinder case 2 so that the rod 4 is not exposed to a high vacuum environment. The bellows 6 is expandable in accordance with the change in the length of the rod extending from the cylinder case in accordance with the operation of the piston. Therefore, the rod may not be exposed during high vacuum, and may be replaced with an elastic tube or the like satisfying the stretchable condition according to the protruding length of the rod.

Bellows (6) employed in the embodiment of the present invention, specifically, the upper circumferential plate 61 is fixed between the end of the rod (4) and the valve plate 5, the cylinder case (2) A lower perimeter plate 62 fixed to the periphery of the through-hole 211, and one end is fixed to the upper perimeter plate 61, the other end is fixed to the lower perimeter plate 62, the rod (4) It includes a corrugated tube body 63 having an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of.

The upper peripheral plate 61 is formed with a coupling hole 611 smaller than the outer diameter of the rod. In addition, at the end of the rod 4 protruding from the cylinder case 2, the engaging jaw 41 facing the periphery of the coupling hole 611 is recessed.

Since the upper circumferential plate 61 is assembled to the engaging jaw 41 of the rod 4, the rod 4 is fixed by the back of the valve plate 5 and the bolt, etc., so that the upper circumferential plate 61 is the rod 4. ) And the valve plate 5 are physically fitted. Therefore, even if the operation of the valve plate is repeated, the coupling between the upper circumference plate and the valve plate is made sure.

On the other hand, the lower peripheral plate 62 is coupled to the coupling seat 23 in which the periphery of the through hole 211 of the cylinder case 2 is recessed. The lower peripheral plate 62 and the coupling seat 23 may be coupled by interference fit.

The corrugated pipe body 63 is a cylindrical member whose outer circumferential surface is corrugated in the protruding direction of the rod. The corrugated pipe 63 may be made of a synthetic resin that is easily elastically deformed. The corrugated tube is firmly fixed to the upper and lower circumference plates by adhesion, and the like, to prevent the grease of the rod or the fine particles generated by friction with the through holes from floating to the entrance side in a high vacuum state.

4 and 5 illustrate a vacuum blocking device for high vacuum according to another embodiment of the present invention. According to another embodiment of the present invention, a vacuum blocking device for high vacuum 10 includes a support panel 1, a cylinder case 2, pistons 3, rods 4, a valve plate 5, and a bellows. (6), and these configurations and operations are the same as the above-described embodiments except as described below.

In addition, according to the vacuum blocking device for a high vacuum according to another embodiment of the present invention, it further comprises a blocking plate 7 for blocking the cylinder groove formed in each cylinder case 2 to form a closed inner space of the cylinder.

At this time, the blocking plate 7 is a plate member formed on the inner surface of the cylinder groove 212, and coupled to the stepped 212 by interference fit or bolts. The blocking plate 7 may be provided separately for each cylinder groove 21.

In this case, each cylinder groove can remain blocked by the blocking plate 7 without being coupled to the support panel 1, resulting in a cylinder C having a closed inner space.

The cylinder case to which the blocking plate is coupled may be coupled to the support panel as described above. The blocking plate is further provided to effectively block the operation air leaking out between the cylinder case and the support panel, thereby further increasing the airtight performance inside the cylinder.

Further, the blocking plate 7 is formed with a supply hole 71 through which the operating air for advancing the piston 3 passes, and the periphery of the supply hole 71 is recessed to form an air seat 72. do.

The supply hole 71 is a flow path of the blocking plate 7 in communication with the first supply line 11. In addition, the air seat 72 is a plane recessed from the surface toward the inside of the cylinder of the blocking plate 7, and a space is formed between the surface of the piston 3 and the air seat when the piston contacts the blocking plate. The actuation air injected into the first supply line 11 is moved to the space formed by the air seat 72 and then pressurizes the piston 3 to the cross section of the air seat 72, thus the initial movement of the piston by the actuation air. This is done smoothly.

Meanwhile. As shown in Fig. 1 to 2, the operation air for advancing the piston is injected through the piston rod (A1) of the actuator (A) provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the support panel, as shown in Fig. It is injected first into the cylinder C located at both ends of the longitudinal direction of the panel 1, and later into the cylinder C located at the center.

In other words, the pistons at both ends operate earlier than the central pistons, thereby failing to evenly advance the valve plate formed long corresponding to the entrance and exit. The valve plate, which moves at both ends first, generates a single load on a cylinder or the like, causing single friction, and causes deformation of a sealing of the valve plate that cannot be contacted at the periphery of the entrance and exit. In particular, in the case where the left and right lengths of the entrance and exit are formed long, the above-described problems seriously arise as the plurality of cylinders are arranged long.

In order to overcome this problem, in the vacuum interrupter 10 according to another embodiment of the present invention, the piston 3 in the opposite direction to the direction in which the valve plate 5 is connected to the piston 3, It may further include an elastic member 8 for elastically pressing.

At this time, the elastic member (8) is a coil spring, the inner surface of the cylinder groove 21 and the piston (3) is formed with an insertion groove 81 is seated at each end of the coil spring.

Since the elastic member 8 is further provided, the piston 3 is pressed into a state with a constant elastic force toward the blocking plate 7.

When the actuation air begins to be injected into the first supply line 11, the elastic member 8 delays the piston from moving forward until the pressure of the actuation air overcomes the elastic force of the elastic member 8.

In Fig. 5, while the elastic member 8 delays the advancement of the piston in the cylinder C at both ends in which the actuating air starts to be supplied, the pressure of the actuating air is rapidly transmitted to the center cylinder C.

In particular, since the operating air is delivered to the center cylinder by the first supply line during the process of the piston not moving forward, there is no operating air that is wasted by filling the cylinder at both ends as compared to the case where there is no elastic member. The operating air is delivered to (C) quickly.

Then, when the increased pressure of the operating air is in a state of overcoming the elasticity of the elastic member 8, each piston and the valve plate 5 is advanced. At this time, since the respective pistons start to operate together, the valve plate can be uniformly contacted with the periphery of the entrance without any part protruding first.

Therefore, as in the prior art, a partial load does not occur in some cylinders, thereby increasing the life of the cylinder. In addition, since the sealing of the valve plate is pressed at the same time around the entrance and exit, the airtight by the sealing is uniformly made to improve the airtight performance.

On the other hand, when retracting the valve plate, the valve plate can be quickly separated from the entrance and exit by the restoring force of the elastic member. This can shorten the time required to open the doorway.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the configuration of the blocking plate and the configuration of the elastic member may be selectively applied. In addition, the present invention is suitable for a high vacuum state, but is not necessarily used only in a high vacuum state.

10: vacuum interrupter
1: support panel
11: first supply line 12: second supply line
2: cylinder case
21: cylinder groove 211: through hole 212: step
213: sealing groove 214: sealing member 22: retracting flow path
23: coupling seat C: cylinder
3: piston
4: rod 41: coupling jaw
5: valve plate 51: sealing
6: bellows
61: upper peripheral plate 611: coupling hole 62: lower peripheral plate
63: corrugated tube
7: blocking plate
71; Supply Hole 72: Air Seat
8: elastic member 81: insertion groove
A: Actuator A1: Piston Rod A3: Air Flow
100: housing 110: front plate 120: rear plate 1230: doorway
S1, S2: Workspace

Claims (7)

Support Panel,
A plurality of cylinder cases disposed on one surface of the support panel and mounted along a length direction and having a cylinder groove;
Pistons mounted to each of the cylinders,
Rods coupled to each of the pistons and having one end protruding from the cylinder case;
A valve plate to which the rods are coupled,
One end is coupled to the valve plate and the other end is coupled to the cylinder case and the bellows surrounding the circumference of the rod protruding from the cylinder case, and
And a blocking plate which closes the cylinder groove so as to prevent the operation air from escaping between the cylinder case and the support panel to form a closed cylinder internal space.
The cylinder case has a through hole through which the rod penetrates, and an inner circumferential surface of the through hole is formed with a sealing groove coupled with a sealing member in contact with the outer circumferential surface of the rod, and the blocking plate has an operating air for advancing the piston The supply hole passing through is formed, the periphery of the supply hole is recessed to form an air seat
Vacuum cut-off device for high vacuum. The method of claim 1,
The bellows
An upper circumference plate fixed between the rod end and the valve plate,
A lower perimeter plate formed in the cylinder case and fixed to the periphery of the through hole through which the rod passes;
One end is fixed to the upper circumferential plate, the other end is fixed to the lower circumferential plate, the vacuum blocking device for a high vacuum response comprising a corrugated tube having an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the rod. delete 3. The method of claim 2,
The upper periphery plate is formed with a coupling hole smaller than the outer diameter of the rod, the vacuum blocking device for a high vacuum corresponding to the end of the rod protruding from the cylinder case recessed engaging jaw facing the coupling hole. delete The method of claim 1,
In a direction opposite to the direction in which the valve plate is connected to the piston,
And a resilient member for elastically pressing the piston. The method of claim 6,
The elastic member is a coil spring,
The vacuum blocking device for a high vacuum corresponding to the inner surface of the cylinder groove and the piston is formed with an insertion groove for seating each end of the coil spring.

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