KR20110089064A - Gate valve and substrate processing apparatus using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A gate valve and a substrate processing apparatus using the same are provided to enhance seal effect between the wall around a substrate receiving/leaving hole and a valve body since the gap between them can be precisely adjusted. CONSTITUTION: A gate valve comprises a case, a valve body(210), a lift operating unit, and an opening/closing operating unit. The case is installed on the sidewall of a chamber to surround a substrate receiving/leaving hole. The valve is liftably installed in the case and opens/closes the substrate receiving/leaving hole. The lift operating unit lifts the valve body between a position facing the substrate receiving/leaving hole and another position. The opening/closing operating unit moves the valve body between the position facing the substrate receiving/leaving hole and another position closing the substrate receiving/leaving hole.

Description

Gate valve and substrate processing apparatus using the same {GATE VALVE AND SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS USING THE SAME}

The present invention relates to a gate valve for opening and closing a carrying in and out of a substrate, and a substrate processing apparatus using the same.

In a substrate processing apparatus which performs a predetermined process such as etching or film formation on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or a flat panel display (FPD) substrate, such as a liquid crystal substrate, the substrate carrying in and out for transporting the substrate is provided. It is provided with a plurality of chambers which make the inside a vacuum atmosphere in the state which closed. Such chambers include, for example, a process chamber (including a reaction vessel) for processing a substrate in a vacuum atmosphere, a transfer chamber for conveying a substrate in a vacuum atmosphere, a load lock chamber for exchanging a substrate between a vacuum atmosphere and an atmospheric pressure atmosphere, and the like. Can be mentioned.

In general, the gate valve is a vacuum valve that allows the transfer of the substrate when the chamber is closed, in a gastight state, and when the opening is closed, the chamber is opened or closed. Used to partition between.

Specifically, the gate valve is provided with a long, valve-shaped valve body long horizontally formed so as to close the substrate inlet and outlet for carrying in and out of the substrate in a horizontal posture, and drives the valve body by an actuator such as an air cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder. The substrate carrying in and out are opened and closed. In this case, the valve body is squeezed to the substrate carrying in and out with a predetermined pressing force in order to move the valve body from the position (for example, a position lower than the substrate carrying in and out) to the substrate carrying in and out of the substrate carrying in and to seal the substrate carrying in and out. By closing while closing, the substrate carrying out opening and closing is closed.

As such a gate valve, for example, as shown in FIG. 11A of Patent Document 1, in a case provided on a side wall of a chamber, a plate-shaped valve body for elevating and a plurality of valve body driving rollers for pressing the valve body are provided. There is. According to this, by sliding and contacting a plate-shaped cam to a valve body drive roller when a valve body is in a raise position, the sliding motion is changed into the advancing / removing motion of a valve body drive roller. Thereby, the roller support body of the valve body driving roller can contact a valve body, advancing a valve body, and can block while pressing a board | substrate carrying-out opening.

(Patent Document 1) Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-109006

By the way, the sealing effect, such as an O-ring, is provided between the board | substrate carrying-out opening and a valve body, and the sealing effect between a board | substrate carrying-out and a valve body can be improved. By the way, when there exists a some part which contacts a valve body like a valve body driving roller, there exists a case in which a deviation may arise in attachment position although it is a little by each attachment error. In such a case, since a deviation also occurs in the gap between the substrate delivery opening and the valve body, there is a possibility that the sealing effect by the sealing member cannot be maintained if the deviation is large.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and its object is to fine-tune the gap between the wall surface and the valve body around the substrate carrying in and out, so that the sealing effect between the wall surface and the valve body is reduced. It is to provide a gate valve etc. which can be raised.

In order to solve the above problems, according to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gate valve for opening and closing a substrate carrying in and out provided in the side wall of the chamber, the case is installed so as to surround the substrate carrying in and out on the side wall of the chamber, A valve body which is provided to be liftable at a lower side, and which lifts and lowers the valve body between a valve body which opens and closes the substrate carrying in and out, a position facing the substrate carrying in and out, and a position evacuated from the substrate carrying in and out; Opening and closing drive means constituted by a cam mechanism for advancing and retracting the valve body between a position facing the carry-out port and a position to close and close the substrate carry-out port, wherein the cam mechanism is provided on the rear side of the valve body. An elongate part disposed in the longitudinal direction of the valve body and slidably supported by the case. Drive means for sliding the elongate member in a direction orthogonal to the advancing direction of the valve body, and the elongated member is provided between the elongated member and the valve body and performs sliding of the elongated member in conjunction with an operation of the elongated member. A plate cam for converting the valve body into a forward and backward motion, a valve body drive member for contacting the valve body in conjunction with the plate cam and sliding in the forward and backward direction to drive the valve body forward and backward, and the valve body drive member It is provided on the front end surface which contacts the valve body of the gate valve provided, Comprising: The clearance valve which adjusts the clearance gap between the said valve body and the said board | substrate carrying out opening is provided.

In addition, the gap adjusting member is constituted by a bolt provided with the head part and the screw part connected to each other, and the screw part of the bolt is screwed into a screw hole formed in the distal end surface of the valve body drive member. It is preferable to comprise so that a cross section may contact the said valve body. In this case, it is preferable that the said valve body drive member forms the slit-shaped 1st notch part in the side surface of the said screw hole from the base end along the front-end | tip, and can comprise the width of this 1st notch part adjustable with a screw. Do. The valve body drive member may be configured such that the second cutout portion is formed in the vertical direction of the first cutout portion on the proximal side of the screw.

Moreover, the said clearance adjustment member is provided in the front end surface of the said valve body drive member so that the plate-shaped member which comprises the contact surface with the said valve body is detachably attached, and is between this plate member and the front end surface of the said valve body drive member. Shim members may be fitted, and the shim members may be configured to be interchangeable with ones having different thicknesses.

In order to solve the said subject, according to the other viewpoint of this invention, the board | substrate processing apparatus which performs a predetermined process with respect to a board | substrate, conveying a board | substrate to a some chamber, Each said chamber is carried out at the board | substrate carrying in and out provided in the side wall, The substrate processing apparatus provided with the gate valve is provided.

According to this invention, since the clearance gap between the wall surface and the valve body around a board | substrate carrying-out opening can be fine-tuned, the sealing effect between the wall surface and a valve body can be heightened.

1: A is sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the gate valve which concerns on embodiment of this invention, and is a figure when a valve body is in the position which opposes a board | substrate carrying in and out.
FIG. 1B is a cross sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a gate valve according to this embodiment, and is a view when the valve body is in a closed position while pressing the substrate delivery port.
FIG. 2A is a longitudinal sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a gate valve according to this embodiment, which is a view when the valve body is at a position opposite to the substrate carrying in and out ports. FIG.
FIG. 2B is a longitudinal sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a gate valve according to this embodiment, and is a view when the valve body is in a position to close while pressing the substrate delivery port.
2C is a longitudinal sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a gate valve according to this embodiment, which is a view when the valve body is in an evacuation position.
FIG. 3A is a partially enlarged view showing a schematic configuration of a gate valve according to this embodiment, and is a view when the valve body is at a position opposite to the substrate carrying in and out ports. FIG.
FIG. 3B is a partially enlarged view showing the schematic configuration of the gate valve according to this embodiment, and is a view when the valve body is in a position where it starts to move toward the substrate carry-out and exit port.
FIG. 3C is a partially enlarged view showing the schematic configuration of the gate valve according to this embodiment, and is a view when the valve body is in a closed position while pressing the substrate delivery port. FIG.
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a configuration example of the gap adjusting member according to this embodiment, and is a view when the valve body is in a position to close while pressing the substrate delivery port.
5 is a perspective view for explaining the configuration of the gap adjusting member shown in FIG.
FIG. 6: is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the modification of the clearance adjustment member which concerns on this embodiment, Comprising: It is a figure when a valve body is in the position which is closed while pressing a board | substrate carrying-out opening.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view for explaining the configuration of the gap adjusting member shown in FIG. 6. FIG.
8 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of a substrate processing apparatus to which the gate valve in this embodiment is applied.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Preferred embodiment of this invention is described in detail, referring an accompanying drawing below. In addition, in this specification and drawing, duplication description is abbreviate | omitted by attaching | subjecting the same code | symbol about the component which has substantially the same functional structure.

(Gate valve)

First, the gate valve which concerns on embodiment of this invention is demonstrated, referring drawings. 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, and 2C are diagrams for explaining the configuration of the gate valve of the present embodiment. In this embodiment, as shown to FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, the valve body 210 of the size which can open and close the board | substrate carrying out opening 112 of the chamber 100 is provided, and this valve body 210 is provided. The gate valve 200 which opens and closes the board | substrate entrance / exit 112 by raising and lowering drive and drive back and forth is taken as an example.

1A and 1B are cross-sectional views of the gate valve viewed from above when cut in the horizontal plane passing near the center of the substrate carrying out opening. 2A, 2B, and 2C are cross-sectional views of the gate valve viewed from the back when the gate valve is cut in a vertical plane parallel to the side wall of the chamber, and is taken along the line A-A shown in FIG. 1A.

1A and 2A show a state in which the valve body is in a position opposite to the substrate carrying in and out, and FIGS. 1B and 2B show a state in which the valve body is closed while pressing the substrate carrying in and out 112. 2C shows a state in which the valve body is evacuated from the substrate carrying in and out.

The chamber 100 in which the gate valve 200 according to the present embodiment is provided is any sealed chamber (including a container) that becomes a vacuum atmosphere, and for example, performs a predetermined process such as etching or film formation on an FPD substrate. A process chamber, a conveyance chamber, a load lock chamber, etc. in a substrate processing apparatus are mentioned.

As shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B and 2C, the chamber 100 has a substrate carrying in and out opening 112 extending horizontally in the horizontal direction near the upper side of the side wall 110. Through 112, for example, a substrate such as an FPD substrate can be carried in and out by a conveyance arm (not shown).

The side frame 110 of the chamber 100 may be provided with an edge frame 114 surrounding the periphery of the substrate carrying in and out 112. Thereby, even when a board | substrate cleavage and a shift generate | occur | produce, for example, when carrying out a board | substrate, such as a glass substrate, to the board | substrate carrying-out opening 112, it can protect so that the side wall 110 may not be damaged.

The gate valve 200 is provided in the side wall 110 in which the board | substrate carrying-out inlet 112 of this chamber 100 was formed, and it opens and closes the board | substrate carrying-out inlet 112 by raising and lowering the valve body 210. . The valve body 210 is formed in the size which can close the board | substrate carrying in and out 112. As shown in FIG. And when closing the board | substrate carrying out opening 112, it presses and closes the board | substrate carrying out opening 112. Specifically, the valve body 210 is closed and sealed while pressing the valve body 210 against the wall surface around the substrate unloading opening 112.

For example, when the edge frame 114 is provided in the side wall 110, the valve body 210 is crimped | bonded to the surface (valve body contact surface) of the edge frame 114, and the board | substrate delivery opening 112 is closed. The sealing member 115, such as an O-ring, can be provided in the surface of the edge frame 114 which contact | connects the valve body 210 so that the board | substrate carrying in and out 112 may be enclosed.

In addition, the edge frame 114 does not necessarily need to be installed. When the edge frame 114 is not provided, the valve body 210 is directly pressed onto the surface (valve body contact surface) of the side wall 110 to close the substrate delivery port 112. In this case, it is preferable to provide a sealing member 115, such as an O-ring, on the surface of the sidewall 110 in contact with the valve body 210 so as to surround the substrate carrying in / out port 112. The seal member 115 is not provided on the wall surface (the surface of the side wall 110 or the surface of the edge frame 114) around the substrate carrying out opening 112, but instead of the surface of the valve body 210 in contact with the wall surface. You may provide so that the board | substrate carrying out opening 112 may be enclosed in the inside.

(Specific Configuration Example of Gate Valve)

Next, a specific structural example of the gate valve 200 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 2A, the gate valve 200 is a substantially box-shaped case (casing) 202 provided on the side wall 110 of the chamber 100 to surround at least the substrate outlet 112. ). The case 202 has a back plate 202a facing parallel to the side wall 110, side plates 202b and 202c, a top plate 202d, and a bottom plate 202e, and cover the side wall 110 with these. . The back plate 202a of the case 202 has an opening having the same shape as the substrate carrying in / out 112 at a position facing the substrate carrying in / out 112 in order to pass the substrate in and out through the substrate carrying in and out 112. 203 is formed.

The valve body 210 is supported by the inside of the case 202 so that the board | substrate carrying in and out 112 can be elevated along the elevation guide mentioned later, and opens and closes the board | substrate carrying in and out 112 along the opening-and-closing guide mentioned later. It is supported to be able to advance. The gate valve 200 is provided between a position (determined ascending position) that opposes the valve body 210 along the elevating guide to the substrate unloading opening 112 and a position evacuating from the substrate unloading opening 112 (fixed lowering position). The cam mechanism 260 moves forward and backward between the elevating driving means 230 that moves up and down, and the position where the valve body 210 faces the substrate unloading opening 112 and closes while pressing the substrate unloading opening 112. The opening and closing drive means 250 is provided.

The lifting guide and opening / closing guide of the valve body 210 are configured as follows, for example. The lifting guide here guides the valve body 210 to move up and down vertically, and the opening and closing guide guides the valve body 210 to open and close horizontally. Specifically, for example, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 2A, the pair of guide rails 220 vertically disposed on the left and right sides of the substrate loading and closing port 112 in the sidewall 110 of the chamber 100. Is installed. Each of the guide rails 220 is provided with a slider 222 that can slide along them. Each slider 222 is provided with the guide rod (support rod) 224 which protrudes from the back surface in the horizontal advancing direction of the valve body 210, respectively. Each guide rod 224 is loosely fitted in the insertion hole 212a of the valve body support plate 212 which protrudes outward from the edge part to the left and right of the valve body 210 so that sliding is possible.

According to this configuration, the valve body 210 can be vertically elevated by moving the slider 222 along the guide rail 220. In addition, the valve body 210 can be horizontally moved forward and backward along the guide rod 224 in the direction of opening and closing the substrate loading / unloading port 112. The configuration of the lifting guide and the opening and closing guide is not limited to the above.

By the way, the deflection member (for example, coil spring) 226 is inserted in the guide rod 224 mentioned above between the valve body support plate 212 and the slider 222. As shown in FIG. The deflection member 226 deflects the valve body 210 in the opposite direction (opening direction) from the direction in which the valve body 210 is pressed against the substrate delivery port 112. Moreover, the stopper member 224a is attached to the guide rod 224 so that the valve body support plate 212 may not be pulled out from the guide rod 224.

In addition, the stop member 224a restricts the valve body 210 from being separated from the substrate carry-out port 112 by a predetermined interval or more. That is, since the valve body 210 is supported at the position stopped by the stop member 224a by the biasing force of the biasing member 226 (the position farthest from the substrate unloading and opening 112), the substrate unloading and opening 112 Can be moved up and down at all times from a predetermined interval. According to this, the valve body 210 can be raised always to the same position between the board | substrate carrying in and out 112 and the cam mechanism 260. FIG.

In addition, the deflection member 226 described above has an action of deflecting the valve body drive member 280 from falling off the cam surface when the valve body drive member 280 is driven by the action of the cam mechanism 260 described later. Also Thereby, the operation | movement of the valve body 210 can be stabilized and the valve body 210 can be reliably opened and closed.

 (Lift drive means)

Next, a specific configuration example of the lift drive means 230 will be described with reference to the drawings. The lift driving means 230 is disposed between a position facing the substrate loading and closing 112 (for example, the position shown in FIG. 2A) and a position evacuating from the substrate loading and closing 112 (for example, the position shown in FIG. 2C). The valve body 210 is moved up and down along the guide rail 220.

Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2C, the lift drive means 230 is constituted by an actuator 232 capable of linear motion. As such an actuator 232, although the air cylinder, the hydraulic cylinder, etc. which can linearly move by expanding and contracting the piston rod 234 are mentioned, it is not limited to these. Here, the case where the actuator 232 is comprised by an air cylinder is taken as an example.

Specifically, the actuator 232 is formed in the bottom plate 202e, and the bottom plate 202e of the case 202 so that the piston rod 234 is inserted into the case 202 through the hermetically formed through hole 204a. ) Is attached. Then, by supporting the valve body 210 at the front end of the piston rod 234 from the lower side, the actuator 232 is stretched (driven up and down) by the piston rod 234 by a predetermined stroke, thereby guiding the valve body 210. The rail 220 may move up and down in the vertical direction. In addition, when the piston rod 234 is expanded and contracted while maintaining the airtightness in the case 202, the piston rod 234 is inserted through the bush which is not shown in the through-hole 204a.

The front end of the piston rod 234 supports the valve body 210 via a valve body sliding mechanism 240 provided at the center portion of the lower surface of the valve body 210. This valve body sliding mechanism 240 is for making it possible to support the valve body 210 so that the piston rod 234 can move to a forward / backward direction (opening-closing direction).

(Opening and closing drive means)

Next, the opening-closing drive means 250 is demonstrated, referring drawings. The opening / closing drive means 250 is a position facing the board | substrate carrying out opening 112 (position shown in FIG. 1A, FIG. 2A), and the position which closes | closing while pressing the board | substrate carrying out opening 112 (FIG. 1B, FIG. 2B). And a cam mechanism 260 for advancing and retracting the valve body 210 along the guide rod 224 in the opening and closing direction. The cam mechanism 260 which concerns on this embodiment takes the case comprised by what is called a linear cam mechanism. Here, the elongate member 261 to which the plate-shaped cam 270 is attached is slid along the valve body 210 in the direction orthogonal to the advancing direction, so that the valve body 210 is formed at the slope 272 of the plate-shaped cam 270. ) Is moved in the advancing direction, and the valve body 210 can be held in a state in which the valve body 210 is pressed against the substrate transport opening 112 in the plane 274 of the plate-shaped cam 270.

The driving means for driving the long member 261 comprises an actuator 252 such as an air cylinder, a hydraulic cylinder, or the like, capable of sliding the long member 261 and allowing linear movement. Here, the case where the actuator 252 is comprised by the air cylinder which can perform linear motion which expands and contracts the piston rod 254 is taken as an example. In addition, the actuator 252 is not limited to these.

The structure of this cam mechanism 260 is demonstrated in detail. For example, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the elongate member 261 is configured to be at least longer than the length in the longitudinal direction of the valve body, and the valve body 210 is located near the back plate 202a of the case 202. Place along the lengthwise direction. The long member 261 and the board | substrate carrying-out opening 112 are spaced apart so that the valve body 210 can be inserted, without interfering when raising and lowering.

The elongate member 261 in this embodiment is comprised by making it possible to integrally slide the rod-shaped member 262 arrange | positioned at the upper side and the lower side of the opening part 203 of the case 202, respectively. Thereby, it can prevent that a board | substrate and a conveyance arm interfere with the cam mechanism 260 at the time of conveying a board | substrate, and when carrying out opening / closing operation | movement of the valve body 210, the board | substrate delivery opening and exit 112 is not inclined. Can be advanced horizontally with respect to

Specifically, the end of each rod-shaped member 262 projects from the side plates 202b and 202c, respectively, and the contact portions with the rod-shaped members 262 of the side plates 202b and 202c are each made of, for example, resin. By attaching the bush 263, it is made to be able to slide airtightly. In addition, the end part of each rod-shaped member 262, for example, the end part which protruded from the side plate 202c, is fixed and integrated by the plate-shaped joint member 264, respectively. The distal end of the piston rod 254 of the actuator 252 is attached to the joint member 264. Thereby, each rod-shaped member 262 can be integrally slid simultaneously simultaneously only by stretching the piston rod 254 with one actuator 252. In this case, the actuator 252 is attached via the support member 256 outside the side plate 202c, for example.

Each rod-shaped member 262 of the elongate member 261 is supported on the back plate 202a of the case 202 via a reinforcing plate 276 by a plurality of support rollers 290 protruding from the inner surface thereof. have. Moreover, the valve body drive member 280 is arrange | positioned in the opposing position of each support roller 290, respectively. The valve body drive member 280 is provided to face each support roller 290 with the rod-shaped members 262 of the long member 261 interposed therebetween.

As shown in FIG. 3A in which a part of FIG. 1A is enlarged, the valve body drive member 280 rotatably supports the roller 284 in contact with the plate-shaped cam 270 and the roller 284. It is comprised by the support body 282 which slides toward the valve body 210 with the roller 284. As shown in FIG. On the valve body 210 side of the support body 282, the projection part 282a is formed. And when the support body 282 of each valve body drive member 280 slides with the roller 284, the projection part 282a of each support body 282 will contact and press the valve body 210, and a valve body ( 210 is crimped | bonded to the board | substrate carrying out opening 112. FIG. In addition, the structure and effect | action of the valve body drive member 280 and its periphery are mentioned later.

Each rod-shaped member 262 of the elongate member 261 is provided with a plurality of plate-shaped cams 270 on the valve body 210 side for driving in contact with the plurality of valve body drive members 280, respectively. . The plate cam 270 closes the valve body driving member 280 in the direction of closing the valve body 210 by sliding the elongate member 261 in one direction, and pressurizes the substrate delivery port 112. A case in which the slope 272 serving as the first cam surface to be moved to the position to be rotated and the valve body 210 pushes back from the substrate carrying in and out side 112 through the valve body drive member 280 and the support roller 290 are provided. Supported by the back plate 202a of 202, it has the plane 274 as a 2nd cam surface which holds the valve body 210 in a closed position.

The slope 272 of the plate-shaped cam 270 is inclined so that the thickness from the long member 261 increases (toward the valve body drive member 280 to gradually move forward or backward) along the sliding direction of the long member 261. The flat surface 274 of the plate-shaped cam 270 has a thickness at the thickest portion of the first cam surface (at the position where the valve body 210 closes while pressing the substrate delivery port 112). It consists of a continuous plane.

The slope 272 of the plate-shaped cam 270 is planar of the plate-shaped cam 270 so that when the sliding member 261 slides in the tensioning direction, the valve body 210 gradually advances and presses the substrate carrying in / out 112. It becomes a slope from which height becomes low gradually from 274 toward the actuator 252 side.

Incidentally, the slope 272 of the plate-shaped cam 270 is not limited to the above-described one, but the valve body 210 gradually moves forward when the long member 261 is slid in the direction in which the elongated member 261 is extruded. The valve body drive member 280 may be inclined to be pressed to form a slope. Although not shown in this case, the slope 272 of the plate-shaped cam 270 becomes a slope where the height gradually decreases from the plane 274 of the plate-shaped cam 270 toward the side opposite to the actuator 252.

Here, the structure and action | action of each valve body drive member 280 and its periphery are demonstrated, referring drawings. 3A, 3B, and 3C are enlarged views for explaining the movement of the cam mechanism 260 and the valve body 210 by focusing on one plate cam 270. FIG. 3A is a view when the valve body 210 is in a position opposite to the substrate outlet 112, and FIG. 3B is in a position where the valve body 210 starts to move toward the substrate outlet 112. It is a figure at the time, FIG. 3C is a figure when the valve body 210 is in the position which occludes, pressing the board | substrate carrying in and out 112. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the valve body drive member 280 and the support roller 290 are provided in a substantially box-shaped frame 300. The frame 300 is attached to the back plate 202a so that a clearance gap is formed with the valve body 210. The long member 261 is inserted into the holes 303 and 304 formed at both ends of the frame 300 together with the plate-shaped cam 270 and the reinforcement plate 276, and the valve body driving member 280 and the support roller 290. It slides in between.

The support roller 290 is comprised by rotatably attaching the roller 294 to the support body 292 fixed to the back plate 202a side in the frame 300. As shown in FIG. On the other hand, the valve body drive member 280 is comprised by rotatably attaching the roller 284 to the support body 282 attached so that sliding to the valve body 210 side in the frame 300 is possible.

That is, the support body 282 is slidably supported by the pair of guide rods 302 attached to the valve body 210 side in the frame 300. The support body 282 here has the protrusion part 282a which protruded to the valve body 210 side (opposite side of the roller 284), and this support part 282a slides back and forth, and the protrusion part 282a is frame 300 Is projected / recessed from the hole 306 formed in Fig. 2). The gap adjusting member 310 is provided at the tip of the protrusion 282a. The specific structural example of this clearance adjustment member 310 is mentioned later.

According to this structure, the roller 284 contacts and rolls on the plate-shaped cam 270, and the support body 282 advances to the valve body 210 side. Thus, from the state shown in FIG. 3A where the protrusion 282a does not protrude from the frame 300, the protrusion 282a is in the state shown in FIG. 3C, which protrudes from the frame 300, and the gap adjusting member ( The valve body 210 can be pressed and closed through 310. Thus, the projection part 282a is in contact with the valve body 210, and is made to open and close to drive to the advancing direction. In addition, the support body 282 may be made to deflect to the back plate 202a side by the deflection member, such as the coil spring and the leaf spring which are not shown in the frame 300. According to this, the support body 282 can be retracted by the biasing force of the biasing member.

The operation of the gate valve 200 according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. First, when the valve body 210 shown in FIG. 2C ascends from the lower evacuation position along the guide rail 220 to the position facing the substrate unloading and exit 112, as shown in FIGS. 1A, 2A, and 3A. Become together. At this time, the elongate member 261 is in the initial position, and the valve body driving member 280 is in contact with the bottom portion (the thinnest portion of the first cam surface) of the slope 272 of the plate-shaped cam 270. The protrusion 282a also does not protrude from the frame 300.

Subsequently, when the elongate member 261 is pulled in the direction of the arrow shown by the operating force of the actuator 252, the valve body driving member 280 is sloped 272 of the plate-shaped cam 270 as shown in FIG. 3B. Move along. As a result, the protruding portion 282a also protrudes from the frame 300 and comes into contact with the valve body 210, and also presses the valve body 210 to move in the direction of closing the substrate carrying out opening 112. Then, when the valve body 210 comes into contact with the wall surface around the substrate delivery port 112 (here, the wall surface of the edge frame 114), the substrate delivery port 112 is closed while pressing the wall surface.

When the elongate member 261 is further tensioned from this state, the valve body drive member 280 is placed on the plane 274 of the plate-shaped cam 270 as shown in FIGS. 1B, 2B, and 3C. Thereby, the valve body 210 is maintained in the state which closed the board | substrate carrying out opening 112, while pressing the wall surface around the board | substrate carrying out opening 112. As shown in FIG.

In this way, when the valve body 210 presses the board | substrate carrying-out inlet 112, the force (response by reaction) which the valve body 210 pushes from the board | substrate carrying-in / out side is the valve body drive member 280 and the support roller. The back plate 202a of the case 202 can be supported through the 290. As a result, the valve body 210 can be held in the closed position. Therefore, in the state where each valve body drive member 280 is placed on the flat surface 274, the valve body 210 is crimped | bonded to the board | substrate carrying-out opening 112, even if the operating force of the actuator 252 is not maintained. You can keep it in position.

Thus, when the valve body 210 presses the board | substrate carrying out opening 112, the sealing member 115 is made into the wall surface (wall surface around the board carrying-out 112) of the edge frame 114, and the valve body 210. As shown in FIG. Closely sealed in between. In order to raise the sealing effect by such a sealing member 115, it is necessary to make the clearance gap d between the wall surface of the edge frame 114 and the valve body 210 the fixed distance over the whole valve body 210. As shown in FIG.

By the way, since there are several valve body drive members 280, a deviation may arise in the clearance gap d between the valve body 210 and the wall surface of the edge frame 114 by these attachment errors, and when these deviations are large, There are also problems such as insufficient sealing.

Therefore, in each valve body drive member 280 in this embodiment, the clearance adjustment member 310 is provided in the front-end | tip of the projection part 282a of the support body 282. As shown in FIG. By adjusting the gap adjusting member 310 of each valve body driving member 280, the gap d between the wall surface (here, the wall surface of the edge frame 114) around the substrate delivery port 112 and the valve body 210 is present. You can fine tune it.

Hereinafter, the specific structure of the clearance gap adjusting member 310 is demonstrated, referring drawings. Here, the case where the clearance adjustment member 310 is comprised with a bolt at first is taken as an example. 4 is a view for explaining the configuration of the bolt-shaped gap adjusting member 310. The clearance adjustment member 310 shown in FIG. 4 is a bolt which consists of the head part 312 of the front-end | tip, and the screw part 313 provided in succession to this. The head part 312 is comprised, for example in a hexagon. In the support body 282, a screw hole 283 is formed at the tip of the protrusion 282a, and the screw portion 313 of the gap adjusting member 310 is screwed into the screw hole 283.

According to this configuration, the valve body 210 is easily brought into contact with the wall surface of the edge frame 114 by inserting a tool at the tip of the projection 282a to rotate the head 312 of the gap adjusting member 310. The gap d between the valve body 210 and the wall surface of the edge frame 114 can be finely adjusted. Thereby, since the dispersion | variation in the clearance gap d can be eliminated, the sealing member 115 can maintain sufficient sealing effect. In addition, since the gap d can be fine-adjusted while the valve body 210 is brought into contact with the wall surface of the edge frame 114, it is not necessary to lower the valve body 210 every time the gap d is adjusted. The adjustment time can be greatly reduced at.

By the way, since a big force acts on the clearance gap adjusting member 310 at the time of pressing the valve body 210, it is preferable to be able to reliably hold | maintain the fine adjustment position with the clearance gap adjustment member 310. As shown in FIG. For this reason, you may comprise as shown in FIG. 5, for example. That is, in the projection part 282a of the support body 282, the slit-shaped 1st cutout part 314 is formed in the side surface of the screw hole 283 along the front-end | tip from the base end, and this 1st cutout part 314 is carried out. May be adjusted by the screw 316.

According to this, after fine-adjusting the clearance gap adjusting member 310, by adjusting the width | variety of the 1st notch 314 with the screw 316, the screw part 313 of the clearance gap adjusting member 310 can be fastened and fixed. Can be. In this case, further, the second notch 315 may be formed in the vertical direction of the first notch 314 rather than the screw 316. According to this, only the part which provided the front end side, ie, the screw 316 was fastened rather than the 2nd notch 315 among the protrusion parts 282a, and it fastens further the part which installed the screw 316 further. You can do it easily.

In addition, the structure of the clearance gap adjusting member 310 is not limited to what was mentioned above. For example, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the gap adjusting member 310 may be configured to replace the shim members 322 having different thicknesses. The gap adjusting member 310 shown in FIG. 7 is configured by fixing the shim member 322 with a plurality of screws (326) with a fixing plate 324 interposed between the ends of the protrusion 282a. . According to this, as shown in FIG. 7, the thickness of the clearance gap adjusting member 310 can be adjusted by removing the shim member 322 and replacing it with the shim member 322 which differs in thickness. Thereby, the clearance d between the valve body 210 and the wall surface of the edge frame 114 can be fine-adjusted. Since this also eliminates the deviation of the gap d, the sealing member 115 can maintain a sufficient sealing effect.

(Application example of gate valve)

Next, the specific application example of the gate valve 200 which concerns on this embodiment mentioned above is demonstrated, referring drawings. Here, the specific example at the time of applying to a multi-chamber type FPD substrate processing apparatus is given. 8 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an FPD substrate processing apparatus. The FPD substrate processing apparatus 400 shown in FIG. 8 is provided with the common conveyance chamber 410 which accommodates the conveyance robot (not shown) provided with the conveyance arm which conveys a board | substrate, and the several process chambers ( 420A, 420B, and 420C) and the load lock chamber 430 are provided. These common transfer chambers 410, each of the processing chambers 420A, 420B, and 420C, and the load lock chamber 430 constitute a hermetic chamber which becomes a vacuum pressure atmosphere as described above.

In the FPD substrate processing apparatus 400 shown in FIG. 8, the common transfer chamber 410, each of the processing chambers 420A, 420B, and 420C and the load lock chamber 430 around the gate valve 200 according to the present embodiment are respectively provided. Is connected via). In addition, the gate valve 200 may be provided at a substrate carrying in / out port for carrying the substrate in and out from the transport arm on the atmospheric pressure side of the load lock chamber 430.

As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described referring an accompanying drawing, this invention is not limited to this example of course. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes or modifications can be made within the scope described in the claims, and these also naturally belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be applied to a gate valve for opening and closing a substrate carrying in and out of a chamber and a substrate processing apparatus using the same.

100: chamber
110: sidewall
112: substrate carrying in and out
114: edge frame
115: seal member
200: gate valve
202: Case
202a: back panel
202b and 202c: side plates
202d: Ceiling Panel
202e: Bottom Plate
203 opening
204a: through hole
210: valve body
212 valve body support plate
212a: insertion hole
220: guide rail
222: slider
224 guide bar
224a: stop member
226: deflection member
230: lift drive means
232: lifting actuator
234: piston rod
240: valve body sliding mechanism
250: opening and closing drive means
252: Actuator for opening and closing
254: Piston Rod
256 support member
260: Cam Mechanism
261: long member
262: rod-shaped member
263: Bush
264: joint member
270: Plate Cam
272: slope
274: flat
276: reinforcement plate
280: valve body drive member
282: support
282a: protrusion
283: screw hole
284: Roller
290: support roller
292 support
294: Roller
300: frame
302: guide rod
303, 304, 306: holes
310: gap adjustment member
312 head
313 screw thread
314: first cutout
315: second cutout
316: screw
322: no shim
324: fixed plate
326: screw
400: FPD substrate processing apparatus
410: common transport room
420A, 420B, 420C: Process Room
430: load lock room

Claims (6)

A gate valve for opening and closing the substrate carrying in and out provided in the side wall of the chamber,
A case installed on the sidewall of the chamber to surround the substrate loading / exit opening;
A valve body installed in the case so as to be elevated, and opening and closing the substrate carrying in and out openings;
Elevating drive means for elevating and lowering the valve body between a position facing the substrate carrying in and out and a position evacuated from the substrate carrying in and out;
An opening / closing drive means constituted by a cam mechanism for advancing and retracting the valve element between a position facing the substrate carrying in and out and a position in which the substrate carrying in and out is closed.
The cam mechanism,
A long member disposed on the back side of the valve body in the longitudinal direction of the valve body and slidably supported by the case;
Drive means for sliding the elongate member in a direction orthogonal to the advancing direction of the valve body;
A plate cam provided between the elongate member and the valve body for converting the sliding action of the elongated member into a forward and backward movement of the valve body in association with the elongated member;
A valve body driving member which is in contact with the valve body in association with the plate-shaped cam and slides in the advancing direction to drive the valve body forward and backward;
And a gap adjusting member provided on a front end surface of the valve body driving member in contact with the valve body, the gap adjusting member configured to adjust a gap between the valve body and the substrate carrying in / out port. The said clearance adjusting member is comprised from the bolt which provided the head part and the screw part in succession, The screw part of the said bolt is screwed to the screw hole formed in the front end surface of the said valve body drive member, The said bolt And the front end surface of the head portion of the head portion being in contact with the valve body. The said valve body drive member is a side surface of the said screw hole formed in the slit-shaped 1st notch part along the front-end | tip from the base end, and the width | variety of this 1st notch part was comprised so that adjustment was possible with a screw. Gate valve, characterized in that. The gate valve according to claim 3, wherein the valve body driving member has a second cutout portion formed in the vertical direction of the first cutout portion at a proximal end side of the screw. The said clearance gap adjustment member is attached to the front end surface of the said valve body drive member so that the plate-shaped member which comprises the contact surface with the said valve body can be detachably attached, and this plate-shaped member and said valve body drive member A shim member is sandwiched between distal end faces, and the shim member is configured to be interchangeable with one having a different thickness. As a substrate processing apparatus which performs a predetermined process with respect to a board | substrate, conveying a board | substrate to a some chamber,
Each said chamber provided the gate valve of any one of Claims 1-5 in the board | substrate carrying in and out provided in the side wall. The substrate processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.

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