WO2023018253A1

WO2023018253A1 - Conductance-adjustable vacuum valve

Info

Publication number: WO2023018253A1
Application number: PCT/KR2022/012027
Authority: WO
Inventors: 안희준
Original assignee: 안희준
Priority date: 2021-08-11
Filing date: 2022-08-11
Publication date: 2023-02-16
Also published as: KR102461941B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a conductance-adjustable vacuum valve comprising: a valve body (110) having a chamber connector (111) formed on the lower portion thereof and connected to a vacuum chamber, and having a pump connector (113) formed on a side surface thereof and connected to the vacuum pump; a lower driving chamber (120) coupled to the upper portion of the valve body (110), a lower air injection opening (121) being formed in the front lower portion of the lower driving chamber (120); an opening/closing piston portion (130) including an upper piston (133) formed horizontally in the lower driving chamber (120), a lower piston (131) formed in the valve body (110) and sized to be able to block the chamber connector (111), and a connecting shaft (132) for connecting the upper piston (133) and the lower piston (131) and transferring an upward movement of the upper piston (133) to the lower piston (131) according to whether or not air is supplied through the lower air injection opening (121) such that the lower piston (131) moves between a closed position in which the chamber connector (111) is closed and an open position in which the chamber connector (111) is opened; an upper driving chamber (150) provided above the lower driving chamber (120), an upper air injection opening (157) being formed in the upper front surface of the upper driving chamber (150); an adjustment piston (160) contained in the upper driving chamber (150) such that an upper pressurizing shaft (161) is formed to extend toward the lower driving chamber (120), the adjustment piston (160) moving upwards/downwards inside the upper driving chamber (150) according to whether or not air is injected through the upper air injection opening (157); a conductance adjustment portion (140) provided between the upper driving chamber (150) and the lower driving chamber (120) so as to guide the upper pressurizing shaft (161) to the lower driving chamber (120) such that, when air is injected simultaneously through the lower air injection opening (121) and the upper air injection opening (157), the upper pressurizing shaft (161) moves downwards together with the adjustment piston (160) and pressurizes the ascending upper piston (133), thereby opening the chamber connector (111) to an intermediate open position; and an upper cap (170) coupled to the upper portion of the upper driving chamber (150).

Description

Vacuum valve with adjustable conductance

The present invention relates to a vacuum valve, and more particularly, to a vacuum valve whose conductance can be adjusted by adjusting an opening degree in an open position for forming a vacuum pressure.

Many vacuum systems are used to perform a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device. For example, in the case of chemical vapor deposition, when plasma is generated by injecting gas into a vacuum chamber in which a semiconductor wafer is disposed and transmitting certain energy, a reaction occurs on the wafer to form a thin film.

Unnecessary reactants generated in the process of forming the thin film are discharged through pumps and pipes. A vacuum valve capable of controlling the degree of vacuum is installed in such a vacuum system.

In a conventional vacuum valve, a vacuum is formed by discharging gas inside a vacuum chamber using a vacuum pump. When the vacuum valve is opened, gas inside the vacuum chamber is discharged and vacuum pressure is formed, and when the vacuum valve is closed, gas discharge inside the vacuum chamber is blocked.

However, when the conventional vacuum valve is opened from the closed state to the open state, the flow of gas per unit time, that is, the conductance is too large, so that a large amount of gas suddenly flows in the initial stage of vacuum formation. This sudden flow of gas causes a vortex phenomenon inside the vacuum chamber.

When the vortex phenomenon occurs, fine particles scatter inside the vacuum chamber and contaminate the inside of the chamber, causing a decrease in process quality.

In addition, sensitive parts such as ceramics or glass may be damaged due to shock caused by a sudden gas flow.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, and to provide a vacuum valve capable of adjusting conductance in various ways according to the chamber capacity and pump size during vacuum formation.

The above objects and various advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from preferred embodiments of the present invention by those skilled in the art.

The above object of the present invention can be achieved by a vacuum valve capable of controlling conductance. The vacuum valve of the present invention includes a valve body 110 having a chamber connector 111 connected to a vacuum chamber at the bottom and a pump connector 113 connected to a vacuum pump on the side thereof; a lower driving chamber 120 coupled to an upper portion of the valve body 110 and having a lower air inlet 121 formed at a lower front portion; An upper piston 133 formed horizontally inside the lower driving chamber 120, a lower piston 131 formed inside the valve body 110 to a size capable of blocking the chamber connector 111, and the upper piston 133 and the lower piston 131 are connected, and the rise of the upper piston 133 according to whether air is supplied to the lower air inlet 121 is transferred to the lower piston 131, and the lower piston 131 an opening/closing piston part 130 having a connecting shaft 132 to move between a closed position in which the chamber connecting hole 111 is closed and an open position in which the lower piston 131 opens the chamber connecting hole 111; an upper driving chamber 150 provided on an upper part of the lower driving chamber 120 and having an upper air inlet 157 formed on the upper front side; Accommodated inside the upper drive chamber 150, the upper pressure shaft 161 extends toward the lower drive chamber 120, and depending on whether air is injected through the upper air inlet 157, the upper drive chamber ( 150) an adjustment piston 160 that moves up and down inside; It is provided between the upper driving chamber 150 and the lower driving chamber 120 to guide the upper pressure shaft 161 to the lower driving chamber 120, and the lower air inlet 121 and the upper air inlet When air is injected into 157 at the same time, the upper pressure shaft 161 lowers together with the adjusting piston 160 and presses the upper piston 133, which rises, so that the chamber connector 111 moves to the middle open position. a conductance adjusting unit 140 to be opened; It is characterized in that it includes an upper cap 170 coupled to the upper portion of the upper drive chamber 150.

According to one embodiment, the conductance adjusting unit 140 is located between the lower drive chamber 120 and the upper drive chamber 150, and has a rotating plate accommodating groove 141-2 on the plate surface except for the corner region. an adjustment housing 141 formed in a recess and having a shaft insertion hole 141-6 for guiding the upper pressure shaft 161 downward through a central region of the rotation plate accommodating groove 141-2; It is accommodated in the rotation plate receiving groove 141-2 of the control housing 141, the outer periphery is exposed to the outside of the control housing 141, and is rotated by an external force, and an adjustment bolt coupling hole 143a is formed therein. an adjusting rotary plate 143; It includes an adjustment bolt 145 screwed to the adjustment bolt coupling hole 143a to surround the upper pressing shaft 161 and has a position indicator pin 145c extending horizontally outward at one end, and the adjustment bolt ( 145) may move up and down between the upper driving chamber 150 and the adjusting housing 141 inside the adjusting rotating plate 143 according to forward and reverse rotation of the adjusting rotating plate 143 .

According to one embodiment, when air is injected into the upper air inlet 157 and the control piston 160 is lowered, the control bolt 145 contacts the lower part of the control piston 160 and the control piston 160 ), and the lowering height of the adjusting piston 160 may correspond to the height at which the lower piston 131 opens the chamber connector 111 in the middle open position.

According to one embodiment, a pin receiving groove 141-4 accommodating the position indicator pin 145c is formed at a certain depth on the outer periphery of the control housing 141, and the pin receiving groove 141-4 On the outer circumferential surface, a position display scale 141-5 displaying the position of the current position display pin 145c may be formed along the height direction.

The vacuum valve according to the present invention further includes a control piston for adjusting the position of the opening/closing piston unit when it is opened, and can be moved to an intermediate open position between a closed position and an open position.

Accordingly, there is an effect of preventing vortex generation due to rapid conductance change when the initial vacuum pressure is applied.

In addition, the vacuum valve of the present invention has the advantage of being able to adjust the descending height of the control piston using a rotating control plate and a control bolt, so that the conductance suitable for the capacity of the vacuum chamber and the size of the vacuum pump can be adjusted in various ways.

1 is a perspective view showing the external configuration of a vacuum valve according to the present invention;

2 is a front view showing the front configuration of a vacuum valve according to the present invention;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional example showing the cross-sectional configuration of the closed position of the vacuum valve according to the present invention;

4 is an exploded perspective view showing the disassembled structure of the conductance control unit of the vacuum valve according to the present invention;

5 is a cross-sectional example showing the cross-sectional configuration of the open position of the vacuum valve according to the present invention;

6 is a cross-sectional example showing the cross-sectional configuration of the middle open position of the vacuum valve according to the present invention;

7 and 8 are cross-sectional views showing the operation process of a vacuum valve according to a modified example of the present invention.

In order to fully understand the present invention, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments of the present invention may be modified in various forms, and the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the examples described in detail below. This embodiment is provided to more completely explain the present invention to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the shapes of elements in the drawings may be exaggerated to emphasize a clearer description. It should be noted that in each drawing, the same members are sometimes indicated by the same reference numerals. Detailed descriptions of well-known functions and configurations that may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention are omitted.

1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a vacuum valve 100 according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view showing the front configuration of the vacuum valve 100, and FIG. 3 is a cross-section of the vacuum valve 100 in a closed position. It is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration.

As shown, the vacuum valve 100 according to the present invention is provided between a vacuum chamber in which a vacuum is to be formed and a vacuum pump that discharges gas inside the vacuum chamber to the outside to form a vacuum inside the vacuum chamber, and is provided as a controller (not shown). It is opened and closed by the control of the time), and the gas inside the vacuum chamber is discharged to the vacuum pump.

The vacuum valve 100 of the present invention includes a valve body 110 having a chamber connector 111 connected to a vacuum chamber and a pump connector 113 connected to a vacuum pump, and provided on the upper portion of the valve body 110 to form a chamber. The opening/closing piston part 130 which opens and closes the connector 111, and the opening/closing piston part 130 provided on the upper part of the valve body 110 moves downward to close the chamber connector 111 and the closing position and opening/closing piston part ( 130) is moved upward to move between the open positions of opening the chamber connector 111; The control piston 160 is provided between the upper drive chamber 150 and the upper drive chamber 150 and the lower drive chamber 120 to pressurize the opening/closing piston unit 130 while moving up and down, and the control piston 160 ) adjusts the height at which the opening/closing piston unit 130 is pressed to adjust the opening height of the intermediate opening position between the closed position and the open position, and the upper part covering the upper part of the upper driving chamber 150 Includes cap 170.

In the vacuum valve 100 of the present invention, in addition to the opening and closing piston part 130 that opens and closes by moving the chamber connector 111 of the valve body 110 up and down, the control piston 160 that adjusts the rising height of the opening and closing piston part 130 ) is further included. As a result, the vacuum valve 100 of the present invention can be adjusted to an open position in which the chamber connector 111 is fully open and a closed position in a closed state, as well as a partially opened intermediate open position between the open position and the closed position, thereby forming vacuum pressure. It is possible to prevent a vortex phenomenon caused by an initial sudden change in conductance.

In addition, the vacuum valve 100 of the present invention further includes a conductance adjusting unit 140 that adjusts the height of the control piston 160, so that the opening height of the middle opening position can be adjusted in various ways. Accordingly, there is an advantage in that the conductance can be appropriately adjusted according to the capacity of the vacuum chamber and the size of the vacuum pump.

The valve body 110 connects the vacuum chamber and the vacuum pump. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a chamber connector 111 connected to a vacuum chamber (not shown) is extended at the bottom of the valve body 110, and a pump connector 113 connected to a vacuum pump is formed on the side. formed by elongation The positions of the chamber connector 111 and the pump connector 113 may be opposite to each other depending on the design direction.

A lower driving chamber 120 is disposed above the valve body 110 . A first sealing member 115 is provided at a boundary between the lower driving chamber 120 and the valve body 110 to prevent internal air pressure from being discharged to the outside.

The lower drive chamber 120 drives the opening and closing piston unit 130 to open and close the chamber connector 111 while the opening and closing piston unit 130 accommodated therein moves up and down. As shown in FIG. 3, a lower air inlet 121 through which air is introduced is formed on the front side of the lower driving chamber 120, and the connecting shaft 132 of the opening/closing piston part 130 is formed on the bottom surface of the valve body 110. A connecting shaft guide hole 123 guiding to ) is formed through, and a pressure shaft insertion hole 129 into which an upper pressure shaft 161 of the adjustment piston 160 is inserted is formed through the upper surface.

In addition, a screw coupling hole 127 into which the screw coupling end 173a of the fixing screw 173 is screwed is provided at the bottom edge of the lower driving chamber 120 . A screw thread is formed on the inner wall surface of the screw coupling hole 127 and is screwed with the screw coupling end 173a.

The connecting shaft guide hole 123 is provided with a second sealing member 123a to prevent leakage of air when the connecting shaft 132 moves up and down.

The lower air inlet 121 is provided at a position corresponding to the upper piston 133 of the opening/closing piston unit 130, and as shown in FIG. 5, the air A injected into the inside is directed to the lower surface of the upper piston 133. Acts to cause the upper piston 133 to rise.

The pressure shaft insertion hole 129 allows the upper pressure shaft 161 of the control piston 160 to be inserted into the lower driving chamber 120 so that the upper pressure shaft 161 interlocks with the vertical movement of the control piston 160. As shown in FIG. 6, the upper piston 133 is pressed.

As shown in FIG. 3, the screw coupling hole 127 is a fixing screw 173 inserted through the upper cap 170, the upper driving chamber 150, and the adjusting housing 141 to the lower driving chamber 120. It is screwed and the positions of the lower driving chamber 120, the adjusting housing 141, the upper driving chamber 150 and the upper cap 170 are fixed.

The valve body 110 and the lower driving chamber 120 are fixed by a fastening member (not shown) not shown in the drawings.

The opening/closing piston unit 130 is provided in the lower driving chamber 120 and the valve body 110 and moves between a closed position and an open position to open and close the chamber connector 111 of the valve body 110 . As shown in FIG. 3, the opening/closing piston part 130 is located at a position corresponding to the lower piston 131 formed in an area capable of blocking the chamber connector 111 and the lower air inlet 121 in the lower driving chamber 120. Bellows covering between the upper piston 133 positioned horizontally, the connecting shaft 132 connecting the lower piston 131 and the upper piston 133, and the lower piston 131 and the lower driving chamber 120 ( 135) and an elastic member 137 provided between the lower part of the lower drive chamber 120 and the lower piston 131 to apply elastic force in a direction in which the lower piston 131 closes the chamber connector 111. .

The lower piston 131 moves up and down and opens and closes the chamber connector 111 . As shown in FIG. 3, the lower piston 131 descends inside the valve body 110 to close the chamber connector 111 to block the discharge of gas inside the chamber body, and as shown in FIG. It rises and opens the chamber connector 111 to move between open positions where the gas inside the chamber body is discharged to the pump connector 113.

The upper piston 133 moves up and down depending on whether air is injected into the lower air inlet 121 of the lower driving chamber 120 . As shown in FIG. 3, when air is not injected into the lower air inlet 121, the upper piston 133 is located on the bottom surface of the lower drive chamber 120, and as shown in FIG. 5, the lower air inlet 121 ), the upper piston 133 rises to the top of the lower driving chamber 120 when air is injected.

The connecting shaft 132 connects the upper piston 133 and the lower piston 131 to transfer the vertical movement of the upper piston 133 to the lower piston 131 .

As shown in FIG. 3 , the elastic member 137 applies an elastic force in a direction in which the lower piston 131 descends and blocks the chamber connector 111 . Accordingly, when air injection into the lower air inlet 121 is blocked, the lower piston 131 is lowered by the elastic force of the elastic member 137 .

In order for the upper piston 133 to rise, air with a pressure exceeding the elastic force of the elastic member 137 is supplied to the lower air inlet 121 .

The bellows 135 covers the outside of the elastic member 137 and blocks dust or dust generated when the elastic member 137 is compressed or stretched from entering the vacuum chamber through the chamber connector 111 .

The adjusting piston 160 moves up and down and adjusts the height at which the upper piston 133 rises to adjust the opening height of the lower piston 131 at the mid-open position. The upper driving chamber 150 applies a driving force so that the adjusting piston 160 moves up and down. The upper cap 170 covers the open top of the upper driving chamber 150 to prevent air from leaking to the outside.

When the control piston 160 is moved up and down by the upper driving chamber 150, the conductance control unit 140 controls the height of the control piston 160 to adjust the conductance.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the coupling relationship between the conductance adjusting unit 140, the upper driving chamber 150, the adjusting piston 160, and the upper cap 170. Referring to FIG.

As shown, the control piston 160 is provided in a disc shape, and the upper pressure shaft 161 extends vertically downward. The upper cap 170 is coupled to the top of the upper driving chamber 150 and covers the open upper driving chamber 150 . An adjustment piston accommodating groove 171 in which the adjustment piston 160 is accommodated is formed on the lower surface of the upper cap 170 .

A plurality of fixing screws 173 are inserted into the corner area of the upper cap 170 . As shown in FIG. 3, the fixing screw 173 extends to the bottom surface of the lower driving chamber 120, and the screw insertion hole 155 of the upper driving chamber 150 and the lower screw of the adjusting housing 141 are inserted. After being sequentially inserted into the balls 141-7, the screw end 173a is screwed into the screw connection hole 127 of the lower drive chamber 120.

The upper driving chamber 150 drives the adjusting piston 160 to move up and down. The upper drive chamber 150 includes an upper drive chamber body 151 in which a space for the adjustment piston 160 to move up and down is formed, and an upper air inlet 157 provided on the upper front portion of the upper drive chamber body 151. do. As shown in FIG. 6 , air A is injected into the upper air inlet 157 to pressurize the upper portion of the adjusting piston 160 . As a result, the adjusting piston 160 presses the opening/closing piston part 130 to position it in the middle open position.

A bolt moving hole 153 for accommodating the adjustment bolt 145 of the conductance adjusting unit 140 to move up and down is formed through the bottom surface of the upper driving chamber body 151 .

The conductance adjusting unit 140 adjusts the lowering position of the adjusting piston 160 so that the opening/closing piston unit 130 is positioned at an intermediate open position between the open position and the closed position. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , the conductance control unit 140 is accommodated in the control housing 141 provided between the lower drive chamber 120 and the upper drive chamber 150 and inside the control housing 141. The adjustment rotary plate 143 is screwed into the inside of the adjustment rotary plate 143 and moves up and down according to the normal and reverse rotation of the adjustment rotary plate 143, and the adjustment piston 160 descends. It includes an adjustment bolt 145 that limits the position.

The adjusting housing 141 supports the adjusting rotating plate 143 to be rotated and supports the adjusting bolt 145 to be moved up and down by the rotation of the adjusting rotating plate 143 . The control housing 141 is recessed in the control housing body 141-1 and inside the control housing body 141-1 to correspond to the shape of the control turn plate 143 so that the control turn plate 143 can be rotated. A rotating plate receiving groove 141-2 for accommodating, a bolt receiving groove 141-3 formed in a stepped depression in the central region of the rotating plate receiving groove 141-2 and into which an adjustment bolt 145 is inserted, and a bolt receiving groove A shaft insertion hole 141-6 formed through the bottom surface of the 141-3 and guiding the upper pressure shaft 161 to the lower driving chamber 120, and a corner area of the adjusting housing body 141-1 It is provided and includes a lower screw insertion hole 141-7 into which the fixing screw 173 is inserted.

The rotary plate accommodating groove 141-2 is recessed in a form in which the control rotary plate 143 is in internal contact with the plate surface of the control housing body 141-1. As a result, when the adjusting rotating plate 143 is accommodated in the rotating plate receiving groove 141-2, as shown in FIG. 1, the adjusting rotating plate 143 is exposed to the outside through the four sides of the adjusting housing body 141-1. .

The user presses the control rotary plate 143 exposed to the outside with a finger and rotates the control rotary plate 143 forward and backward to adjust the descending height of the control piston 160 and adjust the opening degree of the mid-open position.

An adjustment bolt coupling hole 143a, to which an adjustment bolt 145 is coupled, is formed through the adjustment rotation plate 143. A first thread 143b is formed on the inner wall surface of the adjustment bolt coupling hole 143a and is screwed to the adjustment bolt 145.

The bolt accommodating groove 141-3 is recessed to correspond to the shape of the adjusting bolt 145 in the center region of the bottom of the rotating plate accommodating groove 141-2. A pin receiving groove 141-4 is recessed toward the front of the control housing 141 in the bolt receiving groove 141-3. The position indicator pin 145c of the adjustment bolt 145 is inserted into the pin receiving groove 141-4.

The adjusting bolt 145 is provided with a non-circular cross section so that it can only move up and down without being rotated while being accommodated in the bolt receiving groove 141-3. The adjusting bolt 145 has a cross section of both sides formed in a curved surface and the front and back sides are provided with a horizontal shape so that it can be screwed with the first screw thread 143b of the adjusting rotation plate 143.

The position indicator pin 145c extends toward the front of the adjustment bolt 145 and is inserted into the pin receiving groove 141-4.

A second screw thread 145b corresponding to the first screw thread 143b is formed on both sides of the outer circumferential surface of the adjusting bolt 145. When the operator rotates the adjusting bolt 145 forward and backward from the outside, the adjusting bolt 145 in which the second screw thread 145b is screwed into the first screw thread 143b is inserted into the bolt receiving groove 141-3 and cannot be rotated. It only moves up and down in place.

Inside the adjustment bolt 145, a pressure shaft guide hole 145a for guiding the upper pressure shaft 161 to the lower side is formed through.

The adjusting bolt 145 moves up and down between the bolt receiving groove 141-3 and the bolt moving hole 153, and limits the height at which the adjusting piston 160 is lowered in the middle open position. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, when air is injected through the upper air inlet 157 and the control piston 160 is lowered by the air pressure, the control bolt 145 comes into contact with the lower part of the control piston 160 for adjustment. The descending height of the piston 160 is limited.

Accordingly, the height of the upper pressure shaft 161 extending downward from the adjusting piston 160 and inserted into the lower driving chamber 120 is also limited, and when the upper piston 133 is raised, the upper pressure shaft 161 and reach, and the height of the lift is limited.

The protruding height (d) of the control bolt 145 from the bottom surface of the upper driving chamber 150 controls the separation height between the lower piston 131 and the chamber connector 111, that is, the opening height h2 of the middle opening position do. As the protruding height d of the control bolt 145 increases, the opening height h2 of the middle opening position increases, and thus the flow rate of gas moving from the vacuum chamber to the vacuum pump per hour, that is, the conductance increases.

Here, the current height of the adjusting bolt 145 can be confirmed by the operator from the outside through the current height of the position indicator pin 145c as shown in FIG. 2 . An intaglio reference line (a) is displayed on the position indicator pin 145c, and a position indicator scale 141-5 along the height direction is displayed on the outer wall of the pin receiving groove 141-4 of the control housing body 141-1. is formed

The user can check and adjust the conductance at the middle open position based on the reference line (a) of the position indicator pin 145c located on the position indicator scale 141-5. That is, as the height of the position indicator pin 145c of the position indicator scale 141-5 increases, the height of the opening increases and the conductance can be adjusted to increase.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, a pair of

sensor insertion grooves

125, 147, and 158 are coaxially arranged on both sides of the lower drive chamber 120, the control housing 141, and the upper drive chamber 150 along the height direction. It is provided with a recess.

A sensor (not shown) is coupled to the pair of

sensor insertion grooves

125 , 147 , and 158 to detect opening and closing of the vacuum valve 100 through the current height of the opening/closing piston unit 130 .

A process of using the vacuum valve 100 according to the present invention having such a configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6 .

The vacuum valve 100 is installed so that the chamber connector 111 of the valve body 110 is connected to a vacuum chamber (not shown) and the pump connector 113 is connected to a vacuum pump (not shown).

When the vacuum chamber (not shown) is in a blocking position to prevent external leakage of gas, as shown in FIG. 3, the lower piston 131 is lowered by the elastic force of the elastic member 137 to close the chamber connector 111. block

In this state, when it is desired to form a vacuum pressure inside the vacuum chamber (not shown), air (A) is injected into the lower air inlet 121 as shown in FIG. 5 .

When air (A) is injected into the lower air inlet 121 and a pressure exceeding the elastic force of the elastic member 137 is applied to the upper piston 133, the upper piston 133 rises upward. The rise of the upper piston 133 is transmitted to the lower piston 131 through the connection shaft 132, and the lower piston 131 rises to open the chamber connector 111. The chamber connector 111 is opened, gas A1 inside the vacuum chamber (not shown) is discharged through the pump connector 113, and vacuum pressure is applied to the vacuum chamber (not shown).

At this time, the upper piston 133 is raised to a height h1 in contact with the upper surface of the lower driving chamber 120 by air pressure, and the lower piston 131 is raised to the same height h1 as the upper piston 133 and opened. hold the position

On the other hand, if the operator wants to prevent the vortex from being generated when vacuum pressure is formed in the open position, as shown in FIG. 6, the adjusting rotation plate 143 is rotated to raise the adjusting bolt 145.

After the control bolt 145 is raised by the desired height (d), the operator supplies air (A) to the lower air inlet 121 and the upper air inlet 157 at the same time.

The upper piston 133 rises by the air pressure injected through the lower air inlet 121. Then, the control piston 160 is lowered by the air pressure injected into the upper air inlet 157. The control piston 160 descends to a position where it comes into contact with the control bolt 145, and the upper pressure shaft 161 comes into contact with the upper part of the upper piston 133 that rises.

The height of the upper piston 133 is limited by the upper compression shaft 161 and is raised only by the second height h2. Accordingly, the lower piston 131 is also opened to the middle open position by the second height h2.

Compared to the fully open position of FIG. 5, the middle open position of FIG. 6 has a lower open height (h2 < h1), so the flow rate of the gas A1 discharged from the vacuum chamber to the vacuum pump, that is, the conductance, is reduced. Accordingly, it is possible to solve a conventional problem in which vortexes are generated inside the vacuum chamber due to a sudden change in conductance.

The operator examines whether vortex is generated inside the vacuum chamber at the middle open position, and if the vortex is continuously generated, the conductance can be further reduced by further lowering the height of the adjusting bolt 145.

Meanwhile, FIGS. 7 and 8 are exemplary diagrams showing a cross-sectional configuration of a vacuum valve 100a according to a modified example of the present invention.

In the vacuum valve 100 of the preferred embodiment described above, the operator could adjust the conductance through the adjusting bolt 145 and the adjusting rotary plate 143.

On the other hand, the vacuum valve 100a according to the modified example adjusts the middle opening position by inserting the conductance adjusting block 180 having a fixed height.

At this time, the height h3 of the conductance control block 180 is set to the height of the optimum middle open position at which no vortex is generated through experiments.

Accordingly, it is possible to adjust between the closed position shown in FIG. 7(a), the open position shown in FIG. 7(b), and the intermediate open position shown in FIG. 8.

As described above, the vacuum valve according to the present invention may be moved to an intermediate open position between a closed position and an open position by further including an adjustment piston for adjusting the position of the opening/closing piston unit when it is opened.

The embodiment of the vacuum valve of the present invention described above is only exemplary, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs can well understand that various modifications and other equivalent embodiments are possible therefrom. There will be. Therefore, it will be well understood that the present invention is not limited to the forms mentioned in the detailed description above. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical spirit of the appended claims. It is also to be understood that the present invention includes all modifications, equivalents and alternatives within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

[Description of code]

100: vacuum valve 110: valve body

111: chamber connector 113: pump connector

115: first sealing member 120: lower driving chamber

121: lower air inlet 123: connecting shaft guide hole

123a: second sealing member 125: lower sensor insertion groove

127: screw coupling hole 129: pressurized shaft insertion hole

130: opening and closing piston part 131: lower piston

131a: third sealing member 132: connecting shaft

133: upper piston 133a: fourth sealing member

135: bellows 137: elastic member

140: conductance adjusting unit 141: adjusting housing

141-1: adjusting housing body 141-2: rotating plate receiving groove

141-3: bolt receiving groove 141-4: pin receiving groove

141-5: Position indication scale 141-6: Shaft insertion hole

141-7: lower screw insertion hole 143: adjusting rotary plate

143a: adjusting bolt coupling hole 143b: first thread

145: adjustment bolt 145a: pressurized shaft guide hole

145b: second thread 145c: position indicator pin

147: middle sensor insertion groove 150: upper drive chamber

151: upper drive chamber body 153: bolt moving hole

155: screw insertion hole 157: upper air inlet

158: upper sensor insertion groove 160: control piston

161: upper compression shaft 170: upper cap

171: upper piston receiving groove 173: fixing screw

173a: screw coupling end 180: conductance control block

a : baseline

A: air

A1: gas

Claims

A valve body 110 having a chamber connector 111 connected to the vacuum chamber at the bottom and a pump connector 113 connected to the vacuum pump on the side thereof;

a lower driving chamber 120 coupled to an upper portion of the valve body 110 and having a lower air inlet 121 formed at a lower front portion;

An upper piston 133 formed horizontally inside the lower driving chamber 120, a lower piston 131 formed inside the valve body 110 to a size capable of blocking the chamber connector 111, and the upper piston 133 and the lower piston 131 are connected, and the rise of the upper piston 133 according to whether air is supplied to the lower air inlet 121 is transferred to the lower piston 131, and the lower piston 131 an opening/closing piston part 130 having a connecting shaft 132 to move between a closed position in which the chamber connecting hole 111 is closed and an open position in which the lower piston 131 opens the chamber connecting hole 111;

an upper driving chamber 150 provided on an upper part of the lower driving chamber 120 and having an upper air inlet 157 formed on the upper front side; Accommodated inside the upper drive chamber 150, the upper pressure shaft 161 extends toward the lower drive chamber 120, and depending on whether air is injected through the upper air inlet 157, the upper drive chamber ( 150) an adjustment piston 160 that moves up and down inside;

It is provided between the upper driving chamber 150 and the lower driving chamber 120 to guide the upper pressure shaft 161 to the lower driving chamber 120, and the lower air inlet 121 and the upper air inlet When air is injected into 157 at the same time, the upper pressure shaft 161 lowers together with the adjusting piston 160 and presses the upper piston 133, which rises, so that the chamber connector 111 moves to the middle open position. a conductance adjusting unit 140 to be opened;

Conductance controllable vacuum valve, characterized in that it comprises an upper cap (170) coupled to the upper portion of the upper drive chamber (150).
According to claim 1,

The conductance control unit 140,

It is located between the lower driving chamber 120 and the upper driving chamber 150, and the rotating plate receiving groove 141-2 is recessed on the plate surface except for the corner area, and guides the upper pressure shaft 161 downward. an adjustment housing 141 through which a shaft insertion hole 141-6 is formed through a center region of the rotation plate receiving groove 141-2;

It is accommodated in the rotation plate receiving groove 141-2 of the control housing 141, the outer periphery is exposed to the outside of the control housing 141, and is rotated by an external force, and an adjustment bolt coupling hole 143a is formed therein. an adjusting rotary plate 143;

It includes an adjustment bolt 145 screwed into the adjustment bolt coupling hole 143a to surround the upper pressing shaft 161 and having a position indicator pin 145c extending horizontally outward at one end,

The adjusting bolt 145 moves up and down between the upper drive chamber 150 and the adjusting housing 141 inside the adjusting rotating plate 143 according to the normal and reverse rotation of the adjusting rotating plate 143. A vacuum valve with adjustable conductance.
According to claim 2,

When air is injected into the upper air inlet 157 and the control piston 160 is lowered, the control bolt 145 contacts the lower part of the control piston 160 and limits the lowering height of the control piston 160. and

The lowering height of the control piston (160) corresponds to the height at which the lower piston (131) opens the chamber connector (111) in the middle open position.
According to claim 3,

A pin accommodating groove 141-4 accommodating the position display pin 145c is formed on the outer periphery of the control housing 141 with a predetermined depth, and a current position display pin is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the pin accommodating groove 141-4. A vacuum valve with conductance control, characterized in that the position indicator scale (141-5) indicating the position of (145c) is formed along the height direction.