KR102329142B1 - Gate valve assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a gate valve assembly capable of firmly maintaining the airtightness of vacuum equipment with a structure that can further increase the airtightness of the gate valve, and includes a valve door capable of opening and closing a gate for a substrate to enter and exit, and the valve door is connected to one side of the valve door so as to open and close the gate to raise and lower the valve door, and a shaft having an annular protrusion formed in the middle portion, and a through hole formed inside so that the shaft can be raised and lowered A valve housing plate, a housing frame having a space formed therein so that the shaft can be moved and coupled to an upper portion of the valve housing plate, the shaft passes through the inside, one end is coupled to the upper portion of the valve housing plate, the other end A bellows including a flange provided to be seated on the upper surface of the annular protrusion formed on the outer diameter surface of the shaft, and to maintain airtightness inside the bellows, formed between the upper surface of the annular protrusion and the lower surface of the flange It may include a sealing member and a pressing member for pressing the upper surface of the flange to increase the sealing force by pressing the sealing member.

Description

Gate valve assembly

The present invention relates to a vacuum device, and more particularly, to a gate valve assembly capable of firmly maintaining the vacuum tightness of the vacuum device.

In general, a semiconductor manufacturing process is a process that requires high precision, and high cleanliness and special manufacturing technology are required. For the above reasons, the semiconductor device is manufactured in a state in which the contact of foreign substances contained in the air is completely blocked, that is, in a vacuum state. Accordingly, the sealing technology between the vacuum working area and the atmosphere of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus also greatly affects the quality of the semiconductor product.

For this semiconductor manufacturing process, a gate valve is installed to isolate each space between the load lock chamber and the EFEM, between the load lock chamber and the transfer chamber, and between the transfer chamber and the process chamber. In the gate valve as described above, the valve door connected to the driving member moves vertically and horizontally by the driving force of the driving member to open and close the wafer movement path, thereby maintaining cleanliness in the process chamber and improving the efficiency of work. make it possible

However, in this conventional gate valve assembly, the sealing member for maintaining airtightness is installed in a side sealing structure between the outer diameter surface of the shaft and the bellows for elevating the valve door, and the sealing member according to the elevating movement of the shaft and the bellows. There was a phenomenon of gas leaking through the Due to the weakness in airtightness of the side sealing structure, the airtight maintenance effect of the vacuum equipment is not uniform, and thus there is a problem that causes the operation failure rate to increase.

An object of the present invention is to solve various problems including the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a gate valve assembly capable of reducing the operation defect rate by increasing the airtightness between the shaft and the bellows. However, these problems are exemplary, and the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a valve door capable of opening and closing a gate for the substrate to enter and exit; a shaft connected to one side of the valve door so that the valve door can open and close the gate to elevate the valve door, and an annular protrusion is formed on an outer diameter surface; a valve housing plate having a through hole formed therein so that the shaft can be raised and lowered; a housing frame having a space therein so that the shaft can be moved and coupled to an upper portion of the valve housing plate; a bellows having a flange through which the shaft penetrates inwardly, one end coupled to the upper portion of the valve housing plate, and the other end having a flange provided to be seated on the upper surface of the annular protrusion formed on the outer diameter surface of the shaft; a sealing member coupled between the upper surface of the annular protrusion and the lower surface of the flange to maintain airtightness inside the bellows; and a pressing member pressing the upper surface of the flange to increase the sealing force by pressing the sealing member.

In the gate valve assembly, the pressing member is formed in a ring shape to allow the shaft to pass therethrough, and a female threaded portion is formed on an inner diameter surface, and the shaft has a male screw portion formed on the outer diameter surface, and the pressing member and the shaft may be coupled by screwing to press the upper surface of the flange.

In the gate valve assembly, the pressing member is formed in a ring shape so that the shaft can pass therethrough, and at least one through-groove portion through which the screw member can pass so as to be coupled with the annular protrusion using a screw member abnormalities may be formed.

In the gate valve assembly, the annular protrusion may include a coupling groove formed at a position corresponding to the through groove of the pressing member so that the screw member can be coupled thereto.

In the gate valve assembly, the annular protrusion may include a sealing member seating groove formed such that one side of the sealing member is in contact with an upper surface of the annular protrusion to prevent the sealing member from moving on the annular protrusion.

In the gate valve assembly, the bellows, a pressing member seating groove formed so that the pressing member can be inserted into the flange to be pressed; the gate valve assembly including a gate valve assembly is provided.

In the gate valve assembly, a mounting block having one side connected to the driving unit and having an accommodating hole for accommodating a portion of the shaft is formed therein so as to connect the shaft and the driving unit for driving the shaft. can do.

In the gate valve assembly, the mounting block includes at least one fastening hole portion formed to pass through the mounting block in a direction perpendicular to the central axis of the shaft, wherein the shaft is located at a position corresponding to the fastening hole portion. A fixture inserted into the mounting block through the fastening hole, including a fixing groove portion formed in an annular shape along an outer diameter of ; may be included.

In the gate valve assembly, the fixture may include: a first fixture having one end inclined with respect to a central axis to guide a fixed position of the shaft; and a second fixture having a flat end formed so as to fix the shaft, wherein the fixing groove portion has a triangular cross-sectional shape to correspond to the inclined end of the first fixture a first fixing groove; and a second fixing groove having a rectangular cross-sectional shape so as to correspond to a flat end of the second fixing member.

In the gate valve assembly, the mounting block may include a wedge portion inserted in the vertical direction of the shaft central axis to fix the shaft so as to fix the shaft inserted into the receiving hole portion.

In the gate valve assembly, the wedge portion includes a wedge inclined surface formed to be inclined at a portion protruding inwardly of the receiving hole portion, and the fixing groove portion has a cross-sectional shape such that it can be seated on the wedge inclined surface. and a third fixing groove including a fixing inclined surface corresponding to the ;

According to an embodiment of the present invention made as described above, the upper and lower sealing structure in which a sealing member is installed between the bellows and the upper surface of the annular protrusion of the shaft is applied, and the sealing member is pressed to increase the compressive force on the sealing structure. It is possible to greatly improve the airtightness effect by applying a pressing member. Therefore, it is possible to implement a gate valve assembly having the effect of further improving the sealing effect of the vacuum equipment and increasing the operational reliability. Of course, the scope of the present invention is not limited by these effects.

1 is a perspective view showing a gate valve assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cut-away perspective view showing a cross-section of the gate valve assembly of FIG. 1 ;
3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a cross-section of the gate valve assembly of FIG. 1 .
4 is a cross-sectional view showing a cross-section of a gate valve assembly according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, several preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Examples of the present invention are provided to more completely explain the present invention to those of ordinary skill in the art, and the following examples may be modified in various other forms, and the scope of the present invention is as follows It is not limited to an Example. Rather, these embodiments are provided so as to more fully and complete the present disclosure, and to fully convey the spirit of the present invention to those skilled in the art. In addition, in the drawings, the thickness or size of each layer is exaggerated for convenience and clarity of description.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings schematically illustrating ideal embodiments of the present invention. In the drawings, variations of the illustrated shape can be expected, for example depending on manufacturing technology and/or tolerances. Accordingly, embodiments of the spirit of the present invention should not be construed as limited to the specific shape of the region shown in the present specification, but should include, for example, changes in shape caused by manufacturing.

1 is a perspective view showing a gate valve assembly 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. And, FIG. 2 is a cut-away perspective view showing a cross-section of the gate valve assembly 100 of FIG. 1 , and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a cross-section of the gate valve assembly 100 of FIG. 1 .

First, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 , the gate valve assembly 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is largely a valve door 10 , a shaft 20 , a bellows 30 , and a sealing member. 40 and the pressing member 50 may be included. The gate valve assembly 100 may be installed in a substrate entry/exit part of a manufacturing device requiring a vacuum state, for example, a semiconductor device or a display device.

1 to 3 , the valve door 10 may open and close a gate for the substrate to enter and exit. More specifically, the valve door 10 may be driven up and down and back and forth so as to open and close the gate.

In addition, the opening/closing amount of the gate is adjusted according to the rising/lowering and front/back driving of the valve door 10 to control the amount of suction power of the vacuum pump transferred to the process chamber according to the opening/closing amount, and the valve door 10 is When the gate is fully closed, each space between the load lock chamber and the EFEM or between the load lock chamber and the transfer chamber or between the transfer chamber and the process chamber can be isolated.

The valve door 10 may be a structure having appropriate strength and durability to maintain the isolation of each space when the gate is completely closed. More specifically, the valve door 10 may be a structure configured by selecting one or more materials of steel, stainless, aluminum, magnesium, and zinc. However, the valve door 10 is not necessarily limited to FIGS. 1 to 3 , and members made of a wide variety of materials can be applied to completely close the gate to maintain the isolation of each space.

1 to 3, the valve housing plate (VH) is formed so that the shaft 20 can be raised and lowered on the inside, and the shaft 20, the valve door 10 is the gate It is connected to one side of the valve door 10 so as to open and close the valve door 10 can be raised and lowered. In addition, the bellows 30, the shaft 20 penetrates inside, one end is coupled to the upper portion of the valve housing plate (VH), the other end of the annular protrusion 21 formed on the outer diameter surface of the shaft 20 A flange 31 provided to be seated on the upper surface may be formed.

More specifically, the annular protrusion 21 of the shaft 20 may be a ring-shaped step in which the step is formed by 360 degrees along the outer circumferential surface of the shaft 20 . In addition, to prevent the sealing member 40 from being moved on the annular protrusion 21, which will be described later, a sealing member seating groove 21b formed so that one side of the sealing member 40 is in contact with the upper surface of the annular protrusion 21 may be included. can

For example, the sealing member seating groove 21b may have a cross-sectional shape corresponding to at least a portion of the cross-sectional shape of the sealing member 40 so that the sealing member 40 can be seated in the correct position of the annular protrusion 21 . can be induced to Accordingly, the sealing member 40 is accurately seated at a fixed position between the upper surface of the annular protrusion 21 and the lower surface of the flange 31 , thereby further enhancing the airtightness of the gate valve assembly 100 .

In addition, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 , the gate valve assembly 100 has a space formed therein so that the shaft 20 can be moved therein and is coupled to the upper portion of the valve housing plate VH. Including a frame (H), one side is connected to the drive unit (M) so as to connect the drive unit (M) for driving the shaft (20) and the shaft (20) and accommodate a portion of the shaft (20) on the inside It may further include a mounting block 60 in which an accommodating hole 61 is formed. In this case, the driving unit M may be installed on the upper side of the housing frame H and may be connected to the mounting block 60 formed inside the housing frame H to transmit the driving force generated by the driving unit M.

More specifically, the mounting block 60 includes at least one fastening hole portion 62 formed to pass through the mounting block 60 in a vertical direction of the central axis of the shaft 20, and the shaft 20 includes a fastening hole portion It includes a fixing groove part 25 formed in an annular shape along the outer diameter surface of the shaft 20 at a position corresponding to 62, and one end of the shaft is inserted into the fixing groove part 25 and inserted into the receiving hole part 61 ( 20 , it may include a fixture F inserted into the mounting block 60 through the fastening hole 62 .

For example, the fixture (F) has a flat end so as to fix the first fixture (F1) and the shaft (20) having one end inclined with respect to the central axis to guide the fixing position of the shaft (20). It may include a second fixture (F2) that is formed.

At this time, the fixing groove 25 of the shaft 20 has a first fixing groove 25-1 and a second fixing groove 25-1 having a triangular cross-sectional shape to correspond to the inclined end of the first fixing member F1. A second fixing groove 25-2 having a rectangular cross-sectional shape may be included to correspond to the flat end of the fixing member F2.

Accordingly, after the shaft 20 is inserted into the receiving hole portion 61 of the mounting block 60 , the first fixture F1 may be inserted through the fastening hole portion 62 of the mounting block. At this time, a male screw part is formed on the outer diameter surface of the first fixture (F1), and a female thread part is formed on the inner diameter surface of the fastening hole part (62). can be inserted. For example, the first fixture F1 may be a headless bolt having a hexagonal groove portion formed on its upper surface to enable rotation by a hexagonal wrench.

Subsequently, while the first fixture F1 protrudes into the receiving hole 61 through the fastening hole 62 , it may come into contact with the first fixing groove 25 - 1 of the shaft 20 . At this time, the inclined end of the first fixture F1 and the inclined surface of the first fixing groove 25-1 having a triangular cross section are in contact, and the shaft 20 is mounted in the mounting block 60 by the inclined surface contact. It can guide you to the right place.

Subsequently, the second fixture F2 having a flat end may be inserted through the other fastening hole 62 of the mounting block. At this time, the flat end of the second fixture (F2) and the end face of the second process groove (25-2) formed in a rectangular cross-section are in contact, and are guided to the original position by the first fixture (F1) previously. The shaft 20 can be completely fixed.

Therefore, when the shaft 20 is inserted into the receiving hole 61 of the mounting block 60 and fixed using the first fixture F1 for guiding the coupling position and the second fixture F2 for fixing the coupling position, the shaft (20) can be easily guided to the correct position and fixed.

In addition, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 , the mounting block 60 is perpendicular to the central axis of the shaft 20 so that the shaft 20 inserted into the receiving hole 61 can be more firmly fixed. It may further include a wedge portion 65 for fixing the shaft 20 is inserted.

More specifically, the wedge portion 65 includes a wedge inclined surface 65a formed to be inclined on a portion protruding inward of the receiving hole portion 61, and the fixing groove portion 25 is to be seated on the wedge inclined surface 65a. A third fixing groove 25-3 having a cross-sectional shape corresponding to the wedge inclined surface 65a and a fixed inclined surface 25a may be further included. Accordingly, in addition to fixing the shaft 20 using the first and second fasteners F1 and F2 described above, the shaft 20 may be more firmly fixed by using the wedge portion 65 .

1 to 3 , the sealing member 40 includes the upper surface of the annular protrusion 21 of the shaft 20 and the flange 31 of the bellows 30 so as to maintain the airtightness inside the bellows 30 . ) and can be installed between In addition, the pressing member 50 may press the upper surface of the flange 31 of the bellows 30 to increase the sealing force by pressing the sealing member 40 . At this time, the bellows 30, the pressing member 50 is interpolated to the flange 31, so that the pressing member 50 can be easily seated in the proper position on the flange 31, on the upper surface of the flange 31 It may include a pressing member seating groove 32 formed so that a portion of the pressing member 50 can be seated and pressed.

More specifically, the sealing member 40 may be an O-ring that can easily maintain the airtightness of the inside of the bellows 30 . For example, the sealing member 40 is made of synthetic rubber or synthetic resin and has a circular or square cross-section, and may be inserted into the groove of the sealing unit to maintain airtightness and watertightness.

In addition, the pressing member 50 is formed in a ring shape so that the shaft 20 can pass therethrough, a female screw part 51 is formed on the inner diameter surface, and a male screw part 22 formed on the outer diameter surface of the shaft 20 and It is coupled by screwing to press the flange 31 of the bellows 30 upper surface.

For example, the pressing member 50 presses the upper surface of the flange 31 of the bellows 30 according to the amount of rotation of the screw connection by screwing with the shaft 20 , and applying the pressing force to the flange 31 of the bellows 30 . ) can be transferred to the sealing member 40 formed between the lower surface and the upper surface of the annular protrusion 21 of the shaft 20 .

At this time, at least one through-groove portion 52 formed through the ring-shaped pressing member 50 may be formed so that the pressing member 50 can be easily rotated and screwed to the shaft 20 . For example, using a dedicated tool having a plurality of protrusions formed in a shape corresponding to the shape of the through-groove 52, insert the protrusions of the dedicated tool into the through-groove 52 to rotate the dedicated tool to a pressing member ( 50) may be screwed to the shaft 20 . In addition, the pressing member 50 may be screwed to the shaft 20 by using a common tool such as a spanner by forming the outer diameter surface of the pressing member 50 in a polygonal shape such as a square or hexagon.

Therefore, in the gate valve assembly 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, the sealing member 40 is installed between the upper surface of the annular protrusion 21 of the shaft 20 and the lower surface of the flange 31 of the bellows 30 . By applying the upper and lower sealing structure and applying the pressing member 50 that can press the sealing member 40 in order to increase the compressive force on the upper and lower sealing structure, the airtight maintenance effect of the sealing member 40 is greatly improved. can Accordingly, by pressing the sealing member 40 in the elevating direction of the shaft 20 using the pressing member 50 to reinforce the sealing force, the sealing effect of the vacuum equipment can be further improved and the operation reliability can be increased. may have an effect.

4 is a cross-sectional view showing a cross-section of the gate valve assembly 200 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the pressing member 50 is formed in a ring shape so that the shaft 20 can pass therethrough, and is coupled with the annular protrusion 21 of the shaft 20 using a screw member B. At least one through-groove 52 through which the screw member B can pass may be formed. At this time, the annular protrusion 21 may include a coupling groove portion 21a formed at a position corresponding to the through groove portion 52 of the pressing member 50 so that the screw member B can be coupled thereto.

Therefore, the pressing member 50 is inserted into the shaft 20 and seated on the upper surface of the flange 31 of the bellows 30, and then the screw member B is inserted into the through-groove 52, respectively, and the screw member B ) and the coupling groove portion 21a having a female screw portion formed on the inner diameter surface, the upper surface of the flange 31 of the bellows 30 can be pressed. At this time, as shown in FIG. 4 , a through hole through which the flange 31 of the bellows 30 may also pass through the screw member B may be formed.

For example, the pressing member 50 presses the upper surface of the flange 31 of the bellows 30 according to the rotation amount of the screwing by screwing the screw member B and the coupling groove portion 21a of the annular protrusion 21 . Thus, the pressing force can be transmitted to the sealing member 40 formed between the lower surface of the flange 31 of the bellows 30 and the upper surface of the annular protrusion 21 of the shaft 20 .

Therefore, in the gate valve assembly 200 according to another embodiment of the present invention, the sealing member 40 is installed between the upper surface of the annular protrusion 21 of the shaft 20 and the lower surface of the flange 31 of the bellows 30 . By applying the upper and lower sealing structure and applying the pressing member 50 that can press the sealing member 40 in order to increase the compressive force on the upper and lower sealing structure, the airtight maintenance effect of the sealing member 40 is greatly improved. can Accordingly, by pressing the sealing member 40 in the elevating direction of the shaft 20 using the pressing member 50 to reinforce the sealing force, the sealing effect of the vacuum equipment can be further improved and the operation reliability can be increased. may have an effect.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiment shown in the drawings, which is merely exemplary, those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible therefrom. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.

10: valve door
20: shaft
30: bellows
40: sealing member
50: pressure member
60: mounting block
B: no screw
H: housing frame
VH: valve housing plate
M: drive
F1, F2: Fixture
100, 200: gate valve assembly

Claims (11)

a valve door capable of opening and closing a gate for the substrate to enter and exit;
a shaft connected to one side of the valve door so that the valve door can open and close the gate to elevate the valve door, and an annular protrusion is formed on an outer diameter surface;
a valve housing plate having a through hole formed therein so that the shaft can be raised and lowered;
a housing frame having a space therein so that the shaft can be moved and coupled to an upper portion of the valve housing plate;
a bellows having a flange through which the shaft penetrates inwardly, one end coupled to the upper portion of the valve housing plate, and the other end having a flange provided to be seated on the upper surface of the annular protrusion formed on the outer diameter surface of the shaft;
a sealing member coupled between an upper surface of the annular protrusion and a lower surface of the flange to maintain airtightness inside the bellows; and
and a pressing member for pressing the upper surface of the flange so as to increase the sealing force by pressing the sealing member.
The pressing member is formed in a ring shape so that the shaft can pass therethrough, and a female thread is formed on the inner diameter surface,
The shaft has a male screw portion formed on the outer diameter surface,
The pressure member and the shaft are screwed together to press the upper surface of the flange, the gate valve assembly. delete a valve door capable of opening and closing a gate for the substrate to enter and exit;
a shaft connected to one side of the valve door so that the valve door can open and close the gate to elevate the valve door, and an annular protrusion is formed on an outer diameter surface;
a valve housing plate having a through hole formed therein so that the shaft can be raised and lowered;
a housing frame having a space therein so that the shaft can be moved and coupled to an upper portion of the valve housing plate;
a bellows having a flange through which the shaft penetrates inwardly, one end coupled to the upper portion of the valve housing plate, and the other end having a flange provided to be seated on the upper surface of the annular protrusion formed on the outer diameter surface of the shaft;
a sealing member coupled between the upper surface of the annular protrusion and the lower surface of the flange to maintain airtightness inside the bellows; and
and a pressing member for pressing the upper surface of the flange so as to increase the sealing force by pressing the sealing member.
The pressing member is
The gate valve assembly is formed in a ring shape so that the shaft can pass therethrough, and at least one through-groove through which the screw member can pass is formed so as to be coupled to the annular protrusion using a screw member. 4. The method of claim 3,
The annular protrusion,
a coupling groove formed at a position corresponding to the through groove of the pressing member so that the screw member can be coupled;
A gate valve assembly comprising: 4. The method of claim 1 or 3,
The annular protrusion,
a sealing member seating groove formed such that one side of the sealing member is in contact with an upper surface of the annular protrusion so that the sealing member does not move on the annular protrusion;
A gate valve assembly comprising: 4. The method of claim 1 or 3,
The bellows is
a pressing member seating groove formed so that the pressing member is inserted into the flange to be pressed;
A gate valve assembly comprising: 4. The method of claim 1 or 3,
a mounting block in which one side is connected to the driving unit and an accommodating hole portion capable of accommodating a portion of the shaft is formed therein so as to connect the driving unit for driving the shaft and the shaft;
A gate valve assembly comprising: 8. The method of claim 7,
The mounting block is
At least one fastening hole formed to pass through the mounting block in the vertical direction of the shaft central axis; includes,
The shaft is
and a fixing groove formed in an annular shape along the outer diameter surface of the shaft at a position corresponding to the fastening hole part;
a fixture having one end inserted into the fixing groove portion to fix the shaft inserted into the receiving hole portion, the fixture being inserted into the mounting block through the fastening hole portion;
A gate valve assembly comprising: 9. The method of claim 8,
The fixture is
a first fixture having one end inclined with respect to the central axis to guide the fixed position of the shaft; and
and a second fixture having a flat end formed so as to fix the shaft;
The fixing groove portion,
a first fixing groove having a triangular cross-sectional shape so as to correspond to the inclined end of the first fixing member; and
a second fixing groove having a rectangular cross-sectional shape so as to correspond to the flat end of the second fixing member;
A gate valve assembly comprising: 10. The method of claim 9,
The mounting block is
a wedge portion inserted in the vertical direction of the shaft central axis to fix the shaft so as to fix the shaft inserted into the receiving hole;
A gate valve assembly comprising: 11. The method of claim 10,
The wedge portion,
Including; and a wedge inclined surface formed to be inclined to a portion protruding inwardly of the receiving hole portion;
The fixing groove portion,
a third fixing groove portion including a fixed inclined surface whose cross-sectional shape corresponds to the wedge inclined surface so as to be seated on the wedge inclined surface;
A gate valve assembly comprising:

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