Vacuum sealing cap

Abstract

To provide a vacuum sealing valve for suppressing the generation of particles.SOLUTION: The vacuum sealing valve includes a valve element for sealing / cancelling the sealing of the opening part formed in a wall body, a shaft member movable forward / backward approximately in parallel to the wall body, a link mechanism connecting the valve element and the shaft member in a mutually displaceable manner, and a roller for abutting on the shaft member or the valve element for moving the valve element to the opening part. The roller is a columnar rotary body having a shaft part each end of which has a shrunk diameter, and turnably supported with the shaft part journaled into a shaft hole. In the shaft hole, an elastic member is arranged which is energized so as to push the shaft part back.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vacuum seal valve that opens and closes an opening provided in a partition wall that separates a vacuum chamber. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Devices having a vacuum chamber, such as electron microscopes, are provided with a partition wall for dividing the interior of the vacuum chamber, and a vacuum seal valve for sealing an opening provided in the partition wall.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a gate valve (vacuum sealing valve) that includes a valve body for air-tightly sealing an opening, a base body that holds the valve body via a link mechanism, and a shaft member that is connected to one end of the base body and moves the base body. When the shaft moves, an insertion part of the base body engages with a receiving hole of a fixing means, and the valve body air-tightly seals the opening body. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2006-200709 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, when the insertion part engages with the receiving hole, the metal parts slide against each other, generating particles. In particular, since the engagement method in Patent Document 1 is screwing, the male and female screws slide against each other, and friction easily generates a large number of particles. If the particles fall near the opening, they will hinder the airtight sealing of the opening. The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and provides a vacuum seal valve that suppresses the generation of particles. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the device comprises a valve body that seals / unseals an opening formed in a wall body, a shaft member that can move back and forth approximately parallel to the wall body, a link mechanism that displaceably connects the valve body and the shaft member to each other, and a roller that abuts against the shaft member or the valve body and moves the valve body toward the opening, the roller being a cylindrical rotating body having a shaft portion with a reduced diameter at both ends, the shaft portion being journalled in an axle hole so as to be rotatable, and an elastic member that is biased to push back the shaft portion is disposed in the axle hole.

[0007] In one aspect, the end face of the shaft portion of the roller is a curved surface that protrudes outward, the elastic member is a leaf spring, the shaft hole is configured as a through hole, and is positioned to block the outer opening of the through hole.

[0008] In one embodiment, the roller is provided with a guide groove for guiding the movement of the shaft member or the valve body that comes into contact with the roller.

[0009] In one embodiment, the opening is formed in a step portion provided in the wall body, the axial hole is provided, and a support member supporting the roller is attached to the wall body at a distance from the step portion.

[0010] In one embodiment, the roller is a lower roller that is positioned in front of the valve body and abuts against the front surface of the valve body as the shaft member moves back and forth, converting the forward and backward movement of the shaft member into movement of the valve body toward the opening via the link mechanism, and / or an upper roller that is positioned opposite the opening across the shaft member and abuts against the shaft member when the valve body is sealed, thereby suppressing deformation of the shaft member. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the above configuration, it is possible to provide a vacuum seal valve that suppresses the generation of particles. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of an electron microscope equipped with a vacuum sealing valve according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a side view of the vacuum seal valve (some components are not shown for the purpose of illustration). [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the vacuum seal valve. [Diagram 5] 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the opening and closing mechanism, showing the open state. [Figure 6] 6A and 6B are explanatory diagrams showing the opening and closing process of the opening and closing mechanism, with Fig. 6(A) showing the open state (unsealed state) and Fig. 6(D) showing the closed state (sealed state). [Figure 7] FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. [Figure 9] 9 is an end view of the opening and closing mechanism taken along line IX-IX shown in FIG. 8. [Figure 10] 10 is an end view of a conventional opening and closing mechanism, corresponding to FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] (Electron Microscope 100) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an electron microscope 100 equipped with a vacuum seal valve 1 according to an embodiment.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 1, the electron microscope 100 includes an electron gun 101, an electron beam control mechanism 102 consisting of a lens mechanism for focusing the electron beam EB emitted from the electron gun 101 on a predetermined portion of a sample W and a scanning mechanism for scanning the electron beam EB, and a lens barrel 103 having the electron gun 101 and the electron beam control mechanism 102 inside.

[0015] The electron microscope 100 is a scanning electron microscope (SEM) that detects secondary electrons and the like generated by irradiating a sample W with an electron beam EB emitted from an electron gun 101, and displays a sample image based on this detection signal in synchronization with two-dimensional scanning of the electron beam EB on the sample W. The configuration of the present disclosure is not limited to application to the electron microscope 100, but is also suitable for a transmission electron microscope (TEM) that irradiates the sample W with an electron beam EB and magnifies and observes the electrons that have passed through it, a wire lithography apparatus, an electron beam exposure apparatus, and the like. Also, an ion gun may be used instead of the electron gun 101 to irradiate an ion beam.

[0016] The column 103 has therein an electron gun chamber 104 that houses the electron gun 101, a control mechanism chamber 105 that houses the electron beam control mechanism 102, and a partition wall 106 that separates them. The partition wall 106 has an opening 107 that connects the electron gun chamber 104 and the control mechanism chamber 105. Due to the characteristics of the electron microscope 100, the electron gun chamber 104 is evacuated to a vacuum (10 -5 Ultra-high vacuum of 10 Pa or less -8 The control mechanism chamber 105 is also evacuated to a vacuum by a vacuum exhaust mechanism 108B.

[0017] The electron microscope 100 is equipped with a vacuum seal valve 1 as a mechanism for sealing / unsealing (hereinafter referred to as opening and closing) the opening 107. The vacuum seal valve 1 is supported by passing through a through hole 109 provided in a side wall 103a of the microscope column 103 that is approximately perpendicular to the partition wall 106. Since it takes time to evacuate the electron microscope 100, when repairing the electron gun 101 or replacing the sample W, the vacuum seal valve 1 is used to maintain the electron gun chamber 104 or the control mechanism chamber 105 at a vacuum. In addition, when the electron microscope 100 is transported, the opening 107 is sealed by the vacuum seal valve 1 before transport.

[0018] (Vacuum sealing valve 1) The vacuum seal valve 1 will be described in detail with reference to Figs. 2 to 4. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the vacuum seal valve 1. Fig. 3 is a side view of the vacuum seal valve 1. Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the vacuum seal valve 1. In Fig. 3, some components are omitted for ease of explanation.

[0019] As shown in Figures 2 to 4, the vacuum sealing valve 1 is provided with an opening / closing mechanism 2 at its tip for opening and closing an opening 107. The opening / closing mechanism 2 is composed of a moving side mechanism 7 and a fixed side mechanism 8 fixed to a partition wall 106. The moving side mechanism 7 of the opening / closing mechanism 2 is connected to a bellows 4 via a connection mechanism 3, and the bellows 4 is connected to an actuator 6 via a fixed portion 5.

[0020] The actuator 6 is a drive source for the vacuum seal valve 1. When the actuator 6 moves back and forth substantially parallel to the partition wall 106, this movement is transmitted to the opening and closing mechanism 2, and the opening and closing mechanism 2 converts the forward and backward movement of the actuator 6 into a motion for opening and closing the opening 107, thereby opening and closing the opening 107.

[0021] In this embodiment, a double-acting air cylinder is used for the actuator 6. A retractable single-acting air cylinder may be used, and when the electron gun 101 is not in use, the cylinder is maintained in an advanced state by the bias of a compression spring or the like to keep the opening / closing mechanism 2 in a closed state, and only when the electron gun 101 is in use, the cylinder is moved backwards by air pressure to open the opening / closing mechanism 2. The bias of the compression spring makes it easy to maintain the opening / closing mechanism 2 in a closed state. The actuator 6 is not limited to this, and a known driving mechanism may be used.

[0022] As shown in Fig. 4, the bellows 4 is provided so as to cover the periphery of a transmission shaft 41 disposed inside. The transmission shaft 41 is connected to the actuator 6 via a connection shaft 42. An end of the bellows 4 is fixed to the surface of the fixed part 5, and the internal space of the bellows 4 communicates with an internal space 51 provided in the fixed part 5. In this communicated internal space, the transmission shaft 41 moves forward and backward integrally with the actuator 6. By using the bellows 4, it is possible to obtain power from the actuator 6 located outside the electron gun chamber 104 (on the atmospheric side) and move the transmission shaft 41 forward and backward while maintaining the vacuum atmosphere of the electron gun chamber 104.

[0023] The transmission shaft 41 is connected to a main shaft 71 that constitutes the moving side mechanism 7 of the opening / closing mechanism 2 via the connection mechanism 3, and as these move together, the forward and backward movement of the actuator 6 is transmitted to the opening / closing mechanism 2.

[0024] (Opening and closing mechanism 2) The opening / closing mechanism 2 will be described in detail with reference to Figures 5 and 6. Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of the opening / closing mechanism 2 in the open state.

[0025] As described above, the opening / closing mechanism 2 is made up of the fixed-side mechanism 8 fixed to the partition wall 106, and the movable-side mechanism 7 that moves in conjunction with the advancement and retreat of the actuator 6.

[0026] The fixed-side mechanism 8 includes a support member 81, a first upper roller 82, a second upper roller 83, and a lower roller 84. The movable-side mechanism 7 includes a main shaft 71, an auxiliary member 72, a spring 73, two pairs of links 74, 74, a valve body 75, an O-ring 76, and a bolt 77.

[0027] The support members 81 are a pair of L-shaped brackets, which face each other at positions that do not impede the movement of the electron beam EB or the movable mechanism 7, are fixed to the partition wall 106 on a horizontal plane, and rotatably support the first upper roller 82, the second upper roller 83, and the lower roller 84 on a vertical plane (see FIG. 2). For the sake of explanation, one of the support members 81 arranged on the front side of the paper is omitted in FIGS. 3 and 6.

[0028] The first upper roller 82 and the second upper roller 83 are rotating bodies for suppressing deformation of the main shaft 71, that is, for suppressing the main shaft 71 from bending upward due to the reaction force generated by pressing the valve body 75 against the opening 107. They are arranged in parallel to the advancing and retreating direction of the main shaft 71, and their rotation axes are perpendicular to the advancing and retreating direction of the main shaft 71. Since they do not play a role like a conveyor that guides the advancing and retreating movement of the main shaft 71, it is preferable that they approach the main shaft 71 in the open state but do not come into contact with it.

[0029] The first upper roller 82 and the second upper roller 83 are disposed above the main shaft 71 in a position facing the opening 107 below in the up-down direction, sandwiching the main shaft 71 therebetween. In addition, with respect to the forward and backward direction (front-rear direction) of the main shaft 71, the second upper roller 83 is disposed on the tip side of the main shaft 71, and the first upper roller 82 is disposed on the base end side of the main shaft 71, with the opening 107 as a reference. By disposing the first upper roller 82 and the second upper roller 83 on either side of the opening 107, deformation of the main shaft 71 can be stably and firmly suppressed.

[0030] The valve body 75 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, is linked and connected to the main shaft 71 by two pairs of links 74, 74, and moves up and down with the forward and backward movement of the main shaft 71 to directly open and close the opening 107. The two pairs of links 74, 74 are a so-called dual link mechanism, and face each other on both sides of the valve body 75, linking and connecting the valve body 75 and the main shaft 71. The two pairs of links 74, 74 of the same configuration are connected to the valve body 75 in a horizontal state, and their axes are horizontal and parallel to each other, and further, the pair of links 74 are arranged parallel to each other. Therefore, the valve body 75 is held by the two pairs of links 74, 74, and is supported so as to be rotatable up and down around the rotation axis of the links 74 while remaining in a horizontal state.

[0031] The spring 73 is an elastic body for biasing the valve body 75 in a direction to maintain the valve body 75 in an open state. The forward bias of the spring 73 is converted to an upward bias by the links 74, 74, and in the open state, the valve body 75 is maintained in a state separated from the partition wall 106.

[0032] The lower roller 84 is disposed in front of the valve body 75, generally facing the second upper roller 83 across the main shaft 71. When the main shaft 71 moves back and forth, the lower roller 84 comes into contact with the front surface of the valve body 75, moving the valve body 75 up and down.

[0033] The auxiliary member 72 is an auxiliary member for holding the spring 73, and is formed with a deep recess 72a for holding the spring 73. The auxiliary member 72 is disposed on the rear surface of the valve body 75 and is fixed to the bottom surface of the main shaft 71 by bolts 77 so that the spring 73 can efficiently bias the valve body 75. It is also possible to have a configuration in which the spring 73 is directly held by the main shaft 71 without using the auxiliary member 72.

[0034] The O-ring 76 is a seal member for air-tightly sealing the opening 107. A dovetail groove 75a is provided in an annular shape on the lower surface of the valve body 75, and the O-ring 76 is attached to the lower surface of the valve body 75 by fitting into this groove.

[0035] Also, the valve body 75 is connected to the link 74 at a thin-walled portion 75b having a cut-away side so as to eliminate any step between the valve body 75 and the link 74 and to smoothly connect to the link 74. This reduces the width of the moving mechanism 7.

[0036] The valve body 75 and the main shaft 71 are provided with beam insertion holes 75c and 71c, respectively, as through holes for passing the electron beam EB. When the opening / closing mechanism 2 is assembled, the beam insertion holes 75c and 71c are configured to communicate with each other. When the opening / closing mechanism 2 is in an open state, the positions of the opening 107 and the beam insertion holes 75c and 71c are adjusted so that they are vertically aligned in a straight line. This ensures a path for the electron beam EB.

[0037] Of course, the valve 75 and the main shaft 71 are made of non-magnetic material so as not to adversely affect the electron beam EB. By providing holes in the valve 75 and the main shaft 71 that serve as paths for the electron beam EB, the valve 75 can be positioned above the opening 107 even in the open state, and the amount of forward and backward movement of the main shaft 71 required to open and close the opening 107 is reduced, minimizing the generation of particles due to metal sliding.

[0038] (Valve disc movement) The shape and movement of the valve body 75 will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 6 shows the process in which the opening 107 is opened and closed by the opening / closing mechanism 2 as the valve body 75 moves with the forward movement of the main shaft 71. The black arrow in FIG. 6 indicates the direction of movement of the main shaft 71, and the white arrow indicates the direction of movement of the valve body 75. FIG. 6(A) shows the open state of the opening / closing mechanism 2. FIG. 6(D) shows the closed state of the opening / closing mechanism 2. FIG. 6(B) and FIG. 6(C) show the intermediate states of opening and closing. For the sake of explanation, FIG. 6 does not show the fixed member on the front side of the page, and shows a cross section of all the rollers. In FIG. 6, the main shaft 71 is ideally positioned between the upper rollers 82, 83 and the lower roller 84, and moves forward as it is. In reality, due to its own weight, main shaft 71 advances while remaining in contact with lower roller 84 , and after valve body 75 abuts partition wall 106 , main shaft 71 is warped upwards due to the reaction force of the pressure and comes into contact with upper rollers 82 , 83 .

[0039] The front surface of the valve body 75 is formed with an inclined surface 75d that is inclined downward from the horizontal state, and a vertical surface 75e that is continuous with the upper end of the inclined surface 75d. When the main shaft 71 moves forward, the lower roller 84 first abuts against the inclined surface 75d and then against the vertical surface 75e, moving the valve body in the up and down direction. Since the valve body 75 moves along the shape of the abutment surface while abutting against the lower roller 84, the movement of the valve body 75 depends on the shape of the front surface, which is the abutment surface of the valve body 75.

[0040] The movement of the valve body 75 will be described in detail with reference to Figure 6. As shown in Figure 6(A), when the opening / closing mechanism 2 is in the open state, the forward bias of the spring 73 is converted upward by the links 74, 74, and the valve body 75 is biased upward and held in a state spaced apart from the partition wall 106. In the open state, the valve body 75 is held in a horizontal state against the partition wall 106 by the links 74, 74.

[0041] When the main shaft 71 is advanced to seal the opening 107 from the open state of the opening / closing mechanism 2, the valve body 75 also advances together with the main shaft 71, and the inclined surface 75d on the front side of the valve body 75 abuts against the lower roller 84 (see Figure 6(B)).

[0042] When the main shaft 71 is moved forward after the valve element 75 comes into contact with the lower roller 84, the valve element 75 moves in the gradient direction of the inclined surface 75d while being held by the links 74, 74. The inclined surface 75d is inclined downward as it approaches the front, and the valve element 75 moves obliquely forward and downward along the inclined surface 75d. The valve element 75 is held by the two pairs of links 74, 74 and moves obliquely downward and forward while maintaining a horizontal state (see FIG. 6(C)).

[0043] When the main shaft 71 is further advanced, the valve body 75 moves forward and downward along the gradient of the inclined surface 75d while remaining in contact with the lower roller 84, and then the vertical surface 75e comes into contact with the lower roller 84. At this time, the O-ring 76 arranged on the bottom surface of the valve body 75 is positioned directly above the opening 107 and in close proximity to the partition wall 106. The opening 107 is located approximately in the center of the inside of the O-ring 76 when viewed from above.

[0044] 6, the partition wall 106 around the opening 107 has a step 106a that is slightly higher than the surrounding area. This is to reduce the possibility that particles will fall into the sealed area even if they are generated by the sliding of metal parts due to the movement of the opening / closing mechanism 2. Furthermore, particles that fall from the step 106a are less likely to climb up onto the step 106a again, i.e., the sealed area, so that a decrease in sealing performance can be suppressed.

[0045] Since the valve disc 75 moves along the gradient of the contact surface, the valve disc 75 now moves vertically downward as the main shaft 71 advances. The valve disc 75 moves straight down, and the O-ring 76 provided on the bottom surface of the valve disc 75 presses against the partition wall 106 to seal the opening 107 (see FIG. 6(D)).

[0046] The above configuration allows the valve body 75 to move in two stages. After the valve body 75 is positioned opposite the opening 107, the valve body 75 is moved directly downward, and the opening 107 can be sealed from directly above by the O-ring 76. When the forward motion of the main shaft 71 is converted into the downward movement of the valve body 75 by the lower roller 84, the valve body 75 moves downward. When the O-ring 76 presses the partition wall 106, the partition wall 106 exerts an upward reaction force on the valve body 75. This reaction force causes the main shaft 71 to warp upward, but the first upper roller 82 and the second upper roller 83 arranged above the main shaft 71 come into contact with the main shaft 71, suppressing the deformation of the main shaft 71. The valve body 75 can provide an airtight seal with efficient force.

[0047] (Roller type) The opening and closing mechanism 2 is configured to suppress the generation of particles due to metal sliding. This will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the opening and closing mechanism 2. Fig. 7(A) is an overall perspective view of the opening and closing mechanism 2. Fig. 7(B) is a view of Fig. 7(A) with the support member 81 on the front side of the page (the right hand side in the forward direction of the shaft) omitted. Fig. 8 is a plan view of the opening and closing mechanism 2. Fig. 9 is an end view taken along line IX-IX in Fig. 8.

[0048] The first upper roller 82, the second upper roller 83, and the lower roller 84 have the same configuration. Therefore, the second upper roller 83 will be described in detail as a representative. As shown in Fig. 9, the second upper roller 83 is in a form in which a shaft body and a rotating body are integrated, has a substantially cylindrical outer shape, and has shaft portions 83a with reduced diameters at both ends. The shaft portions 83a at both ends are horizontally supported by shaft holes 81b provided in the support member 81, so that the second upper roller 83 is supported rotatably about a horizontal axis.

[0049] The end face of the shaft portion 83a is a semicircular curved surface. Furthermore, the shaft hole 81b, which is a through hole in which the shaft portion 83a is supported, has its outer opening blocked by a leaf spring 85. The leaf spring 85 is made of a thin metal plate material, and is attached in a cantilevered state by being fixed at one point to the outer surface of the support member 81 by a fixing member 86. The leaf spring 85 is arranged to push back inward with a reaction force the shaft portion 83a that abuts against the shaft hole 81b as it tries to protrude outward.

[0050] (Action and effect) The effect of the roller having the above configuration will be described in comparison with a conventional product. FIG. 10 is an end view of the opening / closing mechanism 902 of the conventional product. It corresponds to FIG. 9. As shown in FIG. 10, the second upper roller 983 of the conventional product is composed of a shaft body 983a fixed to a shaft hole 981b of a support member 981, and a cylindrical rotor 983b inserted into the shaft hole of the shaft body 983a. In the second upper roller 983 of the conventional product, the rotating rotor 983b contacts the shaft body 983a on the entire surface of the shaft hole provided on the inside, so that the contact area between the metals is large, and a lot of particles are generated due to metal sliding. In addition, since the rotor 983b is disposed between the two support members 981, it is disposed near the opening 907. Therefore, particles generated by the metal sliding of the rotor 983b may fall onto the sealing surface on the upper surface of the step portion 906a where the opening 907 is provided, thereby reducing the sealing performance.

[0051] In contrast, in this embodiment, the second upper roller 83, which integrates the shaft body and the rotating body, is used to reduce the contact area between the metals, thereby reducing the generation of particles due to metal sliding. The rotatably supported shaft body and the part that abuts against the moving main shaft 71 are made into a single part, thereby reducing the metal sliding area. Furthermore, the shaft part 83a slides against the shaft hole 81b with which it is in contact, but particles generated by the sliding fall near the support member 81. The generation of particles is suppressed, and even if particles are generated, the position at which the particles are generated can be kept away from the opening 107.

[0052] Furthermore, as described above, a step 106a is formed in the partition wall 106 around the opening 107. The support member 81 is attached at a distance from the step 106a, and a gap SP is formed between the step 106a and the support member 81. Particles generated by the metal sliding of the shaft portion 83a fall into the gap SP and do not again run onto the upper surface of the step 106a, i.e., the sealing surface, thereby suppressing a decrease in sealing performance due to particles.

[0053] In addition, the second upper roller 83 is made of a metal, such as beryllium copper, which is softer than the constituent materials of the support member 81 and the main shaft 71. By using different metals, friction on the sliding surfaces is reduced, making it easier for the two to slide (rotate). By making the second upper roller 83 side out of a soft metal, the second upper roller 83 is scraped upon contact, reducing friction upon contact. This makes it easier for the second upper roller 83 to rotate, and suppresses the generation of particles even when the metals slide.

[0054] The first upper roller 82, the second upper roller 83, and the lower roller 84 are configured as described above. Of these, only the second upper roller 83 has a guide groove 83b provided around its periphery for guiding the main shaft 71. The opening / closing mechanism 2 is configured to be long in the forward / backward direction so that it can be removed from the lens barrel 103, and therefore may swing left and right during forward / backward movement. This horizontal sliding of the main shaft 71 is suppressed by providing the guide groove 83b in the second upper roller 83. By suppressing unnecessary movement of the main shaft 71 in the direction perpendicular to the roller rotation, sliding with each roller that it abuts is also suppressed.

[0055] The outer opening of the shaft hole 81b, which supports the shaft portion 83a of the second upper roller 83, is covered with a leaf spring 85 that is larger than the opening, and when the second upper roller 83 swings left and right, the leaf spring 85 pushes back, pushing the second upper roller 83 back to the center, correcting the left and right swing. This reduces the amount of swing of the second upper roller 83 in the left and right direction, and reduces the amount of sliding of the second upper roller 83 with the shaft hole 81b and the main shaft 71. Metal sliding of the second upper roller 83 is suppressed, and the generation of particles is suppressed.

[0056] Since the end face of the shaft portion 83a is a hemispherical curved surface, the contact between the shaft portion 83a and the leaf spring 85 is almost one point, the contact area is small, and metal sliding between the leaf spring 85 and the shaft portion 83a is also suppressed. With the leaf spring 85 and the hemispherical shaft portion 83a, even if the shaft portion 83a abuts against the leaf spring 85, a space that becomes a gap is generated in the shaft hole 81b. Particles generated by the metal sliding between the leaf spring 85 and the shaft portion 83a fall into this space, and the amount of particles that fall toward the support member 81 side is suppressed. In addition, since the end face of the shaft portion 83a is hemispherical, the contact area itself with the shaft hole 81b is also reduced, and the metal sliding area can be reduced.

[0057] In this embodiment, the leaf spring 85 is used, but it is sufficient if an elastic member arranged in the shaft hole 81b is used to bias the shaft portion 83a back to the correct position. It is preferable that the elastic member is arranged so as not to come into contact with the shaft portion 83a in the correct position, but to come into contact with the shaft portion 83a when each roller or the main shaft 71 slides horizontally to correct the shaft portion 83a to the correct position.

[0058] In this embodiment, the guide groove 83b is provided only on the second upper roller 83, but it may be provided on the first upper roller 82 or the lower roller 84, or a plurality of rollers may have guide grooves.

[0059] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, modifications can be made based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art, and such modifications are within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0060] 1: Vacuum sealing valve 2: Opening and closing mechanism 71: Main shaft (shaft component) 74: Link 75: Valve body 81: Support member 81b: Shaft hole 82: First upper roller 83: 2nd upper roller 83a:Shaft part 83b: Guide groove 84: Lower roller 85: Leaf spring 106: Partition wall (wall) 106a: Step 107: Opening

Claims

1. a valve body for sealing / unsealing an opening formed in the wall body; A shaft member that is movable back and forth substantially parallel to the wall body; a link mechanism that connects the valve body and the shaft member to each other in a displaceable manner; a roller that contacts the shaft member or the valve body to move the valve body toward the opening; Equipped with The roller is a cylindrical rotating body having a shaft portion whose both ends are reduced in diameter, and the shaft portion is supported in a shaft hole so as to be rotatable. An elastic member is disposed in the shaft hole and is biased so as to push back the shaft portion. A vacuum seal valve characterized by:

2. an end surface of the shaft portion of the roller is a curved surface that protrudes outward; The elastic member is a leaf spring, the axial hole is configured as a through hole, and is disposed to close an outer opening of the through hole.

2. The vacuum seal valve according to claim 1 .

3. The roller is provided with a guide groove for guiding the movement of the shaft member or the valve body that comes into contact with the roller.

2. The vacuum seal valve according to claim 1.

4. The opening is formed in a step portion provided in the wall, a support member that supports the roller and is provided with the shaft hole and is attached to the wall body at a distance from the step portion; 2. The vacuum seal valve according to claim 1 .

5. The roller is a lower roller that is disposed in front of the valve body, comes into contact with the front surface of the valve body as the shaft member moves back and forth, and converts the back and forth movement of the shaft member into movement of the valve body toward the opening via the link mechanism, and / or an upper roller that is disposed at a position facing the opening across the shaft member, comes into contact with the shaft member when the valve body is sealed, and suppresses deformation of the shaft member.

2. The vacuum seal valve according to claim 1 .

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