A fast-response gate valve assembly and vacuum coating equipment

Abstract

This utility model relates to the field of vacuum coating, specifically to accessories for vacuum coating equipment, and particularly to a fast-response gate valve assembly and a vacuum coating equipment having the gate valve assembly. A fast-response gate valve assembly is provided, including a valve body that blocks the inlet and outlet of the working chamber. The valve body has an opening for the workpiece to be coated to enter and exit the working chamber and is equipped with a valve core that blocks the opening. It also includes a driving device for driving the valve core to open the opening. A lever connector is provided between the driving device and the valve core. The driving device drives the force-saving end of the lever connector, while the resistance end of the lever connector drives the valve core to open and close the opening. A vacuum coating equipment is also provided, including a working chamber for coating the workpiece. A gate valve assembly is provided at the inlet and / or outlet of the working chamber, as described above. The gate valve assembly and the vacuum coating equipment having the gate valve assembly provide sufficient driving force without occupying a large space.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of vacuum coating, specifically to accessories for vacuum coating equipment, and particularly to a fast-response gate valve assembly and a vacuum coating equipment having the gate valve assembly. Background Technology

[0002] Existing vacuum coating production lines consist of multiple chambers arranged sequentially along a conveyor belt. These chambers are categorized by their purpose, such as ventilation chambers and vacuum coating chambers. To maintain the vacuum level within the chambers, gate valve assemblies are installed at the entrances and / or exits of the chambers for airtight sealing. Existing gate valve assemblies include a valve body (valve plate) that blocks the entrance and exit of the chamber. An opening in the valve body allows the workpiece to enter and exit the chamber; the opening is only slightly larger than the workpiece and much smaller than the entrance and exit of the chamber, and a vertically positioned valve core blocks the opening. Above the valve body is a vertically positioned drive device, such as a telescopic cylinder. The telescopic cylinder's extension rod extends downwards and connects to the valve core, causing the valve core to rise and fall. When coating is required, the telescopic cylinder's extension rod retracts, causing the valve core to rise and expose the opening in the valve body. After the workpiece enters the chamber through the opening, the extension rod re-extends, causing the valve core to descend and block the opening again, thus separating the interior of the chamber and creating a sealed space for airtight sealing.

[0003] In practice, the power and driving force (especially the thrust) of a single standard telescopic cylinder are insufficient, which affects the opening and closing speed and sealing effect of the valve core. There are two existing solutions: The first is to equip the valve core with multiple standard telescopic cylinders arranged in parallel. These cylinders work together to raise and lower the valve core, ensuring sufficient driving force and thus guaranteeing the sealing effect. However, it is difficult for multiple cylinders to start and stop synchronously during the process of raising and lowering the valve core, which can easily lead to uneven force on the valve core, resulting in unstable raising and lowering, and a tendency to tilt, which can affect the sealing effect to some extent. The second solution is to not use standard telescopic cylinders but instead use larger, more powerful telescopic cylinders to raise and lower the valve core. However, larger telescopic cylinders occupy more space. Utility Model Content

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by this utility model is to provide a gate valve assembly with fast response speed and a vacuum coating equipment having the gate valve assembly, the drive device of which can provide sufficient driving force without occupying a large space.

[0005] To address the aforementioned issues, this utility model provides a fast-response gate valve assembly, comprising a valve body that blocks the inlet and outlet of the working chamber, an opening in the valve body for the workpiece to be coated to enter and exit the working chamber and a valve core that blocks the opening, and a driving device for driving the valve core to open the opening, wherein a lever connector is provided between the driving device and the valve core, the driving device driving the effort-saving end of the lever connector and the resistance end of the lever connector driving the valve core to open and close the opening.

[0006] Furthermore, the lever connector has three corners, one of which serves as a fulcrum to hinge the valve body, and the remaining two corners are respectively connected to the drive device and the valve core. The drive device specifically drives the lever connector to rotate around its fulcrum, thereby driving the valve core to open and close the opening.

[0007] Furthermore: there are three lever connectors, arranged side by side above the valve core along the width direction of the valve core; the driving device is equipped with a driving rod above the lever connectors along the width direction of the valve core, and the bottom corners of the three lever connectors are connected to the valve core and the top corners of the three lever connectors are connected to the driving rod; the driving device drives the driving rod to move along the width direction of the valve core, which in turn drives the three lever connectors to rotate synchronously around their own fulcrum, thereby driving the valve core to rise and fall and open and close the opening.

[0008] Furthermore, specifically, the lever connector is hinged at the bottom corner to the valve core and / or at the top corner to the drive rod.

[0009] Furthermore, the driving device is specifically a telescopic cylinder, whose telescopic rod is hinged to the driving rod.

[0010] Furthermore, the three lever connectors are located on the top left, top center, and top right of the valve core, respectively.

[0011] Furthermore, the valve core seal blocks the opening.

[0012] Furthermore, it includes a vertical slide rail and a slider mounted on the slide rail, with one of the slide rail and the other mounted on the valve core.

[0013] Furthermore, there is only one drive device.

[0014] A vacuum coating apparatus is also provided, including a chamber for coating a workpiece, wherein the inlet and / or outlet of the chamber are provided with a gate valve assembly, the gate valve assembly being specifically described above.

[0015] Beneficial effects: The slide gate valve assembly and vacuum coating equipment incorporating this invention utilize a lever connector to drive the valve core. Since the drive unit is located at the effort-saving end and the valve core at the resistance end, the lever connector amplifies the driving force of the drive unit and applies it to the valve core. This means that a standard-sized drive unit is sufficient to provide adequate driving force, ensuring the valve core's sealing effect. Furthermore, the absence of a large drive unit reduces space requirements. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Figure 1 This is a simplified structural diagram of a gate valve assembly.

[0017] Figure 2 This is a simplified structural diagram of a slide gate valve assembly, with part of the valve body hidden.

[0018] Figure 3 This is a simplified structural diagram of the slide gate valve assembly from a top-down view.

[0019] Figure 4 It is along Figure 3 Simplified sectional view along the AA direction.

[0020] Figure 5 It is along Figure 3 Simplified sectional view along the BB direction.

[0021] Figure 6 yes Figure 5 Enlarged view of section C.

[0022] Figure 7 This is a simplified schematic diagram of the structure where the valve core rises to open the opening.

[0023] Symbol explanation:

[0024] 1-Valve body; 11-Opening; 2-Valve core; 21-Seal; 22-Vertical rod; 3-Telescopic cylinder; 31-Telescopic rod; 32-Drive rod; 4-Lever connector; 41-Right corner; 42-Top corner; 43-Bottom corner; L1-Distance between the direction of the force applied by the drive rod to the top corner of the lever connector and the fulcrum of the lever connector; L2-Distance between the direction of the force applied by the vertical rod to the bottom corner of the lever connector and the fulcrum of the lever connector. Detailed Implementation

[0025] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments.

[0026] Vacuum coating equipment includes a chamber for coating the workpiece, with a gate valve assembly at the chamber's inlet and / or outlet. See [link / reference] Figure 1The slide gate valve assembly includes a vertically oriented plate-shaped valve body 1 that blocks the entire inlet (or outlet) of the working chamber (not shown in the figure). An opening 11 runs through the center of the valve body 1 in the front-to-back direction, allowing the workpiece to be coated to enter and exit the working chamber. A vertically oriented plate-shaped valve core 2 is installed inside the valve body 1 to block the opening 11. (See figure...) Figure 2 The valve core 2 has sealing elements 21 on both the front and rear side walls (combined with...). Figure 4 Seal the opening 11 to prevent gas from escaping from the working chamber.

[0027] See Figure 1 The valve core 2 is equipped with a telescopic cylinder 3, which is movably mounted on the top left side of the valve body 1, with the telescopic rod 31 extending to the right. A drive rod 32 is provided along the left-right width direction of the valve core 2, see... Figure 2 and Figure 3 The drive rod 32 is located above the valve core 2, and its left end is hinged to the right end of the telescopic rod 31 of the telescopic cylinder 3. See Figure 5 Three lever connectors 4 are arranged side-by-side at intervals above the valve core 2 along its width. These lever connectors 4 are located between the drive rod 32 and the valve core 2. Taking the rightmost lever connector 4 as an example, see... Figure 6 It has three corners. The rightmost corner 41 serves as a fulcrum for hinged connection to the valve body 1, and the top corner 42 (the uppermost corner) hinges to the bottom of the drive rod 32. A vertical rod 22 is provided between the bottom corner 43 (the lowermost corner) and the valve core 2 (for connection). Figure 2 The top of the vertical rod 22 is hinged to the bottom corner 43 of the lever connector 4, while the bottom is hinged to the top of the valve core 2. The bottom corner 43 of the lever connector 4 thereby hinges the valve core 2 (in combination with...). Figure 2 The structure of the central and leftmost lever connector 4 is the same as that of the one on the right. When the telescopic cylinder 3 extends its telescopic rod 31 to the right, it drives the drive rod 32 to move to the right along the width of the valve core 2, thereby synchronously driving the three lever connectors 4 to rotate around their own fulcrum, causing the bottom angle 43 of the lever connector 4 to rotate upwards. This drives the valve core 2 to rise smoothly, opening the opening 11. Figure 7 As shown; when the telescopic cylinder 3 retracts its telescopic rod 31 to the left, it drives the drive rod 32 to move to the left along the width direction of the valve core 2, thereby synchronously driving the three lever connecting parts 4 to rotate synchronously in opposite directions around their own fulcrum, so that the bottom angle 43 of the lever connecting parts 4 rotates downward, thereby driving the valve core 2 to descend smoothly until the valve core 2 re-seals and blocks the opening 11, closing the opening 11, as shown. Figure 5 As shown. In this embodiment, a telescopic cylinder 3 is used as the driving device. In other embodiments, a telescopic motor can be used instead.

[0028] See Figure 6The drive rod 32 is hinged to the apex 42 of the lever connector 4. The distance between the direction of the force exerted by the drive rod 32 on the apex 42 of the lever connector 4 and the fulcrum of the lever connector 4 is L1. The valve core 2 is hinged to the bottom 43 of the lever connector 4 through the vertical rod 22. The distance between the direction of the force exerted by the vertical rod 22 on the bottom 43 of the lever connector 4 and the fulcrum of the lever connector 4 is L2. Throughout the entire lifting and lowering process described above, this embodiment is designed so that the length of L1 is always greater than L2. Therefore, the telescopic cylinder 3 is connected to the effort-saving end of the lever connector 4 via the drive rod 32, while the valve core 2 is connected to the resistance end of the lever connector 4 via the vertical rod 22. Thus, the lever connector 4 amplifies the driving force of a single telescopic cylinder 3 at the effort-saving end and applies it to the valve core 2 at the resistance end, providing sufficient driving force for the valve core 2 to lift and lower, allowing the opening 11 to open and close (i.e., opening or closing). This ensures a good sealing effect when the valve core 2 descends and seals, and eliminates the need for multiple telescopic cylinders 3 (and large motors) as in the prior art, thus saving space. Furthermore, since the three lever connectors 4 are located on the top left, top center, and top right of the valve core 2 respectively, and these three lever connectors 4 are driven by only one telescopic cylinder 3 and one drive rod 32, the synchronous rotation of these three lever connectors 4 is effective, ensuring that the valve core 2 experiences uniform force, smooth lifting and lowering, and is less prone to tilting. Preferably, a vertical slide rail (not shown in the figure) is provided on each of the left and right sides inside the valve body 1, and the two slide rails are symmetrical; correspondingly, a slider (not shown in the figure) is installed on each of the left and right sides of the valve core 2, and the left and right sliders are slidably installed in the left and right slide rails respectively, so that the valve body 1 can rise and fall more smoothly.

[0029] The above description is merely an embodiment of the present invention and does not limit the scope of patent protection. Any non-substantial changes or substitutions made by those skilled in the art based on the present invention will still fall within the scope of patent protection.

Claims

1. A fast-response gate valve assembly, comprising a valve body blocking the inlet and outlet of a chamber, the valve body having an opening for the workpiece to be coated to enter and exit the chamber and equipped with a valve core blocking the opening, and further comprising a driving device for driving the valve core to open the opening, characterized in that, A lever connector is provided between the drive device and the valve core. The drive device drives the lever connector at the effort-saving end, while the lever connector at the resistance end drives the valve core to open and close the opening.

2. The slide gate valve assembly as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, The lever connector has three corners. One corner serves as a fulcrum to hinge the valve body, while the remaining two corners are connected to the drive device and the valve core, respectively. The drive device specifically drives the lever connector to rotate around its fulcrum, thereby driving the valve core to open and close the opening.

3. The slide gate valve assembly as described in claim 2, characterized in that: There are three lever connectors, which are arranged side by side above the valve core along the width of the valve core. The driving device is equipped with a driving rod above the lever connectors along the width of the valve core. The bottom corner of each of the three lever connectors is connected to the valve core, and the top corner of each of the three lever connectors is connected to the driving rod. The driving device drives the driving rod to move along the width of the valve core, which in turn drives the three lever connectors to rotate synchronously around their own fulcrum, thereby driving the valve core to rise and fall and open and close the opening.

4. The slide gate valve assembly as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that, Specifically, the lever connector is hinged at the bottom corner to the valve core and / or at the top corner to the drive rod.

5. The slide gate valve assembly as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that, The driving device is specifically a telescopic cylinder, whose telescopic rod is hinged to the driving rod.

6. The slide gate valve assembly as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that, The three lever connectors are located on the top left, top center, and top right of the valve core, respectively.

7. The slide gate valve assembly as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, The valve core seal blocks the opening.

8. The slide gate valve assembly as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, It includes a vertical slide rail and a slider mounted on the slide rail. One of the slide rail and the slider is located on the valve body and the other is located on the valve core.

9. The gate valve assembly as described in any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, There is only one drive device.

10. A vacuum coating apparatus, comprising a chamber for coating a workpiece, wherein the inlet and / or outlet of the chamber are provided with gate valve assemblies, characterized in that, The gate valve assembly is specifically described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

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