Gate valve with speed controller using CDA
The gate valve design with a CDA unit and separate airflow control mechanism addresses the issue of uncontrolled speed changes, ensuring precise and safe operation by minimizing seal plate wear and particle generation.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- ASM IP HLDG BV
- Filing Date
- 2025-11-26
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-10
AI Technical Summary
Current gate valves using compressed dry air (CDA) lack independent control over vertical and horizontal movement speeds, leading to increased wear and safety risks due to uncontrolled pressure and flow rate changes, which can damage seal plates and pose safety hazards.
A gate valve design with a CDA unit comprising a casing, piston, and separate air passages controlled by needle valves to independently manage airflow, allowing precise control over opening and closing speeds, and a bellows to dampen shocks, reducing particle generation and ensuring safe operation.
The solution provides independent control over vertical and horizontal movement speeds, minimizing seal plate wear and reducing particle generation, enhancing safety and operational reliability.
Smart Images
Figure 2026095366000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This disclosure generally relates to gate valves used in semiconductor manufacturing, and more specifically to gate valves that use compressed dry air (CDA) to control the opening and closing speed of the valve.
Background Art
[0002] Conventionally, a gate valve may be moved by an air cylinder and a cam, and a seal plate may move in the vertical and horizontal directions to open and close the valve.
[0003] In currently used gate valves that use CDA, the CDA line may be connected to an air cylinder, and thus it may be impossible to control the vertical and horizontal speeds independently of the seal plate.
[0004] The loss of control means that when the CDA pressure and / or the CDA flow rate speed increases, the movement of the vertical and horizontal speeds of the seal position also increases, and when the CDA pressure and / or the CDA flow decreases, the movement speeds in both the vertical and horizontal directions decrease. Generally, it is desirable to minimize the overall opening and closing speed of the gate valve.In this case, the vertical movement speed is increased by increasing the CDA pressure and / or the CDA flow rate.However, unfortunately, the influence of the seal plate contacting the chamber also increases, which causes damage to the seal plate (O-ring) and particles.Independent speed control is required to solve this problem. (See Figure 2)
[0005] Each time the pressure reading value of the pressure switch increases the cut-off limit, a signal is sent to the relay to turn it off, thereby activating the interlock with this cut-off signal.Sometimes, due to overcurrent, the terminals of the relay melt, and even when the relay is off, the signal is still on, which does not affect the interlock system but provides continuity between the terminals, which can be a safety risk.
[0006] Therefore, this disclosure provides a novel pressure switch having a safety feature for protecting relay terminals from melting. [Overview of the Initiative]
[0007] This summary is provided to introduce some concepts in a simplified form. These concepts are described in more detail below in the detailed description of the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure. This summary is not intended to identify any major or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. According to one embodiment, a gate valve having speed control capability can be presented, the gate valve comprising: a housing; an air cylinder configured to move a first shaft vertically to a first position, the first shaft being connected to the air cylinder; a cam unit including a cam attached to the first shaft at one end; a second shaft connected to the opposite end of the cam and configured to move with the cam to a specific height; a first bellows positioned around the second shaft; and a seal plate positioned at the end of the second shaft and configured to close a passage to and / or from the chamber. The gate valve comprises a seal ring positioned around the seal plate and configured to seal the passage when the seal plate closes the passage, and a CDA unit configured to control the opening and closing speed of the gate valve, the CDA unit comprising a casing, a piston configured to move vertically by airflow, a first air passage and a second air passage for controlling the amount of airflow, a separator configured to separate the first air passage and the second air passage, wherein the separator is a separator having holes, and a first needle valve positioned in the center of the first passage and configured to control the airflow in the first passage.
[0008] In one embodiment, the CDA unit further comprises a second needle valve positioned in the center of the second air passage and configured to control the airflow within the second air passage.
[0009] In one embodiment, the piston is configured to block the second air passage when the piston is at its highest point and air flows only through the first air passage.
[0010] In one embodiment, the first needle valve and the second needle valve are configured to independently control the airflow in the first air passage and the second air passage, respectively.
[0011] In one embodiment, the gate valve further comprises a second bellows configured to dampen the impact caused by the movement of a cam, a slider mounted around a second shaft, and a guide rail mounted on the inner wall of a housing, which is configured to guide the slider and restrict its vertical movement.
[0012] In one embodiment, the area of the second air passage is larger than the area of the first air passage.
[0013] [Brief explanation of the drawing] It will be understood that the elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and are not necessarily drawn to actual size. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to others to help improve understanding of the illustrated embodiments of this disclosure. [Brief explanation of the drawing]
[0014] [Figure 1] Figure 1(a) is a side view of the gate valve in the open position according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 1(b) is a side view of the gate valve in the closed position according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating an overview of a gate valve according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3]Figure 3(a) is an internal view of the CDA unit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure when both air passages are open. Figure 3(b) is an internal view of the CDA unit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure when the second air passage is closed. [Modes for carrying out the invention]
[0015] [Detailed description of exemplary embodiments] While certain embodiments and examples are disclosed below, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the scope of the invention extends beyond the specifically disclosed embodiments and / or uses of the invention, as well as their obvious modifications and equivalents. Therefore, the scope of the invention disclosed is not intended to be limited by the specific disclosed embodiments described below.
[0016] Where used in this disclosure, the term “substrate” may refer to one or more arbitrary substrate materials, such as one or more arbitrary substrate materials, which may be modified or on which devices, circuits, or films may be formed. “Substrate” can be continuous or discontinuous, rigid or flexible, solid or porous, or a combination thereof. A substrate can be in any form, such as powder, plate, or workpiece. Examples of substrates in plate form include wafers of various shapes and sizes. A substrate may be made from semiconductor materials, such as silicon, silicon germanium, silicon oxide, gallium arsenide, gallium nitride, and silicon carbide.
[0017] For example, a substrate in powder form may have applications in pharmaceutical manufacturing. A porous substrate may contain a polymer. Examples of workpieces include medical devices (e.g., stents and syringes), jewelry, tooling devices, components for battery manufacturing (e.g., anodes, cathodes, or separators), or components for photovoltaic batteries.
[0018] The continuous substrate may be configured to extend beyond the boundary of the process chamber in which the deposition process takes place. In some processes, the continuous substrate may move through the process chamber, thereby allowing the process to continue until it reaches the end of the substrate. The continuous substrate may be supplied from a continuous substrate supply system to enable the manufacture and production of the continuous substrate in any suitable form.
[0019] Non-limiting examples of continuous substrates include sheets, nonwoven films, rolls, foils, webs, flexible materials, and bundles of continuous filaments or fibers (e.g., ceramic or polymer fibers). Continuous substrates can also include carriers or sheets on which discontinuous substrates are placed.
[0020] The examples presented herein are not intended to represent the actual appearance of any particular material, structure, or device, but are merely idealized representations used to illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0021] The specific embodiments illustrated and described are illustrative of the present invention and its best mode, and are not intended to limit the embodiments and scope of the invention in any way. Furthermore, for the sake of brevity, other functional aspects of conventional manufacturing, association, preparation, and systems may not be described in detail. Additionally, the connecting lines shown in various figures are intended to represent exemplary functional relationships and / or physical connections between various elements. Many alternative or additional functional relationships or physical connections may exist in actual systems and / or may not exist in some embodiments.
[0022] The configurations and / or approaches described herein are exemplary in nature and it should be understood that these specific embodiments or examples are not to be considered in a limiting sense as numerous variations are possible. The specific routines or methods described herein may represent one or more of any number of processing strategies. Accordingly, the various acts illustrated may be performed in the order illustrated, in other orders, or in some cases, may be omitted.
[0023] The subject matter of the present disclosure includes all novel and non-obvious combinations and sub-combinations of the various processes, systems, and configurations disclosed herein, as well as other configurations, functions, acts, and / or properties, and any and all equivalents thereof.
[0024] FIG. 2 illustrates an overview of a gate valve 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0025] The gate valve 200 may be configured to include an air cylinder 220, a cam unit 230, and a second shaft 250 having a bellows 240 around the second shaft 250. The seal plate 271 includes a passage to / from the chamber, and how the passage is opened and closed will be described later.
[0026] The air cylinder 220 may be disposed at the bottom and may be moved by the injection of compressed dry air (CDA) supplied by the air intake 201. The cam unit 230 may be configured to be connected to the air cylinder 220.
[0027] FIG. 1(a) shows a side view of the gate valve when the gate valve is open according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0028] The housing 110 may be configured to include gate valve components as described below and illustrated in Figure 1(a). The air cylinder 120 may be configured to be connected to the cam unit 130 via a first shaft 121. The cam unit 130 may be configured to include a cam 131 and a second bellows 132. The cam 131 may be configured to change the direction of movement of the cam unit 130, i.e., from vertical to horizontal. The second bellows 132 may be configured to dampen shocks during the movement of the cam unit 130 and provide smoother operation. The cam unit 130 may also be configured to limit vertical movement and define the highest position that the cam unit 130 can reach.
[0029] The second shaft 150 may be connected to the cam 131 and configured to move vertically along the cam 131. The slider 135 may be mounted around the second shaft 150. The bellows 140 may be positioned around the second shaft 150 and may be constrained by the upper housing 111. The guide rail 137 may be mounted on the inner wall of the housing 110 and configured to guide the slider 135. The bellows 140 may be configured to prevent the cam unit 130 from colliding with the upper housing 111 and to return the cam unit 130 to its starting position.
[0030] The seal plate 160 may be attached to the end of the second shaft 150, and how it can close the passage 172 to / from the chamber 170 may be as illustrated in Figure 1(b). When CDA is injected into the air cylinder 120, the first shaft 121 moves the cam unit 130 upward to its uppermost position P. The bellows 140 can then be compressed as shown in Figure 1(b) due to its restriction by the upper housing 111, while the second shaft 150 can move upward to a position where the seal plate 160 can close the passage 172 within the seal plate 171. For airtight closure of the passage 172, a seal ring 161 may be positioned around the seal plate 160 and configured to seal the passage 172 when the seal plate 160 closes the passage 172.
[0031] Movement "A" may occur when the cam unit 130 reaches its highest position, and the movement of the cam unit 130 may be changed from a vertical movement "C" to a horizontal movement "A". Due to this horizontal movement "A", movement "B" may occur in the opposite direction to movement "A".
[0032] The rate and flow rate of the injected CDA can control the opening and closing speed of the gate valve, as described above. This means that a large volume of CDA with a high flow rate will result in rapid movement of "C" and "A". While rapid movement of "C" may be desirable, rapid movement of "B" may result in particle problems caused by hard impacts between seal plate 160 and seal plate 171.
[0033] Figure 3(a) shows an internal view of the CDA unit when both air passages are open, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0034] To control the amount (and flow rate) of injected CDA, the CDA unit 280 may be configured to include a casing 300, a piston 310, a first air passage 320 and a second air passage 330, a separator 340, and a needle valve 350.
[0035] The piston 310 may be configured to move vertically by the airflow 360, and the first air passage 320 and the second air passage 330 may be configured to control the amount of total airflow. A separator 340 may separate the first air passage 320 and the second air passage 330, and the separator 340 is provided with a hole 341. A needle valve 350 may be located in the center of the first air passage 320 and configured to control the airflow within the first air passage 320. When the piston 310 reaches its uppermost position, the piston 310 may be configured to completely block the second air passage 330. Since the area of the second air passage 330 is much larger than the area of the first air passage 320, the amount and flow rate of air passing through the first air passage 320 can be significantly reduced. The amount of air 361 when piston 310 does not block the second air passage 330 in Figure 3(a) is much greater than the amount of air 362 when piston 310 blocks the second air passage 330 in Figure 3(b).
[0036] Figure 3(b) shows an internal view of the CDA unit when the second air passage 330 is blocked, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0037] The rapid, large-volume airflow shown in reference no. 361 may represent high-speed vertical upward movement ("C") of the second shaft 150, and the slow, small-volume airflow shown in reference no. 362 may represent low-speed horizontal movement ("B"), which is preferable because it may generate fewer particles.
[0038] The second needle valve 351 is positioned in the center of the first passage and is configured to control the airflow in the second air passage 330. The first needle valve 350 and the second needle valve 351 may differ in that the first needle valve 350 can control the airflow by blocking the hole 341, while the second needle valve 351 can control the airflow without a hole by blocking the second air passage 330.
[0039] The above-described arrangement of the apparatus is merely illustrative of the application of the principles of the present invention, and numerous other embodiments and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the claims. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should not be determined by reference to the above description, but rather by reference to the appended claims together with the entire scope of their equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]
[0040] 110 Housing 111 Upper Housing 120 Air Cylinder 121 First shaft 130 Cam Unit 131 Cam 132 Second Bellows 135 Slider 137 Guide rail 140 bellows 150 Second shaft 161 Seal ring 200 Gate valve 220 Air Cylinder 230 Cam Unit 240 bellows 250 Second shaft 271 Seal Plate 280 CDA units 300 casing 310 Piston 320 First air passage 330 Second air passage 340 Separator 350 Needle valve
Claims
1. A gate valve having speed control capability, wherein the gate valve is Housing and An air cylinder configured to move a first shaft vertically to a first position, wherein the first shaft is connected to the air cylinder, A cam unit including a cam attached to the first shaft at one end, A second shaft is connected to the opposite end of the cam and configured to move together with the cam to a specific height, A first bellows arranged around the second shaft, A seal plate positioned at the end of the second shaft and configured to close the passage to and / or the passage from the chamber, A seal ring is disposed around the seal plate and configured to seal the passage when the seal plate closes the passage, A CDA unit configured to control the opening and closing speed of the gate valve, Equipped with, The CDA unit, Casing and, A piston configured to move vertically by airflow, A first air passage and a second air passage for controlling the amount of airflow, A separator configured to separate the first air passage and the second air passage, wherein the separator has holes, A first needle valve is positioned in the center of the first air passage and configured to control the airflow within the first air passage. A gate valve equipped with the following features.
2. The CDA unit, The gate valve according to claim 1, further comprising a second needle valve positioned in the center of the second air passage and configured to control the airflow within the second air passage.
3. The gate valve according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the piston is configured to block the second air passage when the piston moves to its highest point and the air flows only through the first air passage.
4. The gate valve according to claim 2, wherein the first needle valve and the second needle valve are configured to independently control the airflow in the first air passage and the second air passage, respectively.
5. A second bellows configured to dampen the impact caused by the movement of the cam, A slider is attached around the second shaft, A guide rail mounted on the inner wall of the housing, wherein the guide rail is configured to guide the slider and restrict its vertical movement, The gate valve according to claim 1, further comprising:
6. The gate valve according to claim 1, wherein the area of the second air passage is larger than the area of the first air passage.