Flap Transfer Valve Cover for Sealing Integrity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing transfer valves with large, elongated opening cross sections face challenges in maintaining constant contact pressure and sealing integrity due to deformation of chamber walls under high pressure differences, making maintenance and replacement difficult, especially for valves with asymmetric cross sections.
Innovation Solution
A maintenance-friendly flap transfer valve design with an elongated opening surrounded by a sealing surface, featuring a pivoting valve closure beam and a decouplable valve cover that allows for easy replacement of components without removing the valve from the process chambers, ensuring uniform contact force and sealing over the entire seal length.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of moving object
If the valve has a large, elongated opening cross section, then the transfer capability for large semiconductor components is improved, but the sealing integrity deteriorates due to deformation of chamber walls under high pressure differences
Solution Approach 1:
The valve cover is divided into a fixed portion and a movable portion that can independently displace along the opening axis. This segmentation allows the movable portion to compensate for chamber wall deformation while maintaining the large opening cross section, thus preserving sealing integrity despite the large area requirement
Solution Approach 2:
The valve closure beam transitions from a rigid structure to a dynamic structure where the valve cover's movable portion can adjust its position along the opening axis in response to pressure differences. This dynamic adjustment maintains constant contact pressure between the sealing surfaces, ensuring reliable sealing even with large opening dimensions
2Ease of repair
If the valve is designed for easy maintenance and replacement, then the ease of repair is improved, but the device complexity increases due to decouplable components
Solution Approach 1:
The valve cover is segmented into fixed and movable portions that can be independently removed. The movable portion can be detached without removing the entire valve assembly, allowing easy access to internal components for maintenance while the fixed portion remains attached to the process chamber
Solution Approach 2:
The movable portion of the valve cover can be extracted from the valve assembly independently. This allows maintenance personnel to remove and replace worn components such as the valve closure beam or sealing elements without dismantling the entire valve structure, significantly improving ease of repair
3Reliability
If the valve maintains constant contact pressure under high pressure differences, then the sealing integrity is improved, but the stress on the valve structure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The movable portion of the valve cover is designed to displace dynamically along the opening axis in response to pressure differences. This displacement allows the sealing surfaces to maintain constant contact pressure even under high differential pressures, while the movable design distributes and reduces structural stress compared to a rigid fixed design
Data Source
AI summary
A flap transfer valve is disclosed. An elongated first opening can be closed by elongated valve closure beam pivoted between a closed position and an open position. A shaft can be rotated about a shaft axis by a drive and is operatively connected to the valve closure beam to cause the valve closure beam to pivot. The valve closure beam, the pivoting bearing and the shaft are arranged on a valve cover in a gas-tight valve housing. The shaft, the pivoting bearing and the valve closure beam can be decoupled from the valve housing. The pivoting bearing is formed by at least three bearing elements which are distributed at a distance from one another along the shaft axis in the valve housing, and on which the valve closure beam and the shaft are mounted. The shaft axis is at a distance from the pivoting axis.