Gas Box Valve Coupling With Elastic Seal for Misalignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gas boxes in semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses lack effective mechanisms to ensure airtightness and safety during valve operation, particularly when misalignment occurs during installation, leading to potential gas leaks and safety hazards.
Innovation Solution
A gas box design featuring a coupling mechanism with an elastic body and engaging portion that seals a flow path opening, allowing for torque application from outside the housing to rotate a valve while maintaining airtightness, even with misalignment, and includes a display for visual confirmation of the valve's open or closed state.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a rigid coupling mechanism is used to connect the valve rotator to the housing wall, then the valve operation is precise and reliable, but the mechanism cannot accommodate misalignment during installation and may cause gas leaks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible coupling mechanism comprising an elastic body (such as a rubber or polymer element) that connects the valve rotator to the housing wall. This elastic body can deform elastically to accommodate misalignment between the rotator and the wall opening, while still maintaining a reliable seal to prevent gas leaks. The flexibility of the elastic body resolves the contradiction by providing both sealing reliability and alignment adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling mechanism changes its physical parameters (shape, position) through elastic deformation to adapt to misalignment conditions. The elastic body can stretch, compress, or bend within its elastic limit, allowing the connection to accommodate varying alignment conditions during installation while maintaining functional integrity and sealing performance.
2Ease of manufacture
If the coupling mechanism is made flexible to accommodate misalignment, then installation ease is improved, but the torque transmission precision may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic body in the coupling mechanism provides flexibility for easy installation while maintaining sufficient torque transmission precision. The elastic material is selected and designed to have appropriate stiffness characteristics that allow it to deform during installation to accommodate misalignment, yet remain rigid enough during normal operation to transmit rotational torque accurately from the rotator to the valve mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling mechanism may incorporate curved or rounded geometric features that facilitate smooth engagement and torque transmission. The elastic body's curved deformation path allows it to absorb misalignment while maintaining efficient mechanical coupling for precise torque transfer during valve operation.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a seal is provided at the opening to prevent gas leaks, then safety is improved, but the operation complexity increases due to additional components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the sealing function directly into the coupling mechanism itself, rather than adding a separate seal component. The elastic body of the coupling mechanism serves dual purposes: it provides mechanical connection and torque transmission while simultaneously forming a seal against the housing wall opening to prevent gas leaks. This merging of functions reduces overall device complexity while maintaining safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling mechanism is designed as a multi-functional component that simultaneously performs mechanical coupling, torque transmission, alignment accommodation, and gas sealing. This universal design approach eliminates the need for separate dedicated seal components, thereby reducing device complexity while ensuring effective gas leak prevention.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design ensures high airtightness and safety by preventing gas leaks, facilitating safe manual operation of valves, and accommodating misalignment during installation, thereby enhancing operational safety and reliability.
Implementation Method 1
a coupling mechanism including an elastic body and a first engaging portion engaged with the rotator to connect the rotator and the first wall, the coupling mechanism being provided to face the first opening so as to rotate together with the rotator by torque applied from outside the first housing; and a first seal included in the coupling mechanism and configured to be biased from the first engaging portion toward the first wall by the elastic body to seal the first opening
Data Source
AI summary
A gas box includes: a first housing having a flow path for a fluid provided therein; a valve equipped with a rotator and configured to open or close the flow path with rotation of the rotator; a first opening provided in a first wall of the first housing; a coupling mechanism including an elastic body and a first engaging portion engaged with the rotator to connect the rotator and the first wall, the coupling mechanism being provided to face the first opening so as to rotate together with the rotator by torque applied from outside the first housing; and a first seal included in the coupling mechanism and configured to be biased from the first engaging portion toward the first wall by the elastic body to seal the first opening.