Gate Valve Opening Control to Suppress Seal-Release Vibration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gate valve technologies face challenges in suppressing vibration during opening, which can lead to particle generation and contamination of substrates in vacuum chambers, especially when transitioning between chambers with different barometric pressures.
Innovation Solution
A method of controlling the gate valve that involves temporarily stopping the valve body during its opening motion, both before and after the sealing material is pulled apart from the valve seat, to minimize vibration, and adjusting the pressure difference between chambers to facilitate smooth opening.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the valve body is opened quickly from the closed position, then the opening operation time is reduced and productivity is improved, but vibration of the valve body occurs due to the sudden release of the compressed sealing material
Solution Approach 1:
The valve body opening motion is divided into multiple phases with periodic stops. The control unit pauses the opening motion at specific positions: once when the valve body is approximately 2-5mm from the closed position (before sealing material release) and once when approximately 2-5mm from the open position (after sealing material release). This periodic action with intermediate stops suppresses vibration while maintaining relatively fast overall opening time.
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit performs preliminary deceleration of the valve body before the sealing material is fully released. By reducing the opening speed in the initial phase (when valve body is 2-5mm from closed position) and implementing a stop before the sealing material completely detaches, the system prepares for the release event, minimizing the impact and vibration caused by sudden sealing material release.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the valve body is stopped temporarily during opening motion, then vibration is suppressed and particle generation is reduced, but the total opening time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The opening motion includes two brief temporary stops (each lasting a short duration) at strategically positioned points during the valve body travel. These periodic interruptions suppress vibration and prevent particle generation by avoiding sudden sealing material release, while the total added time remains minimal due to the brevity of stops and the efficiency of other motion phases.
Solution Approach 2:
The valve body accelerates rapidly through the critical zone where sealing material release would cause vibration, by implementing a stop before this zone and another after passing through it. The control system rushes through the problematic region quickly (with acceleration and deceleration) rather than moving slowly throughout the entire opening stroke, thus minimizing time loss while suppressing vibration.
Data Source
AI summary
An object of the invention is to provide a method of controlling a gate valve that operates the gate valve in a short time while suppressing vibration of the valve body. A method of controlling a gate valve provided on an opening of a chamber, wherein the gate valve includes a valve body that opens and closes so as to close the opening of a chamber, a valve seat provided on the edge of the opening to which the valve body is pressed, and a sealing material for sealing between the valve body and the valve seat. The invented method is characterized in that, in moving the valve body to the open position from the closed position where the valve body is pressed against the valve seat with the sealing material compressed, the valve body is made to stop temporarily for a predetermined time at the position immediately before the compressed sealing material is pulled apart or immediately after pulled apart in the opening movement of the valve body.