Non-sliding Gate Valve for Semiconductor Vacuum Chambers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gate valves in semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses cannot efficiently open and close openings connected to both process and transfer chambers in a non-sliding manner, leading to issues like valve seal twisting and abrasion powder generation during maintenance, which hampers maintenance efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A gate valve design featuring a valve casing with parallel valve seat surfaces, a valve assembly with perpendicular movement mechanisms, and a connecting mechanism that allows the valve assembly to move perpendicularly to the seat surfaces, ensuring non-sliding contact of valve seal members with the seat surfaces for both process and transfer chamber openings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a conventional gate valve with sliding mechanism is used to open and close openings, then the structure is simpler, but the seal member twists and generates abrasion powder due to friction between the seal member and seal surface
Solution Approach 1:
The valve assembly is segmented into multiple components: a valve body, a movable valve plate with seal members, and a positioning mechanism. The valve plate is divided into separate sealing surfaces that can independently contact the seal surfaces without twisting, eliminating the harmful friction effects while maintaining structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
A positioning mechanism acts as an intermediary between the driving force and the valve plate, ensuring that the valve plate moves perpendicular to the seal surfaces without rotation or sliding. This intermediary component guides the motion precisely, preventing seal member twisting and abrasion powder generation.
2Reliability
If a non-sliding gate valve is used to suppress seal member twisting and abrasion powder generation, then the sealing performance improves, but the device complexity increases due to additional mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The positioning mechanism is merged with the existing valve structure, integrating the non-sliding motion control into the valve body and drive mechanism. This combination achieves reliable sealing performance without adding separate complex subsystems, as the guiding features are incorporated directly into the valve plate and seat assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of allowing the valve plate to rotate or slide and then correcting the motion, the design inverts the approach by constraining the motion from the beginning through precision-guided perpendicular movement. The seal members are designed to contact the seal surfaces directly in a controlled manner, achieving reliability without excessive complexity.
3Ease of repair
If maintenance work is performed on gate valves with sliding mechanisms, then the valve can be accessed, but vacuum leakage occurs due to seal member twisting and abrasion powder
Solution Approach 1:
The valve plate and seal members are designed to be easily extracted from the valve body through the perpendicular movement mechanism. The non-sliding design ensures that seal members are not twisted or damaged during removal, allowing maintenance personnel to access and replace components without causing vacuum leakage or generating abrasion powder.
Solution Approach 2:
The positioning mechanism pre-aligns the valve plate perpendicular to the seal surfaces before maintenance removal, ensuring that seal members are in their optimal position without twisting. This preliminary alignment prevents damage during the maintenance process and avoids vacuum leakage when the valve is reassembled.
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
This design effectively suppresses valve seal twisting and abrasion powder generation when opening and closing both process and transfer chamber openings, enhancing maintenance efficiency by maintaining a vacuum state and reducing leakage during maintenance.
Implementation Method 1
a compression spring interposed between the lever member and the rod arm
Implementation Method 2
the cam rollers are pressed by the groove walls of the sloping cam grooves, and the valve plate and the valve shaft move perpendicularly to the valve seat surface
Data Source
AI summary
A parallel movement mechanism including guide grooves and guide rollers and a perpendicular movement mechanism including cam grooves and cam rollers are interposed between a drive rod of an air cylinder and a valve assembly. By moving the valve assembly parallel to valve seat surfaces formed around a pair of openings of a valve casing with the parallel movement mechanism, and then moving it perpendicularly to the valve seat surfaces with the perpendicular movement mechanism, valve seal members of valve elements can be brought into and out of contact with the valve seat surfaces, and the openings can be selectively opened and closed.