JP4803541B2 - Gate valve - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a gate valve that is connected to a processing chamber such as a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and opens and closes a communication channel such as a fluid channel and an article transfer channel that communicates with the processing chamber.

  Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose a gate valve that is connected to a processing chamber of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus or the like and opens and closes a communication path that communicates with the processing chamber by a valve plate inside the valve housing. In order to seal between the valve housing and the processing chamber, the gate valve is attached on the outer surface of the side wall of the valve housing such that an O-ring or the like surrounds the communication path. It is sandwiched between the outer surface of the side wall of the valve housing and the outer surface of the chamber wall of the processing chamber.

In such a gate valve, the seal member is easily damaged by a corrosive fluid such as a process gas flowing through the communication passage. Therefore, it is necessary to appropriately replace the seal member with a new one.
However, the conventional gate valve has the seal member attached to the outer surface of the side wall of the valve housing, and the seal member is sandwiched between the outer surface of the side wall of the valve housing and the outer surface of the chamber wall of the processing chamber. When replacing the seal member, the entire valve housing must be pulled away from the processing chamber, and the seal member must be replaced with a new one in that state, which may require troublesome work.

  In addition, as in the gate valve described in Patent Document 2, a hollow member having the communication hole is attached to a side wall of the valve housing, and the seal member is attached to an end surface of the hollow member. . In such a gate valve, the seal member can be replaced with the hollow member removed from the side wall. However, when removing the seal member, the hollow member must be moved to the outside of the side wall. It is necessary to remove the valve housing from the processing chamber when removing it.

JP 2000-356186 A JP 2000-356271 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide a gate valve with excellent maintainability, in which a seal member for sealing between a valve housing and a processing chamber can be easily and quickly replaced with the valve housing connected to the processing chamber. Is to provide.

To achieve the above object, according to the present invention, the valve chamber inside the valve housing and the process are arranged on the first side wall of the valve housing facing the chamber wall of the first and second side walls. A valve that provides a communication hole for communicating with the chamber and a valve seat portion that surrounds the communication hole in the valve chamber, and opens and closes the communication hole in the valve chamber by contact or separation from the valve seat portion A gate valve that houses a plate and has a seal member that seals between the first side wall and the chamber wall of the processing chamber on the outer surface of the first side wall so as to surround the communication hole; a valve seat portion and the seal member, the first formed in a sheet member mounted so as to be detachable from the interior of the valve chamber on the side wall, the valve housing is opened and closed with a lid on top of the valve chamber itself Of an opening, the size of the opening is larger than the sheet member, the sheet member, after moving toward the center of the valve chamber removed from the first side wall, of the valve chamber It is possible to carry out from the inside to the outside of the valve housing through the opening .

  Preferably, in the present invention, the sheet member is a hollow member having a rectangular cross-sectional shape, and includes a first portion on a distal end side and a second portion on a proximal end side in a flange shape, The seal member is attached to the end surface of one portion, the valve seat portion is formed on the end surface of the second portion, and the first side wall of the valve housing is fitted to the first portion of the seat member. And a fitting portion formed at a valve chamber side end portion of the fitting hole, and the second portion is locked from the valve chamber side, and the first portion of the seat member Is fitted into the fitting hole from the valve chamber side and the second portion is locked to the locking portion, whereby the seat member is attached to the first side wall.

  In this case, the valve plate is detachably attached to the valve plate mounting portion at the tip of the valve rod, and in the direction perpendicular to the axis of the communication hole and the direction in which the valve seat is contacted and separated by the valve rod. In addition to being displaceable, the seat member can be removed from the valve chamber through the opening after being removed from the valve rod, and the seat member can be removed from the valve rod with the valve plate removed from the valve rod. It is desirable that it can be taken out of the valve housing through the valve chamber.

  According to the present invention, the seal member that seals between the first side wall of the valve housing and the chamber wall of the processing chamber is attached to the seat member that is detachable from the first side wall, and the seat member is passed through the valve chamber. Since it can be taken out of the valve housing, the seal member can be easily replaced by taking out the seat member to the outside of the valve housing through the valve chamber while the valve housing is connected to the processing chamber. it can.

  1 and 2 show an embodiment of a gate valve according to the present invention. The gate valve 1 is used by being connected to a processing chamber 2 in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus or the like. A valve opening / closing portion 3 for opening and closing a communication hole 5 communicating with the processing chamber 2 by a valve plate 6 and the valve plate. And an opening / closing operation unit 4 for opening / closing 6.

  As is apparent from FIGS. 3 to 7, the valve opening / closing part 3 has a rectangular and horizontally long hollow valve housing 7. A valve chamber 9 is formed inside the valve housing 7, and the valve plate 6 in the shape of a rectangular plate that is horizontally long is accommodated in the valve chamber 9. The corners of the four corners of the valve plate 6 are rounded in an arc shape. 6 and 7 are shown with the valve plate 6 omitted in order to make the inside of the valve housing 7 easier to understand.

  The valve housing 7 has first to fourth four side walls 7 a, 7 b, 7 c, 7 d that surround the valve chamber 9, and is in contact with the chamber wall 2 a of the processing chamber 2. 7a is provided with a rectangular communication hole 5 which is long and rectangular to allow communication between the valve chamber 9 and the processing chamber 2, and a valve seat portion 10 which surrounds the communication hole 5 in the valve chamber 9. The communication hole 5 is opened and closed by the valve plate 6 when the valve seal member 11 attached to the valve plate 6 contacts or separates from the valve seat portion 10. The corners of the four corners of the communication hole 5 are rounded in an arc shape.

  Further, a concave groove 12 surrounding the communication hole 5 is formed on the outer surface of the first side wall 7a. In the concave groove 12, the outer surface of the first side wall 7a and the outer surface of the chamber wall 2a of the processing chamber 2 are formed. A sealing member 13 such as an O-ring that seals between the two is attached.

  The communication hole 5, the valve seat portion 10, and the seal member 13 are formed in a seat member 14 that is detachably attached to the first side wall 7a. As is apparent from FIGS. 10 and 11, the sheet member 14 is a hollow member having a rectangular cross-sectional shape, and includes a first portion 14a on the tip side having a small vertical and horizontal dimension, and a flange shape having a large vertical and horizontal dimension. The seal member 13 is attached to the end surface of the first portion 14a, and the valve seat portion 10 is formed on the end surface of the second portion 14b.

In order to attach the seat member 14 to the first side wall 7a of the valve housing 7, a horizontally long rectangular fitting hole 16 into which the first portion 14a of the seat member 14 is fitted, and the fitting hole 16 A locking portion 17 is formed at the valve chamber side end and the second portion 14b is locked, and the first portion 14a of the seat member 14 is fitted into the fitting hole 16 from the valve chamber 9 side. Then, the second portion 14b is brought into contact with the locking portion 17, and the second portion 14b is fixed to the locking portion 17 with a plurality of bolts 18 having hexagonal holes. It is attached to one side wall 7a.
Reference numeral “19” in the figure is a seal member that is interposed between the locking portion 17 and the first portion 14 a or the second portion 14 b and seals between the first side wall 7 a and the sheet member 14.

  In addition, a long side connection port 20 that communicates with the communication hole 5 through the valve chamber 9 is formed in the second side wall 7b of the valve housing 7 facing the first side wall 7a. The connection port 20 is connected to other chambers, fluid devices, and the like. The vertical and horizontal dimensions of the connection port 20 are larger than those of the communication hole 5 and the valve plate 6, and both ends in the longitudinal direction are formed in an arc shape.

  Furthermore, an opening 21 is formed at the upper end of the valve housing 7 so as to extend over almost the entire length of the valve housing 7, and the opening 21 can be opened and closed by a plate-like lid 22. Has been. The lid 22 is fixed to the valve housing 7 with a plurality of bolts 23 having hexagonal holes, and can be removed from the valve housing 7 by removing these bolts 23.

  The seat member 14 and the lid body 22 constitute a part of the valve housing 7. Therefore, the valve housing 7 is constituted by the seat member 14 and the lid body 22 and the housing body 8 which is the other part. The housing body 8 is composed of the first to fourth side walls 7a. -7d.

  The valve plate 6 is detachably attached to a valve plate attachment portion 27 at the tip of the valve rod 26. The valve rod 26 extends from the opening / closing operation portion 4 through the bottom wall of the valve housing 7 of the valve opening / closing portion 3 into the valve chamber 9, and is driven by a driving mechanism (not shown) provided in the opening / closing operation portion 4. And driven in a direction orthogonal to the axis L of the communication hole 5 and a direction along the axis L. 3 and 4, when the valve rod 26 is driven in the direction along the axis L, the valve seal member 11 of the valve plate 6 contacts and separates from the valve seat portion 10, and the valve The plate 6 opens and closes the communication hole 5, and the valve rod 26 is driven in a direction (downward) perpendicular to the axis L as shown in FIG. It occupies a detached storage position.

The valve plate attachment portion 27 is a prismatic portion formed at the tip of the valve rod 26 having a cylindrical shape, and is a flat valve plate attachment for attaching the valve plate 6 to the front surface facing the communication hole 5 side. It has a surface 27a and a plurality of bolt insertion holes 29 through which the valve plate fixing bolts 28 are inserted.
Further, the valve plate mounting portion 27 does not protrude outward from the cylindrical region of the valve rod 26 at a position slightly deviated from the center O of the valve rod 26 toward the rear side (the second side wall 7b side). The height (vertical length) of the valve plate mounting portion 27 is slightly smaller than the height (vertical width) of the valve plate 6. When the valve rod 26 is lowered and the valve plate 6 is in the storage position, the upper end 27b of the valve plate mounting portion 27 is below the lower end of the seat member 14, or as illustrated. The sheet member 14 occupies a height that partially overlaps a part of the lower end of the sheet member 14.

  The opening / closing operation unit 4 has a square operation unit housing 31, and the drive mechanism is accommodated in the operation unit housing 31. This drive mechanism is already known, and here also known drive Since the mechanism is used, the illustration thereof is omitted.

  Here, in order to replace the seal member 13 attached to the seat member 14 with a new one, the seat member 14 remains connected to the processing chamber 2 while the valve housing 7 is connected to the processing chamber 2. 9 can be taken out of the valve housing 7 through the opening 21. For this reason, the valve chamber 9 and the opening 21 are formed in such a size that the seat member 14 can be taken in and out freely.

The seat member 14 is removed from the valve housing 7 by the following operation when the gate valve 1 is not used.
First, in the state of FIG. 4 in which the valve plate 6 opens the communication hole 5, the lid 22 at the upper end of the valve housing 7 is removed by removing the bolt 23, and the opening 21 is opened.
Next, after inserting the tool from the connection port 20 of the second side wall 7b and removing the bolt 28 of the valve plate 6 to remove the valve plate 6 from the valve rod 26, the valve plate 6 is opened from the opening 21 to the valve. Take it out of the housing 7.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 8, the valve rod 26 is lowered and moved to the retracted position, and a tool is inserted from the opening 21 or the connection port 20 of the second side wall 7b, and the sheet member 14 is moved to the first side wall. The bolt 18 fixed to 7a is removed. Then, after the sheet member 14 is displaced in the direction of the axis L to the position where the first portion 14a comes out of the fitting hole 16 as shown by a chain line in FIG. 8, as shown in FIGS. The seat member 14 is lifted upward and carried out of the valve housing 7 from the opening 21. At this time, if the valve plate mounting portion 27 of the valve rod 26 hinders the displacement of the seat member 14, the valve plate mounting portion is positioned at a position corresponding to the valve plate mounting portion 27 of the seat member 14. A recess 32 for escaping from 27 may be formed.

  After the seat member 14 is carried out of the valve housing 7 in this way, the old seal member 13 attached to the concave groove 12 on the end face is removed and a new seal member 13 is attached.

After the replacement of the seal member 13 is completed, the seat member 14 is attached to the valve housing 7 by an operation reverse to the case of taking it out from the valve housing 7. That is, the seat member 14 is carried into the valve chamber 9 from the opening 21 and is displaced in the direction of the axis L to fit the first portion 14a into the fitting hole 16 of the first side wall 7a. After the two portions 14b are brought into contact with and locked with the locking portions, the bolts 18 are fixed to the first side wall 7a.
Next, the valve rod 26 that has been lowered to the retracted position is raised, the valve plate 6 is carried into the valve chamber 9 from the opening 21, and the bolt 28 is attached to the valve plate mounting portion 27 of the valve rod 26. Fix it.
When the attachment of the valve plate 6 is completed, the opening 21 is closed with a lid 22 and the lid 22 is fixed to the valve housing 7 with a bolt 23 to complete the operation.

  Thus, replacement of the seal member 13 for sealing between the first side wall 7a of the valve housing 7 and the chamber wall 2a of the processing chamber 2 is performed, and the seat member 14 carrying the seal member 13 is placed inside the valve housing 7, that is, the valve. By detaching through the chamber 9, the valve housing 7 can be easily and quickly performed while being connected to the processing chamber 2.

It is a front view showing one embodiment of the gate valve concerning the present invention. It is the fragmentary sectional view which made FIG. 1 the cross section in the center position. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 3 showing a state in which the valve plate opens the communication hole. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 3 showing a state in which the valve plate is in the storage position. It is the fragmentary perspective view seen from the communicating hole side in the state which omitted the valve plate. It is the fragmentary perspective view seen from the opposite side of Drawing 6 in the state where a valve plate was omitted. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 3 illustrating a stage before the seat member is taken out from the valve housing. It is a fragmentary perspective view which shows the stage in the middle of taking out a seat member from a valve housing. It is a fragmentary perspective view which shows the state which took out the seat member completely from the valve housing. It is a fragmentary perspective view at the time of seeing FIG. 10 from the other side.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Gate valve 2 Processing chamber 2a Chamber wall 5 Communication hole 6 Valve plate 7 Valve housing 7a 1st side wall 7b 2nd side wall 9 Valve chamber 10 Valve seat part 13 Seal member 14 Sheet member 14a 1st part 14b 2nd part 16 Fitting Hole 17 Locking portion 21 Opening portion 22 Lid body 26 Valve rod 27 Valve plate mounting portion L Axis

Claims (3)

A communication hole for communicating the valve chamber in the valve housing and the processing chamber with a first side wall of the first and second side walls of the valve housing that is in contact with the chamber wall of the processing chamber, and the communication A valve seat that surrounds the hole in the valve chamber, and accommodates a valve plate that opens and closes the communication hole by contact or separation with the valve seat portion, and an outer surface of the first side wall In addition, a gate valve provided with a seal member for sealing between the first side wall and the chamber wall of the processing chamber so as to surround the communication hole,
And a sealing member the communicating hole and a valve seat portion, formed in a sheet member mounted so as to be detachable from the interior of the valve chamber to the first side wall, said valve housing, lid on top of the valve chamber An opening that can be freely opened and closed, and the size of the opening is larger than that of the seat member. After the seat member is removed from the first side wall and moved toward the center of the valve chamber , A gate valve characterized in that it can be carried out from the inside of the valve chamber to the outside of the valve housing through the opening .   The sheet member is a hollow member having a rectangular cross-sectional shape, and has a first portion on the distal end side and a second portion on the proximal end side having a flange shape, and the end surface of the first portion has the above-mentioned A seal member is attached, the valve seat portion is formed on an end surface of the second portion, and a first side wall of the valve housing is fitted with a fitting hole into which the first portion of the seat member is fitted. The engagement portion is formed at the valve chamber side end of the fitting hole, and the second portion is engaged from the valve chamber side, and the first portion of the seat member is formed from the valve chamber side. 2. The gate valve according to claim 1, wherein the seat member is attached to the first side wall by being fitted in the fitting hole and locking the second portion to the locking portion. . The valve plate is detachably attached to the valve plate mounting portion at the tip of the valve rod, and can be displaced by the valve rod in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the communication hole and in a direction contacting and separating from the valve seat portion. The seat member can be taken out from the valve chamber through the opening after being removed from the valve rod, and the seat member can be taken out from the valve chamber in a state where the valve plate is removed from the valve rod and taken out from the valve chamber. The gate valve according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the gate valve can be taken out of the valve housing.

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