JP6480195B2 - Article processing device - Google Patents

Description

  BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for processing an article for performing predetermined processing on an article in a chamber by setting the inside of the chamber to a different environment from the outside.

  As an apparatus which performs processing such as film formation and sterilization in a predetermined environment on articles such as a plastic container and a semiconductor substrate, a plurality of articles are accommodated in a chamber, and the inside of the chamber is adjusted to an environment suitable for processing and collectively There is known a so-called batch type treatment apparatus that performs processing (see, for example, Patent Document 1). An article is sequentially taken into each chamber at a carry-in position on a path while circulating a plurality of chambers along an annular path, and processing is sequentially performed in each chamber while each chamber moves toward the carry-out position on the path. There are also known so-called continuous (or rotary) processing apparatuses to be advanced (see, for example, Patent Documents 2 and 3). Also proposed is a so-called continuous batch type processing apparatus in which batch processing for a plurality of articles is repeated at a shorter cycle than in the example using a single chamber by selectively using a plurality of chambers as a batch type modification. It is done.

International Publication No. 2013/099960 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-002905 JP 2007-113049 A

  Batch-type processors need to store a certain number of items to be stored in the chamber before starting processing. Therefore, when a processing apparatus is incorporated into a production line or the like in which a large number of articles are sent continuously to construct an in-line system, a continuous processing apparatus that circulates a plurality of chambers is preferably employed. However, conventional continuous processing devices are configured to contain a single item in each chamber. Therefore, in order to reduce the cycle time, it is necessary to align more chambers in the moving direction, which causes a larger path for moving the chambers, resulting in the disadvantage that the enlargement of the apparatus can not be avoided.

  Then, an object of this invention is to provide the processing apparatus of an article which can process many articles | goods efficiently and is advantageous also in size reduction.

  An apparatus for treating articles according to the present invention (1A; 1B) comprises: a plurality of chambers (21) for containing an article (2) to be treated and holding the article in an environment suitable for predetermined treatment; A chamber transport means (3) for circulating each of the chambers in a line along a predetermined path (CP) including the loading position (Pin) and the unloading position (Pout) of the article; And each of the plurality of chambers is provided so as to be able to receive at least one row of articles in which a plurality of articles are aligned and aligned in the moving direction of the chambers.

  According to the processing apparatus of the present invention, the plurality of chambers can be fed to the loading position one after another to store the plurality of articles in each chamber, and the articles can be sequentially processed in each chamber. Thus, a large number of articles can be processed efficiently as compared to a simple batch processing apparatus using a single chamber, or a continuous processing apparatus containing a single article in each chamber. Further, in each chamber, a plurality of articles are aligned and accommodated in the moving direction, thereby expanding the movement path of the chambers as compared to the case where the chambers corresponding to each article are arranged along the path. The size of the device can be reduced.

  In the processing apparatus (1A) of the present invention, the chamber transfer means is provided such that the path draws a circle around a predetermined axis (AX), and the row direction of the article group in each of the plurality of chambers is It may be set in the direction of the axis. According to this, since the article group is accommodated in a row in the axial direction, the radial expansion of the path can be suppressed as compared with the case where the same number of articles are arranged in the circumferential direction of the path.

  Further, in the processing apparatus (1B) according to the present invention, the chamber transfer means is provided such that the path draws a circle around a predetermined axis (AX), and the row of the article group in each of the plurality of chambers The direction may be set to the radial direction of the path. According to this, since the group of articles is accommodated in a row in the radial direction of the path, it is possible to suppress the expansion of the chamber in the axial direction as compared with the case where the same number of articles are aligned in the axial direction of the path. it can.

  In the processing apparatus (1A; 1B) according to the present invention, the chamber transfer means includes a support (10), a rotating body (14; 90) rotatably supported around the axis by the support, and And a drive means (18) for driving the rotary body about the axis, and each of the plurality of chambers may be attached to the rotary body in a state of being arranged around the axis. According to this, the plurality of chambers can be moved so as to rotate integrally with the rotating body while supporting the plurality of chambers arranged along the path.

  In the above form, the processing device comprises a stationary part (35; 102) and a rotating part (36; 101) combined rotatably relative to said axis, between the stationary part and the rotating part The rotary joint (16; 100) provided with a plurality of flow paths may be further provided, and the fixed component of the rotary joint may be attached to the support side and the rotary component may be attached to the rotary body. According to this, the flow path of the fluid required to adjust the inside of each chamber to the environment suitable for processing is set between the support side and the rotary body side through the plural flow paths of the rotary joint portion. Can be provided. When a plurality of articles are accommodated in each chamber, the volume of the chamber is increased. Therefore, when a device such as a pump for adjusting the environment in the chamber is provided on the chamber side, the load on the driving means for moving the chamber is large. Become. On the other hand, if the apparatus is installed on the support side and connected to the chamber through the flow path of the rotary joint, the load on the driving means for moving the chamber is reduced, which is advantageous for the miniaturization of the apparatus. is there.

  In addition, the processing apparatus further includes a plurality of pumps (81A, 81B, 81C, 81D) as means for adjusting the interior of each of the plurality of chambers to an environment suitable for the processing, and each of the flow paths of the plurality of systems The respective pumps and at least two chambers are connected via each other, and the chambers connected to the flow paths of the respective systems are connected to different pumps, and each pump is connected between the rotary joint portion and the plurality of chambers A valve means (83) may be provided to selectively switch the chamber to be operated. According to this, by selectively switching the operation of each pump by the valve means to act on the chambers, it is possible to adjust the internal environment of each of the plurality of chambers with a smaller number of pumps than the number of chambers.

  Furthermore, the processing device controls the switching of the valve means such that the operation of the pump acts on each chamber in a partial section (P1 to P2) from the loading position of the path to the unloading position. The control means (84) may be provided, and chambers which do not overlap in time of passing through the partial sections may be connected to the same pump via the same series of flow paths. This allows each pump to be selectively connected to a single chamber to cause the operation of that pump to act on the chambers. The pump volume can be set to a single chamber, as the operation of each pump does not have to act on multiple chambers simultaneously.

  In the above embodiment, a plurality of annular grooves (42, 43, 44; 103, 104, 105) coaxial with the axis line and the annular grooves between the fixed part and the rotary part of the rotary joint portion And a seal member (56; 115) for sealing the inside from the outside, and the fixed part and the rotating part are provided with a plurality of ports (48) alternatively communicating with the respective annular grooves. , 49, 50, 45, 46, 47; 106, 107, 108, 111, 112, 113), whereby between the port on the fixed part side leading to the same annular groove and the port on the rotating part side A single channel may be formed in the According to this, the port on the fixed part side leading to the same annular groove and the port on the rotary part side are connected to each other via the annular groove regardless of the rotation of the rotary part. Moreover, the inside of the annular groove is sealed to the outside of the annular groove by the seal member. Therefore, the number of channels of the system according to the number of annular grooves can be provided in the rotary joint portion.

  Furthermore, the processing apparatus of the present invention may be configured as a film forming apparatus for forming a film on an article in the chamber using a chemical vapor deposition method as the predetermined processing. According to this, it is possible to efficiently perform film formation on a large number of articles.

  In the above description, in order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, the reference numerals of the attached drawings are appended in parentheses, but the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment.

  As described above, according to the processing apparatus of the present invention, at least one row of articles aligned in the moving direction is accommodated in each chamber while circulating the plurality of chambers along a predetermined path. As a result, a large number of articles can be processed efficiently, and expansion of the movement path of the chamber can be suppressed, and the apparatus can be miniaturized.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The front view which carries out the partial cross-sectional view and shows the film-forming apparatus as a processing apparatus which concerns on the 1st form of this invention. FIG. 2 is a right side view showing the film formation apparatus according to the first embodiment in a partial cross-sectional view; Sectional drawing which expands and shows the vacuum chamber of the film-forming apparatus which concerns on a 1st form. An axial sectional view of a rotation joint part. The figure which shows the state which saw the rotation plate provided in the rotation joint part from the combination surface side with respect to a fixed plate. The figure which shows the connection form of a vacuum pump and a vacuum chamber. The figure which matched the order of the process in each vacuum chamber with the rotation angle of the chamber from predetermined | prescribed reference time, and was shown. The front view which carries out the partial cross-sectional view and shows the film-forming apparatus as a processing apparatus which concerns on the 2nd form of this invention. The right side view which carries out the partial cross-sectional view and shows the film-forming apparatus which concerns on a 2nd form. The figure which expands and shows the vacuum chamber of the film-forming apparatus which concerns on a 2nd form, and the carrying-in unit with respect to it. The axial direction half section view in the modification of a rotation joint part. The figure which shows the state which saw the rotary joint part of FIG. 11 from the arrow XII direction of the figure.

(First form)
1 and 2 show an apparatus for processing an article according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The apparatus 1A shown in these figures is configured as a film forming apparatus for forming a barrier film on the inner surface of a bottle 2 as an example of an article to be treated by a catalytic chemical vapor deposition method (so-called Cat-CVD method) There is. The film forming apparatus 1A includes a chamber transport unit 3 as a chamber transport unit, a carry-in unit 4 as a carry-in unit of the bottle 2, and a carry-out unit 5 as a carry-out unit of the bottle 2. The bottle 2 is, for example, a PET bottle, but may be a plastic container made of another material.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the transport unit 3 includes a base 10 as a support of a frame structure installed on a floor surface of a factory or the like, and a rotor 14 as a rotating body. The rotor 14 is cylindrical, and the rotation shaft 15 is mounted on the center line of the rotor 14 so as to be able to rotate integrally with the rotor 14. The rotating shaft 15 projects from the rotor 14 in the axial direction. Both ends of the rotary shaft 15 are supported by the rotary joint portion 16 so as to be rotatable around the horizontal axis AX and to be immovable in the axial direction. The rotary joint portion 16 has a function as a bearing that rotatably supports the rotary shaft 15 on the base 10, and a plurality of flow paths between the fixed portion and the rotary portion (the rotor 14 side) of the chamber conveyance unit 3. And the function to secure, the details of which will be described later. Further, the transport unit 3 is provided with an electric motor 18 as a drive unit of the rotor 14. The electric motor 18 is mounted on the base 10. Pulleys 19A and 19B are fixed to the output shaft 18a of the electric motor 18 and the end of the rotary shaft 15, and a belt 20 is wound around the pulleys 19A and 19B. Therefore, the rotor 14 can be rotationally driven around the axis AX by the electric motor 18.

  A plurality of (12 in the illustrated example) vacuum chambers 21 are provided on the outer periphery of the rotor 14. Each vacuum chamber 21 contains a bottle 2 and holds the bottle 2 in an environment suitable for the film forming process. The vacuum chambers 21 are attached to the rotor 14 in a state where they are arranged at constant angular intervals (30 ° intervals in the illustrated example) around the rotor 14 of the chamber transfer unit 3. Thus, as the rotor 14 rotates, each vacuum chamber 21 moves to circulate around the axis AX of the rotating shaft 15. That is, the vacuum chamber 21 has an annular path CP set on the outer peripheral side of the rotor 14 with respect to the axis AX of the rotary shaft 15 (between the arc shown by the imaginary line L in FIG. Move along the annular area). The rotor 14 is rotationally driven clockwise (in the direction of the arrow CW) in FIG. 1 and the direction corresponds to the moving direction of the vacuum chamber 21. The route CP is provided with the loading position Pin of the bottle 2 and the loading unit 4 is provided in accordance with the loading position Pin. An unloading position Pout of the bottle 2 is provided at a position opposite to the rotational direction of the rotor 14 with respect to the loading position Pin at a position equivalent to the angular interval of the vacuum chamber 21. An unloading unit 5 is provided at the unloading position Pout. It is done. Various kinds of processing related to film formation are performed while the vacuum chamber 21 moves from the loading position Pin to the unloading position Pout, and the details of the processing will be described later.

  As well illustrated in FIG. 2, each vacuum chamber 21 can accommodate a plurality of (two in the illustrated example) bottles 2 arranged in a row, and can collectively form a film on the bottles 2. As such, their size and shape are defined. The direction in which the bottles 2 line up in each vacuum chamber 21 coincides with the direction of the axis AX of the rotation axis 15. That is, each vacuum chamber 21 is provided so as to accommodate a bottle group in which fifteen bottles 2 are arranged in a line in the direction of the axis AX of the rotating shaft 15. Since the row direction of the bottle group coincides with the direction of the axis AX, the positions of the fifteen bottles 2 constituting the bottle group are aligned with each other in the moving direction of the vacuum chamber 21. In each vacuum chamber 21, the same number of heating elements 24 as the bottles 2 are provided in the same manner as the bottles 2. The heating element 24 generates heat by electric heating, and functions as a catalyst that decomposes a film forming source gas introduced into the vacuum chamber 21.

  As shown in detail in FIG. 3, each vacuum chamber 21 has a bottle chamber portion 22 and a heating element chamber portion 23. FIG. 3 shows a state in which one vacuum chamber 21 is viewed in the row direction of the bottles 2. The bottle chamber unit 22 is a chamber for containing the bottle 2 and forming a film. The heating element chamber unit 23 is a chamber for causing the heating element 24 to stand by under a predetermined vacuum environment. The bottle chamber portion 22 and the heating element chamber portion 23 are arranged in a straight line in the radial direction of the rotor 14. The bottle chamber portion 22 is located radially outward of the rotor 14 than the heating element chamber portion 23. The bottle 2 is accommodated in the bottle chamber 22 with the opening of the mouth directed to the heating element chamber 23. That is, the bottle 2 is accommodated in the bottle chamber 22 with the opening at the mouth thereof facing the center of the rotor 14 in the radial direction. In order to carry the bottle 2 into and out of the bottle chamber portion 22, the bottle chamber portion 22 is opened and closed at the end portion on the outer peripheral side of the bottle chamber portion 22 (the end portion on the opposite side to the heating element chamber portion 23). A possible shutter 25 is provided. By opening and closing the shutter portion 25 on the outer peripheral side of the path CP through which the vacuum chamber 21 is transported, the group of bottles 2 arranged in a row can be collectively taken in and out of the vacuum chamber 21.

  The heat generating body 24 is formed as a rod-like part which can be inserted into and removed from the inside of the bottle 2, and generates heat to a high temperature necessary for film formation by energization. As a material of the heat generating body 24, a high melting point metal material such as tungsten (a material whose melting point is sufficiently higher than the heat generation temperature at the time of film formation) may be appropriately used. Inside the heating element chamber portion 23, a moving mechanism 26 for moving the heating element 24 in the axial direction is provided. The heating mechanism 24 holds the heating element 24 coaxially with the bottle 2 housed in the bottle chamber 22 by the moving mechanism 26. Therefore, the axial direction of the heating element 24 coincides with the radial direction of the rotor 14. As an example, the moving mechanism 26 has a guide rod 26a disposed parallel to the heating element 24, a slider 26b movably provided along the guiding rod 26a and connected to the heating element 24, and a heating element chamber A linear motion type actuator 26c such as an air cylinder is disposed on the inner peripheral side of the portion 23 and drives the heating element 24 in the axial direction of the guide rod 26a. The heating element 24 is moved to the bottle chamber 22 by inserting the heating element 24 into the bottle 2 by moving the heating element 24 by the actuator 26 c, or the heating element 24 is extracted from the inside of the bottle 2 and the heating element chamber 23 Can be stored in A gate valve 28 which can be opened and closed is provided between the two chamber portions 22 and 23. When the gate valve 28 is closed, the two chamber portions 22 and 23 are airtightly partitioned. The moving mechanism 26 is not limited to the example using a linear actuator. A feed screw mechanism or the like may be used as the moving mechanism 26. As apparent from FIG. 2, the actuator 26 c of the moving mechanism 26 is provided to move all the heating elements 24 disposed in one vacuum chamber 21 at one time. However, the moving mechanism 26 may be provided in one-to-one correspondence with the heating elements 24 so as to move the heating elements 24 individually.

  In order to reduce the environment inside the vacuum chamber 21 to a vacuum pressure suitable for film formation, ports 31 and 32 are provided in the bottle chamber 22 and the heating element chamber 23 of the vacuum chamber 21. The ports 31, 32 are connected to different vacuum pumps. That is, the bottle chamber 22 is opened to the atmospheric pressure when the shutter 25 is opened and the bottle 2 is taken in and out, while the pressure is reduced to a predetermined vacuum pressure in the film formation. On the other hand, since the heat generating body chamber portion 23 can be airtightly separated from the bottle chamber portion 22 by closing the gate valve 28, even if the bottle chamber portion 22 is opened to the atmospheric pressure, it is maintained in a vacuum state It is possible. Therefore, the bottle chamber portion 22 and the heating element chamber portion 23 are connected to different vacuum pumps so that the vacuuming operation can be performed according to each of the chamber portions 22 and 23. The connection between the bottle chamber 22 and the heating element chamber 23 and the vacuum pump will be described later.

  4 and 5 show details of the rotary joint portion 16. The rotary joint 16 is provided on both sides of the rotary shaft 15, but FIGS. 4 and 5 show the rotary joint 16 on the left side of FIG. The rotary joint 16 on the opposite side also has the same configuration unless otherwise noted. The rotary joint portion 16 includes a stationary plate 35 as a stationary part and a rotary plate 36 as a rotational part. Both plates 35 and 36 are each formed in a substantially disk shape. A fitting shaft 37 is formed at the center of the fixed plate 35, and a pair of ball bearings 38 are fitted on the outer periphery thereof. On the other hand, a fitting hole 39 is formed at the center of the rotation plate 36. By fitting the ball bearing 38 into the fitting hole 39, the fixed plate 35 and the rotating plate 36 are coaxially combined in a relatively rotatable state. Further, the fixed plate 35 is fixed to the base 10 (see FIG. 2), and the rotating plate 36 is coaxially connected to the flange portion 15 a of the rotating shaft 15. As a result, the rotation shaft 15 and the rotation plate 36 integrally rotate around the axis AX while being supported by the fixed plate 35. Thus, the rotary joint 16 functions as a bearing for the rotary shaft 15.

  A through hole 40 is formed at the center of the fitting shaft 37, and the shaft end 15b of the rotating shaft 15 is rotatably passed through the through hole 40. The shaft end 15b of the rotating shaft 15 protrudes to the outside of the fixed plate 36, and a swivel joint 41 is attached to the protruding portion. The swivel joint 41 is connected to an internal flow passage (not shown) provided on the axis AX of the rotating shaft 15. Thereby, the passage of fluid to the rotation part by the side of rotor 14 via swivel joint 41 can be secured. The fluid passage can be used, for example, as a compressed air flow passage for driving the linear actuator 26c. In addition, although illustration is abbreviate | omitted, the connection components for electrical wiring using rotary connectors, such as a slip ring, can be provided in the axial end part on the opposite side of the rotating shaft 15. FIG.

  Next, a configuration for realizing a function of securing a plurality of flow paths between the fixed portion and the rotating portion in the chamber transfer unit 3 will be described. The rotary plate 36 is formed with three annular grooves 42, 43, 44. As is apparent from FIG. 5, the annular grooves 42, 43, 44 are provided so as to form a concentric circle around the center of the rotary plate 36 (ie, the axis AX of the rotary shaft 15). Further, the rotary plate 36 has three ports 45 opening in the inner annular groove 42, three ports 46 opening in the middle annular groove 43, and one opening in the outer annular groove 44. A port 47 is provided so as to penetrate the rotating plate 36 in the axial direction. On the other hand, the fixing plate 35 has a total of three ports 48, 49, 50 in the axial direction of the fixing plate 35 so that the radial position is aligned with each of the three annular grooves 42, 43, 44. It is provided to penetrate the

  In the fixed plate 35, three ring-shaped protrusions 52, 53, 54 fitted respectively on the inner circumferences of the annular grooves 42, 43, 44 and a ring-shaped rim fitted in the outer circumference of the rotating plate 36 And 55 are provided. A seal ring 56 as a seal member is mounted between the projection 52, 53, 54 and the inner circumferential surface of the annular groove 42, 43, 44 and between the rim 55 and the outer periphery of the rotary plate 36, respectively. ing. By means of these seal rings 56, the inside of the annular grooves 42, 43, 44 is sealed against their outside. Therefore, the flow passage from the port 45 of the rotating plate 36 to the port 48 of the fixed plate 35 via the annular groove 42 on the inner circumference, and the port of the fixed plate 35 via the annular groove 43 from the port 46 of the rotating plate 36 The rotary joint portion 16 is provided with three flow paths: a flow path leading to 49 and a flow path leading from the port 47 of the rotation plate 36 to the port 50 of the fixed plate 35 via the annular groove 44 on the outer periphery. Since three flow paths are provided in the rotary joint portion 16 on one side, a total of six flow paths are secured by the rotary joint portions 16 on both sides.

  The annular groove 42 on the inner periphery of the rotary plate 36 of each rotary joint 16 and the ports 45, 46 opened in the annular groove 43 in the middle are connected to the one-to-one via the bottle chamber 22 and the duct 60. The ports 45 and 46 are similarly connected to the bottle chamber 22 in a one-to-one correspondence also in the rotary joint 16 on the opposite side. On the other hand, the inner peripheral port 48 and the middle port 49 in the fixed plate 35 of each rotary joint 16 are connected to different vacuum pumps via the duct 61. The ports 48 and 49 are similarly connected to vacuum pumps different from each other in the rotary joint 16 on the opposite side. Thus, among the six channels described above, four channels are used to evacuate the bottle chamber 22. Further, the port 47 opened in the annular groove 44 on the outer periphery of the rotary joint portion 16 on one side is connected to all of the 12 heating element chamber portions 23 through the duct 62, and the fixed plate 35 of the same rotary joint portion 16 is connected. The peripheral port 50 is connected via a duct 63 to a further vacuum pump. Thus, one of the six flow channels described above is used to evacuate the heating element chamber 23. In addition, although the flow path which passes through the ports 47 and 50 of the rotation joint part 16 on the opposite side is not used in particular, it may be used for other uses other than vacuuming. For example, the remaining one channel may be used as a channel for introducing a film forming source gas into the bottle chamber 22. In addition, the further detail of the connection form of chamber part 22 and 23 and a vacuum pump is mentioned later.

  Referring back to FIG. 1, the loading unit 4 and the unloading unit 5 will be described. Bottle conveyors 71 and 72 are provided near the carry-out position Pin and the carry-out position Pout of the film forming apparatus 1A. The bottle conveyor 71 conveys the bottles 2 in a row in a state of being erected in the vertical direction from the pre-process of film formation toward the film-forming apparatus 1A, and the bottle conveyor 72 vertically moves the bottles 2 from the film-forming apparatus 1A to the post-process Transport in a line while standing upright. The conveying direction of the bottle conveyors 71 and 72 coincides with the direction in which the bottles 2 are arranged in the bottle chamber 22 (the direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. 1).

  The loading unit 4 includes a horizontal transfer unit 73 and a swing transfer unit 74. The horizontal transfer unit 73 takes in from the bottle conveyor 71 the same number of bottles 2 as the number of bottles 2 stored in one bottle chamber unit 22, and horizontally orients the bottles 2 toward the bottle chamber unit 22 at the loading position Pin. To transport. The pivot transfer unit 74 receives the row of bottles 2 from the horizontal transfer unit 73, and pivots the row of bottles 2 around the pivot axis 74a until the bottles 2 match the orientation of the bottle chamber 22 at the loading position Pin. As shown in FIG. 3, the bottle chamber portion 22 includes a holder 22 a for holding the mouth of the bottle 2, and the holder 22 a along the radial direction of the rotor 14 with the end portion on the outer peripheral side of the bottle chamber 22. A moving mechanism 29 is provided to move between the end on the inner circumferential side and the end. The bottle 2 directed to the bottle chamber 22 by the swing and transfer unit 74 of the loading unit 4 is held by the holder 22 a drawn out on the outer peripheral side of the bottle chamber 22 and taken into the interior of the bottle chamber 22 by the moving mechanism 29. Be

  Returning to FIG. 1, the unloading unit 5 also has substantially the same configuration as the loading unit 4. The unloading unit 5 receives the row of bottles 2 delivered to the outer peripheral side of the bottle chamber 22 by the moving mechanism 29, and turns the bottles 2 around the pivot shaft 75a until it is directed vertically. A transfer unit 75, and a horizontal transfer unit 76 that receives the row of bottles 2 from the swing transfer unit 75 and transfers the row of bottles 2 to the bottle conveyor 72. As is apparent from the above description, the holder 22 a and the moving mechanism 29 not only function as means for holding the bottle 2 in a fixed posture in the bottle chamber portion 22, but also substantially the carrying-in unit 4 and the carrying-out unit 5. It also functions as a part of However, the loading unit 4 and the unloading unit 5 are not limited to the above configuration, and one row of bottles 2 are collectively loaded at the loading position Pin into the bottle chamber unit 22 and the one row of bottles 2 is batched at the unloading position Pout. As long as it can be carried out from the bottle chamber part 22, it may be suitably comprised.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 6, the connection form between the vacuum chamber 21 and the vacuum pump via the rotary joint portion 16 will be described. In the following, the chamber number of the vacuum chamber 21 at the loading position Pin in FIG. 1 is # 1 and the chamber of the vacuum chamber 21 in the direction opposite to the rotational direction (that is, clockwise direction) of the rotor 14 from the vacuum chamber 21 The numbers are sequentially numbered as # 2, # 3..., And the number of the vacuum chamber 21 adjacent to the transfer position Pin in the moving direction is # 12.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in the film forming apparatus 1A, four vacuum pumps 81A, 81B, 81C, 81D (hereinafter, these are represented by reference numeral 81) to be used for evacuating the bottle chamber portion 22. And a single vacuum pump 82 to be used for evacuating the heating element chamber portion 23. The bottle chambers 22 are divided and connected to the four vacuum pumps 81A to 81D so that those having the same remainder when the chamber number is divided by 4 are connected to the common vacuum pump 81. That is, the bottle chambers 22 of chamber numbers # 1, # 5 and # 9 are for vacuum pump 81A, and the bottle chambers 22 of chamber numbers # 2, # 6 and # 10 are for vacuum pump 81B, chamber numbers # 3, # The 7 and # 11 bottle chamber sections 22 are connected to a vacuum pump 81C, and the bottle chamber sections 22 of chamber numbers # 4, # 8 and # 12 are connected to a vacuum pump 81D. Further, an open / close valve 83 is provided between the rotary joint 16 and each of the bottle chambers 22 as valve means for selectively switching the bottle chamber 22 to which the vacuum pump 81 is operated. The on-off valves 83 are switched and controlled by a control unit 84 as valve control means. On the other hand, the heating element chamber portions 23 of all the vacuum chambers 21 are connected to the vacuum pump 82 through the rotary joint portion 16. During the operation of the film forming apparatus 1A, the vacuum pump 82 continues the vacuuming operation, whereby all the heating element chambers 23 are always kept in a vacuum state.

  Next, the operation at the time of film formation processing in the film formation apparatus 1A will be described. In the following, FIGS. 1 to 5 will be referred to as appropriate, and FIG. 7 will be referred to together. In FIG. 7, the state where the vacuum chamber 21 of chamber number # 1 is at the loading position Pin is set to the reference state (= 0 °), and each vacuum chamber 21 is associated with the rotation angle of the rotor 14 from the reference state. Shows the processing to be performed. Further, in FIG. 1, positions serving as divisions of processing in the respective vacuum chambers 21 are indicated by positions P1 to P4 on the outer periphery of the path CP.

  First, the operation regarding the # 1 vacuum chamber 21 will be described. Unless stated otherwise below, the vacuum chamber 21 means that of chamber number # 1. First, when the rotation angle is 0 °, that is, when the vacuum chamber 21 is at the loading position Pin, the shutter portion 25 is open, and the bottle 2 is loaded into the bottle chamber portion 22 using the loading unit 4 at the position Pin. At this time, the heating element 24 is stored in the heating element chamber unit 23, and the gate valve 28 is closed. Since the vacuum pump 82 is operating continuously, the heating element chamber unit 23 is held in a vacuum state. After the bottle 2 is carried in, the shutter portion 25 of the vacuum chamber 21 is closed while the vacuum chamber 21 is rotated by 30 ° with the rotation of the rotor 14 and reaches the position P1 of FIG. It is airtightly partitioned from the outside of the chamber 21. When the vacuum chamber 21 exceeds the position P1, evacuation by the vacuum pump 81A is started. At this time, among the on-off valves 83 on the flow path connected to the vacuum pump 81A, the on-off valve 83 on the flow path to the # 1 vacuum chamber 21 is opened, and the open and close on the flow path to # 5 and # 9 vacuum chamber 21 The valve 83 is closed. Thus, the vacuuming operation by the vacuum pump 81A acts only on the # 1 vacuum chamber 21.

  The vacuuming operation is continued until the vacuum chamber 21 rotates 120 ° from the reference state and reaches the position P2 of FIG. During this time, the pressure in the bottle chamber 22 is reduced to about the same level as the heating element chamber 23, and the gate valve 28 is opened accordingly, and the entire chambers 22, 23 are adjusted to a vacuum pressure suitable for film formation. . Further, in conjunction with the opening of the gate valve 28, the heating element 24 is fed into the bottle chamber 22 by the moving mechanism 26 and inserted into the bottle 2. When the vacuum chamber 21 reaches the position P2, the on-off valve 83 corresponding to the # 1 vacuum chamber 21 is closed, and the evacuation by the vacuum pump 81A is completed. When the vacuuming operation is completed, the source gas for film formation is introduced into the vacuum chamber 21 and a current is supplied to the heating element 24 to cause the heating element 24 to generate heat, whereby film formation on the inside of the bottle 2 is started. Be done. The film formation is continued until the vacuum chamber 21 rotates 240 degrees from the reference state and reaches the position P3 of FIG. When the film formation is completed, the supply of the source gas and the energization of the heating element 24 are stopped, and the heating element 24 is stored in the heating element chamber unit 23. By the time the vacuum chamber 21 reaches the position P3, the storage of the heating element 24 is completed, and the gate valve 28 is closed. Thereby, the space between the bottle chamber portion 22 and the heating element chamber portion 23 is airtightly partitioned. When the vacuum chamber 21 is rotated 300 ° from the reference state and reaches the position P4 in FIG. 1, the shutter 25 is opened and the bottle chamber 22 is released to the atmospheric pressure. Thereafter, when the vacuum chamber 21 is rotated 330 ° from the reference state, the vacuum chamber 21 reaches the unloading position Pout. The bottle 2 is unloaded from the bottle chamber 22 using the unloading unit 5 at the position Pout. After the bottle 2 is unloaded, the vacuum chamber 21 moves from the unloading position Pout to the loading position Pin in an empty state. As a result, the processing of one cycle in the # 1 vacuum chamber 21 is completed, and the processing of the next cycle is started at the loading position Pin.

  Also with respect to the # 2 to # 12 vacuum chambers 21, various processes related to film formation are performed in the same order as described above. However, since the twelve vacuum chambers 21 are arranged at intervals of 30 ° in the moving direction, the vacuum chamber 21 from the state of the reference state of FIG. 1, that is, the state where the # 1 vacuum chamber 21 is at the loading position Pin. The timing of processing in each vacuum chamber 21 is shifted by 30.degree. In accordance with the order of arrangement. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, each time the chamber number is increased, the processing timing is delayed by a time corresponding to the rotation angle of 30 °. As apparent from FIG. 7, among the three vacuum chambers 21 connected to the same vacuum pump 81, there is no overlap in timing when the vacuum pumping operation by the vacuum pump 81 should be operated. Therefore, if the on-off valve 83 corresponding to each bottle chamber part 22 is suitably switched with respect to 12 bottle chamber parts 22, each of four vacuum pumps 81 will be single among position P1-P2 Can be selectively connected with the bottle chamber 22 of the Since it is not necessary to evacuate a plurality of bottle chamber sections 22 simultaneously by one vacuum pump 81, the volume of the vacuum pump 81 may be sufficient to match the volume of a single bottle chamber section 22.

  The vacuum pump 81 may be operated only while the bottle chamber 22 to be vacuumed should be evacuated, and the remaining time zone may be stopped, and the vacuum chamber 21 is rotating. During the interval, the vacuum pump 81 may be operated continuously, and the switching operation of the on-off valve 83 may cause the vacuum pump 81 to perform the vacuuming operation only on the bottle chamber 22 that needs to be vacuumed. The vacuum chamber 21 may be continuously rotated at a constant speed during operation of the film forming apparatus 1A, or the angular interval (30 °) of the vacuum chamber 21 is repeated or stopped by a unit angle smaller than that. You may make it rotate intermittently. In the case where the loading unit 4 and the unloading unit 5 require the stop of the vacuum chamber 21, the vacuum chamber 21 may be intermittently rotated, and the loading unit 4 and the unloading unit 5 may be the vacuum chamber 21. The vacuum chamber 21 may be continuously rotated if the bottle 2 can be delivered even in a rotating state.

  As described above, according to the film forming apparatus 1A of the present embodiment, each of the plurality of vacuum chambers 21 is moved to the loading position one after another to accommodate the plurality of bottles 2 in each of the vacuum chambers 21. The bottles 2 in the chamber 21 can be sequentially subjected to film formation processing, and the bottles 2 for which film formation has been completed can be successively taken out from the carry-out position Pout. Therefore, a simple batch-type film forming apparatus for forming a film by storing a plurality of bottles in a single vacuum chamber, or a simple continuous forming film by storing a bottle in each vacuum chamber The film forming process of the large number of bottles 2 can be efficiently performed as compared with the film forming apparatus of the formula. Since a plurality of bottles 2 are accommodated in one vacuum chamber 21, the number of vacuum chambers 21 can be reduced as compared with the case where one bottle 2 is accommodated in each of the plurality of vacuum chambers 21. Since the row direction of the bottles 2 in the bottle chamber portion 22 is made to coincide with the direction of the rotation axis AX, the turning radius of the path CP of the vacuum chamber 21 is expanded even if the number of bottles 2 processed in each vacuum chamber 21 is increased. do not do. Therefore, the outer diameter of the rotor 14 and the outer diameter of the path CP can be reduced, and the installation space can be reduced.

(Second form)
Next, with reference to FIGS. 8 to 10, an article processing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The processing apparatus 1B of FIGS. 8 to 10, like the film forming apparatus 1A of the first embodiment described above, uses catalytic chemical vapor deposition (so-called Cat-CVD) on the inner surface of the bottle 2 as an example of the article to be treated. Method) is configured as a film forming apparatus for forming a barrier film. In FIG. 8 to FIG. 10, the same reference numerals are given to the parts common to the film forming apparatus 1A of the first embodiment, and the differences will be mainly described below.

  Like the film forming apparatus 1A of the first embodiment, the film forming apparatus 1B rotates the plurality of vacuum chambers 21 around the axis AX of the rotating shaft 15 to form a plurality of bottles 2 in each vacuum chamber 21. First, the rotary shaft 15 is attached to the base 10 with its axis AX directed vertically. Further, instead of the cylindrical rotor 14 of FIG. 1, a disk-shaped rotor 90 as a rotating body is attached to the rotating shaft 15 so as to be integrally rotatable. The twelve vacuum chambers 21 are attached to the rotor 90 at regular angular intervals along the circumferential direction of the rotor 90. The point in which the path of movement of the vacuum chamber 21 draws a circle around the axis AX is the same as in the first embodiment. A bottle chamber unit 22 and a heating element chamber unit 23 are provided in each vacuum chamber 21, and a bottle group in which a plurality of bottles 2 are arranged in a row is accommodated in the bottle chamber unit 22 as a film forming apparatus 1A of FIG. Although common, the row direction of the bottle group in the bottle chamber portion 22 is set to coincide with the radial direction of the path CP of the vacuum chamber 21. Even in this case, the plurality of bottles 2 are aligned with each other in the moving direction of the vacuum chamber 21. The configurations of the bottle chamber 22 and the heating element chamber 23 are the same as in the first embodiment (see FIG. 10). A shutter 25 that opens and closes the vacuum chamber 21 for loading and unloading the bottle 2 is provided on one end side (end on the bottle chamber 22 side) in the direction of the axis AX of each vacuum chamber 21. As a result, by opening and closing the shutter portion 25 at one end side in the direction of the axis AX, the group of bottles 2 arranged in a row can be put in and out of the vacuum chamber 21 collectively.

  Also in the film forming apparatus 1B, a pair of rotary joints 16 are provided on the rotary shaft 15, and the bottle chamber 22, the heating element chamber 23, and the vacuum pumps 81 and 82 are connected via the rotary joints 16 thereof. Be done. The connection form between the chamber parts 22 and 23 and the vacuum pumps 81 and 82 may be the same as in FIG. Further, the carry-in position Pin and the carry-out position Pout in the route CP are adjacent to each other at an angle of 30 °, and the setting of the positions P1 to P4 to be processing boundaries is the same as that in FIG. Therefore, the processing in each vacuum chamber 21 is the same as in FIG. Further, as is apparent from FIGS. 8 and 9, the bottle conveyors 71 and 72 for carrying in and carrying out the bottles 2 from the previous process and the subsequent process are located at the carry-in position Pin above the vacuum chamber 21. And it arrange | positions in parallel with the row direction of the bottle 2 in the delivery position Pout. Although the illustration of the loading unit and the unloading unit is omitted in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, their configuration may be the same as that of the first embodiment. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the loading unit 4 takes a row of bottles 2 from the bottle conveyor 71, and pivots the row of bottles 2 around the pivot shaft 74a so that the shutter portion of the bottle chamber 22 A pivoting transfer unit 74 can be provided to be opposite to 25.

  Also in the film forming apparatus 1B of this embodiment, the plurality of vacuum chambers 21 are moved to the loading position one after another, the plurality of bottles 2 are accommodated in each vacuum chamber 21, and the bottles 2 of each vacuum chamber 21 are sequentially formed. It is possible to take out the bottles 2 which have been subjected to film processing and film formation completed one after another from the delivery position Pout. Therefore, as in the film forming apparatus 1A of the first embodiment, a simple batch-type film forming apparatus or a simple continuous film forming apparatus in which one bottle is accommodated in each vacuum chamber for film formation In comparison, the film forming process of the large number of bottles 2 can be efficiently performed. Since a plurality of bottles 2 are accommodated in one vacuum chamber 21, the number of vacuum chambers 21 can be reduced as compared with the case where one bottle 2 is accommodated in the vacuum chamber 21.

  Moreover, in the film-forming apparatus 1B of this form, the row direction of the bottle 2 is set to the radial direction of path | route CP. Therefore, with regard to the direction (height direction) of the axis line AX of the rotating shaft 15, it is sufficient to secure the same space as in the case where the single vacuum chamber 21 is provided. Therefore, even when the space in the height direction is limited, there is an advantage that the film forming apparatus 1B can be installed relatively easily.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible. For example, in the film forming apparatus 1A of the first embodiment, the rotary shaft 15 may be installed such that the axis AX thereof is directed in the vertical direction, while in the film forming apparatus 1B of the second embodiment, the rotary shaft 15 is The axis AX may be set to be directed in the horizontal direction. The number of vacuum chambers 21 to be provided in one film forming apparatus may be changed as appropriate, and the number of bottles 2 accommodated in one vacuum chamber 21 may also be changed as appropriate. Not limited to the example in which the inside of the vacuum chamber 21 is divided into the bottle chamber portion 22 and the heating element chamber portion 23, the chamber may be configured to have a single processing chamber. In the above embodiment, since the number of rows of bottle groups stored in each vacuum chamber 21 is set in one row, the space between the bottle conveyors 71 and 72 as a transfer line for transferring the bottles 2 in a row and each vacuum chamber 21 The loading and unloading of the bottles 2 can be carried out easily and efficiently by the installation of the loading unit 4 and the unloading unit 5 for holding and transferring the group of bottles 2 in a row. However, in the present invention, it is sufficient that at least one row of articles aligned in the chamber movement direction can be accommodated in each chamber, and two rows or more of the bottles are accommodated in the same vacuum chamber 21. Good.

  In the above embodiment, the rotary joint portion 16 serves as a bearing for the rotary shaft 15. However, by separately providing a bearing portion for the rotary shaft, the rotary joint portion can be a flow path between the fixed portion and the rotary portion. It may be provided only for the purpose of securing the The annular grooves 42, 43, 44 of the rotary joint 16 may be provided on the fixed plate 35 instead of or in addition to the rotary plate 36. Not limited to the example in which the three annular grooves 42, 43, 44 are provided, the number of annular grooves may be appropriately changed according to the number of flow channels to be secured.

  In the above embodiment, although the plurality of annular grooves are provided concentrically in the radial direction, it is also possible to arrange the plurality of annular grooves along the axial direction of the rotation axis. One example is shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. In the rotary joint portion 100 shown in these drawings, a rotary cylinder 101 as a rotary part attached to the rotary shaft 15 integrally rotatably and a housing 102 as a fixed part fitted to the outer periphery of the rotary cylinder 101 so as to be relatively rotatable. And are provided. The housing 102 is fixed to a fixed portion such as the base 10 of FIG. 1 or FIG. Three annular grooves 103, 104, 105 are formed on the inner periphery of the housing 102, and ports 106, 107, 108 are formed through the housing 102 in the radial direction to open into the respective annular grooves 103, 104, 105. Ru. On the other hand, in the rotary cylinder 101, three types of ports 111, 112 and 113 are formed at appropriate intervals in the circumferential direction. One end of each of the ports 111, 112, 113 opens at the axial end of the rotary cylinder 101, and the other end opens at the outer periphery of the rotary cylinder 101 at a position facing the annular grooves 103, 104, 105, respectively. Although the number of ports 111, 112, 113 may be appropriate, three ports 111, 112 and one port 113 may be used in accordance with the rotary joint portion 16 of FIG. 4 and FIG. Further, seal rings 115 as seal members for sealing between the housing 102 and the rotary cylinder 101 are provided between the annular grooves 103, 104, 105 on the inner periphery of the housing 102 and at both ends of the housing 102. The insides of the annular grooves 103, 104, 105 are airtightly sealed from the outside by the seal rings 115.

  Also in the rotary joint portion 100 described above, a flow path from the port 111 of the rotary cylinder 101 to the port 106 via the annular groove 103 of the housing 102 and a port from the port 112 of the rotary cylinder 101 to the annular groove 104 of the housing 102 A total of three systems of flow paths are provided: a flow path leading to 107 and a flow path leading from the port 113 of the rotary cylinder 101 to the port 108 via the annular groove 105 of the housing 102. Therefore, if the pair of rotary joints 100 is disposed on the rotary shaft 15, the bottle chamber 22 and the heating element chamber 23 are connected to the vacuum pumps 81 and 82, as with the rotary joints 16 in FIGS. can do.

  In the above embodiment, all the circulation paths of the chamber are set to be circular, but the movement path of the chamber is not limited to circular, but may be set to a shape other than circular such as oval or oval. For example, there may be provided a plurality of carriers moving along an elliptical or oblong path, with the chambers attached to those carriers, each chamber having at least one row of articles aligned in the direction of movement. It should be accommodated.

  In the above embodiment, the apparatus for forming the barrier film on the inner surface of the PET bottle 2 as an article by using the Cat-CVD method has been described as an example, but the processing apparatus according to the present invention is a method other than the Cat-CVD method. It may be an apparatus for forming a film by using. The processing content is not limited to film formation, and the present invention may be applied to, for example, an apparatus that performs plasma processing for the purpose of sterilizing a container. The processing apparatus of the present invention is applicable not only to the example of adjusting the inside of the chamber to a vacuum state, but also to the case of adjusting to a temperature environment suitable for processing, a gas atmosphere or the like. For example, in the above embodiment, the vacuum pumps 81 and 82 are provided as means for adjusting the inside of the chamber to an environment suitable for processing, and the pressure inside the chamber is reduced to a pressure range suitable for film formation processing. A pump (compressor) for feeding compressed air can be connected to the chamber to pressurize the inside of the chamber to a pressure range suitable for processing. In addition, the present invention is applicable to various devices that store articles in a chamber and set the inside of the chamber to an environment different from the outside to perform predetermined processing on the articles. The articles to be treated are not limited to PET bottles, and various articles as well as various containers may be set as subjects to be treated in the treatment apparatus of the present invention.

  The connection between the pump and the chamber via the rotary joint is not limited to a processing apparatus in which a plurality of articles to be processed are accommodated in at least one row aligned in the moving direction of the chamber. The present invention is applicable as long as it is moved so as to circulate around the axis of, and at least one article to be treated is accommodated in each chamber. That is, focusing on the connection form via the rotary joint, the invention of the following aspect can be derived.

[1] A plurality of chambers (21) for containing an article (2) to be treated and holding the article in an environment suitable for predetermined treatment, and the plurality of chambers are circumferentially arrayed and attached A rotating body (14), a support (10) rotatably supporting the rotating body around an axis (AX), and a driving means (18) for driving the rotating body around the axis; And c) a chamber transport means (3) for moving each chamber so as to circulate along a circular path (CP) around said axis by rotating a rotating body around said axis. (1A; 1B) a fixed part (35; 102) mounted on the support side, and a rotary part mounted on the rotary body side and combined rotatably around the axis with respect to the fixed part (36; 101), a rotary joint (16; 100) in which a plurality of flow paths are provided between the fixed part and the rotary part, and an environment suitable for the treatment of the inside of each of the plurality of chambers. A plurality of devices (81A, 81B, 81C, 81D) as means for adjusting to each of the plurality of systems, each device and at least two chambers being connected through each of the plurality of systems of Chambers connected to the path are connected to different devices, and valve means (83) is provided between the rotary joint and the plurality of chambers for selectively switching the chamber to which the operation of each device should be applied. Processing equipment
[2] A carry-in position (Pin) and a carry-out position (Pout) of the article are set on the path, and a partial section (P1 to P2) from the carry-in position to the carry-out position of the path The valve control means (84) for switching and controlling the valve means so that the operation of the device acts on each chamber, and the channels having identical timings when passing through the partial sections are flow paths of the same system The apparatus for treating an article according to 1 above, wherein the apparatus is connected to the same apparatus via
[3] The apparatus for processing an article according to the above 1 or 2, wherein a pump is provided as the apparatus.
[4] Between the fixed part and the rotating part, a plurality of annular grooves (42, 43, 44; 103, 104, 105) coaxial with the axis line and the inside of the annular grooves are sealed from the outside A sealing member (56; 115) is provided, and each of the fixed part and the rotating part is provided with a plurality of ports (48, 49, 50, 45) alternatively communicating with the respective annular grooves. , 46, 47; 106, 107, 108, 111, 112, 113), thereby providing a single channel between the fixed part port and the rotating part port leading to the same annular groove. The processing apparatus of the article according to any one of the above 1 to 3, wherein
[5] The apparatus for processing an article according to the above 4, wherein the plurality of annular grooves are provided to align in the radial direction of the rotating body or in the direction of the axis.

  In each of the above aspects, a plurality of devices (as an example, a pump) as means for adjusting the inside of each chamber to an environment suitable for processing, and a plurality of fluid flow paths for connecting each chamber are provided. It can be provided between the support side and the rotating body side via the flow path of the system. Moreover, by selectively switching the operation of each device by the valve means and acting on the chambers, the internal environment of each of the plurality of chambers can be adjusted with a smaller number of devices than the number of chambers. As a result, various devices as means for adjusting the environment inside the chamber are disposed on the support side with respect to the rotating body, that is, on the fixed part of the processing apparatus, and the means and each chamber are connected via multiple channels. It can be connected. If such a rotary joint portion is not provided, it is necessary to adopt a configuration in which the device is disposed on the rotating body side and rotates integrally with the chamber, but when such a configuration is employed, the processing apparatus The structure on the rotating body side is complicated, and the weight on the rotating body side is increased, which causes a problem that the load on the driving means is increased. On the other hand, by providing the rotary joint portion of the above aspect, such disadvantages can be solved and the processing apparatus can be miniaturized.

  Also, according to the second aspect, each device can be selectively connected to a single chamber to cause the operation of the device to act on the chamber. Since there is no need to simultaneously operate the respective devices in a plurality of chambers, specifications such as the volume of the devices can be set to a single chamber. According to the third aspect, the inside of each chamber can be adjusted to a pressure range suitable for processing. However, in the modes 1 and 2, the device is not limited to the pump, and a device such as a fluid device other than the pump (for example, a gas supply source) may be appropriately adopted. Further, according to the fourth aspect, the port on the fixed component side leading to the same annular groove and the port on the rotating component side are connected to each other via the annular groove regardless of the rotation of the rotating component. Moreover, the inside of the annular groove is sealed to the outside of the annular groove by the seal member. Therefore, the number of channels of the system according to the number of annular grooves can be provided in the rotary joint portion. Furthermore, according to the fifth aspect, by arranging the annular grooves in the radial direction or the axial direction and arranging the seal members on both sides of each annular groove, it is possible to secure a plurality of flow paths.

1A, 1B deposition apparatus (processing apparatus)
2 bottle (article to be processed)
3 chamber transfer unit (chamber transfer means)
4 Loading Unit 5 Loading Unit 10 Base (Support)
14 Rotor (Rotor)
16 rotary joint 18 electric motor (drive means)
21 vacuum chamber 22 bottle chamber part 23 heating element chamber part 24 heating element 25 shutter part 26 moving mechanism 35 fixed plate (fixed part)
36 Rotating plate (rotary parts)
42, 44, 44 Annular groove 45, 46, 47 Port of rotating plate 48, 49, 50 Port of fixed plate 56 Seal ring (seal member)
90 Rotor (Rotor)
100 Rotary Joint 101 Rotary Cylinder (Rotary Parts)
102 Housing (Fixing parts)
103, 104, 105 Annular groove 106, 107, 108 Housing port 111, 112, 113 Rotating cylinder port 115 Seal ring (seal member)
81A, 81B, 81C, 81D vacuum pump 82 vacuum pump 83 on-off valve (valve means)
84 Control unit (valve control means)
AX Axis related to rotation of the vacuum chamber CP Path where the vacuum chamber circulates Pin Loading position Pout Loading position

Claims (5)

A plurality of chambers for containing articles to be treated and holding the articles in an environment suitable for the given treatment;
Chamber transfer means for moving each of the plurality of chambers so as to circulate in a line along a predetermined path including the carry-in position and the carry-out position of the article;
A plurality of pumps as means for adjusting the interior of each of the plurality of chambers to an environment suitable for the processing ;
Each of the plurality of chambers is provided to be able to receive at least one row of a group of articles in which a plurality of articles are aligned in the moving direction of the chambers .
The chamber transfer means is provided such that the path draws a circle around a predetermined axis,
The chamber transport means includes a support, a rotating body rotatably supported around the axis by the support, and driving means for driving the rotating body around the axis, Each of the chambers is mounted on the rotor in an array around the axis,
A rotary joint portion including a fixed part and a rotary part combined rotatably around the axis, wherein a plurality of flow paths are provided between the fixed part and the rotary part is the support and the rotary part. Provided between the body and
The fixed component of the rotary joint portion is mounted on the support side, and the rotary component is mounted on the rotary body side,
Between the fixed part and the rotating part, there are provided a plurality of annular grooves coaxial with the axis and running around the axis, and a seal member for sealing the inside of the annular grooves from the outside,
Each of the fixed part and the rotating part is provided with a plurality of ports alternatively leading to each of the plurality of annular grooves, whereby the port on the fixed part side leading to the same annular groove and the rotation One channel is formed between the port on the part side and
The port on the rotating component side in the flow path of the one system is connected to at least two chambers, and the port on the rotating component side in each of the flow paths of the plurality of systems is connected to the plurality of chambers And
The fixed component side port in each of the flow paths of the plurality of systems is configured such that the flow paths of the one system are connected to the same pump and the pumps connected are different from each other among the flow paths of the plurality of systems. And the plurality of pumps are connected,
An article provided with valve means for selectively switching the chamber on which the operation of each pump should be operated, between the port on the rotary component side and the plurality of chambers in each of the flow paths of the plurality of systems Processing unit. Processing device article of claim 1 in which the column direction of the article group is set in the direction of the axis in each of the previous SL plurality of chambers. Processing device article of claim 1 in which the column direction of the article group is set in a radial direction of said path in each of the previous SL plurality of chambers. It further comprises valve control means for switching and controlling the valve means so that the operation of the pump acts on each chamber in a partial section from the loading position to the unloading position of the path.
The processing apparatus of an article according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein chambers in which times of passage through the partial sections do not overlap are connected to the same pump via flow paths of the same system. The apparatus for processing an article according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the apparatus is configured as a film forming apparatus for forming a film by using a chemical vapor deposition method as the predetermined process on an article in the chamber.