Appeal 2007-0494
Application 10/447,446
INTRODUCTION
Appellants invented a vacuum valve assembly for use in devices for
processing semiconductors (Specification 1). Appellants’ vacuum valve
assembly has a purge gas outlet that supplies a protective purge gas to a seal
in the valve to protect the seal from the gases present in a semiconductor
processing device (Specification 1, 3). The purge gas outlet may be formed
in the valve seat (Figure 8) or the valve gate (Figure 1).
Claims 1-3, 9, and 12 are reproduced below:
1. A vacuum valve assembly for use in a vacuum processing chamber
comprising:
a vacuum processing chamber vacuum valve;
a seat defining an opening in said vacuum valve, said seat having a
sealing face adjacent said opening and normal to the direction of
said opening;
a gate having a sealing face adapted to mate with the seat sealing face,
said gate being movable toward and away from the seat sealing
face to seal and open the vacuum valve opening;
a continuous elastomeric seal around the vacuum valve opening
between the gate sealing face and the seat sealing face of
sufficient size such that when the gate is positioned to seal the
vacuum valve opening, there exists a gap between the gate sealing
face and the seat sealing face;
a purge gas port system having an inlet for a purge gas, inner and
outer walls outward of the vacuum valve opening forming an
essentially continuous outlet extending around the outside of the
vacuum valve opening and adjacent the elastomeric seal and gap,
and a manifold system connecting the inlet and the outlet, such
that when the gate is positioned to seal the vacuum valve opening
and a purge gas is introduced through the inlet, the manifold
distributes the gas to the outlet which evenly distributes the gas to
2
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Last modified: September 9, 2013