Appeal 2007-0494
Application 10/447,446
12. A vacuum processing chamber comprising:
a vacuum processing chamber having a 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, said gate
including a continuous elastomeric seal on the gate sealing face
around the vacuum valve opening 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 in the seat having an inlet for a purge gas, the
seat having inner and outer walls outward of the vacuum valve
opening forming an essentially continuous outlet in the seat
sealing face extending around the outside of the vacuum valve
opening and within and adjacent the elastomeric seal, 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
the vicinity of the continuous elastomeric seal around the vacuum
valve opening in the gap between the gate sealing face and the
seat sealing face.
The Examiner relies on the following prior art references as evidence
of unpatentability:
Senba (as translated)1 JP 6-185672 July 8, 1994
Horie (as translated)1 JP 11-195649 July 21, 1999
1 Disposition of this appeal is based on the “Machine Assisted Translation”
of Senba and Horie provided by the Examiner to the Board and Appellants.
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