U.S. patent application number 11/955876 was filed with the patent office on 2008-04-17 for coating plant with a charging lock and device therefor.
Invention is credited to Stefan Bangert, Jurgen Henrich, Uwe Schussler.
Application Number | 20080086948 11/955876 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34717119 |
Filed Date | 2008-04-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080086948 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Schussler; Uwe ; et
al. |
April 17, 2008 |
COATING PLANT WITH A CHARGING LOCK AND DEVICE THEREFOR
Abstract
The present invention relates to a coating plant, especially a
vacuum coating plant, with a charging lock, especially a
rectangular vacuum lock for a coating chamber, with a lock aperture
(13) having a length of at least 1000 mm that comprises a shutter
(6) for closing and opening the lock aperture and a latch (7) to
secure the shutter, wherein there are provided means for moving the
shutter and the latch from a first open position to a second closed
position, and vice versa, these means assuring also that the
movements of the shutter (6) and the latch (7) will be coupled with
each other in such manner that the shutter (6) will be
automatically secured by the latch (7) after the shutter has been
closed and will be released again before it is opened.
Inventors: |
Schussler; Uwe;
(Aschaffenburg, DE) ; Bangert; Stefan; (Steinau,
DE) ; Henrich; Jurgen; (Limeshain, DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
PRICE HENEVELD COOPER DEWITT & LITTON, LLP
695 KENMOOR, S.E.
P O BOX 2567
GRAND RAPIDS
MI
49501
US
|
Family ID: |
34717119 |
Appl. No.: |
11/955876 |
Filed: |
December 13, 2007 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
10547718 |
Aug 31, 2005 |
|
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PCT/EP04/02542 |
Mar 11, 2004 |
|
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11955876 |
Dec 13, 2007 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
49/281 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F16K 1/205 20130101;
F16K 1/24 20130101; C23C 14/566 20130101; F16K 1/2085 20130101;
C23C 14/56 20130101; C03C 17/002 20130101; F16K 1/2007 20130101;
F16K 51/02 20130101; C03C 17/001 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
049/281 |
International
Class: |
E05F 11/02 20060101
E05F011/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 22, 2003 |
EP |
PCT/EP03/14749 |
Claims
1. A device for a lock for a coating plant comprising: a shutter
for closing a lock aperture and at least one latch to secure the
shutter; and a drive mechanism for moving both the shutter and the
latch from a first open position to a second closed position,
wherein the movements of the shutter and the latch are coupled with
each other, so that the shutter will be automatically secured by
the latch after the closing of the shutter and released before the
opening of the shutter.
2. A device in accordance with claim 1, wherein: the device
comprises a housing in which there is provided the lock aperture
and also a further aperture and in which the shutter and the latch
are accommodated.
3. A device in accordance with claim 2, wherein: the housing is
provided with a seal for gastight connection and mounting the
housing to neighboring components.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 10/547,718 filed Aug. 31, 2005 entitled COATING PLANT WITH
A CHARGING LOCK AND DEVICE THEREFOR, which was the National Stage
of International Application No. PCT/EP04/02542 entitled COATING
PLANT WITH A CHARGING LOCK AND DEVICE THEREFOR, which claimed
priority to International Application No. PCT/EP03/14749 filed Dec.
22, 2003.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to a coating plant, especially
a vacuum coating plant, preferably for the coating of substrates
with large surface areas, such as, for instance, facade glazing,
with a charging lock, especially a rectangular vacuum lock with a
lock aperture having a length of at least 1000 mm and over, as well
as an appropriate device for opening and closing the lock
aperture.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Coating plants that are operated under vacuum or near-vacuum
conditions make use of charging locks, for example, for the
transfer of the substrates into and out of the reaction chamber or
the coating chamber. For this purpose there are known rectangular
vacuum locks with rectangular lock shutters or lock disks that have
a length of 1000 to 1500 mm and a width of about 50 mm. With a view
to assuring tight and, especially, gastight closure of the lock
aperture, it is the normal practice to secure the lock shutter or
the lock disk with a latch that will maintain the shutter or the
lock disk in the closed position. Due to the size of the lock
aperture, the pressure differences between atmospheric conditions
on the one hand and vacuum conditions on the other will give rise
to substantial forces that have to be absorbed by the device for
the closure of the lock aperture while yet maintaining the gastight
closure of the lock.
[0004] At the same time, however, the transfer of the substrates
through the lock affects the cycle times for the coating in the
coating plants. It is therefore necessary for the lock apertures of
the lock to be opened and closed quickly in order to save time for
the opening and closing steps, because the evacuation or venting of
the lock and/or the coating chamber cannot be started unless and
until the appropriate apertures are closed in a tight and
especially a gastight manner.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] It is therefore an object of the present invention to make
available a coating plant and/or an appropriate device for a lock
that will render possible a quick closure and opening of the lock,
especially a vacuum lock and/or a rectangular vacuum lock of the
size in question.
[0006] Another object of the present invention is to create a
device that will have a long useful life and prove insensitive to
environmental influences, thereby assuring safe and reliable
operation of the lock. Over and above this, the device should be
simple in structure and simple to operate.
[0007] The present invention is based on the idea that the opening
and the closure of a lock can be accelerated if it becomes possible
to do without all the sensors and time-consuming control steps for
monitoring and controlling the movements of the lock shutter and/or
the lock disks, thereby avoiding the idle times that have to be
allowed for between the independent movements of the shutter and
the latch. The inventors realized that the opening and closing
process of the shutter and the associated step of securing and
releasing the shutter by means of the latch can be optimized when
the two movements are automatically coupled or combined with each
other, especially when they are both mechanically forced and
controlled in the sense of a positive movement.
[0008] Accordingly, in a preferred embodiment, the combined or
coupled movement of the shutter and the latch can be obtained in a
simple manner when the shutter performs a rotation or swivel
movement during the opening or closure of the lock. Over and above
this, the latch may perform rotation or swivel movement or a
translation or lifting (vertical) movement when the movements of
the shutter and the latch are combined and/or coupled with each
other. A rotation or swivel movement of the latch is nevertheless
also preferred.
[0009] Preferably, use may be made of a transmission gear,
especially a cam drive, preferably a swinging cam drive or a
turning-lifting gear, in order to produce the combined or coupled
movements of the shutter and the latch.
[0010] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the
transmission gear may comprise a drive shaft to connect it with a
drive or motor and two driven shafts of which the movements depend
on each other and are therefore coupled. With a view to avoiding
mutual interference between shutter and latch during their combined
movements, the movements of the shutter and the latch may be
separated by a time shift, so that during the closure phase the
shutter begins to move while the latch is as yet standing still,
and vice versa during the opening process. In this way, it is not
necessary to have recourse to any special constructive measures for
the shutter or the latch or for the movement paths of these
elements in order to avoid their interfering with each other during
their movements.
[0011] For the same reason, it is preferred to provide the shutter
with its axis of rotation on one side of the lock aperture that is
to be closed, while the latch with its axis of rotation is provided
on the opposite side of the opening.
[0012] With a view to assuring safe and reliable operation of the
device in accordance with the invention, the device may be designed
in such a manner that the means that move both the shutter and the
latch, especially the transmission, are self-restraining or
self-locking. This means that no turning moments or forces are
needed in order to maintain the device in its closed position.
Consequently, the sealing function of the lock can be maintained
even when the energy supply for the device or the drive becomes
interrupted. In particular, it is likewise advantageous when the
closure device consisting of the shutter and the latch is designed
in such a manner that the pressure load can be applied from both
sides of the aperture, so that the pressure difference between the
different sides of the aperture does not have to be used for making
a contribution to the tight closure of the lock.
[0013] According to another embodiment of the present invention,
the shutter comprises at least a flap holder and a sealing element
that fits into the sealing seating of the aperture that is to be
closed. Preferably, the sealing element will be arranged,
especially elastically pre-tensioned or supported, in such a manner
as to enable it to move with respect to the flap holder, thereby
making it possible to obtain a tight and especially a gas-tight
sealing of the opening by virtue of the sealing element of the
shutter being pressed against the sealing seating of the lock
aperture.
[0014] This can be obtained by providing a spring arrangement to
assure an elastic support (bearing) of the sealing element on the
flap holder, so that the latch in its closure position will press
the flap holder and therefore the shutter into the aperture against
the force of the spring.
[0015] It is likewise advantageous to provide means for centering
the sealing element in relation to the sealing seating of the lock
aperture, so that the sealing element will always automatically
assume its correct position in relation to the sealing seating.
[0016] According to a preferred embodiment, the sealing element is
provided with a centering part, that has a conical or tapering form
projecting from the surrounding sealing surface and extending into
the lock aperture that is to be closed by the sealing element in
its closed position.
[0017] A long useful life of the device can be obtained by
arranging the axis of rotation of the shutter in the same plane as
the sealing seating of the lock aperture and the sealing surface of
the shutter. This minimizes any relative movement of the shutter
with respect to the sealing seating and therefore also with respect
to such sealing components as O-rings, etc., that are arranged in
the sealing seating or the sealing surface of the shutter, so that
the useful life is lengthened.
[0018] A lengthening of the useful life can also be obtained by
designing the spring arrangement by means of which the sealing
element is elastically supported on the flap holder in such a
manner as to assure that the sealing element will always bear in as
parallel as possible a manner against the sealing seating that
surrounds the lock aperture. In particular, a staggered arrangement
of parallel bar springs can prevent the sealing element from
bearing against the lock aperture at an angle or becoming jammed in
it. For example, the elastic support by means of the spring element
on the side of the lock shutter that during the swivel movement
first reaches the opening may be chosen in such a manner as to
compensate and/or prevent the higher pressure load deriving from
the fact that the shutter is beginning to bear against the
opening.
[0019] A longer useful life of the device due to an interlock
between the latch and the shutter that causes only little friction
and/or wear can be obtained by either adapting the shape of the
latch to the shutter, or vice versa, or providing appropriate means
of assuring an easy interlock or contacting of latch and shutter,
roller elements or similar being a case in point.
[0020] Further advantages, characteristics and features of the
present invention will be brought out more clearly by the following
detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, said
description making reference to the attached drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021] The drawings, all of which are purely schematic, show:
[0022] FIG. 1 is a lateral view of a transmission gear of the
device in accordance with the invention;
[0023] FIG. 2 is a lateral view of the transmission gear of FIG. 1
rotated through 90.degree.;
[0024] FIG. 3 is a movement diagram for the shutter and the latch
in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention;
[0025] FIG. 4 shows a cross section through a housing in which the
shutter and the latch are arranged;
[0026] FIGS. 5 to 9 show cross sections through the embodiment in
accordance with FIG. 4 in various positions during the closure and
the opening of the lock;
[0027] FIG. 10 shows a cross section of another embodiment of a
charging lock; and
[0028] FIG. 11 shows a cross section of still another embodiment of
a charging lock.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0029] FIG. 1 shows a lateral view of a transmission gear,
especially a reciprocating or swinging cam drive, with one driving
shaft 2 and two driven shafts 3 and 4, the latter performing an
interdependent movement. While the driving shaft 2 is effectively
connected to a drive, an electric motor for example, the driven
shafts are connected for operating purposes to the shutter 6 and
the latch 7 of the lock (see FIG. 4). Accordingly, both the driving
shaft 2 and the driven shafts 3 and 4 comprise coupling means to
connect them to the drive, the shutter 6 and the latch 7, as can
best be seen, for example, in FIG. 2 for the shaft 4.
[0030] The transmission gear couples the driven shafts 3 and 4 to
each other in such a manner that both the shafts 3 and 4 will be
automatically rotated or swiveled when the driving shaft 2 is
driven by means of a drive or motor. In particular, the coupled
movement of the shafts 3 and 4 is phase-staggered, as can be seen
from the motion diagram of FIG. 3. Accordingly, the shaft 3, which
is connected to the shutter 6 (FIG. 4), is first moved from a first
open position in the direction of a second closed position, while
the latch 7 (see FIG. 4), which secures the shutter 6 in the closed
position, remains at first in the open position. Following a
predetermined movement of the shutter 6 or the shaft 3, the shaft 4
likewise begins to rotate in order to move the latch into its
closed position. Due to the phase shift between the movements of
the shaft 3 and the shaft 4 and/or the shutter 6 and the latch 7,
the shutter 6 will be the first to reach the second closed
position, thus making it possible for the latch to secure the
closed position.
[0031] The transmission gear is designed in such a manner that the
shutter 6 and the latch 7 are driven during the opening in reverse
sequence. In this case, the latch 7 begins to swivel in the
direction of the open position, while the shutter 6 remains in the
closed position for a certain period of time. When the latch 7 has
rotated to a point where the shutter 6 is released, the shutter 6
likewise begins to rotate due to the swiveling of the shaft 3.
Since mechanical structure of the reciprocating or swinging cam
drive is such as to make it always follow the same curve, the
driven shafts 3 and 4 are mechanically controlled and always
perform the same repetitive movement, so that there can be no
collision between the shutter 6 and the latch 7. In particular, the
reciprocating cam drive is also designed in such a manner that the
driving shaft 2 can only be rotated in one direction and the driven
shafts 3 and 4, in accordance with the given pattern, pass through
closure of the shutter and securing of the shutter by means of the
latch and also release of the shutter and opening of the shutter.
Due to the cam drive, however, it is also possible for the driving
shaft to be rotated to and fro, i.e., for it to be moved in
opposite directions, during opening and closure. In this case, once
again, the controlled movement of the driven shafts 3 and 4 assures
a corresponding movement of the shutter 6 and the latch 7 for the
opening and closing of the lock aperture.
[0032] As can best be seen from the cross section of FIG. 4, the
shutter 6 and the latch 7 are accommodated within a housing that
can be arranged in a gastight manner in a lock, especially a vacuum
lock or a reaction or coating chamber of a coating plant. The
housing 5 comprises opposite apertures 13 and 19, of which the
aperture 13 is the one that can be closed by means of the shutter
6. Due to the self-restraining structure of the closure mechanism
with the shutter 6 and the latch 7, which will be described in
greater detail further on, both sides of the aperture 13 may become
subject to greater pressure than the separate space lying on the
other, because the closure device is not being maintained in its
closed position by the pressure difference. Consequently, the
housing 5 with the closure device is suitable for universal use:
for example, atmospheric conditions may prevail to the left of the
aperture 13 of FIG. 4 and vacuum conditions to the right thereof,
and vice versa.
[0033] The shutter 6 comprises at least one flap holder 9 that is
attached to the driving shaft 3, as well as a sealing element 8 to
provide an airtight seal of the aperture 13 when in the closed
position. Since the lock aperture 13 is preferably rectangular in
shape, with its longitudinal axis arranged at right angles to the
plane of FIG. 4, and, given a width of 50 mm, extends over a length
of at least 1000 mm, preferably more than 1500 mm and, even more
preferably 1800 to 2000 mm, the sealing element 8 should preferably
be provided likewise as a single piece of these dimensions. It will
therefore be advantageous to provide several flap holders 9
distributed over the length of the sealing element 8.
[0034] The sealing element 8 comprises a sealing surface 15 and a
centering part 16 of conical or tapering shape that projects from
the surrounding sealing surface 15.
[0035] As can best be seen from FIG. 6, in the closed position the
centering part of the sealing element 8 extends into the lock
aperture, while the sealing surface 15 is in contact with the
sealing seating 14 that surrounds the lock aperture 13. In this
way, the sealing surface 15 of the sealing element 8 of the shutter
6 comes into contact with the O-ring 17 of the sealing seating 14
of the lock aperture 13 and thus seals the lock aperture 13 in a
gastight manner when in the closed position.
[0036] As can likewise be best seen from FIG. 4, the axis of
rotation 20 of the driving shaft 3 is provided in the plane of the
sealing seating 14 of the lock aperture 13 and the sealing surface
15 of the sealing element 18 of the shutter 6. Accordingly, when
the shutter is being closed, the sealing element is made to
approach the sealing seating 14 and/or the sealing rings 17 in such
a manner as to bring it into contact with the sealing seating 14
and/or the sealing rings 17, but without a subsequent swiveling or
rotatory movement. In particular, this arrangement assures that
when the shutter 6 and/or the sealing surface 15 makes contact with
the sealing seating 14 of the aperture 13, this will not be
followed either by jamming or by a walking movement with respect to
the sealing rings 17. Rather, there can only be a parallel contact
between the shutter 6 and/or the sealing surface 15 of the shutter
6 on both sides of the aperture 13. Consequently, loading or
stressing of the sealing ring 17 due to a movement with respect to
the sealing ring is minimized, so that the useful life of the
sealing ring is improved.
[0037] This is assured by the manner in which the sealing element 8
is arranged on the flap holder 9, which will now be described. As
is shown by the cross section of FIG. 4, the sealing element is
mounted on the flap holder 9 in a mobile manner by means of a
spring arrangement 10 consisting preferably of bar springs. The
sealing element 8 can therefore be moved in the direction of the
flap holder 9, i.e., parallel to the axis 21 of the aperture 13
when in the closed position. Consequently, the sealing element 8
can be elastically pressed against the sealing seating 14 by
applying pressure to the flap holder 9. When in the closed
position, the pressure on the flap holder 9 is applied by means of
the latch 7, as is shown particularly well by FIG. 8.
[0038] As can be seen from FIGS. 4 to 8, the spring arrangement 10
comprises two bar springs 22 that are arranged parallel to each
other and also parallel to the longitudinal direction of the lock
aperture 13, i.e., at right angles to the plane of the figure. The
ends of the bar springs 22 extend into the sealing element 8, while
locking pins 23 situated in their central region maintain them in
position and press and/or pretension them in the direction of the
aperture 13 (when in the closed position). The pre-tensioning may
however be so small that only the bar springs 22 will be maintained
in position and no other elastic stresses are brought into being.
The locking pins 23 may be secured by means of an appropriate
mounting part 24 at their end lying opposite the bar springs, where
the mounting part 24 is preferably such as to comprise the
possibility of setting the pre-tensioning of the bar springs 22. A
heat shield 25 may also be provided on the mounting part 24. A
holding screw may of course be used in place of the locking pins
and the single spring arrangement 10 could be substituted by
several spring arrangements distributed over the length of the
sealing element 8.
[0039] Preferably, the bar springs 22 are arranged so as to be
staggered sideways (not shown) and/or to be differently tensioned
by the locking pins 23, thereby assuring as parallel as possible a
contact between the between the sealing element 8 and the sealing
seating 14.
[0040] The latch 7 comprises a clamp 11 by means of which the latch
7 is attached to the driven shaft 4 of the cam drive 1. Preferably,
several latches will be provided along the driven shaft 4, which
extends parallel to the longitudinal axis of the lock aperture
13.
[0041] On one side of the clamp 11 of the latch 7 there is arranged
an engaging element 12 with a curved or ball-shaped form,
especially a partly ball-shaped form. When in the closed position,
the engaging element 12 engages with the cut-out 18 formed on the
flap holder 9 of the shutter 6, as can be seen in FIG. 8. Given the
at least partially complementary form of the cut-out 18 and the
engaging element 12, the latter can be brought in a simple manner
into its ultimate end position, in which the latch 7 secures the
shutter 6 in the closed position (see FIG. 7). The design of the
shutter 6 and, more particularly, of the cut-out 18 and the
engaging element 12 of the latch 7 may be chosen in such a manner
that, when the engaging element is engaged with the cut-out 18, the
flap holder 9 will be pressed in the direction of the aperture 13,
thus pressing the sealing element 8 with the sealing surface 15
against the elastic return force of the spring arrangement 10
against the sealing seating 14 and the sealing ring 17 of the
sealing seating 14 and assuring a tight, especially a gastight
coverage of the aperture 13.
[0042] The device is self-restraining or self-locking when in the
closed position, so that it is not necessary to apply any turning
moment to the driving shaft 2 or the driven shafts 3 and 4 of the
cam drive 1 in order to maintain the device in its closed position.
Rather, the fact that the device is secured by the latch 7 assures
that, even when the shafts are idle, the closure cannot be opened
neither from one side nor the other.
[0043] The device in accordance with the present invention that is
shown in FIGS. 4 to 9 operates as follows. From the open position,
which is shown in FIG. 4, the driving shaft 2 is first driven in
order to rotate the shutter 6 via the driven shaft 3 in the
direction of the aperture 13, as is indicated by the arrow in FIG.
5. Following a certain movement of the driven shaft 3 and/or the
shutter 6, the latch 7 likewise begins to rotate. When the shutter
6 has reached its closed final position, in which the sealing
element 8 extends into the sealing seating 14 of the lock aperture
13, the latch 7 swivels in the direction of the shutter 6, thereby
making its engaging element 12 engage with the cut-out 18 of the
shutter 6 (see FIGS. 6 and 7). When the latch 7 has attained its
final position, in which the engaging element 12 is accommodated in
the cut-out 18 of the flap holder 9, the flap holder 9 is pressed
in the direction of the aperture 13 and, consequently, the sealing
element 8 is pressed against the sealing seating 14 of the aperture
13, thus closing the aperture in a gas-tight manner.
[0044] When the lock aperture 13 is to be opened, the latch 7 must
first be rotated out of the cut-out 18 by means of the driven shaft
4 that, in its turn, is driven by the driving shaft 2, thus making
it possible for the shutter 6 to be swiveled about the axis of
rotation 20 of the driven shaft 3.
[0045] Given the coupled movement of the driven shafts 3 and 4
and/or the shutter 6 and the latch 7, it is possible to obtain very
brief opening and closure times for the lock aperture, especially
in the range from <1 sec in the case of aperture sizes of
50.times.1000 mm and over. It is therefore possible to obtain very
brief operating times for the transfer of, for example, coating
substrates through the lock, and this even when the lock aperture
and/or the sealing element have a length of at least 1000 mm or
more, preferably more than 1500 mm and especially 1800 to 2000 mm,
with a width of about 50 mm. Design in accordance with the
invention also makes it possible to step up the useful life to
cycles of more than 106. Given the mechanically controlled coupled
movement of shutter and latch, moreover, there is no need for
sensors to supervise the movements of the shutter and the
latch.
[0046] FIG. 10 shows another embodiment of a charging lock
according to the invention which is similar to that one shown in
FIG. 4. Accordingly, parts being identical are designated by the
same referenced numerals and only differences are described herein
below.
[0047] The latch 7 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 10 also
comprises a clamp 11 by means of which the latch 7 is attached to
the driven shaft 4 of the cam drive.
[0048] Instead of stationary engaging element 12 with a curved,
cylindrical or ball-shaped form, a roller 30 is provided for which
is rotatably supported on shaft 31, the axis of rotation of which
is parallel to the driven shaft 4. Accordingly, engagement of the
engaging element 12 with the cut-out 18 of the shutter 6 can be
carried out in a very smooth and gentle way.
[0049] The third embodiment of the charging lock shown in FIG. 11
differs with respect to the embodiments described before in the
design of the latch 7. Instead of the rotatable latch 7 of the
previous embodiments swiveling between an engaging position and an
open position, a relocatable or shiftable latch 70 carrying out a
translational movement between the engaging position and an open
position is provided for. Accordingly, instead of the cut out 18,
an angular face 42 is disposed at the shutter 6. The latch 70
comprises a corresponding angular face 43 being in contact with the
angular face 42 of the shutter 6 in the closed or secured
position.
[0050] In order to open the charging lock, the latch 70 carries out
a translational movement according to the arrow shown in FIG.
11.
[0051] The latch 70 is driven by the driven shaft 4 comprising a
driving ring or gear wheel 40 engaging with the contact surface or
gear rack 41.
* * * * *