Inflatable door seal
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A semiconductor article processor, comprising:
- a chamber for processing semiconductor articles;
a door for sealing the chamber, the door having an annular seal groove structure formed by;
first and second spaced apart annular groove walls extending radially outwardly from an inner groove wall, and with first and second shoulders on the first and second annular groove walls, respectively;
an annular seal support extending radially outwardly from the inner groove wall, between the first and second annular groove walls; and
an inflatable annular seal on the door, the annular seal having first and second arms joined to a seal face section, with the annular seal support extending radially outwardly between the first and second arms, thereby inhibiting the seal from moving out of the annular seal groove structure when the annular seal is inflated.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A semiconductor article processor sprays processing chemicals on a semiconductor article or wafer within a chamber. A door with an inflatable resilient seal, seals the chamber closed during processing. A seal support on the door extends radially outwardly into the inflatable seal, to better hold the seal onto the door. Inflation pressures can be increased, and the accumulation of chemical residues around the inflatable seal are decreased. Consequently, the effectiveness and reliability of the inflatable seal is improved.
27 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A semiconductor article processor, comprising:
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a chamber for processing semiconductor articles;
a door for sealing the chamber, the door having an annular seal groove structure formed by;
first and second spaced apart annular groove walls extending radially outwardly from an inner groove wall, and with first and second shoulders on the first and second annular groove walls, respectively;
an annular seal support extending radially outwardly from the inner groove wall, between the first and second annular groove walls; and
an inflatable annular seal on the door, the annular seal having first and second arms joined to a seal face section, with the annular seal support extending radially outwardly between the first and second arms, thereby inhibiting the seal from moving out of the annular seal groove structure when the annular seal is inflated. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13)
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12. A semiconductor article processor, comprising:
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a chamber for processing semiconductor articles;
a door for sealing the chamber, the door having an annular seal groove structure formed by first and second spaced apart annular groove walls extending radially outwardly from an inner groove wall, and with first and second shoulders on the first and second annular groove walls, respectively, and an annular seal support extending radially outwardly from the inner groove wall, between the first and second annular groove walls, with the seal support having a straight section joined to the back wall of the annular groove structure, and a tapered section joined to the straight section, and an annular seal on the door, the annular seal having first and second arms joined to a seal face section, with the annular seal support extending radially outwardly between the first and second arms.
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14. A semiconductor article processor, comprising:
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a chamber for processing semiconductor articles;
a door for sealing the chamber the door having an annular seal groove structure formed by first and second spaced apart annular groove walls extending radially outwardly from an inner groove wall, and with first and second shoulders on the first and second annular groove walls, respectively, and an annular seal support extending radially outwardly from the inner groove wall, between the first and second annular groove walls, with the seal support having a straight section joined to the back wall of the annular groove structure, and a tapered section joined to the straight section, wherein the tapered section has first and second walls extending at an angle of 20°
-50°
to the straight section, andan annular seal on the door the annular seal having first and second arms joined to a seal face section, with the annular seal support extending radially outwardly between the first and second arms.
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Specification