Self aligning vacuum seal assembly
US5773841A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 13, 1995 |
| Grant date | Jun 30, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 13, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC C)Chemistry; Metallurgy
- CPC primaryC23C16/52
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A system and a method provide a vacuum seal to be used when mounting an optical device onto a process chamber or a pump line removing exhaust gas from a process chamber. The system of the present invention includes: (a) a threaded nipple, having an internal mating surface and a threaded external surface, that is attached to the process chamber or to the pump line; (b) an internally threaded coupling, provided for accommodating the optical device, that is screwed onto the threaded external surface of the nipple, and having internally a first mating surface touching the internal mating surface of the nipple and a second mating surface; (c) a window placed on the second mating surface of the coupling; (d) means for creating a vacuum seal, e.g. an elastomer O-ring, between the first mating surface of the coupling and the mating surface of the nipple; and (e) means for creating a vacuum seal, e.g. an elastomer O-ring, between the second mating surface of the coupling and the mating surface of the window. In one embodiment, an externally threaded retaining ring located adjacent to the window is screwed into the coupling until the second mating surface of the coupling and the mating surfa…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.