WO2003056219A1 - Mounting plane for conventional gas panel - Google Patents

Abstract

An assembly and method for mounting gas components on a gas panel where the components are connected with face seal connections such that the connections align, and the panel is configurable and reconfigurable. The assembly and method also allows the gas system to be configured while the mounting fixture is vertical. An embodiment of the invention preferably comprises lengthwise extrusions and mounting nuts that allow flotation in three degrees of freedom for alignment of the face seal connections. The extrusions are mounted to a back or mounting plane. Additionally there are mounting nuts, designed for lateral, forward, backward and rotation around an axis perpendicular to the mounting plane. The mounting nuts fit inside the lengthwise extrusions and when tightened fix in position, securely mounting the associated bracket and/or component. Additionally the nut is preferably harder than the extrusion, resulting in stronger anchoring. The nut is preferably flat on top to allow for flotation/rotation within the extrusion. The nut width is smaller than the width of the void in the extrusion thereby allowing for flotation/rotation within the extrusion and increasing the yield of both the extrusion and nut. The nut can be held in place with the use of standard springs.

Description

Mounting Plane for Conventional Gas Panel

Background of the Invention

[0001] This application claims the priority benefit of U.S. provisional application

Serial No. 60/341,543, filed December 17, 2001.

[0002] The invention relates to the field of gas delivery systems, and more specifically to the mechanism of attachment and reconfiguration of a plurality of gas sticks that provide gas routing for a gas panel, for example, to manufacture semiconductor wafers. It may find application in related environments and applications that encounter the same problems.

[0003] Gas panels are used to control the flow of gases and gas mixtures in many manufacturing processes and machinery. A typical gas panel, such as gas panel 100, shown in FIG 1, is made up of literally hundreds of discrete components, such as valves 101, filters 102, flow regulators 106, pressure regulators 103, and pressure transducers 104, and are connected together with high purity connectors 105. These high purity connectors are metal face seal connections (for instance NCR® connections made by Swagelok Corporation) and require components to be aligned in all axes. Gas panels are designed to provide desired functions, such as mixing and purging, by uniquely configuring the various discrete components.

[0004] A problem presented by current gas panel design is that most are uniquely designed and configured to meet specific requirements. There is no commonly accepted standard designed gas panel. It currently takes weeks to months to design a gas panel, fabricate all subassemblies, and then assemble the final product. Uniquely designing or configuring each new gas panel takes time and costs money. Additionally, the lack of a standard design makes it difficult for facilities personnel to maintain, repair, and retrofit all of the differently designed gas panels that may exist in a single facility. The unique designs require an intensive engineering effort, which results in a high cost to the customer for customized gas panels. Customized gas panels also make spare parts inventory management cumbersome and expensive. Mounting the components associated with a gas panel presents unique problems. It is possible to mount the components by individually drilling and tapping mounting holes into a planar base fixture and then by bracketing the components. Such a customized mounting plate anchors the brackets and associated components to allow three degrees of freedom and sufficient machined tolerance to insure component alignment. However, customized drilling is both expensive and time consuming. Furthermore, reconfiguration of an existing gas panel is difficult if the reconfigured gas panel and the existing gas panel design have a different mounting hole footprint.

[0005] A breadboard-like mounting plate with pre-drilled and tapped mounting holes located at periodic locations on the mounting plate is also possible. While the breadboard-like mounting plate eliminates the wasted time and money devoted to a customized mounting plate, it still limits the total number of possible configurations on a mounting plate. Since components are not capable ofbeing anchored to any of a continuous range of positions, their positions are limited to the relatively few discrete locations that are determined by the placement of the pre-drilled holes. Furthermore, a breadboard-like mounting plate forces the dimensions of the components to conform to the dimensions of the periodic spacing of the pre drilled holes. This results in wasted space and possibly incompatible future product offerings.

[0006] Additionally it is highly desirable to have a mounting technology that allows for the reconfiguration of gas panel even if the gas panel is fixed in a vertical position (for example on a wall). Such a capability would not even require that the gas panel be physically moved in order to be reconfigured.

[0007] Thus, known arrangements do not provide a versatile mounting technology for a gas panel that: i) is easy to manufacture; ii) allows for rapid configuration or reconfiguration of a gas panel; iii) maximizes the available positions where components maybe mounted; iv) allows for a minimum of three degrees of freedom and accurate mounting in all other degrees of movement; v) allows for reconfiguration even if the mounting fixture remains fixed in a vertical position. Further details of prior art arrangements are described in U.S. Patent No. 6,231,260.

Summary of Invention

[0008] The present invention is a mechanism or assembly for mounting gas components on a gas panel that are connected with face seal connections such that the connections align, and the panel is configurable and reconfigurable.

[0009] This mechanism maximizes the positions where components may be placed, allows for easy and rapid configuration, and also allows the gas system to be configured while the mounting fixture is vertical.

[0010] An embodiment of the invention preferably comprises lengthwise extrusions and mounting nuts that allow flotation in three degrees of freedom for alignment of the face seal connections. The extrusions are mounted to a back plane. Additionally there are mounting nuts, designed for lateral, forward, backward and rotation around an axis perpendicular to the mounting plane. The mounting nuts fit inside the lengthwise extrusions and when tightened fix in position, securely mounting the associated bracket and/or component. Additionally the nut is preferably harder than the extrusion, resulting in stronger anchoring. The nut is preferably flat on top to allow for flotation/rotation within the extrusion. The nut width is smaller than the width of the void in the extrusion thereby allowing for flotation/rotation within the extrusion and increasing the yield of both the extrusion and nut. The nut can be held in place with the use of standard springs.

[0011] The present invention allows a set of components to be connected together to form a gas panel having a variety of different functions and capabilities. [0012] Another advantage of the invention is the ability to configure and reconfigure a gas panel, even if the panel is oriented in a vertical position.

[0013] Still another advantage of the invention resides in the reduced cost and time to assemble a gas panel.

[0014] Yet another advantage of the invention is found in the ease of manufacture.

[0015] A further advantage of the invention is provided by the multiple degrees of freedom of movement of each component during assembly.

[0016] Still other benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading and understanding of the following detailed description of the invention.

Brief Description of Drawings

[0017] The invention may take form in various components and arrangements of components. The drawings are only for purposes of illustrating preferred embodiments and are not to be construed as limiting the invention.

[0018] FIGURE 1 is an illustration of a standard gas panel with brackets mounted on the mounting plane directly.

[0019] FIGURE 2 is an illustration of a gas panel utilizing a novel mounting plane system.

[0020] FIGURES 3A and 3B are plan and end views, respectively, illustrating the extrusion and mounting nut.

[0021] FIGURE 3C is an elevational view of the extrusion, mounting nut, fluid component and mounting bracket. [0022] FIGURE 4 is an exploded isometric illustration of a single component, bracket, screws, extrusion, and nuts and how they interconnect.

[0023] FIGURES 5A and 5B are isometric and plan views of a single stick on a mounting plane.

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0024] The present invention describes a novel mechanism/assembly and process for mounting a set of components that are connected together to form a gas panel having a variety of different functions and capabilities, i the following description numerous specific details are set forth, such as particular components and mounting plane designs in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be obvious, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances well-known mechanical assembly, machining and manufacturing techniques have not been set forth in particular detail so that the present invention is not unnecessarily obscured.

[0025] The present invention generally provides a versatile mounting plane having a single or numerous tracks that guide mounting nuts. Fluid components are mounted to brackets that are in turn mounted to the mounting nuts. Not only do the mounting nuts allow for a continuous range of locations where a component may be placed on a track, they also allow for a certain amount of lateral movement and rotation relative to the axis perpendicular to the mounting plane. Additionally the brackets are mounted from the axis perpendicular to the mountmg plane so that they may be quickly and easily configured or reconfigured on a mounting plane. That is, the tracks, mounting nuts, and brackets are deliberately designed so that the brackets and nuts: i) easily glide along any track across a continuous range of positions, ii) are easily added and removed, iii) are used to quickly mount the bracket and associated component to the mounting plane. This mounting plane substantially eliminates the inefficiencies associated with traditional gas panels. Additionally a spring maybe attached to the mounting nut that prevents or resists movement of the nut against forces such as gravity or external shock that might otherwise urge the mounting nut to move along the track. The track itself is mounted and is removable from a main mounting plane so that single sticks (i.e., a collection of interconnected fluid components) may be removed if desired.

[0026] The present invention is a mounting plane system for one, or a set of flow components, which when connected together, form all of the manifold routing required for a complete gas panel. The flow components are coupled together to form a complete gas panel such as gas panel 200 shown in FIG 2. Gas panel 200 shown in FIG. 3 includes a plurality of interconnected components which are mounted to a mounting plane 202 via extrusions 203, mounting nuts 201, and mounting brackets 204. All the individual components are mounted together with face seal connections 205.

[0027] Each component and manifold 206 is ported parallel to the mounting plane such that all ports can be made coplanar with precision machined mounting brackets 204. In order to construct such a system the components must have freedom to move linearly relative to the mounting plane 202, as well as a certain amount of rotation relative to an axis perpendicular to the mounting plane 202.

[0028] FIG. 3 A and FIG. 3B show the parts involved in mounting a single component on a mounting plane. FIG 3 A shows a mounting nut 304 inside an extrusion 305. It shows a critical clearance fit such that there is freedom to move vertically (as shown in FIG. 3 A) .10" and freedom to move horizontally the length of the extrusion. The mounting nut 304 has a vertical clearance within the extrusion 305 allowing for up to 9° of rotation around the mounting hole axis.

[0029] FIG. 3B shows typical component 301 mounting. In this scenario a valve

301 is secured to a mounting bracket 302. The mounting bracket 302 is, in turn, secured to the mounting nut 304 that sandwiches the extrusion between the mounting nut 304 and mounting bracket 302. A fastener such as a M5 type screw 303 is utilized for the attachment. [0030] The flatness of the mounting plane can be held to two thousandths of an inch (.002"). The tolerance of the extrusion is plus or minus five thousandths of an inch (± .005") 305 and the bracket 302 can be machined to plus or minus three thousandths of an inch (± .003") making the maximum material run out one hundredth of an inch (.010"). This insures that any two components on a gas panel will be within one hundredth of an inch (0.010") ofbeing coplanar. This fact in combination with the linear freedom the component has parallel to this plane, and the rotation the component can have relative to an axis perpendicular to this plane, insures the components can properly align and form a leak free face seal connection.

[0031] The mounting nut is planar or flat where it engages or makes contact with the aluminum extrusion. This is critical in that the nut must be able to move laterally and rotate against the extrusion surface when not tightened.

[0032] Another facet of the design is that there is twelve hundredths of an inch

(.12") of lateral overlap on each side of the mounting nut while there is only five hundredths of an inch (.05") of lateral freedom in each direction before the mounting nut will interfere with the extrusion wall. This insures that the mounting nut cannot pull out of the extrusion. Redundantly there is only six hundredths of an inch (0.06") of lateral motion before the mounting bolt would interfere with the extrusion wall, also insuring the mounting nut cannot pull out of the extrusion even when at its most extreme lateral position.

[0033] The mounting nut is preferably harder than the extrusion so that when tightened the extrusion deforms before the mounting nut. This ensures the mounting nut will not slip relative to the extrusion while it is tight.

[0034] FIG 4 demonstrates how a component 401 is mounted to a bracket 403 with mounting fastener or screw 405. The bracket is in turn mounted to extrusion 407 with fastening means or mounting screws 402 that mount through counterbored mounting holes 404 on the bracket and in turn thread into mounting nuts 406. While the bracket mounting screws 402 are loose, the component/bracket assembly can be moved along the axis of the extrusion as well as laterally (up to one tenth of an inch (0.1")) relative to the extrusion . The component can also be rotated about the axis of the mounting bracket mounting holes 407. These three degrees of freedom allow independent components to be aligned with each other, to provide leak integrity for conventional face seal connections.

[0035] FIG 5 shows a single stick of a particular gas panel and is intended to illustrate how a plurality of components can be mounted using this invention. The invention is not limited however, to only mounting these components or components in this configuration or is the invention limited to the particular tolerance noted above. Most gas panels consist of several such sticks in several different configurations. The invention can be used to mount any combination of flow components. This illustration shows a back panel 501 which is mounted to extrusions 510 with valves 504 mounted to brackets 503. These valves are mounted such that they are in-line with subsequent or adjacent components; specifically a pressure regulator 505, a welded tee 506 to pressure gauge 507, and a filter 508 followed by two more valves. These components are mounted in line with one another, as required by the face seal connections 502. The ability of the invention to mount a plurality of components in this way and maintain alignment is unique. Additionally this system allows components to be removed, added, or reconfigured as desired without making changes to the back panel. Since there is access to all of the mounting bolts 509 from the top, in-situ reconfiguration is easy.

[0036] Thus a novel mechanism for mounting a set of flow components has been described which allows the flexible configuration of conventional flow components. The apparatus preferably includes a first element that is planar and has threaded openings or holes. A second element has through holes for mounting to said first element with a cavity widening and then narrowing along a depth axis of the cavity. A third element has a width widening along a thickness axis and the third element is generally parallel to the cavity of the second element. A fourth element is planar and includes counterbored through holes for mounting to the third element where the third element is pressed against the second cavity, and the fourth element is wider than the second element. A flow component is mounted the fourth element, and has at least one neighboring component such that said neighboring component and the flow component are in fluid communication.

[0037] In a preferred arrangement, the apparatus cavity widens and then narrows toward the opening.

[0038] The flow component is a flow component for use in a gas control system.

[0039] The third element preferably has a hardness different than the second element.

[0040] The third element preferably has a hardness greater than the second element.

[0041] The third element is preferably flat at the top.

[0042] The third element preferably has a threaded through hole.

[0043] The first element is preferably a planar structure.

[0044] The second element preferably surrounds the cavity and the third element on all sides except the opening.

[0045] The third element preferably has freedom to move laterally .10".

[0046] The third element preferably has freedom to rotate 9° relative to an axis perpendicular to the first element.

[0047] The third element is preferably formed such that it is capable of moving in the cavity along the cavity axis. [0048] The apparatus includes an anchoring element having a width widening along a thickness axis. A plate has threaded mounting holes. An extrusion has through holes to mount to the plate and a cavity with an opening exposing the cavity. The anchoring element is shaped to fit into the cavity, and shaped to move easily and continuously along a longitudinal axis of the cavity, the cavity being larger than the anchoring element. The width axis of the anchoring element is parallel to a width axis of the extrusion and the thickness axis of the anchoring element is parallel to a depth axis of the extrusion. A bracket is mounted to the extrusion , and the bracket coupled to the anchoring element such that the largest width of the anchoring element is smaller than the opening in a region where said anchoring element is pressed thereagainst. A flow component is mounted to the bracket and a neighboring flow component is mounted to a neighboring bracket such that the neighboring flow component and the flow component are in fluid communication.

[0049] The flow component is a flow component for use in a gas system.

[0050] The anchoring element material preferably has a hardness different than said extrusion.

[0051] The anchoring element material is preferably harder than the extrusion.

[0052] The extrusion preferably surrounds the cavity and the anchoring element.

[0053] The fastener attached to the anchoring element can move laterally .10" in the opening width, and the opening width axis is parallel to the width axis of the extrusion.

[0054] According to a preferred method, the steps include inserting a first element in a cavity in a second element, the second element is attached to a third element, the width of the first element widening along a first thickness axis, the width of the width of the cavity widening then narrowing along a depth axis, the width axis of the first element is parallel to the width axis of the cavity, the thickness axis of the first element is parallel to the depth axis of the cavity. The method includes the further step of mounting a bracket to the second element by coupling the bracket to the first element such that the first element moves in the direction of the depth axis of the second element while the bracket is being coupled to the first element, the cavity width iis non varying along the width axis thereof, and the width of the first element is substantially non varying along the width axis of the first element. The method further includes the steps of mounting a flow component to the bracket such that the flow component is fixed relative to the bracket and introducing fluid to the flow component.

[0055] The method further comprises placing a threaded bolt through a hole in the bracket and threading the bolt into a threaded hole within the first element.

[0056] The invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments. Obviously, modifications and alterations will occur to others upon reading and understanding the preceding detailed description. It is intended that the invention be construed as including all such modifications and alterations.

Claims

1. A method of assembling a gas panel comprising the steps of: providing a channel having an elongated opening; securing a bracket to the channel; and securing a fluid component to the bracket at a desired location along the channel.

2. The method of claim 1 comprising the further step of providing a mounting plane upon which the channel is secured.

3. The method of claim 1 comprising the further step of dimensioning a fastener that secures the bracket to the channel whereby at least three degrees of freedom are provided for adjustably securing the fluid component.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the fastener is dimensioned for movement along an axis of the elongated opening, transverse to the axis, toward and away from the bracket, and through a selected degree of rotation.

5. The method of claim 1 comprising the further step of forming a fastener of a different material than the channel.

6. The method of claim 5 comprising the further step of forming the fastener of a harder material than the channel.

7. The method of claim 1 comprising the further step of forming the fastener of a harder material than the channel.

8. A gas panel assembly comprising: a channel having an elongated opening extending along a first face; at least first and second fluid components positioned at selected locations along the channel; a fastener received in the channel and dimensioned for movement therein whereby the locations of the fluid components maybe altered to complete the gas panel.

9. The gas panel of claim 8 wherein the fastener is dimensioned for movement along at least three degrees of freedom.

10. The gas panel of claim 8 further comprising a mounting panel on which the channel is mounted.

11. The gas panel of claim 8 further comprising a bracket interposed between the fastener and the fluid component for securing the fluid component to the channel.

12. The gas panel of claim 8 further comprising face seal fittings interconnecting the fluid components in fluid communication.

13. The gas panel of claim 8 wherein the fastener is harder than the channel.

14. The gas panel of claim 13 wherein the fastener is a different material than the channel.

15. The gas panel of claim 8 wherein the fastener is formed of a harder material than the channel.

16. The gas panel of claim 8 wherein the fastener is dimensioned for selective movement relative to the channel opening including limited rotation relative thereto, movement along the channel opening, and movement transversely across the channel opening.

17. The gas panel of claim 8 wherein each fluid component is ported parallel to the mounting plane such that all ports are coplanar.

18. The gas panel of claim 8 further comprising a bracket interposed between the channel and the fluid component, the fastener securing the channel to the bracket, and a second fastener for securing the bracket to the fluid component.

19. The gas panel of claim 18 wherein each of the second fasteners is accessible from a direction perpendicular to the elongated axis of the channel.

20. The gas panel of claim 8 wherein the channel has a cavity that widens from a base and reduces in width at the channel opening to retain the fastener therein.