Kitz Sct Corporation

Benkan Corporation

Yoshitomo Fukushima

Kazuhisa Sato

Hideaki Higuchi

Block body for integrated valve unit

An integrated gas control device has an elongated base having a pair of ribs longitudinally extending on the base to form a groove there-between. A plurality of passage blocks are mounted in the groove. Each of the passage blocks has a gas passage having openings opened at an upper surface at both ends of the block. A plurality of gas control equipments are mounted on adjacent passage blocks. Each of the gas control equipments is installed on the base.

Integrated gas control device

A plurality of connecting blocks are mounted on a base plate. Each block has a base body and a vertical cylindrical portion formed on the base body, and has a vertical hole. The base body has a horizontal hole opened at both sides thereof and communicated with the vertical hole in the cylindrical portion. A plurality of intermediate blocks, each having a fixed portion and a pair of horizontal cylindrical inserting portions formed on both sides of the fixed portion are mounted on the base plate. The intermediate block has a horizontal gas passage having a pair of openings opened at upper surfaces on both sides of the fixed portion. The horizontal hole of each of the connecting blocks is engaged with the corresponding inserting portion of the intermediate block. A cylindrical connecting member having an inlet gas passage and an outlet gas passage is secured in the vertical hole of each connecting block. The outlet gas passage of the inlet side connecting member is communicated with the inlet gas passage of the outlet side connecting member. A gas control unit is secured to the connecting member.

The present invention relates to an integrated gas control device in a high purity gas supply system for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus in which a gas control line is made compact and gas control units are easily mounted or removed and a flow passage can be flexibly designed and a total lead time for manufacturing can be made shorter and parts can be easily replaced for changing the flow passage by using the standardized constitution parts. In the integrated gas control unit, the adjacent passage blocks are connected to each other with a metal gasket inserted therebetween such that a gas flowing-out passage communicates with the gas flowing-in passage and are mounted on a base plate along many gas supply control lines arranged in parallel. The body of the desired gas control unit such as an automatic diaphragm valve or the like which is constituted longitudinally is inserted into the mounting hole of each passage block with a gasket inserted therebetween. The gas control unit is removably connected to the passage block by screwing a connecting cylinder fitted on the body on the passage block.

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Yabuzuka Honmachi, Japan

Yoshitomo Fukushima