| 摘要 |
A dual pendulum valve assembly (100) including a housing (112) having an interior space (14) and first and second openings (22, 24) through which fluid can enter and exit the interior space; valve seats disposed in the interior space around the edges of the openings; and first and second pendulum valves (16, 116) for opening and closing, respectively, the first and second openings. Each pendulum valve is independently movable and includes a valve body (26, 126) mounted relative to the housing so that the valve body is movable between a completely opened position wherein fluid is allowed to pass through its respective opening and a completely closed position wherein the valve body seals the opening so that fluid can not pass therethrough. Each pendulum valve also includes a shaft fixedly (28, 128) coupled to the valve body through at least one pivot arm (30, 130) and at least partially mounted within the housing so that the valve body can rotate about a longitudinal axis (32) of the shaft between a first angular position where the first valve body is in the completely opened position and a second angular position where the valve body is substantially axially aligned with its respective opening, and move substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the shaft, so that the valve body can move between the second angular position and the completely closed position as the pendulum valve continues to rotate. The present disclosure also provides a method of precisely controlling vacuum pressure within a process chamber of a semi-conductor wafer fabricator. |
