Coating apparatus – Gas or vapor deposition
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-26
2001-12-11
Mills, Gregory (Department: 1763)
Coating apparatus
Gas or vapor deposition
C118S733000, C118S7230ER, C156S345420, C427S491000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06328805
ABSTRACT:
The invention involves the area of equipment for processing a container using a low-pressure plasma in which the plasma is created by excitation of a gas using electromagnetic waves.
Equipment of this type is described, for example, in patent application WO99/49991 from the same applicant, to which reference can be made for any clarification regarding the processes that can be used with the device according to the invention. In the equipment described in the document mentioned above, it is provided that each container is held in a processing station having a sealed cavity and an external enclosure. The station is provided with an upper mobile cover which makes it possible to open the cavity in order to insert a container to be processed into it. In the closed position, the cover closes this cavity in a sealed manner in order to obtain the low pressure necessary for creating a plasma called cold plasma in the cavity. Advantageously, the cover of the device has means for supporting the container in such a way that the introduction and removal of the container would be assured by movement of the cover between its opening and closing positions.
The device described in the document WO99/49991 is a device in which the goal of processing with low-pressure plasma is to deposit a material on the container walls. For this, it is necessary to bring into the processing cavity a precursor gas which is ionized to plasma form. Advantageously, the said document thus provides that the means of injecting the precursor gas has an injector mounted on the cavity cover.
In addition, in order to achieve the low pressure necessary to establish a plasma, the cavity must be connected to pumping means for a circuit called a vacuum circuit. Here again the document mentioned above provides that the end of this vacuum circuit is placed on the cover to open directly into the cavity.
However, this document does not describe in a specific manner the means that make it possible to connect the cover to the vacuum circuit.
Thus the goal of the invention is to propose a specific design of the vacuum circuit which makes perfectly reliable functioning possible of the machine that incorporates this device.
With this goal, the invention proposes a device for processing of the type described above characterized in that the cover has a connecting tube which, when the cover is in its sealed, closed position on the cavity, causes a communication of the cavity with one fixed end of the vacuum circuit.
According to other characteristics of the invention:
the connecting tube has a joining end, which works together with the fixed end of the vacuum circuit, and two ends which open into the inside of the cover which delimits the cavity when the cover is in the closed position, and support means are provided that place, in a sealed manner, an opening of the container to be processed against the said inside face of the cover. The opening completely surrounds a first of the said ends in such a way that the container delimits, in the cavity, a first part connected to the vacuum circuit by the first end and the second part connected to the vacuum circuit by the second of the said ends;
one of the two ends has a controlled shutter in order to be able to separate the two parts of the cavity in a sealed manner when the cover is in the closed position;
the shutter is a controlled valve;
the first end of the connecting tube permits passage of an injector to bring a reagent gas to the inside of the container; and
the connecting tube has a recovery opening for air, which opens out into the open air and which is equipped with a sealing flap in order to be able to connect the cavity to the outside atmosphere at the end of processing.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5677010 (1997-10-01), Esser et al.
patent: 5798139 (1998-08-01), Negashima et al.
patent: 5849366 (1998-12-01), Plester et al.
patent: 6037562 (2000-03-01), Awakowicz et al.
patent: 6112695 (2000-09-01), Felts
patent: 3632748 A1 (1988-04-01), None
patent: 43 16 349 C2 (1994-11-01), None
patent: 198 02 333 A1 (1999-07-01), None
patent: WO 95/22413 (1995-08-01), None
patent: WO 97/44503 (1997-11-01), None
patent: WO 99/17334 (1999-04-01), None
patent: 2 776 540 (1999-10-01), None
patent: 2776540-A1 (1999-10-01), None
Abstract for Patent No. DE 198 02 333 A1.
Abstract for Patent No. DE 43 16 349 C2.
Abstract for Patent No. DE 3632748 A1.
Hassanzadeh P.
Mills Gregory
Sidel
Sughrue & Mion, PLLC
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