Vacuum valve system for a regulated operation of a vacuum process

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11204107-B2
Application number	US-201716339271-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 2, 2017
Priority date	Nov 3, 2016
Publication date	Dec 21, 2021
Grant date	Dec 21, 2021

Abstract

A valve system having a vacuum valve and a regulating unit is disclosed. The vacuum valve has a valve seat including a valve opening, a first seal surface, and a valve closure for closing the valve opening using a second seal surface. A drive unit coupled to the valve closure is designed to be adjusted to provide respective valve opening states. The regulating unit adjusts the valve opening state by actuating the drive unit based on a currently determined regulating variable and a target variable. The regulating unit has a checking function configured such that a series of states of the valve closure are detected as park of the regulating process, and the states are stored as current regulating data. The current regulating data is compared with specified target regulating data and process information is generated based on the comparison of the current and the target regulating data.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A valve system comprising a vacuum valve for regulating a volume or mass flow and for the gas-tight closure of a process volume and of a regulating unit, the vacuum valve comprising:
a valve seat having a valve opening defining an opening axis and a first sealing surface surrounding the valve opening,
a valve closure for substantially gas-tight closing of the valve opening with a second sealing surface corresponding to the first sealing surface, and
a drive unit coupled to the valve closure and configured such that the valve closure can be varied and adjusted in a defined manner for providing respective valve opening states which depend on respective states of the valve closure, and is adjustable from an open position (O), in which the valve closure at least partially releases the valve opening, to a closed position, in which the first sealing surface is pressed against the second sealing surface and closes the valve opening substantially gas-tight, and back again, forming the vacuum valve, and
wherein the regulating unit is designed to carry out a regulating process which provides a specific variation or setting of the valve opening state by actuating the drive unit based on a currently determined regulating variable for a process parameter and a target variable, as a result of which the regulating variable can be approximated to the target variable,
wherein the regulating unit has a checking functionality for monitoring the regulating process, which checking functionality is configured such that when the checking functionality is carried out a series of states of the valve closure is detected over at least a time segment of the regulating process in the course of the execution of the regulating process and this series is stored as current regulating data, the current regulating data are compared with determined target regulating data, and process information is generated based on the comparison of the current control data with the target regulating data, and
wherein the regulating unit has a learning functionality for generating the target regulating data, wherein the learning functionality is configured such that, when carried out, respective target states of the valve closure are detected over at least one time segment each of a respective regulating cycle for performing a number of regulating cycles corresponding to a target operation for the regulating process, and the detected target states of the valve closure are stored with reference to respective time segments of the regulating cycle as the target regulating data.

2. The valve system according to claim 1 , wherein the process parameter is embodied by pressure information for the process volume, the target variable is a target pressure for a specific operation of the process volume, and the currently determined regulating variable represents a current pressure in the process volume.

3. The valve system according to claim 1 , wherein the target variable is a target pressure for a specific operation of the process volume, and the currently determined regulating variable indicates a current media inflow into the process volume, wherein the currently determined regulating variable is embodied by a current pressure inlet variable.

4. The valve system according to claim 1 , wherein the process information is generated by the comparison of the current regulating data with the determined target regulating data in such a way that the process information has information relating to process integrity for the regulating process, wherein an undesirable process state can be identified on the basis of the process information, the undesirable process state being an undesirable mass inflow during the regulating process, wherein an existence of a leak in the process volume can be identified.

5. The valve system according to claim 1 , wherein the current regulating data and/or the target regulating data represent the current course or a target course of the regulating process, and/or are recorded in the form of a respective regulating curve.

6. The valve system according to claim 1 , wherein the process information comprises an output signal and the output signal is generated acoustically or visually, and/or has quality information indicating a quality for the regulating process and a user output, error information or an alarm signal, can be generated on the basis of this quality information.

7. The valve system according to claim 1 , wherein with the currently determined regulating variable an outlet information is stored or is currently determined, wherein the outlet information indicates which mass or which volume of a medium flows out of the process volume per unit of time and as a function of the state of the valve closure.

8. The valve system according to claim 1 , wherein the checking functionality is configured in such a way that, depending on the process information, the regulating process is automatically adapted by selectively changing the currently determined regulating variable or the target variable, by setting an offset.

9. The valve system according to claim 1 , wherein the state of the valve closure indicates a position of the valve closure effected by the drive unit relative to the valve seat, and/or indicates a current opening cross-section of the valve opening as a function of the valve closing position.

10. The valve system according to claim 1 , wherein the vacuum valve and the regulating unit are of integrated design.

11. The valve system according to claim 1 , the regulating unit is formed structurally separate from the vacuum valve and is in communication connection with the vacuum valve, wherein a wireless radio connection or a wired connection is provided.

12. The valve system according to claim 1 , the regulating unit is connected to a pressure sensor and an output signal of the pressure sensor provides the currently determined regulating variable, and/or to a mass flow meter or a mass flow control unit and an output signal of the mass flow meter or the mass flow control unit provides the currently determined regulating variable.

13. The valve system according to claim 1 , further comprising a computer program product which is stored on a machine-readable medium, in a memory unit of the valve system, wherein the computer program product comprises program code for carrying out or controlling at least a regulating process, configured to record the series of states of the valve closure, to compare the current regulating data with the target regulating data, and to generate the process information, and wherein the program code is executed in an electronic data processing unit of the valve system.

14. A method for checking a regulated operation of a vacuum valve, wherein the vacuum valve is designed to regulate a volume or mass flow and to close a process volume in a gas-tight manner and comprises:
a valve seat having a valve opening defining an opening axis and a first sealing surface surrounding the valve opening,
a valve closure for substantially gas-tight sealing the valve opening with a second sealing surface corresponding to the first sealing surface, and
a drive unit coupled to the valve closure and configured such that the valve closure can be varied and adjusted in a defined manner for providing respective valve opening states which depend on respective states of the valve closure, and is adjustable from an open position (O), in which the valve closure at least partially opens the valve opening, to a closed position, in which the first sealing surface is pressed against the second sealing surface and closes the valve opening substantially gas-tight,

Assignees

• Vat Holding Ag

Inventors

• Böhm Christoph
• Seitz Daniel

Classifications

• F16K51/02 Primary

  specially adapted for high-vacuum installations · CPC title

• F16K37/0083 Primary

  by measuring valve parameters · CPC title

• F16K3/18

  by movement of the closure members · CPC title

• F16K31/535

  for rotating valves (F16K31/54 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F16K3/0218

  with only one sealing face · CPC title