VACUUM SEAL ARRANGEMENT

Abstract: Each of a pair of non-circular, apertured flange members (11a, 11b) is formed by machining in a surface (19) thereof an outer groove (26), an inner groove (21), and an outward slanted surface (24) interconnecting the two grooves (21, 26) such as to provide a sharp corner (22) on the inner edge (23) of the inner groove (21). A spacer member (31), apertured to receive bolts (14) which draw the flange members (11a, 11b) together is positioned in the outer grooves (26) of the flange members (11a, 11b). A soft metal (e.g. copper) gasket (12) overlies the inner grooves (21) and sharp corners (22). When the bolts (14) are tightened, the gasket (12) deforms outwardly under the pressure of the sharp corners (22) to seal against both slanted surfaces (24) to form an ultra-high vacuum seal which is "bakeable".

Description: This invention relates to a vacuum seal arrangement, and particularly to a vacuum seal arrangement comprising a pair of flange members secured together with a seal formed therebetween, as disclosed in US-A-3208758. Machining the parts for an arrangement as disclosed in US-A-3208758 for round flange members is relatively easy; however, it has heretobefore not been economically feasible to machine such parts for noncircular flange members. According to this invention there is provided a vacuum seal arrangement characterised by a pair of opposed non-circular flange members having facing surfaces, each facing surface having an inner edge and an outer edge and being formed with an inner groove having an outer edge, an outer groove having an outer shoulder, and a slanted surface extending from the bottom of said outer groove to the top of said outer edge of said inner groove to form there a sharp corner; a deformable gasket of substantially rectangular cross-section between said flange members and extending outward and inward of said sharp corners thereon; a spacer member discrete from said flange members and from said gasket in said otuer groove and abutting said outer shoulder and having a thickness to hold said facing surfaces spaced apart, said spacer member confining deformation of said gasket when said flange members are drawn together to cause said gasket to seal against said sharp corners and said slanted surfaces. Preferably the gasket is of soft metal. The arrangement of this invention may be fabricated using ordinary machine tools (e.g. a milling machine) and ordinary tooling therefor (e.g. end mills). The use of a spacer member which confines the gasket in its deformation so that the flow of the gasket when compressed is directed to form a very tight seal so that the arrangement may be subjected to ultra-high vacuum. Preferably the spacer member is removable from the arrangement. Ordinarily when the spacer member is removed the gasket remains with the spacer member. Alternatively, the spacer member may be permanently secured to one of the flange members as by tack welding. Preferably the shape of the members of the arrangement is such that when the arrangement is subjected to vacuum, no pockets of air exist. Hence, there will be no difficulty in evacuating a device in which the arrangement is incorporated. Although the members of the arrangement may be of different materials, and hence expand and contract at different rates during the "baking" which conventionally is used in the evacuation of devices in which the arrangement is installed, such differential expansion is readily accommodated. In some instances it is desirable to seal the flange members together only temporarily. The use of an expensive soft metal gasket for such purpose is unnecessarily expensive. In such, circumstances the gasket can be an elastomeric gasket confined on its inner edge by a support member which limits inward deformation of the elastomeric gasket. This invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the drawings, in which:- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a rectangular flange member used in an arrangement according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary exploded sectional view of the members forming an arrangement according to the invention prior to assembly; Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the arrangement assembled; Fig. 2, 5 and 6 are schematic fragmentary sectional views illustrating steps in a method of manufacture of the flange member of Fig. 1; and Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 3 of an arrangement using an elastomeric (temporary) gasket. The assembly of the invention comprises a top rectangula r flange member 11a and a bottom flange member 11b which is substantially a duplicate of member 11a. The flange members 11a and 11b are preferably of a hard metal such as stainless steel. Partially interposed between the flange members 11a and 11b is a sealing gasket 12 of a soft metal such as copper, which is deformable under compression to effect an ultra high vacuum seal required in certain installations. The flange members 11a and 11b are formed with bolt holes 13 to receive bolts 14, the flange members being drawn together by tightening nuts 15 on the bolts 14. Each flange member 11a or 11b has an inner edge 16 and an outer edge 17, which edges are usually smooth. The outer surface 18 of each flange members is flat while the inner facing surface 19 is machined. An inner groove 21 is formed in surface 19, extending outward from inner edge 16. Outward of groove 21 is a sharp corner 22 formed at the intersection of side 23 of groove 21 (which is preferably perpendicular to the bottom of groove 21) and slanted outer surface 24. Outward of side 24 is outer groove 26. The angle between the bottom of the groove 26 and the surface 24 is preferably about 20 degrees. Groove 26 terminates in an outer vertical shoulder 27. The edge 28 of surface 19 is parallel to the base of groove 26 and is elevated slightly above corner 22, as clearly shown in Figure 2. As best shown in Fig. 1, the corners 29 of the flange members are rounded, the grooves 21 and 26 and the sloping side 24 being curved at the corners 29. The arrangement includes a spacer 31 which substantially fills groove 26 and extends above the level of raised edge 28. Spacer member 31 is also thicker than the gasket 12. The inside dimension of spacer member 31 is preferably larger than the outside dimension of gasket 12 by a small fraction, such as approximately 5mm, in the initial, unstressed, condition of the arrangement shown in Fig. 2. Spacer member 31 is formed with holes 32 aligned with the holes 13. The members shown in Fig. 2 are assembled by first installing the spacer member 31 in groove 26 of lower flange member 11b and then installing the sealing gasket 12 inside the spacer member 31. The upper flange member 11a is then positioned above the spacer member 31 and gasket 12, and bolts 14 are inserted through the holes 13 and 32. To form the seal, nuts 15 on bolts 14 are tightened causing the sharp corners 22 to dig into the soft metal of the sealing gasket 12. The gasket 12 deforms outwardly under compression, and the inner edge of the spacer member 31 confines outward deformation of the gasket 12 causing it to seal tightly against the surfaces 24. It will be seen from Fig. 3 that the spacer member 31 limits how far the flange members 11a and 11b can be drawn together and hence prevents overstressing of the gasket 12. As has previously been mentioned, there is no known economical way in which the cross-sectional shape of the flange member shown in US-A-3208758 can be fabricated except when the member is circular and can be made on a lathe or the like. Flange members for an arrangement according to the invention as described above can be made with conventional machine tools and tooling, as is illustrated schematically in Figs. 4 to 6. Thus, a rectangular cross-section blank for for flange member 11b initially has smooth surfaces 18 and 19 and smooth inner and outer edges 16 and 17. The first fabrication step is illustrated in Fig. 4. A milling cutter 36 having a squared-off bottom end in the mill edge is used to cut the groove 26 spaced an appropriate distance inward from edge 17. If the width of groove 26 is greater than the diameter of cutter 36, several passes of the cutter 36 may be performed. The next step in the fabrication is shown in Fig. 5. A milling tool 37 which has a bottom edge complementary to the slanted surface 24 (e.g., at an angle of, say, 20 degrees) is used immediately inside the inner edge of groove 26, thus forming the slanted surface 24. The third step in the fabrication is shown in Fig. 6. A milling cutter 38 similar to the cutter 36 is used to form the groove 21 with its inner side 23. Several passes of the cutter 38 may be used if the groove 21 is wider than the diameter of the cutter 38. Thereupon th holes 13 are bored. Fig. 7 illustrates an arrangmenet which is particularly useful where one or more tests of the tightness of the arrangement when subjected to vacuum are required and it is undesirable to spoil a relatively expensive soft metal gasket 12. The same reference numerals as used in Figs. 1 to 6 are used in Fig. 7 to designate corresponding members, all followed by the subscript a. For such purposes, an elastomeric gasket ring 41 is used fitting about a rectangular cross-section support member 42 which is of a thickness equal to the thickness of spacer member 31a. Flange members 11c and 11d resemble flange members 11a and 11b in the arrangement of Figs. 1 to 3. After the members have been assembled, the nuts 15a are drawn tight causing the sharp corners 22a to dig into the gasket 41 and deform the same. The inner edge of the spacer member 31a and the outer edge of the support member 42 confine the deformation of the gasket 41 so that a tight seal is effected in the same manner as in the arrangement of Figs. 1 to 3. Since the gasket 41 is relatively inexpensive, it can be used once or several times and then discarded. However, for permanent installation it is desirable to use a soft metal gasket such as the gasket 12 of Figs. 2 and 3.

Claims: 1. A vacuum seal arrangement characterised by a pair of opposed non-circular flange members (11a, 11b) having facing surfaces (19), each facing surface having an inner edge (16) and an outer edge (17) and being formed with an inner groove (21) having an outer edge (23), an outer groove (26) having an outer shoulder (27), and a slanted surface (24) extending from the bottom of said outer groove (26) to the top of said outer edge (23) of said inner groove (21) to form there a sharp corner (22); a deformable gasket (12, 41) of substantially rectangular cross-section between said flange members (11a, 11b) and extending outward and inward of said sharp corners (22) thereon; a spacer member (31) discrete from said flange members (11a, 11b) and from said gasket (12, 41) in said outer groove (26) and abutting said outer shoulder (27) and having a thickness to hold said facing surfaces (19) spaced apart, said spacer member (31) confining deformation of said gasket (12, 41) when said flange members (11a, 11b) are drawn together to cause said gasket (12, 41) to seal against said sharp corners (22) and said slanted surfaces (24). 2. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 1, characterised in that said spacer member (31) and said flange members (11a, 11b) are formed with aligned holes (27, 13) which receive fastening means (14, 15) operative to draw said flange members (11a, 11b) toward each other. 3. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, characterised in that the gasket (12) is a soft metal gasket (12). 4. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, characterised in that the gasket (41) is of elastomeric material and is fitted about a support member (42) having a thickness equal to that of the spacer member (31). 5. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim, characterised in that said spacer member (31) is removable from said outer grooves (26). 6. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim, characterised in that the flange members (11a, 11b) have been produced by milling operations. 7. A method of manufacturing a flange member for use in an arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim, characterised by the sequential steps of providing a blank with a flat facing surface; milling said facing surface to form said outer groove (26); milling said slanted surface (24); and milling said inner groove (21) to simultaneously form said sharp corner (22). 8. A method as claimed in Claim 7, characterised by the step of forming bolt holes (13) through the bottom of said outer groove (26).

Inventors: FARIA, CARL F., SNOUSE, THOMAS W.
Applicants: THERMIONICS LABORATORY, INC.
Application year: 1986
Main classification: F16J15
IPC codes: F16J15, F16L23