Patent ID: 7025863

Claim:
A vacuum system for the treatment of work pieces comprising in combination: a. an evacuatable treatment chamber having a bottom wall and having a central axis substantially perpendicular to said bottom wall, said treatment chamber also having at least one lateral wall; b. a low voltage arc discharge arrangement disposed within said treatment chamber substantially along the central axis thereof; c. a receiving device extending through the bottom wall of said treatment chamber about the central axis of said treatment chamber, the receiving device having opposing upper and lower ends, the upper end of said receiving device being disposed within said treatment chamber; d. a work piece support on which work pieces are mounted, said work piece support resting upon, and being separably linked to the upper end of said receiving device for allowing the work piece support, and the work pieces mounted thereto, to be lifted vertically relative to the receiving device, said work piece support having a cross section; and e. said treatment chamber having a laterally-extending closeable opening, said closeable opening having a cross section that is greater than the cross section of said work piece support so that said work piece support, and the work pieces mounted thereto, can be removed from said treatment chamber through said closeable opening by raising said work piece support off of the upper end of said receiving device.