Patent ID: 6932354

Claim:
A valve seal assembly for use in vacuum chambers of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, said valve assembly comprising: a) a door having a groove for receiving a seal ring, said groove formed on a sealing surface near a periphery of said door, and wherein a first portion of said groove is formed of a base, an outer sidewall and outer lip in said door; b) a securing means for holding a seal ring within said groove on said door, said securing means having an outer sidewall and lip which forms a second portion of said groove, said securing means complementarily shaped and sized to contact said door between said groove and fastening means; c) disengageable fastening means for reversibly attaching said securing means to said door, said fastening means having a second seal between said fastening means and said door; and d) a deformable seal ring shaped and sized to complementarily fit within said groove, said seal ring comprising a first thin portion for complementarily engaging said first portion of said groove and a second thin portion for complementarily engaging said second portion of said groove, and said seal ring having a thick parabolic-shaped cross-section portion located between said first and second thin portions and sized to extend above both said door lip and said securing means lip for sealing engagement with a mating flange.