Patent ID: 7806383

Claim:
A valve assembly for a process chamber, comprising: a housing having an opening disposed in a wall thereof and through which a substrate may be transferred; a door movably coupled to the housing in a plane substantially parallel to the wall of the housing for selectively sealing the opening; a compressible sealing member disposed at least partly between an upper surface of the door and a corresponding surface of the housing for forming a seal therebetween by compression of the compressible sealing member in a direction substantially perpendicular to the wall when the door is in a closed position; and a mechanism for restricting the exposure of the compressible sealing member to an environment on a process chamber side of the housing, wherein the mechanism comprises a manifold formed in the housing proximate to the sealing surface and a plurality of gas holes formed in the housing and extending from the manifold to an outer surface of the housing for allowing a pressurize gas delivered to the manifold to impinge upon the compressible sealing member when the door is in a closed position.