Patent ID: 7234679

Claim:
A gate valve including: a valve body having a transfer chamber opening and a process chamber opening formed in mutually opposing walls thereof, respectively; and a transfer chamber-side valve element and a process chamber-side valve element provided in said valve body, said transfer chamber-side valve element and process chamber-side valve element being connected to a single shaft; wherein said transfer chamber-side valve element and said process chamber-side valve element are controlled by actuation of said single shaft so that said transfer chamber-side valve element closes said transfer chamber opening, or said process chamber-side valve element closes said process chamber opening, or both said transfer chamber-side valve element and said process chamber-side valve element fully open said transfer chamber opening and said process chamber opening, respectively, to allow an object to pass there through; said gate valve comprising; a rotary latch pivotably supported on an inner surface of at least one of said process chamber-side valve element and said transfer chamber-side valve element, said rotary latch having a latch surface at a forward end thereof; wherein when a rotational force is applied to said rotary latch in one direction, said latch surface is pressed against a joint surface of said single shaft, whereby said at least one of said process chamber-side valve element and said transfer chamber-side valve element is latched to said single shaft, and when a rotational force is applied to said rotary latch in a direction opposite to said one direction, said latch surface is separated from said joint surface of said single shaft to unlatch said at least one of said process chamber-side valve element and said transfer chamber-side valve element.