Patent ID: 7879149

Claim:
A vacuum processing apparatus comprising: a floor panel; a fixing block connected to the floor panel; a vacuum chamber provided on the floor panel; a pair of vacuum pumps provided on the floor panel, said vacuum pumps being fixed to the floor panel near bottom portions thereof; a pipe connecting the vacuum chamber to each of the vacuum pumps for evacuating the vacuum chamber; a flexible pipe included in a part of the pipe; an inlet pipe included in a part of the pipe for connecting the flexible pipe to each of the corresponding vacuum pumps; and a mechanism that includes a bar fixed to each of a rising portion of the inlet pipes and a chain block fixed to a central part of the bar and the fixing block, said mechanism being connected via a first connection to the fixing block, at one end thereof, and being connected via a second connection to top parts of each of the vacuum pumps, at an opposite end thereof, wherein said mechanism is configured and arranged to maintain a distance between the inlet pipe and the fixing block in an extending direction of the flexible pipe so as not to shrink the flexible pipe, in the extending direction, at a time of evacuation, wherein: each of the vacuum pumps are provided in parallel with each other with a gap therebetween, and the mechanism is provided between the vacuum pumps.