Patent ID: 7083161

Claim:
A gate valve assembly for providing vacuum isolation between a first treatment system and a second treatment system comprising: an actuator rotatably coupled to at least one of said first treatment system and said second treatment system; an actuator assembly comprising an actuator arm slidably coupled to said actuator, said actuator arm having a distal end; a vacuum feed-through coupled to said actuator assembly and at least one of said first treatment system and said second treatment system, and configured to preserve vacuum with said first treatment system and said second treatment system; and an isolation gate coupled to said distal end of said actuator arm having a gate hinge coupled to at least one of said first treatment system and said second treatment system, and configured to rotate about said gate hinge, wherein a translation of said actuator arm by said actuator causes said isolation gate to rotate about said gate hinge, to close a transfer slot between said first treatment system and said second treatment system, or open said transfer slot between said first treatment system and said second treatment system, and wherein either the first treatment system or the second treatment system includes a wall wherein the transfer slot is located, the transfer slot being configured to be sealed closed upon the compression of a sealing device which thereby provides a vacuum seal between the first treatment system and the second treatment system.