Substrate container sealing via movable magnets
View Patent ↗A system of moving magnets for sealing a container may include a plurality of moveable magnets disposed near a perimeter of a container door and a rotatable linkage hub positioned within the perimeter of the container door. In addition, the system may include a plurality of control linkages connecting each of the plurality of moveable magnets to the linkage hub so that rotating the linkage hub causes the control linkages to move the moveable magnets between a sealed position and an open position. Alternatively, the moveable magnets may be connected to each other by a magnet positioning mechanism to physically move the magnets along a path near the perimeter. A plurality of static magnets may be disposed near an opening sized to receive the container door and positioned to form a magnetic seal with the moveable magnets when the moveable magnets are positioned at the sealed position.
1. system for sealing a container, comprising:
a plurality of moveable magnets disposed near a perimeter of a container door, at least one of the movable magnets having a mounting portion and an end portion disposed facing the container in both a sealed position and an open position;
a linkage hub positioned within the perimeter of the container door; and
a plurality of control linkages connecting each of the plurality of moveable magnets to the linkage hub so that operating the linkage hub causes the control linkages to move the moveable magnets, where the at least one moveable magnet is movably mounted to the container door at the mounting portion and the end portion of the at least one moveable magnet is moveable in a movement direction substantially parallel to a direction of insertion of the container door into the container between the sealed position and the open position so that a gap in the movement direction between the end portion, of the at least one movable magnet, facing the container in both the sealed position and the open position changes when the magnet is moved.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein operating the linkage hub comprises rotating the linkage hub.
3. The system of claim 2 , wherein rotating the linkage hub clockwise causes the moveable magnets to move to the sealed position.
4. The system of claim 2 , wherein rotating the linkage hub counter-clockwise causes the moveable magnets to move to the open position.
5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the system for sealing a container is sealed within the container door.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the linkage hub is magnetically attractive.
7. The system of claim 6 , further including a magnet for positioning over the linkage hub and for operating the linkage hub via magnetic attraction of the magnet to the hub.
8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the moveable magnets are disposed to provide an evenly distributed sealing force when the moveable magnets are positioned in the sealed position.
9. The system of claim 1 , further including at least one return spring positioned to return the moveable magnets to the sealed position.
10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the return spring acts on at least one of the plurality of magnets.
11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the return spring acts on the linkage hub.
12. A system comprising:
a plurality of moveable magnets disposed near a perimeter of a container door, at least one of the movable magnets having a mounting portion and an end portion disposed facing a container in both a sealing position and an open position;
a magnet positioning mechanism connecting to each of the moveable magnets to control movement of the moveable magnets in relation to the sealing position;
the container with an opening shaped to receive the door thereby closing the opening, where the at least one of the moveable magnet is movably mounted to the container door at the mounting portion and the end portion of the at least one moveable magnet is movable in a movement direction substantially parallel to a direction of insertion of the container door into the container so that a gap in the movement direction between the end portion, of the at least one movable magnet, facing the container in both the sealing position and open position changes when the magnet is moved; and
a plurality of magnetically attractive elements disposed near the opening and positioned to form a magnetic seal with the moveable magnets when the moveable magnets are positioned at the sealing position.
13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the magnet positioning mechanism includes a linkage hub connected to the plurality of moveable magnets with linkages.
14. The system of claim 12 , wherein the magnet positioning mechanism includes a rotating hub for moving the moveable magnets to the sealed position in response to a clockwise rotation of the rotating hub.
15. The system of claim 12 , wherein the magnet positioning mechanism includes a rotating hub for moving the moveable magnets from the sealed position in response to a counter-clockwise rotation of the rotating hub.
16. The system of claim 12 , wherein the system sealing a container is sealed within the container door.
17. The system of claim 12 , wherein the moveable magnets are disposed to provide an evenly distributed sealing force when the moveable magnets are positioned in the sealed position.
18. The system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of moveable magnets are pivotally disposed near the perimeter of the container door so that the end portion extends towards a perimeter of the door.