Gate valve for a vacuum chamber and vacuum chamber

1. A gate valve for sealing at least one opening in a substantially plane front of a frame structure, comprising at least one carrier extending in a longitudinal direction at a distance from the front and a sealing plate for sealing the at least one opening fixed to the said at least one carrier, the carrier being movable forward and backward parallel to the longitudinal direction over a switching interval and the at least one sealing plate being movable between an active position where the carrier is in contact with a part of the front surrounding the opening, thereby sealing the opening, and an inactive position where it is at a distance from the said front, leaving the opening uncovered, and further comprising mechanical guide means with at least two parallel links offset in the longitudinal direction, each link being connected to the carrier pivotably about an axis extending in a lateral direction which is parallel to the front and perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and connectable to the frame structure pivotably about an axis extending in a lateral direction which is parallel to the front and perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, for the links to guide the at least one carrier such that forward motion causes it to at the same time approach the front, the at least one sealing plate assuming its active position, whereas backward motion causes it to move away from the front, the at least one sealing plate assuming its inactive position.

2. The gate valve of claim 1 , where in the inactive position the orthogonal projection of the at least one sealing plate onto the front does not overlap with the at least one opening.

3. The gate valve of claim 1 , where the guide means control the motion of the at least one carrier in such a way that the at least one sealing plate approaches the active position in a direction essentially perpendicular to the front.

4. The gate valve of claim 1 , where the at least one sealing plate is connected to the at least one carrier in such a way that the at least one sealing plate is displaceable away from the front against an elastic force.

5. The gate valve of claim 4 , where the range of displacement of the sealing plate is limited with the limit being adjustable.

6. The gate valve of claim 1 , further comprising at least one actuating member extending in the longitudinal direction and movable parallel to the same forward and backward by an actuating means, the at least one actuating member being connected to at least one carrier in such a way that forward and backward motion of the actuating member causes motion of the carrier in the same direction in each case while allowing relative motion of the carrier with respect to the actuating member in a direction perpendicular to the front.

7. The gate valve of claim 6 , where the connection between the at least one actuating member and the at least one carrier comprises at least two parallel levers offset in the longitudinal direction, each lever being connected to the actuating member and to the carrier pivotably about axes parallel to the front and perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.

8. The gate valve of claim 6 , where the at least one actuating member is in the shape of an actuating rod parallel to the longitudinal direction and the actuating means is a linear drive.

9. The gate valve of claim 1 , comprising a plurality of sealing plates arranged in a row extending in the longitudinal direction, the individual sealing plates each being bar-shaped and extending in a lateral direction parallel to the front and perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, the sealing plates being suitable for closing openings arranged in a row extending in the longitudinal direction where each opening forms a slot extending in the lateral direction.

10. The gate valve of claim 1 , comprising at least two carriers offset in a lateral direction parallel to the front and perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, with opposite end portions of the at least one sealing plate being each fixed to one of the carriers.

11. A vacuum chamber comprising a frame structure with a substantially plane front which surrounds at least one opening and further comprising at least one gate valve for sealing the at least one opening, the gate valve comprising at least one carrier extending in a longitudinal direction at a distance from the front and a sealing plate for sealing the at least one opening fixed to the said at least one carrier, the at least one carrier being movable forward and backward parallel to the longitudinal direction over a switching interval and the at least one sealing plate being movable between an active position where the carrier is in contact with a part of the front surrounding the opening, thereby sealing the opening, and an inactive position where it is at a distance from the said front, leaving the opening uncovered, and further comprising mechanical guide means with at least two parallel links offset in the longitudinal direction, each link being connected to the frame structure and to the carrier pivotably about an axis extending in each case in a lateral direction which is parallel to the front and perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, for the links to guide the at least one carrier such that forward motion causes it to at the same time approach the front, the at least one sealing plate assuming its active position, whereas backward motion causes it to move away from the front, the at least one sealing plate assuming its inactive position.

12. The vacuum chamber of claim 11 , where the at least one opening is surrounded by an elastic sealing means mounted on the front which is compressed by the sealing plate when the latter is in its active position.

13. The vacuum chamber of claim 11 , comprising at least one stack of compartments where each compartment is accessible through one of the openings.

14. The gate valve of claim 8 , wherein the linear drive is a pneumatic drive comprising a piston to which the actuating rod is connected.