Gas Enclosure Assembly and System

Abstract

The present teachings relate to various embodiments of an hermetically-sealed gas enclosure assembly and system that can be readily transportable and assemblable and provide for maintaining a minimum inert gas volume and maximal access to various devices and apparatuses enclosed therein. Various embodiments of an hermetically-sealed gas enclosure assembly and system of the present teachings can have a gas enclosure assembly constructed in a fashion that minimizes the internal volume of a gas enclosure assembly, and at the same time optimizes the working space to accommodate a variety of footprints of various OLED printing systems. Various embodiments of a gas enclosure assembly so constructed additionally provide ready access to the interior of a gas enclosure assembly from the exterior during processing and readily access to the interior for maintenance, while minimizing downtime.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 - 3 . (canceled) 
     
     
         4 . A gas enclosure assembly and system comprising:
 a gas enclosure assembly comprising a plurality of frame member assemblies, wherein the frame member assemblies are sealably joined to define an interior,   a gas circulation and filtration system disposed within the interior to circulate an inert gas within the interior, and remove particulate matter therefrom;   a gas purification system configured to purify the inert gas contained in the interior;   a ductwork assembly disposed within the interior, wherein the ductwork assembly is in flow communication with the gas circulation and filtration system and in flow communication with the gas purification system; and   a bundle operably connected to an apparatus housed within the gas enclosure assembly, said bundle comprising at least one of a cable, an electrical wire, a fluid-containing tubing, and a combination thereof, wherein the bundle is disposed substantially within the ductwork.   
     
     
         5 . The gas enclosure assembly and system of  claim 4 , wherein a plurality of reactive species occluded in a dead volume in the bundle are purged from the dead volume by the inert gas drawn through the ductwork. 
     
     
         6 . The gas enclosure assembly and system of  claim 5 , wherein the reactive species purged from the dead volume are purified by the gas purification system. 
     
     
         7 . The gas enclosure assembly and system of  claim 4 , wherein the gas circulation and filtration system is configured to provide a substantially laminar flow of gas through the interior. 
     
     
         8 . The gas enclosure assembly and system of  claim 4 , wherein the inert gas is selected from nitrogen, any of the noble gases and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         9 . The gas enclosure assembly and system of  claim 4 , wherein the gas purification system can maintain each of a reactive species in the interior to 100 ppm or less. 
     
     
         10 . The gas enclosure assembly and system of  claim 4 , wherein the bundle is operably connected to an industrial printing system housed in the interior of the gas enclosure assembly. 
     
     
         11 . The gas enclosure assembly and system of  claim 10 , wherein the gas enclosure assembly is contoured around the printing system to minimize the volume of the gas assembly enclosure. 
     
     
         12 . The gas enclosure assembly and system of  claim 10 , wherein the volume of a gas enclosure assembly is between about 6 m 3  to about 95 m 3 . 
     
     
         13 . The gas enclosure assembly and system of  claim 10 , wherein the printing system is configured to process a substrate for OLED device manufacture. 
     
     
         14 . The gas enclosure assembly and system of  claim 13 , wherein the substrate is a size of about a Generation 5-sized substrate to about a Generation 10-sized substrate. 
     
     
         15 . An industrial printing system comprising:
 a gas enclosure comprising a plurality of frame member assemblies, wherein the frame member assemblies are sealably joined to define an interior,   an industrial printing system housed within the interior of the gas enclosure;   a gas circulation and filtration system configured to circulate inert gas through the printing system, and remove particulate matter therefrom;   a gas purification system configured to purify the inert gas, wherein the gas purification system is in flow communication with the gas circulation and filtration system;   a ductwork assembly comprising a plurality of ducts, wherein the ductwork assembly is in flow communication with the gas circulation and filtration system; and   a bundle operably connected to the printing system; said bundle comprising at least one of a cable, an electrical wire, a fluid-containing tubing, and a combination thereof, wherein the bundle is routed within at least one of the plurality of ducts.   
     
     
         16 . The gas enclosure assembly and system of  claim 15 , wherein the inert gas is selected from nitrogen, any of the noble gases and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         17 . The gas enclosure assembly and system of  claim 15 , wherein a plurality of reactive species occluded in a dead volume in the bundle is purged from the dead volume by the inert gas drawn through the ductwork. 
     
     
         18 . The gas enclosure assembly and system of  claim 17 , wherein the reactive species purged from the dead volume are purified by the gas purification system. 
     
     
         19 . The industrial printing system to  claim 15 , wherein the gas purification system can maintain each of a reactive species in the interior to 100 ppm or less. 
     
     
         20 . The gas enclosure assembly and system of  claim 15 , wherein the gas enclosure assembly is contoured around the printing system to minimize the volume of the gas assembly enclosure. 
     
     
         21 . The gas enclosure assembly and system of  claim 15 , wherein the volume of a gas enclosure assembly can be between about 6 m 3  to about 95 m 3 . 
     
     
         22 . The gas enclosure assembly and system of  claim 15 , wherein the printing system is configured to process a substrate for OLED device manufacture. 
     
     
         23 . The gas enclosure assembly and system of  claim 22 , wherein the substrate is a size of about a Generation 5-sized substrate to about a Generation 10-sized substrate.