DE1918081A1 - Fluid-based logic circuit element and method and apparatus for its manufacture - Google Patents

Description

Patent attorneys Dipl.-Ing. R Weickmann,

Dipl.-Ing. H. Weickmann, -Dipl.-Fhys. Dr. K. Fincke Dipl.-Ing. R A.Weickmann, Dipl.-Chem. B. Huber

8 MUNICH 27, DEN

MÖHLSTRASSE 22, CALL NUMBER 48 3921/22

i'refileries Leon Bekaert ,, Zwevegem / Belgium

Fluid-based logic circuit element and method and apparatus for its manufacture

The present invention relates to a logic switching element I-fluid based and a method and an apparatus for its manufacture.

Due to the development of technology towards greater automation through the introduction of 'i'transvermasehinen etc. Dependent on the use of controls that do not work electrically, but based on compressed air, hydraulic, etc. *

If the control circuits used also remind of electrical circuits, so it was necessary to set ICanalkonfigurations develop that not only allow the passage of fluid from one point to another, like this the jail in electrical conductors in electrical Is circuit diagrams, but rather an interaction of them

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to ensure that the fluids flowing through the system create logical functions, such as AND circles, bistable circles, etc.

The entirety of these configurations and those of these configurations connecting channels is also known as a fuidic circuit.

A switching element in which such configurations and channels are formed therefore comprises one or more Fluidic circuits that have any of these configurations and interconnect channels or not. These fluidic circuits can optionally have moving parts, such as a ball valve or several ball valves.

awake the American patent 3 024 805 it is known to design a fluidic circuit in the form of a cut-out plate. The platelet is according to the desired fluidic hold configuration cut out and between two more Inserted platelets. These two other small plates are then pressed against one another in order to avoid fluid leakage losses avoid. This two-dimensional method of implementing the channel configuration offers the advantage of complete freedom in the choice of the configuration, without being limited by the possibilities of a tool. the Forming a three-dimensional configuration, for example, only allows straight channels with a circular cross-section. However, the method described in the American patent is only with difficulty in to apply in cases where the fluidic circuit is interlocked Has channel configurations. Namely, when such configurations are cut out, one that remains within a desired configuration becomes

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Plate section also separated from the rest of the plate.

This disadvantage will be avoided if you have a two-dimensional Configuration in a manner known per se by placing two plates next to one another, one of which each touches the other along a smooth contact surface, and at least one of which has one or more configurations recessed with respect to its contact surface having"

The juxtaposition of the two plates forms the Pluidic circuits, which were previously defined by closing these configurations. Through a suitable Pressure of one plate against the other creates the tightness with smooth and well-placed contact surfaces no problem.

For the production of these platelets with recessed Various methods can be used in configurations. The platelets can, for example, in a This makes a material for the platelets with a low melting point necessary, such as synthetic resins. Deform the thus formed platelets however, during use, which ensures the safe operation of the switching elements and the tightness of the fluidic circuits be affected.

It is also known to use rigid platelets with configurations engraved in their contact surface, for example by means of an etching process to manufacture. This production requires a relatively long shelf life and very strict control.

The object of the invention is to provide a novel method

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for the production of these platelets in proposal. bring, which not only eliminates the disadvantages mentioned above, but also offers other significant advantages.

To this end, the invention proposes a method in which the recessed configuration in the contact area of the plate is produced in the embossing process, through an embossing tool made of a material which is harder than the material of the platelet and which has an embossing configuration corresponding to the channel configuration having.

Such a process is not only simple, but also offers the advantage due to the special features of the embossing technology the formation of fluidic circuits with very, smooth Channel surfaces, as a result of which the charging losses of the circuit are significantly reduced.

The method according to the invention comprises several embodiments which are designed with the aim in mind have special advantages. For example, it is possible to use mass-produced embossing materials, whereby at the same time a reproducibility ^ of the desired Fluidic circuits is guaranteed.

The starting point of the invention can also be defined as a logic switching element based on fluid with at least one fluid channel in the contact surface between two adjoining platelets. The actual invention consists in that the iliidkanal in at least one the plate is embossed.

The process of forming such a logical

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Switching element according to the invention is characterized in that that one in the contact area at least one the plate of the switching element presses in a sawing tool, which is harder than the material of the platelet and has an embossing configuration corresponding to the desired channel configuration.

The device for carrying out this method is essentially characterized in that it is an embossing tool in the form of a raised stamp with a has a configuration corresponding to the desired channel configuration. According to a particularly advantageous Design of this device, the invention provides that the embossing tool is formed by one between 'two Plate to be inserted ^ hard steel wire of the desired strength,

Further details and features of the invention result from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Put the drawings

Fig. 1 shows a three-dimensional view of a switching element according to a first embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 shows this switching element in the finished space State.

Fig. 3 and 4 show spatially a plate for a Switching element according to the invention and two different stamping tools.

FIG. 5 shows a partially sectioned switching element which is formed with an embossing tool according to FIG. 4 has been.

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Pig 6 shows a printed circuit for pluid circles, analog printed circuits for electrical circuits, and is with the help of an embossing tool made similar to that of FIG.

Pig. 7 shows how the embossing tool can be centered on the plate.

Fig. Θ shows another switching element which is formed from two small plates which are formed by means of a stamping tool according to fig. 4 have been minted

Pig. 9 shows a switching element according to the invention calibrated resistors and a calibrated filter circuit

Pig · IO shows a different version of the switching element after Pig · 8 ·

Pig. 11 shows a possible assembly of several switching elements according to the invention.

Pig * 12 shows another embodiment of a switching element according to the invention with two channel configurations.

According to the embodiment shown in Pig * 1 and 2, comprises the logic switching element based on pluid two platelets 1 and 2, which are placed on top of each other (Pig · 2) and through suitable means can be connected, e.g. by an adhesive 3 and / or by screws 4 »brackets, etc.

The plate 1 comprises two parallel and smooth upper

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surfaces, of which in particular the surface 5 as a contact surface for the surface 6 of the other plate 2 is used. In the contact surface 6 of the second plate 2 is a branched channel 7 is formed with a semicircular cross-section, the inner surface of the channel being completely smooth. After placing the two tiles 1 and 2 together (Pig. 2) the channel 7 forms a channel section with one input (or output) 8 and two outputs (. Or inputs) 9.

Pig »3 shows an embossing tool for the formation of the in ii'ig. 1 embossed channel 7 shown in the contact surface 6 of a raw platelet 2. This embossing tool comprises a die 12 made of hardened carbon steel or another material which is harder than the material of the platelet 2. The plane surface. 13 of this die carries raised an imprint profile 14 for forming the channel 7, said imprint profile 14 has the shape of a Y in the present AusfShrungsbeispiel.

To form the impression 7 according to FIGS. 1 and 2 is sufficient es- to lay the die 12 flat on the unprocessed plate 2 and then use a sufficiently strong Press, for example by means of a hydraulic press, to press down the die onto the plate. The embossing profile 14 penetrates into the plate and compresses and compresses the material of the plate in front of it. Since it is a completely non-cutting deformation, the Inner surface of the pronounced channel 7 completely smooth.

The plate 1 can be formed from any material be, for example of an identical material as the plate 2 with the · embossed channel 7 or not which is formed from a less hard material

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is as the embossing tool. For a hardened embossing tool Carbon steel can be used for the copper, aluminum, brass, plastic, etc. platelets. Aluminum, is particularly advantageous because it can withstand high temperatures, because it is light and relatively stiff to withstand the deformations during use and which is still sufficiently deformable to be problematic. allow loose embossing. If you use a metallic plate, you can as a result of the cold deformation find that the compressed metallic material has a finer structure, whereby the inner surface of the channel 7 is made even smoother.

The channel 7 can rectilinear and / or curved portions comprise · S _e ine cross-sectional shape kan semi-oval or polygonal or any other configuration according to the sought operation: having the fluidic circuit.

Fig. 4 shows another embossing tool. This is essentially formed by a hard wire-shaped metal element 15 made of hardened or non-hardened carbon steel or from another corresponding material, the cross-section and configuration of which is the same as in at least one of the platelets correspond to the channel formed.

This embossing tool 15 is placed on the plate 2 and then pressed into the plate 2 by means of a press, optionally with the interposition a further plate 16, which can be just as hard as the embossing tool 15 or softer than the plate 2.

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If the plate 16 is hard, the stamping tool 15 only penetrates into the plate 2 and stamps a channel there 7 with straight walls and a base corresponding to the round shape of the embossing tool 15. The so shaped Plate 2 is covered in this case with a non-embossed plate 1, so that in Irig. 5 shown Switching element arises. This process is particularly suitable for making circles that are attached to printed Remember circuits in electrical engineering and also have similar advantages. Such a printed circuit for aiide is shown in FIG. This circuit is formed by a plate 20 comprising channels 23 in the Contact surface 22, which connect two or more connection points 27 of the plate to one another. By lying next to one another with a second plate 21, a configuration of is obtained in the interior of the switching element thus formed different transmission channels. These channels can from the outside by making holes 24 in the lower or upper platelets are made accessible in the area of the connection points of the transmission channels. Other channels, such as the channel 25 »extend to the band of the plate and are from the outside through a bore 26 accessible in the side surface of the switching element. The holding elements that form a logical circle based on fluid can be connected to each other by means of such a printed circuit element, thereby making an assembly an entire circle is possible in a more orderly manner, as is also the case with printed circuits in the Electrical engineering is. The configuration of a printed circuit board differs from application to application and such a circuit can therefore only be manufactured in large quantities in a very few cases. The production of such a circuit in the casting process,

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by etching, by engraving a plate, is very expensive due to the special tools used for this Manufacture in small quantities must be prepared. An embossing process, on the other hand, is extremely simple: on the Unprocessed platelets are placed on pieces of metal wire (for example made from hardened carbon steel wire for aluminum plates), which have the configuration of the channels to be embossed. The wires can be shaped by hand. To prevent yourself Move the wires to .Beginning of the impression, you can insert the end 30 of the wires into temporary centering holes Insert 31 in the plate, as can be seen from FIG. So this method is extremely versatile and practically does not require any tools. Therefore, it is special Suitable for the production of prototypes and small quantities of printed circuits according to Hg. 6.

When the plate 16 to press the stamping tool 15 (Fig. 4) in the plate 21 is of the same nature as this, the embossing tool 15 penetrates each half in each of the tiles, and you get in this case, the switching element shown in Fig. 8, in which the two plates 2 and 16 mirror-symmetrical impressions * ' show conditions. The channel inside the switching element has in principle exactly the same shape as the stamping tool 15. Since the two contact surfaces of the two plates are pressed together very strongly, the tightness of the switching element is only increased. This procedure is Particularly suitable for the production of peeling elements, which act as a resistor for a fluid throughput These resistance switching elements are used, for example, in connection with other configurations, to make circuits similar to electronic circuits

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form, including, inter alia, one or more resistors. These resistance switching elements are formed by two small plates placed one against the other, which form a channel section of constant cross-sectional shape. The resistance must be as linear as possible, that is, the ratio of the pressure difference between the inlet and the outlet to the throughput of the fluid must be as constant as possible and be determinable within the narrowest possible tolerances. In order to achieve good linearity, the flow of the fluid must be laminar. Any turbulence must therefore be avoided, such as bends, obstacles, constrictions, surface roughness inside the channel, etc. A straight channel with a constant cross-sectional shape is ideal. However, in order for this channel to have a sufficient resistance, it must have a very small cross-sectional shape compared to its length. In order to keep the resistance value within acceptable tolerance limits, the tolerance limits for the wire diameter and for the surface roughness must be kept down in the same proportions. Wire drawing technology offers the possibility of delivering wires with a very small diameter and with very high manufacturing tolerances. A manufacturing tolerance of 0.005 mm is quite normal. The D _r ähte are currently produced in large and are relatively cheap. Further, when these wires are wet drawn, they are extremely smooth so that a desired smooth channel resistance can be achieved by a long smooth channel rather than a shorter and rougher channel. This results in the best characteristics for linearity and a greater possibility of staying within the specified tolerances. In this way, resistors can be formed by simply embossing hardened carbon steel (0.65 # 0, 0 0.5 mm, length 42 mm) between two smooth aluminum plates,

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which in the order of magnitude between 22.7 grsec / cnr ± . 5 # to 27.80 grsec / cnr + 5 # are variable, when the air pressure between the inlet and the outlet changes between 600 g / cm and 1000 g / cm. this between these limits results in a curve with a relatively linear course and within acceptable tolerances, i'ig. 9 shows a switching element with a resistance channel 40. A second canal has an enlargement in its center 41, which acts like a capacitor. These Design is equivalent to a two-inch T-filter .Resistors connected in series and a capacitor connected in parallel. A third resistor is formed through several very fine cannulas 45 »46 and 47» which are arranged parallel to each other. This configuration has a larger cross-section than a single channel the advantage that the length: diameter ratio is greater for each channel, i.e. that the pressure can be very high can without causing turbulence. Generally speaking, the advantage of channels is with very little Cross-section in that, among other things, the risk of turbulence formation is largely eliminated. In this case it becomes possible to build resistances of greater value by building bends in the duct without going through These curvatures could cause turbulent flows, which would severely impair the linearity. A such resistor 48, which consists of a fine channel with several Curvatures formed is also in Pig. 9 shown. In the circuit channels that have no resistors it can also be advantageous to largely avoid the formation of turbulence while maintaining strong pressures. The formation of the channel configurations in the embossing process using wires

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. provides a particularly inexpensive solution here.

I ¹ Ur switching elements according to Pig. 9, ie for those switching * elements in which channel configurations are embossed in both plates, it is essential that the two channel configurations completely match when the plates are placed next to one another. This can be achieved by a perfect coincidence of the side surfaces of the two plates or with the help of centering profiles, as they are in Pig. 10 are indicated in 3? Form of centering ribs 32 and centering grooves 33 on or in the contact surfaces 5 and 6 of the platelets. When the embossing tool 15 is clamped between the two platelets, centering bores can also be made in the two platelets through them before the platelets are detached from one another in order to remove the hard embossing tool 13. When assembling these two plates, centering pins of the same diameter can then be inserted through these centering bores. Of course, the printed circuit according to FIG. 6 can also be produced using this method. In this case, the two plates 16 and 21 have channel configurations that correspond to one another.

The embossing process can also be used for manufacture any logic switching element that has a more complex configuration and several Has and, or, bistable and similar circuits, which are connected to each other by transmission channels These configurations can either be embossed with a die or by inserting one or more hard, suitable stamping bodies, which are pressed between two small plates made of a more deformable material · Man can put the configurations in the plate at the same time

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memorize or one after the other. Between the tiles you can as shown in the drawings, very simple elementary circuits express. A logic circuit would then be formed by assembling several in Series and / or parallel (Fig. 11) switched switching elements. However, a closed logic circuit can also be formed between two platelets. This offers the advantage that the connecting channels between the switching elements are made by stamping steel wires can be embossed with a very small diameter, which significantly reduces the necessary volume of these channels and at the same time a perfect retransmission of high-frequency signals is guaranteed. she The frequency of use of such a circuit can be increased very much. For this purpose you have to use wires that are as smooth as possible, which can be achieved by pulling out Wires, a technique well known in wire drawing. If necessary, in the logical Circuit amplifiers can be built in to compensate for the resistance effect of the connecting lines

As shown in FIG. 12, one can very easily have several independent channels in a single plate express. In the present case the switching element then has two independent channels, but these two could Channels also have the configuration of much more complex circles. The connection of the channels can, like In Fig. 6 indicated with the .Bore 26, from the side surface of the switching element done or through .Bores in a plate or in both plates or in any other manner that appears reasonable, without departing from the scope of the invention

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I ^{1 For} the formation of a configuration according to American patent specification 3 024 805, for example, a third steel plate can be inserted between two aluminum plates, the embossing configuration of which corresponds exactly to the negative of the plate which, according to the American patent specification, is inserted between two small plates in order to close the channel system form. By pressing the two aluminum plates against the third steel plate, the desired channel configuration is stamped into the contact surfaces of the two aluminum plates. Then takes out the steel plate between the two aluminum plates and receives a channel configuration corresponding to the configuration shown in the American patent.

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Claims (9)

- 16 claims 1. Logical switching element based on fluid with at least a fluid channel in the contact area between two on each other lying platelets, characterized in that the fluid channel (z. ± 5. 7) in at least one of the platelets Cz. ± 5 .. 2) is embossed. 2. Switching element according to claim 1, characterized in that that the length of the fluid channel (z.ü. 7) at least ten times is as big as its diameter. 3. Switching element according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the diameter of the fluid channel Cz.B. 46) in an order of magnitude t> is down to about 0.5 mm amounts to. 4. A process for the production of switching elements for fluid-based logic circuits, such a switching element being formed by at least two platelets lying next to one another by means of flat contact surfaces, of which at least one has one or more independent or communicating channel configurations recessed in its contact surface, characterized in that one In the contact surface (ζ · ± $ · 6} at least one of the platelets { e.g. 2) of the holding element, an embossing tool Cz.B, 12) presses, which is harder than the material of the platelet Cz.B. 2) and one of the desired channel configurations C ^ .B. 7) corresponding embossing configuration Cz.B. 14). tr - 17 - 90 98 4 5/1025 ■ - 17 - 5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that that between two with their contact surfaces opposite platelets an embossing tool with one of the desired Channel configuration, then insert the two plates to express the ' Pressing the channel configuration against each other and finally removing the stamping tool after the pressing process has taken place. 6. Device for performing the method according to a of claims 4 and 5, characterized in that it is an embossing tool in the form of a raised embossing die (e.g. 12) with a configuration corresponding to the desired channel configuration. 7. Apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that the embossing tool is formed by one between two Hard steel wire of the desired thickness to be inserted. 8. Device according to Claim 7, characterized in that that the hard steel wire is hardened. 9. Apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that the hard steel wire is drawn wet. 909845/1025