JP2005214598A - Exhaust gas cleaner and pneumatic equipment for clean room - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an exhaust gas cleaner and an pneumatic equipment for a clean room, capable of filtering exhaust gas and exhausting the gas into the clean room with simple structure without a pipe to a pneumatic device. <P>SOLUTION: This exhaust gas cleaner 15 for the clean room is fixed on a breezing port of an air cylinder via a joint 14. The joint 14 has a communication hole 17 with a larger diameter pipe at the tip part, a chuck 18 and a seal 19 engaged inside the pipe, and a guide cylinder 20 engaged for inserting the exhaust gas cleaner 15. The exhaust gas cleaner 15 has a filtering material 22 filled inside a cylindrical filter case 21. The chuck 18 and the seal 19 are formed annularly. The chuck 18 is for pinching and holding the exhaust gas cleaner 15 while the seal 19 is closely attached to the outer circumferential surface of the exhaust gas cleaner 15. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a clean room exhaust cleaner, and more particularly to a clean room exhaust cleaner and a pneumatic device for filtering air discharged from a pneumatic device such as an air cylinder installed in the clean room.

  Some air cylinders, which are one type of pneumatic equipment, include a breathing hole that discharges a slight amount of air leaking from the gap between the cylinder and the piston. The air exhausted from the breathing hole contains particles generated as the cylinder and piston slide.

  When such an air cylinder is used in, for example, a clean room where a semiconductor device is manufactured, it is necessary to discharge the air discharged from the breathing hole to the outside of the clean room through an exhaust pipe.

Accordingly, since it is necessary to dispose the exhaust pipe from the installation position of the pneumatic device to the outside of the clean room, the degree of freedom of the installation position of the pneumatic device is reduced.
Thus, Patent Document 1 discloses a clean room exhaust cleaner that can filter the exhaust of a pneumatic device and discharge it into a clean room.
JP 2000-70636 A

  However, the clean cleaner for the clean room disclosed in Patent Document 1 is a large clean cleaner for the clean room that can filter a large volume of exhaust discharged from the pneumatic equipment. Therefore, it is necessary to secure the installation position of the clean room exhaust cleaner in the clean room, and there is a problem that piping for connecting the pneumatic equipment and the clean room exhaust cleaner is required.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and its purpose is to filter exhaust gas into a clean room with a simple configuration without requiring piping between the pneumatic device. It is to provide an exhaust cleaner for a clean room.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a filter material is filled in a filter case that can be attached to and detached from a breathing port of a pneumatic device.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the filter case is formed so as to be insertable into a joint attached to the breathing port.

The invention described in claim 3 is the invention described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the joint includes a chuck for preventing the filter case from coming off.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, the joint includes a seal that prevents leakage of air from between the filter case.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the filter case has light transmittance.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a pneumatic equipment is configured using the clean cleaner for exhaust air according to any one of the first to fifth aspects of the present invention for an air cylinder.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an exhaust cleaner for a clean room and a pneumatic device that can filter the exhaust gas with a simple configuration and discharge it into the clean room without requiring piping between the pneumatic device.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in an air cylinder for a clean room will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

  In an air cylinder 1 shown in FIG. 1, a piston 3 is movably supported in a cylindrical cylinder body 2, and one end of a piston rod 4 is attached to the piston 3 via a spacer 3a.

  One end side of the cylinder body 2 is sealed with a cover 5, and the other end side is sealed with a rod metal 6. The piston rod 4 passes through a bearing hole 7 formed at the center of the rod metal 6 and protrudes outside the cylinder body 2. Accordingly, a pressure chamber 8 is formed between the cover 5 and the rod metal 6.

  First and second rod packings 9 a and 9 b are provided on the inner peripheral surface of the bearing hole 7 at a predetermined interval in the axial direction of the piston rod 4, and a gap between the bearing hole 7 and the piston rod 4. Air leakage from the cylinder body 2 to the outside is prevented.

  First and second ports 10 and 11 are formed in the cylinder body 2, the first port 10 communicates with the pressure chamber 8 in the vicinity of the cover 5, and the second port 11 is connected to the rod metal 6. In the vicinity of the pressure chamber 8.

  The first and second ports 10 and 11 are connected to a compressed air supply source via piping (not shown), and positive pressure is alternately supplied to each port. When positive pressure is supplied to the first port 10, the piston 3 moves to the rod metal 6 side, and when positive pressure is supplied to the second port 11, the piston 3 moves to the cover 5 side. It is like that. The port on the side where no positive pressure is supplied becomes an exhaust port, and the exhaust is absorbed by the supply source.

By such reciprocating motion of the piston 3, the piston rod 4 protrudes and retracts from the cylinder body 2, and operates as an actuator.
A breathing port (exhaust treatment port) 12 is formed in the cylinder body 2. The breathing port 12 communicates with the sliding surface between the rod metal 6 and the piston rod 4 via the breathing hole 13 penetrating the rod metal 6 between the first and second rod packings 9a and 9b. ing.

  A clean room exhaust cleaner 15 is attached to the breathing port 12 via a joint 14. As shown in FIG. 2, the joint 14 has a male screw 16 engraved on the outer peripheral surface of the base end portion, and the male screw 16 is screwed into a female screw formed on the inner peripheral surface of the breathing port 12. .

  The joint 14 is bent at a right angle and a communication hole 17 is formed at the center. The communication hole 17 is expanded in diameter at the tip end of the joint 14, a chuck 18 and a seal 19 are fitted in the expanded diameter part, and a guide cylinder 20 for inserting the clean room exhaust cleaner 15 is fitted. It is worn.

  In the clean room exhaust cleaner 15, a filter material 22 is filled in a cylindrical filter case 21. The filter case 21 is made of polyamide that allows a slight amount of light to pass therethrough, so that contamination of the filter material 22 inside can be confirmed. The filtration material 22 is formed of a polypropylene porous hollow fiber membrane.

  Both the chuck 18 and the seal 19 are formed in an annular shape, and the chuck 18 is elastically deformed based on the insertion of the clean room exhaust cleaner 15 so as to sandwich and hold the clean room exhaust cleaner 15, and the seal 19 is used for the clean room. The exhaust cleaner 15 is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface.

  When one end of the clean room exhaust cleaner 15 is inserted into the communication hole 17 from the guide tube 20, the clean room exhaust cleaner 15 is held by the chuck 18 so as not to easily come off. Further, the seal 19 is brought into close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the clean room exhaust cleaner 15, thereby preventing air leakage from the gap between the clean room exhaust cleaner 15 and the joint 14.

Further, the clean room exhaust cleaner 15 can be replaced by pulling out the clean room exhaust cleaner 15 from the communication hole 17.
In the air cylinder 1 configured as described above, when the piston 3 moves due to the supply of compressed air to the first port 10 or the second port 11, the compressed air in the pressure chamber 8 is converted to the first rod packing. It leaks from 9a and slightly enters the gap between the piston rod 4 and the rod metal 6. The leaked air is guided into the communication hole 17 through the breathing hole 13 and the breathing port 12, filtered by the clean room exhaust cleaner 15, and discharged.

In the air cylinder 1 including the clean room exhaust cleaner 15 configured as described above, the following operational effects can be obtained.
(1) The leaked air that has entered the gap between the piston rod 4 and the rod metal 6 is filtered and discharged by the clean room exhaust cleaner 15 attached to the joint 14. Therefore, even if the leaked air contains particles generated as the piston 3 or the piston rod 4 slides, the leaked air discharged from the breathing port 12 can be discharged into the clean room.
(2) Since the leaked air can be filtered by the clean room exhaust cleaner 15 attached to the joint 14, it is not necessary to provide piping for discharging the leaked air to the outside of the clean room. Therefore, the freedom degree of the installation position of the air cylinder 1 can be improved.
(3) The clean room exhaust cleaner 15 has a simple configuration in which one end thereof is simply inserted into the communication hole 17 of the joint 14 and is reduced in size while ensuring a sufficient capacity for filtering leaked air. Can do.
(4) The clean room exhaust cleaner 15 can be held by the chuck 18 provided in the communication hole 17 of the joint 14 and can be easily attached and detached. Therefore, the clean room exhaust cleaner 15 can be easily replaced.
(5) With the seal 19 provided in the communication hole 17 of the joint 14, the leaked air in the communication hole 17 can be reliably filtered by the clean room exhaust cleaner 15.
(6) Since the filter case 21 is light transmissive, the degree of contamination of the filter material 22 can be visually observed. Therefore, it is possible to easily determine the replacement time of the clean room exhaust cleaner 15.

(Second embodiment)
FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in a chemical valve used in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus or the like.

  The chemical liquid valve 30 includes an introduction port 31, a discharge port 32, an operation port 33 and a breathing port 34. The introduction port 31 is a port for supplying a chemical liquid into the chemical liquid valve 30, and the discharge port 32 is a port for discharging the chemical liquid from the chemical liquid valve 30.

The chemical liquid valve 30 is configured to control the flow rate of the chemical liquid passing through the chemical liquid valve 30 by opening and closing the valve portion 36 by moving the valve shaft 35 in the chemical liquid valve 30 up and down.
That is, a flange portion 37 is provided in the middle portion in the vertical direction of the valve shaft 35, and spaces located above and below the flange portion 37 are sealed from each other. The flange portion 37 is urged downward by the urging force of the coil spring 38.

  The valve shaft 35 is moved up and down by adjusting the pressure of the compressed air supplied to the operation port 33 to change the pressure in the space below the flange portion 37.

  When the valve shaft 35 moves up and down, the volume of the space 39 formed above the flange portion 37 changes, but the space 39 communicates with the outside air through the breathing port 34. Therefore, when the valve shaft 35 moves upward, air in the space 39 is discharged to the outside via the breathing port 34, and when the valve shaft 35 moves downward, air is sucked into the space 39 from the breathing port 34. .

  A clean room exhaust cleaner 40 is attached to the breathing port 34. The clean room exhaust cleaner 40 includes a plug 41 as a filter case having a through hole in the center, and a filter material 42 filled in the through hole of the plug 41. The filtration material 42 is formed of, for example, a polypropylene porous hollow fiber membrane. A plug 41 is screwed into the breathing port 34.

  With such a configuration, respiratory air discharged from the space 39 as the valve shaft 35 moves is filtered by the clean room exhaust cleaner 40. Therefore, particles generated in the space 39 based on the vertical movement of the valve shaft 35 or the expansion and contraction of the coil spring 38 are filtered by the clean room exhaust cleaner 40.

In the chemical liquid valve 30 provided with the clean room exhaust cleaner 40 configured as described above, the following operational effects can be obtained.
(1) Respired air exhausted from the breathing port 34 as the valve shaft 35 moves is filtered by the clean room exhaust cleaner 40 attached to the breathing port 34. Therefore, even if particles are included in the breathing air discharged from the breathing port 34, the breathing air can be discharged into the clean room.
(2) Since the breathing air can be filtered by the clean room exhaust cleaner 40 attached to the breathing port 34, there is no need to provide piping for discharging the breathing air to the outside of the clean room. Therefore, the freedom degree of the installation position of the chemical | medical solution valve | bulb 30 can be improved.
(3) The clean room exhaust cleaner 15 is simply configured to be screwed into the breathing port 34, and can be reduced in size while ensuring a sufficient capacity for filtering the breathing air.
(Third embodiment)
Hereinafter, a third embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in a pressure reducing valve used in a clean room will be described with reference to FIG.

  The pressure reducing valve 43 has a first valve portion 46 interposed between the air supply port 44 and the air discharge port 45, and the first valve portion 46 is opened and closed based on the vertical movement of the valve shaft 47. The upper end of the valve shaft 47 abuts on a diaphragm 48 to form a second valve portion, and the diaphragm 48 is always urged downward by a coil spring 49, and the urging force of the coil spring 49 is controlled by the operation of the knob 50. It can be adjusted.

  A space 51 located below the diaphragm 48 communicates with the air exhaust port 45, and a space 52 located above the diaphragm 48 communicates with the outside via a relief port 53 as a breathing port.

  A communication hole 54 is formed in the central portion of the diaphragm 48, and when the diaphragm 48 is separated from the valve shaft 47, the spaces 51 and 52 communicate with each other through the communication hole 54.

A clean room exhaust cleaner 15 is attached to the tip of the relief port 53 with the same configuration as in the first embodiment.
In the pressure reducing valve 43 configured as described above, when the air pressure of the air discharge port 45 becomes higher than the set pressure set by the coil spring 49, the diaphragm 48 is pushed up. Then, the air in the air discharge port 45 is discharged to the outside through the space 51, the communication hole 54, the space 52, and the relief port 53, and the atmospheric pressure output from the air discharge port 45 is reduced. When the air pressure of the air discharge port 45 is reduced to the set pressure, the diaphragm 48 descends and comes into contact with the valve shaft 47, and the communication between the spaces 51 and 52 is blocked.

  On the other hand, when the air pressure in the air discharge port 45 is lower than the set pressure, the diaphragm 48 is lowered, and the valve shaft 47 is lowered accordingly, and the first valve portion 46 is opened. Then, the air supply port 44 communicates with the air discharge port 45 through the first valve portion 46, and the air pressure of the air discharge port 45 is increased.

By such an operation, a pressure set by the coil spring 49 from the air discharge port 45, that is, a pressure obtained by reducing the pressure supplied to the air supply port 44 is output.
Now, in the pressure reducing valve configured as described above, the air discharged from the relief port 53 is filtered and discharged by the clean room exhaust cleaner 15, so that the particles contained in the air are reliably filtered, It can be discharged into a clean room. Therefore, the same effect as the first embodiment can be obtained.

In addition, you may implement each said embodiment in the following aspects.
The shape of the filter case 21 may be appropriately changed. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a filter case 56 having step portions 55 having different diameters may be used.

-The material of the filter case 21 may be appropriately changed. For example, the filter case may be made of a metal material.
-You may change suitably the shape of the filter case which accommodates filtration material according to the shape of a breathing port.

-The clean cleaner for the clean room may be attached to the breathing port of various pneumatic equipment other than the above.
-Various materials may be used as the filtering material depending on the use environment.

The technical ideas that can be grasped from the above embodiments are described below.
(B) The exhaust cleaner for a clean room according to claim 1, wherein the filter case is formed to be screwable with the breathing port. According to this configuration, the clean room exhaust cleaner can be easily attached to the breathing port simply by being screwed into the breathing port.

  (B) The exhaust cleaner for a clean room according to claim 1, wherein the filter case is made of a weldable metal material. According to this configuration, the clean room exhaust cleaner can be attached to various pneumatic devices by welding.

Sectional drawing of an air cylinder. (A), (b), (c) is explanatory drawing of a joint and the clean cleaner for clean rooms. Sectional drawing of a chemical | medical solution valve | bulb. Sectional drawing of a pressure reducing valve. Explanatory drawing of the filter case of another example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12,34 ... Breathing port, 14 ... Joint, 18 ... Chuck, 19 ... Seal, 21,56 ... Filter case, 22, 42 ... Filter material, 41 ... Plug as filter case, 53 ... Relief port as breathing port.

Claims (6)

  An exhaust cleaner for a clean room, characterized in that a filter case that can be attached to and detached from a breathing port of a pneumatic device is filled with a filtering material.   The exhaust cleaner for a clean room according to claim 1, wherein the filter case is formed so as to be inserted into a joint attached to the breathing port.   The exhaust cleaner for a clean room according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the joint includes a chuck for preventing the filter case from coming off.   The exhaust cleaner for a clean room according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the joint includes a seal that prevents air from leaking from the filter case.   The exhaust cleaner for a clean room according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the filter case is light transmissive.   Pneumatic equipment provided with the exhaust cleaner for clean rooms as described in any one of Claims 1-5.

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