JP2008068210A - Environmental maintenance system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an environmental maintenance system with an excellent energy saving performance which can be realized by shortening the starting time of a dehumidifier and time required for an environmental maintenance chamber to reach a desired dew point temperature. <P>SOLUTION: This environmental maintenance system dehumidifies the air drawn in by a fan 28 with the help of the dehumidifier 12, and feeds the air to the environmental maintenance chamber 16. In addition, the environmental maintenance system comprises (1) an air feeder line which feeds the air dehumidified by the dehumidifier 12 to the environmental maintenance chamber 16 by connecting the outlet side of the dehumidifier 12 with the environmental maintenance chamber 16, (2) a circulation line which circulates the air dehumidified by the dehumidifier 12 to the inlet side of the dehumidifier 12 by connecting the outlet side of the dehumidifier 12 with the inlet side of the dehumidifier 12, (3) a dew point temperature measurement means 30 which measures the dew point temperature of the air at the outlet side of the dehumidifier 12, and (4) a switching means which switches the feed destination of the air dehumidified by the dehumidifier 12 through selecting the air feeder line or the circulation line according to the measured value by the dew point temperature measurement means 30. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an environmental maintenance system, and more particularly to an environmental maintenance system for maintaining a material storage stocker for storing semiconductors and parts thereof in a low dew point environment.

  In recent years, in the fields of semiconductors, flat panel displays, and the like, devices have become highly fine and highly integrated, and deterioration due to adhesion of gaseous impurities and moisture in the air has become a problem. Therefore, storage of materials for device manufacturing requires a highly clean space from which gaseous impurities and moisture have been removed, and this highly clean space must be maintained at all times while the material is stored. is there.

  Therefore, a method for storing the material in a highly clean storage stocker has been proposed. The storage stocker is supplied with high clean air by a dehumidifier using high purity nitrogen gas or an adsorbent, and the inside is maintained in a high clean environment. In such a storage stocker, for the purpose of reducing running costs by reducing the energy consumption of the drive unit of the dehumidifier, etc., highly clean air produced by the dehumidifier is supplied to the storage stocker to highly clean the inside. Patent Document 1 discloses a storage method in which materials are stored in a sealed state with high-clean air filled in a storage stocker after replacement with the environment, and various power sources are cut off.

Next, the material storage method disclosed in Patent Document 1 will be specifically described with reference to FIG. In this storage method, first, clean dry gas is produced by the clean dry gas supply unit 1 using an adsorbent. Then, while exhausting the storage chamber 2, clean dry gas is supplied from the clean dry gas supply unit 1 to the storage chamber 2 to perform gas replacement. When the gas replacement is completed, the clean dry gas shutoff and conduction control external valve 3 and the large gate valve 4 are closed, the clean dry gas supply unit 1 and the forced exhaust fan 5 are stopped, and the storage room 2 Store inside filled with highly purified air. Thereby, the highly clean environment can be maintained without requiring any power, and the running cost of the storage can be reduced when storing semiconductor wafers and the like.
JP-A-6-206605

  However, in the conventional system, immediately after the clean dry gas supply unit 1 is started up, high-humidity air is supplied to the storage room. There was a problem of taking time.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides an environmental maintenance system that is excellent in energy saving by shortening the startup time of the dehumidifier and the time required to bring the environmental maintenance room to a desired dew point temperature. For the purpose.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, in an environmental maintenance system for dehumidifying air taken in by a fan with a dehumidifier and supplying the air to the environmental maintenance chamber, the outlet side of the dehumidifier and the environmental maintenance chamber By connecting an air supply line for supplying air dehumidified by the dehumidifier to the environmental maintenance chamber, and an outlet side of the dehumidifier and an inlet side of the dehumidifier. A circulation line that circulates the air dehumidified by a dehumidifier to the inlet side of the dehumidifier, a dew point temperature measuring means that measures the dew point temperature of the air at the outlet side of the dehumidifier, and a measurement value of the dew point temperature measuring means An environmental maintenance system comprising switching means for switching an air supply destination of air dehumidified by the dehumidifier between the air supply line and the circulation line is provided.

  According to the invention of claim 1, since the dehumidifying air of the dehumidifier is circulated to the inlet side by providing a circulation line, a high dehumidifying performance can be obtained by the dehumidifier, for example, when the dehumidifier is started up It can be circulated through a dehumidifier to rapidly dehumidify to a low dew point temperature.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the dehumidification air supply destination is switched between the environmental maintenance room and the dehumidifier inlet side according to the dew point temperature of the dehumidification air. Only the air that has been supplied can be supplied to the environmental maintenance room. Thereby, the time until the environment maintenance room is set to the low dew point environment can be shortened.

  The invention according to claim 2 comprises control means for controlling the switching means based on the measurement value of the dew point temperature measurement means according to claim 1, wherein the control means has a predetermined measurement value of the dew point temperature measurement means. When the air is dehumidified by the dehumidifier, the air is supplied to the air supply line and supplied to the environmental maintenance chamber, and when the measured value of the dew point temperature measuring means exceeds a predetermined value, the dehumidification is performed. The dehumidified air is sent to the return air line.

  According to the invention of claim 2, since the dehumidified air is circulated through the dehumidifier until the dew point temperature of the dehumidified air becomes a predetermined value or less, the dehumidified air can be lowered to the predetermined dew point temperature in a short time.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the dew point temperature of the dehumidified air becomes equal to or lower than the predetermined value, the dehumidified air is supplied to the environment maintaining room, so only the dehumidified air having the dew point temperature of the environment maintaining room is supplied. The environmental maintenance chamber can be brought to a predetermined dew point temperature in a short time. Therefore, according to the second aspect of the invention, the environmental maintenance chamber can be set to a predetermined humidity in a short time.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the environment maintaining chamber includes an opening that is opened and closed by an opening / closing door, and a wind speed measuring unit that measures a wind speed of exhaust air exhausted from the opening. The air flow rate of the fan is adjusted according to the measured value of the wind speed measuring means.

  According to the invention of claim 3, since the air flow rate of the fan is adjusted according to the wind speed of the exhaust air from the opening, the wind speed of the exhaust air can be controlled. For example, the wind speed of the exhaust air is always higher than the reference value. Can be controlled. In addition, when the reference value is set to a wind speed value that prevents moisture from entering the environment maintenance chamber when the door is fully opened, moisture can be prevented from entering the environment maintenance chamber from the outside.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the environmental maintenance chamber includes an opening that is opened and closed by the opening and closing door, and an opening and closing door that opens and closes the opening and closing door to adjust the size of the opening. Operating means, and the blast volume of the fan is adjusted according to the size of the opening adjusted by the opening / closing door operating means.

  According to the invention of claim 4, since the air flow rate of the fan is adjusted according to the size of the opening, the wind speed of the exhaust air can be controlled from the opening. For example, the wind speed of the exhaust air is always the reference value. It can control so that it may become above. In addition, when the reference value is set to a wind speed value that prevents moisture from entering the environmental maintenance chamber when the door is fully opened, it is possible to prevent moisture from the outside from entering the environmental maintenance chamber.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the exhaust dew point temperature measuring means for measuring the dew point temperature of the air exhausted from the opening according to the third or fourth aspect, and according to the measured value of the exhaust dew point temperature measuring means. The opening / closing door and the dehumidifier are operated.

  According to the invention of claim 5, since the opening and closing door and the dehumidifier are operated according to the dew point temperature of the exhaust air from the opening, for example, when the dew point temperature of the exhaust air reaches the target value By closing the door and stopping the dehumidifier, the environmental maintenance chamber can be maintained at the target dew point temperature, and the running cost can be reduced.

  According to the present invention, the dehumidified air is circulated through the dehumidifier until the air dehumidified by the dehumidifier reaches a predetermined dew point temperature, and the air is supplied to the environmental maintenance room. Can be dried.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of an environmental maintenance system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of an environmental maintenance system according to the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the environment maintenance system 10 of the present embodiment includes a dehumidifier 12 provided with an adsorbent that adsorbs moisture, and a stocker 16 for storing the semiconductor material 14.

  Connected to the dehumidifier 12 are an external air flow path 18 for flowing air into the dehumidifier 12 and an air supply flow path 20 for flowing air processed in the dehumidifier 12 into the stocker 16.

  The outside air flow path 18 is provided with a return air damper 22 (switching means). Further, the air supply flow path 20 is provided with a flow path switching damper 24 (switching means). The return air damper 22 and the channel switching damper 24 are connected by a return air channel 26. The return air damper 22 and the flow path switching damper 24 are fully opened to the return air flow path 26 side so that the inlet side and the outlet side of the dehumidifier 12 are communicated with the return air flow path 26 and are blocked from the outside and the stocker 16. It has become. Further, the return air damper 22 and the flow path switching damper 24 are fully closed with respect to the return air flow path 26 so that the air sent from the outlet side of the dehumidifier 12 flows into the return air flow path 26. Yes.

  A fan 28 is provided between the dehumidifier 12 and the return air damper 22 in the outside air flow path 18. The fan 28 takes in outside air directly and forcibly sends air into the dehumidifier 12.

  A dew point temperature measuring means 30 is provided in the air supply flow path 20 of the dehumidifier 12 and the flow path switching damper 24. The dew point temperature measuring means 30 measures the dew point temperature of the air processed by the dehumidifier 12, and for example, an optical dew point meter is used.

  An air volume adjusting damper 32 (switching means) is provided in the air supply channel 20 between the stocker 16 and the channel switching damper 24. The air volume adjusting damper 32 is controlled to open and close based on the measurement result of the dew point temperature measuring means 30.

  The stocker 16 is provided with an opening 34. The opening 34 is used to carry the semiconductor material 14 into and out of the stocker 16 and to discharge air taken into the system via the fan 28.

  Wind speed measuring means 36 is provided in the vicinity of the opening 34, and the wind speed measuring means 36 can measure the wind speed when the air filling the inside of the stocker 16 is discharged from the opening 34. Yes.

  An opening / closing door 38 is attached to the opening 34. The open / close door 38 can reciprocate along the edge of the opening 34 by a driving means (not shown).

  Exhaust dew point temperature measuring means 40 is provided in the vicinity of the opening 34. The exhaust dew point temperature measuring means 40 can measure the dew point temperature of the air exhausted from the stocker 16.

  Next, a procedure for setting the internal atmosphere of the stocker 16 to a predetermined humidity using the environment maintenance system 10 according to the present embodiment will be described.

  First, the return air damper 22 and the flow path switching damper 24 are fully opened to the return air flow path 26 side so that the inlet side and the outlet side of the dehumidifier 12 are connected to the return air flow path 26, and dehumidification is performed from the outside and the stocker 16. Shut off machine 12. Next, in a state where the air volume adjustment damper 32 is closed, the fan 28 is operated to send air into the dehumidifier 12. Here, air having a low dew point temperature is sent out from the outlet side of the dehumidifier 12 as compared to the air flowing in from the inlet side. Then, the dew point of the air sent out from the outlet side of the dehumidifier 12 is measured by the dew point temperature measuring means 30, and the air volume adjustment damper 32 is closed until the measured value becomes a predetermined dew point temperature or less, and the air flows to the stocker 16. Do not flow in. At this time, the entire amount of air sent from the outlet side of the dehumidifier 12 enters the return air flow path 26 from the flow path switching damper 24 and flows again from the return air damper 22 through the outside air flow path 18 into the dehumidifier 12. . When the measured value of the dew point temperature measuring means 30 becomes equal to or lower than the predetermined dew point temperature, the return air damper 22 and the flow path switching damper 24 are fully closed with respect to the return air flow path 26 and the air volume adjustment damper 32. Is opened, the air processed by the dehumidifier 12 is supplied to the stocker 16. At this time, air having a predetermined dew point temperature or less is introduced from the air supply channel 20 while exhausting from the opening 34. Further, the dew point temperature of the air exhausted from the opening 34 is measured by using the exhaust dew point temperature measuring means 40, and when the measured value becomes a predetermined dew point temperature or less, the air volume adjusting damper 32 and the open / close door 38 are measured. Close. As a result, the inside of the stocker 16 becomes a sealed space filled with air having a predetermined dew point temperature.

  When the semiconductor material 14 is carried into or out of the stocker 16, the opening / closing door 38 is moved to create an opening so as to match the size of the semiconductor material 14, and measurement is performed by the wind speed measuring means 36. Based on the wind speed, the power of the fan 28 is adjusted so that air does not flow backward from the opening into the stocker 16.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the air volume adjustment damper 32 is closed and the return air damper 22 and the flow path switching damper 24 are turned on until the measurement result of the dew point temperature measuring means 30 becomes a predetermined dew point temperature or less. Since the air that has been processed by the dehumidifier 12 is fully opened to the return air flow path 26 side and is allowed to pass through the dehumidifier 12 again without being sent to the stocker 16, air at a predetermined dew point temperature can be sent out. It is possible to shorten the time until it becomes, that is, the startup time of the dehumidifier 12.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the return air damper 22 and the flow path switching damper 24 are fully closed with respect to the return air flow path 26 after the measurement result of the dew point temperature measuring means 30 becomes a predetermined dew point temperature or lower. Since the air volume adjustment damper 32 is opened and the air processed by the dehumidifier 12 is allowed to flow into the stocker 16, only the air that has reached a predetermined dew point temperature or less flows into the stocker 16 from the beginning. Therefore, the time required for setting the stocker 16 to the low dew point environment can be shortened. As a result, it is possible to save energy in the environmental maintenance system itself.

  Next, a second embodiment of the environmental maintenance system according to the present invention will be described. The environment maintenance system 10A according to the second embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is different from the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 in that a control unit 42A is provided. The control unit 42A is electrically connected to the dew point temperature measurement unit 30, the exhaust dew point temperature measurement unit 40, and the wind speed measurement unit 36, and is manually performed by the operator in the environment maintenance system 10 of the first embodiment. It automates the operation. That is, the control unit 42A takes in and analyzes the measurement values measured by the dew point temperature measurement unit 30, the exhaust dew point temperature measurement unit 40, and the wind speed measurement unit 36, and based on the analysis result, the return air damper 22, the flow path. The operation state of the switching damper 24, the air volume adjusting damper 32, the fan 28, and the dehumidifier 12 is controlled.

  According to the environment maintenance system 10A according to the present embodiment, the operation of the environment maintenance system itself can be simplified by appropriately controlling the operation of the environment maintenance system and automating the system.

  Next, a third embodiment of the environmental maintenance system according to the present invention will be described. The environmental maintenance system 10B according to the third embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is different from the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 in that a control unit 42B is provided. The control means 42B is electrically connected to the dew point temperature measuring means 30 and the exhaust dew point temperature measuring means 40, and has the opening size and the stocker 16 formed by moving the open / close door 38 of the opening 34 of the stocker 16 in advance. Data on the relationship between the minimum required air volume to be supplied is stored in a memory provided therein, and the operation manually performed by the operator in the environment maintenance system 10 of the first embodiment is automated. . That is, the control means 42B takes in and analyzes the measurement values measured by the dew point temperature measurement means 30 and the exhaust dew point temperature measurement means 40, and based on the analysis results, the return air damper 22, the flow path switching damper 24, the air volume adjustment. The operation state of the damper 32, the fan 28, and the dehumidifier 12 is controlled, and the opening / closing door 38 is automatically opened and closed based on data stored in the memory inside the control means 42B.

  According to the environment maintenance system 10B according to the present embodiment, the environment maintenance system itself can be appropriately controlled without using the wind speed measuring means 36 provided in the above embodiment. As a result, the device configuration of the environment maintenance system itself can be further simplified.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various changes can be made.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the dehumidifier 12 is described as mainly having a function of performing dehumidification. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an adsorbent that further adsorbs gaseous impurities inside the dehumidifier 12. Can be provided. Thereby, the air flowing out from the dehumidifier 12 becomes clean and dry gas, and a highly clean space can be realized inside the stocker 16.

  In the above embodiment, the semiconductor stocker 16 has been described as an example of the environmental maintenance room. However, the environmental maintenance room in the present invention is not limited to this, and is also applicable to the storage of other objects. Is possible.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of an environmental maintenance system according to the present invention. The schematic block diagram which shows 2nd Embodiment of the environmental maintenance system which concerns on this invention. The schematic block diagram which shows 3rd Embodiment of the environmental maintenance system which concerns on this invention. Schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a conventional storage

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10, 10A, 10B ... Environmental maintenance system, 12 ... Dehumidifier, 16 ... Stocker, 18 ... Outside air flow path, 20 ... Supply air flow path, 28 ... Fan, 22 ... Return air damper, 24 ... Flow path switching damper, 26 ... Return air flow path, 30 ... dew point temperature measuring means, 32 ... air volume adjusting damper, 14 ... semiconductor material, 34 ... opening, 36 ... wind speed measuring means, 38 ... open / close door, 40 ... exhaust dew point temperature measuring means, 42A, 42B ... Control means

Claims (5)

In the environmental maintenance system that dehumidifies the air taken in by the fan with a dehumidifier and supplies it to the environmental maintenance room.
An air supply line that supplies air dehumidified by the dehumidifier to the environmental maintenance chamber by connecting the outlet side of the dehumidifier and the environmental maintenance chamber;
A circulation line that circulates the air dehumidified by the dehumidifier to the inlet side of the dehumidifier by connecting the outlet side of the dehumidifier and the inlet side of the dehumidifier;
Dew point temperature measuring means for measuring the dew point temperature of air at the outlet side of the dehumidifier;
Based on the measured value of the dew point temperature measuring means, switching means for switching the air supply destination of the air dehumidified by the dehumidifier between the air supply line and the circulation line;
Environmental maintenance system characterized by comprising. Control means for controlling the switching means based on the measured value of the dew point temperature measuring means,
The control means includes
When the measured value of the dew point temperature measuring means is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the air dehumidified by the dehumidifier is supplied to the supply line and supplied to the environmental maintenance chamber,
The environment maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein when the measured value of the dew point temperature measuring means exceeds a predetermined value, air dehumidified by the dehumidifier is sent to the return air line. The environmental maintenance room is
An opening that is opened and closed by an opening and closing door;
A wind speed measuring means for measuring a wind speed of the exhaust air exhausted from the opening is provided, wherein the air flow rate of the fan is adjusted according to a measurement value of the wind speed measuring means. The environmental maintenance system as described in. The environmental maintenance room is
An opening that is opened and closed by an opening and closing door;
And an opening / closing door operating means for adjusting the size of the opening by opening / closing the opening / closing door,
The environment maintenance system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the blower amount of the fan is adjusted according to the size of the opening adjusted by the opening / closing door operating means. Exhaust dew point temperature measuring means for measuring the dew point temperature of the air exhausted from the opening is provided,
The environmental maintenance system according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the door and the dehumidifier are operated in accordance with a measured value of the exhaust dew point temperature measuring means.

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