JP2009138775A - Air pressure type vibration isolation device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air pressure type vibration isolation device which performs high-precision vibration isolation and high-output vibration control, and at the same time, reduces flow-rate consumption of a pneumatic control valve. <P>SOLUTION: The air pressure type vibration isolation device is provided with two pneumatic control valves 121, 122, and pressure-reducing valves 171, 172. The pneumatic control valves 121, 122 are connected to a pneumatic pressure vessel 111, and are operated from a drive signal. The pressure-reducing valves 171, 172 supply pressurization air to the pneumatic control valves 121, 122 which uses pressurization air supplied from the pressure-reducing valves so as to synthesize a flow rate or pressure obtained from the drive signal in the interior of the pneumatic pressure vessel 111 and to generate a force in the pneumatic pressure vessel 111. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a pneumatic vibration isolator provided with a plurality of pneumatic control valves having different operating characteristics, and more specifically, to a vibration isolation technique capable of reducing high-accuracy vibration isolation and flow loss of compressed air. .

  In processing equipment and inspection equipment that require ultra-precise accuracy, such as semiconductor manufacturing equipment and semiconductor evaluation equipment, (b) To avoid being affected by vibration from external equipment, Or (c) a pneumatic vibration isolator that supports a surface plate of a processing device or an inspection device with a pneumatic container may be used so that the device itself does not vibrate due to the operation of the device itself. (Patent Document 1).

  Conventionally, in this type of pneumatic vibration isolator, displacement such as a flying height signal of a surface plate detected by a displacement sensor and vibration of the surface plate detected by a vibration sensor (acceleration sensor or speed sensor) (for example, air pressure from the floor) In many cases, vibrations applied to the surface plate through the container are input to the control units, and an addition signal of control signals generated by these control units is input to the pneumatic control valve.

  For example, in the vibration isolator 9 shown in FIG. 9, the vibration isolator 9 includes a pneumatic container 911 that supports the surface plate 80 in the vertical direction on the base 70, and a pneumatic container 912 that supports the surface plate 80 in the horizontal direction. It has. In the vibration isolator 9, air is introduced into the pneumatic containers 911, 912 or air is caused to flow out of the pneumatic containers 911, 912, thereby adjusting the internal pressure of the pneumatic containers, thereby controlling the pneumatic container 911. , 912 can generate a force.

  The pneumatic container 911 and the pneumatic container 912 are controlled separately, and the control method is basically the same. Therefore, only the control system for the pneumatic container 911 is shown in FIG. Hereinafter, control of the pneumatic container 911 will be described.

  In FIG. 9, the control system of the pneumatic container 911 includes a pneumatic control valve 92 that adjusts the pneumatic pressure of the pneumatic container 911, a control device 93 that controls the pneumatic control valve 92, and a displacement sensor 941 that detects the displacement of the surface plate 80. A vibration sensor (acceleration sensor) 942 for detecting the vibration of the surface plate 80 and a vibration sensor 943 for detecting the vibration of the base 70 are provided.

  The control device 93 includes a first control unit 931, a second control unit 932, a third control unit 933, and an adder 934. The first control unit 931 generates a feedback control signal (FB) based on the signal from the displacement sensor 941, and the second control unit 932 generates a feedback control signal based on the signal from the vibration sensor 942, The control unit 933 generates a feedforward control signal (FF) based on the signal from the vibration sensor 943. These control signals are added by the adder 934 and output to the pneumatic control valve 92 as the control signal CNTRL. The pneumatic control valve 92 uses the air supplied from the pressure reducing valve 95 to flow the air to be sent to the pneumatic container 911. The internal pressure of the pneumatic container 911, that is, the force generated by the pneumatic container 911 can be controlled.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 10, it is also possible to configure a vibration isolator 9 in which a vibration generation source (moving stage or the like) 81 is mounted on a surface plate 80. In the vibration isolation device 9, the control device 93 includes a first control unit 931, a second control unit 932, a third control unit 933, an adder 934, a fourth control unit 935, and a vibration source information acquisition unit 936.

  In the vibration isolation device 9, the vibration generation source information acquisition unit 936 acquires drive information INF (feedforward control information) from the drive / control device 82 of the vibration generation source 81, and the fourth control unit 935 acquires the drive information INF. A control signal is generated based on the above.

  A feedback control signal from the first control unit 931, a feedback control signal from the second control unit 932, a forward control signal from the third control unit 933, and a feedforward control signal from the fourth control unit 935 are added by an adder 934. These are added and output as a control signal CNTRL to the pneumatic control valve 92. The pneumatic control valve 92 can control the flow rate of air sent to the pneumatic container 911 using the air supplied from the pressure reducing valve 95.

  In the conventional vibration isolator 9, a nozzle flapper valve (hereinafter simply referred to as “flapper valve”) is used as the pneumatic control valve 92. As shown in FIGS. 11A, 11B, and 11C, the flapper valve 92A is configured such that the flapper 921 provided on the nozzle 924 is tilted to the intake port PA side or the exhaust port PC side, or the intake port PA side. And control is performed by continuously changing between the exhaust port and the exhaust port PC side.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 11A, when the flapper valve 92A is fully opened on the intake port PA side of the nozzle 924 (when the exhaust port PC side of the nozzle 924 is fully closed), the intake port PA The air is caused to flow from the control port PB to the pneumatic container 911.

  As shown in FIG. 11B, when the intake port PA side and the exhaust port PC side of the nozzle 924 are half-opened, air flows from the intake port PA to the control port PB and from the control port PB to the exhaust port. Pour air through the PC. In this case, intake from the intake port PA and exhaust from the exhaust port PC are performed simultaneously, and stable control can be performed while a constant flow rate is flowing.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11C, when the intake port PA side of the nozzle 924 is fully closed (when the exhaust port PC side of the nozzle 924 is fully opened), air is allowed to flow out from the pneumatic container 911. .
JP2007-107604

  The flapper valve 92A shown in FIGS. 11A to 11C can perform intake and exhaust by the operation of the flapper 921 as described above, but always exhausts except when the intake port is fully open. (Normally, half of the intake air amount is exhausted even in a steady state), so the loss of compressed air, that is, the power loss of the compressor becomes enormous.

  By the way, the pneumatic container has a first-order integral characteristic. For this reason, when vibration occurs, the control force exhibits a first-order delay saturation characteristic in the internal feedback loop of the calculation unit of the control device 93 of FIG. In particular, when the vibration generating source (moving stage) 81 is mounted on the surface plate 80, the excitation force of the moving stage is high speed, and the influence of the first-order lag characteristic becomes significant. Therefore, satisfactory control cannot be performed.

  In order to eliminate this inconvenience, it is necessary to use a flapper valve 92A having a large rated flow rate as shown in FIGS. However, as described above, the flapper valve 92A exhausts a large amount of exhaust gas even in the steady state, so that the increase in the rated flow rate increases the exhaust flow rate in the steady state. As a result, the energy efficiency of the pneumatic vibration isolator is increased. There is a problem of getting worse.

  On the other hand, it is also conceivable to use a spool valve 92B shown in FIGS. 12A to 12C as a pneumatic control valve. In the spool valve 92B, the spool 9222 in which the groove 9221 is engraved moves inside the cylinder 9220, and air flows from the intake port PA to the control port PB (in FIG. 12A, the white triangle a of the cylinder 9220 The point where the black triangle d matches) or the air can flow from the control port PB to the exhaust port PC (the point where the black triangle d of the spool 9222 matches the white triangle c of the cylinder 9220 in FIG. 12C). .

  The spool valve 92B has a flow rate of zero from the intake port PA and a flow rate of flow from the exhaust port PC at the neutral point (the point where the black triangle d of the spool 9222 matches the white triangle b of the cylinder 9220 in FIG. 12B). Therefore, there is no loss. However, basically, it is not possible to perform a half-opening operation (see FIG. 11B) as in the flapper valve 92A, that is, it is not possible to increase or decrease the flow rate while maintaining a constant flow rate.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a pneumatic vibration isolator that can reduce vibration loss with high accuracy and flow rate of compressed air.

(1)
At least one pneumatic container that can be expanded and contracted by internal pressure;
A mass body that balances the action of the internal pressure of the pneumatic container with gravity or a vertical external force and / or a horizontal external force, and is positioned in the vertical direction and / or the horizontal direction;
A first pneumatic control valve and a second pneumatic control valve connected to the pneumatic container;
Have
Operating the first pneumatic control valve and the second pneumatic control valve to change the flow rate of compressed air supplied to the pneumatic container, thereby reducing the vibration of the mass body. In the pneumatic vibration isolator that controls the internal air pressure of
A signal for controlling a vertical position and / or a horizontal position of the mass body is input to the first pneumatic valve,
A pneumatic vibration isolator, wherein a signal for reducing vibration of the mass body is input to the second pneumatic control valve.
In the present invention, if the internal pressure of the pneumatic container is P and the area receiving pressure is S, the mass M and P * S are balanced.
The signal for controlling the vertical position and / or the horizontal position of the mass body is generated based on the signal detected by the position sensor, and the signal for reducing the vibration of the mass body is the signal detected by the vibration sensor. Generated based on
The first air pressure control valve and the second air pressure control valve are both connected to the air pressure container and operate one volume of internal pressure that is not separated by an inner wall or the like.
The air pressure of the compressed air supplied to the first air pressure control valve and the second air pressure control valve may be the same or different.
A position control signal is input to the first pneumatic control valve and a position control signal is input to the second pneumatic control valve. The position control signal input to the first pneumatic control valve is a DC signal or a low signal. It is a frequency signal (for example, several hertz to several tens of hertz to several kilohertz), and the position control signal input to the second pneumatic control valve is a DC signal or a high frequency signal (for example, several tens of hertz to several kilohertz or more).

(2)
Further, a device connected to the mass body and directly exerting a mechanical effect, a behavior detector for detecting the behavior of the device, or a behavior for detecting a peripheral behavior that mechanically affects the mass body via the pneumatic container Equipped with a detector,
A control signal is sent to the first pneumatic control valve or the second pneumatic control valve based on a signal from a behavior detector that detects the behavior of the device or the peripheral behavior detector, and the internal pressure of the pneumatic container is reduced. Manipulate,
The pneumatic vibration isolator as described in (1) above.

(3)
Furthermore, a device connected to the mass body and directly exerting a mechanical effect, a behavior detector for detecting the behavior of the device, and a behavior for detecting a peripheral behavior that mechanically affects the mass body via the pneumatic container Equipped with a detector,
A control signal is sent to either the first pneumatic control valve or the second pneumatic control valve based on signals from a behavior detector for detecting the behavior of the device and the peripheral behavior detector, Manipulate internal pressure,
The pneumatic vibration isolator as described in (1) above.

(4)
One of the said pneumatic control valves is a nozzle flapper valve, and the other is a spool valve, The pneumatic vibration isolator in any one of (1) to (3) characterized by the above-mentioned.

[Application Examples and Embodiments of the Present Invention]
Application examples or embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
(A01) In an actuator for generating a force in the pneumatic container by flowing air into the pneumatic container or letting air out of the pneumatic container to adjust the internal pressure of the pneumatic container,
A plurality of pneumatic control valves connected to the pneumatic container and operating based on a drive signal;
One or more pressure supply means for supplying pressurized air to the plurality of pneumatic control valves;
With
The plurality of pneumatic control valves include:
Using pressurized air supplied from the one or more pressure supply means, the flow rate or pressure obtained based on the drive signal is synthesized inside the pneumatic container, and the force is generated in the pneumatic container. Let
A pneumatic container actuator.
In the pneumatic container actuator of the present invention, one pneumatic control valve
One pressure supply means (for example, a pressure reducing valve) may be provided, or two or more air pressure control valves (may be all air pressure control valves, or may be part of all air pressure control valves) In some cases, one pressure supply means may be provided.

(A02) The pneumatic container actuator according to (A01), wherein a characteristic of at least one pneumatic control valve among the plurality of pneumatic control valves is different from a characteristic of at least one other pneumatic control valve.

(A03) The pneumatic container actuator according to (A02), wherein each characteristic of each pneumatic control valve is a characteristic of the inflow / outflow amount of the air.
The inflow amount and the outflow amount (flow rate Q) can be expressed as a positive value in the case of inflow and a negative value in the case of outflow. All the pneumatic control valves may have the same characteristics.

(A04) The pneumatic container actuator according to (A02), wherein each characteristic of each pneumatic control valve is a characteristic of an air pressure that the pneumatic control valve applies to the pneumatic container.
The air pressure control valve operates while receiving supply of pressurized air from the pressure supply means when air is introduced into the air pressure container (at the time of pressurization). When the air pressure control valve causes air to flow out from the inside of the pneumatic container (during pressure reduction), depending on the conversion method, the air pressure control valve operates without receiving pressurized air from the pressure supply means (for example, In some cases, it may be a spool valve, and in other cases, it may operate while receiving pressurized air supplied from the pressure supply means (for example, a flapper valve).

(A05) A driving signal given to at least one pneumatic control valve among the plurality of pneumatic control valves is different from a driving signal given to at least one other pneumatic control valve. A04) A pneumatic container actuator according to any one of the above.
For example, the same drive signal may be given to a plurality of pneumatic control valves having different characteristics. For example, if two pneumatic control valves with flow rates Q and 2Q are connected, the flow rate obtained by combining them can be flowed into or out of the pneumatic container.

(A06) Any one of (A01) to (A05) is characterized in that, among the plurality of pneumatic control valves, a driving system of at least one pneumatic control valve is different from a driving system of at least one other pneumatic control valve. A pneumatic container actuator according to claim 1.
All the pneumatic control valves may have the same driving method. Pneumatic control valves usually have different characteristics when the driving method is different, but may have the same characteristics even when the driving method is different. Even if the driving method is the same, the characteristics may be different.

(A07) Among the plurality of pneumatic control valves, the operating frequency band on the mechanism of at least one pneumatic control valve is different from the operating frequency band on the mechanism of at least one other pneumatic control valve. The pneumatic container actuator according to any one of (A01) to (A06).
For example, a solenoid valve or the like mainly operates by either ON (air supply) or OFF (exhaust), and typically operates on a direct current (frequency is zero Hz). Such a solenoid valve can be used in combination with a flapper valve or a spool valve capable of alternating current operation (frequency is, for example, several Hz or more). It should be noted that at least one of the flapper valve and the spool valve can be operated in direct current and the other can be operated in alternating current.

(A08) The drive signal input to the plurality of pneumatic control valves is different between a frequency band for operating at least one pneumatic control valve and a frequency band for operating at least one other pneumatic control valve. The pneumatic container actuator according to any one of claims 1 to 7.
For example, even if a plurality of pneumatic control valves are all the same pneumatic control valve, at least one pneumatic control valve is driven by a DC signal (corresponding to a frequency of zero Hz), and at least one other pneumatic control valve is an AC signal. It may be driven by (frequency signal higher than zero Hz).

(A09) The pneumatic container actuator according to any one of (A01) to (A08), wherein two pneumatic control valves are provided, one being a nozzle flapper valve and the other being a spool valve.

(A10) In a pneumatic container actuator control system using at least one pneumatic container actuator according to any one of (A01) to (A09),
The at least one pneumatic container actuator for supporting a controlled object in a vertical direction, a horizontal direction, or both vertical and horizontal directions;
A plurality of behavior detectors for detecting the behavior of the controlled object, and / or a plurality of behavior detectors for detecting a surrounding behavior of the controlled object that mechanically affects the controlled object;
A control device that obtains a signal from each behavior detector and performs arithmetic processing;
With
The control device sends drive signals to a plurality of pneumatic control valves respectively provided in the at least one pneumatic container actuator based on the acquired signals from the behavior detectors.
The plurality of pneumatic control valves synthesize the flow rate or pressure obtained based on the drive signal inside the pneumatic container, and generate the force in the pneumatic container.
A pneumatic container actuator control system.

(A11) The control device includes a control unit that individually processes signals acquired from the behavior detectors,
The control device controls each pneumatic control valve using a signal processed individually by each control unit,
The pneumatic container actuator control system described in (A10).
(A12) comprising a vibration source information acquisition unit for acquiring information from a vibration source mounted on the surface plate,
The control device includes a control unit that sends the drive signal to at least one of the plurality of pneumatic control valves based on information from a vibration source information acquisition unit (A10) or (A11) ) Pneumatic container actuator control system.

(A13) In the pneumatic container actuator control system according to any one of (A10) and (A11), which uses at least one pneumatic container actuator according to (A09),
The behavior detector is composed of two sensors, a displacement sensor and an acceleration sensor, which detect the behavior of the controlled object.
The control device controls the nozzle flapper valve by a signal from the displacement sensor, and controls the spool valve by a signal from the acceleration sensor;
An actuator control system characterized by that.
The frequency component contained in the signal from the displacement sensor is removed by a filter in the control device, and a direct current component (or a frequency component on the order of zero Hz to several Hz lower than the frequency) is applied to the nozzle flapper valve. Further, a direct current component (or a frequency component having a low frequency) included in a signal from the acceleration sensor is removed by a filter, and a higher frequency component (direct current component) is given to the spool valve.

(A14) In the pneumatic container actuator control system according to (A12), which uses at least one pneumatic container actuator according to (A09),
The behavior detector is composed of two sensors, a displacement sensor and an acceleration sensor, which detect the behavior of the controlled object.
A vibration source information acquisition unit that acquires information from a vibration source mounted on the surface plate,
The control device controls the nozzle flapper valve by a signal added from a signal from the displacement sensor and a signal from the acceleration sensor, and controls the spool valve by a signal acquired by the vibration source information acquisition unit.
An actuator control system characterized by that.
The vibration source information acquisition unit may be separate from the control device or may be incorporated in a part of the control device.

(A15) In the pneumatic container actuator control system according to (A11), using at least one pneumatic container actuator according to (A09),
The behavior detector includes a displacement sensor and an acceleration sensor that detect the behavior of the control target, and an acceleration sensor that detects a surrounding behavior of the control target.
The control device controls the nozzle flapper valve by a signal from the displacement sensor, and controls the spool valve by an addition signal of signals from the two acceleration sensors;
An actuator control system characterized by that.

(A16) In the pneumatic container actuator control system according to (A12), in which at least one pneumatic container actuator according to (A09) is used,
The behavior detector includes a displacement sensor and an acceleration sensor that detect the behavior of the control target, and an acceleration sensor that detects a surrounding behavior of the control target.
A vibration source information acquisition unit that acquires information from a vibration source mounted on the surface plate,
The control device controls the nozzle flapper valve by a signal from the displacement sensor and an addition signal from the two acceleration sensors, and controls the spool valve by information from the vibration source information acquisition unit.
An actuator control system characterized by that.

(A17) A pneumatically driven vibration isolator having the pneumatic container actuator control system according to (A10) to (A16).

  (1) In the present invention, the flow rate or pressure from a plurality of pneumatic control valves is synthesized inside the pneumatic container so that a desired force is generated in the pneumatic container. The optimal control can be performed according to the control object and the surrounding behavior, such as improving the efficiency of the control.

  (2) In the application of the present invention, a plurality of pneumatic control valves having different operating characteristics are attached to one pneumatic container, and the behavior of the controlled object itself and the surrounding behavior of the controlled object are detected by a behavior detector. The pneumatic control valve is feedback driven or feed forward driven to dampen (or eliminate) vibration, so it is optimal for the control target and surrounding behavior, such as improving responsiveness and improving energy consumption efficiency. Control can be performed.

  That is, in the application of the present invention, a plurality of pneumatic control valves are provided for one pneumatic container. For example, a pneumatic control valve having a small rated flow rate is used in a control state where the flow rate may be small, and a rated value is exhibited in a control state where the flow rate is large. A pneumatic control valve with a large flow rate can be used.

  Further, for example, direct current control is performed in which a flapper valve is used as a pneumatic control valve having a small rated flow rate to position a control target. In this case, half of the intake air is exhausted as it is, but since the one with a small rated flow rate is used, the consumption flow rate does not increase. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the power loss of the compressor. In addition, vibration control (AC control) is performed using a spool valve as a pneumatic control valve having a large rated flow rate. In this case, as long as vibration does not occur, it can be driven without exhausting, so the flow rate does not increase. That is, it becomes possible to make it higher than the responsiveness obtained by increasing the flow rate of one pneumatic control valve, and the exhaust flow rate at the time of steady state is much smaller than that of the former.

  In the application of the present invention, the vibration having a high frequency detected by the vibration sensor (behavior detector) provided on the surface plate is driven by driving the large flow rate pneumatic control valve without exhibiting the saturation characteristic of the first order lag (response). Vibrations can be suppressed quickly (without causing servo system saturation due to delays).

  Also, feed-forward control based on the signal corresponding to the acceleration of the driving device (vibration generation source) such as the mounted stage as well as the signal of the vibration sensor on the surface plate, and output to the large-flow pneumatic control valve It is possible to effectively act against a high frequency excitation force or a large excitation force applied directly to the surface plate.

  A pneumatic container actuator is constituted by the pneumatic control valve and pressure supply means described below. The pressure supply means is a component to which compressed air is supplied. For example, the pressure supply means may be a pressure reducing valve provided for each of the pneumatic control valves, or may be a pressure reducing valve provided in common for a plurality of pneumatic control valves. May be. In addition, a pneumatic container actuator control system is configured by the pneumatic container actuator, a behavior detector described later, and a control device. The operation of the pneumatic container actuator and the operation of the pneumatic container actuator control system will be described together with the description of the operation of the vibration isolation device.

  A pneumatic drive type vibration isolator (pneumatic vibration isolator of the present invention) having the above pneumatic container actuator control system will be described below. In FIG. 1, the vibration isolator 1 includes pneumatic containers 111 and 112, first and second pneumatic control valves 121 and 122, first and second behavior detectors 131 and 132, and first and second control units. And a control device 14 composed of 141 and 142. The pneumatic containers 111 and 112 are provided between the surface plate 80 to be controlled and the base 70. The control device 14 is produced by a CPU function or a processor such as a DSP.

  In FIG. 1, one pneumatic container 111 is shown between the lower surface of the surface plate 80 and the bottom surface of the base 70. Normally, a plurality of pneumatic containers 111 are provided between the lower surface of the surface plate 80 and the bottom surface of the base 70. For example, one pneumatic container 111 is provided at each of the four corners of the surface plate 80.

  In FIG. 1, one pneumatic container 112 is shown between the left and right side surfaces of the surface plate 80 on the drawing and the left and right inner wall surfaces of the base 70 facing the side surfaces on the drawing. Although not shown, the pneumatic container 112 is also provided between the front and rear side surfaces of the surface plate 80 in the drawing and the front and rear inner wall surfaces of the base 70 facing the side surfaces in the drawing. Only one pneumatic container 112 may be provided on one side surface of the surface plate 80, or two or more pneumatic containers 112 may be provided.

  In FIG. 7A described later, one pneumatic container (111A to 111D) is provided at each of the four corners of the lower surface of the surface plate 80 (four in total), and only one pneumatic container is provided on one side surface of the surface plate 80 ( 112A to 112D (four in total). 7B, which will be described later, shows an example of connection between the pneumatic container 111 and the surface plate 80 in FIG. 1 (although connection examples of the surface plate 80 and the air pressure vessels 112A to 112D on the side surfaces thereof are not shown, This is substantially the same as FIG. 7B).

  In FIG. 1, only the control system of the pneumatic container 111 is shown, but the control of the pneumatic container 112 and the control of the pneumatic container 111 are basically the same. In FIG. 1, the pneumatic container 111 can move up and down the surface plate 80 within a range of about ± 2 mm, for example. The first air pressure control valve 121 and the second air pressure control valve 122 have different mechanisms and input / output characteristics, and therefore usually have different operation characteristics. In FIG. 1, the first air pressure control valve 121 is a small flow rate air pressure control valve (flow rate Q1) that constantly exhausts, and is typically a flapper valve. In FIG. 1, the second air pressure control valve 122 is a large flow rate air pressure control valve (flow rate Q2) that exhausts only during driving, and is typically a spool valve.

  In FIG. 1, air pressurized by an air compressor (not shown) is supplied to the first and second air pressure control valves 121 and 122 via the first and second pressure reducing valves 171 and 172. The pressure values from the first and second pressure reducing valves 171 and 172 can be adjusted as necessary. In FIG. 1, the flow of air flowing into the pneumatic container 111 from the first and second pressure reducing valves 171 and 172, and the flow of air flowing out from the pneumatic container 111 through the first and second pneumatic control valves 121 and 122 to the outside. Each flow is indicated by an arrow. The values of Q1 and Q2 are positive when flowing into the pneumatic container 111 and negative when flowing out of the pneumatic container 111. In this embodiment and the following embodiments, a pressure reducing valve is provided for each air pressure control valve, but one pressure reducing valve may be connected to a plurality of air pressure control valves.

  In FIG. 1, the first behavior detector 131 is a displacement sensor. As the displacement sensor, for example, an optical type, an electric type (electromagnetic type, electrostatic capacitance type, eddy current type) or the like is used. The first behavior detector 131 can detect a displacement on the order of microns, for example. The second behavior detector 132 is a vibration sensor. As the vibration sensor, for example, an acceleration detection type, a speed detection type or the like is used. The second behavior detector 132 can detect vibrations of, for example, several hundred milliHz to several kilohertz.

  The first controller 141 drives the first pneumatic control valve 121 by feeding back (FB) the signal from the first behavior detector 131 (drive signal CNTRL1). The second control unit 142 drives the second pneumatic control valve 122 by feeding back the signal from the second behavior detector 132 (drive signal CNTRL2).

  The displacement amount detected by the first behavior detector 131 (displacement sensor) is usually a relative displacement amount including a direct current component and an alternating current component, and the drive signal CNTRL1 is a direct current component (or the frequency) of the displacement amount. Is a control signal corresponding to a frequency component on the order of several Hz. The physical quantity (acceleration or speed) detected by the second behavior detector 132 (vibration sensor) usually includes a direct current component and an alternating current component, and the drive signal CNTRL2 is a direct current component (or a direct current component or a low frequency component). ) Is a control signal corresponding to the AC component.

  The signal from the first behavior detector 131 is processed by a low-pass filter provided in the first controller 141, and a direct current component (or direct current component or low frequency component) is given to the first pneumatic control valve 121 (flapper valve). It is done. The signal from the second behavior detector 132 is removed by a high-pass filter provided in the second control unit 142, and the frequency component from which the direct current component (or direct current component or low frequency component) is removed is the second pneumatic control valve. 122 (spool valve). Thereby, the air pressure control valve 121 and the air pressure control valve 122 operate in different operating frequency bands.

  In this embodiment and the following embodiments, an A / D converter is provided between the detector and the control unit, and a D / A converter is provided between each control unit and the pneumatic control valve. There are cases where explanation is omitted.

  In the present invention, the number of the first air pressure control valve and the number of the second air pressure control valves is basically one, but a plurality of them can be provided. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an application example of a vibration isolation device including a plurality of first pneumatic control valves.

2, the vibration isolator 1 includes first air pressure control valves 1211, 1212, 1213, and 1214 and a second air pressure control valve 122. In FIG. 2, the first air pressure control valves 1211, 1212, 1213, and 1214 are included. The second pneumatic control valve 122 is also a flapper valve. Air pressurized by an air compressor (not shown) is supplied to the first air pressure control valves 1211, 1212, 1213 and 1214 via the first pressure reducing valves 1711, 1712, 1713 and 1714, and the second pressure reducing valve 172. Is supplied to the second pneumatic control valve 122.
For example, the flow rate Q1 of the first pneumatic control valve 1211 is Q, the flow rate Q2 of the first pneumatic control valve 1212 is 2Q, the flow rate Q3 of the first pneumatic control valve 1213 is 3Q, and the first pneumatic control valve 1214 The flow rate Q4 can be 4 · Q.

  In FIG. 2, as in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the control device 14 includes a first control unit 141 and a second control unit 142. In FIG. 2, the first controller 141 determines how to use a plurality of pneumatic control valves based on a signal from the first behavior detector 131. That is, the first control unit 141 selects one or more of the first air pressure control valves 1211, 1212, 1213, and 1214, and sends one or more of the control signals CNTRL11, CNTRL12, CNTRL13, and CNTRL14. You can do that.

  In the vibration isolator 1 of FIG. 2, four flapper valves are used as the first air pressure control valve. Therefore, when the displacement of the surface plate 80 can be controlled with a small amount of inflow / outflow, the small capacity air pressure control valve is driven. If the displacement of the surface plate 80 has to be controlled with a large amount of inflow / outflow, a large capacity pneumatic control valve may be driven together.

The flow rate Q11 of the first pneumatic control valve 1211 is Q, the flow rate Q12 of the first pneumatic control valve 1212 is 2 · Q, the flow rate Q13 of the first pneumatic control valve 1213 is 4 · Q, and the flow rate Q14 of the first pneumatic control valve 1214 is It can also be set to 8 · Q. In this case, the first controller 141 selects one or more of the first pneumatic control valves 1211, 1212, 1213, 1214, and one or more of the corresponding control signals CNTRL11, CNTRL12, CNTRL13, CNTRL14. Can be sent out. Thus, when the displacement of the surface plate 80 can be controlled with a small amount of inflow / outflow, a combination of the pneumatic control valves can be selected so as to reduce the capacity, and the displacement of the surface plate 80 can be controlled with a large amount of inflow / outflow. When it is necessary to do so, a pneumatic control valve may be selected in combination so as to have a large capacity.
In addition, although the example which has several 1st pneumatic control valves was demonstrated in FIG. 2, several 2nd pneumatic control valves may be sufficient, and both the 1st pneumatic control valve and the 2nd pneumatic control valve are each plural. It may be.

  When there are a plurality of second air pressure control valves, the second control unit 142 sends a control signal of a predetermined frequency band to any one of the plurality of second air pressure control valves, and the second air pressure control valve It operates according to this frequency band. In addition, when there are a plurality of second air pressure control valves, the second control unit 142 sends a control signal of a different frequency band to one or more of the plurality of second air pressure control valves, and each second air pressure control valve. The valve can also operate according to these frequency bands.

  In the description of FIG. 2, both the first air pressure control valve and the second air pressure control valve are described as flapper valves. However, both the first air pressure control valve and the second air pressure control valve may be spool valves. The first air pressure control valve may be a flapper valve and the second air pressure control valve may be a spool valve.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing an embodiment of a vibration isolation device for removing the influence of vibration of the base. The vibration isolator 1 of FIG. 3 is obtained by adding vibration isolation control for removing the influence of vibration of the base 70 to the vibration isolator 1 of FIG. , A detector for detecting the behavior around the control object 80, and an acceleration sensor in FIG. 3 is provided. In addition to the first and second control units 141 and 142, a third control unit 143 that acquires a signal from the third behavior detector 133 is provided. 3 feeds forward (FF) the signal from the third behavior detector 133. In FIG. 3, the control signal CNTRL 3 from the third control unit 143 is added to the control signal CNTRL 2 from the second control unit 142 by the adder 144 and sent to the second pneumatic control valve 122.

  As described above, in the vibration isolator 1 of FIG. 3, vibration transmitted from the base 70 to the surface plate 80 in conjunction with the feedback control by the first control unit 141 and the second control unit 142 based on the movement of the surface plate 80. The feedforward suppression by the third control unit 143 can be performed, and external vibration can be more effectively removed.

Although the present invention basically includes a first air pressure control valve and a second air pressure control valve, a third control valve can be added. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an application example in which a third pneumatic control valve and a third control unit are added to the vibration isolation device of FIG.
That is, the vibration isolator 1 in FIG. 1 is added with vibration isolation control for removing the influence of vibration of the base 70, and the base 70 is provided with the third behavior detector 133 similar to FIG. A third air pressure control valve 123 is provided in the air pressure container 111, and a pressure reducing valve 173 is connected to the third air pressure control valve 123.

  In FIG. 4, the detection signal from the third behavior detector 133 is sent to the third control unit 143. The third control unit 143 sends a control signal CNTRL3 to the third pneumatic control valve 123. Thereby, the inflow amount to the pneumatic container 111 and the outflow amount (Q3) from the pneumatic container 111 are feedforward controlled (FF), and vibration transmission from the outside (peripheral device or the like) is suppressed.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of a vibration isolation device when a vibration source (such as a moving stage) is mounted on a surface plate. In the vibration isolator 1 of FIG. 5, a vibration generation source (device such as a moving stage) 51 driven by a drive / control device 52 is mounted on the surface plate 80.

  The control device 14 includes a first control unit 141, a second control unit 142, a third control unit 143, an adder 144, and a vibration source information acquisition unit 145. In FIG. 5, a signal (displacement signal) from the first behavior detector 131 is input to the first controller 141, and a signal (vibration signal) from the second behavior detector 132 is input to the second controller 142. The control signal from the control unit 141 and the control signal from the second control unit 142 are added by the adder 144 and sent to the first pneumatic control valve 121 as CNTRL1.

Further, the vibration source information acquisition unit 145 acquires the drive information INF in the drive / control device 52 and sends it to the third control unit 143. The drive information INF may be, for example, monitor information of the drive / control device 52 (vibration generation source information such as voltage value, current value, voltage and current timing: digital signal or analog signal), or vibration generation source. The displacement information and vibration information (digital signal or analog signal) acquired from 51 may be sufficient. In FIG. 5, the vibration source information acquisition unit 145 is illustrated as a part of the control device 14, but can be configured separately from the control device 14.
A signal from the third control unit 143, that is, a feedforward control signal is sent to the second pneumatic control valve 122 as a control signal CNTRL2.

  Also in FIG. 5, the first air pressure control valve 121 is a small flow rate air pressure control valve that constantly exhausts, and is typically a flapper valve. The second air pressure control valve 122 is a large flow rate air pressure control valve that supplies and exhausts air only during driving, and is typically a spool valve. In the vibration isolator 1 of FIG. 5, vibration transmission from the vibration source 51 to the surface plate 80 is suppressed.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of a vibration isolation device in which a vibration generating source is mounted on a surface plate and the influence of vibration of the base can be removed.
The vibration isolator 1 in FIG. 6 is obtained by adding vibration isolation control for removing vibration of the base 70 to the vibration isolator 1 in FIG. 5, and a third behavior detector 133 (this embodiment) is added to the base 70. , An acceleration sensor) is provided. The control device 14 includes a vibration source information acquisition unit 145 and a fourth control unit 146 in addition to the first control unit 141, the second control unit 142, the third control unit 143, and the adder 144. . The fourth control unit 146 acquires a signal from the third behavior detector 133 and generates a feedforward control signal. Signals from the first control unit 141, the second control unit 142, and the fourth control unit 146 are added by the adder 144, and are sent to the first pneumatic control valve 121 as a control signal CNTRL1.

The vibration source information acquisition unit 145 acquires drive information INF in the drive / control device 52 and sends it to the third control unit 143. The third control unit 143 sends a control signal CNTRL2 to the second pneumatic control valve 122.
In each of the above embodiments, the control of the pneumatic container 111 has been described, but as described above, the control of the pneumatic container 112 is substantially the same as the control of the pneumatic container 111. However, a conventional technique (using only a flapper valve as a pneumatic control valve) may be applied to the pneumatic container 112 that performs vibration isolation in the horizontal direction.

As shown in the layout diagram of FIG. 7A, the vibration isolator 1 normally includes two pneumatic containers 112A and 112C that are driven in the X direction and two pneumatic containers 112B and 112D that are driven in the Y direction. It operates in the horizontal direction, and is provided to move the surface plate 80 in the XY directions and rotate around the Z axis. In FIG. 7A, the pneumatic containers are arranged so as not to be adjacent to other pneumatic containers at the corners of the side surface of the surface plate 80, but may be arranged adjacent to each other.
In addition, the four pneumatic containers 111A, 111B, 111C, and 111D provided on the lower surface of the surface plate 80 operate in the vertical direction, move the surface plate 80 in the Z direction, and rotate around the X axis and the Y axis. It is provided to let you. Therefore, the control with the total 6 degrees of freedom of the three degrees of freedom in the X, Y, and Z axis directions and the three degrees of freedom of rotation of the X, Y, and Z axes (φ _X , φ _Y , φ _Z ) in FIG. It can be carried out.

  In the present invention, a part of each signal from the first behavior detector 131, the second behavior detector 132, the third behavior detector 133, and the vibration source information acquisition unit 145 is converted into one pneumatic control valve 121 (a flapper valve). ), And the remainder is the second air pressure control valve 122 (spool valve). A combination of a signal sent to the first pneumatic control valve 121 and a signal sent to the second pneumatic control valve 122 can be selected as appropriate.

  FIG. 7B is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the pneumatic container 111 (or 112) used in the vibration isolation device 1 of FIG. A pneumatic container 111 (112) in FIG. 7B includes a container part H and a rubber film R accommodated in the container part H. FIG. 7B shows a case where the diameters of the first air pressure control valve 121 (flapper valve) and the second air pressure control valve 122 (spool valve) are 2φ and the supply pressure is 0.3 MPa, respectively. Or the diameter of the pneumatic control valve may be different.

  Hereinafter, a typical configuration in the case where two pneumatic control valves are connected to the pneumatic container will be described. In the present invention, when there are two pneumatic control valves, the mechanism and the operating characteristics may be the same (the configuration of the two pneumatic control valves is exactly the same), or at least one of the mechanism and the operating characteristics is different. Also good. As used herein, “operation characteristics” are input / output characteristics (voltage / force characteristics), response characteristics, and the like. When the nozzle diameter or pipe diameter of the pneumatic control valve is different, or when the supply pressure is different, the operation characteristics are different.

  In FIG. 8A, the first air pressure control valve 121 and the second air pressure control valve 122 are both flapper valves, and the mechanism is the same. The nozzle diameters of the first air pressure control valve 121 and the second air pressure control valve 122 are the same (2φ), but the supply pressure of the first air pressure control valve 121 is 0.6 MPa, and the supply pressure of the second air pressure control valve 122 is 0. Since it is different from 3 MPa, the operation characteristics are different from each other.

  In FIG. 8B, the first air pressure control valve 121 and the second air pressure control valve 122 are both flapper valves, and the mechanism is the same. The supply pressures of the first air pressure control valve 121 and the second air pressure control valve 122 are the same (0.6 MPa), but the nozzle diameter of the first air pressure control valve 121 is 2φ and the nozzle diameter of the second air pressure control valve 122 is 10φ. Therefore, the operation characteristics are different from each other.

  In FIG. 8C, the first air pressure control valve 121 and the second air pressure control valve 122 are both spool valves, and the mechanism is the same. The nozzle diameters of the first air pressure control valve 121 and the second air pressure control valve 122 are the same (2φ), but the supply pressure of the first air pressure control valve 121 is 0.6 MPa, and the supply pressure of the second air pressure control valve 122 is 0. Since it is different from 3 MPa, the operation characteristics are different from each other.

  In FIG. 8D, the first air pressure control valve 121 and the second air pressure control valve 122 are both spool valves, and the mechanism is the same. The supply pressures of the first air pressure control valve 121 and the second air pressure control valve 122 are the same (0.6 MPa), but the nozzle diameter of the first air pressure control valve 121 is 2φ and the nozzle diameter of the second air pressure control valve 122 is 10φ. Therefore, the operation characteristics are different from each other.

It is explanatory drawing of one Embodiment of the pneumatic vibration isolator of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the application example of the pneumatic vibration isolator of this invention in case there are multiple 1st pneumatic control valves. It is explanatory drawing of embodiment of the pneumatic vibration isolator of this invention which detects the vibration of a base and feeds forward. It is explanatory drawing of the application example of the pneumatic vibration isolator of this invention which detects the vibration of a base and feeds forward. It is explanatory drawing of other embodiment of the pneumatic vibration isolator of this invention which acquires the information of the vibration generation source on a surface plate, and feeds forward. It is explanatory drawing of other embodiment of the pneumatic vibration isolator of this invention which detects the vibration of a base, feeds forward, acquires the information of the vibration generation source on a surface plate, and feeds forward. (A) is a figure which shows arrangement | positioning of the pneumatic container provided in the surface plate and the surface plate, (B) is FIG.7 (B) is a figure of the pneumatic container 11 used for the vibration isolator 1 of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example. It is explanatory drawing which shows the case where the mechanism of the 1st pneumatic control valve provided in the pneumatic container and the 2nd pneumatic control valve are the same, (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the example from which the supply pressure of a flapper valve differs, (B) is FIG. 4C is an explanatory view showing an example in which the nozzle diameter of the flapper valve is different; FIG. 8C is an explanatory view showing an example in which the supply pressure of the spool valve is different; and FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the conventional pneumatic vibration isolator. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other example of the conventional pneumatic vibration isolator. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a flapper valve, (A) The mode that the intake port of the nozzle is fully opened, (B) is the mode that the intake port of the nozzle is half-opened, (C) is the intake port of the nozzle It is a figure which shows a mode that the side is fully closed. It is an operation explanatory view of a spool valve, (A) shows a state in which air is flowing from the intake port to the control port, and (B) is a neutral point of the spool, and both the intake port and the exhaust port are closed. (C) is a figure which shows a mode that air is flowing from the control port to the intake port.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vibration isolator 14 Control apparatus 51 Vibration generation source 52 Drive / control apparatus of a vibration generation source 70 Base 80 Surface plate 111,111A, 111B, 111C, 111D Pneumatic container 112,112A, 112B, 112C, 112D which operate | moves vertically Horizontally operated pneumatic containers 121, 1211, 1212, 1213, 1214 First pneumatic control valve 122 Second pneumatic control valve 123 Third pneumatic control valve 131 First behavior detector 132 Second behavior detector 133 Third behavior detector 141 First Control Unit 142 Second Control Unit 143 Third Control Unit 144 Adder 145 Vibration Source Information Acquisition Unit 146 Third Control Unit 171 First Pressure Reduction Valve 172 Second Pressure Reduction Valve 173 Third Pressure Reduction Valve CNTL, CNTL1, CNTL2 , CNTL3 Control signal H Container part PA, PB, PC port R Rubber

Claims (4)

At least one pneumatic container that can be expanded and contracted by internal pressure;
A mass body that balances the action of the internal pressure of the pneumatic container with gravity or a vertical external force and / or a horizontal external force, and is positioned in the vertical direction and / or the horizontal direction;
A first pneumatic control valve and a second pneumatic control valve connected to the pneumatic container;
Have
Operating the first pneumatic control valve and the second pneumatic control valve to change the flow rate of compressed air supplied to the pneumatic container, thereby reducing the vibration of the mass body. In the pneumatic vibration isolator that controls the internal air pressure of
A signal for controlling a vertical position and / or a horizontal position of the mass body is input to the first pneumatic valve,
A pneumatic vibration isolator, wherein a signal for reducing vibration of the mass body is input to the second pneumatic control valve. Further, a device connected to the mass body and directly exerting a mechanical effect, a behavior detector for detecting the behavior of the device, or a behavior for detecting a peripheral behavior that mechanically affects the mass body via the pneumatic container Equipped with a detector,
A control signal is sent to the first pneumatic control valve or the second pneumatic control valve based on a signal from a behavior detector that detects the behavior of the device or the peripheral behavior detector, and the internal pressure of the pneumatic container is reduced. Manipulate,
The pneumatic vibration isolator according to claim 1. Furthermore, a device connected to the mass body and directly exerting a mechanical effect, a behavior detector for detecting the behavior of the device, and a behavior for detecting a peripheral behavior that mechanically affects the mass body via the pneumatic container Equipped with a detector,
A control signal is sent to either the first pneumatic control valve or the second pneumatic control valve based on signals from a behavior detector for detecting the behavior of the device and the peripheral behavior detector, Manipulate internal pressure,
The pneumatic vibration isolator according to claim 1. The pneumatic vibration isolator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein one of the pneumatic control valves is a nozzle flapper valve and the other is a spool valve.

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