JP2013160609A - Leak inspection apparatus and leak inspection method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a leak inspection apparatus and a leak inspection method capable of efficiently performing leak inspection for inspection targets by a simple construction.SOLUTION: The leak inspection apparatus includes: a pressurizing chamber 10 having an inner space to pressurize the inner space; a part feeder 108 arranged in the inner space of the pressurizing chamber 10 and capable of carrying out inspection targets corresponding to the predetermined number of inspections out of a plurality of inspection targets existing in the inner space to the outside; a rotary table 21 arranged under the pressurizing chamber 10 and arranging a plurality of rotary pots 22; a spare chamber 20 arranged adjacently to the pressurizing chamber 10 and capable of successively supplying the inspection targets for the number of inspections from the part feeder 108 to the plurality of rotary pots 22 in a state that atmosphere in the pressurizing chamber 10 is held at fixed atmosphere by repeating connection and disconnection to/from the pressurizing chamber 10 while adjusting atmosphere in the spare chamber itself; and a measurement part 3 for successively performing leak inspections for the inspection targets in the plurality of rotary pots 22.

Description

  The present invention relates to a leak inspection apparatus and a leak inspection method.

  Conventionally, as a tracer gas as a means to judge the quality of workpieces (inspected objects) such as electronic parts such as piezoelectric devices, automobile parts (fuel system, hydraulic system), car air conditioner parts, air conditioning parts, etc. that require high sealing performance There is a leak test using helium gas. In this leak inspection, preliminary processing is performed before setting the inspection object on the leak measuring instrument. Specifically, a plurality of objects to be inspected are placed in a pressurized tank, the inside of the pressurized tank is vacuumed, and then helium gas is injected into the container to pressurize the objects to be inspected in a helium gas atmosphere. If there is a fine flaw on the inspection object, helium gas enters the inspection object from this flaw. After pressurizing for a predetermined time, the object to be inspected is taken out from the pressurization tank and opened to the atmosphere for a predetermined time. The inspection object is set on a measuring instrument and helium leak is measured.

  A helium leak measuring instrument is provided with a capsule. An object to be inspected is put in the capsule and the inside of the capsule is vacuumed. Thereby, the helium gas in the inspection object is discharged outside the inspection object, and the measuring device detects the helium gas. Thereby, it is possible to detect an inspected object having a fine scratch and eliminate it as a defective product.

  The above-described preliminary processing and setting of the object to be inspected to the measuring instrument are performed manually by an operator, and there is a problem that work efficiency is poor. In order to solve such a problem, in the helium leak inspection apparatus described in Patent Document 1, a plurality of containers arranged on an index table are used as containers for pressurizing an object to be inspected in a helium environment. Is used. That is, a plurality of objects to be inspected are subdivided into one container for each inspection, the inside of the container is sealed with upper and lower lids, and pressurized with helium gas. By reducing the size of the container, the evacuation time can be shortened, and by sealing each container, leakage of helium gas after the helium filling can be prevented.

JP 2001-74587 A

  However, the helium leak inspection apparatus described in Patent Document 1 requires a cylinder mechanism for opening and closing the upper and lower lids for each container, and further needs to rotate the cylinder mechanism in synchronization with the index table. For this reason, the outer dimensions of the apparatus are increased and the apparatus cost is high. Further, since it is necessary to perform evacuation, helium gas injection, and air release for each container, the amount of helium gas used increases and work time is required.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a leak inspection apparatus and a leak inspection method capable of efficiently performing a leak inspection of an inspection object with a simple structure.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a leak inspection apparatus and a leak inspection method capable of reducing the external dimensions of the apparatus and reducing the apparatus cost.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a leak inspection apparatus and a leak inspection method capable of reducing the amount of gas used for leak inspection.

SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to solve at least a part of the problems described above, and the invention can be implemented as the following forms or application examples.
[Application Example 1] The pressurizing chamber includes a pressurizing chamber, a preparatory chamber passing through the pressurizing chamber, a shutter that partitions the pressurizing chamber and the preparatory chamber, and a measurement unit that performs a leak test, and the pressurizing chamber The chamber includes a parts feeder for carrying the inspection object from the pressurizing chamber to the spare chamber, and a means for pressurizing the pressurizing chamber is connected to the spare chamber. A leak inspection apparatus comprising a carry-out port to be carried out and connected to a means for pressurizing the preliminary chamber.
According to the present invention, the pressurizing chamber includes a parts feeder for carrying an object to be inspected from the pressurizing chamber to a spare chamber, and means for pressurizing the pressurizing chamber is connected to the spare chamber. Is provided with a carry-out port through which the object to be inspected is carried out of the spare chamber, and is connected to a means for pressurizing the spare chamber. An object to be inspected in the feeder can be carried out from the discharge port of the spare room to the outside of the spare room, and a leak inspection of the object to be carried out can be performed. Therefore, even without providing a top and bottom lid and a cylinder mechanism for opening and closing the top and bottom lids for each of the plurality of pressurized containers, a leak inspection can be performed efficiently with a simple structure, and the external dimensions of the apparatus are reduced. The apparatus cost can be reduced.

Application Example 2 The leak inspection apparatus according to Application Example 1, which includes an index table disposed below the carry-out port of the preliminary chamber and having a plurality of containers.
According to the present invention, the object to be inspected carried out from the parts feeder through the outlet of the preliminary chamber is supplied into each container of the index table, and the object to be inspected is left in the container in the atmosphere. The gas on the surface of the inspection object can be removed.

Application Example 3 In the application example 1 or 2, the measurement unit includes a measurement container that accommodates an object to be inspected, and an air shooter is provided between the container and the measurement container. Leak inspection device.
According to the present invention, the object to be inspected in the container can be supplied to the measurement container via the air shooter.

Application Example 4 The leak inspection apparatus according to Application Example 3, wherein a through hole is provided on the bottom surface of the container.
According to the present invention, since air flows from the inside of the container to the air shooter through the through-hole of the container by blowing air from below the container, the object to be inspected in the container passes through the air shooter to the measurement unit. Can be transported.

Application Example 5 The pressurizing chamber has a supply port for supplying an object to be inspected to the parts feeder, and the supply port is located at a position facing the bowl portion of the parts feeder. The leak inspection apparatus according to any one of Application Examples 1 to 4.
According to the present invention, the object to be inspected can be easily supplied from the supply port of the pressurizing chamber into the bowl portion of the parts feeder.

Application Example 6 A step of supplying an inspection object into a parts feeder disposed in a pressurizing chamber, a step of supplying gas to the pressurizing chamber and pressurizing the inspection object, and the pressurizing chamber A step of unloading a part of the inspection objects in the parts feeder into a preliminary chamber having a substantially same atmospheric pressure as the pressurizing chamber, and the preliminary chamber and the pressurizing chamber A leak inspection method comprising: a step of blocking internal passage and depressurizing the preliminary chamber; and a step of detecting the gas with respect to the inspection object carried out from the preliminary chamber.
According to the present invention, in a state where the pressure in the pressurizing chamber is kept constant, a part of the inspection object in the parts feeder disposed in the pressurizing chamber is unloaded from the spare chamber via the spare chamber, Since gas can be detected for the object to be inspected, it is possible to efficiently detect with a simple structure without providing an upper and lower lid and a cylinder mechanism for opening and closing the upper and lower lids for each of the plurality of pressurized containers. Leak inspection can be performed, the external dimensions of the apparatus can be reduced, and the apparatus cost can be reduced.

It is a typical side view of the leak inspection apparatus concerning this embodiment of the present invention. It is a typical top view of the leak inspection apparatus concerning the embodiment. (A) is the state which the valve plate of the valve mechanism closed, (b) is a figure which shows the state which the valve plate of the valve mechanism opened. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the procedure of the leak inspection method using the leak inspection apparatus which concerns on the same embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a leak inspection apparatus according to this embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the leak inspection apparatus according to this embodiment.
The leak inspection apparatus includes a pressurizing unit 1, an air leaving unit 2, and a measuring unit 3.

  The pressurizing unit 1 includes a pressurizing chamber 10 and a spare chamber 20. The pressurizing chamber 10 has an internal space for filling a trace gas such as helium gas. On the side surface of the pressurizing chamber 10, as means for pressurizing the inside of the pressurizing chamber 10, a helium injection passage 101 for injecting helium into the pressurization chamber 10, an air injection passage 102 for injecting air, A suction passage 103 for evacuating the inside of the pressurizing chamber 10 is connected. A helium cylinder (not shown) that stores pressurized helium gas is connected to the helium injection passage 101. An air cylinder (not shown) that stores air is connected to the air injection passage 102. A vacuum pump (not shown) is connected to the suction passage 103.

An opening 107 is provided at the bottom of the pressurizing chamber 10, and a preliminary chamber 20 is provided adjacent to the lower portion of the opening 107. The pressurizing chamber 10 and the spare chamber 20 are passed through.
A parts feeder 108 is disposed in the internal space of the pressurizing chamber 10.

  The parts feeder 108 includes a bowl portion 108a that accommodates an object to be inspected. In the bowl portion 108a, a transfer path (not shown) is formed spirally from the center toward the outer peripheral edge, and a discharge portion 108b for an inspection object is provided at an end of the transfer path. Further, below the bowl portion 108a, a vibrating portion 108c that applies vibration to the bowl portion 108a is provided.

  When the bowl part 108a vibrates by the vibration part 108c in a state where the inspection object is accommodated in the center part of the bowl part 108a, the inspection object moves from the center part toward the outer peripheral part along the transfer path, and the discharge part 108b. And is discharged to the outside of the parts feeder 108.

  The discharge unit 108b is provided with a sensor (not shown). The sensor counts the number of inspected objects that have passed through the discharge unit 108b. When the parts feeder 108 receives an operation start command from a controller (not shown), the parts feeder 108 starts to vibrate the bowl portion 108a. When the sensor counts the inspection object by a predetermined inspection quantity, the parts feeder 108 stops the vibration.

Between the parts feeder 108 and the opening 107, there is provided a pipe 109 for dropping the inspection object discharged from the parts feeder 108 to the opening 107.
A shutter device (corresponding to “shutter”) 110 is provided on the bottom surface of the pressurizing chamber 10 to partition the pressurizing chamber 10 and the spare chamber 20. By opening / closing the shutter device 110 with a controller (not shown), the opening 107 is opened and closed, and the pressurizing chamber 10 and the spare chamber 20 are connected and disconnected.

  On the upper surface of the pressurizing chamber 10, a supply port 111 for supplying an object to be inspected to the parts feeder 108 and a shutter device 112 for opening and closing the supply port 111 are provided. The supply port 111 is at a position facing the bowl portion 108 a of the parts feeder 108. The shutter device 112 includes a horizontally moving shutter unit 112a and a vertical movement actuator 112b that moves the shutter unit 112a up and down. Upon receiving an operation start command from a controller (not shown), the shutter device 112 slides the shutter portion 112a in the horizontal direction, moves the shutter portion 112a to above the supply port 111, and moves the vertical movement actuator 112b downward. Then, the supply port 111 is sealed.

  The preliminary chamber 20 has an internal space. On the side of the spare chamber 20, as means for pressurizing the interior of the spare chamber 20, a helium injection passage 201 for injecting helium gas into the pressurization chamber 10, an air injection passage 202 for injecting air, a spare A suction passage 203 for evacuating the chamber 20 is connected. A helium cylinder (not shown) that stores pressurized helium gas is connected to the helium injection passage 201. An air cylinder (not shown) that stores air is connected to the air injection passage 202. A vacuum pump (not shown) is connected to the suction passage 203 (hereinafter also referred to as “atmospheric pressure adjusting means”).

The preliminary chamber 20 has a carry-out port 207 at the bottom, and is provided with a valve mechanism 208 that opens and closes the carry-out port 207 adjacent to the lower side of the carry-out port 207.
The valve mechanism 208 is controlled to be opened and closed by a controller (not shown), whereby communication with the atmosphere of the spare chamber 20 and blocking thereof are performed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the valve mechanism 208 includes a valve plate 208a and a vertical movement actuator 208b that moves the valve plate 208a up and down. 3A shows a state in which the valve plate 208a is closed, and FIG. 3B shows a state in which the valve plate 208a is opened.

  In the closed state shown in FIG. 3A, the vertical movement actuator 208 b presses the valve plate 208 a against the carry-out port 207 of the preliminary chamber 20 from below to prevent helium gas leakage from the preliminary chamber 20.

  Further, when the helium gas is exhausted from the preliminary chamber 20 and released into the atmosphere, the vertical movement actuator 208b is moved downward, so that the valve plate 208a connected to the vertical movement actuator 208b is also moved downward. The open state shown in FIG.

  The valve mechanism 208 is not limited to the one described above, and the carry-out port 207 of the spare chamber 20 is sealed, the carry-out port 207 is opened, and the inspection object in the spare chamber 20 is carried out of the spare chamber 20. Any mechanism can be used as long as it can be used.

  While controlling the opening and closing of the shutter device 110 and the valve mechanism 208, the pressure in the preparatory chamber 20 is adjusted by the atmospheric pressure adjusting means, so that the pressure in the pressurizing chamber 10 is kept constant from the parts feeder 108. The inspection object for the inspection quantity carried out can be sequentially supplied to a plurality of rotary pots (described later) of the air leaving section 2.

  Below the pressure unit 1, an air leaving unit 2 is arranged. The air leaving unit 2 includes a rotary table (corresponding to an “index table”) 21 and a plurality of rotary pots (corresponding to “containers”) 22 arranged on the rotary table 21.

  The rotary table 21 is disposed below the carry-out port 207 of the preliminary chamber 20, and has a motor 211, a rotary shaft 212 extending vertically from the motor 211, and a disk-like shape provided horizontally around the rotary shaft 212. Turntable 213. The motor 211 rotates the rotating shaft 212 according to a command from a controller (not shown), and rotates the rotating table 213 fixed to the rotating shaft 212.

  A plurality of rotary pots 22 are arranged at equal intervals on the peripheral edge of the upper surface of the turntable 213. At each position where the rotary pot 22 is disposed, a thin through-hole 214 that penetrates in the vertical direction is provided.

  The rotary pot 22 is a cylindrical container whose axis is oriented vertically, and a through-hole penetrating in the vertical direction is provided on the bottom surface. The bottom surface of the rotary pot 22 is fixed to the turntable 213 so that the through hole of the rotary pot 22 communicates with the through hole 214 of the turntable 213. Each rotary pot 22 is arranged to move near the lower portion of the spare chamber 20 by the rotation of the rotary table 21. An object to be inspected is put into the rotary pot 22 that has moved near the reserve chamber 20 from the reserve chamber 20 via a funnel 23 or the like.

  One end of the air shooter 40 is disposed at a position substantially symmetrical to the spare chamber 20 around the rotation shaft 212 of the rotary table 21. A blower mechanism (not shown) is disposed below one end of the air shooter 40 and below the rotary table 21. By sending air from the blower mechanism toward the rotary pot 22 above the blower mechanism, the inspection object in the rotary pot 22 is conveyed to the measuring unit 3 via the air shooter 40.

The measuring unit 3 includes an inspection chamber 31, a single axis robot 32, a rotary actuator 33 and a measurement container 34 connected to the single axis robot 32, an OK box 35, and an NG box 36. Check for leaks.
The measurement container 34 is a container for inputting an inspection object, and the inspection object conveyed from the rotary pot 22 is input to the measurement container 34 via the air shooter 40.

  The single axis robot 32 conveys the measurement container 34 along the single axis. The rotary actuator 33 rotates the measurement container 34 and stores the inspection object in the measurement container 34 in the OK box 35 or the NG box 36.

  A vacuum pump (not shown) and a helium detector (not shown) are connected to the inspection chamber 31. The inspection chamber 31 is a container that accommodates an object to be inspected and makes the inside a predetermined vacuum pressure. The helium detector detects helium gas discharged from the inspection object in the inspection chamber 31.

  In addition, the leak inspection apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a power source (not shown) as another configuration, and power from the power source is a motor 211, shutter devices 110 and 112, a valve mechanism 208, a single-axis robot 32, It is given to the rotary actuator 33, the air blowing mechanism and the like. Further, a sensor (not shown) for measuring the atmospheric pressure in the pressurizing chamber 10 and the auxiliary chamber 20 and a timer (not shown) for measuring time are provided. Further, there are provided setting buttons (not shown) that can set the pressurizing time in the pressurizing chamber 10, the pressure at the time of pressurization, the rotational speed of the rotary table 21, the inspection quantity of the inspection object, and the like. Further, a controller (not shown) for controlling the operation of the leak inspection apparatus is provided according to a value set by a setting button or a program (not shown) stored in advance in a memory (not shown). In addition, a start switch (not shown) is provided for giving an instruction to start the operation of the leak inspection apparatus to the controller.

Next, a leak inspection method using the leak inspection apparatus having the above configuration will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.
In the initial state, the supply port 111 of the pressurizing chamber 10 is open, the opening 107 of the pressurizing chamber 10 is closed by the shutter device 110, and the carry-out port 207 of the preliminary chamber 20 is closed by the valve mechanism 208. ing.

  First, an operator throws a plurality of inspection objects into the pressurizing chamber 10 from the supply port 111. The thrown object to be inspected is accommodated in the bowl part 108a of the parts feeder 108 installed in the pressurizing chamber 10 (step S101).

Next, the operator performs various settings using the setting buttons, and then turns on the start switch (step S102).
Thereby, the controller detects that the start switch has been turned ON, and performs the following control. First, the shutter unit 112a of the shutter device 112 is slid horizontally and moved to a position above the supply port 111, and then the vertical movement actuator 112b is moved downward to seal the supply port 111 (step) S103).

  Next, the inside of the pressurizing chamber 10 is pressurized with helium gas. Specifically, the pressure chamber 10 is evacuated by a vacuum pump through the suction passage 103. Thereafter, helium gas is injected into the pressurizing chamber 10 from the pressurized helium source via the helium injection passage 101. When the atmospheric pressure in the pressurizing chamber 10 reaches 0.5 MPa, the inspection object is left in the pressurizing chamber 10 for a preset time (for example, 2 hours) (step S104). In this process, helium gas enters the inside of the object to be inspected if there is a minute flaw.

  After the set time has elapsed, the preliminary chamber 20 is pressurized in the same manner as the pressurizing chamber 10 (step S105). Specifically, after the inside of the preliminary chamber 20 is evacuated by a vacuum pump through the suction passage 203, the pressure is increased through the helium injection passage 201 until the pressure in the preliminary chamber 20 becomes substantially the same as that in the pressurization chamber 10. Helium gas is introduced from a helium source.

Next, the shutter device 110 at the lower part of the pressurizing chamber 10 is opened, and the pressurizing chamber 10 and the spare chamber 20 are made to pass through (step S106).
Next, the parts feeder 108 is operated to supply the inspection object for the inspection quantity (for example, 100) from the parts feeder 108 to the spare chamber 20 (step S107). Specifically, the vibration part 108c is vibrated to vibrate the bowl part 108a. As a result, the object to be inspected in the bowl portion 108a moves from the center portion toward the outer peripheral portion to the discharge portion 108b and is discharged from the discharge portion 108b to the outside. The discharged inspection object passes through the pipe 109 and falls into the preliminary chamber 20. When the inspection object counted by the sensor provided in the discharge unit 108b reaches the preset inspection quantity, the operation of the parts feeder 108 is stopped.

Next, the shutter device 110 below the pressurizing chamber 10 is closed to block the internal communication between the pressurizing chamber 10 and the spare chamber 20 (step S108).
Next, the inside of the preliminary chamber 20 is replaced with air and the atmospheric pressure is set (step S109). Specifically, the inside of the preliminary chamber 20 is evacuated by a vacuum pump through the suction passage 203 and air is injected into the preliminary chamber 20 through the air injection passage 202.

  The vertical movement actuator 208b of the valve mechanism 208 is moved downward in a state where the rotary pot 22 containing no inspection object is disposed near the lower portion of the preliminary chamber 20. Thereby, the valve plate 208a connected to the vertical movement actuator 208b is also moved downward, and the carry-out port 207 of the preliminary chamber 20 is opened. As a result, the inspection object in the preliminary chamber 20 falls, and the inspection object is stored in the rotary pot 22 located below via the funnel 23.

  Then, the rotary table 21 is rotated at a preset speed by the motor 211, and the helium gas on the surface of the object to be inspected is naturally removed while being rotated (step S111).

  After a predetermined time (for example, 30 minutes), the rotary pot 22 moves to below the air shooter 40. At this time, air is blown from the lower side of the rotary pot 22 to the upper side by the blower mechanism. Thus, the inspection object in the rotary pot 22 is conveyed to the measuring unit 3 through the air shooter 40 by the air blown through the through hole 214 (step S112).

  The object to be inspected is stored in the measurement container 34 of the measurement unit 3 arranged at the outlet of the air shooter 40. The single-axis robot 32 transports the measurement container 34 into the inspection chamber 31 and seals the inspection chamber 31.

  Next, the inside of the inspection chamber 31 is evacuated using a vacuum pump, and helium gas in the inspection chamber 31 leaking from the inspection object is detected using a helium detector (step S113).

  Next, the single-axis robot 32 moves the measurement container 34 to the position of the OK box 35 or the NG box 36 according to the result of the leak inspection by the helium detector. That is, when the helium gas is determined not to be detected and is determined to be a non-defective product, the measuring container is moved to the position where the OK box 35 is installed, or to the position where the NG box 36 is installed when helium gas is detected. 34 is moved. After the movement, the rotary actuator 33 is operated to rotate the measurement container 34, and the inspection objects are stored in the boxes 35 and 36 (step S114).

  The above steps S105 to S110 are repeated until there is no object to be inspected put in the parts feeder 108, and the processing from step S111 to step S114 is completed in the leak inspection of the object to be inspected that is input into each rotary pot 22. Do until.

  If it takes about 30 minutes to leave one rotary pot 22 in the atmosphere and it takes about 2 hours to pressurize the object in the pressurizing chamber 10, four pressurizing chambers 10 are prepared. Good. Accordingly, the inspection object can be continuously supplied into the rotary pot 22 without wasting the pressurizing time, and the leak inspection can be continuously performed.

  As described above, the parts feeder 108 is provided in the pressurizing chamber 10, and the inspection object corresponding to the inspection quantity is supplied to the parts feeder 108 in the pressurizing chamber 10 with the air pressure in the pressurizing chamber 10 kept constant. In order to supply pressure to the rotary pot 22 through the spare chamber 20 and sequentially inspect the leak in the rotary pot 22, the upper and lower lids and cylinders are used to pressurize each rotary pot 22 as in the past. It is not necessary to provide a mechanism, and the leak inspection can be performed efficiently with a simple structure. Therefore, the external dimensions of the leak inspection apparatus can be reduced and the apparatus cost can be reduced. Moreover, since the size of the pressurization chamber 10 should just be a magnitude | size which can arrange | position the parts feeder 108, the pressurization chamber 10 can be reduced in size.

  Moreover, since it is not necessary to perform evacuation, helium gas injection, and air release for each rotary pot 22 as in the prior art, the amount of helium gas used can be reduced, and the working time can be shortened. .

  Further, by providing the shutter device 110 above the preliminary chamber 20 and the valve mechanism 208 at the bottom, the inside of the preliminary chamber 20 can be adjusted by the atmospheric pressure adjusting mechanism while adjusting the opening and closing of the shutter device 110 and the valve mechanism 208. The inspection object can be sequentially sent out from the parts feeder 108 of the pressurizing chamber 10 to each rotary pot 22 through the spare chamber 20 while maintaining the pressure inside the pressurizing chamber 10. For this reason, since the helium gas can be reused without releasing the helium gas in the pressurizing chamber 10 to the outside, the amount of helium gas used can be reduced.

  Further, from the pressurization of the object to be inspected with helium gas to the leak inspection can be performed fully automatically, and operations requiring human intervention are the supply of the object to be inspected to the pressurizing chamber 10, the OK box 35 and the NG box. Since only the inspection object is taken out from 36, the working time and labor can be greatly reduced. Moreover, since the non-defective product and the defective product can be automatically classified, it is possible to eliminate mistakes caused by humans.

Moreover, since the pressurization part 1, the air leaving part 2, and the measurement part 3 can be arrange | positioned compactly adjacently, an installation space can be made small.
The supply port 111 is also provided with a shutter device 110 (valve mechanism 208) and an atmospheric pressure adjusting means at the top and bottom as in the preliminary chamber 20, and when the object to be inspected is put into the pressurizing chamber 10, the supply port 111 is also adjusted. The atmospheric pressure in the pressure chamber 10 may be kept constant.

In this case, there is no need to open the inside of the pressurizing chamber 10 to the parts feeder 108 in the pressurizing chamber 10 from the supply port 111, and the air pressure in the pressurizing chamber 10 is kept constant. Since the inspection object can be put in a heated state, there is no need to repeat the opening of the pressurization chamber 10 to the atmosphere, the injection of helium gas, and the pressurization, further reducing the amount of helium gas used and the work time. Can be performed.
In the above-described embodiment, helium gas is used as the tracer gas. However, other gases can be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ......... Pressure part, 10 ......... Pressure chamber, 101, 201 ......... Helium injection passage, 102, 202 ......... Air injection passage, 103, 203 ......... Suction passage, 107 ......... Opening Part 108, ... parts feeder 108a ... bowl part 108b ... discharge part 108c ... vibration part 109 ... pipe 110 ... shutter device 111 ... supply port 112 ......... Shutter device, 112a ......... Shutter section, 112b ......... Vertical actuator, 2 ......... Air leaving section, 207 ......... Outlet, 208 ......... Valve mechanism, 208a ......... Valve plate 208b ......... Vertical actuator, 21 ......... Rotary table, 211 ......... Motor, 212 ......... Rotating shaft, 213 ......... Rotating table, 214 ...... Through hole, 22 ......... Rotary pop ...... 23 Funnel 3 ... Measurement unit 31 ... Inspection chamber 32 ... Single axis robot 33 ... Rotary actuator 34 ... Measurement vessel 35 ... OK box 36 ... NG box, 40 ... Air shooter.

Claims (6)

A pressure chamber;
A preliminary chamber communicating with the pressure chamber;
A shutter that partitions the pressurizing chamber and the spare chamber;
A measurement unit for performing a leak inspection;
With
The pressurizing chamber is equipped with a parts feeder for carrying an object to be inspected from the pressurizing chamber to a spare chamber, and means for pressurizing the pressurizing chamber is connected.
The leak inspection apparatus, wherein the spare chamber includes a carry-out port through which the inspection object is carried out of the spare chamber, and means for pressurizing the spare chamber is connected.   The leak inspection apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an index table disposed below the carry-out port of the preliminary chamber and having a plurality of containers. The measurement unit has a measurement container for accommodating an object to be inspected,
The leak inspection apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an air shooter between the container and the measurement container.   The leak inspection apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a through hole is provided on a bottom surface of the container.   The said pressurization chamber has a supply port for supplying a to-be-inspected object to the said parts feeder, The said supply port exists in the position facing the bowl part of the said parts feeder. The leak inspection apparatus according to any one of the above. Supplying an object to be inspected into a parts feeder arranged in a pressure chamber;
Supplying gas to the pressurizing chamber to pressurize the object to be inspected;
A step of carrying out a part of the inspection objects in the inspection object in the parts feeder into a preparatory chamber having a pressure substantially equal to the pressure chamber through the pressure chamber;
Blocking the internal passage between the preliminary chamber and the pressurizing chamber, and depressurizing the preliminary chamber;
A step of detecting the gas with respect to the inspection object carried out from the preliminary chamber;
A leak inspection method comprising: