JP2019219338A - Transducer type vacuum gauge - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a transducer type vacuum gauge capable of changing the attachment attitude of a body with respect to a connection port of a measuring object without changing the position of a sensor unit with respect to the measuring object.SOLUTION: A transducer type vacuum gauge IGof the present invention including a body B1 mountable to a connection port Cp of a vacuum chamber Vc includes, in the body: a sensor unit 2; a detection unit 3 for detecting the output change of the sensor unit in accordance with the pressure in the vacuum chamber Vc; and a control component 4 for controlling the sensor unit and detection unit. The body separately includes a first housing B11 and a second housing B12. The first housing mounted on the vacuum chamber has at least a built-in sensor unit, and further includes connection units 14a and 14b used as an attitude change means for changing the attitude of the second housing with respect to the first housing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a transducer-type vacuum gauge that measures a pressure in a measurement target such as a vacuum chamber.

  A transducer type vacuum gauge of this type is known, for example, from Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-163,837. This device includes a sensor unit and a detection unit that detects a change in output of the sensor unit according to the pressure of the measurement target (for example, a minute current) in a main body (housing) that can be mounted on the measurement target such as a vacuum chamber. And a control part for controlling the sensor unit and the detection unit are integrally assembled, and attached to a connection port provided in advance on the object to be measured via a part of a main body having a built-in sensor unit. The pressure (degree of vacuum) in the held measurement object is measured. This makes it possible for the detection unit to be less susceptible to noise when detecting a change in the output of the sensor unit such as a minute current, and this type of transducer-type vacuum gauge has the advantage that it can measure pressure more accurately. .

  Here, this type of transducer vacuum gauge generally includes a power supply for supplying power to the sensor unit, and a control unit for integrally controlling the operation of the power supply and the process of converting the output from the detection unit to pressure. The control component is mounted on one circuit board together with the detection unit, and is stored in the main body in this state. For this reason, the main body must be in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped that is long in one direction. When the main body is attached to the object to be measured, the main body extends in one direction from the object to be measured by the length of the main body.

  On the other hand, when the object to be measured is a vacuum chamber for performing various vacuum processes, the outer wall surface of the vacuum chamber includes various lines such as power supply wiring, supply pipes for cooling water, gas supply pipes, and exhaust pipes. Are provided. For this reason, depending on the position of the connection port provided in advance in the vacuum chamber, there is a case where the main body cannot be attached due to interference with the components. In such a case, it is common to add a joint such as an L-shape to the connection port and attach a part of the main body to this joint to change the direction in which the main body extends (that is, change the mounting posture of the main body). (For example, see Patent Document 2). However, if a joint having an appropriate shape and length is prepared according to the arrangement of the components around the connection port and the main body is attached, the operation is complicated. In addition, when a joint is interposed, the position of the sensor unit with respect to the measurement target changes, and in some cases, the pressure detected by the transducer type vacuum gauge does not necessarily indicate the pressure of the measurement target. Problems arise.

International Publication No. 2011/099938 JP 2017-172380A

  In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a transducer-type vacuum gauge in which a mounting posture of a main body with respect to a connection port of a measurement target is variable without changing a position of a sensor unit with respect to the measurement target. Things.

  In order to solve the above problems, the transducer type vacuum gauge of the present invention including a main body that can be mounted on a measurement target detects a sensor unit and an output change of the sensor unit according to the pressure of the measurement target in the main body. And a control component for controlling the sensor unit and the detection unit. The main body is divided into a first housing and a second housing, and the first housing is mounted on the object to be measured. Has a built-in sensor unit, and further includes a posture changing means for changing a posture of the second housing with respect to the first housing.

  According to the present invention, a first housing that can be made relatively small in size by only incorporating a sensor unit, and a second housing that has to be made relatively large in order to store control components are provided. By adopting a configuration including a posture changing means, the mounting posture of the main body can be changed according to the arrangement of the components around the connection port. At this time, since the first housing having a relatively small size is attached to the connection port without using a joint, the position of the sensor unit itself with respect to the connection port is always constant, and the pressure detected by the transducer type vacuum gauge is reduced. However, there is no problem that the pressure of the measurement target is not always indicated.

  In the present invention, in order to realize a configuration in which the mounting posture of the main body with respect to the connection port is variable without changing the position of the sensor unit with respect to the measurement target, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the posture changing means includes A connection unit provided on at least two surfaces of the second housing having different areas and enabling connector connection with the sensor unit in the first housing, and a detection unit directly attached to each connection unit; When the connection unit is selected and the sensor unit of the first housing and the connection unit are connected by a connector, the attitude of the second housing with respect to the first housing is changed. Further, in the second aspect of the present invention, the first housing further includes the detection unit, and the posture changing unit is provided on at least two surfaces of the first housing. A connection portion that enables connection, and when any one of the connection portions is selected and the second housing is connected to the first housing, the posture of the second housing with respect to the first housing is changed. You.

  In a third aspect of the present invention, the first housing further includes a detection unit, and the posture changing unit is provided between the first housing and the second housing. It is configured with a hinge that enables the second housing to swing with respect to the body. In a fourth aspect of the present invention, the first housing further includes a detection unit, and the posture changing unit is provided between the first housing and the second housing. It is composed of a bellows tube capable of bending operation with one housing as a fulcrum.

The figure which shows typically the transducer type vacuum gauge of 1st Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows typically the transducer type vacuum gauge of 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows typically the transducer type vacuum gauge of 3rd Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows typically the transducer type vacuum gauge of 4th Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, an embodiment of the transducer type vacuum gauge of the present invention will be described by taking a vacuum chamber Vc as an object to be measured and a BA vacuum gauge attached to a connection port Cp provided in advance in the vacuum chamber Vc as an example. I do. Although not particularly shown and described, various components such as power supply wiring, supply pipes for cooling water, gas supply pipes, and exhaust pipes are connected to the outer wall surface of the vacuum chamber Vc.

Referring to FIG. 1, IG ₁ is a transducer type BA vacuum gauge according to the first embodiment of the present invention. BA gauge IG ₁ includes a first housing B11 removably attached to the connection port Cp, the body B1, which is organized into a second housing B12 attached to the first housing B11. The first housing B11 is formed of a cylindrical body having a mounting flange 11a that can be connected to the connection port Cp at the front end in the mounting direction, and only the sensor unit 2 is incorporated therein. The sensor unit 2 includes an ion collector 21 composed of a thin wire, a grid 22 disposed so as to surround the ion collector 21, and a filament 23 disposed around the grid 22. In this case, an insulating first support stand (not shown) is provided in the first housing B11, and the support pins 24a to 24e also serving as connection terminals are provided through the first support base. The ion collector 21, the grid 22, and the filament 23 are positioned and supported by 24a to 24e, respectively. In this case, since only the sensor unit 2 is provided in the first housing B11, the first housing B11 can be small in size.

  On the other hand, the second housing B12 is formed of a rectangular cylindrical body having a rectangular parallelepiped outline, and includes detection units 3a and 3b for detecting an output change of the sensor unit 2, and the sensor unit 2 and the detection unit 3a. , 3b are stored. It is preferable that the detection units 3a and 3b include a signal amplification circuit (not shown) that can amplify the output from the sensor unit 2. If the signal is amplified after passing through the flat cable, the signal is attenuated or the structure is susceptible to noise, which impairs the performance of the vacuum gauge. Therefore, by performing amplification and modulation in the detection units 3a and 3b, it is possible to more accurately detect and transmit a weak signal from the sensor unit 2. The control component 4 is a component other than the sensor unit 2 and the detection units 3a and 3b, supplies power to the sensor unit 2, detects changes in the output of the sensor unit 2 by the detection units 3a and 3b, and outputs the detected output. Are provided to perform a series of processes for calculating the pressure of the measurement target from the power source. For example, a power supply 41 for supplying power to the sensor unit 2 and a control unit 42 having a microcomputer, a memory, and the like are provided. included. Then, each of the control components 4 is stored in the second housing B12 while being mounted on the circuit board 40. In this case, the second housing B12 needs to be larger in size than the first housing B11 in order to store the circuit board 40. The detection units 3a and 3b and the circuit board 40 are electrically connected by, for example, flat cables 43a and 43b. As the detection units 3a and 3b and the control component 4 are known, a detailed description of a further configuration and operation, including a method and procedure for measuring the pressure in the vacuum chamber Vc, is omitted. .

  Further, the main body B1 is provided with a posture changing means for changing a mounting posture to the connection port Cp. The posture changing means in the first embodiment is composed of two connecting portions 13a and 13b provided on at least two surfaces 12a and 12b of the second housing B12 having different areas. Each of the connection portions 13a and 13b includes an annular receiving protrusion to which the rear end of the first housing B11 in the mounting direction is fitted, and has an inner space inside the receiving protrusion separated from the inside of the second housing B12. , An insulative second support (not shown) is provided. Socket portions into which the support pins 24a to 24e of the sensor portion 2 are respectively inserted are protruded from the second support base, so that the sensor portion 2 and the connection portions 13a and 13b can be connected by connectors. In this case, although not particularly shown and described, when the rear end of the first housing B11 in the mounting direction is fitted to the receiving projection, the first housing B11 is airtightly held by a vacuum seal such as an O-ring to measure the pressure in the vacuum chamber Vc. I try not to have any effect. In addition, detecting portions 3a and 3b are directly attached to the socket portions of the connecting portions 13a and 13b, respectively, so as to be located in the second housing B12, and the output changes of the sensor portion 2 can be detected by the detecting portions 3a and 3b. So that it can be detected quickly. Each of the detection units 3a and 3b is electrically connected to the circuit board 40 by, for example, flat cables 43a and 43b.

In attaching the BA gauge IG ₁ of the first embodiment to the connection port Cp vacuum chamber Vc, first, it is joined to the mounting flange 11a of the first housing B11 to the connection port Cp vacuum chamber Vc, in this condition For example, both are fixed using a known clamp. Next, one connection part 13a is selected from the connection parts 13a and 13b provided in the second housing B12 in consideration of the arrangement of each component provided on the outer wall surface of the vacuum chamber Vc. Then, the first housing B11 is fitted to the receiving projection of the one connection portion 13a. At this time, the support pins 24a to 24e are respectively inserted into the sockets, and the sensor 2 and the connectors 13a and 13b are connected by connectors. Finally, a lid (not shown) is attached to the other connecting portion 13b.

According to the above, the first housing B11 whose size can be made relatively small only by incorporating the sensor unit 2 and the second housing which has to be made relatively large in order to store the control components 4 B12, and adopting a configuration including the connection portions 13a and 13b as posture changing means, taking into account the arrangement of each component provided on the outer wall surface of the vacuum chamber Vc, any one of the connection portions 13a and 13b is used. If 13b is selected, the mounting posture of the main body B1 can be changed between the posture shown in FIG. 1A and the posture shown in FIG. At this time, since the first casing B11 having a relatively small size is attached to the connection port Cp without using a joint, the position of the sensor unit 2 itself with respect to the connection port Cp can be always kept constant, and the BA vacuum gauge IG ₁ Does not necessarily indicate the pressure in the vacuum chamber Vc.

Next, with reference to FIG. 2, IG ₂ is a BA gauge transducer type according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the following, the same reference numerals are used for the same members and elements as those in the first embodiment, and description thereof will be omitted. BA gauge IG ₂ includes a first housing B21 removably attached to the connection port Cp, the body B2 that are organized into the second housing B22 attached to the first housing B21. In the second embodiment, the first housing B21 is configured by connecting a box body 111 to a cylindrical body 110 having a mounting flange 11a. In this case, an insulating support (not shown) is provided at the connection point between the cylindrical body 110 and the box body 111 in an airtight manner so that the cylindrical body 110 and the box body 111 are isolated from each other. . Further, similarly to the first embodiment, support pins 24a to 24e also serving as connection terminals are provided through the support, and the ion collector 21, the grid 22, and the filament 23 are positioned and supported by the support pins, respectively. It has become. The portions of the support pins 24 a to 24 e protruding into the box 111 are connected to the detection unit 3 provided in the box 111.

  On the other hand, the second housing B22 is formed of a rectangular cylinder having a rectangular parallelepiped outline, and contains the control component 4 mounted on the circuit board 40 therein. Further, the posture changing means in the second embodiment is constituted by two connecting portions 14a and 14b provided on at least two surfaces 111a and 111b having different areas of the box body 111, respectively. Each of the connecting portions 14a and 14b is configured by a female connector, and is connected to a male connector (not shown) provided on the front surface in the mounting direction of the second housing B22. The connecting portions 14a and 14b are electrically connected to the detection unit 3 by, for example, flat cables 44a and 44b, and the male connector is electrically connected to the circuit board 40 by, for example, a flat cable 45.

In attaching the BA gauge IG ₂ of the second embodiment to the connection port Cp vacuum chamber Vc, first, by joining the first attachment flange 11a of the housing B21 to the connection port Cp vacuum chamber Vc, in this condition For example, both are fixed using a known clamp. Next, one connection part 14a is selected from the connection parts 14a and 14b provided on the box 111 in consideration of the arrangement of each component provided on the outer wall surface of the vacuum chamber Vc. Then, the male connector of the second housing B21 is connected to one connecting portion 14a. Finally, a lid (not shown) is attached to the other connecting portion 14b so that noise due to the connecting portion 14b is not generated.

According to the above, the first housing B21 whose size can be relatively reduced only by incorporating the sensor unit 2 and the detection unit 3 and the size must be relatively large for storing the control components 4. By adopting a configuration provided with connecting portions 14a and 14b as posture changing means, separately from the second housing B22, any one of the components is provided in consideration of the arrangement of each component provided on the outer wall surface of the vacuum chamber Vc. If the connecting portions 14a and 14b are selected, the mounting posture of the main body B2 can be changed between the posture indicated by the solid line and the posture indicated by the virtual line in FIG. At this time, since the first housing B21 having a relatively small size is attached to the connection port Cp without using a joint, the position of the sensor unit 2 itself with respect to the connection port Cp can be always constant, and the BA vacuum gauge IG ₂ Does not necessarily indicate the pressure in the vacuum chamber Vc.

Next, referring to FIG. 3, IG ₃ is a transducer type BA vacuum gauge according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In the following, the same reference numerals are used for the same members and elements as those in the first and second embodiments, and a description thereof will be omitted. BA gauge IG ₃ includes a first housing B31 removably attached to the connection port Cp, the body B3 that is organized into a second housing B32 attached to the first housing B31. In the third embodiment, the first housing B31 is configured by connecting a box body 112 to a cylindrical body 110. As in the second embodiment, an insulating support (not shown) is provided at the connecting portion between the cylindrical body 110 and the box body 112 so that the cylindrical body 110 and the box body 112 are isolated from each other. ing. As in the first embodiment, support pins 24a to 24e also serving as connection terminals are provided through the support base, and the ion collector 21, the grid 22, and the filament 23 are positioned and supported by the support pins, respectively. Has become. The portions of the support pins 24 a to 24 e protruding into the box 112 are connected to the detection unit 3 provided in the box 112. The rear part of the box body 112 in the mounting direction is chamfered so as not to come into contact with the second housing B32 which will be described later when swinging.

  On the other hand, similarly to the second embodiment, the second housing B32 is formed of a rectangular cylinder having a rectangular parallelepiped contour, in which the control component 4 is stored while mounted on the circuit board 40. Have been. Further, the posture changing means in the third embodiment is constituted by a hinge 15 interposed between the first housing B31 and the second housing B32, and the second housing 12 Swinging is possible. The hinge 15 is not limited to the one shown in FIG. 3, and any known hinge can be used. Note that the detection unit 3 is electrically connected to the circuit board 40 by, for example, a flat cable 46.

In attaching the BA gauge IG ₃ of the third embodiment to the connection port Cp vacuum chamber Vc, first, it is joined to the mounting flange 11a of the first housing B31 to the connection port Cp vacuum chamber Vc, in this condition For example, both are fixed using a known clamp. At this time, if the second housing B32 is swung with respect to the box body 112 in consideration of the arrangement of each component provided on the outer wall surface of the vacuum chamber Vc, the posture changes.

According to the above, the first housing B31 whose size can be relatively reduced only by incorporating the sensor unit 2 and the detection unit 3 and the size must be relatively large for storing the control components 4. By adopting a configuration provided with the hinge 15 as a posture changing means separately from the second housing B32, the first housing B31 can be moved to the first housing B31 in accordance with the arrangement of the components provided on the outer wall surface of the vacuum chamber Vc. By swinging the two housings B32, the mounting posture of the main body B3 can be changed between the posture indicated by the solid line and the posture indicated by the virtual line in FIG. The first housing B31 relatively small size, because it is attached to the connection port Cp without using the joint, the position of the sensor unit 2 itself to the connection port Cp can be constant at all times, BA gauge IG ₃ Does not necessarily indicate the pressure in the vacuum chamber Vc.

Next, referring to FIG. 4, IG ₄ is a transducer type BA vacuum gauge according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the following, the same members and elements as those in the first to third embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. BA gauge IG ₄ includes a first housing B41 removably attached to the connection port Cp, the body B4, which is organized into a second housing B42 attached to the first housing B41. In the fourth embodiment, the first housing B41 is configured by connecting a box 113 to the cylindrical body 110. As in the second embodiment, an insulating support (not shown) is provided at the connecting portion between the cylindrical body 110 and the box body 113 so that the cylindrical body 110 and the box body 113 are isolated from each other. ing.

  On the other hand, similarly to the second embodiment, the second housing B42 is formed of a rectangular cylinder having a rectangular parallelepiped contour, and contains the control component 4 mounted on the circuit board 40 therein. Have been. Further, the posture changing means in the fourth embodiment is a bellows tube 16 interposed between the first housing B41 and the second housing B42 and capable of bending with the first housing B41 as a fulcrum. It is configured. Since a known one can be used as the bellows tube 16, a detailed description is omitted here. The detection unit 3 is electrically connected to the circuit board 40 by, for example, a flat cable 47.

In attaching the BA gauge IG ₄ of the fourth embodiment to the connection port Cp vacuum chamber Vc, first, it is joined to the mounting flange 11a of the first housing B41 to the connection port Cp vacuum chamber Vc, in this condition For example, both are fixed using a known clamp. Next, in consideration of the arrangement of each component provided on the outer wall surface of the vacuum chamber Vc, if the bellows tube 16 is bent with the first housing B41 as a fulcrum, the posture changes.

According to the above, the size of the first housing B41, which can be made relatively small simply by incorporating the sensor unit 2 and the detection unit 3, and the size of the first housing B41 for storing the control components 4 must be made relatively large. By adopting a configuration provided with a bellows tube 16 as a posture changing means separately from the second housing B42, the first housing B41 is used as a fulcrum according to the arrangement of components provided on the outer wall surface of the vacuum chamber Vc. If the bellows tube 16 is bent, the mounting posture of the main body B4 can be changed between the posture indicated by the solid line and the posture indicated by the virtual line in FIG. At this time, relatively first housing B41 small size, because it is attached to the connection port Cp without using a joint, it is a constant at all times the position of the sensor unit 2 itself to the connection port Cp, BA gauge IG ₄ Does not necessarily indicate the pressure in the vacuum chamber Vc.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. In the above-described embodiment, the power supply 41 and the control unit 42 have been described as examples of the control component 4. However, other components may be included as the control component 4, and as the number of control components 4 increases, the circuit board 40 Since the size of the second housing is increased, the present invention can be more suitably applied.

  In the above embodiment, the BA vacuum gauge has been described as an example. However, the present invention can naturally be applied to a transducer vacuum gauge other than the BA vacuum gauge.

  Further, in the first embodiment, the case where the second housing B11 is formed of a rectangular cylinder is described as an example, but the second housing B11 may be formed of a cylinder. In this case, a connection port as a connection portion may be provided on the bottom surface and the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body.

_{IG 1, IG 2, IG 3} , IG 4 ... BA gauges (transducer type vacuum gauge), B1, B2, B3, B4 ... body, B11, B21, B31, B41 ... first housing, B12, B22, B32 , B42... Second housing, 13a, 13b... Connection part (posture changing means), 14a, 14b... Connection part (posture changing means), 15... Hinge (posture changing means), 16. 2, a sensor unit; 3, 3a, 3b; a detection unit; 4, a control component.

Claims (5)

A transducer type vacuum gauge having a main body attachable to a measurement object,
In the body, provided with a sensor unit, a detection unit that detects a change in output of the sensor unit according to the pressure of the measurement object, and a control component that controls the sensor unit and the detection unit
The main body is divided into a first housing and a second housing,
A transducer-type vacuum gauge, wherein the first housing mounted on the measurement target has at least a sensor unit therein, and further includes a posture changing unit configured to change a posture of the second housing with respect to the first housing. The attitude changing unit is a connection unit that is provided on at least two surfaces of the second housing having different areas and that enables connector connection with the sensor unit in the first housing.
The detection unit is directly attached to each connection unit, and when one of the connection units is selected and the sensor unit of the first housing and the connection unit are connected by a connector, the connection of the second housing to the first housing is performed. 2. The transducer type vacuum gauge according to claim 1, wherein the attitude is changed. The first housing further includes the detection unit,
The attitude changing means is a connecting portion provided on at least two surfaces of the first housing and capable of connecting to the second housing, and selects one of the connecting portions to select the first housing. 2. The transducer-type vacuum gauge according to claim 1, wherein when the second housing is connected to the first housing, a posture of the second housing with respect to the first housing is changed. 3. The first housing further includes a detection unit,
The posture changing means is constituted by a hinge interposed between the first housing and the second housing and capable of swinging the second housing with respect to the first housing. The transducer type vacuum gauge according to claim 1, wherein The first housing further includes a detection unit,
The posture changing means is constituted by a bellows tube interposed between the first housing and the second housing and capable of bending operation with the first housing as a fulcrum. The transducer-type vacuum gauge according to claim 1.

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