JP2020106067A - Air drive valve - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an air drive valve capable of adjusting the responsivity of a valve by suppressing pressure variation of driving air.SOLUTION: An air drive valve actuated by receiving the supply of driving air into a pressure chamber, has a variable volume mechanism that actuates according to the pressure of the driving air supplied to the pressure chamber and changes the capacity of the pressure chamber.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an air drive valve that opens and closes a fluid passage with drive fluid (drive air).

In the ALD method in the semiconductor manufacturing process, since the atomic layers are thinly formed one by one, variations in the valve opening/closing timing are a problem. Patent Document 1 has been proposed to solve the problem. Patent Document 1 discloses "a valve seat formed in a main body, a valve body that abuts or separates from the valve seat, a drive unit integrally connected to the valve body, and a drive unit for driving the drive unit. In an air-driven shutoff valve having a pilot on-off valve that supplies compressed fluid, the pilot on-off valve includes (a) a first needle valve, a first motor that changes an opening degree of the first needle valve, and A first check valve for flowing only a compressed fluid flowing from the pilot on-off valve side to the drive section side, (b) a second needle valve, a second motor for changing the opening degree of the second needle valve, and the drive section. Second check valve that allows only the compressed fluid flowing from the side to the pilot opening/closing valve side to flow, the air-driven shutoff valve" is disclosed.

Specifically, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, since two needle valves (first needle valve and second needle valve) are provided in the actuator (driving unit), each needle valve is closed. In addition, the speed at which the valve is opened can be adjusted, and the processing time can be shortened. Further, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, since the control of driving the pilot on-off valve can be controlled by the needle valve instead of the regulator, it is possible to reduce the variation in the opening/closing time of the diaphragm valve body.

JP, 2005-068438, A

In the technique described in Patent Document 1, the needle valve functions as a pressure reducing valve, and the needle valve regulates the pressure. That is, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, the pressure adjusting function is provided on the flow path (fluid passage) of the driving fluid (air: air). Therefore, the flow of the driving fluid is restricted, the flow rate of the driving fluid is reduced, and the pressure increase inside the actuator is delayed. That is, the responsiveness of opening and closing the valve is reduced.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an air-driven valve that suppresses the variation in the pressure of the driving air and does not deteriorate the responsiveness of opening and closing the valve.

In order to solve the above-mentioned object, an air drive valve which is one embodiment of the present invention is an air drive valve that operates by receiving supply of drive air to a pressure chamber, and the pressure of the drive air supplied to the pressure chamber It has a volume variable mechanism that operates in response to the change in the volume of the pressure chamber.

Further, in the air-driven valve according to an aspect of the present invention, the variable volume mechanism has a cylinder chamber communicating with the pressure chamber, a pressure adjusting piston built in the cylinder chamber, and the pressure adjusting piston is supplied to the pressure chamber. And a biasing means for biasing the driving air against the pressure of the driving air.

Further, in the air-driven valve according to one aspect of the present invention, the urging means is deformed when the pressure of the driving air supplied to the pressure chamber is higher than a predetermined pressure, and is supplied to the pressure chamber. It may be configured such that it does not deform when the pressure of the driving air is equal to or lower than a predetermined pressure.

The air-driven valve which is one embodiment of the present invention may have a plurality of cylinder chambers.

Further, in the air-driven valve according to one aspect of the present invention, the cylinder chamber is formed in the casing, and is opened to the atmosphere through an opening formed in a part of a side surface of the casing. May be

In the air-driven valve according to one embodiment of the present invention, the cylinder chamber is formed in a ring shape in a top view, a circular shape in a top view, an oval shape in a top view, an elliptical shape in a top view, or a polygonal shape in a top view. It may be configured.

According to the present invention, an air drive valve that operates by receiving drive air supplied to a pressure chamber, which operates according to the pressure of the drive air supplied to the pressure chamber and changes the volume of the pressure chamber. Since it has the mechanism, it is possible to suppress the pressure variation of the driving air.

It is the schematic which showed the structure of the air drive valve which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention roughly. It is the schematic (1) which expanded and showed the upper side of the air drive valve which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is the schematic (2) which expanded and showed the upper side of the air drive valve which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is the schematic (1) which expanded and showed the upper side of the air drive valve which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is the schematic (2) which expanded and showed the upper side of the air drive valve which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 5, a schematic cross section of the air drive valve 1A is shown, but hatching is omitted.

Embodiment 1.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram schematically showing the configuration of an air drive valve 1A according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Here, the case where the air driven valve 1A is a diaphragm valve will be described as an example. Further, FIG. 1 illustrates a case where the air drive valve 1A is in a closed state. The air drive valve 1A is provided and used on the most upstream side of each line in a gas supply device (gas box) for supplying various kinds of gas.

As shown in FIG. 1, the air-driven valve 1A has a valve body 2 and a pipe joint 3. The valve body 2 has a body 4, a bonnet 5, a cap 6, a diaphragm 7, a diaphragm retainer 8, a stem 9, a piston 10, a compression coil spring 11, and a volume varying mechanism. .. In the following description, the pipe joint 3 side of the air drive valve 1A will be described as the upper side and the body 4 side will be the lower side.

Further, an actuator is constituted by a casing connected to the body 4 and a drive means for driving the stem 9 by a drive fluid (hereinafter referred to as drive air) provided in the pressure chamber 15 inside the casing and supplied from the outside. I shall. The drive means is composed of a piston 10, a drive air introduction chamber 10a, a drive air introduction passage 10b, and a compression coil spring 11. Further, the casing is the bonnet 5 and the cap 6.

A valve chamber 4a is formed in the body 4. A fluid inflow passage 4b and a fluid outflow passage 4c communicating with the valve chamber 4a are formed in the body 4. An annular seat 4D is provided at the peripheral edge of the location where the fluid inflow passage 4b and the valve chamber 4a communicate with each other.

The bonnet 5 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape and is fixed to the body 4. For example, the bonnet 5 is fixed to the body 4 so as to cover the valve chamber 4a by screwing a male screw portion provided on the outer periphery of the lower end portion of the bonnet 5 into a female screw portion provided on the body 4.

The cap 6 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape and is fixed to the bonnet 5. For example, the cap 6 is fixed to the bonnet 5 by screwing a male screw portion provided on the outer periphery of the lower end portion of the cap 6 into a female screw portion provided on the upper end portion of the bonnet 5.

The cap 6 has an upper part 6A and a lower part 6B. A mounting hole 6c is formed in the upper portion 6A. A storage hole 6d having an inner diameter larger than that of the mounting hole 6c is formed in the lower portion 6B. The mounting hole 6c has a first screwed hole 6c1 and a second screwed hole 6c2. A valve mechanism is attached to the attachment hole 6c. A space for housing the piston 10 and the compression coil spring 11 is defined by screwing the lower portion 6B and the upper end portion of the bonnet 5 together. The bonnet 5 and the cap 6 correspond to the casing of the actuator. A pressure chamber 15 is formed in the casing. The pressure chamber 15 means a space in which driving air flows, and includes, for example, a space for accommodating the piston 10 and the compression coil spring 11 and a space communicating with the cylinder chamber 50A.

The variable volume mechanism has a cylinder chamber 50A communicating with the pressure chamber 15, a pressure adjusting piston 51 built in the cylinder chamber 50A, and a direction in which the pressure adjusting piston 51 is opposed to the pressure of the driving air supplied to the pressure chamber 15. Urging means 53 for urging. The biasing means 53 deforms when the pressure of the drive air supplied to the pressure chamber 15 is higher than a predetermined pressure, and when the pressure of the drive air supplied to the pressure chamber 15 is equal to or lower than the predetermined pressure. It is configured not to deform.

The cylinder chamber 50A is formed in the cap 6. The cap 6 constitutes a part of the actuator, and the cylinder chamber 50A is formed in the actuator. Further, a flow path 54 that connects the lower surface side of the cylinder chamber 50A and the pressure chamber 15 is formed in the cap 6. The driving air flows from the pressure chamber 15 into the cylinder chamber 50A via the flow path 54.

A pressure adjusting piston 51 is installed in the cylinder chamber 50A while being urged downward by an urging means 53. The biasing means 53 is configured to deform when the pressure inside the actuator exceeds a predetermined pressure (for example, 4 kPa). The driving pressure can be adjusted by changing the biasing force of the biasing means 53. The biasing means 53 is not particularly limited, but can be made of, for example, an elastic body such as a coil spring or rubber. An O-ring 52 is provided inside the cylinder chamber 50A so that the cylinder chamber 50A does not communicate with the atmosphere even when the pressure adjusting piston 51 moves in the vertical direction.

At normal times (when the valve is closed and at an appropriate pressure), the pressure adjusting piston 51 is biased by the biasing means 53, and the cylinder chamber 50A is closed. At this time, the pressure adjusting piston 51 is in a state of being built in the cylinder chamber 50A. When the pressure inside the actuator becomes larger than a predetermined pressure, that is, when it becomes larger than the urging force of the urging means 53, the pressure adjusting piston 51 moves upward and the cylinder chamber 50A is opened. At this time, the pressure adjusting piston 51 is in a state of protruding outside the actuator. By doing so, the internal volume of the cylinder chamber 50A increases. Further, since the pressure adjusting piston 51 projects outward due to the driving pressure, it can be confirmed from the outside that the valve is under pressure. On the other hand, the pressure in the actuator does not fluctuate, and the boosting does not slow down. That is, the drive pressure can be maintained at a predetermined value by increasing the internal volume of the cylinder chamber 50A.

The cylinder chamber 50A may be formed in a ring shape in a top view so as to surround the pipe joint 3 in order to increase the amount of change in the internal volume. When formed in a ring shape in a top view, a partition wall may be provided in the cylinder chamber 50A to divide the cylinder chamber 50A. Further, the cylinder chamber 50A may be formed in a circular shape when viewed from above, an elliptical shape when viewed from above, an elliptical shape when viewed from above, or a polygonal shape when viewed from above. In this case, a plurality of cylinder chambers 50A may be provided at predetermined intervals. The upper part of the cylinder chamber 50A penetrates the casing and communicates with the outside. The protrusion of the pressure adjusting piston 51 may be marked so that the pressure adjusting limit can be visually confirmed.

The diaphragm 7, which is the valve body, is held at its outer peripheral edge by being pressed by the pressing adapter 7A arranged at the lower end of the bonnet 5 and the bottom surface forming the valve chamber 4a of the body 4. The diaphragm 7 has a spherical shell shape, and an upwardly convex arc shape is in a natural state. The diaphragm 7 is brought into contact with and separated from the seat 4D to open and close the fluid passage. The diaphragm 7 is made of, for example, a nickel alloy thin plate, is cut out in a circular shape, and is formed in a spherical shell shape in which a central portion is bulged upward. The diaphragm 7 may be made of a stainless steel thin plate or a laminated body of a stainless steel thin plate and a nickel-cobalt alloy thin plate, and the diaphragm 7 may have any shape.

The diaphragm retainer 8 is provided on the upper side of the diaphragm 7 and is configured to be able to press the central portion of the diaphragm 7.

The stem 9 is supported by the bonnet 5 so as to be movable in the vertical direction, and moves toward and away from the diaphragm 7 to bring the diaphragm 7 into contact with and away from the seat 4D via the diaphragm retainer 8. Has been done. In the first embodiment, the moving direction of the stem 9 corresponds to the vertical direction.

The piston 10 is integrally formed with the stem 9, is provided above the stem 9, and is supported by the bonnet 5 so as to be movable in the vertical direction. The lower surface of the piston 10 and the upper surface of the bonnet 5 define a drive air introducing chamber 10a. Further, the piston 10 is formed with a drive air introducing passage 10b extending from the upper end thereof to the drive air introducing chamber 10a.

The compression coil spring 11 is arranged between the lower surface of the upper portion 6A and the upper surface of the piston 10 and always biases the piston 10 downward.

The first O-ring 5A is interposed between the bonnet 5 and the stem 9 and guides the vertical movement of the stem 9 and the piston 10. The second O-ring 5B is interposed between the bonnet 5 and the piston 10 and guides the movement of the stem 9 and the piston 10 in the vertical direction. In addition, the first O-ring 5A and the second O-ring 5B seal off the portion of the drive air introduction chamber 10a other than the portion communicating with the drive air introduction passage 10b.

The pipe joint 3 is a one-touch joint and is formed in an L shape. The pipe joint 3 is attached to the cap 6 by screwing the threaded portion 3</b>A of the pipe joint 3 into the cap 6. Further, a tube extending from the drive air supply source is inserted into the pipe joint 3.

Next, the operation of the air drive valve 1A will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram (1) showing an enlarged upper side of the air drive valve 1A. FIG. 3 is a schematic view (2) in which the upper side of the air drive valve 1A is enlarged and shown. FIG. 2 shows the operating state, and FIG. 3 shows the normal state.

In the state where the drive air is not introduced into the drive air introduction chamber 10a, the stem 9 is in the closed position (downward position) by the urging force of the compression coil spring 11. On the other hand, when drive air is introduced into the drive air introduction chamber 10a, the stem 9 is moved upward against the biasing force of the compression coil spring 11, whereby the diaphragm retainer 8 moves upward and the diaphragm 7 moves. An open state is obtained that deforms upwards.

That is, drive air is introduced into the drive air introduction chamber 10a via the drive air introduction passage 10b, and the stem 9 and the piston 10 move from the bottom dead center to the top dead center against the biasing force of the compression coil spring 11. The diaphragm retainer 8 moves upward due to the elastic force of the diaphragm 7 and the fluid pressure, and the air drive valve 1A is opened. At this time, when the pressure inside the actuator becomes larger than a predetermined pressure, the biasing means 53 deforms. When the biasing means 53 is deformed, the pressure adjusting piston 51 moves upward as shown in FIG. 2, and the cylinder chamber 50A is opened. By doing so, the internal volume of the cylinder chamber 50A can be increased and the drive pressure can be maintained at a predetermined value. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the pressure variation of the driving air. As a result, it is possible to suppress variations in the opening/closing timing of the valve, which can contribute to improving the responsiveness of the valve.

Further, in order to close the valve mechanism in the open state, the drive air is not introduced into the drive air introducing chamber 10a. As a result, the valve mechanism is closed. At normal times (when the valve is closed and at an appropriate pressure), the pressure of the driving air supplied to the pressure chamber 15 is equal to or lower than a predetermined pressure, so that the urging means 53 does not deform as shown in FIG. That is, the cylinder chamber 50A is closed by the pressure adjusting piston 51.

In the air driven valve 1A, the air driven valve 1A remains in the open state even when the valve mechanism is changed from the open state to the closed state. It is necessary to stop the supply of the fluid.

Embodiment 2.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged schematic view (1) showing the upper side of the air drive valve 1B according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic view (2) showing the upper side of the air drive valve 1B in an enlarged manner. FIG. 4 shows the operating state, and FIG. 5 shows the normal state. Further, the cylinder chamber of the air driven valve 1B is referred to as a cylinder chamber 50B, and is distinguished from the cylinder chamber 50A of the air driven valve 1A according to the first embodiment.

The basic structure of the air drive valve 1B is the same as that of the air drive valve 1A according to the first embodiment. Further, the second embodiment will be described focusing on the differences from the first embodiment, and the same parts as those of the first embodiment will be described with the same reference numerals. Furthermore, the modifications applied to the same portions as those in the first embodiment are similarly applied to the second embodiment.

Cylinder chamber 50B of air drive valve 1B is different from cylinder chamber 50A of air drive valve 1A according to the first embodiment. Specifically, the cylinder chamber 50B is open to the atmosphere through the atmospheric opening 55 of the cylinder chamber 50B. The atmospheric opening 55 is formed in a part of the side surface of the valve body 2 (in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, a part of the upper surface of the cap 6 constituting the valve body 2). It should be noted that the cylinder chamber 50A is not opened to the atmosphere even when the pressure adjusting piston 51 moves upward, but the cylinder chamber 50B is opened to the atmosphere when moving upwardly.

When a drive pressure above a certain level is applied to the pressure regulating piston 51, the piston 10 is lifted above the actuator as shown in FIG. 4, and the drive air is released to the atmosphere from the atmosphere opening 55 of the cylinder chamber 50B. As a result, the pressure inside the actuator is reduced. Then, when the pressure becomes equal to or lower than a predetermined pressure, the cylinder chamber 50B is sealed by the urging force of the urging means 53 as shown in FIG. Note that chamfering may be performed between the atmosphere opening 55 of the cylinder chamber 50B and the cylinder chamber 50B to prevent the O-ring 52 from being scraped when sliding. The shape of the atmosphere opening 55 may be a ring shape in top view, a circular shape in top view, an elliptical shape in top view, an elliptical shape in top view, or a polygonal shape in top view.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described by dividing it into two, the present invention is not limited to each of the above-described embodiments. Those skilled in the art can make various additions and changes within the scope of the present invention. For example, the mode in which the air drive valve 1A and the air drive valve 1B are installed with the pipe joint 3 side on the upper side and the body 4 on the bottom side has been described, but the installation direction is not limited to this, and may be installed in the horizontal direction. It may be installed upside down.

Further, although the pipe joint 3 is L-shaped, it may be linear (I-shaped). Further, although the pipe joint 3 is attached to the joint screwing portion, the air tube extending from the drive air supply source may be directly attached. Furthermore, since the pressure adjusting piston 51 projects outward due to the drive pressure of the drive air, it is possible to confirm from the outside that the drive pressure is being applied to the air drive valve during maintenance of the air drive valve or when checking the operation. become.

1A: Air driven valve, 1B: Air driven valve, 2: Valve body, 3: Pipe fitting, 3A: Threaded portion, 4: Body, 4D: Seat, 4a: Valve chamber, 4b: Fluid inflow passage, 4c: Fluid Outflow path, 5: bonnet, 5A: first O-ring, 5B: second O-ring, 6: cap, 6A: upper part, 6B: lower part, 6c: mounting hole, 6c1: first screwed hole, 6c2: 2nd screwed hole, 6d: accommodation hole, 7: diaphragm, 7A: pressing adapter, 8: diaphragm pressing, 9: stem, 10: piston, 10a: drive air introducing chamber, 10b: drive air introducing passage, 11: Compression coil spring, 15: pressure chamber, 50A: cylinder chamber, 50B: cylinder chamber, 51: pressure adjusting piston, 52: O-ring, 53: biasing means, 54: flow path, 55: atmospheric opening.

Claims (6)

An air drive valve that operates by receiving drive air from a pressure chamber,
An air drive valve having a volume variable mechanism that operates according to the pressure of the drive air supplied to the pressure chamber to change the volume of the pressure chamber. The variable volume mechanism is
A cylinder chamber communicating with the pressure chamber,
A pressure adjusting piston built in the cylinder chamber,
The air drive valve according to claim 1, further comprising a biasing unit that biases the pressure adjusting piston in a direction against a pressure of drive air supplied to the pressure chamber. The biasing means is
When the pressure of the driving air supplied to the pressure chamber is larger than a predetermined pressure, it deforms,
The air drive valve according to claim 2, which does not deform when the pressure of the drive air supplied to the pressure chamber is equal to or lower than a predetermined pressure. The air drive valve according to claim 2, which has a plurality of the cylinder chambers. The cylinder chamber is
The air drive valve according to any one of claims 2 to 4, which is formed in the casing and is opened to the atmosphere through an opening formed in a part of a side surface of the casing. The cylinder chamber is
The air drive valve according to any one of claims 2 to 5, which is formed in a ring shape in a top view, a circular shape in a top view, an oval shape in a top view, an elliptical shape in a top view, or a polygonal shape in a top view.

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