JP3008542U - Mass flow controller - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] To provide a mass flow rate control device capable of confirming an operating state in its main body. [Structure] An operation display unit 11 for providing a display according to a fluid flow rate is provided in an apparatus main body 10A that is provided in a fluid flow path 2 and has a flow rate sensor unit inside.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a mass flow controller such as a mass flow controller for controlling the flow rate of a fluid such as gas or liquid and a mass flow meter for measuring the flow rate of the fluid.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 For example, when supplying various gases used in semiconductor manufacturing to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, a mass flow controller (hereinafter, referred to as MFC) is provided in each of the supply flow paths to control the gas flow rate. . FIG. 3 shows a state in which a plurality of MFCs are provided in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. In this figure, 1 is an MFC, which is interposed in the fluid flow path 2 and is a flow rate sensor unit for performing flow rate measurement and flow rate control. The MFC main body 1A, which has a flow rate control unit and outputs the measured flow rate value as a voltage signal a of 0 to 5V, the power supply voltage b of ± 15V, and the setting signal c of 0 to 5V, for example, are MFC. The power supply unit 1B outputs to the main body 1A and receives the output signal a.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a device display unit that collectively displays the operating states of the MFCs 1 provided in the plurality of fluid flow paths 2, and is connected to a power supply unit 1B of each MFC 1 via a cable 4. , A digital panel meter 3a is provided corresponding to each of the plurality of MFCs 1.

[0004]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 In the MFC 1 configured as described above, the MFC main body 1A only exchanges electric signals with the power supply unit 1B, and since the device display unit 3 is provided at a position distant from the MFC main body 1A, It was difficult to confirm the operating status on the MFC main unit 1A. For this reason, when starting up the device or exchanging the MFC1, it was easy to make a mistake in inserting the connector or mistakenly installing or removing the MFC1.

The above-mentioned problem also occurs in a mass flow meter (hereinafter referred to as MFM) in which the flow rate control unit is removed from the configuration of the MFC 1.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above matters, and an object thereof is to provide a mass flow rate control device capable of confirming an operating state in its main body.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to achieve the above object, a mass flow control device according to the present invention is an operation display unit for displaying according to a fluid flow rate on a device main body which is provided in a fluid flow path and has a flow rate sensor unit inside. It is characterized by the provision of.

In this case, the fluid flow rate display on the operation display unit may be performed by either digital display or analog display, and the operation state may be output visually or acoustically. It may be.

[0009]

[Action]

 In the mass flow rate control device having the above-mentioned configuration, since the operation display section for displaying according to the fluid flow rate is provided in the device body, the operation state can be immediately confirmed in the device body. Therefore, unlike the conventional method, it is possible to minimize the mistaken operation of the connector, such as mistaken insertion and removal of the mass flow control device when starting up the device or replacing the mass flow control device. .

[0010]

【Example】

 FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the configuration of a mass flow controller, such as an MFC, according to the present invention. In this figure, 10 is an MFC, which is interposed in a fluid flow path 2 and measures a flow rate. A MFC main body 10A that has a sensor unit and a flow rate control unit that performs flow rate control and outputs the measured flow rate value with a voltage signal a of, for example, 0 to 5V, a power supply voltage b of ± 15V, and, for example, 0 to 5V. And a power supply unit 10B to which the output signal a is input. The configuration so far is no different from that of the conventional MFC1 shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, the MFC main body 10A is provided with a digital display unit 11 as an operation display unit for displaying according to the fluid flow rate. The digital display section 11 can digitally display a numerical value corresponding to the flow rate measured by the signal from the power source section 10B, such as "100.0". Further, in this embodiment, the device display section 3 is also adapted to perform the digital display similarly.

In the MFC 10 configured as described above, since the main body 10A is provided with the digital display section 11 for displaying according to the fluid flow rate, the operation state of the MFC 10 in the main body 10A of the MFC 10 is indicated. It can be confirmed immediately, and in this embodiment, the flow rate of the fluid flowing at that time can be visually confirmed.

Therefore, for example, even in a complicated gas piping system, the operating state of each MFC 10 can be checked at a glance, and therefore, a human erroneous operation at the time of replacing the connector or replacing the MFC 10 can be minimized. can do.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, but can be implemented by variously modifying the form of the operation display unit provided in the MFC main body 10A. For example, an LED array, a liquid crystal display, or the like can be used instead of the above digital display. Then, as shown in FIG. 2A, an analog display section 12 may be provided as an operation display section to display the flow rate in an analog manner. Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, an LED display unit 13 may be provided as an operation display unit and the operation state may be visually output by blinking the LED display unit 13. Further, as shown in FIG. 6C, a sound output unit 14 such as a buzzer may be provided as a motion display unit to acoustically output the motion state. In this case, the buzzer may have a different size, an intermittent sound, or the like.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the mass flow rate control device is the MFC, but the invention is not limited to this, and it goes without saying that the same can be applied to the MFM.

[0016]

[Effect of device]

 As described above, in the present invention, since the operation display unit for displaying according to the fluid flow rate is provided in the body of the mass flow rate control device such as MFC or MFM, the operation state can be immediately confirmed in the device body. can do. Therefore, for example, even inside a complicated gas piping system, the operating status of each mass flow controller can be checked at a glance, and therefore, an artificial operation error when replacing the connector or replacing the mass flow controller. Can be minimized.

When the flow rate of the fluid is digitally displayed on the operation display section, the flow rate of the fluid currently flowing can be grasped at a glance, and when the flow rate is displayed on the operation display section in an analog manner, There is a unique effect that the degree of change in the fluid flow rate can be grasped at a glance. Furthermore, when the operation status is output visually or acoustically, the operation status can be grasped with certainty. There is.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a configuration of a mass flow controller according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating another configuration example of a display unit of the mass flow controller.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of a conventional mass flow controller.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 ... Fluid flow path, 10A ... Device body, 11, 12, 13,
14 ... Operation display section.

Claims (5)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A mass flow rate control device comprising an operation display section for displaying an indication according to a fluid flow rate in an apparatus main body provided in a fluid flow path and having a flow rate sensor section therein. . 2. The mass flow controller according to claim 1, wherein the fluid flow rate is digitally displayed on the operation display unit. 3. The mass flow controller according to claim 1, wherein the fluid flow rate is displayed in an analog manner on the operation display unit. 4. The mass flow controller according to claim 1, wherein the operation state is visually output on the operation display unit. 5. The mass flow controller according to claim 1, wherein the operation state is acoustically output on the operation display unit.