JP5081665B2 - Fluid control device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a fluid control device used in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus or the like, and more particularly to a fluid control device formed by integrating a plurality of fluid control devices.

  In a fluid control device used in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, a plurality of fluid control devices are arranged in series, and a plurality of lines formed by connecting them without using pipes or joints are arranged in parallel on a base member. Integration is progressing in the area. In Patent Document 1, as such a fluid control device, a base member is formed in a frame shape by an inlet side rail, an outlet side rail, and a connecting member that connects both rails, and one entire line is attached in advance. A rail as a line support member is slidably attached to a base member.

  FIG. 5 shows a line expansion method in the fluid control device of Patent Document 1. In FIG. 5, the fluid control device includes a plurality of joint members (10) arranged at the lower stage and a plurality of fluid control devices (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) arranged at the upper stage. (8) (9) is supported by the movable rail (1) to form one line (A), and each movable rail (1) of the plurality of lines (A) is a pair of fixed rails (11). The entire apparatus is configured by being slidably attached to (12). When the line (B) is expanded, the sliding member (13) for expansion is inserted into an appropriate position of each fixed rail (11) (12) and the fluid control constituting the expansion line (B) Sliding member from the bolt insertion hole (1b) provided in the movable rail (1) in which the equipment (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) and the plurality of joint members (10) are incorporated (13) Since the bolt (21) is screwed into the threaded part via the washer (22) (23), the fluid control device (2) (3) (4) (5 ) (6) (7) is temporarily fixed to the movable rail (1), after which the fluid control device (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) is incorporated The rail (1) is slid to a predetermined position in contact with the existing line (A).

In many cases, this type of fluid control apparatus is installed in a vertical state in a casing, and in this case, it is necessary to perform line expansion work in a casing where the space is narrow and sufficient illuminance cannot be obtained.
JP 2002-206700 A

  According to the line expansion method in the fluid control device shown in FIG. 5 above, the movable rail incorporating the fluid control device (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) to be the expansion line (B) By preparing (1) in advance, the work inside the housing can be done simply by attaching the movable rail (1) to the fixed rail (11), and the line can be easily expanded (including changes). have.

  However, when expanding the line, the bolt (21) is mounted on the sliding member (13) in a confined space and sufficient illumination cannot be obtained. It is necessary to carry it with the movable rail (about 5kg) (1), and since it is not clear visually whether it is screwed well or not, there is an inconvenience that the screw is tightened depending on the sense. . Also, when tightening with a tool, it is necessary to hold the extension movable rail (1) with one hand and operate the tool with the other hand. (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) Incorporating the additional movable rail (1) is a burden on the operator, and there is a problem that continuous work is difficult. In addition, since the fluid control device has a large number of seal portions, there is a possibility that the seal performance may be adversely affected if proper fixation cannot be performed at the time of expansion.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a fluid control device in which the assembly work efficiency is further improved.

The fluid control device according to the present invention has a plurality of lines formed by attaching a plurality of fluid control devices to one movable rail, and each movable rail of the plurality of lines faces a direction orthogonal to them. In the fluid control device slidably attached to the fixed rail, a female thread portion is provided on a sliding member that is slidable along a guide groove provided on the fixed rail. The lower part of the male screw member is screwed in, the upper part of the male screw member is projected from the upper surface of the fixed rail, and the bolt insertion hole provided in the movable rail is fitted to the protruding part of the male screw member, by being screwed internally threaded member on the upper end portion of the member, and the movable rail is attached to the fixed rail, a movable rail, screwed lighter female screw member to the upper end portion of the externally threaded member In any of the states and the female screw member is detached from the upper end portion of the male screw member, and is characterized in that it is slidable integrally with the externally threaded member and the sliding member.

  The line expansion method in the fluid control device according to the present invention is a method of adding a line in the fluid control device described above, wherein the screw member is screwed to the expansion sliding member fitted in the guide groove of the fixed rail. A step, a step of fitting the bolt insertion hole of the extension movable rail incorporating the fluid control device into the male screw member, and sliding the extension slide member along the fixed rail to move the extension movable rail to a predetermined position. And a step of fixing the extension movable rail, which has been moved to a predetermined position by screwing the female screw member to the male screw member, to the fixed rail.

  In this specification, the top and bottom refer to the top and bottom of FIG. 4, that is, the surface to which the fixed rail is attached is referred to as the bottom, and the movable rail and each fluid control device are disposed thereon. . The upper and lower sides are convenient, and the fluid control device of the present invention can be used both horizontally and vertically. In particular, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the lower surface of the fixed rail is a vertical surface. It is suitable for use.

  The fixed rails are, for example, a pair of rails arranged parallel to each other on the inlet side and the outlet side, and male screw members are respectively provided at the inlet side and outlet side ends of the movable rail. Bolt insertion holes for insertion are provided.

  Of course, the fixed rail and the movable rail may have different shapes, but preferably have the same shape in order to make the parts common. In this case, each rail has a pair of guide grooves (so-called internal enlarged grooves). When one movable rail is attached to the fixed rail, two positions are provided on the inlet side and the outlet side of the movable rail. It is fixed with.

  As the fluid control device, an on-off valve (a valve that shuts and opens the fluid passage), a pressure reducing valve, a pressure indicator, a flow rate regulator (mass flow controller), or the like is used.

  In one line, for example, a plurality of block-shaped joint members, which are lower layers, are attached to a movable rail by male screw members, and a plurality of fluid control devices, which are upper layers so as to straddle adjacent joint members, are provided from above. The screw member is attached to the joint member. If it does in this way, the fluid control apparatus of an upper layer can be taken out upwards independently by removing the external thread member from the upper part. The configuration of one line is not limited to that composed of a lower layer and an upper layer, and various configurations can be employed.

  As the sliding member provided with the female thread portion, the same member as the conventional one can be used. Moreover, the bolt insertion hole provided in the movable rail can be the same as the conventional one. Therefore, since the existing line is provided in the sliding member from the bolt insertion hole provided in the movable rail, the bolt (headed bolt in which a hexagonal hole is formed) is screwed into the screw portion, and is fixed. Only the extension line may be the attachment of the present invention.

  The male screw member is preferably a headless bolt, and a tool engaging hole (for example, a hexagonal hole for a hexagon wrench) is formed at the top (upper end) thereof. As the female screw member, a nut or a cap nut having a tool engaging portion (for example, a hexagonal column portion) formed on the outer peripheral surface can also be used, but preferably has a top wall and the outer periphery is a cylindrical surface. In addition, a tool engagement hole (for example, a hexagon hole for a hexagon wrench) is formed on the top wall. In this way, not only is it easy to fix at two locations in the narrow space at each end of the movable rail, but also the same tool that tightens the male screw member (of course, the hole diameter can be different) Can be used to tighten the female screw member.

  According to the fluid control device of the present invention, when the line of the fluid control device installed in a vertical state in the housing is added, the work to be performed by holding the extension movable rail by hand is performed through the bolt insertion hole of the extension movable rail. It is only the work to fit the screw member, and when tightening the screw, it is the work of tightening the female screw member to the male screw member, which reduces the burden on the weight of the operator and also reduces the labor and time of the work. It is possible to greatly improve the workability of the action performed in a housing that is reduced, is a narrow space, and does not have sufficient illuminance. As a result, when a large number of seal portions are provided in the fluid control device, the sealing performance is not lowered when the fluid control device is added, and the reliability of the fluid control device is improved.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIGS. 1 to 3 show the assembly order (steps at the time of addition) of the fluid control device of the present invention, and FIG. 4 shows a cross section of a joint portion between the movable rail and the fixed rail.

  This fluid control device (1) is used in a semiconductor manufacturing device or the like, and has a plurality of lines (A) and (B).

  In each line (A) (B), a plurality of block-shaped joint members (10) as lower layers are attached to the movable rail (1) by male thread members (not shown in the figure), and adjacent joint members (10 A plurality of fluid control devices (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9), which are upper layers so as to extend across It is formed by being attached to the member (10).

  Each of the movable rails (1) of the plurality of lines (A) and (B) is a pair of fixed rails (upper and lower sides in the drawing) arranged orthogonally to the movable rail (1) 11) It is slidably supported between (12).

  Each movable rail (1) and each fixed rail (11) (12) have the same shape, and each rail (1) (11) (12) is slid by the sliding member (13). It has two rows of guide grooves (1a) (11a) (12a) that are movably fitted. Bolt insertion holes (1b) are provided at the inlet side and outlet side ends of each movable rail (1). In addition, a plate-shaped cushion material (14) is interposed between the inlet and outlet ends of the movable rail (1) and the fixed rails (11) and (12).

  In this fluid control device, in order to newly add a line (B) by expansion or the like, first, as shown in FIG. 1, it is fitted into the guide grooves (11a) and (12a) of the fixed rails (11) and (12). The headless bolt (male thread member) (15) is screwed to the female thread portion (13a) of the inserted sliding member (13), and then the fluid control device (2) (3) as shown in FIG. (4) (5) (6) (7) and the bolt insertion hole (1b) of the movable rail (1) for the extension line (B) in which a plurality of joint members (10) are incorporated into the sliding member (13) Fit the headless bolt (15) screwed onto the screw, and then slide the movable rail (1) for the extension line (B) to the extension position, as shown in FIG. Fixing the movable rail (1) to the fixed rail (11) (12) by screwing (female thread member) (18) onto the headless bolt (15) via the plain washer (16) and spring washer (17) do it. A specified value is set for the tightening torque of the cap nut (18), and the sealing performance of the extension line (B) is guaranteed by tightening to this specified value.

  A hexagonal hole (15a) is provided at the upper end of the headless bolt (15), whereby the operation shown in FIG. 1 can be performed using a hexagon wrench. In the work shown in FIG. 1, the headless bolt (15) is first screwed onto the sliding member (13), and the sliding member (13) with the bolt (15) is fixed to the fixed rail (11). The guide grooves (11a) and (12a) in (12) may be fitted together. A hexagon hole (18a) is provided at the upper end of the cap nut (18), and the operation shown in FIG. 3 can also be performed using a hexagon wrench.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the guide groove (11a) of the fixed rail (11) is an internal enlarged groove, and its cross-sectional shape is a trapezoid whose upper base is longer than the lower base and shorter than the upper base. It has an upward opening. The bolt insertion hole (1b) of the movable rail (1) is provided so as to penetrate the bottom of the guide groove (11a). The sliding member (13) has a trapezoidal portion whose upper base is longer than the lower base and an upward projecting portion shorter than the upper base, corresponding to the cross-sectional shape of the guide groove (11a) of the fixed rail (11). ing. The upper surface of the sliding member (13) is positioned below the upper surface of the fixed rail (11).

  The female screw member (18) has a cylindrical shape with a top wall, and has a female screw portion (18a) on the lower inner periphery. The outer peripheral surface is a smooth cylindrical surface, and a tool such as a wrench is engaged. The mating engaging portion is a hexagonal hole (18b) for engaging a hexagon wrench provided on the top wall. Therefore, when using a commercially available hexagonal column nut, it is necessary to work with a spanner or wrench with an outer diameter larger than the outer diameter of the nut, and the movable rails (1) are arranged in parallel in the housing. While it becomes difficult to work in the arranged state, it is possible to work with a hexagon wrench with an outer diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the female screw member (18), and each end of the movable rail (1) is narrow Tightening in the space can be easily performed, and the reliability of tightening can be improved.

  The length of the headless bolt (15) is such that the upper part of the headless bolt (15) protrudes from the upper surface of the fixed rail (11) with the lower part screwed into the sliding member (13). The length that reaches approximately the same height as the upper surface of the fixed rail (11) is projected to the bolt insertion hole (14a) of the cushion material (14) and the bolt insertion hole of the movable rail (1). (1b) is fitted. In this state, the upper end of the headless bolt (15) passes through the bottom wall of the guide groove (1a) of the movable rail (1), and as a result, the upper end of the headless bolt (15) is moved to the movable rail. The movable rail (1) is prevented from falling by engaging with the bolt insertion hole (1b) of (1).

  Therefore, when the movable rail (1) is slid to the state of FIG. 3 after the state of FIG. 2, it is not necessary to screw the cap nut (18) to the headless bolt (15). Of course, in the state of FIG. 2, the cap nut (18) may be lightly screwed to the headless bolt (15).

  Thus, by providing the extension line (B) in the order shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the extension movable rail (1) is manually installed when adding a line for the fluid control device installed in a vertical state in the casing. The only work to be carried out in Fig. 2 is to fit the bolt insertion hole (1b) of the additional movable rail (1) to the headless bolt (15) in Fig. 2, and when tightening the cap nut (18) in Fig. 3 Since the additional movable rail (1) is supported by the headless bolt (15), it is only necessary to lightly press it with your hand, which greatly reduces the burden on the operator and reduces labor and work. Time is also reduced. As a result, the possibility of lowering the sealing performance when a large number of seal portions provided in the fluid control apparatus are added is reduced, and the reliability of the fluid control apparatus is improved.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a fluid control device according to the present invention, and is a perspective view showing a first step of expansion. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the fluid control device according to the present invention, and is a perspective view showing a second step of expansion. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the fluid control device according to the present invention, and is a perspective view showing a third step of expansion. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a main part of an embodiment of the fluid control apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a conventional fluid control device, and is a perspective view showing a first step of expansion.

Explanation of symbols

(1) Movable rail
(1b) Bolt insertion hole
(2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) Fluid control equipment
(10) Joint member
(11) (12) Fixed rail
(11a) (12a) Guide groove
(13) Sliding member
(13a) Female thread
(15) Headless bolt (Male thread member)
(18) Cap nut (Female thread member)
(A) (B) line

Claims (3)

It has a plurality of lines formed by attaching a plurality of fluid control devices to one movable rail, and each movable rail of the plurality of lines is slidably attached to a fixed rail facing in a direction perpendicular to them. In the fluid control device,
A female threaded portion is provided in a sliding member that is slidable along a guide groove provided in the fixed rail, and the lower part of the threaded member is screwed into this female threaded part, and the upper part of the male threaded member Is protruded from the upper surface of the fixed rail, the bolt insertion hole provided in the movable rail is fitted to the protruding portion of the male screw member, and the female screw member is screwed to the upper end portion of the male screw member, movable rail is attached to the fixed rail, a movable rail, in both the upper end of the state and the externally threaded member which female screw member is screwed lightly to the upper end portion of the male screw member in a state where the female screw member is removed A fluid control device characterized by being slidable integrally with a male screw member and a sliding member . The male screw member is a headless bolt, and a tool engaging hole is formed at the upper end thereof. The female screw member has a top wall, and a tool engaging hole is formed in the top wall. The fluid control device according to claim 1, wherein A method for adding a line in the fluid control apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, comprising the steps of screwed the externally threaded member to an expansion sliding member which is fitted into the guide groove of the fixed rail, the fluid control device is incorporated A step of fitting the bolt insertion hole of the extended movable rail to the male screw member, a step of sliding the additional sliding member along the fixed rail to move the additional movable rail to a predetermined position, and a female screw. And a step of fixing the extension movable rail, which has been moved to a predetermined position by screwing the member to the male screw member, to the fixed rail.

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