JP5087555B2 - Fluid coupling - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a fluid coupling, and more particularly, to a fluid coupling that secures sealing performance by deforming a gasket.

  As shown in FIG. 12, conventionally, as a fluid coupling (60), first and second coupling members (61) and (62) having fluid passages (63) and (64) communicating with each other, and each coupling An annular gasket pressing protrusion (65) (66) having a convex arcuate cross section formed on the butt end face of the member (61) (62) and a gasket interposed between the butt end faces of both joint members (61) (62) ( 67) and screw means (not shown) for connecting both joint members (61) and (62) are known, and the gasket (67) is deformed to ensure sealing performance.

As a more specific structure of the fluid coupling, each coupling member has a block shape, and the screw means is a bolt inserted into a through-hole provided in one coupling member, and a bolt is screwed in the other coupling member. Each joint member is tubular, one of the joint members is provided with a flange portion, and the screw means is provided with a male thread portion provided on the other joint member and a top wall. There may be a cap nut that is fitted to one joint member so that the inner surface is in contact with the flange portion and is screwed to the male thread portion of the other joint member.
JP 2003-322127 A

  According to the above-described conventional fluid coupling, it is necessary to reduce the installation space as well as to ensure the sealing performance, and it is an issue to improve the sealing performance without increasing the installation space. For example, when connecting block-shaped joint members to each other, in order to obtain a predetermined tightening force, it is necessary to set the diameter of the bolt to a predetermined value or more. Therefore, the minimum size of the joint member is the bolt diameter. Depends on.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a fluid coupling capable of reducing the diameter of a bolt as a screw means and thereby reducing the installation space of a device using the fluid coupling.

The fluid coupling according to the present invention includes first and second stainless steel joint members having fluid passages communicating with each other, a stainless steel or nickel alloy gasket interposed between the two joint members, and both joints. In the fluid coupling that secures the sealing performance by deforming the gasket by one annular gasket pressing projection formed on each joint member, the cross-sectional shape of the gasket pressing projection is and two arcuate cross-section of the projections, these Ri arcuate cross section recess Tona formed between the convex portions, the whole recess, is characterized in that contribute to the seal in close contact with the gasket.

  The gasket pressing protrusion is provided so as to protrude outward in the axial direction on the reference surface of the joint member. For example, two annular arc-shaped convex sections and an annular concave section formed between the convex sections. It is supposed to consist of The concave portion protrudes outward in the axial direction from the reference surface, and contributes to the seal by being in close contact with the gasket. The tip positions of the two convex portions may be the same or different. When they are different, it is preferable to project the convex portion located radially inward from the convex portion located radially outward. The number of the concave portions that adhere to the gasket and contribute to the sealing is not limited to one, and therefore, the gasket pressing protrusion is provided with three or four convex portions and two or three convex portions formed between the two convex portions, respectively. It is good also as what consists of two recessed parts. The cross-sectional shapes of the annular convex portion and the annular concave portion are not limited to the arc shape.

  The joint member may be one part or a part of one part. That is, in this specification, the “joint member” includes not only a passage block that can be handled as one part, but also a block-like main body integrated with a fluid controller such as a valve.

  The structure of the fluid coupling is not particularly limited. For example, each coupling member is in a block shape, and the screw means is a bolt inserted into a through hole provided in one coupling member and the other coupling member. Each joint member is tubular, one of the joint members is provided with a flange, and the screw means is provided on the other joint member. It may be composed of a threaded portion and a cap nut that is fitted to one joint member so that the inner surface of the top wall is in contact with the flange portion and is screwed to the threaded portion of the other joint member. The former is preferably used in a fluid control device called an integrated device configured without using a tube, and the latter is preferably used when connecting tubes in the middle of piping. In the latter case, the external thread portion may be provided integrally on the outer periphery of one joint member, or may be a separate member from the joint member.

  The bolt and cap nut of the screw means are preferably made of stainless steel (SUS304, SUS316, etc.), and the joint member is also preferably made of stainless steel (SUS304, SUS316, etc.). The gasket is preferably formed in a ring shape (perforated disk shape) of stainless steel, nickel alloy or the like.

  When each joint member is in the form of a block and the screw means is a bolt, it is preferable that one bolt is used per one seal portion composed of the annular gasket pressing protrusion and gasket of each joint member.

  Conventionally, at least two bolts are required per one seal portion. However, the use of the gasket pressing protrusion improves the sealing performance, and thus the number of bolts can be reduced.

  In order to make one bolt per seal portion, for example, two seal portions are provided at predetermined intervals in the front and rear between the fluid control device and the base block. Only one each is arranged from above in the front-back direction outside of the part.

  According to the fluid coupling of the present invention, the gasket pressing protrusion has a cross-sectional shape having at least two protrusions and a recess formed between these protrusions. A seal is formed by biting into the surface of the gasket, and a portion of the gasket pushed by the two convex portions enters the concave portion, whereby a seal is also formed between the concave portion and the gasket. Thereby, the sealing performance is improved, the diameter of the bolt as the screw means can be reduced or the number of bolts can be reduced, and the installation space of the device using the fluid coupling can be reduced.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of a fluid coupling according to the present invention, and shows a state where the fluid coupling is tightened by hand. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged vertical cross-sectional view showing a gasket pressing projection shape. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of the fluid coupling according to the present invention, and shows a tightening completion state in which a predetermined torque is tightened. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. FIG. 6 is a graph showing the effect of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a graph showing the results of comparing the sealing properties of the fluid coupling according to the present invention and the conventional fluid coupling. FIGS. 8A and 8B are diagrams showing a sealing property evaluation apparatus, in which FIG. 8A is a plan view and FIG. FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a configuration in which one bolt is attached to one seal portion. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing another example of a configuration in which one bolt is attached to one seal portion. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a fluid control apparatus as an example in which the fluid coupling according to the present invention is used. FIG. 12 is a view corresponding to FIG. 5 showing an example of a conventional fluid coupling.

Explanation of symbols

(3) First joint member
(4) Second joint member
(20) Fluid coupling
(21) Gasket
(22) Bolt (screw means)
(25) Through hole (screw means)
(26) Female thread (screw means)
(27) (28) Ring gasket retainer protrusion
(31) (32) Convex
(33) Recess
(S) Seal part

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

  FIG. 11 shows a fluid control apparatus as an example in which the fluid coupling of the present invention is used. This fluid control device (1) is used in a semiconductor manufacturing device or the like, and is a first fluid controller (2) on the inlet side comprising a pressure regulator or pressure transducer having a connection block (3) at the lower end. ), A first support block (4) that supports the first fluid controller (2), and a main body (6) that is disposed adjacent to the outlet side of the first fluid controller (2) and is provided below. A first on-off valve (5) connected to the first support block (4) and a main body (8) disposed adjacent to the outlet side of the first on-off valve (5) and provided below the first on-off valve The second on-off valve (7) connected to the main body (6) of (5) and the main body (8) of the second on-off valve (7) arranged adjacent to the outlet side of the second on-off valve (7) The connected second support block (9), the third support block (10) arranged opposite to the outlet side of the second support block (9) at a predetermined interval, and connected to the inlet side and the outlet side Bro The inlet connection block (12) is on the second support block (9) and the outlet connection block (13) is on the third support block (14). A second fluid controller (11) mounted across the second and third support blocks (9) and (10) by being supported, and adjacent to the outlet side of the second fluid controller (11). A main body (15) disposed below is provided with a third on-off valve (14) connected to the third support block (10).

  In the above, each support block (4) (9) (10), each on-off valve (5) (7) (14) body (6) (8) (15) and fluid controller (2) (11) The connecting block portions (3), (12), and (13) correspond to the joint members in the present invention, and these joint members (denoted by reference numerals (3) and (4)) are shown in FIGS. The fluid coupling (20) shown is connected.

  1 and 2 show the fluid coupling (20) in a state of being tightened by hand, FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a seal portion, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are tightened with a torque of a predetermined magnitude. The fluid coupling (20) is shown.

  The fluid coupling (20) according to the present invention includes first and second coupling members (3), (4) having fluid passages (23), (24) communicating with each other, and both coupling members (3) (4). ) And a bolt (22) as a screw means for joining both joint members (3) and (4). The first joint member (3) Is provided with a through hole (25) through which the bolt (22) is inserted, and the second joint member (4) is provided with a female thread portion (26) into which the bolt (22) is screwed. .

  Each joint member (3) (4) is formed with annular gasket pressing projections (27) (28). As shown in FIG. 3, the cross-sectional shape of the annular gasket pressing protrusions (27) and (28) is formed between two arc-shaped protrusions (31) and (32) and these protrusions (31) and (32). It consists of an arcuate recess (33). In the illustrated example, the tip position of the radially inner convex portion (31) is the same as the tip position of the radially outer convex portion (32).

  As shown in FIG. 2, the gasket pressing protrusions (27) and (28) are formed on the reference surfaces (3b) (3b) recessed inward in the axial direction from the butted end surfaces (3a) and (4a) of the joint members (3) and (4). 4b) projecting outward in the axial direction. The recess (33) of the gasket pressing projections (27) and (28) is positioned inward in the axial direction from the tips of the protrusions (31) and (32), but the shaft from the reference surfaces (3b) and (4b) It protrudes outward in the direction.

  The joint members (3) and (4) are made of stainless steel, and the gasket (21) is made of stainless steel or nickel alloy whose hardness is lower than that of the joint members (3) and (4). When tightened, the gasket pressing protrusions (27) and (28) bite into the gasket (21), and the gasket (21) is deformed to ensure sealing performance.

  2, the distance from the butted end faces (3a) (4a) of the joint members (3) (4) to the tips of the annular gasket pressing protrusions (27) (28) is the gasket (21 ), And the butted end faces (3a) and (4a) of the joint members (3) and (4) are opposed to each other through a slight gap.

  When the fluid coupling (20) is tightened from the hand-tightened state shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the butted end faces (3a) (4a) of the joint members (3) and (4) as shown in FIGS. The gap between them disappears, and the gasket (21) is plastically deformed to form a fluid tight seal. At this time, the two convex portions (31), (32) of the gasket pressing projections (27), (28) bite into the surface of the gasket (21) to form a seal, and the two convex portions (31), (32) ) Enters the recess (33), so that a seal is also formed between the recess (33) and the gasket (21).

  FIG. 6 is a graph for illustrating the operation and effect of the present invention. In FIG. 6, in the conventional fluid coupling, the tightening torque and the sealing performance are in a proportional relationship, and therefore, for example, a fluid using M4 bolts. When the size of the joint A is increased with reference to the joint A, the required sealing performance can be ensured by making the joint member similarly large and using the fluid joint B using M5 bolts. On the other hand, when the size is reduced, the joint member is similarly reduced in size, and the fluid coupling C having a bolt diameter reduced to M3.5 is used. In this case, a sufficient seal is required to reduce the tightening torque. You will not get sex. On the other hand, according to the fluid coupling D of the present invention, even when the bolt diameter is reduced to M3.5, the same fluidity as that of the conventional fluid coupling A using M4 bolts can be obtained. This makes it possible to reduce the width of the block-like joint member, which was impossible when a conventional fluid coupling was used. In addition, compared with the conventional bolts that are tightened using at least two bolts per seal, even if only one bolt with the same diameter is used, the tightening force is sufficient. Can be obtained.

  FIG. 7 shows the result of comparing the sealing performance of the fluid coupling (20) and the conventional fluid coupling (60) shown in FIG. 12, and FIG. 8 shows the sealing performance evaluation apparatus. ing.

  In FIG. 8, the fluid coupling (20) has two block-shaped coupling members (3) and (4) which are abutted via two seal portions (S), and two seal portions (S ) Is tightened using two bolts (22). The seal portion (S) of the fluid coupling (20) of the invention has the above-described configuration, and the seal portion (S) of the fluid coupling of the conventional product has a convex arc shape in cross section shown in FIG. The annular gasket pressing protrusions (65) and (66) are not used. The bolt (22) is M4 and is Ag plated. This fluid coupling (invention and conventional product) is attached to a leak test device (He leak detector) via a pipe joint (J), and the gas in the pipe connected to the fluid coupling (20) is evacuated to the outside. When He is applied to the fluid coupling (20), if there is a clearance, He is sucked in, so that He reacts with the tester in the middle of the evacuated pipe, and the amount of leakage is known. FIG. 7 shows the leakage amount (leak amount) when the tightening torque is gradually increased.

According to the leak evaluation results shown in FIG. 7, the invention product already has a leakage amount smaller than that of the conventional product when tightened by hand and a tightening torque of 0.6 N / m. Thus, it reaches 10 ⁻¹¹ Pa · m ³ / sec, which is a reference for the leak amount. On the other hand, in the conventional product, when the tightening torque is 0.6 N / m, the leak amount is still about 10 ⁻⁶ Pa · m ³ / sec which is the limit of the sensitivity of the He leak detector. The tightening torque for obtaining the standard 10 ⁻¹¹ Pa · m ³ / sec is 1.4 to 1.6 N / m (about 2.5 times). From this, it can be seen that the sealing performance of the fluid coupling (20) of the present invention is greatly improved, and by this sealing performance improvement effect, two bolts (22), that is, one of the two sealing portions (S) are attached. One bolt (22) can be attached to the seal portion (S), and the required number of bolts can be reduced.

  A configuration in which one bolt (22) is attached to one seal portion (S) is illustrated in FIGS.

  FIG. 9 includes a joint member (4) supporting a pressure reducing valve (41) having a connection block portion (3) as a joint member and a connection block portion (3) as a joint member. The joint member (4) supporting the pressure indicator (42) is shown, and each joint member (4) is provided with two seal portions (S) arranged in the front-rear direction. A female screw (26) is provided on the upper surface of the front and rear end portions of each joint member (4), and one bolt (22) to be tightened from above is provided on the outer side in the front-rear direction of each seal portion (S). It is arranged only one by one.

  The joint members (4) are connected to each other with bolts (43) from the front and rear directions, and screw insertion holes extending in the front and rear directions are provided at the four corners of the joint member (4) supporting the pressure reducing valve (41). (44) and female screw (45) extending in the front-rear direction are provided alternately, and the female screw (45) extending in the front-rear direction is reduced in the joint member (4) supporting the pressure indicator (42). The joint member (4) supporting the valve (41) is provided at a position corresponding to the screw insertion hole (44). At the center of each joint member (4) in the front-rear direction, a pair for inserting bolts (47) from above for fixing each joint member (4) to a base member (46) made of aluminum sheet metal. Screw insertion holes (48) extending in the vertical direction are provided so as to be arranged in the left and right (width direction).

  The bolts (22) to be tightened from above are conventionally arranged at all four corners of the connection block part (3), but in FIG. 9, the left and right central parts at the front and rear end parts of the connection block part (3) In this way, it is possible to perform tightening using two bolts (22) for the two seal portions (S).

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a mass flow controller (11) as an example of a fluid controller and a pair of joint members (51) and (52) that support the mass flow controller (11). The mass flow controller (11) is abutted against the overhanging passage blocks (11a) and (11b) via the seal portion (S).

  Each joint member (51) (52) has a large block portion (53) that contacts the lower surface of the overhang passage block (11a) (11b), and a large block portion ( 53) and a small block portion (54) provided integrally. The small block portion (54) has a lower surface that is flush with the large block portion (53) and has a lower height.The small block portion (54) has a base member (55) made of aluminum sheet metal. An insertion hole for a bolt (56) to which each joint member (51) (52) is attached is formed. Each joint member (51) (52) is attached to the base member (55) by two bolts (56).

  The bolt (22) for attaching each overhang passage block (11a) (11b) to the corresponding joint member (51) (52) is one from above, and the joint member (51) (52 ) Is provided on the outer side in the front-rear direction with respect to the seal portion (S), and the tip portion is screwed into the screw portions (51b) and (52b). Thus, it is possible to perform tightening using one bolt for one seal portion (S).

  Note that the shape of the gasket pressing protrusions (27) and (28) is not limited to that shown in FIG. 3. For example, the number of the protrusions is three, or the protrusions on the radially inner side and the radial direction. It is possible to make the position of the tip different from the outer convex part, and at least two convex parts bite into the surface of the gasket, respectively, and the portion of the gasket pushed by these convex parts enters the concave part Thus, various gasket pressing projection shapes can be adopted as long as the seal is formed by both the convex portion and the concave portion.

  Since the diameter of the bolt as the screw means can be reduced, and the installation space of the device using the fluid coupling can be reduced, it can contribute to the performance improvement of the fluid control device for supplying various gases. .

Claims (6)

First and second stainless steel joint members having fluid passages communicating with each other; a stainless steel or nickel alloy gasket interposed between the joint members; and screw means for coupling the joint members. comprises a, in the fluid coupling to ensure the sealing performance by the gasket is deformed by pressing one annular gasket formed in each joint member projection, the gasket presser sectional shape of the protrusions, the two circular-arc cross section protruding parts and, these Ri arcuate cross section recess Tona formed between the convex portions, the whole recess, fluid coupling, characterized in that it contributes to the seal in close contact with the gasket.   2. Each joint member is in the form of a block, and the screw means comprises a bolt inserted into a through hole provided in one joint member and a female thread portion provided in the other joint member into which the bolt is screwed. Fluid fittings.   3. The fluid coupling according to claim 2, wherein one bolt is used for one seal portion comprising an annular gasket pressing protrusion and a gasket of each joint member.   4. The fluid coupling according to claim 3, wherein two seal portions are provided in the front-rear direction at a predetermined interval, and one bolt is disposed on each outer side in the front-rear direction of each seal portion.   The convex part which is made into two convex parts and is radially inward is made to protrude rather than the convex part which is radially outward, The Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned Fluid coupling. A fluid control device comprising at least one fluid controller having a connection block part and at least one support block supporting the fluid controller, wherein the support block and the connection block part are from A fluid control device, wherein the fluid control device is connected by any one of up to 5 fluid couplings.

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