JP5710559B2 - Through-hole closing unit and gas-type leakage inspection apparatus including the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a through-hole closing unit for closing a through-hole of a work to provide airtightness, and a gas type leak inspection apparatus including the same.

  For example, some cast products and forged products are used as a storage container for storing a liquid such as oil or a pressure container for storing a fluid having a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure in an inner chamber. In the case of such an application, it is necessary that the contents do not leak from the inner chamber, in other words, it is excellent in liquid tightness or air tightness.

  However, there may be a leaked portion in the cast product or the forged product. For example, in a cast product, there is a possibility that a leakage point may be formed due to a casting defect. For this reason, it is widely performed to check whether or not there is a leakage portion in the wall portion that communicates with the atmosphere from the inner chamber of the cast product or the forged product. The gas leak inspection apparatus is well known as an inspection apparatus for performing such confirmation, and a specific example thereof is an airtight inspection apparatus described in Patent Document 1.

  When using this airtight inspection device, a workpiece (cast product or forged product) to be inspected is accommodated in a chamber, and the inner chamber of the workpiece is evacuated to a vacuum state, while the chamber is kept at atmospheric pressure. In this state, a test gas (for example, helium) is introduced into the inner chamber. After that, if a predetermined amount or more of the inspection gas does not leak into the chamber when a certain time has elapsed, it is considered as a passing product with sufficient airtightness secured, and the inspection gas of a predetermined amount or more If it leaks inside, it is considered as a rejected product with insufficient airtightness.

  By the way, in the airtightness inspection apparatus of patent document 1, the aluminum wheel for vehicles is made into the test object (workpiece | work). In an aluminum wheel, openings that communicate with the atmosphere from the inner chamber exist only at both ends. Therefore, when performing a leak inspection of the wall portion, it is only necessary to close both ends. However, for example, an inspection target subjected to a leakage inspection in an automobile parts production factory includes a transmission case or the like in which a large number of through holes are formed on a side wall. In this case, it is necessary to close the opening of the through hole.

  As this type of closing means, the inspection sealing device described in Patent Document 2 is known. In this inspection sealing device, after the seal portion is seated in the opening of the cylindrical portion, the seal portion is positioned and fixed by a lock mechanism so that the seal portion does not fall off from the cylindrical portion.

JP-A-6-221950 JP 2002-55018 A

  The sealing target of the inspection sealing device described in Patent Document 2 is limited to the cylindrical portion. That is, a simple through hole cannot be closed.

  Also, in an automobile parts factory, various members such as mission cases are mass-produced on an industrial scale. Therefore, when leakage inspection is performed on individual members, it becomes difficult to sufficiently close the opening due to wear of the seal portion or the like. In this case, since it becomes impossible to determine whether or not there is a leak in the wall portion, it is necessary to replace the seal portion with a new one.

  Since leakage inspection cannot be performed during replacement, it is preferable that the replacement time of the seal portion is shorter. However, in the inspection sealing device described in Patent Document 2, in order to replace the seal portion, it must be disassembled. For this reason, it takes a long time for replacement, and during that time the leakage inspection must be stopped. This problem has become apparent.

  Furthermore, various types of through-holes are formed through the mission case or the like, such as through-holes having different opening diameters or depths, or through-holes having chamfered portions. For this reason, it is desirable that the size and shape of the seal portion (blocking portion) correspond to the opening diameter and the opening shape.

  In this case, when exchanging the closing portion as described above, for example, the through hole having a small opening diameter is originally closed with respect to the cylinder for attaching the closing portion for closing the through hole having a large opening diameter. For this reason, there is a concern that a so-called erroneous assembly occurs, for example, by attaching the closed portion for the purpose. Of course, at this time, since the through hole is not blocked, it is impossible to determine whether or not there is a leaked portion in the wall portion.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and can eliminate the concern that erroneous assembly occurs, and can further reduce the time required for replacement of the closing portion, and a gas type including the same. It aims at providing a leakage inspection apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, the through-hole closing unit according to the present invention is formed so that the first engagement portion formed of a concave portion or a convex portion and the inner chamber of the work forming the inner chamber communicate with the atmosphere. A closing member having a closing portion for closing the formed through hole;
A holding member configured to hold the closing member by providing a second engaging portion including a convex portion or a concave portion, and the second engaging portion engaging with the first engaging portion;
A locking mechanism that is provided on either the closing member or the holding member and maintains the engaged state between the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion;
With
In correspondence with the formation of two or more of the through-holes having different opening diameters or opening shapes, the closure member and the holding member have two or more,
The closing members closing the through holes having different opening diameters or opening shapes are different in at least one of the size and shape of the first engaging portion and the closing portion,
In addition, the holding member having the second engaging portion whose size or shape is defined as a predetermined one has the first engaging portion whose size and shape is defined as a predetermined one in the closing member. Can be selectively held.

  In other words, according to the present invention, in accordance with the different opening diameters and opening shapes of the through holes, corresponding blocking members are used. In other words, there are multiple types of closing members.

  In this case, it is difficult for a closing member for closing (sealing) a through hole having a certain opening diameter and opening shape to close another through hole having a different opening diameter or opening shape. Therefore, if the closing member is misplaced, for example, when performing a leakage inspection to determine whether there is a leakage location on the wall portion of the workpiece, the inspection gas is leaking from the wall portion or from the through hole. It becomes difficult to judge whether it is. That is, an accurate inspection result cannot be obtained.

  Therefore, in the present invention, the type of the holding member that holds the closing member is changed corresponding to the type of the closing member. In short, a certain holding member can hold only a specific closing member and cannot hold another holding member. That is, the holding member selectively holds the closing member.

  By doing in this way, what is called an incorrect assembly which attaches a closure member to a wrong position can be prevented. Therefore, since the through hole can be closed so that the inspection gas does not leak during the leak inspection, it is easy to obtain an accurate inspection result.

  In addition, when the sealing performance of the through hole decreases due to wear or damage to the blocking member, the replacement is completed simply by removing the blocking member from the holding member and holding the new blocking member on the holding member. To do. That is, the closing member can be exchanged efficiently in a short time. For this reason, it becomes possible to restart a leak inspection etc. rapidly.

  In addition, as a configuration for preventing erroneous assembly, for example, the longitudinal dimension of the first engaging portion between the blocking members, the dimension in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, the shape, and the like are different, and the first of the holding member is different. For example, the two engaging portions may be set to a size / shape in which only a first engaging portion having a specific size / shape can be inserted.

  More specifically, when the first engagement portion has a columnar shape or a cylindrical shape, and the second engagement portion has the columnar shape, the first engagement portion is When the first engaging portion has a cylindrical shape when inserted into the first engaging portion, the first engaging portion has a cylindrical shape to be inserted. At least one of the diameter direction and the length direction dimension of one engaging part is made to differ. In addition, at least one of the second engaging portions in the diameter direction or the length direction may be made different for at least two of the holding members.

The through hole closure unit, and the Gas leakage inspection apparatus will be described later, and with the locking mechanism, and the lock ball, which comprises a sleeve surrounding the locking ball is employed. In this case, a ball groove on which the lock ball is seated is formed on the side wall of the first engagement portion or the second engagement portion.

Then, the distance from the insertion side front end to the ball groove of the first engagement portion of the arbitrary closing member or the second engagement portion of the arbitrary holding member is inserted from the ball groove. Of the second engaging portion of the holding member that cannot hold the arbitrary closing member, or the first engaging portion of the closing member that cannot be held by any holding member, the distance to the side rear end is b When the distance from the bottom wall of the concave portion to the lock ball is A and the distance from the lock ball to the insertion opening of the convex portion is B,
a> A (1)
Or a relational expression of
a <A and b ≦ B (2)
Any one of the relational expressions may be established.

  When a> A, even if an attempt is made to insert the convex portion into the concave portion, the convex portion stops during the insertion. For this reason, a part of the convex portion is exposed from the concave portion. In addition, the positions of the lock ball and the ball groove do not match. For this reason, the lock ball does not enter the ball groove, and naturally, the sleeve does not cover the lock ball in the state of entering the ball groove.

  On the other hand, when a <A and b ≦ B are satisfied, the entire convex portion is inserted into the concave portion, but the positions of the lock ball and the ball groove do not match. Therefore, the lock ball does not enter the ball groove, and the sleeve does not cover the lock ball that has entered the ball groove.

  That is, in any case, the engaged state is not maintained. From this, it is possible to prevent erroneous assembly.

  You may make it form the channel | path which can discharge | emit the gas in the inner chamber of a workpiece | work, and can supply gas to the said inner chamber in a closing member and a holding member. In this case, exhaust of gas from the inner chamber or supply of gas to the inner chamber can be performed more efficiently. In addition, when the inner wall is formed on the work and the inner chamber is divided into a plurality of compartments, it is difficult to exhaust gas from the compartment or supply gas to the compartment with one exhaust means. The gas can be exhausted from the compartment or supplied to the compartment through the closing member and the holding member.

  The closing member may be configured to have a main body having the first engaging portion and a closing body that is detachably attached to the closing portion and closes the through hole. In this case, it is possible to replace only the closing body. As a result, the number of replacement parts is reduced, and the cost is reduced.

  Further, when the closing body is made of an elastic material, the closing body is easily compressed by elasticity even when it is inserted into a through hole having a small opening size. For this reason, it becomes easy to press-fit the closing body into the through hole. In addition, since the elastic material is inexpensive, the cost is further reduced.

  Although the closing by the closing member can be performed manually by the operator, it is preferably performed automatically using the closing member displacement mechanism. Of course, the closing member displacement mechanism integrally displaces the closing member and the holding member holding the closing member in a direction approaching or separating from the through hole. .

Moreover, the gas type leak inspection apparatus according to the present invention includes a base,
A mounting table provided on the base for positioning and fixing the workpiece;
A clamping board for clamping the workpiece together with the mounting table;
A sandwiching plate displacement mechanism that is supported by the base and displaces the sandwiching plate toward or away from the workpiece;
A partition member that forms a chamber that approaches or separates from the mounting table and surrounds the workpiece when contacting the mounting table;
A partition member displacement mechanism supported by the base for displacing the partition member in a direction approaching or separating from the mounting table;
A through hole closing unit that closes a through hole formed so that the inner chamber communicates with the atmosphere on the side surface of the work that is sandwiched between the mounting table and the sandwiching plate to form an inner chamber;
Exhaust means for exhausting from the inner chamber;
Inspection gas supply means for supplying inspection gas to the inner chamber;
Sampling gas discharged from a monitor space defined between the holding plate that is in contact with the workpiece in the chamber and the partition member that is in contact with the mounting table and forms the chamber is the monitor space. A circulation flow path to return to
Inspection gas detection means for supplying the sampling gas via the circulation flow path;
With
The through-hole closing unit has a first engaging portion and a closing portion made of a concave portion or a convex portion;
A holding member configured to hold the closing member by providing a second engaging portion including a convex portion or a concave portion, and the second engaging portion engaging with the first engaging portion;
A locking mechanism that is provided on either the closing member or the holding member and maintains the engaged state between the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion;
With
In correspondence with the formation of two or more of the through-holes having different opening diameters or opening shapes, the closure member and the holding member have two or more,
The closing members closing the through holes having different opening diameters or opening shapes are different in at least one of the size and shape of the first engaging portion and the closing portion,
In addition, the holding member having the second engaging portion whose size or shape is defined as a predetermined one has the first engaging portion whose size and shape is defined as a predetermined one in the closing member. Can be selectively held.

  In short, this gas type leakage inspection apparatus includes the above-described through-hole closing unit. For this reason, since the through-hole formed in the workpiece | work is obstruct | occluded, it is avoided that the inspection gas introduced into the inner chamber leaks through a through-hole. Therefore, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not there is a leak location on the wall portion of the workpiece.

  As described above, it is preferable that the closing member and the holding member are formed with a passage through which the gas in the inner chamber can be discharged and the inspection gas can be supplied to the inner chamber. In this case, the gas can be exhausted from the inner chamber or the inspection gas can be supplied to the inner chamber more efficiently. In addition, when the inner wall is formed in the work and the inner chamber is divided into a plurality of compartments, it is difficult to exhaust gas from the compartment or supply inspection gas to the compartment with one exhaust means. This is because the gas can be exhausted from the compartment or the inspection gas can be supplied to the compartment through the closing member and the holding member.

  Moreover, it is preferable to provide a closing member displacement mechanism that integrally displaces the closing member and the holding member holding the closing member in a direction approaching or separating from the through hole. Thereby, the through hole can be automatically closed and opened.

  According to the present invention, in accordance with the difference in the opening diameter and the opening shape of the through-holes, a plurality of types of blocking members corresponding to each are used, and only a specific blocking member is used for the holding member that holds the blocking member. It can be selectively retained. For this reason, it is possible to prevent so-called erroneous assembly in which the closing member is attached to the wrong holding member, and any through hole can be closed with the closing member corresponding to the through hole.

  Therefore, for example, when performing a leakage inspection on a workpiece, it is possible to avoid the inspection gas introduced into the workpiece from leaking through the through hole, so that it is easy to obtain an accurate inspection result. .

  In addition, when the sealing performance of the through hole decreases due to wear or damage to the blocking member, the replacement is completed simply by removing the blocking member from the holding member and holding the new blocking member on the holding member. To do. That is, the closing member can be exchanged efficiently in a short time. For this reason, it becomes possible to restart a leak inspection etc. rapidly.

1 is an overall schematic front view schematically showing a gas leakage inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a principal part schematic side view of the gas type leak test | inspection apparatus of FIG. It is a schematic plan view of the mounting base which comprises the gas-type leak test | inspection apparatus of FIG. It is a principal part enlarged view of FIG. It is a top view from the lower part of the sealing member which comprises the clamping board with which the gas-type leak test | inspection apparatus of FIG. 1 comprises. FIG. 2 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of a through-hole closing unit that constitutes the gas leakage inspection apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. 7 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of a through hole blocking unit having a configuration different from that of the through hole blocking unit of FIG. 6. FIG. 8 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of a through-hole blocking unit having a configuration different from that of the through-hole blocking unit of FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 9 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of a through-hole blocking unit having a configuration different from that of the through-hole blocking unit of FIGS. FIG. 10 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of a through-hole blocking unit having another configuration different from the through-hole blocking unit of FIGS. 6 to 9. FIG. 10 is an overall schematic side view of a closing member constituting the through hole closing unit of FIG. 9. It is the whole obstruction | occlusion member which comprises the through-hole obstruction | occlusion unit of FIG. It is a whole schematic side view of the holding member which comprises the through-hole obstruction | occlusion unit of FIG. It is a whole schematic side view of the holding member which comprises the through-hole obstruction | occlusion unit of FIG. It is a whole schematic side view which shows the state which tried to engage the closure member of FIG. 11 with the holding member of FIG. It is a whole schematic side view which shows the state which tried to engage the closure member of FIG. 12 with the holding member of FIG.

  DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a through hole blocking unit according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings by giving preferred embodiments in relation to a gas leakage inspection apparatus including the same. In the present embodiment, a case where a leakage inspection is performed on a case member before being assembled as a mission component is illustrated.

  FIG. 1 is an overall schematic front view schematically showing a gas leakage inspection apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment. This gas leakage inspection apparatus 10 has a chamber 16 formed by a mounting table 12 and a partition member 14, and a case member 18 as a workpiece is accommodated in the chamber 16.

  Here, as is well known, the mission component is configured by connecting a plurality of case members including the case member 18 and has an internal space for accommodating the transmission and lubricating oil. . Therefore, the case member 18 has a hollow chamber 20 (inner chamber) for forming the internal space when assembled as a mission component. The gas-type leak inspection apparatus 10 detects when a test gas leaks from the hollow chamber 20 of the case member 18 through the bottom wall, side wall, or ceiling wall.

  For example, an opening 22 for connecting another case member is formed through the bottom wall of the case member 18. Further, as described in JP-A-2005-181207, the bottom wall, the side wall, and the ceiling wall are provided with a lubricating oil pressure detection hole, a driven pulley oil pressure detection hole, a reverse brake oil pressure detection hole, and a forward clutch oil pressure detection. A hole, a drive pulley hydraulic pressure detection hole, and the like are formed so that the hollow chamber 20 communicates with the atmosphere. Hereinafter, these holes are not particularly distinguished, and the through hole formed in the bottom wall, the through hole formed in the side wall, and the through hole formed in the ceiling wall are respectively referred to as “bottom wall through hole” and “side wall through”. The reference numerals of the side wall through hole and the ceiling wall through hole are designated as 24 and 25, respectively. The bottom wall through hole is not shown.

  As will be described later, there are various types of side wall through holes 24 having different opening diameters, opening shapes, depths, and the like. Here, in order to facilitate understanding of the positions of the side wall through holes 24, the side wall through holes 24 are opened. Regardless of the difference in diameter, opening shape, depth, etc., the reference numeral 24 is typically given.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the gas leak inspection apparatus 10 has a base 26 installed on the floor of a work station. The base 26 includes a first support base 28, a second support base 30, and a third support base 32 (see FIG. 1), and the first support base 28 includes a first support base 28 as a mounting base displacement means. One cylinder 34 (see FIG. 2) is supported. The first rod 36 constituting the first cylinder 34 is connected via a connecting bracket 38 to the lower end surface of the mounting table 12 provided on the second support table 30 so as to be displaceable.

  As schematically shown in FIG. 2, two guide rails 40 a and 40 b are provided on the upper end surface of the second support base 30 so as to extend in parallel with each other. A slider 42 is slidably engaged with each of the guide rails 40 a and 40 b, and the mounting table 12 is bridged by the slider 42. Therefore, the mounting table 12 is displaced along the extending direction of the guide rails 40a and 40b together with the slider 42 as the first rod 36 moves forward or backward.

  As shown in FIG. 3, which is a schematic plan view, a first annular groove 44 having a shape corresponding to the shape of the opening 22 formed in the bottom wall of the case member 18 is formed on the upper end surface of the mounting table 12. . The first annular groove 44 accommodates a first seal member 46 for preventing the inspection gas introduced into the hollow chamber 20 from leaking from the opening 22. In addition, a plurality of plugs 48 for closing the bottom wall through-hole are provided on the upper end surface of the mounting table 12, and a plurality of stoppers 50 for damming and fixing the case member 18 can be removed. Is provided. Accordingly, the case member 18 is positioned and fixed by blocking the side wall of the case member 18 by the stopper 50.

  As shown in FIG. 4 which is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. 1, the mounting table 12 is formed with an exhaust hole 52, a test gas introduction hole 54 and a test gas recovery hole 55 extending along the thickness direction. (See FIG. 1). When the case member 18 is positioned and fixed on the mounting table 12, the hollow chamber 20 of the case member 18 is in a position communicating with the exhaust hole 52, the test gas introduction hole 54, and the test gas recovery hole 55.

  A core 56 is accommodated in the hollow chamber 20. The presence of the core 56 reduces the space volume of the hollow chamber 20. Therefore, the amount of gas to be exhausted from the hollow chamber 20 and the amount of inspection gas introduced into the hollow chamber 20 can be reduced.

  The core 56 may be any object that can be accommodated in the hollow chamber 20 and does not absorb or absorb the inspection gas, and is not particularly limited, but a bulk body such as an iron lump is suitable. An example.

  A first exhaust pipe 60 to which a first clean pump 58 is connected is inserted into the exhaust hole 52. Further, a test gas introduction pipe 62 and a test gas recovery pipe 63, which are individually connected to a test gas supply means (not shown), are inserted into the test gas introduction hole 54 and the test gas recovery hole 55, respectively.

  As the inspection gas, helium, hydrogen, argon, etc. that are generally used in gas type leak inspection may be adopted. However, when it is required to detect a very small amount of leakage, in other words, high Helium is preferable for detection with high accuracy. Argon has a large diameter, and it is not easy to leak from a fine crack (ie, it is not easy to detect the presence of a fine crack), whereas helium has a small diameter, so it is difficult to leak. This is because it is possible to detect the presence of the crack. Moreover, as will be described later, helium used for the inspection can be recovered and reused. An example of a means that can supply helium is a cylinder.

  A reference gas introduction hole 64 is also formed through the mounting table 12 along the thickness direction. The reference gas introduction hole 64 is formed at a position that does not communicate with the hollow chamber 20 of the case member 18 but communicates with the chamber 16. A reference gas supply means (not shown) is connected to one end of a reference gas introduction pipe 66 inserted into the reference gas introduction hole 64, and a leak master 68 is connected to the remaining one end facing the hollow chamber 20. The leak master 68 is disposed above the mounting table 12 and is accommodated in the chamber 16 together with the case member 18.

  The leak master 68 is adjusted so that the reference gas is discharged into the chamber 16 with a predetermined leak amount.

  The reference gas supply means is for supplying a reference gas to a monitor space 69 (described later) via a reference gas introduction pipe 66 and a chamber 16, and a specific example thereof is a cylinder. The reference gas is the same gas as the inspection gas. That is, when helium is used as the inspection gas, the reference gas is also helium.

  A second exhaust pipe 70 is branched from the reference gas introduction pipe 66. The second exhaust pipe 70 joins the first exhaust pipe 60 and is connected to the first clean pump 58. A pressure sensor 71 is provided in this connection line.

  In the above configuration, the first exhaust pipe 60, the inspection gas introduction pipe 62, the reference gas introduction pipe 66, and the second exhaust pipe 70 include the first valve 72, the second valve 74, the third valve 76, and the like. Each of the fourth valves 78 is interposed. Similarly, a fifth valve 79 is provided in the inspection gas recovery pipe 63.

  Four support columns 80 a to 80 d (support members) are further provided on the upper end surface of the mounting table 12 so as to surround the case member 18.

  As the support columns 80a to 80d, those having different height direction dimensions are prepared in advance, and one having the same dimension as the height direction dimension of the case member 18 to be inspected for leakage is placed on the mounting table 12. It is attached. That is, after performing a leak test on an arbitrary case member 18, when performing a leak test on another case member having a height dimension different from that of the case member 18, the columns 80 a to 80 d are placed on the mounting table 12. After being removed from the mounting column 12, the columns 80 a to 80 d having the same dimensions as the height of the other case member are attached to the mounting table 12.

  The case member 18 is sandwiched between the mounting table 12 configured as described above and the sandwiching plate 82 in the chamber 16. The sandwiching plate 82 includes a sealing member 84 that comes into contact with the case member 18, and a support plate 86 that has the sealing member 84 attached to the lower end surface and that is wider than the sealing member 84.

  Among these, the lower end surface of the sealing member 84 facing the case member 18 corresponds to the shape of the relatively large-diameter ceiling wall through hole 25 formed in the ceiling wall of the case member 18 as shown in FIG. A second annular groove 88 having a shape is formed. The second annular groove 88 accommodates a second seal member 90 for preventing the inspection gas from leaking from the ceiling wall through hole 25. In addition, a plurality of plugs 92 for closing the small-diameter ceiling wall through hole 25 are provided on this end surface.

  As shown in FIG. 1, first fans 94 (stirring means) are respectively provided at the corners in the width direction of one support plate 86. These first fans 94 are for agitating the gas in the chamber 16, particularly in the monitor space 69. Each first fan 94 faces in the vertical direction, and therefore the first fan 94 causes convection along the vertical direction to the gas in the monitor space 69. That is, the gas in the monitor space 69 repeatedly rises and falls in the monitor space 69 under the action of the first fan 94.

  The support board 86 is provided with a plurality of brackets 96 at positions different from the first fan 94. Each bracket 96 is provided with a through hole closing unit 100 including a second cylinder 98 as a closing member displacing means. Here, reference numeral 102 indicates a second rod constituting the second cylinder 98.

  In addition, as will be described later, there are a plurality of types of through-hole blocking units 100 corresponding to differences in the opening diameter, opening shape, depth, and the like of the side wall through-holes 24. In order to facilitate the understanding of the positions of these, reference numeral 100 is typically given. The configuration of the through hole blocking unit 100 and the differences between the units will be described in detail later.

  A third rod 106 constituting a third cylinder 104 (clamping disk displacement mechanism) is connected to the upper end surface of the support board 86. The third rod 106 is moved forward (down) or moved backward (lifted), and the holding plate 82 is displaced in a direction approaching or separating from the case member 18.

  A third seal member 108 is attached to the bottom surface of the partition member 14 constituting the chamber 16. The third seal member 108 seals between the mounting table 12 and the partition member 14.

  The gas present in the space defined between the support plate 86 and the ceiling wall of the partition wall member 14 is led out of the chamber 16 as a sampling gas. The monitor space 69 refers to the space where the sampling gas is obtained, and the same applies to the following.

  Further, a second fan 110 serving as a stirring unit is provided above the left side surface and below the right side surface of the partition member 14. Each second fan 110 faces in the horizontal direction, and therefore the second fan 110 causes convection along the horizontal direction to the gas in the monitor space 69. In other words, in the monitor space 69, a flow that repeatedly rises and falls occurs under the action of the first fan 94, while the flow moves from the left to the right or in the opposite direction under the action of the second fan 110. Occurs.

  A first circulation hole 112 and a second circulation hole 114 are formed above the left side surface of the partition wall member 14, and each of the first circulation hole 112 and the second circulation hole 114 is shown in FIG. As described above, the forward piping 118 and the backward piping 120 that constitute the circulation piping 116 (circulation flow passage) are inserted. In the present embodiment, the path from the first circulation hole 112 to the sampling line 121 is defined as the forward piping 118 and the path from the sampling line 121 to the second circulation hole 114 is defined as the return piping 120. Here, the sampling line 121 is provided so as to branch from the circulation pipe 116.

  The sampling line 121 is connected to the inlet connection joint of the detector 122 as a leakage inspection gas detection means. In addition, an intake pump 123 and a first electromagnetic valve 124 are interposed in the forward piping 118, and either the forward piping 118 or the probe piping 126 is associated with the switching of the first electromagnetic valve 124 therein. It is selectively opened or closed. As a result, either the gas in the forward piping 118 or the gas in the probe piping 126 is selectively guided to the detector 122.

  A probe 128 that is manually scanned is connected to the tip of the probe pipe 126. A sampling gas discharge pipe 129 is connected to the outlet connection joint of the detector 122.

  On the other hand, a second solenoid valve 130 is interposed in the return pipe 120. As the second electromagnetic valve 130 is switched, either the return pipe 120 or the line cleaning pipe 132 is selectively opened or closed. As a result, the gas in the return pipe 120 is selectively guided to either the monitor space 69 or the second clean pump 134 connected to the line cleaning pipe 132.

  Further, a cleaning hole 136 is formed through the right side surface of the partition wall member 14 so as to penetrate therethrough. The cleaning hole 136 is connected to a chamber cleaning pipe 140 in which a two-way valve 138 is interposed. The chamber cleaning pipe 140 and the outlet pipe 142 connected to the first clean pump 58 are connected to the second clean pump 134. That is, to the second clean pump 134, a line cleaning pipe 132, a chamber cleaning pipe 140, and an outlet pipe 142 are connected.

  A curved portion 144 is formed at the boundary between the side wall and the ceiling wall of the partition wall member 14. In other words, the inner corner of the partition member 14 is curved.

  Further, an insertion hole 146 is formed through the ceiling wall of the partition wall member 14. The third rod 106 is connected to the upper end surface of the support board 86 through the insertion hole 146. Of course, the space between the inner wall of the insertion hole 146 and the side wall of the third rod 106 is sealed by a seal member (not shown).

  A fourth rod 150 constituting a fourth cylinder 148 (partition member displacement mechanism) is coupled to the outer upper end surface of the ceiling wall. The partition member 14 is displaced in a direction in which the fourth rod 150 moves forward (down) or backward (up) and approaches or separates from the mounting table 12. Of course, the fourth rods 150 are lowered or raised in synchronization with each other.

  In the above configuration, the third cylinder 104 and the fourth cylinder 148 are supported by the third support base 32 of the base 26 (see FIG. 2). Further, the pressure sensor 71 and the detector 122 are electrically connected to the control circuit 156 via signal lines 152 and 154, respectively.

  The through hole closing unit 100 will be described in detail. FIG. 6 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of a through-hole closing unit 100a that is one type of the through-hole closing unit 100. As shown in FIG. 6, the through-hole closing unit 100a includes the second cylinder 98 (closing member displacing means), a closing member 160a and a holding member 162a that are integrally displaced under the action of the second cylinder 98. And have. Note that reference numeral 24a in FIG. 6 is one type of the side wall through hole 24, and in this case, the through hole has a simple circular cross section in the diameter direction.

  As described above, the second cylinder 98 has the second rod 102, and when the second rod 102 moves forward or backward, the closing member 160a and the holding member 162a approach or separate from the side wall through hole 24a. It is displaced to.

  The second rod 102 has a threaded portion 164 at its tip. On the other hand, a screw portion 166 is also formed on the inner peripheral wall of the holding member 162a, and the screw portion 164 is screwed into the screw portion 166, whereby the holding member 162a is attached to the second cylinder 98 via the second rod 102. Retained.

  The closing member 160a has a main body 170a in which a first engagement portion 168a made of a convex portion is provided at one end. A ball groove 172 is formed on the peripheral wall of the first engaging portion 168a so as to go around the peripheral wall.

  The other end of the main body 170a is set to have a larger diameter than the first engaging portion 168a, and constitutes a closing portion that closes the side wall through hole 24a. A stepped screw hole 176 having a stepped portion 174 is formed in the closed portion.

  The closing body 178a is inserted into the stepped screw hole 176. That is, the closing body 178a has a trunk portion 180a and a head portion 182a having a diameter larger than that of the trunk portion 180a, and a screw portion is formed on an end peripheral wall of the trunk portion 180a. The threaded portion is screwed into the threaded portion of the stepped screw hole 176, whereby the closing body 178a is held by the main body 170a. At this time, the end surface of the head 182a of the closing body 178a and the end surface of the closing portion are flush with each other.

  Insertion hole 184 for inserting a hexagon wrench is formed in head 182a. By rotating the hexagon wrench inserted into the insertion hole 184, the closing body 178a can be screwed into or released from the stepped screw hole 176.

  The side peripheral wall of the head 182a and the inner peripheral wall of the step portion 174 are slightly separated from each other, so that an annular clearance is formed. An O-ring 186 is inserted into this annular clearance.

  The position of the blocking member 160a corresponds to the position of the side wall through hole 24a. Therefore, the closing member 160a closes the side wall through hole 24a and closes the side wall through hole 24a under the action of the second cylinder 98, and separates from the side wall through hole 24a to open the side wall through hole 24a. Is possible.

  On the other hand, the holding member 162a is formed with a second engagement portion 188a formed of a recess for inserting / engaging the first engagement portion 168a of the closing member 160a. Further, a lock mechanism having a lock ball 190 and a sleeve 192 surrounding the lock ball 190 is provided on the outer peripheral wall of the holding member 162a. The sleeve 192 is elastically biased toward the closing member 160a by the coil spring 194.

  A release groove 196 for allowing the lock ball 190 to be detached from the ball groove 172 is formed around the inner peripheral wall of the sleeve 192. When the sleeve 192 is pulled toward the second rod 102, a part of the lock ball 190 is detached from the ball groove 172, and another part enters the separation groove 196.

  A taper-shaped feed hole 198 through which the lock ball 190 passes is formed in the holding member 162a along the diameter direction thereof. When the first engagement portion 168a is inserted into the second engagement portion 188a, when the sleeve 192 is gripped and pulled toward the second rod 102, the positions of the ball groove 172, the feed hole 198, and the release groove 196 are changed. Match. For this reason, the lock ball 190 is released from the restraint of the sleeve 192. As a result, as described above, the portion that has entered the ball groove 172 of the lock ball 190 separates from the ball groove 172, while the portion that faces the separation groove 196 enters the separation groove 196. Thereby, the closing member 160a can be detached from the holding member 162a.

  The sleeve 192 that is elastically urged by the coil spring 194 is blocked by an annular stopper 200 provided on the outer peripheral wall of the holding member 162a.

  As described above, the side wall through hole 24 includes various types including the side wall through hole 24a and different opening diameters, opening shapes, depths, and the like. Another example is a side wall through-hole 24b in which a tapered chamfered portion 202 is formed as shown in FIG. 7 and the dimension in the depth direction is relatively small. The side wall through hole 24b is closed by a through hole closing unit 100b having a holding member 162b and a closing member 160b.

  The through hole closing unit 100b will be described. In the through-hole blocking unit 100b, the same components as those of the through-hole blocking unit 100a are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The closing member 160b has a main body 170b having a first engaging portion 168b formed of a convex portion and having a ball groove 172 formed on the peripheral wall at one end. At the tip of the other end of the main body 170b, an engaging recess 204 is formed to be depressed.

  The body portion 180b of the closing body 178b having an approximately umbrella shape is press-fitted into the engaging recess 204 by a body portion 180b having a cylindrical shape and a head portion 182b having a tapered diameter. Here, the body portion 180b is formed with a first pin insertion hole 206 along the diameter direction thereof, while the main body 170b is communicated with the atmosphere from the inner peripheral wall to the outer peripheral wall of the engaging recess 204. A second pin insertion hole 208 is formed through. The connecting pin 210 is passed through the first pin insertion hole 206 and the second pin insertion hole 208 that are continuous with each other. Thereby, the closing body 178b is attached to the main body 170b. The connecting pin 210 is prevented from coming off by mounting the O-ring 212.

  As can be understood from the above, the closure body 178b is easily released from the main body 170b by removing the O-ring 212 and then removing the connecting pin 210 from the first pin insertion hole 206 and the second pin insertion hole 208. The

  The head 182b of the closing body 178b is reduced in diameter in a tapered shape as described above. This taper angle corresponds to the taper angle of the chamfered portion 202. Therefore, when the closing member 160b approaches the side wall through hole 24b, the head 182b closes the chamfered portion 202.

  Here, the closing body 178b is made of an elastic material. Therefore, even if the head 182b has a slightly larger diameter than the chamfered portion 202, the head 182b is easily compressed. For this reason, it is easy to block the chamfered portion 202.

  The elastic material is not particularly limited as long as it has excellent sealing properties and wear resistance, but suitable examples thereof include nitrile rubber, styrene butadiene rubber, silicone rubber, fluorine rubber, ethylene propylene rubber, ethylene Examples include propylene diene terpolymer (EPDM) rubber, chloroprene rubber, butyl rubber, urethane rubber, polytetrafluoroethylene rubber, isoprene rubber, and natural rubber. Of course, it may be a mixture of two or more of these.

  The holding member 162b is formed with a second engagement portion 188b formed of a recess for inserting / engaging the first engagement portion 168b of the closing member 160b. Similarly to the above, on the outer peripheral wall of the holding member 162b, there are a lock ball 190 and a sleeve 192 that surrounds the lock ball 190 and is elastically biased toward the closing member 160b by the coil spring 194. A locking mechanism is provided. Further, a release groove 196 for holding the lock ball 190 until the sleeve 192 is pulled toward the second rod 102 is formed around the inner peripheral wall of the sleeve 192.

  That is, after the first engagement portion 168b is inserted into the second engagement portion 188b, when the sleeve 192 is gripped and pulled toward the second rod 102, the lock ball 190 moves toward the second rod 102 and the feed hole Passing through 198, the ball enters the ball groove 172 of the first engaging portion 168b. When the sleeve 192 is released in this state, the sleeve 192 is elastically biased by the coil spring 194 and returns to its original position. As a result, the feed hole 198 is closed and the lock ball 190 is positioned and fixed. The sleeve 192 elastically biased by the coil spring 194 is blocked by an annular stopper 200 provided on the outer peripheral wall of the holding member 162b.

  Another example of the side wall through hole 24 is a side wall through hole 24c in which a tapered chamfered portion 202 is formed as shown in FIG. The side wall through hole 24c is closed by a through hole closing unit 100c having a holding member 162c and a closing member 160c.

  This through-hole closing unit 100c will be described. In the through hole closing unit 100c, the same components as those of the through hole closing units 100a and 100b are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The closing member 160c includes an engaging member 214 (first engaging portion) having a convex portion and having a ball groove 172 formed on the peripheral wall, a main body 170c, a first closing body 178c, and a second closing body 178d. Have.

  The engagement member 214 is a substantially columnar body having a flange portion 215 at a substantially middle portion in the longitudinal direction, and the right end with the flange portion 215 as a boundary is engaged with the second engagement portion 188c of the holding member 162c. On the other hand, the left end with the flange portion 215 as a boundary is press-fitted into an engagement recess 216 formed in a recess in the main body 170c.

  A large-diameter blocking portion 218 is provided at the right end of the main body 170c. The first closed body 178c having a substantially annular shape passed through the main body 170c is blocked by the blocking portion 218.

  Here, a first pin insertion hole 220 is formed at the left end of the engagement member 214 along the diameter direction thereof. The main body 170c is formed with a second pin insertion hole 222 penetrating from the inner peripheral wall to the outer peripheral wall of the engaging recess 216 so as to communicate with the atmosphere. Further, the first closing body 178c is formed from the inner peripheral wall thereof. The third pin insertion hole 224 is formed through to reach the outer peripheral wall. The connecting pin 226 is passed through the first pin insertion hole 220, the second pin insertion hole 222, and the third pin insertion hole 224 that are connected to each other. Thereby, the engaging member 214 and the first closing body 178c are attached to the main body 170c. The connecting pin 226 is prevented from being detached by mounting the O-ring 228.

  An annular groove 230 is formed in the vicinity of the front end of the left end portion of the main body 170c so as to go around its outer peripheral wall, and an O-ring 232 is attached to the annular groove 230. Further, a columnar engaging convex portion 234 is formed to protrude from the front end surface of the left end portion. A screw hole 236 is formed in the engaging convex portion 234.

  A mounting recess 238 is recessed in the second closing body 178d so that the engaging protrusion 234 can be press-fitted. Further, a tapered inclined surface 239 is interposed between the outer peripheral wall and the top surface of the second closing body 178d.

  A tapered depression is formed on the top surface of the second closing body 178d, and a through hole 240 that continues to the screw hole 236 is formed through the bottom surface of the second closing body 178d. A screw (not shown) is passed through the passage hole 240, and the screw is screwed into the screw hole 236. Thereby, the 2nd obstruction body 178d is held by main part 170c.

  That is, the first closing body 178c can be easily removed from the main body 170c by removing the O-ring 228 and then removing the connecting pin 226 from the first pin insertion hole 220, the second pin insertion hole 222, and the third pin insertion hole 224. To be released. Further, the second closing body 178d is easily released from the main body 170c by screwing the screw to be detached from the screw hole 236 and the passage hole 240.

  Here, both the first closing body 178c and the second closing body 178d are made of an elastic material. A preferable example thereof is an elastic material forming the closing body 178b.

  As described above, the holding member 162c is formed with the second engaging portion 188c formed of a recess for inserting and engaging the engaging member 214 constituting the closing member 160c. Similarly to the above, a lock mechanism having a lock ball 190, a coil spring 194, and a sleeve 192 is provided on the outer peripheral wall of the holding member 162c. Further, a separation groove 196 is formed around the inner peripheral wall of the sleeve 192.

  That is, when the engagement member 214 is inserted into the second engagement portion 188c, if the sleeve 192 is gripped and pulled toward the second rod 102, the positions of the ball groove 172, the feed hole 198, and the release groove 196 are changed. Accordingly, the lock ball 190 is released from the restraint of the sleeve 192. As a result, the portion that has entered the ball groove 172 of the lock ball 190 is detached from the ball groove 172 in the same manner as described above, while the portion that faces the separation groove 196 enters the separation groove 196. As a result, the closing member 160c can be detached from the holding member 162c.

  The gas type leak inspection apparatus 10 further includes through-hole closing units 100d and 100e shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, respectively. Note that reference numeral 102 in FIGS. 9 and 10 indicates the second rod in the same manner as described above.

  In the through-hole closing unit 100d and the through-hole closing unit 100e, the dimensions of the holding member 162d and the holding member 162e and the dimensions in the longitudinal direction of the closing member 160d and the closing member 160e are different from each other. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 11, in the first engaging portion 168d of the closing member 160d, the distance from the left end of the main body 170d, which is the insertion-side front end to the second engaging portion 188d, to the center of the ball groove 172 Is L1, and the distance from the center of the ball groove 172 to the insertion limit right end of the main body 170d (the insertion side rear end of the portion inserted into the second engagement portion 188d) is L2, the first engagement portion of the closing member 160e In 168e, as shown in FIG. 12, the distance from the left end of the main body 170e, which is the front end of the insertion side to the second engaging portion 188e, to the center of the ball groove 172 is L1 ′, and the insertion of the main body 170e from the center of the ball groove 172 is performed. The distance to the limit right end (the insertion side rear end of the portion inserted into the second engagement portion 188e) is set to L2 ′. Here, L1> L1 'and L2> L2'.

  On the other hand, in the holding member 162d, as shown in FIG. 13, the distance from the bottom wall of the second engagement portion 188d to the center of the feed hole 198 (the lock ball 190) is L3, and the center of the feed hole 198 to the second engagement point. The distance to the opening of the joint portion 188d (insertion opening for inserting the first engagement portion 168d) is set to L4, and the holding member 162e is fed from the bottom wall of the second engagement portion 188e as shown in FIG. The distance to the center of the hole 198 is set to L3 ′, and the distance from the center of the feed hole 198 to the opening of the second engaging portion 188e (insertion opening for inserting the first engaging portion 168e) is set to L4 ′. Here, L3> L3 'and L4> L4'.

  Note that L1≈L3, L2≈L4, L1′≈L3 ′, and L2′≈L4 ′. Since L3> L3 ', L1> L3' is established. At the same time, in this embodiment, since L1> L1 ′, L1 ′ <L3, and since L4> L4 ′, L2 ′ ≦ L4 also holds.

  The relationship between a, b, A, B and L1 to L4 and L1 ′ to L4 ′ in the above formulas (1) and (2) will be described. As will be described later, the holding member 162e holds the closing member 160d. I can't. Therefore, between the closing member 160d and the holding member 162e, a = L1, b = L2, A = L3 ′, B = L4 ′, and L1> L3 ′, that is, a> A. ) Is established.

  On the other hand, the holding member 162d cannot hold the closing member 160e. Therefore, a = L1 ′, b = L2 ′, A = L3, and B = L4 between the closing member 160e and the holding member 162d. Since L1 ′ <L3 and L2 ′ ≦ L4 as described above, the relationship of a <A and b ≦ B is satisfied. That is, the relationship of Formula (2) is established.

  Supply holes 250d and 250e are formed in the holding members 162d and 162e from the outer peripheral wall to the second engaging portions 188d and 188e (see FIGS. 9 and 10). Supply pipes 254d and 254e are connected to these supply holes 250d and 250e via pipe joints 252d and 252e. The supply pipes 254d and 254e are bifurcated, and one branch pipe is connected to a test gas supply means (cylinder or the like) (not shown), and the other branch pipe is connected to a not-shown exhaust means (vacuum pump or the like). ) Is connected. Of course, by operating a three-way valve (not shown), a line for supplying inspection gas from the inspection gas supply means toward the supply holes 250d and 250e, or a line for exhausting from the supply holes 250d and 250e under the action of the exhaust means You can switch to either.

  Further, communication holes 256d and 256e are formed in the main bodies 170d and 170e constituting the closing members 160d and 160e, and discharge holes 258d and 258e are formed in the closing bodies 178e and 178f. The supply holes 250d and 250e communicate with the discharge holes 258d and 258e through the communication holes 256d and 256e. Further, O-rings 261d and 261e are mounted in the annular grooves 259d and 259e formed in the main bodies 170d and 170e, respectively.

  The closing bodies 178e and 178f are held by the main bodies 170d and 170e by screwing the screw portions into the screw portions of the stepped screw holes 176, similarly to the closing body 178a. An insertion hole 184 for inserting a hexagon wrench is formed on the top surface. By rotating the hexagon wrench inserted into the insertion hole 184, the closing bodies 178e and 178f can be screwed into the stepped screw hole 176, or the screwing can be released.

  A cover nut 260 is fitted on the closing bodies 178e and 178f so as to surround the outer peripheral wall thereof. The end face of the cover nut 260 protrudes as compared to the front end face of the head of the closing bodies 178e and 178f. For this reason, a recess 262 for entry having a substantially circular cross section is formed by the distal end surfaces of the heads of the closing bodies 178e and 178f and the inner peripheral wall of the cover nut 260.

  A cylindrical portion (not shown) in which a side wall through hole is formed enters the entering recess 262. That is, the closing bodies 178e and 178f cover the cylindrical portion and close the side wall through holes. In short, the cover nut 260 is a member for closing the side wall through hole.

  The other components of the through-hole blocking units 100d and 100e are the same as the other components of the through-hole blocking units 100a, 100b, and 100c. Accordingly, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same components, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The gas-type leak inspection apparatus 10 and the through-hole closing units 100a to 100e according to the present embodiment are basically configured as described above. This will be explained in relation to the method.

  First, the leak master 68 calibrated in advance with the same kind of gas as the inspection gas is attached. That is, for example, when the leak master 68 is set to derive the inspection gas at 0.5 cc / min, it is possible to derive the inspection gas at 0.5 cc / min almost accurately.

  Further, the detector 122 is also calibrated. For this purpose, for example, a pipe (not shown) branched from the reference gas introduction pipe 66 and connected to the detector 122 may be provided to introduce the reference gas into the detector 122.

  And the 1st cylinder 34 is urged | biased and the 1st rod 36 is advanced. Following this, the mounting table 12 connected to the first rod 36 via the connecting bracket 38 is pulled out of the second support table 30 and protrudes while being guided by the guide rails 40a and 40b. Of course, in this case, the slider 42 slides on the guide rails 40a and 40b.

  Next, the core 56 is mounted on the mounting table 12. The core 56 is not particularly required to be positioned and fixed, but it is needless to say that the core 56 may be positioned and fixed.

  Thereafter, the case member 18 that has been confirmed in advance to prevent leakage is placed on the mounting table 12. With this placement, the core 56 placed in advance on the placement table 12 is accommodated in the hollow chamber 20 of the case member 18.

  Since the mounting table 12 is pulled out in front of the second support table 30, the case member 18 is prevented from interfering with the partition wall member 14, the base 26, and the like, so that the case member 18 can be easily attached to the mounting table 12. Can be placed. In particular, when the case member 18 is mounted on the mounting table 12 by a robot, the robot arm is prevented from interfering with the partition wall member 14 or the base 26. For this reason, teaching to the robot becomes easy.

  When the case member 18 is placed on the mounting table 12, the first seal member 46 (see FIG. 3) contacts the bottom wall near the opening 22 formed in the case member 18, and the case member 18 penetrates the bottom wall. Plug 48 enters the hole. The bottom wall through hole is finally closed by the plug 48. In combination with this, the side wall of the case member 18 is blocked by the stopper 50, and the case member 18 is positioned and fixed to the mounting table 12.

  Next, the first cylinder 34 (see FIG. 2) is re-biased, and the first rod 36 is moved backward. As a result, the mounting table 12 returns to the second support table 30 while being guided by the guide rails 40 a and 40 b and is stored in the base table 26. As a result, the case member 18 is positioned to face the partition wall member 14.

  Next, the third cylinder 104 is energized and the third rod 106 is lowered. Accordingly, the sealing member 84 of the sandwiching plate 82 lowered is seated on the ceiling wall of the case member 18 and the upper end surfaces of the four columns 80a to 80d. Since the height direction dimensions of the support columns 80a to 80d are the same as the height direction dimension of the case member 18, the sealing member 84 is provided on the ceiling wall of the case member 18 and the upper end surfaces of the four support columns 80a to 80d. It abuts at the same time.

  By this contact, the support member constituting the sandwiching plate 82 is supported from the columns 80a to 80d. For this reason, the reaction force acting on the sandwiching plate 82 is dispersed, so that the sandwiching plate 82 is prevented from warping. As a result, the formation of a gap between the ceiling wall of the case member 18 and the sealing member 84 is avoided, and the seal between the two members is maintained.

  When the sealing member 84 is seated on the case member 18, the second sealing member 90 (see FIG. 4) contacts the ceiling wall near the large-diameter ceiling wall through hole 25 formed in the case member 18, and the case member 18. The plug 92 enters the small-diameter ceiling wall through hole 25. That is, the small-diameter ceiling wall through hole 25 is closed by the plug 92.

  Next, the second cylinder 98 supported by the support board 86 is urged to move the second rod 102 forward toward the case member 18. Thereby, the blocking members 160a to 160e constituting the through hole blocking units 100a to 100e block the side wall through holes 24a to 24e of the case member 18.

  Hereinafter, each of the through-hole blocking units 100a to 100e will be described individually.

  In the through hole closing unit 100a shown in FIG. 6, the holding member 162a and the closing member 160a are integrally displaced and approach the side wall through hole 24a. Finally, as shown by phantom lines in FIG. 6, the closing body 178a constituting the closing member 160a covers the opening of the side wall through hole 24a. Thereby, the side wall through hole 24a is closed. The O-ring 186 serves as a seal that prevents the side wall through hole 24a from communicating with the atmosphere.

  Further, in the through hole closing unit 100b shown in FIG. 7, the holding member 162b and the closing member 160b are integrally displaced. As a result, as shown by the phantom line in FIG. 7, the closing body 178b constituting the closing member 160b. The front end portion enters the side wall through hole 24b.

  A chamfered portion 202 is formed in the vicinity of the opening of the side wall through hole 24b. The chamfered portion 202 is seated with a head portion 182b having a tapered shape of the closing member 160b. With this seating, the side wall through hole 24b is closed.

  Further, in the through-hole closing unit 100c shown in FIG. 8, the holding member 162c and the closing member 160c are integrally displaced, and as a result, as shown by the phantom line in FIG. 8, the second closing member constituting the closing member 160c. The tip of the body 178d enters the side wall through hole 24c. At this time, the O-ring 232 prevents the side wall through hole 24c from communicating with the atmosphere. On the other hand, in the vicinity of the chamfered portion 202, the front end surface of the first closing body 178c is covered. Thus, the side wall through hole 24c is closed.

  In the through hole closing units 100d and 100e shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the holding members 162d and 162e and the closing members 178e and 178f are integrally displaced. As a result, the cylindrical portion in which the side wall through hole is formed enters the entry recess 262 formed by the front end surface of each head and the inner peripheral wall of the cover nut 260. Thus, the closing bodies 178e and 178f cover the cylindrical portion and close the side wall through holes.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, an appropriate shape is selected from the blocking members 160a to 160e corresponding to the shape of the side wall through hole 24. For this reason, all the side wall through holes 24 are reliably closed.

  As described above, all of the opening 22 and the through hole of the case member 18 are sealed, and the hollow chamber 20 is shut off from the atmosphere to be airtight.

  Next, the fourth cylinder 148 is energized synchronously, and the fourth rod 150 is lowered simultaneously. Following this, the partition member 14 descends, and finally the bottom wall is seated on the upper end surface of the mounting table 12. Thereby, the chamber 16 is formed. The space between the bottom wall of the partition wall member 14 and the upper end surface of the mounting table 12 is sealed by the third seal member 108.

  Next, zero correction (calibration) of the gas leakage inspection apparatus 10 is performed. Specifically, the first fan 94 and the second fan 110 are energized, and the gas in the monitor space 69 moves from the left to the right or vice versa, and from above to below or vice versa. Creates a moving flow. In this state, the third valve 76 is opened and the reference gas is supplied from the reference gas supply means (such as a cylinder). Thereafter, the reference gas passes through the reference gas introduction pipe 66, is led out from the leak master 68 into the chamber 16, and further rises in the chamber 16 to reach the monitor space 69.

  The flow rate of the reference gas derived from the leak master 68 to the chamber 16 and thus to the monitor space 69 is constant at a predetermined flow rate set in advance. It should be noted that the derived amount or derived flow rate of the reference gas into the chamber 16 is preferably set to the same value as the derived amount or derived flow rate of the inspection gas into the hollow chamber 20 at the time of a leak test described later.

  The reference gas is mixed with the gas existing in the monitor space 69, that is, the atmosphere.

  When the reference gas is helium, helium is lighter than air, and therefore tends to stay near the ceiling wall in the monitor space 69. In particular, when the corner of the monitor space 69 is angular, a light gas such as helium easily stays in the corner and localizes. For this reason, it is not easy for the reference gas to reach the detector 122 via the forward piping 118 and the sampling line 121. Therefore, it is not easy to evaluate the exact amount of the reference gas in the monitor space 69.

  However, in this embodiment, the gas in the chamber 16 is agitated under the action of the first fan 94 and the second fan 110. In addition, since the curved portion 144 is formed at the corner portion of the partition wall member 14, the gas easily flows along the curved portion 144. For these reasons, even when a light gas such as helium is used as the reference gas, the reference gas is prevented from being localized in the monitor space 69.

  While the reference gas is derived from the leak master 68, the gas in the monitor space 69 defined between the support plate 86 and the ceiling wall of the partition wall member 14 is sucked under the action of the intake pump 123, and the forward path It is sent to the detector 122 via the pipe 118 and the sampling line 121. That is, the gas present in the monitor space 69 is a sampling gas extracted for inspection by the detector 122.

  In the present embodiment, the reference gas is prevented from being localized in the monitor space 69 for the reasons described above. Accordingly, the sampling gas contains the reference gas in a substantially constant amount.

  A part of the sampling gas guided to the outward piping 118 is sent to the detector 122 via the outward piping 118 and the sampling line 121. In addition, since the remainder of the sampling gas is returned to the monitor space 69 via the return pipe 120, the sampling gas containing a stable amount of the reference gas is introduced into the detector 122 during calibration. For this reason, it is possible to calibrate the gas leakage inspection apparatus 10 with high accuracy in accordance with the amount of reference gas introduced into the monitor space 69.

  The detector 122 detects the reference gas derived from the leak master 68. Here, when the reference gas is helium, the detector 122 calculates a value as a sum of the amount of helium contained in the gas (that is, the atmosphere) in the monitor space 69 and the amount of helium as the reference gas. This value is transmitted as information to the control circuit 156 via the signal line 152. The control circuit 156 recognizes the detected amount at this time as a “reference value”. Note that the atmosphere generally contains about 5 ppm of helium.

  As described above, when calibrating the gas leakage inspection apparatus 10, the case member 18 and the core 56 are set on the mounting table 12, and the sandwiching plate 82, as in the case of performing the leakage inspection. It is preferable to press the case member 18. This is because the conditions for calibration and the conditions for leakage inspection are the same.

  Of course, a case member 18 that does not leak is used. When leakage occurs from the case member 18, the gas leaked from the case member 18 is mixed into the gas in the monitor space 69, so that accurate calibration cannot be performed. This is to avoid this.

  After calibrating in this way, preparations are made to perform a leak test.

  That is, the reference gas is introduced into the chamber 16 including the monitor space 69. If the partition member 14 and the sandwiching plate 82 are raised in this state, the reference gas may remain in the vicinity of the mounting table 12. In this case, when the value indicated by the detector 122 in the leak test exceeds the reference value, it is caused by the test gas leaking from the hollow chamber 20 to the chamber 16 and reaching the monitor space 69, or the residual reference gas. It is difficult to determine whether it is caused. Therefore, the gas existing in the monitor space 69 is exhausted. Note that a specific exhaust method is the same as that at the time of a leak test described later, and is omitted here.

  After the exhaust is finished, the partition wall member 14 and the sandwiching plate 82 are raised. Further, the first cylinder 34 is urged to advance the first rod 36, whereby the mounting table 12 is pulled out to the front of the second support table 30, and then the case member 18 is replaced with one that performs a leak test. To do.

  Thereafter, in the same manner as described above, the first cylinder 34 is re-biased to retract the first rod 36, and then the third cylinder 104 is urged to lower the third rod 106. Further, the second cylinder 98 is urged to advance the second rod 102. As a result, as already described in detail, all the openings 22 and through-holes of the case member 18 are sealed, and the hollow chamber 20 is shut off from the atmosphere to be in an airtight state. At the same time, the fourth rod 150 of the fourth cylinder 148 is lowered and the bottom wall of the partition member 14 is seated on the upper end surface of the mounting table 12 to form the chamber 16.

  After making the above preparations, conduct a leak inspection.

  First, the first fan 94 and the second fan 110 are energized, and the gas in the monitor space 69 moves from the left to the right or vice versa, and from the upper to the lower or vice versa. And give rise to

  Next, the first clean pump 58 and the second clean pump 134 are energized, and the first valve 72 is opened. Thereby, gas is exhausted from the hollow chamber 20 of the case member 18. Since the core 56 is accommodated in the hollow chamber 20, the amount of gas to be exhausted is relatively small. For this reason, the time required to exhaust the hollow chamber 20 is shortened.

  When exhaust from the hollow chamber 20 is desired to be performed in a shorter time, or because the case member 18 has an inner wall, the hollow chamber 20 is divided into a plurality of compartments, and the first clean pump 58 and the second clean pump In the case where it is difficult to evacuate at 134, the evacuation may be performed through the through-hole closing units 100d and 100e (see FIGS. 9 and 10). For this purpose, the exhaust means (not shown) is energized, and through the through holes, the discharge holes 258d and 258e of the closing bodies 178e and 178f, the communication holes 256d and 256e of the main bodies 170d and 170e, and the holding members 162d and 162e. An exhaust line including supply holes 250d and 250e, pipe joints 252d and 252e, supply pipes 254d and 254e, and the branch pipe to which the exhaust means is connected may be constructed.

  When exhaust is performed in this way, the pressure sensor 71 measures the internal pressure of the hollow chamber 20 (and the branch chamber). The measurement result is sent to the control circuit 156 via the signal line 154.

  The actual lowering speed of the internal pressure is compared with a set lowering speed preset in the control circuit 156 based on the measurement result using the case member 18 that is a qualified product. It should be noted that the internal pressure (actual final internal pressure) that has become substantially constant with the passage of a predetermined time is compared with the set final internal pressure that is preset in the control circuit 156 based on the measurement result using the case member 18 that is an acceptable product. You may make it do.

  When the actual lowering speed is less than the set lowering speed, there is a leakage portion in the case member 18 or the seal between the case member 18 and the mounting table 12 or the sandwiching plate 82 is insufficient. There is a possibility. Therefore, in this case, the partition member 14 is raised to expose the case member 18, and the case member 18 is once removed from the mounting table 12.

  Next, whether the first seal member 46, the second seal member 90, the third seal member 108, the plugs 48, 92, the closing member 160a, etc. are flawed or not misaligned. Investigate whether there is so-called turning. If there is a cause for such a decrease in the sealing function, these may be exchanged or reattached in a normal position at a normal position.

  When it is determined that there is no cause for lowering the sealing function, the leakage portion of the case member 18 is specified, and those that can be repaired are repaired at the repair station. Then, each above-mentioned process is carried out again.

  Instead of removing the case member 18 from the mounting table 12, the inspection gas may be introduced into the hollow chamber 20 as described later, and the leakage location may be specified by the probe 128.

  On the other hand, when the actual descent speed is equal to or higher than the set descent speed, or when the actual final internal pressure is equal to or lower than the set final internal pressure, there is a low possibility that the case member 18 has a leakage portion, and the case member 18 and the mounting table 12 or the sandwiching plate It can be determined that a seal with 82 is sufficient. In this case, the case member 18 is determined to be a pre-accepted product, and the subsequent steps are performed.

  That is, next, after the first valve 72 is closed, the second valve 74 is opened, and the inspection gas is supplied to the hollow chamber 20 from the inspection gas supply means (such as a cylinder) through the inspection gas introduction pipe 62.

  When it is desired to supply the inspection gas to the hollow chamber 20 in a shorter time, or when the hollow chamber 20 is divided into a plurality of compartments, the through-hole closing units 100d and 100e (see FIGS. 9 and 10). ). For this purpose, from the inspection gas supply means, the branch pipe, the supply pipes 254d and 254e, the pipe joints 252d and 252e, the supply holes 250d and 250e of the holding members 162d and 162e, the main body connected to the inspection gas supply means. A supply line including the communication holes 256d and 256e of 170d and 170e and the discharge holes 258d and 258e of the closing bodies 178e and 178f may be constructed.

  The inspection gas is introduced into the hollow chamber 20 at a constant flow rate until a predetermined pressure set in advance is reached. Since the core 56 is accommodated in the hollow chamber 20, the amount of inspection gas to be introduced is relatively small. For this reason, the time required for the hollow chamber 20 to be filled with the inspection gas is shortened.

  Thus, by accommodating the core 56 in the hollow chamber 20, the time required to exhaust the gas in the hollow chamber 20 and the time required to fill the hollow chamber 20 with the inspection gas are shortened. It becomes possible. Therefore, the tact time from the start to the end of the leak test can be shortened. When the hollow chamber 20 is divided into a plurality of compartments, a core 56 may be disposed in each compartment.

  Even after the hollow chamber 20 is filled with the inspection gas, the gas in the monitor space 69 is stirred under the action of the first fan 94 and the second fan 110 in the same manner as described above, and the curved portion at the corner of the partition wall member 14 is stirred. Easily flows along 144. Finally, the gas present in the monitor space 69 is led out to the forward piping 118 as a sampling gas, and a part thereof is led to the detector 122 via the sampling line 121. The remaining portion that has not been led to the detector 122 passes through the return pipe 120 and returns to the monitor space 69 in the same manner as described above. In other words, in the present embodiment, it is inspected whether or not there is a leak location in the case member 18 without exhausting the gas (atmosphere) in the monitor space 69.

  The detector 122 obtains the amount of the inspection gas contained in the sampling gas, and then sends the value to the control circuit 156 as information via the signal line 152. The control circuit 156 compares this information with the reference value.

  When the case member 18 has no leakage portion, the inspection gas in the hollow chamber 20 does not leak into the chamber 16. Although the detector 122 detects a gas of the same type as a reference gas (for example, helium) that is naturally contained in the gas (that is, the atmosphere) in the monitor space 69, the reference value is a natural value for the gas in the monitor space 69. Since the value is the sum of the amount of the same type of gas as the reference gas present in the gas and the amount of the reference gas (for example, helium) intentionally supplied from the leak master 68, the inspection gas in the hollow chamber 20 When not leaking into the chamber 16, the value measured by the detector 122 does not greatly exceed the reference value.

  In this case, the control circuit 156 determines that the case member 18 is “accepted product”. The case member 18 determined to be an acceptable product is taken out from the gas leakage inspection apparatus 10 and sent to a station that performs the next process.

  Here, a reference gas for calibration is introduced into the monitor space 69, and an inspection gas for performing the above-described leakage inspection is introduced into the hollow chamber 20 (and the compartment) of the case member 18. Yes. If the partition member 14 and the sandwiching plate 82 are raised in this state, there is a concern that the reference gas at the time of calibration and the inspection gas at the time of leakage inspection remain in the vicinity of the mounting table 12. In this case, when the value indicated by the detector 122 exceeds the reference value in the next leakage inspection, it is caused by the inspection gas leaked from the hollow chamber 20 to the monitor space 69 or the residual reference gas or inspection gas. It is difficult to determine what to do.

  In order to avoid such an inconvenience, the gas existing in the hollow chamber 20 and the monitor space 69 is exhausted. That is, the second valve 74 and / or the third valve 76 are closed, and the first valve 72, the fourth valve 78, and / or the two-way valve 138 are opened. As a result, the inspection gas and the reference gas in the hollow chamber 20 and the reference gas introduction pipe 66 are sucked into the first clean pump 58 via the first exhaust pipe 60 and the second exhaust pipe 70, and 2 The exhaust gas is exhausted through the outlet pipe 142 under the action of the clean pump 134. The gas in the monitor space 69 is exhausted through the chamber cleaning pipe 140 under the action of the second clean pump 134.

  When exhaust from the hollow chamber 20 is desired to be performed in a shorter time, or when the first clean pump 58 and the second clean pump 134 are difficult to exhaust because the hollow chamber 20 is divided into a plurality of compartments. Similarly to the above, exhaust may be performed through the through-hole closing units 100d and 100e (see FIGS. 9 and 10).

  Prior to this exhaust, the second electromagnetic valve 130 is switched. As a result, the return pipe 120 is closed and the line cleaning pipe 132 is opened. As a result, the gas in the circulation pipe 116 is sucked into the second clean pump 134 via the line cleaning pipe 132. That is, the gas in the circulation pipe 116 is exhausted and cleaning is performed.

  The inspection gas existing in the hollow chamber 20 is recovered through the inspection gas recovery pipe 63 under the action of the recovery pump 158, and further subjected to a cleaning process to increase the purity, and then returned to the inspection gas supply means. You may do it. At this time, the fifth valve 79 may be opened.

  Thereafter, the second cylinder 98 is urged to retract the second rod 102, and the closing member 160 a is detached from the side wall through hole 24 of the case member 18.

  Next, the partition member 14 and the sandwiching plate 82 are raised by energizing the fourth cylinder 148 and the third cylinder 104 to raise the fourth rod 150 and the third rod 106. If necessary, air may be supplied into the monitor space 69 and the hollow chamber 20 prior to this rise. For this purpose, an air introduction pipe for introducing air may be disposed in the monitor space 69 and the hollow chamber 20 respectively, and air may be supplied from an air supply source to the air introduction pipe.

  By raising the partition member 14 and the sandwiching plate 82, the case member 18 released from the sandwiching is exposed. Next, the first cylinder 34 is urged to advance the first rod 36, thereby pulling the mounting table 12 forward of the second support 30. Thereafter, the case member 18 is removed from the mounting table 12 by an operator or a robot and is transported to another station. This completes a series of leakage inspections.

  Thereafter, a leak test is performed on the case member 18 that has been transported to the gas leak test apparatus 10 in the same manner as described above. At this time, since the inspection gas used in the previous leakage inspection is removed, it is possible to avoid a decrease in detection accuracy due to the inspection gas in the previous leakage inspection.

  As the leakage inspection is repeated as described above, for example, the obstruction bodies 178a and 178b, the first obstruction body 178c, the second obstruction body 178d, the obstruction bodies 178e and 178f are worn and scratched. It may be difficult to obtain a good sealing performance. In this case, a member made of resin or rubber, that is, an O-ring 186 (see FIG. 6), a closing body 178b (see FIG. 7), a second closing body 178d and an O-ring 232 (both see FIG. 8), an O-ring. What is necessary is just to replace | exchange 261d (refer FIG. 9) and O-ring 261e (refer FIG. 10).

  For example, an O-ring 186 (see FIG. 6) or the like may be removed and replaced with a new one. Further, when replacing the O-rings 261d and 261e (see FIG. 9 or FIG. 10) with new ones, a hexagon wrench is inserted into the insertion hole 184 and rotated to release the screwing, and a screw hole or a stepped screw. The blocking bodies 178e and 178f are removed from the holes 176. Next, after removing the O-rings 261d and 261e and replacing them with new ones, the closing bodies 178e and 178f are inserted into the screw holes or the stepped screw holes 176, and a hexagon wrench is inserted into the insertion hole 184 to be rotated and screwed. Just do it.

  When replacing the closing body 178b (see FIG. 7) with a new one, the connecting pin 210 may be removed from the first pin insertion hole 206 and the second pin insertion hole 208 after the O-ring 212 is removed. Thereby, the closing body 178b is released from the main body 170b. After pulling out the closing body 178b from the engaging recess 204 of the main body 170b, the body portion 180b of the new closing body 178b is press-fitted into the engaging recess 204, and connected to the first pin insertion hole 206 and the second pin insertion hole 208. When 210 is inserted and the O-ring 212 is attached, the replacement of the closing body 178b is completed. Depending on the situation, the O-ring 212 may be replaced with a new one.

  When the second closing body 178d (see FIG. 8) is replaced with a new one, the screw may be removed from the screw hole 236 connected to the passage hole 240. As a result, the second closing body 178d is released from the main body 170c, so that a new second closing body 178d is attached to the end of the main body 170c, and a screw passed through the screw hole 236 through the passage hole 240 is screwed. Turn it. Depending on the situation, the O-ring 232 may be replaced with a new one.

  If necessary, the first closing body 178c can be replaced in the same manner as the closing body 178b. That is, in this case, after removing the O-ring 228, the connecting pin 226 may be removed from the first pin insertion hole 220, the second pin insertion hole 222, and the third pin insertion hole 224. Accordingly, the first closing body 178c is released from the main body 170c. After pulling out the first closing body 178c from the main body 170c, the main body 170c is passed through the press-fitting hole of the new first closing body 178c, and into the first pin insertion hole 220, the second pin insertion hole 222, and the third pin insertion hole 224. The replacement of the first closing body 178c is completed by inserting the connecting pin 226 and mounting the O-ring 228.

  In the above, since only the O-rings 186, 261d, 261e, the closing body 178b, and the second closing body 178d are replaced, compared with the case where the closing members 160a, 160b, 160c, 160d, and 160e are all replaced. The number of parts to be replaced is reduced. For this reason, there is an advantage that the cost is reduced.

  On the other hand, when replacing the entire blocking members 160a to 160e, the blocking members 160a to 160e are removed by a simple operation of pushing down the sleeve 192 against the elastic urging force of the coil spring 194 and releasing the lock ball 190 from the ball groove 172. 160e can be quickly removed from the holding members 162a to 162e. That is, there is an advantage that the exchange is completed in a short time.

  Here, the main bodies 170a, 170b, and 170c constituting the closing members 160a, 160b, and 160c are different from each other in the diameter of the portion where the ball groove 172 is formed. In particular, the diameter of the part of the main body 170a is larger than the opening diameters of the second engaging portions 188b and 188c of the holding members 162b and 162c. Therefore, the first engaging portion 168a of the closing member 160a cannot be inserted into the second engaging portions 188b and 188c of the holding members 162b and 162c.

  The diameter of the part of the main body 170b is set to be significantly smaller than the opening diameter of the second engaging portion 188a of the holding member 162a. For this reason, a clearance is formed between the lock ball 190 and the ball groove 172. Accordingly, the second engaging portion 188a of the holding member 162a cannot hold the first engaging portion 168b of the closing member 160b.

  On the other hand, the diameter of the part of the main body 170b is larger than the opening diameter of the second engagement portion 188c of the holding member 162c. Therefore, the first engagement portion 168b of the closing member 160b cannot be inserted into the second engagement portion 188c of the holding member 162c.

  Further, the diameter of the portion of the main body 170c is significantly smaller than the opening diameters of the second engaging portions 188a and 188b of the holding members 162a and 162b. Therefore, the clearance between the lock ball 190 and the ball groove 172 is eliminated. Is formed. Therefore, the second engaging portions 188a and 188b of the holding members 162a and 162b cannot hold the first engaging portion 168b of the closing member 160c.

  As can be understood from the above, the blocking members 160a, 160b, and 160c can be attached only to the holding members 162a, 162b, and 162c, respectively. In other words, erroneous attachment of the closing member 160a to the holding members 162b and 162c is avoided. Similarly, attaching the closing member 160b to the holding members 162a and 162c by mistake and attaching the closing member 160c to the holding members 162a and 162b by mistake can be avoided.

  In the through hole closing units 100d and 100e, the opening diameters of the second engaging portions 188d and 188e of the holding members 162d and 162e and the diameters of the main bodies 170d and 170e are equal to each other. However, as described above, in the main bodies 170d and 170e, the distances from the end portions of the first engaging portions 168d and 168e to the ball groove 172 are different (see FIGS. 11 and 12). In the holding members 162d and 162e, the distance from the bottom wall of the second engagement portions 188d and 188e to the lock ball 190 and the distance from the lock ball 190 to the opening of the second engagement portions 188d and 188e are different from each other. (See FIGS. 13 and 14). That is, since L1> L1 ′, L2> L2 ′, L3> L3 ′, L4> L4 ′, L1≈L3, L2≈L4, L1′≈L3 ′, L2′≈L4 ′, L1> L3 ′ , L1 ′ <L3 and L2 ′ ≦ L4 are established.

  Therefore, when the first engagement portion 168d of the main body 170d is inserted into the second engagement portion 188e of the holding member 162e, L1> L3 'and the state shown in FIG. 15 is obtained. That is, a part of the first engaging portion 168d is exposed without being inserted into the second engaging portion 188e. That is, the main body 170d stops during the insertion of the first engagement portion 168d. In addition, since the positions of the lock ball 190 and the ball groove 172 do not match, the lock ball 190 does not enter the ball groove 172, and the sleeve 192 inevitably has the lock ball 190 that has entered the ball groove 172. There is no covering.

  Therefore, the closing member 160d is not held by the holding member 162e. For this reason, accidentally attaching the closing member 160d to the holding member 162e is avoided.

  On the other hand, when the first engagement portion 168e of the main body 170e is inserted into the second engagement portion 188d of the holding member 162d, since L1 '<L3 and L2'≤L4, the state shown in FIG. 16 is obtained. That is, in this case, the entire first engaging portion 168e is inserted into the second engaging portion 188d, but the positions of the lock ball 190 and the ball groove 172 do not match. Therefore, the lock ball 190 does not enter the ball groove 172, and therefore, the sleeve 192 does not cover the lock ball 190 that has entered the ball groove 172.

  Therefore, the closing member 160e is not held by the holding member 162d. As a result, erroneous attachment of the closing member 160e to the holding member 162d is avoided.

  As described above, each holding member 162a to 162e can be selectively attached only to the proper one (specific blocking member) in the closing members 160a to 160e, and an incorrect combination of closing members is attached. I can't. Therefore, since so-called misassembly is prevented, a regular one of the closing members 160a to 160e can be attached in a short time.

  Therefore, each side wall through-hole 24 including the side wall through-holes 24a, 24b, and 24c is blocked by the replacement blocking members 160a to 160e and the like. That is, since each side wall through-hole 24 is sealed, it is possible to avoid that the inspection gas leaks due to attachment of an incorrect closing member, and the accuracy of the leakage inspection is thereby lowered.

  When there is a leak location in the case member 18, the inspection gas introduced into the hollow chamber 20 passes through the leak location and leaks into the chamber 16. When the inspection gas is lighter than air such as helium, the leaked inspection gas (hereinafter also simply referred to as leakage gas) rises up to the monitor space 69 and gas (atmosphere) in the monitor space 69 To mix.

  In the present embodiment, the gas in the monitor space 69 is agitated under the action of the first fan 94 and the second fan 110. In addition, since the curved portion 144 is formed at the corner of the partition wall member 14, the leaked gas easily flows along the curved portion 144. For the above reasons, even when a light gas such as helium is used as the inspection gas, the inspection gas is prevented from being localized in the monitor space 69. That is, in this case, a gas in which a leak gas is added to the atmosphere is guided to the outward piping 118 as a sampling gas.

  Thereafter, in the same manner as described above, a part of the sampling gas passes through the forward piping 118 and the sampling line 121 and then reaches the detector 122, and the remaining portion passes through the return piping 120 and returns to the monitor space 69.

  In this process, the detector 122 indicates a value exceeding the reference value obtained by calibration. This is because the sampling gas introduced to the detector 122 contains leaking gas, and thus the detector 122 indicates the detected amount as the sum of the leaking gas. When the same kind of gas as the inspection gas (for example, helium) is contained in the atmosphere, the detector 122 naturally shows the detected amount including the inspection gas component in the atmosphere.

  The detector 122 transmits the value as information to the control circuit 156 via the signal line 152. Upon receiving this information, the control circuit 156 determines that the case member 18 is “a rejected product”.

  Here, when the diffusion of the leaked gas in the monitor space 69 is not uniform, the concentration (amount) of the leaked gas in the gas differs depending on the sampling location. Therefore, there is a concern that it is impossible to accurately evaluate the exact amount of leaked gas, and hence the size of the leaked portion.

  Further, when inspecting whether leakage occurs from the hollow chamber 20 while exhausting the gas in the monitor space 69, the gas that has leaked from the hollow chamber 20 into the chamber 16 and reached the monitor space 69 in a relatively short time. Exhausted. Therefore, when the amount of leaked gas is small, there is a concern that the entire amount of leaked gas is exhausted. Even if it is assumed that a part is exhausted and the remaining part can reach the detector 122, it is unclear how much the leaked gas has been exhausted, so it is difficult to accurately evaluate the amount of leaked gas. .

  Accordingly, it is necessary to wait for a certain amount of time after the introduction of the inspection gas, and to perform a leakage inspection when the amount of leakage gas becomes sufficient. For this reason, the leakage inspection takes a long time.

  Furthermore, even when the pressure in the chamber 16 is atmospheric pressure, for example, if the gas flowing through the exhaust line is a sampling gas, the concentration of the leakage gas in the sampling gas is small when the amount of the leakage gas is small. Even if the amount of leaked gas displayed on the detector 122 is slightly increased, it is difficult to determine whether the value is increased due to the leaked gas or within a measurement error range.

  In addition, when sampling gas is collected from the chamber 16 or the monitor space 69 and measurement is performed, the sampling gas is exhausted as it is, rather than leakage from the hollow chamber 20 of the case member 18. There is also a concern that leakage cannot be detected due to the large amount of exhaust.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, a gas flow is generated in the monitor space 69 to prevent the leakage gas from staying. For this reason, even if the leakage gas is extremely small, the leakage gas diffuses substantially evenly without being localized in the monitor space 69. Therefore, since the concentration of the leaked gas is substantially the same regardless of the location where the forward piping 118 is provided, in other words, the sampling location is set to any location, the leakage amount can be evaluated with high accuracy.

  Further, the gas in the monitor space 69 is taken out and a part thereof is supplied to the detector 122, while the remaining portion not supplied to the detector 122 is returned to the monitor space 69 (that is, the gas is circulated). Therefore, the leaked gas in the monitor space 69 is sequentially accumulated, and is sent to the detector 122 at a high concentration. For this reason, it is possible to evaluate the amount of leakage and thus the scale of leakage in real time and with high accuracy.

  That is, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to continuously check the presence or absence of leakage during measurement regardless of the level of leakage, and there is no need to wait for a certain period of time. Further, even when the capacity of the hollow chamber 20 of the case member 18 is large, the leakage can be easily detected even when the leakage amount is very small.

  It should be noted that if the derived amount or derived flow rate of the inspection gas into the hollow chamber 20 is matched with the derived amount or derived flow rate of the reference gas into the chamber 16, the amount of inspection gas leaked from the hollow chamber 20 is further increased. It can be evaluated with high accuracy.

  Further, when the leak inspection is performed while exhausting the gas in the chamber 16, the exhaust means such as a pump frequently fails. In the case of failure, leakage inspection cannot be performed until the repair of the exhaust means is completed, resulting in a time loss. However, in this embodiment, such inconvenience is not caused.

  In the present embodiment, the display value of the detector 122 when the reference gas is used is calibrated as the reference value, so the reference value is the same type of gas as the reference gas naturally present in the atmosphere (for example, helium). ). Therefore, even when the same type of gas as this gas is used as the reference gas and the inspection gas, the detector 122 displays a value based on the amount of leaked gas. That is, it is avoided that the detection accuracy of the leaked gas is lowered by the same kind of gas as the reference gas existing in the atmosphere.

  As described above, the leakage gas is detected by the detector 122, and the case member 18 in which the control circuit 156 determines that the leakage portion is present is then examined where the leakage portion is present. . In order to perform this investigation, after exhausting the gas in the chamber 16 under the action of the second clean pump 134, the fourth rod 150 is raised to raise the partition member 14. As a result, the case member 18 that is sandwiched between the mounting table 12 and the sandwiching plate 82 and in which the inspection gas is introduced into the hollow chamber 20 is exposed. Note that air may be supplied into the chamber 16 prior to the rise of the partition member 14.

  Next, the first solenoid valve 124 is switched. Along with this, the outward piping 118 is closed, while the probe piping 126 is opened. Therefore, the gas sucked by the probe 128 is guided to the detector 122.

  The operator grips the probe 128 and brings its tip close to the case member 18, and further scans the probe 128 along the case member 18. Since the leaked gas is not leaked at the portion that is not the leaked portion, the leaked gas is not sucked into the probe 128. Therefore, the display value of the detector 122 does not increase based on the leaked gas.

  On the other hand, at the leak location, leak gas is sucked by the probe 128. Since the concentration of the leaked gas is high in the vicinity of the leak location, the display value of the detector 122 rises in a relatively short time. Thereby, it is possible to roughly determine where the leakage point exists.

  When the second cylinder 98 is provided in the partition member 14, the partition member 14 is not after the second rod 102 is moved backward to disengage the closing member 160 a from the side wall through holes 24 (24 a to 24 e) of the case member 18. Can not be raised. Therefore, in this case, when the partition member 14 is raised, the case member 18 is exposed in a state where the hollow chamber 20 communicates with the atmosphere. That is, since the inspection gas in the hollow chamber 20 is led out from the side wall through-hole 24, it is impossible to determine where the leakage portion is as described above.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since the second cylinder 98 is provided on the sandwiching plate 82, the partition member 14 does not interfere with the second cylinder 98. For this reason, the 4th rod 150 and the partition member 14 are raised without retreating the 2nd rod 102, in other words, with the closure members 160a-160e inserted in side wall penetration hole 24 of case member 18. be able to. That is, since the case member 18 in the state in which the inspection gas is sealed in the hollow chamber 20 can be exposed, the approximate position of the leakage location can be determined by the probe 128.

  After specifying the approximate leak location, the test gas present in the hollow chamber 20 is exhausted under the action of the first clean pump 58. The inspection gas is exhausted under the action of the second clean pump 134 after passing through the outlet pipe 142.

  At this time, when the size of the leaked portion (such as a casting defect) is small, the exhaust speed is relatively large and the degree of vacuum is relatively large. Thus, when the scale of leakage is extremely small and there is no practical problem, the case member 18 is determined to be “accepted product”.

  Thereafter, the second cylinder 98 is energized to retract the second rod 102, thereby causing the blocking members 160 a to 160 e to be detached from the side wall through hole 24 of the case member 18. Further, the third cylinder 104 is energized to raise the third rod 106 and raise the sandwiching plate 82. As a result, the case member 18 is released from clamping. If necessary, air may be supplied into the hollow chamber 20 prior to the removal of the blocking members 160a to 160e from the side wall through holes 24 and the raising of the sandwiching plate 82.

  Next, the first cylinder 34 is urged to advance the first rod 36, thereby pulling the mounting table 12 forward of the second support 30. Thereafter, the case member 18 is removed from the mounting table 12 by an operator or a robot, and is transported to a station where the next process is to be performed.

  On the other hand, when the size of the leak location is large, the exhaust speed is small. Also, the degree of vacuum reached is small. This is because air is sucked into the hollow chamber 20 from the leaked portion.

  In this case, leakage that cannot be ignored occurs from the leakage point. Such a case member 18 is determined to be “a rejected product”.

  When the above-described leakage test is performed on the case member 18 having a different shape and height direction dimension, the mounting table 12, the columns 80a to 80d, the stopper 50, and the sealing member 84 correspond to the case member 18. What is necessary is just to replace | exchange for the thing of a shape thru | or a dimension. As can be understood from this, the gas-type leak inspection apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment has versatility that can correspond to a wide variety of case members 18.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  For example, in this embodiment, concave portions are formed in the holding members 162a to 162e to form first engaging portions 168a to 168e, and a convex portion is provided to the closing member 160a to form second engaging portions 188a to 188e. However, on the contrary, the holding members 162a to 162e are provided with convex portions as the first engaging portions, and the closing members 160a to 160e are formed with concave portions as the second engaging portions. You may do it.

  Further, the closing members 160a to 160e are illustrated as closing the side wall through hole 24 of the case member 18, but other closing holes may be closed. Further, the through hole of an object (work) other than the case member 18 may be closed.

  Furthermore, the first engaging portion (or the second engaging portion) is not limited to one having a circular cross section, and may be, for example, a polygonal shape such as a quadrangle. In this case, there is an advantage that the closing member can be prevented from rotating with respect to the holding member.

  In addition to the through-hole blocking units 100a to 100e, one or more types of through-hole blocking units may be provided.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Gas type | mold leak inspection apparatus 12 ... Mounting stand 14 ... Partition member 16 ... Chamber 18 ... Case member 20 ... Hollow chamber 22 ... Opening 24, 24a-24e ... Side wall through-hole 25 ... Ceiling wall through-hole 26 ... Base 34 ... 1st cylinder 36 ... 1st rod 44 ... 1st annular groove 46 ... 1st sealing member 48, 92 ... Plug 50 ... Stopper 56 ... Core 58 ... 1st clean pump 60 ... 1st exhaust piping 62 ... Inspection gas introduction Pipe 63 for inspection gas collection 66 ... Pipe for reference gas introduction 68 ... Leak master 69 ... Monitor space 70 ... Second exhaust pipe 71 ... Pressure sensors 80a to 80d ... Strut 82 ... Nipping plate 88 ... Second annular groove 90 ... 2nd seal member 94 ... 1st fan 98 ... 2nd cylinder 100, 100a-100e ... Through-hole obstruction | occlusion unit 102 ... 2nd rod 104 ... 3rd cylinder 10 ... third rod 108 ... third seal member 110 ... second fan 116 ... circulation pipe 118 ... outward pipe 120 ... return pipe 121 ... sampling line 122 ... detector 124 ... first solenoid valve 126 ... probe pipe 128 ... probe 130 ... second solenoid valve 132 ... line cleaning pipe 134 ... second clean pump 136 ... cleaning hole 138 ... two-way valve 140 ... chamber cleaning pipe 142 ... outlet pipe 144 ... curved portion 148 ... fourth cylinder 150 ... fourth Rod 152, 154 ... Signal line 156 ... Control circuit 160a-160e ... Closure member 162a-162e ... Holding member 168a, 168b, 168d, 168e ... First engagement part 170a-170e ... Main body 172 ... Ball groove 178a-178f ... Closure Body 188a-188e ... 2nd Joint portion 190 ... Lock ball 192 ... Sleeve 194 ... Coil spring 202 ... Chamfered portion 204, 216 ... Engaging recess 206, 208, 220, 222, 224 ... Pin insertion hole 210, 226 ... Connection pin 214 ... Engagement member 250d, 250e ... supply hole 256d, 256e ... communication hole 258d, 258e ... discharge hole 260 ... cover nut 262 ... recess for entry

Claims (9)

A closing member having a first engaging portion formed of a concave portion or a convex portion, and a closing portion for closing a through hole formed so that the inner chamber of the work forming the inner chamber communicates with the atmosphere;
A holding member configured to hold the closing member by providing a second engaging portion including a convex portion or a concave portion, and the second engaging portion engaging with the first engaging portion;
A locking mechanism that is provided on either the closing member or the holding member and maintains the engaged state between the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion;
With
In correspondence with the formation of two or more of the through-holes having different opening diameters or opening shapes, the closure member and the holding member have two or more,
The closing members closing the through holes having different opening diameters or opening shapes are different in at least one of the size and shape of the first engaging portion and the closing portion,
In addition, the holding member having the second engaging portion whose size or shape is defined as a predetermined one has the first engaging portion whose size and shape is defined as a predetermined one in the closing member. can be selectively retain der is,
Further, the lock mechanism includes a lock ball and a sleeve surrounding the lock ball,
A ball groove on which the lock ball is seated is formed on a side wall of the first engagement portion or the second engagement portion,
The distance from the insertion side front end to the ball groove of the first engagement portion of the arbitrary closing member or the convex portion of the second engagement portion of the arbitrary holding member is inserted from the ball groove. Let b be the distance to the side rear edge,
The bottom wall of the second engaging portion of the holding member that cannot hold the arbitrary closing member or the concave portion of the first engaging portion of the closing member that cannot be held by the arbitrary holding member When the distance from the lock ball to the lock ball is A, and the distance from the lock ball to the insertion opening of the convex portion is B,
a> A
Or a relational expression of
a <A and b ≦ B
Holes closed unit one of the relational expressions, wherein that you satisfied. 2. The unit according to claim 1, wherein the first engagement portion has a columnar shape or a cylindrical shape, and the second engagement portion has a first shape when the first engagement portion has a columnar shape. While forming a cylindrical body shape into which the engaging portion is inserted, when the first engaging portion has a cylindrical shape, it has a cylindrical body shape inserted into the first engaging portion,
At least two of the closing members are different from each other in at least one of the diameter direction and length direction dimensions of the first engagement portion.
At least two of the holding members are different from each other in at least one of the diameter direction and length direction dimensions of the second engaging portion. 3. The unit according to claim 1, wherein a passage capable of discharging gas in the inner chamber and supplying gas to the inner chamber is formed in the closing member and the holding member. A through-hole closing unit characterized by the above. In unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the closing member is closed and a body comprising, the through hole detachably mounted to the closing portion of the first engagement portion closed A through-hole closing unit comprising a body. 5. The unit according to claim 4 , wherein the closing body is made of an elastic material. In unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the closing member, and the holding member holding the closing member, is integrally displaced in a direction toward or away from the said through-hole closed A through-hole closing unit further comprising a member displacement mechanism. The base,
A mounting table provided on the base for positioning and fixing the workpiece;
A clamping board for clamping the workpiece together with the mounting table;
A sandwiching plate displacement mechanism that is supported by the base and displaces the sandwiching plate toward or away from the workpiece;
A partition member that forms a chamber that approaches or separates from the mounting table and surrounds the workpiece when contacting the mounting table;
A partition member displacement mechanism supported by the base for displacing the partition member in a direction approaching or separating from the mounting table;
A through hole closing unit that closes a through hole formed so that the inner chamber communicates with the atmosphere on the side surface of the work that is sandwiched between the mounting table and the sandwiching plate to form an inner chamber;
Exhaust means for exhausting from the inner chamber;
Inspection gas supply means for supplying inspection gas to the inner chamber;
Sampling gas discharged from a monitor space defined between the holding plate that is in contact with the workpiece in the chamber and the partition member that is in contact with the mounting table and forms the chamber is the monitor space. A circulation flow path to return to
Inspection gas detection means for supplying the sampling gas via the circulation flow path;
With
The through-hole closing unit has a first engaging portion and a closing portion made of a concave portion or a convex portion;
A holding member configured to hold the closing member by providing a second engaging portion including a convex portion or a concave portion, and the second engaging portion engaging with the first engaging portion;
A locking mechanism that is provided on either the closing member or the holding member and maintains the engaged state between the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion;
With
In correspondence with the formation of two or more of the through-holes having different opening diameters or opening shapes, the closure member and the holding member have two or more,
The closing members closing the through holes having different opening diameters or opening shapes are different in at least one of the size and shape of the first engaging portion and the closing portion,
In addition, the holding member having the second engaging portion whose size or shape is defined as a predetermined one has the first engaging portion whose size and shape is defined as a predetermined one in the closing member. can be selectively retain der is,
Further, the lock mechanism includes a lock ball and a sleeve surrounding the lock ball,
A ball groove on which the lock ball is seated is formed on a side wall of the first engagement portion or the second engagement portion,
The distance from the insertion side front end to the ball groove of the first engagement portion of the arbitrary closing member or the convex portion of the second engagement portion of the arbitrary holding member is inserted from the ball groove. Let b be the distance to the side rear edge,
The bottom wall of the second engaging portion of the holding member that cannot hold the arbitrary closing member or the concave portion of the first engaging portion of the closing member that cannot be held by the arbitrary holding member When the distance from the lock ball to the lock ball is A, and the distance from the lock ball to the insertion opening of the convex portion is B,
a> A
Or a relational expression of
a <A and b ≦ B
Gas leakage inspection apparatus either characterized that you satisfied the relational expression. 8. The inspection apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein a passage capable of discharging gas in the inner chamber and supplying inspection gas to the inner chamber is formed in the closing member and the holding member. Gas leak inspection device characterized by 9. The inspection apparatus according to claim 7 or 8 , further comprising a closing member displacement mechanism that integrally displaces the closing member and the holding member holding the closing member in a direction approaching or separating from the through hole. A gas type leakage inspection apparatus characterized by comprising:

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