JP6721178B2 - Hatch door opening/closing structure and glove box - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an opening/closing structure for a hatch door in a glove box and a glove box including the same.

The glove box is used for handling solids, powders, radioactive substances, extremely toxic substances that are unstable in the air, or substances that explode by reacting with oxygen in the air in a dry or inert atmosphere. To be In the glove box, the air inside the main body box, which divides the work space from the outside in an airtight manner, is replaced with dry air or an inert gas such as nitrogen, argon, or helium to form a dry atmosphere or an inert atmosphere inside the main body box. I am trying to do it. A work opening is formed on the front surface or both front and rear surfaces of the main body box for an operator to perform work by putting his/her hand in the main body box, and gloves are attached so as to seal the work opening.

A glove box is generally provided with a spare box for taking in and out an object such as a processed product or a container with respect to a main body box (for example, see Patent Document 1). The backup box has a tubular shape, one end of which has an inner opening communicating with the main body box, and the other end of which has an outer opening which can be opened to the atmosphere (outside). The inner opening and the outer opening can be opened and closed by an inner hatch and an outer hatch (hatch door).

As these hatch doors, for example, a configuration including a slide door that can be linearly reciprocated along a slide rail or a configuration including a rotating door that is rotatably supported with respect to a backup box is adopted. Hatch doors need to have a seal mechanism that can open and close the inner and outer openings and that seals when closing the openings, and a lock mechanism that prevents the door from being opened accidentally. Equipped according to. The operator opens and closes the outer hatch from outside the glove box. In addition, when opening and closing the inner hatch, the worker wears gloves and extends his hand into the main body box through the work opening.

When a relatively small object is taken in and out of the spare box, it is desired to reduce the size of the spare box. And, even if the spare box is downsized, it is desired to easily open and close the hatch door.

JP-A-8-229880

The present invention has been devised under such circumstances, and in a hatch door that opens and closes an opening of a spare box in a glove box, the opening and closing of the hatch door suitable for easy opening and closing operations. The main issue is to provide a structure.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following technical means.

A hatch door opening/closing structure provided by the first aspect of the present invention is a main body box for partitioning a work space from the outside in an airtight manner, an inner opening communicating with the main body box, and an outer opening outside. A glove box having an openable tubular spare box, which has an opening/closing structure of a hatch door for opening and closing at least one of the inner opening and the outer opening, and which is pivotable to the spare box. A door body that is supported so as to open and close at least one of the inner opening portion and the outer opening portion, and penetrates in the thickness direction of the door body with respect to the door body, and along the thickness direction. A rotary operation body supported so as to be relatively rotatable around an extending axis line, and a lock plate supported by the rotary operation body, wherein the rotary operation body includes an operation handle provided on one axial end side and an axis line. And a screw shaft provided on the other end side in the direction, the annular seal member is provided on one of the inner side surface of the door body and the end surface in the axial direction of the auxiliary box that can face the inner side surface. The lock plate is provided with a disc portion in which a screw hole into which the screw shaft is screwed is formed at the center in the radial direction, and an extension portion that extends radially outward from the outer peripheral portion of the disc portion. And, the spare box is provided with an engagement groove that can be engaged with the extending portion when the door body is closed and the lock plate is in a predetermined rotation position. The lock plate is further provided with a rotation permitting mechanism for permitting rotation of the door body by a predetermined rotation angle.

In a preferred embodiment, the engagement groove is connected to the first groove portion that extends in the axial direction from the axial end surface of the auxiliary box and the first groove portion, and extends in the circumferential direction around the auxiliary box in the axial direction. A second groove portion extending along the same.

In a preferred embodiment, the rotation permitting mechanism is formed in a pin fixed to the door body and in an arc shape centering on an axis of the disc portion in a thickness direction view of the disc portion, And a guide hole into which is inserted.

In the glove box provided by the second aspect of the present invention, a main body box for partitioning a work space from the outside in an airtight manner, an inner opening communicating with the main body box, and an outer opening openable to the outside. The present invention is characterized by including a tubular spare box and a hatch door opening/closing structure provided by the first aspect of the present invention.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description given below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It is a front view which shows an example of the glove box provided with the opening/closing structure of the hatch door which concerns on this invention. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of an essential part showing an example of the opening/closing structure of the hatch door according to the present invention, showing the closed state of the hatch door. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an open/close structure of the hatch door shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of main parts taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 2. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of main parts taken along the line VV of FIG. 2. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of main parts taken along the line VI-VI of FIG. 5.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a glove box having an opening/closing structure for a hatch door according to the present invention. The glove box A1 shown in the figure includes a main body box 1, a side box 2, and a small side box 3. The main body box 1 partitions the work space from the outside in an airtight manner. The side box 2 and the small side box 3 are for putting in and out an object such as a processed product or a container with respect to the main body box 1.

The side box 2 has, for example, a rectangular tubular shape, and an inner opening 20 that is one end of the side box 2 communicates with the main body box 1 and an outer opening 21 that is the other end thereof can be opened to the outside. The inner opening 20 can be opened and closed by an inner hatch door 22, and the outer opening 21 can be opened and closed by an outer hatch door 23.

The small side box 3 is located on the front side of the drawing with respect to the side box 2 in the front view shown in FIG. The small side box 3 has, for example, a substantially cylindrical shape, and includes a straight pipe portion extending in the axial direction and flange portions connected to both ends thereof. The small side box 3 has a relatively small size, for example, the inner diameter of the straight pipe portion is about 90 mm, and the overall length in the axial direction is about 300 mm. The small side box 3 has an inner opening 30 that is one end thereof communicating with the main body box 1, and an outer opening 31 that is the other end can be opened to the outside. The inner opening 30 can be opened and closed by an inner hatch door 32, and the outer opening 31 can be opened and closed by an outer hatch door 33.

The inner hatch door 32 that opens and closes the inner opening 30 and the outer hatch door 33 that opens and closes the outer opening 31 in the small side box 3 are examples of configurations to which the hatch door opening and closing structure according to the present invention is applied. The details will be described later.

The upper part of the front surface of the main body box 1 is covered with a window glass 10 which is inclined obliquely upward, and a pair of working openings 11 for allowing a worker's hand to enter the main body box 1 are formed in the lower part. Each work opening 11 is airtightly covered with gloves (not shown) through a glove-attaching tubular body 12, and is further closed with a removable lid 13.

A vacuum pipe 141 that connects the inside of the main body box 1 to the suction port of a vacuum pump is connected to the lower part of the main body box 1, and dry air, inert gas, etc. in the main body box 1 are connected to the upper part of the main body box 1. A gas supply pipe 142 for supplying the atmospheric gas is connected.

Further, a pipe 151 for gas replacement is connected to the upper and lower parts of the main body box 1, and an oxygen meter is branched and connected to this pipe 151 via a branch pipe 152 so that the atmosphere in the main body box 1 can be confirmed. I have to. To the side box 2, a gas supply pipe 142 and a vacuum pump are connected and switched, and a supply/exhaust circuit 153 connected to the inner space of the side box 2 is connected. Also, in order to confirm the atmosphere of the inner space. An oximeter is also provided. In the small side box 3 as well, the gas supply pipe 142 and the vacuum pump are switched and connected, and an air supply/exhaust circuit (not shown) communicating with the internal space of the small side box 3 is also connected. A pressure gauge (not shown) for measuring the pressure is also provided. The main body box 1 is supported by a mounting table 18 with casters 181 via columns 17.

Next, a mounting structure of the outer hatch door 33 in the small side box 3 will be described. Since the mounting structure of the inner hatch door 32 in the small side box 3 is substantially the same as the mounting structure of the outer hatch door 33, the description thereof will be omitted.

2 and 3 are views showing a mounting structure of the outer hatch door 33 in the small side box 3. FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which the outer hatch door 33 is closed. Note that, in FIG. 2, a state in which the outer hatch door 33 is opened is represented by a virtual line. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state where the outer hatch door 33 is opened.

The outer hatch door 33 includes a door body 41, a rotary operation body 42, and a lock plate 43.

The door body 41 has a substantially disc shape, and is rotatably supported by the small side box 3. More specifically, the door body 41 is rotatably supported in the lower part of the small side box 3 about a horizontal axis O1 that is perpendicular to the axial direction of the small side box 3 and can be opened and closed. Is. A through hole 411 penetrating in the thickness direction (axial direction) is formed in the center of the door body 41 in the radial direction. The rotary operation body 42 described later is fitted into the through hole 411.

When the door body 41 is closed, the inner side surface 412 of the door body 41 faces the end surface 35 of the small side box 3 in the axial direction. An annular groove 413 is formed on the inner side surface 412 of the door body 41. The annular groove 413 is formed near the radial outer peripheral portion of the door body 41, and the annular seal member 44 is attached to the annular groove 413. In the present embodiment, the annular groove 413 has a dovetail groove shape, and the annular seal member 44 is composed of an O-ring. Note that, as shown by a phantom line in FIG. 2, when the door body 41 is open, the annular seal member 44 is in a substantially natural state without being compressed, and slightly protrudes from the inner side surface 412 of the door body 41. To do.

A screw hole 414 is formed at an appropriate position on the surface (inner side surface 412) of the door body 41 facing the small side box 3. A pin 415 is embedded and fixed in the screw hole 414.

The rotary operation body 42 has a shaft body 420 and an operation handle 428. The shaft body 420 extends in the axial direction and has a substantially cylindrical shape. The shaft body 420 has a handle support shaft 421, a flange 422, a fitting insertion shaft portion 423, and a screw shaft 424. The handle support shaft 421 is provided at one end (the right end in the drawing in FIG. 2) of the shaft body 420 in the axial direction. The flange 422 is connected to the handle support shaft 421.

The insertion shaft portion 423 is a portion that is connected to the flange 422 and that is inserted into the through hole 411 of the door body 41. The outer diameter of the fitting shaft portion 423 is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the through hole 411. A thrust bearing 45 is externally fitted to the fitting/inserting shaft portion 423, and the thrust bearing 45 is interposed between the flange 422 and the door body 41 in the axial direction of the rotary operation body 42. Further, a C ring 425 is attached to the shaft body 420 on the opposite side of the flange 422 with the fitting shaft portion 423 interposed therebetween in the axial direction. With such a configuration, the shaft main body 420 (rotation operation body 42) is supported so as to be rotatable relative to the door main body 41 about the axis, and is prevented from moving in the axial direction. In this embodiment, an O-ring 426 is interposed between the fitting insertion shaft portion 423 and the door body 41, and the fitting insertion shaft portion 423 and the door body 41 are sealed. ..

The screw shaft 424 is a male screw portion screwed into a screw hole 431 of the lock plate 43 described later. The screw shaft 424 is provided on the other end side (the left end side in the drawing in FIG. 2) of the shaft main body 420 (rotation operation body 42) in the axial direction.

In this embodiment, the retaining plate 46 is attached to the other axial end of the shaft body 420. The retaining plate 46 is for preventing the lock plate 43 from falling off, and is fixed to the shaft body 420 by using a mounting screw 47.

The operation handle 428 is externally fitted to the handle support shaft 421 of the shaft body 420, and is fixed to the shaft body 420 by an appropriate means (not shown) such as a screw.

The lock plate 43 has a disc portion 430 and an extending portion 435. The disc portion 430 is substantially disc-shaped, and has a screw hole 431 (female screw) penetrating in the thickness direction at the center in the radial direction. The screw shaft 424 of the rotary operation body 42 is screwed into the screw hole 431.

A guide hole 432 is formed at an appropriate position on the disc portion 430. The guide hole 432 penetrates in the thickness direction of the disc portion 430, and as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the axis of the disc portion 430 is the center when viewed in the thickness direction of the disc portion 430. It has an arc shape. A pin 415 provided on the door body 41 is inserted into the guide hole 432. With such a configuration, as can be understood from FIGS. 2 to 5 and the like, the disc portion 430 (lock plate 43) forms a predetermined angle range (an arc formed by the guide hole 432) with respect to the door body 41. Relative rotation is allowed within the angular range corresponding to the central angle. In the present embodiment, the lock plate 43 can rotate about 45° with respect to the door body 41. Here, the pin 415 provided in the door body 41 and the guide hole 432 formed in the disc portion 430 constitute the rotation allowance mechanism referred to in the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the extending portion 435 is a portion that extends radially outward from the outer peripheral portion of the disc portion 430. In the present embodiment, the extending portions 435 are provided at two locations at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the disc portion 430. Although details will be described later, these extending portions 435 are portions that engage with an engagement groove 37 provided in the small side box 3, which will be described later.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, in this embodiment, an engagement groove 37 is formed on the inner surface of the end portion (the flange portion) of the small side box 3. The engagement groove 37 includes a first groove portion 371 and a second groove portion 372. The first groove portion 371 extends from the end surface 35 of the small side box 3 in the axial direction along the axial direction. The second groove portion 372 is connected to the first groove portion 371 and extends along the circumferential direction around the axial direction of the small side box 3.

The first groove portions 371 are provided at two locations at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the small side box 3. During the opening/closing operation of the door body 41, the extending portion 435 provided on the lock plate 43 can pass through the first groove portion 371. The second groove portion 372 is provided at two locations corresponding to the first groove portion 371. As shown in FIG. 5, each second groove portion 372 extends from the first groove portion 371 in the same direction (clockwise in the figure) in the circumferential direction of the small side box 3. When the lock plate 43 is rotated with respect to the door body 41, the extension portion 435 can enter the second groove portion 372.

Next, the opening and closing operation procedure and operation of the hatch doors (the outer hatch door 33 and the inner hatch door 32) will be described. Since the operation procedure of the outer hatch door 33 and the operation procedure of the inner hatch door 32 are substantially the same, the operation procedure of the outer hatch door 33 will be mainly described below.

When the hatch door (outer hatch door 33) is closed from the open state, the operation handle 428 is gripped and the door body 41 in the opened state is rotated around the horizontal axis O1, and the door body 41 opens the outside opening of the small side box 3. Block 31. At this time, the extending portion 435 of the lock plate 43 has entered the back of the first groove portion 371, and the inner side surface 412 of the door body 41 and the end surface 35 of the small side box 3 face each other. By pressing the door body 41 toward the small side box 3 side, the annular seal member 44 is compressed, and the inner side surface 412 of the door body 41 and the end surface 35 of the small side box 3 substantially come into close contact with each other.

Next, the operation handle 428 is rotated. Here, in the thickness direction view of the door body 41 (when the operation handle 428 is viewed from the outside of the outer hatch door 33 in FIG. 2 and the operation handle 428 is viewed from the front), the operation handle 428 (rotation operation body 42) is rotated clockwise. When rotated, the lock plate 43 also rotates with the rotation of the rotation operation body 42. Then, the extending portion 435 of the lock plate 43 enters the second groove portion 372, and the pin 415 contacts the end portion of the guide hole 432 as shown in FIG. Here, the rotation operation angle of the operation handle 428 until the lock plate 43 rotates together with the rotation operation body 42 and the pin 415 contacts the end portion of the guide hole 432 is, for example, about 45°.

When the operation handle 428 (rotation operation body 42) is further rotated, the screw shaft 424 of the rotation operation body 42 is screwed into the screw hole 431 of the lock plate 43, so that the screw is tightened, and the lock plate 43 and the door body 41. And are in close proximity. At this time, the extension portion 435 of the lock plate 43 engages with the second groove portion 372 (engagement groove 37) of the small side box 3 to prevent movement of the lock plate 43 in the axial direction of the small side box 3. (See FIG. 6). As a result, the axial force of the screw shaft 424 acts as a force for pressing the door body 41 toward the small side box 3 side, and the inner side surface 412 of the door body 41 and the end surface 35 of the small side box 3 are completely brought into close contact with each other. The space between the small side box 3 and the door body 41 is sealed. Further, an O-ring 426 is interposed between the fitting insertion shaft portion 423 and the door body 41. As a result, the outer opening 31 of the small side box 3 is sealed by the outer hatch door 33. Here, the rotation operation angle of the operation handle 428 when the rotation of the lock plate 43 is blocked is, for example, about 45°.

Next, when the outer hatch door 33 is opened from the closed state, the operation handle 428 is rotated. Here, the operation handle 428 is rotated in the direction in which the screws (the screw shaft 424 and the screw hole 431) are loosened (the direction opposite to the rotating operation direction when the outer hatch door 33 is closed). Then, the lock plate 43 is slightly separated from the door body 41. After that, the lock plate 43 rotates together with the operation handle (rotation operation body 42), and as shown by the phantom line in FIG. 5, the extending portion 435 has the extension portion 435 of the small side box 3 in the thickness direction of the door body 41. It comes to the position where it overlaps with the 1 groove portion 371. Next, the operation handle 428 is grasped and the door body 41 is rotated around the horizontal axis O1 to open the outer hatch door 33.

According to this embodiment, the airtight state of the hatch doors (the outer hatch door 33 and the inner hatch door 32) can be switched by rotating the operation handle. Therefore, the opening/closing operation of the hatch doors (the outer hatch door 33 and the inner hatch door 32) can be easily performed, and the workability is excellent.

The hatch doors (outer hatch door 33 and inner hatch door 32) include a door body 41 that is rotatably supported by the small side box 3, and a rotation operation body 42 that is rotatably supported by the door body 41. , And a lock plate 43 supported by a screw mechanism with respect to the rotary operation body 42. The lock plate 43 is allowed to rotate with respect to the door body 41 by a predetermined rotation angle. With such a configuration, when the hatch doors (the outer hatch door 33 and the inner hatch door 32) are closed, the lock plate 43 is rotated in the first half of the rotation operation by the rotation operation of the operation handle 428 (rotation operation body 42). It rotates together with the operating body 42 and engages with the engagement groove 37 of the small side box 3, and in the latter half of the rotating operation, the door body 41 is tightly sealed to the small side box 3 by the action of the screw mechanism. Therefore, as described above, the hatch doors (the outer hatch door 33 and the inner hatch door 32) can be reliably closed only by rotating the operation handle 428 by a predetermined angle through the cooperation of the unique overall configuration.

Further, as described above, the rotation operation angle of the operation handle 428 when the hatch doors (the outer hatch door 33 and the inner hatch door 32) are opened and closed is about 45° in the first half of the rotation operation and about 45° in the latter half of the rotation operation, as described above. Therefore, it may be about 90° as a whole. This allows the hatch doors (the outer hatch door 33 and the inner hatch door 32) to be opened and closed quickly and easily.

As will be understood with reference to FIG. 1, when operating the operation handle 428 of the inner hatch door 32, it is necessary for an operator to wear gloves and reach out from the work opening 11 of the main body box 1. is there. Here, the operation handle 428 itself of the inner hatch door 32 is difficult to visually recognize, or is in a state where it cannot be visually recognized. According to the present embodiment, when the inner hatch door 32 is opened and closed as described above, it is possible to switch between the open state and the closed state simply by rotating the operation handle 428 by about 90°. Therefore, even when the operation handle 428 is difficult or invisible, the inner hatch door 32 can be easily opened and closed, which is convenient.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and all modifications within the scope of the matters described in each claim are the scope of the present invention. To be included in.

Although the case where the annular seal member 44 is mounted in the annular groove 413 formed on the inner side surface 412 of the door body 41 has been described in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an annular groove may be formed in the end surface 35 of the small side box 3, and the annular seal member 44 may be attached to the annular groove. Further, the annular seal member 44 is not limited to the O ring.

In the above embodiment, the case where the auxiliary box (small side box 3) communicates with the side surface of the main body box has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. The spare box may be communicated with any part of the main body box, and for example, the spare box may be communicated with the back surface or the bottom surface of the main body box.

A1 Glove box O1 Horizontal axis 1 Main body box 10 Window glass 11 Work opening 12 Cylindrical body 13 Lid 141 Vacuum pipe 142 Gas supply pipe 151 Pipe 152 Branch pipe 153 Air supply/exhaust circuit 17 Strut 18 Mounting table 181 Casters 2 Side box 20 Inside Opening 21 Outside opening 22 Inside hatch door 23 Outside hatch door 3 Small side box (spare box)
30 inner opening 31 outer opening 32 inner hatch door (hatch door)
33 Outside hatch door (hatch door)
35 End surface 37 Engagement groove 371 1st groove part 372 2nd groove part 41 Door body 411 Through hole 412 Inner side surface 413 Annular groove 414 Screw hole 415 Pin 42 Rotating operation body 420 Shaft main body 421 Handle support shaft 422 Flange 423 Fitting insertion shaft part 424 Screw shaft 425 C ring 426 O ring 428 Operation handle 43 Lock plate 430 Disc portion 431 Screw hole 432 Guide hole 435 Extending portion 44 Annular seal member 45 Thrust bearing 46 Locking plate 47 Mounting screw

Claims (4)

A glove box provided with a main body box for partitioning a work space in an airtight manner from the outside, and a tubular spare box in which an inner opening communicates with the main body box and an outer opening can be opened to the outside, An opening/closing structure of a hatch door for opening/closing at least one of the inner opening and the outer opening,
A door body that is rotatably supported by the spare box and that opens and closes at least one of the inner opening and the outer opening,
With respect to the door body, a rotary operation body supported so as to be relatively rotatable around an axis extending along the thickness direction of the door body and extending along the thickness direction,
A lock plate supported by the rotating operation body,
The rotating operation body includes an operation handle provided on one end side in the axial direction, and a screw shaft provided on the other end side in the axial direction,
An inner side surface of the door body, and one of the end surface in the axial direction of the auxiliary box, which may be opposed to the inner side surface, is provided with an annular seal member,
The lock plate includes a disk portion in which a screw hole into which the screw shaft is screwed is formed in the radial center, and an extending portion that extends radially outward from the outer peripheral portion of the disk portion,
The spare box is provided with an engagement groove that can be engaged with the extending portion when the door body is closed and the lock plate is at a predetermined rotation position,
An opening/closing structure for a hatch door, wherein the lock plate further includes a rotation allowing mechanism that allows the door body to rotate by a predetermined rotation angle. The engagement groove includes a first groove portion extending in the axial direction from an axial end surface of the spare box, and a second groove portion connected to the first groove portion and extending along a circumferential direction around the spare box in the axial direction. The hatch door opening/closing structure according to claim 1, comprising: The rotation allowance mechanism is a pin fixed to the door body, and a guide hole into which the pin is inserted, which is formed in an arc shape centering on the axis of the disc portion when viewed in the thickness direction of the disc portion. The opening/closing structure of the hatch door according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: 4. A main body box for partitioning a work space in an airtight manner from the outside, a tubular backup box having an inner opening communicating with the main body box, and an outer opening opening to the outside. And a hatch door opening and closing structure described in 1..

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