JP7458608B2 - Port cap and glove box - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a port cap that is attached to the tip of a type I or type II glove port of a glove box.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a glove port has been known for attaching a glove to the side of a GB main body for inserting a hand into the glove box main body to work. Further, a cap may be attached to the tip of the glove port (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

Furthermore, there are two types of glove ports: type I or type II, which fixes the glove on the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder protruding outside the side panel, and type III, which fixes the glove on the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder at a position close to the side panel. It is broadly divided into

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 08-050197 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-286674

In a type I or type II glove port, there is a possibility that foreign matter may enter the gap created between the port body and the glove. If glove work is performed with a foreign object entering this gap, the glove that comes into sliding contact with the foreign object may be damaged. However, the caps disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 cannot appropriately prevent a gap from forming between the port body and the glove.

The present invention was made to solve these problems, and aims to provide a port cap that can be attached to a type I or type II globe port to appropriately prevent gaps from forming between the port body and the globe.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a port cap to be attached to a glove port, the port cap comprising: a flange-shaped mounting portion to be attached to an attachment opening formed in a side panel of a glove box; a port body having a cylindrical body protruding from an inner peripheral surface of the mounting portion toward the outside of the glove box; a glove having a tip portion that enters an internal space of the glove box through the cylindrical body and a base end portion that is folded back to face the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body; an O-ring that seals between the base end of the folded back glove and the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body; and a clamp ring that seals between the base end of the folded back glove and the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body at a position closer to the side panel than the O-ring. The port cap comprises an inner tube that is press-fitted into the cylindrical body from inside the glove, an outer tube that covers the outside of the cylindrical body, and a flange that connects ends of the inner tube and the outer tube, the tip of the inner tube on the outer peripheral surface side being R-chamfered , and the thickness of the outer tube is thinner than the thickness of the inner tube .

According to the present invention, by being attached to a type I or type II glove port, it is possible to appropriately prevent a gap from forming between the port body and the glove.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a glove box. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the glove port perpendicular to the glove panel. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the port cap viewed from the front side. It is a perspective view seen from the back side of a port cap. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the port cap attached to the globe port.

The glove box 1 will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiments of the present invention described below show an example of embodying the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the range described in the embodiments. Therefore, the present invention can be implemented by adding various changes to the embodiments. In FIG. 1, the side on which the glove panel 6 (side panel) is provided is defined as the "front", and the left-right direction is defined when the glove box 1 is viewed from the front side.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a glove box 1. As shown in FIG. The glove box 1 is a device for performing work (for example, inspection, experiment, etc.) on contaminants (for example, radioactive substances, chemicals, bacteria, viruses, etc.) without leaking the contaminants to the outside. As shown in FIG. 1, the glove box 1 mainly includes a GB main body 2 (glove box main body), a base 3, an intake filter 4, and an exhaust filter 5.

The GB main body 2 is box-shaped with an internal space. The GB main body 2 according to the present embodiment has a rectangular parallelepiped outer shape. Further, the GB main body 2 is supported by a base 3. Further, air flows into the GB main body 2 through the intake filter 4, and air from which pollutants have been removed flows out through the exhaust filter 5.

The side walls of the GB main body 2 are provided with glove panels 6a, 6b, and 6c (hereinafter collectively referred to as "glove panels 6") and a loading/unloading port 7. Note that there is no particular limit to the number of glove panels 6 provided on the GB main body 2.

The glove panel 6 enables work on contaminants within the GB body 2 without leaking the contaminants from the GB body 2. Specifically, the glove panel 6 is formed with an attachment opening 8 (see FIG. 2) that penetrates in the thickness direction. A glove port 10 is attached to the attachment opening 8. Although the number of attachment openings 8 formed in the glove panel 6 is not particularly limited, generally one glove panel 6 is provided with a plurality of attachment openings 8. Details of the glove port 10 will be described later with reference to FIG.

The loading/unloading port 7 is a port for loading articles (e.g., contaminants, inspection equipment, etc.) into the GB body 2 and carrying them out from the GB body 2 without leaking contaminants from the GB body 2. .

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the glove port 10 perpendicular to the glove panel 6. The glove port 10 fixes the glove 12, which extends from the mounting opening 8 toward the internal space of the GB body 2, to the glove panel 6.

As shown in FIG. 2, the glove port 10 mainly includes a port body 11, a glove 12, O-rings 13a and 13b, and a clamp ring 14. Note that the glove port 10 shown in FIG. 2 is a so-called "type II" having double O-rings 13a and 13b. However, the present invention can also be applied to a so-called "I type" with a single O-ring.

The port body 11 is composed of a flange-shaped mounting portion 15, a cylindrical tubular body 16, and a mounting ring 17. The mounting portion 15 protrudes radially outward from the rear end of the tubular body 16. The tubular body 16 protrudes from the inner peripheral surface of the mounting portion 15 in the thickness direction of the mounting portion 15. The mounting ring 17 is fitted onto the tubular body 16 and faces the mounting portion 15 with the packing 15 in between.

A packing 15a that is continuous in the circumferential direction is formed in the mounting portion 15. When the cylindrical body 16 is made to protrude from the internal space of the GB main body 2 through the attachment opening 8, the wall surface of the glove panel 6 that defines the attachment opening 8 enters the packing 15a. When the attachment ring 17 is inserted into the cylinder body 16 from the outside of the GB main body 2, the attachment portion 15 and the attachment ring 17 face each other with the glove panel 6 in between. Then, the port body 11 is fixed to the glove panel 6 by fastening the mounting portion 15 and the mounting ring 17 with bolts (not shown). At this time, the cylindrical body 16 protrudes toward the outside (front) of the GB main body 2.

In addition, the cross section of the attachment portion 15 shown in FIG. 2 (that is, the cross section perpendicular to the glove panel 6) includes a straight portion 15b continuous to the inner circumferential surface of the cylinder 16, and a straight portion 15b that is exposed to the internal space of the GB main body 2 and that is connected to the glove panel. 6, and an R-chamfered R portion 15d between the straight portion 15b and the parallel portion 15c.

When the mounting portion 15 is viewed three-dimensionally, the straight portion 15b has a cylindrical shape that is the same as the inner diameter dimension of the tube 16, the parallel portion 15c has a disk shape, and the R portion 15d has a diameter that gradually increases toward the inside of the GB body 2. The inner surface of the mounting portion 15 has a shape in which the straight portion 15b and the parallel portion 15c, which are perpendicular to each other, are connected by the R portion 15d, which has a circular arc shape.

The cylinder 16 has a cylindrical outer shape. The cylinder body 16 projects toward the outside of the GB body 2 when the port body 11 is attached to the glove panel 6. Furthermore, circumferential grooves 16a and 16b that are continuous in the circumferential direction are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 16. The circumferential grooves 16a and 16b are formed at positions spaced apart from each other in the direction in which the cylindrical body 16 protrudes. O-rings 13a, 13b are fitted into the circumferential grooves 16a, 16b.

The glove 12 is used by a worker to work inside the GB main body 2 by inserting his or her hand therein. The glove 12 has a closed end in the shape of five fingers and an open base end. Then, the tip of the globe 12 enters the internal space of the GB main body 2 through the cylinder 16. Further, the base end portion of the globe 12 is folded back toward the outer circumferential surface at the front end of the cylindrical body 16. That is, the base end portion of the folded globe 12 covers the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body 16.

O-rings 13a and 13b are ring-shaped members. The O-rings 13a and 13b are made of a material that can be elastically expanded in diameter, such as rubber. The diameter of the O-rings 13a, 13b in their natural state is slightly smaller than the diameter of the circumferential grooves 16a, 16b. The O-rings 13a, 13b are fitted into the circumferential grooves 16a, 16b from above the globe 12 folded back toward the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body 16 while being elastically enlarged. This seals the space between the base end of the folded globe 12 and the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body 16.

The clamp ring 14 is composed of a band-shaped belt 14a and a fastening fitting 14b that tightens the ring-shaped belt 14a. The belt 14a is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 16 from above the folded glove 12 at a position closer to the glove panel 6 than the O-rings 13a, 13b. Then, by tightening the ring-shaped belt 14a along the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body 16 with the tightening fitting 14b, the space between the folded base end of the glove 12 and the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body 16 is sealed. be done.

When the clamp ring 14 is attached to the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body 16, the clamping fitting 14b protrudes radially outward from the belt 14a. That is, in the clamp ring 14 attached to the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body 16, only the position of the clamping fitting 14b selectively protrudes outward in the radial direction in the circumferential direction.

According to the glove port 10 having the above configuration, a gap G is formed between the port body 11 and the glove 12, as shown in FIG. Therefore, there is a possibility that foreign matter existing inside the GB main body 2 may enter this gap G. If the worker continues to work by putting his hand into the glove 12 with a foreign object entering the gap G, the glove 12 that comes into sliding contact with the foreign object may be damaged. Furthermore, if the foreign object is a pollutant, the pollutant may leak out of the glove box 1 through the damaged glove 12.

Therefore, in this embodiment, a port cap 20 is attached to the glove port 10. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the port cap 20 seen from the front side. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the port cap 20 seen from the back side. FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the port cap 20 attached to the glove port 10.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the port cap 20 includes an inner cylinder 21, an outer cylinder 22, and a flange 23. The port cap 20 is integrally molded from a material having elastic deformability such as rubber. Port cap 20 is formed of the same material as glove 12, for example.

The inner tube 21 has a cylindrical outer shape. The outer dimensions of the inner tube 21 are set to be the same as or slightly larger than the inner diameter dimensions of the cylindrical body 16. As shown in FIG. 5, the inner tube 21 is press-fitted into the cylindrical body 16 from inside the globe 12. That is, when the port cap 20 is attached to the globe port 10, the inner tube 21 presses the globe 12 against the inner circumferential surface of the port body 11.

In addition, in the front-rear direction of the glove box 1 (the protruding direction of the cylinder 16), the tip of the inner cylinder 21 (the end opposite to the connection part with the flange 23) meets the boundary between the straight part 15b and the rounded part 15d, It is located between the parallel portion 15c. More specifically, it is desirable that the tip of the inner tube 21 coincides with the boundary between the straight portion 15b and the rounded portion 15d. That is, the inner cylinder 21 presses the globe 12 against the port body 11 over the entire inner circumferential surface of the cylinder body 16 and the straight portion 15b of the attachment portion 15.

Moreover, the tip of the inner cylinder 21 on the outer circumferential surface side has an R-chamfered R surface 21a. The R surface 21a is formed continuously in the circumferential direction. Furthermore, the inner peripheral surface of the inner cylinder 21 has a smooth cylindrical shape. "Smooth" refers to a state in which the diameter of the inner peripheral surface is the same in the protruding direction of the inner cylinder 21. That is, no protrusions or recesses are formed on the inner circumferential surface of the inner cylinder 21. Note that minute irregularities that cannot be visually recognized unless observed under a microscope are not included in the above-mentioned protrusions and recesses.

The outer tube 22 has a cylindrical outer shape. The inner diameter size of the outer cylinder 22 is larger than the outer size of the inner cylinder 21. Further, the inner tube 21 and the outer tube 22 are arranged concentrically. Then, when the port cap 20 is attached to the glove port 10, the outer cylinder 22 is arranged to cover the inner cylinder 21.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the port cap 20 is attached to the glove port 10, the outer cylinder 22 is attached to the outer periphery of the cylinder 16 to which the folded glove 12, the O-rings 13a, 13b, and the clamp ring 14 are attached. cover the face. That is, the inner tube 21 is inserted into the cylindrical body 16, and the outer tube 22 is inserted into the cylindrical body 16.

At this time, the inner peripheral surface of the outer cylinder 22 is spaced apart from the O-rings 13a, 13b attached to the circumferential grooves 16a, 16b in the radial direction. In other words, the inner diameter dimension _W1 of the outer cylinder 22 is larger than the diameter _W2 of the O-rings 13a, 13b attached to the circumferential grooves 16a, 16b. That is, when attaching and detaching the port cap 20 to and from the glove port 10, the outer cylinder 22 is inserted into and removed from the cylinder body 16 without contacting the O-rings 13a and 13b.

Further, the outer cylinder 22 has a smaller protrusion amount than the inner cylinder 21. In other words, the tip of the outer tube 22 is located closer to the flange 23 than the tip of the inner tube 21. When the port cap 20 is attached to the glove port 10, the outer cylinder 22 covers the O-rings 13a, 13b and the belt 14a of the clamp ring 14 from the outside in the radial direction.

On the other hand, a notch 22a is formed in a portion of the outer cylinder 22 in the circumferential direction at the tip thereof. When the port cap 20 is attached to the glove port 10, the notch 22a is arranged at a position corresponding to the tightening fitting 14b of the clamp ring 14. That is, the fastening metal fitting 14b does not interfere with the outer cylinder 22 by entering the notch 22a.

Furthermore, the thickness of the outer tube 22 is thinner than the thickness of the inner tube 21. In other words, the rigidity of the outer tube 22 is lower than the rigidity of the inner tube 21. Therefore, when attaching the port cap 20 to the globe port 10, the outer tube 22 elastically deforms, allowing the inner tube 21 to be smoothly pressed into the inside of the tube body 16.

The flange 23 has a disk-shaped outer shape with a through hole formed in the center. The flange 23 connects the base end of the inner cylinder 21 and the base end of the outer cylinder 22. In other words, the inner peripheral surface is connected to the base end of the inner tube 21, and the outer peripheral surface is connected to the base end of the outer tube 22. When the port cap 20 is attached to the lobe port 10, the flange 23 comes into contact with the front end of the cylindrical body 16. Further, the wall thickness of the flange 23 is thinner than the wall thickness of the inner cylinder 21 and the same as the wall thickness of the outer cylinder 22.

According to the above embodiment, for example, the following effects are achieved.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the port cap 20 is attached to the glove port 10, the gap G' between the port body 11 and the glove 12 is smaller than the gap G shown in FIG. As a result, it is possible to effectively prevent foreign matter from entering the gap G'. Further, since the inner cylinder 21 is arranged inside the glove 12, the worker's arm does not directly touch the glove 12. As a result, even if the glove 12 is damaged, contaminants can be prevented from coming into contact with the worker's arm.

According to the above embodiment, by forming the tip of the outer peripheral surface of the inner tube 21 into the rounded surface 21a, even if the glove 12 comes into contact with the tip of the inner tube 21 during work, the glove 12 will not be affected locally. This prevents stress from occurring. As a result, damage to the glove 12 can be prevented.

Further, according to the embodiment described above, the wall thickness of the outer cylinder 22 is made thinner than that of the inner cylinder 21. Thereby, the rigidity of the inner cylinder 21, which needs to be firmly fixed to the port body 11, can be increased. On the other hand, by reducing the thickness of the outer cylinder 22, which is intended to cover the outside of the cylinder 16, and lowering its rigidity, the operation of press-fitting the inner cylinder 21 into the cylinder 16 becomes easier.

Further, according to the above embodiment, since there are no large irregularities on the inner circumferential surface of the inner cylinder 21, cross contamination due to sliding contact of the hand inserted into and removed from the glove 12 with the inner circumferential surface of the inner cylinder 21 is avoided. It can be prevented.

Further, in the type II glove port 10, O-rings 13a and 13b are exposed on the outer peripheral surface side of the cylinder 16. Therefore, according to the embodiment described above, by providing a gap between the outer cylinder 22 and the O-rings 13a, 13b, it is possible to prevent the O-rings 13a, 13b from coming off and leaking contaminants when the port cap 20 is attached or detached. It can be prevented.

Further, according to the above embodiment, by extending the inner cylinder 21 to the boundary between the straight portion 15b and the rounded portion 15d of the mounting portion 15, foreign matter can be prevented from entering the gap G′ between the port body 11 and the globe 12. It is possible to prevent the entry of

However, if the protruding length of the inner tube 21 is too long, there is a possibility that foreign matter may adhere to the outer surface of the inner tube 21 protruding from the port body 11. Therefore, it is preferable that the tip of the inner tube 21 is located between the boundary between the straight portion 15b and the R portion 15d of the mounting portion 15 and the parallel portion 15c of the mounting portion 15, and it is most preferable that it coincides with the boundary portion.

By providing the flange 23 at the base end of the inner cylinder 21, the inner cylinder 21 can only be inserted up to the position where the flange 23 contacts the cylinder body 16. As a result, it is possible to prevent the inner tube 21 from being inserted too much.

Further, according to the above embodiment, by covering the O-rings 13a, 13b and the belt 14a of the clamp ring 14 with the outer cylinder 22, the O-rings 13a, 13b and The clamp ring 14 can be protected.

On the other hand, if the amount of protrusion of the outer tube 22 is too large, it becomes difficult to check for contamination between the inner tube 21 and the outer tube 22 when the port cap 20 is removed from the glove port 10. Therefore, it is desirable to set the protruding length of the outer tube 22 to the minimum length that can cover the O-rings 13a, 13b and the belt 14a of the clamp ring 14.

Furthermore, according to the above embodiment, the cutout 22a is provided in the outer cylinder 22 at a position corresponding to the fastening fitting 14b. This can prevent the port cap 20 from shifting (rotating) in the left-right direction, thereby preventing the inner cylinder 21 and the globe 12 from coming into sliding contact and damaging the globe 12.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the conditions in the examples are examples of conditions adopted to confirm the feasibility and effects of the present invention, and the present invention is based on this example of conditions. It is not limited. The present invention can adopt various conditions as long as the purpose of the present invention is achieved without departing from the gist of the present invention.

1... Glove box, 2... GB main body, 3... Base, 4... Intake filter, 5... Exhaust filter, 6a, 6b, 6c... Glove panel, 7... Carrying in/out port, 8... Mounting opening, 10... Globe port, 11 ... Port body, 12 ... Glove, 13a, 13b ... O-ring, 14 ... Clamp ring, 14a ... Belt, 14b ... Tightening fitting, 15 ... Mounting part, 15a ... Packing, 16a, 16b ... Circumferential groove, 15b ... Straight line Part, 15c...Parallel part, 15d...R part, 16...Cylinder, 17...Mounting ring, 20...Port cap, 21...Inner cylinder, 21a...R surface, 22...Outer cylinder, 22a...Notch, 23...Flange

Claims (6)

a port body having a flange-shaped attachment part attached to an attachment opening formed in a side panel of the glove box, and a cylindrical body protruding from an inner peripheral surface of the attachment part toward the outside of the glove box;
a glove whose distal end enters the interior space of the glove box through the cylindrical body and whose base end is folded back toward the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body;
an O-ring that seals between the folded base end of the glove and the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body;
A port cap attached to a glove port, comprising a clamp ring that seals between a proximal end portion of the folded glove and an outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body at a position closer to the side panel than the O-ring. ,
an inner cylinder press-fitted into the cylinder from inside the glove;
an outer cylinder that covers the outside of the cylinder;
A flange connecting the ends of the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder,
The tip of the inner cylinder on the outer peripheral surface side is rounded,
A port cap characterized in that a wall thickness of the outer cylinder is thinner than a wall thickness of the inner cylinder. The port cap according to claim 1 ,
A port cap characterized in that the inner circumferential surface of the inner cylinder has a smooth cylindrical shape. A box-shaped glove box body having an internal space;
A glove port attached to a side panel constituting a side surface of the glove box body;
and a port cap attached to the glove port.
The glove port includes:
a port body having a flange-shaped mounting portion that is attached to a mounting opening formed in the side panel, and a cylindrical body that protrudes from an inner circumferential surface of the mounting portion toward an outside of the glove box;
A glove having a tip end that enters the internal space of the glove box through the cylindrical body and a base end that is folded back toward the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body;
an O-ring that seals between the base end of the folded globe and the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body;
a clamp ring that seals a gap between a base end of the folded globe and an outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body at a position closer to the side panel than the O-ring,
The port cap includes:
an inner cylinder press-fitted into the cylinder body from inside the globe;
An outer cylinder that covers the outside of the cylindrical body;
a flange connecting ends of the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder,
The tip of the outer circumferential surface of the inner cylinder is R-chamfered,
A cross section of the mounting portion perpendicular to the side panel is
a straight line portion continuing to the inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical body;
a parallel portion exposed to an interior space of the glove box and parallel to the side panel;
and a chamfered R portion between the straight portion and the parallel portion,
A glove box according to claim 1, wherein a tip of the inner cylinder is located between the boundary between the straight portion and the R portion and the parallel portion. The glove box according to claim 3 ,
The glove box is characterized in that the inner diameter of the outer cylinder is larger than the diameter of the O-ring attached to the cylinder. The glove box according to claim 3 or 4 ,
The clamp ring is composed of a band-shaped belt and a tightening fitting that tightens the belt wound around the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body,
The glove box is characterized in that the outer cylinder extends to a position that covers the belt. The glove box according to claim 5 ,
The glove box is characterized in that the outer cylinder has a notch formed at a position corresponding to the fastening fitting.

Images