JPH02164412A - Air filter apparatus for clean room - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent floating particles in air from adhering by treating the whole components of an air filter apparatus such as channel frames, air filter modules, etc., made of aluminum and placed in the ceiling of a clean room to make electrically conductive. CONSTITUTION:The title filter apparatus is composed of channel parts 2a, 2b having U-shape grooves, a channel frame 1 comprised of joints 3a-3c having U-shape groove cross section for connecting the channel parts in lattice pattern and hanging them with hanging fittings, a sealing agent 20 to fill the grooves of the frame 1, and an air filter module 40 to be fixed in the open parts of the lattice pattern of the frame 1. The module 40 is composed of a frame 42 having a skirt part 48 in contact with the bottom parts of the grooves of the frame 1, a filter material 50 positioned in the inside of the frame 42, and protective parts 52, 54 covering the up side and down side of the filter material 50. The frame 42 and protective parts 52, 54 are made of an Al material and the surfaces of them are treated to be electrically conductive.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an air filter device installed on the ceiling of a clean room.

[Conventional technology] Semiconductor manufacturing industry, electronic industry, precision machinery industry.

Pharmaceutical industry 2 Factories and research institutes related to the food industry, biotechnology industry, etc., as well as hospital operating rooms, use clean rooms to eliminate minute suspended particles in the air.

As a typical clean room structure.

An air filter device is installed throughout the ceiling of the clean room, and the air sent through the air conditioner and blower is filtered by the filter device and blown into the clean room, while the air is returned through the intake port that opens on the floor of the clean room. There is a treatment laminar flow air filter device configured to

In this type of air filter device, a channel member having a U-shaped cross section that opens upward is joined in a lattice shape by a joint having a U-shaped cross section, and is suspended from the ceiling of a clean room. The grooves of the channel frame are filled with a nonvolatile sealant, and the air filter module, which has a skirt that fits into the channel member with a U-shaped groove in cross section, is fitted into the grid-like opening of the channel frame to achieve high performance. Techniques for constructing air filter devices are known, and the applicant proposed an improved filter bank device as Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-29576, which was patented.

The air filter device having the above-mentioned configuration is installed by hanging from the ceiling, and the installation of the air filter module requires a reduction in weight in order to facilitate replacement. For this reason, it is desirable to make the channel member with a U-shaped cross section, the joint that joins the channel member, the air filter module frame, etc. from a material with low specific gravity such as aluminum material or synthetic resin. Excellent rigidity. In the case of aluminum materials, a technique is known in which anodization treatment is performed to form an anodic oxide film on the surface of the aluminum material in order to improve corrosion resistance and wear resistance.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] Although anodized films improve corrosion resistance and wear resistance, they have extremely high electrical resistance and lack conductivity, so when applied to air filter modules and channel frames, static electricity is generated. The surface becomes electrically charged, and floating contaminant particles in the air tend to adhere to it, and these particles are re-dispersed by air currents and diffused into the clean room, reducing the cleanliness of the indoor air and reducing the quality and yield of products such as semiconductors. There are problems such as deterioration. In addition, due to the presence of this anodic oxide film, the air filter module and channel frame are electrically insulated, making it impossible to shield disturbance electromagnetic waves passing through the filter device, and preventing electronic equipment inside the clean room from being shielded. A similar problem exists with synthetic resin materials that tend to have an adverse effect on other types of materials.

Accordingly, the present invention solves the conventional problems by imparting corrosion resistance, abrasion resistance, and electrical conductivity to members made of aluminum material constituting the air filter device.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides an air filter device for a clean room that includes a channel frame and an air filter module that are suspended from the ceiling of a clean room, in which the air filter module is in contact with the bottom of the U-shaped groove of the channel frame. A channel frame includes a frame having a skirt portion, a filter medium disposed airtight inside the frame, and a flat plate-like protective member having air permeability that covers the upper and lower surfaces of the filter medium and whose peripheral edge engages with the frame. The channel member, the joint, the frame of the air filter module, and the protective member are made of aluminum, and the surfaces thereof are subjected to conductive treatment.

Examples of conductive treatments include metal plating, and materials for metal plating include nickel, zinc, and tin.

Available in chrome, copper and silver.

It may be coated with conductive paint instead of metal plating.

[Function] With the above configuration, the entire air filter device installed on the ceiling of the clean room is electrically conductive and grounded, preventing static electricity from accumulating and preventing airborne contaminant particles from adhering. Prevented. In addition, disturbance electromagnetic waves that enter through the ceiling of the clean room are shielded and do not adversely affect electronic equipment in the clean room.

[Example] The present invention will be described in detail below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the whole of a clean room air filter device embodying the present invention, in which a channel frame, designated as a whole by reference numeral 1, has a channel member 2a*2b having a U-shaped groove shape with an upwardly opening cross section. and joint 3a,
3b and 3c are assembled in a grid pattern. The longitudinal dimensions of the channel members 2a, 2b are selected depending on the long and short dimensions of the air filter module used to form the compartments 35. Both ends of the channel members 2a, 2b are connected to joints 3a, 3b, 3c, and the joints are sealed liquid-tight. The joint 3a has a cross-shaped planar shape and supports the four ends of the channel members 2a and 2b. Fitting 3
b has a T-shaped planar shape, and the channel member 2
The three ends of a and 2b are supported. The joint 3c has an L-shaped planar shape, and connects two of the channel members 2a and 2b.
Several types of joints are prepared depending on the purpose of use, such as 0 or more joints that support each end.

The joints 3a, 3b have a boss portion 4 projecting from the center thereof, and a bolt hole with a bottom is formed in the boss portion 4. A hanging bolt 6 is threaded onto the boss part 4 and connected to a hanging bolt 10 for hanging from the ceiling of a clean room via a turnbuckle 8.

After each of the above steps, cut out the channel frame U.
Inject a special sealant into the groove of the letter. Special sealant 20
is a non-fluid sealant with a high viscosity like a grease or a non-volatile sealant like a gel.

There are modified urethane sealants, epoxy sealants, silicone sealants, etc.

Channel members 2a, 2b and joints 3a, 3b.

The 3c is made of aluminum material to reduce weight.

The surface is subjected to metal plating treatment, coating with conductive paint, etc. to improve corrosion resistance and abrasion resistance, as well as impart conductivity. As a metal plating material.

Examples include nickel, zinc, tin, chromium p'/R*silver. The channel member 2a is formed by this surface treatment.

The joints between 2b and joints 3a, 3b, and 3c also have conductivity,
Since the hanging bolts 6 and 10 and the turnbuckle 8 are made of iron, they are naturally conductive. Since the hanging bolts 1o on the ceiling side are hung from the steel beams of the building that constitutes the clean room, the entire channel frame 1 is electrically grounded.

Next, the air filter module is assembled onto the entire upper surface of the channel frame 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, one air filter module 40 is assembled in each grid-like section 35 defined by the channel members 2a and 2b.The air filter module 40 has a frame etc. made of aluminum material and is extremely Since it is lightweight, an operator manually lifts the air filter module 4° using an appropriate workbench placed on the floor 24 of the clean room, passes it between the compartments 35, and rotates it horizontally to remove the air filter module 40. the channel member 2a,
2b and the joints 3a, 3b, and 3c are fitted into the grooves of the sections 35 formed by the joints 3a, 3b, and 3c.

The cross-sectional structure of the air filter module 40 is shown in FIG. 3, and the air filter module 40 includes a frame 42 made of aluminum, and upper and lower ends of the inner peripheral side of the frame 42 have upper edges projecting inward. 44 and a lower edge 46 are formed. A filter medium 50 is disposed between the upper edge part 44 and the lower edge part 46, and the upper and lower parts of the filter medium 50 are covered with protective members 52 and 54.
Protect 0.

The protective members 52, 54 are made of aluminum and have a breathable flat plate shape, and are made of a mesh or a perforated plate, etc., and allow air to pass freely through them, and are engaged with the frame at the peripheral edge. Frame 42 is extended to form skirt portion 48 . The tip 49 of the skirt portion 48 is connected to the channel member 2
The wall surface of the skirt portion 48 comes into contact with the bottom surface of the U-shaped groove b, and the wall surface of the skirt portion 48 is immersed inside the special sealant 20 filled in the channel member 2b. The skirt portions 48 of other air filter modules 40 disposed adjacent to each other are also inserted into the same channel member 2b, and the filter modules are held airtight with each other.

In the present invention, the air filter module 40 includes a frame 42 including a skirt 48, a protection member 52.
54 is coated with metal plating or conductive paint to improve wear resistance and corrosion resistance, and to provide conductivity.

Since the entire channel frame on which the air filter module 40 is mounted is electrically grounded as described above, the entire air filter module 40 that contacts the channel member 2b at the tip 49 of the skirt portion 48 is also electrically grounded. It becomes a grounded state. Therefore, the air filter module 40 and the channel frame 1 are not electrically charged, and floating contaminant particles in the air do not adhere to them due to static electricity. In addition, the air filter module 40
Since the entire channel frame 1 is grounded, electromagnetic waves can be shielded, and the effect of blocking disturbance electromagnetic waves and protecting equipment in the clean room is exhibited.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, the present invention applies conductive treatment to all of the constituent elements such as the channel frame and air filter module made of aluminum material that constitute the air filter device disposed on the ceiling of the clean room. It provides electrical conductivity as well as corrosion resistance and wear resistance.

Conductive treatments include metal plating or coating with conductive paint.

A typical example of metal plating is electroless nickel plating, but other metal plating includes zinc, tin, and chromium.

Conductive materials such as copper and silver can be used as plating materials.

When a conductive paint coating is applied as a conductive treatment 1 For example, a conventional anodized treatment shows a resistance value of 2 to 3 x 10" ohm per unit cross section, but a conductive paint coating shows a resistance value of 3 x 10" ohm per unit cross section. It has been experimentally confirmed that it has a resistance value of ~5 x 10' ohms and has sufficient electrical conductivity.

Through this process, the entire air filter device becomes electrically conductive and grounded, preventing the generation of static electricity and allowing airborne contaminant particles to adhere to the air filter device.
Eliminates defects that are caused by re-dispersion by air currents, reducing the cleanliness of the air in the clean room, and causing a decline in the quality and yield of products such as semiconductors.

Further, it has the effect of preventing disturbance electromagnetic waves passing through the air filter device from entering the clean room, thereby preventing adverse effects on electronic equipment in the clean room.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a clean room air filter device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a part of the air filter device, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an air filter module. 1... Channel frame. 2a, 2b...Channel members. 3a, 3b, 3cm joint, 4...Boss part. 6.10... Hanging bolt, 8... Turnbuckle, 20-... Special sealant, 40... Air filter module, 42...
···flame. 4β...Skirt, 50...Filtering medium, 52.54...Protection member.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A channel member having a U-shaped groove whose cross section opens upward, and a U-shaped groove that connects the channel members in a grid pattern and is suspended from the ceiling of a clean room via a hanging device. A clean room air filter device comprising a channel frame consisting of a joint with a channel frame, a sealing agent filled in a groove of the channel frame, and an air filter module fitted into a lattice-shaped opening of the channel frame. A frame that has a skirt part that touches the bottom of the U-shaped groove of the frame, a filter material that is airtightly arranged inside the frame, and a flat plate-shaped protection that has air permeability and covers the top and bottom surfaces of the filter material and whose peripheral edge engages with the frame. An air filter device for a clean room, characterized in that the channel member, the joint, the frame of the air filter module, and the protective member are made of aluminum material, and the surfaces thereof are subjected to conductive treatment. 2. The clean room air according to claim 1, wherein the conductive treatment is metal plating, and the metal plating material is selected from nickel, zinc, tin, chromium, copper, or silver. filter device. 3. The air filter device for a clean room according to claim 1, wherein the conductive treatment is coating with a conductive paint.