JPH04236856A - Sealing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a sealing device which simplifies structure, reduces size, provides airtight ability, and is also applicable to a rectangular opening part by supporting a press body made of a shape memory alloy, a sheet support, a heater for the press body, and a bellows to support the sheet press and form a closed space. CONSTITUTION:A sealing device comprises a seal sheet 10 inserted between two flanges 3 and 4, a tubular press body 9 made of a shape memory alloy inserted in a containing groove 4a of a press flange 4, an annular press body 8 positioned in front of the press body 9 and inserted between the press body and the seal sheet 10, and a heater 11 disposed in the containing groove 4a and heating the press body 9. A pair of bellows 15 and 15 are positioned on both sides of the press body 9 and disposed in the containing groove 4a and supporting the sheet press 8 in a way that the one side fixed to the sheet press 8 and the other side is fixed to the press flange 4, and form a closed space 16 around the press body 9 in a state to be isolated away from the interior of a device body 1 and the interior of a coupling pipe 7.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a sealing device for the openings of equipment and devices that require constant isolation of the inside from the outside air, and is suitable for use in nuclear power related equipment, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, aircraft related equipment, etc. It is mainly used for

0002

[Prior Art] Nuclear-related equipment and semiconductor manufacturing equipment often require keeping the insides of equipment and equipment particularly clean by preventing the inflow of outside air. The interior is stabilized by keeping it in a vacuum state or pressurizing it with an inert gas. By the way, in the above-mentioned facilities, the equipment and
When replacing a device, for example, when replacing a plasma container in a plasma heating device of a nuclear fusion facility, as shown in FIG. B and B are dissociated, and the plasma container A is separated from the coaxial gun C, etc. Next, sealing plate E
A new plasma vessel A2 with the opening D closed and the interior evacuated is brought in, and after removing the sealing plate E, the shape memory alloy joints B and B are heated and connected to the coaxial gas C, etc. . Finally, by evacuating the inside of the equipment and the pipeline to a predetermined degree of vacuum, the replacement of the plasma container A1 is completed.

However, the method described above has the disadvantage that the vacuum inside the device is once broken because the sealing plate E is removed before connecting the plasma container A2, and the inside of the device is contaminated by the inflow of outside air. Furthermore, it is necessary to evacuate the inside of the device again after the devices/devices are connected, which poses problems such as the evacuation operation taking time. On the other hand, in order to avoid the above-mentioned problems, a gate valve (not shown) is fixedly installed at the opening of the plasma container A2 in place of the sealing plate E, and after evacuating the inside of the pipeline etc. after connecting the container A2, It is also possible to open the gate valve. However, when the opening of the container A2 becomes larger, the gate valve itself becomes larger, which causes new problems in terms of economy, installation pace of the container A2, and the like. Further, due to the structure of the gate valve, it is difficult to completely prevent vacuum leakage, resulting in various inconveniences.

[0004] Therefore, the applicant of the present invention previously developed a sealing device as shown in FIG. 8 and disclosed it to the public. That is, the sealing device includes a sheet receiving flange 3, a holding flange 4 having a storage groove 4a, a sealing sheet 10 made of aluminum having a through hole, a ring-shaped pressing body 9 made of a shape memory alloy having an inclined surface 9b, and an inclined surface. 8b, a ring-shaped sheet presser 8, a heater 11, etc., and a pressing body 9.
When the diameter of the press body 9 is reduced by heating it to a temperature higher than the transformation point temperature by the heater 11, the mechanical force generated by the diameter reduction of the press body 9 is applied to the sheet press 8 through the press body 9 and the inclined surfaces 9b, 8b of the sheet press 8. act to press the sheet presser 8 toward the sealing sheet 10 side. As a result, the sealing sheet 10 is pressed against the sheet receiving flange 3 and seals the opening 2. Further, when the power supply to the heater 11 is cut off and the pressing body 9 is cooled to a temperature below the transformation point temperature, the pressing body 9 expands in diameter and the mechanical force applied to the pressing body 9 is lost, causing the sheet presser 8 and the sealing sheet to 10 will be free. In this state, the sealing sheet 10 is moved so that its through hole 10a is aligned with the opening 2, and then the pressing body 9 is heated again with the heater 11 to open the opening 2.
hold open. The sealing device seals or opens and closes the opening 2 using a shape memory alloy pressing member 9 and an aluminum sealing sheet 10 that can generate a large force even in a small volume. Even if the device is large, the device itself can be made smaller, and the opening 2 can be reliably sealed. In the figure, 1 is the equipment main body (plasma container), 5 is a spacer, 6 is a bolt nut,
7 is a connecting pipe, 12 is a sheet holder, 13 is a sheet winder, and 14 is a sealed case.

[0005]

However, there are still problems to be solved in the sealing device. First, the first point is the production of the ring-shaped shape memory alloy pressing body 9. When the opening 2 is circular and has a relatively small diameter, the ring-shaped pressing body 9 can also be manufactured relatively easily. However, when the diameter of the opening becomes large, it becomes difficult to manufacture the ring-shaped pressing body 9 itself, making it difficult to put it into practical use. There is a problem in that it is not possible to seal the outer periphery evenly. The second problem is the shape of the opening 2. For example, if the opening 2 has a rectangular shape, the shape memory alloy pressing body 9 must also be formed into a rectangular ring. However, when using a rectangular ring body, it is extremely difficult to expand the diameter evenly.
As a result, the pressing force applied to the sheet presser 8 becomes uneven, resulting in poor sealing performance.

On the other hand, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem when the shape of the opening 2 is rectangular, the inventor of the present invention proposed a ring-shaped pressing member 9 which was memorized in the axial direction. A plurality of bolt-shaped pressing bodies are arranged at regular intervals along the outer periphery of the rectangular opening 2, and the sheet presser 8 is pressed by adjusting the temperature of the plurality of bolt-shaped pressing bodies. We are developing a sealing device with a structure that maintains airtightness. However, it is almost impossible to impart shape memory with the same characteristics to a large number of bolt-shaped pressing bodies, and as a result, the pressing force of each bolt-shaped pressing body becomes uneven, resulting in poor sealing performance. Furthermore, when attaching shape memory in the axial direction to the bolt-type pressing body, there is also the problem that a large amount of deformation cannot be achieved.

[0007] The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems in conventional sealing devices that use a circular ring-shaped shape memory alloy pressing body or a shape memory alloy bolt type pressing body. It has a simple structure, can be made compact, and has a large amount of deformation, so it can provide high confidentiality.
The present invention provides a sealing device that can be easily applied to rectangular openings.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention has a sheet receiving flange 3 fixedly installed in an opening 2 of an equipment main body 1; A presser flange 4 having an annular storage groove 4a on its inner surface and a connecting pipe 7 fixed on its outer surface; a sealing sheet 10 inserted between both flanges 3 and 4; A pipe-shaped pressing body 9 made of a shape memory alloy inserted; a ring-shaped sheet presser 8 positioned in front of the pressing body 9 and inserted between the sealing sheet 10; and disposed in the storage groove 4a. heaters 11 for heating the pressing body 9; located on both sides of the pressing body 9 and arranged in the storage groove 4a;
By fixing one side to the sheet presser 8 and the other side to the presser flange 4, the sheet presser 8 is supported, and a sealed structure is formed around the presser body 9 that is isolated from the inside of the device body 1 and the connecting pipe 7. a pair of bellows 15 forming a space 16;
15 constitutes the basic structure of the invention.

[0009]

[Operation] When the shape memory alloy pipe pressing body is heated to a temperature higher than its transformation point temperature, the pipe-shaped pressing body 9 expands in diameter and becomes circular in cross-section, and the mechanical force generated by the deformation is The force is applied to the front sheet presser 8 and presses the sheet presser 8 toward the sealing sheet 10 side. The sealing sheet 10 is pressed toward the sheet receiving flange 3 by the sheet presser 8, and the opening 2 is sealed. Said heater 1
1 (if necessary, flow the cooling fluid 17 around the pressing body 9 from the flow path 4b formed in the presser flange 4) and cooling the pressing body 9 below the transformation point temperature,
The pressing body 9 expands in diameter and has an elliptical cross-sectional shape, and the mechanical force applied to the sheet presser 8 is lost, making the sealing sheet 10 movable. In this state, the sheet holder 12 and sheet winder 13 are operated to wind up the sealing sheet 10 onto the sheet winder 13, and after aligning the through hole 10a of the sealing sheet 10 with the opening 2, the heater 11 is heated again. By operating the opening 2, the opening 2 is kept open. In this sealing device, when the pressing body 9 is forcibly cooled with the cooling fluid 17, the sealing sheet 10 can be made free in a short time, and the operating time can be significantly shortened. In addition, since the sheet presser 8 is supported by the bellows 15, there is no wobbling of the sheet presser 8, and there is no possibility that the sheet presser 8 gets caught when the sealing sheet 10 is moved. Damage can be prevented.

0010

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a sealing device showing an embodiment of the present invention, in which 1 is a device main body (for example, a plasma container), 2 is a rectangular opening of the main body 1, 3 is a sheet receiving flange, and 4 is a presser foot. flange, 5 is a spacer, 6 is a bolt/
Nut, 7 is a connecting pipe, 8 is a sheet presser, 9 is a pipe-shaped shape memory alloy pressing body, 10 is a sealing sheet, 11 is a heater, 12 is a sheet holder, 13 is a sheet winder, 14 is a sealed case , 15 are bellows. The device main body 1 is formed in a sealed structure, and the opening 2 thereof is formed by a short tube having a rectangular cross section. Further, a seat receiving flange 3 having a rectangular mounting hole is welded to the tip of the short pipe forming the opening 2, and the flange surface 3a of the flange 3 serves as a valve seat surface for a sealing seat 10, which will be described later. It has become.

The holding flange 4 provided with the rectangular mounting hole is disposed facing the sheet receiving flange 3 with a spacer 5 interposed therebetween, and is fixed to the flange 3 with bolts and nuts 6. , one end of the connecting pipe 7 is welded to its outer peripheral surface. Further, a storage groove 4a having a substantially square cross section is formed in an annular shape on the inner surface of the presser flange 4, and a plurality of short pipe-shaped pressing bodies 9, which will be described later, are inserted into the storage groove 4a.
, a heater 11 and bellows 15, 15 are inserted. Furthermore, a plurality of channels 4b are formed on the inner peripheral edge of the presser flange 4 to communicate the inside of the storage groove 4a with the outside, and a part of the channels 4b is connected to a cooling fluid supply source (not shown). The remaining flow path 4b serves as an outlet for the cooling fluid.

The spacer 5 is used to form a gap G between the flanges 3 and 4, which is large enough to allow the sealing sheet 10 to slide, as will be described later. However, flange 4
It may be formed integrally with the flange 3 or may be provided integrally with the flange 3 side.

The sheet presser 8 has a ring shape, and a pressing protrusion 8a that contacts the sealing sheet 10 is formed in a rectangular shape on its front side, and a pressing member having a semicircular cross section on its rear side. The engagement groove 8b is formed in an annular shape.

The short pipe-shaped pressing body 9 is made of a so-called reversible shape memory alloy, and its front side fits into the engagement groove 8b of the sheet holding ring 8, and its rear side fits into the pressing body of the flange 4. It is engaged with the storage groove 4a. The short pipe-shaped pressing body 9 in this embodiment is a ring body (transformation completion temperature Mf = approximately 15°C, reverse transformation start It is made to have a so-called reversible characteristic by performing mechanical training at a temperature Af of about 75° C. to maintain a two-way shape memory effect, and is heated to a temperature above the transformation point by the heater 11. The diameter is expanded by this, and the diameter is decreased by cooling to a temperature below the transformation point. In this embodiment, the short tubular pressing bodies 9 having a length of approximately 5 to 10 mm are arranged adjacent to each other in sequence, but four relatively long tubular pressing bodies 9 may be combined in a rectangular shape. .

[0015] The sealing sheet 10 has a thickness of 100 μm to
It is formed of an aluminum thin film of about 200 μm, and a sheet 10 of an appropriate length is wound up and stored in a sheet holder 12. As shown in FIG. 4, rectangular through holes 10a corresponding to the diameter of the opening 2 are bored in the sealing sheet 10 at an appropriate pitch, and the tips of the holes 10a pass through the gap G between the flanges 3 and 4 to the sheet. It is fixed to the winder 13 so as to be freely windable.

The bellows 15 is made of a metal member (for example, stainless steel) and is extendable and retractable, and is disposed at an inner position and an outer position of the pressing body 9, and one end thereof is attached to the rear surface of the sheet presser 8. , and the other end is the presser flange 4
are welded to the front of each. Therefore, the sheet presser 8 is supported by the bellows 15, and a sealed space 16 is formed around the pressing body 9, which is isolated from the inside of the device main body 1 and the inside of the connecting pipe 7. The bellows 15 uses its elastic force to urge the sheet presser 8 toward the presser flange 4 so that the sheet presser 8 does not come into contact with the sealant sheet 10 when the sealant sheet 10 moves. Further, a flow path 4b is communicated with a space 16 formed around the pressing body 9, so that a cooling fluid 17 can be supplied thereto.

The sheet holder 12 and the sheet winder 1
3 are fixed to the presser flange 4 via support pieces 18, 18, respectively, and are attached to the upper handle 13 of the sheet winder 13.
By rotating a, it is rolled out in the direction of the arrow. The flanges 3, 4, the sheet holder 12, the sheet winder 13, etc. are housed in a two-split sealed case 14 in an airtight manner, so that the main parts of the sealing device are isolated from the outside air. ing. Further, the handles 12a and 13a of the sheet holder 12 and the sheet winder 13 are provided outside the sealed case 14 so that they can be operated from the outside. In this embodiment, a two-split sealed case 14 is used in consideration of replacement of the seat holder 12, etc., but a welded sealed case 14 may also be used. Further, in this embodiment, the flanges 3, 4, etc. are covered airtightly by the sealed case 14, but the sealed case 14 may be removed to expose the flanges 3, 4, etc. Furthermore, in this embodiment, in order to repeatedly open and close the opening 2, the sealing sheet 10 is a band-shaped sealing sheet in which through holes 10a are formed at regular intervals.
The sheet winder 1 winds and holds the tip of the sheet.
However, if it is not necessary to repeatedly open and close the opening 2, the sealing sheet 10 may be provided with a through hole 10a, or the sheet holder 12 or sheet winder 13 may be wound up.
There is no need to provide the sealing sheet 10 to an appropriate size, and a structure may be adopted in which the sealing sheet 10 is cut into an appropriate size and inserted between the flanges 3 and 4.

Next, the operation of the present invention will be explained. When changing the opening 2 of the device main body 1 from an open state to a closed state, cooling fluid 17 (liquid nitrogen vapor, etc., in consideration of contamination when the bellows breaks) is supplied from the flow path 4b to the space 16 around the pressing body 9. ) to forcefully cool the pressing body 9 to a temperature below the transformation point temperature, thereby deforming the pressing body 9 into an elliptical shape. As a result, the mechanical force applied to the pressing body 9 is lost, the sealing force of the sheet presser 8 is released as shown in FIG. 5, and the sealing sheet 10 becomes free. Note that since the pressing body 9 is forcibly cooled by the cooling fluid 17, its diameter expands in a short time, and the sealing sheet 10 is opened quickly. Next, the sealing sheet 10 is wound up by a predetermined amount toward the sheet winder 13, and the through hole 10
Instead of the seat portion 10b, the seat portion 10b faces the flange opening. At this time, the sheet presser 8 is moved by the bellows 15.
Since it is supported by and is in a non-contact state with the sealing sheet 10, the sealing sheet 10 does not rattle or get caught on the sealing sheet 10 when it is moved, and damage to the sealing sheet 10 can be prevented. . Thereafter, the cooling fluid 17 is stopped, the heater 11 is heated, and the pressing body 9 is heated.
is heated to a temperature above its transformation point temperature to expand its diameter. When the pressing body 9 expands in diameter and becomes circular in cross section as shown in FIG.
The mechanical force generated thereby acts on the sheet presser 8, and a pressing force is applied in the direction of the arrow. As a result, the pressing protrusion 8a of the sheet presser 8 comes into contact with the sheet 10 side, and the opening 2
is sealed by the sheet 10.

Furthermore, the opening 2 is closed and the inside is opened to 10-
When connecting the device main body 1, which has a vacuum of 4 to 10-5 torr, to a pipe, first connect the connecting pipe 7.
and a conduit (not shown) are connected by a shape memory alloy joint or the like. Next, the inside of the conduit 7 is evacuated to a predetermined degree of vacuum, and then the opening 2 is opened by the operation described above. As a result, the device main body 1 is connected to the conduit while the inside thereof is always maintained at a constant degree of vacuum. or,
By operating the sheet presser 8 after opening the opening 2, the airtightness between the flanges 3 and 4 is reliably maintained.
Even if leakage occurs from the sealed case 14, the inside of the device main body 1 will not be affected at all. Conversely, the same applies when removing the device main body 1 from the conduit (not shown). After moving the sheet 10 and closing the opening 2, the device main body 1 is removed from the conduit. The inside of the device main body 1 can be kept airtight at all times. In the above embodiment, the cooling fluid 17 is supplied from the flow path 4b into the space 16 to forcibly cool the pressing body 9. It may also be heated.

According to the test results, the outer diameter is 20.15 mm.
It is easily possible to make the pipe-shaped pressing body 9 with a diameter of 1.3 mm, a wall thickness of 1.3 mm, and a length of 5.05 mm into an elliptical shape with two-way shape memory, and it is possible to obtain a deformation amount (span) of about 1 mm. Ta. In addition, the line load required for vacuum sealing is 30Kg.
In order to obtain a mechanical force of f/mm, for example, the outer diameter is 20 mm.
It was confirmed that it is sufficient to use a shape memory alloy pipe with a thickness of 2.5 mm.

[0021]

[Effects of the Invention] In the present invention, by arranging pipe-shaped shape memory alloy pressing bodies 9 that have two-way shape memory, and expanding the diameter of the pressing bodies 9 by heating to make the cross-sectional shape circular. The configuration is such that the pressing force applied to the sheet presser 8 is obtained, and the pressing force applied to the sheet presser 8 is lost by reducing the diameter by cooling and making the cross-sectional shape elliptical, so that the following effects are achieved. be done. (1) Even if the opening 2 is large and rectangular in shape, uniform pressing force can be easily obtained along the periphery of the opening 2 by arranging the pipe-shaped pressing bodies 9 in a square shape. It is possible to obtain high airtightness. (2) Since the pressing body 9 is pipe-shaped, it is easier to manufacture compared to the conventional ring-shaped pressing body, and manufacturing costs can be significantly reduced. (3) Compared to a bolt-shaped pressing body that memorizes in the axial direction, a larger amount of deformation can be obtained, the sealing device can be made smaller, and the number of pressing bodies 9 required for sealing is small; Controlling the opening and closing of the sealing device becomes easier. (4) When the pressing body 9 is shaped like a short pipe, it is easier to manufacture, and even if there is some wobbling on the outer surface of the pressing body 9, the tightening of the sealing sheet 10 is not significantly affected. . (5) A configuration in which a space is formed around the shape memory alloy pressing body by a bellows, which is isolated from the inside of the device body and the connecting pipe, and the cooling fluid is forced into this space to cool the pressing body. In addition, the pressing body can be cooled in a short time and the sealing sheet can be opened quickly. As a result, the operating time of the sealing device can be significantly reduced. (6) Because the sheet presser is supported by bellows,
No matter which direction the sealing device is installed, the sheet presser can be prevented from rattling, the sealing sheet will not be caught on the sheet presser when moving, and damage to the sealing sheet can be reliably prevented.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a sealing device according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a view taken along line A in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway perspective view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an example of a sealing sheet.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state in which the pressing body has expanded in diameter and released the pressing force of the sheet presser.

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state in which the pressing body is reduced in diameter and applying pressing force to the sheet presser.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a method for replacing plasma containers, etc. in a nuclear fusion facility.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a conventional sealing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 is the device main body, 2 is the opening, 3 is the sheet receiving flange, 4 is the presser flange, 4a is the storage groove, 4b is the flow path, 8
8b is a locking groove, 9 is a pressing body, 10 is a sealing sheet, 10a is a through hole, 11 is a heater, 12 is a sheet holder, 13 is a sheet winder, 14 is a sealed case, 15 is a bellows , 16 is a space, 17 is a cooling fluid, and G is a gap.

Claims (5)

[Claims] [Claim 1] A sheet receiving flange (3) fixedly installed in the opening (2) of the device main body (1); disposed facing the sheet receiving flange (3) with a certain gap (G) therebetween. a holding flange (4) having an annular storage groove (4a) on its inner surface and having a connecting pipe (7) fixed on its outer surface;
; a sealing sheet (10) inserted between both flanges (3) and (4); and a pipe-shaped pressing body (9) made of a shape memory alloy inserted into the storage groove (4a) of the holding flange (4). ); a ring-shaped sheet retainer (8) located in front of the pressing body (9) and inserted between the sealing sheet (10); and; a heater (11) for heating the press body (9); a storage groove (
4a), and is fixed to the sheet presser (8) on one side and the presser flange (4) on the other side, thereby supporting the sheet presser (8) and attaching equipment around the presser body (9). A pair of bellows (
15), a sealing device composed of (15). [Claim 2] The holding flange (4) has a sealed space (
16) Channel (4b) for supplying cooling fluid (17) into
2. The sealing device according to claim 1, comprising: a. 3. The pressing body (9) is a short pipe-shaped pressing body (9), and a plurality of short pipe-shaped pressing plates (9) are provided.
The sealing device according to claim 1, wherein the sealing device is arranged in a continuous manner in the storage groove (4a). 4. The sealing sheet (10) is provided with a through hole (10a) that communicates the inside of the device main body (1) and the inside of the connecting pipe (7).
2. The sealing device according to claim 1, wherein the sealing device is made of an aluminum band-shaped sheet with perforations formed at regular intervals. 5. A sheet holder (12) that winds and holds the sealing sheet (10) around the presser flange (4) or the sheet receiving flange (3), and the sealing sheet (10) fed out from the sheet holder (12). Sheet winder (
13). The sealing device according to claim 1, further comprising: