JPH0535319Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] <<Industrial Application Field>> This invention relates to an inspection device for performing leak inspection of a high-performance air filter on the entire surface of the filter at once in a clean room.

《Conventional technology》 Regarding high-performance air filters (HEPA filters) installed on the ceiling of clean rooms,
Generally, a leak test is performed to check whether there is any air leaking from the filter surface that does not pass through the filter material, or whether there is air leaking from the joints around the filter mounting frame. Conventionally,
This inspection is performed manually by attaching the air sampling probe (air suction port) of the dust meter to the tip of a suitable work stick, and keeping the probe within 2.5 cm from the filter surface. Hold the probe in the same position and slowly move the probe along the filter surface to thoroughly scan the entire surface of the filter. Further, the probe is set to correspond to the peripheral part of the filter, and the joint part is thoroughly scanned. The probe scanning speed during this scan must be less than 5 cm per second.

Such inspection work requires the worker to remain in the same position for a long time, resulting in painful work. Such manual work tends to cause variations in inspection, and there has been a desire to develop a device that automates leak inspection.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-10831 discloses an automatic leak test method and apparatus for high-performance filters for clean rooms, which automates the manual inspection described above.

The main parts of this device are a scanning robot that scans the test probe, a controller that controls the robot, and a photometer that uses light transmittance to measure the amount of particles passing through the filter. . Then, a scanning robot is used to bring a test probe close to the downstream side of the filter to be tested, and then the test probe is scanned in line in the X-axis and Y-axis directions over the entire circumference or the entire filter surface of the filter. A photometer measures whether the amount of particles passing through the filter is within an upper limit, and if there is an abnormality, an alarm is issued and a leak test or cleanliness test of the filter is performed.

<<Problems to be solved by the invention>> However, in the above-mentioned automatic leak test method and device, when performing a filter leak test or cleanliness test, the entire circumference of one filter or the entire filter surface is covered. Since the test probe is line-scanned by a scanning robot, it takes more time than necessary to scan one filter, especially in the case of rectangular scanning.

In other words, the filter is a package type, and if there is a defect in any of the filters, it is immediately replaced with another good product without repairing.The entire surface of a single filter is inspected by scanning it with a test probe point by point. There was no necessity. Furthermore, in this method and its device, when the scanning robot is installed on the filter on the ceiling of the clean room, the robot is lifted up by building a scaffold or using a tower lift. Installation work required more effort and time than necessary.

The present invention was developed in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and its purpose is to make it possible to perform leak inspections extremely easily and uniformly with high accuracy, and to also make it extremely easy to install the filters for inspection. An object of the present invention is to provide a leak inspection device for an air cleaner for a clean room.

<Means for Solving the Problems> In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the clean room air filter leak inspection device of the present invention has a frame that can be raised and lowered to the ceiling surface, and is attached to the upper end of the frame. A non-static saucer having a planar area approximately equivalent to the unit area of the filter and capable of sealingly surrounding the unit area of the filter when the frame is lifted, and a counter provided in the frame below the saucer. A hollow tube connects the tray and the counter, and a suction means for sucking the air in the tray into the counter through the hollow tube.

<<Embodiments>> Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of an embodiment of the leak testing device for a clean room air filter according to the present invention, viewed diagonally from below. The metal saucer 1 has a support mechanism 20 that supports it.
It is incorporated into and formed integrally. A metal tray 1 that collects particles passing through the filter due to the test air flow all over the entire surface of the filter at once is formed of a hopper-shaped side body 2 with a taper that converges downward. A filter frame 3 having the same rectangular planar shape as that of one filter support frame 10 is attached to this upper opening.
is permanently installed. Moreover, four protruding rods 5 are fixed to the upper four corners of the tray 1 in a downwardly protruding state, respectively, to fit and connect the receiving tray 1 to a supporting mechanism 20, which will be described later. Furthermore, it is formed in the lower center in a protruding state. Note that this saucer 1 is available in a wide variety of planar shapes so that it can accommodate filters of various planar shapes. Since the suction port 4 performs suction at a constant air suction speed, the particles after passing through the filter are passed through a first air suction pipe 6 (φ180) and a second suction tube 7 (φ10) having a predetermined cross-sectional area. It is connected to a particulate counter 8 with a suction capacity of 1 ft ³ /min for calculating the amount.

A support mechanism 20 that stably supports the saucer 1
consists of a coaxial upper column 21a and a lower column 21b whose diameter is slightly larger than that of the upper column, and a connecting pipe 22 that fits and connects with the protruding rod 5 of the saucer 1 is arranged at the upper end of the upper column 21a. Four sets of support columns 21 and upper column 21a
A horizontal connecting member 23 that is connected to the lower end of the support column 21 and connects and reinforces these support columns 21 laterally and diagonally.
a and the brace 23b are engaged at the lower end of the lower column 21b, and the flat plate 24, on which the counter is stably placed horizontally, is engaged at the lower end of the lower column 21b, and the entire supporting mechanism is The framework is formed by four casters 25 that bear the load and stably move the device by rotation. A turnbuckle 26 is interposed approximately in the middle of each of the upper columns 21a of the four support columns 21 to finely adjust the column height. In addition, the upper pillar 21a and the lower pillar 2
1b, a coarse adjustment lifting means 27 for roughly adjusting the column height is interposed.

As shown in FIG.
0 and this threaded portion 5 disposed at the lower end of the upper column 21a.
A circular flat plate 52 having a hole 51 having a hole 51 slightly larger than the diameter of the threaded portion 50 through which the threaded portion 50 is penetrated, and a nut 53 with a rotating handle that is screwed into the threaded portion 50 that comes into contact with the circular flat plate 52 downstream of the circular plate 52. Consisting of The threaded portion 50 is extended by a predetermined length so that the device can approach the filter ceiling. Further, the circular flat plate 52 is fixed to the horizontal connecting member 23.
It is fixed to the upper column 21a in a suspended state through two brackets 54.

In such a configuration, when performing a leak test, this device is moved directly below the air filter 71 to be tested mounted on the ceiling surface. Next, the four nuts 53 with rotating handles of the rough adjustment lifting means 27 are rotated in the horizontal direction by a predetermined amount, and the circular flat plate 52 fixed upstream thereof is slid upward, thereby increasing the column height. The device is raised to a higher height, and the close gasket 3 of the saucer 1 is brought closer to the filter frame 70 from below. Next, the four turnbuckles 26 of the upper column 21a are rotated by a predetermined amount to gradually raise the column height little by little to finely adjust the device height.
0 to maintain airtightness. In this case, even if the ceiling surface is sloped or has some irregularities, it is of course possible to bring the filter support frame 70 and the metal saucer 1 into close contact with each other by operating these four turnbuckles 26 respectively. be. After that, set the casters 2 to prevent the device from moving.
Drive a wedge etc. into 5 to stabilize the device.

Once the above preparation work is completed, test air mixed with a predetermined amount of particles is blown vertically over the entire surface of the filter to be inspected from the upstream side using a blowing means (not shown) at a speed of 0.3 m/sec. put out. and,
Particles passing through the entire surface of the filter are collected at once by a metal tray 1. At this time, the particles are all sucked and accumulated at the suction port 4 located at the center of the lower part of the tray without leaking to the outside or adhering to the inner surface of the tray. The accumulated particles pass through a suction pipe (φ180) and a suction tube (φ10) connected to this suction port 4, and are sucked at a constant velocity that is almost the same as the test air blowing speed of 0.3 m/sec. It is led to a partical counter 8 with a capacity of 1 ft ³ /min. The particle counter 8 counts and monitors the amount of particles passing through the filter, and determines whether or not it is within a preset upper limit. If the upper limit is exceeded, for example, an alarm generating means (not shown) is used to flash a light or emit a beep, indicating that there is an abnormal leakage of test air from the filter 71 or the filter frame 70, and immediately remove the filter 71 or the filter frame 70. The filter frame 70 is replaced. When the leak test for one filter is completed in this way, the coarse adjustment lifting means 27 is rotated in the horizontal direction opposite to the above raising to lower the column height, and the device is moved to check the next filter. Perform a leak check.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the horizontal movement of the device was performed manually, but a power source consisting of a battery and a motor, or an automatic steering means, etc., is mounted on the above-mentioned mounting base, and this drives the caster, thereby moving the device. Automatic driving may also be performed. In addition, the threaded portion 5 of the coarse adjustment lifting means 27
As shown in FIG. 3, the rack 6 formed at the upper end of the lower column 21b is
0 and the first to third pinions 61 that mesh with this
- 63 may be constructed with a lifting tool 64 equipped with a rotating handle, and by rotating the rotating handle 65 in a vertical plane, the column height may be coarsely adjusted with less rotational force. Furthermore, the metal saucer 1
When this is used in a large planar filter frame, a large saucer may be placed on top of a small saucer.

<<Effect of the invention>> As described above, according to the leak inspection device for a clean room air filter of the present invention, leak inspection is performed over the entire plane of one filter at once using a non-static saucer, so the inspection time is reduced. It can be significantly shortened. In addition, the amount of particles passing through the filter can be matched and counted with a counter having a predetermined suction capacity through an air suction connector having a predetermined cross-sectional area that is connected to the above-mentioned saucer, so that the amount of particles passing through the filter can be counted by matching the amount with a counter having a predetermined suction capacity. This allows the amount of particles to be measured accurately and leak tests to be performed with high precision. Furthermore, since the tray and the support mechanism are integrally formed and a counter is attached, stable inspection accuracy can be obtained over a long period of time even in a narrower space. Furthermore, the work of installing this device on a filter for inspection can be done easily and quickly.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of an embodiment of the clean room air filter leak inspection device of the present invention, viewed diagonally from below, and FIGS. 2 and 3 show the coarse adjustment lifting means used in this device, It is an exploded perspective view showing the modification. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Metal saucer, 4... Suction port, 5... Filter frame close gasket, 6... Air suction pipe, 7... Air suction tube, 7... Particular counter, 20... Support mechanism, 21, ...support column, 21a...upper column, 21b...lower column, 26...
...Turnbuckle, 27...Elevating means for coarse adjustment,
50... Threaded portion, 52... Circular flat plate, 53... Nut with rotating handle, 60... Rack, 61-6
3...pinion, 64...lifting device with rotating handle, 70...filter frame, 70...filter.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A device that calculates the amount of particles passing through a high-performance air filter installed on the ceiling of a clean room and inspects the filter for leaks, and the device includes a frame that can be raised and lowered to the ceiling, and a frame that can be moved up and down to the ceiling. a non-electrostatic saucer attached to the upper end, having a planar area approximately equal to the unit area of the filter, and capable of sealingly surrounding the unit area of the filter when the frame is raised; A counter provided in the frame below the saucer, a hollow tube connecting the saucer and the counter, and a suction means for sucking air in the saucer into the counter through the hollow tube. A leak inspection device for air filters for clean rooms, which is characterized by: